source: WWE
This year's Raw after WrestleMania did not disappoint with its debuts, returns, and more! For the first time in a while, Raw felt like a real wrestling show, not one overcome with storylines.
source: WWE
Stephanie congratulates Ronda Rousey
McMahon praises herself for doing so well in her match last night, but then she invites Ronda Rousey out to the ring. She tells Rousey that with her in her corner, they can do incredible things. The two hug, but Ronda doesn’t let go, pulling the brace off her arm and trappinf her in the same painful armlock she did last night. As she is helped out, Jojo asks fans to give a little respect to Stephanie, causing them to boo even louder.
Opinion:
This segment was a great way to kick off the Raw after WrestleMania. The fans were louder than ever, taking several opportunities to boo and chant expletives at Stephanie. For a second, it looked like the two would team up, which made fans angrier. Then, Ronda got the most over she’s ever been. She hurt Steph’s arm yet again, and she looked amazing without an opportunity to ruin it on the microphone. Ronda’s hot streak continues!
source: WWE
Nia Jax and Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss and Mickie James
Nia Jax enters to chants of “you deserve it”, but as soon as she stands in the ring, Alexa Bliss’ music hits. Alexa makes excuses for her loss last night, and tells Nia that she wants a tag match with Mickie against her. That is, if she can find a partner.
Nia tells Alexa that she has a partner, and that partner is Ember Moon. The crowd goes crazy and Moon walks out to the ring.
Highlights:
Nia tags in Ember, and the fans go crazy
Moon hits a crossbody off the middle rope to Bliss
Ember gives Alexa the Eclipse and wins the match
Opinion:
I’m so glad that Ember was able to debut in this way. Moon and Shayna Baszler put on a fantastic match at Takeover on Saturday, and she proved there (and in matches before then) that she is ready for the main roster. Moon’s Eclipse finisher is, in my opinion, may be the best finisher in the women’s division today, and I can’t wait for her to use it more.
source: YouTube
Braun Strowman and Nicholas relinquish the Tag Team Championships
Strowman comes into Kurt Angle’s office, but he’s not alone. Behind him is his partner Nicholas, who gets a huge pop. Due to Nicholas’s scheduling conflicts of being in the fourth grade, he and Braun are forced to relinquish the tag titles.
However, Strowman promises that as soon as school gets out, he and Nicholas will be back to reclaim the championships. Kurt later tells Sheamus and Cesaro that there will be a four-team tournament to find out who will face them at the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia for the tag championships.
Opinion:
I’m sad to see Nicholas go in this way, but I understand. I’m just glad that he was so incredibly over with the crowd in his debut and in this segment. It had to happen, but I just hope Braun is true to his word and brings the youngest champion in WWE history. This is the perfect opportunity to bring up a team in the NXT tag division.
source: WWE
No Way Jose vs. John Skyler
Winner: No Way Jose
Highlights:
Jose, who hasn’t been featured on NXT in months, gets a pop
Jose enters with a conga line entourage, not dissimilar to Adam Rose
No Way Jose hits Skyler with a wind-up knockout punch, pinning him and winning the match
Opinion:
I don’t think I understand why Jose is on the main roster. Triple H has said that some wrestlers work better on the main roster, but based on his presentation, it doesn’t seem like he’ll go very far. He was hardly utilized in NXT, and while his dancing gimmick was relatively over with the crowd, he has never given anyone a reason as to why he wrestles in the first place. Unlike Elias, Jose is a babyface, so he can’t resort to saying “I’m better than you” or something. I don’t think it’ll be long until fans are bored by him.
source: WWE
Good Brothers (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) vs. the Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder)
Tag Team Eliminator Match
Winners: The Revival
Highlights:
Gallows sends Wilder against the turnbuckle, hitting the back of his neck
Anderson delivers a crossbody, and Dawson pulls his tights and causes a nearfall
Dash and Dawson hit Anderson with the Shatter Machine for the victory
Opinion:
I’m glad to see the Revival finally live up to their claims of being the best true tag team in the WWE. I hope that in the next few weeks following the superstar shake-up both Raw and Smackdown tag teams are revitalized and actually become interesting again.
source: WWE
Seth Rollins celebrates his Grand Slam accomplishment
Accompanied by loud cheers and chants, Rollins tells that “Seth Freakin Rollins” is back. Finn Balor interrupts him and congratulates him, but reminds him that he wasn’t pinned at WrestleMania. Balor challenges Rollins for the IC Championship, and Rollins agrees before Miz’s music hits.
The Miz tells them that he left the Miztourage behind to beat them, and Finn and Seth question whether the only reason he can win is because of the Miztourage. Miz says his loss made his wife and baby cry. Rollins offers for Miz to invoke his rematch clause tonight, but he says that he wants to cash in his clause at Backlash.
Miz suggests a 3-on-2 match tonight, and as soon as Balor and Rollins get ready, Jeff Hardy runs out to the ring. The Miztourage take off their suit jackets, but retreat up the ramp. It is later announced that the match would take place later in the night.
Opinion:
While it was good to see Jeff Hardy back, I sort of wished that he would return in the Woken Universe. However, it’ll be good to see him back in action. I really wanna see Seth Rollins take on Finn Balor soon for the Intercontinental Championship.
source: WWE
Sasha Banks vs. Mandy Rose
Winner: Mandy Rose
Highlights:
Before the match begins, Bayley comes out, standing in Sasha’s corner
Mandy provokes Bayley while the ref is distracted, but Mandy dodges and Bayley punches Sasha
Banks is distracted by Bayley, and Rose delivers a running knee to Sasha for the win
Opinion:
I appreciate how they’re finding different ways to extend this feud before a match has to occur. I hope they can continue to build it until Summerslam, because it deserves to be on a bigger stage than a normal pay per view.
source: WWE
Paige retires from in-ring competition
After Bayley and Sasha leave, Paige announces that due to neck injuries, she is no longer able to perform as an in-ring competitor. She thanks the women in the locker room and her family, as well as Daniel Bryan for giving her hope. Paige also thanks Edge for showing her that there’s life after wrestling, but now she has to move onto something else. She says that this will always be her house before leaving somberly.
Opinion:
They really threw that to us out of nowhere. While most people probably knew that Paige wasn’t going to wrestle anymore, we did not expect a retirement speech. It’s insane that her career on the main roster was only four years long—she had such an impact on the women’s division and was crucial in the development in NXT. I hope that one day, like Daniel Bryan, she can be cleared for in-ring action. I hope this isn’t the last we see of her in the WWE for a while.
source: WWE
Elias gets a surprise visitor
Elias teases that he’s not going to perform, but he does anyway. He starts to deliver a tune and is interrupted by none other than Bobby Lashley! Elias throws a punch, but Lashley reverses into a deathbreaker. He holds Elias in the air by his head for like 45 seconds before dropping him and exiting the ring.
Opinion:
What a great surprise! I didn’t see Lashley’s return coming at all. After years of being absent in the company, he’s back, and I can’t wait to see him tear it up.
source: WWE
Heath Slater and Rhyno vs. Authors of Pain
Winners: Authors of Pain
Highlights:
Slater calls out any team who wants to challenge them because he has kids and was snubbed in the tag team eliminator tournament
AoP answers the challenge to huge cheers
Rezar delivers a big boot to Rhyno on the apron
Akam and Rezar deliver the Last Chapter to Slater for the victory
Paul Ellering follows them out, but they stop him at the end of the ramp
Opinion:
I’m excited that Akam and Rezar are here to assert their dominance on the main roster—this is just the type of revitalization that I was looking forward to. I’m excited for them to change the picture of the tag team roster of Raw or Smackdown. I’m surprised that they left Paul Ellering behind for their main roster run, but the way they did it was really great—after all he’s done for them, they’re ready to move onto their next chapter.
source: WWE
Samoa Joe calls out Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns calls Brock Lesnar a smart businessman, as he was signed by UFC on Wednesday but resigned with WWE today. He says he found out about his steel cage match in Saudi Arabia on the internet, but he eventually will beat him.
As Roman exits the ring, Samoa Joe comes out. Joe calls Roman a failure and a liar, stating that every time he faces Lesnar, he gets broken and Lesnar gets richer. Joe accuses Roman of making excuses, and tells him that he’ll be waiting for him at Backlash to put him to sleep.
Opinion:
While I’m not a huge fan of Samoa Joe, I like how he calls Roman in this segment. This night has already been full of returns and debuts, and saving one for Backlash just keeps the fans excited. I’m sure Brock will just retain the title at the Greatest Royal Rumble, but we can all forget about it because we will easily be able to move onto a better main event at Backlash.
source: WWE
Titus Worldwide (Titus O’Neil and Apollo) vs. Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Tag Team Eliminator Match
Winners: Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Highlights:
The audience gets loud when Wyatt is revealed to be Matt’s partner
Matt and Bray appear behind Titus and Apollo
Titus and Matt taunt with their respective Worldwide and Delete chants
Hardy runs Apollo into the turnbuckle repeatedly along to delete chants, and Bray gets tagged in and does the same thing
Matt delivers a Side Effect, but Titus breaks the pin
Bray delivers a Sister Abigail into Hardy’s Twist of Fate for the win
Opinion:
After Bray and Matt united at WrestleMania to earn Hardy the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, I got excited to see a sort of revitalization in Bray’s career. Having them in the “tag team eliminator” match was a great twist, and a good substitute for another return or NXT call-up. As a proponent of the Woken Universe and therefore a soldier in the Great War, I’m glad to see a development in the characters of Matt Hardy and Brother Bray.
source: WWE
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
Winner receives a Raw contract
Winner: N/A (Double countout)
Highlights:
Zayn launches himself over the top rope and onto Owens outside the ring
Sami delivers a Blue Thunderbomb, but can’t get the victory
Owens bounces Zayn’s ribs off the top rope
KO cannonballs Sami and hits a frog splash for a two count
Sami sends Kevin the the mat with a Helluva Kick
Neither Kevin or Sami make it up after the 10 count, so neither will receive the Raw contract
Opinion:
Seeing Kevin and Sami on Raw was a great surprise. It seemed like they were both headed to Raw anyway, but maybe separating them on different shows is a good idea for now. I still feel like their eventual blood feud is still ahead, but saving it for later isn’t a bad idea. KO and Sami’s future is still unknown, and I think it would be really cool if they showed up at a couple random indy events.
source: WWE
Jeff Hardy, Finn Balor, and Seth Rollins vs. The Miz and the Miztourage
Winners: Jeff Hardy, Finn Balor, and Seth Rollins
Highlights:
Before the match, Jeff meets Matt and Bray backstage, and they have a very amicable conversation in which he’s referred to as Brother Nero and everything
Finn and Seth, who were walking with him, are so confused, and Jeff just carries on
Hardy bounces back and forth, hopping on Rollins to slam into Dallas and Axel
Bo Dallas knees Balor in the face several times
Jeff delivers a Whisper in the Wind to both Axel and Dallas
Rollins hits Axel with a suicide dive, sends Miz to the outside, and then suicide dives out to Miz, Axel and Dallas
Seth hits Miz with a superplex into a Falcon Arrow
Balor dives over the top rope and onto the Miztourage
Rollins hits Miz with the stomp for the 3-count
Hardy, Balor, and Rollins deliver their finishing moves to both Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas
Opinion:
I loved the interaction between Matt and Jeff—it shows that Jeff is his own person right now, but certainly doesn’t rule out a future alliance and re-entry into the Woken Universe. Jeff Hardy, as well as Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, delivered main-event worthy performances tonight.
Comments