This Week in WWE (30/3/25 – 5/4/25)

You will be missed

After this show from London, we’re returning to the US for our WWE shows and its gonna suck. Not immediately, Smackdown airs from Chicago so that should be hot. However, we’ll be going back to spoilt, American wrestling fans who are happy to sit and watch in silence.

Luckily it won’t be too long until we’re graced with a European Raw/Smackdown with Clash in Paris scheduled for a few months time.

shots fired

Holy shit. The one complaint I have heard over and over by the IWC is “John Cena is holding back”. This promo is for you guys because Cena DID NOT hold back. In fairness, neither did Cody Rhodes. The WWE champion interrupted Cena before he began speaking and listed some stuff Cena might mock him for. His lisp, Stardust and his neck tattoo. John Cena proceeds to tear into Cody for being a mediocre attempt at replacing Cena as the top star in WWE.

I’m not going to do this promo any justice, just go check out the full segment on WWE’s YouTube. They reference AEW, Vince McMahon and their own experiences with each other. The segment was fire and ended with Cody dropping John with the Cross Rhodes. A blistering start to the show. This is the last advertised Cena vs Rhodes segment. We will see what we treated with next week.

Welcome back tyler bate

The New Day wanted to prove they’re worthy of a tag title match and they’re scheduled for tag action. Their opponents ended up being Pete Dunne and a returning Tyler Bate! It’s great to see the Big Strong Boy back in WWE. I hope they don’t just 180 on what Pete Dunne has been doing recently as a heel. Bate was in full babyface mode but Dunne was a little more reserved.

A solid tag match which the New Day won. The result was expected, they look set to challenge the War Raiders at Wrestlemania. I hope we get more screentime for Tyler Bate this year.

Gunther kills jimmy uso

Gunther destroyed Jimmy Uso in an extended squash match. I think the booking was brilliant. Jimmy looked valiant whilst Gunther looked ruthless. However, the best part of this happened after the bell.

Gunther continues his assault on Jimmy until brother Jey makes the save. He lays out both men and uses zip locks to restrain Jey on the ring ropes. Gunther continues to decimate a bloodied, battered Jimmy in front of a heartbroken Jey Uso.

It’s about time we got some more story added to this feud. It needed some more stakes desperately and we’re finally getting it. The only reason this segment isn’t rated higher is because Jey did not sell the angle as well as he could have done. Has he forgotten how to use good facial expressions like he did 2020-2024?

Miscommunications

Penta and Bron Breakker tried to unite and take down the Judgement Day but it did not work out for them. Breakker accidentally drops Penta with the spear. Penta then receives the Coup de Grace and eats the pin. Penta and Breakker squabble backstage, adding some friction between these 2 destined opponents. This was not the only miscomunnication involved over the IC title.

Finn Balor decides that he should get himself an IC title rematch against Bron Breakker. Liv Morgan however thinks that Dominik should get that opportunity. Liv and Finn both go after Adam Pearce separately to get a match booked. Maybe a Fatal Four Way is the plan for Wrestlemania? I’d like that, I would even like Dominik to walk away with the IC championship.

Mad Mami

Iyo Sky vs Rhea Ripley was a killer main event match, as expected. Bianca Belair was the special referee and she did a solid job calling the match. Frustrations between Bianca and Rhea grew throughout the match as Rhea believed she was being slow counted. This reached its boiling point when Rhea accidentally kicked Bianca out of the ring. Belair was not present to count the pinfall after a Riptide and Rhea is NOT happy.

Rhea ends up getting physical with Bianca, then dodges a dropkick by Iyo which makes contact with the referee. Unhappy with how the match has went, Bianca Belair decides to throw the match out as a No Contest. Rhea has lost her shot at competing at Wrestlemania, so she annihilates both women with Riptide’s and stands tall to end the show.

A great match with a well done non-finish as this triple threat is all but confirmed for Wrestlemania.

I just don’t care

I was so happy to see AJ Styles return to WWE. This seems like this could be the last major run for AJ who is surely preparing for retirement. I was looking forward to seeing a programme with him and Bron Breakker, Penta, the Judgement Day or whatever they had in mind.

That was until it was made clear Styles would be feuding with Logan Paul heading to Wrestlemania and I just do not care about this at all. Not only is this Logan Paul but this is the worst version of Logan Paul. He is great at getting heat but his promos are now generic. Is it heel heat or is it go away heat? It is hard to tell. He has this weird accent that he puts on, I have no clue why he speaks that way.

Maybe it is just because part time Logan Paul meant we did not see as much of him, so the weaknesses were hidden. I’m just not interested in seeing this match and I doubt I’m the only one.

Fierce Competition

Stephanie Vaquer and Ava start the show and the Double Champ will now only be a single champ. She relinquishes the North American title. Usually I wouldn’t like this, but since we’re less than 3 weeks away from Wrestlemania weekend I understand why it has to be done. The catch is that Vaquer wants to choose her own opponent for Stand & Deliver.

Jordynne Grace makes it clear that she should be chosen, whilst Jaida Parker is far from finished with chasing the NXT title. These 2 powerhouses got into a pull apart brawl that would continue throughout the show. A hot start to NXT as the women’s division gets blown wide open.

Battle between 2 potential world champions

Ava revealed that the North American title will be determined in a 6-woman ladder match at Stand & Deliver. Qualifiers began on this show. The first one was a physical clash of the titans between Zaria and Lash Legend.

I am a huge fan of both of these women and hopefully this match proved they’re both wasted being stuck in a tag team. They whooped the crap out of each other and it was great. Zaria wins which I think makes sense, she is a contender for winning the whole thing. I have no doubt Lash will hold a championship of her own within the next year or 2.

Darkstate intel

I know! I am talking positively about a Darkstate segment. That is because this segment was a D’Angelo Family segment. The Don demanded some intelligence on this new group of rookies and finally we have some context on who these guys are. I thought this was a genius way to introduce the four new men in NXT. If only they did this segment like a month ago.

The Family talk about Dion Lennox, Cutler James, Saquon Shugars & Osiris Griffin. They briefly touch on their background and their biggest strengths. It was a solid segment and I think a feud with the Family would be a good start for Darkstate who really need some focus.

Bonus points for what is no doubt a tease for a betrayal by Channing Lorenzo. He doesn’t appear to be on the wavelength and I believe he did an intentional poor job gathering intel. Maybe he is part of Darkstate too?

Je’Von shoots his shot

I’m not totally hot on this segment and I’ll explain why later, but for what its worth it was well performed by all the guys involved.

Trick Williams calls out Oba Femi but Je’Von Evans interrupts and criticises Trick for being a hypocrite and a fake. He draws parallels between Trick and Carmelo Hayes before saying Trick is essentially a clone of him. I thought the comparison was great and I never thought of it like that before. Evans brags about dropping Oba Femi. bringing out the ruler of NXT. Oba shuts them both up and demands respect. Ava comes out and makes it a triple threat for Stand & Deliver. They get into a brawl before Darkstate lay waste to all 3 men.

Well Trick Williams is not leading Darkstate then. I thought these 3 did a great job with their mic work together, they deserve their flowers. I am just not happy with the booking of all this.

2-time champ?

Kelani Jordan scored a shock upset defeating Roxanne Perez in a North American title qualifier. The match was a banger, the best match of the night. Nothing much left to say. Both women are great and like Zaria and Lash, could also be future women’s champions.

Kelani could be a pick to become the North American champion again, she has been building a lot of momentum over the past year and she has a lot of crowd support. We shall see.

Saquon Shugars is money

Don’t have a heart attack, but I am dropping another positive note on Darkstate. I have been very negative about them, and I am going to be more negative soon so I thought I should balance things out.

Whilst I am still unsure on the rest of the group, I firmly believe that Saquon can be a major star in wrestling as long as his wrestling is as solid as his talking. In the few short promos we have seen from Darkstate, Shugars has absolutely shone the most with effortless and believable mic work. Lennox, James & Griffin all have their work cut out for them in the promo department but Saquon has a great foundation to build on. If anyone can regain my interest in Darkshit, it is him.

The Saints came marching in

Just like that, Ricky Saints is a champion in WWE. Only a handful of matches in a little under 2 months and now he is the North American Champion.

Saints vs Shawn Spears was a great main event, only missing out on a higher grade if it was 5 minutes longer. It went 10 minutes but it felt like an absolute sprint. Spears is a great opponent to have and Saints was on absolute fire. This is a man completely motivated to be the best he can be. On this night, he needed to prove AEW missed out on him and he certainly did that.

His celebration is cut short by an attacking Ethan Page which I think is a great opponent for Stand & Deliver.

who cares about darkstate?

Ava said that “her main focus right now is dealing with Darkstate.” SINCE WHEN? They have been doing what they like for 2 months and you have barely batted an eyelid at their actions. Only now you care because you saw it happen and you can set up a 6-man tag.

Do you know why Seth Rollins’ rivalry with Roman Reigns and CM Punk is so great? Because every time we hear from him we are reminded about how he feels and why he feels that way. It is very clearly communicated to the audience that they fucking hate each other. That is what the Darkstate stuff is lacking.

One week Je’Von cares about Darkstate and wants to defend NXT, now he just wants an NXT title shot. One week Oba Femi is attacked by Darkstate and he wants justice, but he got into a feud with Moose and stopped caring. Ava gets upset about NXT being trashed by Darkstate but does nothing about it until over a month later. At least Trick Williams consistently never cared about Darkstate since their debut.

Inconsistent, nonsensical, crappy booking.

Je’forced evans

Why is WWE so obsessed with multi-man matches right now? I am mildly concerned that we’re going to see shades of Wrestlemania 2000 where every match ends up being a multi-man and a significant lack of singles matches.

I don’t really have an issue with WWE using more multi-man matches although a classic singles is preferred for me. However, I do have an issue with NXT forcing a triple threat that shouldn’t be a triple threat.

Why is Je’Von here? He shouldn’t be a part of this at all. Oba Femi took the title from Trick in a triple threat, he didn’t pin Trick. Williams wants his title back and he has been on a redemption arc against Eddy Thorpe to get here. It should be a straight up singles match, Femi wins and the feud is done with.

No, the feud is probably going to overstay its welcome. Trick or Oba will win the match pinning Je’Von and set up the singles match later down the line for no apparent reason.

transitional champ

I won’t criticise this too much because I think Saints being a champion as soon as possible is a good move, but man poor Shawn Spears. After 23 years he finally won a championship in a major wrestling company and held it for only 4 weeks. I would have liked to see more from Spears as champion, but at least he got his moment I guess.

Stephanie Vaquer Vacates the North American Title, Jordynne Grace & Jaida Parker Brawl (B+ Grade)

Zaria defeats Lash Legend, North American Qualifier (B+ Grade)

The D’Angelo Family Gather Intel on Darkstate (B Grade)

No Quarter Catch Crew defeat Hank & Tank (C Grade)

Trick Williams, Oba Femi & Je’Von Evans Argue Before Darkstate Attack (B Grade)

Kelani Jordan defeats Roxanne Perez, North American Qualifier (A- Grade)

Ricky Saints defeats Shawn Spears (c), North American Championship (B+ Grade)

Chicago made

CM Punk opens the show in front of his hometown crowd. The promo itself is nothing out of the ordinary. He praises the city his from and talks about his journey to finally becoming a Wrestlemania main eventer. The passion of Punk mixed with the excitement of the crowd elevated this segment and it felt like a spectacle.

Paul Heyman comes out and begs to know about the favour. Roman Reigns is not in the building yet, so Punk will tell Heyman and Reigns the favour to their face when “Big Chief” arrives. Not only a hot opening segment, but it creates a lot of intrigue for the rest of the show. Engagement will be high.

Welcome to wwe

Rey Fenix made his highly anticipated debut in WWE and it did not disappoint at all. Fenix was on top of his game but so was his opponent, NXT Tag champion Nathan Frazer. There was a botch by Frazer making the dive but they managed to recover well. This match was awesome. Fenix hit a Fire Driver which I was certain was the finish but Frazer kicked out! Rey won with a Mexican Muscle Buster which was awesome. Fenix looked good in victory, Frazer looked good in defeat. What more could you want.

Rey Fenix cut an emotional, passionate promo after the match. He has waited all of his life to say that he is here in WWE. (Fuck you AEW I guess lol)

Solid snake Mcintyre

We got a short promo package from Drew McIntyre who is sporting an eyepatch after an attack by Damian Priest last week. I am all in on this. He looked bad ass and I hope he keeps this look for a little while.

There was another segment after this that I won’t give its own full entry but it was so fucking funny. TD;LR, LA Knight tells Solo SIkoa he has gargantuan balls and mocks Tama Tonga’s “yeyeyeyeye” setting up an impromptu match.

Tiffy shows her strength

Fuck yes. This segment was fucking awesome. This had to be unscripted because this felt REAL. The last time we saw these two go head to head we had that awkward interview where it appeared Charlotte went into business for herself and made Tiffy look weak. In this segment, Tiffany made sure that she came out on top of this looking the star.

Flair says everything she has said before in all of her heel promos. Stratton roasts Flair for crying on Daytime TV about divorce, being a nepo baby, how she will never be respected by wrestling fans and that she will be alone for the rest of her life. DUDE this shit was cold as fuck.

Flair gets visibly flustered as she struggles to get a word out because the fans boo her so loudly and Tiffy keeps mocking her. 39 year old Charlotte then starts doing a Mickey Mouse voice to imitate Tiffy because apparently she is squeaky, then drops a desperate line about Tiffy’s husband Ludwig Kaiser being in her DMs.

Although Flair’s performance here was not good, Stratton was on another level and that is exactly what I needed this to be.

great Storytelling

I think on paper, Drew McIntyre vs Damian Priest was not initially a match that everyone was super excited for. I think most fans were hoping both men would have better plans going into Wrestlemania. However, both the wrestlers and the writers have done a great job of building hype for this match because of the top tier storytelling.

These two have been intertwined with each other ever since Wrestlemania 40 and both men have done a fabulous job weaving this narrative ahead of Wrestlemania 41.

The Monster mash

Jacob Fatu and Braun Strowman kicked ASS in their Last Man Standing main event match. Two big beefy brutes, slapping meat. This is a Big E wet dream. This match was excellent and Fatu gets the clean win the end the rivalry, I assume.

Fatu will challenge LA Knight at Wrestlemania and I think he should walk out victorious. The rise of Fatu begins now!

The Favour

Everything about this final segment was awesome. Roman Reigns arrives, ignores Heyman and walks straight to the ring. There was a continuous camera shot following Reigns from his entrance, right through gorilla and to the entrance stage. Heyman follows behind him like a lost puppy. He is in full grovel mode and it is great character work.

Roman does not have a long entrance, he walks straight out here and gets to it. He takes responsibility for CM Punk returning to WWE and become a Wrestlemania main eventer. He calls out Punk, of course this brings out Seth Rollins instead. Rollins’ new Tron video is very similar his one when he turned heel and joined the authority. Rollins is having a good time and gives Roman a reality check. Roman underestimates Punk and he needs to be taken out. I think Rollins even teases they take out Punk together. Roman calls him untrustworthy and he is here for Punk, not him.

CM Punk finally comes out and says the favour is about respect and loyalty. Punk makes references to their time in ECW and how they said they would “make them pay” together. “They” ain’t here anymore, so Punk will make Roman pay instead. Punk’s favour is Paul Heyman will be in his corner at Wrestlemania 41. Roman laughs and tells Heyman to let him down easy. Paul Heyman hesitates and cries. Roman demands Heyman says no after all he has done for him. Heyman says no…to Roman Reigns! Seth Rollins is on his knees laughing, Roman threatens Reigns so Punk drops him with a GTS. Rollins and Punk stand off whilst Heyman is in absolute distress. Awesome end to an awesome show.

unfortunate news

I should preface this by saying this not a negative in the usual sense. This was just sad to hear. Kevin Owens comes out sincerely as himself and reveals that he has been dealing with a severe neck injury and now he has to go have a major surgery. His match with Randy Orton is no longer going ahead and we might not see him for a while.

It always sucks to hear news like this. I wish Owens the speediest recovery and I hope to see him in the ring sooner than later.

It’ll be interesting to see what WWE do with Randy Orton. He dropped Nick Aldis with an RKO after the match, could we see Aldis wrestle his first WWE match at Wrestlemania? That would be cool. I am not going to give the segment a grade because that feels wrong.

CM Punk’s Homecoming, Paul Heyman is Stressed (B+ Grade)

Rey Fenix defeats Nathan Frazer (A- Grade)

LA Knight defeats Tama Tonga (C+ Grade)

Tiffany Stratton Cooks, Charlotte Flair Bombs (A+ Grade)

Motor City Machine Guns defeat DIY, Number 1 Contender Match (B Grade)

Naomi defeats B-Fab, Fights With Jade Cargill (C Grade)

1) Tiffany Stratton

2) John Cena

3) Cody Rhodes

4) Jacob Fatu

5) Braun Strowman

6) Iyo Sky

7) Rhea Ripley

8) Roxanne Perez

9) Kelani Jordan

10) Rey Fenix

Raw

Lyra Valkyria (c) vs Bayley, Intercontinental Championship

El Grande Americano In Action

We Hear From Seth Rollins

NXT

Darkstate vs Oba Femi, Trick Williams & Je’Von Evans

Jaida Parker vs Jordynne Grace

Fraxiom vs Swipe Right

Wes Lee vs Yoshiki Inamura

Sol Ruca vs ???. North American Qualifier

Smackdown

Women’s Tag Gauntlet

Rey Fenix vs Berto Garza

Cody Rhodes Returns

Damian Priest & Drew McIntyre Face to Face

Cody Rhodes (c) vs John Cena, WWE Championship

Gunther (c) vs Jey Uso, Heavyweight Championship

Iyo Sky (c) vs Bianca Belair, Women’s World Championship

Tiffany Stratton (c) vs Charlotte Flair, WWE Women’s Championship

CM Punk vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins

AJ Styles vs Logan Paul

Naomi vs Jade Cargill

LA Knight (c) vs Jacob Fatu, US Championship