WWE Raw results, recap, grades: The Rock returns and teases a future match with Roman Reigns

Rock interrupted Jinder Mahal before delivering a beatdown and teasing a massive match

Day One Raw was built up by WWE as an event that would feature many big matches. But the matches proved not to be the biggest headline grabber on the event as WWE legend The Rock made an appearance and may have set up the biggest match in wrestling.

Rock returned and attacked Jinder Mahal after an anti-American promo from Mahal. But bigger than Rock appearing, the crossover star threw out a line to end the segment that teased a long-awaited match with Roman Reigns in the near future.

There were also two world title matches on the card, with both Rhea Ripley and Seth Rollins retaining their titles against the challenges of Ivy Nile and Drew McIntyre, respectively.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

The Rock returns to take out Jinder Mahal, tease match with Roman Reigns

After rumors that a former WWE champion would appear at Day One Raw, fans were initially met with the underwhelming appearance of Jinder Mahal. Mahal ran down the crowd and America, claiming to be the "great unifier" that was needed to raise America back to greatness. As Mahal continued his rant, The Rock's music hit and one of the biggest stars in wrestling history made his way to the ring.

The Rock cut one of his classic promos, calling Mahal a variety of names before singing a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner with lyrics swapped out to continue insulting Mahal. This eventually led to a brawl, which culminated in Rock hitting a spinebuster and The People's Elbow before Mahal ran away.

The real meat of the segment came at the end when Rock said he was going to go out to eat and asked the crowd if he should eat at a booth, the bar or "the head of the table," teasing a future showdown with Roman Reigns.

While the action with Mahal was a bit of hit and miss as much of Rock's shtick has aged poorly, his return is a big headline grabber. More importantly, if WWE has finally managed to put together the Rock vs. Reigns match they've wanted for so long, that is a match that will do some big business, whether at WrestleMania or any other event. Grade: A

What else happened on WWE Raw?

• Nia Jax def. Becky Lynch via pinfall with a Bonzai Drop in the night's opener. Jax hit Lynch with an uppercut before the finish, leaving her with a bloody mouth.
• A Shinsuke Nakamura video interrupted a Cody Rhodes promo. Rhodes said he entered 2024 stuck on Nakamura after being misted when their rivalry should already be done. Nakamura said he was going to end Rhodes' story and close the book, but would give him one more week to think about it.
• Jey Uso & Kofi Kingston def. Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser via referee stoppage after Vinci suffered an injury.
• R-Truth & The Miz def. Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh via pinfall when Miz hit a Skull-Crushing Finale on McDonagh. R-Truth continued to think he was actually in Judgment Day and that the match was an attempt to prove his loyalty before helping Miz win by accident.
• Women's World Championship -- Rhea Ripley (c) def. Ivy Nile via pinfall with Riptide. A lengthy match came to a close when Ripley countered a crossbody with a headbutt, then delivering a knee and Riptide to retain her championship.
• Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark def. Natalya & Tegan Nox via pinfall after Stark hit Nox with Z360.
  
• World Heavyweight Championship -- Seth Rollins (c) def. Drew McIntyre via pinfall to retain the title. Damian Priest attempted to cash in during the match after coming to ringside with Mysterio and delivering a briefcase shot to Rollins. Before he could complete the cash-in, McIntyre hit him with a Claymore. McIntyre then hit Rollins with a Claymore and seemingly had the match won but wasn't paying attention to ring positioning and placed Rollins' foot on the bottom rope during the pin. Shortly after, Rollins hit McIntyre with a Pedigree on the commentary desk before scoring the win to retain his belt.