WWE Day 1 (2024) - Misplaced Pages

The 2024 Day 1 (marketed as Raw: Day 1) was the second Day 1 professional wrestling event produced by WWE, and the first to air as a television special. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on New Year's Day on January 1, 2024, at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California, and aired live as a special episode of Monday Night Raw on the USA Network. The broadcast kicked off WWE's week-long programming of New Year's-themed shows called New Year's Knockout Week. Day 1 was previously held as a pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event on January 1, 2022; an event was planned for 2023, but was canceled.

Six matches were contested during the live broadcast. In the main event, Seth "Freakin" Rollins defeated Drew McIntyre to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. In another prominent match, Rhea Ripley defeated Ivy Nile to retain the Women's World Championship and in the opening bout, Nia Jax defeated Becky Lynch. The event also notably featured a surprise appearance by The Rock, which was his first live appearance on Raw since January 25, 2016.

Production

Background

On January 1, 2022, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE held a New Year's Day pay-per-view and livestreaming event titled Day 1. A second event was planned for January 1, 2023, but was canceled due to a scheduling conflict with streaming partner Peacock. During the December 11, 2023, episode of Monday Night Raw, it was announced that the Day 1 name had been revived for a special episode of Raw, airing on January 1, 2024, on the USA Network. The television special was broadcast live from Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. The show kicked off WWE's week-long programming of New Year's-themed shows called New Year's Knockout Week, which included NXT: New Year's Evil and SmackDown: New Year's Revolution.

Storylines

The event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television show, Monday Night Raw.

At Crown Jewel on November 4, 2023, Seth "Freakin" Rollins defeated Drew McIntyre to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. On the following episode of Raw, McIntyre shook hands with Rollins and stated he would earn a future rematch. On the December 11 episode, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Rollins would face the now villainous McIntyre in a rematch at Day 1.

On the December 4, 2023, episode of Raw, Ivy Nile promised to neutralize Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley if she tried to interfere on behalf of her Judgment Day stablemates, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Finn Bálor and Damian Priest against Nile's Diamond Mine stablemates, The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) in their title match. The following week, after Ripley defeated Maxxine Dupri in a non-title match, Ripley and Nile stared each other down. Ripley then vowed to make an example out of Nile, agreeing to put the Women's World Championship on the line against Nile at Day 1, which was later made official.

On the November 27, 2023, episode of Raw, Becky Lynch stated she had a couple of fights on the horizon. The following week, Nia Jax asked if one of the fights included her, to which Lynch confirmed, referencing when Jax legitimately broke Lynch's nose in 2018. Over the next two weeks, Lynch appeared ready to face Jax, but Jax stated she would fight Lynch on her own terms, ultimately agreeing to face Lynch at Day 1.

On the December 18, 2023, episode of Raw, the team of Natalya and Tegan Nox and the team of Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark agreed to a match, which was scheduled for Day 1.

On X on December 29, 2023, WWE chief content officer Triple H brought attention to a rumor regarding an unspecified former WWE Champion appearing at Day 1. Triple H suggested fans should tune in to the event's broadcast, and refused to confirm or deny the rumor.

Event

During the event, ring announcer Samantha Irvin introduced the former WWE Champion that was previously rumored to appear. After a moment of anticipation, Jinder Mahal made his entrance, disappointing the fans. He made negative comments about the United States and its inherent divisiveness and jingoism, sparking a negative crowd reaction. This was proceeded by a surprise return by The Rock, who confronted and took out Mahal. After the brawl, The Rock asked fans if he should sit at "the head of the table", a reference to Roman Reigns.