WWE Raw results and recap for Monday, April 27 indicates that we’re edging closer and closer to the next pay-per-view (Money in the Bank May19), so we have to wade through the contestants for the matches to be selected. Pretty simple, straight forward, and expected, right?
WWE Raw Monday, April 22 Results and Recap: AJ Styles Sucker Punches Seth Rollins Into Oblivion, Championship Hunt Turns Fan Favourite To Dark Side
We didn’t have to wait long for a not-so “Moment of Bliss” as Alexa Bliss kicked off the show by announcing the four men taking part in the Raw men’s Money in the Bank ladder match. The chosen were an interesting group consisting of Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, Baron (Mr. Former, unofficially) Corbin, and Ricochet.
After hitting one another with some well-placed verbal jabs, the quartet broke into the night’s first match as Strowman sided with Ricochet against McIntyre and Corbin.
WWE Raw Results and Recap: Braun Strowman and Ricochet beat Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin by pinfall.
This match demonstrated the skills of each superstar, but also some surprising teamwork when Corbin lured Strowman into chasing him around the ring while McIntyre waited in ambush with a Claymore, effectively leaving Ricochet alone for a good part of the match and displaying his heart and ability.
Towards the end, Corbin tagged himself in after McIntyre did most of the work to take advantage and score the pin. Unfortunately for him, his conniving ways came back to bite him as McIntyre nailed him with a punch, which allowed Strowman to hit him with a powerslam and Ricochet landing a shooting star before scoring the pin.
If they continue along this path, we’re in for a treat at the pay-per-view as Corbin and McIntyre are building a rivalry that could blossom into something fun and Ricochet is getting a solid push.
WWE Raw Recap: The Usos beat the Good Brothers by pinfall.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson made their return to television with no fanfare or warning, and they more than held their own against the Usos before eventually losing as stereo superkicks filled the air to give the Usos a triumphant opening match on Raw.
Then things got weird.
After promising us something that hasn’t been seen on Raw before, the Usos waited until after the match to share footage of the Revival’s Dash Wilder shaving Scott Dawson’s back in the locker room. Of course, the Revival came out to defend themselves and would be coming for the Usos following their match against Cut Hawkins and Zack Ryder.
Poor humor aside, this has the potential to be a great rivalry in the coming weeks or months.
WWE Raw Results: Bobby Lashley beats The Miz by pinfall.
What started out as a special “Miz TV” special quickly turned into a brawl after bobby Lashley insulted the Miz’s father and challenged his credentials after losing at Wrestlemania.
The Miz dominated the match with his speed and skill until Shane McMahon’s music heralded his coming, distracting The Miz. Lashley had several chances to win the match as Shane continued to catch The Miz’s attention throughout, but failed to do so until Shane had a picture of The Miz’s father appear on the titantron. Lashley then hit the spear for the victory.
Of course, with a McMahon involved, nothing is ever that simple, is it?
Shane, having found his muscle, continued abusing The Miz after the match before finally choking him out and telling him, “I am the best in the world.”
Ah, the perks of being a McMahon, am I right?
Not to be outdone, later in the night we were treated to The Miz challenging Shane O’Mac to a steelcage match at Money in the Bank, which Shane accepted via Twitter. Guess the Miz expects Lashley to be locked out of the cage. Wonder how long before he regrets this idea?
The Viking Raiders beat Lucha House Party by pinfall.
A week after being dismantled by the Viking Raiders, Lucha Party House took the initiative and jumped them outside the ring before the match. Considering that only angered Erik and Ivar, it may have been better not to get the riled before the bell sounded? Either way, Lucha Party House was dominated before the Viking Raiders put Kalisto away with the Viking Experience. The Viking Raiders also showed surprising mobility by using the ropes as a springboard to clothesline the remaining Party member that wasn’t part of the match, showing they intend to give us something different to look forward to.
The real winner of this match was the Viking Raiders’ name. For the first time since moving from NXT to Raw, they kept the same name for consecutive weeks. Here’s hoping they keep things moving.
Naomi beat Alexa bliss by pinfall.
Another not-so “Moment of Bliss” was upon us. As before, Alexa Bliss announced the Raw Women’s Money in the Bank participants: Natalya, Dana Brooke, and Naomi. Not surprising, they broke into a verbal joust over who was better, or in Natalya’s case, who had fewer opportunities, causing Bliss to proclaim they were worse than the men. Bliss then announced her entrance into the event.
As if we didn’t see that coming. But there was hope, as Naomi challenged Bliss to a match that night.
Naomi was by far the best part of the match as Bliss suffered from regular shoe malfunction and had to constantly tie her boots between kicks, making this more of a gimmick than not. Tanya Harding was mentioned about tied shoes (skates) and Bliss eventually lost after losing her shoes. Seriously.
Naomi hit a split-legged moonsault and pinned Bliss to push herself to the head of the Money in the Bank class.
Bonjour “Firefly Funhouse”
Nothing like painting to soothe the soul with a new companion called Rambling Rabbit. Or in Bray Wyatt’s case, reliving past traumas as he reveals he was painting the Wyatt Compound that Randy Orton burning down in 2017 leading up to their Wrestlmania 33 WWE championship match. Abby the Witch appeared, causing Rambling Rabbit to hide when she said, “This is no time for games,” and scolded Wyatt for having fun in the funhouse. Apparently, he didn’t learn his lesson from last time and is “a very bad boy” Wyatt apologized. “I’m really sorry for what I did,” then turned to the camera, “All of you forgave me, right?” to children’s applause. Going back to Rambling Rabbit, he referred to the witch as being a sociopath, to which Rambling Rabbit asked if sociopath was the word of the day. After agreeing and spelling out sociopath, Wyatt then said, “As always, I’ll light the way, and all you have to do is let me in.”
This is seriously the best, or one of the best parts of Raw. Bray Wyatt’s talent and ability to meld the dark with a childlike playfulness makes this a favorite segment and promises of great things to come.
Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans Feud Heats Up
Okay, maybe heats up isn’t a good enough description. It’s boiled over.
To start off, while being questioned as to why she is defending both her titles at Money in the Bank (let’s call it Double Trouble for The Man), Becky Lynch explained that she feels she has two options as dual-champ: protect her titles or fight, and she only knows how to fight. “I didn’t make history by dodging anybody. I made history by beating everybody.”
She shared her opinions of Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans (not too flattering, of course) and called out Evans to face here there and then. Evans obliged her, coming out in full gear and explaining how she’d told Lynch not to let her emotions get the better of her. Without much fanfare, the two met outside the ring in a brawl, that took several officials and just as many attempt to finally break them apart.
This is looking like one match we don’t want to miss at Money in the Bank.
Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins beat The Revival by pinfall.
This was, well… bad. The Revival were obviously thinking of the Usos and their shaving video as the current tag champions rolled over them with relative ease when Ryder surprised Dawson with a crucifix rollup for the win.
Nothing like Sami Zayn to set things straight. Sort of?
Zayn cracked open his head… I mean our heads as he shared his insight on WWE fans and our psychological entitlement. He even provided a definition in easy to read block letters on the titantron for us to easily understand.
He then regaled us with a story of a “soulless” father urging his son to ask for an autograph, to which Zayn turned him down. He went on to explain that it didn’t make him feel good, because at five year sold, the child had been taught that he’s owed something. He toyed with the idea of quitting, and how it’d be more enjoyable than lecturing us week in and week out, but us fans have been drunk with power for too long and he’s going to take it back.
This is a totally awesome heel gimmick Zayn’s playing to its fullest capabilities. All he needs is a babyface to work across from him. Who will it be? Looks like we’ll have to wait at least another week to find out.
On a side note, since this was the sixteen year anniversary of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s retirement, it would’ve been a nice touch to have him come out once more to raise some hell and possibly trigger someone else to come out of the back as well to serve as Zayn’s true foil, but that may have been an opportunity missed.
Rey Mysterio beat Samoa Joe by pinfall.
Before the match, we were treated to Rey Mysterio explaining how humiliated he felt after losing in the first minute of his Wrestlemania match to Samoa Joe, and hoe he embarrassed the company and his son, who was with him.
We were treated to a pair of 619s, one to Samoa Joe’s stomach and the other to his face, though the latter was blocked, but Mysterio’s assault was limited and Joe kept catching him and countering more times than not. Still, Mysterio managed a surprise rollup for the pin and celebrated with his son on the ramp. This felt more like a way to introduce Mysterio’s son so he could become the focus of Samoa Joe in their ongoing feud.
The build up in this rivalry keeps pushing, but it feels like few care, which is a shame considering the effort both participants are putting into it.
Nothing like the main event being a contract signing.
As Seth Rollins and AJ Styles sat down to sign the contract, we got to hear some good natured verbal jousting as they proclaimed their love and admiration for one another until Styles pointed out that Rollins has sacrificed everything to get where he is and he may not be able to hold up.
While it was a cool psychological trick (This is where it’s fair to point out that Styles is similar to a young Triple H. Coincidence?), Rollins was having none of it, and welcomed Styles to “Monday Night Rollins.” Rollins then politely informed Styles he did one thing the Phenomenal One couldn’t: beat Brock Lesner.
After they signed the contract, Styles began his heel turn by sucker punching Rollins, who fought back and reclaimed the ring after hitting Styles with a suicide dive outside the ring, but Styles stood triumphant after putting Rollins through the table with a Phenomenal Forearm.
Their Money in the Bank match will be a battle of “Building them up” and “Burning them down.”
Grab your tickets and pick your side; we’re in for a fun ride.