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After a wild post-WrestleMania Raw last week, we saw the progression from what happened there on this week’s show. The way the show ended last week was the same way the show this week started with an appearance by the new alliance of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Paul Heyman. However, their promo time was soon interrupted by a long-time friend of Rollins that doesn’t approve of his recent actions. As this long-time friend called him out for not being any better than his enemies, Rollins responded by giving him two options. As those two options were either leaving Raw or becoming a target, Rollins gave him until the end of the night to give his answer.
By the time that moment came, it was clear that Rollins and his new alliance now have a new target. In addition to that, we had Rhea Ripley face NXT call-up Roxanne Perez, the revelation of who Jey Uso’s first challenger is going to be, and Pat McAfee’s impassioned response to being attacked by Gunther last week. With Backlash less than two weeks away, this week’s show further set the stage for what we will see there.
Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez
Latest Developments:
Last week, Women’s World Champion Iyo Sky went one on one with NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer. Both women were putting on a competitive match until it ended prematurely when NXT’s Roxanne Perez attacked Iyo to cause a disqualification. Guila from NXT appeared right after and she, along with Perez attacked Vaquer and Iyo. Rhea Ripley came to their rescue as she fought off Perez and had a brief stare down with Guila before she walked away. Rhea then handed Iyo her title but told her that she’d be coming for it.
This week, Rhea faced Perez in her first official match as part of the main roster. As the match progressed, Guila came out to distract Rhea. Perez attempted to roll up Rhea as she was distracted, but Rhea rebounded and hit her with a headbutt. As Rhea was about to hit the Riptide, Gulia chop locked her to cause a disqualification. As both women attacked Rhea, Iyo Sky ran in to make the save. The number’s game was eventually too much for Iyo as Gulia & Perez double teamed her until Rhea ran them both off to end the segment.
Analysis:
Even though this was a solid match, the disqualification finish did take away from it a little bit. Especially when you consider last week’s match between Iyo and Vaquer also ended on a DQ, it doesn’t seem to help new call-ups from NXT to have their first few matches on the main roster end that way. While it’s understandable why they did it in order to protect everyone and set up a future tag team match, it was still a letdown to be so invested in the match for it to end that way. With that aside, all of these new additions to the women’s division on Raw are a much-needed breath of fresh air. With Perez, Guila, and Vaquer all in the mix now, there’s the potential for a lot of fresh matches and feuds within the next few months.
From the teases we’ve been getting of Rhea and Gulia over the last two weeks, that match is really going to be a big deal by the time it does happen. Until then, a tag match with Rhea & Iyo against Guila & Perez serves as a great appetizer. While Rhea seems to be on the same page with Iyo for now, it’s clear that there’s still unfinished business between them stemming from WrestleMania. As appealing as that match is, it’s clear from what we’re seeing now that it’s going to be a while before we see them face each other again. With the DQ finish here and the fact that Perez & Guila are new to the main roster, the only logical way to establish them as threats is for them to defeat Rhea & Iyo whenever that match does happen.
Grade: B
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul
Latest Developments:
On night one of WrestleMania 41, Jey Uso challenged Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship in the opening match. Despite the naysayers he had heading into the match and the beating he took throughout it, Jey shocked the world when he dethroned Gunther by making him submit to his own Sleeper. One night two of WrestleMania 41, Logan Paul went one on one with AJ Styles. As Styles was distracted outside the ring by Karrion Kross, that allowed Paul to take advantage and finish off Styles with the Paulverizer for the win. This week, Paul came out to the ring to gloat about his win at WrestleMania and about all his accomplishments.
Paul said he accomplished everything in WWE except for winning a World Championship. As he then told Jey to consider his days numbered, Jey came out to interrupt. After Jey talked about all he’d been through to become champion and how he wasn’t going to let some YouTuber take it away from him, Paul responded by saying he did more in four years than Jey did in 15. Paul vowed that Jey would lose the World Championship quicker than he did the Intercontinental Title before Jey super kicked him to end the segment. Later backstage as Jey finished up a conversation with Sami Zayn, Paul sucker punched him down to the ground.
Analysis:
With Jey fresh off winning the title at WrestleMania, Paul is the perfect first challenger for him. While there was a brief tease last week that Sami Zayn was going to go after Jey’s title, it’s clear that that won’t be happening any time soon (more on that later). The way it was set up here was well done with Paul mentioning that he’s accomplished everything except winning a World Title and then calling out Jey in the process. The line that hit the hardest from him and exemplified how great of a heel he is was when he said Jey’s World Title reign would be shorter than his Intercontinental Title reign. Much like his feud with Gunther, this is going to be a match where the crowd is universally behind Jey considering how hated Paul is.
In addition to the crowd reaction, what also makes this match appealing is the fact that it’s a fresh match that we haven’t seen before. Ultimately, this feud is going to be Jey’s first real test as the champion and whether or not his title reign will be one that fans can buy into. No matter how popular the person holding the title is (Jey in this case), what makes a title reign special is the feuds and matches that the champion is involved in throughout it. While it’s clear that Jey isn’t going to lose the title to Paul, there’s a possibility that this feud could extend beyond just one match. From what we saw between them here, this feud has the potential to be one of the better parts of the show if it ends up being one that goes on for a while.
Grade: B
Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria
Latest Developments:
Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria was originally scheduled to team up with Bayley to challenge Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez for the women’s Tag Team Championship on night two of WrestleMania 41 until Bayley was found attacked backstage the day before. Bayley’s replacement ended up being a returning Becky Lynch, who along with Lyra defeated Liv & Raquel to win the titles. The following night on Raw, Becky & Lyra defended the titles against Liv & Raquel in a rematch. Lyra was distracted when she knocked Raquel off the apron onto Becky accidentally, which allowed Liv to hit her with the ObLivion to win the titles back for her and Raquel. While Becky initially helped Lyra up after the match and hugged her, it was all a swerve as Becky clotheslined her and hit her with three consecutive Man Slams.
Becky came out to the ring this week and admitted that she was the one who attacked Bayley for not apologizing for all the times she attacked her in the past. She then took credit for Lyra’s success and called her a loser for what happened last week before Lyra came out to interrupt her. Becky ran away as Lyra got into the ring and after Becky rejected a challenge for a match then and there, Lyra suggested for them to have a match Backlash with the title on the line. Becky accepted and as she ranted on, Lyra drop kicked her through the second ropes and attacked her before she ran away. As Lyra was holding up the title in front of the entrance, Becky knocked her down from behind.
Analysis:
Much like last week, this was another strong segment between Becky and Lyra. For as popular as Becky is and the positive reaction she got from the crowd last week despite turning on Lyra, this segment felt like the crowd was more behind Lyra. She cut a good promo here where she didn’t come off weak and was ready to take on Becky on the spot. While it was great to get the reveal that Becky was the one who attacked Bayley and why she did it, it would’ve helped if Becky had gone deeper into why she turned on Lyra before she was interrupted by her. So far, everything that’s happened in the segments between these women is making their match at Backlash a must watch.
While it is unfortunate that Bayley had to miss WrestleMania in order for this storyline to take off, it’s hard to get mad at the way it’s been playing out so far. Whenever Bayley does end up coming back, it’s going to be interesting to see the way she factors into it and who she targets. This is exactly the type of feud that’s been needed to establish both the women’s Intercontinental Title and Lyra as a star on the level of the other top women in the company. With the history and now bad blood between Lyra and Becky, this is clearly going to be a long-term feud. Considering that Becky just turned heel, she’s likely going to win the title so that Lyra can chase her for it going into the summer.
Grade: B+
Gunther vs. Pat McAfee
Latest Developments:
Last week, Gunther confronted Michael Cole at the announce table for pointing out the fact that he tapped out to Jey Uso at WrestleMania. As Pat McAfee tried to intervene, Gunther shoved him and then put Cole in the Sleeper briefly before McAfee came to Cole’s rescue. Officials came out to separate them, but Gunther got past them and trapped McAfee in the Sleeper while his back was turned. It took officials several moments until they finally got Gunther to release the hold and they along with Cole helped McAfee to the back. Several days later, Adam Pearce announced on social media that Gunther was suspended indefinitely for his actions.
This week, McAfee stood on top of the announce table to address what Gunther did. McAfee talked about riding for those who are with you and when Gunther tried to attack Cole last week, he had no option but to protect him. He looked at the camera and told Gunther that if he had a problem with Cole, he had a problem with him. McAfee then called out Nick Aldis (who was filling in for Adam Pearce this week) and asked him to lift Gunther’s ban so that he could fight him ASAP. Aldis proposed to lift the suspension so that McAfee could get his hands on him in a sanctioned match at Backlash, which McAfee agreed to.
Analysis:
It’s crazy that for not being a part of the main roster, McAfee cuts a better promo than most of them. For the promo he had here, he really came off more likeable than he ever has before. While many people get annoyed by his commentary at times, what we saw from him in this segment makes it hard to not root for him. More than anything, you can tell from what he said how close he and Michael Cole are. Despite what anyone thinks of McAfee’s announcing, he brings a lot of passion to it and that passion has clearly rubbed off on Cole ever since they started working together.
In addition to a great promo, we found out when the expected match between Gunther and McAfee will take place. While it felt as if it would be a match that we weren’t going to get until the summer after the suspension angle from last week, we found out here that it’s going to happen in less than two weeks at Backlash. For as hot as that segment was last week as well as the one here, this is honestly one of the most appealing matches on the card. McAfee has had some impressive performances in the past and being in the ring with someone like Gunther, this could potentially be the best match he’s ever been in (and most violent). It’s been a while since we’ve seen the announcers involved in a storyline like this and for the second week in a row, it’s been one of the best parts of the show.
Grade: B+
Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn
Latest Developments:
Last week, Bron Breakker was revealed as the newest member of the alliance along with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman as they brutally attacked C.M. Punk and Roman Reigns in the show’s closing segment. Rollins, Breakker, and Heyman came out this week to open the show before being interrupted by Sami Zayn, who called Rollins a hypocrite as he compared his newest faction to the Bloodline. Rollins called his new stable the vision for the future and said that you’re either with them or you become a target. He told Zayn that he didn’t want that for him and since it was clear that he wasn’t going to buy into their vision, he offered to have him moved to Smackdown to keep him from being a target. Rollins told him that he needed an answer by the end of the night.
As Rollins and Zayn were in the ring for the main event segment, Zayn said that he can live with being a target, but he can’t live with being threatened and then told Rollins to go to hell. Breakker was then brought out along with Heyman for an impromptu match between Breakker and Zayn where Breakker Speared him twice. Rollins kept talking Zayn into taking the deal he gave him as he was down, but Zayn told him once again to go to hell. Breakker Speared him again and the referee called for more officials to come check on Zayn outside the ring but as they were helping him up, Breakker ran around the ring and Speared him again. The referee finally stopped the match and as officials tried to help Zayn up when they were all back in the ring, Rollins Curb Stomped him to end the show.
Analysis:
Although it was disappointing to not see Reigns or Punk this week, it made sense for the story they’re telling with this new alliance of Rollins, Breakker, and Heyman. What we saw from them this week just further established how dangerous they are and what to expect from them over the next few months. Considering how beloved he is and his history with Rollins, Sami Zayn served as the perfect person for them to make an example of. The beating he took here was arguably even more brutal than the one Reigns and Punk received last week, which is really saying something. Considering that Zayn rejected the offer from Rollins and everything that followed, these issues between Zayn and this new alliance are clearly going to continue.
With it looking as if Reigns and Punk are going to be out for a while to sell the attack from last week, Zayn serves as the best person to feud with Rollins and Breakker in the meantime. With the issues they were teasing between Zayn and Rollins a few months ago, it makes sense for them to feud now under these circumstances. Even though they’re coming off as great heels with their actions, one issue with this new Rollins, Breakker, and Heyman alliance is the fact that they’re getting cheered. While you can’t always control how the audience reacts, Rollins having the same theme music he did as a babyface combined with the tweener roles we’ve seen he and Breakker play in recent months is probably why they’re still getting cheered. While it will take time to get them universally hated by the audience since they’re still a new faction, what will help in speeding up that process would be Rollins adopting new theme music that the audience can’t sing along with and for them to commit even more sadistic acts that establish them as people with no redeeming qualities.
Grade: B+
War Raider vs. Finn Balor & J.D. McDonaugh
After returning last week to help Dominik Mysterio retain the Intercontinental Title over Penta, J.D. McDonaugh returned to the ring this week as he teamed up with his Judgment Day stablemate Finn Balor to take on the War Raiders. The Raiders had Finn & McDonaugh in Powerslam positions outside the ring and rammed them into each other. Ivar threw Finn into the New Day (who were at ringside doing commentary) and then knocked them all down. As the referee was distracted by Carlito when McDonaugh was on the top rope, Penta appeared and pushed him off. This allowed the Raiders to hit McDonaugh with the War Machine for the win.
Analysis:
Similar to the matches that we saw between these teams towards the end of last year, this was another strong outing for them here. As great as it was to see McDonaugh back in the ring, it’s even better to see that he’s now going to be feuding with Penta. After McDonaugh screwed him out of the IC Title last week, it was only fitting for Penta to get his payback here. With the Raiders getting the win here and considering how they threw Finn into the New Day as they were doing commentary, it’s clear now that both teams are headed for a rematch soon. Even though their match at WrestleMania was forgettable, perhaps a TV match where they’re given more time will be a better showcase of what they can do together.
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