WWE RAW 01/08/2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show where it's slowly starting to become clear that "R-Truth joins The Judgment Day" is just a warped alternate reality version of "Sami Zayn joins The Bloodline" (complete with the fact that we are rapidly becoming obsessed with it). It's also the show where Ludwig Kaiser bashed Kofi Kingston's head in, where The Miz defeated JD McDonagh, and where Kayden Carter and Katana Chance defended their WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, but we're not going to touch on those here. Why? We just didn't feel strongly enough about them. They were fine, and you can read about them on our live coverage/results page.

The stuff we are going to talk about here, though? That's the good stuff (and also the bad stuff). That's the stuff that got us to write (probably way too much) about it. That's the juice, from CM Punk to Cody Rhodes and all the "live, laugh, love" content in between. Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 1/8/23 episode of "WWE Raw."

It's Royal Rumble season, and "WWE Raw" didn't hold back on getting a ton of business done in the opening segment of Monday night's episode. As Drew McIntyre lamented his latest unsuccessful attempt at securing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, he made a point to namedrop Seth Rollins, Damian Priest, Cody Rhodes, and even CM Punk, setting the stage for inevitable confrontations leading up to, during, and possibly after the Rumble.

Of all invoked, only Punk took McIntyre to task tonight, hitting the ring shortly after hearing his name out of the mouth of "The Scottish Psychopath." McIntyre made sure to mention that he might need some time away from WWE, to which Punk could relate, but Punk also noted how McIntyre made his way back into the organization, and he was following suit now. They went back and forth about being a leader, with McIntyre wittily stating that he and the boys in the back had a bet as to how long it would take before Punk would blow his latest last chance in pro wrestling. McIntyre mentioned Randy Orton as someone he looked to as a leader long ago but that Orton couldn't help him at the time, while he was fighting his demons. And then he pivoted, as if having an epiphany, that Punk, being straight edge, doesn't have any demons (thereby insinuating that he had no excuse a la Orton's), but therefore, was a demon.

Gold!

I won't harp on the fact that calling Punk a succubus is slightly off-base, in that a succubus is specifically a female demon. Instead, we'll tap into Punk's response, inviting McIntyre to join the long-defunct Straight Edge Society if he really still needed a leader, and denying being a demon but instead, Satan himself!

GOLD!

At the end of the day, these two, pre-existing issues or not, really looked like they were having fun in there and when you're wanting a fanbase to buy in, just like your favorite SNL characters cracking up through a skit and making you laugh without even thinking about it, that's about as easy as it gets.

Written by Jon Jordan

Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, collectively known as DIY, are some of the most underrated names on the roster, and Monday night felt like a tease to their return to greatness.

Ciampa and Balor have incredible chemistry. Each punch or kick felt less like a strike, and more like the choreography of a dance. Both men moved seamlessly around each other, and there was no awkward fumbling when they were in the ring together. To be able to keep up with Balor — who is not only an established veteran, but probably one of the most athletic and intense performers in the men's locker room — is really impressive. While Ciampa is certainly not lacking in experience himself, the way he moved with Balor felt perfectly matched. If they managed to work as well as they did Monday, when the stakes were relatively low, then I anticipate in-ring magic between them when the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles are on the line.

The finish was a bit messy. In a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" moment (and I would know, because I blinked and missed it), Gargano pushed Balor's foot towards Ciampa to grab. After a quick stumble, Ciampa got Balor's foot, and won the match via pinfall. The dirty pin is clearly setting up a longer feud between DIY and The Judgment Day which is a great move. The Judgment Day is notorious enough that an overall loss to DIY in this feud wouldn't harm them to the point of no return, and they are stable enough that they can support DIY as they find their footing in the tag division. The Judgment Day have also never quite encountered a team with as much spunk and punkish energy like DIY, so a feud with Gargano and Ciampa provides an opportunity to keep Judgment Day on their toes. It's a fresh feud between an up-and-coming team and a Monday night mainstay, and both parties could benefit a lot from working together in a well-done storyline.

Ciampa and Gargano have this electric, scrappy, gritty energy to them, but they don't quite have the edge that they used to in "NXT." Their time on the main roster has felt directionless and mundane. Feuding with The Judgment Day, especially when there is tag team gold on the line, could very well be the spark DIY needs to propel their main roster run to new heights. All the stars are aligned for a DIY push. Ciampa and Gargano just need to make like their name, and do it themselves.

Written by Angeline Phu

I get it. The Royal Rumble is a little more than two weeks away. The WWE World Heavyweight Champion will almost certainly not be in the men's Rumble match itself — and he needs something to do for the next couple of weeks. And The Rock's electrifying return on last week's episode of "WWE Raw" doesn't happen without Jinder Mahal's performance to set the stage, so yes, Mahal deserves his just reward. But I'm sorry, nobody (a) wants to see this match, let alone any sort of sustained angle, and (b) less than nobody believes that Mahal might relieve Seth Rollins of the title.

It's a time-killer, is what it is, and it killed me in the time it took to get through Monday night. I was halfway expecting somebody to follow The Rock's formula from last week, interrupting Mahal and tossing him back to wherever the hell Indus Sher are these days. That didn't happen, of course, and we suffered in turn.

Look, Jinder Mahal is a former WWE Champion. Much respect. And I actually look back on his run as champ with a lot of admiration, as the title didn't lose any steam around his waist. He did a great job. But that run is over, and also WHERE THE HELL ARE INDUS SHER? Jinder was doing just fine as their manager and talking head, and I thought those two were finally starting to at least sniff getting over, but now he's, what? Left them in catering?

Please, for my sanity, have next week's Rollins/Mahal match be a one-off, or have Indus "Freakin'" Sher come out and beat Rollins down with Mahal so he can be saved by, I don't know, whomever. Let's just get onto something else ASAP — cause this ain't it.

Written by Jon Jordan

I expected this match to be a mid-card let-down. I was so sure of it, that as soon as the match was announced on-air, I took it as my sign to start making dinner. I did not expect to come back to over 600 pounds of pure athleticism, and by the time the contest was over, I was a changed person.

Yes, this is a "love" thinly veiled as a "hate." Otis and Ivar's match exceeded all expectations — Ivar's springboard was impressive enough, but when Otis effortlessly caught him for a World's Strongest Slam, it was astonishing. When Ivar pulled out a cartwheel from nowhere, it was funny. When that cartwheel transitioned into a spinning heel kick, and then a moonsault from the top rope, it was brilliant. Their match wasn't as smooth as the night's earlier cruiserweight match-up, but for heavyweights, they moved with shocking agility.

I hate that Otis and Ivar are not able to showcase their talents to the fullest on a more regular basis. Both have serious in-ring skill, and with a little bit of work on Ivar's presentation, they could be pushed as legitimate players in the overall narrative ecosystem of "WWE Raw." This does not necessarily mean they (mostly Otis) should transform into super serious characters, but they deserve a bit more time on our screens. They deserve to have more opportunities outside of one-off matches that don't lead to more significant, long-term character development. They have a solid foundation as performers, and if Roman Reigns is able to go from "suffering succotash" to "The Tribal Chief," Otis and Ivar could — and should — have the same opportunity. I'm not saying they need to main event WrestleMania, but they deserve to be taken seriously as performers, and should be provided opportunities to expand their character and their careers past a mid-card comedy show.

Ivar is already being pushed as a singles competitor, but that is because his partner, Erik, is out with injury. Hopefully, he can use this abrupt singles run to continue to impress the WWE Universe with his stunning athleticism, just he has impressed me Monday night. Otis and Ivar are WWE's hidden gems. Hopefully, they can get polished and put in the display case soon.

Written by Angeline Phu

We may only be eight days into 2024, but this could very easily be a potential Moment of the Year candidate.

For an episode of "Raw" that was pretty forgettable, this was easily the highlight of the show for me. Between all the photos and videos of Judgment Day that had R-Truth photoshopped in to his narration of the video, everything about this was perfect from the beginning to the end. It all worked so well ,especially in the context of Truth trying to get his status as a member of Judgment Day made official.

The storyline with Truth and Judgment Day isn't meant to be one that's taken seriously, given how Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, and JD McDonagh all have their own ongoing programs with other people. But not only is it nice to have something to collectively have all five of them do, it also brings a much-needed comedic element that sometimes feels a little lacking on a show that's heavily focused on more serious storylines and characters.

Oh, and don't forget: live, laugh, and love, as The Judgment Day always says to do!

Written by Olivia Quinlan

It's always funny to me when wrestling fans who don't follow other sports assume it's just a coincidence that WWE puts on a huge event (SummerSlam) in August, then tends to just sort of coast creatively until another huge event (Royal Rumble) in late January. For those who don't know — that's not a coincidence. That gap between August and late January is called "football season," and the WWE calendar is specifically calculated to avoid it, which is why WWE often waits until the Rumble to kick the tires on its big WrestleMania ideas. Sometimes (like last year) some wrestler or story or feud catches fire in the months after SummerSlam and ultimately has enough momentum to carry WWE all the way into Mania season, but other times (like this year) that doesn't happen, and by, say, the second week of January, WWE is out of ideas and just desperately trying to fill time until the Rumble rolls around.

That's what the majority of Monday's episode felt like to me: just filler, and because it was "Raw," three hours' worth. We have two more episodes before the Rumble, let's have Rollins feud with Jinder Mahal for a couple weeks. Let's have Jey Uso get interrupted by Bronson Reed, that'll be a good match for the go-home show. Here you go, Nia Jax, a little something for you to do before Becky Lynch returns at the Rumble to get revenge on you; here you go, Drew McIntyre, a little something for you to do before Sami Zayn returns at the Rumble to get revenge on you. And of course, it's officially time to put to bed any remaining notion that Shinsuke Nakamura is in the same league as Cody Rhodes, let's go ahead and just wrap that one up.

Hope is on the horizon, everyone. The dark days are nearly over. College football ended the same night as Monday's "Raw," and the NFL playoffs are about to begin, with the two Super Bowl participants determined the night after the Rumble. We just have this final stretch to get through; we're almost there. But be advised, the next couple of weeks might get a little ugly on the red brand.

Written by Miles Schneiderman