Tag: rhea ripley

Rhea Ripley on WrestleMania 41 three way: ‘It’s going to mesh really well’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Rhea Ripley says her angle heading into WWE WrestleMania 41 is “getting spicy.”

Speaking to Sports Illustrated in an interview set to release Monday, Ripley addressed negative feedback to her storyline with IYO SKY and Bianca Belair, and the many twists and turns that led to a three-way match for SKY’s title.

“The story is getting spicy,” Ripley said. “I know a lot of people online don’t want to realize what’s going on, because they hate me or whatever it is. People are going to feel whatever they want to feel. I’m not going to argue with 16 year-olds on the internet, but that’s the story. And I mean, going into WrestleMania 41, I feel like, yes, I’m going to be focusing on Bianca, because she screwed me out of my opportunity twice now by being there and wanting to be a part of the spotlight and taking that away from me when she knows how much this opportunity meant to me.”

Ripley continued:

“Literally, three of the biggest female stars here in WWE are going to go to war. And it’s just going to mesh really, really well.”

Ripley also addressed not facing Belair in a one-on-one match at WrestleMania, something she says both of them have wanted.

“I feel like when it comes to me and Bianca, what we’ve been saying over the last two, three, four years is we’ve wanted to face each other at WrestleMania… We’ve wanted it to be a one-on-one thing.”

Ripley continued:

“We’ve accomplished so much. We’ve been on opposite brands, but still kind of in line with each other and taking over and being the faces of those brands and the women’s divisions.”

This will be Ripley’s seventh WrestleMania match, having performed on the card each year since WrestleMania 36 in 2020. She currently has a 4-2 record, with her losses coming to Charlotte Flair in her first Mania bout and in a four-way tag title match at WrestleMania 38 won by Naomi and Sasha Banks, where she teamed with Liv Morgan.

It will be Belair’s sixth WrestleMania appearance. She is currently undefeated at the event with a 5-0 record. As for SKY, she’s 0-2 at WrestleMania and dropped the WWE Women’s Championship to Bayley at last year’s event.

WWE Raw live results: IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley Women’s title match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: March 31, 2025
Location: The O2 in London, UK 

The Big Takeaway —

Cody Rhodes and John Cena had an entertaining verbal exchange where Cena finally explained why he specifically turned on Rhodes. Cena has still not explained aligning with The Rock (who was mentioned by Rhodes). For the first time in weeks, they did not advertise a Cena/Rhodes segment for next week. 

The need to set up multiple multi-person WrestleMania matches led to two bad finishes on tonight’s show, particularly the main event. 

Gunther bloodied Jimmy Uso, Finn Bálor pinned Penta, Tyler Bate returned, and Lyra Valkyria defends her IC title against Bayley next week. 

*********

Show Recap — 

Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai, Bianca Belair, Logan Paul and cronies, Jey and Jimmy Uso, and Gunther were shown arriving at The O2 in London. 

There was a long shot of the sold-out crowd. There were dueling John Cena chants before his music even hit. 

John Cena and Cody Rhodes segment

Cena entered first, and he soaked in the chants for 30 seconds until Cody Rhodes’ music hit. They stood around for a minute while the fans sang for Cody. 

Rhodes knew Cena would try to “cook” him and wanted to know where he would start. Maybe it would be his lisp, maybe it would be Stardust. The fans chanted for Stardust, and Rhodes said it must bother Cena that Stardust was his final WrestleMania opponent. 

Maybe Cena would insult him for having an arm tattoo on his neck. (Rhodes paused again for the fans singing his name.) Maybe Cena would insult him for being booed in the company he created. 

Rhodes knew Cena wouldn’t bite on any of that. Rhodes might even be struggling with the idea that Superman was dead. (Rhodes paused again for dueling Cena chants.) Rhodes said Cena has lied to the fans the past two weeks. His words did not match his actions. 

Rhodes recalled riding with Cena years ago, and the two of them sang in the car together. Rhodes knew Cena cared about the fans. He wanted Cena to really explain why. 

Cena said he would not reduce himself and punch down to Rhodes’ level. Cena wouldn’t protect Rhodes because he’s been protected long enough. Cena wouldn’t cook Rhodes—he would bury him. Just like he buried everyone else. 

Cena said the fans accused him of burying other talent. Cena was the talent. He buried mediocrity. Cena didn’t care about Rhodes’ lisp or failures. Rhodes manipulated his way to the top, and his ego outmatched his ability. Rhodes rode the coattails of Cena’s success. 

Cena was so great that WWE was able to hand the heartbeat of the organization over to his chauffeur. Rhodes was nothing more than a slimy pickpocket who thought he could run the kingdom because he stole the blueprint. 

It disgusted Cena to see Rhodes with the belt. Rhodes rode with him for years and stole every secret. Rhodes wanted to be undeniable, but he was still underwhelming. Cena tried to tell him that he needed to be authentic because the fans could see through phony. Rhodes didn’t listen, and it showed. He was too perfect and too rehearsed. 

Cena said Rhodes relied on the fans signing his name and his song. He was like the Pied Piper because all he ever did was make a catchy tune trick these people into liking mediocrity. Rhodes didn’t look like Cena, he didn’t act like Cena, and he didn’t work like Cena. But Rhodes didn’t look like, act like, or work like himself, either. He was a generic mix of every superstar and TV show he ever loved. He was still a kid who was afraid of public speaking. Nowadays, that was enough to trick these people. 

Cena worked too hard to make the belt a symbol of mastery to have it paraded around by a paint-by-numbers nepo baby that was so into himself that he had his wrestling gimmick tattooed for the world to see. The problem with Rhodes’ tattoo wasn’t its location; it was that it made him look like a fan, like everyone else. 

Cena advised him to go to Fanatics and buy a toy belt after WrestleMania, because the last real champion was taking the title home forever. He would expose Rhodes as an errand boy who got lucky. 

Rhodes said Cena might be right. Maybe he was chosen. But it was the fans who chose him. Rhodes wondered if Cena could say the same. Was it the fans or one guy in an office who isn’t here anymore, and we can’t talk about it. 

Rhodes was indeed a wrestler like his father, and if anyone was a company creation, it was Cena. People were afraid of Cena on the mic but Rhodes wasn’t because Cena had more dick on the mic than in his jorts. Cena insulted him for acting like a 16-year-old taking public speaking lessons, but Cena was the one hanging out with Zac Efron, wishing he were 16. 

Cena created so many disenfranchised fans that he made it easy for Rhodes to pack up and go elsewhere. He told Cena not to act like he left the business better than when he found it. And between the two of them, Cena was the one who sold out to The Rock. 

Rhodes said Cena was still his hero—but he was also a piece of shit. 

Cena said Rhodes’ brain was full of feces and not facts. He worked 100 times harder than Rhodes, and he was never protected from the fans or a superstar taking their best shot at him. Everyone took their strongest swing when he was in the ring, and no one has ever been worthy, so he just did it all himself. 

Cena always made things great, no matter what garbage they gave him. Rhodes had to leave because his best couldn’t wipe Cena’s ass. Cena made empires for billionaires, while Rhodes only stole money from their kids. Cena dropped the mic. 

Before Cena could leave the ring, Rhodes wanted him to know one thing: never once have the fans chanted at him, “You can’t wrestle.” 

Cena acted offended by this and re-entered the ring. He backed down before attempting a cheap shot, but Rhodes put him down with a Cross Rhodes. The fans chanted for Rhodes. 

********

Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, and Wade Barrett are tonight’s announcers. 

As New Day awaited their opponents, Adam Pearce informed them that they would be wrestling the New Catch Republic—Pete Dunne and the returning Tyler Bate. 

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods defeated Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate (8:43) 

Dunne and Bate got a fair amount of offence in, but New Day won after hitting UpUpDownDown on Dunne. 

Obviously, Dunne and Bate wrestled as babyfaces here in London, but this wasn’t much of a return for Bate. We’ll see if they drop the whole Butch stuff with Dunne if he’s reuniting with Bate full time. 

— After the match, Cathy Kelley asked New Day if they thought they deserved a title match. Woods asked her if she was slow. They said they deserved a title shot, and they wanted it now. The War Raiders (the champions) entered and faced off with New Day. 

********

Jey and Jimmy Uso met backstage. Jimmy told Jey he wanted to take on Gunther alone tonight. Jey said he would feel better if he were out there. Jimmy said Gunther was a big deal—but so were they. There was no Ring General tonight. Gunther was beatable. Jimmy would beat him tonight, and Jey would beat him at WrestleMania to become champion. They shook hands, but Jey pulled him in close and earnestly told him to be careful. 

********

Jackie Redmond interviewed Ludwig Kaiser during a break. He wants a match at Mania, and if Pearce doesn’t give him one, he may have to take matters into his own hands. 

There was a video package of Triple H beating Mick Foley in a street fight at the 2000 Royal Rumble. They plugged the Hall of Fame. 

Kate Nash (from Netflix’s GLOW), Charlie Brooker (Black Mirror), and UFC’s Michael Page were shown in the crowd. 

******** 

World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defeated Jimmy Uso in a non-title match (8:37) 

Jimmy hit suicide dives and went for an Uso splash, but Gunther got his knees up. Jimmy was able to follow with a superplex and an Uso splash for a nearfall. Gunther chopped him out of mid-air outside the ring and clotheslined him. 

Gunther worked him over during a break, but Jimmy fought back after the break with strikes, superkicks and a German suplex. Gunther cut him off with a dropkick and powerbomb. Gunther seemed to have it won, but he lifted Jimmy’s shoulders off the mat at the two count. Gunther hit a clothesline but lifted him up again at two. 

The crowd chanted, “Yeet,” but Gunther applied a sleeper hold, and Jimmy passed out. 

— Gunther placed Jimmy in the sleeper again after the match, so Jey ran out (to his music). Jey tackled Gunther and wildly attacked him, but Gunther quickly escaped through the crowd. 

During a break, Jimmy heavily sold damage from the sleeper as Jey and medical staff checked on him. As the timer for the commercial break counted down from ten, the crowd began to buzz, so you could tell something was about to happen. 

They came back from break as Jey helped Jimmy walk toward the aisle, but Gunther attacked them both from behind. Security tried to stop Gunther, but he powerbombed one of them onto the steel steps. 

Gunther ziptied Jey to the ring ropes and chucked Jimmy into the barricade. Gunther held up his title belt and taunted Jey with it. The fans called Gunther a wanker. Jimmy got to the apron, but Gunther hit him with the title belt. 

As Gunther continued to taunt Jey, Jimmy reemerged with a bloody face. Gunther powerbombed him as Jey desperately tried to rip the zip tie. Gunther wiped Jimmy’s blood over his body and tasted some of it (before quickly spitting it out). 

Gunther placed bloody Jimmy in a sleeper again as the announcers wondered where the hell help was. Officials finally stepped in and stopped Gunther.

(The match itself was ok, but this was a strong post-match angle that will hopefully—and finally—give Jey the motivation he needs.) 

********

There was a video package of the SmackDown angle with CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins. Cole said, “So, what is the favour? Hopefully, we find out soon.” 

Judgment Day met backstage. Finn Bálor and Dominik Mysterio were back on the same page. Bálor sarcastically offered his condolences to Raquel Rodriguez for losing her IC title match last week. Bálor said he would bring home the IC title to Judgment Day. 

********

Bron Breakker entered during a break. Everyone else entered live. 

Finn Bálor & Dominik Mysterio (w/Carlito) defeated Penta & Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker (9:10) 

Penta suffered his first pinfall loss in WWE. 

Penta hit a dive and, believe it or not, that led to a break. Judgment Day used a referee distraction to take control. Penta gave Dom a backstabber after the break and made the hot tag to Bron, who handed out suplexes to both opponents. 

Bálor and Dom set up for a double vertical suplex on Bron, but Bron hoisted them up and gave them a very impressive-looking double suplex instead. Bron hoisted Bálor on his shoulders (for a Steinerizer), and Penta brought him down with an elevated slingblade, but Dom broke up the cover. As cool as all this was, it led to a somewhat convoluted finish. 

Penta went for a Canadian Destroyer on Bálor, but Dom grabbed him from the apron. The referee just stood by and watched because he knew this was leading to the planned finish. Bron set up for a spear, and Dom warned Bálor it was coming. Dom then shoved Penta into Bálor, and that knocked Bálor aside, so Bron speared Penta by accident instead. 

Dom dropkicked Bron out of the ring, and Bálor hit Penta with Coup de Grace for the pinfall win. 

********

Chad Gable told Pearce he was impressed with El Grande Americano and would love to wrestle him one day. Gable was still sick, though, and couldn’t compete. He produced a doctor’s note. Pearce said that was too bad because they were in Gable’s hometown of Minneapolis next week. 

Gable wanted to wrestle next week and said he would be fine, but Pearce said he should recover. El Grande Americano would be in a match instead. Gable was disappointed because he still wanted to wrestle in his hometown (instead of his alter ego), but was caught in a lie and couldn’t do anything about it. 

As Gable was about to leave, he bumped into Alpha Academy. He referred to them as clowns and idiots before leaving. 

Maxxine Dupri told Pearce that she spoke to Natalya, and she had ideas about the tag division. 

********

Redmond interviewed Karrion Kross (with Scarlett) during the break. He was interested to see which version of AJ Styles we would see tonight. 

Penta confronted Bron backstage and called him stupid. Officials quickly stepped in and pulled Penta away. Bron told him to watch his mouth. 

********

AJ Styles and Logan Paul segment 

Logan Paul was supposed to call out Styles, but Styles entered first. Styles was tired of waiting in the back, and he called out Paul, who entered to a ton of heat. Paul said if he wanted to make them wait, they would, because they were sheep. The fans told him to shut the f*ck up. 

Paul said he’s had a change of heart. He was a dad now. A girl-dad. He wanted to teach his daughter the art of forgiveness, so he forgave Styles for what he did to him at Madison Square Garden. He warned Styles not to try it again. 

Styles said he had a daughter, too, and he forgave Paul as well. Paul didn’t understand. Styles forgave him for being the biggest douchebag to ever step foot in WWE. Styles said Paul bragged about his success and money, but the fans didn’t care about that. They wanted to see what he would sacrifice in the ring for them. Styles said Paul might be talented, but that could only take him so far. Styles wondered what he would do with all that talent. 

Paul said he would ask for Styles’ advice, but you should never take advice from someone you wouldn’t trade places with. Styles warned him not to write a cheque he couldn’t cash. Paul asked if that was a threat. Styles said he was in his gear, but Paul said he didn’t fight for free. Paul insulted the fans for being broke and accused one fan of spending their life savings on a front row seat. The crowd told him to be quiet again. 

Paul tried a cheap shot, but Styles saw it coming. However, Paul used the middle rope to crotch Styles and laid him out with the Paulverizer. 

********

Redmond interviewed Lyra Valkyria. Valkyria appreciated Bayley’s help last week, but she wanted to prove that she could stand on her own. Bayley is the only person who has beaten her since she won the title, and it was driving her crazy. They would have a rematch next week with the IC title on the line. 

******** 

Next week on Raw in Minneapolis (regular start time of 8 pm ET): 

  • Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley for the Women’s Intercontinental title 
  • El Grande Americano in action 
  • Seth Rollins appears 

********

Bálor was pumped up over his win and celebrated with Judgment Day. Bálor was excited after pinning Penta and getting the better of Breakker again. Bálor left to talk to Pearce about getting a title shot. 

They were all on the same page until Liv Morgan noticed Bálor was taking all the credit. After Bálor left, Morgan told Dom that Bálor had already lost to Breakker, while Dom had not. Morgan said she would talk to Pearce when Bálor was done. Dom was unsure about all of this (because he doesn’t want to piss off Bálor). 

*******

Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley [with Special Guest Referee Bianca Belair] ended in a double disqualification (14:41) 

This was bad. 

There were spots early on where Belair had to pull each woman off the other while in the ropes because they wouldn’t listen. During a break, Ripley slammed Sky and got a two count on a cover (but we didn’t see it because the screen went back as they returned from break). 

Sky hit a suicide dive following the break. Ripley had Sky on her shoulders outside the ring, and Sky went for a poisonrana, but Ripley slipped and just fell over. They both avoided a count-out by entering the ring at the same time. 

Sky took over and hit a double foot stomp. Ripley went to the middle rope, and Sky tried the poisonrana again, but Ripley blocked it and hit an avalanche Samoan drop. At least that’s what it looked like. It was meant to be a crucifix bomb by Sky, but it didn’t look like it at all. Sky covered Ripley for two. The crowd played along and applauded. 

Sky tried a flying crossbody, but Ripley headbutted her out of midair for a two. They traded counters until Ripley hit a Razor’s Edge and a shining wizard for a nearfall. 

They traded counters again until Sky got backed into Belair. You could see what was coming. Sky ducked, and Ripley booted Belair out of the ring. 

Sky tried a cradle on the distracted Ripley. The crowd was too eager to react, and they loudly counted the fall with Belair down, but it was never meant to be a false finish because Ripley got right up. Ripley hit Sky with a Rip-tide moments later, and the crowd loudly counted to twelve with Belair still down. 

Belair got to her feet, and Ripley told her it should be over. Belair entered the ring to count the fall, but Sky kicked out. Ripley argued with Belair and put her hands on her, so Belair shoved her hand aside. Ripley attacked Sky in the ropes, so Belair pulled her away. Ripley smacked Belair. 

Ripley turned around and ducked upon seeing Sky flying off the ropes, and Sky hit Belair with a missile dropkick by mistake, knocking her out of the ring again. Ripley decked Sky from behind, which didn’t look good either. 

Belair got to her feet and called the match off because she had enough. They announced a double DQ. 

— Ripley attacked Belair, and they brawled until Sky wiped them out with a dive. Sky attacked Ripley before Belair attacked Sky. 

This led to Ripley giving both women Rip-tides. The crowd chanted, “One more time,” so Ripley gave Belair another one off the middle rope. Ripley posed with the belt, and the crowd cheered.

Barrett put over Ripley as a deserving title contender, and the crowd did their part to play along, but this was an awful setup. 

Bianca Belair to referee Women’s title match on WWE Raw next week

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A Women’s World title match is set for next week’s Raw.

After another confrontation between champion IYO SKY, Bianca Belair, and former champion Rhea Ripley on Raw in Glasgow, Adam Pearce announced that SKY will defend the title against Ripley in a rematch on next week’s show in London. Belair will serve as the guest referee.

On Raw, Pearce came out and declared that despite Rhea Ripley putting her name on the WrestleMania contract last week, she would not be added to the match. All three women came out in response and soon got in each other’s faces once again. It was there that Pearce made the match for next week, saying whoever won between Ripley and SKY would defend the title at WrestleMania.

Later, when Belair confronted Pearce about his decision, the RAW GM decided to make Belair the special guest referee for the upcoming match.

Jimmy Uso will take on Gunther on next week’s show as well. After Gunther shoved Jimmy off the top rope and went after his WrestleMania opponent Jey Uso, Jimmy retaliated by chasing Gunther away with a steel chair.

Logan Paul will confront AJ Styles after posting on social media he’d be at next week’s show, telling Styles to bring his soccer mom haircut to London.

John Cena and Cody Rhodes will also meet face-to-face for the third straight week. On this week’s show, Cena promised to win the WWE title at WrestleMania then retire as champion.

Here is the updated lineup for next week’s Raw in London:

  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Rhea Ripley (Bianca Belair special guest referee)
  • Gunther vs. Jimmy Uso
  • Logan Paul calls out AJ Styles
  • John Cena & Cody Rhodes face-to-face

Rhea Ripley hijacks Women’s World title contract signing on WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The contract signing for the Women’s World title match at WrestleMania didn’t go as smoothly as expected.

New champion IYO SKY and Bianca Belair both signed the contract for their upcoming match at WrestleMania during Raw. After Pearce thanked them both for being professional, former champion Rhea Ripley came down and said she was just here to watch. However, Ripley and Belair soon started exchanging words, which upset SKY. Ripley ended up headbutting Belair then took SKY and powerbombed her onto Belair, sending them both through a table.

The segment ended with Ripley putting her name on the WrestleMania contract and took it with her to the back as the announcers explained that her signing the contract wasn’t official.

Later backstage, Ripley handed back the contract to Pearce but demanded to be put in the match at WrestleMania. Belair and SKY then arrived and the three brawled again before it was broken up by security.

Two weeks ago on Raw, SKY scored a surprise win over Ripley to win the Women’s World Championship after Ripley argued with Belair, who was at ringside. On last week’s show, Belair and SKY were in the ring when Ripley came down to argue with Belair again. Feeling disrespected, SKY ended up laying out both women.

Triple H: ‘If women are in the main event, it’s because they earned it’

Posted on by Josh Nason

Women being featured as main eventers is a frequent discussion point among both wrestling fans and those that run companies with AEW head Tony Khan addressing a question about that during a Thursday media call.

WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Netflix chief content officer Bela Bejaria were part of the annual Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and Levesque was asked about featuring women more and why men are getting into characters like Rhea Ripley as much as any male star.

He said 40% of the WWE audience is female and he’s always felt that if you give the women the same opportunity as the men and train them the same way, “they will knock it out of the park and they have.”

He said there’s a lot of banter about who will be given the main event at big shows and what he tells talent is that it’s about what stories and performances are resonating the best.

“I put no thought into ‘it’s women or it’s men.’ I don’t give them the main event because ‘Well, they’re women and it would look good for us if we give them the main event.’ That never even enters my mind. Talent are talent and it’s whoever is resonating the most,” he said. “If they’re in the main event, it’s because they earned it. If they’re not, it’s because someone else was slightly ahead of them.”

He said one day, he feels Ripley, Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and others will be seen in the same way that Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, The Rock and Steve Austin are but that it will take time to get there.

He later added that at the Performance Center, the women pick up wrestling faster than the men do.

A few other notes:

  • Levesque said 60% of their fans bring members of another generation to shows.
  • Bejaria said that while they have 300 million worldwide subscribers, their content actually touches 700 million viewers (people watching with other people).
  • Levesque said that someone asked Linda McMahon about the John Cena heel turn after she was leaving Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

WWE Raw live results: Elimination Chamber fallout

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: March 3, 2025
Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY 

********** 

The Big Takeaway —

IYO SKY beat Rhea Ripley to win the Women’s World Championship and is now scheduled to defend the title against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania. Ripley has reason to blame Belair for the loss, so this will play out over the coming weeks. 

CM Punk cut a heated promo on The Rock, John Cena, and Seth Rollins. Punk and Rollins brawled, and the two men will have a steel cage match next week at Madison Square Garden. 

Cena and The Rock were not on Raw. We’ll hear from Cody Rhodes on Friday’s SmackDown. 

**********

Show Recap — 

Raw is sold-out in Buffalo. 

There was an Elimination Chamber video package. These packages are no longer just about the show but about how big the show was. They include headlines, fan reactions from those at home, celebrities in attendance, etc. This package cut to black on John Cena’s face before he turned on Cody Rhodes. It then showed a number of headlines and fan reactions before cutting to a shot of Cena and The Rock standing over Rhodes. 

Various wrestlers were shown arriving, while American Made were shown training earlier today. 

CM Punk segment 

A pissed-off CM Punk drove into the arena (in a Jeep Grand Wagoneer). He stormed down to ringside, tossed some stuff around (including the big Prime bottle), and stood on the announce table. 

He said some people thought he exhausted all opportunities of main-eventing WrestleMania. He wanted to address his enemies, which meant addressing everyone. He asked the crowd who he should address first. 

Punk looked into the camera and called Dwayne a bald fraud. Dwayne thought he was immune from criticism because he was on the board, but he didn’t know who he was dealing with. He was dealing with the best in the world. Dwayne was having a midlife crisis. Dwayne walked in when he felt like it and tried to hide behind what a big star was. 

Punk would love to address Dwayne in person but he wasn’t there to grace us with his presence. Punk mocked Dwayne’s goosebump gesture and said Dwayne wasn’t there to give us his bullshit and pretend he cared about this business. Punk has never been so delusional as to hold a fake title and call himself the People’s Champion because he earned that right. 

He’s never been so desperate to sell his soul. We couldn’t “see” John Cena but we could see right through him. Cena stole something from him at the Chamber. Punk gave him the benefit of the doubt for not qualifying but Cena wouldn’t fool him twice. Hustle, loyalty and respect for 20 years but he showed what Punk knew all along, that Cena was selling bullshit. 

Punk would never give up on his dreams, but Cena gave up on all of the fans and all of those kids. Punk would get his hands on both of those bald frauds and they would both “make a wish” that he never did. 

The man who currently had all of his attention was “little brother” Seth Rollins. Punk told Becky Lynch to come get his man before Punk put him in a wheelchair. 

Rollins’ music hit and Punk stormed to the stage. The two men brawled as security and officials frantically tried to separate the wild brawl. The crowd was going nuts for all of this. They chanted, “Holy shit,” and “This is awesome.” (Pat McAfee also dropped a “holy shit.” It was at least the third time that word was used in this segment and it was never censored.) 

As you’d expect, both men kept getting away from security, but they finally were separated. 

This was an awesome segment and promo from Punk. It was pretty much the best version of Punk. 

********

They showed some fan reactions to Cena’s heel turn, including videos of children crying. 

******** 

Judgment Day segment 

Judgment Day were backstage. Regardless of the result of the Chamber match, Dominik was happy that Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were tag team champions. Morgan was happy too, and knew she’d be world champion again one day. She thought it was Rodriguez’s time to chase the IC title and Rodriguez was on board with that. 

Finn Bálor was annoyed with Dom and Carlito getting embarrassed by Bron Breakker. Bálor told Dom they didn’t need a new member and maybe he would deal with Bron himself tonight. 

Dom asked Morgan about Jade Cargill. Morgan said she wasn’t getting involved and reiterated that she had nothing to do with it. 

********

Gunther cut a promo on Otis before their match. Gunther wondered what Otis saw when he looked in the mirror this morning. Gunther looked at himself and saw the world championship belt, while Otis looked for a belt that fit. He suggested that Otis could be great if he had a little bit of self-respect. Gunther would teach him something about self-respect tonight. 

Gunther was about to continue by addressing Jey Uso, but he gave Otis a cheap-shot instead. With Otis down after just getting blindsided, the referee decided this was a great moment to start the match. 

World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defeated Otis (w/Maxxine Dupri & Akira Tozawa) in a non-title match (9:45) 

Gunther worked over Otis until Otis yanked him out of the ring and gave him a fallaway slam on the outside. Otis had control until he missed a charge in the corner. Gunther held control through a break, but Otis fired up and no-sold Gunther’s chops. They traded chops before Otis slammed Gunther. Otis hit the caterpillar elbow drop for a nearfall. 

Otis missed a Vader bomb and Gunther followed with a dropkick. Otis countered a powerslam but Gunther clotheslined him repeatedly, including one to the back. Gunther hit a big boot and another clothesline for two. Gunther followed moments later with a powerbomb for the pinfall win. 

This was fun and the best showing for Otis in a while. The crowd was really into him, way more than they should have been, considering how he’s been used. 

— Gunther put Otis in a sleeper after the match so Tozawa tried to make the save but Gunther powerbombed him on top of Otis. 

Gunther was about to continue but Jey Uso ran out to his music. A quick brawl ended with Jey hitting a spear. 

Jey posed as the crowd Yeeted along, but he was suddenly attacked from behind by Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. The crowd loved Jey so this got a lot of heat. Jey made his own comeback and speared Theory. 

It seemed like Jey would stand tall after all that, but Gunther grabbed him from behind and put him down with a sleeper. Gunther stood tall with his belt. 

********

There was a video package for Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky. They emphasized that Ripley has never beaten Sky. 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Bayley during a break. Bayley was happy for Bianca Belair but disappointed she didn’t win. She had her eyes set on Lyra Valkyria—who she beat once already—and the IC title. 

UFC Hall of Famer Clay Guida was in the crowd. 

There were more Cena fan reactions shown. 

********

Cathy Kelley asked AJ Styles about Cena. Styles didn’t see it coming. Karrion Kross suddenly hugged him from behind and Styles shoved him off. Kross said it wasn’t that surprising if you thought about it. Styles cut him off. 

Styles said he wasn’t John Cena, and maybe the “WWE Universe” needed a reminder of who he was. He planned on calling out Logan Paul next week at Madison Square Garden. Styles told Kross that he could try to be the devil on his shoulder, but God already knew his evil ways. Styles left. Kross was amused. 

******** 

Lyra Valkyria defeated Ivy Nile to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (9:30) 

Valkyria was aggressive early on, pissed over Nile’s recent attack. However, Nile used consecutive dragon screws to take over while targeting the leg during a break. (Netflix usually has a timer that shows how much time is left in the break, but that appears to be gone, at least for tonight.) 

Valkyria hit a sit-out powerbomb after the break but her leg was in too much pain to make a cover. Valkyria went for a tornado DDT but Nile stopped her momentum and deadlifted her into a vertical suplex for two. Valkyria went for her finisher but she twisted her knee and fell down. Nile hit a sit-out powerbomb for two. 

Nile applied an ankle lock to the injured leg, but Valkyria got a rope break. Nile hit a German suplex but missed a running boot in the corner. Valkyria followed with a neckbreaker and Nightwing for the pinfall win. 

This was pretty good but the crowd didn’t seem to care. 

*******

Redmond tried interviewing Rollins as he marched through the back. Rollins saw Punk nearby, and they stormed at each other again. Security quickly separated them as Adam Pearce got between them. (They showed a clip of Punk’s promo earlier and made sure to include his mention of Becky Lynch.) 

After a break, Rollins and Pearce argued outside the arena. Rollins wanted to finish Punk and do to him what he did to Roman Reigns by making sure he didn’t make it to WrestleMania. 

Pearce made a steel cage match between Rollins and Punk at MSG in New York next week. Pearce told him to get on his bus because he didn’t want to see him again until next week. Rollins was happy with that. 

********

Kelley interviewed Dakota Kai (during a break). Kai still had her eyes set on the IC title, and she looked forward to seeing Sky reclaim her spot on top tonight. 

Buffalo Bills OT Dion Dawkins was shown in attendance and the fans cheered. 

********

Ludwig Kaiser cut a promo in the ring. In speaking about his win last week, he said he took back the attention that he deserved, the attention that Penta had taken away. He called himself a future world champion. Kaiser warned Penta to stay away from him because what Cena did to Rhodes was nothing compared to what he was willing to do to Penta. 

Penta ran out (in his street clothes), attacked Kaiser and wiped him out with a dive. 

********

Kelley interviewed Bianca Belair. Kelley wondered how Belair was processing everything that happened with Cargill and Naomi. Belair wanted to talk to them personally before talking about it publicly. She did feel guilty. She was sad about what happened but was proud about winning the Chamber. 

She just wanted to focus on tonight’s title match. She put over both Sky and Ripley. Regardless of who won, they would learn why you couldn’t spell WrestleMania without “EST.” 

********

Redmond interviewed Waller and Theory (during a break). Before she could even ask a question, Waller told The Rock that he was willing to give up his soul. 

Waller said Jey Uso was like Josh Allen, because they were both supremely talented but couldn’t get it done when there was something on the line. The crowd booed this heavily and chanted “MVP” for Allen. They were so hot they missed Theory doing the “Yeet” gesture. Waller pulled him away. 

********

Chad Gable segment 

There was a video of Chad Gable in some town looking for the person who could help him learn the dark arts of lucha libre. He had the card given to him by Dom and he asked locals outside of Los Hermanos Meat Market if they knew who it was but they all brushed him off. 

Gable followed an alleyway and found someone in the dark of night. The mysterious person told him he could not fight what he did not understand. Gable said he didn’t travel this far to go back with nothing. He asked what he needed to do. 

The mysterious figure was about to hand him a box but stopped so Gable could pay him for it. This led to a bit of comedy where Gable had to keep handing bills over until the man finally gave him the box. 

The man said Gable now wielded power beyond his understanding. Gable opened the box and his eyes grew wide. He pulled something out of the box, but we didn’t see what it was. 

********

The War Raiders defeated The Creed Brothers to retain the World Tag Team Championships (11:42) 

The Creeds did lots of stuff but lost in the end. 

After a break, Julius hit Erik with an Angle Slam and Brutus followed with a 450 splash, which didn’t land flush, for two. Julius gave Erik a superplex but Brutus missed a moonsault. Ivar went for a moonsault next but Brutus rolled out of the way. Julius followed with an SSP for two. (McAfee gave Billy Kidman a shoutout.) 

The crowd was dead for the first ten minutes, but they woke up after that with a “This is awesome,” chant. Julius hit a Finlay Roll and they tried Brutus Bomb but Erik slipped out. Ivar smashed Julius into the side of the ring with a crossbody before the Raiders hit Brutus with War Machine for the pinfall win. 

********

There was a recap of Kevin Owens’ win over Sami Zayn and the return of Randy Orton. 

Michael Cole announced that Zayn reaggravated his neck injury, and spinal and nerve issues. 

********

There was a pre-taped LWO promo. They said New Day could try to put them down, but they could not take their hearts. Rey Mysterio told Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to savour their vacation because he and Dragon Lee would give them the worst Monday of their lives in their tornado tag match next week. 

******** 

Bron Breakker/Finn Bálor segment 

Redmond interviewed Bron in the crowd during a break. He said he didn’t have a problem with Judgment Day until about a week ago. He said it took courage for Judgment Day to do what they did. It took courage for Dom to walk around with a Dirty Sanchez and for Carlito to be the apple man. He was about to move on to Bálor, but Bálor entered (the ring) as they returned from break. 

Bálor said Bron was only champion because Judgment Day let him be. Bron said he was champion because he was a dog and he embarrassed them last week. Bálor said he was untouchable in the ring and ate rookies like Bron for breakfast. Bálor said there would be no dogs barking if they wrestled because Bálor would put him down. 

Bron had enough and he marched down to ringside. Carlito tried to attack, but Bron chucked him over the barricade. Dom tried to attack from behind but Bron caught him off the barricade and suplexed him. 

Bron slipped in the ring but Bálor caught him with a slingblade. Bron grabbed him by the throat and hit a military press slam. Bron was about to kill him with a super spear but Dom pulled him to safety. 

********

There was a video package of John Cena’s heel turn. So far, they had only shown the buildup and aftermath. The video included clips of a heroic John Cena from the past, followed by clips of very upset fans on Saturday. 

Cole said he spoke to Rhodes earlier today. Rhodes had little to say but would address it on Smackdown. 

******** 

Next week on Raw at Madison Square Garden in New York:  

  • Jey Uso vs. Grayson Waller 
  • Tornado tag match: The New Day vs. Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee 
  • AJ Styles calls out Logan Paul 
  • Steel cage match: CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins 

********

Otis (with Alpha Academy) embraced Jey Uso in the back. 

Kelley interviewed Jey and asked if Gunther had thrown him off his game earlier. Jey admitted that he did a little bit. Every week that passed, Gunther had him doubting himself. 

Jey fired up and said, with his back against the wall, feeling suffocated, nobody would pick him up but himself. Gunther threatened ten weeks of hell, but Jey would walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil. Gunther put him to sleep tonight but he just woke up a beast. Four letters, one word: Yeet. 

(Jey was really good here, but he may need a new talking point soon other than people are doubting him.) 

********

Bianca Belair entered to watch the main event ringside. 

Ripley received a superstar reaction on the way out.  

IYO SKY defeated Rhea Ripley to win the Women’s World Championship (18:40) 

Things were even early on until Ripley pulled Sky out of the ring, swung her into the side of the ring, and hit a vertical suplex. During a break, Sky came off the top and stomped Ripley’s arm. Ripley fought back with a slam but she kept favouring her arm. 

Ripley hit a missile dropkick, which we didn’t see because it happened during the split-second when the screen goes back as they came back from break. They immediately showed a replay. Sky came back with a backstabber, low dropkick, forearm, and missile dropkick. Ripley fought back with strikes but Sky hit a double foot stomp for two. 

Sky avoided a Prism Trap and dropped Ripley arm-first on the apron. Sky ran off the ropes but Ripley turned her inside out with a big boot for two. Sky countered Rip-tide into a DDT. She followed with a running corner boot, inspired by Dakota Kai, and a flying elbow drop, inspired by Kairi Sane, for two. Sky applied an Asuka Lock next, but Ripley fought out of it. 

Sky hit running knees in the corner and went to the top but Ripley went after her and hit an avalanche back suplex for two. Ripley applied the Prism Trap but Sky flipped her shoulder-first into the ring post. 

As Ripley stood on the apron, Sky hit a running sunset flip powerbomb off the apron and into the barricade. Sky followed with a moonsault onto Ripley’s back (which didn’t really connect) but Ripley got her foot on the rope at two. Ripley tried to regroup outside the ring but Sky hit a diving crossbody. 

Sky set up for an Asai moonsault but Ripley caught her on her shoulders and dropped her on the announce table. Ripley was ready to take a countout win but Belair encouraged Sky to get up, and she managed to get back in the ring at nine. 

Ripley didn’t appreciate that, so she got in Belair’s face. Ripley shoved Belair, so Belair shoved her back. They kept pushing each other until referee Jessika Carr got between them. She told them to stop instead of calling for a DQ. 

Ripley set up Sky for a Rip-tide off the top while telling Belair, “See you at Mania.” She took too much time, so Sky countered with a hurricanrana off the top and followed with a moonsault for the surprise pinfall win.

Fireworks went off as Sky celebrated with the title belt. (Ripley was livid with herself.) 

Ripley was the crowd favourite, but the crowd popped big for the title change. The fans have been into Sky for the past few weeks, but they were quiet for the match, perhaps because they didn’t want or expect Sky to actually win with Ripley vs. Belair seemingly being a lock for Mania. Obviously, they have a lot of time to set up a possible triple threat at Mania, but for now, they played it up like Sky was defending the title against Belair and that’s that. 

Bianca Belair wins Elimination Chamber match, earns WWE WrestleMania title shot

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Bianca Belair has secured a WrestleMania 41 title shot.

By winning the women’s Elimination Chamber match on Saturday night, Belair has earned the right to challenge for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania this April. She will be facing either Rhea Ripley or IYO SKY for the belt. Ripley is the current champion but has a title defense against SKY on Raw this coming Monday.

Liv Morgan, Alexa Bliss, Roxanne Perez, Bayley, and Naomi were the other participants in the women’s Chamber match. The last three remaining at the end were Belair, Morgan, and Bliss. A Twisted Bliss almost eliminated Belair, but Morgan immediately pinned Bliss after she hit the move. Belair and Morgan then went back and forth until Belair got the victory with the KOD.

In storyline, Belair had to overcome an emotional start to Elimination Chamber. She watched on from her pod as the returning Jade Cargill beat down Naomi, with it being indicated that Naomi was Cargill’s mystery attacker who took her out in November 2024. Belair & Cargill were the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions when Cargill was forced out of action. Naomi replaced Cargill as Belair’s partner, but they recently dropped the tag titles to Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez.

A confrontation between Belair, Ripley, and SKY took place on the stage after Belair’s win. If Ripley retains against SKY, Ripley vs. Belair at WrestleMania will be the first time they have ever faced off in a televised one-on-one match on the WWE main roster.

WrestleMania 41 is being held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20.

Rhea Ripley addresses fans violating her privacy: ‘That is 100% not ok’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Following a recent incident involving Asuka, Rhea Ripley is now the latest WWE wrestler to speak out about fans violating her privacy.

On Sunday night, Ripley posted to social media stating it is not okay to deliver fan mail to her personal address, emphasizing that it is especially inappropriate to deliver it in person.

Ripley wrote:

“Shouldn’t have to say this… Do not ever send fan mail to my house. That is by mail, or SELF DELIVERED! That is 100% not ok.”

Bianca Belair also posted a message on social media this weekend, warning fans about potential online scams involving accounts impersonating her parents.

Belair wrote:

“My parents do NOT have ANY social media accounts on ANY platform! If accounts are commenting, dming, or reaching out to you it is a FAKE account. Be safe out there!”

Celebrity impersonation scams have impacted WWE performers previously. In November 2021, Seth Rollins was tackled by a fan during an episode of WWE Raw. It was later revealed that the fan had been scammed by an online account impersonating Rollins.

Last month, Asuka posted a series of comments on social media implying that she had recently been harassed by an aggressive fan. She noted that she felt in danger and had notified the police.

Asuka wrote, “I’ve been feeling in danger recently. I’ve already consulted the police. At this rate, even if fans approach me at the airport or in the city, I will feel the possibility that something might happen, and it will scare me, making me unable to respond.”

CM Punk, Rhea Ripley, two matches, more announced for WWE Raw

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE has announced several new segments for Monday’s go-home episode of Raw ahead of next Saturday’s Elimination Chamber in Toronto.

CM Punk, Logan Paul, and Seth Rollins, all set to compete in the Men’s Elimination Chamber match, are confirmed to appear.

“Days before they compete inside the Elimination Chamber, CM Punk, Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins and Logan Paul will be live on Raw,” reads a WWE.com preview.

Gunther is also set to address his WrestleMania match against Jey Uso.

“After mocking ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso last week on Raw and suggesting that his WrestleMania challenger is out of his league, World Heavyweight Champion Gunther engaged in a heated exchange with the Royal Rumble winners,” reads WWE.com’s preview.

Rhea Ripley will deliver a message to Iyo Sky on Monday’s show. Ripley is scheduled to defend her title against Sky on the Raw after Elimination Chamber on March 3.

After weeks of altercations, Penta, Pete Dunne, and Ludwig Kaiser will square off in a triple threat match. Also, the LWO’s Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde will look for revenge on behalf of Rey Mysterio when they face The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in tag team action.

The updated lineup for Monday’s show is below.

WWE Raw, Monday February 24, 2025, advertised lineup:

  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Naomi defend against Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
  • WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria defends against Dakota Kai
  • New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) vs. LWO (Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde)
  • Penta vs. Pete Dunne vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • We’ll hear from Gunther
  • Rhea Ripley has a message for Iyo Sky
  • CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Logan Paul will appear

Undertaker on Raw segment with Rhea Ripley: ‘I didn’t want to step on her moment’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Undertaker says he was hesitant when WWE first pitched the idea of him sharing a moment with Rhea Ripley during the Raw on Netflix debut. 

Ripley defeated Liv Morgan to regain the Women’s World Championship on the show. Following the match, Taker rode a motorcycle out to the stage area and around the ring. The segment closed with him and Ripley posing together. 

He addressed his moment with Ripley during the most recent episode of his Six Feet Under podcast. Taker says that when he first heard about the plan, he was afraid he would step on Ripley’s spotlight.

Taker said:

“Originally, I was going to do an entrance and an interview, which would would have been fine. I think they had somebody that that was going to interview me. And then they just thought (Taker appearing after Ripley vs. Morgan) would make that whole thing even bigger for (Ripley).”

“When they told me, at first, I was like, ‘I don’t think so.’ And I was like, ‘That’s her moment. I don’t want to step on any part of that. This is the payoff to a very long storyline and I sure don’t want to come out and step on her moment.'”

Taker continued to say he was sold on the idea after it was presented as more of him and Ripley “crossing paths.”

“They basically explained that she’s going to have a moment in the ring, she’s going to have this moment where you two will cross paths. And I was like, ‘Okay, well now if it’s like that then it’s pretty cool.”

“Not that our characters are similar, but they are a little bit. It was just me dabbing her up there a little bit.”

Taker also spent some time on his podcast addressing John Cena’s WWE retirement tour, saying he thinks it’s “really cool” how WWE is giving fans a chance to give Cena his flowers. 

“They’ve got a certain amount of dates he’s going to make, certain amount of Premium Live Events he’s going to make, and it’s going to give people a chance to, kind of, give him his flowers, give him his props, let him say goodbye. It’s a cool way of doing it.”

The full episode of Taker’s podcast is available below:

Updated lineup announced for WWE Raw

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

The stars will be out for this Monday’s WWE Raw from San Jose, California — the second-ever episode on Netflix.

Raw general manager Adam Pearce took to social media Saturday to both give his well wishes to anyone dealing with the Southern California wildfires and to announce some new additions to the show:

  • CM Punk: Punk is coming off a massive win over rival Seth Rollins that main evented last Monday’s Netflix debut show.
  • Rhea Ripley: Ripley once again is WWE Women’s World Champion after defeating rival Liv Morgan last Monday and giving Dominik Mysterio a parting low blow for good measure.
  • Gunther: The reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion was seen last Monday, but only in video form.

The new additions join a lineup that already featured the finals of the inaugural Women’s Intercontinental title tournament, a street fight between Damian Priest and Finn Balor, the expected debut of Penta El Zero Miedo, and more.

Here’s the updated lineup:

  • Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor in a street fight
  • Chad Gable vs. TBA (believed to be the debuting Penta)
  • Women’s Intercontinental title tournament finals: Lyra Valkyria vs. Dakota Kai
  • Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • CM Punk appearance
  • Gunther appearance
  • Rhea Ripley appearance

Rhea Ripley wins Women’s World title on WWE Raw, celebrates with The Undertaker

Posted on by Ethan Renner

“Mami” is back on top.

Rhea Ripley defeated Liv Morgan on Monday’s WWE Raw on Netflix premiere, reclaiming the Women’s World Championship she never lost in the ring.

Ripley defeated Morgan with two Riptides in their title match on Raw, becoming a two-time Women’s World Champion.

After winning the title at WrestleMania 39, Ripley held the gold for over a year, retaining the title over Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 40 before being forced to relinquish the belt due to a shoulder injury a week later. Lynch would win the vacant title, then drop it to Morgan at Queen of the Ring last year.

In the post-match on Monday’s Raw, The Undertaker made an entrance with his motorcycle and “American Badass” gimmick, and posed with Ripley to celebrate the win.

Ripley also got revenge on former storyline boyfriend Dominik Mysterio who aligned with Morgan last year, as The Judgment Day member tried to reunite with the new champ, only to be rebuffed:

Our ongoing live coverage from Monday’s WWE Raw Netflix premiere is available here.

Stipulation advertised for WWE Raw Netflix premiere title match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A stipulation is being advertised for Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley’s title match on Raw’s Netflix premiere.

During this week’s episode of WWE Main Event, a graphic listed that Morgan vs. Ripley on the January 6 Raw episode will now be a Last Woman Standing match. A further announcement past that has not been made yet. Morgan’s Women’s World Championship will be on the line in the bout.

https://twitter.com/TheGarganoWay/status/1872713776652534183

Long-time rivals Morgan and Ripley have been feuding throughout 2024 with Ripley attempting to reclaim the Women’s World Championship after having to relinquish the belt due to injury this April. Morgan won the title from Becky Lynch (who is rumored to be returning to WWE soon) in May.

At Survivor Series last month, Ripley pinned Morgan to win the women’s WarGames match.

Raw’s Netflix premiere is taking place from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins is set to main event the show. Plus, Roman Reigns faces Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match, John Cena returns, and more.

Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley title match set for WWE Raw on Netflix premiere

Posted on by Ian Carey

Rhea Ripley will have a chance to regain the Women’s World Championship when Raw debuts on Netflix.

At today’s WWE Raw on Netflix kickoff event held at WWE headquarters, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Liv Morgan will defend her title against Ripley on Monday, January 6, 2025.

Pearce said:

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re looking at two of the centerpieces of what will be the Raw Netflix era and as such, January 6th in Los Angeles, one of the biggest events in WWE history has just gotten bigger because it is official. Morgan, you will defend that Women’s World Championship on that night live on Netflix against Rhea Ripley. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.”

Ripley and Morgan have wrestled five singles matches against one another on WWE programming dating back to May 2022. Ripley holds a 3-2 edge in their head-to-head series. 

The WWE Raw on Netflix premiere is scheduled for the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Monday, January 6, 2025. 

The WWE Raw on Netflix premiere announced lineup: 

  • Tribal Combat: Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa
  • CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins
  • WWE World Women’s Champion Liv Morgan defends against Rhea Ripley
  • Finals of the Women’s Intercontinental Championship tournament

WWE Raw live results: Ripley vs. Rodriguez anything goes match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: December 9, 2024
Location: Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS

**********

Show Recap — 

Raw started with technical issues (at least, that was the case on Sportsnet in Canada). You could hear everything starting as usual, with various wrestlers arriving, but the actual video feed was frozen on an establishing shot of the city and then a still shot of Gunther from his match against Dominik Mysterio last week. 

The live stream was fixed as Gunther entered to start the show. Gunther said Finn Bálor has made a grave mistake. Bálor had his attention, and Saturday Night’s Main Event would not end up like Survivor Series. 

Judgment Day (minus Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez) interrupted. Bálor didn’t appreciate that Gunther passed over him for a title match to instead face Dominik Mysterio, who didn’t deserve it. (Dom looked over at him but didn’t react too much.) 

Bálor said he was the only reason Gunther was still champion. SNME wouldn’t be like Survivor Series because Gunther wasn’t retaining the title because of him—he would lose the title because of him. After eight long years, Bálor would walk out as World Heavyweight Champion. 

Gunther said Bálor didn’t earn his title shot. Bálor did become the first Universal Champion eight years ago and Gunther looked up to him. That respect faded away over the years because Bálor began cutting corners. He took shortcuts and aligned himself with weirdos in a clubhouse. He chose to play second fiddle to Damian Priest. 

There was no respect left and now Gunther looked down on him. Bálor was the best in the world eight years ago—for one night. Gunther was the best in the world right now and for thousands of days to come, and his title proved it. Bálor would not win on Saturday because he was not on Gunther’s level. 

Judgment Day took offence, so they hit the apron but stopped what they were doing upon hearing Priest’s music. They ran after Priest instead, and he laid everyone out by himself. Bálor tried attacking from behind, but Priest chucked him into the ring. Gunther and Priest took turns attacking Bálor. 

They were not on the same page, though, because Gunther clotheslined Priest. Gunther was about to powerbomb Priest onto the announce table, but Bálor attacked Gunther before going after Priest. 

Bálor gave Gunther a Coup de Grace off the apron. Priest attacked the rest of Judgment Day in the ring until Bálor attacked him from behind. Bálor hit Priest with the Coup de Grace three times as Gunther looked on. Judgment Day stood tall. 

(Bálor stood tall but this segment didn’t make him look like any sort of threat. He and his buddies got beat up by Priest alone and only stood tall after Gunther attacked Priest. He’ll probably get a nearfall with his finisher on Saturday, and that’ll be that.) 

After a break, Adam Pearce informed Bálor that the world title match at SNME was now a triple threat with Priest. Bálor was fine with this because it would be even more satisfying when he beat them both. 

Bálor was less happy when Pearce told him that he and JD McDonagh would defend the tag titles against the War Raiders next week with Judgment Day banned from ringside. They were pissed. Liv Morgan (sarcastically) asked Bálor if he had any advice for their matches tonight since he had everything under control. Bálor was stunned and couldn’t find the words.

******** 

Professional bull rider Koltin Hevalow was shown at ringside. 

Eight-man tag team match: Karrion Kross, AOP & The Miz (w/Scarlett) defeated The Wyatt Sicks (9:02) 

Kross pinned Uncle Howdy. 

This was the first match for the Wyatts since September. Bo Dallas wrestled in his Uncle Howdy mask. The other members wrestled without masks. 

They seriously went to commercial 25 seconds into the match (after Miz saved Kross from a Sister Abigail). After the break, Final Testament was randomly in control of Joe Gacy until he quickly made a hot tag to Erick Rowan. Rowan had Miz pinned, but AOP broke up the cover, so Dexter Lumis and Gacy got rid of them with dives. 

Uncle Howdy tagged in and beat up Miz until Kross tagged himself in. Uncle Howdy went for a dive, but Scarlett tripped him. Nikki Cross appeared out of nowhere to take out Scarlett. (Cross didn’t enter with her team, so you knew she’d show up as a “surprise” at some point.) 

Howdy went for Sister Abigail on Kross, but Miz saved him again. As Kross distracted the referee, Howdy went after Miz but the returning Paul Ellering chucked powder in his face. Kross gave Uncle Howday a Final Prayer (F5 variation) for the pinfall win. 

This wasn’t good. 

********

CM Punk sit-down interview 

Jackie Redmond had a pre-taped sit-down interview with CM Punk. Punk said they would fight if she asked about the Chicago Blackhawks. He laughed when she responded, “No, I’m going to ask you about something much more relevant.” (That was good.)  

Redmond asked about the favour. Punk said it wasn’t the right time to talk about it. He went back many years with Paul Heyman and it would stay between them for now. 

Remond asked about Seth Rollins. Punk said he wouldn’t shy away from a fight but was confused about Rollins’ hatred. He didn’t hate Rollins at all, and they had a long history. A 16-year-old Rollins went to Punk and asked for wrestling training—for free. That entitlement has carried over into the adult Rollins. 

Rollins wanted to be on everyone’s ten top list of best wrestlers of all time, but there was a time when he was on a top ten list to be fired from WWE. Punk “shielded” him from that. Punk would hate Punk, too, if he had to live in his shadow. Everything Rollins did, Punk did already and did it before him. 

Rollins did a fantastic job while Punk was gone to fill the void, but the starter was back, and the second-string guy could now go back to the bench. 

********

Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan defeated Dakota Kai in a non-title match (approx. 6 minutes) 

They went to break 45 seconds into this one. Morgan was in control after the break, and Pure Fusion Collective marched out to watch from ringside. Morgan tried three amigos, but Kai countered the last suplex and made a comeback but became distracted dealing with Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark at ringside. 

Morgan responded with a Codebreaker but Kai countered a missile dropkick into a powerbomb. Kai was distracted again, this time by Sonya Deville on the apron, and Kai knocked her off. The referee was fine with all of this. Kai went for a running boot but Morgan avoided it and hit Oblivion for the pinfall win. 

(This was another nothing much with too much going on outside the ring.) 

PFC attacked Kai post-match but Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane made the save. Sane wiped out PFC with a dive. Sky had her back turned, so Morgan laid her out with Oblivion. Morgan stood tall. 

********

Drew McIntyre video 

There was a Drew McIntyre pre-taped video promo. McIntyre called HIAC the most violent match of his career, and he suffered massive blood loss. He had to return to Scotland after that because his family needed him. While he was away, he wondered if he was wrong and wondered if everyone else was right. Maybe people could change. 

But then he watched Survivor Series. Roman Reigns teamed with Punk. Sami Zayn and the Usos were right there with them, even after everything Reigns did. At least Punk took a bribe. The rest of them sold out for nothing. That’s when he knew he had to return to take out Zayn and Jey Uso. He can’t change the past, but he can change the present, “and I will change the future.”

******** 

[SECOND HOUR]

Joe Tessitore gave a shout-out to Barry Sanders, a native of Wichita. He also gave a shout-out to another Wichita native, MrBeast of all people. 

There was a video recap of the New Day angle last week. 

Cody Rhodes was shown leaving a meeting with Pearce. He bumped into Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. Rhodes said he’s known them a long time. He’s known Woods since they were kids. But they should both be ashamed of themselves. Kingston and Woods left. 

(I believe Woods and Rhodes were both high school wrestlers and faced each other representing different schools.) 

********

Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn segment 

Rollins entered. He said Punk had a career as a politician in his future because he knew how to spin the truth. Punk spun the truth and played the victim. He’s been doing it his entire life. He was a fraud and a con man. 

Rollins told his version of the story. He did go to Punk and asked for training. Punk helped him get in the door. They were friends. The part of the story Punk left out tells you why Rollins hated him. 

When Punk walked out of the company, Rollins called him as a friend. Punk never responded. It wasn’t just Rollins. Punk did it to everyone. If your priorities didn’t line up with Team Punk, you were evil. For the next ten years, all Punk tried to do was tear this company down. He took any shot he could. 

Punk finally came back because he failed at everything. He burned every bridge—and the money was right. The crowd chanted for Punk. 

Rollins used to respect Punk. He wanted to be just like him. But he realized Punk was a fraud and wanted to be better. Whatever Punk has done in this ring, Rollins has done it twice. Rollins also did the one thing Punk never did and that was main event WrestleMania. 

Sami Zayn interrupted. Zayn admitted it was wrong of him to accuse Rollins of attacking Jey. Zayn knew him better than that. Zayn apologized. Rollins spoke about how close they were and that their kids played together, so he wanted to know why he was the first person Zayn thought of when Jey went down. 

Zayn said Rollins was out of his mind last week. He was pointing his finger at everyone else and acted like the only person with moral clarity. He sounded less like Rollins and more like McIntyre. Rollins was a better person than McIntyre but this thing with Punk brought out the worst person in him. 

Zayn admitted he shouldn’t have gotten involved. The issue with Punk was Rollins’ business, and he could handle it however he wanted. Rollins appreciated it. Zayn asked if they were good. Rollins said yes. Rollins said Zayn now had his own issues with McIntyre to deal with. He left. 

Zayn wanted to end things with McIntyre as quickly as they’d started, so he spoke to Pearce and got a match against McIntyre at SNME. “Drew, I will see you Saturday.” As Zayn left, McIntyre blindsided him. McIntyre hammered away at him until officials stepped in. 

********

Women’s IC title tournament first-round triple threat match: Lyra Valkyria defeated Ivy Nile and Zelina Vega (7:46)  

Continuing the trend, they went to break 47 seconds into this. As Valkyria and Nile traded counters, Vega nailed them both with a senton. Vega took a page out of Rey Mysterio’s book and gave Nile a sliding powerbomb outside the ring. Later on, Nile simultaneously gave both women a German suplex. Vega hit Nile a Code Red, but Valkyria broke up the cover. Valkyria gave Nile a Nightwing for the pinfall win. Valkyria advances. 

********

New Day segment 

Cathy Kelley tried interviewing Kingston and Woods backstage. They were loudly booed and greeted with “New Day sucks” chants. Kingston and Woods were dismissive of her unbiased questioning and decided they should go to the ring. Woods grabbed a camera away from the cameraperson and went to the ring with Kingston. (He put the camera down once they entered.) 

The crowd continued to chant, “New Day sucks.” They loudly booed as Kingston spoke. He said after the ten years of positivity that the two of them gave the fans, “You’re this mad over one day?” Woods couldn’t speak because the crowd kept booing. Fans chanted, “We want Big E.” Woods responded, “We didn’t even do anything to E!” 

Kingston said they could’ve taken a steel chair to E’s back or a sledgehammer to the back of his head. Kingston may have had more examples but stopped because of the crowd. They chanted for Big E again. Woods had more to stay but was drowned out again. They both dropped their mics and left. 

This was great. 

********

SNME card: 

  • World Heavyweight Championship triple threat match: Gunther vs. Finn Bálor vs. Damian Priest 
  • Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre 
  • Women’s World Championship match: Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky 
  • Women’s United States Championship Tournament final 
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens 

******** 

Anything Goes Match: Rhea Ripley defeated Raquel Rodriguez (8:07) 

Ripley attacked Rodriguez during her entrance, and the match began once they entered the ring. Ripley was all over Rodriguez and grabbed a table, but Rodriguez grabbed her and gave her a fallaway slam onto the announce desk.  

They dropped each other with big boots after a break. Ripley went on offence and (safely) dropkicked a chair into Rodriguez’s face. Rodriguez dumped Ripley face-first onto the top turnbuckle for two. They messed up whatever spot they had planned involving a chair, so Ripley nailed her with another chair to make up for it. 

It was time for more interference, so Morgan ran out. Ripley yanked her into the ring, but Rodriguez booted Ripley and slammed her on some chairs for two. Ripley avoided a Tejana Bomb and headbutted Rodriguez. Ripley set up for Rip-tide, but Morgan saved Rodriguez. Ripley fought them off initially, but Morgan gave her an Oblivion. 

Sky ran out and took out Morgan with a springboard dropkick and suicide dive. 

Rodriguez set up a table but Ripley drove her shoulder-first into a chair that was wedged in the corner. Ripley followed with a Rip-tide through a table for the pinfall win. The crowd was happy. 

This was a perfectly cromulent street fight. 

— After the match, Sky and Ripley both grabbed the title belt. They stood face-to-face as the show ended.