WWE started a new era on Monday night with Raw’s debut on Netflix, and it’s safe to say it delivered. The show was packed with action and appearances. So it’s time to take a look back at the event, and what made it so successful.
The show started with Triple H welcoming everyone to a new era in WWE. The crowd was electric after this, and it got even better when the Rock came out to a huge pop. The Rock came out and thanked Netflix, and showed respect to Cody Rhodes in an interesting promo, seemingly turning face once again in WWE.
As Tribal Combat usually is, this was beautiful chaos. The match broke down when Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu arrived to attack Roman. It looked like Solo had things sealed before Sami Zayn and Jimmy Uso came to the rescue. Kevin Owens made an appearance and hit Roman with a stunner before brawling into the crowd with Cody Rhodes.
Roman hit Solo with one final spear before getting the one, two, three to become the undisputed Tribal Chief. Even after the match, the fireworks didn’t stop because the Rock showed up once again to bestow the Ula Fala on Roman Reigns.
John Cena made his way to the ring for the last time in Los Angeles and hyped up the crowd for his retirement run. He expressed his desire to win his 17th World Championship and declared for the Royal Rumble. 2025 looks like it’ll be a crazy year for the GOAT.
Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan finally looks to be in the rearview, and the Women’s World title is back home with Mami. After having several matches together, this one might have been their best.
This match saw plenty of interference from Dominik Mysterio and Raquel Rodriguez. It looked like Liv would win multiple times, but Rhea came out of nowhere with not one, but two Riptides for the win. Following the match, Dominik came into the ring to hug Rhea before being hit with a Riptide himself. This was a terrific moment for Ripley, and she even received respect from the Undertaker after the match.
Travis Scott walked Jey Uso to the ring while smoking in the crowd, which was an amazing visual. This blood feud finally reached its peak on Monday night, and Drew McIntyre showed every bit of his hatred for Jey Uso. McIntyre beat Jey down and could have had the match won multiple times. Once again, Drew’s biggest flaw was shown, and he couldn’t get out of his own way.
At one point, Drew was about to hit another Claymore on Uso, but Jey collapsed and Drew held back. When McIntyre finally decided to put things to bed, Jey had recovered enough to surprise him with a crucifix pin for the win. This was a fine match, but it’ll be more interesting to see where Drew McIntyre goes from here.
In the match of the night, CM Punk and Seth Rollins finally got their hands on each other. This was a WrestleMania-caliber main event, and it delivered in every way. This fittingly kicked off with a straight-up hockey fight between these two before Seth Rollins hit Punk with a dive outside the ring.
This was a back-and-forth in the best way. Both men gave everything and even delivered each other’s finishers at multiple points. Rollins hit Punk with a pedigree on the announce table and hit a second in the ring before only getting a two-count. Seth hit a buckle bomb on Punk and set him up on the top rope for a superplex/falcon arrow. Punk countered with a GTS, and another for good measure for the win.
This didn’t feel like the end of the feud between these two, and there’s a great chance they run this back at WrestleMania. Losing to Punk might drive Rollins further into madness, and fuel a heel turn from the Visionary. This isn’t over by a long shot, and it could evolve into the feud of the year.
WWE’s Raw debut on Netflix was a massive success, and it’s truly the start of a new era. This is an exciting time to be a wrestling fan heading into the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania season.
Read More WWE News From Stadium Rant Here: WWE News
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!
