WWE Raw on Netflix Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights from April 7
Less than two weeks away from WrestleMania 41, WWE rolled into the Target Center in Minneapolis for Raw, headlined by a Women's Intercontinental Championship match between Lyra Valkyria and Bayley, as well as appearances from Paul Heyman and Seth Rollins.
What did The Wise Man and The Visionary have in store for fans ahead of The Showcase of the Immortals, and was Bayley able to dethrone her friend for a title she has not yet held?
Find out with this recap of a show that also featured the latest from Penta and The Judgment Day, plus The War Raiders defending the tag team titles against The New Day.
Match Card
1 of 9
Announced in advance of the show were:
* Women's Intercontinental Championship: Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria (c)
* Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio
* World Tag Team Championship: The War Raiders (c) vs. The New Day
* El Grande Americano in action
* Appearances from Paul Heyman, Seth Rollins, Gunther and Jey Uso
Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky Kick Off Raw
2 of 9
Raw general manager Adam Pearce opened Monday's show by introducing women's world champion Iyo Sky and challenger Bianca Belair ahead of their match at WrestleMania. Rhea Ripley followed to the biggest ovation of the three.
Pearce proceeded to officially announce the Triple Threat match, much to the chagrin of Belair. The EST of WWE signed the contract, Ripley too, but further disrespect directed toward Sky sent her out of the ring.
Watching from a distance as Ripley and Belair continued their bickering, the champion launched herself from the top rope, delivering a dropkick that sent one into the other. The Genius of the Sky put pen to paper and the high-stakes matchup was official for The Showcase of the Immortals.
This was short, sweet and got to the point, with Sky sending a clear message to her 'Mania opponents that she will not be disrespected or pushed aside.
This was what it needed to be, even if it simply confirmed what we all knew was coming.
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Pearce flubbed, introducing Ripley as "representing Judgment Day" and both Michael Cole and Pat McAfee called him out for it.
* Belair expressed zero concern over facing both opponents at WrestleMania, citing watching her two best friends (Jade Cargill and Naomi) tearing each other part and then still winning Elimination Chamber.
Women's Intercontinental Championship: Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria (c)
3 of 9
Lyra Valkyria will likely enter WrestleMania 41 with the Women's Intercontinental Championship in her possession following a grueling victory over Bayley in the first match of Monday's show.
The challenger targeted the head and neck of her opponent with vicious strikes, only for the champion to weather it and battle her way back into the match. Valkyria had an answer to everything Bayley threw at her, even managing to break a painful Boston Crab by hooking her ankle.
Bayley saw an opening, attempted the Rose Plant, but Valkyria caught her, countered and rolled her up for the victory.
The Role Model's mounting frustration nearly boiled over after the match when she denied the victor a sign of respect, but she thought better of it and embraced The Valkyrie, though all the while keeping her eye on the title.
This was the perfect setup for Friday's SmackDown, where the two will be partners. Can Bayley set aside the disappointment of this loss or will the cracks continue to show, ultimately leading her back to her heelish ways?
Result
Valkyria defeated Bayley to retain
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Cole reminded the viewers at home that Bayley and Valkyria will compete in a Gauntlet match for a shot at the Women's Tag Team Championship against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez at WrestleMania.
* Bayley obliterated Valkyria with a knee to the face that momentarily stunned the champion in the corner.
* The challenger delivered a Bayley-to-Belly on the floor, and Valkyria narrowly beat the referee's count back into the squared circle.
* There were justified "this is awesome" chants here.
LWO vs. American Made and El Grande Americano
4 of 9
El Grande Americano got another one over on the LWO Monday night when he and The Creed Brothers bested Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde and Dragon Lee in a trios match.
Despite the best efforts of the babyfaces, including a red-hot onslaught late in the match, the not-so-subtly disguised Chad Gable received a piece of metal from Ivy Nile, slipped it in his mask and used it to headbutt his way to a win by pinning Lee.
The match was tons of fun and even popped Cole at ringside a few times. That should be expected given the talent involved.
Beyond that, it was a means to extending the rivalry and putting over the masked villain in his hometown. It worked, with Gable's latest iteration being an immensely entertaining twist on an old gimmick.
Result
El Grande Americano and The Creed Brothers defeated The LWO
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
* The Minnesotans love them some El Grande Americano, perhaps due to his resemblance to their hometown hero, Gable, who was forced to miss the show as a result of the "sniffles," as McAfee put it.
* Every time Julius Creed is on TV, one cannot help but wonder why he isn't doing more than he is. A freakish athlete whose best comparison is a taller Kurt Angle, he has a bright future...or he will have as soon as the opportunities present themselves.
* Del Toro attempted a top-rope maneuver with the heel "luchador" atop Lee's shoulders, only for El Grande Americano to catch him and drive him to the mat with a belly-to-belly.
* "This is crazy as hell," Cole said as the action broke down.
Jey Uso Confronts Gunther
5 of 9
There was no laughing, no Yeet'ing and no bright merchandise when Jey Uso slowly and seriously made his way through the crowd to confront Gunther ahead of their WrestleMania 41 match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Instead, it was a locked-in Uso, sporting all black and hellbent on avenging his brother following last week's bloody assault of Jimmy by The Ring General.
Uso recalled talking to his mother and admitted he was too afraid to protect his brother. Not anymore, though. He is going to get Gunther in Las Vegas and he is going to take the championship.
The body language from Gunther here was outstanding. The way he ran his hand through his hair and the facial expressions he flashed while absorbing Uso's words were that of a man who realized he may have made a colossal mistake.
This was a great bit of business that added another layer of gravity to the program, with no room for Yeets. What was one of the more questionably booked matches through its first month now has the fixings of one of the most anticipated matches on the WrestleMania on the card.
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
* "You know what I realized? I ain't afraid of you no more," Uso told Gunther.
* "Before Wrestlemania, hug and kiss your family," he said, promising to pray for both of them, but mostly him and the man he is about to become. "I'mma get you."
World Tag Team Championship: The War Raiders vs. The New Day
6 of 9
The New Day defeated The War Raiders via disqualification Monday night when Ivar blasted Woods with a steel chair. The challengers may not have won the titles, but they got the last laugh with a brutal assault on the champions.
Producers Jamie Noble and Petey Williams rushed the ring to prevent the heels from delivering a potentially career-ending attack on Erik's neck and the heels stood tall to close the segment.
The match was perfectly fine, and the outcome ensures there will be more to come between the two teams, but the tag team division on Raw is so lukewarm at this point that it's difficult to get excited for any of it, regardless of the efforts of the competitors in it.
Result
The New Day defeated The War Raiders via disqualification
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Tony Hinchcliffe joined Cole and McAfee on commentary to promote The Roast of WrestleMania on April 20. He was decidedly unfunny. Shocker.
* Ivar's cannonballs to Woods at ringside, against the timekeeper's barrier, were rough and left the heel reeling.
Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio
7 of 9
Earlier in the night, Pearce announced Bron Breakker will defend the Intercontinental Championship against Penta, Dominik Mysterio and Finn Bálor in a Fatal 4-Way at WrestleMania 41.
In a preview of that matchup, Penta battled Mysterio in singles competition and scored the win with the Sacrifice, followed by the Penta Driver for the pinfall victory in another perfectly acceptable contest.
Breakker interrupted a post-match beatdown by Mysterio and Carlito, coming to the aid of Penta. He tore through everyone, then added a Spear to the former Lucha Brother. Bálor took down Breakker and posed with the IC title, only to dodge one last Spear by The Badass, who stood tall with his title to close things out.
Cole suggested the four-way match for the IC title may be a potential show-stealer at WrestleMania, and he's right. The talent is there, but this feels like a match of different stories, none of which necessarily intersect, put together for the sake of getting everyone on the card.
The creative may be underwhelming but if anyone can ensure the payoff is worth it, it's the four Superstars in the championship clash.
Result
Penta defeated Mysterio
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* During a backstage vignette, Rey Mysterio requested a match with El Grande Americano at WrestleMania and Pearce granted it.
* "Dom stole the Mexican Destroyer from Penta!" Cole exclaimed. "If Dom is doing it, it's a Toilet Destroyer," McAfee replied. Laughs were begrudgingly had.
Seth Rollins Confronts Paul Heyman
8 of 9
Seth Rollins continued to attempt to get his peers to see things his way, trying to manipulate Paul Heyman into removing himself from the scenario at WrestleMania by letting him, CM Punk and Roman Reigns do their business in Las Vegas.
When Heyman said he could not do that, Rollins volunteered to do it for him, threatening a Stomp to the back of the head and asking who would save him with Reigns and Punk not there.
As he got physical with a defiant Heyman, Punk did make the save. A brawl ensued before The Visionary got the best of his rival, delivering a Stomp. From there, he teased doing the same to The Wise Man, who narrowly dodged the finisher.
"Now, you owe me a favor," Rollins told Heyman as the show came to a close.
Rollins has been the most compelling talker this side of Drew McIntyre for the last six months. He is a heel who still gets cheered, believes himself to be completely justified in his actions and does generally make good points.
The obsession with the demise of Punk and Reigns has changed him, though, with no semblance of the MVP and WrestleMania hero he was a year ago.
Now suggesting Heyman owes him a favor, it will be interesting to see what form that takes and how Rollins looks to collect come April 19.
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* "I will always be loyal to my Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. I will always be loyal to my best friend in the whole world, CM Punk," Heyman said, before adding that just because he is loyal to both does not mean he will be disloyal to either at WrestleMania.
* Rollins attempted to stir the pot, asking Heyman whose side he is really on.
* "Jacob and Azalea [Heyman's children] had to watch you get put through a table because Roman Reigns doesn't care about you," Rollins said.
Overall Grade
9 of 9
The final stretch on the Road to WrestleMania brings with it a greater sense of creative urgency and that was on full display this week.
Everything bar the world tag title match had implications on the biggest card of the year, with some matches confirmed, some beefed up and others enhanced with added drama and intrigue.
This week's episode of Raw was another example of Triple H's creative team delivering when it most needed to; crafting compelling segments, booking quality matches and putting an exclamation point on it all with a hot show-ending segment.
A big thumbs-up.
Grade: A
.jpg?w=480)
