5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (27 Jan - Results & Review)

3. So. Much. Talking.

WWE go-home shows before a major PLE often resort to a plethora of talking segments to fill the time rather than relying on in-ring action. Typically, all that’s left to do is just talk people into the building or to purchase the show that weekend.

That works great when you actually have something useful to say, but when there’s a 15-minute show-opening promo train that says little, it’s not a promising start.

Seth Rollins opened Raw by lamenting his loss to CM Punk once again before saying that he wasn’t staying down and was going to win the Royal Rumble… but who should he challenge? Thankfully, Gunther broke up this drab promo and livened things up with some verbal sparring that ended with the World Heavyweight Champion noting that Rollins is one of the best wrestlers to step into WWE, but it’s 2025 and he’s no longer the best – the Ring General is.

Oh, but we weren’t done yet. Cue Logan Paul to come out and yap a bit too, soaking up the boos as he announced his entry into the Rumble. Gunther saved this, too, by saying he changed his mind and no longer wanted Seth to win the Rumble – he wanted Logan to win so he could wipe the Maverick’s “stupid smirk” off his face at WrestleMania.

The long and short of this was that Gunther has become a consistently solid-to-excellent promo, more consistent than Rollins. He was the saving grace here, but the only development to come out of this was that Logan Paul is entering the Royal Rumble. Wow, 15 minutes for that and some underwhelming exchanges. Compare this to the show-closing promo battle and the stark difference will inform why this rated low.