WWE RAW Live Coverage - January 8th, 2024
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CM Punk Returns to Raw
As the Royal Rumble Match approaches, the provocative CM Punk returns to Monday Night Raw. After a recent volatile confrontation with World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins, what will the outspoken Best in the World say to the WWE Universe?
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The opening signature airs to get us started and then we shoot inside the Moda Center in Portland, OR. where Drew McIntyre is standing in the ring.
"The Scottish Warrior" talks about coming up short last week against Seth Rollins in his attempt to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He mentions how he thinks he needs to take some time away from WWE. He then mentions how he didn't lose straight up, and only lost because of Damian Priest's near cash-in.
As he continues to talk, he takes a shot at CM Punk, saying maybe he should leave for nine years and come back to a heroes reception. CM Punk's theme hits on that note and out he comes. He talks about being in Roddy Piper country.
He says McIntyre didn't wear a kilt tonight, but then maybe fans would actually like him if he did. He talks about Piper being known for talking and says if McIntyre has something he wants to say about Punk, he'll just stand right here and let him say it to his face.
McIntyre says he will. He says it's been over a month and Punk is still here. He's surprised by that. He mentions he's got a bet with some of the other wrestlers about how long Punk will last. Punk says, "That's good," with a smile.
Drew talks about how Punk has affected him in many ways. Too many to list so he'll just mention one. He talks about how he's one of few who used to travel the road with CM Punk in WWE years ago. He talks about how he had demons back then and when Punk would announce to everyone that he was the locker room leader.
He says he didn't act like one, and back then he needed one. He mentions how Punk isn't a leader, he's selfish. He tells Punk he's his leader now and calls him a kid. McIntyre lays on the ropes in arrogant fashion. Punk says he never called himself a leader. He says he led by example, but called himself a savior.
He says if he wants his hand held, he can shave his head and we can bring back the Straight Edge Society. He says if he ain't a leader, who did McIntyre watch walk out of this company. Him. He says he followed his lead on the way out by leaving WWE and coming back stronger. Punk says he's back just like McIntyre came back.
Punk says he's a nice guy, not a demon, but when provoked, he's Satan himself. He says he thinks it might be time to tap into that side of himself by the way Drew is talking. He says he's here to win the Royal Rumble and capture the title at WrestleMania, not to make friends.
Drew says he'll be in the Rumble, too and if he sees him there, he'll take him out and win the title and do it for himself. Punk says it's getting spicy in here so he's gonna lead by example and walk off before he knocks Drew's teeth down his throat. Punk tells Drew he's such a nice guy that at the Rumble, he's gonna throw him out last. He walks off as Drew smiles.
Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa
It's time for opening match action now on this week's show, as The Judgment Day theme hits and out comes Finn Balor with Senor Money In The Bank Damian Priest by his side. He settles in the ring for his advertised one-on-one showdown against DIY's Tommaso Ciampa -- next. On that note, we head to a quick pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano walking the hallways backstage as Ciampa cuts a promo about how DIY is after tag team gold in 2024. As they settle in the ring we see footage of R-Truth's interaction backstage with Balor and Priest talking about DIY, calling Balor a "scaredy cat." The bell sounds and off we go.
Balor and Ciampa lock up and then start getting after it. After some basic back-and-forth action, we see Ciampa start to pull ahead. As he ends up on the floor, we see he and Priest in an intense stare off before he goes back to work on Balor, who takes over control of the offensive momentum in the match as we head into a mid-match commercial time out.
As we settle back in from the commercials, we see Ciampa fighting back into competitive form before ultimately pulling off the victory after Priest and Gargano get involved at ringside.
Winner: Tommaso Ciampa
After a quick Becky Lynch promo backstage where she talks about things between herself and Nia Jax not being over yet, we head back inside the Moda Center. Michael Cole announces CM Punk as the guest for The Jackie Redmond Show on the NHL YouTube channel for this Thursday night. The theme for Kofi Kingston hits after that and out he comes.
As The New Day member settles inside the ring, we shift gears and head into a quick pre-match commercial break.
Kofi Kingston vs. Ludwig Kaiser
When we return, we see Ludwig Kaiser of Imperium make his way down to the ring.
We see Kaiser jump into an early lead, yelling at Kington for injuring Giovanni Vinci last week while he does so. We head into a mid-match break on that note.
When we return, we see Kingston fight his way back into the offensive lead as the Portland crowd comes to life. The two end up on the floor where they each get counted out, which sees this one end via double count out. After the match, Kingston dives onto Kaiser from the ring to the floor. The two are pulled apart but keep fighting.
Kaiser slams a computer swivel chair into Kingston's dome to completely lay him out. He wasn't done there, however, as he put Kingston face first on the steel steps and beats him down some more.
He runs around the ring and drop kicks his face into the steel steps with vicious authority. The officials call for medical help from the back as the crowd boos.
Winner: Double Count Out
We head to a break.
When we return, Ludwig Kaiser is stopped backstage and asked about his actions after we see replays of what he just did to Kofi Kingston. He talks about being alone tonight to carry the weight of Imperium by himself. He says Kofi took Vinci's head, so he took his -- and he deserved it. Back in the arena, Michael Cole is introduced in the ring.
Cole introduces Nia Jax, who makes her way down to the ring. Cole asks her about her win over Becky Lynch last week and busting her face again. She takes offense to him calling it an upset. She talks about her plans to go through 29 women at Royal Runble to earn a shot at either Rhea Ripley or IYO SKY, noting no one can stop her.
"This is My Brutality" hits and out comes "Mami" to a huge pop. WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley emerges and heads to the ring to confront Nia Jax. Ripley talks about how Jax talks a big game but points out that she beat Lynch and Lynch isn't Rhea bloody Ripley.
She brags about eliminating Jax in her last Rumble match and warns her to keep her name out of her mouth. Jax tells Ripley she gives her all the credit in the world. She might be the most dominant champion in women's history, but tells her not to forget that she put her on her ass when she came back.
She says the only reason she doesn't hold her title is because Ripley is afraid to face her one on one. She says when she wins the Rumble, she's gonna choose her and she'll then have no excuse but to face her. She tells her she'll see her soon and walks off.
Now it's time for some championship action. After we see a video package looking back at The Rock's surprise return at last week's WWE Day 1 special edition of Monday Night Raw, we return inside the Moda Center where former Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Champions Chelsea Green & Piper Niven make their way down to the ring.
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Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Championships: Kayden Carter & Katana Chance vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
As the former champs settle in the ring for their rematch for the gold, we head to a quick pre-match commercial break. When we return, we see Cody Rhodes backstage for an interview, which turns into a pull-apart brawl with Shinsuke Nakamura. Adam Pearce yells at them to save it for their main event showdown later tonight.
Back in the arena, the theme for the reigning, defending tag champs hits and out comes Katana Chance and Kayden Carter with the smoke guns. They head to the ring and the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running. After the former champ duo of Niven and Green settle into an early offensive lead, we head into a mid-match break.
When we return, we see Carter finally get the hot tag. She comes in and helps shift the momentum back into her team's favor. Chance hits a big hurricanrana on Green off the top-rope for a super close near fall attempt. We see the entire WWE women's locker room watching on as the action continues in the ring.
Niven tags in and helps take over, however she is ultimately out-smarted by the tag champs, as when Niven goes up for a Vader Bomb, they move out of the way and pull Green in their spot. Niven splashes onto Green and then Carter and Chance hit their Keg Stand finisher for the win to retain their tag titles.
Winners and STILL Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Champions: Kayden Carter & Katana Chance
We head to a special R-Truth interview segment now. It features Truth as a talking head, talking with a sincere voice about how since he was a baby he dreamed about being in The Judgment Day.
Various footage is shown, as are some photoshop pictures of Truth as a baby dressed up in Judgment Day colors and gear. He says as we always say in the Judgment Day, "Live, Laugh and Love." A graphic flashes on the screen with that motto and a photo of The Judgment Day guys.
After that wraps up, we see The Judgment Day in their smokey club house. McDonagh complains about the Truth interview video, but Priest thought it was funny. Ripley asks when are they gonna take Truth serious. Priest says when the time comes, he'll handle it. Ripley brings up DIY and Balor gets fired up.
Priest asks why aren't they doing anything about Drew McIntyre. Ripley says they don't need Drew as an enemy. Priest asks if it was smart to make Nia Jax an enemy. Ripley says she'll handle it. Ripley tells McDonagh he needs to handle The Miz tonight.
The Miz vs. JD McDonagh
Back in the arena, Miz's theme hits and out he comes for our next match of the evening. We head to a break. When we return, JD McDonagh makes his way out accompanied by Dominik Mysterio. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one.
Immediately we see R-Truth standing next to Dom-Dom at ringside cheering on McDonagh, or Miz, or both. He's wearing his custom Judgment Day shirt with his name added and of course, Dom wants nothing to do with him.
At points it seems like he's cheering on Miz, but when McDonagh confronts him on it, he claims he's cheering for him. In the end, we see Truth and Dom play a factor, as McDonagh goes for a spot on the floor but gets taken out by a drop kick from Miz through the ropes.
Back in the ring, Miz hits a Skull Crushing Finale for the win. After the match, we see Ripley upset backstage saying this can't happen. She has plans she wants to lay out for next week.
Winner: The Miz
We head to another break as Seth Rollins is shown walking the hallways backstage doing his Joker dancing strut. When we return, a graphic airs to hype The Rock breaking WWE's all-time social media record with over 171 million combined views across their various outlets for his return at WWE Day 1.
From there, we hear "BURN IT DOWN!!" and out comes the reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin'" Rollins to a big pop. He makes his way to the ring. He begins by talking about how he's never gone into WrestleMania as the champ, with his name on the marquee.
He looks forward to doing that this year. He says the question is, who will he be defending his title against on "The Grandest Stage of Them All." Fans chant for CM Punk and Rollins says "He wishes." He talks about the Raw roster being loaded right now. Before he can continue, Jinder Mahal's theme hits.
Out comes "The Modern Day Maharaja" to interrupt the champ. He gets in the ring and trash-talks Rollins. Mahal talks about Rollins looking past him and how that's disrespectful to him as a former champ. He brags about beating Randy Orton in the past. He says he finally has Rollins' attention.
Rollins says he's right, we have been over-looking Mahal. He says it wasn't an accident, they actually did it on purpose because they've been trying to forget him until he showed up last week and The Rock "put his balls in a vice." He says he admires that after The Rock fried him last week, he came back and stood up.
He says he respects that but what he doesn't respect is him interrupting his party and getting in his face. He says so yeah, you've got my attention. Rollins tells Jinder to take a swing and do something to be remembered forever for. It doesn't look like Mahal is going to, so Rollins says that's what he thought, same old Jinder.
As Rollins goes to walk away, Mahal attacks him from behind. Rollins fights back and beats Mahal down. Mahal retreats to the back out of the ring as Rollins stands tall inside the squared circle. We see Shinsuke Nakamura warming up backstage.
Back inside the arena, we hear the theme music for Alpha Academy. Out comes Otis accompanied by Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri. He settles inside the squared circle for our next match of the evening as we head into a quick pre-match commercial break.
Otis vs. Ivar
When we return, Michael Cole and Wade Barrett promote tickets going on sale this week for WWE Backlash: France and the "go-home" SmackDown show for the PLE later this year. From there, we see Otis in the ring awaiting the arrival of his opponent for this advertised one-on-one showdown.
On that note, the horns and sirens sound and out comes Ivar accompanied by Valhalla. One-half of The Viking Raiders settles in the ring as we see an "earlier today" digital segment that saw Ivar and Valhalla bullying Akira Tozawa leading to the match with Otis tonight. Back live, the bell sounds and off we go with this one.
We see a World's Strongest Slam early on for a big pop. Ivar hits a big running seated power bomb on Otis soon after for a close near fall attempt. Otis fights back and hits his Catapillar spot for a big pop from the crowd. He goes for the cover but Ivar kicks out at the count of two. Ivar hits a cartwheel into a spinning heel kick and then a top-rope moonsault for the win.
Winner: Ivar
We see Jackie Redmond backstage and WWE's own personal Megan Fox introduces her special guest at this time, "Main Event" Jey Uso. In he comes yelling "YEET!" and boasting about how he's gonna win his first singles championship in WWE in 2024.
As he continues talking, up walks "Big" Bronson Reed mocking him for being Jimmy Uso's little brother. He tells Uso he's looking for gold in 2024 too, and warns him not to get in his way. He walks off and then we head into another commercial break.
Street Fight: Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
When we return from the break, Michael Cole and Wade Barrett announce some action for next week's episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. As the road to WWE Royal Rumble 2024 continues next Monday night, WWE Raw will feature a jam-packed lineup.
On tap for the show next week is the return of WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER, Seth "Freakin'" Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, The Judgment Day duo of Finn Balor and Damian Priest square off against the Awesome Truth duo of The Miz and R-Truth, as well as DIY vs. Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh.
Back inside the Moda Center, the rock-violins begin playing the theme for our first of two competitors scheduled for our final match of the evening, which has been changed into a Street Fight. Shinsuke Nakamura heads to the ring. As "The King of Strong Style" settles in the ring, we head to a pre-match break.
As we settle back in from the break, the familiar sounds of Cody Rhodes' theme hits and out comes "The American Nightmare" to a huge pop and a ton of pyro as the stage is set for our Street Fight main event of the evening. The commentators bring up their history in recent weeks and brawl backstage earlier tonight.
The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with our main event of the second WWE Monday Night Raw show of 2024. The fans immediately break out in a loud "Cody! Cody!" chant before anything happens. They finally start to get after it and very quickly the action spills out to the floor.
Cody and Shinsuke fight up to the top of the entrance ramp. They continue to brawl outside of the ring as we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break. When we return, we see Nakamura dominating the offense for several minutes, taking it to "The American Nightmare."
Near the commentary desk, we see Nakamura look to spray the poison mist into the eyes of Cody, only for Cody to avoid it and it get sprayed into a ringside production crew guy. Cody stops to try and get help for the guy, allowing Nakamura to blast him with a steel chair and take over. We head into another mid-match break on that note.
We're back from the break and we see Nakamura still beating down Cody as replays are shown of the mist and chair spot to catch those up who are just tuning in. Back in the ring, Cody starts to fight back into competitive form before ultimately taking back over. He stops and heads out to the ringside area, where he pulls a table out from under the ring for a huge pop.
Rhodes brings the table into the ring and sets it up, but Nakamura takes back over the offensive lead. He lays Cody on the set up table and heads to the top-rope. He comes flying off with double knees to put Cody through the table. Nakamura brings another table into the ring and leans it long ways in the corner.
"The American Nightmare" starts to show signs of life and begins fighting back as the crowd rallies behind him. The fans start chanting "Cody! Cody!" and Rhodes lets out a war scream. He picks Nakamura up looking for the Cross-Rhodes, but Nakamura counters with a roll up.
Cody kicks out. Cody puts Nakamura through the table in the corner and follows up with Cross Rhodes for the win. Cody celebrates the win and that's how this week's show goes off the air.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
