WWE Raw Netflix Premiere Predictions: Wrestling Inc. Picks The Winners

In 2024, the staff of Wrestling Inc. shared our collective picks for 190 PPV/PLE matches over the course of the year. We finished with a combined record of 150-33-7 — a hit rate of more than 80%. Now it's 2025 — a new year, a fresh slate, a 0-0-0 record — and we're not kicking off the picks with Wrestle Kingdom or Wrestle Dynasty; we're doing it with "WWE Raw's" official Netflix debut on Monday, January 6. True, there many only be four matches announced, but they are four extremely high-profile matches, which to us makes this an honorary PLE. And we're not talking Bash in Berlin here — considering the degree of star power Paul Levesque is rolling out and some of the specific bouts on the table, January 6 might as well be "Raw-stleMania."

Could this lineup be accused of being somewhat predictable? Maybe. While the WINC staff didn't come down unanimously on one side of any match, we were close on all of them, with our agreement only ever going as low as 82%. That makes us feel pretty good about the prospect of kicking off 2025 with a clean sweep — and pretty worried about the possibility of at least one massive upset. Will the first Netflix "Raw" deliver unexpected surprises, or will it represent a cementing of WWE's established hierarchy? Let's get to the picks!

Last month, Drew McIntyre returned to WWE television by laying out both Sami Zayn and "Main Event" Jey Uso. "The Scottish Warrior" has since defeated Zayn on two occasions. Now, he turns his attention solely to Uso, whom he beat down on the December 30 episode of "WWE Raw," and 94% of Wrestling Inc. staff believe McIntyre will extend his path of destruction to the Netflix premiere of "WWE Raw."

In assessing the televised history between Uso and McIntyre, we noticed a striking trend in their one-on-one encounters. To put it simply, McIntyre has Uso's number, as he's defeated him in all four of their singles matches dating back to September 2023. Furthermore, WrestleVotes Radio recently reported that McIntyre will be a "huge focus" in 2025 as he's viewed as being on the cusp of becoming a "main event, upper echelon attraction." With this in mind, we expect the former WWE Champion to kick off his new year in triumphant fashion.

As for Uso, there is another variable for him to consider on "Raw" — that being the New Bloodline, led by Solo Sikoa. Over the last two months, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn as well as Jimmy and Jey Uso have pitted themselves against the new Bloodline. Unfortunately for the OG Bloodline members, the new Bloodline now seem to be in cahoots, at least temporarily, with McIntyre, which potentially presents an added challenge for Uso. Elsewhere on the Netflix premiere on "Raw," Reigns and Sikoa will battle in Tribal Combat, with the winner earning firm control of The Bloodline. However, who's to say that Sikoa won't cost Uso his match as one final act of defiance beforehand?

Written by Ella Jay

The first "WWE SmackDown" of 2025 saw the WWE Women's Championship change hands, and 82% of the Wrestling Inc. staff believe the first "WWE Raw" of 2025 will see the same result for the Women's World Championship.

Why are we predicting Rhea Ripley will defeat Liv Morgan in a Last Woman Standing match and regain the title she never lost? Mostly because it's about damn time. Morgan's title reign has lasted more than seven months now, and it's had Ripley's long, goth shadow hanging over it for the entirety. Morgan escaped with the gold once at SummerSlam (when she broke up The Judgment Day) and again at Bad Blood (thanks to Raquel Rodriguez); it's almost inconceivable that she could have a third magic trick up her sleeve. And what would be the point if she did? Morgan has barely defended and has been much more of a character in a romance/betrayal storyline than a wrestler. That's all well and good while "Monday Night Football" is siphoning your ratings, but it's Road to WrestleMania season now, which means it's time to start putting power players back in the top spots. That means strapping up "The Nightmare" once again.

Friday night, it was time to thank Nia Jax for her service before moving on, and the same is true for Morgan on Monday. After her lengthy chase, the majority of the WINC staff are confident in predicting that Ripley will finally be the last woman standing.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Who will be the true Tribal Chief come January 7? According to 94% of us here at Wrestling Inc., it will be Roman Reigns, the man who started it all.

On the December 13 episode of "WWE SmackDown," Reigns laid out a challenge Solo Sikoa could not refuse: a Tribal Combat match on the Netflix debut of "WWE Raw" — arguably the biggest episode of the red brand slated for 2025. In Reigns' proposed Tribal Combat match, there will be no disqualifications nor outside interference. It will just be Reigns and Sikoa in that ring, fighting to see who will possess the ula fala and the undisputed title of the Tribal Chief.

There will absolutely be Bloodline shenanigans going into "Raw's" headline-making match, but we are practically certain that Reigns will have enough tricks up his sleeve to snatch the ula fala from Sikoa's neck and come out of Monday as the true, acknowledged Tribal Chief. While Reigns and Sikoa are two of the most powerfully booked people in the company as of writing, Reigns has taken a total of four televised losses over the past two years (according to Cagematch). Sikoa, on the other hand, has taken about 10 losses within that timeframe, and while about half of those were disqualification finishes, the track record between the two heavily favors the "Original Tribal Chief."

Sikoa and Reigns' Wise Man, Paul Heyman, recently met in a war of words on the January 3 episode of "WWE SmackDown," where, Sikoa issued another stipulation: if he defeats Reigns on "Raw's" Netflix debut, Heyman will depart from Reigns' side, and become Solo's Wise Man. Now, with the stakes higher than ever — and that's without the rumored Tribal Chief Championship belt in the mix — there is no room for error in this headlining match-up.

Written by Angeline Phu

One of the biggest matches set for the Netflix debut of "Raw" is the long-awaited match between CM Punk and former World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. Despite this being the first meeting of the two, 82% of us here at WINC believe that Punk will walk away victorious, as he needs the win a bit more than Rollins right now, moving in to WrestleMania season. This feud has been bubbling since Punk's return at Survivor Series: WarGames in Chicago back in 2023, when Rollins wasn't too happy (both in storyline and allegedly in real life) to see the "Second City Saint" show up at the very last second of the premium live event.

Rollins may be better conditioned in the ring than Punk at this point in their careers, and he certainly has talked more smack, but Punk remains perpetually over with the fans, and with "Raw" moving to a new home with a massive reach, the nostalgia factor might be at play here for lapsed fans tuning in to see what they have missed over the years. That leads the majority of us to believe Punk is going over, though many of us don't believe this is the last time these two meet in the ring.

Last Monday's episode of "Raw" saw Rollins run down Punk in the middle of the ring, even mentioning his failures in AEW and Punk's lack of children, making things feel even more personal between the pair. Rollins may have gotten a rare win against Punk, of all people, on the mic, but if Punk is set for a WrestleMania main event, or title match, or anything he's been rumored to be up for, he needs to get the victory here, and more than 80% of us think he's getting it.

Written by Daisy Ruth