The April 22nd episode of Monday Night Raw aired live from Value City Arena at Schottenstein Center in Ohio, Columbus. The show featured a Battle Royal to crown the new Women’s World Champion. Gunther returned to the show and Awesome Truth had their first title defense as the WWE World Tag Team Champions. Let’s talk about everything that happened on the show.
Damian Priest and Jey Uso face-to-face
Jey Uso, who is the number 1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, opened the show.
Jey said that he would prove to everyone at Backlash why he’s the Main Event Jey Uso. World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest interrupted him.
Priest talked about last year when Jey earned his respect, and he wanted Jey on Judgment Day. Damian said that Jey is the first person he will beat to make the title look good on himself.
Priest wanted to leave, but Jey stopped him. Uso called Priest the leader of the Judgment Day, only in the absence of Rhea Ripley. He went on to call Priest “Dominik Mysterio’s bitch”.
This infuriated Damian Priest. JD McDonagh came out of nowhere to attack Jey from behind. Uso went for a superkick.
JD sidestepped, and Priest got superkicked instead. Jey left after this, and Priest was not happy with McDonagh.
Grades: B-
Analysis: It was a fine segment to kick off Monday Night Raw. It looks like Priest is not happy with Judgment Day interferences in his segments.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Awesome Truth vs. DIY
Next up was the match for the World Tag Team Championships. Gargano and Truth started with headlocks and arm drags.
Miz tagged in, and Awesome Truth landed a double hip toss on Johnny and a double elbow drop.
Gargano escaped the Figure Four Leglock and tagged Ciampa in. Miz and Ciampa had a bit of back-and-forth action.
Eventually, Miz applied the Figure Four Leglock on Ciampa. Gargano broke it up with a basement dropkick.
Gargano hit Miz with a slingshot spear, followed by a plancha to the outside.
Truth delivered a sit-out front suplex to Ciampa. Miz tagged in and hit his patented corner clothesline. Miz delivered a DDT on the apron to Gargano.
Ciampa landed a knee in mid-air to The Miz for a two-count. Truth did his John Cena moves and went for the 5-Knuckle Shuffle.
Gargano superkicks him, followed by a pedigree by Ciampa for a near fall. Gargano laid out Miz at ringside with a suicide dive.
They hit Meet in the Middle on Truth, but Miz pulled Gargano out to break the count. Miz laid out Ciampa at ringside.
In the ring, Miz and Truth hit a Skull Crushing Finale/What’s Up combo for the win. Awesome Truth shook hands with Gargano, but Ciampa walked away.
Winners: Awesome Truth
Grades: B+
Analysis: It was a great match, and that finisher from Awesome Truth was really awesome. It was obvious that Miz and Truth wouldn’t lose the titles this much soon.
Gunther Returns
Gunther made his return alongside Imperium stablemates Vinci and Kaiser. It was the first appearance by Ring General after his IC Title loss at WrestleMania XL against Sami Zayn.
Gunther said that he won’t talk much about WrestleMania and Sami. He said that he elevated the IC title to a new level and became the Greatest champion.
The crowd applauded. Gunther said that he walked with a target on his back for two years. He thanked Zayn for taking off that pressure.
Gunther said that it’s a new era and he can do whatever he wants. He talked about the upcoming draft.
Gunther declared himself for the King of the Ring tournament. He said that he was already the General of the Ring and soon he would be King of the Ring. The New Day interrupted them.
Woods told Gunther that he is the current King of the Ring and he will cement his legacy by becoming a two time King of the Ring.
Gunther said that he would re-establish the tournament, and Woods would be remembered as the one who won it accidentally.
Woods and Kingston asked about Gunther’s title. Gunther told Kaiser and Vinci to handle it.
Grades: B
Analysis: It was a good promo by Gunther. He has seemingly moved up the card. Gunther is already a major contender to win the King of the Ring tournament.
Tag Team Match
New Day vs. Imperium
Kingston landed a dropkick on Kaiser. Woods delivered a double-ax handle to Vinci.
Kofi took out Vinci with a springboard cross-body block for a two-count. Imperiumsandwiched Kofi with stereo superkicks.
Kingston replied with a jawbreaker to Kaiser. Vinci and Kaiser hit a High/Low for a near fall.
Kofi delivered a springboard takedown to Kaiser. Woods countered a takedown attempt from Vinci into a vertical suplex.
Woods landed a slingshot DDT for a two-count. The New Day got the victory with a backbreaker/diving double stomp combination.
Gunther was furious and looked towards Kaiser before walking away. Kaiser checked on Vinci in the ring.
At ringside, Kaiser shockingly attacked Vinci. He beat him up using an LED apron, ring post, and steel steps.
Kaiser dropkicked Vinci’s head into the steel steps. Gunther smiled at Kaiser in the Gorilla position.
Winner: New Day
Grades: B
Analysis: It was a decent match, but the post-match angle was booked perfectly. We knew it was coming as it was teased for a long time. Also, we got to know that it was all Gunther’s plan.
Drew McIntyre addresses the WWE Universe
Drew McIntyre came out, and the fans chanted, “CM PUNK.” Drew sat in the ring cross-legged like Punk.
McIntyre said that Punk has proved that he hates fans. He told the crowd that they loved someone who wouldn’t love them back.
He then called Punk a coward costing him multiple matches. He called Priest and Jey Uso cowards. McIntyre said that he has his sights on the King of the Ring tournament now. Sheamus came out.
Sheamus said that he was McIntyre’s friend. He called McIntyre a coward for always complaining. Sheamus told him that he lost everything at WrestleMania over a social media spat.
Sheamus told McIntyre the bitter Truth that one-armed CM Punk kicked his ass. McIntyre said that Punk is in his head, and he needs to get out of his obsession.
Drew ssid that Sheamus delivered banger after banger before. But now he is just burger after burger.
Sheamus said that he doesn’t care what people say about his physique. McIntyre said that he cares because he is Sheamus’ friend.
Grades: B+
Analysis: Very fun banter between Sheamus and McIntyre. They always have great chemistry together. WWE is really making King of the Ring a big deal.
Singles Match
Sheamus vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
After a bit of back-and-forth action, Nakamura had the advantage and he landed a knee strike to the ribs.
Sheamus replied with a vicious clothesline. McIntyre was sitting there and talking trash in Pat McAfee’s mic.
Sheamus hit 10 Beats of the Bodhran on the apron, followed by Kneecap. Later, Nakamura landed a flying knee on Sheamus’ neck.
Sheamus delivered two Irish Curse Backbreakers, followed by a diving clothesline for a near fall. Nakamura hit a sliding German Suplex followed by a flying knee strike to the chest for a two-count.
Sheamus delivered a Super White Noise, but Nakamura somehow kicked out. Shin landed a knee to the head and prepared for Kinshasa.
Sheamus countered with a tilt-a-whirl power slam. Nakamura avoided the Brogue Kick once, but Sheamus soon caught him with a Brogue Kick for the victory.
Winner: Sheamus
Grades: B-
Analysis: Sheamus is slowly gaining momentum since his return. It looks like he might be a part of King of the Ring.
Backstage: Sami Zayn was interviewed by Cathy Kelly. He said that he would listen to what Chad Gable had to say.
Bronson Reed interfered and told Zayn that he had bigger problems than Gable to worry about. Sami raised the title and said, “Anywhere, anytime.””
As Zayn turned around, Reed attacked him from behind and called himself the next Intercontinental Champion.
Chad Gable Explained His Actions
Gable came out with the rest of Alpha Academy. He claimed that what he did to Sami was justified.
Chad said that it should have been him celebrating the IC Title victory with his daughter at WrestleMania.
Instead, he wasted his time in training Sami Zayn. He said that he had wasted his life training a bunch of losers.
Tozawa looked stunned by that statement. Gable got to his face and called him pathetic.
Gable talked about Maxxine. He said that she’s pretty but dumb, too.
Gable called Otis his number 1 pupil and the biggest disappointment of them all.
Gable told them all to help him in winning the IC Title. Otis, Maxxine, and Tozawa looked conflicted.
Grades: B
Analysis: It was a good heel promo by Gable. He gave a reality check to all the members of Alpha Academy. It looks like they will soon be turning against their master, Gable.
Tag Team Match
Andrade and Ricochet vs. JD McDonagh and Santos Escobar
The match began at a high pace with quick tag exchanges. Andrade and Ricochet landed stereo superkicks on Escobar.
Ricochet landed a head-scissors takeover and a dropkick for a two-count. JD delivered a back elbow and a back suplex to Ricochet.
Dominik’s distraction allowed Escobar to deliver a hurricane on Ricochet from the apron to the floor.
Escobar delivered a double knee strike, while JD McDonagh delivered a snap suplex to Ricochet. Andrade got the tag and hit a pair of dragon screws.
Andrade landed a double knee strike in the corner to Santos for a two-count. Ricochet hit Escobar with a springboard clothesline and a standing shooting star press. McDonagh saved the match at two-count.
In the end, Andrade delivered The Shadow for the win. After the match, Priest attacked both Ricochet and Andrade. He told JD and Dom that he doesn’t need anyone.
Winners: Andrade and Ricochet
Grades: B
Analysis: It was a fun match. Andrade looks good after his return. It looks like they have changed Andrade’s finisher name. It is now called The Shadow instead of The Message.
Women’s World Title Battle Royal
The participants included Liv Morgan, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Nia Jax, Indi Hartwell, Ivy Nile, Candice LeRae, Maxxine, ZoeyStark, Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, and Shayna Baszler. It was for the Women’s World Title vacated by Rhea Ripley last week.
Eliminations:
– Maxxine eliminated Candice LeRae.
– Maxxine eliminated Indi Hartwell.
– Zoey Stark eliminated Kayden Carter and Katana Chance with a superkick.
– Nia Jax eliminated Ivy Nile by sending her into the ring post.
– Nia Jax eliminated Maxxine Dupri.
– Becky Lynch eliminated Piper Niven with a kick to the feet.
– Zoey Stark eliminated Chelsea with a clothesline.
– Baszler eliminated Natalya with a knee to the face.
– Lynch eliminated Jax with a flying leg drop after Liv delivered a codebreaker to Jax.
– Lynch eliminated Liv with a Manhandle Slam on the apron for the win. Becky Lynch is your new Women’s World Champion.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Grades: B+
Analysis: It was an excellent Battle Royal match. Becky got the victory in the end which was unexpected. Liv Morgan should have won the match, as her character really needed that right now.
However, Lynch is a trustworthy superstar, and it is always safe to put the title on her for the time being.
Overall, a good Monday Night Raw episode. We have a new Women’s World Champion in Becky Lynch. Imperium has broken up. Chad Gable is more vicious. McIntyre and Gunther have declared their claim for the King of the Ring tournament.
