On January 20, WWE RAW lit up the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas. It was an unforgettable night main-evented by a WrestleMania rematch between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. Penta was in action again, and Rey Mysterio faced New Day’s Kofi Kingston. Jey Uso and Gunther came face-to-face before their World Heavyweight Championship match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Let’s take a look at WWE RAW January 20 Results.
Jey Uso kicked off the show
In the pre-show arrivals, Nia Jax ambushed Rhea Ripley backstage. The show opened with the Main Event “Jey Uso”, entering with a thunderous crowd ovation. Gunther also entered, and the champion and challenger stood across the ring. Uso vowed to beat Gunther and take his title. Gunther called Uso a mascot, an idiot, and a person who never lived up to his words.
The Ring General said he would expose Jey at Saturday Night’s Main Event and prove he wasn’t worthy of getting this close to the World Heavyweight Championship. Uso agreed that Gunther was right. He admitted he’s a mascot, but the crowd is his team and squad. Jey said that he respects Gunther and wanted the same from him. Uso said that he has a WrestleMania main event to his name, which is one thing Gunther hasn’t achieved.
An angry Gunther attacked Uso and delivered a forearm. Uso landed a superkick that sent the champion out of the ring. Jey raised the World Heavyweight Championship to close out the segment.
Grades: B
Analysis: It is always great to kick off the night with the rocking entrance of Jey Uso. It was a solid verbal exchange and generated buzz for the upcoming Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Backstage: New Day confronted WWE Hall of Famer JBL, who will be the guest commentator for Kofi’s match against Rey Mysterio. Kofi and Xavier gave JBL ten dollars to speak nicely about them in the commentary. However, JBL praised Big E and called him a muscular, charismatic man. Woods and Kingston left in disappointment.
- Bayley announced that she’s officially part of Monday Night Raw’s roster and declared for the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble match.
Rey Mysterio vs Kofi Kingston with Xavier Woods
Kofi and Woods didn’t want to use their old theme song, which involved Big E’s voice. They claimed themselves as the walking Hall of Famers. Kofi labelled JBL as fraud and hilariously took back ten dollars out of his pocket. They yelled New Day Rocks as the crowd chanted New Day Sucks.
In the match, Mysterio and Kofi went back-and-forth with takedowns. Rey delivered a head-scissors takeover and a dropkick. Kofi replied with an uppercut and a pendulum kick. Kingston sent Mysterio sternum-first on the apron. Rey replied with a hurricanrana onto steel steps. Mysterio followed it up with a cross-body block and a seated senton. Kofi poked Mysterio into the eyes and landed a splash for a two-count.
Mysterio went for 619, but Woods interfered. The referee noticed and ejected Woods from the ringside. Mysterio performed the 619 and climbed the top rope. Kingston got his knees up as Rey attempted a splash. Kingston went for SOS, but Mysterio countered and rolled him for the pin and the win. After the match, Woods attacked Mysterio from behind. Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde of the LWO made the save.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Grades: B+
Analysis: The pre-match promo from New Day was awesome. They are looking fresh after the heel turn. The match was fun as well. Mysterio’s great in-ring work at this age needs to be praised.
Sami Zayn meets an Old Friend
The fans welcomed Same Zayn and chanted for him. Zayn announced his entry into the 2025 men’s Royal Rumble match. Sami said that he is as good as any other top-tier WWE Superstar. The difference is that other names signed for Royal Rumble have a world championship victory to their names. Zayn said he had a great career and didn’t need the world title to complete it.
The fans have loved him all these years, which is more than any championship. Seth Rollins told him to think about himself. Zayn said he focused on Rollins’ words and now wants a world title. Kevin Owens’ music hit, and he arrived in the ring holding the Winged Eagle Championship. Zayn asked KO what he would do as he destroyed Cody for teaming with Roman Reigns.
Owens admitted he was disappointed to see Sami teaming with Reigns at Survivor Series: WarGames. However, it was a different scenario than Rhodes. Kevin understood that Roman and Sami have a long history, and Sami overlooked what Roman did to him. Owens found it similar to the history between him and Zayn. He said that Zayn had overlooked the terrible things he had done.
KO said he believes Sami will win the Royal Rumble and challenge for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. In this way, they will main event WrestleMania together again as they did at WrestleMania 39, where they won the tag team championships. Owens said that he would have Zayn’s back at Royal Rumble, and Zayn would surely have his back as well. Owens left as Sami looked confused.
Grades: A
Analysis: It was a strong segment. It is always awesome to see Sami and KO together. Owens forgave Zayn for teaming with Roman Reigns as he understood the circumstances.
Bayley vs Nia Jax
Bayley delivered the ten punches in the corner and a DDT. Jax hit a headbutt and a range. At ringside, Bayley landed a suicide dive. Roxanne Perez was in the front row, and Bayley confronted her. Perez attempted to slap Bayley, who blocked it and punched the former NXT Champion. The security official prevented the further action.
Bayley delivered a sunset flip powerbomb into the ring post. Jax barely made it back to the ring at the count of 8. As Jax entered back, Bayley quickly executed an Annihilator and an elbow drop for a near fall. Jax hit the running hip attack, smashing Bayley’s head. Nia climbed to the second rope for the Annihilator, but Bayley caught her there and delivered a powerbomb for a near fall.
In the end, Nia landed a Samoan Drop and a senton splash, followed by the Annihilator for the win. Rhea Ripley arrived after the match and attacked Nia. A brawl broke out with WWE Officials trying to separate both superstars. Ripley landed a cannonball off the announcer’s desk, taking out Jax and the security officials. Mami grabbed a mic and challenged Jax to a match at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Winner: Nia Jax
Grades: B-
Analysis: It was a decent match. Rhea Ripley’s appearance was expected as Jax attacked her backstage. Jax and Ripley will collide for the Women’s World Championship on Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 25.
Penta vs Pete Dunne
The bell rang, and the two exchanged strikes before Pete locked in a side headlock. Penta powered out and delivered a sharp kick to the leg. Dunne snapped Penta’s fingers and viciously stomped on his elbow. Penta landed a running kick, but Dunne replied with a step-up enzuigiri. Penta caught Dunne mid-air with a crushing kick! Dunne rolls out to recover. Penta went for a suicide dive, but Dunne countered with a forearm to the face, followed by a suplex onto the apron.
Returning from the break, Penta delivered a Sling Blade bulldog and a snap corner dropkick, followed by a Death Valley Driver for a near fall. Penta continued the assault with a Mexican Destroyer and a tope con hilo to the outside. Back in the ring, Dunne performed a devastating package piledriver for a two-count. In the end, Penta hit a powerbomb backbreaker and a Penta Driver for the victory!
Winner: Penta
Grades: A
Analysis: It was an outstanding match. It was his second match after Penta’s debut in WWE and he has been perfect in his outings so far in WWE. The creative should book Penta strong for weeks before giving him an individual storyline.
CM Punk is ready to Rumble
A “CM Punk” chant echoed through the arena as the Best in the World took the microphone. Jackie Redmond reminded Punk that the match is filled with elite competitors like Roman Reigns, John Cena, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Drew McIntyre, and Sami Zayn. Punk reminded the audience of his triumph three weeks ago, headlining the first Monday Night Raw on Netflix and defeating Seth Rollins.
Turning his attention to his rivals, Punk methodically breaks them down: He dismissed the idea of John Cena throwing him out. He recalled Roman Reigns needing his help to resolve family issues. Punk further said that Sami Zayn is not on his level, and he has already put Drew McIntyre in the dirt.
Punk took a jab at Hulk Hogan, “You could put Hulk Hogan in the Royal Rumble, and I’d throw his dusty ass over the top rope.” Punk was confident that 29 other men would go down at Royal Rumble and that one man, named CM Punk, would have his hand raised in the end.
Grades: B+
Analysis: It was a short but effective promo by Punk. He was right when he said that nobody could touch him on the microphone. Adding a sentence related to Hogan was a nice touch, and the crowd loved it.
Damage CTRL vs Pure Fusion Collective
The match started with Baszler quickly delivering two sharp kicks to Kai’s leg. Kai blocked the third, but Baszler stomped her into the corner. Kai hit the ropes and connected with a running dropkick. Zoey Stark blind tagged and landed a springboard missile dropkick. Baszler tagged back in, and the two executed a combination: a backbreaker from Baszler and a running clothesline from Stark.
Pure Fusion Collective dominated for a while before Kai hit an enzuigiri. IYO SKY got the hot tag and delivered a pair of running uppercuts. Sky landed a tope suicida on Baszler outside the ring and a missile dropkick to Stark in the ring. Sonya Deville tried to interfere, but Dakota pulled her down. Stark capitalized and hit Sky with a double underhook exploder for a near fall. In the end, Sky landed Over the Moonsault for the victory!
Winners: Damage CTRL
Analysis: It was a fun match, but it looked like a filler due to the lack of a proper story. Iyo Sky is very talented and should go as a singles star. She hardly delivered a bad performance and brought life to this match with her skills.
Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
The night’s main event was a WrestleMania 40 rematch between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. The Scottish Warrior wore the same ring gear at WrestleMania 40. The two traded heated words before McIntyre delivered a chop. Rollins, undeterred, replied with a chop of his own. After a back-and-forth exchange, Rollins delivered a Sling Blade and sent McIntyre over the top rope with a clothesline.
Seth hit a baseball slide and a suicide dive. Rollins re-entered the ring and attempted a second dive, but McIntyre caught him with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex onto the commentary desk. Rollins sent Drew shoulder-first into the ring post three times. Back in the ring, Rollins delivered a springboard knee and a running knee to the face for a near fall.
Rollins performed a springboard Swanton Bomb, but McIntyre kicked out at two. Rollins executed a superplex off the top rope, but McIntyre transitioned into a Falcon Arrow for a near fall. McIntyre hit Seth with a spinebuster and a jackknife pin for a two-count. Rollins countered a powerbomb attempt, superkicked Drew, and delivered a tilt-a-whirl Falcon Arrow for another near fall.
Drew nailed the Future Shock DDT, but Seth still kicked out at two. McIntyre delivered two short-arm clotheslines. As McIntyre attempted a third, Rollins countered into a jackknife pin for the surprise victory! McIntyre attacked Rollins after the match and delivered a Claymore Kick.
McIntyre intended to injure Seth, but Sami made the save. Drew soon laid out Zayn and approached Seth in the corner. Zayn went for a Helluva Kick, but McIntyre sidestepped, and Sami accidentally hit Seth. Zayn and Rollins were confused as Drew McIntyre smirked, and the show went off the air.
Winner: Seth “Freakin” Rollins
Grades: A
Analysis: A very good main event match. Rollins and McIntyre always deliver a banger together. The post-match angle was interesting. It is good to see Zayn getting involved in this story to hype the Royal Rumble.
What’s your take on WWE RAW January 20 Results?
