WWE Raw Netflix Debut 1/6/2025: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," which is now back to being a three-hour show streaming live on Netflix! This particular episode was the program's Netflix debut, and it was both jam-packed and eventful, with wrestlers and celebrities filling the stands while "The Tribal Chief" regained his symbol of office, the Women's World Championship returned to its former owner, and CM Punk won the first-ever Netflix "Raw" main event.

It was, as WWE made a point of repeating, a new era — but that doesn't mean our review format is changing any time soon! As usual, while you can read the bare bones facts of the show over on our "Raw" results page, this column is where the WINC staff provides our opinions on everything that went down, from The Rock to Hulk Hogan and everything in between (we're actually not going to talk much about the main event, just because we felt more strongly about other things). In other words, these are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 1/6/25 episode of 'WWE Raw!"

The Rock made his not-so-surprise return to WWE during at the beginning of "Raw" to the thunderous roar of the crowd, and it was a sure-fire way to please the fans in attendance. But there was something missing that brought the same charm his appearances throughout 2024 made, "The Final Boss" was nowhere to be found as The Rock gave thanks to WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, acknowledged his cousin Roman Reigns before disappearing, emerging after Reigns' victory over Solo Sikoa to present him with the ulufala and once more disappearing into the night.

This was his first extended appearance on WWE programming since he made a surprise cameo at Bad Blood to stare down Rhodes and Reigns, which was itself was preceded by Rock teasing a future singles match with Rhodes after pinning him at WrestleMania. There's also the dream match with Reigns that has still yet to occur, and tonight might have been the best opportunity to give something that extends the story. What happened was a very jarring change in canon for The Rock, who not only silently acknowledged Reigns — with no follow-through from WrestleMania 40 and the time since — but was also shown backstage sharing a drink with the man he had literally beaten bloody just last year. Completely retconning a character can make sense if they are poorly received or growing stale, but "The Final Boss" was so legitimately acclaimed last year that WWE made an entire documentary around the 'Mania program.

So presenting him as the "High Chief" with a quick exposition dump from Michael Cole just felt like a stark change in a disappointing direction. It also made Rhodes look like a complete chump to just sit there and take the, "Say hello to Mama Rhodes," line; especially considering it was something that had supposedly incensed the "American Nightmare" so much in their feud. Admittedly it's always cool to see The Rock appear, and he's at the point where it doesn't really matter what he does as it's still going to draw numbers. But from a narrative standpoint it made zero sense for any of the actual stories he's a part of to be addressed with any sort of substance.

Written by Max Everett

I breathed an actual sigh of relief when Roman Reigns pinned Solo Sikoa to become the one and only Tribal Chief in WWE, and another when Reigns, Paul Heyman, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson left the ring with no further confrontation. While I'm really, really hoping the storyline between Sikoa and "the new Bloodline" and Reigns is over now that The Rock bestowed the ula fala on Reigns, I have doubts that the story really ends here. I hope it does, because if the "transfer portal" still exists between shows right now, I don't think a change of scenery for Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu is a bad thing. While I do think a match between Fatu and Reigns would be excellent, I'm not someone that needs that immediately.

The match itself wasn't too much to write home about; it was exactly what I expected a singles match between Sikoa and Reigns would look like. For some reason, I thought Tribal Combat meant that interference was the only thing not allowed, so I was surprised when Tonga pulled the referee out of the ring. Knowing that I was apparently wrong now, however, it worked well with Sami Zayn and Jimmy Uso coming out to run off Tonga and Fatu. While I expected those guys, I didn't expect Kevin Owens to come out in an attempt to take out Reigns. Of course, Owens' Royal Rumble opponent, champion Cody Rhodes then ran down the ramp and sent Owens packing through the crowd. The interference did add some excitement to a slower paced match that opened the show, and when it was all over, it was exciting to see Reigns and Sikoa alone once again in the ring.

The Rock putting the ula fala around Reigns' neck was a great shot to wrap everything up. Seeing Rock slowly come down the ramp, to Reigns' music instead of his own, was interesting to see, as he seems to have completely dropped The Final Boss gimmick. With Rock there, it was a nice touch that this story needed, especially if it's the last chapter in the Bloodline versus Bloodline story. With Reigns now fully back as Tribal Chief, with Heyman still at his side as the Wise Man, I'm very interested to see where he goes next. The likely next step is the Undisputed WWE Championship after Rhodes faces Owens at the Royal Rumble, and it would be cool, in my humble opinion, to see Rhodes versus Reigns III, with no Rock involvement.

Written by Daisy Ruth

No matter how you feel about "WWE Raw's" debut on Netflix, you cannot deny that Monday's episode drew in exponentially more viewers than a typical episode of "Raw" (and, possibly, more viewers than a typical minor pay-per-view). "The Rock" reported that Los Angeles had the highest entry gate number recorded in the history of WWE, and various WWE figureheads reminded fans that the world had its eyes on this particular episode of "Raw." January 6 was an opportunity for "Raw" to show their hand, and show it fast.

So, if WWE was trying to introduce "Raw" to the world, then why on Earth did they only feature their world champion — the owner of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the red brand's highest accolade and most sought-after honor — in a two-minute vignette in the later part of the mid-card? Is GUNTHER missing? Do we have to put out a cash reward to anyone who can provide information to his whereabouts?

It is unlikely that GUNTHER is out with serious injury or other grievous reasoning, since according to Cagematch, his last match was at a house show on December 29. If he's still cleared to compete, why didn't WWE book "Raw's" world champion to even make an appearance on the show? You're telling me they put "The Rock," The Undertaker, and various celebrities on "Raw," but not the WWE World Heavyweight Champion? If this was WWE's opportunity to showcase its best — which they definitely made it seem like — then why is their supposed top "Raw" guy not even in the building? I just cannot shake how weird this is. They had Cody Rhodes, "WWE SmackDown's" world champion, contribute more to "Raw" than "Raw's" world champion. They gave more air time Hulk Hogan, who Los Angeles booed to hell and back, on "Raw" than "Raw's" world champion. They don't even go here!

When GUNTHER did appear on "Raw" via video package (that's the sound of my soul leaving my body), he cut a promo that was, really, a whole lot of nothing. Something, something, something, GUNTHER rocks. Something, something, something, GUNTHER is strong. GUNTHER's promo was so inconsequential — so unimportant — they didn't even upload it onto their Youtube channel after the show. Do they not care what the champ has to say? Do they not care that "Raw's" champion is not even at "Raw?" I feel like I'm going crazy!

It doesn't help that GUNTHER's World Heavyweight Championship booking is sparse at best. GUNTHER is a world-class wrestler, but he is not wearing that title, that title is wearing him. His booking brings nothing to the prestige of the red brand, and his absence on Monday's episode of "Raw" is the result of that poor booking. If he's not at the single biggest episode of "Raw," then what is he even doing here? Why is he even the champion?

Going from being the longest reigning Intercontinental Championship to struggling to appear on the show he's the world champion for is a crazy decline.

Written by Angeline Phu

AND NEW!!!

It's always good to see Rhea Ripley with a little gold around her waist, but it's even more rewarding when you consider that her last reign as Women's World Champion ended because she was forced to relinquish the title due to a shoulder injury. Although it was a little disappointing that the Last Woman Standing stipulation had been removed from the match at the last minute as it would've been fitting considering the stakes of the storyline, it was time for Morgan's reign as champion to come to an end.

Prior to tonight, Morgan had only had a handful of televised defenses that were spaced relatively far apart from one another, and has otherwise been occupied with the issues between her and Finn Balor which will inevitably lead to the breakup of the current iteration of Judgment Day. Her reign had become stale over the course of the past few weeks, and a title change was certainly what was called for especially with Ripley being the one to dethrone her. If there's one thing to take away from tonight's episode of "Raw", it's that WWE is heading into a new year and what better way to so with Ripley reigning as Women's World Champion.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Have you heard that "WWE Raw" moved to Netflix today? The show kicked off with a cheesy cold open that showed scenes from WWE and WCW and their connection to television. After a literal curtain drop and a lot of pyro, Paul Levesque addressed the crowd because of course he did. Next they trotted out The Rock, who took a very long time to get to the ring. Once he got there, he started putting over Netflix over as the "perfect partner". He name checked some executives and made sure they got on TV. They even made sure to show Bill Simmons, co-producer of the "Mr. McMahon" documentary.

It would be 33 minutes before the bell would ring for the first match. On a three hour show, there were just four matches. At least we got one title shot. Rhea Ripley finally beat Liv Morgan to regain the Women's World Championship and hopefully put an end to a feud that should've ended months ago. While Ripley was celebrating on the ramp, she was interrupted by The Undertaker, who rode down on his bike to "American Badass."

In between matches, WWE spent a lot of time focusing on celebrities in the crowd. They also brought in many stars like women's tag team champions Bianca Belair and Naomi, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bron Breakker and "NXT" stars like Roxy. Stephanie McMahon (also known as Corporate Officer No. 3 in Janel Grant's lawsuit) was shown in the crowd. Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart came out to boos (Hart was collateral damage; the disdain was for Hogan) as the former officially announced his Real American beer being a sponsor for "RAW".

Some of "Raw" may have been to reintroduce themselves to people who haven't watched since Levesque and The Rock were feuding, but it mostly felt like a celebration of getting on Netflix. The wrestling was secondary, as often is this case with sports entertainment. That was very apparent on the Netflix debut of "Raw." Next week supposedly looks to have more wrestling on it and less patting themselves on the back they'll probably find a way though.

Written by Samantha Schipman

Intuit Dome is a beautiful venue, but the people inside the Intuit Dome made this episode of "WWE Raw" a little extra special.

Monday's episode of "Raw" might be a bit divisive in its booking, with too many fanservice moments and not enough wrestling. If you were there for the high-profile matches the show promised, then the show outside of those matches probably felt like a drag (that, unfortunately, being most of the show), and by the time Hulk Hogan came out to make a speech, you might have been as over the whole spectacle as I was, and thoroughly disinterested in what Hogan had to sell — I mean, say.

Hogan took to the microphone, and was instantly overwhelmed with audience disapproval. "Crowd booing" was a legitimate subtitle during Hogan's speech. It was tear-jerkingly beautiful.

Hogan is a divisive figure at best and one of the most hated men in wrestling at worst. While he is a household name who was instrumental in making professional wrestling into the cultural powerhouse that it is, he is also caught up in too many scandals to count, from issuing a racist rant during a leaked sex tape (I've never had to type that phrase before) to union blocking, among other misadventures. Even if you're somehow okay with his scandals, he is also a gross liar — overall, not the most likable person to ever run the ropes. When news of his appearance and participation on the January 6 episode of "Raw" surfaced online, fans were understandably upset, and lashed back at the controversial news.

Whether they are ignorant or willing to temporarily forget what an awful person Hogan is in favor of that starstruck awe, fans attending events in-person — especially high-profile events that are catered to the general public, such as this — are not likely to meet figures like Hogan with the same vitriol that online fans are. As such, Hogan and WWE were definitely not anticipating the absolute roast they received when Hogan walked out to a sea of boos from Angelenos. As a Southern Californian approximate to the Los Angeles area, I have never been more proud of my people.

Seriously, Hogan is one of the most famous people in professional wrestling history, and Los Angeles had the courage to boo him so badly that WWE did not post his promo onto their social media channels. I wouldn't be surprised if WWE cut Hogan's promo out of their Netflix replay to save themselves the embarrassment. I am so happy that Los Angeles were vocal about their disapproval of Hogan, and if come-up stories like Daniel Bryan's "YES" movement and the rise of "The Man" Becky Lynch can tell us anything, is that the WWE crowd plays just a big of a role — if not bigger — in creating moments than any booker. Hopefully, conscientious WWE audience members can stand up to poor but lucrative booking decisions (as small snippets of the controversial Brock Lesnar might imply) in the future. More power to us!

Written by Angeline Phu