WWE Raw Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Jan. 8

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage and recap of WWE Raw on January 8.

After weeks of buildup, Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura stepped into the ring on Monday to see if they could put this feud to bed once and for all.

Following their women's tag title loss, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven were given a rematch against the new champions, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.

We also saw Tommaso Ciampa face Finn Bálor with a shot at the tag team titles on the line for the DIY man if he won.

Let's take a look at what CM Punk had to say and everything else that happened on Monday's show.

Opening Segment, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Finn Bálor

Raw opened with Drew McIntyre in the ring talking about how he came up short last week in his quest to win the world title. After a couple of minutes of ranting, CM Punk made his way to the ring.

The Scottish Warrior ripped into Punk for various reasons. Tensions rose, but The Best in the World said he was going to walk away before it turned into a fight. He made sure to tell McIntyre he would eliminate him last in the men's Royal Rumble match.

This was a good segment, especially because Punk and McIntyre have almost no in-ring history. They have never had a singles match before, so this combo is instantly intriguing. The Scot had an especially strong performance here.

Grade: B

The first match of the night saw Ciampa take on Bálor with a shot at the tag titles on the line. Johnny Gargano and Damian Priest accompanied their respective partners to the ring.

These are two guys who are known for their work rate and athleticism, so this was never going to be anything less than a good performance.

They followed a standard formula with the heel having the upper hand most of the time so the babyface could get a pop when they began to make a comeback. As they got closer to the finish, they began to trade control more frequently.

Gargano and Priest got into a fight at ringside that caused Ciampa to leave the ring and help his friend. As Bálor was about to suplex The Blackheart back into the ring, Gargano pulled his foot and allowed Ciampa to fall on top of him for the win.

Result: Tommaso Ciampa defeated Finn Bálor

Grade: B

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Notable Moments and Observations

• McIntyre pointing out the illogical nature of Priest's attempted cash-in was funnier than it was supposed to be because he's right. 
• The last time Ciampa and Bálor were in a non-Battle Royal together was a tag team match on Raw in 2022. They teamed up to take on Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. 
• Funnily enough, Ciampa faced Priest and Bálor in some tag matches in 2020 before The Judgment Day came together. 
• Ciampa's powerbomb backbreaker is a great move. 

Kofi Kingston vs. Ludwig Kaiser

The New Day and Imperium are no strangers to each other, so Kofi Kingston and Ludwig Kaiser came into this match with some shared history beyond their tag team contest last week.

Giovanni Vinci was hurt during that encounter and will be out for a few weeks, according to the announcers, so Kaiser wanted to get some retribution for his teammate against the man whose dropkick caused the injury.

Kaiser had more height and power, so he was the one controlling the pace for the first couple of minutes until Kingston fired back at him with a series of chest chops.

It felt like Mr. European Excellence was being extra vicious here, especially with his trash-talking. The match ended up going to a double count-out when Kaiser stopped Kingston from breaking the ref's count so he could continue beating on him.

As they kept brawling, Kaiser picked up an announcer's chair and threw it into Kingston's face. He finished off his brutal attack by hitting a running dropkick as the New Day man was draped over the steel steps.

Double count-outs are never fun, but if they have to happen for the sake of a story, this is the right way to do it. This was one of Kaiser's better performances from a character standpoint.

Result: Double Countout

Grade: B+

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Last week, it seemed like Kingston lost his gear and had to improvise with some shorts and black kneepads, but he wore the same thing this week so it might just be his new look. 
• The exchange of chops was good. Kingston isn't known for his chops or punches, but he was making some good contact with these blows. 
• The dropkick against the steps looked brutal. They did that really well. 

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance vs. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven (Tag Titles)

Nia Jax came to the ring for an interview with Michael Cole, but it quickly turned into a confrontation with Rhea Ripley.

Surprisingly, it ended without any fighting. Jax simply said she would be coming for the Australian's title soon and then left.

Up next was the rematch for the women's tag title bout between the champions, Carter and Chance, and the team they beat for the belts two weeks ago, Niven and Green.

This was more competitive than their previous bout and some of that can be attributed to these four athletes developing more chemistry with each encounter.

Green grew more frustrated with each failed pinfall attempt. When she and Niven tried to put Carter in position for a Vaderbomb, Chance pulled her partner out of the ring and tripped Green so she ended up taking the impact. This cleared the way for the champions to hit their finisher for the win.

The ending was a bit contrived, but most of this match was enjoyable.

Result: Kayden Carter and Katana Chance defeated Chelsea Green and Piper Niven

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Wade Barrett seems to bounce between being a heel commentator and being neutral depending on who is in the ring. It allows him to put over certain babyfaces on commentary. 
• It's so weird that WWE had Samantha Irvin stop doing the special introduction for Green. Maybe it's part of a storyline in some way but right now, it just feels weird. 
• The super hurricanrana that Chance hit on Green was incredible. 
• Chance breaking up the pin on Carter was timed just about perfectly. 

The Miz vs. JD McDonagh

After a hilarious video package for R-Truth telling the story of how he joined The Judgment Day, The Miz battled JD McDonagh.

This match had a lot of crowd participation and comedy spots, which were helped by the presence of Truth and Dominik Mysterio at ringside.

What probably could have been a five-minute bout confined to one segment ended up lasting through a commercial break.

This wasn't a standout match, but it was a passable filler bout that helped continue this weird story with Truth and The Judgment Day.

With some help from Truth, be it intentional or not, The Miz was able to hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the victory.

Result: The Miz defeated JD McDonagh

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• If you didn't see it, go out of your way to watch the video with Truth. It's incredible. 
• The Miz being associated with Truth is one surefire way to ensure the crowd stays on his side. 
• Why did Michael Cole say Dom needed to take a bath? Is it because his nickname is Dirty? It was so weird how he just never addressed it again after Barrett called him a creep for it. 
• The way The Miz was kicking McDonagh in the leg to make him backflip was just like how Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect did it in their famous IC tile match. 

Ivar vs. Otis

Seth Rollins came to the ring to give a promo about the upcoming Royal Rumble PPV and the Road to WrestleMania. Jinder Mahal came out to confront him. Rollins made fun of him and how he was attacked by The Rock last week.

After a little scuffle, Otis and Ivar met for a singles match. Valhalla, Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri were at ringside, but Chad Gable was nowhere to be seen.

Ivar took control after a seated senton in the corner took his rival off his feet. Otis caught Ivar coming off the middle rope and slammed him in one of the most impressive spots you will see all week.

After a short but energetic match, Ivar scored the win with an impressive moonsault.

This wasn't as good as Ivar and Bronson Reed's recent clash, but it had a couple of unforgettable spots.

Result: Ivar defeated Otis

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Mahal becoming a punchline is kind of sad. He's a good wrestler who has just never been booked well, even as WWE champion. 
• WWE has been giving us more super-heavyweight matches over the past few months and it's been a lot of fun. There's nothing quite like watching two massive human beings collide with each other. 
• How did Otis catch Ivar coming off the middle rope? That looked impossible. 

Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura met for another match this week, but after a backstage fight broke out earlier in the show, Rhodes successfully requested that management change it to a Street Fight.

With entrances included, this bout had more than the last half hour of the show, so they had as much time as they wanted to tell a story, even if it wasn't the same story Rhodes has been trying to finish for almost two years.

Street Fights are all about weapons and violence. They always feel very different from a normal wrestling match, so it can be a fun change of pace.

The King of Strong Style and The American Nightmare have quickly developed great chemistry as opponents. The first 15 minutes of this match was a relatively standard Street Fight, but it got more exciting as it went.

We saw kendo sticks, chairs, tables and red mist used throughout. After putting Nakamura through a table, Rhodes hit his finisher for the pin and the win.

Result: Cody Rhodes defeated Shinsuke Nakamura

Grade: A-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Nakamura pretending he was riding a broom for a second was kind of funny. He'd probably be a Ravenclaw. 
• The look on Rhodes' face after Nakamura hit a stiff kick to the chest was the perfect way to sell it. He looked like every bit of wind had been knocked out of him in an instant. 
• The timekeeper took the mist from Nakamura directly into his face. It was much closer than most people would be, so every single drop hit him. 
• When Rhodes hit a Pedigree, Nakamura landed on top of his own knee instead of extending both legs behind him. It made the landing look weird but also kind of looked like he blocked the impact, which makes sense since he kicked out. 

The Final Word

Monday's Raw was a standard episode of the weekly show, but it had a couple of standout moments sprinkled throughout.

R-Truth continues to be a highlight every week in his segments with The Judgment Day, but Monday's show took things to another level with the video package that was produced.

Otis and Ivar delivered a few memorable moments, but Rhodes and Nakamura stole the show with their main event Street Fight.

The Royal Rumble is just a few weeks away but WWE has already done a lot of planning to set things up, so the next few weeks will be more about building the existing stories than adding new ones.

Grade: B-