The Super Network

It’s the wild Raw after Wrestlemania and anything can happen, the past few years have really set the standard for what to expect. This episode was no exception we saw all sorts of things happen, and much like Wrestlemania it was a weird show. Did it live up to the hype? Well you can read on to find out …

Raw opens up with No Chance In Hell and Vince McMahon comes up, he interacts with the crazy audience. He complains about Roman Reigns being Champion, the crowd agrees. Do you think he understands Reigns should be turned heel at this point? As Vince is about to leave Here Comes The Money, Shane McMahon comes out limping and his face looks pretty banged up. They have an exchange where Vince says he actually felt bad for what Shane went through. Shane thanks the fans, the crowd gives it up for him. As he is about to say goodbye, Vince says to hell with it. Shane can be in charge of Raw for the night and Vince leaves.

Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day (c) vs. Sheamus/King Barrett The League Of Nations

Say it with me “NEW DAY ROCKS”, I think we can safely say at least for now The New Day are faces. The crowd absolutely ate them up, they had an entertaining promo to kick things off. They even had the last Booty-O from Mania with them, and even though this has nothing to do with the show I am still sharing this. So I watched Raw at my sisters house as Foxtel hasn’t been installed at my new house yet, my niece watched with me as she is on school holidays. As this segment was on, she slipped off of what she was sitting on and I said “You fell straight on your Booty-O” and we both couldn’t stop laughing. Now on to the match itself, it was fairly decent to kick the show off. After what happened at Mania, I felt it was fairly obvious who would win. The New Day had a win to get back, and they did. No amount of interfering from Del Rio or Rusev could help.

However things picked up after the match, Sheamus got on the mic and managed to speak over the loud crowd. He said they have a weak link, and then he literally kicked Barrett out of the group with a brogue. Whether Barrett leaves now or soon remains to be seen, but with treatment like that no wonder he didn’t want to resign. Anyway, the lights go out and The Wyatts show up and pretty much dismantle the Legion. The crowd cheer ‘Thank You Bray’ I believe, and we can assume The Wyatts are now faces, because let’s face it who is going to cheer the Legion at this point?

Summer Rae vs. Sasha Banks

This starts off with Summer blabbing about the night before, and then she gets cut off by Sasha. Sasha gets a huge ovation, she has got to be the most over woman on the main roster at this point. This was a quick match to showcase Sasha and they really should be building her up. Summer looked pretty sloppy, she doesn’t usually look that bad but it was more than obvious something seemed a bit off. Sasha gets the win by making Summer tap, and I hope they continue to build her up the way she deserves.

Tyler Breeze vs. Apollo Crews

In our first debut of the night, Apollo Crews debuted on Raw against another former NXT guy Tyler Breeze. First off I was rather surprised Tyler got a televised entrance, considering he has now been reduced to jobber. It makes sense in a way Crews debuts against someone from NXT, but I hope he does not get treated as an after thought like Tyler in a few months. I feel for Tyler, he is incredibly talented but quickly got left behind. Anyway the debut for Crews was quick and impressive. For those who haven’t seen much of him it did the job of showing off a few of his moves, and this is just the beginning. I would place him in a feud to further his character now.

Roman Reigns Segment

Out comes Roman and he is practically booed out of the building, he goes with the flow and says he is not a good or bad guy, but the guy. Then he opens up a challenge to anyone, and Chris Jericho is the first to answer. Not even heel Jericho could get the crowd to turn against him, he tried though. AJ Styles then comes out, followed by Kevin Owens and be still my heart Sami Zayn. Roman brushes off AJ and Sami, are we seeing the seeds being sown for a more heelish character? Anyway Sami and Kevin go at it as do AJ and Jericho. The segment ends with Roman getting Jericho, and standing tall. It get announced later by Shane that the four guys will compete in a Fatal Four Way for the number 1 contender spot.

Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler

Corbin comes out and stands with his statue and talks briefly, Ziggler comes out. They have a pretty hard hitting match, which is again here to showcase Corbin and give the audience who may not know him an idea of what he can do. Things get vicious pretty quickly and they brawl in the crowd, which results in a double count out. Corbin is not happy, blames the ref and gives Ziggler he End of Days, one of the best finishers at the moment. Not sure I agree with the double count out, but this helps place the two in a program and if anyone can help elevate Corbin it is Ziggler.

IC Title Match: Zack Ryder (c) vs. The Miz

Zack Ryder got to have some time on the mic and celebrate what his win and moment meant to him, the crowd chanted ‘You Deserve It’ and he really did. If anyone on the roster deserved a moment in the sun and to be appreciated it is Ryder. The Miz interupts and comes out, to which my niece and I wonder what the hell he is wearing. The two get into it, and the match itself is pretty good. Ryder gets to show what he’s got, and The Miz reminds us he does actually have some talent. Things get really heated when The Miz approaches Ryder’s jacked up father in the front row. Ryder Sr gets riled up and he pushes The Miz, and then it happens.

Yes folks, the most awesome part of the mid/late 00’s Diva’s Divsion returns, MARYSE. Yes Maryse shows up, she is married to The Miz and causes a distraction at ring side. Which means, yes The Miz gets the pin and the title. I am thrilled Maryse is back on TV but I am not thrilled that Ryder had a 24 hour title reign. Disappointed in the booking but we shall see where it leads, if Ryder isn’t seen on TV after this week, I will not be pleased.

WWE Women’s Championship Presentation

Can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that WWE have finally rebranded the Women’s Division? It is no longer the Diva’s Division, it is a WOMEN’S DIVISION WITH A NEW TITLE BELT!  The butterfly belt is gone and a new belt that resembles the WWE World Heavyweight Title is now in place. Wonder. So the segment begins with Hall Of Famer Lita in the ring with the current women’s roster and Eva Marie. Side note Becky has a heck of a bruise on her face, a war wound from a fantastic match.Charlotte then gets introduced and she comes out with her father. She tries to give a heart felt speech but the crowd wants Bayley. Eventually they come around and applaud the women, Charlotte then goes into heel mode, which she does so well.

All the women eventually walk out on her, except one. Nattie stays behind and gets back in the ring and the mic, she brings up their fantastic match from Roadblock, and of course the family history. Nattie gets Charlotte in the Sharpshooter but Ric saves her. This looks to be our women’s title feud moving forward and I am 100% behind this. These two have amazing ring chemistry, and the history between the families tells a good story. I hope we see Jim The Anvil show up to be in his daughters corner, that would be cool.

Tables Match: The Dudleys vs. The Usos

 There really isn’t much to say about this, they had this match the day before (although it wasn’t a tables match) and it was okay. There isn’t any investment in this feud or the Usos because they have gotten so stale. The crowd wasn’t really into this match either and I can’t say I blame them. There was a nice stuff up as well, the Usos took a dive to put the Dudleys through the tables but the Dudleys moved and the time keeper rang the bell. Bubba got mad and slammed an Uso through another table. You win when you get put through a table not just go through one. This then causes Bubba to hang around and cause a scene … until …

Enzo Amore and Big Cass Debut

I think we all knew these two would show up, the crowd were even chanting for it earlier in the show. When they came out, a huge ovation, even from me who has only really just gotten on the bandwagon. It has taken me some time to warm up to their characters, I think they are extremely talented, it just took awhile for the gimmick to really win me over. Their debut was great, they got to show off how big Cass is and their mic skills. There are those who don’t really watch NXT and may not know them or much about them, and their intro was perfectly handled. Their signature catch phrases were used, and they really took the Dudleys to town verbally. A perfect feud for them to get into and it gives the Dudleys some fresh faces to work with, so in my opinion a win/win. I am so happy to see these two on the main roster and I sure hope they do not get buried and forgotten about.

Fatal Four Way No. 1 Contenders Match: Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Earlier in the show, Kevin Owens attacked Sami Zayn and put him through a table. Sami was not clearly for the match, and Shane O found a replacement in the returning Cesaro! YES!!! I must say Cesaro’s entrance of ripping off his suit was hot as hell and I am so glad he is back! I was worried the replacement might get announced as Cena, so glad I was wrong. However I lost a bet with one James so you will need to tune in to a future Super Squared Circle Podcast to hear my defeat. Anyway, this was a hell of a match! The crowd went bonkers for Cesaro, proving once again people connect with him and he needs to be in the main event. I think we all got a little moist in our panties when Cesaro and AJ locked up, so much potential for them to face each other one on one or team up in the future. These guys had a hell of a match, and just seeing these four guys in the main event and the number one contenders spot was glorious! The match ended when AJ hit the Styles Clash on Jericho, and getting the pin!

YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY! AJ STYLES IS THE NUMBER 1 CONTENDER FOR THE WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP!

I can’t wait to see where this leads, if Reigns will act more of a heel because let’s face it against AJ he ain’t getting cheered. Will this come how bring about the Bullet Club? When will the title match take place? Can AJ win it?