Tag: Raw

Released WWE wrestler shares picture: ‘Man, I miss wrestling’

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Zoey Stark commented for the first time after her WWE release.

Stark was among the 23 talents released by the company last Friday. She was out of in-ring action recovering from a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus. Stark took to X suggesting that she had been medically cleared to compete and was hopeful of wrestling after the 90-day non-compete clause is over.

“Man I miss wrestling. I guess I can wait 85 more days”

Our own Bryan Alvarez noted last week that Stark had been cleared before she was cut. He wrote to his subscribers on X:

“Regarding cuts, I was told Zoey Stark had been cleared when she was cut, just wasn’t being used. Meanwhile, Santos Escobar was just injured on that AAA show about a month ago and was NOT cleared.”

Stark signed with WWE in 2021 where she was associated with the NXT brand before transitioning to Raw in 2023. She briefly formed an alliance with Trish Stratus, assisting her at Night of Champions against Becky Lynch.

Around a year later, Stark joined Sonya Deville and Shayna Baszler in July 2024 to form Pure Fusion Collective. The stable derailed shortly after following Deville’s injury. 

Stark’s last WWE match, where she suffered the injuries, was during a triple threat Money in the Bank qualifying match on the May 19 edition of Raw in 2025.

Air conditioning issues at WWE Raw caused comfort issues for fans

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Many fans in attendance at this past Monday’s WWE Raw at the Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas, complained about the excessive heat in the arena due to issues with air conditioning.

KGNS News reported that District 5 council member Ruben Gutierrez, a representative from the area, revealed that the arena lost power around 2 pm local time prior to the event. It was restored a few hours later but with preparations during the course of the day, cool air leaked out, leaving fans stuck in a stuffy arena.

The inability for the air conditioning to catch up, in addition to the pyrotechnics in the arena, made it an uncomfortable experience for the nearly 8,000 fans in attendance. 

“By 4 p.m., of course, WWE is setting up stuff there, fire going on inside there, fireworks going on to make sure stuff is working, heating up the place. Once the doors opened up at 5:30, the doors are open again, letting over 8,000 people in there. The AC is just going out, going out, going out, and the AC just could not recoup fast enough with 8,000 people in there, pyrotechnics going on inside the arena,” stated Gutierrez. 

The Laredo Fire Department confirmed they received no calls from the arena and reported no illnesses or injuries related to the heat.

WOR: Hogan and wrestling history, RAW report, TKO Town Hall

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including updates on the WWE shareholder lawsuit and the townhall meeting where TKO extended Hunter’s contract, the upcoming AEW schedule, the RAW report with Backlash less than two weeks away, the history of wrestling and Hulk Hogan’s place in it, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Wrestling fan who went missing during WrestleMania 42 weekend found dead, Puck article on WWE shareholder lawsuit
15:51: Triple H’s creative contract with WWE extended, more on town hall
23:18: AEW’s television schedule for May, Dave argues why wrestling would not have died without Hulk Hogan
41:16: More on WWE WrestleMania 42 Netflix numbers, WWE Raw recap, lineups for the week

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WWE Raw live results: Roman Reigns answers Jacob Fatu

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: April 27, 2026
Location: Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, TX 

The Big Takeaway —

Roman Reigns accepted Jacob Fatu’s world title challenge for Backlash after Fatu laid him out in the main event segment. Fatu made it clear he would be seeing Reigns again next week (on the final Raw before Backlash). 

Iyo Sky lost to Becky Lynch in an impromptu Women’s Intercontinental title match thanks to interference by Asuka. Sky and Asuka will wrestle at Backlash. 

Kairi Sane was not mentioned by name on the show, but was written off with a few passing references. There were chants for Sane when Asuka attacked Sky after her match.

**********

Show Recap — 

They’ve adjusted the signature video that starts every show. Brock Lesnar is now in the “Forever” portion, while Oba Femi has been added to the “Now” portion. 

Roman Reigns & The Usos opening pre-taped promo 

I would call this a cold open, but it was preceded by a video package of last week’s events. This was similar to a few weeks ago when Raw started with a Roman Reigns pre-taped video instead of the usual in-ring segment. (Although we still got one of those.)

Reigns sat down with Jimmy and Jey Uso. He said the past was the past, and that’s where he would leave it, because they were blood and they were the only ones he could trust. He wanted their thoughts because he wasn’t sure where Jacob Fatu was coming from. 

Reigns told everyone that they had two years to climb the mountain (after he lost the title), but after all that time, it was Reigns himself who climbed the mountain and won the title—but now Fatu was trying to take it from him. 

Jimmy understood where Fatu was coming from. He understood Fatu wanting to upgrade his household, but it shouldn’t come at Reigns’ expense. Jey said Fatu was dangerous. He dismantled the MFTs one by one on SmackDown. They left Fatu on his own for a reason. If Fatu beat Reigns, he would take everything. Jey said this couldn’t all be about respect—there had to be consequences. 

Reigns said Jey was right. They weren’t giving out charity. Reigns said he would sit on this and address it later tonight. 

The three men put their hands together, and Reigns called them the first family. 

********

Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker segment 

Rollins entered to a strong reaction wearing an all-black suit. He said it was Bron Breakker’s fault that he was not currently the world champion and why he lost to Gunther at WrestleMania. Rollins took credit for Breakker having nine staples in the back of his head and called him out. 

Breakker entered with Paul Heyman. Rollins said he gave Breakker the world on a silver platter, but Breakker repaid him by taking everything away from him. Breakker was the reason Rollins had to forfeit the title, the reason he didn’t main-event WrestleMania, and the reason he lost at the show. Rollins asked Breakker how it benefited him at all. 

Breakker asked Rollins what he gave to him and Bronson Reed. It was the two of them putting out Rollins’ fires week after week and fighting his battles. Breakker and Reed had to sit in the background as Rollins started Raw every week by repeating the same thing over and over. Breakker held his nose and did a nasally impression of Rollins’ usual opening promo (which he, in fact, started this promo with). Breakker said he never needed Rollins—he only needed Heyman. 

Rollins laughed at this. Rollins said he was the world champion two years ago and wanted to fight the best in the world. He called Shawn Michaels so he could fight his best in NXT, and Michaels named Breakker. Rollins was on board. Last year, Heyman asked Rollins to take Breakker under his wing. Rollins was on board with that, too, because under his tutelage, he knew Breakker could be the biggest star in the industry. 

Rollins has seen athletes of all disciplines come in over the years, but Breakker was the most unique. He had everything to be the next big star in the industry. Everything except the most important thing. Rollins pointed at his head. 

Rollins knew what it was like being a 28-year-old young cat coming into the company, thinking the business owed him something. He knew what it was like to bet on himself and make decisions people wouldn’t be happy with. The difference between them was that Breakker tried, while Rollins succeeded. 

Rollins took chances that got him WrestleMania main events, while Breakker took chances and wound up with Austin Theory, Logan Paul, dinners on a private jet and happy endings from Heyman. Rollins told Breakker he wasn’t ready. 

Breakker said he was well on his way to becoming a main eventer with or without Rollins. He said Rollins’ body and mind couldn’t handle it anymore, and his shoulder couldn’t handle the weight of the strap. 

Breakker admitted he came up short in his world title match (against CM Punk), but he could sleep at night knowing he lost to the best in the world rather than to someone who self-proclaimed it. Breakker knew Rollins was a future WWE Hall of Famer. But he was also the very best in the world at being number two. 

Rollins responded, “That was pretty good, baby Steiner.” Rollins wondered if Breakker came up with that on his own or if he called Big Poppa Pump for his hookup. Rollins challenged Breakker to a match at Backlash to prove he was ready. Rollins told Breakker Steiner (that’s what he called him) that he wasn’t even number two in his own family.

(The show was 21 minutes old by the time this was done. They laid out their issues well enough—after weeks of physically assaulting each other—but Rollins’ promo in particular probably could have been cut in half. I know Reigns likes to start and end the shows, hence why his promo went first, but they should spread out these long talking segments.) 

********

Wrestlers were shown arriving, but Stephanie Vaquer’s introduction was interrupted when she was attacked by Raquel Rodriguez. Roxanne Perez appeared on screen to a big pop (she’s from this town), but the crowd went quiet when she crushed Vaquer with an equipment box. Liv Morgan told Vaquer, “Now this is over because this is my championship.” 

Intercontinental Championship: Penta (c) vs. Rusev 

The opening match started 29 minutes into the show. It went seven and a half minutes, and three of those were during a break. 

As Penta set up for a springboard move, Rusev was about to kick him out of the air with a Machka Kick, but Penta knew it was coming and held onto the rope a second longer to avoid it. Rusev whiffed on the kick, and Penta caught him in a schoolboy for the pinfall win. 

— Rusev was annoyed, so he attacked Penta after the match. Ethan Page, who watched the match from ringside, tried to join Rusev, but Rusev wasn’t interested. After Penta fought back, Page decked him from behind. Rusev and Page put the boots to Penta until Je’Von Evans ran out to make the save. 

Match result: Penta defeated Rusev to retain the Intercontinental Championship (7:31) 

********

There was a commercial for the Hulk Hogan Netflix documentary. This aired during the actual broadcast, not during the Netflix ad break. 

El Grande Americano cut a promo about his upcoming mask vs. mask match. In order to prepare, he wanted to challenge the biggest lucha libre star around here, so he challenged Rey Mysterio to a match tonight. The crowd cheered. 

During the break, they re-aired the Danhausen/Miz segment from SmackDown. (They aired more of this later.)

********

Becky Lynch promo 

Lynch said she finally got rid of AJ Lee and ended her horrible title reign. She put gold around the waist of somebody who deserved it and became the first person to win four different titles at WrestleMania. She’s the first three-time Women’s IC champion and has won more Mania matches than any woman in history. She claimed she was coming for Undertaker’s win record next. (This got no reaction.) 

All of that was wonderful, but what happened after the match was more important. She saw a sea of over 50,000 fans at Mania with her daughter sitting in the front row. She took her daughter up the ramp and to the back. She realized she needed to show her what a real champion was. It wasn’t about the five-star hotels or private jets or fancy tour buses, even though she indulged in all of that. It wasn’t about going to the biggest cities—it was about showing up in run-down towns like Loredo and showing up for all the common folk. 

She knew the fans wanted her to be a fighting champion and not just against a nostalgia act or an underdog. She knew they wanted something new, shiny and exciting, so she issued an open challenge. 

Iyo Sky entered, and the crowd chanted her name. Sky accepted. Lynch laughed. She said she wanted something new, shiny and exciting, and Sky was none of those things. She thought maybe Sky was accepting on Rhea Ripley’s behalf. She wanted to fight Shawn Michaels, not Marty Jannetty. After Lynch said Sky was holding Ripley back, Sky smacked her in the face. 

Lynch was about to bail, but Adam Pearce sauntered out to make the title match official. 

********

Women’s Intercontinental Championship match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. IYO SKY 

There was a passing reference to Kairi Sane during this match, though they never said her name. Michael Cole mentioned Sky and Ripley beating the Kabuki Warriors last week, and that Asuka was still pissed about it. Corey Graves said Asuka was so upset that we wouldn’t be seeing her former pupil for a long time.

Lynch blindsided Sky before the match began. Sky fought her off and tossed her around ringside, and the match began once they reentered the ring. They actually got to wrestle for a good six minutes or so before this went to break. Lynch got some offence, but Sky got the better of her and hit a powerbomb outside the ring. 

They traded submission attempts during a break until the fight spilled back outside, where Sky hit a high cross off the barricade. After the break, Lynch hit a superplex and floated over into a DDT for two. Sky countered a Man-handle, hit a great-looking superkick, and a butterfly backbreaker for two. 

Sky hit a tornado DDT and went for a moonsault, but Lynch got her feet up and hit a Man-handle Slam for a nearfall. Sky followed later with an Asai moonsault. 

As the ref (not Jessika Carr) checked on Lynch, Asuka ran down and tripped Sky off the rope. The ref had to play dumb and pretend she couldn’t see Asuka standing nearby with Sky suddenly down. 

Lynch took advantage and hit the Man-handle Slam for the pinfall win. Lynch retains. 

— Asuka attacked Sky after the match. Asuka put her in the Asuka Lock, and Sky tapped out. The crowd chanted, “We want Kairi,” as Asuka stood tall. 

Match result: Becky Lynch defeated IYO SKY to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (13:22) 

This was a really good match until the finish. It was refreshing to see Lynch finally wrestle someone other than Maxxine Dupri or AJ Lee in a singles match (for the first time since August 2025). The crowd was really into Sky, who suffered her fourth straight singles loss.

********

Chad Gable Americano approached Rey Mysterio backstage. Gable asked whether he would have to watch his back when he faced El Grande Americano in their mask vs. mask match. Mysterio said no. All he wanted was for the two of them to respect lucha libre. Mysterio said something in Spanish, and Gable pretended to understand. Mysterio shook his head. 

El Grande and his two buddies showed up. El Grande spoke to Mysterio in Spanish, but Gable told him to mind his business. They yelled at each other until Mysterio cut them off and said he wasn’t choosing sides. El Grande said he’d see Mysterio in the ring, and Mysterio was ready. 

********

Byron Saxton tried interviewing the Usos, but they were cut off by LA Knight. He asked if they were sitting at the table again, with Reigns at the head of the table. Knight reminded Jey that he was world champion on his own. Jimmy had the potential to be the champion, too, but he couldn’t do that under Reigns. 

The Usos told him this was family business. Knight told them that the power they had under the Bloodline eventually corrupts, and then it would be his business. 

********

Joe Hendry concert 

Hendry said he had a big decision to make and wanted to explain it via song. He sang a song announcing that he signed with Raw. In the song’s final verse, he said he respected the OTC and wanted to fire Logan Paul. He got the crowd to sing along to “fire Logan Paul,” until Paul interrupted. 

Paul marched out with Theory and was red-hot. He called himself unfireable. Theory and Paul bragged about being champions. Hendry said he saw their match on ESPN and called them primetime losers. 

Theory shoved the microphone into Hendry’s chest, so Hendry decked him with a clothesline and tackled Paul into the corner. The Vision swarmed him, though, until Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford ran out to make the save. 

After The Street Profits cleared Paul and Theory from the ring, Hendry wiped them out with a leaping dive. Hendry’s music hit, and he posed with Dawkins and Ford. 

(Singing a song proclaiming your admiration for Roman Reigns and hatred of Logan Paul is definitely one way to get yourself endeared to a new audience. Maybe he can shoot the t-shirt gun next week.) 

********

Backstage, Grayson Waller complained to Pearce about giving everyone else opportunities. Pearce tried to warn him that Oba Femi was standing behind him, but Waller didn’t get it. Waller said Femi was overrated and only beat Lesnar at the end of his career. Waller turned around to see Femi, who told Peare to make a match. Pearce made it official. (Our third impromptu match.) 

*******

The Street Profits officially welcomed Hendry to Raw. Before he left, Ford told Hendry to switch his blue shirt now that he was on Raw. 

Rollins approached Dawkins and Ford. He was about to thank them for their help last week, but they cut him off. They said Rollins thought everything was about him, like he was something special, and they walked off. 

(I enjoyed Ford and Dawkins telling off Rollins.) 

*******

The mask match between El Grande Americano and the Original El Grande is taking place in AAA on May 30th.  

Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano (w/ Bravo & Rayo Americano) 

There was a funny moment on commentary when Cole said he couldn’t wait to see what this guy looked like without his mask. Graves told him to go watch some old WCW before quickly realizing he meant El Grande, not Rey. (Graves knew what he meant.) 

After a break, Rey fought back and hit a tilt-a-whirl DDT. The ref was distracted as Rey tried to get rid of Bravo on one side of the ring, as Rayo tried placing the metal plate inside El Grande’s mask on the other. Rey gave Rayo a 619 for his trouble. 

The plate wound up in the ring, and El Grande tried to grab it for himself, but Gable Americano showed up and took it away. Rey shoved El Grande into Gable before giving El Grande a 619 and a springboard splash for the pinfall win. 

— Gable and El Grande brawled after the match until officials broke it up. 

Match result: Rey Mysterio defeated El Grande Americano (8:36)

******** 

Announced for Backlash so far: 

  • Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker 
  • IYO SKY vs. Asuka 

Asuka promo 

Asuka said she wasn’t done with Sky yet. She was still Sky’s senpai. All she tried to do was help Sky, but she only disappointed her. Sky was ungrateful, selfish, and her biggest failure. Sky failed Asuka and failed her family. 

Asuka said, “And now, we’re both alone, because I didn’t want another IYO.” (Another reference to Sane without saying her name.) Asuka said Sky killed her family, and now nothing would stop Asuka from destroying her. She would teach Sky one final lesson: that she would never be ready for Asuka. 

*******

Oba Femi vs. Grayson Waller 

Femi slammed Waller before hitting a running uppercut and a Fall From Grace powerbomb for the pinfall win. 

— After the match, Femi said the top champions were all tied up, and the United States Champion wasn’t accepting open challenges. Instead, Femi issued an open challenge to face him. He offered everyone a chance to step up, but warned that anyone who did so would be punished by the ruler. 

The crowd was into Femi as usual. 

Match result: Oba Femi defeated Grayson Waller (1:04)

********

Liv Morgan spoke to Roxanne Perez backstage. Morgan wanted to finish the conversation they were having before WrestleMania when Vaquer bashed their heads together. (So they had no opportunity to chat in the last three weeks outside of this show.) 

Morgan knew it must have been tough for Perez to watch everything that went down with Finn Bálor, because she knew they were close. But Morgan said they were a family, and Bálor put himself before the family. Morgan would never do that, so she would be in Perez’s corner tonight. 

Morgan asked Perez if she trusted her. Perez nodded her head, but told Morgan to go ahead without her. 

After Morgan left, Bálor slipped into the room unnoticed somehow and warned Perez that she couldn’t trust anyone in Judgment Day. Perez wondered if she could trust Bálor. She told him to leave before he got hurt. He wished her luck and left. 

Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (w/ Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan) vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria 

Perez was a huge fan favourite in front of her hometown crowd, and the crowd booed whenever the babyfaces went on offence against her. Cole said she had about 30 friends and family in the crowd. 

Perez and Valkyria got hot tags after a break, but it was the babyface Valkyria who ran wild to the chorus of boos. Perez fought back and gave Bayley a Russian leg sweep as Rodriguez simultaneously hit a big boot, but Valkyria broke up the cover. 

Perez knocked Valkyria off the apron and set up Bayley for Pop Rox, but Bayley countered and hit Bayley-to-belly for two after Rodriguez broke up the cover. Valkyria tackled Rodriguez out of the ring. 

Morgan leaped on the apron, so Bayley went after her. Bayley grabbed Morgan by the hair, but Morgan jumped down to the floor to break it up, and Bayley bounced off the rope as a result. The ref didn’t call a DQ, but this was basically Bayley’s own fault. 

The distraction allowed Perez to hit a shining wizard and Pop Rox for the pinfall win to a big pop from the crowd. 

Match result: Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez defeated Bayley & Lyra Valkyria (9:20)

The match itself was just ok, but it was nice to see Perez get a big ovation and a win in her hometown in her return to the ring. 

******** 

There was a quick Sol Ruca video package. She signs her Raw contract next week. 

Main event segment 

Roman Reigns entered to a very big reaction. He said it’s been a while since he’s been in Texas, and if you couldn’t tell by watching at home, they loved him here. Everyone cheered. 

Reigns said they created this world title belt in spite of him. They made it to try to take away from his shine, but it didn’t work. There was an old saying, and it was true: the title didn’t make the man, the man made the title. That’s exactly what he did. He put the title in the main event and on night two of WrestleMania. He made the title relevant, and now, you could finally be proud of it. Now, you could finally choose to acknowledge this title. Reigns told Loredo to acknowledge him. They did. 

Jacob Fatu entered. Reigns said he gave Fatu a week to think it over and hoped he had made the right choice. Reigns hoped that Fatu would choose to unite their family and not divide. 

Fatu said he didn’t need a week, a day, or an hour to think about it. Fatu knew exactly what he wanted when he came out last week. He didn’t hesitate when he said he needed that title. 

Fatu said Reigns must be stuck in his WWE main event bubble. Reigns didn’t grind like him. Twelve years of hard work and suffering, not knowing what the next meal was going to be. While Reigns was running the Bloodline, Fatu was broke, foaming out the mouth, grinding on the front line, trying to figure out if he would get here or not. 

It wasn’t how you started, but how you finish, and it got him standing out here now in front of Reigns’ ass. When he got started in WWE, Reigns, Jimmy, and Jey didn’t call him. Solo Sikoa did. Sikoa gave him a chance. 

Reigns cut him off. Reigns said Fatu was either confused or dumber than he thought. Sikoa couldn’t even get a coffee delivered to the building if he wanted to. Reigns was the one who ran the place. 

Reigns admitted he got a little distracted because things did get hectic around here, but he did sign off on Fatu. But now Fatu was sounding like a confused fool. Fatu didn’t deserve it and hasn’t earned it. Allowing Fatu to compete against him was nepotism, and he couldn’t allow that. 

Before Reigns could continue, Fatu aggressively grabbed him by the jaw and wouldn’t let go until Reigns bonked him with the mic. Fatu put him in the Tongan Death Grip and headbutted him until he fell to the mat. Fatu warned Reigns that he would take everything from him. 

Fatu held the title before dropping it on Reigns. There was a smattering of boos for Fatu as he walked off. 

Reigns, still down on the mat, grabbed the mic and said he would see Fatu at Backlash. Before the show ended, Fatu told Reigns off-mic that he’d see his punk-ass next week.

(This was another strong segment following last week’s setup. Fatu comes across as completely different from everyone else on the show and as a title challenger. It’s tricky because he’s an easy guy to root for, but going against Reigns seems to automatically make him a heel to this audience right now. He doesn’t seem to be going full-fledged heel, he’s just out of his mind with the title within his grasp, so we’ll see how they handle it.) 

Ricky Saints’ main roster call-up may reportedly be delayed

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Ricky Saints might not be moved to the WWE main roster anytime soon. 

According to BodySlam, WWE has discussed for Saints to move up to the main roster however the CW Network is keen on fixing a major concern – to have an established name on the brand amid the other call ups like Je’Von Evans, Trick Williams, Oba Femi, Ethan Page and Joe Hendry already moving on. 

Saints attacked Shiloh Hill backstage on the latest edition of NXT, setting up a match between the two for next week. And raising questions about WWE’s plans for him. 

Saints made his NXT debut in February 2025 after a five year stint with AEW. In April, he won the North American Title and nearly five months later captured the NXT Championship from Oba Femi. 

January saw a wave of NXT talents officially moving to Raw and SmackDown, and they even made their WrestleMania debuts last weekend after engaging the audiences.

On the Raw after Mania, Sol Ruca and Page made their brand debuts and stepped in the ring for their first matches. Hendry did not make an appearance but during the show it was announced that he will host his concert on Raw next week and was an official member of the brand’s roster. Additional reports cited that more NXT names are expected to join the main roster soon.

The upcoming edition of SmackDown is also reported to feature NXT call-ups and roster shakeups. Jacy Jayne and Rey Mysterio in particular were potential names discussed to switch brands.

Finn Balor posts image of busted up lip following WWE Raw match

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Finn Balor faced JD McDonagh in a singles match on the WWE Raw after Mania. During the bout, Balor’s lip was busted up, leaving him bloodied. 

Balor returned to his trimmed beard look and brought back his signature wrestling gear. He shared an Instagram post with a series of images from Raw and revealed the nasty lip trauma suffered during the match which required stitches. He captioned the post ‘We are so back’, referencing the old version of Balor has officially made a WWE comeback. 

At WWE WrestleMania, his Demon persona made an appearance for the first time in three years, and defeated Dominik Mysterio in a Street Fight match.

Balor was kicked out of The Judgment Day in March. There were numerous issues that led to the eventual split. The group’s frustration at his inability to capture the World Championship and refusing to assist Mysterio retain the Intercontinental Title against Penta on the March 2 episode of Raw, were key contributions. 

McDonagh, who was once Balor’s pupil in his wrestling school in Ireland, also turned his back which led to the Raw match. He also competed at WrestleMania 42 in a ladder match for the Intercontinental TItle which Penta retained. 

After Balor’s victory on Raw, Mysterio attacked him from behind indicating that their rivalry is far from over.

WOL: WrestleMania weekend memories, RAW, Lesnar, WWE security, more

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with TONS to talk about as Bryan has returned from an amazing WrestleMania weekend where he had the time of his life. Thoughts on all sorts of different topics, plus what’s up with Brock, the RAW after WrestleMania, WWE security issues, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Sol Ruca names IYO SKY as dream opponent after WWE Raw debut

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Sol Ruca is officially a part of the WWE Raw roster after nearly four years on NXT. 

On Raw Recap, Ruca discussed nervousness before her debut on the brand. She also spoke about going up against Liv Morgan, who is supported by fans despite being a heel, in her first Raw match. She initially assumed her Raw debut would be a brief on-screen moment or a backstage segment instead of a full-fledged match.

“Absolutely incredible. I mean, this is not what I was expecting at all. I came here to do some world matches, some media stuff, and then a few days in, they were like, actually, you’re gonna be on Raw and I was like, ‘oh, okay, cool. Good thing, I brought extra clothes in here and stuff.’ And honestly, I thought it was gonna be like a crowd shot, or backstage or what have you. And getting here, they’re like, promo match interviews, all that. And I’m like, ‘Alright, this is it, this is my time to make my moment and prove myself, and especially being in the ring with Liv Morgan, who just came off of a huge win at WrestleMania, and her mic work, her ring work, is incredible. And to be able to be put in that position, it honestly gave me confidence.”

Ruca added that she was genuinely surprised by the crowd’s reaction, noting that fans knew who she was despite many main roster audiences not being familiarized with NXT talents. 

“A lot of the time, people at Raw, people who watch at home, don’t watch NXT as well. So coming out there, coming from NXT, is a big gamble on I don’t know if these people are gonna know who I am. I don’t know if they’re gonna care for what I have to say. Again, going into Liv Morgan, like, yes, she is a heel, but people do love her as well. So I’m like, I could be booed I don’t know. So, yeah, going out there, you just kind of have to be confident and go for it. And it definitely threw me off a little bit as soon as I said my first line, they popped, and I was like, ‘okay, they know who I am’. But it’s a learning curve, going from NXT to here to listen to the crowd and be able to have a little bit slow of a pace and feed off the crowd and just have your moments.”

When asked about dream opponents, Ruca instantly mentioned IYO SKY. She proceeded to mention Randy Orton, if it ever came down to it given their signature moves style. 

“So, my dream match is IYO SKY. But for this scenario, if it can be anyone, it’d probably be Randy Orton. The RKO, the Sol Snatcher, we’re gonna see whose is better. Maybe throw Je’Von in there too. We can all just go crazy.”

Last year in July, Ruca made her SmackDown debut in a fatal 4-way match against Alexa Bliss, Roxanne Perez and Kairi Sane. In October, Ruca and Zaria competed against then-Women’s Tag Team Champions, Bliss and Charlotte Flair for the titles. 

The Raw after WrestleMania added three new members to their roster – Ruca, Ethan Page, and Joe Hendry. While Page and Ruca made their in-ring debuts, Hendry will appear on the show next week. 

WOR: RAW after WrestleMania, Brock questions, Cody’s eye, debuts, more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including a full recap of the RAW after WrestleMania, the very odd story of Brock Lesnar’s retirement, Cody Rhodes’ eye socket, new debuts on RAW, plus all the New Japan and ratings news and such. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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WWE Raw live results: The night after WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: April 20, 2026
Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV 

The Big Takeaway —

Jacob Fatu is next in line for Roman Reigns’ world title. The challenge was made for Backlash, but we’ll have to wait until next week for the official announcement. 

Ethan Page and Sol Ruca officially joined Raw, and both were involved in impromptu matches. Page beat Je’Von Evans (thanks to a distraction), and Ruca lost to Liv Morgan (thanks to interference by Zaria). Joe Hendry also appears to be joining the brand, as he has a concert scheduled next week. 

The Street Profits returned, while Rhea Ripley said goodbye to Iyo Sky as she heads to SmackDown full-time. 

Read more below. 

**********

Show Recap — 

The show started with a long recap video of WrestleMania 42, which included a clip of Brock Lesnar removing his gloves and boots in the ring. Michael Cole said Lesnar “has called it a day,” and they would look back at his career tonight. 

Also announced for tonight is a tag match with Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky facing Asuka and Kairi Sane. 

Oba Femi kicks off the Raw after WrestleMania 42

Oba Femi entered wearing a suit. He received a big ovation and chants of his name. Femi stated, “The ruler has arrived.” He dropped the mic and basked in the crowd chants. 

That was that. 

********

Asuka and Sane cut a pre-taped promo on Sky and Ripley. Asuka took credit for Sky’s success and told her it didn’t have to be this way. Asuka claimed that Sky had corrupted Sane and that, along with Ripley, she would face the consequences tonight. 

WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane

Ripley entered to a big reaction. During a break, they showed a replay of Ripley beating Jade Cargill for the title, and Sky gave her a big hug. As the match began, there was a single male chanting, “Rhea sucks,” so everyone around him started booing him. 

Asuka distracted the referee so Sane could attack Ripley, but Ripley knocked Sane off the apron without a problem. Asuka used that distraction to kick Ripley in the head and knock her out of the ring, and Sane followed with an Insane Elbow to the outside. 

The heels had control during a break, but Ripley fought back by knocking Asuka off the apron and hitting Sane with a running kick. Sky made the hot tag and hit Asuka with strikes before hitting both opponents with a double dropkick. Sky woke up the crowd by doing her pose and hitting both opponents with running meteoras. 

Ripley gave Asuka a Razor’s Edge, and Sky followed with a missile dropkick, but Asuka kicked out at two (Sane flew in to break it up, but she was late, and Asuka kicked out). Asuka and Sane double-teamed Ripley, but Sky broke up a cover. 

Sky hit Asuka with a suicide dive (basically landing on her head again), and Ripley headbutted Sane. Ripley gave Sane a Rip-tide, and Sky followed with a moonsault for the pinfall win. 

Match result: IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley defeated Kairi Sane & Asuka (11:37)

A decent match. The crowd was pretty quiet for the actual wrestling. 

Sky picked up an expected win here after being left off of WrestleMania. 

********

Adam Pearce congratulated Penta on his win and called the ladder match incredible. He wasn’t sure how Penta could possibly follow that performance. Je’Von Evans congratulated Penta but said he planned to become the IC champion soon. Penta said the title wasn’t leaving him any time soon. Penta left. 

Pearce introduced Ethan Page to Evans as the newest member of Raw. He got a pretty good pop. Page mocked Evans for thinking he deserved another title shot. Page said he always gets what he wants, and he wanted the Intercontinental Championship. Unlike Evans, he wouldn’t need a second shot at it. 

Evans got in his face, so Pearce put them in a singles match tonight. Evans told Page nobody was taking his spot, “especially not you.” 

********

They showed a picture of CM Punk, and people booed. He’s up next. 

El Grande Americano, Bravo and Rayo cut a promo during the break. 

Royce Keys was shown in the crowd. He didn’t get much of a reaction. 

CM Punk and Cody Rhodes segment 

Punk walked through the back and onto the stage with no music. He got a mixed reaction (probably more booing). He entered the stage, and Cult of Personality hit as he made his way to the ring. Punk was booed in the ring, but there were louder chants of his name. (More people liked him than not, but the people booing were louder.)

Punk said he’s been dealing with a lot of loss the past six months or so. He was overseas in Japan and got a phone call that his friend Duke Roufus didn’t wake up that morning. Larry passed away not long after that. 

That was followed by the losses of WWE staffers Kerwin Silfies, Jim Shank, and Davey Coates. These were the people behind the scenes who made this place a well-oiled machine. (Fans gave this a big round of applause.) These people were with him so often that they considered each other family. (Punk encouraged the fans to give them an ovation, and they did.) On top of that, his friend Bo Leuders passed on April 1st. 

Punk also lost last night. All of the aforementioned losses stung a little more than losing the title did. Every week, the fans helped him heal and get through all of these losses. Being the champion gave him an anchor that kept him from slowing down or reducing himself to a puddle of tears, even when he wanted to. He thanked them for helping him process all the grief. Something told Punk they’d help him get through his loss last night. 

Punk said he wasn’t even supposed to be the heavyweight champion. He barely survived Gunther before being cashed in on by Seth Rollins. He was only champion for a few minutes, and maybe that would be enough, but he stayed ready and poured his heart and soul into this. 

Because he stayed ready, he became the number one contender after Rollins got hurt. If he didn’t stay ready, they’d be Yeeted and talking to Jey Uso right now instead. (Some people booed this because they missed Punk’s point, so Punk told them that he liked Jey Uso.) 

He doesn’t know when another opportunity would arise, but he was still smiling because he was still the best in the world. He had a dream since he was a kid, and he proved it last night by main-eventing WrestleMania. It wasn’t his night, but he wasn’t going to cry about it. He was going to stay ready, because you never knew when a title opportunity would fall out of the sky. 

Punk was about to leave, but Cody Rhodes entered. Rhodes walked out with a limp. He removed his shades to reveal a nasty black eye. He also received a mixed reaction. 

Rhodes said this wasn’t quite what he was expecting from Punk. Punk asked if he thought he would crash out after losing. Rhodes said yes. Rhodes said he knew Punk and how he handled things. Punk said he understood why Rhodes felt that way about him crashing out.

Rhodes said Punk was buttoned up, and he was glad that Vegas gave Punk his flowers. (Even though they weren’t.) Rhodes said he (Rhodes) was the one standing there looking and feeling like a loser. 

Punk asked if Rhodes thought he (Punk) should feel like a loser. Punk said Rhodes shouldn’t feel like a loser. He beat a future Hall of Famer and legend on Saturday. Fighting his old friend must have been tough. Punk fought someone he hated, which was easy. Punk enjoyed stomping on Roman Reigns’ face and stomping on his sweet pepper necklace. 

Punk said Rhodes was a winner. The crown was heavy for Rhodes, but Punk felt free right now without the title. Punk wanted Rhodes to keep defending his belt. Punk said he would be ready. He looked at Rhodes’ title belt and said you never know when a title opportunity would fall out of the sky. Rhodes responded, “Just say when.”  

(This was an obvious tease for down the road. It was a bit of an odd segment, because it was laid out as if Punk would get a big ovation. But both he and Rhodes received mixed reactions.)

********

Finn Bálor pre-taped promo 

Finn Bálor said Dominik brought out the Demon, and the Demon put down Dom. Bálor wasn’t finished with Judgment Day. Dom was the first to fall after drawing first blood. He expected this from Dom, but not from JD McDonagh. 

He remembered when McDonagh was a 12-year-old kid when he walked into the gym in Ireland. Bálor helped him grow into one of the best performers in the world. He knew McDonagh would have his back no matter what. But the moment of truth came when McDonagh chose to stick with Dom. Bálor would take out McDonagh tonight. 

Ethan Page vs. Je’Von Evans

The announcers acknowledged their NXT feud.

This went through a break after Evans hit a dive. Evans fought back late in the match and dumped Page from the ring. He went after Page near the announce table, but Rusev suddenly appeared behind the barricade. 

Rusev took a swing, but Evans ducked and punched him instead. Evans leaped at Rusev and knocked him into the barricade. This all happened in front of the referee, who did nothing. 

Back in the ring, Evans went to the ropes, but Page tripped him and hit Twisted Grin for the pinfall win. 

— Rusev attacked Evans and put him in the Accolade. Page smirked and left the ring. Penta ran out to make the save, but Page tripped him off the top rope, and Rusev followed with a Machka Kick. 

Page applauded Rusev. Rusev wasn’t interested, so Page backed off before Rusev put Penta in the Accolade. There were light chants of “Rusev sucks” as he posed with the IC title belt. 

Match result: Ethan Page defeated Je’Von Evans (9:45)

I believe this was Evans’ first pinfall loss on Raw since November, when he lost to Gunther. 

******** 

Danhausen entered during the break. He was sort of dressed like John Cena. He said he was the new GOAT after Cena passed the torch to him. He had a new list of demands: a Danhausen animated series (perhaps a nod to the new AEW animated web series), a Danhausen cereal, and his face on the side of the truck. 

Tyrese Haliburton and Funny Marco were in the crowd. Also in the crowd were Paige, Brie Bella, and Nikki Bella, who all got a nice pop. 

********

Liv Morgan segment 

Liv Morgan entered with Judgment Day. She called herself the greatest Women’s World Champion ever. She thanked her Judgment Day teammates and said she loved them. She also thanked Stephanie Vaquer for reminding her that she was the most talented woman in WWE. This was her ring, her division, her show, and her championship. If everyone thought she was messy and trouble before, just you wait—

Sol Ruca interrupted. She got a pretty good reaction. Ruca called Morgan an inspiration for her after everything she’s done over the past decade. Morgan was the top woman in the division, and Ruca congratulated her. 

Morgan said Ruca had some nerve interrupting her celebration. But since Ruca was so nice to her, Morgan would say this as nicely as she could: “You are no Liv Morgan, sweetie.” Morgan told Ruca to get out of her ring right now. 

Ruca said she wasn’t out there for a fight, but she wasn’t about to back down from one. 

Peace entered and made a match between the two of them right now. (Did he have nothing planned for tonight?) 

Non-title match: Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan (w/ Raquel Rodriguez & Roxxane Perez) vs. Sol Ruca

Ruca used her athleticism early on to catch Morgan off guard, hitting an X-factor followed by a springboard moonsault to the outside. Morgan took advantage of a distraction to hit a backstabber and take control during the break. (They didn’t show any replays and the announcers didn’t mention it, so you’d have no idea this happened if you don’t get to see the action during commercials.) 

Morgan went for three amigos, but Ruca countered with a suplex of her own. Ruca followed with strikes, a German suplex, a missile dropkick, and a running knee for two. Ruca came off the top, but Morgan caught her with a Codebreaker for two. Morgan went for Oblivion, but Ruca escaped by rolling right through onto her feet. 

Ruca followed with a superkick and a Sol Snatcher. The crowd buzzed before she did it because they saw it coming, and they popped big for the move itself. However, Morgan managed to roll out of the ring before Ruca could make a cover. Ruca did a handspring dive over the top and to the outside to wipe out the heels. 

As the ref checked on Morgan in the ring (for a very long time), Zaria ran out and shoved Ruca into the ring post. Zaria also hit a spinebuster while the ref was still checking on Morgan. The idiot ref turned around and saw Ruca down, but somehow didn’t see Zaria on the ramp. 

Ruca avoided a countout, but as soon as she slipped in the ring, Morgan hit Oblivion for the pinfall win. 

— After the match, Vaquer entered and faced off with Morgan on the ramp. 

Match result: Liv Morgan defeated Sol Ruca in a non-title match (11:54)

This was a good showcase for Ruca—until she lost. Losing to the world champion isn’t the worst thing, but the finish still sucked. The referee was distracted for an unbelievably long time. It’s also silly that Vaquer, who was completely screwed out of her title by Morgan, waited until after all the shenanigans to come out and confront her. 

********

Fabolous, Maino, Dave East, and Jim Jones were in the crowd. 

There was a big Brock Lesnar career video package. (I could be wrong, but I don’t think they ever used the word retirement all night when referring to Lesnar.)

The Vision segment

Paul Heyman entered with tag team champions Logan Paul and Austin Theory. Heyman said he had a speech prepared, but he was thrown off guard. His favourite thing about WrestleMania was expecting the unexpected. Yesterday was a moment so unexpected that it will live in his heart—and he suspects the hearts of many—for the rest of his life. 

Despite the fact that, earlier tonight, Punk kissed the asses of everyone backstage, this supposed greatest production team of all time still had his beast in the “Now” portion of the “Then, Now, and Forever” signature that starts the show. Heyman freaked out and wanted them to put Lesnar in the “Forever” portion because he would forever be the baddest man that has ever been in a WWE ring. 

Heyman did want to talk about the now. He claimed WWE was experiencing a resurgence in the tag division thanks to Paul and Theory. 

Paul tried to talk, but the crowd booed him out of the building. He said the only reason the Usos and LA Knight won at Mania was because of the ungrateful IShowSpeed. Paul was sick of these YouTubers and streamers coming into their business and doing what they do. He hated the outsiders. Nothing that happened at WrestleMania mattered because IShowSpeed left with a piece of Paul’s fist in his face, while he still left the show with Theory as the world tag team champions. 

Heyman wanted to acknowledge the favour that Gunther did for him. Heyman knew he owed him one, and whenever Gunther was ready, Heyman would repay. The best assist of the weekend belonged to the man who cut Rollins in half—Bron Breakker. 

Breakker entered. He said it was one year ago that he became the leader of the Vision in this same arena because Rollins was too weak. (I don’t know if he misspoke, because that happened in October and not in Vegas.) Breakker’s favourite part of the weekend was ruining everything for Rollins after he came this close to beating Gunther. 

Rollins’ music hit, and he attacked Breakker from behind with a chair. Paul and Theory attacked Rollins, but Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins ran out to make the save. Ford wiped them out with a dive, and the Street Profits chased the champs away through the crowd. 

Back in the ring, Breakker went for a spear, but Rollins nailed a superkick. Rollins went for a stomp, but Breakker avoided it and hit the spear anyway. Breakker screamed at Rollins before hitting another spear. Breakker stood over Rollins as the segment ended. 

(Breakker was somehow bleeding from the forehead. He was bleeding at ringside when the Profits entered, but the only thing that happened to him at that point was Rollins hitting him from behind.) 

********

McDonagh cut a pre-taped promo on Bálor. He didn’t appreciate Bálor taking cues from Punk and talking down to Judgment Day like he was the leader. Turning on Bálor was easy, and he would do it again. McDonagh would prove that the Bálor we all knew and loved was dead. 

Finn Bálor vs. JD McDonagh

Bálor attacked McDonagh during his entrance and wiped him out with a dive. Bálor attacked him through the crowd before heading back to the ring, where the match began. 

Despite all of that, McDonagh took over clean with a simple back elbow. McDonagh held control through a break, tossing him around ringside. McDonagh hit a corkscrew splash and seemed to land right on Bálor’s mouth. McDonagh checked on him before making a cover, and Bálor came up bleeding from the mouth moments later. 

Bálor hit a spinning headlock elbow drop and a slingblade, but McDonagh avoided a dropkick and hit a headbutt for two. McDonagh went for a moonsault, but Bálor got his feet up, hit a dropkick and followed with a Coup de Grace for the pinfall win. 

— Dom attacked Bálor after the match, but Bálor fought him off and hit a dropkick. Bálor went for Coup de Grace, but McDonagh pulled Dom to safety. 

Match result: Finn Bálor defeated JD McDonagh (6:14) 

********

Jackie Redmond interviewed Gunther. He said he felt great and proved every word he said about Rollins. He wanted to make it clear there was no “we” when it came to him and Heyman. Heyman simply owed him a favour. Redmond wanted to know more. Gunther said the only thing people should expect is the world title back around his waist. 

LA Knight interrupted. Knight informed Gunther that he wasn’t the only one eyeing the world title, and unlike Gunther, Knight didn’t need help to win at WrestleMania. Knight left. Gunther didn’t appreciate this. 

******* 

Next week on Raw: 

  • Becky Lynch appears 
  • Joe Hendry concert 
  • Follow-up to the main event segment 

When they announced Hendry, Corey Graves asked whose name he’d have to say to make Hendry disappear. 

*******

Ripley and Sky say goodbye 

Ripley and Sky had an emotional goodbye backstage. Ripley didn’t want it to be forever, but she told Sky to handle her business on Raw, while she went to SmackDown to be the champion. They said they loved each other and parted ways. 

As Ripley walked through the back, she walked past Morgan. Morgan said, “See you around,” and Ripley responded, “I’m looking forward to it.” Ripley left. 

********

Roman Reigns main event segment 

Reigns entered with Jimmy and Jey Uso. He told Las Vegas to acknowledge him. They did. 

Reigns said he was going to keep it simple tonight: talk about the title and the future. But then he ran into his cousins, so it made sense to discuss family business first. Reigns looked at them and said he missed this. He missed having their full trust, respect, and admiration. He missed doing business with them. 

When they were separated, people like Punk could disrespect them. Some washed rapper from the 90s (Cam’ron) ran his mouth to Jey, despite Jey changing the whole environment (with Yeeting). They belonged together. They were the power, and when they were together, they ran the business. They did it for four years straight. Reigns wasn’t asking the Usos to serve him, he was asking them to be his blood and stand with him. 

Jimmy said Reigns would always be their Tribal Chief, and they would always have his back. Jimmy and Jey held their fingers in the air. (Jey did not say anything.) Reigns was about to join them, but they were interrupted. 

Jacob Fatu entered. Reigns said it’s been a while since he saw Fatu, so he figured there were only a couple of reasons why he would be out there. Reigns said, “I must assume it’s to acknowledge me,” and Fatu quickly responded, “Nah, that ain’t it.” 

Reigns then assumed it’s because Fatu wanted the title. Fatu said he didn’t want the title—he needed the title. Fatu wasn’t out there to be the Tribal Chief, but he needed everything the Tribal Chief had. 

Fatu said, “I need the shoe deal, I need the private jets, I need that Rolex, I need more vehicles, I need a bigger house, I need to put my children in better schools, and I’ll do anything for my family—even if I gotta go through you. So at Backlash, I’m upgrading. At Backlash, I’m levelling up my household. At Backlash, you gonna know, Jacob Fatu is all gas, no brakes with it.” The crowd chanted along as he did his catchphrase. 

Reigns said he wanted all of those things for Fatu as well. Maybe Fatu could beat him, but could he handle the burden of the title? And if Fatu couldn’t beat him, “Can you handle the burden of having to acknowledge me?” Reigns warned that it was thin air at the top with little footing to stand on. 

Reigns would give Fatu a week to think about it, because he would answer him next week on Raw. Reigns left with the Usos. 

(Jacob Fatu was great here. I don’t love Reigns’ promos in general, but he was good here too, and this was a nice, simple setup for Backlash. Reigns is obviously insanely popular, but I wonder how much people will want to see the Bloodline back on top as the focus. It should work for now, as Reigns has a few new potential opponents to keep him busy this summer.) 

WOR: RAW before Mania, Alberto, Dynasty, Darby, WWE tix

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the latest on Alberto el Patron, the final RAW before WrestleMania, WWE ticket sales still very weak, Jesse Ventura, Iyo Sky, tons of ratings notes, and so much more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Alberto El Patron released from jail, CMLL & AAA notes
10:16: More AEW Dynasty thoughts, should Darby Allin win on Wednesday?
30:35: IYO SKY’s WrestleMania match status, anniversary of Jesse Ventura lawsuit victory against WWE
40:09: Ratings
48:41: WWE Raw recap

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WWE Raw live results: WrestleMania 42 go-home show

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: April 13, 2026
Location: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA 

The Big Takeaway —

WrestleMania 42 is this weekend. 

**********

Show Recap — 

Raw kicked off immediately with a pre-taped Roman Reigns promo. Reigns said that when he won the Royal Rumble, he told CM Punk to enjoy his time as the World Champion, but instead, he lied and exposed himself as a hypocrite. 

The video cut to clips of Punk’s hypocritical statements. Punk claimed he brought in the Shield, even though when the angle first happened, he claimed he had nothing to do with it. Punk claimed the company treated him like garbage, even though he was champion for 400+ days. Punk claimed he didn’t surround himself with a wiseman or yes-men, even though he previously had Paul Heyman or the Straight Edge Society by his side. 

They also showed Pat McAfee’s comments about Punk taking the money to go to Saudi Arabia. Reigns said he liked McAfee, but never has a punter run his mouth to him. Nobody believed in Punk anymore because it wasn’t 2012. Reigns didn’t lie. That’s why people liked him and trusted him. Either Punk would tell the truth tonight, or Reigns would. 

(This was well done, and a good idea to start the show with this as a hook for their segment later tonight.) 

********

Wrestlers were shown arriving at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, and a video package for Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi aired. 

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman segment 

Adam Pearce and Paul “Triple H” Lesvesque stood in the ring together. Pearce wanted to ensure the Lesnar-Femi match actually happened, so he decided they would sign their match contract separately. 

Heyman marched out and agreed with Pearce’s sentiment. We were close to WrestleMania, and nobody should get close to Lesnar. 

Lesnar entered and signed the contract. Heyman said it might as well be a Nigerian death warrant. Lesnar ripped the microphone away from Heyman and said we wouldn’t even know Femi’s name after Sunday. Heyman gave us a spoiler for the real WrestleMania main event—Lesnar would win, and Femi would lose. 

********

After all the talking to kick off the show, we were treated to a video involving the Vision. IShowSpeed was having doubts about his upcoming match. Logan Paul and Austin Theory tried to psych him up and did some in-ring training with him. Speed was full of confidence following this short training session. 

During a break, Michael Cole said WrestleMania was all about the moments, and they aired a clip of Giannis Antetokounmpo saying his favourite Mania moment was Lesnar ending Undertaker’s streak. 

There was footage of the Mania stage being built at the stadium in Las Vegas. 

Charlotte Flair (w/ Alexa Bliss) vs. Lyra Valkyria (w/ Bayley)

Flair had control throughout a break after hitting a big boot, but Valkyria came back with a middle rope leg drop onto a hunched-over Flair for two. Flair responded with a moonsault for a nearfall before Valkyria hit a fisherman’s suplex for two. 

Flair chucked Valkyria outside the ring, knocking over Bayley in the process. Back in the ring, Flair rolled up Valkyria, but Bayley tripped up Flair, and Valkyria managed to fall backward into a cover for the pinfall win. 

Flair was pissed, and the two teams got into a shoving match until the referees backed them off. 

Match result: Lyra Valkyria defeated Charlotte Flair (10:25) 

********

Cole let us know there were still tickets available for the SmackDown and Raw surrounding WrestleMania. (Both shows are also in Vegas.) 

The MFTs confronted LA Knight and the Usos backstage. Solo Sikoa couldn’t believe Jimmy and Jey were hanging out with Knight every week. Knight challenged three of them to a six-man tag match tonight so he could smack them back to factory settings. 

Penta cut a commercial break promo plugging the Intercontinental title ladder match at Mania. He planned on bringing pain, and the match would be a war. 

They plugged the Hulk Hogan Netflix documentary. (The new one, not the one from 2017.) There was only a split-second crowd reaction to this because the video was followed by Stephanie Vaquer’s entrance, but it sounded like people were booing the Hogan plug. We’ll see what the live reports indicate. 

********

Stephanie Vaquer and Liv Morgan segment 

Vaquer entered the ring for an interview with Cathy Kelley, but she was immediately attacked from behind by Liv Morgan. (Morgan still has a knot on her forehead.) Vaquer collided with Kelley, who was knocked down (perhaps Kelley’s first ever bump). 

This led to our latest pull-apart brawl, as the two women brawled until officials broke things up. With Vaquer out of the ring, Morgan grabbed a mic and said, “I knew your mother was trash, but I didn’t know she raised a little bitch.” (Enlightening stuff.) 

Vaquer stormed back into the ring to brawl again until officials broke it up again. 

(Kelley was helped to the back, and later in the show, Cole said she was checked on by trainers and would be fine.)

********

Jackie Redmond interviewed Iyo Sky backstage. Sky said she may have lost to Jade Cargill on SmackDown, but she did not regret fighting for her friend, Rhea Ripley. Sky would be rooting for Ripley at WrestleMania. 

Asuka and Kairi Sane interrupted. Asuka said Sky went into Mania as the world champion last year, but this year, she was just Ripley’s sidekick. 

Sky said she had enough of Asuka and told Sane she didn’t have to put up with this. Asuka put Sane in a match against Sky tonight (presumably because Pearce didn’t make any matches himself). 

********

Six-man tag team match: LA Knight, Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Solo Sikoa, JC Mateo & Tanga Loa (w/ Talla Tonga)

This was a short match with a commercial break, so not much happened. 

Jey went for a suicide dive, but Sikoa caught him and drove him into the announce desk. Tama Tonga showed up behind the barricade and was confronted by Sikoa and Tonga. This distracted Loa, so Knight hit him with a BFT for the pinfall win. 

Match result: KA Knight & The Usos defeated Tanga Loa, JC Mateo & Solo Sikoa (6:45) 

********

Jelly Roll’s favourite WrestleMania was The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 in Toronto. There was one more of these segments later on, with a bunch of fans choosing Cody Rhodes’ win over Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 as their favourite.

Gunther and Seth Rollins segment 

Gunther entered for a promo, but like the earlier segment with Vaquer and Morgan, he was immediately attacked from behind by Seth Rollins. Gunther bailed. 

Rollins said Gunther jumped him two weeks in a row, so tonight was his receipt, and Rollins would finish the job at Mania. Rollins said if this really was personal for Gunther, like he claimed—and not just him seeking a favour from Heyman—he should return to the ring and tell him why he wanted this match at Mania. 

Gunther grabbed a mic and got back into the ring and into Rollins’ face. Gunther said he was indeed solving Heyman’s problem, but he was also doing it with a smile on his face, because Rollins was pissing him off. Rollins strutted around like he was the best in the ring, but he wasn’t—Gunther was, and Rollins never wanted to find that out. 

When he was the world champion, Rollins didn’t seek him out. Instead, Rollins became a useful idiot for Heyman. WrestleMania was personal for him because he wanted to expose that Rollins could not lace his boots. 

They butted heads before exchanging blows. Rollins got the better of this brawl and tried to curb-stomp Gunther’s head onto the ring steps, but Gunther escaped through the crowd. 

******** 

Dominik Mysterio confronted Pearce backstage. Dom didn’t like that Rey Mysterio was getting an IC title shot, while he had to face the Demon Finn Bálor. Dom said Bálor told him the demon was dead. He also signed a contract to fight Bálor, not the demon, and wanted the match cancelled. Pearce said Rey was a Hall of Famer and was getting the IC title match he deserved—and Dom would get what he deserved, too. 

Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Sacramento Kings player Dylan Cardwell were in the crowd. 

IYO SKY vs. Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka)

During a break, Asuka and Sky played tug-of-war with Sane until Asuka forcefully let go, and Sane collided with Sky as a result. Sane took over in the match, and Asuka took some cheap shots on Sky while the referee was distracted. Sky made her come back following the break with a missile dropkick and running corner meteora. 

Sane distracted the referee after being knocked off the top rope, allowing Asuka to shove Sky into the ring post. This made a loud thud, but Jessika Carr had to play dumb like she didn’t hear anything, even though she turned around and Sky was dead. 

Ripley ran out to her music and hit Asuka with a headbutt (which actually missed by a mile), but was attacked from behind by Jade Cargill. Sky wiped out Cargill in response. 

Sky went to the top rope, but with the referee distracted for at least the third time in the match, Asuka tripped her off, and Sane applied a small package for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Kairi Sane defeated IYO SKY (9:56)

That’s three straight singles losses for Sky, who does not have a singles win in 2026. 

This match probably would’ve been pretty good without all the outside stuff, but the outside stuff is what we’re paying for. 

*******

There was a video package for AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch. 

Triple H and Pearce entered to Triple H’s music during a break for the next segment. 

Oba Femi segment 

Pearce called out Femi to sign the WrestleMania contract. Femi entered to a strong reaction, and he quickly signed the contract. Triple H alerted Femi to Heyman, who was suddenly standing on the stage. The crowd chanted for Femi. 

Heyman said he’s never seen someone come across as the biggest star in the industry as fast as Femi. Heyman knew when he was safe and knew when he was not, and knew Femi was a violent man. That was also the thing Heyman liked most about Femi. He was the most violent man to come to WWE since Lesnar. He was the fastest rising star since Lesnar. He was the most impressive athlete, fighter, and combat athlete— 

Heyman’s sentence was cut off by the crowd, who continued to chant loudly for Femi. Heyman informed them that it would all come to an end on WrestleMania Sunday. It would all come crashing down in Suplex City with an F5 by Lesnar. Heyman said Femi would have to rebuild his career after WrestleMania and that his door would be open. 

Femi said it was taking everything in his being not to beat Heyman pillar to post. The crowd chanted, “Beat his ass.” Femi wasn’t interested because Heyman’s physical scars would heal, but the emotional scars from his beast losing would last forever. Femi told Heyman to close his door, because the only door Femi needed was the door to WrestleMania. 

Femi said Heyman thought no one could beat Lesnar because of the past 25 years, but over the past four weeks, Femi showed that he absolutely can be beaten. It wasn’t personal for Femi, it was business. But it wasn’t business as usual because this was different. He could feel it, Heyman could feel it, and the fans could feel it. This was the end for Lesnar. 

Femi said Heyman has always been there with Lesnar as his mouthpiece, but he has never been an honest one. If Heyman were honest, he would have come out there and announced that his client was scared of him. He was the mountain that Lesnar could not climb, and he would win at WrestleMania. Femi was the one and always was. Everyone knew it, and at WrestleMania, Heyman would know it, too. 

(This was a good final segment for this match. Femi had to fight through some overwritten dialogue, but he was really good here, particularly when he got more and more fired up.) 

********

They aired Liv Morgan’s Terrible Trouble music video. 

Je’Von Evans & Dragon Lee vs. Rusev & JD McDonagh

There was an impressive spot during a break where Evans hit a frog splash with Rusev positioned more than halfway across the ring. The impressive spots continued when Dragon Lee made a hot tag. Lee leaped over the top rope and used a hurricanrana to yank McDonagh off the apron and into Rusev. 

Lee hit a snap German suplex, but McDonagh responded with a Spanish fly. Evans broke up the cover and wiped out Rusev with a dive. Lee followed moments later with a Styles Clash on McDonagh for the pinfall win. 

— Rusev attacked Lee and Evans after the match. Rey ran out to attack Rusev and went for a 619, but Rusev cut him off with a clothesline. Penta ran out next, but Rusev cut him off with a Machka Kick. Rusev laid out everyone (minus McDonagh) and put Lee in the Accolade. Rusev stood tall. 

Match result: Dragon Lee & Je’Von Evans defeated JD McDonagh & Rusev (8:13) 

Every Raw match is ten minutes or less with a commercial break in the middle, but at least the last 90 seconds of this was fun. And nobody interfered.

********

Danhausen accosted Pearce backstage. Danhausen assumed Pearce was on the phone with John Cena and wanted to talk to him. Pearce said no. The comedy here was Danhausen saying, “You can’t see me,” while Pearce was on the phone, then disappearing when Pearce turned back around. 

(Danhausen also came out in front of the live crowd during break earlier to do his usual bit.) 

Somebody in the crowd had a “We want Naomi” sign. You know why she’s out of action, right? 

******** 

Roman Reigns and CM Punk — WrestleMania 42 go-home segment

Roman Reigns entered. He told Sacramento to acknowledge him. They did. 

CM Punk’s music hit and entered through the crowd. He slapped hands with fans and really, really took his time to get to ringside. Punk stood atop the announce table and addressed Reigns’ cold-open promo. 

It sounded like a political smear campaign to Punk, and he assumed Reigns put it together himself. Punk wanted to tell his truth. The fans could be witnesses, and Reigns could be the judge. Punk wanted Reigns to tell him when he was telling lies. 

Punk made his way up the steps and started his promo while standing on the apron. Punk said he hated Reigns because he envied him. This was all he ever wanted. This was the only dream he wanted since he was a kid. He envied that it was handed to Reigns. He hated that Reigns was champion for 1,316 days because, after some self-reflection, Punk knew how hard he worked to be that great. 

In the history books, when they talk about legacy, they wouldn’t ask how, they would ask how many. Punk hated the number 1,316. He hated how many times Reigns main-evented WrestleMania. He hated that he felt this way. 

Sika was a great man, a great wrestler, a champion, and a Hall of Famer. Punk loved and respected the old-timers. He hated the fact that he invoked Reigns’ father’s name in vain, “and I sincerely apologize to you.” (Punk entered the ring and cut the rest of his promo face-to-face with Reigns.) 

Punk said there was more than one royal family in professional wrestling. He hated that he envied that he wasn’t born into a dynasty. He didn’t know what it was like having that kind of family. 

Punk was born in the backyard and back alleyways of Chicago. He was a misfit who had to find his own family. He found his own family in the streets of Sacramento. He found his family in the locker rooms of every VFW hall, dilapidated Midwest barns, bowling alleys, and abandoned churches. 

Punk found his family on the indies, then he conquered Japan. He went to England and Puerto Rico. He went around the world twice. He wasn’t born on third base with a silver spoon. He busted his ass and made pro wrestling his home, and made them his family. 

Punk hated that he felt this way, or that he had to share anything with Reigns, including his first singles match headlining WrestleMania. Just like he had gold on his shoes and around his waist tonight, on April 19th, there would be gold above his head with his blood-caked face when their match was over, and Las Vegas chanting his name. 

Reigns responded. He said that was probably the truest stuff he’s heard Punk say—until the last part. Reigns wanted to say something true, too. He hated Punk. He hated him for a long time. But the main reason was his relationship with the fans. 

Reigns hoped that when he left, the fans would miss him as much as they missed Punk for ten years. That was the truest thing Punk had, the relationship with their fanbase. No one could take that from him. On Sunday, that was Punk’s truth, but not the reality. 

The reality was that Punk’s time was up. He had months to be relevant (as the world champion), but did nothing with it. This nostalgia experiment would be done, and we would fix the mess that Punk started. They would make this place where they had it (before Punk returned)—at the very top worth every single dollar. 

On Sunday, the Tribal Chief would take over, and Punk, although with the rest of the world, would acknowledge him. 

They stared down as the show ended.

WOL: Dynasty, RAW, Smackdown, Mania tickets, TNA PPV, TOO MUCH!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with way too much to talk about including AEW Dynasty, AEW PPV lengths as usual, the Hulk Hogan documentary, RAW tonight, WrestleMania ticket sales, Smackdown, the TNA PPV this weekend, and so much more. A crazy show, so check it out~!

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CM Punk, Roman Reigns confirmed for WWE Raw WrestleMania go-home show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Before their WrestleMania match, CM Punk and Roman Reigns will have one final interaction on WWE Raw.

WWE sent out an announcement today confirming that Punk and Reigns will be “under one roof” for Raw’s WrestleMania go-home show. The episode is being held at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center on April 13.

No other details about the segment were announced, past that Punk and Reigns will be appearing live. Reigns, who was not on Raw this past Monday, will likely respond to the “pipe bomb-style” promo where Punk took shots at Reigns, made reference to Vince McMahon, and called for WWE to lower its ticket prices.

Punk defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Reigns is officially confirmed as the main event for WrestleMania 42 night two on Sunday, April 19.

This is the first announcement WWE has made for Monday’s go-home Raw. Brock Lesnar, who is facing off against Oba Femi at WrestleMania, is also advertised to be in the building. While Punk vs. Reigns is going on last at Mania, Lesnar vs. Femi is likely to open the night two broadcast.

Seth Rollins says first match back at WrestleMania 42 is ‘nerve-wracking’ 

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Getting cleared in time for WrestleMania 42 was a concern for Seth Rollins after getting injured in October 2025. Despite which he is ready to face Gunther at the Premium Live Event keeping note of their career parallels. 

Speaking with ESPN, Rollins talked about his history with Gunther who he’s known since their first in-ring encounter at Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in 2019.

“He’s the real deal, that guy there’s no joke there. He’s legitimate. I mean you watch his body of work and I’ve been, this is a guy that I’ve known since he was Walter back in his wXw days in Germany. I crossed paths with him and he’s one of those guys that we have something very similar in that we came from kind of nowhere. No one really thought that we were going to be huge, major stars in the industry when we were young cats. And now we’re at a point where ‘here we are at Wrestlemania’, the Grandest Stage, two of the most renowned in-ring performers, the last two decades.”

“And this will be our first real go at it. We’ve had one in-ring encounter which was like seven years ago and this will be this will be an interesting test and especially for my first match back”

Talking about his mindset heading into WrestleMania 42, considering it’s his first match back in six months, he stated fans can expect the best version of him. 

“As far as outcome is concerned, what I will predict is that I will put on a show because it’s Wrestlemania and that’s what I do. And so, if anybody out there is wondering what version of Seth Rollins we’re going to get, I promise you right now, I will look you dead in the eye. You are going to get the very best version. You are going to get the Wrestlemania version of Seth Rollins that you know and are accustomed to.”

He added that while it’s exciting, having a WrestleMania match as his first bout back post-injury is nerve-wracking especially without trial runs to ease into it. 

“I’ve been jonesing for it. Yeah, it’s exciting. I mean, it’s nerve-wracking anytime you come back and your first match is at WrestleMania. You don’t even get a couple of trial runs or anything like that. You’re just into the fire.”

Rollins vs. Gunther is slated for Night One of WrestleMania 42 on April 18. Last month, he attacked Paul Heyman on Raw, and was arrested. On the March 30 edition of the show, Gunther ambushed Rollins further escalating their rivalry for the Premium Live Event.