Day One Raw was designed by WWE as an event that would feature many great matches. But the matches didn't turn out to be the biggest headline show of the event as WWE legend The Rock made an appearance and put on perhaps the biggest wrestling match.
Rock returned and attacked Jinder Mahal after an anti-American Mahal promo. But bigger than Rock, the crossover star threw a line to end the segment that teased a long-awaited match with Roman Reigns in the near future.
There were also two world title matches on the schedule, with Rhea Ripley and Seth Rollins retaining their titles against challenges from Ivy Nile and Drew McIntyre, respectively.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
The Rock returns to eliminate Jinder Mahal, teasing match with Roman Reigns
After rumors that a former WWE Champion would appear on Day One Raw, fans were initially greeted by the underwhelming appearance of Jinder Mahal. Mahal turned the mob and America upside down, claiming to be the “great unifier” needed to return America to greatness. As Mahal continued his rant, The Rock's music hit and one of the biggest stars in wrestling history made his way to the ring.
The Rock cut to one of his classic promos, calling Mahal various names before singing a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner with lyrics swapped to continue insulting Mahal. This eventually led to a brawl, which resulted in Rock hitting a spinebuster and The People's Elbow before Mahal fled.
The real meat of the segment came at the end when Rock said he was going out to eat and asked the crowd if he should eat at a booth, at the bar or “at the head of the table”, teasing a future confrontation with Novel. Reign.
Although the action with Mahal was a bit hit and miss, as much of Rock's shtick has aged poorly, his return is making headlines. More importantly, if WWE was finally able to hold the Rock vs. Reigns has wanted for so long, this is a match that will do big business, whether at WrestleMania or any other event. Grade: A
What else happened on WWE Raw?
- Nia Jax def. Becky Lynch via fallen with a Bonzai Drop to open the evening. Jax hit Lynch with an uppercut before the end, leaving her with a bloody mouth.
- A Shinsuke Nakamura video interrupted a Cody Rhodes promo. Rhodes said he entered 2024 stuck on Nakamura after being fogged when their feud should already be over. Nakamura said he was going to end Rhodes' story and close the book, but would give him another week to think about it.
- Jey Uso and Kofi Kingston def. Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser via referee stoppage after Vinci got injured.
- R-Truth & The Miz def. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh via pinfall when Miz hit a Skull-Crushing Finale on McDonagh. R-Truth kept thinking that he was actually in Judgment Day and that the match was an attempt to prove his loyalty before accidentally helping Miz win.
- Women's World Championship – Rhea Ripley (c) def. Ivy Nile via pinfall with Riptide. A long match ended when Ripley countered a crossbody with a headbutt, then delivered a knee and Riptide to retain her championship.
- Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark def. Natalya and Tegan Nox via pinfall after Stark hits Nox with the Z360.
- World Heavyweight Championship — Seth Rollins (c) def. Drew McIntyre via pinfall to retain the title. Damian Priest attempted to cash in during the match after coming to ringside with Mysterio and delivering a briefcase kick to Rollins. Before he could finish the cash-in, McIntyre hit him with a Claymore. McIntyre then hit Rollins with a Claymore and seemingly won the match, but he was not paying attention to the positioning of the ring and placed Rollins' foot on the bottom rope during the pinfall. Shortly after, Rollins hit McIntyre with a Pedigree on the commentary desk before picking up the victory to retain his belt.