WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Feb. 5, 2024) from St. Louis’ Enterprise Center, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Elimination Chamber premium live event scheduled for later this month in Perth, Australia — and for WrestleMania 40 a little farther on down the road.
Advertised for tonight: Cody Rhodes faces off with his old nemesis Shinsuke Nakamura in a Bull Rope Match, just days after The Rock changed his story for WrestleMania. GUNTHER will celebrate extending his record-setting Intercontinental championship reign to 600 days as Imperium tries to move closer to a Tag title shot in a 4Way with The New Day, DIY & The Creed Brothers.
Plus, Women’s Tag champs The Kabuki Warriors give Kayden Carter & Katana Chance a rematch, The Miz goes one-on-one with JD McDonagh, Ivar & Valhalla take on Alpha Academy’s Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri in mixed tag action, and a whole lot more.
Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the Raw live blog will kick off once the show starts on USA Network. It will be below this line here. Reminder: GIFs and pics allowed, but no links to illegal streams, please.
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR FEB. 5
Sean here. Did I politic my way into Claire’s main event spot? Check the dirt sheets, smarks. Now let’s Raw.
The episode starts with a replay of SmackDown’s closing scene. Perhaps you’ve heard some chatter about it. From there we go right to World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins’ entrance. Michael Cole and Pat McAfee discuss the Rock/Cody Rhodes controversy as he enters, saying people spent the weekend talking about all the possibilities that can only happen in one place — the WWE.
Rollins lets the St. Louis crowd sing his song and scream his name, then starts to talk about the interesting week WWE’s had. At the mention of The Rock’s catchphrase, the boos start and the camera pans out to show a sea of “We Want Cody” signs. Seth says he wants Cody too, and after Friday he has more questions than answers... so Cody Rhodes, come on down!
The American Nightmare shakes hands on his way to the ring, then asks Rollins and the crowd what they want to talk about. They pause as a “Rocky Sucks” chant goes around the arena, to which Cole asks if it’s 1996. Rollins says he didn’t expect to hear it. The crowd switches to “We Want Cody”, and an emotional looking Rhodes poses for them.
Rollins again makes his ‘Mania pitch, putting over his title and saying he needs to know if he’s a better man than he was two years ago. St. Louis clearly wants him to say no, but before he can answer we hear a Claymore being drawn and some bagpipes... Drew McIntyre is here!
Drew thinks he speaks for everyone when he says, “What the hell?” He set things up for everyone perfectly. He took out Punk, so McIntyre and Rollins should have been starting to the build to their WrestleMania match tonight. He even had t-shirts made for them (with a version of him laughing at Punk’s ‘Mania grave on it). Drew’s wearing his, Seth’s XS is in the back. McIntyre implores Rhodes to finish his story, and even brings up Dusty.
The World champ tells Drew not to be a prick. It wasn’t going to be them anyway, because they’ve already done that and McIntyre lost. Drew fires back that Cody’s beat him three times. Things break down, and the Big Scot breaks them all the way down when he hits Rollins with a Glasgow Kiss. Rhodes comes to the champ’s aid so McIntyre bails, wondering if maybe it should be him vs. Cody at WrestleMania...
Commercial time.
The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. The Creed Brothers vs. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci) vs. #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) in a Fatal 4Way to Tag Title Qualifier
New Day starts with Ciampa and gets some nearfalls of double team moves. Imperium isn’t even on the apron (anyone can tag in anyone in this one) at the start, but when they are Ciampa tags in Vinci. Kaiser joins him, they send Kofi into the ring post, and Imperium’s in control as we go to a break.
Kaiser and Kofi are both down when we return, and quickly make tags to their partners. Woods is a house afire, putting Ludwig down, and then Brutus Creed too when he tags in. Johnny Gargano gets involved and puts X down with a slingshot spear! The #DIY duo take out the Creeds and give themselves a round of applause. Imperium stops Kofi from charging up for a dive, and things get crazy as everyone gets involved. We get some spots Bret Hart would hate as Julius Creed cannonballs from the top onto a bunch of guys on the floor, then Ciampa hoists Woods on back to White Noise him into the same group of dudes.
After more commercials, Gunther’s boys have Tommaso alone on thetop turnbuckle, but The New Day show up and turn it into a Tower of Doom situation. Everybody’s down as Brutus rolls in to hit a moonsault of the top onto Kaiser. Vinci flattens one Creed with a crossbody, then takes a running knee from his brother. Guys are filtering through and hitting moves, until eventually Britus gets Vinci in an ankle lock. Julies runs interference on everyone trying to break up the hold, including pulling Ciampa off his brother’s back and suplexing both New Day members! But the numbers prove to be too much and Kaiser gets through to break the hold before his partner taps.
Imperium and New Day’s battle spills to the floor, and the brawl in front of the announce desk. Brutus Bomb onto them, the Creeds set-up to finish off Vinci, but Cole tells us Ciampa is the legal man. He isolated Vinci, Meet in the Middle, Tommaso realizes he needs to cover so he pulls Johnny off and gets the three count!
#DIY wins the Fatal 4Way Qualifier, advancing to SmackDown to face British Strong Style for a Tag title shot
Shayna Baszler gets a promo from the locker room to remind us she had to win a Chamber match to get her ‘Mania match with Becky Lynch. Tonight she just gets to destroy her. The Man retorts while walking to Gorilla. When they faced off at ‘Mania, her title was at stake. Tonight, her future is.
Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch in an Elimination Chamber Qualifier
Lynch goes for a waist lock while Baszler tries to get an arm, as we have a technical wrestling match early. The scramble for control as Becky is now trying for Dis-Arm-Her. We see Zoey Stark watching on and are told she faces Liv Morgan in a qualifier next Monday.
In the ring, Shayna rocks Lynch with a knee to the face. The Man sends her to the floor, baseball slide knock her down, but the Queen of Spades is back up to catch her dive follow-up. Throw, and then Baszler kicks Becky’s arm into the steel steps as we get more ads.
Bex fighting back while selling a bad arm when we return, but Shayna puts her down again with a running knee. She heels to the crowd to get a chant started for The Man. Lynch with a sleeper, but Shayna throws her off. Missile Drop Kick gets Becky two, then she transitions to the armbar but gets kicked throat first into the middle rope. They fight on the apron, Baszler throws Lynch off the top then gets two with another knee as we see Morgan watching in the back.
The jockey for position and Lynch can’t believe she only gets two on a DDT. Goes for Manhandle Slam but Shayna counters into an ankle lock! The Man gets to the ropes. Lynch off the top goes back to the arm, but Baszler gets free and gets two off a gutwrench suplex. Trash talk from the heel leads to a striking exchange. Kirafuda Clutch but Lynch rolls through. Roll-ups don’t work for either, but a Manhandle Slam gets three and Becky is going to her first Chamber!
Becky Lynch defeats Shayna Baszler via pinfall to qualify for the Elimination Chamber
Cathy Kelley catches up with Liv backstage, and asks how things have been going since her return. She puts over Stark, then says these girls have nothing to do with her business. She was on the shelf for almost a year, and the only thing she’s been thinking about is getting revenge on Rhea Ripley.
We get footage of Shinsuke Nakamura attacking Cody Rhodes at a house show over the weekend as they hype their Bullrope Match tonight.
Adam Pearce berates McIntyre in his office, fining him for his habit of attacking injured wrestlers. He’ll double it if he sees Drew wearing that shirt again. McIntyre points out that Rhea Ripley is making her entrance and looks pissed. Pearce runs off to deal with that.
Mami isn’t swayed by the crowd chanting her name. She knows Lynch just qualified for the Chamber, but she doesn’t care. She wants Nia Jax in the ring right now so she can rip her head off. Pearce interrupts to say we’re not doing this right now... but he’s given her Jax, for the title, at Elimination Chamber!
The GM tries to get the champ out of the ring, but before he can... here comes Nia! She brushes Pearce aside and gets in the ring, then Scrap Daddy gets bumped off the apron by Jax. He calls for security, but The Irresistible Force takes them out too! She puts Ripley down, goes up and flattens her with the Annihilator, then tells her she’ll see her in Perth.
The set-up for WrestleMania’s other Women’s title match gets a recap package, as we see Royal Rumble winner Bayley reveal to Damage CTRL she speaks a little Japanese, get. attacked by Kabuki Warriors, and challenge IYO SKY for the belt.
After some commercials, Cole promotes the press conference this Thursday as we get our latest spin on how “talked about” The Rock/Reigns angle is.
Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri vs. Ivar & Valhalla
Cole’s is apoplectic that Sarah Logan isn’t wearing her antlers. McAfee explains that they antlers didn’t help Valhalla last in the Rumble and vikings want to live forever. Anyway...
Tozawa sends Ivar to the floor. Dupri with her usual rough-looking offense on Valhalla. Her partner tags in and flies, but Ivar catches him. A few more things happen, but the outcome of this is never in doubt and Erik’s partner slams Akira from the middle rope to end it.
Ivar & Valhalla def. Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri via pinfall
Flashback to The Judgment Day beating down R-Truth last Monday, then we go to the clubhouse. Dominik Mysterio checks in to tell the Rhea is fine. She’s pissed, but she’s fine. They just need to give her space. Damian Priest talks about how they’re all keeping their division on lock, and Truth rolls up.
They first time they beat him down, that was the pre-nitiation. Last week was the re-nitiation. He and JD McDonagh almost get into it, but Dirty Dom takes him out for his match. Finn Bálor says he can’t deal with Truth anymore and bounces. DP starts to say something, but then just tells Truth to enjoy himself in the clubhouse and leaves.
Post-break, Jackie Redmond interviews The Miz. He puts over Truth as finding the perfect balance between crazy and genius. He knows Truth thinks Judgment Day jumped him in last week, but he saw it as a declaration of war.
JD McDonagh vs. The Miz
McDonagh is all over Miz in the corner at the bell. Miz catches a drop kick attempt and slingshots JD into the turnbuckles. He whips him over the ropes then follows to put him into the timekeepers area and suplex him back to the floor. Miz bounces the Irishman’s face off the announce desk. Dom grabs Miz’s leg on the apron, which allows McDonagh to send him face first into the announce desk himself. Commercial time.
The Irish Ace still in control when we get back. Two off a moonsault, heads up top, and What’s Up? Truth is here! He heads into the seats to give out the t-shirts he found in the clubhouse. That allowed Miz to recover and get his legs up to counter another moonsault. Running clothesline followed by a crossbody gets two. He goes for Skull Crushing Finale. JD gets free, Miz sends him to the floor and kick Mysterio into the barricade, where Truth puts one of the t-shirts on him.
Moonsault from McDonagh, but Truth gets on the apron to give JD his cut of the shirt sale cash. He takes it, but Miz swoops in to hit his finisher as the dough flies into the air.
The Miz def. JD McDonagh via pinfall
Truth collects the money and celebrates with Miz on stage as Dom & JD try to figure out what happened.
After a quick recap of the Kabuki Warriors beating Kayden Carter & Katana Chance for the Women’s Tag titles, the former champs get a hype video with a promo to tell the current champs that the party is over.
Ludwig Kaiser.& Giovanni Vinci are grilling Adam Pearce to ensure everything is perfect for Gunther’s celebration. Pearce assures them it is, then says he needs the room for a meeting. There’s a knock on the door, and it’s Wolf Dog Bron Breakker to review the offer Pearce made him.
We get some footage of CM Punk after surgery on his torn triceps. He says he can handle the pain, but the mental and emotional piece is the most difficult. His comeback is going to be the greatest of all-time.
Kaiser introduces Der Ring General for the latest celebration of his historic Intercontinental title reign. All the Imperium lads look spiffy in their black casual suits, and Gunther has a big smile on his face as he gets a microphone.
To the surprise of nobody, he’s here celebrating the jubilee of 600 days as Intercontinental champion. But to be honest, he appreciates. Ludwig setting this up, but he doesn’t want it anymore. 700 days, 1000 days... his being the greatest IC champ of all time will never change. In fact, he’s running out of competition. There’s no man here who’s worthy of challenging him for this title...
YEET! Jey Uso is here! Pat Mac and all of St. Louis bounce with Main Event Jey, and even Gunther gets it: simple gestures for a very simple audience. He reminds Uso that he eliminated him from the Rumble. Jey says he means no disrespect, and puts over the Ring General’s credentials. Gunther replies by listing Jey’s tag team records... then says “and you only had to put in 50% of the work”. Jey replies that Gunther’s about to get all of this work, and states his intention to end the big Austrian’s reign. The champ congrats Jey on finally stepping out of his family’s shadow, but he’s gonna wish for the good old days when people couldn’t tell him and his brother apart.
A shoulder shove from the champ prompts Uso to attack, but Imperium’s numbers win out. Here comes New Day to make the save! The former rivals hold the ring and jaw at Gunther and company as the segment ends.
Shinsuke Nakamura cuts a promo in Japanese on Cody, promising pain and shame in their Bullrope match tonight. He hears people saying “We Want Cody”, but no, no, no! He wants Cody!
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) (c) vs. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter for the WWE Women’s Tag Team championship
Samantha Irvin in the ring for introductions. Asuka starts with Chance and quickly puts her down as we see several other teams watching on from backstage. Katana fires back with a slap, and Asuka smiles it off. Matrix evasion to a kick from Chance, who fires back with a kick of her own to Asuka’s ribs (injured by Bayley’s steel pipe attack on Friday night). Blind tag from Carter, but the action spills to the floor. Katana flattens the warriors then poses on the apron with her partner as we take a break.
The champs are back in the driver’s seat when we get back, with Kayden playing face in peril. Sane tries to prevent the tag, but can’t prevent it. Katana is all over Kairi, finally getting two after delivering a stomp to the Pirate Princess’ back as she was drapped over the ropes. Asuka tags in and a double team almost ends it but Chance kicks out. They trade pin attempts, then Carter is back in for a double team on Asuka. After Party looks like it might end it, but Kairi breaks up the pin!
Challengers try for a Keg Stand, but Sane grabs Carter’s leg and pulls her out and throws her into the steps. Asuka holds Chance for the InSane Elbow, and that’s it.
The Kabuki Warriors def. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance via pinall to retain the WWE Women’s Tag titles
We see an interview Jackie Redmond conducted with Sami Zayn earlier today. Zayn’s spent the day sitting in the Enterprise Center seats mulling things over. Some of it is related to Drew McIntyre who attacked him last week. But some of it is thinking about the year he’s had, and how Triple H pulled him aside after Elimination Chamber last year to tell him to lift his chin up. Haitch told him he’s Rocky, and he’ll always fight like an underdog, but he’s a contender now. It’s about proving to the fans that they’re right for supporting him.
A little more hype for our main event... which is next!
But first, we get more Rock talk and announcements of two new matches for next week: Imperium vs. Jey Uso & New Day and R-Truth vs. JD McDonagh. We’re also reminded about the Liv Morgan vs. Zoey Stark Elimination Chamber qualifier and Thursday’s presser in Vegas.
Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a Bull Rope Match
Cody is the first to be tied to the 14’ bull rope as Cole tells us this is the one Dusty used in his first ever Bull Rope Match against Superstar Billy Graham in 1974. As soon as Nakamura’s wrist is fastened, he attacks. Things spill outside quickly and Shinsuke goes into the seats for some reason, so Rhodes pulls him gut first into the barricade. Time for some ads.
The American Nightmare is pulling Nak into the ring post when we return. He gets him in the ring and goes for the Disaster Kick, but Shinsuke yanks him down to the mat to take control. After Nakamura’s corner kick gimmick, Rhodes rolls to the floor and bashes his knee on the side of the ring when he’s pulled back into the ring. Nakamura whips Cody with the rope a few times, then delivers a knee to the mid-section and goes for a cover but can only get a two count.
Basem*nt drop kick starts Rhodes’ comeback. He locks in the Figure Four, but Shin hits him in the dome with the cow bell as we head to our last set of commercials.
Cody’s rolling when we come back. Disaster Kick connects this time, but Nakamura sweeps his legs from the floor and sends him crashing to the mat. He lines up a Kinshasa, but Cody counters. Cody Cutter! Rhodes fires up, striking exchange, Bionic Elbow! Shin fires back and throws Cody again but still can’t hit the Kinshasa. Pedigree from Rhodes, he grabs the cowbell but when he goes to use it gets a face full of mist! A blinded Cody hits Cross Rhodes, one, two, no!
Wiping the mist from his eyes, Rhodes gets to his feet. Nakamura blasts him with the cowbell, but Cody blocks a knee! He uses the rope to crotch Shinsuke not once but twice. Cross Rhodes, Cody wins!
Cody Rhodes def. Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall in a Bull Rope Match
The American Nightmare starts to celebrate, but Drew McIntyre is back with an attack from behind! Claymore! Raw ends with Drew standing over Cody and staring at the WrestleMania sign.
