Raw Deal - Raw recap for January 27, 2025

Seth "Freakin'" Rollins heads to the ring to start tonight's show. Rollins talks about his recent loss to CM Punk and how it led him to re-think who he is and who he wants to before realizing who he is and that he does not stay down for very long, for when he is most focused, there is no one better than him. He then talks about how he started his path to redemption last week and how he will keep it going at the Royal Rumble when he tosses everyone out of the ring, especially Roman Reigns. Rollins especially hopes to toss CM Punk out of the ring and crush his WrestleMania dreams to dust, then questions which championship he will go after. As he does, Gunther shows up. Gunther asks Rollins where he has been the last few months, as he has been defending the World Heavyweight Championship against "Main Event" Jey Uso, who he calls "a clown," then says Rollins has forgotten what matters in the company. He tells Rollins to focus on the Royal Rumble even though he is unsure Rollins still has it in him, but Rollins reminds Gunther that his title would not exist without him, as he made the title. Gunther tells Rollins he is aware of who he is, but tells him that he is not the best wrestler in the world anymore, as he is the World Heavyweight Champion. Gunther then tells Rollins to win the Royal Rumble, challenge him and square off with him at WrestleMania so he can make him feel what his past opponents have felt and realize that the only name synonymous with the World Championship is his. All of a sudden, Logan Paul shows up, and the crowd proceeds to boo him out of the building as he brags about how great he is at everything he does. He says this is "the Netflix era" and that it needs a new face oozing with charisma and confidence. He says Rollins and Gunther are good at wrestling while he is even better as the fans, and brags about building a career faster than the both of them before declaring for the Royal Rumble and bragging that he will work smarter and not harder. Logan then says that when he wins the Royal Rumble, he can choose which champion to go for, and entertains the idea of wrestling Gunther. Gunther then changes his mind, saying he wants Logan to win the Rumble so he can embarrass him when he slaps the smirk off his face. Rollins agrees, but says that Gunther will be embarrassed if he chooses to take back the World Heavyweight Championship.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews CM Punk. CM Punk says that Seth "Freakin'" Rollins will fare as well as everyone else in the Royal Rumble when Sami Zayn shows up and confronts Punk for saying he is not on his level, then says he agrees as he has main evented WrestleMania while Punk has not. Sami leaves, then runs into Karrion Kross. Sami tells Kross to stop doing whatever it is he is trying to do, but Kross tells Sami to think with his head instead of his heart, as he is in the best position yet and he has a world of opportunity. Kross leaves, then "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes greets Sami.

Actor Noah Centineo, rapper Lil Yachty, rapper 2 Chainz, rapper Quavo, A-Town Down Under (Grayson Waller and Austin Theory), and The Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus Creed) are seen in the crowd.

The War Raiders (Ivar and Erik) retain the World Tag Team Championships against The Judgment Day (JD McDonagh and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) despite Carlito spitting apple into Ivar's face as McDonagh distracts the referee.

Backstage, Ludwig Kaiser catches up with Pete Dunne. All of a sudden, The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) shows up, and both of them walk away. Cathy Kelley then interviews Kofi Kingston, who announces that "Atlanta's favorite son" Xavier Woods has come home. Cathy thinks it is Austin Theory or Cody Rhodes at first until Woods says it is him and that he will beat Rey Mysterio tonight while his family watches in the front row.

Rappers Lil Baby and Killer Mike are seen in the crowd. Meanwhile, there is reserved seating in the front row for Xavier Woods' family.

Rey Mysterio beats Xavier Woods after Xavier Woods finally sees his family in the crowd only for his family - and Lil Yachty - to turn on him. After the match, The Latino World Order (Rey, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro, Zelina Vega) celebrates with Woods' family at the front row. During the match it is announced that Zelina Vega has been transferred to SmackDown.

Backstage, Sami Zayn meets with Seth "Freakin'" Rollins and tells him that the Helluva Kick was an accident. Rollins agrees, but admits that his relationship with Roman Reigns does not rest well with him. He also says that if it happens again, he will not be so sure. Sami says he understands, and after both men get back on the same page, Rollins tells Sami to get the win against Drew McIntyre tonight.

"Main Event" Jey Uso heads to the ring along with rapper Quavo. After Jey Uso and Quavo get the crowd fired up for several minutes, Jey Uso thanks the fans. Jey Uso admits that he lost to Gunther, but says he knows he can beat him. He mentions Seth "Freakin'" Rollins and Gunther mentioning him, then says he will win the Royal Rumble, main event WrestleMania and become World Champion.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews Lyra Valkyria. Lyra says she is taking the next big fight in front of her and declaring for the Royal Rumble before American Made (Chad Gable, Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, Ivy Nile) show up. Chad Gable tells Lyra not to get used as champion, as Ivy Nile will take it. Lyra says this is the closest anyone in American Made will get to it, and Ivy Nile threatens to clip Lyra's wings at the Royal Rumble. American Male then run into Alpha Academy (Otis, Akira Tozawa, Maxxine Dupri) making a video for social media, and Gable chews them out and says they should be ashamed of themselves before Ivy Nile calls Maxxine Dupri "pathetic."

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez beat Bianca Belair and Naomi following the distraction by "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio. Naomi hits Liv with the split leg moonsault, but Raquel hits her with a Tejana Bomb on the ring apron, allowing Liv to get the pin and the win.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Rhea Ripley. Rhea admits her body is banged up thanks to Nia Jax, but she reminded Nia why she is always on top. As Rhea thinks about who might win the Royal Rumble this year, Bayley shows up and says it might be her. Rhea leaves, then Bayley runs into Iyo Sky, who says "See you Saturday."

We look back on Michael Cole's entrance at WrestleMania 27.

Livestreamer Kai Cenat is seen in the crowd.

We hear from Penta, who says that this is only the beginning and that he will become the best in the world by facing the best in WWE. He declares for the Royal Rumble and says that after it is over, he will have his WrestleMania moment.

Paul Heyman heads to the ring. Heyman announces that Roman Reigns will be the cover athlete for WWE 2K25 and that Roman can handle the responsibility of being the cover athlete, then announces that Roman Reigns will take back the Undisputed WWE Championship like he took back his ula fala. Heyman then announces that Roman Reigns will be in the Royal Rumble. Suddenly, Drew McIntyre shows up and says Heyman should love him due to all the success that he has gotten, as he considers himself "the daddy of The Bloodline." McIntyre talks about how he won the Royal Rumble in 2020, beat Brock Lesnar to become WWE Champion at WrestleMania, and how Lesnar left Heyman at sea to swim to shore and become Roman's wise man. He says that because of this, Heyman is on the corner of the cover art, and that Heyman should be thanking him. Heyman thanks him, but tells him he is crowding him right now. McIntyre apologizes and backs off, then asks Heyman to tell "[his] boy" that he will target him and beat him within an inch of his life before he eliminates him at the Royal Rumble. Heyman says he will pass the message on to Roman, but McIntyre stops him as he decides to leave. McIntyre says he was not talking about Roman, but about CM Punk. He then lets Heyman leave.

Drew McIntyre beats Sami Zayn after avoiding the Helluva Kick and using the ropes for leverage on the stack-up pin. After the match, McIntyre attacks Sami from behind as Sami argues with the ref. "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes runs in and fights McIntyre, and when Sami goes for the Helluva Kick, he accidentally hits Cody. Kevin Owens then shows up, looks at Sami, then rolls out of the ring.

We see Roman Reigns on the set of the WWE 2K25 commercial shoot.

"The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes is in the ring. He says that in the last seven months, it is the mindset and the work, not the belt, that makes one a champion, and that he looks forward to Royal Rumble when he can move past Kevin Owens. Suddenly, CM Punk shows up and says all of this is getting to Cody a little bit, as he knows what the championship can do to a man and that it weighed on him and turned him into something he did not want to be around the 300-day mark. He says that Cody wants to do it all, but nobody is Superman. Cody says he considers CM Punk a friend, and CM Punk agrees, saying he will always be Cody's friend partly because of a promise to his father and partly because he loves him. He feels like he let him down, but admits that nobody could have prepared Cody for this. Punk says that when you are champion, there are no friends, and heavy is the head that wears the crown. Cody mentions that last year, Punk had a prediction that had a lot of truth to it, and asks Punk what is next for him. Punk says that in the short term, he gets to sleep in his own bed tonight, but he may not sleep at all due to the day ahead. He says that even if he is lucky enough to spend time with his wife and daughter, he will still be focused on Royal Rumble, and even if Cody can get past Owens, there is the next show, and there is the sacrifice. Punk says this means something to guys like them, but somebody will be on the way up while Cody is on the way down. Punk says that this is the good news, and that the bad news is that this somebody is him. Punk says that since he is his one true friend, he will stab him in the front. Cody says that when he came into the wrestling business, everyone chased CM Punk down in OVW, and even when Punk was gone, that chase never ended. He then says that in that time, the relationship has changed, because Punk is now chasing him. Cody tells Punk he hopes that he wins the Royal Rumble, because he wants him to catch up. Punk stops Cody says a lot of men have hoped it is him that catches them, but there are a graveyard of careers who wanted him to until they did. Cody stops Punk and says he wants Punk to win so he can see the look on his face when the best in the world finds out he is not the best in the world anymore.

Here are the highlights from tonight's show!

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