{"id":176611,"date":"2024-04-09T17:36:57","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T22:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=176611"},"modified":"2024-04-09T17:36:57","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T22:36:57","slug":"over-unders-wwe-raw-4-8-high-risk-and-high-reward-poor-ironing-secrets-dragunovs-dental-self-exam-smart-wrestlers-ricochets-sacrifice-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/04\/09\/over-unders-wwe-raw-4-8-high-risk-and-high-reward-poor-ironing-secrets-dragunovs-dental-self-exam-smart-wrestlers-ricochets-sacrifice-more\/","title":{"rendered":"OVER &#038; UNDERS &#8211; WWE RAW (4\/8): High Risk and High Reward, Poor Ironing, Secrets, Dragunov&#8217;s dental self-exam, smart wrestlers, Ricochet&#8217;s sacrifice, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-4135609861\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Welcome to the first Monday Night Raw of the Paul \u201cTriple H\u201d Levesque Era, the longest name in the history of pro wrestling eras. I\u2019m still recovering from 4 days straight of wrestling, my voice is gone, my back hurts, and I\u2019m still annoyed at how long the cheesesteak line was at Lincoln Financial Field, but let\u2019s dig into the most overrated and under-appreciated moments from Monday Night Rhodes!<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; HIGH-RISK AND HIGH-REWARD<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First off, I hadn\u2019t seen that slick, new, constellation-inspired, WWE Superstars in space-intro. That, coupled with Paul Levesque\u2019s voice, really does make this feel like a new era, nay, a new planet, a new dimension, whatever it is, I\u2019m ready. So don\u2019t even ask\u2026but I\u2019m sure you will anyway. Moving on\u2026 what in the Michael Bay, Martin Scorsese with the attitude of Quentin Tarantino was that opening shot?! The camera pans the crowd with a lengthy B-roll shot that suddenly surprises us by landing on the entrance ramp, and then pedals down it, in all of its steadicam glory. Then, against all concerns of playing it safe for live tv, the camera doesn\u2019t cut, it soars down the ramp, like a futuristic aircraft on a takeoff ramp, green lights strobing around it, like a Nickelodeon-themed rave, and we land on Paul \u201cTriple H\u201d Levesque. It takes a moment for the fog of awesome to clear, and the set comes into focus. No oversized tron screen, just a triad of smaller screens pumping out graphics, but a full 360-view of every single seat filled with hungry fans, drooling over whatever they\u2019re serving tonight. Then, good lord, THEN we follow him to the ring as he humbly takes in, and reciprocates the adulation, only to take one last risky gamble with a shot that rotates around Hunter in a way that would rival Will Smith in \u201cBad Boys\u201d. That\u2019s two Michael Bay references and we\u2019re just getting started. That\u2019s how you know it\u2019s a good show. The live TV risks WWE is rolling the dice with, are paying off exponentially. They\u2019re betting the farm on black every night and doubling their profits. That\u2019s probably not true. Doubling is too modest. On a side note, I think every time a camera op does successfully pull off one of these fluid shots, they should get an \u201cI didn\u2019t trip\u201d bonus. Maybe call it the Non-Titus O\u2019Neil. Rumble, stumble and fall, baby\u2026for life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; FRANKENSET<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I really like the non-tron set. I don\u2019t know if this is a new thing, or just scraping together a partially Frankensteined set from WrestleMania leftovers, but it\u2019s impressive. Why have a big impressive screen when you can flat out see every seat filled behind someone walking out? They are cooking with peanut oil now. Unless you\u2019re allergic to peanuts. Then they have the best vegetable oil money can buy, and it\u2019s sizzling on high. I love seeing Hunter just point to the crowd. Hell, point anywhere and you have pods of rabid fans. I don\u2019t know who\u2019s calling these shots, but let\u2019s just say it\u2019s jolly old Saint Nick Kahn. Yeah, I know it\u2019s not Nick. It\u2019s the guy who replaced Kevin Dunn, mixed with Triple H\u2019s ability to tap into a new cerebral cortex, now that he got that hair out of the way. Maybe that cortex is also where assassins hang out. Anyway, back to Nick because he fits into my joke more. Great job Nick Kahn. Nick, as far as I\u2019m concerned, you Kahn do this then. You Kahn do this now. You Kahn do this forever\u2026You Kahn do it in a box. You Kahn do it with a fox. You get the idea\u2026at least I think you Kahn. This production value is so good, it may just make Triple H smile so much that he adds another line across his forehead, which by the way, is perfectly horizontal for 1st grade handwriting practice. Yes, I just pointed out that Triple H\u2019s forehead is college ruled. At least it sounds smart. Also, college did indeed rule, but I promise I\u2019m not living in the past.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; POOR IRONING<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now, before I ding Cody Rhodes for anything, I have to tell you this. I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to him on Thursday. I was in the building for both nights of WrestleMania. Cody is, if not a consummate gentleman, true magic, lightning in a bottle, vulnerably driven, and the best thing to happen to wrestling since Daniel Bryan\u2019s surge several years ago. That said, who ironed Cody\u2019s jacket? If you go back and watch his entrance, there is a colossally jarring crease in it, holding his jacket open like a door stop on a windy day. Maybe he got paid to show the name of the tailor. Maybe it was really hot in the building and that was his stylish way of cracking a window. Or maybe, just maybe, the jacket was gimmicked to allow for a more fluid \u201cWow.\u201d Whoever helped Cody with his outfit tonight, assuming it\u2019s a guy for the sake of my gender-reliant joke, was a very poor iron man match for him. I\u2019m going to attempt to take a bow, but my back is pretty sore from doing Jimmy Uso\u2019s Yeet wave, the Cody Rhodes \u201cWow\u201d and shielding my eyes from the spotlights they blinded us with in the audience at \u2018Mania. Did anyone hear the \u201cShut the lights off\u201d chant during both WrestleMania nights? It was ferociously prominent in the arena.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; THE JOYS OF INVISIBLE PYRO<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3287099726\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>During Cody Rhodes\u2019 entrance, when he hit the second \u201cWow\u201d, we sat on an awkwardly restrictive angle of him and some of the audience. Then, like a tongue-in-cheek John Cena entrance, we hear pyro, and don\u2019t see one bit of it. I found this so absurdly amusing I\u2019ve watched it twice. I would love it if Cena played this up one year, and just had the audio of pyro since, you know, he\u2019s invisible. Such is life though. We can\u2019t have it all.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; REAL EMOTION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That video package Triple H presented to Cody Rhodes as being a gift from the production crew was, according to my sources, an authentic gesture. This is further evidenced by the fact that you can see some actual welling up and waterworks from the guy who gets a lot of flak for not creating real tears. He looked like he could legitimately cry Jack Perry a river. Too soon? Those lights are hot folks, and the dehydration struggle is real. Not everyone has Prime pumping through their veins. I love seeing Cody\u2019s vulnerable side. It\u2019s what makes him so endearing and relatable to us. That and a morbidly patriotic neck tattoo, but hey, we all have those right? RIGHT?!<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; SECRETS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love and hate secrets at the same time. What did The Rock hand Cody Rhodes? This has \u201cSe7en\u201d vibes, though, I don\u2019t think these are human heads he\u2019s handing the WWE\u2019s Brad Pitt. This is gloriously layered storytelling. They could leave this seed to fester and grow until SummerSlam, and it would still pack a punch. Is it Altoids because The Rock smells Cody\u2019s breath and doesn\u2019t like it? Is it The Rock\u2019s grandfather\u2019s WWE Hall of Fame ring? Is it a metaphorical death threat and he\u2019s harnessing all his \u201cBlack Adam\u201d-failure rage towards the Rhodes family? We\u2019ll find out soon, but for now, let\u2019s just enjoy the wrinkles under Cody\u2019s eyes, which are also college ruled. Did anyone else notice that we just went 45-minutes, nearly \u2153 of the show, with JUST the Cody party\u2026and it felt like 10-minutes? It\u2019s like no one says, time flies when you\u2019re having nightmares.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; PHILLY BIRTHS A NEW CHANT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Philly hilariously chanted \u201cThis is awkward\u201d as The Rock held Cody Rhodes\u2019 title. Kudos for an always vocal, dare I say, inventive, crowd. Nothing more awkward than awkwardly pointing out the awkwardness of an awkward moment, that the crowd sees as awkward. Did I just make it more awkward? Ugh, this is awkward. Here\u2019s my awkward apology. On a side note, the more I look at that word, the more I think I\u2019m spelling it wrong. What an American nightmare\u2026poor grammar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; FAMILY RUINS EVERYTHING<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3835734906\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>If you look to the left of Pat McAfee, you see The Rock\u2019s mother sitting with his wife, Lauren Hashian and one of their many kids. It takes me out of it a bit to see his very recognizable family there, right as the bitterness of his exchange with Cody Rhodes is still lingering. It\u2019s even worse seeing them smiling. Turn heel, Johnson family. Go with the flow. I get that they want to be there. I get that they are privy to the front row. But do we really need them on camera right behind the spotlight-drawing McAfee? On a side note when they show Sami Zayn and family walking toward the arena, Sami\u2019s title is missing. Sami, don\u2019t you know that if you\u2019ve got it, you must always flaunt it in front of cameras. Or just do what Logan Paul does and flaunt it in case there\u2019s a camera.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; MORE INVISIBLE PYRO<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s with the invisible pyro during Shinsuke Nakamura\u2019s entrance?! We hear it. It has a nice plump pop to it, so it\u2019s probably amazing, and yet, no camera angles that share such bright, sparkling explosions with us commoners watching at home on our phones or iPads. At least the visibility of the pyro matches his push. Hey, maybe it\u2019s not pyro, and Bron Breakker is just smashing everything in the production truck since he\u2019s as visible as the pyro. Useless superhero powers of invisibility aside, it\u2019s nice to see Nakamura back in the spotlight and hopefully getting as much attention as he did when he was playing Dr. Nakamura with Seth Rollins\u2019 back. He\u2019s got to have a chip on his shoulder after being left off of the WrestleMania card entirely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; ILJA DRAGUNOV\u2019S MMM BOP<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Aside from looking like a shunned and bitter 4th Hanson brother, Ilja Dragunov\u2019s explosiveness is enough to warrant a Pepto Bismol ad\u2026if you\u2019re sliding into first\u2026and you feel something bur\u2026 Yes, I\u2019m a child in a man\u2019s, errr, grown up kid\u2019s body. But I digress. One of the best things about Dragunov\u2019s wrestling is his subtle, constant trash talk to his opponent. His self-narration really pulls you into a level of realism that\u2019s hard to achieve in today\u2019s era. Hearing him grunt \u201cI got you. I got you now\u201d before delivering a German suplex is like a warm blanket with a good movie, they just work together.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; KICK SLAPS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The last time I checked, by obviously kicking someone in the face, kicks don\u2019t sound like slaps. Unfortunately because of the bare skin Ilja Dragunov is slapping when he kicks, his foot strikes sound like kick slaps. This makes me think he has pancake feet under those boots, which is both an absurdly amusing image (how do you run with pancake feet?) and a distraction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; ILJA DRAGUNOV\u2019S DENTAL EXAM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ilja Dragunov just unlocked a new level of selling. He hilariously checked to make sure several of his teeth weren\u2019t loose after taking a Shinsuke Nakamura knee to the face. A self-dental exam is such a simple concept, and yet, it sucked me in like a Dyson on sand. I also enjoyed (a few moments later) him staring blankly into the distance after taking another shot to the head. His look was so absent and hilarious, that I half-expected animated birds to circle his head.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; \u201cJUST DUMB\u201d MCDONAGH<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I have to (preemptively) give the line of the night to Pat McAfee for saying \u201cJust Dumb\u201d (J.D.) McDonagh, while Judgment Day stood awkwardly, waiting to announce their brethren as the new World Heavyweight Champion. I know McDonagh is wearing trunks, but would it kill the guy to rock a pair of pants once in a while? Also, there is an inherent irony to men and women fighting for oversized belts while never wearing pants. Think about it. Not that McDonagh will ever have an oversized belt, unless he visits the Big and Tall section at Kohl\u2019s. Even then, I bet the person at the register would ask him if this is for his dad\u2019s big boy pants.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; FINN BALOR\u2019S CACKLE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The only thing worse than J.D. McDonagh\u2019s overall presence in the Judgment Day is Finn Balor\u2019s forced, fake cackle. It\u2019s so bad that I feel like I\u2019m watching a middle school production of \u201cthe Wizard of Oz\u201d and Balor is playing the wicked witch of the west.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; INVISIBILITY CAUSES HAIR LOSS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve said it before and I\u2019ll say it again. R-Truth is a national treasure. Truth sliding into the celebration of holding Judgment Day belts high, was a brilliantly unexpected way to reinvigorate the Truth and Judgment Day confusion. I wish he had taken a shot at McDonagh who isn\u2019t supposed to be in it anymore (a bet is a bet, and he lost). It was redeemed by him saying he brought the titles back to the Judgment Day, when he technically won them (with Miz) off of the Judgment Day. I also appreciate the metaphorical return of Little Jimmy, when Truth challenged Judgment Day to a six-man tag match, but I do hope he\u2019s actually referencing John Cena and his clinically diagnosed invisibility, of which hair loss is also a symptom (sorry John). If you think that\u2019s a bald-faced lie, look at the back of his head. Again, sorry John.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; THIN LINE OF CONTENDERS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Seeing we\u2019re having a number one contenders match tonight for Damian Priest\u2019s title is a good move, but unfortunately we don\u2019t have enough solid options to partake. Right now, it\u2019s Ricochet versus Bronson Reed, versus Drew McIntyre, versus Jey Uso. This is a 2-man contest between Jey and Drew. Ricochet doesn\u2019t have the charisma to be a main event guy, and it\u2019s far too early for Bronson \u201cI Lick Blood\u201d Reed. They don\u2019t have any need for other top main eventers, so here\u2019s to hoping the draft shakes things up. Why wouldn\u2019t Gunther be in the mix by the way? Blasphemy, I say. I do think Bronson Reed made a good point about it being a \u201cheavyweight\u201d championship. But it\u2019s not all about girth, Mr. Reed. If that were the case, then Otis would have hung onto his Money in the Bank contract a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; CROWD SIZE LIES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>201,924 WWE fans attended WrestleMania\u2019s five day ongoings. But considering most fans attended both nights of Mania, I think they\u2019re inflating that number a bit, and ignoring the fact that a lot of seats were filled with the same butts twice. That said, WWE world was so packed that you could barely do anything without gambling your entire day on a single line, so I\u2019m sure the number is large, if not exaggerated a bit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; SURPRISE TRANSITIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Okay, The Liv Morgan chair throw at Rhea Ripley, within seconds of Dominik Mysterio walking away, legitimately made me jump. That was a seamless and effective surprise transition from one story to the next. I feel like just outran a pack of wolves only to find myself in a bear cave. And just when I think this amazing oner of a shot can\u2019t get better, Dom grabs the camera, says \u201cget out of here\u201d and throws the angle to the side. The camera then pushes forward and out into the arena, into a sea of fans. Who is thinking of these brilliant shots? Who has the massive balls (sorry Miz) to try them on live TV?! I feel like I\u2019m watching through an Apple Vision Pro. Sure, I\u2019m broke like all the fans who spent their savings on the tickets tonight, but it\u2019s totally worth it!<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; IMPACTLESS HITS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s Roxanne Perez\u2019s weak-looking, completely contactless punches and kicks, or Indi Hartwell\u2019s poor selling, but it makes every exchange of blows seem like someone is beating up imaginary friends. Be careful ladies, even imaginary friends will turn on you in wrestling at some point.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; FRIENDSHIP!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Seeing Sami Zayn bump into Jey Uso and give him their old handshake, warms my gritty pro wrestling-loving heart. It\u2019s nice to be constantly reminded of who is friends with who, even though every friendship will deteriorate in the fires of wrestling over time. But for now, it keeps dozens of potential stories ripe for exploiting later. Also, that\u2019s a super impressive handshake that must have taken a ton of choreography, patience and practice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; SAMI BALBOA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They are doing an incredible job of making the fans a major elevator of the superstars. Seeing the rotating shot around the ring as Sami Zayn lifts his Intercontinental title above his head, with fans cheering him from behind, is like watching Rocky Balboa on the stairs every single time they do this in an entrance. Much like how Cody Rhodes did in his promo earlier, I also really like this trend of hyping up who the new champ beat. It simultaneously keeps the heel hot, and boosts the new champ up even more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; GABLE TAKES A STEP BACK<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Did Chad Gable really need to run out and save Sami Zayn with the cheesy \u201cShoosh\u201d music? They did a great job building him up as a serious force for a couple weeks, and this feels like he just fell off the wagon, into a muddy pile of watered-down relevance. Shoosh-relapse. The struggle is real, folks. Thank youuuu.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; GABLE THE RABID SQUIRREL<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Watching Chad Gable wrestle Imperium (or anyone for that matter) is like watching a man try to fend off a rabid squirrel running all over him\u2026if said squirrel was a trained collegiate wrestler. Don\u2019t shoosh me. You know it\u2019s true. It\u2019s borderline absurd to see, but I\u2019m here for it. His athleticism is inhuman, and the rest of the world seems to be moving in slow motion for him. Now, all that said, he still looks like a 12 year old boy wearing a shirt with muscles drawn on it. The juxtaposition between his Boy Scout face and his \u201cRambo&#8221; physique is always amusingly jarring.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; SON OF ANGLE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sami Zayn and Chad Gable have enough of a cool factor to not Young Buck it up with synchronized moves. We already got that at the end of The Miz, John Cena, R-Truth and the Judgment day. We don\u2019t need it in a match where our own Rocky Balboa is more over than Christmas in January (double entendre), and Gable is like the son Kurt Angle never had. Maybe he does have a son\u2026but he\u2019s no Chad Gable. There is no need for this tandem, silly offense. Less is more guys. Unless you\u2019re double-teaming J.D. McDonagh. Then you can tandem until your hearts are content. On a side note, Sami Zayn is very hairy. Ludwig Kaiser is the exact opposite. Watching them wrestle is like watching Bigfoot play with a Ken Barbie doll. So much baby oil. So much beard. So much fun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; WHAT THE SHOT?!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Go back and watch the arena hallway shot WWE does after the commercial break, off of the Chelsea Green segment. It\u2019s at the 2-hour and 21-minute mark. They start on one level, slowly drop down to the next, and then pedal forward. But it doesn\u2019t end there. The camera weaves through some fans and out into another amazing arena shot. Unless they have the camera on a jib arm, connected to a navigable base with wheels, I have no idea how they did that, and I absolutely love my own confused bliss with that. Well done, WWE. They really seem like they\u2019re just having fun with all these toys they found locked up in Kevin Dunn\u2019s closet, collecting dust. What the shot, WWE?! You keep being this cool and Carlito is going to change his gimmick to swallowing apples. My God. On a side note, I find Chelsea Green\u2019s character more extra than Samantha Irvine\u2019s over-announcing of her. It\u2019s a bit much. I get that she\u2019s embracing her annoying side, but it\u2019s distracting to the point that she\u2019s not going to get booed. She\u2019s just going to get silently ignored. Maybe she\u2019s too Green to be at this level so soon. See what I did there?<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; SMART WRESTLERS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love seeing smart wrestlers like Sami Zayn knowing exactly what Chad Gable meant when he said Sami owes him a favor (title match). Wrestlers as a whole seem smarter all of a sudden. It truly is a new day (yes it is). It\u2019s refreshing to see a wrestler get ahead of setting the match, instead of waiting for their friend to stab them in the back and force their hand. Keep your enemies close and all of that jazz.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERRATED &#8211; ANGRY MCINTYRE CAN\u2019T CURSE?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Drew McIntyre is furious, fuming, seething through his teeth, but he has the restraint to not say bullshit, and just uses the acronym? What, did WWE only hire a censor bleeper for the nights The Rock was there, dropping every word in the book? This is sad to see someone with such sharp words be forced to use a dulled down vocabulary. The rest of his promo was on fire after this, though. I particularly liked him labeling Damian Priest as a bondage-Undertaker, whose arse he would whip, but he\u2019d probably like it. That is some great wordsmithing there. I also liked Drew calling Priest a transitional champion. It\u2019s a bit below the belt, and possibly true, but with him having free reign to say what he wants, Damian better keep up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNDER-APPRECIATED &#8211; RICOCHET\u2019S SACRIFICE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ricochet\u2019s 450 splash to the announce table was insane. Unfortunately though, without a mouthpiece in the form of a mic-smith manager, all he\u2019s ever going to be is a highlight reel like John Morrison. He\u2019s the McRib Sandwich. He comes around every so often, people love him, then he goes away and we forget about him. His career definitely isn\u2019t going to be long because of the risks, so he won\u2019t have nearly enough time to get himself over before retirement. This guy sacrifices more in a night than most wrestlers do in a year, but sadly, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to get him anywhere except first in line for jello at the hospital cafeteria. Yes, I know they bring it to your room, but room service isn\u2019t funny. All that said, Jey Uso is the right choice. The guy is more popular than a Furby on a 90s Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>See you Friday for the last show before the draft, where we\u2019ll have more NXT main roster-prospects, some last matches before post-Mania layoffs, and round 2 of Cody Rhodes\u2019 victory lap!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED NEXT:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/04\/09\/wwe-raw-hits-misses-4-8-cody-and-rock-four-way-for-world-title-shot-judgment-day-and-r-truth-jade-cargill-nxt-appearances\/\">WWE RAW HITS &amp; MISSES (4\/8): Cody and Rock, Four-way for World Title shot, Judgment Day and R-Truth, Jade Cargill, NXT appearances<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/2024\/04\/09\/powells-wwe-raw-hit-list-the-raw-after-wrestlemania-with-cody-rhodes-and-the-rock-drew-mcintyre-vs-jey-uso-vs-bronson-reed-vs-ricochet-for-a-shot-at-the-world-heavyweight-championship\/\">Powell\u2019s WWE Raw Hit List: The Raw After WrestleMania with Cody Rhodes and The Rock, Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ricochet for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"entry-meta\">\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1533434391\"><div id=\"pwtor-2443280743\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Welcome to the first Monday Night Raw of the Paul \u201cTriple H\u201d Levesque Era, the longest name in the history of pro wrestling eras. I\u2019m still recovering from 4 days straight of wrestling, my voice <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/04\/09\/over-unders-wwe-raw-4-8-high-risk-and-high-reward-poor-ironing-secrets-dragunovs-dental-self-exam-smart-wrestlers-ricochets-sacrifice-more\/\" title=\"OVER &#038; UNDERS &#8211; WWE RAW (4\/8): High Risk and High Reward, Poor Ironing, Secrets, Dragunov&#8217;s dental self-exam, smart wrestlers, Ricochet&#8217;s sacrifice, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":176612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-176611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2024\/04\/Screenshot-2024-04-09-at-5.35.55\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176611"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176613,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176611\/revisions\/176613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}