After all of the pageantry of the first WWE Monday Night Raw on Netflix, it’s time to get moving on the road to the “Royal Rumble” which is only two weeks away. This week the show would see the first-ever Woman’s Intercontinental Champion. The worst-kept secret debut of Penta, and what we hope is the final battle between Damian Priest and Finn Balor in a Street Fight.

DECLARING FOR THE ‘ROYAL RUMBLE’

Raw kicked off this week from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The crowd was excited, seemingly still excited from last week’s debut. To keep that energy up, first up was CM Punk, straight off his huge win last week on RAW over Seth Rollins. Now his sights are set on the show of shows, but first, he needs to secure his path by winning the “Royal Rumble”, curiously enough he mentioned John Cena several times.

Like clockwork, he was interrupted by Rollins who told Punk that he was also entering the “Royal Rumble” to eliminate Punk and win the event. If one interruption wasn’t enough, Drew McIntyre’s music hit and he also declared to for the “Royal Rumble”.

This was a great start to Raw, not only showcasing star power to this show but adding some huge names to the “Royal Rumble” which also includes Roman Reigns, LA Knight, Jay Uso, and John Cena to name a few. The segment does make me wonder what Triple H has in store for the obvious overarching Bloodline narrative.

PENTA DEBUTS ON MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Next up was my favorite part of the night, the debut of Penta, which Michael Cole called “the worst kept secret”, being that he was seemingly supposed to debut last week, but got pushed back to this week. Earlier today, WWE Shop also didn’t help by releasing some of the awesome Penta merchandise.

Penta was answering Chad Gable’s open challenge to any luchador. Penta entered the ring to an excited crowd, excited to see the former AAA, AEW, TNA, and Lucha Underground star. What followed was a phenomenal match that showcased both Penta and Gable’s abilities. We were treated to seeing Penta hit the Mexican Destroyer, his Sacrifice Armbreaker, and the Penta Driver, all at a WWE event. After the match, Penta cut a long promo thanking the fans and his family.

This was an amazing introduction to Penta. If you go back and watch some of his past matches, you will find out that he is a main event star. But this will all depend on how he is booked. I worry that might stuck in a group or in the doldrums of the lower mid-card.

SHEAMUS VS. LUDWIG KEISER SETTING UP THE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH

This was followed by Sheamus and Ludwig Keiser. They have had quite a rivalry that I was happy the hopefully new Netflix audience would get to see. Sheamus took the victory with a vicious Brogue Kick for the win. This led to a confrontation with the current Intercontinental Championship, Bron Breakker. Both men had to be pulled apart. Later it was revealed that on “Saturday Night’s Main Event”, in San Antonio, on January 25 it would be Breakker and Sheamus battling it out for the title.

Netflix has seen Breakker in the crowd now for two weeks in a row. Both times without his title. I feel like they need to release the dogs soon.

THE RING GENERAL ACCEPTS JAY USO’S CHALLENGE

Speaking of champions, the Netflix Era finally welcomed the World Heavyweight Champion, Gunther. After a short promo, he was interrupted by Jey Uso who challenged The Ring General to a championship match also at “Saturday Night’s Main Event”. This was a bit disappointing as there was not much hope for Uso to win the title, especially being that he just had declared for the “Royal Rumble”.

But the “Dumb and Dumber” part of my brain says why couldn’t it happen? What if Goldberg interferes, setting up Gunther & Goldberg at WrestleMania? As well as a Jey Uso versus Logan Paul also at the show of shows. I’ll stop now.

LYRA VALKYRIA WINS THE WOMEN’S INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Next up was the finals in the Women’s Intercontinental Championship between Lyra Valkyria and Dakota Kai. This was a harder-hitting match than I expected, with some great spots. Valkyria scored the win after she hit the Nightwing. There was a sign of sportsmanship between the two in the ring between the two competitors. Not as “seasoned” as Chelsea Green’s win for SmackDown’s Women’s United States Championship, but we’ll see how much the Raw Women’s division can raise the value of this title.

After a backstage meeting, Sami Zayn took on The Miz. Not much to this match other than two great performers doing what they do best. In the end, the “good guy” won as Zayn rocked Miz with a nasty Helluva Kick, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for a fun San Jose win.

RHEA RIPLEY ADDRESSES THE CROWD

Now it was time for our new Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley to make her way to the ring and address the WWE Universe. But before she could say much, she was interrupted by Nia Jax. The San Jose crowd was not happy to see her, giving her an almost Dom Mysterio-like set of boos. Jax was there to tell Ripley that she would win the “Royal Rumble” and challenge any champion she wanted.

Jax also insulted Bayley several times, a San Jose native, who was in the crowd. This led to Bayley getting in the ring and confronting Jax, leading to a fight that ended up with Jax being sent out of the ring and Baylee keeping a close eye on Ripley’s title. It was kind of a weird promo that I don’t feel like it got the crowd excited about much.

A FANTASTIC STREET FIGHT

Our main event was the Street Fight between Damian Priest versus Finn Balor. This was another showcase that needed to get some of the Netflix eyes. For months we have seen these two duke it out.

Priest and Balor delivered one phenomenal match. Seemingly using every open spot in and out of the ring and into the crowd. At one point, Priest gave Bálor an awesome Broken Arrow from the stands through two tables, leaving Bálor needing medical attention.

As the medics carried Balor off, Priest attacked JD McDonagh and Carlito, before taking Balor back into the ring, stretcher and all. But McDonagh and Carlito continued to do what they do best and interfiled. But Priest had some help in the form of the Tag Team Champion, the War Raiders who evened the odds.

After a few more incredible spots, Priest hit the Razor’s Edge through a table, followed by a South of Heaven chokeslam for the one, two, three. A solid way to wrap up Monday Night Raw.

OVERALL MONDAY NIGHT RAW THOUGHTS

It was a solid show to follow up on the premiere of WWE Monday Night Raw on Netflix. While it was a great variety of talent, we have yet to see a tag team match. But they are doing a great job at getting us hyped for “The Great American Bash” (except for that awful Hulk Hogan promo), and “The Royal Rumble”. My favorite moment of course was Penta’s debut.

OVERALL GRADE: B+