10 days into 2024: 5 unexpected WWE moments so far

WWE made massive strides in 2023. The sports entertainment juggernaut broke gate records for various Premium Live Events and house shows. The company also created new streaming records via its social media platforms.

It’s been 10 days since the arrival of the New Year and the promotion has already given fans some great (and unexpected) moments. From The Rock’s shocking return to a whole lot of color on television, these are the five unexpected WWE moments so far:

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#5. NXT star meets AJPW champion

Shinsuke Nakamura traveled to Japan to give the legendary Great Muta one of his final matches in 2023. Fans heaped praise on Triple H for allowing the King of Strong Style to give the Hall of Famer a fitting farewell.

December 2023 saw NXT’s Charlie Dempsey travel to the Land of the Rising Sun for a series of tag team and singles matches in AJPW. William Regal’s son capped off his tour with a highly technical match against Triple Crown Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima on January 3, 2024.

Here’s hoping we will see more collaboration between WWE and AJPW in 2024.

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#4. Blood without censorship

WWE toned down blood on television in 2008. Batista recalled how Vince McMahon fined him, Chris Jericho, and referee Mike Chioda heavily for the infamous blood job in their steel cage match on the 800th episode of Monday Night RAW.

It seems the promotion has once again resorted to the use of color on television. Becky Lynch was busted open on RAW: Day 1. LA Knight got accidentally busted open by AJ Styles on SmackDown: New Year’s Revolution.

Instead of waiting for the referee to clean it, The Phenomenal One started targeting Knight’s lacerated forehead. It remains to be seen if fans will see the intentional use of blood in gimmick matches such as Steel Cage and Last Man Standing moving forward.

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#3. Kevin Dunn leaves WWE

Kevin Dunn shocked the world with his departure from WWE just a week ago. Dunn had been Vince McMahon’s right-hand man for the past 30 years. The company had reported wanted him to stay till Royal Rumble 2024, but Dunn insisted on leaving early.

The promotion recently hired Lee Fitting as the new Head of Media and Production. Fitting had previously worked for ESPN as their head of production. Nick Khan described the hiring as a "tremendous addition to our stellar media and production team and play a key role in helping catapult WWE’s growth.”

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#2. Tony Khan’s banter with Jinder Mahal

Jinder Mahal interrupted Seth Rollins this past Monday on RAW. The Maharaja cut a promo on the Visionary before attacking him from behind. The angle prompted the General Manager to book a World Heavyweight Title match between the two longtime opponents for RAW next week.

AEW head honcho Tony Khan took issues with Jinder’s insertion into the world title picture while defending his decision to book HOOK in a title match against Samoa Joe. Jinder also became part of the exchange with a light-hearted jab but ended up deleting his tweet.

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#1. The Rock calls out Roman Reigns

The Rock made an unannounced appearance on RAW: Day 1. The Great One interrupted Jinder Mahal. Both went back and forth on the mic. The war of words quickly turned into a fistfight, which saw Rocky put away The Maharaja with The People’s Elbow.

The People’s Champion capped off the segment with a challenge to Roman Reigns. The fans popped massively when The Rock asked them if they wanted him to sit at the head of the table. It’s only a matter of time before we get Rock vs. Reigns on a big stage.