This Week In WWE Review (21/4/25 – 27/4/25)

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John Cena opens the show with another heel promo, refusing to forgive the WWE universe and their flimsy attitude. They are willing to cheer him now but he does not care. He warns us that he only has 27 appearances left before the retirement tour ends. Once that happens, the professional wrestling timeline stops and he will be the last real WWE champion in the company.

He mocks the crowd some more, including rightfully calling the fans heartless bastards for booing Cody Rhodes, before being surprise attacked by a Randy Orton RKO.

This was a hot way to start the crowd, I am loving John Cena as a heel character even if the Wrestlemania match was a flop. It makes sense to set up Cena vs Orton but I do not have high expectations

Short-Lived Alliance

Less than 24 hours after losing them, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez win back their women’s tag championships. They wrestled a better match here than they did at Wrestlemania! A lot more competitive with better sequences. Lyra Valkyria showed impressive resilience and strength, whilst Becky looked much better in the ring than she did at Mania. Liv Morgan spikes Lyra to win back the titles.

The match was great, but it was not the moment we are talking about. After the loss, a bitterly disappointed Lynch attacks Lyra and chews her out for losing. A Becky Lynch heel turn the same weekend as a Seth Rollins heel turn. Will they show their unity on screen? A heel turn for Becky is a great idea, I am far more interested in seeing what she does next now.

Matchka

Alpha Academy taunt the New Day into giving them an impromptu championship match here on Raw but the match does not get under way. Rusev makes his WWE return! The New Day escape, Rusev destroys both Akira Tozawa and Otis.

Welcome back Rusev. It is good to see him back in WWE. This was the perfect way to bring back Rusev as a dominant force to fear.

NXT Debuts

Iyo Sky’s celebration is interrupted by the NXT women’s champion Stephanie Vaquer! The champion wants to wrestle the best of the best and she challenges her. Iyo accepts and we’re getting this match right now!

I think it was clear that these 2 were holding back a little bit. I’m not sure if it was nerves for Vaquer or if they were told to rein it in but this started off a little slow but both women found a groove in the later stages of the match. I am absolutely loving how over Iyo Sky is. I don’t think Asuka or Kairi were as over as Iyo is right now. She might even be more popular than Shinsuke Nakamura ever was on the main roster.

This was a quality match that massively put over Stephanie Vaquer but it ended in a No Contest thanks to Roxanne Perez and Giulia both debuting on Raw. They appear to be aligned as they attack both Vaquer and Iyo. Rhea Ripley comes out and wipes out Pere before staring down Giulia.

Amazing match, fantastic surprises and I am incredibly intrigued by the future of Raw’s women’s division.

Heavyweight Celebration

Jey Uso receives a heroes welcome as the new world heavyweight champion. Out comes Sami Zayn to give Jey his flowers for finally winning the gold. He is proud of him. Out comes Jimmy Uso and the 3 men have a wholesome yeet celebration.

It was nice to see Sami Zayn back. This was good fun. However, am I the only one who noticed the way Sami stared at the World Heavyweight championship? It looked like he had desire in his eyes with a touch of jealousy. I wonder if Sami will be on a world title quest himself

Angry General

Former world champion Gunther comes out and targets commentary for going along with Jey Uso’s celebration. Gunther locks Michael Cole in a choke hold! Pat McAfee punched Gunther to save his friend but he fell victim to the choke hold for a very long time. Even Pat McAfee’s friends hopped over and tried to get involved, I don’t even know if that was scripted but it felt very real.

This segment was awesome. Gunther immediately recaptures his image as a dangerous killer. Pat McAfee and Michael Cole did an excellent job in this segment. Afterwards Cole refuses to take the night off and returns to commentary, receiving jubilant cheers from the Vegas crowd. Joe Tessitore comes out to accompany Cole on commentary.

Return Of The Ace

Dominik Mysterio scored his first title defence against Penta thanks to the return of Judgement Day’s JD McDonagh. The match was solid, nothing much of note but it is a sneak preview of how I imagine this entire Intercontinental title reign is going to be.

Nonetheless, it is great to see the Irish Ace return from his scary botch a while ago. The Judgement Day are continuing the remain relevant and entertaining.

Paul Heyman Guys

Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman cannot speak before CM Punk comes out looking for a fight. Heyman helps distract Punk and Rollins stomps him. Paul Heyman declares Seth Rollins as the number 1 top guy in WWE. Out comes Roman Reigns with a spear to Rollins and a Superman Punch to Heyman. He goes for the spear, but Bron Breakker spears Roman Reigns! Bron spears CM Punk and stands alongside his new allies to close the show. Another amazing segment on the most exciting episode of Raw I have seen in a long time.

Wow. A small part of me is pissed at this show because it absolutely ruins a lot of predictions I had for Wrestlemania 42, but damn this was a stellar Raw. Plenty of surprise returns and debuts. Plenty of heel turns and betrayals. The wrestling was at a high standard too. This is the best Raw after Wrestlemania we have seen in a very long time.

Finn Remains In

I am struggling to find criticisms for this show so I am mentioning this tiny issue for me. The entire build towards Wrestlemania 41 was Finn Balor not trusting Dominik Mysterio at all, calling him a snake and generally not getting along. This reached its peak at Wrestlemania when they ended up fighting as Mysterio tried to blindside Finn with the 619.

After all of that, and Mysterio winning the title, Finn Balor rocks up here and Raw and is willing to let bygones be bygones? That is a bit lame. In reality, I think that Balor is playing the long game and he will turn later down the line, but he looks a bit foolish currently.

Dar Wars

Welcome back Noam Dar! He has been absent with an injury for many months just when the Meta-Four were building momentum.

This wasn’t very long, Dar absolutely outclassed King in the ring and wins back his Heritage Cup.

I’m not sure why they would tease King vs Ricky Saints in a double title match when they planned for a title change here.

Say His Name

Oba Femi gives praise to Je’Von Evans and says he proved he is better than Trick Williams. Trick comes out pissed and wants a 1v1 rematch because Oba has took easy wins over him. Pretty good booking since Oba has never pinned him.

Joe Hendry returns to NXT! The TNA World champion calls Trick a whiney bitch. Trick responds with his own beliefs about Joe Hendry and mocks his quick Wrestlemania loss. Eventually, Hendry and Oba wipe out Trick before having a staredown in the ring, Trick looking on in the background

A great promo segment, I’m always happy to see my boy Hendry in WWE.

Just Another Team

DarkState are just hanging around backstage now, not even causing chaos. They mock Myles Borne for not being a part of Bloodsport. Je’Von Evans comes in and he is looking for a fight, willing to team with Borne against 2 of them.

So DarkState are just loitering around backstage like everyone else now? What are we doing here? The one appeal that they had was they were unpredictable chaos. Why wouldn’t they just beat up Evans & Borne right there? That has been their M.O since their debut.

They need to figure out what they actually want DarkState to be.

Hail No

Thea Hail vs Fallon Henley was not very good. They only got 3 minutes to get their shit in so that is already a bad start. However, the action was largely sloppy. Fallon Henley looked completely disinterested by the whole thing.

A short win for Hail thanks to botched Fatal Influence, setting up the inevitable break up of the faction.

Lack Of Excitement

Outside of the Hail vs Henley match, there isn’t anything on the show I would say that was bad, but this show was lacking in substance. Maybe this is because we’re coming off a banger Monday Night Raw, but this NXT felt a step behind.

The wrestling was pretty basic, the action felt quite phoned in except for the main event match between Stephanie Vaquer and Roxanne Perez. That was a good watch.

Apart from Joe Hendry facing off with Trick Williams and Oba Femi, the segments and promos weren’t anything to get excited about. They’re patiently moving the pawns in position as NXT prepares their next big moves post-Stand & Deliver.

There isn’t anything wrong with having a quiet week at the office, especially after what was a great Stand & Deliver show. I just wish there was more standout moments on this show.

Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) defeats Tatum Paxley & Gigi Dolin (C+ Grade)

Ricky Saints Interrupted By Lexis King (C+ Grade)

Noam Dar defeats Lexis King (c), Heritage Cup (C+ Grade)

Thea Hail defeats Fallon Henley (D Grade)

TNA World Champion Joe Hendry Interrupts Oba Femi & Trick Williams (B+ Grade)

DarkState defeats Je’Von Evans & Myles Borne (C Grade)

Stephanie Vaquer (c) defeats Roxanne Perez, Women’s Championship (B Grade)

One Last Time

Before John Cena can begin the show with a tirade against the WWE fans, Randy Orton interrupts. A familiar sight, but never have we seen good guy Orton stand across from bad guy Cena. Orton recaps Cena’s history with himself and the fans. He believes Cena has a void that needs filled and he is lashing out. Orton tells Cena to grow up have some kids of his own and that will make him the man he once was. Cena says the reason he doesn’t have kids because he has spent the last 25 years raising the fans’ kids. He roasts the fans as terrible parents and the kids in the audience as brats. Orton blames Hollywood for Cena’s mindset. Orton calls himself WWE furniture whilst Cena is just a guest. Whilst Orton argues the fans made him, Cena debates that they mean nothing.

Orton realises that he cannot get through to Cena, but he refuses to let him ruin wrestling. Cena will make sure Orton’s family is erased when he leaves. Orton challenges him for a match right now, but Cena makes their match for Backlash in front of Orton’s hometown. He wants to embarrass Orton at his best in front of his family. Cena cheap shots Orton but runs into an RKO.

The match is official, everyone seems to be very excited for it. I am hesitant. Have people forgotten the matches these 2 have had? They have not always been great. That aside, this was a very energetic and passionate promo segment by these 2. John Cena is in danger of having repetitive promos, but he is managing to keep them fresh enough to remain entertaining.

Welcome To Smackdown

Fraxiom have been called up from NXT onto Smackdown and I am incredibly hyped. This tag division has already been popping off for the last few months and adding Fraxiom just adds even more quality. Their debut match as a team against Los Garza was a great way to debut. They quickly got loud reactions from the Texas crowd for their lightning fast offence.

Fraxiom hit the Spanish Fly into the Phoenix Splash combo to get a big win on the blue brand.

Diamond In The Rough

Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill wrestled an impromptu match and it was a lot of fun. Whilst Jade is still green and this match was not a smooth ride, there was some stand out moments that shows that Jade might have enough to make it isa mega star.

One of those moments saw Jade reverse Tiffy’s Cartwheel into an Alabama Slam move with a Liger Bomb. That shit was awesome! Jade has undeniable strength and ability to have fun spots like this. She just needs to work on her general wrestling game and structuring a match. She will get there.

I cannot rate the match too high because it ended in a no contest, even though Naomi only attacked Jade so it should be a DQ result.

Baddest Champion in WWE

Solo Sikoa tries to take credit for Jacob Fatu’s success which the new US champion takes exception with. Fatu reminds him that he did this on his own and teases issues between these 2 family members.

However, out comes LA Knight who wants a title rematch. Then, out comes Drew McIntyre who is the star of this segment. He mocks Damien Priest, John Cena and Randy Orton before putting over Fatu hard as the most dangerous champion in WWE. McIntyre wants competition and Fatu has it. He and Knight argue over it which generates a few good lines. McIntyre says his last US title reign was a joke. Knight would say the same but he cannot remember Drew’s last reign. This sets up a contender match later in the show.

Darkness Returns

The Miz comes out and gets hot after not being booked on Wrestlemania. After the injuries that various wrestlers suffered, he should have been subbed in for them over Rey Fenix or Joe Hendry. He goes to drop his catchphrase, but the lights go out.

We hear Root of All Evil play and we see the return of former NXT champion Aleister Black. Miz approaches him and gets dropped by the Black Mass. He is back in WWE and I hope that he ascends to the success he deserves.

Match Of The Year?

WHY THE HELL WAS THIS MATCH NOT ON WRESTLEMANIA?!?!?!?!

Street Profits, DIY and Motor City Machine Guns tore the house down, buried it and rebuilt a block of flats on top of its remains. Wade Barrett says that these 3 teams are going out to prove WWE management that they could have had this on Wrestlemania 41 and he is absolutely right.

A flatliner from a ladder. A TKO from a ladder. The violent chair offence. Montez Ford using a fans’ prosthetic leg. Awesome table spots. An Air Raid Crash through a ladder. Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett’s best commentary performance yet. Skull & Bones through the table. The mid-air spear from a ladder through a table. This match quite literally had it all. A commendable effort by all 6 men who absolutely wrestled the best match over the last 7 days.

This might be the best TLC match we have seen since the famous first 3.

Naomi The Im-Flailer

Naomi attacked Jade Cargill, causing her match with Tiffany Stratton to end in a No Contest. First of all, that is not how that works. Jade Cargill should win by DQ, I don’t know why that call wasn’t made. Anyways, that isn’t my issue.

Naomi leaped on Jade and threw what I can confidently say are some of the worst worked punches I have ever seen. Can you remember when the Dark Order debuted in AEW and the internet clowned on some of the creepers for their terrible worked punches? That is how bad we’re talking. They were blatantly not coming anywhere near hitting Jade. I am shocked someone as talented as Naomi would do something like this.

This was not a good look, Naomi looked greener than Jade out there.

Please Just Move On

Do we really not have anything better to do with LA Knight? He has been stuck in the US title picture for nearly a year now. He has had some ups and a lot of downs. I was happy to see him drop the title and move on to bigger and better things. I don’t see why we’re still doing this.

McIntyre vs Knight was a solid match with the second screwy finish on the show. Jacob Fatu and Damian Priest coming down and attacking even though these feuds were supposedly blown off at Wrestlemania. What is the point? Wrestlemania should have been the final chapter, but it is continuing in what will probably be a 4 way set up. There could have been a much more interesting way to do things. This is lazy.

Justice For Green

Since Triple H has taken over as the “booker man” in WWE, I think the handling of Chelsea Green’s US reign has been the most egregious disappointment. Chelsea Green is easily one of the most over women on the main roster. She has a great character and is a more than solid wrestler. The fans love seeing her wrestle and listening to her talk. She is a captivating character. So what do WWE do? Like history tells us, completely miss the mark. Green’s rise to being the US champion was decent but her reign has sucked. A boring, long-winded feud with Michin and then this abomination of a feud with Zelina Vega.

Chelsea got made to look absolutely incompetent for WEEKS. Just because she is a heel doesn’t mean she has to be a stupid loser. She got beat here with relative ease by Zelina Vega. Look, I bet Zelina is a lovely person and this must have been an incredible moment for her. I just do not think she is all that great in the ring. She has zero personality. Her character can be summarised as “looks up to Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero”. I wouldn’t have minded seeing her win the inaugural US championship, but having her beat Chelsea Green here was a bad call.

Oh, and the match sucked too. This can only be redeemed if Chelsea Green wins the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Randy Orton and John Cena, One Last Time (B+ Grade)

Fraxiom defeats Los Garza (B+ Grade)

Tiffany Stratton is Interrupted by Jade Cargill (C Grade)

Tiffany Stratton vs Jade Cargill Ends in No Contest (C+ Grade)

Jacob Fatu Is Confronted By LA Knight & Drew McIntyre (B Grade)

Zelina Vega defeats Chelsea Green (c), US Championship (D- Grade)

1. Montez Ford
2. Angelo Dawkins
3. Tommaso Ciampa
4. Chris Sabin
5. Alex Shelley
6. Johnny Gargano
7. Stephanie Vaquer
8. Iyo Sky
9. Becky Lynch
10. John Cena

Raw

???

NXT

Ricky Saints (c) vs Lexis King, North American Championship

Hank & Tank (c) vs Yoshiki Inamura & Josh Briggs, Tag Championships

Smackdown

Aleister Black vs The Miz

Confirmed Backlash Card

John Cena (c) vs Randy Orton, Undisputed WWE Championship