Raw recap & reactions (Dec. 2, 2024): Seth Rollins tells no lies
Well, that was a lot.
I thought Raw’s main storyline for the week revolved solely around CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Sami Zayn. Punk made his WrestleMania wishes known and basically said Paul E. is the Ace in his back pocket that assures he gets the main event spot that’s alluded him throughout his career. They brilliantly tied that into Seth’s ongoing beef with Punk, which is only magnified now thanks to Punk helping Roman Reigns win at Survivor Series.
That alone would be enough. There’s so much real emotion between these two that I will watch them argue with each other about anything. Tying Seth’s feelings about Punk to Roman and making sure Punk doesn’t get his Mania dream was perfectly done. It made sense for their characters and it only heightened everything between them. Like I said, that would’ve been enough. But out came Sami and Jey Uso.
This is where things got very interesting and where this section’s title came from. Seth stood across from Sami in that ring and told no lies. Not here:
And not here either:
The point that really hit is when he acknowledged (pun) Roman’s lack of apology to Jimmy Uso, Jey, or Sami. That’s incredibly real. The OG Bloodline is having a kumbaya moment while the guy who kept them under his thumb for years hasn’t uttered anything that resembles an apology. Sami, Jey, and Jimmy stepped to each other and buried their respective hatchets. But what about the Tribal Chief? That goes a long way to proving everything that Seth’s said for years, and the reason he looks at Sami sideways. Seth struck a low blow when he noted it’s understandable why Jey fought at Roman’s side since they’re family, but Sami has no excuse. That was the beginning of the end and Sami demanded a match.
At this point, there’s more than enough here on which to chew. Sami and Seth’s relationship getting tested due to Sami working with people Seth despises. One of those people, Punk, wants to rise above the fray but Seth won’t let him. Oh, and then someone jumped Jey minutes before the main event, which put Sami in a foul and accusatory mood. For the record, I never thought Seth laid a finger on Jey because that’s not his fight. One more truth Rollins spit this week is that the Canadian let his emotions get the better of him without thinking anything through. That’s why he almost got DQ’d during their match and why he lost. Seth didn’t attack Jey. Neither did Punk, who Seth threw right under the bus.
It was Drew McIntyre, back from the dead.
Talk about a third act twist I never saw coming! Why did he do it? Why did he attack Sami? The simplest explanation is they’re cool with Chick Magnet Phill. I’m sure we’ll get an explanation down the line and hopefully a fight on that fabled Saturday night. Until then, I’m marveling at how well done all of this was. It flowed beautifully and worked like a Swiss watch.
The biggest takeaway was Seth’s truthfulness. He was right about letting Punk slide for too long. He was right about everything regarding Roman, including his own faults. And he was 1000 percent right about Sami’s heart giving people the space to play in his face. However now that Drew is back, there’s now a truth Seth must face: He won’t get to Punk with Drew lording over everyone. And that’s a big problem for him, Sami, Jey, and yeah, Punk.
The truth hurts.
B-Sides
All We Got Iz Us
When is a breakup not a breakup?
Big E showing up to the New Day’s 10-year celebration didn’t surprise me considering his poignant, well-written, and emotional Player’s Tribune article dropped hours before Raw went live. It was only a matter of time before he showed up in this story and righted the good ship New Day. Based on everything Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston said to each other last week, and the announcement they almost made during the celebration, it looked like E picked the perfect time.
Yeah, about that.
Big Langston galvanized his crew but not in the way he thought. And it was fantastic. WWE inverted the expectations that said Kofi and Xavier would squash everything thanks to E’s presence. They’d rally around their friend, let him manage them, and watch the New Day rise back to prominence in a new form. Instead, he became the focus of their ire. While Kofi pointing out that Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, and Edge didn’t let broken necks stop them felt like a perfect heel low blow, Xavier made a very good point that any friend would make: E waited until they were on the verge of dissolving before coming to their rescue.
What stopped him before? It’s not like he wasn’t around; we see the man doing desk duty during every PLE. What kept him from squading up with them months ago? That’s a very good question and one worth answering.
But I’m not sure we get that answer nor do I think we need it. After tearing down their former partner after what felt like an hour, Xavier and Kofi realized that it’s them against the world. They cut E lose and now it really is a new day for the trio turned duo. Is this the end of E’s interaction with them? I really hope not because I pray his career isn’t over. Either way, I can’t wait to see what this version of the heel New Day team looks like. E wrote about the freedom afforded to heels and everything they did as bad guys that eventually got them over as good guys.
Based on their demeanor, I don’t foresee Francesca, twerking, or any of the wildly obnoxious things that were too entertaining to deny. This team might be more in line with Xavier’s initial Nation revival idea but with their own twist. No, I’m not saying they’re going be the Nation, so chill on those comments. What I am saying is I can see them adopting the edge, attitude, and approach that X had in mind 10 years ago but under the New Day banner and minus the militant swag.
Whew, I got excited just typing that. Fantastic segment with a whole lot of promise.
Rarities
- Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez feels like the current destination. Not the ultimate one, but definitely something for Rhea to do before she gets her hands on Liv. Raquel looked dominant in the tag match against Damage CTRL where she pinned Kairi Sane. Thankfully, IYO SKY escaped her wrath, at least during the match, but caught them hands after the match. And, of course, that’s when Rhea came through with nothing but throwing hands on her mind. Raquel tossing Rhea into the corner of the announce table, on top of how she won the tag match, made her look formidable. That’s always the trick with Rhea, right? Putting her against someone who looks like a legitimate challenge. Hopefully this continues because it worked on me here. I’m not a big Raquel fan but I can’t wait to see Rhea destroy her based on what she did this week.
- GUNTHER gave Dirty Dom a shot at the champ to piss off Finn Balor. Finn believes he deserves a title shot because GUNTHER is 2-0 against Finn because of him. He ain’t wrong. GUNTHER doesn’t want to reward Finn for taking something away from him. Another fair point. So once the champ defeated the Convict, Finn jumped him as a way to “show Dom how it’s done.” It’s happening at Saturday Night’s Main Event with the title on the line but there’s a slight twist Finn didn’t think about: He’s probably defending his tag team championships the same night. That monkey’s paw is undefeated! Damian Priest is totally interfering in that match though, right?
- The women’s Intercontinental championship tournament begins! I appreciate the triple threat matches here since it potentially gives more visibility to wrestlers not usually on television. And, like this week, showcases some who are typically tag team competitors. Katana Chance showed she’s got potential on her own when she faced Dakota Kai and Shayna Baszler. They worked a fun match with a lot of high risk offense thanks to Dakota and Katana. Dakota advances, which is the right call. Katana is still a tag wrestler and Shayna is in no woman’s land right now.
Fantastic episode. If I still graded the weekly product, I’d give this one an A. The first 30 minutes kept me glued to the screen while everything with the New Day was powerful. And the stories and matches around the edges delivered on moving things forward and raising my curiosity.
What say you? Does Drew go after everyone in the Bloodline or is this about something more than hurting people who helped CM Punk?
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