5 Biggest Takeaways from Monday Night Raw (April 11th, 2022)
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
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With Wrestlemania season behind us, I am officially back with the Raw takeaways. And after last week’s less than stellar Raw after Wrestlemania, we are back to our regularly scheduled programming with Raw returning to form last night. They were able to accomplish a lot while giving us some great in ring action this week. With Wrestlemania Backlash next up on the premium live event schedule, ground work has begun and it is already looking like it might be a really fun show.
Before we get to the takeaways, I have an honorable mention that I would kick myself for not including in my first Raw takeaway back.
Ezekiel is brilliant.
I know a lot of people are cracking jokes about how dumb it is, but that’s exactly why it WILL get over. Elias’ younger brother is top tier comedy and he’s delivering it perfectly. The look is generic. The music is bland. The idea is absolutely silly. And with everybody wanting to take everything too seriously all the time, it’s things like this that are fun to have so that we can laugh from time to time. I look forward to the lie detector test next week as Kevin Owens desperately tries to prove that Ezekiel is in fact Elias.
But enough of all of that, let’s move right into the 5 biggest takeaways from this week’s Monday Night Raw!
5: Hurt Business 2.0
Things looked a little off when Bobby Lashley came out for his Wrestlemania match against Omos with no MVP at his side. But after Lashley was able to overcome the giant of a man in Omos, it didn’t look like it would be a big deal.
The next night, the two would be reunited as Bobby Lashley celebrated his achievement with MVP standing at his side like a proud papa. Omos would crash the party and demand his rematch, claiming a “fluke.”
"Don't you ever forget it was MVP who made you All Mighty!"
— WWE (@WWE) April 12, 2022
With @TheGiantOmos by his side, @The305MVP is telling @fightbobby exactly how he feels. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/tckksEqPmN
What would happen next was a shock to most, and definitely a shocker for Lashley. MVP assaulted Bobby from behind and then ordered Omos to pick him a part. Was this the end of the Hurt Business? Or is it just a re-up with the bigger, stronger and younger Omos? Last night, we got our answer. Omos came out dressing the part of the newest Hurt Business member as they confronted Lashley. MVP let it be known to Bobby, I made you and now I will break you. You survived the last match with Omos, you won’t survive the next time.
Hopefully this leads to the return of Shelton and Cedric back home to where they belong, and we can get a lengthy run with this new Hurt Business. It’s exactly what Omos needed moving forward and having henchmen at his side would just be the icing on the top for this new version of THB.
4: Abusive Power
With Bianca finally redeeming her 26 second Summerslam mishap by dethroning the Vincent Van Goat, Becky Lynch, the question on everyone’s mind was: who’s next? We got our answer last night.
After making quick work of Queen Zelina, in what should have been a more competitive match, Bianca would stand in the ring celebrating before being greeted by general manager Sonya Deville. Sonya let it be known that she had found Belair’s next challenger and said all Bianca had to do was sign this contract and her challenger would be revealed. Being the fighting champion Bianca is, she signed with no questions asked and awaited the reveal. As she turned her back, Sonya would attack and leave Bianca laid out before signing it herself.
"Your next opponent … is ME!"@SonyaDevilleWWE just signed the open contract to challenge @BiancaBelairWWE for the #WWERaw #WomensTitle! 😲😲😲 pic.twitter.com/H0XZSnNQvS
— WWE (@WWE) April 12, 2022
The beauty behind this feud? It’s interesting and it involves none of the 4 horsewomen, which is exactly what we’ve been waiting for. We all knew that Bianca’s first feud post ‘Mania would be someone who was on the losing end so with Sonya, it works. Not only does it give us a fresh feud but also should remove her from the GM position and bring her back to a full time in ring role. This is a win-win-win program and buys us some more time before Bianca gets a true challenger that looks like a real threat.
3: Veer Comes Hard!
After months of teasing us, Veer finally arrived last week at the Raw after Wrestlemania. He set his eyes on the Mysterio’s as he viciously attacked both Rey and Dom before leaving much quicker than he came.
This week he had his first match as he took on Dominik Mysterio, who was without daddy. Veer stormed to the ring, destroyed Dom and then continued the onslaught after the match as he wrenched back on Dom’s neck while countless members of security and staff tried to pull him away. When it was all said and done, Dom would be stretchered away and taken away in an ambulance. The message was very simple and direct. When Veer comes, he comes hard! And anybody that dare get in his way better be ready for what Veer unleashes upon them.
2: Run it Back
Match of the weekend at Wrestlemania? You could argue it was Becky versus Bianca but the overwhelming response would be Cody Rhodes return against Seth “Freakin” Rollins!
The build, the debut and the match the followed was what we like to refer to as a perfect storm. The fans embraced the American Nightmare in the most welcoming way possible and Cody Rhodes feels like the big deal he has always wanted from the WWE universe. It’s safe to say that Cody Rhodes has the potential to be WWE’s top babyface moving forward and there is no better program for him to start that run with than Seth. One match just simply was not enough.
So, at Wrestlemania Backlash, we have another banger of a match to look forward between these two in what should be the match that will justify Cody’s main event spot. As Seth Rollins said in their first match, welcome back to the big leagues… Cody!
1: UNIFICATION!!!
With all the titles WWE has on each show, there has always been one that didn’t make sense to have two of. The lack of appreciation that WWE seems to have for tag team wrestling, there is no real reason to have two sets of tag team titles. Hell, with the number of teams they have between both shows, it’s not even warranted. There might be about 6 real tag teams amongst both shows which means a third of the division is holding tag team “gold.”
Randy gets rocked by @WWEUsos!@RandyOrton #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/Bh90lyumpT
— WWE (@WWE) April 12, 2022
With Roman unifying the WWE and Universal title, he has now made it a mission for the Usos to do the same by going over to Raw and challenging RKBRO. THANK YOU, MY TRIBAL CHIEF!!! And whereas I hope they don’t keep Roman’s titles unified, I really hope they plan on keeping only one set of tag team titles. It just makes too much sense to have one set!
Another match that we can expect to be stellar at Wrestlemania Backlash is now set, as RKBRO and the Usos will go head-to-head for a third time. With the first two matches being exceptional, we can definitely look forward to more of the same while also leading towards to storylines that will be worth keeping an eye on post Backlash as RKBRO moves toward their eventual split and the Usos add to the Bloodline dominance.
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