Welcome to Fightful.com's live coverage & discussion for Monday Night RAW (4/4/22)!
We'll be bringing you full, fight-by-fight results of every match on the card as we're just 24-hours removed from WrestleMania 38!
— The show begins and we see a video package highlighting both nights of WrestleMania 38 from this past weekend. We then cut to the live broadcast where our commentary team of Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves welcome us to tonight's show which emanates from Dallas, Texas.
— Cody Rhodes' music then hits to a MASSIVE pop from the crowd! Cody takes his time getting to the ring and savors the moment, interacting with the crowd and they meet him with a chorus of deafening 'Cody! Cody! Cody!' and 'welcome back! welcome back! welcome back!' chants. Cody asks the crowd what they want to talk about and laughs. Cody says it's been 47 days since the news broke that he was a free agent and many speculated that he'd been going back-and-forth on joining WWE and that it was perhaps a tough decision...Cody says none of that was true. Many said he was 'the star who left them in the dust' but the man standing there now has signed a multi-year agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment. The crowd reigns down 'you deserve it! you deserve it! you deserve it!' chants and Cody says if there was any ounce of trepidation about returning, when he lifted up out of the stage in front of 70,000+ fans and defeated one of the best wrestlers on the planet in Seth Rollins, that all went away. Cody asks the crowd to humor him and take a look at the big-tron, which shows a photo of Dusty Rhodes from September 1977 in Madison Square Garden. Cody gets emotional saying while he was 'The American Dream' to the fans, he was his hero. Cody says the photo shows Dusty holding the WWF World Championship, a title that Hulk Hogan got his hands on [massive boos], a title that The Undertaker would get his hands on [massive pop], a title that Shawn Michaels got his hands on [massive pop]...as well as 'oh yeah, Triple H, too' [massive pop]. Cody says that photo was on his parents' night stand until his father's last day. Cody recalls asking Dusty about winning the world title but Dusty told him [with the same eyes as his daughter] about the champion's advantage and even though he won the match, it was by count-out, so he never won the title. Cody says right then and there at eight-years old, he knew that he had to win the WWE Championship and he'd deliver the title to his father and tell him that there's nobody that can take it away from him. Cody says unfortunately that dream died...right in front of him. Cody says that opportunity passed...or did it? Cody says he can't put the title belt into the hands of 'The American Dream' but he certainly put it around the waist of 'The American Nightmare'. The crowd pours in the 'you can do it! you can do it! you can do it!' and Cody says his intentions are clear...and he stands before the WWE universe, READY...and says he's going to do it. Cody says he's going to do it for the fans, he's going to do it for himself, he's going to do it for his family and he's going to do it for 'The American Dream', Dusty Rhodes. Seth Rollins' music hits and out comes the man whom Cody defeated on Saturday night at WrestleMania 38. Seth shakes Cody's hand and leaves...Cody looks at Seth a bit confused but Cody's music hits and commentary runs down tonight's card before the NEW WWE Women's Tag Team Champions of Sasha Banks and Naomi make their way down to the ring and it's time for our opening contest of the evening, after the break.
Sasha Banks & Noami vs. Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan — Championship Contenders Match
— Naomi and Rhea start this one out. Rhea hoists Naomi above her head for suplex and Liv and the crowd count how long she holds Naomi up, which hits 20-seconds, Rhea slams Naomi and goes for the cover but Naomi kicks out. Rhea tosses Naomi in the ropes, Naomi ducks a kick and cracks Rhea with a kick of her own before making the tag to Sasha, they hit a double-team, Sasha makes the tag right back to Naomi, another double-team move, Naomi goes for the cover but Liv makes the save. Sasha takes out Liv on the outside, Rhea takes out Sasha, Naomi takes out Rhea and tosses her back into the ring where Naomi hits a leg drop before going for the cover but Rhea kicks out and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Rhea lays Naomi out with a kick to the mid-section but Naomi spring-boards off the ropes and drills Rhea with a kick. Both struggle to their corners but make the tags to Sasha and Liv, respectively. Sasha shoves Rhea out of the ring and lights up Liv with some kicks and a corner meteora. Sasha goes up top and lands a flying meteora and goes for the cover but Liv kicks out. Liv makes the tag to Rhea, they hit a double power-bomb on Sasha, Rhea goes for the cover but Sasha kicks out! Naomi trips Rhea out of the ring, Sasha makes the tag to Naomi and they hit their double-team finisher on Liv for the win!
Winners - Sasha Banks & Naomi
— After the match, Rhea rushes the ring and the champions retreat. Liv tries to apologize to Rhea but Rhea shrugs her off and makes her way out. Kevin Owens' music hits and he comes right down to the ring as Rhea and Liv exit and we'll hear from the man who faced 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin this past weekend at WrestleMania 38, after the break
— Back from the break and Kevin Owens is in the ring and says he may have made a mistake. Owens says he underestimated Austin at WrestleMania and he admits Austin is still great, because to beat 'one of the greatest ever', you have to beat great, which is what Austin did on Saturday night at WrestleMania. Owens says he went into the ring with a bad back and if you go back and watch the footage from his entrance, you can clearly see him limping. Owens blames the 'injury' from lifting 'a lot, a lot' of weights earlier in the day and if he didn't feel like the WWE universe deserved to see him at WrestleMania, he wouldn't have shown up. Someone named Ezekiel comes down to the ring, everyone, including Owens looks confused...and it's ELIAS, with a shaven beard, shorter hair and brand-new gear. Owens asks Elias who the hell he thinks he is, Ezekiel says that he's 'not Elias', the crowd chants 'yes you are! yes you are! yes you are!', Ezekiel says he's Elias' younger brother. Owens says he recognizes the eyes and it's Elias. Ezekiel, again says that he's Elias' younger brother. Owens tells him to stop the BS and says that he hates liars. Ezekiel says Owens must hate himself because he lied to 'Stone Cold' and then he got stunned. The crowd chants 'you got stunned! you got stunned! you got stunned!', Owens says he doesn't like him and says that he has 10-seconds to get out of the ring 'or else'. Owens, with a little help from the crowd countdown from 10, Ezekiel doesn't move and Owens just leaves. Rey and Dominik Mysterio make their way down to the ring and Dominik will face The Miz, after the break. Before the break, we see a graphic congratulating WrestleMania 37 and 2022 Royal Rumble participant Bad Bunny on winning a Grammy at last night's award show.
The Miz vs. Dominik Mysterio (with Rey Mysterio)
— Dominik with a kick to start, immediately trips Miz to the middle rope, looks for the 619, Miz slides out and plants Dominik with the Skull Crushing Finale and gets the 1-2-3 for the quick win!
— After the match, Veer's music hits and Veer has finally came! Miz escapes the ring, Veer stares down The Mysterios and Veer drills Dominik with a kick, then a lariat to Rey and wallops the future Hall of Famer with a slam. Veer stomps on Dominik's back and locks-in the Camel Clutch and Dominik repeatedly taps as the referee finally gets Veer to break the hold. New RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair makes her way down to the ring and we'll hear from The EST. of WWE after the break.
— Back from the break and new RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair is in the ring. Bianca takes off her glasses and shows the shiner that Becky Lynch gave her during their title match on Saturday night. Bianca says she stands here with one eye tonight but she thanks Becky for that because without Becky returning at SummerSlam, last year and defeating her in 30-seconds, she'd never knew how good she could truly be and it showed her that no matter how good she is, it could all be taken away from her just like THAT...and it hurt. Bianca says she didn't have to cheat and or injure anyone to get back to the top unlike Becky, who tried time-after-time to injure her but even after all that, she fought all the way to the end is now standing in front of us tonight. Bianca says the fans deserve a better champion than Becky and she's going to be the best champion that she can be because she knows what it feels like to have the title snatched away from her and she's ready and willing to face any woman in the back. Bianca says after Saturday, she's different and she's better and now that Becky has all this down time maybe she can figure out who she truly is because she knows that she's The EST. of WWE. Bianca celebrates with the RAW Women's Title and commentary hypes up tonight's NXT World Championship match between champion, Dolph Ziggler and challenger, former champion, Bron Breakker, which will happen, after the break.
Dolph Ziggler (with Robert Roode) (C) vs. Bron Breakker — NXT World Championship
— Ziggler with a quick start, Bron sends him to the corner and unloads strikes and puts Ziggler on the top turnbuckle, Ziggler trips him up and drills him with a drop-kick to the outside and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Ziggler wallops Bron with a leaping drop-kick then goes for the cover but Bron kicks out. Ziggler goes for the Famouser but Bron catches him and plants him with a power-bomb. Bron with a pair of shoulder tackles then an overhead belly-to-belly before drilling the champion with another shoulder tackle. Bron sets up Ziggler for a spear, Roode gets on the apron to distract the challenger, Ziggler rolls him up but Bron lifts the shoulders after a count of two. Bron leaps over the top rope and dives on Roode, gets back in the ring but he walks into a super-kick and a Famouser from Ziggler, who goes for the cover but Bron kicks out at two-and-a-half! Ziggler looks for another super-kick, Bron catches the leg, Ziggler rakes the eyes then lands a super-kick then goes for the cover but Bron, again, kicks out! Ziggler tunes up the band, looks for another super-kick but Bron drills him with a spear. Bron lifts Ziggler and plants him with a military press slam and gets the three-count for the win!
Winner - Bron Breakker (NEW NXT World Champion)
— After the match, we see a video package of Bobby Lashley's victory over Omos from last night at WrestleMania 38 and it's announced that we'll hear from the former WWE Champion, after the break.
— Back from the break and MVP is in the ring. MVP says that actions speak louder than words and it's his privilege to introduce a man who's actions spoke 'volumes' at WrestleMania, a man who triumphed the man who's been running roughshod over Monday Night RAW...'The Almighty', Bobby Lashley, who makes his way down to the ring in full gear, which means the former WWE Champion may be in-action, tonight. Lashley says when Omos had an open challenge at WrestleMania, he couldn't resist because he wanted to see how 'strong and scary' Omos truly was. Lashley said when he got in the ring he asked himself if he really wanted to do it...but once he 'knocked him on his ass', he knew that he could do it. Lashley says that Omos 'beat' his 'ass', last night but he knew that Omos would make a mistake and that's exactly what he did and then it was 1-2-3. Omos' music hits and out comes the big man. Omos says last night was a fluke and he wants his rematch. MVP attacks Lashley from behind, Omos knocks Lashley out and MVP attacks Lashley with a bunch of strikes. Omos holds Lashley up, MVP continues the attack then MVP directs Omos to join the beat-down, to which the big man obliges. Omos holds Lashley in the corner and MVP drills him with a big boot. Omos plants Lashley with a two-hand choke-slam and he and MVP celebrate over Lashley's motionless body as Omos' music plays.
— We then cut backstage where we see Rhea Ripley. Liv Morgan approaches and Rhea says that she apologizes to Liv and says that she convinced Adam Pearce to give them a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match, next week. Rhea apologizes again and says they're going to get the titles, next week. They hug and we cut to the ring where former WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, Carmella and Queen Zelina are making their way down to the ring and they'll face Shayna Baszler and Natalya, after the break.
— Back from the break, Carmella and Zelina argue in the ring and each blame the other for losing their titles at WrestleMania. Zelina knocks Carmella out of the ring, Corey Graves checks on Carmella, they makeout and we never have the announced match as we head to a video package of Pat McAfee's win over Austin Theory from last night as well as Vince McMahon's attack on McAfee after the match as well as 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's attack on McMahon and Theory afterwards.
The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) & Austin Theory vs. RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle) & Finn Balor
— Theory clocks Riddle to start, both Usos help with a triple-team to Riddle, both Jimmy and Jey switch tags to work over 'The Original Bro' but Riddle fends Jimmy off, makes the tag to Orton, who clears house, Balor takes out Jimmy, Riddle takes out Theory, Orton takes care off Jey, Theory and Balor end up the legal competitiors after absolute chaos, Theory plants Balor with ATL and gets the 1-2-3 for the win!
Winners - The Usos & Austin Theory
— We then see a video package of Edge's win over AJ Styles from last night at WrestleMania 38, as well as the Hall of Famer's allegiance with Damian Priest and it's announced that we'll hear from both Edge and Priest, after the break.
— Back from the break and Edge makes his way down to the ring. Edge says that he's honest and says that he told the people that AJ Styles would face 'judgement day' and last night at WrestleMania, that's exactly what happened. Edge claims he never knew that Damian Priest would align with him but says Damian clearly sees what it took him far, far too long to notice...that playing to the 'sheep' fans isn't worth it. The crowd starts 'we are sheep! we are sheep! we are sheep!' chants and Edge calls them idiots. Edge says Damian will be for those that deserve to be 'punished' and Damian makes his way down to the ring. Edge asks Damian why he chose to join him, Damian says he's a believer in the message that Edge is trying to deliver. Damian says there was a time when fans disliking him would bother him but that time is far, far gone. Damian says he'll deliver the proper punishment to anyone who disagrees with their message and AJ Styles rushes down to the ring. Damian runs to the entrance ramp to attack AJ but AJ launches Damian over the barricade before making a beeline for the ring. AJ takes out Edge and sets up the con-chair-to but Damian makes the save and he and Edge hit a spear/leg sweep double-team and celebrate as commentary announces that the Street Profits will face Alpha Academy, after the break.
Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis)
— Gable and Otis attack Ford and Dawkins before the bell even rings and Adam Pearce comes down and says this match will now be a Texas Tornado Tag Match, everyone gets set and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and everyone's brawling. Otis and Gable take out Ford and seclude Dawkins on the outside. Otis tosses Dawkins into the barricade, Gable with a clothesline and Ford comes out of nowhere and leaps over the ring post and takes everyone out. Everyone struggles back into the ring, Otis slams Ford, does the same to Dawkins and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Alpha Academy plant both Ford and Dawkins with simultaneous suplexes, Gable goes up top and drills Ford with a moonsault, Otis plants Ford with a Vader Bomb and goes under the ring to retrieve a table. Both Gable and Otis set the table up back in the ring, Ford and Dawkins come firing back and take out Alpha Academy, Dawkins dumps Otis to the outside and sets Gable up on the table and Ford comes crashing down through it on top of Gable with a frog splash from the top and gets the 1-2-3 for the win! Commentary announces that we'll hear from the new WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, after the break.
Winners - Street Profits
— WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns makes his way down to the ring alongside Paul Heyman and SmackDown Tag Team Champions, Jimmy and Jey Uso. Reigns asks Heyman to tell the people why he's so important to the company. Heyman runs down the Usos accomplishments before doing the same for the 'Tribal Chief and biggest star in the history of sports entertainment, the NEW WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns'. The Champion says what's good for Roman Reigns is good for WWE and it's no secret that him being at the head of the table, the billion dollar deals come easy. Reigns says he's the last needle mover and he's that needle mover because he's operating in God Mode. Reigns says he's also a man of his word and says he called his shot and delivered because he said he was going to smash Brock Lesnar...and that's exactly what he did. Reigns says while others hang their hat on WrestleMania, he doesn't operate like that because he's never complacent and he's always looking for what's next. Reigns says this Friday on SmackDown, he'll let everyone know what's next. Reigns tells Dallas, Texas to acknowledge him and he and the Usos hold up the 1s and the show goes off-the-air.
