WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Cody Rhodes and CM Punk engage in a heated war of words ahead of Royal Rumble

Punk called his shot and said he will win the Royal Rumble and challenge Rhodes at WrestleMania

With the Royal Rumble less than a week away, it was not surprising to see much of Monday's Raw revolve around wrestlers announcing their plans to win the Rumble and main event WrestleMania.

But the lingering memory from Raw will likely be Cody Rhodes and CM Punk in a heated confrontation that saw both men take deeply personal digs while continually stressing that they're friends. Punk made it clear his intention is to win the Rumble and call his shot by choosing to challenge Rhodes for the undisputed WWE championship. Rhodes said he hoped that exact scenario happened, just so he could prove that he has passed Punk by after a career of trying to chase down Punk's success.

In the main event match of the night, Drew McIntyre stole a win over Sami Zayn with a cheap pin that also led to a post-match brawl wherein Zayn accidentally delivered a kick to Rhodes' face.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from State Farm Center in Atlanta.

Cody Rhodes and CM Punk come face-to-face

Drew McIntyre def. Sami Zayn via pinfall after a roll-up with his feet on the ropes. After the match, McIntyre continued to attack Zayn until Cody Rhodes ran in to make the save. Kevin Owens then jumped into the ring, attacking Rhodes and starting a brawl that ended when McIntyre reentered the fray. As McIntyre was attacking Rhodes, Zayn attempted to deliver a Helluva Kick only for McIntyre to avoid the shot, resulting in the kick landing on Rhodes. Zayn was visibly upset but Owens patted him on the chest before leaving the ring.

Rhodes was still in the ring after a commercial break and cut a promo about the Royal Rumble and his ladder match with Owens. He was eventually interrupted by CM Punk. Punk stressed that he is Rhodes' one true friend both because of a promise he'd made to Dusty Rhodes but also because he loves Cody. Punk said he knows that Rhodes feels the weight of a long run with a world title because he'd been there before. Rhodes asked Punk to predict his future and Punk said that Rhodes will defeat Owens but will lose the undisputed WWE championship at the Rumble and it will be because Punk will be the one to defeat him. The two traded words, with Rhodes saying that their roles have reversed because for most of his career, he felt like he was chasing Punk's success but now Punk is chasing him. Rhodes delivered the final shot by saying he hopes Punk does win the Rumble and challenge him at WrestleMania because he wants to see the look on Punk's face when he realizes "The Best in the World" isn't the best in the world any longer.

For the second straight year, Punk and Rhodes delivered the goods on the microphone on the final Raw before the Royal Rumble. The story they were telling made sense. They're friends but business comes before friendship and both men are too proud to accept being second fiddle to the other. Good promo work is hard to find, especially promo work that doesn't lean on catch phrases or direct call and response with the fans but Punk and Rhodes are two of the best in the world at getting the job done. It will also be interesting to see where the Zayn story goes as he conveniently keeps misfiring his shots in ways that directly play into his own misguided past in the heel days of The Bloodline. Grade: A

What else happened on WWE Raw?

• Seth Rollins, Gunther and Logan Paul all shared the ring in the opening segment. Rollins was out to talk up his plan to win the Royal Rumble only to be interrupted by Gunther. Gunther said Rollins is one of the best wrestlers in WWE history, but it's 2025 and Gunther is now the best -- and the world heavyweight champion. Paul eventually made his own way to the ring to say he will win the Rumble and he might just go ahead and challenge Gunther at WrestleMania.
• Sami Zayn confronted CM Punk backstage. Zayn said he took issue with being told he isn't on Punk's level before saying that it is somewhat true since he has been a WrestleMania main eventer while Punk has not. After Punk left, Karrion Kross approached Zayn, telling him to listen to Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins and start thinking with his head rather than his heart. Later, Zayn spoke to Rollins and apologized for the errant Helluva Kick on last week's Raw. Rollins forgave him and said he understands it was a mistake but said if it happens again, he won't be so sure.
• World Tag Team Championship – War Raiders def. JD McDonagh & Dominik Mysterio via pinfall after hitting War Machine on Mysterio to retain the titles. Carlito attempted to interfere to help Judgment Day steal the win but they couldn't get the job done.
• Rey Mysterio def. Xavier Woods via pinfall with a slingshot splash. Before the match, even Pete Dunne and Ludwig Kaiser refused to speak to New Day. Woods was distracted late in the match when his family came to their ringside seats and took off their coats to reveal shirts reading "New Day sucks."
• Jey Uso joined the parade of wrestlers vowing to win the Royal Rumble, while also briefly discussing his loss to Gunther on Saturday Night's Main Event. Uso said he knows he can beat Gunther if they meet again.
• Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez def. Bianca Belair & Naomi via pinfall. Belair had the match won after a KOD on Morgan but Dominik Mysterio ran interference, allowing Rodriguez to hit a cheapshot to allow Morgan to pin Naomi.
• Paul Heyman cut an in-ring promo, first unveiling the WWE 2K25 cover, which features Roman Reigns, and then explaining that Reigns will win the Royal Rumble because he's the biggest star on the planet and the rest of the roster wishes they could be like him. Drew McIntyre eventually came to the ring to confront Heyman. McIntyre explained that his winning the Royal Rumble in 2020 was what led to the creation of The Bloodline and that Heyman should thank him.