Winners, live scores, reactions and highlights

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage and recap of the New Year's Day edition of WWE Raw, appropriately titled Day One.

Management wants this to look like an important episode, so they've booked matches for the top men's and women's titles. Here's a look at what WWE announced before the show:

• Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre (World Championship)
• Rhea Ripley vs. Ivy Nile (Women's World Championship)
• Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax
• Natalya and Tegan Nox vs. Shayna Baszler and Zoe Stark

Let's take a look at everything that happened on the first Raw of 2024.

Raw opened a little differently this week as Wade Barrett and Michael Cole gave us and the audience a summary of the card. Once they finished, Lynch came out for the first match against Jax.

The guy was clearly the underdog against Jax. She was at a huge disadvantage in the size and strength departments, but the guy has so much more experience, speed and versatility.

Although Irresistible Force had the upper hand early on, this was not a one-sided battle. Instead of this being a “heel dominates babyface” type match, it was a back and forth exchange that allowed both competitors to be in the spotlight.

After the break, Jax hit a huge Samoan dropkick off the middle rope for a two count that made the crowd think the match was over. While The Man looked like she was setting herself up for the win, Jax hit a big shot out of nowhere before hitting her final shot for the win.

Even with some rough moments, this match was entertaining and another good example of how Jax has improved since returning to WWE. Lynch can bring out the best in anyone, so it was no surprise that this was Jax's best match this run.

a result: Nia Jax defeats Becky Lynch

degree: B

Notable moments and observations

• It was a nice change of pace to have the announcers give a quick recap of the card right before getting to the first match. Starting a show with a 20-minute promo has become too much of a style for WWE for a long time. Changing it up helps the show feel fresh.
• Jax seems more comfortable moving around the ring since her return. They are faster on their feet and withstand shocks better.
• The way Lynch sold that punch from Jax was perfect.
• Lynch was bleeding after the match but it was hard to tell where it was coming from because it was only a little. Maybe the punch sale was fake.

Cody Rhodes made his way into the crowd singing along to his music and a big fireworks display. He talked about wanting to put his feud with Shinsuke Nakamura behind him, but Nakamura continued to attack him. We get another video of Nakamura speaking in Japanese. He said their story will end next week on Raw.

The next match saw Kofi Kingston team with Jey Uso to face Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci.

Uso and Kingston are two of the best singles tag team wrestlers in WWE and have a long history together, so they worked like a well-oiled machine without trying too hard.

Putting them in the ring with a smooth team like Imperium would normally be a guaranteed recipe for success, but the match ended abruptly after the ringside doctor determined that Vinci was no longer able to compete.

It's always good to be cautious, so ending the match rather than getting the Kaiser tag in and continuing with it was the right decision. We will not rate this match. We just hope Vinci is okay.

a result: Kingston and Uso were declared the winner due to referee stoppage

degree: incomplete

Notable moments and observations

• Kingston was wearing some new gear this week. He was wearing shorts instead of his usual socks. It was hard to tell if this was a new look or if he forgot his gear and had to improvise. His knee pads were basic black instead of the usual colorful designs he uses.
• Vinci hit a cross body that knocked Kingston down in the blink of an eye.

The Miz came out and wished the audience a Happy New Year before presenting his usual program on Miz TV. However, he was wearing wrestling gear instead of his usual suit, so this was clearly going to turn into some sort of match.

He tried to show Doomsday but R-Truth ended up showing up instead. A short while later, JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio came out and told Truth that he was not in the group.

After some insults and yelling, The Awesome Truth reunited to confront JD and Doom, but The Awesome Truth still believed he was fighting on behalf of Doomsday.

This match was not designed to steal the show. It was designed to provide some laughs, provide a truth/doomsday storyline, and continue the babyface career of The Miz, and it worked.

McDonagh and Doom tried to trick Truth into hitting The Miz, but The A-Lister ended up hitting JD with his finishing blow for the win.

a result: The Awesome Truth defeated JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio

degree: B-

Notable moments and observations

• Little Jimmy's reference was great.
• The Miz is best suited to be a heel, but he's great at controlling an audience when he's a babyface, too.
• Hurricane The Miz looks a lot like one half of Kanrana. He doesn't make a full turn and lands on his back instead of his stomach or feet like most people.
• Truth is 51 years old and can still hit a crossbody like it's nothing to him.
• Truth trying to tag Dom so they could double team JD was hilarious.

The Creed Brothers came out with Nile on stage, but backed out after wishing her well so she could put herself in the spotlight in her title match against Ripley.

Although these two competitors were both very powerful in their own right, Ripley had a significant advantage in height and size, so Nile became an immediate underdog.

This match had a few moments of miscommunication leading to awkward moments and near misses, but they seemed to find their groove as the match progressed.

Nail looked great once she started building a head of steam during the second half when she started doing moves like a headscissors grab and a tornado DDT.

The dueling cheers for both women turned into chants of “This is awesome!” Before Nile hit a German suplex from the middle rope. However, Ripley was able to block a crosshair with a head kick before hitting Riptide to pick up the win and retain her title in an entertaining performance that helped put Nile on the map.

a result: Rhea Ripley defeated Ivy Nile

degree: B+

Notable moments and observations

• These are two of the most defined women in WWE history. Having a diverse group of women in the department is great.
• Niall tried to jump but couldn't get past Ripley in the corner, so it looked a bit awkward. They recovered quickly though.
• You can tell that Ripley likes to work with smaller opponents that she can handle easily.
• Ripley hitting Nile with his head to meet the ball was unbelievable.

WWE had been hyping the return of the former WWE Champion throughout the show, and when it finally came time for the show, Jinder Mahal booed.

The Maharaja shouted at the crowd that he was disappointed that it was the surprise comeback that Triple H was talking about. As he proceeded to deliver a Ruin America promo, he was interrupted by The Rock's entrance music.

The Great One got a huge pop as he stepped out and greeted fans along the aisle. He even stopped to take a selfie with a child before donning an apron to pose.

This was the usual part of rock music. He said his lines impressed the fans and insulted the heel and gave him a new derogatory nickname. Mahal attacks him, but Rocky ends up getting the upper hand and hits a spinebuster followed by a People's Elbow.

As he prepared to end things, he pointed to The Head of The Table, suggesting a potential feud with Roman Reigns. Other than the last sentence, the whole thing was a rock promo, but that's what WWE wanted and it worked, so it's hard to be mad at it.

degree: B

Notable moments and observations

• This kid who got a selfie was so excited. He will remember it forever.
• The Rock's impression of The Iron Sheik could use some work, but he nails the language perfectly.

The women's tag team division has two parts this week. The first was a quick video package showing Chelsea Green and Piper Niven showing up at a club to take on Kayden Carter and Katana Chance, and the second was a tag match pitting Natalya and Nox against Baszler and Stark.

Both Natalya and Knox are competent performers, but Baszler and Stark had a slight advantage. The Queen of Spades brought her mixed martial arts experience to the match, and Stark brought her strength and agility.

Shortly after the bell rang, the show stopped, so much of this match was fought during commercial in picture-in-picture. Baszler and Stark picked up the win with a two-team combination.

This may have been filler, but it gave Stark and Baszler the win they desperately needed as they build themselves up as contenders for the Women's Tag Titles.

a result: Shayna Baszler and Zoe Stark defeated Tegan Nox and Natalya

degree: C

Notable moments and observations

• The segment at the club seemed more fake than WWE probably intended. You could tell no music was playing in that room when they spoke.
• The new Nox gear looked like a precursor to a hunter's ranger from the 1980s but in a good way.

The main event of the New Year's Day edition of WWE Raw was a world title match between McIntyre and Rollins. They had been preparing for this match for weeks, so it looked more like a PPV match than a standard Raw main event.

The Scottish Warrior came out of the gate hot and dominated immediately. Insight received several staples to close the wound after their last encounter, so he was already at a disadvantage before the bell rang.

They had the last 20 minutes of the show, so they had plenty of time to make this feel competitive and give both men a bunch of special moments.

It seems unnecessary to say that this was a good match. Everyone knows how good these two are, so no one will be surprised to know that they work well together.

Both men have come close to winning multiple times with some of the biggest moves, but both seem to avoid every attempt at a Stomp or Claymore. In the end, Damian Priest came out to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase, but McIntyre hit him with a Claymore before he had a chance.

He hit Rollins with another Claymore, but when he went for the pin, Rollins put his foot on the bottom rope. The Scottish Warrior tried to put him through the announce table, but The Visionary countered him and hit the Pedigree. This allowed him to hit the Stomp to win the match and retain his title.

a result: Seth Rollins defeats Drew McIntyre

degree: B+

Notable moments and observations

• Samantha Irvin seemed more active than usual during her introductions on this show.
• McIntyre was unleashing some tough chops while exchanging blows.
• The powerbomb counter Rollins used when McIntyre tried to hit the Claymore Kick was an incredible display of power.

WWE enhanced this episode of Raw by giving it the name of the first day of a previous PPV and announcing a big payoff and a pair of title matches.

The big return was The Rock, who received a warm reception but ultimately won't impact WWE programming unless his match against Reigns pays off.

Ripley and Rollins retained their belts in two entertaining matches, as R-Truth and The Miz combined to win, and Lynch helped Jax have one of the best matches of her WWE career.

Even though this was supposed to be a special episode, it wasn't much different from what we get every week. Sure, The Rock showed up, but that's about it.

There have been no rumors of Andrade El Edolo returning to WWE, but it's likely a smart thing to do so The Rock doesn't overshadow his return.

WWE is still producing solid programming every week, so hopefully we can expect this trend to continue in 2024.

degree: B-