WWE Raw Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights Before WrestleMania 40
Five days before WrestleMania 40, WWE rolled into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the go-home episode of Raw with a blockbuster broadcast headlined by an appearance from The Rock and Roman Reigns.
What did The Final Boss and the undisputed WWE universal champion have in store for Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins ahead of the biggest tag team match in company history Saturday night in Philadelphia?
Find out with this recap of the April 1 episode, including grades and analysis for each of the night's matches and segments.
Match Card
1 of 10Announced in advance of Monday's show were:
- An appearance from The Rock and Roman Reigns
- Sami Zayn vs. "Big" Bronson Reed
- The New Day and DIY vs. The Judgment Day
- Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri vs. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae
The Bloodline Kicks Off Raw
2 of 10
The Rock opened Monday's show, hitting the ring to a mostly positive reaction from fans.
He talked trash and ran through his normal shtick before Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman joined him.
Reigns took credit for The Final Boss' beatdown of Cody Rhodes a week ago but before he could say much else of substance, world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins made his way through the crowd.
He laid down the challenge to his WrestleMania opponents for a one-on-one match later in the night, with whatever stipulation they wanted. Sikoa accepted the match on his cousins' behalf before Rock revealed the match will be Bloodline Rules.
This felt like an absurdly long segment to set up a main event for later, but the crowd was hot for all of it. We saw Reigns remind the world that everything he does is for the family in what may prove to be a bit of foreshadowing, and The Rock was on fire to kick things off.
It gets the 'A' for that alone, but it would have been nice to see something new of substance from the opening segment.
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
- The crowd was split but skewed more positively for Rock.
- The Great One showed videos of children crying over his beatdown of Rhodes from last Monday night.
- "Right now, professional wrestling is cool," Rock said.
- "It's not like I needed him to do it, but damn did it feel good to see him do it," Reigns said of Rock brutalizing Rhodes.
The New Day and DIY vs. The Judgment Day
3 of 10
The first hour of Raw was uninterrupted, but the eight-man tag team match pitting The New Day and DIY against Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh and Damian Priest was still short-changed in time.
An action-packed opener highlighted the teams involved as the commentary sold this week's ladder match for the tag team titles.
However, it all went by so fast that it was difficult to invest in or care much about the participants before Priest flattened Tommaso Ciampa with the Razor's Edge to score the win.
If anything, the outcome at least suggests that The Judgment Day will not be leaving Philadelphia with the tag titles as those who go over on the go-home show typically falter at the premium live event.
Result
The Judgment Day defeated The New Day and DIY
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Becky Lynch cut a promo on Rhea Ripley with interviewer Cathy Kelley, hinting at further interaction with Mami later in the show.
- After the opening match, Reigns told The Rock he would be leaving for the night because he had to write Paul Heyman's induction speech for Friday's WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Sami Zayn vs. 'Big' Bronson Reed
4 of 10
Sami Zayn sought to avenge his defeat at the hands of Bronson Reed as the two clashed in singles competition. Earlier, he filmed a training vignette with Chad Gable, who he has recruited to help him prepare for his WrestleMania 40 match against Gunther.
Reed cut the former tag team champion off at every turn before missing a Tsunami attempt. Before Zayn could capitalize, Gunther appeared and dragged the battered and beaten Gable onto the stage.
Gunther attacked Zayn, too, leaving him reeling as the segment came to a close.
The match was solid, the angle was even better, and the stage is set for Zayn to turn in another emotional championship victory on the grandest stage
Result
No-contest
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Backstage, Legado del Fantasma interrupted The Judgment Day, frustrating both Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley. Priest said he had to "go make a call," hinting at something without expanding upon it.
- Michael Cole openly questioned Zayn's strategy of trying to overpower Reed, a nice touch as the smaller guy attempted to fight an uphill battle.
Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile vs. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae
5 of 10
Maxxine Dupri gained a measure of revenge for the insensitive berating she received at the hands of Candice LeRae a month ago, as she teamed with Ivy Nile to defeat The Poison Pixie and Indi Hartwell in tag team action.
Dupri picked up the win for her team with a roll-up on Hartwell after a heel miscommunication spot.
After the match, LeRae blamed Hartwell for losing the match, hinting at issues between the two of them moving forward.
Result
Dupri and Nile defeated Hartwell and LeRae
Grade
C
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Dupri scoring the win was appropriate but does beg the question: Are things settled between her and LeRae or was this just the latest chapter in the story?
Ricochet vs. Ivar
6 of 10
Ricochet followed up his victories over JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio by defeating The Viking Raiders' Ivar in singles competition.
The chemistry was there and the dynamic between the big bruiser and high-flying competitor helped this develop into a fun match if nothing else.
Ivar has been the most underrated guy on the roster for months now. Watching him get the television time has been nice but, like Bronson Reed, it could be better.
After all, how long can someone be a threat before they lose credibility for losing all the time?
A big push for Ricochet, one of the most talented guys on the roster, is at least a step in the right direction.
Result
Ricochet defeated Ivar
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- An excellent funeral-themed vignette featuring Drew McIntyre aired.
- Ricochet is building momentum, and the crowd is getting behind him. Expect big things for The One and Only post-WrestleMania.
Becky Lynch Promo
7 of 10
An enraged Becky Lynch called out women's world champion Rhea Ripley, only to be interrupted by Raw general manager Adam Pearce and a group of security guards.
As is typically the case, the competitors bucked the attempt to keep them apart and ended the segment with The Man wiping the security team and Ripley out with a plancha from the top rope.
The guards eventually recovered and separated the women to close the segment.
This was a short but sweet spotlight for the Lynch-Ripley feud, which is heating up at the right time and should produce one of the best matches on the entire WrestleMania 40 card.
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
- The battle continued backstage, where Pearce and Co. again failed to keep the champion and challenger apart.
- "Control your Mami," Pearce told Dominik Mysterio.
Tegan Nox, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai, Asuka and Kairi Sane
8 of 10Damage CTRL sought to rebound from Friday's SmackDown, where they were beaten down by Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Naomi, when they squared off with Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark and Tegan Nox in six-woman tag team action.
Dakota Kai, Asuka and Kairi Sane did just that, picking up the win despite a solid fight from the opposition.
This was little more than a reminder that the faction is around and will be a key part of WrestleMania. It would have been nice to see Bayley get involved as it feels like her match with Iyo Sky has taken a backseat in recent weeks.
Result
Damage CTRL defeated Baszler, Nox, and Stark
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
- The lack of the commentary team's acknowledgment of the long history between Nox and Kai was disappointing, especially with the story thread of Kai's most recent betrayal.
- Sane's elbow drop might be the best top-rope maneuver in WWE. And given we just watched Ricochet perform his 630 splash earlier, that is saying something.
Seth Rollins vs. Solo Sikoa
9 of 10
Seth Rollins and Solo Sikoa squared off in the main event of Monday's show, but the closing angle left a greater impression than the match.
Moments after The Visionary downed Sikoa with the Stomp and appeared to have victory in hand, Jimmy Uso broke up the pin. But Jey Uso fended off his brother, only to find himself wiped out by The Rock.
Cody Rhodes rushed to the ring, but the babyfaces found themselves thwarted by Roman Reigns, who emerged from underneath the ring for a sneak attack.
The heels proceeded to attack, brutalize and whip Rhodes and Rollins with a weight belt before standing tall to close out the show.
This delivered a ton of heat for The Bloodline and put the focus on the tag team main event on Saturday. Unfortunately, it did so at the expense of Rhodes vs. Reigns, which is technically the main event of WrestleMania weekend.
Still, this did a great job of establishing the dominance of The Bloodline and putting the babyfaces in the role of underdog in time for Night 1.
Result
No-contest
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Sikoa delivered a Samoan Drop off the ropes and through a table.
- Quite the dichotomy: Earlier in the show, the crowd greeted Rock with chants of "Rocky." Here, it was total boos.
- The pop for Rhodes was otherworldly.
Overall Grade
10 of 10If the goal of Monday's show was to present the tag team match on Saturday's WrestleMania lineup as the main event of the entire weekend, it excelled.
However, there are at least 12 other contests on the card for The Show of Shows that could have benefited from some expanded hype.
Sami Zayn vs. Gunther got some attention and Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley had some solid heat behind it, but everything else felt like an afterthought.
Jimmy and Jey Uso were in the same building and did not touch or engage each other in a fight until the former got involved in the main event? Bayley was not called into Brooklyn to get involved with Damage CTRL?
There was a lot to like about the show, and The Bloodline/Rhodes/Rollins segments that bookended it were great. That is the money story at WrestleMania, so it makes sense that WWE should focus on it.
However, it felt like there was more to do with this go-home show that was not broached.
Hopefully, that will be rectified on Friday's SmackDown.
Overall Grade: B
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