Jinder Mahal (real name Raj Dhesi) reflected on what held him back in WWE as a performer and what areas Vince McMahon urged him to refine.
In a blind Q&A on Instagram, Mahal’s wife, Priya Patel asked him about the one biggest regret he’s had in his wrestling career. He revealed holding back on his wrestling style and attempting something new to evolve. He also mentioned McMahon instructing him to better his work holds but his current work on independent promotions helped him hone and experiment on new skills.
“I boxed myself in too much. My wrestling style, in my character, I didn’t like once in a while pull out something new. My goal was always build a comeback for the babyface, more excitement for the babyface. And in doing so I kinda hurt myself in a way. That was actually what Vince (McMahon) wanted me to wrestle like just work holds. I should’ve evolved that into something else. But now that I’m actually like on the independents, I’m away from WWE. I show a different side of myself. I can finally be a babyface and try different things. And just really have fun.”
Mahal’s second return to WWE in 2016 ultimately pushed him to win the WWE Championship in 2017. Seven years later he was released again.
Since then Mahal has been competing on varied promotions including Game Changer Wrestling, Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling and made his Wrestling Xtreme Mania (WXM) debut in India in 2025.
Raj Singh (formerly known as Jinder Mahal) responded to someone on social media recently who was critical of a GoFundMe campaign being launched to support former WWE wrestler Ridge Holland.
The GoFundMe to support Holland has raised over $10,000. Mahal is one of the largest donors to the campaign, having donated $1000.
Mahal recently responded to a user on X who commented on a story related to Holland’s situation and saying sports leagues and wrestling promotions should invest in financial training for its athletes. The former WWE Champion wrote:
“WWE does have financial education programs. Just curious — how much do you think NXT talent make when you subtract travel, wrestling gear, maintaining a professional athlete physique, gym, and supplements… now subtract taxes. Now, with what’s left, try raising a family, paying for groceries, rent/mortgage, car payments, and personal health insurance for you and your family. Now factor in not being able to earn income due to injury. Finally, add the fact that you no longer have WWE-provided health insurance for wrestling-related injuries — and you’re staring at a possible neck surgery.”
WWE wrestlers Omos and Chelsea Green have each contributed $1000 as a recurring monthly donation to the GoFundMe. AEW wrestlers Kyle Fletcher and Nick Jackson have each donated $1000 as well.
Dave Meltzer addressed the situation with Holland in Friday’s edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, stating that WWE’s side of this story is that Holland was going to be cut a year ago but he asked to move to NXT with a significant pay cut instead. WWE feels he should have known his contract likely wouldn’t be renewed when it expired this year.
Meltzer wrote:
“They felt that he should have known this probably wasn’t going to be a long-term thing and the idea is that he made a lot of money while he was on the main roster and should have prepared finances with the idea he may not be there much longer.”
Meltzer also addressed what Holland was likely making during his tenure with WWE.
“If you figure $350,000 to $500,000 is what he was making one year ago, and a cut of 55 percent would be $157,750 to $225,000 until he stopped being paid this week.”
Holland, who is not expecting to be medically cleared to return to wrestling for half a year, was informed in October that his WWE contract would not be renewed when it expired on November 14. He was then released from the company outright after expressing frustration with his situation on social media.
WWE does have financial education programs. Just curious — how much do you think NXT talent make when you subtract travel, wrestling gear, maintaining a professional athlete physique, gym, and supplements… now subtract taxes.
Now, with what’s left, try raising a family, paying…
Raj Dhesi — best known for his time in WWE as Jinder Mahal — is recovering from surgery.
The former WWE Champion revealed on Instagram that he underwent a knee scope to remove two loose bodies and trim his meniscus. A scope is less invasive than traditional surgery — and Dhesi has already started the rehab process.
“2 loose bodies removed + meniscus trimmed,” he wrote. “Surgery went well, now comes the recovery.”
Dhesi was released from his WWE contract in April 2024, ending his second stint with the company. The 39 year old competes on the indies globally as a free agent. He was active as recently as October 17, when he faced Matt Riddle at a show for Dungeon Wrestling in Canada. Dhesi retained the promotion’s Stu Hart Heritage Championship in that match.
After being released by WWE for the second time, Dhesi said he still has many goals he wanted to accomplish in wrestling and places he wanted to visit. His WWE runs took place from 2010-2014 and 2016-2024, with the latter including one reign as WWE Champion.
The former Jinder Mahal’s first match for GCW is set.
On Sunday, the company announced on X that Mahal’s first match will be against Effy on August 2 in Cleveland, Ohio. Mahal will be wrestling under the name “The Maharaja” Raj Dhesi moving forward.
*CLEVELAND UPDATE*
Just Signed:
THE MAHARAJA vs EFFY
Plus: Zilla Fatu vs Josh Bishop Maki Itoh vs JWM Matt Hardy makes his in-ring debut! Mance vs ? Janela vs ? Nick Gage Matt Cardona +more!
— GameChangerWrestling (@GCWrestling_) July 21, 2024
The match announcement follows an angle that took place this past Friday night at GCW’s So High event. Mahal entered the ring following a Effy/Cole Radick tag team match under a mask and laid out Effy with the Khallas, unmasking himself soon after.
On X, Mahal said he would raise GCW to his standards and become their champion. He said he also witnessed “recreational drug use” among other things backstage and claimed that Matt Cardona has done a terrible job as GCW General Manager.
Mahal was released from WWE back in April. After Mahal lost a match to Seth Rollins earlier in the year, he had largely been off WWE TV prior to his release with the exception of an appearance in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal on the SmackDown before WrestleMania 40.
Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal made his surprise GCW debut at Friday night’s So High event.
Mahal attacked Effy following an Effy & Cole Radrick vs. The Rejects match at So High, entering the ring wearing a mask. Mahal hit his Khallas finisher on Effy, then unmasked. Commentary referred to Mahal as “The Maharaja” Raj Dhesi, the moniker the former Mahal will be wrestling under in the next phase of his career.
Mahal was released by WWE in April of this year, ending his second stint with the company after nearly eight years. Mahal was also with WWE from 2010 to 2014 both in the FCW developmental system and on the main roster.
The 90-day non compete clause enacted after Mahal’s April release recently expired, and the former WWE Champion has announced both a series of independent dates, plus a date with AAA at Triplemania XXXII where he will team with Satnam Singh in a match for AAA’s tag titles.
Video from Mahal/Dhesi’s GCW debut is embedded below.
Jinder Mahal wishes he could take back a moment from his WWE tenure.
During his WWE Championship reign in 2017, Mahal cut a promo against Shinsuke Nakamura where he was scripted to use anti-Japanese stereotypes including making fun of Nakamura’s accent. In response to the criticism the promo received, WWE issued a statement about how the company incorporates real-world issues into its programming and celebrates people of all backgrounds.
Mahal addressed the promo while appearing on the latest episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet. Though Mahal took issue with the segment as soon as he got the script, Vince McMahon insisted that it was just entertainment. Mahal isn’t proud of himself for doing the promo and wishes he could take it back:
“There was one promo in particular. Recently, I actually just saw Shelton Benjamin tweet that if he could take back one thing in his career, it was a promo with Yoshi Tatsu. Same thing, kind of like a racial promo.
“So that day, I had the promo, I got the script from the writer, ‘This is from Vince, he wants you to say this.’ I was like, ‘Oh man, I don’t want to say [this], is there anything else we can do?’ He said, ‘No, it’s come from Vince.’ So I even asked Vince, like, ‘This is gonna get negative backlash. He said, ‘No, no, no, no, don’t worry. Who cares? It’s not you. It’s a character, it’s just entertainment.
“Did the promo, was not happy with it, not proud of myself for doing it. Really wish that I could take that moment back, but — unfortunately — I can’t. And right when we came back, it got a lot of negative backlash. Like, I remember coming back from Gorilla [position] — I was still hanging out by Gorilla and one of the social media managers came up to me and said, ‘Hey, this is getting a lot of bad PR and Vince wants you for you to tweet something, like a statement.’ I said, ‘Ok, cool.’ He came up with something, maybe the PR team wrote it, someone — he came up with a statement. And as we were about to tweet it, he said, ‘Actually, Vince changed his mind, he said no.“
Mahal said he asked if there was anything else they could do but was told the promo was what McMahon wrote. With WWE’s regime change and McMahon no longer being involved with the company, Mahal believes a promo like that will never happen again:
“It was just one of those things where — it is what it is, not proud of doing it. But on the plus side, I don’t think something like that, a promo like that, will ever happen again in WWE. Things changed, the regime changed, everything is much, much different now. That was a different era, different time. Under Vince, his style was different. And sometimes he was stuck in his ways.“
Mahal (Raj Dhesi) was released from his WWE contract this April. As of today, he’s officially a free agent and able to start his run of indie bookings.
AAA has announced the card for Triplemania XXXII Mexico City.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, August 17, 2024, at the Mexico City Arena in Azcapotzalco. A press conference was held on Monday to announce the lineup.
Raj Dhesi, formerly known as WWE’s Jinder Mahal, has been announced for the show. He will team with Satnam Singh and challenge for the AAA Tag Team Championships in a triple threat match against Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal and title-holders Psycho Clown & Negro Casas. They will be managed by Jeff Jarrett.
AAA also confirmed that Mega Champion Nic Nemeth will defend his title against Alberto El Patron on the show. Nemeth defeated El Patron for the vacant title at Triplemania Monterrey in April.
Vampiro will also wrestle an as-of-yet-unnamed opponent in a casket match at Triplemania Mexico City. It was said that this will be a cinematic match and Vampiro’s final match in Mexico City.
Matt Riddle will also be back for the promotion. He’ll face Laredo Kid in a singles match.
LuchaBlog has been posting live updates from the press conference on X.
TripleMania Mexico City is an actual TripleMania, not what they did for Monterrey and Tijuana. There's stuff that might be good, there's stuff that might be important, there's "only in AAA" weird stuff and there's the annual no effort women's title match – it is true AAA. https://t.co/p16piaDbbw
AAA Triplemania Mexico City announced lineup for August 17 —
Domo de la Muerte (domed cage): Dark Ozz vs. Dark Cuervo vs. Cibernetico vs. Psicosis vs. Abismo Negro Jr. vs. El Fiscal vs. more named to be announced
AAA Mega Champion Nic Nemeth defends against Alberto El Patron
Vampiro vs. TBA in a cinematic casket match (billed as Vampiro’s last match in Mexico City)
AAA Tag Team Champions Psycho Clown & Negro Casas defends against Dr. Wanger Jr. & Galeno del Mal and Raj Dhesi & Satnam Singh
Matt Riddle vs. Laredo Kid
AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Lady Flammer defends against the winner of a multi-person match at Verano de Escandalo
The Copa Bardahl battle royal: Participants to be announced at a later date
Jinder Mahal is scheduled to return to the ring next month.
The former WWE champion will wrestle at BLP Old Habits Die Screaming on July 26 in Chicago, as reported by Fightful on Wednesday. Mahal will be wrestling under the name “The Maharaja” Raj Dhesi. His opponent has yet to be announced.
Mahal will also be appearing live at WrestleCade in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on November 29 to December 1.
🚨 #WrestleCade Weekend returns with former WWE champion Raj Dhesi fka Jinder Mahal . Brought to you by our friends at Frizzle Promotions.
Benton Convention Center Winston-Salem, NC Nov 29-30 & Dec 1
Mahal was released from WWE along with Veer, Sanga, Xia Li, and Xyon Quinn in April. A week after his release, Mahal posted a video to social media saying he still has “many goals” left to accomplish in wrestling.
What’s next for The Maharaja? I’ve been here before. That time I was a kid, but now I’m a man. I will only present myself in a way that I want to. I will only do things that I want to. I will only go places that I want to. I still have many goals, many dream matches, many places I want to go.
Where do I make an impact? India, Europe, Japan, Canada, Red Hook section of Brooklyn? Stay tuned. You got about 11 more weeks. Maharaja out.
The Journey Continues…
2001- 15 years old, no gear, no boots, a boxing ring with some gymnastic mats, …. To the highest of heights…. Still climbing.
Jinder Mahal still has “many goals” in pro wrestling following his release from WWE.
One week after being released by the company, Mahal posted a video on Friday thanking everyone who has reached out to him. He thanked everyone in the WWE locker room and everyone who works behind the scenes in the company.
The 37-year-old Mahal (Yuvraj Singh Dhesi) also discussed what’s next for him. He said he still has many goals, many dream matches, and many places that he wants to go:
Hey, it’s The Maharaja. It’s been an eventful week to say the least, but it’s all good. I want to first say thank you. Thank you to anyone who reached out. All the love, support, DMs, phone calls, texts, comments — I appreciate all of you guys. I also want to thank everyone in the locker room. All the guys and girls, everyone working backstage behind the scenes — thank you.
Twelve years, two runs. Got to see and do amazing things. So many dream matches. Traveled the world. Got to do things that I never thought I’d be able to accomplish. Championships, being in a rock band — it’s been an amazing journey.
But what’s next? What’s next for The Maharaja? I’ve been here before. That time I was a kid, but now I’m a man. I will only present myself in a way that I want to. I will only do things that I want to. I will only go places that I want to. I still have many goals, many dream matches, many places I want to go.
Where do I make an impact? India, Europe, Japan, Canada, Red Hook section of Brooklyn? Stay tuned. You got about 11 more weeks. Maharaja out.
Mahal was previously released by WWE in 2014. He returned to the promotion in 2016 for a second stint that included him having a reign as WWE Champion.
Mahal, Xia Li, Veer, Sanga, Xyon Quinn, Von Wagner, and Cameron Grimes were all released from their WWE contracts over the past week. The releases were made in advance of the 2024 WWE Draft.
Veer and Sanga have also been released by WWE, according to Fightful.
The duo made up the Indus Sher tag team and were last seen on WWE programming in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal on the April 5 SmackDown.
Both originally signed with the company in 2018, and both made their WWE TV debuts on the NXT brand in 2020.
Veer, real name Rinku Singh Rajput, is also a former professional baseball player and one of the subjects of Disney’s 2014 movie Million Dollar Arm.
Original post —
Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, Xia Li, and Xyon Quinn have been released from the promotion, according to multiple outlets.
Mahal, who held the WWE title for 170 days in 2017, Li, and Quinn, were all released by WWE on Friday. News of the releases broke as Friday’s SmackDown episode was on the air, with Fightful and PWInsider confirming Mahal and Li’s releases, and Fightful reporting on Quinn.
Both outlets report that the released talent will be subject to 90-day non-compete clauses, but will be free agents after.
For his part, Mahal posted on social media that he quit WWE, but both Fightful and PWInsider report that he was in fact released:
Mahal was last on WWE television on the April 5 SmackDown, participating in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He had been on the Raw roster.
Li was shown in an advertisement for a battle royal to crown a new Women’s World Champion on Monday’s Raw that aired during SmackDown, but obviously will not be in the match. Her last WWE appearance came on this week’s Main Event episode where she lost to Natalya in a match taped Monday in Montreal.
Quinn was moved to the main roster after the 2023 WWE Draft, but was given a free agent designation and rarely used. His last WWE match was a six-second loss to Bron Breakker on the March 1 SmackDown.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped before last Monday’s Raw in Brooklyn, New York, featuring the usual pair of bouts.
Blake Howard and Brian “Road Dogg” James were on the call with less than great results. Howard didn’t do anything to enhance the action and James was not good, often interrupting Howard.
It’s the case of a good talker being expected to also be good on commentary. However, as Liam Neeson knows, it takes a man/woman with a unique set of skills to do both.
Chelsea Green defeated Natalya
This was a rematch from several weeks ago when Green picked up a win on this very show, and their fourth-ever singles match. Green had an interesting week overall after claiming she was kicked out of a Brooklyn hotel due to staff thinking she was an escort.
The two brawled all the way up the entranceway at one point with Natalya battering Green’s head into any inanimate object that existed. After she regained the advantage, Green used a referee distraction to surprise Natalya with a a Zig-Zag and nearfall.
Natalya rallied with some clotheslines and went for the Sharpshooter, only to get countered. A nearfall exchange followed and Green eventually got the rollup pin with a handful of tights.
This is Green’s third straight singles win and her fifth straight on Main Event.
It’s wild that Mahal was part of this whole kickoff for The Rock returning and main eventing night one of WrestleMania 40 — something to remember for your wrestling trivia nights. This was his first match anywhere in nearly two months.
These two have wrestled twice before: both in 2020, once on Raw and once on Main Event. Mahal is 2-0 in those matches as you might imagine.
As you might expect, the size difference between these two was played up early with Mahal dominating with exciting rest holds and such.
After getting beat up most of the match, Tozawa made his comeback, nearly getting the win off a missile dropkick. After ripping his shirt Hulk Hogan-style, he went to the top again but missed a senton bomb and got nailed with a big boot. Mahal then got the win after hitting the Khallas (Million Dollar Dream lock into a slam).
It’s Mahal’s second straight win (both on Main Event) while Tozawa has been winless in TV/house show matches since February.
That concludes a heel-friendly edition of Main Event. We’re onto WrestleMania.
Last month, AEW owner Tony Khan caused a social media controversy with a tweet mentioning WWE wrestler Jinder Mahal.
Khan claimed there was a “double standard” in how people on X/Twitter reacted to Hook and Mahal getting their respective World title shots. He wrote:
A double standard:
[Hook] 28-1 career record, on winning streak calls out the Champ, a logical challenge sparks online outrage
Jinder has literally lost every single match he’s in for the past year, immediately gets title shot, where is the rage
Seth Rollins retained his World Heavyweight Championship against Mahal on the January 15 edition of WWE Raw. Two weeks before that, Mahal took part in a promo segment with The Rock on Raw’s Day 1 episode.
I think Tony Khan’s forgetting I’m the Modern Day Maharaja, former WWE Champion. And being a former WWE Champion, I should be number one contender anytime I want. The Royal Rumble happened a week after that, and if you notice, I wasn’t in it because I didn’t feel there was a need. The Modern Day Maharaja wants a title match, he can just get one. But it’s ok. Overall, it’s great. It caused a lot of buzz. And I appreciate everything, I appreciate the competition because it makes everybody better.
Mahal’s only televised match since facing Rollins was a victory over Apollo Crews on WWE Main Event.
After a week of buildup and social media chatter, Jinder Mahal got his World Heavyweight Championship shot on Monday night.
Mahal challenged World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in the main event of last night’s Raw. Though Mahal got plenty of help from interference, the show ended with Rollins retaining his title.
Indus Sher (Veer & Sanga) were at ringside and interfered on Mahal’s behalf during the match. There was a moment where Indus Sher gave Rollins a cheap shot while the referee was distracted by Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre. Priest thought about cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase while Rollins and Mahal were both down, but McIntyre prevented the potential cash-in from happening. Mahal hit a gutbuster after the cheap shot, but Rollins was able to kick out.
Mahal then got an even closer near fall. Indus Sher distracted the referee again and struck Rollins with the MITB briefcase. Mahal dropped Rollins with the Khallas, but Rollins kicked out just in time.
The referee finally ejected Veer & Sanga from ringside, Rollins avoided a second Khallas, and he connected with a stomp on Mahal to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
A match between Priest and McIntyre is set for next week’s Royal Rumble go-home edition of Raw. Since failing to win the World Heavyweight Championship at Raw Day 1, McIntyre has blamed Priest for trying to cash in during his match against Rollins.
A face-to-face segment with Cody Rhodes and CM Punk will also take place next Monday.
Date: January 15, 2024 Location: Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, AR
********
Show Recap —
There was a Martin Luther King Jr. tribute video.
Seth Rollins and Jinder Mahal were shown arriving at the arena earlier today. Rollins arrived with his daughter (presumably) in hand.
Cody Rhodes/Drew McIntyre segment
Cody Rhodes entered to a strong reaction in Little Rock. Rhodes said there was a Collin Raye song about Little Rock that his wife really liked. He said they could talk about that or talk about him beating Shinsuke Nakamura. He said the Royal Rumble was right around the corner and they could talk about what he really came back to WWE for.
Drew McIntyre interrupted. McIntyre said they grew up together in WWE and he was proud of Rhodes. They were even WWE Tag Team Champions. That didn’t get much of a reaction and McIntyre admitted that you’d probably have to look it up. Rhodes mentioned that their team name was the Dashing Ones.
McIntyre said they both redefined what it meant to be a wrestler outside of WWE. They laid the blueprint to become so undeniable that WWE would call them back. Before McIntyre returned to WWE, his last match was against Cody and Cody told him at the time that he would be a future world champion.
McIntyre felt that Cody would be the first member of his family to win that championship. McIntyre said Rhodes would finish his story — but not before he finished his. Rhodes said that each of them could win. Jey Uso could win. CM Punk could win. But Rhodes didn’t plan on that.
McIntyre advised Rhodes to be himself. He didn’t have to wear a suit, he didn’t have to smile all the time, and he wasn’t running for office. McIntyre knew what that was like and he assured Rhodes he didn’t have to be that way.
Rhodes assured him that this wasn’t an act. Rhodes smiled because he loved this. He appreciated the opportunities because he made them for himself. He relished his second chance while McIntyre just complained about his.
McIntyre wasn’t sure this was the real Cody Rhodes. Otherwise, why would he bring back Jey Uso or endorse CM Punk? McIntyre said he would be the world champion if not for that idiot Damian Priest. Rhodes was standing in his way just like Punk was. McIntyre said the story belonged to him at WrestleMania.
Rhodes said he would give McIntyre something to complain about at the Rumble. Rhodes said McIntyre brought up his final match before returning to WWE but he didn’t mention who won (Rhodes did). Rhodes dropped the mic and left.
********
Damian Priest confronted R-Truth about selling Judgment Day merchandise outside the arena (at below cost, apparently). Truth handed Priest a wad of cash, which he kept. Priest told Truth not to tag in during their tag match (against each other) tonight. Truth winked and said he understood.
Shortly after a break, Gargano made a hot tag, but the referee didn’t see it because McDonagh distracted the referee. Gargano went for another hot tag, but McDonagh yanked Ciampa off the apron. After all that build-up to the hot tag, Ciampa made the tag moments before they came back from a second break.
Ciampa hit McDonagh with a knee strike, McDonagh headbutted Ciampa, Gargano superkicked McDonagh and Dom superkicked Gargano. Everyone went down so that led to a modest “this is awesome” chant. McDonagh hit Ciampa with a standing Spanish Fly and a moonsault but Gargano broke up the cover with a superkick.
Dom dropkicked Gargano but Gargano blocked a 619 and Ciampa knocked Dom out of the ring. Ciampa spiked McDonagh with a DDT and DIY hit him with Meet in the Middle for the pinfall win.
********
Earlier today, Chelsea Green (and Piper Niven) complained to Adam Pearce because she had Kayden Carter pinned last week but the referee blew it. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae were already in Pearce’s office at that moment so he put them in a tag match. Hartwell told Green that the ref counted to two but Green couldn’t count.
There was a quick video package for LeRae and Hartwell.
Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (3:30)
Hartwell blocked Green’s Unprettier and draped her over the middle rope so LeRae could hit an assisted Lionsault (which didn’t look great) for the pinfall win.
********
[SECOND HOUR]
There was a quick Nia Jax video package focusing on the Rumble match. Rhea Ripley was backstage with Judgment Day, minus Priest, but she quickly left after seeing the video. Priest showed up as Ripley left. McDonagh and crew wondered why they weren’t taking out Truth right now. Priest presented the wad of cash that Truth gave him. McDonagh wondered if he would get a cut but Priest said he wasn’t on their merch. Jokes aside, Finn Bálor and Priest were focused on their upcoming match.
Gunther segment
Ludwig Kaiser introduced Gunther. Gunther received some cheers before it turned to a mixed reaction. Imperium acted surprised by the cheers.
Gunther said they were close to the Rumble and he could feel and smell the desperation around this place. Since they were in Arkansas, he could smell excrement, too. Since he’s been gone, he saw his peers bickering over who would win the Rumble.
He wanted to remind them of one thing: he entered the Rumble at number one last year and lasted until the end. He was one elimination away from winning. The crowd chanted for Cody. This year he would win the Rumble as Intercontinental Champion and main event WrestleMania.
Gunther turned his attention to Kaiser. He played a replay of Kaiser taking out Kofi Kingston. He said Kaiser showed a side that he always wanted to see. He showed grit, confidence and courage. Gunther hugged him.
Xavier Woods interrupted. A serious Woods said he had a problem with Kaiser, who took it too far last week by taking out Kofi Kingston. Woods challenged Kaiser to a match and wondered if he’d have to ask his daddy Gunther for permission. Gunther handed Kaiser the mic and left the ring.
Kaiser accepted and said he would take Woods’ head as well. Kaiser tried to attack but Woods dumped him from the ring. Woods hammered away on Kaiser until a referee stopped him.
Ludwig Kaiser defeated Xavier Woods via disqualification (10:24+)
Woods, whose mouth was busted open, fought back after a break. Kaiser tried launching the chair at him (as he did to Kingston) but Woods used it on Kaiser instead for the DQ. (As this match trudged along, Michael Cole reminded us that Jinder Mahal was in tonight’s main event.)
— A frustrated Woods grabbed a steel chair but Kaiser kicked it into his face. Kaiser tried a running dropkick into the steel steps as he did last week but Woods caught him with a dropkick. Woods tried launching the steps at Kaiser but Kaiser bailed through the crowd.
********
Bronson Reed cut a one-line promo saying, “There is a man right now who holds a championship in WWE who doesn’t realize that sooner than later, it will belong to big Bronson Reed.”
Byron Saxton interviewed a pissed-off Woods in the back. He was immediately attacked by Kaiser but was saved by Jey Uso. Kaiser backed off upon seeing Jey and officials stepped in. Jey checked on Woods.
There was a Jinder Mahal video package.
********
They boldly went to commercial letting us know that the following match was next.
Akira Tozawa (w/Maxxine Dupri) defeated Ivar (w/Valhalla) (1:59)
Tozawa had a brief flash of offence before Ivar hit a spinning powerslam and a running crossbody. Ivar went to the top but was distracted by Dupri on the apron. Tozawa kicked Ivar and hit a sunset flip powerbomb into a stacked-up cover for the (surprise) pinfall win.
— Valhalla decked Dupri after the match while Ivar dropped Tozawa with a spin kick. Valhalla headbutted Dupri out of the ring before Ivar squished Tozawa with a moonsault.
********
CM Punk on Instagram teased a face-to-face confrontation with Cody Rhodes next week.
********
Alpha Academy and the Creed Brothers checked on Tozawa in the back. Ivy Nile said she’d talk to Pearce about Valhalla. Gable said he was proud of Tozawa. Gable called Ivar a coward and an idiot and Gable would teach him a lesson next week. (This will be Gable’s first Raw match since November 20th.)
[THIRD HOUR]
Rhea Ripley/Becky Lynch segment
Rhea Ripley entered to a strong reaction. Ripley was sick of people like Nia Jax claiming that this was their division when the division belonged to her. She warned the Royal Rumble winner that they’d be wasting their opportunity by picking her because Mami was always on top (she initially flubbed her line but recovered).
Becky Lynch interrupted. They circled each other as Lynch cut her promo. Lynch said they were two very different people with similar stories. Two people coming from foreign lands becoming the best to ever do it. Two people who were afterthoughts at WrestleMania one year who became faces of the industry the next.
Lynch said there were differences. One of them won the main event of WrestleMania, while the other didn’t. One had the strength of a bear while the other had the heart of a lion.
Here they stood, the two of the very best to ever do it. But there was a voice in Lynch’s head telling her that, maybe, Ripley was better. Lynch needed to prove that she wasn’t and she needed to take the title from her. She needed to win the Rumble, point to the sign and declare that it would be Mami versus The Man at WrestleMania.
Ripley said, “There’s only one other person that wants you to win the Royal Rumble match more than yourself, and that’s me. I’ll see you at WrestleMania.”
********
Jackie Redmond interviewed Seth Rollins in the back. Rollins was cold and you could somehow see his breath backstage as he spoke. Rollins said he’s been champion for over 200 days and he gets stronger after every title defence. That’s why he wanted to keep being a fighting champion heading into WrestleMania.
Rollins said this wasn’t the same Mahal he beat to become the first NXT Champion. This was the best version of Mahal and a deserving version of Mahal (what?). Rollins did his catchphrase and the crowd sang along.
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Non-title match: Tag Team Champions Finn Bálor & Damian Priest (w/Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh) defeated R-Truth & The Miz (8:00)
Before the match started, Truth gave Bálor a big handful of cash. Dom got a small share too. McDonagh put his hand out but Truth told him he wasn’t in Judgment Day.
After some ‘comedy’, the match eventually started with Truth confused that Bálor was attacking him and they went to break after 60 seconds.
Truth acted dumb momentarily before it finally seemed like he would attack Priest. Bálor stepped in but Truth fought him off. Priest reluctantly chokeslammed Truth and Bálor covered him for the win.
(They played up that Priest liked Truth and didn’t really want to do this. I guess we’re supposed to ignore a few weeks ago when Priest specifically said he was the one person who didn’t like Truth and attacked him.)
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Mahal was meditating in the back when he was approached by Redmond for an interview. Mahal said he’s been in a seven-year drought but he was the most talked-about star of 2024. It was years in the making and everyone would be unified when he became World Heavyweight Champion.
Shinsuke Nakamura was angry that he didn’t put away Cody Rhodes. He warned Rhodes to keep an eye open because he was turning his attention to the Rumble match. A hungry Shinsuke was a dangerous one and he would feist on the dreams of 29 other men.
Natalya set up for Hart Attack but Stark took out Nox and Baszler taped out Natalya with Kirifuda Clutch.
(For the first time in a while, I think, Natlaya did not wear pink but instead wore white/silver and black.)
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Next week on Raw in New Orleans:
CM Punk and Cody Rhodes go face-to-face
Ivy Nile vs. Valhalla
Chad Gable vs. Ivar
Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
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Seth Rollins defeated Jinder Mahal (w/Indus Sher) to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (12:58)
They decided to add some intrigue by having Priest walk out with his briefcase two minutes into the match. After a break, Mahal held an abdominal stretch as Priest was forced to watch at ringside.
Rollins got the better of a strike exchange and hit a flying crossbody for two, followed by a springboard senton and Lionsault for two. Rollins sold his knee on the landing as Priest looked on.
Mahal tried a vertical suplex but Rollins countered with a falcon arrow. Rollins followed later with a Pedigree, landing awkwardly on his knee. Rollins slowly made a cover but Veer put Mahal’s leg on the rope (sort of) for the rope break. Rollins went after Veer but missed a frog splash on Mahal.
Priest thought about cashing in but McIntyre suddenly appeared at ringside. They exchanged blows and fought up the ramp. The distraction allowed Mahal to hit a gutbuster for two.
Veer distracted the referee while Sanga handed a chair to Mahal. Rollins avoided the chair but as the ref chucked it away, Veer hit Rollins with the briefcase. Mahal followed with a Khallas for a nearfall. The ref tossed Veer and Sanga from ringside.
Rollins blocked another Khallas attempt and nailed a curb stomp for the pinfall win.
(They were up against the clock and quickly went off the air after Rollins retained.)
They’ve mostly done what they’re going to do to build the Rumble show already and boy did this ever feel like a place-holder show.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including all the shows this weekend, Dynamite tonight, Tony Khan’s tweet battle yesterday, Jinder Mahal, the world famous NXT TV report and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
