WWE Raw live results: Drew McIntyre kicks off the show
Air Date: December 23, 2024 (taped Dec 16)
Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA
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Show Recap —
(Reminder that this show was taped last week.)
Drew McIntyre entered to kick off the show. As he entered, Joe Tessitore said that McIntyre is “continuously showing us a dark side like we’ve never seen before.”
McIntyre said his back was almost broken from landing on the steel steps at HIAC. He went home to Scotland, but he hasn’t talked about it publicly because a close family member passed away. Some may feel sympathy right now, and maybe some guys in the back felt bad because they didn’t know. But if they cared, they would have asked. Only one person reached out to him while he was gone. (He didn’t say who it was.)
After all these years, we were meant to think they were all one big happy family backstage because they spent more time together than their actual families. But that was all BS. His brother, John, wouldn’t stab him in the back to take his spot, but Sami Zayn, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso all would. The crowd chanted, “Yeet.” Jey claimed to be a changed man after all the terrible things he did, but the fans moved on because he had a fun hand gesture.
McIntyre has given and given and given over 17 years, but the fans turned on him. He kept fighting for the fans because deep down, he believed they believed in him, but he bled out in the ring at HIAC, and they instantly forgot about him. (They added some terrible fake booing here that sounded like the early 2000s Smackdown days.)
He would continue to tell the truth. The true villains in WWE were Roman Reigns and CM Punk. He issued a warning to anyone who kept propping them up (The Usos and Zayn).
Zayn interrupted. He said he didn’t know what happened to McIntyre while he was in Scotland. Everyone thought he was recovering from HIAC, whether McIntyre wanted to believe it or not. Zayn said McIntyre might’ve had 17 years in the business, but Zayn had 22. All the sacrifices McIntyre had, Zayn had too. He put unnecessary stress on his wife and kid but that’s the life they chose.
They did it because they were “WWE superstars.” They were lucky to be WWE superstars. It wasn’t just their story. Every single person in the crowd and watching from home had these stories. They still got up every day and did what they had to do to get through it without pointing the finger at everyone else. McIntyre had the gall to point his finger at the fans, but they didn’t forget about him—they made him.
Once upon a time, “someone” told McIntyre he was the chosen one, and he thought the world revolved around him because of it. What Jey and Jimmy and Sami did had nothing to do with him. Zayn said McIntyre could continue to have a problem with the Bloodline, so Zayn could be his problem tonight.
McIntyre said he didn’t doubt Zayn’s sentiment, but Zayn had a way of spinning things. Zayn could fly to his family every week, but McIntyre didn’t have that luxury. McIntyre wondered why Zayn would want to fight, considering he’s never beaten him. McIntyre saw Zayn’s family backstage and heard he wasn’t 100%, so he suggested leaving with his family. Out of everyone from the Bloodline, Zayn was the least of his worries.
Zayn admitted that McIntyre had his number in the ring. It would be smart for him to go home and recover. Zayn then attacked McIntyre mid-sentence, but McIntyre headbutted him. Jey ran out to make the save and teamed with Zayn to knock McIntyre from the ring.
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Pure Fusion Collective approached Adam Pearce to the sound of fake booing. Sonya Deville wanted Kairi Sane’s vacant spot in the tournament (after they laid her out). Pearce said no because it was obviously them who took her out. He made Iyo Sky the replacement already. (There was even more fake crowd throughout this.)
Women’s IC title tournament first-round triple threat match: IYO SKY defeated Natalya and Alba Fyre (8:18)
They went to break 40 seconds into this important tournament match even though the show was taped (the opening segment still went about 20 minutes). Natalya put both women in a Sharpshooter following the break. Tessitore acted befuddled by this even though she’s done it before. Sky wiped out everyone with a dive moments later and hit Natalya with a moonsault for the win.
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There was a backstage Judgment Day segment. Finn Bálor and Liv Morgan argued like kids. Bálor was on one side with JD McDonagh and Carlito, while Morgan was with Raquel Rodriguez and Dominik Mysterio. Bálor and Morgan had their backs turned to each other and wouldn’t actually speak to each other. Instead, they tried to speak through McDonagh and Rodriguez. Dom had enough of this and offered to go get a match with Damian Priest. Bálor was offended, but Dom told him that he had a plan.
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Zayn thanked Jey for having his back. Jey wanted payback against McIntyre tonight, but Zayn wanted his own payback against him first. Jey conceded but said he would get McIntyre next.
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They aired clips from the Raw Netflix kickoff show.
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Chad Gable (w/American Made) defeated Akira Tozawa (w/Alpha Academy) (2:09)
Gable and Otis had an argument outside the ring, so Gable slapped him and quickly slipped into the ring. Tozawa tried to take advantage with a cradle for two. Tozawa tried a diving senton, but Gable got his knees up and hit repeated German suplexes, a powerbomb and an ankle lock for the submission win.
— Gable wouldn’t let go of the hold, so Otis broke it up. Otis was ready for a fight, but the Creed Brothers stepped in with Gable. Otis still wasn’t backing down, but American Made left.
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Dom bumped into New Day backstage. Kofi Kingston was happy to see him, figuring he would know what they were going through. Dom said he didn’t like Big E, but what they did to him was crazy. Xavier Woods called him a broke-ass Tom Selleck. Dom responded, “Tom Selleck wishes.” Dom chuckled and left. What an odd reference.
Damian Priest defeated Dominik Mysterio via disqualification (2:52)
Priest was all over Dom and noticed a conspicuous man dressed as Santa Claus in the front row. It was McDonagh. Priest chucked him over the announce table and pulled an unsuspecting Carlito out from under the ring, but Bálor attacked Priest for the quick DQ.
— Judgment Day put the boots to Priest until the Viking Raiders made the save. Priest, Ivar and Erik laid out Judgment Day, and this ended with Priest giving Bálor a chokeslam.
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Seth Rollins sit-down interview
Jackie Redmond interviewed Seth Rollins to follow up on her interview with CM Punk. (The audio was really off here, as it has been in recent weeks on Sportsnet with some of these pre-taped segments for whatever reason.)
Rollins called Punk a hypocrite. It was appropriate to call their match on January 6th a fight, not a match, and it was the biggest fight in their industry right now. Rollins needed this fight, especially after seeing Punk standing toe-to-toe with Reigns. Rollins wanted to throw his remote at the TV when he saw that.
The Netflix debut was the perfect time to fight Punk because the world would be watching. It would be raw, visceral and violent. Rollins needed to extract this demon out of his soul and cut this cancer out of his brain. He couldn’t wait for January 6th.
(If this interview showed anything, it’s that Rollins is certainly not the interview that CM Punk is.)
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Dexter Lumis defeated The Miz via disqualification (2:24)
If you watch a lot of modern wrestling, it’s easy to conclude that there are few bad wrestlers and even fewer bad matches. But then there’s this.
This was a nothing match, to be kind, and it ended quickly when AOP and Karrion Kross attacked Lumis for the DQ. Scarlett joined them, and they surrounded him in the ring.
Lumis wasn’t worried. He raised his arms, and the lights went out, which brought out the Wyatt Sicks. They cleared the ring and powerbombed Nikki Cross out of the ring to wipe out Final Testament.
(This was the second DQ in a row and the third match in a row under three minutes. According to the results they aired later, these two matches were considered no contests, even though they were obvious disqualifications.)
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Priest thanked the War Raiders for their help earlier. Ivar said they’ve known each other a long time. They haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but there’s always been “honour” among them (a nod to their time in ROH). Erik said they may not have been friends, but Priest had their back in a big way last week, and they appreciated it. Priest said they were at war with Judgment Day, and he was happy to go to war with them. He wished them luck with the tag titles.
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The “Ø” logo, presumably for Penta, aired again.
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The New Day segment
Tessitore and Wade Barrett recapped what happened with New Day and Big E two weeks ago. Kingston and Woods interrupted. (They appeared ringside without music.) They wondered where the announcers’ unbiased journalism was. (They were completely drowned out by booing.)
Woods said Barrett and Big E had something in common: neither was man enough to lace up their boots and step foot in the ring again. (Barrett said he was retired).
New Day entered the ring. They said they could have laid out Big E, but they didn’t, so they wondered why the fans were so upset. Kingston said tonight was meant to be a homecoming for him. It was also meant to be a homecoming for his mom, who flew all the way from Ghana. Elizabeth was shown in the front row.
Kingston said she flew for 20 hours in the middle seat to be there, and they were ruining her experience. (Barrett was appalled he got her a middle seat.) Kingston said she raised him to become the man he is today and didn’t deserve to see her son get booed. Woods said they gave the fans 10 years of their lives.
Kingston approached his mom and said she didn’t deserve this. He offered a hug. She got to her feet but did not accept the hug. She asked what was wrong with him. She grabbed her stuff and left. The fans cheered and chanted, “Kofi sucks.”
This was good.
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Next week on the final USA Network edition of Raw:
- Six-man tag: Damian Priest & War Raiders vs. Finn Bálor, McDonagh & Carlito
- Dakota Kai vs. Zoey Stark
- IYO SKY vs. Lyra Valkyria
- Chad Gable vs. Otis
- CM Punk and Seth Rollins “under one roof”
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New Day bumped into Rey Mysterio backstage. Rey thought about what Kingston said last week and apologized for his response. He wanted to help them as much as he could. What they did to Big E was foul, and they should start by apologizing. Kingston said they didn’t do anything wrong, and Woods said Rey was as bad as everyone else.
Rey said they couldn’t accuse him of not trying to help, and now they were on their own. He told them to get used to hearing, “New Day sucks.”
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Drew McIntyre defeated Sami Zayn (16:35)
Zayn lost clean, and it didn’t feel like he deserved any better.
Zayn had McIntyre off-guard, leading to a first commercial break, but McIntyre took over and hit a side slam onto the apron, leading to a second break (less than 10 minutes into the match).
Zayn countered a reverse Alabama Slam into a victory roll for two. Zayn dodged a charge, and McIntyre went shoulder-first into the ring post, but McIntyre came back with a White Noise off the middle rope for two.
McIntyre went for a Claymore but Zayn fought back with a clothesline and an exploder into the corner. Zayn couldn’t hit a Helluva Kick because his back was hurt, so McIntyre nailed a Claymore Kick for the pinfall win.
— McIntyre hammered away at Zayn after the match until Jey ran out to make the save. Jey speared McIntyre and set up for a splash but was attacked by Tama Tonga, flanked by Soloa Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.
The new Bloodline entered the ring and had a brief staredown with McIntyre. He left the ring.
The new Bloodline attacked Jey but he fought them all off until the numbers finally caught up to him. Zayn tried to make a save, but they beat him up too. Sikoa gave Zayn the Samoan Spike. Fatu placed the ula fala on Sikoa, and they all stood tall over the babyfaces.