Live WWE Raw Updates, Results, & Reactions

Tonight’s episode of Raw included a backstage segment possibly revealing some cracks in the foundation of Damage CTRL. Their leader, Bayley, told Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai that she didn’t get much of a definitive answer from Adam Pearce about the women getting another shot at the Women’s Tag Team Championships.

When Bayley explained that she was put in a triple threat match tonight to determine a new #1 contender for the Raw Women’s Championship, Iyo and Dakota understandably asked why they didn’t receive an opportunity like that.

Bayley then sacrificed her place for Iyo. But when Iyo managed to pull the victory out over Piper Niven and Michin, it looked like Bayley was conflicted at ringside. After the red brand went off the air tonight, Byron Saxton asked Iyo Sky how her match with Bianca Belair will go.

I’m going to be the new Raw Women’s Champion. Iyo Sky will be the new Raw Women’s Champion. That’s it!

The date of Raw Women’s Title match between Iyo Sky and Bianca Belair has yet to be revealed, but we will keep you updated.

Are things looking up for #DamageCTRL?#RAWTalk
▶️ @peacock pic.twitter.com/znk0mU1AUn

— WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2023

This Friday’s SmackDown has a few things already advertised, including a match between two silver-tongued stars: Xavier Woods and LA Knight. After a couple of run-ins with each other in recent weeks, the two agreed to a match on the April 14 SmackDown to settle the score.

Before the bout, Xavier took to social media and gave a heartfelt promo about this victory’s importance to him.

Right now, you and I have a problem. See, LA, for the past few weeks, you have felt the need to enter into my space and you’ve had the audacity to speak to me as if I can’t beat you. As if I were to get knocked down, I couldn’t come back. And a comeback, that’s an interesting concept, so let’s talk about it because if you were powerbombed on a set of steel steps, could LA Knight come back? … I don’t know if LA Knight can come back (from the things I’ve been through), but I do know Xavier Woods already has. So, LA, it’s time to wake up because I’m not letting you sleep on me anymore.

Also scheduled for this Friday is the return of former WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, as well as the latest in the happenings between The Bloodline and Riddle, Kevin Owens, & Sami Zayn.

On #SmackDown this Friday night @RealLAKnight realizes his mistake… https://t.co/RKn67AUfzf pic.twitter.com/NonrZaesb2

— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) April 10, 2023

That’s all she wrote, folks! Another WWE Raw is in the books, and we now have Friday’s WWE SmackDown awaiting with the next chapter in The Bloodline saga. Unfortunately, when it comes to the red brand, not much has been revealed about what will happen on next week’s episode.

The only thing currently confirmed for Raw is that Brock Lesnar will return. Not only is the WWE Universe curious about what inspired his shocking attack on Cody Rhodes, but we also want to know whether he’ll accept Cody’s challenge for a one-on-one match at Backlash.

We can predict that other storylines will continue to play out, including Trish Stratus’ shocking heel turn on Becky Lynch and the issues seemingly beginning to brew between Damage CTRL’s Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai, and Bayley.

The Bloodline is teaming up as a trio to beat down Kevin Owens. Suddenly, the camera shows Riddle and Sami Zayn rushing to the ring. The announcers say they just made it from the airport!

They begin fighting off The Bloodline, finishing things off with a jumping knee from Riddle and an exploder suplex in the corner from Sami. Jimmy eats a stunner from Owens. As Sami tries to hit Jey with the Helluva kick, Solo pulls him out of the ring for the save. Raw goes off the air with Zayn, Owens, and Riddle standing tall in the ring as The Bloodline retreats up the ramp. Solo wants some more action, but The Usos pull him back.

We return from (hopefully) our final commercial break with Solo continuing to chip away at Owens’ leg. Kevin fights back with some kicks, but it is futile. Solo tries for a Samoan drop but Owens elbows his way out of it, following that up with a DDT. “Let’s go, KO!” chants ring out while they slowly make it up to their feet. The men exchange rights, but Kevin gets spiked with an uppercut. Solo runs into the corner but is met with a kick to the face.

Solo runs into the top of the turnbuckles and eats a superkick. Owens struggles to stay in it because of his leg, which lets Solo hit his own superkick as he’s staggered. Solo sets him up on the top rope and hits him with a right hand. Kevin pushes Solo off the top and uses a huge frog splash for another close two count! Owens limps over and tries for the stunner. Sikoa reverses it into a Samoan drop. He’s then directed by The Usos to climb to the top rope, but before he can hit his splash, Owens kicks his feet out from under him. Owens stays on the attack, also climbing up to the top rope.

Owens struggles to hit his signature avalanche twisting fisherman buster. He refuses to give up, though. Several punches and headbutts follow, but Solo still won’t let it happen. Owens tosses Solo off the top rope, but now The Usos are getting involved. Owens is fighting everyone off by himself! He heads to the top rope and hits a picture-perfect swanton bomb. But no, it’s only a two count! That may have been his last real chance!

They stumble to their feet. Owens is up first, trying for a pop-up powerbomb. He almost got it all, but his knee still buckled a bit. He went for a stunner but The Usos give another distraction to steal the victory from him. Solo with a Samoan Spike for the victory.

We return from the break at the tail end of Solo Sikoa’s entrance. It is then announced that Brock Lesnar returns to WWE Raw next week! Whether or not he will respond to Cody Rhodes’ challenge remains to be seen.

Kevin heads down to the ring, and this one is on! Immediately, the two men just start throwing rights back and forth. Solo kicks at Owens’ injured leg, forcing him to buckle down to his knees. Solo with more stomps on the leg, over and over, as Owens writhes in pain. Kevin throws a right and a chop. He comes off the ropes, but Solo pushes straight through him, knocking him back down to the mat. Owens comes to the outside and nails Jey with a punch. He then manages to toss Solo into the steel steps.

Owens gives the DX “su*k it” to The Usos and then uses a senton in the ring on Solo. He gets only a two-count. Owens tries for a vertical suplex but isn’t able to deliver it. His knee tweaks, and Solo kicks his weight out from under him. Sikoa uses a running hip attack on Owens in the corner as we head to another commercial break.

Byron Saxton is about to ask Kevin Owens if he’s wise to be competing after his leg getting injured last week. Owens says he’s never been the smartest guy, but his mind is telling him that someone needs to beat the hell out of Solo for what he’s done. Since Sami and Riddle are absent, he’s the only person that can take care of it. He tells Saxton he’ll do what his shirt says: “Just keep fighting.”

Next up is our main event! Solo Sikoa vs. Kevin Owens!

Piper Niven is in control when we come back, but Iyo then jumps on her back and secures a sleeper hold. It isn’t enough; Piper throws Iyo on top of Michin and then hits a running crossbody on both women as the crowd gasps.  During the break, Piper also crushed Michin with a running senton splash. Iyo tries to regain control by tying Niven up in the ropes with her legs. Michin up on the top rope but is hit with the hurricanrana to send her flying.

Piper puts Iyo on the apron but she hits her with a springboard missile dropkick. Michin gets some offense in on Iyo, with several kicks and a modified dragon suplex. Michin Irish whips Iyo into Piper, which results in Niven slamming her into the mat with a uranage. Michin uses the code red on Piper for another close two count! What a close one! Iyo breaks up a pinfall by using her signature moonsault on Michin, and then covers her for the three count.

Dakota Kai is ecstatic she’s become the #1 contender, but Bayley doesn’t seem super jazzed about it.

Back from the break, Piper Niven and Michin make their respective entrances. (Btw, isn’t it so nice she’s not named Doudrop anymore?!)

The bell rings and Niven immediately slams into Iyo. Michin off the ropes with a few strikes and an attempt at a sunset flip. She manages to get in a kick to the head as Iyo climbs up to the top rope. Niven is hit with a dropkick to send her out of the ring. Michin and Iyo go at it, with Michin delivering a flapjack on Iyo. She’s thrown out of the ring but connects with a suicide dive on Niven. Iyo Sky follows up with a springboard moonsault to the outside on both her competitors as we go to the next commercial break!

Still up tonight, Kevin Owens vs. Solo Sikoa!

Iyo Sky begins to make her entrance, signifying that Sky has taken Bayley’s place in this triple-threat match. Next up, Piper Niven vs. Michin vs. Sky in a triple threat #1 contender’s match to earn a shot at the Raw Women’s Title.

When we return, we see Jimmy maintaining control and pulling Gable away from his corner. Jey gets a cheapshot kick on Gable that puts him in the corner. Jimmy tries to follow up with the running hip attack off the turnbuckles, but Gable catches him in an exploder suplex. Jey and Otis both tag in, but nothing can compete with the big man. He hits several knees on The Usos to stagger them and then runs through them as the crowd cheers.

Jimmy gets a blind tag in. Otis still maintains the advantage, catching Jimmy in mid-air and slamming him for another two count. The crowd rallies as Otis strips off his shirt and delivers his signature worm-to-elbow drop. He places Jimmy on his shoulders and they connect with an avalanche bulldog for the two count (Jey broke it up). The Usos set Otis up outside the ring, but he first catches Jey. Jimmy follows up and tackles him over the commentary table. Suddenly, Gable hits both of The Usos with a moonsault to the outside. He quickly pushes Jimmy back in the ring and delivers a flying headbutt off the top for a 2 and 7/8 count! It’s so close!

They slowly reach their feet where reversals lead into an ankle lock from Gable. Jey gets a tag, and The Usos reverse Gable’s rolling German suplex into a 1D for the three-count. The Usos get that W!

Both teams make their respective entrances – The Usos before the commercial and Alpha Academy after. Jey and Otis are going to get things going here. They lock up, with Otis easily shoving Jey off. Jey with a standing switch on Otis, but he’s immovable. Otis bumps him off and begins flexing for the crowd. Jey’s attempt at a sunset flip is also unsuccessful, allowing Otis to tag in Gable.

Chad and Otis hit Jey together, but the advantage switches hands. Jey slips a tag on Jimmy, and his brother comes in swinging. He sits Gable on the top rope, but Chad turns his strikes into an armbar on the ropes. Gable then nails a flying clothesline off the top rope for a two-count. He then mounts Jimmy in the corner and nails ten punches with a “shoosh!” added in before the last. He’s showing off his wrestling skills as he continues the assault on Jimmy.

Jey gets a blind tag, and things change up suddenly. They break down Gable and then superkick Otis off the ring apron as we go to another commercial. Stay tuned, folks!

We see replays from this past Friday when Kevin Owens was found with his leg crushed, and then Solo Sikoa helped Jey Uso pull a victory out over Sami Zayn. That’s when Riddle made his return to SmackDown and saved Zayn!

Up next, Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. The Alpha Academy’s Chad Gable & Otis!

Cody comes down to the ring in a suit and is handed a microphone. The crowd is hot for “The American Nightmare!” Cody asks Seattle what they want to talk about. He usually has a singular focus, like when it was about Seth Rollins, his torn pec, or his journey to WrestleMania. Now that he’s got issues with Brock Lesnar, things are a bit more cloudy.

At WrestleMania, he lost against Roman Reigns. Cody wants the blame to be on him for what happened. He lost, and for that, he’s sorry. Once the dust had settled, his dear friend Matt asked him if wins/losses really mattered anymore because of his success. Wasn’t the main event enough? The other thing he heard was Heyman saying if he were to ever challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship again, he would need to earn it.

Cody questions what that even means? He’s done it all in his career other than win the major belt. “Earn it? I am it!” Cody bellows into the mic. Now this unfinished story has a whole new wrinkle in it, and it’s named Brock Lesnar. He points out how messed up it was that Brock attacked him after what he went through at ‘Mania. If it was because of his spot on the WrestleMania card, he could understand that.

Cody is suspicious that it’s because Lesnar isn’t convinced that “The American Nightmare” is worth all the hype. Why Cody over him? But Cody mentions all of Brock’s accomplishments over his career – all things that he should be proud of. Does he see Cody as just another victim? Rhodes says that he’s scared of Brock Lesnar. Just because he’s scared of him doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to fight him. Rhodes says when Lesnar isn’t ready, he will pounce and get his revenge. For the first time in Brock’s life, Cody wants him to feel like he is prey and a victim. Cody wants him one-on-one at Backlash!

We come back with Lashley rushing Reed in the corner, only to get met with boots in the mush. Reed keeps him in the corner with several shots, but momentum changes hands again with Lashley nailing running splashes in the corner. The crowd rallies as Lashley powers Reed over with a vertical suplex. “The All Mighty” tries to connect with The Hurt Lock but Bronson is too large! He throws all his weight on Lashley and makes him crumble to the mat.

Reed climbs to the top rope, but Bobby tried to stop him. Bronson rakes the eyes of Lashley. He leaps off the ropes with a leaping thesz press to squash Lashley under his weight. Reed picks him up, where Lashley comes off the ropes with an attempt at a spear. Reed with a knee to counter. Lashley still powers Reed up with a massive spinebuster into the mat. He tries again for the hurt lock but he simply cannot get it in.

They tumble to the outside, where Lashley runs full-force into Lashley. They struggle for supremacy as the ref counts them out to ten. The bell rings but things are far from over, it appears! They rumble on the outside with shot after shot (some looked pretty rough, too). They’re broken up by producers and referees.

Cody Rhodes is up next!

The bell sounds and the big boys lock up! Reed tries to take control but Bobby fights back with an elbow, a clubby blow, and kicks in the corner. Reed battles back with several headbutts to Lashley. “The All Mighty” regains control quickly with a clothesline in the corner. He attempts a vertical suplex but he can’t manage to get him up quite yet. Reed reverses and tosses Lashley abdomen-first onto the top rope. The two men battle on the apron until Lashley slams reed on the top of the post.

He tries to climb back in the ring but is kicked hard. Outside the ring, Reed jumps off the apron with a leaping shoulder tackle. We go to another commercial break as the crowd rallies behind Bobby.

We come back with some statistics from WrestleMania 39. Following that, we see the replays from before the break, where Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. The aftermath of Trish attacking Becky is shown, too.

Backstage, Byron Saxton asks Stratus why she did what she did, but she just walks away expressionless.

We see that Cody Rhodes addressing the Brock Lesnar attack will be coming up soon. A replay is also shown of Triple H from Friday Night SmackDown announcing that the WWE Draft will be returning soon.

Backstage, Dakota Kai wonders why Bayley has been talking to Adam Pearce for so long. Bayley then comes out and tells Damage CTRL that she tried to get them a tag title match, but Pearce was only focused on the draft. Bayley says she couldn’t make it happen, but she does get a triple threat match tonight with Michin and Piper Niven, with the winner possibly getting a future Women’s Title match against Bianca Belair. Iyo and Dakota ask why they aren’t getting that opportunity, to which Bayley says she can see if Pearce will put one of them in instead of her.

Bobby Lashley is making his way down to the ring! He’ll battle Bronson Reed after the break!

Cathy Kelly asks Paul Heyman to provide some insight on Brock Lesnar attacking Cody Rhodes last week. He says he can shed some light on it, but he wants to focus on Kevin Owens vs. Solo Sikoa tonight. Heyman says that Zayn and Riddle are both missing from the show tonight because of “flight delays,” but it was really because they were scared of dealing with Solo tonight.

Heyman says Kevin isn’t as bright as those two men, so tonight, he comes in with zero allies and one leg. He’s going to be the one-legged man in a fight with the problem solver, Sikoa. The Usos, Heyman, and Solo are all here tonight. “We the ones,” he says before walking away.

Inside the ring, Becky holds up Trish’s hand, and they seem to be squashing their beef. Lynch hugs Trish. But, omg! Stratus just turned on Becky! A hard chick kick sends Becky crumbling to the mat. Trish says something to Becky, but it’s hard to fully understand what she tells Lynch.

We come back with Becky and Trish in control. Trish puts Liv in a seated headlock as the crowd rallies. Morgan fights Trish off, but both women collide in the center of the ring and slam one another face-first. Raquel and Becky both tag in, but Raquel has the strength advantage. Two clotheslines and a fallaway slam from Raquel, followed by a twisting senton for a two count.

She stays on Becky but is leg scissored into the corner turnbuckles. Lynch to the top rope and nails a missile dropkick for another close two. Rodriguez bounces Becky face-first off the top rope and then climbs up to the top. But no, Becky meets her up there and slams her head repeatedly into Rodriguez. She tags in Trish, and they come over to team up on Raquel in the corner. She won’t budge! Raquel tosses Lynch off and then delivers a stratusphere off the very top! No, it’s only a two-count.

Lynch gets tagged back in and sets Raquel up on the ring apron so they can hit a tandem leg drop. It still only grants a two. Raquel is a durable lady, y’all. She fights off Lynch and hits a backbreaker. Liv gets tagged in finally and uses an assisted tornado DDT. She covers Becky several times but never gets that three-count. The crowd chants for Becky as she tosses Liv face-first into her team’s corner. They trade tags and then bring Liv to the top rope; before they can hit a teamed superplex, Raquel runs over and hits a double powerbomb while the superplex is delivered.

Understandably, everyone is slow to get to the top. Morgan with a schoolboy rollup for a two-count on Lynch. Both women trade punches. It seems there is some sort of miscommunication between Trish and Lynch (storyline). Still, Becky can hit a modified diamond dust on Raquel while also landing on Liv for a two-count. Becky with the disarmher! Raquel kicks her off of Liv. Trish comes in and uses the stratusfaction to take out Raquel. Liv and Becky struggle until, eventually, “The Man” hits the manhandle slam. She almost gets a two, but she is pulled off by Raquel. Trish tags in and tries to hit Liv with the chick kick, but no, she’s rolled up by Liv and loses the match for her team. We’ve got new women’s tag team champions!

We return from the break to see a video hyping up Seth Rollins.

Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez enter together as Trish and Becky watch from the ring. Becky looks ticked off about Lita being hurt. Raquel and Liv look hella excited tonight; they might be going over this evening. It might also be that they’re wrestling one of their heroes: Trish Stratus.

Raquel and Becky start out with Lynch shoving Raquel and asking if she was the one to attack Lita. Raquel shoves powers her into the corner while she yells that she didn’t do it. Lynch attempts a crossbody, but she’s caught and tackled into Liv’s corner. Morgan taunts Trish before she works with Rodriguez for some tandem offense. Two count on Lynch. They trade inside cradles for respective two counts. Liv nails a running knee on Becky in the corner, followed by a dropkick and a double stomp on her back for a two-count.

Becky gets back up and strikes Liv to stagger her. Trish tags in and tries for a clothesline. Liv goes into a backbend to avoid but is swiped out. Stratus meets Liv on the top rope with a Stratusphere. She then tags in Lynch, who comes in with a leg drop for a close two-count. We’re heading to another break!

Graves says that Lesnar hasn’t given a clear reason for what he did, but there is speculation as to why. Rhodes is okay, though.

We go backstage, where we see Becky Lynch being asked about Lita. Lynch says she’s in a local medical facility, and though they don’t know who did it, she’ll slap that person’s face off. Lita can’t wrestle tonight, so Trish Stratus is actually going to step in to defend in her place. Adam Pearce is on board.

We’ll see Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan challenge Becky Lynch & Trish Stratus for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles next!

We return from the commercial break to a replay of Brock Lesnar attacking Cody Rhodes last week on Raw.

We see footage from earlier today where Cathy Kelly was interviewing The Alpha Academy. Maxxine Dupri shows up and starts criticizing Gable, but we suddenly hear screaming from down the hall.

LIta is on the floor, holding her head in her hands while Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez call for help. Officials show up with Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus, who both seem a bit uncertain that Liv and Raquel don’t know what happened. It appears Lita might not be able to compete tonight!

Soon, we’ll see what’s next between Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes…

Returning from the commercial, Finn is hit with a dropkick and a bulldog.

Graves just said they have an update on a situation regarding the women’s tag team title match tonight! We’ll let you know.

Rey climbs to the top rope and delivers a seated senton, followed by a springboard splash off the second rope for a close two count! Rey attempts a 619 but is thwarted, but no, Rey sets him up once more. Finn comes back with a clothesline, though! Rey with a shotgun dropkick into the corner, followed by the preparation for the coupe de grace. His hesitation while interacting with Dominik allows Rey to meet him on the top rope. Ten headbutts followed by a top-rope hurricanrana for a two count!

Rey manages to set Finn up and hit a 619! He then climbs to the top rope and goes for a frog splash a la Eddie Guerrero, but Finn sticks his knees up and rolls Rey up for a two count. They struggle for the advantage, with Finn dropping Rey face-first into the top turnbuckle. He attacks Rey at the turnbuckles until the ref pulls him away for the five count. Dom tries to attack Rey with a steel chain while the referee is distracted, but Mysterio fights him off and attacks both Finn and Dom on the outside of the ring.

Rey tosses Finn back in, but that allows Dom to get the hit with the steel chain. The crowd boos in disgust! Finn sets Rey up and delivers the coupe de grace for the 3 count. Balor wins it!

The bell rings, and Finn kicks Rey right in the abdomen. He chops him in the corner and follows it up with a hard Irish whip. No time wasted by “The Prince.” Rey is mounted and hit with punches, but he then slides under Finn and hits ten mounted punches of his own. Balor comes off the ropes, but he’s hit with a basement dropkick, followed by leg scissors to send Fin tumbling. An attempt at a bulldog is reversed, giving Finn the advantage.

Balor with springboard stomps from the bottom rope onto Rey’s chest. Chops follow, and then an elbow to Rey’s face for a two-count. Finn puts in a headlock to ground the high-flyer. Mysterio makes it to his feet and nails some elbows, but Finn just beats him back down and crushes his throat on the second rope. Rey finally battles back with a kick and another leg scissors to send Finn sliding out of the ring. A baseball slide and a running splash from the ring to the outside from Rey! We head to another commercial break.

Back from the replay, Dom says Bad Bunny makes some good songs, but the sound of him going through a table was music to his ears. He hopes Bunny learned a lesson and stays out of Judgment Day’s business. Rey spoke with Bunny, and he promised he’ll be back soon. Even more, Bunny will make them sorry for what they did.

Dom says these are just more empty words from a deadbeat dad. Rey tells Dom to grow some balls and take care of things on his own instead of getting Judgment Day involved every time. “The Master of the 619” asks for a WrestleMania rematch tonight in Seattle. “Woah, woah, woah,” Dom says. He doesn’t want to fight his own dad tonight, but he knows someone who will – Finn Balor. We head to a commercial break.

Rey Mysterio greets the Seattle crowd with some classic Eddie Guerrero lines. He says that there have been a lot of ups and downs for him this year. Last weekend should have been huge for him because he was being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. On top of that, competing at WrestleMania is a huge feat, but instead, he had to battle his own son. Rey wishes things could have been different.

Dominik comes out and tells Rey to keep his name out of his mouth. He tells him that Rey always makes everything about himself. Dom says Rey never cared about him, so he’s better off with Judgment Day. Rey says Judgment Day are a bunch of selfish idiots using him. That’s when Dom says Rey is the only person that uses him. He says Bad Bunny would have gotten a serious beating at WrestleMania for helping Rey out to win. Dom calls for a replay to be shown of Bad Bunny interfering at ‘Mania, which then leads to the confrontation between Bad Bunny and Judgment Day at Raw.

Corey Graves on commentary has confirmed that several WWE stars are missing this evening, but the stars that are in the house will give the best show they can!

Let’s get this party started! Reports indicate that a lot of talent is missing tonight, so seeing what’s in store for us this evening will be fascinating.

Kevin Patrick welcomes us to Raw! First out is WWE Hall of Famer, Rey Mysterio!

We noted just a little while ago how Vince McMahon is not attending Raw this evening, and several rewrites have been made to the script due to the superstars experiencing travel issues.

Andrew Zarian has now followed up on that report, stating that 50% (yes, half!) of the Raw roster has not arrived in Seattle due to unexpected travel issues. This likely explains why WWE pulled advertisements for The Miz vs. Riddle and Damian Priest addressing his attack on Bad Bunny last week.

Stay tuned for updates, and join us for live coverage starting shortly!

Piggybacking on @SeanRossSapp’s initial report here regarding tonight’s show.

50% of the raw roster has still not arrived to Seattle, due to travel issues,
and there have been major re-writes for Monday night raw this evening. #wweraw pic.twitter.com/EM8Cy8LSyV

— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) April 10, 2023

AEW’s Matt Hardy has spent his entire adult life committed to professional wrestling, including his legendary run in WWE alongside his brother, Jeff. This allowed Matt to grow relatively close to Vince McMahon, so seeing where the Chairman of the Board is now after the UFC – WWE merger, Matt has some opinions on how things will be unfolding in the company.

It’s been reported that Vince will only be influencing creative occasionally when he has the time to or is in attendance backstage for a show. Though he’s informed the press that he won’t have the opportunity to be around the live events often, Matt thinks the opposite will occur.

“My gut says if he’s back in the you know, if he’s back in the iron throne, as the king, you know, I think when it comes to Game of Thrones, I think you’ll be there much more often than not. Yeah, that’s just my guess. That’s my guess.”

You can read more about this story here.

We’re less than an hour away from WWE Raw, and ahead of the show, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp has taken to Twitter with an update on Vince McMahon. Apparently, Vince is not at the show this evening, which is a switch-up from last week when he was influencing several last-minute changes to the Raw script.

Furthermore, it’s being reported that travel issues have caused several changes to tonight’s episode of the red brand. This might explain why Riddle vs. The Miz and Damian Priest addressing the Bad Bunny attack are no longer advertised.

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.

We're told Vince McMahon isn't at Raw today but there were a lot of travel issues this morning that caused a lot of changes to the show. We'll have the rundown on https://t.co/jy8u4a7WDa as soon as we can

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) April 10, 2023

WWE Hall of Famer Madusa, who currently serves as a producer for the National Wrestling Alliance, was thoroughly impressed with the top matches that took place at WrestleMania 39. In her opinion, Triple H and WWE made the right call putting Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns as the top main event of the night because no other stories could compare to the narrative they were telling.

Expanding on that, Madusa thinks that an incredible WrestleMania women’s match, like Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley this past year, will never make it to main event night two of ‘Mania because there haven’t been stories that facilitate it.

“I know they say they do, they’re given them that platform, and they get all of this stuff, but that whole Bloodline, that whole match, it was Cody Rhodes, and I’m sorry, but it was so good, and I can’t think of one woman’s match during WrestleMania that would have carried WrestleMania. I have to take (Triple H’s) side and I’m a woman. If I think it’s right, I’m going to say it. Is it what it is. Those are my feelings. Those are my facts.” (h/t WrestlingNews.co)

You can read more about this story here.

It’s that time of the week once again when AEW Dark: Elevation drops a new episode on YouTube. This week’s show will conclude with a huge tag team match highlighting the Jericho Appreciation Society’s “Daddy Magic” Matt Mendar, “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker, and Jake Hager.

You can see the full card below:

• Jericho Appreciation Society’s “Daddy Magic” Matt Mendar, “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker, and Jake Hager vs. Zack Clayton, Jack Tomlinson, and Mike Magnum
• Kip Sabian, The Butcher, and The Blade vs. MAO, Yukio Ino, and Shunma Katsumata
• Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, and John Silver vs. Aaron Rourke, Alvin Alvarez, and Brother Greatness
• The Firm’s Big Bill and Lee Moriarty vs. Rex Lawless and Traxx
• Ashley D’Amboise vs. Maki Itoh
• Matt Hardy and Isaiah Kassidy vs. Bobby Orlando and BRG
• Emi Sakura vs. Mizuki

WrestleMania 39 was a major milestone in the world of professional wrestling when, for the first time, a tag team title match main evented “The Grandest Stage of them All.” Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn managed to dethrone The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships in an exceptional bout, proving that a traditional singles match isn’t the only style that can shine in the main event spotlight.

One of the world’s most recognizable tag teams, FTR, is proud of their former employer for giving tag teams an opportunity at the top. Cash Wheeler took to Twitter and reacted to the match:

Hell yeah, they did [main event]. Great for them, and great for tag team wrestling.

Hell yeah they did. Great for them, and great for tag team wrestling. https://t.co/POjrg1xdtD

— Daniel “Cash” Wheeler (@CashWheelerFTR) April 10, 2023

As per usual, various matches and segments have been advertised throughout the week for tonight’s Raw, but if the latest update from the company website is anything to go off of, some of those plans may have been altered hours before showtime.

Damian Priest addressing what happened last week between him and Bad Bunny was originally slated for the red brand, but now, the WWE website has no trace of the scheduled update. Another match that has been advertised all week is The Miz vs. Riddle, but WWE’s Raw page has also removed that advertisement from the show.

The rest of the card can be seen below:

* Becky Lynch and WWE Hall of Famer Lita defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

* Next chapter in Brock Lesnar – Cody Rhodes story

Mojo Rawley never made quite the impact he wanted to in WWE. After a decent run as the Hype Bros tag team with Zack Ryder (Matt Cardona), Rawley struggled to get himself over as an individual star worthy of a main event spotlight. But that didn’t stop him from creating new pitches for his WWE character.

On his Twitter account earlier this weekend, Rawley revealed an idea he had to nickname his fans something with blatant sexual undertones.

“When I was wrestling as Mojo Rawley, I made a pitch to name my following “Raw Dawgs.” I would come to the ring and say “Where my Raw Dawgs at?” The pitch was declined before I could even finish the sentence.”

Doesn’t being a Raw Dawg sound delightful? You can read more about this story here.

When I was wrestling as Mojo Rawley, I made a pitch to name my following “Raw Dawgs.” I would come to the ring and say “Where my Raw Dawgs at?”

The pitch was declined before I could even finish the sentence.

— Dean “Mojo” Muhtadi (@MojoMuhtadi) April 8, 2023

2022 was a big year for Damage CTRL, first debuting together at SummerSlam and then proceeding to capture the Women’s Tag Team Championships on multiple occasions. But this year has unfortunately not been as eventful for the group, even leading to the loss of their Tag Team Titles and an important six-person match at WrestleMania 39.

In a new interview, Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai discussed what changes the faction might consider implementing as we head into the Summertime. One interesting idea she presented was to bring in a new member to the team.

“Yes,” Kai agreed. “NXT talent, Smackdown talent, Raw talent, I think we’re constantly looking to see what the next step is for us, and we’ll see what happens after WrestleMania, too. Maybe we want to expand a little bit … Maybe add more people; I don’t know. We’ll see.” (h/t Haus of Wrestling)

John Oliver is one talk show host that perfectly balances humor into his reporting during the HBO show, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” This week was no different after he touched on the WWE – UFC merger and then roasted Vince McMahon’s new mustache.

“He looks like the answer to the question, ‘What if Salvador Dali chose to live without imagination?’” Oliver said. “He looks like he’s about to challenge someone to a balloon race around the world. He looks like Vincent Price having an allergic reaction to being stung by bees. He looks like a circus owner from the 1930s who harasses the dancers, mistreats the animals for fun, and is eventually murdered by a lion while the whole town cheers.” (h/t Wrestling Inc.)

Oliver has spoken on the subject of WWE several times in the past, previously touching on subjects like the company’s ties to Saudi Arabia, WWE wrestlers being independent contractors, and Ted Dibiase’s welfare scandal.

Wrestling Twitter, I present to you @iamjohnoliver mocking Vince McMahon's mustache for 1 minute and 11 seconds straight.

Media: HBO, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver pic.twitter.com/iA0aol4h5j

— David (@thedavidserras_) April 10, 2023

Happy Monday, ladies and gents! Last week’s episode of Raw left a lot of questions for the WWE Universe, including why Brock Lesnar went on a rampage and attacked his scheduled tag team partner, Cody Rhodes. Tonight should shed some light on the situation.

Until then, we’ll keep you updated on all the biggest news stories heading into this evening’s show! It was confirmed earlier today that Logan Paul has re-signed with WWE coming off his acclaimed match against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 39. It was also reported that Eric Young has returned to the company.

Elsewhere in the realm of pro wrestling news, a new report points to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson potentially returning to WWE at WrestleMania 40 next April. The Rock wrestled a brief match against Erick Rowan (Redbeard) in 2016 but hasn’t wrestled a legitimate match since battling John Cena in 2013.