With just a little under three weeks before the official deal to bring WWE Monday Night Raw to Netflix kicks off, the top wrestling brand has been hard at work to hype its premiere live event on the streaming platform.
WWE’s latest effort to stir interest in the January 6 card from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California, was by hosting a Kickoff event from their Headquarters in Stanford, Connecticut. The live event Wednesday included announcements, surprise appearances, and many face-to-face encounters between the Monday night brand’s top rivals.
You can watch the full hour-long presentation for free on Youtube. Below we have a quick recap of the developments.
- Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Logan Paul has made the move to Monday nights after previously being a Smackdown talent.
- Paul cut a promo on the live crowd, who booed him heavily. At one point Paul referenced his rumored boxing match with Conor McGregor.
- Rhea Ripley was quizzed by Michael Cole about some of her rivals. She called Raquel Rodriguez a “back-stabbing friend,” called Dominik Mysterio a “cheater” and “child,” and said Liv Morgan was a “coward.”
- Shortly after Ripley’s comments, the trio of Morgan, Mysterio, and Rodriguez entered the stage. Shortly after a promo from Morgan, it was announced by GM Pearce that she would defend her WWE Women’s World Championship against Rhipley as part of the Raw on Netflix debut.
- As Cole did an introduction regarding The Bloodline, Kevin Owens appeared on a balcony to announce that he is the rightful WWE Champion following his Saturday Night’s Main Event match against Cody Rhodes. Owens complained that he wasn’t invited to appear at the press event, and instead had to sneak in. He then said that December 26 in Jacksonville, Florida would be his first appearance as WWE Champion.
- The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu hit the stage next to talk about Sikoa’s upcoming Tribal Combat match against Roman Reigns on the January 6 episode of Raw. Tonga said “Ayayayayayaya,” and Sikoa shouted, “I love you, Solo!” Sikoa asked for the live crowd in the WWE Headquarters to acknowledge him.
- Sikoa’s plea to be acknowledged was interrupted by Paul Heyman, who appeared on stage. He says that the upcoming match will show who is the real Tribal Chief, and who is the “wannabe Tribal Chief.”
- In the next segment, Cole brought out WWE World Heavyweight Champion Gunther. Gunther shot down the chance of Logan Paul becoming a world champion but is more than willing to face him sometime down the line: “It would be my duty and my pleasure to slap that stupid smirk off his face.”
- CM Punk appeared onstage for the final segment of the Kickoff. Cole pressed Punk about what favor Paul Heyman promised him for his WarGames involvement. “I need Paul Heyman’s Netflix password,” Punk joked. Punk reflected on his WWE return, saying his latest run has been a “dream come true.”
- Seth Rollins was introduced a few minutes later, providing a face-to-face confrontation with Punk, who he will face on January 6. Without a mic, Rollins told Punk “I got nothing left to say. Welcome to the house that I built … While you abandoned ship.” “Who’s the bootlicker now?” Rollins asked. The two went face to face before getting into a shoving match. “I’ll see you on the sixth,” said Rollins, who kept his screentime brief.
