HEYDORN’S RAW RECEIPT 4/19: Damian Priest rebounds with an effective presentation and signature win

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

-My system was shocked hearing Adnan Virk open the Raw broadcast this week. On one hand it was refreshing without the fake hype of Michael Cole and Tom Phillips, but then reality set in. Virk’s job is to sell the product. Is there a happy medium between the Cole hype and something that feels more human? Absolutely, but didn’t strike that tone properly.

-Drew McIntyre cut a really nice promo to kick off the action on the show. He’s comfortable in the role and talks in a way that’s authentic and likable. The banter with MVP was simple and low key, but laid a foundation for McIntyre vs. Lashley for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania: Backlash.

-Well, The Viking Raiders have been presented successfully upon returning to the company. This week was another step in the right direction and props to Adnan Virk for finding a better name for their finisher than the Viking Experience. Virk called it the Viking Express. Wrong, but better.

-When Riddle confronted Randy Orton backstage on the scooter, I chuckled. Not because Riddle was funny, but because I so wanted to see Orton destroy him. Orton vs. Riddle ended up being a really good match and I’ll go out on a limb and say the rollup win for Riddle will be rendered useless. I can already smell the 50/50 booking and rematch between these two next week.

-Raise your hand if you too feel as if Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler wrestle some combination of Dana Brooke, Mandy Rose, Lana, and Naomi every. single. week.

-Damian Priest had a really great night. The WWE.com exclusive video with Bad Bunny framed him as important. Bad Bunny put over his appreciation for Priest and in that moment gave him the biggest star rub to date. Priest pinning Miz cleanly reinforced that presentation.

-It doesn’t matter and who really cares, but Elias got a win on television. Ok, it’s great to have that out of the way. Now, does Raw have tag team championships anymore? My goodness, Omos gets put over huge at WrestleMania and we have not a single mention of him and A.J. Styles since?

-We can’t just keep having random Alexa Bliss on a swing set segments. WWE has to point them in a direction. Is she going to feud with someone? Is someone joining her as a tag team partner? Something. The character needs context, or else it will fade quickly.

-Mace and T-Bar are now unmasked thanks to Drew McIntyre. Send him a bottle of his favorite whatever, fellas.

-A Sheamus United States Championship open challenge? I can get on board with that, even if it means undercard guys getting massacred for a few weeks here. For one thing, that booking will make sure Sheamus stays over. More importantly though, when they find the guy to go toe to toe with him and have an actual match, it’ll mean something.

-If I didn’t think Charlotte would simply return in a couple weeks and get added to the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania: Backlash, the angle with her and the beating of the referee would have some staying power. We know the endgame though, so everything just felt unnecessary.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S RAW RECEIPT: HEYDORN’S RAW RECEIPT 4/12: Rhea Ripley’s nerves hide her star-like qualities