Who deserved to go No. 1? Who was a surprise when they were picked? We go back through the entire history of WWE Draft top picks.
Is it an honor to get drafted, whether it’s in traditional sports or WWE? Sure. But there’s something to be said for being the No. 1 pick.
The WWE Draft is, of course, not the same thing as a pro sports draft, in the sense that it’s done all for entertainment value. It’s not GMs or authority figures sitting around and selecting the best available wrestler, as much fun as that would be.
Still, most years the WWE Draft has been around, the No. 1 overall pick has been a big name, someone you would actually build a wrestling brand around. And even the years when it wasn’t, it’s fun to look back and say, “Wow, really?”
So let’s do that now. Scroll down for a look at every WWE Draft No. 1 pick in history, from the initial WWF draft lottery in 2002 up through the most recent edition.
With less than two weeks to go until the Royal Rumble in Florida, it’s time for some of the top talent on WWE Raw to get their current programs finished and turn their attention to securing a spot at WrestleMania.
Cody Rhodes might have the first half of that plan finally checked off after he defeated Shinsuke Nakamura again last week, so he can finally put all his effort on winning the Royal Rumble match. Or we think that’ll be the case anyway, since WWE says he’s kicking off the show tonight.
What if we’re wrong, though? Is it possible Rhodes has one more in a seemingly ceaseless string of hurdles placed in his way? TBD.
Seth Rollins knows he can’t worry about Royal Rumble just yet, as he has a World Heavyweight Championship defense to attend to this evening. Plus it’s against the man of the hour, Jinder Mahal, not something we expected to be typing as recently as two weeks ago.
There would seem to be little chance WWE would put this title on Mahal, especially given the time of year we’re in. Things need to be cemented, not chaotic. Right?
Normally, we’d say yes. But there’s that little matter of Elimination Chamber in Australia, where WWE will need to put on a big show next month. Roman Reigns probably won’t be there, and while the Chamber matches are attractions in their own right, a world title match doesn’t seem like too much to ask for.
So we’re just putting this out there: Maybe Mahal wins tonight and Rollins has to win it back from him at Elimination Chamber. Or a certain Straight Edge Superstar could snag it there and go into WrestleMania making Seth chase him.
Or, you know, Rollins could just win tonight and speed on down the Road to WrestleMania. That’s why we watch, which we’ll be doing starting right now.
WWE Raw results from Little Rock:
(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)
A tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. starts the show
Are Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre more alike or different?
Damian Priest takes R-Truth to task for selling Judgment Day merchandise in the parking lot, but Truth is making a killing off the gear, and Priest relents while also telling him not to tag in during their tag team match tonight
#DIY def. The Judgment Day (Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh) by pinfall
Chelsea Green and Piper Niven interrupt a conversation between Adam Pearce and Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell, which Pearce turns into a match between those two teams tonight
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell def. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven by pinfall
Rhea Ripley sees a Nia Jax hype video and leaves to “address her division,” while the rest of The Judgment Day takes Priest to task about the R-Truth situation; Damian shows the money he’s been bringing in and suggests to McDonagh that he may not get a cut because “your name’s not on the shirt”
Gunther is back and offering rare praise for Ludwig Kaiser, who gets a challenge from a vengeful Xavier Woods
Ludwig Kaiser def. Xavier Woods by DQ after Woods uses a steel chair, though he ends up getting it kicked into his (already bloody) face afterward
Bronson Reed says there is a champ right now who is unaware his championship will soon belong to Reed … though he doesn’t name which champ he’s talking about
Byron Saxton tries to get a word with Woods, but Kaiser attacks him until Jey Uso puts a stop to it
A video package shows us how we got to a Seth Rollins-Jinder Mahal world title match
Akira Tozawa def. Ivar by pinfall, though after the bell, Valhalla assaults Maxxine Dupri after the bell and Ivar hits a moonsault on Tozawa
CM Punk and Rhodes will be face to face next week on Raw
Ivy Nile says she will look for Pearce to deal with Valhalla; Chad Gable says he will teach Ivar a lesson next week too
Rhea Ripley addresses her division and ends up in a showdown with Becky Lynch
Seth Rollins says the only way to head to WrestleMania is to continue to be a fighting champion, a workhorse champion, and he knows this is the best version of Jinder Mahal and he wouldn’t have it any other way
Damian Priest and Finn Balor def. The Miz and R-Truth by pinfall
Jinder Mahal says everyone is divided but his focus is singular, and everyone will be unified when he defeats Rollins to become World Heavyweight Champion
Apparently Shinsuke Nakamura isn’t done with Cody Rhodes, which is interesting
Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark def. Natalya and Tegan Nox by submission, with Baszler making Natalya tap out
Seth Rollins def. Jinder Mahal by pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
Image credit: WWE.com
Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre bicker over who will finish their story first
Rhodes asks Little Rock what they want to talk about, giving some options. He’s about to launch into his “I’m on my way to Royal Rumble” routine when he’s interrupted by the arrival of Drew McIntyre.
The Scottish Warrior turns Cody’s question around on him before reminiscing about how they came up the first time in WWE together. McIntyre says he’s proud of Rhodes as both a man and performer and also reminds him they were tag team champs together as The Dashing Ones.
Drew mentions that both of them had to leave WWE to find themselves and “become verbs.” He believes in Rhodes now too, saying he will finish the story … but not before Drew finishes his.
Rhodes says Drew could win the Rumble, but so could Jey Uso. So could CM Punk. You can’t count anybody out.
McIntyre tells Rhodes he should just be himself and doesn’t need to smile all the time and try so hard. Cody seems irritated by that, insisting that he smiles when he comes out because he is grateful for his second chance while Drew stands and complains about his.
Undeterred, McIntyre claims Rhodes is standing in his way, and at WrestleMania, the story belongs to him. But the American Nightmare says McIntyre is still blaming everyone but himself, and if he wants to keep bringing up the last time they wrestled, he has one question: Who won?
Image credit: WWE.com
#DIY closes in on a tag team title shot with a victory over the champs’ teammates
The framing here is that #DIY is stringing together wins to get closer to a tag team title shot, and this is a victory that would surely help considering it’s the other two Judgment Day men who hold the gold.
Tommaso Ciampa takes flight with a corkscrew plancha, and Johnny Gargano does the same to send McDonagh over the announce table. They do their sitting on the apron and clapping thing as commercials arrive.
With some timely rulebending and double teaming, Mysterio and McDonagh take charge after the break. Wade Barrett calls out Dom’s fuzzy boots, which are, in fact, incredible.
Gargano is isolated and taking a beating far from his own corner. He finally hits Dom with his slingshot spear, and he nearly dives for the tag before Ciampa gets hauled off the apron by McDonagh.
Ciampa is the legal man after a second commercial break so must have gotten himself back in position while we were away. Gargano prevents a double team and Ciampa nearly rolls up Mysterio for three.
McDonagh saves his partner from another close call seconds later. Big shots start flowing in every direction, eventually leaving all four men down. The fans approve, starting a “this is awesome” chant.
Also awesome: McDonagh’s standing Spanish fly and top rope moonsault, leaving Ciampa in need of a save from his partner. Mysterio’s attempted 619 is foiled and he gets sent to the floor by a hard knee shot.
McDonagh looks like he’s in trouble now, and he eats Meet in the Middle, leaving him helpless as Gargano covers for three.
Image credit: WWE.com
Gunther is … happy with Ludwig Kaiser? Xavier Woods definitely is not
Ludwig Kaiser does his usual ring intro for Gunther, who is back from IRL paternity leave. Giovanni Vinci is hurt, so this is all the Imperium we get.
The Ring General says he can smell the desperation this close to Royal Rumble, which he reminds us he was close to winning last year after a record-setting time in the ring. This year, he plans on winning and main eventing WrestleMania. As one does.
But for now, he wants to focus on Kaiser, reviewing what’s been happening while Gunther was gone. The champs likes the grit, confidence and courage Kaiser showed in his attack on Kofi Kingston and gives him a hug as a sign of his happiness.
Not as happy? Xavier Woods, who is here and hot for some payback. He challenges Kaiser to a match, taunting him for needing to ask his “daddy” for permission.
Kaiser accepts and says what he did to Kingston is nothing compared to what he’ll do to Woods, who comes right after Ludwig, leaping off the apron and hammering him on the floor until a ref finally calms him down.
Mami vs. The Man? Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch tease Mania showdown
Mami makes it simple: This is her division, which is why she is the champion. As such, she says the Royal Rumble winner will be wasting a WrestleMania opportunity if they choose her. It’s just going to go the way it did last year, because Mami is always on top.
Some familiar music hits as an answer, and Bekcy Lynch joins Ripley in the ring. The Man says they are two very different people but with two very similar journeys.
Lynch says they’re the two very best to do it, but the voice in her head keeps her awake asking if perhaps Ripley is better than she is. Becky says she needs to prove that Rhea is not, and to do that means taking the title, and to do that means winning the Royal Rumble match.
Ripley says she really does want Lynch to win the Rumble and will see her at WrestleMania.
Image credit: WWE.com
R-Truth gets some harsh truth from Damian Priest and Finn Balor
Truth is not only in The Judgment Day’s entrance video, he also walks out behind them despite being on the opposing team. He then proceeds to spill cash all over the ring before the bell. Miz is basically pleading with his partner to convince him they’re on the same team. Funny stuff.
Truth ignores Priest’s suggestion earlier in the show that he not tag in, earning him a beating from Balor as commercials arrive. Nothing has changed after the break, really. Priest tags in but is immediately outmaneuvered by Truth, who get Miz in for his first extended action.
Miz fights Balor to the floor and sends Priest over the announce table. The A-Lister is rolling, but only until Balor counters away from a Skull Crushing Finale, and Truth tags himself in for a scissor kick to Balor. Priest blasts Miz with a kick but manages to stop Truth, who ends up kicking Balor and then taking South of Heaven from Priest.
Balor crawls over and pins Truth for a chaotic win as boos rain down from the fans.
Image credit: WWE.com
Seth Rollins overcomes chaos, retains against Jinder Mahal
Indus Sher accompanies Mahal to the ring, giving Rollins potentially one more thing to worry about. Seth has got plenty to worry about from Jinder himself in the opening minutes, though he connects on a flying knee off the apron to get a foothold in things. Damian Priest wanders out casually with his MITB case, and Rollins has a grim look on his face heading into commercials.
After we return, Mahal is treating Rollins to some pain inside the ring. Seth finally battles free of an abdominal stretch for the obligatory exchange of strikes, which the champ wins thanks to a healthy clothesline.
Rollins is tossed over the buckles, then comes flying back in with a cross body for a near fall. A second rope moonsault gives Rollins another near fall, though the announcers wonder if he tweaked a knee or ankle.
Both men want suplexes, but Rollins wins the day by pivoting to a Falcon Arrow. Seth is thinking Stomp but runs into some head kicks, though he perseveres for a Pedigree … sort of, as his knee gives out, and his cover is thwarted by Indus Sher’s timely assistance.
Rollins dives onto one of Mahal’s wingmen on the floor but misses a splash back into the ring. Priest is up on his feet as both combatants are down, but Drew McIntyre is there to throw hands with him.
While the ref is distracted by their brawl, Mahal follows a cheap shot by Indus Sher and comes darn close to stealing the world title. A chair is slid into Mahal, and dealing with that allows Indus Sher to get in a briefcase shot. Mahal hits the Khallas … but Rollins kicks out.
As Mahal tries for a second Khallas, Rollins evades it and hits a Stomp, closing the show by retaining his world title.
Also, will R-Truth finally reach the end of the line with The Judgment Day this week on WWE Raw?
Not sure if you’ve noticed or not, but Jinder Mahal is having what you’d call a moment. Even though he’s a former world champ, he’s arguably never been quite as much at the center of pro wrestling discourse as he is right now. And with a big title shot coming up tonight on WWE Raw from Little Rock, Arkansas, that shouldn’t change.
Where is WWE ultimately going with Jinder Mahal?
Let’s get this out of the way up front: No one expects that Mahal will upset Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship tonight on Raw. That’s nothing against Jinder at all, just a reflection of where the world title situation is with just a few months to go until WrestleMania 40. Rollins seems destined for a match so big that it might be one night’s main event.
But there’s no question that all the attention Mahal has garnered of late, regardless of where it started, means WWE is suddenly playing with found money with him. It’s going to be really fun watching what might happen to him, especially if he shows out during his time in the spotlight on Raw.
Is this the night The Judgment Day finally runs out of patience with R-Truth?
Speaking of found money, R-Truth has added delightful new dimensions to The Judgment Day’s story arc on Raw. He’s just a wonderful performer who commits to his persona so completely.
Alas, The Judgment Day are supposed to be badass heels, and they can’t let Truth keep making them look silly forever. In fact, it kind of feels like maybe Damian Priest is jeopardizing his spot on the team by letting Truth go for this long. But regardless, Truth will team with The Miz to face Priest and Finn Balor in Little Rock, and … it just feels like it might be a bad night for Truth.
How will Gunther feel about what’s transpired during his time away?
The Ring General missed a few weeks of Raw for one of the best possible reasons: He just became a father. His return will see him back on his more familiar patriarchal role as the leader of Imperium, but he might not love everything that’s happened while he was away.
In fact, with Giovanni Vinci on the shelf for a while with injuries, who knows if there even is much of an Imperium right now? Gunther might instead be busy with a new challenger for his Intercontinental Championship, whoever that turns out to be.
Also on the schedule for Raw tonight:
Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh take on #DIY
We’ll be back to work tonight at 8 p.m. ET to recap this show and anything that happens, so join us back here at Wrestling Junkie if you need somewhere to follow along.
Ex-WWE commentator Jonathan Coachman weighed in on the debate that’s entangled execs, talent and fans this week.
Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal. Samoa Joe vs. Hook. In case you missed it, these two world title matchups have kicked up a lot of discussion this week when it pertains to whether certain wrestlers “deserve” championship opportunities. While some of it was exacerbated by high profile social media exchanges, there’s an age old debate at the heart of it all.
Namely, do wins or losses matter in pro wrestling?
In other words, is wrestling better off booking performers in a way that makes it clear they have earned a title shot by winning, like in unscripted sports? Or should a good story be the most important factor, win-loss record be damned?
There’s probably no universally correct answer to this dilemma, because presentation and context vary so widely from situation to situation. But a former WWE on-camera employee weighed in and made it known that for that company, at least, the narrative is the most important thing.
The ex-employee in question is Jonathan Coachman, a former WWE commentator who has returned to the world of traditional sports. Coachman quoted one of the posts made by Tony Khan suggesting that Mahal was a poor choice to challenge for a title due to his lengthy losing streak and threw his two cents in as a rebuttal.
We also used to get amused at fans who counted wins like wrestlers “earned” them. Hell if Vince wanted I could have been world champion. But the storyline didn’t support it.
We also used to get amused at fans who counted wins like wrestlers “earned” them. Hell if Vince wanted I could have been world champion. But the storyline didn’t support it. It’s about the story clearly not wins in a predetermined space. Thought a boss would understand that. 🤷🏾♂️ https://t.co/lj9jEM4I9M
No one opinion is going to sway everyone in the industry to agree on wins and losses, but The Coach certainly has an informed take based on his own experiences. One thing we can all agree on, though: It’s probably a good idea that Vince never gave him a run with a world title, because there probably isn’t a good enough story written to support that.
Poor Jinder Mahal got dragged into the weirdest AEW-WWE social media crossfire.
Some days are relatively quiet on the pro wrestling internet. And other days you have the owner, GM and head of creative of one company trading shots with the broadcast partner of another. Today was one of the latter.
It all started innocently enough. Raj Giri, formerly of Wrestling Inc., which he founded, posted on X (yeah, it’s silly to call it that, it’s Twitter, but hey) after the showdown between Seth Rollins and Jinder Mahalon Raw Monday night.
These guys do have history. Seth Rollins defeated Jinder Mahal in the tournament finals to become the first NXT Champion. #WWERawpic.twitter.com/FTrI5Cs82O
That could honestly have been the end of it, even though, yes, it’s a bit of a jab at Khan, who has brought up Cagematch ratings at times while defending AEW booking. He could have let it go, especially since it was in the replies of Raj Giri.
He chose not to.
A double standard:@730hook 28-1 career record, on winning streak calls out the Champ, a logical challenge sparks online outrage
Jinder has literally lost every single match he's in for the past year, immediately gets title shot, where is the rage#AEWDynamite TOMORROW on TBS
You can at least feel where Khan is going here. Hook calling out world champion Samoa Joe did feel like it came out of nowhere, and some people online did complain about it, as they do. But Mahal being thrown into the mix also just kind of appeared out of thin air, plus it happened a week after Jinder was in fact hindered by The Rock. So if you’re going to question one, maybe question both.
But he did not stop there.
A moral victory for USA is one win more than their World Title challenger Jinder Mahal has in the past 364 days… because it's been literally a full year since he won a match. You really put AEW in our place getting Jinder Mahal in a big match on your tv show. Do it more often https://t.co/0kpuUsvkm1
Now this just reads as Mahal catching strays. The man is a former world champion and has had some horrendous bad luck with injuries, so it’s unclear why he needs to be lumped into this so directly.
Should Khan be doing stuff like this? It’s his company, so he can do whatever he pleases. It certainly has people talking, as evidenced by the fact that “Tony Khan” is trending hard on X as this is being typed.
That said, there’s a genuine discussion to be had about whether the “any publicity is good publicity” school of thought applies to AEW at the current time. At the very least, if Khan and USA decide to keep going back and forth on this, it should be entertaining in its own right.
Update: A new front in this social media battle has now opened up as Khan jousts with Eric Bischoff.
CM Punk also had a showdown with Drew McIntyre on WWE Raw from Portland.
While we all ponder where we might be watching Raw come this fall, we know where to catch it tonight: on USA, as per usual. The show comes to us from Portland, where one matchup has our attention.
That would be Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. Everyone expects that Rhodes will be in position to “finish the story” later this spring, but he keeps getting roadblocks thrown in his way in the meantime. Nakamura has been an especially persistent one, showing his full sadistic side during this program.
Would defeating him again help end it? Probably couldn’t hurt, and with Rhodes looking forward to the Royal Rumble match later this spring, he really needs to put Shinsuke in the rear view mirror if at all possible.
Portland will also see CM Punk make an appearance, though it looks like it may just be to talk in the ring. That’s fine since he’s one of the best at that, but you figure that sooner or later, WWE will want him to actually wrestle on Raw. Probably.
We’re ready for these segments and everything else thrown our way tonight, so off we go.
WWE Raw results from Portland:
(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)
Cody Rhodes is all smiles as he enters the building ahead of tonight’s main event
Drew McIntyre has something to say, but so does CM Punk
Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano walk out toward the ring, and Ciampa calls this a “must win” match that will lead to #DIY becoming tag team champs in 2024
Tommaso Ciampa def. Finn Balor by pinfall
Becky Lynch says she thought about the bad things that could have happened in the match with Nia Jax, and she’s taking the positive view since she didn’t end up in the hospital, and that maybe this is just the beginning of a run for her
Kofi Kingston vs. Ludwig Kaiser goes to a double countout, much to the dismay of the fans; they decide to keep fighting even after the bell, and Kaiser throws one of the announcer’s chairs in Kingston’s face and then dropkicks his head into the steel steps
Asked backstage about his attack, Kaiser screams and says it’s Kofi’s fault he is carrying the weight of Imperium alone
Nia Jax and Rhea Ripley have a face to face confrontation and sling some barbs at each other
A replay of The Rock’s appearance on last week’s episode of Raw is shown
Shinsuke Nakamura assaults Cody Rhodes backstage while he’s trying to be interviewed, and Adam Pearce and officials have to hustle to pull them apart
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance def. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven by pinfall to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
Due to their earlier brawl, the Rhodes-Nakamura main event is now a Street Fight
R-Truth explains why The Judgment Day is a “real family” now that he’s in and JD McDonagh is out, heh
The Judgment Day argues again about Truth, and Ripley tells McDonagh he needs to “handle” The Miz
The Miz def. JD McDonagh by pinfall, and R-Truth celebrates the win afterward, as confused as ever
Ripley goes to talk to Pearce about “our plans for next week,” and Balor and Priest agree that “this needs to end”
Seth Rollins is in the house, and he gets a visit from Jinder Mahal
Ivar def. Otis by pinfall
Jey Uso is asked if he has any plans for the new year, but Bronson Reed warns Jey not to get in his way
Cody Rhodes def. Shinsuke Nakamura by pinfall in a Street Fight
Image credit: WWE.com
Drew McIntyre and CM Punk have a heated discussion about leadership
The Scottish Warrior says again that last Monday was all or nothing, and that he cost himself the match. He’s been thinking about it all week, and perhaps it is Drew McIntyre who is holding Drew McIntyre back.
If that’s the case, he needs to get his head screwed on straight and step away from WWE for a while. But … he didn’t lose straight up! It was because Damian Priest tried to cash in his MITB contract during the match, and due to that, he screwed McIntyre and himself.
Or maybe he can leave the company for nine years and get a hero’s reception when he returns. You know who did that? CM Punk, that’s who, and he does indeed get a great reception from the fans as he joins McIntyre in the ring.
Punk says it’s Piper Country and questions whether McIntyre is known for talking like Roddy was. If Drew has anything to say to CM, he can say it to his face, as he makes himself comfortable in the corner.
The Scottish Warrior mocks Punk for making it a month into his comeback while also suggesting he knows the “real” CM Punk. At one point in his career, McIntyre says he needed a leader to show him the way, but Punk was never that person and still isn’t. Indeed, Drew suggests he’s the one who is a leader now.
Punk retorts that he’s always led by example — including when he left the company, suggesting that gave McIntyre a blueprint to make himself better. He also disputes Drew’s assertion that he’s a demon, saying instead that he’s a nice guy but can be “Satan himself” when pushed too far.
McIntyre says what he did before, he did for the fans, but when he eliminates Punk from the Royal Rumble and heads to WrestleMania, it will be for him. Punk says the only person who can stop himself from accomplishing his goals is him, and not Drew, Seth Rollins or Cody Rhodes can prevent him from winning the Rumble. He claims he’ll throw McIntyre out last before he leaves the ring.
Image credit: WWE.com
Tommaso Ciampa outwits Finn Balor with a little help
Apparently R-Truth was responsible for this match, calling Balor a “scaredy-cat” and goading him into this matchup. There are high stakes too, since #DIY will get a title shot if Ciampa wins.
Both Damian Priest and Johnny Gargano are ringside to support their respective teammates, with Priest staring down Ciampa when they find themselves face to face outside the ring. Balor sends Tommaso crashing down into the announce table right before commercials.
Ciampa’s DDT right after the break gets him a near fall. A stomp to the chest is Finn’s answer, but he takes a running knee and Project Ciampa and has to kick out at two again.
Balor rallies but sees Ciampa roll away from the Coup de Grace, and then gets rolled up for another near fall. Priest is up on the apron, and Gargano nearly finds disaster when he gets involved.
Will Ciampa pay for halting to help his partner? He does not, as he’s able to capitalize on Gargano grabbing Balor’s foot after a suplex to get a quick three count. Turnabout is fair play, as they say.
Nia Jax has a Mami problem, or is it the other way around?
Michael Cole gets a word in the ring with Jax, who scoffs at the idea that it was “shocking” that she defeated Becky Lynch. But when she gets to the part about running through the Royal Rumble, Rhea Ripley joins her.
Rhea says the people know what’s up and they know how Nia loves to talk a good game. She reminds Jax who threw her out of last year’s Rumble (it was Rhea) and warns Nia not to walk around like she owns the division, because she doesn’t.
Ripley says it’s best to keep Rhea’s name out of her mouth; Jax fires back that she’s too scared to face off one on one. But once she squashes everyone else in the Rumble, she plans on choosing Ripley. “See you soon, unstoppable champ.”
Image credit: WWE.com
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance retain after friendly fire downs the former champs
Wade Barrett suggests that even with the gold, Carter and Chance feel like underdogs coming into this title defense. Many other members of the women’s roster are shown watching backstage.
The champs go for some quick falls, trying to keep Green busy and isolated. Green finally sends Chance headfirst into the turnbuckles, and Niven tags in and treats her to a cannonball for a near fall.
After commercials, Carter gets her first chance for some extended offense, including a near fall on Green. A springboard legdrop is good for another. A top rope Frankensteiner by Chance forces Green to kick out yet again, but the champs are really rolling.
Green finally scores with a Roughrider on Carter and her own near fall. Niven tags back in, using a senton on Carter that means Chance has to save her partner. A uranage sends Carter down, but Chance pulls her partner out of the ring, and Niven hits a Vader Bomb on her own partner. Oh dear.
After getting Niven out of the ring, the Keg Stand on Green seals it up for the champs.
Image credit: WWE.com
Seth Rollins fights off Jinder Mahal … no, really
The World Heavyweight Champion reminds Portland that Royal Rumble is close and after that, we are on the Road to WrestleMania. While Seth says his Mania record is pretty good, he says he’s never taken a world title into the event. He’s never been on the marquee, but he says that will change this year.
But the question is who he’s going to beat on the Grandest Stage of Them All? That starts a somewhat unorganized CM Punk chant, to which he responds by saying “in his dreams, maybe.” Instead, Jinder Mahal comes down the ramp.
Mahal suggests he was more of a Visionary in five minutes last week than Rollins has been his whole career. He also gripes that Seth is giving out opportunities to others less deserving than him, which … not sure that’s true but OK.
Seth says Jinder is right and that he’s been overlooked — but it’s been on purpose, until last week when he showed up “and The Rock put your balls in a vice.” He does admit that Mahal was able to rebound from that and show back up, but he’s not crazy about Jinder coming out and interrupting his segment.
The champ tells Jinder to take a swing, but he chooses to take a cheap shot instead. Rollins easily repulses his attack, however, and is the one standing tall in the ring.
Image credit: WWE.com
Cody Rhodes might finally be done with Shinsuke Nakamura after winning a Street Fight
It doesn’t take long for these two to fight up toward the stage, then back toward ringside where Rhodes is fully in charge. He bounces a water bottle off Shinsuke’s face as the crowd chants for tables.
Rhodes goes up top but sees his foe escape, then pop back up using a broom as a weapon. A kendo stick is next to be brought to bear, and Rhodes has to head for the floor for a respite.
Nakamura is bossing things after a commercial break, paintbrushing Rhodes and toying with him a bit. He kicks Rhodes in the face, then the back of the neck.
Shinsuke switches gears, looking for a half crab. More kicks land too, but Rhodes fires himself up with a forearm shot off the ropes and a powerslam. A Disaster Kick follows and earns a near fall.
Nakamura gets some nunchaku out and puts them to good use over by the announce table. But his attempt to spray his mist misses Rhodes and hits the timekeeper right in the face instead. While Cody asks for help, Shinsuke attacks him with a steel chair, and more ads arrive.
He’s still going to town with that chair when we return, though now both men are back in the ring. Rhodes is able to turn the tables with the fans urging him on, and he meets Shinsuke for an exchange of strikes that he wins with a pair of Bionic Elbows.
The American Nightmare sets up a table but is greeted by a headbutt. Rhodes ends up on the table and takes double knees to drive him through it. Nakamura covers but only gets a two count.
Shinsuke gets another table out from under the ring, smiling as he goes about setting it up. They battle into a corner, and Nakamura hits his sliding German suplex. Off the second rope comes Nakamura with a knee strike, yet Rhodes manages to kick out again.
In the middle of the ring, Rhodes delivers a Pedigree for his own near fall. A Cody Cutter is next, but it’s still not quite enough to end it.
Nakamura counters a Cross Rhodes attempt and looks for a Kinshasa, but Cody sends him into the corner table. Cross Rhodes doesn’t miss this time, and the American Nightmare is triumphant.
The Rock appeared to call out Roman Reigns in his return to WWE Raw on Day 1.
Beyond world title matches, arguably the most intriguing selling point of the Day 1 edition of WWE Raw was the tease of a former WWE champion appearing. Fightful Select (subscription required) originally reported that this was in the works, with Triple H addressing the rumors on X and eventually WWE confirming it.
At the end of the second hour of Raw, WWE introduced the return of an ex-WWE champion — Jinder Mahal.
After addressing the crowd’s disappointment in him appearing, Mahal criticized the United States’ political situation and declared that he would act as a unifying force.
It took a few minutes, but a blaring “Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?” blared inside the venue, and the crowd erupted.
Fightful Select reported earlier Monday that The Rock was expected to be the big name teased for the show after appearing at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California with WWE executive Nick Khan.
The People’s Champion called out Mahal for not being The Iron Sheik, and they exchanged barbs over the Modern Day Maharaja’s promo about America. It was highlighted by The Rock calling him an “a–hole,” comparing him to the “Baywatch” movie he starred in, and a dueling crowd chant to call Mahal another expletive.
Eventually, they brawled, with The Rock hitting his signature moves that remain timeless after 25 years.
He grabbed the microphone one more time, though, and asked the crowd if he should sit at a booth, a bar … or at the head of the table.
After that clear dig at Roman Reigns, it appears that WWE may finally be arranging the long-awaited dream match between the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and The Rock. This match has been hinted at for years and was originally planned for WrestleMania 39, but ultimately did not come to fruition.
When this match happens remains a mystery. WrestleMania 40 is the obvious location, but with WWE also running Elimination Chamber as a stadium show in Perth, Australia in February, having them wrestle there would be a massive selling point for the show and still allow a potential match with Reigns and Cody Rhodes to headline WrestleMania 40 — unless WWE goes in a different direction.
