Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Returns, Calls Out Roman Reigns, Popular Tag Team Reunite, & More: WWE Raw Day 1 Results & Highlights

As 2024 rolls in, the first episode of Monday Night RAW comes to you, live from the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. The sold-out arena saw some great title defenses and a surprise return that electrified the masses. Here is everything that happened on the action-packed Day 1 Edition of the WWE RAW episode.

WWE Monday Night RAW Recap 1/01/2024

Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax

Winner: Nia Jax

2024 may be here, but Nia Jax’s demolition of the Women’s division has not stopped. Starting day one of the New Year, the Unstoppable Force went up against The Man. After hints of facing off last year, the first match of the night was an uphill battle for Lynch. Despite her best effort and multiple kick-outs, the Man couldn’t put Jax down. Hitting Lynch with an uppercut, recreating the spot that created The Man with her iconic bloody nose, Jax won with The Eradicator. This could be a preview of what is yet to come for Jax dominating the division this year as well.

Video package: A video package recapturing the feud between Shinsuke Nakamura and Cody Rhodes plays. It covers everything from the start till now. Rhodes’ music hits, and he comes out to the ring.

In-ring segment: Rhodes stands tall in the ring, ready to face off against Nakamura. Fans cheered The American Nightmare as he began the segment. Rhodes talked about how Nakamura could not stop him from completing his story. This led to a video package by Nakamura continuing his Anime villain-style packages. The video gave Rhodes another week before the former NJPW star could end his story.

Kofi Kingston and Jey Uso vs. Imperium with Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser

Winner: Kofi Kingston and Jey Uso

The second match of the Day 1 Edition featured Imperium facing off in a tag team match. Kingston and Uso joined forces to take down The Ring General’s lackeys. The Imperium had the upper hand, with great chemistry at the start. However, the match came to a halt after Kingston caught Vinci in mid-air with a drop kick. This resulted in Vinci landing on his head. The referee threw up the dreaded ‘X’ sign and a doctor entered the ring. The match was stopped, and soon Kingston and Jey emerged the winners.

In-ring segment

The Miz makes his way to the ring for his Miz TV segment. He introduces Judgment Day, however, only R-Truth comes out. Truth claims to be on PR duty for the group. JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio then came out in an official capacity. After a bit of a back-and-forth between the men in the ring, Dominik issued a challenge to The Miz. However, it was a tag team match, with Truth siding with The Miz. This was a great callback to the time they were The Awesome Truth.

The Miz and R-Truth vs. JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio

Winner: The Miz and R-Truth

The match started with McDonagh and Mysterio having the upper hand in the match. However, it didn’t take long for The Miz and Truth to gain control. The match was filled with hilarious spots, thanks to Truth. The moment near the end when he was asked to prove that he belonged in the Judgment Day was hilarious. Rather than hitting The Miz, Truth knocked out McDonagh. This led to a Skull Crushing Finale for the win.

Backstage segment: Chelsea Green and Piper Niven run into Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. They claim to want their rematch before getting drinks poured on them.

Ivy Nile vs. Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women’s World Championship

Winner: Rhea Ripley retains her WWE Women’s World Championship

The Day 1 Edition of WWE RAW in 2024 saw something never seen before Ripley pushed to her limit. Nile, with her MMA background, kept up the offensive on Ripley that had the fans chanting, “This is awesome.” Despite looking strong from the start, Nile could not capitalize. After a quick and brutal Rip-Tide, Ripley won, retaining her title.

In-ring segment

Ahead of the Day 1 Edition of WWE RAW, Triple H announced that a former WWE Champion would make a special appearance. While fans were super excited about this, none were excited when Jinder Mahal’s music hit. The Modern Day Maharaj made his way to the ring to a dead silent arena. This infuriated Mahal, who proceeded to insult San Diego and The United States.

This led to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s music hitting and the crowd exploding. Fans could not believe The Great One was back. After a long and hilarious back-and-forth between the two men, the much-anticipated brawl broke out. Johnson hit Mahal with The People’s Elbow. However, this was not all as before leaving, Johnson made a massive hint at his future by calling out Roman Reigns.

Natalya and Tegan Nox vs. Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark

Winner: Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark

As the fans recovered from The Rock’s appearance and heard him calling out Roman Reigns, the third women’s match of the Day 1 Edition of WWE RAW took place. While Natalya seemed to be in control of the match from the start, the team of Baszler and Stark were quick to take over. The match was the fastest women’s match of the night, with Stark hitting the Z360 for the win.

Main Event: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Winner:

This is the match fans have been waiting for. With McIntyre trying to prove that he was the best WWE World Heavyweight Champion there was, Rollins tried his best to keep his title. The match was brutal, with McIntyre keeping the pressure on Rollins’ back. Both men were exhausted by the end of the match but refused to quit. McIntyre was aiming for a big win on the Day 1 Edition, while Rollins didn’t want to lose the title at the start of the year. Filled with counter after counter, this match had fans on the edge of their seat.

Near the end, Damian Priest came out to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, but McIntyre thwarted his plans. After getting rid of The Judgment Day, Rollins resorted to a Hail Mary as he laid his foot on the rope to save him from a loss. A final stomp and Rollins retained his WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And with that a very special episode of Monday Night Raw wrapped up to send the crowd home happy.