Raw 2 Opening Segment
Reverse Hipster: Mattered *****
What an opening Raw 2 segment! Everyone was talking online about Rhea possibly giving up her title due to injury. She comes out and relinquishes the title, but it's one of the most theatrically entertaining title relinquishings of all time. Rhea talked about how pissed off she was to give up the title, and that's different because most people take a sad angle to their farewell speech.
Rhea then turned her attention to Liv Morgan, who she blamed for her injury. Apparently, Liv did exactly what Rhea did to her, which was to put her on the shelf for months after an attack. The crowd may have been on Rhea's side, but Liv didn't give a damn. She wanted her revenge, and I'm here for it. Liv came out and laughed in Rhea's face as security separated them. Looks like Liv is going heel for the first time as a solo act. Raw is so exciting right now.
Rhea Says Farwell to Judgement ***.5
Reverse Hipster: Mattered
This was a really heartwarming moment. Judgment Day greeted Rhea in the back with good thoughts and a group hug. Rhea told the group to take care of Dom while she was gone, and he said we love Mami and she said, "Te Amo."
Sheamus vs. Ivar
Reverse Hipster: Mattered ***.5
Ivar was the perfect opponent for Sheamus to face in his return match. They both have similar backgrounds, and Ivar is low enough on the totem pole for Sheamus to be without causing a fuss, but he's talented enough to push Sheamus. Ivar did push Sheamus, and Sheamus reminded everyone why we love him, and he hung tough and battled back. Sheamus hit Ivar with a white noise off the top rope and hit him with some gnarly knee strikes before finishing him off with the Broague kick.
Drew McIntyre Reacts
Reverse Hipster: Mattered ***
Drew watched Cm Punk screw him over in a replay backstage, and he laughed before destroying the tv. Drew's simmering anger has really helped build anticipation for this feud because he's so mad you just want to see what he will do next.
NEW TAG TEAM TITLES
Reverse Hipster: Mattered
Triple H came out and unveiled new tag team titles for the Awesome Truth. Triple H has been changing many of the titles, and for the most part, I have not been a fan of the title designs, but these tag titles are the first ones with gold and vibrant colors. R-Truth, of course, didn't understand what was happening and thought Triple H pulled a magic trick by making the titles appear out of nowhere.
Montreal wasn't really into R-Truth's shenanigans, but Truth committed to the big, and eventually, he found the laugh when he pretended Triple H was Ciampa trying to fool him. It was hilarious. Eventually, Miz flexed the French skills Maryse had been teaching him, and of course, R-Truth suddenly understood everything when it was explained in French. Then, at the end of the segment, Adam Pearce announced a triple threat for the number one contender for the new World Tag Team championship. What a match to keep people from turning away during the break.
DIY vs. NEW Day vs. The Creeds
Reverse Hipster: Mattered ***.5
The match was fast-paced and exciting throughout. The Creeds were the biggest winners in this match because they reminded people how great they were. They were catching people out of the air and suplexing them and taking on all teams by themselves. At one point they even pinned both teams at the same time. However, while the Creeds may have won in public perception, they were not able to win the match. New Day did what they always did, which was to show out. They dove out of the ring in dual front flips. They even pulled out a new move where Xavier held up their opponent by their legs, and Kofi hit him with a Booker T-style head scissors.
However, New Day didn't win either. Instead, it was DIY who stuck around and kept competing until their moment came. They were the worst option to win, but that's not an insult because this match was packed with great teams, and DIY vs. Awesome Truth will be a banger.
Gable's Pregame Interview
Reverse Hipster: Mattered ***
Gable took a break from training to do an interview, and I loved it. He reminded everyone that he's been doing this for ten years, and boy, did that make me feel old because I remember watching his debut in NXT. It also communicated that this could be his fairytale ending after years of hard work. Plus, Chad Gable promised that Sami had a weakness, and Chad knows how to exploit it. Gable's revelation certainly built anticipation for the match. What is his weakness?
Indy Hartwell & Candice Lerae vs. Maxine & Ivy Nile
Reverse Hipster: Mattered ***
This match itself ignored Ivy but made Maxine look good and showed her progress as a wrestler. More importantly, Indy and Candice Lerae finally get on the same page, and Indy cheats instead of trying to hold Lerae back from cheating. They are both bad girls now, and it paid off in a win over Maxine & Ivy.
Damian Priest Montage
Reverse Hipster: Mattered ***
I liked the montage WWE did for their new World champion, Damian Priest. It showed how far Damian has come. The man went from being homeless to being the champion of WWE. This makes Damian more endearing and helps the audience get to know him better, which I appreciate.
Damian Gives Judgment Day Their Marching Orders
Reverse Hipster: Didn't Matter**
Unfortunately, the first didn't matter of the night came from the new champion, Damian Priest. He gave Damian a speech that was supposed to inspire them after Rhea left, but it didn't sound like he believed the words coming out of his mouth, so it fell flat. He is not used to carrying that leadership role alone, and it seems like WWE is trying to make him more of a face and tone-wise, it's not going well. I don't think they need to turn Damian into a good guy.
Also, Finn had a slightly awkward encounter with Damian. Finn wasn't fully on board with Damian's new direction of having Finn act as his buffer. This is supposed to build tension between them, but it was very poorly executed.
Dominik vs. Andrade
Reverse Hipster: Didn't Matter **.5
This match did have a story. Dominik wanted revenge for Andrade, who switched sides on him at WrestleMania, but Andrade beat him, which didn't matter. The match was fine, and the outcome was largely inconsequential. It was another Judgment Day L on the show.
Jey Uso Gives His Thoughts on the Bloodline
Reverse Hipster: Mattered **.*
A lot of people wanted to know how Jey felt after Jimmy was betrayed on SmackDown. Jey feels bad because he wants Jimmy to get out with him, but he does warn Jimmy. Jey still feels for his brother, but he's more focused on his title opportunity.
Kantana Chance & Khayden Carter vs. Piper Niven & Chelsea Green
Reverse Hipster: Didn't Matter ***
This match didn't have a story or anything on the line. At best, these teams have a rivalry based on their tag team title bouts. But in addition to not having much help in the story department, they also had very little time to wrestle. Now, they still pulled off some crazy moves, but they should have had more time. Chelsea and Piper won, which was nice after Chelsea got squashed last week.
Liv Morgan Interview
Reverse Hipster: Mattered ***.5
Liv Morgans says watch me, and I will be. Liv has just taken out Rhea and gotten her revenge, and she is confused about why people are so mad. She's completely right. Nobody cried these crocodile tears when Liv got injured, and now we are supposed to feel that Liv got revenge. Liv said she isn't even done yet because now she is going to take that title. I wanna see Liv do it. I love Liv's new swagger. She looks so self-assured, and she reminds me of Drew McIntyre. Everyone hates them, but all they do is remain consistent.
Nia Jax Interview
Reverse Hipster: Mattered ***.5
Nia Jax is on fire in her return, and she didn't stop with her latest promo. It was dominant and witty. She said there are two kinds of people in this world: those who think Rhea got what she deserved and those who think Liv is a hero. She said she is neither because she doesn't give a damn. She beat everyone already. She claimed she would win the title for the tournament. I'd love to see a Nia Jax Liv Morgan final because they are the most worthy and interesting.
Cody Rhodes Returns
Reverse Hipster: Didn't Matter **
This segment was so unnecessary. Cody just came out there and became a narrator for the Bloodline story before becoming a story device for Jey Uso. He had no reason to be out there. He made an appearance just because he's Cody. WWE should refrain from doing this in the future because sending Cody out there with nothing to do makes him look irrelevant. I'd rather him avoid a show than show up and be irrelevant. Also, if this segment had been canceled, the women's tag team match could have had more time.
Finn Balor vs. Jey Uso
Reverse Hipster: Didn't Matter: **
This match didn't matter at all. Jey Uso won a game over a Judgement Day member and former world champion, but there's nothing else to talk about. The match was bland and didn't mean anything in the first place.
Sami & Jey Uso
Reverse Hipster: Mattered **.5
Jey and the honorary Uce met in front of the Stadium, where Sami talked about seeing his match at this Stadium and now returning as a champion. Sami went through the concessions and stood as the people's champion. It was a moment that reinforced why this is the main event.
Gable & Bronson
Reverse Hipster: Didn't Matter *
Bronson Reed told Gable that it didn't matter who won because they would face Reed. This was completely unnecessary because Gable isn't even the champion. Also, who cares what Bronson Reed thinks in this moment? It was a lazy way to remind us he exists and has a title shot.
Gable vs. Sami Zayn Intercontinental Championship
Reverse Hipster: Mattered ****
This was previewed as an underdog vs. underdog story, which is rare. These two wrestlers put on a hell of a show, going counter for counter and hitting each other with some of the hardest German suplexes you will see in professional wrestling. These two wrestled a more amateur wrestling-style match, which was very entertaining. Gable had Sami on the ropes. Gable Angle Slammed Sami off the top rope, and he caught Sami in the ankle lock multiple times in the center of the ring. Sami just willed himself to stay in it until he could get Gable with the Helluva Kick for the win.
Gable was so distraught after the match. In one instant, he was able to go from rejecting Sami's sportsmanship to raising Sami's hand to breaking down crying cause he failed in the biggest moment of his career. However, while Sami was greeting his family, Gable came back and attacked Sami. He ruined his homecoming. I like this direction because Gable is an excellent wrestler and personality, but he has yet to achieve the level of success that I would have expected from him. This new bad-guy approach could help propel his career.
Before Final Grades...
The Raw After Mania Review on Patreon
Reverse Hipster Final Grade 8.6/10 B
This show started strong and finished strong. There were a few missteps in between, but the vast majority of the show was relevant and suspenseful. Also, Raw not only did a great job of entertaining for a night, but it also gave fans many reasons to tune in, like the tournament or Gable's heel turn. Including a possible Uncle Howdy QR Code that had a bird on it, which looked to me like a vulture.