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We got a great WWE RAW after WrestleMania 40, with The Rock teasing a new rivalry and two top champs appearing from an opposing brand.
- Ilja Dragunov def. Shinsuke Nakamura
- The Awesome Truth def. Judgment Day
- Indi Hartwell def. Roxanne Perez
- Sami Zayn & Chad Gable def. Imperium
- Jade Cargill def. Chelsea Green
- Jey Uso def. Drew McIntyre, Bronson Reed & Ricochet
Triple H kicked off the RAW after WrestleMania 40, and the fans thanked him before he said that he was out to thank the fans. Hunter said that it was the greatest WrestleMania of all time before calling on Cody Rhodes, the new champ that will lead us into the new era of WWE.
Cody made his way to the ring and showed off his new WWE title before the crowd chanted, "You deserve it." Triple H thanked Cody for the match last night and said that a couple of guys from the studio wanted to share something with Cody.
We got a video package recapping Cody's journey so far before Rhodes asked Samantha Irvin to announce him as the champ one more time. He said that he was now at the top of the mountain and that Roman Reigns was the most important champion of this generation, but he was destined to defeat him.
Cody said that he went from undesirable to undeniable before The Rock made his entrance with The People's Championship. The crowd chanted "Undertaker" and "Rocky S*cks" before booing The Brahma Bull.
The Rock said he was there to congratulate Cody and that Philadelphia broke the record for "the largest gathering of trailer park trash."
The Rock congratulated The American Nightmare for beating the odds and winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. He said that Dusty was his hero and that he was smiling from heaven after Cody's big win.
Dwayne asked to hold Cody's title, and the latter said no. Then The Rock said that he has held every single title except that one. Cody hesitated, but they traded titles anyway before The Rock said that having the WWE title 'just feels right'.
The Rock thanked Cody and handed the title back to him before saying that he had to go away for a while again. He added that when he does come back, he will return for Cody, hinting at a future feud.
Dwayne reminded Cody that he may have ended his story with Roman Reigns, but his story with The Rock had just begun. Before leaving, The Great One said he had something for Rhodes and handed him something.
Rock was being cryptic and said: "You don't even have to open your hand to know what this is. Don't ever break my heart again," before walking out.
WWE RAW Result (April 8, 2024): Ilja Dragunov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
We learned that Ilja Dragunov would be part of the upcoming WWE Draft, meaning the champ was moving on from NXT. Dragunov had control of the match and hit a big German Suplex the Constantine Special clothesline.
Shinsuke Nakamura dodged a top rope move and hit a suplex and a diving knee for a near fall. Nakamura took a big boot and a powerbomb before Dragunov got an H Bomb, the Torpedo Moscow, and picked up the win.
Result: Ilja Dragunov def. Shinsuke Nakamura on RAW
Grade: B+
Judgment Day was out next and Finn Balor mocked all the haters before Dominik Mysterio announced Rhea Ripley as the retaining Women's World Champion. Rhea and then Damian Priest joined them in the ring, and they were celebrating when R-Truth showed up with the RAW tag title!
R-Truth still thought he was in Judgment Day and tried to negotiate The Miz into joining the group. Miz came out and said that he didn't want to be in Judgment Day before Balor challenged them to a tag title match.
R-Truth said he wanted a six-man tag match since he had an 'invisible friend' and the Judgment Day agreed. Truth was just about to introduce his totally not imaginary friend when the group attacked them and tossed the tag champs outside.
Judgment Day vs. The Awesome Truth on WWE RAW
R-Truth was taking a beating from JD McDonagh early in the match, and Dominik Mysterio was tagged in before getting a near fall off some stomps on the champ. The Miz came in and got some big moves but missed the Skull Crushing Finale before Finn Balor and JD beat him up at ringside.
Back after a break on RAW, the tag champs were taking a beating before John Cena came out, and it turned out that he was the 'invisible' third member of their team.
Cena and the tag champs hit triple Five Knuckle Shuffles before getting triple Attitude Adjustments before getting the win.
Result: The Awesome Truth def. Judgment Day on RAW
Grade: B
Bronson Reed was backstage and said that he was going to teach a lesson to his opponents tonight.
Rhea Ripley was backstage when Liv Morgan attacked her with a chair and beat her down before running off.
Indi Hartwell vs. Roxanne Perez on WWE RAW
The NXT Women's Champion, Roxanne Perez, showed up to face Indi Hartwell, who held the same title this time last year. Roxanne slapped Indi right away before getting a dropkick and some strikes for a near fall.
Candice LeRae dragged Roxanne by the leg and dropped her before Indi went to tell her off for it. The distraction allowed Roxanne to jab her in the eyes before getting the Pop Rox for the win.
Result: Indi Hartwell def. Roxanne Perez
Grade: B-
Sami Zayn was out next, and the crowd chanted, "You deserve it" before the new Intercontinental Champ said he did something historic at WrestleMania by beating Gunther. He thanked Gunther and congratulated him for the 666-day title reign that he ended at WrestleMania.
He thanked the fans, his family, and Kevin Owens for supporting him before Imperium came out, but without Gunther. Ludwig Kaiser made fun of Sami and called him a bum before saying that they were there on behalf of The Ring General and were about to teach him a lesson.
Imperium cornered Sami in the ring before Chad Gable came out and chased them off. After a break on RAW, we headed for a match between the two teams.
Sheamus has been out with an injury since his match with Edge in August of last year. Tonight, it was announced that he will be returning soon.
Sami Zayn & Chad Gable vs. Imperium on WWE RAW
Chad Gable and Giovanni Vinci kicked off the match and Ludwig Kaiser was tagged in early before being sent outside. Sami Zayn came in with a big elbow dive and a big dive to the outside, taking out both opponents.
Back in the ring, Sami was in trouble and took a double dropkick in the corner before Gable came back and hit a series of double German Suplexes with Zayn.
Kaiser was sent outside before Vinci took an exploder and tagged Gable in before getting the Helluva Kick. Gable came in with Chaos Theory and picked up the win.
Result: Sami Zayn & Chad Gable def. Imperium
Grade: B
The three General Managers of RAW, SmackDown, and NXT were backstage discussing the draft when Chelsea Green came in and asked for a match so that she could get her 'moment'.
Chelsea Green vs. Jade Cargill on WWE RAW
Jade Cargill made her entrance second, and Chelsea Green was shocked before trying to run away. Cargill caught Green and lifted her for a stalling front-face slam before getting the easy win.
Result: Jade Cargill def. Chelsea Green
Grade: C
Backstage, Sami told Gable that he owed him and offered him a title shot next week on RAW.
Drew McIntyre was out next and said that last night's events were BS and that his title run lasted five minutes and 46 seconds. He thanked Seth Rollins before insulting Damian Priest and calling the Money in the Bank contract a joke.
Drew said Priest was a 'transitional champion' and it was all CM Punk's fault. He said that it was 'on sight' for CM Punk and he was going to exploit any weakness Punk had.
Drew was interrupted by Jey Uso making his entrance for the main event match and he was furious as he tossed his mic and random chairs at ringside.
Drew McIntyre vs. Bronson Reed vs. Jey Uso vs. Ricochet - No.1 Contender's match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on RAW
The match headed outside early, and Ricochet hit a big dive before Drew McIntyre dragged him back to the ring for a near fall. Reed got a hip attack on Jey Uso in the corner before Uso tried to spear Bronson through a table in the corner.
Bronson Reed countered the move and sent Jey through the table himself before we headed for a break.
Back on RAW, Ricochet came back with a big kick on Bronson before catching Drew and Reed in with hip attacks in the corner. Jey and Ricochet hit Superkicks on Drew and Reed before Uso got a near fall. Drew tried for a superplex but was caught in the tree of woe before Ricochet came in for a dive.
Ricochet took Bronson Reed down with a massive dive through the announce desk before Drew hit the Futureshock DDT and went for the claymore, but CM showed up and dragged his leg before Jey came in with the spear and hit the frog splash before getting the win.
Result: Jey Uso def. Drew McIntyre, Bronson Reed & Ricochet
Grade: A
