6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (Results & Review - 22 Jan)
Punk and Rhodes have promo exchange for the ages, Rollins' title future put into focus.
That sound fans just heard was everyone’s televisions simultaneously melting down at the top of the second hour of WWE Raw Monday night, when CM Punk and Cody Rhodes absolutely tore the house down… with a promo delivered in calm, normal speaking voices.
No punches were thrown, no voices were significantly raised, but the tension was off the charts, and the drama was at an all-time high. It’s only January, but that might be a contender for the segment of the year. Absolute magic that could talk fans into parting with their hard-earned money just on the possibility of seeing those two tangling at the Royal Rumble this Saturday.
The rest of Raw could have been a test screen and it would have been a successful show. But WWE delivered another really good promo to open the show between Seth Rollins and Gunther, some really good in-ring action, with Ivar/Chad Gable stealing the show, and a wild brawl between two tag teams looking to reclaim their edge.
Raw also had its share of bumps along the way, including R-Truth foolishness, some sloppy and heatless wrestling, and the continued flailing of the women’s tag division. But the negatives can’t override the plusses from Monday night, with this show easily being a winner on the strength of two promos and two matches.
Let’s get to it…