WWE Raw results (1/13): McGuire’s live review of Dakota Kai vs. Lyra Valkyiria to become the first Women’s IC Champion, Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor in a Street Fight, Chad Gable vs. a mystery luchador

By Colin McGuire, ProWrestling.net Staffer

WWE Raw (Episode 1,651)
San Jose, California at SAP Center
Streamed live January 13, 2025 on Netflix

[Hour One] Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as exterior shots of the venue aired. A drone shot then took us into the arena. Cole was joined by Pat McAfee on commentary. McAfee threw to a video recapping last week’s Raw debut on Netflix.

Footage of a vehicle pulling into the arena aired. CM Punk was the one driving said vehicle and exited said vehicle to make his way to the ring for the show-opening promo. A camera followed him from the car to the ring. Footage of a vehicle pulling into the arena aired. CM Punk was the one driving said vehicle and exited said vehicle to make his way to the ring for the show-opening promo. A camera followed him from the car to the ring. Punk hopped on the commentary table, but slipped at first. While he stood on the table (eventually) someone handed him a microphone. Punk took it and entered the ring. As his music faded, the crowd showered him with loud “CM Punk!” chants. Punk told San Jose that he loved them/it. Punk shouted out all the people fighting the California wildfires.

Punk asked the crowd if they watched last week as Punk beat Seth Rollins. The crowd responded in kind. Punk said he has a lot on his plate, but one of the things not on his plate anymore is Rollins. Punk recalled last year’s Royal Rumble and noted how he separated his tricep from his bone. Punk said he thought he could see his career fade away and teased not seeing something while doing the John Cena gimmick. The crowd ooh’ed and even ahh’ed. Punk directly spoke to Cena and said he sees him and he always has. Punk said much like Cena did last week, Punk is officially declaring for the Royal Rumble.

Punk yelled for production to play his song, but in a twist, Seth Rollins’s music hit and Rollins walked out to his usual entrance. Punk looked frustrated. As Seth’s song faded, the crowd kept it going. Rollins no-sold the singalong and took off his sunglasses. He looked angry. He also had a black eye, presumably from last week’s match. Rollins said Punk shouldn’t be surprised to see him because he said win, lose or draw, he would still be standing there. Rollins said he was a man of his word and Punk wasn’t.

Rollins said he’d rather be the worst version of himself than any version of Punk. Rollins said last week was the worst loss of his career. Rollins said he was disappointed in himself because he underestimated Punk and the only thing he can do for redemption is take Punk’s Mania dreams and flush them down the toilet. As expected, Rollins then declared for the Royal Rumble as well. Rollins said he will dump Punk’s ass over the top rope on his way to WrestleMania. Punk said Rollins would be taking the easy way out by eliminating him at the Rumble. Drew McIntyre’s music then hit and out walked Drew with a microphone.

Punk reminded McIntyre how he beat him to within an inch of his life last time he saw him. Drew said he wasn’t talking to Punk; he was talking to Rollins. Seth responded by saying he’d stomp Drew’s head in. McIntyre said Punk and Rollins are a lot alike and the only difference is that one of them knows how much of a piece of crap he is. McIntyre said Rollins is nothing but an act and called him out for having a selfish agenda for not intervening in the Bloodline saga recently. McIntyre called Rollins pathetic.

Rollings tried to respond, but Punk cut Rollins off and said if anyone wanted to swing, he’d fight them. Rollins hopped on that train. McIntyre asked if they wanted Punk/Rollins/McIntyre in San Jose and teased walking to the ring before he screamed “No!” McIntyre said Roman Reigns is playing chess while every other idiot is playing checkers. From there, it didn’t take long before McIntyre also declared for the Royal Rumble. Drew’s music hit and the segment ended.

McGuire’s Musings: A fiery way to open episode No. 2 of Raw on Netflix, and at this point, you’d expect nothing less – Raw has been the far more interesting show when it comes to Raw vs. SmackDown in recent months. I like that Rollins isn’t done with Punk. My only quibble here is that if he isn’t done after losing last week, you can’t tell me his most pertinent act of revenge is to enter the Royal Rumble. Or, in other words, you’d think he’d want a singles match against Punk rather than have to deal with 28 other people in a battle royal. But maybe more story will be had between those two after the first weekend in February. As for McIntyre, I waffle between hot and cold on the way he sometimes speaks in riddles. He sometimes sounds more inauthentically conspiracy-obsessed than just a smart guy pointing out smart things. This time around was more the former than the latter. Still, make no mistake: This was a very good way to open the show.

Chad Gable made his entrance and the lights went out. As expected, Penta made his WWE debut to a strong ovation.

1. Penta vs. Chad Gable. Footage of a girl in the front row crying at Penta’s presence was shown. The bell rang and the crowd cheered. The crowd even knew Penta’s catchphrase. Penta yelled in Gable’s face and Gable grabbed Penta’s hand. Gable had the upper hand early, but Penta turned it around and executed a headstand on Gable’s back. The two traded arm-drag takedowns and a series of moves before they got back to their feet and reset the match. Penta milked the crowd and the crowd loved it.

Gable ran into a super-kick and Penta bounced off the bottom rope for a leg drop. Gable rolled to the outside of the ring and Penta ran the ropes, but instead ran into a suplex from Gable, who returned to the ring, which was good enough for a two-count. The crowd chanted “You suck!” at Gable. Penta went for a headstand on the top rope and came down into a dropkick on Gable. With Gable on the apron, Penta went for a springboard move, but Gable caught Penta and hit a German Suplex on the apron to take control.

Gable went to work on Penta’s leg and slowed the match down. Gable landed a back suplex and got a two-count out of it. Gable went to the top and went for a splash, but Penta moved while still selling leg pain. Penta super-kicked Gable, but Gable threw Penta into a corner. The two got to their knees and traded chops. They continued this as they both got to their feet. Gable sent Penta into the ropes, but Penta came back with a Slingblade. Penta back-dropped Gable over the top and to the outside. Penta went for a Tope over the top and Gable did not catch him. Both wrestlers stayed down after the spot as the crowd chanted “Holy shit!”

Back in the ring, Penta hit a cross-body from the top. Penta then kicked Gable and followed it up with a Backstabber for a two-count. Penta riled up the crowd and kicked the hell out of Gable, who popped up and landed a German Suplex for a near-fall. Penta chopped the hell out of Gable and went for another one, but Gable worked an arm-bar over the top rope. Penta came back with a head-scissors and what Cole and McAfee called a Mexican Destroyer that led to a great near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants broke out. Gable came back with a dragon-screw leg whip and sank in an ankle lock. Penta countered with what they are calling the Sacrifice (an arm-breaker) before Penta landed the Penta Driver to get the win.

Penta defeated Chad Gable via pinfall in 13:27. 

After the match, Jackie Redmond hopped in the ring to interview Penta. Penta took the microphone and yelled “Thank you, San Jose!” Penta said WWE is his new home and the crowd cheered. Penta said he knew everyone was waiting for this moment, but the truth is, it was Penta who had been waiting for this moment. Penta spoke in Spanish and the crowd loved it. A camera zoomed in on his face. Penta said he knows it’s a new era in WWE and it’s not only the Netflix Era; it’s the Penta New Era. Penta did the catchphrase and told the crowd he loved them again. His music hit to end things.

The Judgment Day were talking backstage and Dominik had a bunch of roses for Liv Morgan. Dom said it wasn’t what it looked like last week. Liv said she wasn’t mad and then gave Dom a list of things she wanted him to do, including grabbing her bags. Liv left and Dom told the guys he didn’t think Liv was mad at all about last week. Finn Balor laughed at him and turned his attention to his match later against Damien Priest. Balor told Dom to hang back during his match with Priest.

McGuire’s Musings: That was a nice debut from Penta. All told, he took to the WWE pacing/style a lot better than I thought he would. It’s so odd seeing him go from 1,000 MPH each week for years to the way he worked here, but it’s not like it was an accident that he was put in there with Gable, who sure does know what he’s doing. Better yet, the crowd was behind him every step of the way, which is encouraging and not always promised to new WWE main roster talents these days (cough, Motor City Machine Guns, cough). I was struck by how big Penta looked in there. Weirdly, he looked way more imposing in a WWE ring than he ever did in an AEW ring and I was not expecting that. Anyway, the post-match promo felt super sincere and kind of/sort of means we should be in for a fun ride with him as it feels like the WWE minds just might actually get behind him as a real player each week. I hope so. We all hope so.

Bron Breakker was shown sitting in the crowd, waiting to watch the next match.

2. Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser. Sheamus had control early. Sheamus set up for 10 Beats, but Kaiser came back and kicked Sheamus off the apron and into the commentary table. Kaiser ran at Sheamus and hit a missile dropkick on Sheamus, who looked like he may have been holding a chair. The show then went to a commercial break for those of us poors who don’t have fancy ad-free Netflix.

[Hour Two] The show came back and Sheamus’s skin was all types of red. Kaiser kept kicking Sheamus until Sheamus stood up and chopped Kaiser before clotheslining Kaiser and hitting 10 Beats. Sheamus clotheslined Kaiser back into the ring. Sheamus followed that up with a White Noise from the second rope for a nice near-fall. Kaiser took the sheleighly from the corner, but Sheamus hit Kaiser with a running knee for another near-fall. Sheamus set up for a Brogue Kick, but Kaiser chopped Sheamus instead. Kaiser went for another cop, but Sheamus hit him with a knee. Kaiser responded with a rolling Senton for a two-count. Kaiser then teased a kick, but instead ran into a Brogue Kick from Sheamus and that earned Sheamus the win.

Sheamus defeated Ludwig Kaiser via pinfall in 8:47.

After the match, Sheamus went to ringside to celebrate with McAfee and Breakker was sitting in the crowd. He stood up and pushed Sheamus. Officials broke things up.

Cathy Kelley caught up with Rollins, who was walking backstage. Turns out, next week, it will be Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins. Seth said he owed Drew for WrestleMania so next week should be fun. Rollins then ran into Sami Zayn, who told Rollins if he needed anyone to talk to, Zayn was there for him. Rollins said last week was a rough week for him, but it was a great week for Zayn because Roman Reigns is the Tribal Chief again. Rollins asked Zayn if he was going to help Reigns win the Royal Rumble and then the Undisputed WWE Championship. Rollins asked Zayn if he would keep helping Reigns or if Zayn would start helping himself.

McGuire’s Musings: Sheamus and Kaiser worked hard. You can’t ask for much more than that. The fact that a couple minutes were taken away via advertisements for some of us Netflix viewers reminded me of how much WWE matches suffer from these lulls sometimes. These two didn’t even hit nine minutes, so while it was intense and hard-hitting, it felt like it was lacking because I didn’t see a quarter of it. All whining aside, I don’t know how Sheamus does it. It feels like each time he steps in a ring anymore, his chest and face turn to ground beef within five minutes of the bell ringing. That fella is tough. Bron vs. Sheamus, which the post-match stuff set up, should be very good-to-great.

The Miz and Karrion Kross were talking backstage and Kross found out that the Wyatt Sicks have been moved to SmackDown. Zayn walked in and Kross told Zayn he heard his conversation with Rollins and he found it interesting. Miz said if they were talking world titles, they didn’t need to worry about Zayn. Miz said he’s been world champion twice, which is two more times than Zayn could ever hope for. Zayn said he was heading to lobby for a match between him and Miz tonight. Oba Femi was then shown in the crowd. Gunther’s music then hit for his promo.

Gunther said he followed last week’s debut on Netflix closely and he was not impressed with the performances in the ring. Gunther said he wished they had a roster that could fulfill high expectations. Gunther said everyone is fighting over personal drama – “Who’s the head of the table? Who’s the best in the world?” – and Gunther followed that up by saying, “Who cares,” and it was funny. Gunther put over his world title as the most important in WWE and was cut off by Jey Uso’s music and Jey Uso’s entrance.

Uso asked Gunther if he heard Gunther say he was looking for someone to care about the WWE World Championship. Uso then said Gunther was looking at him – Main Event Jey Uso. He challenged Gunther for his title at Saturday Night’s Main Event for Gunther’s World Championship. Gunther smiled and laughed and asked Jey if he was serious. Gunther said Uso was courageous for him to challenge Gunther, but Uso would be naive to think he’d be the guy to take the title off him. Gunther reminded Uso that he beat him twice. Gunther said what Jey is capable of is a lot less than what Gunther is capable of.

Gunther said when the bell rings, he will expose Jey for what he really is – a really, really talented tag team wrestler. The crowd booed. Gunther said Jey is not on Gunther’s level and to Gunther “main event” isn’t just a nickname; it’s a place where Gunther belongs. Gunther said Jey should stick to his “Yeet!” and out of championship business. Gunther said SNME was fine with him, but the choice would be Jey’s choice to make. Gunther dropped the mic and left Uso in the ring. Jey told Gunther to hold up as he was walking away.

Uso said everything Gunther said was true – Jey isn’t supposed to be there, isn’t supposed to be in that spot, isn’t supposed to sell that much merchandise. Uso said every day, he wakes up and battles for himself and he will earn Gunther’s respect at SNME. Jey set up the crowd for one big yeet, and it indicated that the match was on between Uso and Gunther for the WWE World Championship.

McGuire’s Musings: I like it. Almost a lot, even. I wasn’t expecting Jey to step up – and let’s not pretend like we expect anything other than Gunther walking into WrestleMania with that belt draped across his shoulder, so the match result most likely won’t be in question – but this should be a fun week or two of Jey/Gunther stuff. I just love Gunther’s condescension. It’s so funny and so smug and so entertaining. WWE doesn’t get a lot right, but I can’t think of any possible way Gunther could be booked any better at this point on the main roster. As for Jey, here’s hoping he looks great in defeat (assuming he loses, which we all assume). And I say that because this match feels like a test run to see precisely how over he really is with the WWE Universe (boy, I hate that term). It will be a clash of styles and probably shouldn’t go longer than 12 to 15 minutes, but color me intrigued.

3. Dakota Kai vs. Lyra Valkyria in the finals of the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament. The action was quick to begin the match with neither woman getting the upper hand. The two went to the outside and Valkyria went for a missile dropkick through the ropes, but Kai caught her and planted Valkyria on the apron. Valkyria shot back by planting Kai. And then holy moly, Valkyria vertical-suplexed Kai off the apron onto the floor and the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and the action was back in the ring. Valkyria worked Kai’s back. The two got to their feet and Valkyria landed. Series of kicks until Valkyria caught Kai, only to fail at a powerbomb attempt. Kai took advantage of that with her modified Destroyer/Back-breaker spot for a two-count. Kai went for the GTK but Valkyria countered into a running powerbomb. Valkyria then kicked Kai in the head and hit a leg drop from the top rope for a two-count. Kai eventually hit a stomp and then actually got in the GTK … but Valkyria rolled to the outside, so Kai couldn’t capitalize on her finisher. Kai rolled Valkyria back into the ring and went for a running kick, but Valkyria moved and hit her finisher for the win.

Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai to become the first-ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion in 8:31.

After the match, Kai raised Valkyria’s hand and Lyra celebrated on the second rope as a bunch of pyro shot off.

Mcguire’s Musings: Much too short, considering what we know those two are capable of. The secondary women’s champions are a really interesting talking point now that the first two have been crowned. For instance, did Bayley not win the U.S. title because Bayley will always be in the main event picture? Likewise, did Kai not win here because she is figured into bigger plans? More so, does this mean Chelsea Green and Lyra Valkyria are actually kind of/sort of defined down by holding these belts? It’s probably not worth being over-thought, but what do I have if I don’t have overthinking things? Nothing. The answer is nothing. Anyway, this was fun while it lasted. The vertical suplex spot was nuts and I really think they could have kicked this into the next gear if they had another five minutes. Did Penta’s promo run too long? Wait. This is Netflix! There are no hard outs … right? So, let them fight!

4. Sami Zayn vs. The Miz. The Miz’s entrance was not televised. Miz had control early – until he ran into a punch from Zayn and a double-axe-handle from Zayn. Miz came back with a running kick to Zayn’s face. Miz posed and the crowd booed. Zayn took advantage of Miz playing to the crowd and hit a clothesline. Zayn followed it up with about 20 punches to the head. Zayn landed an Exploder on Miz into a corner. Zayn set up for the Helluva Kick, but Miz caught him with a boot and a DDT for a two-count. Miz did the Miz Kicks spot until Zayn caught him and rolled Miz up for a two-count. Miz ran into a corner and Zayn followed him for a Helluva Kick. Zayn then hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and that got him the win.

Sami Zayn defeated The Miz via pinfall in 4:06.

McGuire’s Musings: Not much to this. In fact, it was so much of an elongated squash that it felt like this should have given two minutes of itself to the women’s IC title match. The Miz is directionless these days and Zayn continues to be in WWE purgatory: Everyone wants him to succeed and a major title run could be a ton of fun. But instead, invisible transfer window thing will help him eventually.

Cole announced that Sheamus vs. Bron Breakker for the IC title will take place on SNME. Jey Uso vs. Gunther is also official for the show.

[Hour Three] Rhea Ripley’s music hit and the WWE Women’s Champion made her way to the ring. Ripley screamed “Mami is back on top” to open her promo. Ripley reminded everyone she is the WWE’s Women Champion. Nia Jax’s music then hit and Jax walked out. Jax said she couldn’t take it anymore and the crowd booed the hell out of her. Jax said via the transfer window, she couldn’t help herself because she wanted to talk to Mami. Jax said she came out to let Ripley know that she is declaring for the Royal Rumble and she will take whatever title she wants. Jax pointed out Bayley in the crowd and wondered what she was doing there. Jax said Bayley would be from “this poor, dumb, nasty town.”

Jax said there is only one woman at the top of the women’s division and it’s Nia Jax. Jax said it wasn’t Ripley, Tiffy or Bayley, the latter of whom hopped the crowd barrier. Bayley grabbed a microphone and said it might not be her show, but it is her city. Bayley called Jax a “big, old dumb idiot.” Jax shoved Bayley to the ground. Jax shoved Ripley and Ripley headbutted Jax. Bayley then popped up and cleared Jax from the ring. Bayley and Ripley embraced as Jax retreated up the aisle to end the segment.

Next week, Cole announced, JBL will be in the house and The New Day will be in action. Also, as previously stated, Rollins vs. McIntyre will go down.

McGuire’s Musings: I could do without these silly previously announced appearances for promos, only for them to turn into big names declaring for the Royal Rumble. Hey, dummies. Why wouldn’t these big names declare for the Royal Rumble? All this does is take up valuable TV time. But I digress. I was glad to see Bayley get some love at a televised show in her hometown. Ripley barely said anything at all, which was disappointing considering how this was the first time we saw her since winning that title last week. And Jax was … well, Jax, who has been doing a formidable job on SmackDown, but probably didn’t need to be inserted here. As for next week … the JBL appearance raises my eyebrows. Anyone who has been following him for months knows he’s up to something, what with the indie appearances and the podcast chatter. Here’s hoping it’s not all for not because this could get awfully fun.

5. Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest in a street fight. Balor jumpstarted the match and appeared out of nowhere, beating Priest down with a kendo stick. Priest quickly recovered and returned the favor before chokeslamming Balor so hard, he rolled to the outside. It was there that Priest slammed Balor face-first onto the commentary table and then threw him over the table before grabbing a table from under the ring.

The two were on the commentary table and Balor got the best of the exchange, eventually tackling Priest over the crowd barrier. The two fought into the crowd. Balor found a trash can and hit Priest in the head with it. This repeated as the two made their way through the floor seats. Priest ultimately got control of the trash can and hit Balor in the head with it. They battled back towards the ring … only for them to take the fight into the crowd on the other side of the room. Balor hit Priest with a chair and chopped him. Priest threw Balor into a guard rail and the two worked their way up the stairs into the 200 section.

Balor and Priest exchanged punches and Priest set up for a suplex off the 200 section. Lo and behold, Priest actually landed somewhat of a Falcon Arrow onto some tables from the 200 section onto the floor. The crowd chanted “This is awesome!” as officials checked on Balor. The show then went to a break for us poors.

The show returned and Balor was doing a stretcher job while Priest was in the ring, waiting for him. Adam Pearce was at the head of the stretcher. Priest shoved referees away and fought off all of TJD on his way back to Balor. Priest then started hammering on Balor before rolling Balor back to the ring, where the stretcher crashed and Balor rolled into the ring. Priest hit a hard clothesline and raised his hand. Priest set up for a choke slam, but Carlito ran in and hit a Backstabber. JD joined Carlito and hit a moonsault on Priest. TJD placed Balor on the top rope and Balor hit the Coup De Grace after tearing off his neck brace. It was good enough for only a two-count.

JD and Carlito grabbed a table from under the ring and the War Raiders’ music hit. Those two came down and cleared the ring of JD and Carlito. Balor and Priest were the only ones left in the ring and Balor landed a Slingblade. Balor grabbed a chair and hit Priest’s back repeatedly. Priest sat on the chair and Balor put another chair around Priest’s neck. Balor ran at Priest, but Priest stood up and slammed Balor with a choke slam for a good near-fall. Both guys then rolled to the outside.

Priest set up for a Razor’s Edge, but Balor countered with a Slingblade on the outside. Balor then hit a Coup De Grace on Priest, who was laid out on a table, on the outside. Balor tried to follow up but Priest ran Balor through the timekeeper’s barricade. “Holy shit!” chants began. Priest then hit the Razor’s Edge on Balor through a table on the outside. Back in the ring, Priest hit South Of Heaven and that was enough for the win.

Danian Priest defeated Finn Balor via pinfall in a street fight in 17:13.

Priest posed on the second rope to close the show at about 10:32 p.m. EST.

McGuire’s Musings: A good WWE-style street fight. I was a little surprised to see the stretcher job happening, coming back from the break – and I mean that in a good way. In all, it put both Priest and Balor over after that insane Falcon Arrow spot that you just don’t see in WWE all that much, if ever. That said, both guys worked really hard here and I have to think this is the blowoff for the Priest vs. TJD story. Or, here’s hoping, at least. With Ripley seemingly moving away from Liv Morgan and Priest now putting that part of his past behind him, what’s next? It’ll be interesting to see, especially now that we are squarely on the road to WrestleMania. Don’t forget that it was at last year’s Grandaddy Of Them All that Priest became a world champion. If tonight means he’s done with TJD, what’s in store to make sure he lands a spot on the card this year?

In all, this was a very good follow up episode to last week’s pomp-and-circumstance heavy Raw Debut On Netflix (that was all-caps on purpose). There were no fancy red lights attached to the seats, no rambling Rock taking tequila shots and driving his truck to the NXT show, no Ula Fala. But this was really a pretty good episode from start to finish – and a smart one in that they went off air about a half-hour ahead of time, which is always welcome, especially on a card that has only five matches. In all, the night should be – and might always be – remembered for Penta’s debut, which was great and inspired a ton of tears from those close to him at ringside. You can’t not love when pro wrestling inspires Real Emotions in Real People. It’s just so affecting in all the right ways. Jason will be by with his audio review at some point (I think … I hope). For now, this was fun. Hope to see you again? Hope to see you again.