The WWE Raw Reaction for April 11, 2022
Welcome to the WWE Raw Reaction, where I offer my take on this week’s show in the Motor City, Detroit, MI.
As always, you can check out John’s full in-depth report here.
We kick things off with Miz TV. Cody Rhodes is the guest. Credit to the Miz for ripping on the fans for cheering the Lions. Well, Miz, your Browns aren’t much better. Cody comes out and cuts a solid promo on Miz. It was funny watching Miz correct Cody on the wrestler and belt terms. Anyway, this was a great way to set up their (announced) match for later in the night. I was surprised to see how solid Cody has gotten on the mic. It was impressive.
Our opening contest was Veer Mahaan destroying Dominik Mysterio in a Three Minute Raw Special. Dominik even did the stretcher job to help put Mahaan over as a monster. I wonder if this will lead to him going down to NXT for a couple of months to freshen up?
After an “Earlier Today” fight segment between AJ Styles and Damian Priest, they come out for their match. The match was pretty good but suffered from the weird ending. Priest did an almost Undertaker-like pose in the middle of the ring with a purple light on him and that was it. I’m wondering if this was the bringing out of the Damian side? Very odd ending that even the commentary team had to acknowledge that the match was over.
Cody Rhodes taking on The Miz is next. I figured this would have been the main event, but here we are. The match was pretty good with two veterans in the ring that know how to work a good match. Cody picked up the win to continue his momentum as a top face for the red brand. This is likely the Summer of Cody and it will end with a World Title.
At least Tommaso Ciampa got to keep his name on Raw. Looks like he’ll be injected into the Kevin Owens/Ezekiel/Elias feud. I expect him to join Edge’s group once that is done.
With Rhea Ripley “in protocol”, the WWE Women’s Tag Team title match was changed to Naomi facing Liv Morgan. The match was really short with Morgan falling to 50/50 booking. *sigh*
The VIP Lounge was up next and the guest was supposed to be Omos. Bobby Lashley showed up instead. Lashley demanded answers from MVP about why he turned on him. MVP reasoned that he made Lashley and Lashley didn’t need him anymore. At least Creative gave us some kind of answer here. Lashley/Omos II will likely be at WrestleMania Backlash.
We get a terrible bachelor party 24/7 group segment. Why must the fans be tortured with this?
Adam Pearce has his hands full backstage; Austin Theory lost the Austin part of his name to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Kevin Owens wants Ezekiel to take a lie detector test, and Sonya Deville found Bianca Belair a worthy opponent.
Speaking of Bianca, here she comes to squash Queen Zelina. At least Vega got to keep her queen gimmick since Xavier Woods lost his king gimmick. Deville wanders out to have Belair sign an open contract. Like the typical midcard face, she signs it and Deville announces Belair’s opponent as a returning superstar…Sonya Deville. Deville attacks Belair and signs the open contract to the shock of no one. I guess Asuka and/or Bayley weren’t available to return. Let’s just hope that Belair obliterates Deville in short order and does not get sucked into a pointless six-month feud like Naomi did.
Oh lord, the 24/7 crew bachelorette party was even worse. Nikki A.S.H. couldn’t even make the slide all the way down the bar. R-Truth announces no 24/7 fighting until after the double wedding next week. There’s going to be another segment. I’m sure Vince and the bobbleheads thought it was the most hilarious thing they ever saw.
RK-Bro faces Alpha Academy next. Gable is fantastic on the mic with his pre-match promo. The tag match was a fun one. Both teams work great together. It was kinda funny watching Gable flop over like he was suplexed when Orton hit the draping DDT on him. RK-Bro won cleanly, surprisingly, after an RKO on Gable. Why must Otis be protected against ending the loss? It’s Orton and an RKO. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before.
After the match, The Usos show up and challenge RK-Bro to unify the tag titles, likely at WrestleMania Backlash. The Street Profits show up complaining that the Usos cut in line for the next title shot. Orton said enough talking, just fight it out. That was a nice way to set up the main event.
The Main Event is The Usos taking on The Street Profits to get a Raw Tag Team Title match. This match was simply amazing. I still believe that the Usos cannot have a bad match with anybody. The Usos picked up the expected win and were left standing tall over the Street Profits and RK-Bro to close out the show.
Let’s take a look at tonight’s highs and lows.
The Highs
The last half hour or so with the RK-Bro/Alpha Academy and Street Profits/Usos matches was a great way to close out the show. Both matches were great and all four teams shined. My only issue with the Bloodline wanting all of the titles is it is the exact same angle NXT is running with Toxic Attraction. The Toxic Attraction angle is more interesting, though.
Cody Rhodes looked great tonight and it’s good to see that he is getting the mega push he is getting. The Summer of Cody should be fantastic.
The Lows
Just because Vince dies laughing at the 24/7 segments, it doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to suffer through them. That title is way past its expiration date.
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That’s all I’ve got, until next time.