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-week construction phase Royal Rumble 2025, which takes place on February 1st.

The “Best Luchador to Walk the Planet” is now in the WWE

Chad Gable’s confidence goes through the roof after he keeps his promise to beat former Alpha Academy students Otis and Akira Tozawa and finish 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 challenged General Manager Adam Pearce to bring “the best luchador on the planet” to join him on tonight’s show. You see, Chad plans to dispel any rumors that he’s been in trouble with luchadors. I’m not aware of such rumors, but Chad probably reads the Internet a lot more than I do.

Pearce said he has the perfect man for Chad to face tonight. All signs point to the mystery opponent being former AEW star Penta, who we know will make his debut at some point on tonight’s episode. That point will likely be reached when Gable stands in the ring waiting for “the best luchador on the planet.”

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

Tune in to Raw tonight to find out if Adam Pearce’s mystery man can prove that Chad Gable actually has problems 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 come first Women’s Intercontinental Champion. Will the winner in this battle of babyfaces be determined fair and square, or will Dakota fall back on some of her old heel tendencies to ensure she comes out with the gold?

Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor will look to resolve their issues once and for all in a street fight. will World Tag Team Champions Erik and Ivar on standby to neutralize any members of The Judgment Day who attempt to interfere on Balor’s behalf?

Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser is also scheduled for Raw. These guys have been beating each other up every month since last summer. Kaiser boasted about breaking the Celtic Warrior’s ribs at Survivor Series, so Sheamus didn’t hesitate to punch him in the face when he returned to Raw in December. I don’t think this feud will end without some sort of gimmick or stipulation, so this match probably won’t close the book on their problems.

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

World heavyweight champion GUNTHER will also be on the show tonight and he desperately needs something interesting to do. Will YouTube idiot Logan Paul interrupt him and reveal that he wants to win the world title in 2025?

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

Other things to keep in mind

– Rey Mysterio is still looking for a competent partner to accompany him in a match against the New Day? What about Jey Uso, who just beat Drew McIntyre and recently told New Day they suck? Is Uso busy winning more singles gold in WWE?

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

– The Miz tried again to distance himself from the war between The Final Testament and Wyatt Sicks last week, but he accidentally talked himself into joining the next fight. When will this fight take place?

– Which jabroni will be speared by him? Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker 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 will take place on January 25th, one week before the Royal Rumble. Does WWE have any plans to feature that pathetic old man Hulk Hogan on the card to be loudly booed by a live audience again?

What will you pay attention to? Raw?