HEYDORN’S RAW RECEIPT 4/12: Rhea Ripley’s nerves hide her star-like qualities

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.

-Smart to start the post-WrestleMania Raw with the WWE Champion, Bobby Lashley. As surprised as I was to see him retain the title over McIntyre at WrestleMania, the belt fits with him as a heel on the show. His presentation was spot on – dismissive of those clearly below him, but dominant when he needed to be.

-So, who double dog dared Vince McMahon to make Riddle’s act even more one-note? With the United States Championship around his waist – I mean neck; Riddle had the range to go to a different place inside the ring with the belt on the line. Without it, he’s R-Truth 2.0. Sorry, bro.

-Is Rhea Ripley nervous or something? In the backstage vignette she looked like she was reading from a teleprompter and therefore forgot to add any emotion into her promo. In the ring, she looked scared to make a mistake. The dominant, alpha presence isn’t there right now and she needs to find it again.

-I admit, it’s good to see The Viking Raiders back, but what are they coming back to? It would be nice to believe that WWE can heat them up in a way that will make a potential clash with A.J. Styles & Omos feel big, but that simply isn’t what WWE sees for their tag team division.

-Count me very much in on that Charlotte promo. She sounded more genuine there than in all her promos throughout the last year combined. This is her sweet spot and here’s to hoping she stays there for the foreseeable future.

-Well, the Fiend and Alexa Bliss story appears to be reset. This is either good, or bad. Not much there in between. We’ll see soon enough.

-What do Miz and Morrison gain in beating Damian Priest 2 on 1? Whatever it is, it isn’t more than Priest would have gained in beating them. Miz and Morrison cheated, but Priest looked weak here and the question is, why book a guy who was just in a high profile WrestleMania match to look so weak coming out of it? It’s nonsense.

-They got to the triple threat number one contender match in a logical way. Well, a logical way in WWE land. Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, and Braun Strowman all had decent enough reasons to believe they deserved a championship match next. Strowman certainly had the flattest argument, but if you tie his WrestleMania win over Shane McMahon back to the story of him being left out of the Elimination Chamber match, it makes sense. I swear. Promise.

-Good to know The New Day cares about the tag team titles as much as they claim to. Face palm.

-Strowman, McIntyre, and Orton had a decent little match in the main event. McIntyre needed the win. Clearly, there is unfinished business between him and Lashley and with the next PPV aptly titled “WrestleMania Backlash,” this rematch makes sense.

-Who had Retribution potentially joining Hurt Business as the Raw after WrestleMania cliffhanger angle? Liars.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S RAW RECEIPT: HEYDORN’S RAW RECEIPT 4/5: Drew McIntyre gives a proper go-home promo ahead of WrestleMania showdown with Bobby Lashley