Check out our takeaways from the Raw after WrestleMania 41, which saw a few returns, and the formation of a very strong alliance.
WWE Monday Night Raw on April 21 took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, featuring several title matches, a few returns, and the formation of a huge team.
The Raw after WrestleMania 41 kicked off the new “season” for WWE while addressing a lot of fallout from the big show at Allegiant Stadium. There was a lot to take in, and since the Raw after Mania is a big deal, every segment gets a takeaway this week.
John Cena torches fans, gets RKO’d
Kicking off the show was the new Undisputed WWE champ, John Cena, who made his way to the ring with a similar blackout entrance we saw at WrestleMania. However this time, when he got in the ring, he held up the title as a large pyro display went off.
Instead of speaking himself, Cena handed a piece of paper to the ring announcer to deliver a message on his behalf, followed by another introduction. Cena then took the mic.
“Winners write history,” Cena said.
Cena put the crowd in check for booing him before Mania, but flipped now that he has the title. He said everyone owes him an apology. The crowd obliged by chanting, “We are sorry.” Cena took it back from the crowd by telling the watching audience at home that they were chanting, “We aren’t sorry.” Then, Cena said the crowd doesn’t mean anything to him, which prompted “asshole” chants.
Cena then reminded everyone he had 36 dates remaining at the beginning of the year. Not matches, but simply appearances. He then counted down how many he has already made, which currently sits at 27. He said that when it hits zero, the timeline of pro wrestling will stop because he will take the Universal Championship home with him.
The mention of Cody Rhodes’ name prompted boos, which Cena read the audience again for filth, reminding them of their fickle nature. Cena told everyone to get their phones out to capture a photo of the “last real champion.” As he held the title high, Randy Orton snuck up from behind to deliver an RKO!
Heel Cena continues to deliver on the mic. Everything he said about the fans was true. They boo you one day, then cheer the next, with no consistency. Not only is that true with Rhodes, but others like Bianca Belair. Orton appearing out of nowhere was great as well, because it sets up the next program for Cena – which is truly great because it means we won’t deal with Rhodes rematches immediately. Solid opening segment.
Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez reclaim titles; Becky Lynch turns on Lyra Valkyria
The first match on Raw was a Mania tag title rematch between Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez.
Unlike at Mania, Morgan was more than ready to mix it up with Lynch, as she attacked her from behind right at the bell. Her momentum was halted once Valkyria was tagged in, though. The new champs went into the first commercial break after a double baseball slide, but when the show resumed, Rodriguez had Valkyria in a tough spot.
A few moments later, Valkyria and Lynch had Rodriguez on the top turnbuckle, looking for a double suplex. Morgan rushed in to powerbomb Lynch, which allowed Rodriguez to lift Valkyria up high for a huge powerbomb of her own. The action remained steady as the crowd chanted, “This is awesome.”
Lynch and Rodriguez were sent outside, which allowed for Morgan to nail her finisher on Valkyria for the pin. The former champs are champs once again 24 hours later. After the match, Lynch attacked Valkyria.
Now everything that happened at Mania makes sense.
Lynch losing the titles 24 hours later was reason enough to be mad at Valkyria, which now sets up a program for the women’s IC title – which desperately needed a solid program. I’m on board with all of this. The folks who were mad about Lynch returning to take a title can sit back down, because Morgan and Rodriguez took that title back immediately. As a result, we get what will be the best women’s IC title program to date.
Rusev returns to WWE
The newly crowned World Tag Team Champions, The New Day, took a victory lap after winning the titles at Mania. Just as they were getting into their promo, Alpha Academy’s music hit. Maxxine Dupri came out on the mic, issuing a challenge on behalf of Otis and Akira Tozowa. After the exchange of “minute men” insults, the champs accepted the match.
But just as the referee hit the ring, the lights went dark. Rusev’s name filled the video tron. Rusev stormed to the ring and destroyed Alpha Academy, leaving Otis lying in a heap in the center of the ring.
It was heavily rumored that Rusev was on the verge of returning to WWE, and there we have it. However, his return appearance felt a bit forced. Why would he come out by himself during a tag team segment? Regardless, he’s back, and we can only hope he will be given some good programs to work.
IYO SKY accepts challenge from Stephanie Vaquer
The Women’s World Champion IYO SKY took the mic to celebrate her victory over Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. The crowd appreciated her short and simple promo, but she was then interrupted by none other than NXT champ Stephanie Vaquer. A non-title challenge was issued, and the match was on after Adam Pearce made it official.
The crowd was into the match as both women displayed their unique offense. IYO SKY went for an Over the Moonsault pretty early on, but Vaquer easily reversed to take control. Things went back and forth for a moment, but Vaquer hit her signature Devil’s Kiss, which would have sent Booker T off the rails.
Just as the match seemed like it was heading toward a finish, Roxanne Perez blindsided IYO SKY to cause a disqualification. Giulia also showed up to attack Vaquer. Enter Rhea Ripley, who took out Perez and then stared down Giulia, who eventually left the ring. Ripley then handed the title back to the champ.
IYO SKY and Vaquer were given plenty of time to work, which was making for an incredible match. Since there was no title on the line, the interference was alright, given it was also an excuse of sorts to get more talent on screen. Of course, we all know Ripley won’t be leaving the title picture any time soon, but this was really about Vaquer getting a moment to shine.
Sami Zayn returns to celebrate with Jey Uso
After a lengthy video package highlighting Jey Uso’s career journey, the new World Heavyweight Champion yeeted his way to the center of the ring. “You deserve it” chants filled the arena after the music stopped. But the crowd wasn’t done yeeting as they called for an encore, which Uso provided.
Uso took his victory lap by thanking the fans for being with him during the tough road to the title. “He tapped out” chants were directed at Gunther.
Enter Sami Zayn.
After embracing, Zayn apologized for not being present for the last eight weeks or so to be there for Uso. Zayn said he wanted to be the first to say how proud he is of Uso for winning the title. Zayn then called for another yeet session, and both went to opposite corners to rock with the crowd yet again. Both started yeeting, but Zayn stopped first, teasing a turn, but it didn’t happen. Jimmy Uso then came out to join the party, and they all yeeted into the night.
Alright, the tease of Zayn attacking was the highlight of this segment. The post-Mania yeeting was fun and all, but aside from that, there wasn’t much here, unless we’re really going to get Zayn turning on Jey in the near future.
Gunther attacks commentary team
After a commercial, Gunther was seen at the commentary desk yelling at Michael Cole and Pat McAfee. Cole said he wasn’t the one who tapped out at Mania, which caused Gunther to snap. He grabbed Cole and put a sleeper hold on him, but McAfee stepped up to defend him. Adam Pearce and other officials ran out to separate them, but as McAfee walked away, Gunther busted through to put McAfee asleep. Gunther eventually scampered away and McAfee was assisted backstage as the crowd serenaded him with his entrance theme chant.
Joe Tessitore showed up as a replacement for McAfee, but Cole told Pearce backstage he would not be bullied out of his job on WrestleMania week, and returned to his duties.
Well, I certainly didn’t have Gunther taking out the commentary team on my Raw after Mania bingo card. This was a good look for Cole for not not getting bullied, though. I guess this means we’ll see McAfee return to the ring soon?
Dominik Mysterio defends IC title vs. Penta
Dominik Mysterio put his newly acquired Intercontinental Championship on the line against Penta, just hours after already labeling himself the greatest IC champ ever. The crowd was behind Mysterio just as much as they were at Mania, but they also cheered for Penta’s success in the match.
Mysterio wasn’t alone for this match, either. Surprisingly, Finn Balor, whom he pinned to win the title at Mania, came out with him, as did Carlito. Penta was cooking in the match. He hit a Mexican Destroyer on Mysterio, but the IC champ rolled out of the ring. This prompted Balor to check on him, but Mysterio told him to take care of Penta.
After Penta took out Balor and got Mysterio back in the ring, Penta was knocked off the top rope by JD McDonagh, who returned from an injury absence. Mysterio capitalized with a frog splash to record his first IC title defense. All of Judgment Day celebrated in the aisle, although Balor was hesitant.
This was a decent title defense for Mysterio. It wasn’t the longest match, but they worked in a bunch of solid spots. It definitely feels like Balor will snap on Mysterio any moment now.
Bron Breakker joins Seth Rollins, Paul Heyman
Seth Rollins, with Paul Heyman by his side, took to the ring to address what happened at Night 1 of WrestleMania.
Rollins said he took a Wiseman from Roman Reigns, a best friend from CM Punk and won the main event of WrestleMania. Before he could finish his line, Punk’s music hit. Punk wrapped his hands with tape as he made his way down the aisle, and it was on sight when he hit the ring. Punk laid out Rollins and then turned his attention to Heyman.
By the time Punk got his hands on Heyman, Rollins recovered to take him down and hit him with a stomp. Heyman then took the mic to dub Rollins as the No. 1 top star in the entire industry. Enter Roman Reigns.
The OTC hit the ring and nailed Rollins with a spear. He then connected with a Superman punch to Heyman. Reigns then went for a spear on Heyman, but out of nowhere, Bron Breakker speared Reigns. Punk entered the ring again, just to get speared by Breakker. It’s clear now: Breakker is a part of the Rollins-Heyman alliance.
Breakker then ran around the ring to tackle Reigns through the barricade. Rollins called for Breakker to bring Reigns back into the ring, where he would deliver another stomp to Punk and then Reigns. The show closed with Breakker, Rollins and Heyman lifting their arms to the sky.
Wow. Heyman teased earlier Monday that he had a new “Paul Heyman guy.” As it turns out, Breakker is that man. This new team feels very, very strong. Breakker is the young muscle, Rollins the savvy veteran, and Heyman the brains behind the operation. I’m thoroughly intrigued where this leads.
