411’s WWE RAW Post Show Report: CM Punk, John Cena, and More Answer Press Questions

-RAW Talk is apparently gone, but we get a WWE Raw Post Show this week and I am not sure if it’s a one-and-done, or if this will be something new each week. Let’s get to it!

-Joe Tessitore welcomes us and he is joined by Wade Barrett and Big E. They are off-camera as we are focused on Punk and Rollins still in the ring. Rollins is bleeding from the ear I think, and he looks disappointed in himself. Punk is selling the back like crazy as he still hasn’t gotten to his feet. The crowd is still hanging out as they are likely waiting to see if anything else happens between the two.

-We cut to an aerial shot of Los Angeles, and we get a proper show opening now. Joe, Wade, and E are all at a table high above the ring. Big E notes they got a WrestleMania-caliber feud the first night on Netflix RAW.

-Joe throws it to Michael Cole and Pat McAfee. Cole puts over Joe and everything he has brought to WWE. Cole says this is the greatest moment and how great it felt to welcome fans to Netflix. McAfee calls the night electrifying as Cole runs down everything that happened tonight before sending it back to Joe and company.

-Jackie Redmond is ringside with CM Punk and congratulates him on winning the first RAW Main Event in the Netflix Era. That is true! Punk says 46 is just a number and he took a 10-year vacation, but he is back and nobody can touch him. He is coming for all the gold and dedicates the match to Chad Gilbert and Chris Bey. He gets bleeped saying “shit” so WWE YouTube is not Netflix. Just for reference, there are 156,000 currently watching this on YouTube. Punk talks Royal Rumble and says that is next on the list. He is coming for GUNTHER and Cody. He is Mr. Game 7! He is The Best in The World!

-We go back to the opening with HHH welcoming us to the Netflix Era and then The Rock showing up. Celebrities were all over the place and they show Hulk Hogan, who was booed out of the building. Big E notes he popped the most for Topanga.

-As our host trio talk, they have a graphic on the side of the screen showing the results of each match tonight. Cool! Wade admits he was wrong in thinking Punk couldn’t get back to the level he was in 2011. Joe brings up that Punk is still owed a favor from Paul Heyman and subtly hints at it being a match with Roman Reigns without mentioning Roman by name.

-We head to the Press Room where John Cena is fielding questions. He is first asked about not mentioning The Rock as a potential opponent. Cena says he was just naming the people the fans have been mentioning. He notes he can’t demand Main Events (yeah, right) and he just wanted to tamper down expectations. He is just grateful to have a chance and he realized there are some lottery tickets out there. Cena is having a blast as he laughs at a reporter saying it was great to SEE HIM. The reporter asks Cena his thoughts on Cody Rhodes. He tips his cap to Cody because he had a goal and got it done. Cena goes back to The Rumble and how this is his last one and he hopes it gives him the energy he needs. Cena is asked how many matches in those 36 dates, and Cena says that is a better question for HHH. Next Cena is asked if we could see Prototype, Thuganomics Cena, or Peacemaker. Cena notes Peacemaker is a DC thing so you never know. Cena says he is hoping to go back to the way he started and notes they are in LA and why his current shirt looks like Dodgers. Denise asks John about mentioning UPW and what advice he would give himself back then. John notes he is very fortunate and knows every day is a gift. He would not change anything other than maybe throw some money into BitCoin. He wants one more question and is asked about Kobe Bryant and going out like he did in the NBA with a bang. Cena says he just wants to let everyone know he is 100% done in the ring come December. He will take on an ambassador role, but he will give everyone everything he has, but he doesn’t know what that looks like right now. He doesn’t know if he can win a Championship and just wants to give himself a chance. He doesn’t want to demand something as that is not fair to the current WWE Superstars. He is taking each night as a chance to thank the fans and have fun together one last time. Cena thanks everyone for coming and thanks Netflix. He says he is retiring, but they will have to fire him to get him away from WWE.

-Back to Joe, Wade, and E at the desk. Big E thinks Cena is going to enter The Rumble at 1. Barrett thinks he is toast unless he enters at 25 or later. Big E doesn’t think he will win a Title in this final run as the roster is loaded. Wade agrees and says it is a resounding no as to whether Cena can beat GUNTHER or Cody.

-To the video as Roman Reigns wins a chaotic Tribal Combat over Solo to regain The Ula Falla and it was presented to him by The Rock. Perhaps that is the way Rock passes the torch since that match may never happen at this point, or maybe that is a step towards the match. With The Rock, you never know.

-Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman are in the Press Room. The first reporter asks what it meant to have the Rock present him with The Ula Fala. Roman takes a moment and says it was an incredible honor. He talks about his father, and his uncle, and Rock’s grandfather. Next reporter asks Roman about Cena calling him The GOAT. Roman says John is a smart man that knows what he is talking about, but says it is always an opinion. He does mention that his metrics don’t lie. Next Roman is asked about the long teased match with The Rock. Roman laughs as says he doesn’t have to tease anything and he will let the internet do its thing. “We’ll see.” Next, Roman is asked about his sneakers. For those wondering he was wearing Kobe 9 Elites (Nike) and I mean, it makes sense though Roman notes they weren’t in Laker country. He talks about Kobe’s mentality, and it was an honor to do something different and honor someone like Kobe. He notes he will likely auction the shoes off and donate the money to Children’s Hospital. One final question and it’s for Paul. He is asked what fans can expect from Roman Reigns in 2025. Paul says there is no excuse for Roman Reigns not to have an Emmy right now and how he should get one. He also notes that he deserves an Emmy and so does HHH and WWE for that matter, but it all starts with Roman Reigns.

-Joe and company discuss the future of The New Bloodline. That will be interesting to see what happens. Wade wonders if Jacob Fatu could see weakness and Solo and try to do what Solo did to Roman. Big E mentions he has heard that Jacob loves Solo but also mentions Jacob is going to be a STAR.

-Cathy Kelley is backstage with The New Day! They are annoyed that now Cathy gives them time and they mention they don’t have time for her now as they have a plane to catch. Cathy: “There is no coming back from those Kendrick problems.” Awesome! Cathy knows!

-Big E wants to see those guys move towards something and they are not the same men he stood by for ten years. They have moved in different directions, and he is interested to see what they are going to do in their careers. Wade notes New Day has united the entire industry behind Big E and even has Wade on E’s side. E also notes they better have personal security after taking shots at Kendrick in LA. I am amazed Michael Che even showed up in LA after what he said about Kendrick on SNL.

-To the video as Rhea Ripley wins the blow-off against Liv Morgan and is our new Women’s World Champion.

-Rhea Ripley is in the Press Room! Denise is first and asks Rhea what it felt like tonight and what’s next. Rhea says Liv took three months of her career, took her family, broke her face, and targeted her knee. It meant everything to get her baby back and finally pin Liv. She is excited to see what happens next as she is past Liv and Judgment Day. Next, she is asked about the moment with The Undertaker. She laughs as she thought kicking Dom in the balls would be the highlight, but then Taker came out. She mentions being part of Randy’s return, Punk coming back, and calls hearing The Dong and seeing Taker come out was insane. She can’t wait to rub this in Damian Priest’s face. Rhea is asked again about what’s next. She notes she is The Champion and anyone can take their shot. Jeffrey Harris from 411Mania (WOOOO) is next and asks about The Women’s IC Tournament. She thinks every woman on the roster is worthy of a Title opportunity. She thinks it is amazing to see more Titles for the Women. She promises Mommy will always end up on top. Hearing a question from 411mania popped me. Not going to lie!

-Jey Uso joins Joe, Wade, and E, and they bring up Travis Scott’s entrance. They note that was one of the greatest entrances ever and Joe was worried what Jey may have inhaled. Jey laughs as he was trying to keep it away from him and was worried about the kids being around. Definitely Netflix Era with Travis smoking a blunt on the way to the ring. Godfather, RVD, Road Dogg, and X-Pac all wish they were on Netflix back in the day. We see the close of the match where Jey got a crucifix for the flash pin on Drew McIntyre. Jey agrees that this felt like a WrestleMania with the energy and the crowd. More weed jokes as we move to our Main Event.

-We see the close as CM Punk hits Go To Sleep x 2 to get the pin on Seth Rollins.

-CM Punk is in the Press Room! USA Today gets the first question and asks if this is a one-and-done with Punk and Rollins. Punk says he wishes it was, but we know it won’t be. He doesn’t see Seth rolling over and giving up. He hopes Seth sleeps poorly tonight. He notes he may need to change his finisher as he took one tonight for the first time. Next Punk is asked if he would like to run it back with The Rock or John Cena. He wants Gold, but those names bring big, fat paychecks so he won’t say not to it. He says he owes The Rock and he owes John. He passed John in the hallway and he looked tired and needs to Go To Sleep. “I’ll see him in Indianapolis.” Next, Punk is asked about needing to be in the Main Event of WrestleMania. Punk says he has had a Hall of Fame career without coming back and he says being in The Main Event of Mania scares him and it should as it is a big deal. He puts over being in the first RAW Netflix Main Event. The last question is from our colleague Jeffrey Harris from 411mania and asks if Punk gained any respect for Seth tonight after the magic they created. Punk says Seth is a killer and doesn’t need to do all the extra stuff with the way he dresses and acts. The Seth Rollins he faced tonight is the real Seth Rollins. He notes he will bring the best out of everyone in the ring or on the mic. Punk wants a question from a female to break up the sausage party and has doughnuts brough up to the table. Punk and his pastries! Denise gets the last question as she asks about the legendary feuds he has his in this WWE run and where they fit in his career. Punk wants people to understand he is 46 and he is just now starting to understand the business. He took what he thought was the worst thing when he tore his triceps at the Rumble and turned it into one of the best things. 24 was a career year for him and he wants to top it in 2025. Well, one more question as someone mentions Punk had the old school zip-up jacket. Punk likes to leave Easter Eggs and callbacks to let people know where he came from and who he is. He thinks Seth followed the same path as him and probably got sick of being told he was the next CM Punk. He is looking forward to winning The Rumble and being in the Mania Main Event. This is a bucket list year for him.

-Back to video of Hulk Hogan coming out a bunch of boos from the crowd. They cut it off before we get the loud boos when the music was dropped.

-For those wondering, we are an hour into this show and have 102,000 people still watching on YouTube.

-Paul “HHH” Levesque is in the Press Room and puts over the spectacular nature of the building and their partners in making this happen. That building looked amazing and it’s one of those arenas I need to try to get to at some point in my life. Next, he thanks Netflix and it seems they are pleased with the early numbers that looked to be strong and impressive. The attendance was 17,514 which broke their all-time arena gate. That record has been broken 4 times in the last year as the machine just keeps rolling. He mentions Netflix is a numbers company and WWE has had those numbers for years, but people didn’t want to give them credit for the numbers. Netflix gets it and USA Network got it. The CW understands it as well now. He runs down the show and mentions Travis Scott, who he says it similar to Bad Bunny in that he grew up as a fan and wants to participate. “I would like to thank Jey Uso for just saying no on that entrance. That could have gone very different, and I am thankful it didn’t.” HA! He thinks Punk and Seth put on an incredible performance, but just scratched the surface of what they can do. He runs down the card for next week and then opens it up for questions.

-Chris Van Vliet asks about the different with formatting on Netflix. Paul mentions they have more wiggle room with commercial breaks and can manage them better. Next Paul is asked how he follows this show up, and Paul says another show is coming in seven days and you have to be ready. He says they had to almost approach tonight as a stand-alone event and next week they will get back into episodic TV a bit more. He puts over the talent and staff working their ass off to make it better. She asks about anything specific with Travis Scott. Paul says they will have announcements on it soon. The two of them will get together in the next couple of days to see what’s next. He mentions Travis was like a little kid coming back through Gorilla and how he put over how much different it was than anything he does concert-wise. Next Paul is asked by a member of the AP about the cold opening and how long that took. Paul mentions that Netflix’s audience is everybody. They needed to appeal to everyone they could and wanted to pay homage to the past and talk about what this business is for people who may have never watched. They have been working on it for months and everyone who watched got emotional watching it. I won’t lie, I did as well. He brings up the generations and how the characters from different generations of the business as engrained in fans of all ages. They are trying to stay true to that, but give something to the kids watching for the first time. They aren’t hiding what they do and why they can freely use terms like heel, face, work, and shoot. They are an art form that captures people’s emotions. HHH laughs as he got all the women asking questions and Punk just had doughnuts. He jokes Punk is going to be 400 lbs with all the pastries. Denise gets the final question and asks what pressure Paul had on himself heading into this show and what benchmarks does WWE want to hit with Netflix. Paul notes there is always pressure and sometimes the not-so-hyped shows bring more pressure. It’s 52 weeks a year and it is sometimes easier with the mind-blowing stuff compared to episodes where you have to lay the foundation. That makes total sense. He says this was another episode of RAW like last week and next week with a massive opportunity. He had to hold some back so they have more left to do but also had to deliver something to meet the hype they and Netflix put on the show. HHH says he has been explained the metrics five times and he still doesn’t understand them totally. Right now if Netflix is happy, he is happy and Nick Khan told him Netflix is thrilled. They will all sit down to set goals going forward as they get more data. He thinks there is some leeway as this is a new frontier, but he is anxious to hear their point of view of where they want them to be and where they want to get to. The final question is if the show met Paul’s expectations from when the show was first mentioned months ago. Paul felt like watching it tonight he really enjoyed the show and it delivered on a lot of things they wanted. They had the nostalgia with fresh and new plus storylines and big matches with a crazy, loud crowd in an amazing building. He was very happy with the show and the talent, which is more than just the talent that appeared on the show. He looks forward to doing it next week and every week after that. He talks about all the tech they tried tonight with new cameras and drones. Some worked and others didn’t work, so they didn’t show those shots, but they are going to keep trying new things. “All of this is for our fans.”

-Back to Joe, Wade, and E and they plug The Rock being on NXT New Year’s Evil tomorrow night. Big E gives his top 5 performers of the night, known as Big E Five Count: 1) Roman Reigns 2) Rhea Ripley 3) CM Punk 4) Jey Uso 5) John Cena. This was so much better than Sam’s Stars of The Night we would get on RAW Talk.

-Wade Barret gets his own segment with Bad News: Liv Morgan and everything that went wrong for him tonight.

-Next Week: Women’s IC Title Championship Tournament Final: Dakota Kai vs. Lyra Valkyria, Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser, Chad Gable vs. Mystery Opponent (that even HHH noted is not much of a mystery), and Street Fight: Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor.

-Joe notes the live camera drone is one of the MVPs on the night. Man has a point as the drone shots were incredible.

-Joe wraps things up and for those keeping track, we close with 52,000 people still watching on YouTube. Thanks for reading!