Raw Deal - Raw recap for March 25, 2024

"The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes heads to the ring to start tonight's show. Cody says that we are in the awkward last two weeks before WrestleMania, and mentions how Roman Reigns was on Pat McAfee's show before getting a pop for both McAfee and Michael Cole. He talks about how Roman had called him "a politician" and accused him of making promises he could not keep, and that even Chicago, Illinois should know that when he makes a promise, he keeps it. He talks about how he has been at a fan's wedding and bachelor party, made it to Raw for a five-year-old kid, and even met with a school wrestling club, and says that he does what he does for a reason that is lost on Roman Reigns: he pretends to be the champion because the champion is not here. Cody says that while he respects Roman Reigns, he also screwed him out of the biggest dream of his life at WrestleMania, and he hates his guts. He says it is fine with him if Roman hates him too, especially when he and The Rock cannot have "the wankfest" that they wanted after he won the Royal Rumble not once, but twice. Cody says he learned that from last year's WrestleMania to this year's, he cannot do it alone, and while he does not ask for anything back, he will ask for something back, and he asks the fans to ride with him and fight with him. He then says that if he is going to point at the WrestleMania sign, then so will the fans. Cody and the fans then point at the WrestleMania 40 sign in unison as Cody says he will finish his story, then The Rock shows up. Cody and The Rock have a staredown, then The Rock says something to Cody that cannot be heard. The Rock leaves, and Cody does not seem to know what to make of what The Rock said to him.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews The Rock, who says "Go ask Cody Rhodes," when asked what he said to "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes.

Backstage, The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) want JD McDonagh to take care of Ricochet after Ricochet has made fools out of him and Dominik. Priest says they have a plan to keep the odds in their favor at WrestleMania.

Ricochet beats JD McDonagh after "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio gets ejected from ringside for pulling down the top rope in an attempt to trip Ricochet down. The ejection distracts McDonagh, which allows Ricochet to win with a Shooting Star Press.

CM Punk heads to the ring. Punk says that he will be at WrestleMania, even though his elbow is not great and he is not medically cleared, and says that his mouth still works. He says that a lot of people have speculated what he will do at WrestleMania if he is there and that a lot of people have been talking about him, then brings up Roman Reigns guesting on Pat McAfee's podcast. He says that he and Roman will see each other pretty soon as he goes up the ladder while Roman goes down, then brings up Seth "Freakin'" Rollins and how they do not see eye-to-eye. CM Punk also brings up The Rock and how he has not said a word to him, and that The Rock remembers how his arms were too short to box with God. He then brings up Drew McIntyre. Punk says he does not live terminally on the Internet and that he handles his business in real life like a man, then Drew McIntyre shows up. Punk tells McIntyre to get in the ring, and McIntyre tells Punk that last time they were in the ring, he stomped his arm, but Punk wants to know if McIntyre is "a Scottish psycho in a kilt" or "an Internet troll in a skirt." McIntyre goes on to talk about his new shirt, but CM Punk says he never had to put another man's name on a shirt to sell it. He rips it up to reveal his old CM Punk-related shirt and says Punk spends all his time in rehab for someone who has not done drink or drugs. He then goes on to say that he does not hate Punk; instead, Punk completes him. He says that when he thinks about CM Punk, he gets things done, and refuses to get in the ring. McIntyre then says he wants Punk should have a front row seat at WrestleMania as he should be in his position, then says that he has always been "The Chosen One," to which Punk responds by asking who chose McIntyre. McIntyre proposes that CM Punk be guest commentator in his World title match with Seth Rollins when he finally has his moment with live fans in a stadium, then Rollins shows up. Punk and Rollins have a staredown in the center of the ring, and says that if Punk and McIntyre had even one brain cell between, they would know they cannot make decisions regarding the World title match when they are not in it. He then says that since they want to take everyone's opinions except for himself into consideration, he might as well go all the way, and asks the fans if CM Punk should be on commentary. The fans then chant "Referee!" Rollins then says that Punk's counting arm is injured, and Punk makes a three-count with his other arm before saying he could not be impartial "with these two dipshits." McIntyre says "PG, brother!" Rollins then says he does not think anything about Punk and that Punk has not crossed his mind since their last meeting in the ring, and that he does not give a damn about him and considers him a non-factor. He says he does not care what Punk does at WrestleMania, then says Punk needs him for a moment at WrestleMania, not the other way around, and says the irony of CM Punk on commentary has not been lost on him. Rollins says it is the closest Punk will get to a world title ever again, then tells Punk to stay out of his way. Punk then says he will be on commentary at WrestleMania and guarantees that he will make both men in the match interesting. As Punk leaves, McIntyre says Punk will not get the last word, and after he gets in the ring and sarcastically tells Punk to write him back as he is obsessed with him, Rollins superkicks him and hits him with The Stomp.

We hear from Shinsuke Nakamura. He says "Main Event" Jey Uso gets to have his dream match against his brother at WrestleMania, then asks why Jey's dream gets to come true and asks about his own. He says that tonight, he will turn Jey's dream into a nightmare.

Candice LeRae beats Ivy Nile after feigning injury, allowing her to stack up Ivy Nile and use the ropes for leverage.

Backstage, The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) and #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) question each others' team names when The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) shows up. R-Truth says tonight's match will be the best match when The New Day faces "DX" and that he told JBL that The Awesome Truth will be on commentary. Miz tells R-Truth that he really talked to Pat McAfee, not JBL. As this goes on, Drew McIntyre is seen talking with Paul Heyman in the background.

We look back at The Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu) vs. The Steiner Brothers (Scott and Rick Steiner) at WrestleMania 9, courtesy of "Main Event" Jey Uso and Snickers.

The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) guests on commentary for the next match.

The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) ends in a no-contest when The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh) attacks both teams. The Miz gets in the ring only to get laid out while R-Truth still does commentary, then The Judgment Day surround R-Truth and throw him in the ring only for R-Truth to fight them. This ends with Damian Priest hitting R-Truth with the Razor's Edge and Finn hitting R-Truth with the Coup de Grace.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes. Cody apologizes, saying that what The Rock said to him is something that he cannot repeat, then says it is a promise that The Rock cannot keep.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Gunther. Gunther says that Sami Zayn's words are empty and that Sami does not believe he can beat him. He says that the "nerds" in the crowd are just like Sami and do not believe Sami can beat him, either. He also thinks Sami cannot beat "Big" Bronson Reed tonight.

Andrade beats Giovanni Vinci. (Ivar was originally Andrade's opponent tonight, but he was not medically cleared for tonight.)

Rhea Ripley and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio head to the ring. Rhea tells Dominik that she is not getting enough attention and feels that a certain someone has not been giving her her full attention, and says that she could have gotten it by attacking Becky Lynch in one of her matches, she has decided to be respectful. She then says that she is becoming impatient, and tells Dom to tell Becky to give her her full attention. Before Dom can say very much, Becky Lynch shows up and heads to the ring. Becky mentions that Rhea never wrestles on Raw anymore, and Rhea asks why she would wrestle before WrestleMania to get the fans' attention, and says she does not have to prove herself week after week. Becky says that this is the person and that the both of them have different ideas about what a champion is and that she is about busting her ass to prove herself, as there is always someone newer, younger and hotter and the long game is about skill, merit and survival. Rhea says that she cannot take that away from Becky, then says that Becky is "a cockroach" who is hard, but not impossible, to kill. She says she will not take it that far at WrestleMania so that Becky can watch as her daughter Roux calls her "Mami." Becky warns Rhea not to bring up her daughter ever again, saying that her father never got to meet her daughter and that he would be proud of the mother that she has become, and while it is a joke to Rhea, it is not a joke to her. She also says there is nothing respectful about Rhea, because Rhea knows that when she throws the first punch, there is no going back, and that the two of them will never be the same again after WrestleMania. Dominik backs Rhea away from Becky, but when Becky gets the last word, Dominik confronts her only to get knocked out. Rhea then attacks Becky and leaves with Dominik, but Becky Lynch goes after both of them and brawls with Rhea as referees get between them.

Backstage, Sami Zayn is met by Chad Gable. Sami says there is nothing left to say following last week, but Gable says Gunther wants to ruin Sami's focus and to get his head out of his ass. Sami says Gable is right, and that he knows what he needs to do. Both men shake hands.

WrestleMania 40 is 12 days away!

"Big" Bronson Reed beats Sami Zayn after Sami is distracted by Gunther, who shows up midway through the match.

Backstage, we hear from Jey Uso, who tells Shinsuke Nakamura that he slept on him for way too long and that he is about to get woken up. Suddenly, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso show up, and Jimmy says "No Yeet."

Backstage, Sami Zayn is angry with himself over tonight's loss when Chad Gable shows up. Sami says he still let Gunther into his head, and Gable says Gunther plants seeds of doubt into his opponents' heads and beats them down with their doubts. He says that he will need a different approach, and if he needs one, they can talk.

Backstage, Seth "Freakin'" Rollins meets with "Main Event" Jey Uso, saying something does not feel right tonight and tells Jey Uso to get the win while he and "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes have his back.

"Main Event" Jey Uso beats Shinsuke Nakamura. During the match, Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa show up, but so do "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes and Seth "Freakin'" Rollins, and as Rollins brawls with Solo, he is attacked by Drew McIntyre, who hits Rollins with a Future Shock DDT on the outside. After the match, Cody and Jimmy continue to brawl backstage, and when Cody throws Jimmy out of the arena, Solo goes after him. Suddenly, Cody is attacked from behind by The Rock, who then hits him with a trash can. The Rock then drags Cody outside into the rain, and throws Cody into his own tour bus before telling the world to look at Cody and doing it again. He says it does not have to be like this, but Cody stuck his nose in his business. The Rock soon busts Cody open before producing a weight belt with the words "Mama Rhodes" on it, then takes the blood from Cody's forehead and rubs it onto the weight belt. He then says he will teach Cody hard times for life because "this is what happens when you fuck with The Final Boss." After throwing Cody into the bus one more time, The Rock says it did not have to be this way, but now, it is the only way.

This week on Raw Talk: The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) and #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa)! Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri (and Indi Hartwell)! Ricochet!

Here are the top ten moments from tonight's show!