The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 12/23/24 Review

It’s WWE Raw featuring Drew McIntyre in action against Sami Zayn and the Women’s Intercontinental Title tournament continues.

This is the second last episode of Raw in 2024, which means the second last episode before Raw moves to Netflix on January 6th. There are some years when WWE does recap episodes around this time, but not this year. It’s new content once again.

Last week’s Raw ended with the War Raiders winning the World Tag Team Titles from The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor & JD McDonagh. They taped this week’s Raw right after that episode to give talent and staff a bit of a break for Christmas break.

As I mentioned last week, I plan on posting my 16th annual WWE Johnny Awards column on Christmas Day, which is Wednesday. The 2023 WWE Johnny Awards are here in case you need a reminder about what they are all about. It’s my favorite thing to write every year and I figured getting it posted on Christmas is my gift to you, loyal TJR reader.

Merry Christmas to those of you celebrating this week and I know Hannukah begins on the same day as well, so that’s cool. I wish you all happiness during this holiday season. I’m looking forward to Christmas with my family. I won’t be taking much of a writing break, but that’s okay. I’m bad at taking breaks anyway.

This is the Raw Deal for episode #1648 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport, friend me on Facebook, or chat with me on the Bluesky App as well. Let’s get to it.

Drew McIntyre was shown walking backstage and he made his way out to the arena. There were Christmas trees and presents by the entrance area. The commentary team was Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett.

Let’s Hear from Drew McIntyre…and Sami Zayn

Drew McIntyre was in the ring saying that a very close family member passed away when he went back home to Scotland in the last few months. Drew said that people might show him sympathy and people in the locker room might say they didn’t know, so Drew said if they cared enough then maybe they could have asked. Drew said that after the hell he went through in Hell in a Cell, only one person reached out to him. Drew said that it’s all BS when people say that it’s like a family in WWE. Drew said his brother wouldn’t stab him in the back, but people like Jimmy, Jey and Sami would. Drew said that after Jey Uso made his life hell and other people’s life hell, Jey just does a stupid hand gesture and the people loved him. Drew said that the fans turned on him when he spoke about a guy who left them (Punk) and he bled out at Hell in a Cell. Drew said that he’s going to take and he’s going to continue to tell the truth. Drew said that the real villains in WWE are Roman Reigns and CM Punk. Drew mentioned Reigns took a vacation, came back and people were by his side again. Drew said that everybody who has ever wronged Drew McIntyre should sleep with one eye open because Drew is coming for them.

Sami Zayn interrupted Drew’s promo wearing a “Sami Uso” shirt. Zayn said he didn’t know what Drew was dealing with at home in Scotland because he thought Drew was recovering from one of the most vicious Hell in a Cell matches and that’s what most people thought. Zayn got into the ring with Drew saying he’s been in the business for 22 years. Zayn said he’s had loss and he had to put it on the side and go to work in the same week. Zayn said that he’s missed the parties and the funerals, he puts stress on his wife and his kid and they do that because they are WWE superstars. This is the life they chose. Zayn said that they are lucky to be WWE superstars. Zayn told Drew that the fans in the crowd and at home have struggles too, they have their losses and they have their sacrifices. Zayn said that they could still soldier on without pointing the finger at everybody else. Zayn said that the fans didn’t forget Drew because “they made you.” Zayn said that Drew still thinks that the world revolves around him because somebody told him he was the Chosen One. Zayn said just because you’re mad doesn’t make you special. Zayn said what Jimmy or Jey Uso does has nothing to do with Drew and the same goes for Sami Uso. Zayn said if you still want to walk around angry at everybody then that’s fine because nobody is stopping you. Zayn said that he has no problem facing Drew in this ring right now.

Drew replied saying it isn’t just anger because it comes from a place of pain. Drew said that what Zayn was saying was not the full truth. Drew said that Zayn gets to go back to his family while the people of Boston will never leave Boston. Meanwhile, Drew can’t see his family any time he wants. Drew mentioned that he’s beaten Zayn many times. Drew told Zayn he’d heard that he wasn’t completely healthy while saying he saw Zayn’s wife and kid in the back. Zayn admitted that when it comes to wins and losses, Drew has the upper hand over Zayn. Zayn admitted he’s not 100% and maybe he should be at home to celebrate the holidays, but he’d rather do this. Zayn punched Drew, who fought back and Drew hit a headbutt.

Jey Uso made his return after Drew attacked him backstage earlier this month. Jey superkicked Drew, which led to Jay & Sami clotheslining Drew over the top to the floor. Jey did his arm-swinging motion with the fans to end it.

Analysis: It was great promo work from Drew McIntyre as usual, who is terrific as a heel and comes off as a natural speaker because there’s a lot of truth in what he says. As a European, Drew doesn’t get to see his family as much as the rest of the roster, so that is a sacrifice he has to live with and he can use that as a character to make him angry. Sami Zayn is a likable guy who is fine for this spot because he’s going to reply to Drew with truth of his own. Jey made his return after McIntyre beat him up backstage three weeks earlier, so now Drew is at a disadvantage since Zayn has backup.

The Pure Fusion Collective group of Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark & Shayna Baszler spoke to Raw GM Adam Pearce. Deville said she wants Kairi Sane’s spot in the Women’s IC Title tournament. Pearce declined that while telling Deville that he’d already filled the spot with Iyo Sky. The PFC women weren’t happy about it as Pearce left.

Iyo Sky made her entrance for her triple threat match.

(Commercial)

Women’s Intercontinental Title Tournament Quarterfinals: IYO SKY vs. Alba Fyre vs. Natalya

Sky tried a rollup on Natalya for a two count. Natalya slammed Sky to the mat followed by the stomp to the back, but Fyre was there to trip up Natalya. Fyre sent Natalya into the steel steps. Sky ran the ropes leading to a suicide dive onto Fyre on the floor. Sky almost jumped too far leading to an awkward landing, but she was okay.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Sky hitting a springboard dropkick on Fyre. Fyre came back with a Tornado DDT on Sky and then a front suplex that saw Fyre suplex Sky onto Natalya. Fyre jumped off the top with a Swanton Bomb on both opponents for two counts. Fyre applied a submission on the head/arm of Natalya, but Natalya got out of it. Natalya tripped up Sky onto Fyre leading to Natalya doing the double Sharpshooter on both opponents and the fans popped for it. Fyre managed to crawl to the rope to break, but there were no rope breaks in a triple threat, yet Fyre’s leverage was able to break the hold. Sky gave Natalya a neckbreaker across the top rope. Sky kicked Natalya on the floor. Sky went to the middle turnbuckle leading to a springboard moonsault onto both women on the floor. Back in the ring, Sky went up top, but Fyre hit her in the back to stop that. Natalya was back up to hit Fyre with a German Suplex. Natalya stayed on the mat after that, so Sky hit Over The Moonsault off the top rope for the pinfall win after about nine minutes.

Winner by pinfall: IYO SKY

Analysis: **3/4 It was a good match between three veterans. There was that brief spot where it looked like Fyre might win after the Swanton off the top, but other than that she didn’t come across as a threat. I was hoping Natalya would advance in the tournament, but when Sky was the replacement in the match I figured that she would win because she is booked strongly most of the time. I just think it would be a cool story to see Natalya with the Women’s IC Title at some point and I hope it happens for her down the road.

The semifinals in the Women’s Intercontinental Title Tournament look like this: Dakota Kai vs. Zoey Stark and Lyra Valkyria vs. Iyo Sky.

Analysis: I think it would be cool if Dakota Kai won the title since she’s been in WWE for a long time and hasn’t won in terms of singles gold. She has the support of the fans, so I’d like to see Kai get the title.

The Judgment Day was shown hanging out in their clubhouse. Finn Balor and Liv Morgan took turns bickering about various issues. They did this by telling others in the group to relay a message, so it was like children not talking to eachother. Dominik Mysterio said he’s going to get a match with Damian Priest even though a graphic was already shown that it was advertised. Dominik said he had a plan and left. Finn said he wanted one week of no drama.

Analysis: The Judgment Day is okay right now, but it’s not as good as it was at its peak as a group. Everybody in the group loses matches often except for Liv, so it’s not helping their status as a top group on Raw.

(Commercial)

Sami Zayn and Jey Uso were shown talking backstage. Zayn said he was happy Jey was there to have his back. Jey said that he had to get payback on Drew for dropping him three weeks ago. Jey spoke about how he wanted payback. Zayn said he wants payback tonight and Jey said Zayn isn’t even 100%, but Zayn said he started something, so he has to finish it. Jey said he’s got next. They did a handshake to end it.

Analysis: That means it is Sami Zayn against Drew McIntyre this week and it should lead to Jey Uso against Drew soon.

There were highlights from the WWE Raw on Netflix kickoff event from WWE HQ in Stamford, CT last Wednesday. Logan Paul has officially joined the Raw roster after not doing anything for over four months as part of the Smackdown roster. There were other promos as well. Seth Rollins and CM Punk got into a light shoving match that led to them getting them separated.

Chad Gable made his entrance joined by his American Made group.

(Commercial)

Akira Tozawa (w/Otis & Maxxine Dupri) vs. Chad Gable (w/Julius Creed, Brutus Creed & Ivy Nile)

Gable worked over Tozawa with chops along with a forearm smash. Tozawa came back with a spinning kick to the head. Gable applied an armbar on Tozawa against the ropes. Gable slapped Otis and then Tozawa got a rollup for two. Tozawa hit a superkick. Tozawa went up top, he jumped off with a senton splash, but Gable blocked it with his knees to the back. Gable hit three German Suplexes in a row. Gable followed up with a Powerbomb followed by an Ankle Lock. Tozawa tapped out to give Gable the win after about two minutes.

Winner by submission: Chad Gable

Analysis: *1/2 An easy win for Gable. Tozawa is a talented wrestler, but he’s not pushed seriously.

After the match, Gable held onto the Ankle Lock, so Otis saved Tozawa by breaking it up. Otis tossed Gable across the ring. The Creeds joined Gable in the ring, which led to Gable backing away with his friends.

Analysis: It should lead to a Gable-Otis match to finally settle this rivalry.

The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were hanging out backstage. Dominik Mysterio walked up to them saying he didn’t like Big E, but what they did was just crazy. Woods called Dom a “broke ass Tom Selleck” and Dominik said, “Tom Selleck wishes.” Dom kept on walking.

Analysis: For the people under 30 who don’t know who Tom Selleck is, he’s a famous actor from a show called Magnum P.I. who was known for having a mustache. I know he had other roles since then, but he’s always going to be the mustached guy from Magnum PI. Anyway, Dominik trashing New Day for how they treated Big E is another example of people being rude to New Day for what they did.

(Commercial)

Damian Priest vs. Dominik Mysterio

The bell rang, so Dominik bailed to the floor. Priest started out with punches followed by a slam that sent Dominik to the mat. Dominik fought back with kicks along with a dropkick to the back. Priest was sent out of the ring, Dominik tried a dive, Priest caught him and Priest hit a flatliner onto the commentary table. Priest sent Dominik into the ring post. Priest grabbed somebody at ringside dressed like Santa Claus and it was JD McDonagh. Priest beat up JD easily. Priest reached under the ring to find Carlito and Priest beat him up. Finn Balor attacked Priest, so that led to a DQ after three minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Damian Priest

Analysis: *1/2 Damian Priest was dominant in the match, which isn’t much of a shock. The DQ ending also felt like an obvious thing based on Dominik being in the match. I don’t really like that kind of finish, but that’s also the point to get heat on the heels.

After the match, Priest tried to fight the Judgment Day guys, but it was a 4-on-1 attack as Balor, JD, Carlito and Dominik beat up Priest. The War Raiders, who are the new World Tag Team Champions, ran out to the ring to fight with The Judgment Day guys. Priest tossed JD out of the ring. Priest superkicked Balor. Ivar nailed Carlito with a knee to the jaw. Priest hit JD with a clothesline. War Raiders hit their War Machine double team move on Dominik. Priest hit South of Heaven on Balor. Priest and his buddies The War Raiders stood tall together in the ring.

Analysis: This story involving Priest and Balor needs to end, but it just keeps going. The presence of the War Raiders here likely sets them up for a six-man tag team match.

Seth “Freakin” Rollins Interview

There was a pre-taped sitdown interview between Seth Rollins and Jackie Redmond, who asked about CM Punk. Seth said that he tried to explain how he felt about Punk. Seth said that this place doesn’t need him. Seth said that it’s hard for him to let things go. Jackie asked what can we expect from the match and said it was not the right word, so Seth said that this was a fight. Seth said that he needs this fight right now. Seth said that he hated seeing CM Punk standing there with Roman Reigns at Survivor Series. Seth said that the world will be watching this match and you’ll see a side of him that nobody has ever seen. Seth said it would be raw, visceral and violent because he has to extract this demon from his soul. Redmond said it sounds like he needs to go through a fight and he’ll go through that fight on January 6th on Netflix. Seth said: “Finally, can’t wait.” That was it.

Analysis: It was fine for a sitdown interview where Rollins said a lot of the same things that he has said in the past. I was hoping for something a little more from Rollins, but it didn’t feel very different than his promos in the ring.

The Miz made his entrance for singles action.

(Commercial)

Dexter Lumis vs. The Miz

It was mentioned by Joe that it was Dexter’s first singles match on Raw since February 2023. Miz punched Lumis and then Miz ran away when Lumis no sold it. Lumis sent Miz into the barricade followed by punches. Lumis hit a somersault dive off the apron onto Miz on the floor. Back in the ring, Lumis delivered a punch, but Miz came back with a kick. Lumis tackled Miz followed by punches. Miz hit Lumis in the throat with punches, but Lumis hit a uranage slam. Lumis went up top, which led to the AOP guys Akam & Rezar showing up at ringside. Lumis dove onto AOP on the floor. Karrion Kross showed up and hit Lumis with a forearm to the jaw. The referee called for the bell so it’s a DQ finish. It lasted about three minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Dexter Lumis

Analysis: * Another match on this show with a heel stable causing a DQ in the match. That’s two matches in a row with the same kind of DQ ending. It’s not very creative.

The Final Testament group surrounded Lumis, who extended his arms in the ring. That led to The Wyatt Sicks group going down to ringside to fight with The Final Testament. The Miz ran out of the ring to avoid the fight. The Wyatt Sicks easily cleared the ring. Erick Rowan picked up Nikki Cross and tossed her over the top onto the pile of heels on the floor. The heels retreated while Wyatt Sicks posed in the ring.

Analysis: The feud must continue apparently. I’m not really into it, but it’s an easy way to use two stables.

The War Raiders were backstage with the World Tag Team Titles. Damian Priest walked up to them saying he appreciated them helping them. Ivar said that there’s always honor among them. Erik said that Priest had their back last week, so they owed him one. Priest said they’re at war with The Judgment Day so he’ll go to war with them. Priest congratulated them on the titles. They did a forearm smash to end it.

There was a brief video with the 0 zero symbol with an arrow threw it. It’s likely for Penta, who is likely debuting in WWE soon. Cool.

(Commercial)

There were clips shown of The New Day getting booed heavily by the fans two weeks ago on Raw. Joe and Wade trashed The New Day for their actions.

Let’s Hear from The New Day

The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were at ringside. Kofi said that you can’t speak to them like that. Woods wondered what happened to unbiased journalism. Kofi said that Joe’s job isn’t to have an opinion, it’s to tell the truth. Woods told Wade Barrett that he has something in common with Big E because they aren’t man enough to lace up the boots again. Wade said he was retired.

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods went in the ring. Kofi said that they could have beat up Big E and had him stretchered out of the building again and Woods said they didn’t do that. Woods wondered why the fans were so upset. Kofi said that this was supposed to be a homecoming for him.

Kofi said he brought his mother from Ghana to be there and the fans are ruining the experience by booing him. Kofi’s mom was at ringside. Kofi said that she doesn’t deserve to see her husband get booed in his hometown. Woods said they gave us ten of the best years of your lives. Kofi apologized to his mom saying that he didn’t understand why they were doing this. Kofi wanted his mom to hug him. Kofi’s mom didn’t have a microphone, but she was asking Kofi what was wrong with him? Kofi’s mom refused to hug her son and she walked away.

Analysis: It continued the story that everybody hates The New Day guys. Even Kofi’s mom didn’t like what her son was doing, which furthers the story about The New Day being hated.

Next week on Raw:

* Damian Priest and The War Raiders vs. The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor, JD McDonagh & Dominik Mysterio

* Women’s Intercontinental Title Tournament Semifinals: Dakota Kai vs. Zoey Stark

* Women’s Intercontinental Title Tournament Semifinals: Iyo Sky vs. Lyra Valkyria

* Chad Gable vs. Otis

* CM Punk and Seth “Freakin” Rollins will be there to promote their match on January 6th.

Analysis: It’s a decent lineup, but not that interesting. Obviously, the January 6th Raw on Netflix is the bigger priority to WWE.

Drew McIntyre made his entrance for the main event.

(Commercial)

The New Day was shown walking backstage where they saw Rey Mysterio, who said he thought about what Kofi said last week about being a locker room leader. Rey apologized because he could have handled things differently. Rey said if they wanted to start fixing things, they should start by apologizing. Kofi said that they shouldn’t apologize to nobody since they did nothing wrong. Woods echoed Kofi’s thoughts saying they did nothing wrong. Rey said you can’t say he didn’t try. Rey told them to get used to hearing this: “New Day sucks.” Rey left.

Analysis: I assume this leads to Kofi against Rey soon. I am enjoying this story with The New Day.

Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew worked over Zayn with punches. Zayn avoided a charging attack, Zayn avoided it and Zayn punched Drew repeatedly. Zayn worked over Drew with punches while the fans chanted “Sami Uso” for Zayn. When Zayn went for a move off the ropes, Drew was there with a kick to knock Zayn down. Drew hit a vertical suplex. Drew worked over Zayn with a hard chop to the chest. Zayn delivered a kick to the chest followed by Zayn tossing Drew out of the ring. Zayn teased a dive to the floor, but then Zayn did a backflip into the ring. They went to a break there.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Drew with stomps on the back. Joe said that Drew was 9-0 against Zayn in singles matches. Drew hit a vertical suplex. Zayn came back with chops, but Drew hit him with a backbreaker for two. Zayn ran the rope and he got a hold of Drew leading to a Tornado DDT. It looked like Zayn spun around so much that it was almost like a neckbreaker. Drew was on the floor, Zayn jumped over the top onto Drew, who caught him. Zayn broke free and sent Drew into the commentary table hood. Drew sent Zayn into the steel steps. Drew broke the referee’s count while the guys were on the floor. Drew jumped off the steel steps and gave Zayn a backbreaker onto the ring apron. Ouch. That led to a break.

(Commercial)

Drew was in control with a reverse Alabama Slam attempt, but Zayn countered it into a victory roll for two. Drew charged, Zayn avoided him and Drew went shoulder-first into the ring post. Zayn went up top, Drew met him with a punch and Drew chopped Zayn hard in the chest. Drew got a hold of Zayn on the turnbuckle leading to a White Noise slam for a two count. Zayn got an inside cradle for a two count. Drew came back with a Glasgow Kiss headbutt that Drew does with his hand against the face. Drew charged, but Zayn nailed him with a clothesline. Zayn hit an Exploder Suplex into the turnbuckle. Zayn tried to charge, but his back was hurting, so Drew nailed him with a Claymore Kick for the pinfall win. It went about 16 minutes. Joe mentioned Drew was 10-0 against Sami and 3-0 against Sami this year.

Winner by pinfall: Drew McIntyre

Analysis: ***1/2 A very good match that featured both guys selling moves well. Zayn was especially great with his selling because he couldn’t run at Drew to deliver a Helluva Kick due to the back injury. That led right into Drew hitting the Claymore Kick for the clean win. It was fun match as usual for them. I think Zayn has lost most of his matches since losing the Intercontinental Title and I think that’s a mistake. They need to book Zayn stronger so we can see if he can become a true main event guy going after a major World Title in the future.

After the match, Drew attacked Zayn with punches to the head. Jey Uso made the save by running the ropes leading to a Spear on Drew. Jey went up top, but Tama Tonga of The Bloodline was there and he shoved Jey off the top. Solo Sikoa was there along with Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga, which led to Drew bailing to the back.

The Bloodline guys were in control as Tama punched Jey repeatedly. Jacob Fatu charged, Jey avoided it and Fatu hit the turnbuckle. Jey hit Tama with a superkick. Jey tried to fight off Fatu and Solo, but Fatu superkicked Jey. Solo hit his brother Jey with a Samoan Spike. Zayn saved Jey, so Tama beat up Zayn with punches. Fatu hit a running hip attack on Zayn. Fatu did a double jump moonsault off the top. Fatu hit a Samoan Spike on Zayn.

The Bloodline trio of Solo, Jacob and Tama stood tall over Jey and Sami. Fatu put the Ula Fala around Solo’s neck. Solo and his group posed with fingers in the air. That was the end of the show.

Analysis: It was an ending we have seen many times on Smackdown over the years and now we get it on Raw. It’s not the most exciting type of ending, but it continues the story of Solo wanting to prove to Roman Reigns that Solo is the Tribal Chief. I guess Sami and Jey don’t have a lot of friends since they have no allies there to help them out. A lot of babyfaces get booked that way so that the heel gets heat for their actions.

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Three Stars of the Show

1. Drew McIntyre
2. Sami Zayn
3. Iyo Sky

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The Scoreboard

6.5 out of 10

Last week: 7.5

2024 Average: 7.56

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Final Thoughts on WWE Raw

A below-average Raw like Smackdown was last week. It is my lowest-rated Raw of the year. The only match I thought was really good was the Drew-Sami main event. The women’s match was an average match that didn’t really stand out. Those other two matches with DQ finishes were frustrating because they happened back to back and they were both short. It just felt repetitive.

They are building to the big January 6th Raw episode. A lot of other things feel like a holding pattern until then. I enjoyed The New Day promo segment because Kofi and Xavier are very entertaining as heels.

This episode felt like if you missed it then you missed nothing, which is how I described the last Smackdown episode as well. These taped shows during the holiday season haven’t been exciting at all.

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Thanks for reading. Please check out my reviews of every WWE PPV ever listed in order. Go Los Angeles Rams, Toronto Raptors & Toronto Maple Leafs. My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter/X @johnreport