WWE Raw 1/1/2024: 3 Things We Loved And 3 Things We Hated

While the rest of the world is still accidentally writing "2023" on their checks, the first "WWE Raw" of 2024 has come and gone. The show featured two huge title matches, a Money In The Bank cash-in tease, a shocking upset in the opening match, and the return of former WWE Champion The Rock. With three hours of "Raw," there's a lot to love and there's a lot to not love. As always, it's time to go over the things we loved and the things we hated from "WWE Raw," as determined by the staff of Wrestling Inc. 

We promise to not blame too much of the hate on the New Year's hangover.

Look, I love The Rock just as much as the next person and was pretty excited to see him back in WWE. However, I have to admit that some of that excitement diminished during his verbal exchange with Jinder Mahal since it just felt like a very typical babyface legend/bitter heel segment that had no point other than to boost ratings. It wasn't aided in the fact that there were quite a few similarities to The Rock's last WWE appearance on "WWE SmackDown" in September and his segment with Austin Theory.

Then, the end of the segment happened and I immediately took all of that back.

The Rock told fans he was hungry, and polled the crowd to see if he should sit in a booth, at a bar, or at "The Head of the Table". Much like the crowd, I popped at that line and got super excited about the prospect of The Rock taking on Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40. Not only would it be the perfect place for The Rock's in-ring return, but it's a long-awaited and highly anticipated match that has been rumored for quite some time now. While the inclusion of Mahal wasn't necessary for what the segment set out to accomplish, it was a great way to provide him with some television time. It's going to be a fun one to see play out over the next few months and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Sometimes, in the entertainment business, talents are left with no choice but to do their best in their place on the card that just has no chance of paying off to any level near where they might hope. Tonight, the tag teams of Natalya and Tegan Nox vs. Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark have exactly that, as in no chance, in following the segment featuring The Rock (and Jinder Mahal) seemingly teasing his intentions to challenge Roman Reigns' spot as Head of the Table.

While the WWE Women's Tag Team Division seems to have picked up at least a little steam of late, with the aforementioned ladies, plus Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae, former champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven, and of course, new champions Kayden Carter and Katana Chance all getting significant screen time recently, it's just not yet in the pecking order to have a shot at building any momentum following Rock's monumental "head of the table" mention.

Still, WWE is a machine, and these days, everything they do is for a reason. Everything they do counts. So they'll harken back to this and extend some of these storylines, put forth different combinations and incarnations of these matches, feuds, and rivalries, and eventually, we should all have faith in the potential of this rising tide lifting all boats. In the meantime, despite the special circumstances, I can't help but wish for more from all involved in that match tonight, pros through and through though they truly be.

CM Punk is in the main event scene, The Rock is threatening to challenge for the company's top title, and now The Miz and R-Truth, better known as "Awesome Truth" are once again dominant on "WWE Raw." The dream of 2011 is alive in WWE and I cannot help but celebrate.

In one of the highlights from the Day 1 edition of "WWE Raw," The Miz stood up for his former tag team partner against JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio of The Judgment Day during an episode of MizTV, leading to Awesome Truth's reunion to face McDonagh and the former NXT North American Champion. Awesome Truth even picked up the victory, with The Miz dropping McDonagh on his massive head with a Skull Crushing Finale.

Who knows where this will lead? Maybe nowhere, but on a show where Jey Uso teamed with longtime rival Kofi Kingston, anything feels possible, maybe by Day 1 of 2025, Awesome Truth will once again be tag team champions.

Probably not, but this writer can dream.

On paper, Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura sound like ingredients for a feud that should be fantastic, two of WWE's highest-profile names having captivating verbal exchanges and facing off in the squared circle. It's a different story in execution, though, as the segments between the two are now becoming quite stale.

It feels like every week, Rhodes comes to the ring and calls out Nakamura, but instead of meeting him face-to-face, he shows up on the TitanTron and sends some sort of cryptic message to Rhodes. Tonight was no different, with Rhodes calling out Nakamura once again only for Nakamura not to show his face and tell Rhodes he'll face him next week. While there is finally a match advertised between the two, I wouldn't be surprised if the match didn't actually come to fruition given that it's very much starting to feel like WWE is trying to drag things out until the Royal Rumble.

Mini-Love #1: Paying off a feud that's five-plus years in the making. 

Mini-Love #2: Taking the equity in a star like Becky Lynch and transferring that energy onto a monster heel, which, like it or not (and you shouldn't cause, that's kind of the thing), is what it's all about. Nia Jax is as made as can be at the moment and good on her. She's done nothing but great work since her return and it seems to me that her in-ring work has improved quite a bit since we last saw her regularly so let's take a leap of faith and give credit where it's due in that she's obviously put in the time.

Now then, stepping into the ring with Lynch has to be a comforting situation, consummate professional that she is, so it isn't as Nia was jumping in there with a green talent, but a clean win for Jax here sets her up for so much moving forward regardless. It's only a matter of time before Rhea Ripley adds herself to the babyface side of the Women's Division so WWE needs a megaheel on that side of the coin and right now, there's nobody better than Jax. The fans don't want to cheer for her regardless (though my prediction is, before too long, they'll have no choice but to respect her) so let's go ahead and elevate her to Big Baddie Numero Uno as soon as possible. Hell, like I said, her work since she's back has shown that she has earned and can handle it.

All that said, the smart money lands in the pile that says this feud isn't over. You can pay off the broken nose from pre-Survivor Series 2018 without putting an end to it completely. And Becky finishing the match with some color once again (although this time, surely, planned) is also perfect. But it's not a finale. They'll do this again. In the meantime, Nia is here to stay. Don't like it? Good. You're not supposed to.

For much of Seth Rollins's WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign, the inaugural reign of this new title, Damian Priest has been Senor Money In The Bank, and endlessly teasing a cash-in, only to somehow be foiled at the last second before Rollins manages to retain his title against whichever noble challenger is trying to become the second champion in the new belt's lineage. It has left me utterly deflated for much of Rollins's reign. 

Where Rollins should be fighting valiantly to defend his title, and his opponents doing their best to make the case that they will be the ones to be next in the fresh lineage of the World Heavyweight Championship, instead the same song keeps playing, the same old story of almost-cash-in Damian Priest, teasing a much more interesting finish to the match and undercutting the actual finish. It's bad for Rollins. It's bad for Priest. It's bad for the World Title. It's bad for the already-bruised reputation of the Money In The Bank Briefcase. Everyone is being hurt by this story and it's –pardon my French– the f–king main event.

Many people say that Triple H is cooking as the head of creative for WWE, and in some places that is true, but the main event of the flagship program is currently a dark stain on his otherwise strong resume. I have no workable solutions but only the suggestion to simply cut bait on the whole thing, either strap Damian Priest or don't, but let Rollins move on from this nonsense and more importantly, let the World Heavyweight Championship move on.