WWE Monday Night Raw 4/1/2024

WWE Monday Night Raw 4/1/2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/wwe-monday-night-raw-3252024.html

We see some of the Wrestlemania set being constructed and see clips from last week with Rock and Cody.

The Rock comes out. He said he made that boy bleed. He said he rammed his head into the bus, got blood on his hands and wiped the blood on the belt as he promised. He said the only thing that is missing on the belt is the tears of Mama Rhodes.

He said the Cody Crybabies are upset he made Cody bleed and asks if there are any here tonight. He said he would beat Cody like a dog and he did. We see clips kids crying due to Rock beating up Cody. He said it breaks Rock's hurt. Rock said he's a proud 3x "girl dad".

He tells the kids there's moments in life when a man has gotta do what he's gotta do. He said there's moments in life when people talk sh*t when they shouldn't and said there's times when The Rock has to beat Cody's @ss over and over again.

He said wrestling is cool now because of him. He said the fans set a record for the largest gate in the history of Raw. He said it's because finally The Final Boss has come back to Brooklyn. He said he didn't come alone and the rest of The Bloodline come out.

Roman says to acknowledge me. He said if you saw his A&E bio last night, it's family about all. He said he came to acknowledge his family and said "no yeet" when the crowd chanted yeet. He said he will leave if the crowd keeps chanting it. He said this will be the easiest Mania of his life thanks to Rock. He said we will smash those fools and said they will have their way with Cody.

He said Rock whooped Cody and it felt good to see him do it. He said Rock put his family above all, setting a good example. He said Cody isn't fit for leadership. He said he's lucky to be here. He said Cody was off somewhere doing nothing when they made this cool in 2020. He said they allowed Cody to have some fun and said they can't have him trying to take him off the top of the mountain. Roman says this is their mountain and they run this business.

Seth Rollins then comes out through the crowd. Seth said if they want to pull the crap on him that they did to Cody, they have to come in the stands and fight the whole city. Seth said Roman crossed the line. He said the time for talk is over and he's ready for a fight. He wants to fight tonight. Seth said the fans deserve the biggest main event of all time. Seth said it should be him vs The Rock tonight, but he said ol' DJ doesn't have the balls. He said his cousin Roman might have grown a set. He said Bloodline can pick the wrestler and the stipulation.

The Rock calls Seth a punk. He said Cody has brain damage from their beating of him and Seth don't want none of that. He said he's not fighting Rock or Roman but he said they have a plan. Solo Sikoa grabs the mic and says Seth is fighting him. Seth said Solo has the biggest bag in The Bloodline and says he's on. Rock says it's Bloodline Rules and they will see him tonight.

It was a longer segment that was just average for the most part. We knew Rock and Roman weren't going to be doing any matches here.

We see clips of Rhea on The MMA Hour today. Becky calls in and said they can't keep talking about her. Becky said she's outside the building then comes in. Becky gets in Rhea's face and pushes her and it gets broken up.

Becky Lynch is interviewed. She said she's here to finish what she started and she will be in the ring if Rhea cares to answer the call.

The New Day and DIY vs The Judgment Day

The faces hit plancha's to start. Finn pounds on Johnny then Dom pounds on Johnny. Dom suplexes him and gets suplexed. Johnny throws Dom out then gets lariated by Finn. Ciampa lariats JD and Dom in the corners. Priest pump kicks Ciampa then is top rope chopped by Kofi. Kofi walk up the buckles twisting crossbodies JD then JD cradles him. Kofi top rope dives Finn then Woods does an attitude adjustment into a body drop on JD. Johnny topes Dom outside.

Woods boots JD then JD standing spanish fly's him. Ciampa hits shots on Priest then Priest lariats a running Ciampa. Priest catches Kofi off the buckles then chokeslams him. Priest razor's edge's Ciampa and wins it.

It was short for how many people were involved in it. It was fine and fast paced but we only saw a little of some of the people in it before the finish. It is the show before Mania though, so no one was doing anything too wild here.

The Bloodline are in the back. They say Solo is ready. Roman says he has to go write a speech for Paul Heyman's Hall of Fame induction this weekend. Paul then explains it to us.

We see Sami Zayn and Chad Gable training at The Performance Center. They watch videos and Sami works out. Chad puts a sleeper on him and makes him tap out. Sami asks what that was. Chad said Sami won't care if he's exhausted and tells him to run it again. Sami said he won't let Chad run him into the ground one week before the match. He said Sami's hunger is gone compared to last year. He asks him what is holding him back. Sami said he's afraid of letting people down. He said Chad told him he couldn't beat Gunther. Chad said he wasn't telling him what he wanted to hear, he told him what he needed to hear. He tells him to find that hunger and prove them wrong together. We then see Sami work out more. We see him throw Chad, then they shake hands and the segment ends.

We get our first commercial of the night as the first hour was commercial free.
The Judgment Day talk in the back. Rhea said she's good and got Becky's attention. Legado del Fantasma comes in and Rhea said he didn't tell them they had company. Priest said this is too much and tells him to cut the crap. Rhea tells him he did it now while Legado looks confused. They talk in Spanish and Dom says let's play darts.

Sami Zayn vs Bronson Reed

Reed pushes him back and poses. Sami hits forearms and chops. Sami hits corner punches then sunset flips him. Reed misses a butt drop for 2. Reed splashes him on the ropes then hits chops. Sami lariats him over the top then tope con hilos him outside.

Sami's top rope crossbody is caught and he is powerslammed. Sami 2nd rope elbows him in the head then is caught with a urange and elbow drop. Sami sunset bombs him off the buckles for 2. Reed death valley drivers him for 2. We go to break and return.

Reed clubs on Sami and Sami walks up the buckles and tornado ddt's him. Reed twisting suplexes him and sentons him. Reed misses a top rope splash. Gunther then drags Chad Gable out onto the entrance way. Sami gets distracted and goes to help Chad. Gunther then running boots Sami. Gunther lariats Sami and chops him. gunther grabs him by the hair and yells at him. Gunther then face kicks him. Gunther yells at him more and hits more chops. Gunther then holds the title while stepping on his chest. Gunther walks away and Sami gets up. Gunther then hits him with the IC title.

It was an okay match with Sami working as the face vs the bigger Reed. The Gunther angle worked but probably would have been better if it had happened early as they won't have a lot of time to follow up on it.

Jey Uso talks to Lil Wayne in the back. He tells him to come to Philly for Mania if he's free. Wayne says he will be there and is premiering a new song. Jey says he will see him there.

We see Damage Ctrl earlier in the day.

Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile vs Indi Hartwell and Candice LaRae

CL and Ivy lock up. CL is thrown into the buckles and tags out. Indi takes a takedown from Ivy. Max 2nd rope double axe handles Indi. Indi slams Max then Max is thrown backwards by CL. CL beats up Max in the corner then Max cradles her. CL pounds on her and runs into the buckles when Max moves.

Ivy gets in and forearms CL off the apron. Ivy hits kicks on Indi then spinning headscissors her. Ivy spinning enzugiri's her then flying chest kicks her. CL pushes Ivy off the buckles. Indi is dropkicked into CL then Max rolls up Indi and wins it.

It was short and average. The crowd didn't react at all here.

CL yells at Indi after as Indi looks shocked. CL tells her she should be ashamed of herself.

Seth Rollins is looking at his title in the back and Jey Uso comes up to him. Jey calls him crazy. He said it's Bloodline Rules and said he has his back if Bloodline try anything shady. He said he's got him and Seth asks him to take a walk with him.

Natalya says Owen Hart vs Bret Hart at Wrestlemania X was her favorite Mania moment.

We see Drew McIntyre looking at a casket. He grabs a mic there. He says look in my eyes, what do you see? CM Punk has no match in Philly. He said the world lost a chance to see an out of shape Punk lose out on his chance at Mania. He said Punk's tricep wanted to get as far away from Punk as possible. He said Seth built his personality on The Joker and calls him Seth "Cringelord" Rollins. He said he has one foot in the grave and deserves the beatings coming his way. He said he will take Seth's corpse out back and put it down once and for all at Mania.

Ivar vs Ricochet

Ric flying shoulders him and just bounces off. Ivar blocks his armdrag then shoulders him over. Ric flips over Ivar's back then backflips into a headscissors. Ric dropkicks him out then misses a plancha outside. Ric goes for a move on the ropes and is knocked down to the floor. We go to break and return.

Ivar chinlocks him an se him crossbody him against the LED board ring skirts during the break. Ric superkicks him then Ivar butt drops him in the corner. Ric is thrown into the LED board ringskirts then Ivar misses a crossbody against them. Ric flying space tiger drops him.

Ric springboard lariats Ivar then standing ssp's him. Ric handspring back elbows him then Ivar spinning heel kicks him. Ivar tiger drivers him for 2. Ivar misses a bronco buster.

Ric pumping knees him then is caught on a springboard, taking a spinning slam. Ivar then springboard twisting crossbodies him. Ivar misses a top rope moonsault. Ivar is caught on a crossbody and Ric fallaway slams him. Ric top rope 630's Ivar and wins it.

It was a good match here with both guys putting forth a good effort. Ric did his flying and Ivar used his weight against him. Ric got some big shine by catching and slamming him here and the two worked well together. 

We see Judgment Day/Legado in their hideout watching the Ricochet match. Priest said he doesn't get why Ric hasn't been handled yet. Priest asks if they are The Judgment Day. JD says he will do it in the battle royale on Smackdown. Finn says he's sick of Ric and asks what kind of name it is. Dom says he has the man for the job if JD can't do it and brings in Andrade. Andrade and Santos shake hands. Dom tells Andrade he will be made a full member of Judgment Day if he handles Ric. Andrade agrees. Rhea said she heard Becky i on her way to the ring and leaves. Priest asks Dom if they are using his darts.

Becky Lynch comes out. She said she came looking for a fight. She said she started a fight earlier and they can finish it now. Becky tells Rhea to come out and fight her.

Adam Pearce comes out. He gets booed and said he's the April Fool for trying to do the right thing. He said they are not doing this tonight as they don't want to jeopardize the Rhea/Becky match. Pearce asks her to leave the ring. Rhea Ripley then comes out. Pearce tells her to save it for Mania.

Rhea throws something at him then starts nailing the security guards. She and Becky hockey fight. Rhea taks her down and pounds on her. Becky fights off the security guards then dives off the top onto the guards and Rhea. The guards then separate them.

I don't like the girls beating up on the guys. It's not believable and it pushes the double standard of girls being allowed to hit guys but guys not being able to do it back.

Damage Ctrl does a promo. They said they are the most dominant fiction in the history of the women's division. Kai talks about the titles they have. Kai said they want to prove they are the future and here on Raw to see if anyone has what it takes to prove them wrong. They then announce them vs Stark, Nox and Baszler next.

The fight between Rhea and Becky continues backstage. Pearce and security can't stop it and tells security to control Rhea.

Damage Ctrl (Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane and Asuka) vs Zoey Stark, Shayna Baszler and Tegan Nox

No entrance for Nox's team. Nox gets triple teamed to start. Nox takes a double team sequence from Asuka and Sane. Dmage Ctrl take triple stereo germans then triple kicks from the faces. Nox and SB hit baseball slides then Zoey springboard plancha's outside.

We go to break and return. Zoey hits lariats on Damage Ctrl and flips over Asuka in the corner. Zoey germans Asuka then springboard dropkicks Sane. Sane ddt's Zoey off a suplex attempt. Kai and Nox go at it. Nox hits forearms then chokeslams her. Nox headbutts her in the chest then suplex lifts her into a knee. Nox running kicks her then corner snetons her.

SB sleepers Asuka, gets tripped by Sane then high kicked by Asuka. Zoey superkicks Asuka. Zoey springboards and is superkicked by Kai. Nox running euros Nox then misses a corner senton. Kai pump kiks her. Nox is held for a top rope elbow by Sane. Sane pins Nox.

I liked this one. Not perfect but it was fast paced and Zoey had a good showing here. Damage Ctrl won as expected. Not real sure why they had the heels and faces teaming up here against Damage Ctrl.

Seth Rollins is interviewed as he walks backstage to the ring. He said he only has one gear and it's pedal to the metal and empty the tank. He said he always has a Plan B. He runs into Drew McIntyre in the back. They stare down. Seth tells him he ain't dead yet. Drew says "yet".

They said there's 30 hours of WWE programming this week which is wild. Most of it is talking though of course.

Bloodline Rules - Seth Rollins vs Solo Sikoa

Seth nails Solo before he gets in then topes him. Seth bangs Solo's head off the apron and rails. Solo goes head first into the steps when Seth moves. Seth and Solo get their heads banged off the commentary table. Seth is thrown over the rail.

Seth throws chairs at Solo's head then chairs him. Seth ddt's him on a chair. Seth sets up a table in the ring then superkicks Solo. They fight on the buckles and Solo 2nd rope samoan drops him through the table. Seth's head hits the table in a bad way and he holds his head after.

We go to break and return. Seth's head is banged off the steps. Solo charges at him then goes into the steps. Seth bangs the steps off Solo's head. Seth is dropped throat first on the top rope. Seth is put on the buckles and gets hit. Seth powerbombs Solo through a table then curb stomps him.

Jimmy Uso comes down and superkicks Seth. Jey Uso comes down and they fight in the entrance way. The Rock comes out and throws Jey down. He sends him into the tron. The Rock stares down Seth in the ring. Cody Rhodes then comes out with bandages on his head. Cody hits punches on Rock and drops him.

Cody clears off the commentary table and Rock's head is banged off of it. Seth pounds on Rock. Rock and Cody are on the table. Cody teases a rock bottom then Roman Reigns pulls Cody down. Cody's head is banged off the steps. Roman trips over a table cover while fighting Seth and sends him into the post. Cody is sent into the post and the crowd chants "CM Punk".

Roman superman punches Seth then spears Cody. Rock grabs a weightlifting belt and whips Cody and Seth with it. Roman whips Cody and Seth with it. Rock whips Cody's back then he and Roman pose.

Well, technically the Solo/Seth match never ended since it was No DQ. Seth was dumb for taking that samoan drop bump on the table with Mania being this week. It was okay for what it was and they did far more than I expected. The after match stuff was okay but nothing too interesting. I do think the faces should have been protected a bit more here.

Overall thoughts: It was an okay show but not great or super memorable. They got me interested in the Sami/Gunther angle, but I think it needs more time. The women's trios match wasn't bad. Rhea/Becky had female on male violence which I don't support. Ivar/Ricochet was good, the 8-man tag was short and Sami/Reed was okay. As has been the case the last few weeks, they have done very little promotion of Cody/Roman and I still wouldn't entirely rule out Cody losing again as he is just not being protected or pushed like someone who will win.