We’re now a week removed from probably the most notable weekend for WWE in decades. Now WrestleMania is fully in the rearview and we’ve started to see the effects of Endeavor’s pending purchase of the WWE in the form of Vince McMahon grabbing the reigns. WWE Raw tonight is live from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Formally the Key Arena and the home of an infamous segment in Raw history. On December 9, 2013, Raw held the infamous “Title Ascension Ceremony” as the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship, held then by Randy Orton and John Cena respectively, were elevated in preparation of the duo’s TLC main event match that coming Sunday.
The ring was surrounded by 20 former WWE and World Heavyweight Champions. Including the likes of Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, Big Show, Mark Henry, Triple H and of course, the then-current Champions. But the crowd did not care about anyone other than one man: Daniel Bryan. And through the course of the entire segment, that’s all they could chant. Interrupting it and clearly annoying the likes of Triple H and Stephanie while John Cena and Mark Henry had no choice but to acknowledge them. This was in the midst of WWE trying to ignore the now leader of the Blackpool Combat Club’s popularity.
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WWE RAW Tonight Card
The time has come upon us!
Finally @AmyDumas and I will get to defend our titles for the first time tomorrow night on #WWERaw.
Bring your best @YaOnlyLivvOnce and @RaquelWWE. We want a fight. pic.twitter.com/TnWbOMOrYu
— Rebecca Quin (@BeckyLynchWWE) April 9, 2023
Cody Wishes To Speak
As “Cody’s story continues”, we saw last week how Brock Lesnar went completely berserk on ‘The American Nightmare’ after first agreeing to be his tag team partner. Cody Rhodes has gone on social media to say he will address the WWE Universe regarding his future. The two previous winners of the Royal Rumble now share in also failing to end Roman Reigns’ historically long Unified Universal WWE Championship reign. However Cody Rhodes isn’t barred from getting a rematch. Brock Lesnar is. Is that the reason ‘The Beast Incarnate’ lashed out?
The Redheads Defend
The current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Lita and Becky Lynch, are slated to defends their Tag Team titles. After a win last week on Raw over Damage CTRL, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez will be the challengers. A very odd match given they failed to win at WrestleMania. Where Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey won the 4 Way WrestleMania Showcase match. However, it seems both ‘The Baddest Woman On The Planet’ and ‘Queen Of Spades’ are both out with minor injuries. As such, we get this instead. This will be Lita and Becky Lynch’s first title defense, after defeating Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai of Damage CTRL nearly two months ago.
The Bro Returns
We were left short on returns and debuts last week sadly. A probable mix of the WWE sale and the later announcement of the WWE Draft on Friday. However we did have one return. That being ‘The Original Bro’ Matt Ridle. Returning and hitting the Bro Derek on The Miz. That was followed up on Smackdown when he rescued Sami Zayn from a Bloodline attack. After all, he was last seen attacked by Solo Sikoa on December. Or “nearly a year” as the commentators said. We have to expect some follow up with The Miz and then The Bloodline.
Get Set For San Juan
As Backlash looms closer, one match seems pretty clear now after Raw. A rematch of sorts between the Mysterio family. We saw last week how Dominik blamed Bad Bunny for his loss at WrestleMania. This led to Damian Priest Chokeslamming his former tag team partner, platinum recording artist and memorable character in the movie ‘Bullet Train’ through a table. Seemingly injuring him. We seem to be heading into a trios match at Backlash. With Judgment Day on one side, while the other features Santos Escobar, Latino wrestling icon and now WWE Hall Of Famer Rey Mysterio and the most recognized figure from Puerto Rico in the other.
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We also need to set the stage on other fronts for WWE’s return to the Caribbean. As Asuka and Bayley seem to be gone under some capacity, who is Bianca Belair’s next challenger? The same can be asked of Austin Theory. Fresh off his win over John Cena, how can WWE keep that going? Will Vince McMahon be “in the weeds” despite saying he wouldn’t again? What about Seth Rollins? Is his segment going to be cut mid-comercial break again? We’ll find out on WWE Raw tonight.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
