Monday Night RAW RECAP April 9, 2018

Stephanie McMahon kicks off the show and the crowd is just unapologetically SAVAGE! They showed her no mercy. I did feel a little bit bad for old Pee Pee Pants but the crowd had no sympathy none whatsoever! I mean she came out there limping and her arm in a brace. But she still was bragging about how Ronda turned out a great performance because of her. She felt like because she did such job pushing her to her limit, Ronda then in turn put on an amazing show and it was all because of Pee Pee Pants McMahon.

Steph called out Ronda Rousey to congratulate her and sing her praises. Ronda came down to an amazing reception and of course, Stephanie began to praise her as the newest ass kicking prize of the WWE. She congratulated her and admitted the truth. The Billion Dollar Princess lost fair and square. And then she began the same selling pitch as before, with WWE behind her she could become the next face of the company.

Ronda's reaction was to smile and appear to be receptive to her advances. Stephanie asked to hug it out. She did and then she put her in the armbar. Lol, she took that woman's brace off and rolled her arm back. If it wasn't real it looked real. Stephanie was writhing in agony. And then just like that, the segment was over.

Matches

Women's Division: Nia Jax and Ember Moon vs Alexa Bliss and Mickie James
Winner: Nia Jax and Ember Moon

Alexa decided to take a tactic out of most beaten bullies books and turn the blame on Nia Jax. Bat-Mite claimed Nia was the biggest bully and that she always covered for her. She said that no one is Nia's friend and that her attack on Mickie James left her distraught and that's why she lost the title at WrestleMania. She demanded an apology for the vicious attack on poor Mickie. But Nia wasn't budging. She let her rant until she got fed up and straight told her to shut up. She announced that she did have a partner and her name is EMBER MOON! When that woman came out the crowd went bananas. Ember is going to be FIRE! Let's hope they don't water her down too much!

The match was good from start to finish. Both sides performed beautifully but this was about Ember. Ember came ready to put on a show. She made her presence felt!

Tag Team Eliminator Match 1: Winner Faces The Bar at GRR on April 27th
The Revival vs The Good Bros (Gallows and Anderson)
Winner: The Revival

Good match. The Revival picked up the win. One mistake by Anderson he didn't keep up with the tags so he knew who was legal and who wasn't. All in all a decent match between two of the best tag teams they have to offer on RAW right now.

Men's Division: (Former NXT) No Way Jose vs Local Talent John Skylar
Winner: No Way Jose

Well, No Way Jose has the same gimmick of his previous counterparts: Adam Rose, The Godfather, etc. It's okay. Nothing amazing but a solid gimmick. He is extremely high energy and just a ball of fun. When the bell rang though he performed beautifully. I really like his in-ring capability. The fun and games are cool but I'm really curious to see what he's capable of. But only time will tell. This gimmick didn't work well for Adam Rose it lasted for a bit and then the WWE Universe got annoyed. However, we shall see.

Women's Division: Sasha Banks vs Mandy Rose
Winner: Mandy Rose

This match started strange Absolution came out together with their "manager" Paige. Mandy Rose was set to wrestle Sasha Banks who came out alone. As you all know recently Sasha and Bayley have been on the outs. And it's clear they haven't resolved anything. But before the match could begin Bayley came out. Came on the ring apron and went in the ring for her entrance. Then appeared to be in Sasha's corner. This was a MASSIVE mistake. For weeks now Absolution has been capitalizing on the issues of these former best friends. It happened a few weeks ago, it happened last week, and this week as well. Now during the match, Mandy pushed Bayley and Bayley reacted. But instead of hitting Mandy she ended up knocking out Sasha and leaving. Sasha got beat because of Bayley's interference. The building anger and betrayal between these two is going to clash in a match tonight. Hmmm isn't the first part of the superstar shakeup tonight 😏?

Tag Team Division: AOP (Authors of Pain) vs Heath Slater & Rhyno
Winner: AOP

Clearly, Slater and Rhyno have been getting paid well to job aka losing every match they've been in lately. But they did make a valid point. They were the 1st ever SDLive tag team champions and do deserve some level of respect. Some level, lmao. But they made the challenge and got an answer in the form of AOP. A vicious tag team who was coming off the heels of an amazing match at NXT Takeover New Orleans. If you hadn't seen it you definitely need to go watch it. It's absolutely amazing!

AOP decimated Slater and Rhyno. The Authors of Pain were brought to the main roster and they did not disappoint. However, after their win over Rhyno and Slater, they dropped their manager. They literally left him by the ring and celebrated their win on their own. Essentially telling him we no longer need you and will be taking this venture on our own. They said all this without saying a word.

Tag Team Eliminator: Woken Matt & Bray Wyatt vs Titus WorldwideWinner: Woken Matt & Bray Wyatt

Um yeah, this was hilariously a decent match. The best part was when Apollo displays his athleticism. Matt applauded him and so did Bray who was the legal man at the time. They applauded the audience applauded and so did Titus Worldwide. Which allowed the distraction and a straight up ass whooping ensued. Titus Worldwide tried to defend but the Woken era has begun and it went straight through Titus worldwide. Woken Matt and Bray Wyatt advance to the finals. 

Tonight it will be Woken Matt & Bray Wyatt vs The Revival to decide who will face The Bar on April 27th at the Greatest Royal Rumble Event.

Men's Division: Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn (BEST MATCH OF THE NIGHTStipulation: Winner Gets a Contract to be a Raw SuperstarWinner: Double Count Out 

For me, this was the best match of the night. As much shit as I give Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn I do love their in-ring work. It was a hard fought match and I enjoyed every minute of it. However, it ended with both men down unable to answer a 10 count. So it was ruled a double count out. Neither man would be getting a contract. But they may change with the superstar shakeup.

I think both men will get a contract on different shows. It's time to split them up and have been become big pieces of opposing brands. Sami has proven he can do it. Villain, Hero or Anti-Hero they need to be on separate show building rivalries and making these shows fun to watch. 

Men's Division: Seth Rollins Finn Balor & Jeff Hardy aka Bro. Nero vs The Miz and The MizTourage
Winner: Seth Rollins Finn Balor & Jeff Hardy aka Bro. Nero

Miz was not in a good mood tonight and it showed. But Seth Finn and Jeff were and they were on point tonight. They worked well together. Similar styles similar strengths and for once it didn't clash. They played well off of each other and it showed that with the right people in the ring you can have an amazing performance. The Miz and the MizTourage put up a good fight but they were no match for Seth Finn and Jeff. Rollins team won and ended the match each performing their signature moves: Curb Stomp (my favorite of the set), Coup de Grace, and Swanton Bomb on Axel and Dallas. It was a cool way to close the show.

In OTHER News

SUPERSTAR SHAKEUP WAS ANNOUNCED A 2-DAY EVENT! TOMORROW AND TUESDAY

The question is how are they going to "shake things up"? Who's going to SDLive? Whose moving to RAW? We will find out starting on RAW and ending with SDLive!

BRAUN RELINQUISHES THE TAG TEAM TITLES

At WrestleMania 34 as I previously blogged about. Nicholas (Son of a WWE Executive. Hey I found this out on the internet. It never sleeps people are always looking lurking and searching) and Braun had to relinquish the titles because Nick could not defend them. Besides he is 10 and cannot miss school. LMAO.

Well in true Bar fashion. They show up looking for a handout. And when Kurt refuses they get all huffy of course. But he does have a plan. Since they current title holders cant defend and have relinquished the belts there is no one to challenge to regain the belts. So a tag team eliminator tournament was created. With the 4 tag teams competing to compete for a shot at the titles. The winner will be decided tonight and they will go on to face Cesaro and Sheamus aka The Bar at the GRR Event on April 27th.

THE MIZ INTERRUPTS SETH "FREAKING" ROLLINS' GRAND SLAM MOMENT

Well on the heels of WrestleMania 34 Seth Freaking Rollins has declared his return and was extremely hype. He and his shield brethren have all held every single title the men's division can hold in the WWE. They are now all in an elite class called the Grand Slam champions.

Well, Finn Balor interrupted and came out to "congratulate" the new IC Champion. But he made it clear at WM 34 he wasn't pinned the previous title holder was. And he wanted to be the first person to challenge Rollins for that belt.

Interestingly enough Miz had an issue with that. And of course, he went apeshit about the bromance between Balor and Rollins. He had to explain how his family has suffered because of his loss. How his wife and newborn daughter cried. This was the most pathetic I've ever seen Miz. Using your newborn daughter for a storyline is messed up. This led to a banter between the three men and eventually a battle that got Jeff Hardy out there to even the odds a bit. Of course, the cowards backed away. So Angle made a match for later on in the night, a 6 Man Tag Team match.

BAYLEY COSTS SASHA A MATCH

For weeks now these two have been trading blows, pissing each other off, and further drifting apart. As I explained before Bayley cost Sasha this match and now they will square off tonight. I think this will be Sasha's final match on Raw. I think she will be moved in the Superstar shakeup to give the Women's division on Smackdown some more depth.

PAIGE ANNOUNCES HER IN-RING RETIREMENT

Months ago it was reported that Paige suffered another neck injury at a dark show and she was no longer cleared to compete. But the WWE never made an official announcement and neither did Paige. They pretended for months as if Paige diminished her role in Absolution to a Manager. She gave a speech and placed a t-shirt in the ring before heading the to top of the stage to take her final bow.

Paige was essential to the women's division. One of the first NXT brought ups and helped change the game for women in this sport making it more about their skill rather than their bodies and sexuality. I loved Paige as a wrestler and I'm sad that she can no longer compete but there is life outside of the WWE and within it (commentator, Manager, General Manager 😜). She has her whole life ahead of her to explore that role. 

Bobby Lashley RETURNS!

Bobby Lashley has signed back with the WWE and has been speculated to make his debut for months now. They waited until after WrestleMania 34 to pit him against Elias whom he decimated. It was light work for Lashley. I'm curious how he will fit on RAW or maybe...they'll move him to Smackdown the shakeup. Who knows where he'll end up?

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Show Up on RAW Begging for a Job

Well well well Barney Rubble and Dancing Sami show up on RAW begging for a spot. Of course, the GM had some fun with them. Classic line "I hear TNA is hiring". Real Talk I hear TNA is looking for new tv spots. Very soon TNA will be no more and Vince will have crushed another Wrestling organization unless they pick up Dolph Ziggler. If they do and let him be the face they could turn things around. But that is a long shot. Anyway after explaining to the 2 goons that there was room for only 1 other member. This pitted them against each and other and led to a match that was very good and interesting to watch.

Roman Reigns Speaks on His Match at WrestleMania 34 and Samoa Joe Returns to Respond

Roman made an appearance battered and bruised, sporting a huge knot on his forehead. Roman was not in the best of moods. But he did show up for work which is counterpart Lesnar did not 😒, per the usual. However as Roman began to speak about how disrespected he was once again. Learning of Lesnar's new contract and his impending match in a few weeks with the man that busted him open, only served to piss him off. He claimed he learned of all these changes just as everyone else did on the internet.

Well, his rant only lasted for a few minutes for Samoa Joe came out to the kick the man while he was down. He claimed Roman was full of nothing but empty promises and once Lesnar was through with him he was going to finish the job at BackLash.

Joe made those same empty promises several months back. And he didn't even have a legitimate gripe for his fight. He just wanted to prove he could beat Lesnar and he failed miserably. He got taken to Suplex City and then got injured in a separate match months later. He's been out ever since. So who's the liar really? If your ass can make those same claims and spew a bunch of bullshit that you believe in then why cant Roman do the same? In reality, Roman didn't make excuses for the match he explained how he is being railroaded and forced to face Lesnar again. Joe did his job though poking and prodding a seemingly broken man.

The last time Joe and Reigns met it was a good match. And honestly made for great tv. Joe is a great heel. He provides the perfect amount of wit and in-ring talent. He's a formidable foe for anybody.

OVERALL

It was an interesting show. Great call-ups for NXT and good spots for new rivalries as well as old rivalries to begin. Tonight's show is going to be interesting. I can't wait to see how this shakeup goes. I hope its awesome.

Until Next Time Folks...

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