The aftermath of a PLE will typically fall into one of two categories, continuation or reset, and the post-Mania programs end up being the basis for BackLash. If a ladder match is to Money in the Bank, and if a cage is the crux for Hell in a Cell, then running back WrestleMania feuds in the ‘gimmick’ that serves as Backlash’s backbone.
On Saturday night, St. Louis served as the grounds for the Mania ‘spinoff’ with John Cena standing tall over Randy Orton in the evening’s main event—and the show’s main storyline. And while the expectations were down compared to Cena-Rhodes, the stakes were just as critical for the company.
With Mania in the rearview, the company is gearing up for its most important Summer in WWE history. After all, in the span of the next ten weeks, WWE will produce two separate “Saturday Night’s Main Event,” MITB, ‘Night of Champions’ in Saudi, and the all-women’s PLE ‘Evolution.’ All of those shows are on top of the fact that this year’s Summer Slam is a two-night event for the first time since it was introduced as one of the ‘big four.’
RAW’s direction and SmackDown’s will be essential to maintain success on the business side—the economics of WWE have remained the bright spot in the face of questionable creative. Still, with appearances from CM Punk tonight and the Seth Rollins-led faction gaining texture with every appearance, the show has the depth to deliver on that schedule by utilizing the fullness of the roster and pairing superstars in fresh feuds.
CM Punk IS B-I-G Mad
CM Punk opened RAW tonight after not competing at BackLash as he continued to heal from injuries, and Punk deserved the time off after a very physical ‘road to Mania.’ He admitted that he is mad at a lot of people right now, but claimed he was ‘mad at himself’ most of all. Punk is unhappy with his recent decisions on his latest run in WWE, and that is because he had been fooled before by the same man, Paul Heyman, in the same company, WWE, in very similar circumstances.
Punk putting the attention on repetitive storylines and recycled creative is probably not the best timing, but the story is moving in the right direction. “Paul Heyman, almost 12 years ago, smashed a ladder into my head and gave me 13 staples in my forehead,” Punk reminisced in RAW’s opening segment. “But we moved past that, at least, I thought we did.”
Punk then gave Jey Uso credit for trying to warn him about Paul after the heavyweight champ’s recent Bloodline history with ‘The Wiseman.’
Paul is who he has always been, he’s a fat little snake,” Punk said before admitting he’s still more mad at himself, even more than “Temu CM Punk” Seth Rollins.
Moments later, we heard Paul’s now-famous catchphrase of “Ladies and gentlemen,” only to be shut down instantly by Punk. Rollins made his entrance next, and that is when Punk said, “You’re just a song kid, that’s all you are, at some point, the bell’s gotta ring.” Punk said this while Rollins’ music was still playing and the crowd was still singing.
Rollins accused Punk of being the one who betrayed Paul, sticking to the narrative that Heyman has been spinning. Rollins then blamed Punk for ‘not being champion right now,’ to which Punk replied that Rollins would ‘never be champion’ as long as he is on two feet. It was a battle of connivers fighting for the right to be each other’s victim.
Rollins eventually sent his ‘mad dog’ Bron Breakker to the ring, and the fight was on just after Punk got off one final mic drop, “You gonna bark all day little doggy, or you gonna bite?” It was terrific.
Bron had Punk down by the time Rollins began taking off his jacket, but the numbers game, as usual, neutralized Punk. Sami Zayn, everyone’s favorite babyface run in, tried to help, but eventually he was taken out just as they had Punk set up for a chair shot. Luckily, Jey Uso came to make the save, and eventually, he and Sami were armed with chairs.
Commentary questioned whether ‘The Architect” Seth Rollins has more up his sleeve, just as the camera caught Heyman with a smile ear-to-ear. Zayn is too good for his own good and is selling the internal conflict with mere facial expressions and their absence. For now, Sami remains a strong ally of anyone opposing Seth and co., but this faction can separate itself if they can ‘recruit’ and turn Sami. If they can get Sami real heat, it will separate this run from his goofy “Bloodline” turn.
Saturday Night’s Main Event
CM Punk & Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker
Both teams received backstage segments, but Rollins and Breakker remain the most interesting TV on RAW. Punk admitted he is not feeling too ‘trusting’ these days, as Sami reminded him of their joint success at Survivor Series. Rollins would whisper something in Breakker’s ear (SEE BELOW).
Dom Feelin’ Out Fin
Dom did not waste time confronting Finn Balor on his apprehension to help Dom at first, at least that is how it looked, and Finn was ready with plenty of fuel to keep the ‘gaslight’ burning bright. Finn admitted it didn’t ‘go smooth’ but reminded Dom he is still champ before vowing to ‘take care of AJ Styles’ for him.
AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor
The former ‘Bullet Club’ leaders squared off in singles action (sort of). The match was never going to get the time it deserved, and, in a way, that is exactly what you could say about how WWE has utilized the history between Styles and Balor. Dom was not out there, but that did not stop the interference.
Both JD McDonagh and Carlito attempted to ‘assist’ Finn, but AJ held his own. The ‘Face that runs the place’ did get some help in the form of Penta. The cross feuding has been ongoing for some time, and it’s clear that WWE has no definitive plans.
It was later announced that AJ Styles and Penta will team up to take on Judgement Day next week.
Who Is Jey Uso’s Next Threat?
It was announced that Logan Paul would get a heavyweight title match against Jey Uso because the video of him punching Jey last week to close out RAW reached 16 million views. That was the actual reason given by commentary.
The night Logan Paul challenges Jey Uso for the heavyweight title, he will be a major underdog. For one, he has far less experience than the champ, and for two, Gunther announced he will challenge the winner between Jey and Logan for the title on the June 9th episode of RAW.
Jey said he would handle ‘The YouTuber’ and then ‘The Ring General’ as he peppered in “YEETS” throughout his brief promo. This entire segment worked to undermine Logan as an actual threat, but maybe that is intentional?
If Jey didn’t have enough challengers vying for his title, he was later seen on his back with Breakker standing over him following the in-ring segment. The beatdown occurred backstage, but it was clear that Breakker was following Seth’s orders. Yet, you have to wonder between Seth, Breakker, Gunther, and Paul, who is the biggest threat to dethrone Jey?
Penta vs. Chad Gable
Commentary mentioned that neither Penta nor Gable have ever held a WWE ‘singles’ title despite El Grande Americano being the current WWE SPEED champion. They tried selling the gimmick by claiming Grande was on a ‘Latin Tour’ while Gable was in action tonight against an actual lucha.
The match was terrific, highlighted by a decapitating super kick on Gable after landing a 5-star moonsault. You may remember that Gable served as Penta’s WWE debut opponent on RAW, and they have enough experience with each other that you can truly see the difference in quality between the two matches.
Yet, the stakes remain minimal as they did tonight, and while nobody will complain about seeing this match every single week, it is time to raise this feud to a new height. Penta picked up the win after unsuccessfully challenging for Dom’s IC title Saturday at BackLash.
Main Event: Iyo Sky(c) & Rhea Ripley vs Guilia & Roxanne Perez
The tag match was set up last week as Rhea and Sky continue to circle each other in a title rematch. Sky won the title from Rhea in the weeks leading up to Mania before Sky successfully defended against both Rhea and Bianca Belair.
The match was given a lot of time, more than you’d expect two recent NXT callups to get (it certainly is the Triple H era), but they held their own. In a match that did not have a ton of heat, the conflicting styles of Rhea and Sky kept the crowd interested in the match. The face team picked up the victory by featuring their strengths, Sky with the high-risk and Rhea with the ‘strong spots.’
They made a great team, but at the end of RAW, Rhea was caught staring at Iyo’s title, something the champ eventually realized. Rhea walked out of the ring, giving Sky a teammate pat on the butt before looking back with a smile. It takes a special superstar to use respect as a ‘mind game,’ and Rhea is unlikely to let her admiration of Sky affect her performance like last time.
Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action
- Money in the Bank qualifiers begin this Friday and will continue next week on RAW.
- Pat McAfee was cleared by WWE medical and missed the opening segment, only to receive a big pop from the crowd, appreciative of his work against Gunther this weekend. He got a promo later in the night, and reports suggest that WWE was thrilled with his performance. Look for Pat to get another match at Summer Slam (just a prediction, not a spoiler).
- The New Day continued their rivalry with War Raiders by helping Alpha Made pick up a victory over the number one contenders for the tag titles while the champs were seated ringside on commentary. New Day was later seen talking to Karion Kross in the background of the camera, focused on Becky Lynch making her way to the ring.
- Becky came out to cut a promo after her BackLash loss, and it was really good. The promo had passion, but she decided to lean into the ‘holding other females back’ criticisms she’s been getting. It is a brilliant direction for Becky, but like other terrific program starts, it will be the finish that dictates her success.
- Rusev had a video package lost on a show of so many video packages. The character seems the same as AEW, but at least Tazawa and Otis are getting some on-screen time.
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