Raw preview: The ‘single best luchador to walk this planet’ joins WWE

Raw airs tonight (January 13) with a live show from the Sap Center in San Jose, California. This is the seventh episode of Raw during the nine weeks of building courage Royal Rumble 2025, which takes place on 1 February.

The ‘single best luchador to walk this planet’ is now in the WWE

Chad Gable’s confidence is high after he lived up to his word of beating former Alpha Academy students Otis and Akira Tozawa to close out 2024. Chad believes 2025 is finally his year to shine and win singles gold in WWE.

To that end, on last week’s episode of Raw, he boldly dared General Manager Adam Pearce to bring in “the single best luchador walking this planet” to face him on tonight’s broadcast. You see, Chad plans to kill all rumors that he had problems with luchadors. I don’t know about such rumors, but Chad probably reads the internet a lot more than I do.

Pearce said he has the perfect guy for Chad to compete against tonight. All signs indicate that the mystery opponent will be former AEW star Penta, who we know will debut at some point in tonight’s episode. That point will likely be when Gable is standing in the ring waiting for “the best luchador to walk this planet.”

Is Penta worthy of such a hyperbolic title? Of course not, but it will still be pretty cool to see him debut in WWE and mix it up with someone on Gable’s talent level. Will Penta make a big splash for his debut by signing NFL star George Kittle?

Tune into tonight’s Raw to find out if Adam Pearce’s mystery man can prove that Chad Gable actually has a problem with luchadors.

The rest of the map

History will be made tonight as Lyra Valkyria and Dakota Kai battle it out to see who will be the first ever women’s intercontinental champion. Will the winner be decidedly fair in this battle of the babyfaces, or will Dakota fall back on some of her old heel tendencies to ensure she walks away with the gold?

Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor will try to solve their problems once and for all in a street fight. Will World Tag Team Champions Erik and Ivar be on standby to neutralize any member of The Judgment Day who tries to interfere on Balor’s behalf?

Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser is also scheduled for Raw. These guys have been beating each other on a monthly basis going back to last summer. Kaiser took credit for breaking the Celtic Warrior’s ribs at Survivor Series, so Sheamus didn’t hesitate to smash him in the face when he returned to Raw in December. I don’t think this feud will end without some kind of gimmick or stipulation attached to it, so this match probably won’t close the book on their issues.

CM Punk is scheduled to appear on the show tonight. Punk has been bragging about Seth Rollins after beating him in the main event of Raw’s Netflix debut. CM will probably focus on winning the Royal Rumble match, but will Seth allow him to move on so quickly?

Heavyweight World Champion GUNTHER will also be on the show tonight and he desperately needs something interesting to do. Will YouTube douchebag Logan Paul cut him off and let it be known that he intends to win the World Championship in 2025?

Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley says she’s done with Liv Morgan. If true, does that mean it’s time for someone like Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss or Charlotte Flair to return to confront the new champion during Rhea’s scheduled appearance tonight?

Other things to watch out for

– Is Rey Mysterio still looking for a competent partner to join him in a match against the New Day? What about Jey Uso, who is fresh off beating Drew McIntyre and recently told New Day that they stink. Is Uso preoccupied with trying to win more singles gold in WWE?

– How will Liv Morgan react after losing the Women’s World Championship last week? Is everything okay between Morgan and the little shithead Dominik Mysterio?

– The Miz once again tried to separate himself from the war between The Final Testament and Wyatt Sicks last week, but he accidentally talked himself into staying for their next match. When does that match take place?

– Which jabroni gets speared to death Intercontinental Champion Bron Breaker tonight?

– Who else plans to join John Cena, CM Punk and Roman Reigns in the Royal Rumble match? What about R-Truth?

– Saturday Night’s Main Event comes up on January 25th, one week before the Royal Rumble. Does WWE have any plans to drag the pathetic old man Hulk Hogan out on the card to be booed again by a live crowd?

What will you be looking for? Raw?