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WWE RAW FEUD TRACKER: Assessing and grading Cena vs. Orton, Becky & Lyra vs. Liv & Raquel, Jey Uso vs. Sami Zayn, Punk & Reigns vs. Rollins & Heyman, more

Jey Uso (photo provided to PWTorch by Netflix media)

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After an eventful WrestleMania weekend, we had all the fallout take place this week on Raw. In arguably the biggest shock of the weekend, Paul Heyman turned on both C.M. Punk and Roman Reigns in favor of Seth Rollins. With Rollins and Heyman now working together, they came out to presumably give an explanation for their actions. Before they could fully dive into it, Punk and Reigns came out for revenge. As it seemed like Reigns had Heyman all to himself at one point, a mystery attacker laid him out.

By the time the show ended, that mystery attacker was revealed as the newest member of this Rollins and Heyman alliance. In addition to that, we found out who John Cena’s first challenger is going to be, a WrestleMania rematch with a shocking post-match angle, and Jey Uso’s championship celebration. With so much happening on this week’s show, it proved to be the most memorable post-WrestleMania Raw in almost a decade.


John Cena vs. Randy Orton

Latest Developments:

On night two of WrestleMania, John Cena challenged Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship. After Cody hesitated to use the championship belt as a weapon, Cena took advantage and hit him with a low blow. Cena then hit Cody in the head with the title as the referee was coming to and got the win. This marked title win number 17 for Cena, finally breaking the record held previously by Ric Flair. Wearing the championship backwards, Cena came out to open the show this week.

After forcing the ring announcer to re announce him as the last real champion, Cena told the audience that just because they show up in a good mood, he can still tell them to go straight to hell. He then referenced that they didn’t mean anything to him and said the only thing that means anything is his remaining 27 dates until his retirement. He mentioned that when that number hits zero, the pro wrestling timeline stops, and the belt goes home with him. As he said there was no one in the WWE who had his ruthless aggression and told the audience to take out their cameras to get an image of the last real champion holding up the title, Randy Orton suddenly appeared. When Cena turned around, Orton hit him with an RKO and held up the title as he stood over him.

Analysis:

When it was announced that Backlash would be taking place in St. Louis, it was obvious that Randy Orton was going to be challenging for the title there in the main event. With John Cena now the champion in his retirement year, there’s no bigger match that they can do for that show. This was as hot a way as ever to start the Raw after WrestleMania as it marked the first time in over a decade Cena and Orton have crossed paths. The way Orton appeared out of nowhere once Cena mentioned the term “ruthless aggression” was timed perfectly and made for a great visual. Considering their long history, this match will mark the first of the many last time dream matches we see involving Cena.

After how mixed the buildup was for his match with Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania and how disappointing that match turned out, another feud with Orton for old time’s sake feels like a breath of fresh air. While the match itself probably won’t be a match of the year candidate, these two facing each other in the main event in Orton’s hometown will make for an electric atmosphere. Even though they don’t have much time for the build between now and Backlash, there’s still a lot of potential for a good story to be told. The biggest difference between this upcoming match involving Orton and Cena and their past ones is the fact that the roles are now reversed. Regardless of how the match turns out or who wins, Babyface Orton vs. Heel Cena will be a sight to see.

Grade: A


Becky Lynch & Lyra Valkyria vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez

Latest Developments:

On the April 11 Smackdown, Bayley & Lyra Valkyria won a Tag Team Turmoil match to earn a shot at Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez’s women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania. Last Saturday, Bayley was found attacked backstage by an unknown attacker and she was ruled to be unable to compete in the match. Adam Pearce told Lyra afterwards that she had 24 hours to find another partner. At WrestleMania, Lyra’s tag team partner was revealed to be a returning Becky Lynch. After hitting Liv with the Man Slam, Becky & Lyra won the women’s Tag Team Titles.

This week, both teams faced each other for the titles in a WrestleMania rematch. When Becky & Lyra attempted a double Superplex onto Raquel, Liv Powerbomed Becky and Raquel hit Lyra with a Powerbomb from the top rope, but Lyra kicked out. Lyra later knocked Raquel off the apron as she interrupted a Nightwing attempt on Liv, but Raquel fell onto Becky in the process. This distraction allowed Liv to hit Lyra with the ObLivion for the win and she and Raquel regained the titles only a day after losing them. Becky helped up Lyra after the match but then clotheslined her and hit her with three Man Slams.

Analysis:

This match involving these four women was far better than the match they had the night before at WrestleMania. With the match the night before being Becky’s first match back in almost a year, it made the outcome predictable. While having the rematch so soon also made this match predictable on paper, it had the drama and close calls that their previous match lacked. Seeing how this match turned out, it was obvious that the only reason Becky & Lyra won the titles at WrestleMania was because they didn’t want Becky to lose in her first match back. With the momentum Liv & Raquel have built up as a team, it was the right call for them to get the titles back here.

As great as the match was, Becky turning on Lyra made for a great post-match angle. While Lyra is great in the ring, she’s yet to have a hot feud that the crowd could get invested in and that could potentially get the crowd more behind her. While it initially felt like she was going to have that type of feud with Bayley coming out of WrestleMania, it now seems like that’s off the table for the time being. With the amount of star power that Becky has combined with her being a heel now, a feud between these two is exactly what could help get Lyra to that next level and make the women’s Intercontinental Title feel more important. From the match itself, the outcome, and Becky’s heel turn that followed, everything here delivered from start to finish.

Grade: A

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Jey Uso’s Championship Celebration

Latest Developments:

Going into WrestleMania 41, many doubted whether Jey Uso could defeat Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. To send a message to Jey, Gunther went as far as to attack his brother Jimmy while Jey was tied up in the ropes. Despite this situation, Jey revealed that seeing that happen made him no longer scared of Gunther and vowed to take his title at WrestleMania. On night one of WrestleMania, Jey hit Gunther with three Uso Splashes and trapped him in his own Sleeper. Gunther shockingly tapped out to his own move and Jey Uso won the World Heavyweight Championship with his brother Jimmy there to celebrate with him.

After a video package aired that highlighted his journey to the championship, Jey came out to the ring for his championship celebration. Sami Zayn came out to give Jey a hug and he told Jey that it was hard on him to see what Jey was going through and to miss WrestleMania. He said he had to come to Vegas for WrestleMania so that he could look him in the eye with the title on his shoulder and tell him that he was proud of him and that he deserved to be champion. Jey and Sami celebrated but at one point when Jey was standing on the second rope, Sami stared at him awkwardly. Jimmy also came out to celebrate with them and they all did their secret handshake.

Analysis:

While a great celebration for someone that deserves it as much as Jey does, the main takeaway from this segment was Sami Zayn. With the history between Sami and Jey, it made perfect sense for Sami to come out to congratulate him. As happy as he looked for him, there were many moments here where you could sense that Sami was going to turn on him. While it didn’t happen here, the way Sami suspiciously looked at Jey as he was standing on the second rope now makes it something to watch out for in the coming weeks. With Sami constantly bringing up the fact that he had never been a World Champion around the time of the Royal Rumble, it’s now looking like he’s going to target Jey in order to finally accomplish that.

Coming off that long feud Jey had with Gunther heading into WrestleMania, this potential feud with Sami is another one that could have a lot of mileage. With as much potential as it has, it feels like a story that’s going to take some time before it really heats up. It’s possible that they could face each other for the title at Backlash or Saturday Night’s Main Event and Jey retaining could be the motivation for Sami to turn on him. Considering that Jey is a new champion and has never really been in this spot before, the next few months and the feuds he’s involved in are going to establish whether or not he’s going to be the champion long term. From what we saw here, it feels like his title reign is off to a good start.

Grade: B


Gunther Attacks Michael Cole and Pat McAfee

On the February 17 Raw, Gunther confronted Michael Cole and Pat McAfee over their support for Jey Uso. Last week, Gunther demanded that Cole join him in the ring for an interview that wasn’t scheduled until later in the show. When Cole said something that he didn’t like, Gunther aggressively snatched the microphone from his hands. On night one of WrestleMania, Gunther lost his World Heavyweight Championship to Jey after Jey forced him to tap out to his own sleeper. During Jey’s championship celebration this week, Cole was heard on commentary saying that Gunther tapped out.

Following the celebration, Gunther came out to confront Michael Cole about pointing out that he tapped out to Jey Uso at WrestleMania. Gunther knocked off Cole’s headset after he said he wasn’t the one who tapped out, shoved down McAfee, and trapped Cole in the Sleeper. McAfee quickly knocked Gunther off of Cole and officials came out to separate them. Gunther escaped the officials and trapped Mcafee in the Sleeper onto the ground as it took officials several moments to get him to let go. Gunther was escorted away by officials to a hoard of boos as Cole and other officials helped McAfee to the back. Despite the attack and Adam Pearce telling him to take the rest of the night off, Cole insisted on finishing the show.

Analysis:

For as hot as this show had been, this was arguably the best segment on the whole show until the closing one. After Gunther lost his title at WrestleMania, there was speculation on where he would go from there. After what we saw from him here, it now feels like he’s as hot of a heel as ever. As we’ve seen Gunther confront Cole and McAfee a few times over the last few months, it felt like only a matter of time before it came to this. Although we’ve seen McAfee get attacked before while doing commentary, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen him and Cole attacked the way they were here and the way it played out felt real, intense, and chaotic.

While McAfee received the worst of the attack, Cole came out of this with more sympathy as the crowd cheered when he insisted on finishing the show. What we’ve seen from him over the last few years combined with this angle are prime examples of how much respect Cole has earned from the crowd compared to years earlier. Coming out of this segment, all roads lead to an eventual match between McAfee and Gunther. While we haven’t seen McAfee in a singles match in three years, one against Gunther has a lot of intrigue and could potentially be the best one he’s ever had. After what Gunther did here, he’s likely going to be suspended for a while to keep him off TV and then he’ll come back in time to do the match possibly at Summerslam.

Grade: A


C.M. Punk & Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins & Paul Heyman

Latest Developments:

On night one of WrestleMania, C.M. Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins faced each other in a Triple Threat match in the main event. During the match, Heyman chose to slide a chair into the ring for Punk to use instead of Reigns. As Punk was about to use the chair, Heyman hit him with a low blow. Reigns and Heyman smiled at each other as if it was the plan all along but as Reigns was then about to use the chair on Rollins, Heyman hit him with a low blow. Heyman handed the chair to Rollins, who hit Reigns in the back with it and then hit him with a Curb Stomp to win the match.

Rollins and Heyman came out together in this week’s closing segment and as Rollins ran down how he took away the wiseman of Reigns, the best friend of Punk, and won the WrestleMania main event, Punk came out to interrupt. Punk beat down Rollins in the corner of the ring and went after Heyman until Rollins raked his eyes to stop him and hit him with a Curb Stomp. Reigns then came out to Spear Rollins and Superman Punched Heyman but as he was about to Spear Heyman, he was Speared by a man in a hoodie that was revealed to be Bron Breakker. Breakker Speared Punk and then ran around the outside of the ring and Speared Reigns through the timekeeper’s area. Rollins Curb Stomped Punk and Reigns after Breakker brought him back into the ring and he along with Heyman and Breakker raised each other’s hands to end the show.

Analysis:

As if the way the Triple Threat match ended at WrestleMania wasn’t shocking enough, this segment took this storyline to a whole new level. While many of us knew Breakker was on to bigger things after losing the Intercontinental Title, no one expected it to happen so soon. From the way he came off here and how believable he was, it looks like he’s going to fit in well in the main event scene. Rollins, Breakker, and Heyman as a modern-day Dangerous Alliance is going to make for some great TV over the next few months with potentially more people to be added to their stable. From her heel turn earlier in the show combined with the fact that her husband is in the group, Becky Lynch becoming part of this too is a strong possibility.

Now that Punk and Reigns were both screwed by Heyman and beaten down here, it now looks like they’re going to have to put their issues aside and team up. After what we saw here, a tag team match with the two of them against Breakker and Rollins is the clear direction for Backlash. For as hot as the start was to Raw this week, this segment gave us an even hotter ending and now two big matches to look forward to for the next PLE. While the period after WrestleMania is usually a slower time, what we saw throughout the show and specifically in this segment are signs that that won’t be the case this year. This new stable with Rollins, Breakker, and Heyman feuding with the top babyfaces on Raw has the potential to be the new storyline that carries the company over the next few years in the way the Bloodline did.

Grade: A


Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta

After pinning his own stable mate Finn Balor to win the Intercontinental Championship on night two of WrestleMania, Dominik had his first title defense this week against Penta. Dominik had the advantage with a Tornado DDT, but Penta kicked out. Penta rebounded with a Hurricanrana from the apron to the top rope and a Mexican Destroyer. Penta hit a Hurricanrana on Finn outside the ring into Dominik and as Penta went to the top rope to finish Dominik off, he was knocked off it by a returning JD McDonaugh. This allowed Domnik to hit a 619 on Penta followed by a Frog Splash to retain the title. All of Judgment Day celebrated with Dominik in the aisle way as a confused Finn reluctantly joined.

Analysis:

After the horrible injury he suffered back in January, it was great to see JD McDonaugh back here to help Dominik retain. While it was disappointing to see Penta lose again, it felt like a necessity to establish JD’s return and Dominik as the new IC Champion. This outcome also played into the issues between Finn and Dominik and from the expression on Finn’s face after the match, it’s clear that things are only going to get worse between them. While it felt like Finn would’ve been kicked out of Judgment Day by now, it seems like it’s still going to be teased for a few more weeks. Perhaps this will all lead to Finn and Dominik facing each other for the title at Backlash and that’s where we will finally see the split happen officially.


Iyo Sky vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Iyo Sky was in the ring celebrating her successful title defense at WrestleMania before she was interrupted by NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer, who challenged her to a match. After Iyo accepted and suggested having the match then and there, Adam Pearce came out to make it official. As the two were having a competitive back and forth match, it ended in a disqualification when Roxanne Perez attacked Iyo and Guila came out to attack Vaquer. As the two of them continued the attack, Rhea Ripley came out and knocked Perez off the apron with a Headbutt and stared down Guila as she left the ring. Rhea handed Iyo the title and told her that she was coming for it before leaving the ring.

Analysis:

Much like the women’s Tag Team Title match, this was another incredible match on the show involving the women. While this likely wasn’t a call up, Vaquer really shined in this match and showed that she’ll be a great addition to the main roster whenever she is given the call. Although the disqualification finish left many disappointed, it was the right outcome as neither woman should lose to the other right now with the momentum they have. What also came out of this was the fact that the feud between Rhea and Iyo is going to continue. Considering that Rhea wasn’t the one pinned in the Triple Threat match at WrestleMania, it makes sense for them to have a rematch possibly at Backlash and perhaps extend the feud from there.

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