WWE Raw went live from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 29. The show featured the night 2 of the WWE Draft 2024. Logan Paul returned to the show. Sami Zayn defended his IC Championship. We witnessed a mega six-man tag match involving Judgment Day. Let’s talk about what happened on Monday Night Raw.
Parking Lot
We saw Logan Paul entering alongside IShowSpeed and Patrick Mahomes from the Super Bowl. Judgment Day arrived, too.
Priest said that the US Title looks great on Paul. Logan returned the favor by praising Judgment Day’s work. They entered the arena together.
Becky Lynch Kicked Off
The new Women’s World Champion, Becky Lynch, kicked off the show. She entered to a loud ovation from the crowd.
Becky mentioned how she became The Man six years ago in the same city in Kansas. Lynch said that she is holding a World Title after two years and will hold it tight now. She talked about what’s next for her.
Liv Morgan interrupted the champion. Morgan claimed that Lynch owed her a championship opportunity because she wouldn’t be holding the title if Ripley wasn’t injured.
Liv said she would take everything she wanted because this was the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour. Nia Jax arrived and said it was her last night on Raw when she had been drafted to SmackDown.
Jax tried to enter the ring, but Morgan dropkicked her. Liv accepted Nia’s challenge.
Grades: B
Analysis: Becky Lynch got a good reaction in front of a live audience instead of the criticism she was facing online. Liv and Jax will face each other later tonight.
Draft Round 1 Picks:
Stephanie McMahon announced the Round 1 Picks in WWE Draft night 2.
Raw: Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser
SmackDown: Jade Cargill
Raw: Damage CTRL
SmackDown: Kevin Owens
Gunther vs. Xavier Woods
Woods avoided a few chops initially and sent Gunther to the outside. Gunther moved away from a baseball slide and chopped Woods down.
The Ring General dominated Xavier with chops, a sloop, and a short-arm lariat. Woods fought back with a jawbreaker. Later, Woods landed a stiff drop kick from the top rope.
On the apron, Woods’ leg tied on the bottom rope. Gunther targeted the exposed leg and delivered a few vicious chops.
Gunther landed another scoop slam and continued the attack on the injured right leg. Woods got the knees up as Gunther attempted a top-rope splash.
However, this wasn’t an opening as Gunther again chopped him down and applied the single-leg crab.
Kofi grabbed a towel from the ringside area and wanted to throw it in. Woods didn’t agree. Gunther applied the STF, but Woods had to tap out.
Winner: Gunther
Results: B+
Analysis: Solid match between Gunther and Xavier Woods. The Ring General was a beast in this one.
Draft Round 2 Picks:
Logan Paul, alongside IShowSpeed, announced the Round 2 Picks.
Raw: CM Punk
SmackDown: The Pride
Raw: Braun Strowman
SmackDown: Tiffany Stratton
Braun Strowman is Back
Logan Paul and IShowSpeed entered the ring. Paul wanted to give a preview of what will happen on Saturday when Damian Priest will beat Jey Uso.
Out comes Jey Uso to a huge crowd ovation. Uso asked the audience if he could beat Priest at Backlash. The crowd cheered.
Paul said that Jey had left The Bloodline and could not win on his own. Logan said that he is tightly bound with his brother.
Finn Balor and JD McDonagh arrived. Logan told Jey that he was alone. Balor and McDonagh attacked Jey.
Logan brought Super Bowl rings from Patrick Mahomes and tried to use them as the brass knuckles. Jey sided, and the punch landed on McDonagh. Balor and Paul attacked Jey Uso.
Braun Strowman returned and delivered a big Choke slam to Balor. Logan Paul escaped through the crowd. Strowman posed for the crowd to close this segment.
Grades: B
Analysis: It was great to see Braun Strowman back in action. It was his first appearance in 2024. Logan is becoming a great heel.
Backstage: Chad Gable was with R-Truth. The Miz arrived. Truth considered it as the NFL Draft before Miz corrected him. All of a sudden, Sami Zayn laid out Gable.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Sami Zayn vs. Bronson Reed
Next up was Bronson Reed, facing Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship. After a few punches and chops from Reed, Sami sent him to the outside.
Zayn followed it up with a springboard moonsault block. Reed caught a diving Zayn and landed a running power slam followed by a senton splash. Sami tried to fight back with a clothesline.
Reed came back with a powerbomb on the turnbuckles and a sit-out powerbomb for a near fall.
As Reed was headed to the corner, Zayn caught him with a Helluva Kick out of nowhere. Chad Gable attacked Zayn with a German Suplex.
Gable applied the Ankle Lock, and the referees forced him to break. Reed crashed Zayn with a Tsunami.
Gable held the IC Title, but Reed caught him and delivered a Death Valley Driver. Bronson raised the title in the air and delivered a vicious statement.
Winner: Sami Zayn by DQ.
Grades: B+
Analysis: Good match, followed by a great post-match angle. Reed has been involved with Zayn for the past few weeks. It is now a triple-way feud for the IC Title.
Draft Round 3 Picks:
JBL and Ron Simmons, formerly the APA, announced the Round 3 Draft picks.
Raw: LWO
SmackDown: Legado Del Fantasma
Raw: Drew McIntyre
SmackDown: Shinsuke Nakamura
Drew McIntyre and CM Punk segment
McIntyre entered the ring angrily. He was not happy with him being picked in the Round of the Draft. McIntyre called Punk a corporate ass-kisser.
Punk’s music hit, and McIntyre ran to the entrance stage. Punk appeared in a video package sitting in a luxury box.
Punk said that, “I’m right here, you little bitch”. Drew ran in search of the Best in the World.
Singles Match
Candice LeRae vs. Maxxine Dupri
Maxxine connected with a spin kick and a fisherman’s suplex right away. Dupri followed it with a bulldog and a Reverse Caterpillar Elbow Drop.
Maxxine applied the Ankle Lock. At ringside, Hartwell attacked Ivy Nile to distract Dupri. This allowed LeRae to hit a Wicked Stepmother for the win.
Winner: Candice LeRae
Grades: C
Analysis: Candice LeRae looks on some momentum in the past few weeks. Let’s see how WWE capitalizes on this.
Backstage: Dominik interrupted Rey Mysterio’s interview. Rey called him “Dirty Sanchez”. Dom told him that he was lucky as Dom was not cleared to compete.
CM Punk’s Promo
McIntyre searched for Punk in the luxury boxes. He found the box where Punk was. There was an autographed picture of him.
In the meantime, Punk made his entrance and arrived in the ring. He grabbed a mic and said he loved Kansas City and its inhabitants.
Punk claimed he wouldn’t waste their time like McIntyre, and his promo would be shorter than Drew’s World Title reign.
Punk said that he has McIntyre’s attention. Punk said that he did exactly what McIntyre did to him. Drew prayed for Punk’s injury, which caused Punk to injure McIntyre.
Punk said that losers pray for things, but winners make them happen. He called himself the Best in the ring, on the microphone, even on commentary.
Punk warned McIntyre that he’ll make Drew’s life a living hell once he’s cleared.
Grades: B
Analysis: Great back-and-forth segments between McIntyre and Punk. This feud is cooking even with both guys injured. Punk’s return seems near.
Draft Round 4 Picks:
Teddy Long and Alundra Blayze announced the Round 4 Draft picks.
Raw: Judgment Day
SmackDown: Naomi
Raw: Ilja Dragunov
SmackDown: Chelsea Green and Piper Niven
Nia Jax vs. Liv Morgan
Nia dominated Morgan and threw her across the ring. Morgan fought back with an enzuigiri and a double dropkick, followed by a running-back elbow in the corner.
Liv went for a baseball slide at ringside, but Jax caught her and slammed her onto the commentary desk. Tiffany was at ringside.
Morgan got out of a rear chin lock and landed a dropkick on Jax, sending her head-first into the ring post. Nia pulled Morgan from the ropes and landed a Samoan Drop for a two-count.
Morgan delivered a double stomp to the back. Jax soon came back with a spinebuster. Nia went for the Annihilator, but Liv caught her on the ropes and delivered a massive powerbomb for a near fall.
Naomi attacked Stratton at ringside. Jax got involved with Naomi. Liv took the advantage and hit a springboard codebreaker, followed by Ob-Liv-ion for the victory.
Winner: Liv Morgan
Grades: B-
Analysis: It was a good match with a chaotic finish. Nia, Tiffany, and Naomi are all SmackDown superstars from now on, and their getting the spotlight on Raw didn’t seem right. Liv got the necessary victory.
Draft Round 5 Picks:
The Dudley Boyz announced the Round 5 picks in the Draft.
Raw: New Day
SmackDown: Pretty Deadly
Raw: Lyra Valkyria
SmackDown: Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell
Awesome Truth vs. Alpha Academy
Akira Tozawa and Otis challenged The Awesome Truth for the World Tag Team Championships. Miz landed his patented corner clothesline on Otis and laid out Tozawa with a big boot.
Otis landed the World’s Strongest Slam on Miz, followed by a Caterpillar Elbow Drop. Tozawa went for a senton splash off the top rope, but Miz got his knees up. Miz and Truth hit the Truth Crushing Finale for the win.
Winners: Awesome Truth
Grades: C
Analysis: It was a short match, with Awesome Truth as the obvious winner. Gable won’t be happy with Otis and Tozawa’s performance.
Draft Round 6 Picks:
Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce announced the final picks in the WWE Draft 2024.
Raw: The Final Testament
SmackDown: DIY
Raw: Bronson Reed
SmackDown: Blair Davenport
Six-Man Tag Team Match
The night’s main event was the 6-man tag match with The Judgment Day going against Jey Uso, Andrade, and Ricochet. Balor and Andrade started off. After some action, Andrade sent Balor and McDonagh to the outside.
Andrade and Ricochet sent Priest out with a double clothesline. Ricochet and Andrade landed stereo suicide dives on JD and Finn. Uso took out Priest with a suicide dive of his own.
Priest delivered a Broken Arrow on Ricochet for a two-count. Judgment Day landed some cheap shots on Ricochet after the referee was distracted.
McDonagh landed a moonsault on Ricochet. Priest and Balor hit a backbreaker/leg drop combo on Ricochet. Andrade saved the match for his team. Ricochet delivered a Recoil to JD.
Jey hit an enzuigiri on Balor, followed by a crossbody block from the top rope. McDonagh prevented the three-count.
Andrade took out JD with a spinning elbow. Priest caught Andrade in a flatliner. Priest hit a clothesline on Uso and went for Razor’s Edge. Jey countered it into a Samoan Drop.
Jey was headed to the top rope, but Dominik distracted the referee. Priest was about to make a move on Jey, but JD sent Jey to the floor.
Damian wasn’t happy. Jey landed a series of superkicks on Judgment Day. Uso delivered a Spear to Balor, followed by a splash for the win.
Winners: Jey Uso, Andrade, and Ricochet
Grades: B+
Analysis: A fun main event. Jey Uso was the highlight of the match. The tensions between Judgment Day continue to rise.
Good Raw show before WWE Backlash in France. WWE Draft 2024 is complete.
