WWE Raw live results: Royal Rumble fallout
Date: January 29, 2024
Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FA
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Show Recap —
I don’t know if this happened to everyone, but they were having technical difficulties for the first few minutes. The feed was a still shot of Tampa as Michael Cole ran things down. The live crowd reacted to graphics and shots of various wrestlers but, on TV, you couldn’t see any of it. You could only hear it. They aired a video package for the Royal Rumble, but again, you could only hear it. The feed eventually started working again as the package played.
Cody Rhodes was shown entering earlier today and Cole said it was obvious who he was going after at WrestleMania.
The first hour of Raw is commercial-free.
Pat McAfee entered. Cole announced that he and McAfee would be the regular team on Raw.
CM Punk segment
CM Punk entered with his right arm in a sling. He initially had a serious look on his face but couldn’t help but smile upon seeing a young fan asking for an autograph. The crowd chanted Punk’s name.
Punk said he came really close to winning on Saturday. He wasn’t mad at anyone and he wasn’t mad at Cody Rhodes. In fact, he wanted to congratulate Rhodes. It’s not about what you deserve, it’s what you’ve earned, and Rhodes has earned it. Punk wanted to see him finish his story at Mania. Punk said winning the Rumble in back-to-back years was a great accomplishment, not unlike the Tampa Bay Lightning winning back-to-back Stanley Cups.
Punk didn’t believe in luck but he did feel a bit unlucky. He tore his right triceps in the Rumble. He thought maybe he could wrap it up and compete in Elimination Chamber but he couldn’t. He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him. He said his dream since he was a kid was to main event WrestleMania but maybe that just wasn’t going to happen.
Punk spoke about a friend named Chad Gilbert who had cancer. Chad had a wife and a daughter and he was never in a bad mood. That was real life. Punk’s injury was just a flesh wound. He wasn’t the best in the world because he always won. He lost more than he won. He pointed out his not-so-great record in UFC. He fought in UFC because it was his dream and it scared the crap out of him. The crowd chanted for Punk.
It scared him as much as coming back after ten years to a place he never wanted to leave. The dream of WrestleMania will continue to haunt him. But ‘best in the world’ was a moniker that belonged to those who fight cancer. Those who fight fires.
Punk promised to keep going until the wheels fell off. This was just adversity. He did not focus on those who were negative. None of the criticisms he heard mattered. The fans woke up every day and they kept going to put food on their tables and he planned on doing the same.
Punk said WrestleMania 40 wasn’t in the cards. But he was a Chicago Cubs fan and he repeated a familiar phrase: “There’s always next year.”
Drew McIntyre interrupted before Punk could finish. McIntyre said some terrible things about Punk but could identify with the words he spoke now. McIntyre has never been much of a spiritual person but: “I prayed for this and it happened.” (That was funny.) The crowd booed.
McIntyre assaulted him in the Rumble because he could not let him win. McIntyre couldn’t sleep knowing Punk eliminated him but he slept like a baby last night after hearing of Punk’s injury. McIntyre exercised the demon that was CM Punk. McIntyre would find a way to Mania and live Punk’s dream — again.
Punk said his heart hurt more than his tricep does. Punk said he would come back and main event WrestleMania but he would go through McIntyre first.
McIntyre went to take a cheap shot but Punk ducked and kicked him. Punk tried to use his injured arm but McIntyre headbutted him. McIntyre stomped at Punk’s injured arm until Sami Zayn made the. McIntyre bailed. The crowd chanted for Zayn.
Officials checked on Punk and Zayn helped him to his feet.
(Punk and McIntyre were both very good here.)
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Rhea Ripley told the rest of Judgment Day they should send a message tonight, a message that they couldn’t send at the Rumble. Ripley asked if Damian Priest and Finn Bálor were ready. Priest was completely on board and Bálor said they would show everyone how viscous they were.
DIY cut a promo while walking through the back. Johnny Gargano said DIY was born two hours away from Tampa and Tommaso Ciampa said they would achieve their dreams tonight.
Finn Bálor & Damian Priest defeated Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano to retain the Tag Team Championships (12:53)
Bálor tagged himself in but Gargano took out Priest with a slingshot DDT and Ciampa hit Bálor with an air raid crash for a close nearfall. (The crowd really got into it from here.) DIY hit Bálor with Meet in the Middle but Priest put Bálor’s leg rope under the ropes for a rope break.
Bálor hit Gargano with a slingshot and dropkick but Gargano avoided the Coup de Grace and applied a Gargano Escape. Ciampa also put Priest in a Gargano Escape but Priest hoisted him up and dropped him on Gargano to break up the submission.
Everyone traded strikes until Priest dropped Ciampa with a thrust kick. Priest dropped Gargano onto the announce table with a flatliner before Ciampa caught Priest in a small package for two.
With Gargano out, Priest hit Ciampa with a Razor’s Edge and Bálor finished him off with Coup de Grace for the pinfall win. This was fun.
— Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh ran out to celebrate. Priest thought they owed R-Truth an apology and called him out. Priest promised Truth that he wouldn’t attack him. (You knew what that meant.)
Truth claimed he traded Priest’s money for cryptocurrency, did his taxes, and liquidated his assets, so he was taken care of. Priest said there was no way he knew what any of that meant. Truth said they were like a family — Priest was like his older brother, Bálor was like their creepy uncle, and JD was like the step-brother they didn’t want to acknowledge.
Priest said Judgment Day was a family, but Truth wasn’t in it. Priest liked Truth which is why he wouldn’t be the one to do this. Priest called for Dom but it was McDonagh who decked Truth. McDonagh hammered away on Truth until Miz ran out. Judgment Day cut off Miz and Dom laid him out with a frog splash. Judgment Day stood tall.
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Adam Pearce met with Punk in the back.
Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre was announced for tonight.
Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (2:05)
Stark got the pin on Green after hitting Z-360.
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There was a Royal Rumble recap video. Rhodes is up next.
The commercial-free first hour ended at 8:53 pm.
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[SECOND HOUR]
Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins segment
Rhodes entered to a big reaction and “you deserve it” chants. On the way out, Rhodes heard something for the first time so he asked Samantha Irvin to say it one more time. She announced him as the winner of the 2023 and 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble match. Rhodes was pumped to hear it again.
Rhodes knew that the fans came to their shows to expect the best action and to escape any worries they may have. Sometimes, the wrestlers needed to escape too. The last 48 hours of his life have been quite challenging. He assured us that all was well. Rhodes teared up as he said the fans would never know how much he needed them on Saturday. He was grateful for that.
Rhodes wanted to make his announcement official for WrestleMania 40. Seth Rollins interrupted.
Rollins agreed with the fans that Rhodes deserved it. They didn’t always see eye-to-eye but they’ve developed a mutual respect. Rollins congratulated him on winning back-to-back Rumbles. They shook hands.
However, Rollins thought Rhodes was making a mistake if he fought Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. “I think you should fight me instead.” There was a mix of “yes” and “no” chants.
Rollins heard Rhodes call himself the guy at the press conference. “You’re not the guy. Roman Reigns is not even the guy anymore. I’m the guy.” Rollins said the World Heavyweight Championship was the title in WWE.
Rollins said it made sense to go after Reigns last year but the landscape has changed. Rollins knew that Rhodes has thought of nothing but Roman the last year. But Rhodes has been on the ride with him during this past year. He and Rollins both traveled the towns and worked all of the shows.
Rollins main-evented those shows as the world champion, while Reigns was at home. Rollins said his world title came to be because everyone was sick of Reigns. Rollins said they didn’t need to pretend that Reigns was an untouchable god. They didn’t need Reigns at all.
Rollins asked which title Rhodes wanted. Rollins referred to Reigns’ belt as the Hollywood title and the Hulk Hogan title. The title meant that for posers who used politics to get to the top. But Rollins held the Dusty Rhodes title. The one that represented the workhorse. Rollins wondered what kind of man Rhodes wanted to be.
Rhodes said he had an insane amount of respect for Rollins. Rhodes admitted that this was the last thing he figured he’d be thinking about, but he promised Rollins he’d think about it. Rhodes left as Rollins smiled.
(This all felt like a big stretch and an attempt to kill time before WrestleMania.)
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Kofi Kingston (with Xavier Woods) cut a promo about his match against Gunther. He said winning championships is what they did and he would beat Gunther for the Intercontinental title tonight.
There was a video of Bron Breakker’s performance at the Rumble.
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Jey Uso defeated Bronson Reed (9:22)
Jey fought back after a break and hit a flying crossbody but barely got a two count. Reed blocked an enziguri and hit a senton for two. Reed no-sold a superkick so Jey hit two more for a two count. Reed avoided an Uso splash and hit a Death Valley Driver for two.
Jey avoided Reed’s Tsunami attempt and hit a superkick, spear and Uso splash for the pinfall win.
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Andrade signed a Raw contract with Adam Pearce in the back. Nick Aldis entered. Aldis said Smackdown had a great offer for Andrade so Pearce told him they should’ve been quicker. Andrade shook their hands and left. (Before he left, I believe Andrade told Pearce to say hi to Zelina Vega for him.)
Aldis seemed annoyed that Pearce was doing business this way, especially after he loaned Bayley to Raw tonight.
Their meeting ended after Aldis got a call from Bron Breakker. Aldis left to take the call. (The crowd buzzed when he said Breakker’s name.)
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Gunther said Kingston was fighting for his legacy and was in for the fight of his life. But Gunther would forget about him after tonight. Nobody would be thinking about Kingston after tonight, while Gunther would continue on as the greatest IC champion of all time.
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There was a video recapping the highlights from the Women’s Rumble match.
Becky Lynch interview
Jackie Redmond interviewed Becky Lynch. Lynch said she let a lot of people down including herself but it wasn’t in her nature to stay down. She would train a little harder, think a little smarter, and fight a little dirtier. She would stop at nothing until she was back at the top and main eventing with the title.
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Gunther defeated Kofi Kingston to retain the Intercontinental Championship (15:44)
Gunther applied a Boston Crab and they abruptly went to break 47 seconds into the match. Gunther dominated for a while until Kingston fired back with a forearm but Gunther cut him off with a neckbreaker. Gunther applied the Boston Crab again and again they went to break with the move still applied.
Kingston went for a dive but Gunther caught him and shoved him hard into the side of the ring. Kingston managed to drive Gunther into the ring post and followed with consecutive suicide dives. Gunther popped back in the ring and Kingston caught him with Trouble in Paradise but Gunther rolled out of the ring before Kingston could make the cover.
With Gunther draped over the steel steps, Kingston hit an elbow drop off the barricade followed by a diving leg drop off the top for two. Gunther blocked a Trouble and Paradise and tried the Boston Crab but Kingston countered into a cradle for two. Gunther hit a clothesline but Kingston reversed another clothesline into an SOS for a nearfall.
A “this is awesome” chant was cut off by Gunther hitting a clothesline, dropkick and powerbomb for the pinfall win.
— Woods checked on Kingston post-match but they were attacked and laid out by Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. Gunther was very pleased.
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Redmond interviewed Zayn. Zayn said he couldn’t stay on the sidelines after McIntyre targetted not only himself but CM Punk and others. McIntyre pointed the finger at everyone and Zayn planned on giving him a reality check.
There was a recap video of Jade Cargill’s performance at the Rumble.
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Non-title match: Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka & Kairi Sane defeated Natalya & Tegan Nox (9:49)
Asuka and Sane worked over Nox until Natalya made the tag and hit Asuka with a German suplex and discus clothesline. Sane saved Asuka from a Sharpshooter and took out Nox. Natalya used a baseball slide to take out Sane but Asuka knocked her down with a kick. Asuka set up Natalya and Sane dropped her with the Insane Elbow for the pinfall win.
The crowd was exceptionally quiet for this.
In the back, Redmond interviewed Kayden Carter and Katana Chance and they informed her that they were getting a tag title rematch next week.
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Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky joined Asuka and Sane in the ring ahead of Bayley’s entrance.
Bayley/Damage CTRL segment
Bayley advised the fans they should take a picture of them considering it was the first time you’ve seen the Women’s Tag Champs, WWE Women’s Champion and Rumble winner in the ring at the same time. They had her to thank for that.
Everyone claimed Bayley wasn’t as good as she used to be but she didn’t listen to anybody’s opinion. She wasn’t even on the Rumble poster but she was the 2024 winner. They have the most stacked women’s roster ever and she came out on top. She also beat Rhea Ripley’s record by lasting over 63 minutes.
Ripley interrupted but her promo was quickly cut off when Nia Jax attacked her from behind. Ripley tried to fight back but Jax cut her off and hit three consecutive leg drops in the ring. Jax hit the Annihilator as Damage CTRL looked on. They all cautiously left the ring leaving Bayley on her own.
Jax warned Bayley that Ripley wasn’t making it to WrestleMania. Bayley nervously said she would make her decision on Friday.
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McIntyre told Redmond that all he has done was tell the truth. McIntyre has wrestled Zayn many times but Zayn has won zero times and that wasn’t changing tonight. McIntyre said, “Hit my music” as he walked through the curtain.
Drew McIntyre defeated Sami Zayn (12:57)
McIntyre chucked Zayn over the announce desk just 30 seconds into the match. McIntyre tossed him back in the ring before warning McAfee not to talk trash about him. Zayn used the distraction to hit a suicide dive ahead of a break.
McIntyre was in control but Zayn fought back and hit a sunset flip sit-out powerbomb for two, followed by a tornado DDT for two. McIntyre followed with a spinebuster for two and sit-out powerbomb for two. Zayn’s arm was hurt so he couldn’t get McIntyre up for a suplex and McIntyre responded with a headbutt.
McIntyre went to the top but Zayn brought him down with a superplex. Zayn went for Helluva Kick but McIntyre dropped him with a clothesline. McIntyre went for a Claymore Kick but Zayn countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. McIntyre followed with a big overhead suplex and a White Noise off the middle rope for two.
McIntyre shoved Zayn while telling him that some people were just out of his league. Zayn fired back and went for Helluva Kick but McIntyre blocked it by getting his hands up. McIntyre just so happened to hit Zayn in the crotch as he blocked the move. It was ‘inadvertent’ so the ref allowed it to continue and McIntyre immediately hit a Claymore Kick for the pinfall win.