WWE RAW 22 Jan 2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome for Wrestling’s weekly look back at “WWE Raw,” the show that doesn’t quite understand the moment when a 52-year-old R.Truth was made its main character! We’ve got a lot to discuss this week (though maybe less than you’d expect) and, as usual there are items we’ll leave from our discussions. (Sorry, New Day vs. Imperium; you were very entertaining!) If you’re interested in knowing what they were the live coverage/results pages is highly recommended. This area, on the other hand it is where we express our most fervent opinions, both on the positive and negative side on the scale.

What did the WINC’s editors and writers consider Seth Rollins’ opening announcement? Were we drawn by the showdown that took place between CM Punk as well as Cody Rhodes? Most importantly did they make the video package that included every single Royal Rumble statistics again? Here are three things that we disliked and three things that we liked about the 1/22/24 edition on “WWE Raw.”

A couple of weeks in the past, I gave Otis and Ivar their bouquets of flowers to celebrate an amazing match. Today, Ivar and Chad Gable were so good, I briefly considered buying the local florist. Even a large number of flowers might not suffice.

Gable is among the WWE’s wrestlers with the lowest ratings. Gable is a hidden gem He has the technical expertise as well as physical power and agility to be a main-event superstar. As with all athletes Gable’s arsenal of skills can get old if not challenged beyond his comfortable zone. Ivar was the ideal opponent to challenge Gable to the limit, and Gable played his part in making his opponent look impressive.

Both wrestlers displayed a unique offenses and were committed to showing their New Orleans crowd a never-before-seen performance of wrestling skills they’ve never shown before. Ivar’s blitz onto the outside was incredible to see from a man of who is his size, while Gable’s blockbuster was an amazing surprise. The two men did not sacrifice their execution in these innovative strategies, and their game was not just impressive but also entertaining and a testimony to the men’s dedication and knowledge.

Ivar and Gable’s fight did not come with any long promo and, therefore, when these two actors were able provide a story of determination and strength in their own movements, I was thoroughly impressed. Gable’s initial attempts to pick off Ivar to perform one of his famous suplexes failed not only and provided Ivar an opportunity to slam Gable. At first, it might appear as a testimony to how large Ivar was — it’s not too bad but nothing spectacular. In the final moments of the match however, as Gable was nearing the end of the rope with nothing for him to loose, he put all of his strength to pull Ivar off the mat, and then make a near-fall with the beautiful German suplex. In this ring microcosm of an argument, full-circle moments such as these are a way to remind us that wrestling is a story telling sport, even all the way down to the smallest of options.

Initially I was downhearted by the end of this game. Valhalla’s interference was not acceptable but in a game that was as tense in the way Ivar and Gable’s was maybe it was needed to ensure an believable conclusion. When Valhalla took on Ivar’s Doomsault by using she made her Spirit Bomb motions, I gradually came to accept the outcome was needed to cement Valhalla as well Ivar as a legit team and as a real threat. If they wish to be considered a serious threat by anyone else, besides those at the Alpha Academy, they need to win as well as bolstering the team’s energetic. As annoying, boring and sloppy as the outside interference can be important to ensure players to be able to maintain their Viking Raiders’ upward mobility.

In the show to promote The Royal Rumble, WWE also promoted the upcoming “WWE2K24” game, and on the “Forty Years of WrestleMania” Edition, Hulk Hogan is featured alongside The Rock and Undertaker. Who better to promote it than Hulk Hogan himself? Sure, there’s a connection for “Forty Years of Hulkamania.” We as a species have moved on from the need to have Hogan on television, video games or even WWE Shop (new Hulkamania merch was also promoted on the program). In the episode that was telecast in the show “Raw,” Hogan implied that he could be part of some way in the Royal Rumble match, teasing “You never know — I might have one more left in me.” To which the majority people in WWE’s WWE Universe replied with “please, no.”

WWE is known for its fondness of nostalgia and it’s hard to resist the temptation to profit from the man who was a pop-culture iconic figure in the 1980s. There’s a long list of reasons to not like Hogan for who he is including his outright racism, to his disavowal of efforts within the early days of WWF to join forces this was a large factor in why wrestlers remain independent contractors in the present.

WWE must face the fact that many of the men who have pushed their business forward and changed the course of professional wrestling are suspect individuals. Both of these are true. They don’t have to be honored in 2024. Don’t take someone else’s place in the Rumble and give it to a 70-year-old male who has health issues, who doesn’t merit the recognition.

The first episode of “Raw” started this evening I honestly believed that it was going to be a an outlier in terms of go-home angles prior to Rumble on Saturday. Rumble on Saturday. That’s since it’s usually “SmackDown” that does that better, especially since it’s the night prior to all the major live events. But, I was wrong in the least, especially in the women’s perspective. Although the angles and storylines were only created during the first hour about an hour into this show, the overall experience was still good enough for me and I was pumped eager to watch the women take on the men.

The most notable segment that did it was Nia Jax taking her place in the ring and opening her mouth over the fight (to the sound of “what” chants, which I think she was able to fight and at one point, even acknowledging them with her arm over her ears and also changing her pace at one point, so kudos for her!) prior to Becky Lynch’s music hitting. They fought for a long time in a conflict of words, even after Jax recently defeated Lynch to the delight of many, but also gave her credibility to move to the Rumble.

The promo battle resulted in Bayley Lynch, who is my pick to win the Royal Rumble match. When you take a look at odds on BetOnline chances for women’s Royal Rumble, Bayley and Lynch are the top two and two respectively, and have the most odds to win. I’m not sure if tonight’s timing of the match tonight was planned in line with this however for someone who’s taken a look at the odds for the two matches for curiosity’s sake I found this intriguing. Adam Pearce even subtly acknowledged Bayley in her rousing speech about her Rumble match, stating in an interview backstage with Damage CNTRL that’s exactly what Bayley was invited to “Raw” to do before Kairi Sane and Asuka were spotted leaving the line.

Lynch has also been spotted in an backstage interview with Rhea Ripley following their incredible wrestling match the week before in the show “Raw” that I wrote about my love for. It was fast and concise, with Ripley simply speaking to Lynch she may require some new strategies to prepare for WrestleMania before speeding off with Lynch appearing anxious. Ivy Nile even got a very well-deserved Rumble mention in a interview on the backstage prior to her match against Valhalla. In the backstage segment, the reporter was able to see the amount of work she put into practicing before her first match during the contest. Though I don’t think the pre-game for the male Rumble event was especially impressive this evening, excluding the opening segment featuring GUNTHER (and don’t not even get me started on the face-to-face between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes which would be a disaster for the positive vibes of my affection for women in this segment) The ladies from “Raw” absolutely crushed it and I’m eager to see them on the field on Saturday.

Ah, another excellent “Raw” main event with an end that puts an end to the rest of the contest.

It is becoming more common for WWE to conclude their final match by disqualifying a wrestler for an outside interference or someone causing trouble during the match when officials are distracted. It makes everything seem very predictable and hinders the fun of the remainder of the match. This evening was no exception when Damian Priest shoved R-Truth after getting annoyed with his presence in the ring. This resulted in Truth not noticing that the referee was prevented from watching Priest wrestler McIntyre and, in turn, allowing McIntyre to take the win.

The match was not only somewhat confusing, it was almost like retconned what WWE was doing with regards to creating a new relationship with Truth as well as Priest. It was a bit unnatural from a narrative standpoint and was totally unnecessary in a showdown between two of the best performers appearing on “Raw.”

You’re probably thinking a love for video packages could likely be a clue about the way I felt about the whole episode, then congratulations You’re my hero and you’ve done the idea. I had hoped for more from the initial “Raw” running unopposed by “Monday Night Football” since August, a “go home” episode before an “Big Four” PLE like the Royal Rumble (but I suppose “SmackDown” will have something to say about it come Friday) Also, it was the show that was promoting a promo match with CM Punk as well as Cody Rhodes, which didn’t really impress, for what it’s worth. However, it was not enough.

However, I extremely enjoy watching the “Rumble by the Numbers” video series every year. The breakdown of the official start to WrestleMania season in such a numeric information helps to highlight the history of the Rumble and boosts the excitement for the matches of this year -yes they both as it’s the ladies’ Rumble has been long past due for it’s debut in 2018 and is a must-see event ever since.

This evening, I focused on a few statistics higher than other people:

Just 34 out of 1,310 stars (2.6 percent) who have played in the Royal Rumble have won. It’s a good thing, as it will be a rare thing indeed.

There isn’t a single superstar who has had consecutive wins in Rumble matches for 26 year (since “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 1997 and 1998). Not a great sign for Rhodes there is it?

Punk will be competing in the Rumble 3653 days after his last appearance in the same venue … well it’s likely that they’ll spend lots of time discussing Punk as well as the Rumble. If he’s not with Cody as the two finalists I’ll be astonished at the moment.

However, I think it’s ridiculous that these programs never mention performers who are no longer with WWE (or at the very least, the ones who are signed with another company) since what’s the harm in stating “Former WWE superstar Chris Jericho still holds the all-time ironman record for the fastest time, with an average of four hours and 59 miles …” Do you know what? Don’t respond to this. It’s probably best to not talk about this guy for a while here.

In case you weren’t able to tell that a significant section members of WINC staff wasn’t impressed by “Raw” this week, even though the majority of us went to the event eager to see what might transpire. In the wake of “Monday Night Football” finally eliminated for the year, WWE had incentive to take on the red label in the very first instance since September and we were hoping for big results. What we received was an abundance of noise but very little information, which was best illustrated by the two main segments that we were there to witness.

Seth Rollins’ opening segment was probably the most boring version of a medical announcement I’ve ever seen. He stated that he had torn the meniscus and MCL and the meniscus. That jibes with the reports of his doctor, who has told that it’s going to take three months for recovery time after surgery. He didn’t mention that he’d be unable to attend WrestleMania however it wasn’t like he said “to hell with the doctors, I’ll be at WrestleMania” also. He simply said “to hell with the doctors, I’m going to try my best to be at WrestleMania.” That’s just ridiculous. If WWE is aware that Rollins will come back to WrestleMania Mania He ought to have stated that on his chest. “I will be at WrestleMania, I will defend this title,” etc. This could have been an incredible moment but Instead, it was just weak sauce. If Rollins is out for a few months but is expected to return in time for Mania as is my current belief it’s necessary to address the injury in some way and they’re trying to make drama out of this “maybe he won’t make it back in time” question regardless of the fact that he’ll be back on time, or else he’d have renounced the title today. This means that there’s nothing to explore so we’re left with an ineffective segment that doesn’t have Rollins interfacing with the MYRIAD of characters that might be able to comment on holding this “workhorse” championship at home for two months (like Drew McIntyre) and not following the advice of a doctor and, potentially, inviting litigation (like Adam Pearce). Instead, he spoke to GUNTHER. For no reason. Baffling.

As if that weren’t enough Cody Rhodes and CM Punk were on stage later and gave the least boring and boring Cody Rhodes / CM Punk interaction. Punk was telling the story of Cody’s father (how unusual) and they continued to show mutual respect for one another for what seemed as a long time (I am tired of wrestling with mutual respect could we return to the past when men just disliked each the other). When they got more intense, it was just the usual stuff that you’d expect. “Hell Froze Over” CM Punk does not have a personality other than “famous wrestler who was gone for a long time and is back now”; the guy is supposedly “controversial,” but nobody can explain why. They only throw out a few hints to the online community and declare it over. Although it’s possible to be a bit naive the audience, he’s an incredibly uninspiring persona that has none of the edge. And Cody isn’t any better and is slipping to the point of oblivion each when someone mentions the fact that his father has been Dusty Rhodes, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that the phrase “finish the story” isn’t really a characteristic of the character. There’s nothing in this story that we can grasp and hold onto or relate to, it’s simply narrative mush. When one of the two wins the Royal Rumble, I cannot think of a reason to be concerned.