Monday Night Raw Review - December 30, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jey Uso Confronted The New Day and Was Attacked by Drew McIntyre

Uso was a logical person to confront New Day over their betrayal of Big E given his extensive history with them. It never got physical, but I can totally see Uso feuding with them once he's done with McIntyre. McIntyre's latest attack on Uso was basic yet well done as it put more heat on McIntyre. They're being kept busy with each other for the time being, but I'm curious what they do heading into WrestleMania season. The Bloodline interrupted Uso before McIntyre attacked him, so is Uso's future alongside the rest of O.G. Bloodline?

Chad Gable def. Otis

I'm convinced we finally got this match because American Made are headed to SmackDown as part of this transfer window (which we've heard little about in recent weeks, by the way). It should've happened many months ago, but hey, better late than never. This was an enjoyable outing. The crowd was really behind Otis throughout, but Gable winning was the right call. Hopefully this marks the end of their long-running rivalry.

R-Truth vs. Pete Dunne Never Got Underway

Truth scored an upset win over Dunne a few weeks ago, so while I had little interest in a rematch, at least it would've given Dunne a chance to avenge that loss and get back on track. The match never happened as Dunne attacked Truth beforehand instead. Yes, Dunne still stood tall in the end, but that just means the feud isn't over. Ugh. I don't understand what Dunne gains from any of this.

Dakota Kai def. Zoey Stark in a Women's Intercontinental Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

Neither of these women are over with the audience at the moment, but they ended up winning them over by having quality chemistry and producing a very good match. The finish didn't look amazing, mind you, but that didn't ruin the rest of this for me. Regardless of whether she wins the whole thing or not, it's really cool to see Kai in the finals of this tourney. She's long deserved this opportunity to show what she can do on her own.

Damian Priest and World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders def. The Judgment Day ("Dirty" Damian Priest, JD McDonagh and Finn Balor)

As tired as I am of Priest feuding with Judgment Day, the crowd was certainly into the action here. All six guys worked well together and had a super solid match. I'm honestly shocked nothing was announced between Balor and Priest for next week's Raw to blow off their feud once and for all, but it desperately needs to happen soon. On a side note, Judgment Day got new entrance music, so the last great aspect of the group is gone.

Sheamus Attacked Ludwig Kaiser

When Kaiser started the segment standing in the ring, I thought this would be where we would find out who Gunther's next World Heavyweight Championship challenger would be. I don't think Gunther's even appeared on Raw since before Saturday Night's Main Event. Instead, Sheamus returned for the first time since Survivor Series to get revenge on Kaiser for "injuring" him at that event. I guess it makes sense to revisit this rivalry briefly, but we've seen Sheamus vs. Kaiser so many times this year that it's hard to get too excited by it. If this leads to Sheamus vs. Gunther, possibly at the next Saturday Night's Main Event or the Royal Rumble, then I'm intrigued.

Lyra Valkyria def. IYO SKY in a Women's Intercontinental Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

These two had a pair of standout matches earlier this year, so I had no doubt they'd deliver once again here and I was not disappointed. This was a terrific match with an ample amount of time and both women had stellar showings. The outcome being genuinely unpredictable helped as well and made Valkyria's win feel like an even bigger deal. We found out the finals of the tourney will take place in two weeks on Raw.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins and CM Punk Went Face to-Face

I thought we had heard it all from Rollins and Punk before they face off on the first Netflix Raw next week and I assumed we would hear a lot of the same stuff in this segment, so I was pleasantly surprised that wasn't the case. Punk did an excellent job with his mic work and Rollins fired back with some strong rebuttals. The show didn't close with them brawling and it didn't need to. The verbal exchange succeeded in leaving me looking forward to their match and ending the USA Network era of Raw on a high note.

Overall Show

The video package that aired honoring Raw's time on USA Network over the last 30-plus years (except for that five-year period in the early 200s) was a nice touch. WWE did something similar when SmackDown left FOX for USA a few months ago. Anyway, this was a thumbs-up edition of Raw in my book. It was essentially a go-home show for next week's Netflix debut and I thought it was effective in that respect. Sadly, the two-hours episodes are over as of next week, but fingers crossed the three hours (or whatever the runtime is) are entertaining enough to where the three hours don't drag.

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