With the upcoming debut of Raw on Netflix, the WWE could not miss a chance to get fans hyped up and push forward its main storylines. The Raw on Netflix: Kickoff aired on December 18, 2024, on WWE’s digital platforms, and it was just as good as pro wrestling fans have come to expect from WWE programming over the last year.
CM Punk and Seth Rollins were the clear highlights, and their match will surely be the biggest attraction for the first Raw on Netflix, on January 6. Kevin Owens proved once again why he’s currently the best heel in pro wrestling, while Gunther was his usual, dominating and charismatic self. Overall, this kickoff show did what it was supposed to do, getting fans excited for January 6 and laying the groundwork for future stories. Here are the absolutely unmissable moments.
6 Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley Is Happening on Raw’s Debut on Netflix
Will Liv Survive Again?
Adam Pearce made it official during the Raw on Netflix: Kickoff show: Liv will have to defend her World Title against Rhea during Raw’s debut episode on Netflix. It’s not the biggest surprise, as the blood feud between these two women has to come to a conclusion at some point, but Michael Cole’s joyous reaction at the announcement is already meme-worthy.
It will be interesting to see the outcome of this match. Liv is, without a doubt, the standout superstar of 2024, and she has done an incredible job as a Women’s champion. Rhea, however, is still as popular as ever, and it’s hard to keep such a magnetic babyface away from the title for too long. It’s also possible that this will keep going until WrestleMania, where WWE could grace us with its first intergender match, where Rhea will finally get her hands on Dirty Dom.
5 The Tribal Combat Will Decide Who’s The Tribal Chief Once and For All
Is This Chapter of the Bloodline Story Coming to an End?
It’s undeniable that the Bloodline story is the gift that keeps on giving, but the fact that Roman vs. Solo for the title of Tribal Chief is not the most exciting match happening on Raw’s Netflix debut is the best possible tribute to the quality of WWE programming recently. Perhaps it’s the fact that we just saw the two Bloodlines clash at Survivor Series but it’s hard not to see this as just an excuse to put Roman on TV.
However, fans would do well to remember that this could be the last page of the current chapter of the Bloodline story, so everything is possible. If Solo wins, that means his Bloodline is THE Bloodline, and Roman will have to find another way to be relevant – which could be an exciting development in itself. If Roman wins, is his Bloodline coming back together? Jey and Sami are established singles stars now, so it’s hard to see them go back into full-time faction work. One thing is for sure: this is not over yet (luckily for us fans).
4 Logan Paul Is Coming For the World Heavyweight Title
The Polarizing Superstar Is Now a Member of the Raw Roster
If Kevin Owens could win the prize for best heel due to his incredible work over the past month, Logan Paul could also easily snatch it due to his consistency. Paul’s praises have been sung enough, but it’s worth reiterating how good he is for a person who literally just stepped into the business. “You’ll keep watching because you are a spectator and I am a star” is possibly the coldest line anyone ever delivered to an audience.
Logan Paul’s announcement that he is gunning for the World Heavyweight Title has already polarized fans. No matter how good he is in the ring or on the microphone, he is still perceived as a celebrity and an outsider, so making him the champion would surely cause a riot among some fans, especially because he would have to beat the most legitimate wrestler to ever grace a WWE ring in recent years. Speaking of…
3 Gunther Will Slap the Smirk Out of Logan’s Face
The Champ Will Have to Step Up
Gunther has been in a bit of a weird spot lately. It’s undeniable that he is doing everything he is supposed to do as a World Champion, but it’s also true that he is not the main star of the show. CM Punk and Seth Rollins’ rivalry has taken the spotlight, and the Ring General will have to step up his game if he truly wants to be, as Michael Cole said, the man who leads Raw into the Netflix era.
Logan Paul could be just the right man to help Gunther do that. He is a mainstream star whose popularity is undeniable, and he will surely put more eyes on the product. He is also a good in-ring worker who keeps improving over time, even if he does not wrestle every night. He could be a great foil for Gunther, but the thought that WWE could pull the trigger and make Logan Paul the actual champion of the Netflix era is always there.
2 Kevin Owens Is the WWE Champion (?)
KO Is Finally Doing What KO Does Best
It’s been a long time since someone stole a championship belt on WWE programming. It’s an old trick, but it works well exactly because it’s used sparsely. The fact that the belt that Owens stole is the legendary Winged Eagle belt that Cody Rhodes worked so hard to bring back just makes it even more entertaining. Owens’ exchange with Michael Cole was golden, as usual, and KO’s declaration that December 26th will be his “first show as WWE champion” was the cherry on top. If Owen keeps playing it straight as he’s doing, acting as if he’s the WWE champion, this story can only get better.
Owens’ presence what a little weird because he is, technically, on the SmackDown roster, but it should be remembered that, outside the US, SmackDown will also air on Netflix, so it made sense for WWE to push this storyline forward during this Kickoff. No matter how popular KO is as a babyface, his heel work is Mount Rushmore-level, and he would be a perfect candidate to end Cody’s first championship reign.
1 CM Punk and Seth Rollins Kickstart the Feud of 2025
Hopefully This Won’t End on January 6
If Punk vs McIntiyre was an easy contender for 2024’s Feud of the Year, the story with Seth Rollins has the potential to surpass it, just because the real-life-issues make it a lot more personal. WWE, and pro wrestling in general, is at its best when it blurs the line between fiction and reality. In this time and age, it’s very hard to achieve that, and that’s why building stories on real-life animosity has almost always yielded great results. When Punk and Rollins go at each other, either with insults or fists, the audience can feel that they are not completely acting. This has shades of Edge vs. Matt Hardy in 2005, and that’s a pretty good compliment.
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Fans have waited months to understand where this beef between Seth Rollins and CM Punk stems from, and this rivalry goes back a very long time.
Punk vs. Rollins will surely be the main event of the Netflix debut show (unless WWE finds a worthy opponent for Gunther in the meantime and decides to give the World Title the spot it deserves). If the feud with Drew was any indication, WWE knows how to get the most from these blood rivalries, so hopefully January 6 will only be the first step. With the Royal Rumble around the corner, this rivalry will surely spill into that match, and possibly go all the way to WrestleMania. Does this mean another Mania without being in the main even for Punk? Or will this match be the highlight of Night 1? Only time will tell, but what’s for sure is that there is probably no better time to be a WWE fan than now.
