WWE Raw, from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, advertised the return of CM Punk, set to confront Drew McIntyre amid a series of promos and trolling online videos. Raw featured a surprise appearance by The Rock, who confronted Cody Rhodes in the opening segment. Raw also advertised Jey Uso vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn vs. Bronson Reed and Ivy Nile vs. Heel Candice LeRae.
Last week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.790 million viewers.
WWE Raw Results on March 25, 2024
- Ricochet def. JD McDonagh
- Candice LeReae def. Ivy Nile
WWE Raw Ratings
- March 18, 2024 | 1.790 million
- March 11, 2024 | 1.751 million
- March 4, 2024 | 1.649 million
- February 26, 2024 | 1.738 million
- February 19, 2024 | 1.870 million
WWE Raw Ticket Sales
- WWE Raw Venue: Allstate Arena (Chicago, Ill.)
- WWE Raw Tickets Distributed: 14,961
- WWE Raw Tickets Available: 61
Tony Khan Is A Hoarder | PWB
WWE Raw Winners And Grades
The Rock Returns, Confronts Cody Rhodes
There were some boos for Cody Rhodes in CM Punk’s hometown of Chicago, but mostly cheers as Cody Rhodes received an extremely loud reaction.
Cody Rhodes said we’re in the “awkward two weeks” before WrestleMania.
Cody Rhodes got fans to cheer for Pat McAfee and Michael Cole, seemingly to warm them up. Fans booed Roman Reigns loudly when Rhodes brought him up.
Rhodes made an All In reference, which happened in Chicago. Despite the amount of titles that were on the line that night, it does not compare to the 17 belts AEW has in Jacksonville right now.
Rhodes shouted out the Wrestling Club, who will be going to WrestleMania both nights on his dime. He’ll also be going to “Anthony’s” wedding and paying for the bachelor party.
Rhodes said he dresses like a champion because the champion isn’t here.
Rhodes continues to destroy Dave Meltzer’s credibility by contradicting his “curse word memo” report with the word “wank fest.”
By the end of this promo, fans were 100% behind Rhodes in his quest for WWE’s most important championship.
The Rock made a surprise return to a loud reaction and chants of “Rocky!” and “holy s—t!” Fans then rallied behind Rhodes with “Cody” chants. Fans then came together to chant “this is awesome!” Of course, with Rock and Rhodes standing in silence, fans also chanted for CM Punk.
Rock whispered something to Cody and then walked out without addressing the crowd. It was great heel work. This isn’t AEW where it’s difficult to tell the difference between heels and babyfaces. WWE actually wants fans to know who the bad guys are.
Ricochet Def. JD McDonagh
The match that kicked off WWE Raw’s 11th straight television sellout started with chants of “Dom, you suck!”
Ricochet hit an unbelievable Canadian Destroyer off a wrist lock that was truly special.
Ricochet continues to get over each week despite not having a WrestleMania program. He won with an impressive moonsault against a standing JD McDonagh. If there’s an Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, he has to win it.
CM Punk And Drew McIntyre Face Off
After a crude comment, CM Punk offhandedly said “we’re not on Netflix yet,” which suggests WWE will be a much more edgy product come January.
Punk shouted out Jim Cornette by saying he listens to “The Experience” and “The Drive Thru.”
There were so many wild moments in a promo exchange that seemed unscripted in the best of ways. CM Punk made a veiled reference to Vince McMahon, asking Drew McIntyre who chose him? Punk implied McIntyre uses lifts in his boots, then Punk cut off a McIntyre t-shirt joke by saying he doesn’t need another man’s name on a shirt to sell them. McIntyre was hilarious sparring with Punk, facetiously saying Punk can get cancelled for mocking a man in a skirt. McIntyre called the camera man a perv for shooting up his skirt.
Seth Rollins taunted CM Punk for not being able to compete at WrestleMania. Punk fired back by saying—unlike Rollins’ wife—Punk will make Rollins (and McIntyre) interesting by appearing on commentary for their match.
As McIntyre called Punk a “Stan,” he was super kicked by Rollins and given a Curb Stomp.
Candice LeRae Def. Ivy Nile
This week, Heel Candice LeRae faked a leg injury before using the ropes to roll up Nile.
Backstage, The New Day and DIY had a highly personal exchange, with DIY calling New Day old and New Day mocking DIY for never being good enough to get booked at WrestleMania.
DIY And The New Day Battle To A DQ
To the surprise of nobody, commentary immediately went off the rails with The Miz and R-Truth guesting.
Michael Cole asked R-Truth to throw to break, and Truth said “we’ll be right back.” Truth should have stayed in character by saying “welcome Back to WWE Raw!”
The Judgment Day crashed the match as the bell ring. The Awesome Truth sat idly by until Miz finally jumped into the fray. Truth continued to do commentary, even when Damian Priest choke slammed Miz. When The Judgment Day attacked Truth, he asked to go to commercial break. Fans went wild when Truth made a comeback, but Truth was eventually laid out too.
Andrade Def. Giovanni Vinci
Andrade and Giovanni Vinci had every excuse in the world to have a match that the crowd didn’t care about. Especially following two red-hot segments. That didn’t happen. Andrade showcased his skills against career good hand Vinci, and they put on an excellent match.
It was surprising that this Andrade match went through a commercial break, but fans were into him in Chicago as his second run may be more promising than I first thought.
Rhea Ripley And Becky Lynch Face Off
Fans started showing some fatigue with the show at this point, but Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch’s star power willed them into it.
This showdown took a sharp left turn when Ripley mocked Lynch’s daughter Roux. A tearful Lynch—who has become a great actor—yelled at Ripley for bringing up her daughter since Lynch’s father never got to meet Roux.
This emotional and much-needed segment ended when Lynch legit punched Dominik Mysterio in the face.
Bronson Reed Def. Sami Zayn
Prior to this match, Chad Gable gave Sami Zayn somewhat of a pep talk. I still think Gable will cost Zayn the Intercontinental Championship.
GUNTHER watched this match ringside and distracted Sami Zayn toward the end of this match. I love the fact that Sami Zayn is being built up as an underdog, so he loses to an outmatched Bronson Reed. This will make him an even bigger underdog headed into WrestleMania, and if Sami wins, Bronson Reed will make sense as the first challenger.
Jey Uso Def. Shinsuke Nakamura
After a backstage promo by Jey Uso, Solo Siko and Jimmy Uso pulled up. Later on, just before Jey’s entrance, Seth Rollins told Jey he had his back.
Rollins made good on his promise as he and Cody Rhodes made the save for Jey when The Bloodline hit the ring. Drew McIntyre also made a surprise appearance as he took out Rollins.
Uso won this match with a Spear, which will build up the move for Jey’s storyline-riddled showdown against Jimmy Uso.
WWE raw ended with a wild brawl between Cody Rhodes, Solo Sikoa and Jey Uso. The Rock came in out of nowhere and beat up Cody Rhodes, which included a brutal trashcan shot to the head.
After an extended beatdown, The Rock said “s—t” and “son of a b—h,” just to kick more dirt on Meltzer’s report. Rhodes also bled profusely as Raw went off the air.