6 Ups & 10 Downs From WWE Raw (6 Jan - Results & Review)

For all the talk about WWE entering a new era on Monday night, they certainly felt like they were reaching back to a bygone era – just not one that anyone cares to ever relive.

The Raw debut on Netflix more resembled a 2019 episode of the WWE flagship show, or more accurately, a Raw after WrestleMania in that 2019-23 window, where WWE tossed out subpar action and promos and dressed them up with the energy, pomp and circumstance of a major show, trying to convince fans that what they were seeing was actually significant and certainly not a bore.

Whether it was Triple H being revealed after a huge literal curtain drop in the arena, Pat McAfee bruising eardrums, Tribal Combat dragging for far too long before something exciting happened, or Hulk Hogan making an ill-advised return that was booed out of the building, Raw’s Netflix era did not get off on a great foot on Monday night.

Ironically, perhaps the worst part of Raw was what 24 hours earlier had been the most anticipated component of the show: The Rock’s return just ahead of the annual build to WrestleMania.

Rather than building excitement about his possible role at April’s big event, Rock showed up out of his “Final Boss” character, serving more as an emcee and, later, a trophy presenter. Worse, he largely ignored his heated rivalry with Cody Rhodes, opting instead to praise and hug a man who was one of two potential can’t-miss WrestleMania opponents, and torpedoing an incredible rivalry.

Even the positives from Monday night were somewhat muted. One can only hope this is a byproduct of WWE needing to appease several masters for this big debut, and that they will get back to better episodic television next week, because the drop-off from the past few months to this was significant.

Let’s get to it…