MONDAY NIGHT RAW ~ April 3, 2023
"Raw after Mania"
It's a sold-out crowd at the Crypto Arena and the show begins with Cody Rhodes. Cody apologizes to the WWE Universe and says he failed to finish the story last night. Paul Heyman emerged and mocked Cody for losing and informs everyone The Tribal Chief is finished with this story. Before Heyman can leave, Cody mentions the story isn't over, and only a new chapter has begun. Cody says he wants two guys in the ring tonight: Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa. Cody says he'll get himself a partner, yet Heyman refuses before Cody backs Heyman up into a corner, shouting down Heyman's throat until the Wiseman accepts.
United States Champion Austin Theory walks past Cody Rhodes on his way up the ramp in this commercial-free first hour of Raw. Theory boasts about succeeding this past weekend at WrestleMania, calling himself the greatest United States Champion of all time. Theory wants to flashback to John Cena's time as champion, proving he can do anything Cena does, just a bit better. Theory issues a "US Open Challenge" and waits for the challenger when BRON BREAKKER shows up! The crowd goes nuts for the former NXT Champion. Theory tries leaving and taking it back, but Adam Pearce shows up and forces Theory back into the ring.
United States Championship Match ~ Austin Theory(c) vs. Bron Breakker
The match almost ends as quickly as it begins with Breakker hitting a Spear on Theory out the gate! Theory kicks out at the very last second and rolls to the outside to regroup. The match slows down and Theory gets very confident until Breakker takes over. Breakker looks to end the match with a powerslam, but Theory rolls out the back and hits a neckbreaker. Theory taunts Cena with the "you can't c me" and misses the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Theory gets up holding his hand before he gets hit with a Spinebuster in the middle of the ring. Breakker sets up for a Spear and Theory leapfrogs him, as Breakker almost catapults himself into the ring post. Breakker turns around and eludes a leaping Theory, who hits the top of the ring post. Theory staggers back and turns into a SPEAR by Breakker! Breakker hooks the leg and does it!
Bron Breakker celebrates with the Los Angeles crowd as the NEW United States Champion, winning the title on his debut. Then heading to the back is Cathy Kelley standing by with Trish Stratus, Becky Lynch, and Lita sporting a shiner. Cathy asks what it felt like to be at WrestleMania. They all say it was a dream come true, and it felt like a WWE 2k game. When asked what's next, Damage CTRL interrupts. Bayley says her girls are deserving of a rematch, when Becky said they're finished with Damage CTRL. Bayley asks if they're scared, and by the looks of Lita, they're too banged up to travel to Raw next week, so let's do the title match tonight. Trish steps up and says she'll take Lita's place. Lita gets caught off guard, but decides to go with it, as Trish accepts the challenge tonight and will replace Lita as Becky Lynch's tag team partner.
Alpha Academy vs. Maximum Male Models (with Maxxine Dupri)
A pre-taped segment of Chad Gable airs before this match, noting he wants Otis back so the antics of the Maximum Male Models stops tonight! Gable takes this match seriously while Dupri tries luring Otis the entire match. At one point, it appears Otis will turn and join the Maximum Male Models as Maxxine pulls out some clothing items Otis puts on one by one. Otis then throws the last article of clothing in Ma.ce's face and rolls him up for the pin attempt. Man.soor stops this before he's hit with a rolling German by Gable! Gable gets hype as Otis finishes Ma.ce with The Caterpillar!
Chad Gable gets the mic and celebrates his victory with Otis, saying the Alpha Academy is back in full strength and will dominate the tag division moving forward because they are the best mat technicians in the entire game! The crowd gasps as they turn to the ramp, hearing the entrance music of The Creed Brothers! Brutus and Julius Creed are here from NXT! They hop in the ring and as Gable charges, Julius tackles him and the two teams wage war. Otis pulls Gable outside the ring as they give up ground to the Creed Brothers, perhaps the newest acquisition to Monday Night Raw.
Scenes from WrestleMania 39 include Rey versus Dom, Cody versus Roman, and the Undisputed WWE Tag Title match. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are headed to the ring NEXT! ... after a WWE 2k23 ad.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn receive a huge reaction to coming back as Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. They talk about the ups and downs, and while Roman did retain last night, The Bloodline is crumbling before their eyes. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin interrupt, insisting if The Hurt Business was still around, they could take out the Bloodline easily... but since it's not, they're willing to step up and challenge the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. Owens laughs, as well as the crowd, saying they can get a title match this Friday on SmackDown with one condition... one of them steps up and beats him in 1-on-1 action right now. Alexander and Benjamin weren't prepared for this proposition. As they argue back and forth, Owens pops Alexander in the mouth.
Cedric Alexander (with Shelton Benjamin) vs. Kevin Owens (with Sami Zayn)
Nothing much to note in this match. It still lasts about 8 minutes and Owens puts Alexander in his place with a Stunner, preventing the duo from getting a tag title opportunity this Friday.
Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns are sitting in the private Bloodline locker room when Paul Heyman walks in. Roman expresses frustration with Heyman talking out of turn in the ring tonight. Roman doesn't care who Cody's opponent is, but he said loud and clear he was DONE with Cody Rhodes. Cody's story didn't get a happy ending, nor should it. It's done, it's over. Roman tasks Paul Heyman to go to Adam Pearce to get the match scrapped from tonight's show. Heyman apologizes and hurries out the room.
The Miz has the ring set-up for MizTV and The Miz takes the opportunity to set the record straight against the events which transpired this past weekend at WrestleMania against Pat McAfee, Shane McMahon, and Snoop Dogg. Miz buries Shane for tearing his quad and as the host of WrestleMania in Hollywood, he deserved better "Hollywood Star" treatment. Bobby Lashley came out, uninvited as The Miz points out, and says The Miz got to host WrestleMania, but the All Mighty was robbed of his WrestleMania match... now he'll take it out on someone. Lashley backs The Miz into a corner before the music hits... Snoop Dogg is back! Snoop comes to the ring and announces he was authorized to make one match tonight on Raw. It's Bobby Lashley versus The Miz RIGHT NOW! Miz complains about being in a more expensive suit than the last two nights combined, but Lashley doesn't care as he tosses The Miz across the ring and begins to clear the MizTV setup.
Bobby Lashley vs. The Miz
The Miz gets manhandled most of the match before he decides to take the top half of his suit off. The Miz tries to keep Lashley down, but the All Mighty has anger to take out after being snubbed from WrestleMania this weekend. How he handles this anger? Putting The Miz in the Hurt Lock and giving him no choice but to submit.
Paul Heyman enters Adam Pearce's office, shmoosing The Tribal Chief out of a tag team match on Raw. Heyman insists Reigns is an attraction and this match would be best at Backlash in Puerto Rico, Money in the Bank in London, or SummerSlam in Detroit. Pearce says this is the biggest Raw of the year and the match is final. Heyman relates to Pearce with the stress, but he mentions perhaps a tournament over the next several weeks to determine Cody's partner for a tag team match at Backlash. Pearce says Cody has found a partner, he's signed off on it, and nothing will change the main event tonight.
A highlight package from Johnny Gargano versus Grayson Waller airs. Johnny Wrestling emerged victorious over the weekend at Stand and Deliver in an unsanctioned contest. This transitions into Johnny and Candice entering for a mixed tag match before a tweet is shown about the displeasure of their opponents teaming together: Shelton Benjamin and Mia Yim.
Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano vs. Mia Yim and Shelton Benjamin
Shelton and Mia don't appear happy to be wrestling together, and the exact opposite is true for the Wrestling Couple. After Johnny dismisses Shelton, Candice ends her losing streak by hitting La Quebrada on Mia Yim to win the match!
After a commercial break, Judgment Day's Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio arrive in somber moods. Balor expresses his displeasure with losing to Edge and getting 14 staples in his head and continuing the match. Balor claims the match should've been stopped by WWE officials. Dominik gets the microphone and can't get a word out because of the booing inside the Crypto Arena. Priest takes the mic away and the cheers erupt. Priest and Dom hand the microphone back and forth playing to the crowd before Balor snatches it and says the only good thing about this weekend is Rhea is the new SmackDown Women's Champion. But now she's on media appearances and can't be here tonight. Priest gets the microphone back and predicts Edge is gone for the next 4 months, despite Balor being here the very next night, but announces Rhea will be at SmackDown this Friday... and so will Judgment Day, issuing a challenge to Legado del Fantasma. Rick Boogs comes to the ring for his match right now against Damian Priest.
Damian Priest (with Judgment Day) vs. Rick Boogs
The entire match can be drowned out by the boos from the crowd as Dominik Mysterio taunts the fans in attendance, but Priest ends the efforts of Boogs by hitting the South Side of Heaven.
Paul Heyman hesitantly knocks and enters The Bloodline's private locker room, delivering the news the match still stands. Roman tells Heyman to get out. Heyman hustles away and Reigns speaks to Solo, saying he knows the business to take care of tonight.
WWE Women's Tag Team Championships - Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus*(c) (with Lita) vs. Damage CTRL (with Bayley)
Bayley constantly chirps on the outside towards Lita for her eye while the action goes on in the ring. Bayley sees Iyo Sky is in trouble with Trish trying for a Chick Kick early, so Bayley picks the ankle. This causes Lita to come in and the two are shouting before they get into a shoving match. The official stops this quickly and sends both to the back.
After a commercial break, it's apparent Damage CTRL struggles without Bayley providing instruction. Becky Lynch begins to carry the team and Trish is cheering her on from the apron. Lynch traps Dakota Kai in the Dis-arm-her and gets hit from behind by Iyo Sky. Trish hops in and the official loses control with the chaos. Things break down in a 2-on-2 brawl enough for Trish to hit a Chick Kick on Iyo Sky and now Dakota Kai is surrounded by Stratus and Lynch. Dakota Kai pleads with them before pouncing on Becky Lynch. Trish hesitates, watching Becky take care of business against Dakota Kai and throw her to the side, only to get a forearm from Trish Stratus! The crowd is stunned! Trish waits for Becky to get up and hits a Chick Kick on her partner. Iyo is coming to and Dakota Kai is shocked but pounces on a prone Becky Lynch and the official (as confused as everyone else) counts the 3.
Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky hug it out before Bayley runs back down and gets the titles to her buddies and they leave. Trish Stratus stands over Becky Lynch before Lita comes down to the ring, throwing her hands in the air. Lita gets in the ring and while she confronts Trish, gets shoved and slapped. Lita tries to retaliate, but Trish blocks a shot and knocks Lita down with a forearm on her bad eye. Trish Stratus flicks her hand without care toward the fans and exits the ring, leaving everyone in shock.
While Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves try to understand what just transpired, Cedric Alexander pokes fun at Shelton Benjamin backstage for losing the tag team match, while Shelton says his shoulders didn't get pinned to the mat tonight, but Cedric did. They begin arguing until MVP interrupts, saying "Enough!" Cedric and Shelton still try to argue until the towering presence of Omos backs up MVP. Their former manager and associate call Cedric and Shelton a joke. They shouldn't have lost their matches tonight, but then Cedric brings up Omos losing to Brock Lesnar last night. Omos grabs Cedric by the throat and MVP has to calm the Nigerian Giant down enough to let go. Cedric catches his breath as MVP apologizes on the behalf of Omos. MVP says they're all better than what they've shown recently, and he expects better from a set of former Raw Tag Team Champions.
Cathy Kelley welcomes the new United States Champion Bron Breakker backstage and asks about his win tonight. Breakker says it's a dream come true and would never imagine he would have won the title on his Monday Night Raw debut. He promises to carry the United States Title with the same pride as a John Cena would. In walks Dolph Ziggler, reminding Breakker a year ago "The Show Off" beat Bron Breakker on WrestleMania weekend to remain NXT Champion. Ziggler's confident he can beat Breakker again, and if he wants to carry the championship in a John Cena Way, he would put the title on the line against him next week. Breakker just smirks and says he's been waiting for their paths to cross again, accepting the challenge.
Meanwhile, Byron Saxton catches the Creed Brothers walking out of the arena in time to ask about their first appearance on Raw tonight. Julius says it's the next step in their careers and wants to showcase what they can do against the best of them. Byron informs the Creed Brothers of their debut match signed by Adam Pearce earlier this evening, taking on Alpha Academy next week on Raw. They smile and Brutus says they'll be ready!
It's finally time for the main event! The Bloodline's Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa make their long entrance. Heyman steps out with them, but Roman shoos Heyman away after getting the second title in his hands. Heyman is shook as the Wise Man is sent to the back and Roman brings a conflicted Solo Sikoa to the ring with him for their tag team match. Cody Rhodes heads to the ring next and he's ready to pounce on Roman, yet probably more so, Solo Sikoa for costing him the title 24 hours ago. There's silence as fans await the partner for Cody Rhodes. Cody takes his weight belt off and on the inside, it says "Switchblade" as the new music hits and the titantron reveals "JAY WHITE" and some fans go nuts, but others aren't sure who he is. Corey hammers home this man is the hottest free agent in WWE, and he's landed in WWE? He references his ties with Cody in Japan, so he's looked to his inner circle to even the odds.
Cody Rhodes and "the debuting" Jay White vs. Solo Sikoa and "Undisputed WWE Universal Champion" Roman Reigns
Cody insists on starting the match and wants Solo Sikoa. Cody gets a lot of frustration out on Solo before Sikoa's had enough and tags Roman in. Roman is upset before he demands Jay White. Cody feels reluctant, as much as he wants to get back at the Tribal Chief, he tags Jay White in. White and Reigns mock each other, circling around ready to pounce before Roman tags Solo back in and bails, getting serenaded by booing. Roman gets out of the ring and mocks the crowd until he turns around into a clothesline over the barricade by the American Nightmare going into a break!
After a commercial, Cody has Solo Sikoa in a headlock. Cody would fight Solo until Jay White gets in and gets some offense in on Solo, displaying his skills. Roman just looks disappointed and hasn't been involved in this match yet. Between Cody's vengeance and Jay's newcomer adrenaline, Solo Sikoa is struggling. Solo finally gets a reprieve when he hits a pop-up Samoan Slam on Jay. Solo crawls to Roman as Jay does the same toward his corner. Solo reaches for the tag and Roman hops off the apron. Roman tells Solo to finish it himself and prove he's ready. Solo can't believe it but quickly jumps into survival mode. Solo uses the ropes to get up but Cody is in hot tag mode and fires off on Solo before hitting a Disaster Kick! Cody is ready for a Cross Rhodes as Roman looks on before Cody instead feeds Solo to Jay, and the "Switchblade" hits the Blade Runner ~ a move traditionally known as Sister Abigail by another WWE superstar! Jay decides to lock in the Boston Crab and holds the pressure. Solo looks out at Roman looking on the floor, and Solo is so far away, he decides to tap and can only lightly do so.
Cody's music hits as he and Jay White stand tall before Roman Reigns already makes his way up the ramp with his titles and doesn't look happy while Raw goes off the air.
