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Memorable Moments from the Premiere of WWE ‘Monday Night Raw’ on Netflix

By Michael Fairman

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Photos: WWE

It was an epic night when live from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on January 6th, Monday Night Raw held its highly-anticipated premiere on Netflix.

With many celebrities in attendance, pro wrestling royalty and high stakes matches the debut could have easily been a premium live eventĀ  It proved that the partnership between the WWE and its new streaming home, Netflix was off and running.

When it came down to going live, it was WWE’s chief content office, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who welcomed the new era of pro wrestling with not only an incredible cold open package, we previously previewed Monday morning, but the visual of a lone spotlight on him ringing in the new year, and this new frontier for the WWE and its global audience.

Courtesy/WWE

Next, The Rock “came back to Los Angeles” and he also spoke of this revolutionary moment for the organization and gave props to both Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns. Time will tell if that continues.

Photo: WWE

THAT ULA FALA IS MINE

The Rock was followed by the opener, the OTC Roman Reigns trying to get the Ula Fala back around his neck from the hands of his cousin, and Bloodline 2.0 leader, Solo Sikoa. In the highly-publicized “Tribal Combat,” match, weapons were fair game, referees were knocked out, and of course, there were run-ins galore! You had Sami Zayn and Jimmy Uso out to help the OTC as Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga were trying to destroy Reigns.

Photo:WWE

All of a sudden, Kevin Owens appeared out of nowhere and went nuts on Reigns, taking out years of frustration and what set him off about former friend, Cody Rhodes, when Rhodes teamed with Reigns for one-night against the new Bloodline. As Kevin pummeled the OTC, the Universal champ arrived and took his fight to Owens right out of the arena.

Photo: WWE

In the end, Reigns speared Sikoa for the victory. The Wiseman, Paul Heyman and the OTC came into possession of the Ula Fala. Only it was The Rock who came back out to the ring who would do the honors. He embraced Reigns as Roman reclaimed his place as the one and only Tribal Chief. At first, Reigns and Heyman looked suspicious of The Rock’s demeanor, but for now, The Rock played it off as all is OK within the fam.

Photo: WWE

RHEA RIPLEY WINS WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP; CELEBRATES WITH THE UNDERTAKER

The Eradicator, Rhea Ripley, as expected defeated Liv Morgan and her Judgment Day cronies, her ex, Dominik “Dom Dom” Mysterio and Raquel Rodriguez. It was a back and forth battle but Ripley prevailed, and a good swift kick to the crotch of Mysterio made it all the sweeter.Ā  However, can you get any better than “The American Badass”, The Undertaker riding in on his motorcycle to a raucous crowd, to then have The Eradicator and The Badass celebrating her win!

Photo: WWE

JOHN CENA STAKES HIS CLAIM FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

The 2025 farewell tour for John Cena kicked-off when the 16-time champion made his way to the ring to talk about how he started as the “Prototype” and wrestled in LA at the start of his career … and how he has this idea to enter the Royal Rumble this February and take the thing and earn his shot at a World Title at WrestleMania 42.Ā  It has been in the rumor mill that WWE is setting up Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena in the main event. If Cena could get back on a winning streak after having lost several of his last matches, he could become a record-breaking 17-time champ. Stay tuned.

Photo: WWE

HULK HOGAN GETS BOOED

While Cena got cheers, the arrival of “The Hulkster” in LA was met with resounding boos. Hogan’s appearance was tied to his beer brand with WWE, but his speech in front of an American flag alongside Jimmy “the mouth of the south” Hart was hard to hear being drowned out by fans, who most likely were not happy with Hogan speaking at the Republican National Convention as a celebrity supporter of now President-elect Donald Trump. Hogan attempts to try to talk about the old days of the WWE with his rivals, Randy “Macho Man” Savage et al, but his segment became more about the reaction he was receiving than what he was actually trying to say.

Photo: WWE

CM PUNK DEFEATS SETH ROLLINS – BUT THIS FEUD IS FAR FROM OVER

In the main event, you had the crowd split on who they wanted to root for – Seth “Freakin” Rollins or the “Voice of the Voiceless” CM Punk. This match had all the hype and lived up to its expectations. Chants of “This is Awesome” reigned from the over 17,000+ in attendance in a back and forth brutal battle.

Photo: WWE

Punk looked to be getting the worst of it, at first, with a Pedigree on the announce table, then a buckle bomb Stomp and a superplex. However, in the end, Punk survived and pinned Rollins leaving him dazed with a bloody cut near his eye.Ā  It was a great closer, and left us wondering how Seth will come back from the defeat and if he can handle it, or is a heel turn forthcoming?

So, what did you think of the premiere episode of Monday Night Raw on Netflix? What was your favorite moment? Weigh-in via the comment section below. But first check out this highlight reel from WWE on their top moments of the night.

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THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now

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Bill and Katie

The future isn’t looking so bright for longtime loves Katie Logan (Heather Tom) and Bill Spencer (Don Diamont), when on the Wednesday, November 11 episode Katie wants Bill to leave and give her some space, and to stay away from her!

Katie explains she wanted none of this, but now her insecurity and fear of Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Bill has made it impossible. Bill pleads his case, ā€œI was just trying to helpā€ by speaking with Brooke. Katie tells him, well he didn’t, far from it, it’s all backfired in his face.

Bill insists to Katie that everything he did was for her and her sisters. Katie isn’t buying it. In her mind, Bill has always wanted to stick it to the Forresters. So what changed? She then asks him point blank, if he is still attracted to Brooke? Bill says “no,” but Katie said she wishes she could believe him. He tries to explain that him getting together with Brooke was to broker peace between the Logan sisters.

Katie

Courtesy/CBS

THE TRUST IS BROKEN

Katie speaks to how she is building her own company, making something of herself, and Bill says to her, “You don’t have to lose the people that you love to prove that you can win.ā€

Next, Katie is convinced Bill was flirting with Brooke because he texted Brooke a Stallion emoji (she has a point, no?). That reminded Katie of the worst time in her life when he was having an affair with her sister!

She points out how Brooke destroyed her life and took Will away from her and he was sent to boarding school, so why shouldn’t she strike back? Bill tries to point out again, that Katie is going to lose her sisters. But, a defiant Katie fires back, “If they can’t accept me for who I am … so be it!”

Next, Bill says he doesn’t buy it and becomes very emotional calling his wife, “my Katie”.Ā  However, now in a puddle of tears, Katie says those words can’t fix everything. Seeing he is not getting anywhere, Bill walks towards the door and says, ā€œI will hate being apart from you, but I’ll do it for you.ā€

He vows to never stop fighting for them. Katie’s says, “Goodbye, Bill.ā€Ā  The music swells, Bill exits, and Katie crawls into a ball on the couch in a dramatic overhead shot to end the episode.

Photo: JPI

WEDDING BELLS?

In the same episode, it should be noted that Taylor (Rebecca Budig) asked Deacon (Sean Kanan) to re-propose to her, and this time she accepted.

It looks like Taylor or Deacon are headed down the aisle at some point, but not so fast, because Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) was flirting with Deacon, and she won’t take this news lying down.

Check out the emotional scenes featuring Heather Tom and Don Diamont below.

Now weigh-in: were you touched by the moments when Bill left his house to give Katie the space she says she needed over her feelings of betrayal by her husband and her sister, Brooke? How does this all end? Will Katie end up destroying everything in the process on her way to the top? Will she have a mental or physical crisis in days to come? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section.

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Dancing with the Stars

DANCING WITH THE STARS: A Shocking Elimination on Grammy Night Leaves Ballroom Silenced

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In what could only be the stunner of this season of Dancing with the Stars, the Tuesday night, November 1o episode saw one of the heavy favorites Jenna Dewan and pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy eliminated right before next week’s all-important semi-finals for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

Week 9 was Grammy night, where the contestants performed routines related to the Grammy Awards with songs that have either won or been nominated for the music industry’s highest prize.

After each couple performed their usual routine, they had to dance a second time vs, another couple doing the same dance style. Only Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson earned immunity from having to participate in it.

Dancing with the Stars

Photo: ABC

THE RESULTS

When all was said and done during the results portion of the show; the following couples were deemed safe and will dance another day: Shum Jr. and Johnson, Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov, Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, and Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold.

That left former Y&R actress Tatyana Ali (ex-Roxanne) and Jan Ravnik and Dewan and Chmerkovskiy in the bottom two. It was then revealed that Jenna and Val would be going home. The ballroom fell silent and Dewan said her “thank you’s “in the most gracious way about her dance journey.

Dewan is a dancer, having worked professionally with the likes of Janet Jackson (who also popped up in a special message to her former back-up dancer in the episode) while currently being an actress, and appearing as a series regular on The Rookie. Chmerkovskiy has been controversial figure all season especially after being suspended one week after comments made towards judge Carrie Ann Inaba.

BREAKING THEIR SILENCE

This begs the question: did America want the couple gone, because they had an unfair advantage with Dewan’s dance prowess, or did the show want the couple booted off too?

Later, Jenna and Val broke their silence on the elimination to Extra. Chmerkovskiy shared ā€œIt’s’ definitely a sad result. I thought we had a great season.” Dewan admitted, “I know this was a particularly tough week for a lot of the online noise … but I know that we went out there and had the best time of our life.ā€

Val is married to pro dancer, Jenna Johnson, who remained in the top slot on the leaderboard during the competition with Harry Shum Jr. However, she also had a bad week breaking her nose in rehearsal!

Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET and next day on Hulu.

So were you happy, or sad to see Jenna and Val voted off of Dancing with the Stars? Of the remaining couples who do you hope make it from the semi-finals to the finals and hoists the Mirrorball Trophy? Weigh-in via the comment section.

 

 

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‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’

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Heather Tom

Six-time Daytime Emmy winner, Heather Tom, while not taking the gold at the recent Daytime Emmys for Lead Actress, which would have been a record-breaking victory for an actress; should be prepared that in 2027, she has to be near to a lock take that award home!

In the last few months Michael Fairman TV has named her weekly performances as Power Performance of the Week, and for the week of November 2-6, she has done it again!

How did she earn the honors? Well, quite simply, this version of Katie Logan that is being written and portrayed beautifully, has given the character infused live, a backbone, a woman so tired of being put-upon and wronged, that she is firing back in such major ways that her own family doesn’t recognize her behavior.

Katherine Kelly Lang

Photo: JPI

KATIE AND BROOKE HAVE A SEISMIC SHOWDOWN

Longtime viewers of The Bold and the Beautiful can make a very compelling case that the behavior is justified. Then, on the November 4 episode, Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Katie have another major confrontation. Katie is irate that Brooke phoned Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) in an effort to help Bill get through to her to back off the way she is destroying Forrester Creations, in what appears to be Katie’s poaching of the design team, and her ramped up vendetta against Brooke.

However, let’s not forget, Brooke and their sister, Donna (Jennifer Gareis) disowned Katie from the family just a few months ago too! Now in this showdown, Katie rips into Brooke after Brooke attempts to reason with her. Brooke even pulls out the “Stormy” card, reminding viewers that Katie has Storm’s heart. She snipes, ā€œDo you really think he’d be proud of you right now?ā€

In that moment, Katie chokes up and is struck by that statement, but defends her actions and says Storm would be proud of her. Brooke goes in on if Storm would approve of the way she has gone about building her Logan fashion house design team, which to many seem like cutthroat tactics, Brooke even tells her “Bill is worried.”

Katie snaps after that comment and begins to show her disgust and emotional wounds from how Brooke slept with Bill years ago, especially when she goes in on the the text message Brooke sent to Bill and the use of a stallion emoji. Brooke claims it meant nothing, but Katie shuts her down and shuts her up! Reminding her sister, how she destroyed everything.

Heather Tom

Photo: JPI

KATIE NEVER FORGOT HOW BROOKE SLEPT WITH BILL

Brooke reminds Katie that she had postpartum depression at the time, and she “pushed” her and Bill together. Katie begins to cry, ā€œHow could you not know something was profoundly wrong?ā€

Katie says while she was suffering, Brooke was off in Aspen having sex with Bill. She says of her sister, “You take what you want, and it doesn’t matter who gets hurt and whose life gets destroyed.ā€ She then snipes what was her sister’s excuse the second time?

Then, in the masterful moment in the performance, as sister Donna walks into the showdown, Katie warns Brooke to not EVER talk to her again about morality, or ever accuse her of stealing anything from her, when “You are the master!”

BROOKE’S PAST WILL ALWAYS BE THROWN IN HER FACE

Next, Katie throws down the line Stephanie Forrester called Brooke all the years of their feud, “You are just a slut from the valley.” She punctuated it to both her sister, “We all know she’d sell her soul for a little male attention.'”

Katie tells Brooke she will never apologize to Bill, adding, “And I will never forgive you for this. I am so done with you, and if you’re going to stand next to her (aimed at Donna), then I am done with you too.” As the scene came to its conclusion, Katie told Brooke and Katie to, “stay away from me, stay away from my family, and stay away from Bill.”

Throughout all the scenes, Heather Tom displayed why she is one of the fiercest actresses in daytime drama. This storyline has afforded Tom the opportunity to show all of Katie’s inner rage built over years as she finally lets it out on those who wronged her. For anyone who has been made to feel the weaker sibling in a family, Tom is showing the cause and effect of what can happen to someone after years of feeling put down.

For all the reasons stated above, Michael Fairman TV names Heather Tom our selection for Power Performance of the Week. You can check out part of Heather’s emotional turn in the video clip below.

Now let us know, do you agree with our pick of Heather Tom for the Power Performance of the Week? What doĀ  you think about how Katie is being written in this storyline? Do you think Heather has secured the Lead Actress Emmy in 2027? Weigh-in via the comment section.

 

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