The first ever Women's Intercontinental Champion was crowned in a tournament final between Dakota Kai and Lyra Valkyria, Rhea Ripley appeared after winning the WWE Women's Championship on last week's Raw, and Finn Balor and Damian Priest's Street Fight provided the night's Main Event.

WWE Monday Night Raw Results - Jan 13, 2025

• Raw opened with CM Punk declaring for the Royal Rumble, and calling out John Cena. Seth Rollins then entered the ring, sporting an enormous black eye.
• Seth Rollins calls last week's defeat the worst loss of his career. He says he has to avenge that loss by ruining CM Punk's WrestleMania Main Event quest and also declares for the Royal Rumble.
• Drew McIntrye then interrupts. He suggests that Roman Reigns is playing everyone, and says he will enter the Royal Rumble.
• Penta debuted by defeating Chad Gable via a Penta Driver in a phenomenal match. The newest WWE superstar then cut a Spanish-language promo to celebrate his win.
• The Judgment Day are shown continuing to bicker, with Liv bullying Dominik Mysterio after his involvement in her loss on last week's Raw.
• Sheamus defeated Ludwig Kaiser via Brogue Kick. He and Intercontinental Champion, Bron Breakker, then had an altercation at ringside. They will meet at Saturday Night's Main Event.
• Seth Rollins cut a ferocious promo to Sami Zayn, about him constantly playing subservient to Roman Reigns. Sami visibly took it to heart.
• Karrion Kross then continues Seth's messaging to Sami Zayn, alongside the Miz.
• Miz goads Sami about never being World Champion, Sami approaches Adam Pearce for a match with Miz later in the evening.
• Gunther comes to the ring to say the performances on last week's Netflix debut show that the roster is not on his level. Jey Uso interrupts. Gunther belittles Jey as a Tag team wrestler, but the match is set for Saturday Night's Main Event on January 25th.
• Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai via pinfall to become the first ever Women's Intercontinental Champion.
• Sami Zayn defeats The Miz with a Blue Thunder Bomb.
• Rhea Ripley begins her first promo as new WWE Women's Champion, but is interrupted by Nia Jax. Jax says she's going to win the Royal Rumble and take whatever title she chooses, insulting Bayley in the front row. Bayley hits the ring and her and Rhea send Nia packing.
• Next week's Raw in Texas features The New Day in action, an appearance from JBL, and Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre in a WrestleMania 40 rematch.
• Damian Priest defeated Finn Balor in a WrestleMania quality Street Fight for Raw's Main Event

The 2025 Men's Royal Rumble Heats Up

An All-Time Royal Rumble Line-Up Awaits On February 1st

Monday Night Raw picked up where last week's Raw ended last week, with CM Punk delighting in his victory. Punk goaded John Cena in a mouth-watering face-to-face for old school fans, and Seth Rollins declaring for the Royal Rumble on a revenge mission is a delicious addition to this year’s Rumble. Rollins has always had his eyes on the prize when it comes to WWE gold. Seth’s hatred for Punk is blinding his bigger goals, and the idea of Rollins's sole mission being to ruin Punk will make him entering the Rumble a real moment.

Drew McIntyre entering the Rumble is adding an extra layer to this situation in less obvious ways. His distain for Punk is going to run and run, but Drew continues to impress with his wrestling IQ, calling for everyone to focus on Roman Reigns. The Tribal Chief is surely the favorite for the Rumble. Stopping Roman Reigns should be every major contender's priority and The Scottish Warrior is right to recognize that.

Penta Makes His WWE Debut

The Worst Kept Secret In Wrestling Is Finally Out In The Open

Working on the proviso that CM Punk was a free agent, Penta became WWE’s first g from AEW since Jade Cargill in September 2023. The company’s latest acquisition is being tipped for big things in 2025, with Penta being introduced as the second-best luchador of all time by Michael Cole (behind Rey Mysterio Jnr, naturally) speaking loudly about WWE’s expectations. WWE Shop might have let the cat fully out of the bag by posting his merch earlier in the day, but Chad Gable asking for “the best luchador you can find” had it meowing pretty loudly for the last week anyway.

No matter how you feel about how it was announced, Gable and Penta were perfect for one another and went over 13 mins, firing up an already excitable crowd. Perhaps best of all, WWE had Penta cut a promo almost entirely in his native tongue. It is a wonderful expression of international wrestling flavors being represented in today’s WWE, and further evidence of the company’s focus on its global audience.

Gunther Is Not Impressed By Jey Uso

The World Heavyweight Champion Has Savage Words For His Next Challenger

After he missed last week's Netflix curtain raiser, belittling Jey Uso as nothing but “a really talented tag team wrestler” cut him deep. Jey retorted in rare emotional form, adding a layer of seriousness to his colorful, Yeet-worthy presentation. The pair are now set for a World Heavyweight Championship match at Saturday Night’s Main Event, and it only took one segment to make that a red-hot proposition.

The Curious Case Of Sami Zayn

Seth Rollins Casts WWE's Most Lovable Superstar In A Different Light

Sami Zayn is one of WWE’s most beloved characters. Much like Ferris Bueller, the sportos, the motorheads, geeks, bloods, wasteoids, and dweebies all adore him. They think Sami’s a righteous dude. But, due to some choice words from Seth Rollins, this week’s Raw challenged the audience to view Sami Zayn in a different light.

Seth Rollins’s words about Sami’s dedication to assisting Roman Reigns’s dreams hit home with both Zayn and the TV audience. To add more curiosity to the situation, Karrion Kross also brought his presence to Sami’s door. After appearing before the split of both Awesome Truth and The New Day, The Curse of Karrion Kross might be about to claim its next victim.

Lyra Valkyria Creates WWE History

The Rookie Superstar Is The First Women's Intercontinental Champion

Rubber-stamping that the NXT system is producing superstars again, Lyra Valkyria is the first ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion. This happened in her rookie year, something also shared by fellow 2024 NXT call-up and the men’s Intercontinental Champion, Bron Breakker.

The result is something of an upset, despite Valkyria beating Kai in the Queen Of The Ring qualifiers last year. Nevertheless, Valkyria’s technical prowess shined throughout, with her Running Powerbomb looking particularly impressive. It’s a big show of faith in the Dublin-born rookie and an interesting starting point for the Women’s Intercontinental title.

Damian Priest Shines In Incredible Main Event

A Sensational Street Fight Between The Former Teammates

In a feud that has simmered for years and raged since Balor cost Priest his World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam last August, Damian Priest and Finn Balor had their best match to date in their Street Fight on Monday Night Raw. This brawl had a feral quality, and Priest’s Broken Arrow spot off of the concourse and through a table below should be used on highlight reels for years to come. The crowd had around 6 different “this is awesome" chants, as Damian Priest defeated Finn Balor in a match that included weapons, tables, and non-stop action.

It feels reductive to talk about the Monday Night Wars in 2025, but as part of the winning team, Triple H understands the need to keep establishing stars. The War Raiders are helping out in Raw’s Main Event on the world's biggest streaming service. The jaw-dropping spots were relentless all the way through the match, and if this was Netflix’s audience’s first look at Damian Priest, he looked like a wrestling god.

The 2025 Royal Rumble gets more stacked with every ing WWE Raw broadcast. It is increasingly difficult to pick a winner but, better still, the narrative around CM Punk, Roman Reigns and John Cena alone is making the men's Rumble match unmissable. Nia Jax declaring for the Women's Rumble by bullying Rhea Ripley and Bayley, and the relative shock of Lyra Valkyria being crowned the first Women's Intercontinental Championship, are adding to an exciting and rapidly changing hierarchy in WWE's Women's division. Damian Priest and Finn Balor laid a marker for 2025's best matches in a contest that sets Priest up for his next steps, and The Judgment Day's long-running drama set to boil over.