WWE RAW 12/2/2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show that occasionally decides to rip our hearts into little pieces, then pretend to put them back together again before actually throwing them on the ground and stomping on them. Yes, in case you can't tell, here at WINC we have ALL THE FEELINGS about the New Day 10-year anniversary segment — so much so that we had to devote an entire third of this column to it. And don't worry, yes, we'll also talk about Drew McIntyre and Finn Balor and the women's division and all the other stuff you know happened on "Raw" this week because you either watched the show or followed along via our "Raw" results page, but the work done by The New Day this week trumps basically everything.

As always, feel free to hit the comments to tell us what you thought about what we thought, but please keep in mind that this is an opinion column and these are our subjective personal takes. Or as we prefer to say around these parts, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 12/2/24 episode of "WWE Raw."

While Drew McIntyre may understandably be considered the primary candidate for Hater of the Year, I would posit an entirely different name. One that, similarly, has issues with Roman Reigns and CM Punk that blurs the line between work and shoot and dates back for years of verbal back-and-forth: Seth Rollins.

In the past few months Rollins has had nothing but conflict with his fellow members of the roster, returning explicitly to continue his issues with Bronson Reed before then making it crystal clear to both the sides of Reigns and Solo Sikoa that he was still committed to eradicating The Bloodline totally. This week, he fed into his grudge with Punk after feeling slighted by the sight of he and Reigns standing victorious last weekend. Last week I specifically bemoaned the fact that Rollins wasn't airing his thoughts on the matter, so of course this was personally satisfying and came across in a way that could only have been done after the result (In other words, I was wrong).

It made sense for Rollins to approach Punk directly as he spoke about the future, naming Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber as means to the end that is WrestleMania, as that would surely get underneath his skin. Punk was talking about moving on from personal issues, but he was trying to shut the book on an unfinished chapter as it pertains to Rollins. Rollins' goal was clear, he wanted to put an end to the matter, but Punk was objectively correct in saying he no longer possessed the World Heavyweight title and thus didn't have anything he wanted. He made it clear this was a Seth Rollins issue, and it wasn't something he specifically cared about.

So naturally, Rollins made it a CM Punk issue, crossing the physical line at last and starting a brawl. From here, pure hater energy exuded from Rollins. He was visibly and audibly miffed at the idea of Sami Zayn and Jey Uso coming out and stopping him from getting his absolution against Punk, especially when they are both back at the side of Reigns. A throwaway dig at Uso, "Go back to Roman," was enough for Zayn to turn around and lay into Rollins for speaking that way about his brother from another mother. But Rollins was ready to burn all of the bridges, admitting that Uso had an excuse as he was actually family with Reigns, but what of Zayn? Not to say Zayn didn't give as good back, reminding Rollins that the "Tribal Chief" was a monster he had created when he destroyed the Shield. They were truly going blow-for-blow on the mic in a way that Punk-Rollins hadn't even done, and got this writer to thinking that the wheels have been set in motion for a heel turn. It's great that this story is perpetuated and rooted in the history between the characters with each of their own relationship dynamics having its own butterfly effect. Rollins appears to be surrounded by people he can no longer trust, and we know how that story goes.

Written by Max Everett

Everyone wants a shot at GUNTHER's World Heavyweight Championship, and rightfully so as it is the top title of the Men's Division on "Raw". With that being said, Finn Balor would not have been my guess as the person next in line to receive a shot.

Balor is already one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with JD McDonagh, and should be much more concerned about defending that rather than chasing after a new championship. Yes, Adam Pearce did mention talking to Balor about his next defense when he granted him his title match at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event, but Balor also has the growing tensions growing among Judgment Day that he should be worried about as well. It wasn't enough to make up for the fact that there's no legitimate reason for him to be the next challenger and still feels like he's being granted a title shot for the sake of giving him a title shot.

This isn't helped by the entire storyline being incredibly rushed, with it basically almost entirely being built on this week's episode of "Raw" between Balor expressing that he felt entitled to a title shot out of the blue to hitting GUNTHER with three Coup De Graces after GUNTHER won clean against Dominik Mysterio in a move that made little sense. GUNTHER also literally just successfully defended his title against Damian Priest at Survivor Series: WarGames no thanks to some help from Balor, and there was no time for fans to process the match before transitioning into a new storyline for the title.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Of all the people entered into the tournament to crown the first-ever WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship, there's no better choice to hold that title than Dakota Kai. She's a workhorse who can out-wrestle most, if not all, of WWE's women's division, and she's in the exact totem pole position that was being underserved by the absence of a women's midcard title. More important, I really enjoy her work and I'm a huge fan, so obviously I am thrilled that she advanced in the first women's IC title tournament triple threat, just for its own sake.

That said, there's another, more objective reason to be happy about this result, and that's the fact that it directly plays into current storylines. Assuming Raquel Rodriguez wins her own triple threat qualifier (and I doubt she'll have a ton of trouble against Zoey Stark and Kayden Carter) that sets up Kai vs. Rodriguez in a semi-final match. Serendipitously, Rodriguez and her tag team partner, Women's World Champion Liv Morgan, are currently feuding with Kai's stable — Morgan and Rodriguez beat IYO SKY and Kairi Sane earlier in the evening, and Morgan will defend her title against SKY at Saturday Night's Main Event. This result deepens that feud and extends is possibilities, with a new title being added to the mix and new opportunities for the two groups to interact and mess with each other. It's just solid, logical booking, which is something we don't always see from either major American wrestling promotion these days.

Tangentially, as someone who thinks way too much about "NXT" Black & Gold and is somehow still mad that Kai vs. Baszler never became a major "NXT" storyline, I'm always gratified to see the two of them in the ring. Kai has never beaten Baszler in singles action — she's 0-4 — so part of me was hoping she'd pin Baszler to win, but part of me was also hoping that wouldn't happen because I feel like Kai finally beating Baszler should be a big deal rather than a triple threat match in the first round of a midcard title tournament. Much to my delight, Kai won but pinned Katana Chance, which technically gives her a win over Baszler but still leaves the door open for a big feud later that culminates in Kai actually pinning her, which is never happening and which nobody but me would care about anyway but whatever leave me alone.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Alexa, play "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings.

For the last few years, Pete Dunne was saddled with a really dumb name. Earlier this year, it took Dunne's former tag team partner and best friend, Tyler Bate to remind him of his true identity. Then Bate got injured and Dunne was put in a feud with Sheamus. He stated he was tired of being "little brothered" by Sheamus when he was part of the group; Sheamus responded by calling him "Butch. Following their feud, Dunne has been mostly MIA, but R-Truth started a feud with him on social media and repeatedly referred to him as "Butch." This led to a match this week in which R-Truth won in less than two minutes, like it was a "Speed" match.

R-Truth is a national treasure, but he has no business beating "The Bruiserweight." Dunne is a former two-time NXT Champion (UK and tag). He's never really found his footing on the main roster, but he seemed to finally be gaining momentum when he got his name back and was in a high-profile feud with Sheamus. The feud and match with Truth, however, feels more like creative sees Dunne as a joke.

Prior to Dunne getting to the ring, Truth got the crowd to change "Butch". How is he supposed to move on from a tired gimmick when they keep using it? Sure, it's kind of funny because it's Truth and that's what he does. But all it's doing is setting Dunne back. It isn't doing anything but trapping him in this never ending cycle and wasting his talent. It almost seems like they're waiting for Bate to return from injury, but there hasn't been a clear timetable for his return.

Until that happens, just let Dunne be the "Bruiserweight" and beat people up. And call him by his name.

Written by Samantha Schipman

For many going into this episode, there may have been a standing order of Kleenex in anticipation of The New Day's implosion after 10 years, following weeks of the two active members Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston butting heads. Last week's show saw them air out all of their grievances, going the low road with digs about Woods' lack of a singles title and the fact that Kingston's own title reign ended in a match lasting six seconds, before they appeared ready to actually fight one another.

Those unresolved issues cast a broad shadow over the 10-year anniversary celebration of The New Day on Monday's show, with Woods and Kingston emerging together physically but clearly emotionally disassociated from one another – like divorcees looking at the family photo album while the ink has yet to dry. Sure enough, they stood somber in the ring as they appeared to announce a separation. But Big E's music hit before it could be said and done, clearly trying to prevent words speaking spoken that couldn't be taken back. He rooted the segment in the emotion and the weight of the history between them, before offering a resolution that has been clamored for more and more since he was sidelined: returning to The New Day fold as their manager.

For a fleeting moment it appeared as though the shadow had been lifted by Big E, presenting himself as the savior of their decade-old brotherhood. But that was actually what it was, unfortunately, in the eyes of Woods; he remarked on the fact that now he wants to come back and help them, after weeks of them teetering on the edge of collapse. Hearts had been opened to the idea that the pair seemingly destined to split not only wouldn't, but Big E would also be returning to TV in some capacity. But those hearts would be left shattered by what followed, as Woods and Kingston were united for the first time in weeks in spite of Big E. Woods berated Big E for not being there, snipping away at the bond between them as brothers, but it was Kingston who completely eviscerated it. He dragged him for not being able to come back to the ring after breaking his neck when Kurt Angle, Steve Austin, and Edge had done so before, going further to say that he had chosen to stay at home and picked himself over the brotherhood.

This was a rollercoaster of emotions that could only be achieved by a storied and organic connection, smashing the shackles of the past and defying the sunk cost fallacy for a team that has long been a victim of its longevity. They needed something new, and after 10-years of running as the trio of positivity and no clear answer on when or if Big E can return to the fold, it was time to let go of the baggage. It hurts, but it does make sense, and it certainly had me hooked for the entirety of the segment and for what's coming next.

Written by Max Everett

The New Day's 10th anniversary drama was absolutely the best thing on "Raw" thi week, in my humble opinion, but leave it to me to find at least at least one thing wrong with this masterpiece of a story. The glaringly obvious thing that brought it down, and the rest of the night around it, was this segment's placement on the card. I went in to this show assuming (or rather hoping, I guess) that this would be the main event of the night, even though Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods haven't exactly been main event material for awhile now. I just figured that Big E was going to make an appearance, and that's certainly main event worthy. Now seeing how the segment played out, as well as the rest of the show, there's no reason why this couldn't have capped off the night.

Right after the shocking heel turn of Kingston and Woods on Big E, we went right into a "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio versus GUNTHER match that I couldn't have cared less about, even with the Finn Balor interruption. I was still thinking about the New Day and how excellent, and heartbreaking, this segment was. After that? Even worse, R-Truth getting a victory over Pete Dunne. No hate to national treasure R-Truth or anything, but this match should have came before the dramatic segment. That just leaves the return of Drew McIntyre, which was what actually ended the night. That could have happened at the beginning of the night to kick things off with a bang – as I'm sure most of us expected McIntyre to be back sometime soon before the Royal Rumble. That could have led to multiple segments with McIntyre causing havoc backstage, taking out the Usos, Sami Zayn, heck, even CM Punk again. I would've taken a Punk versus McIntyre brawl one more time if it meant New Day getting the main event spot.

It even ended with the perfect shot before WWE went to commercial that would have been much more impactful if the show was just over. Kingston and Woods finally made up, between just themselves, with them saying "it's just us now." They grabbed hands like the "Predator" meme where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers' characters link up as a forlorn Big E looked on from the ramp after he had left the ring. It was a heartbreaking shot. This segment is what everyone is going to be talking about tomorrow, not McIntyre's return, as cool as it was. This was a historic moment in WWE history when you think about it, after a full decade of this stable, and WWE did all three men and New Day's legacy (now memory?) a disservice by not giving them the main event spot.

Written by Daisy Ruth