Well… that was something. We just finished sitting through a disappointing WrestleMania that proved the WWE was more concerned about swerving expectations than seeing a well-crafted storyline through to its logical conclusion. This was the M. Night Shyamalan of WrestleManias. Who cares if it makes sense as long as it has more twists than a Rold Gold factory?
In the wake of some… oh let’s call them “interesting” booking decisions, tonight’s Raw should be an interesting one. The Monday after WrestleMania is usually one of the biggest shows of the year, and there are a lot of questions we need to be answered.
Woken Wyatt
We’re certain to see some follow-up to the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal that saw Bray Wyatt return and help Matt Hardy secure his victory. The appearance was quintessential Bray. He had his spooky video play while the lights were out, he showed up with a lot of anticipation, looked good for a split second, and then ate a finisher. Matt ended up winning, with Wyatt’s help and the two men embraced before posing to the crowd. What follow-up will we see tonight to the ongoing saga now that we have a Woken Wyatt of sorts? With Jeff set to return could this possibly see the creation of a new stable and new blood in the Raw tag team division?
Intercontinental Fallout
Seth Rollins became a grand-slam champion at WrestleMania 34 by capturing the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The Miz, though, will most likely be fervently looking to set the details of his rematch, as he’s so close to cumulatively holding the IC Title longer than anyone. For the Miz, this would be a feat that is way more impressive than Seth’s grand-slam and would only serve to solidify his place as one of the all-time greats.
Also, the Miztourage was absent during the Miz’s loss. While this was at the Miz’s request, that certainly wouldn’t stop the Miz from blaming them for his loss. What part will they play in this? Will Curtis Axel continue to let the Miz sully his father’s legacy? Will Bo Dallas finally stand up for himself? With some minor cracks showing in the group, it will be interesting to see how the Miz rallies the troops in an attempt to regain his championship.
With Seth savoring his victory and the Miz plotting his return to glory, where does that leave the always smiling Finn Bálor? Will he move on while Rollins and Miz continue fighting over the title, or will he find a way to insert himself into things once again? Perhaps, coming up short could bring out the demon, which is the only way Bálor is allowed to win a big match.
Dad Bods And Ronda Rowdy
Ronda Rousey made her debut last night and put on a hell of a show. Where Rowdy Ronda goes from here is a bit of a mystery, but the safe money is on seeing this feud continue. Rousey was brought in to give Stephanie McMahon some mainstream recognition, and that’s probably going to be an ongoing process. Steph and Triple H will likely come back tonight and sell her injuries but this shouldn’t be the end of the Authority at the moment. Also, Kurt Angle may have to face some repercussions for causing all these problems in the first place.
Never Disturb The Dead
Just ask Cena. It was like that scene from Tombstone, Cena called down the thunder, the Undertaker came and Hell came with him. All that was missing was Sam Elliot as the guest ring announcer. Cena will have to make some sort of statement about getting his WrestleMania moment (read: butt-whoopin’) this year. However, don’t expect much to come from this after tonight. Cena is working a lighter load with his film and television schedule picking up, and the Undertaker only gets wheeled out for special occasions. Think of the Undertaker like Dick Clark. He’s old, but somehow still relevant, and even though we only expect to see him once a year, it’s still a pretty big deal.
Not Like Most Girls
That’s ’cause she’s that champ, and it’s about time. There was some serious worry they might pull a Booker T and not let someone like her win the title, however, we can breathe easy the body shaming angle paid off in a positive way. Tonight will be Nia’s first appearance as a WWE champion, but odds are Alexa won’t let her enjoy it for long. She and Mickie were not enough to take on Jax, and the ‘Goddess’ rarely does something she can manipulate someone else into doing. ‘Little Miss Bliss’ will probably be looking to bolster her ranks if she wants any hope at regaining the Raw Women’s Championship. Watch for this feud to continue and Nia cement her status as a dominant champion.
Braun And Child
So… yeah… I’m just gonna say it: this was the most disrespectful thing to happen to a title since David Arquette. I realize Nicholas is the child of one of the refs so he has the potential to travel around with the company. Honestly, that doesn’t help matters. Perhaps, if Braun defended the title with the WWE Universe under Freebird rules that might be an interesting gimmick. Each week he picks someone else out of the crowd to team with him. It makes us all feel like the champ too, like having stock in a company. This would make for the plot of a great kids’ movie, but hopefully, we’ll see some real resolution to this tonight on Raw. Surely, for liability and child labor purposes, they can’t have this kid carry the title too long.
It’ll be interesting to see how they handle this moving forward. Having a child stand there is neat for the kid, but eventually, the gimmick will get old. Not to mention having Braun essentially hold the titles by himself kinda devalues the entire tag division and the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships themselves. The Bar, of course, will be looking for their rematch, or could even try getting the match thrown out altogether. After all, they couldn’t reasonably have been expected to fight a child, and there’s no way that match was sanctioned.
The Reigns Of N’awlins
Where does either of these men go from here? Brock has beaten everybody and the heir apparent spends yet another year uncrowned. Whether Brock shows up or not is always a coin flip, but Heyman won’t miss this opportunity to gloat over Brock’s win. Roman took a convincing beating and bled the hard way, but still won’t back down from Heyman and Brock’s jeers. Expect another potential confrontation tonight and the feud to continue.
Returns And Other Stuff To Look For
Big Cass, Samoa Joe, Jason Jordan, and Jeff Hardy could all potentially return any moment. Since there were no big surprise returns last night, Vince may have been saving them for Raw tonight. The return of so many top guys will help push along/begin storylines that have come to a bit of a road black after ‘Mania. On top of this, we could possibly Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn show up as they’re still fired from SmackDown Live, and Raw is their logical destination. Also, look for some familiar faces from the black and yellow brand of NXT to come knock some doors down. Hell, maybe even Bobby Lashley will return!
What do you think will happen tonight on Raw in the wake of WrestleMania 34? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter here.
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