Worst Raw After WrestleMania in Years, Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes, More WWE Takes

No episode of Monday Night Raw has more hype than the Raw after WrestleMania. Unfortunately, that hype did not pay off as WWE put together a disappointing episode on April 3.

Cody Rhodes demanded his WrestleMania rematch against Roman Reigns, but instead he faced a new challenge, Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate battered him to end the night.

Bad Bunny got involved in Mysterio business. After Dominik Mysterio cheated Rey Mysterio out of a win, Bad Bunny took a shot at The Ex-Con. Damian Priest sent him through a table for his transgression.

The two top women in WWE, Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair, stared each other down while promising they would fight when the time was right.

Matt Riddle returned to a WWE ring, confronting The Miz before laying him out.

WWE needed to capitalize on the momentum built by an exciting two-night WrestleMania 39. Instead, a chaotic energy controlled the show, leading to a truly disappointing night.

This Was the Worst Raw After WrestleMania in a Decade

The Raw after WrestleMania used to be the biggest television episode of WWE's year. It was set up as a restart. New stars debuted. Injured talent returned. New feuds began. A wild crowd built up fresh and familiar talent with huge reactions.

This year, the only surprise return was Matt Riddle. The only true moment of the night was the main event beatdown by Brock Lesnar.

No NXT stars got the call-up. No one had a chance to have a complete wrestling match. WWE set up very few clear stories for WWE Backlash, mostly spending time basking in the afterglow of WrestleMania.

While WWE has reason to celebrate a successful Show of Shows, this should have been a reset for the future. It should have also been a night to celebrate the talent, giving them spotlights to shine.

Instead, everyone looked like they were heading to the ring without a plan. Perhaps that is truly what happened as Vince McMahon returned to creative and forced a more chaotic vibe on WWE.

No matter what caused it, this was the worst Raw after WrestleMania in a decade.

Brock Lesnar Is the Perfect Next Opponent for Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes lost the most important match of his career to Roman Reigns at WWE WrestleMania 39. There was no easy way to get around The American Nightmare demanding a rematch except by putting someone in his way that he could not avoid.

Brock Lesnar is the biggest star in WWE outside of The Tribal Chief himself. He is also the biggest threat that WWE could have possibly lined up for him next to face.

The Beast Incarnate is a serious threat to anyone in WWE. He could very legitimately defeat The American Nightmare one on one. He should not, but there is always a threat.

Right now, each major match needs to feel like a hurdle for Rhodes to overcome. He is going to rebuild himself with each performance.

The end of Raw sold how much The Beast Incarnate wanted to hurt Rhodes. It came off as personal, which can be explained in the coming weeks.

When they finally fight, The American Nightmare can be the rare star to push Lesnar to a great match.

Bad Bunny on Track to Be Best Celebrity Wrestler of All Time

Bad Bunny shocked many with his WrestleMania 37 performance. He looked like a veteran cruiserweight in the ring, selling for his opponents before pulling out big moves left and right.

He will look to repeat that performance in Puerto Rico at WWE Backlash 2023, assumedly teaming up with Rey Mysterio against Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio.

The Puerto Rican icon is a massive fan of wrestling and will look to make an even bigger splash in front of a home territory.

While he and Priest were a good tag team, Mysterio will push Bunny to pick up the pace. He cannot get away with just a Canadian Destroyer. Luckily, he has shown a propensity to pick up the sport quickly.

Bunny is never going to be a top champion in WWE. He does not have time to work WWE's schedule. He will always be purely a celebrity when competing, but no one with that same distinction will ever look better.

WrestleMania 40 is the Right Time for Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair

WWE had a chance to deliver Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39, a match everyone wanted to see. Instead, both women won great matches against Charlotte Flair and Asuka respectively.

Obviously, the next big-money match in WWE is Rhea Ripley vs. Belair. While both are champions, they will likely not face each other for a while.

This could be a featured match at a major show like SummerSlam or Survivor Series, but the best option is to make people wait all the way to WrestleMania 40.

The women did not get a chance to main event WrestleMania 39 due to a lack of story for the two title matches. That will not be true for next year if WWE delivers this battle of the future in the women's division.

The Eradicator and The EST make up the foundation of a new generation of women in WWE. They can defeat the company's top names over the next year before turning to one another.

Matt Riddle's Return Highlights Lack of Star Power on WWE Roster

WWE has a star-power problem. Most of the big names have already faced each other, from Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Cody Rhodes to Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar.

The company had a chance to bring in some fresh names from NXT to boost the roster. Bron Breakker, Cameron Grimes, Grayson Waller. Pretty Deadly and The Creed Brothers are ready for that shot.

Instead, Matt Riddle was the only surprise WWE brought in. However, while The Original Bro is talented, he is not a top star. He is a role player, who has been best as a tag team wrestler.

Especially after his latest suspension, WWE will have trouble relying upon him to be more than that.

He came out to beat down The Miz, who has very little credibility after losing back-to-back nights to Pat McAfee and Snoop Dogg. He will beat him next week, but what is next?

Hopefully, WWE still has plans to bring up more talent and is spreading out the moments. It might devalue the Raw after WrestleMania, but at least there would be more hope for variety in the months to come.