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WWE RAW, APRIL 1ST, 2024
The final Raw on the road to Wrestlemania came to us from the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, NY, a show that set a live gate record for Monday Night Raw. Let’s look at some of the main talking points, a few days away from the biggest WWE weekend of the year.
IT'S STILL ABOUT CODY VS ROMAN
Despite some chatter about The Rock overshadowing Roman, or the story feeling more like it was centred around Rock vs Cody, this show said otherwise. Roman Reigns got a monster pop when he was introduced at the start of the show by The Rock, done in a way that reminded us he is the top guy in this company, followed by an excellent promo, reminding us that he started all this and made WWE cool again. Cody Rhodes got an even bigger pop when he made the save later on in the night, telling us that this crowd are absolutely invested in Cody overcoming the odds and finishing his story. The Rock mocking crying kids was just tremendous stuff.
Solo Sikoa got some mic time this week, and last week on Smackdown. Some character development from a man that mostly stays silent. Since he beat John Cena late last year, Solo hasn’t won a single match on TV, something that has definitely damaged the aura he had. As he is facing Jey Uso this Friday on Smackdown, it was smart for him to avoid taking a pin from Seth Rollins, after a very fun brawl.
The show went off the air, much like it did last week, with the vicious side coming out of The Final Boss again. This was a great old school, simple, pro wrestling angle. Rock has been a heel many times in the past, but always with some comedic, light-hearted elements. We have never seen this violent killer before, and who could have possibly predicted it? Rock even took some bumps here. Lets not forget that The Rock will be having his first match in 11 years, this Saturday and a lot of people will be wondering if he can still go in the ring. That’s an intrigue in itself. This beatdown, following last weeks, should leave very little doubt that Cody will finally do it this weekend, and he has to, for many reasons, but there is just enough doubt to make you question it, and that's the beauty of it. I expect Team Bloodline to win on Saturday, to give Cody even more to overcome.
JUDGEMENT DAY TIME BOMB
Let’s not forget that Damien Priest does indeed have the money in the bank briefcase, and at times it would be easy to forget that he does. It's hard to picture him in the title picture at the moment, as Judgment Day, having spent much of this year in an undercard feud with R-Truth. Despite the group being heavily featured and their top players being heavily protected, they have not been a main event act since around Survivor Series last year. It seems as though this week was the first step in getting them back there. Damien Priest picked up a dominant win, and was very much tired of the nonsense going on in the group. Dom is hanging around with Legado Del Fantasma, and Andrade is being offered a spot in the group. While some of these backstage segments were very hokey, cluttered, and overly scripted for my liking, it is looking like a Judgment Day implosion is coming post Wrestlemania. Whether that be Dom leaving to join Santos Escobar and the guys, a babyface turn for some of the group, or Andrade throwing a spanner in the works, there is something brewing, which will probably kick off after Priest & Finn Balor drop the tag titles this coming weekend.
SAMI BALBOA
Sami Zayn is a character with flaws, self doubt and vulnerability, which makes him so easy to get behind and root for. The training session with Chad Gable, despite being a bit over produced, was fantastic stuff and told us an excellent story. I was expecting Sami to overcome Bronson Reed, or even come close to it, before he was attacked by Gunther. I would have liked to have seen him nail a Helluva kick, to really show he could overcome the odds. Sami Zayn refused to stay down, which frustrated Gunther more and more, to the point where Gunther had to use the belt to finish him off. This is how their match will likely go. Sami will take incredible amounts of punishment, and keep coming back for more. My expectations are extremely high for a match that has all the makings of a Wrestlemania classic. If the crazy old man was still booking WWE, you could be sure a Chad Gable heel turn would be coming, and even though it would make perfect sense, I hope things don’t go the predictable road.
WOMEN'S DIVISION
WWE’s Women’s division is an area that has not fully flourished under the Paul Levesque regime. On this show we went from the red hot pull apart brawl between two of the biggest stars in the company, in Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch. To two women’s tag matches, that largely played out in front of silence. There are a lot of characters in the division that are not connecting with the crowd at all. The Damage CTRL 6 woman tag, overstayed its welcome, feeling longer than necessary, and the story between Maxine Dupri and Candice LeRae, despite still being in its early stages, feels like something from a bad teen movie. Hopefully, post Wrestlemania, the undercard of the women's division will be fleshed out more so that there isn’t so much of a gap between it and the main event scene.
I can be reached at matthewmacklin90@gmail.com
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