WWE Monday Night Raw Review: 20/04

Linus O'Howell
8 hours ago
5 min read

Oba Femi Starts the Show, RHIYO VS The Kabuki Warriors

After a recap of WrestleMania 42, the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania kicked off with Oba Femi coming down to the ring to simply say “The Ruler has Arrived”! This guy has so much aura, it’s insane! After a video package for The Kabuki Warriors, we then went straight into the first match of the night as RHIYO looked to teach The Kabuki Warriors a lesson! I’m still convinced that Asuka VS Iyo Sky should’ve taken place at WrestleMania this past weekend, but what we got here was still good Tag Team action! The interactions between Iyo and Kairi Sane are always great, mostly because they feel real, but I do feel like Rhea Ripley still being involved in all of this is silly, particularly given the fact that she won the WWE Women’s Championship yesterday! Anyway, after a miscue between Asuka and Kairi, RHIYO took advantage to get the win with a Riptide/Over the Moonsault combo! A good match, but was it really needed?

Grade: B-

CM Punk Speaks, Ethan Page VS Je’Von Evans, Liv Morgan’s Championship Celebration Gets Interrupted

Je’Von Evans congratulated Penta on retaining his Intercontinental Championship, even though he did say he’s not done going after that Title, before Adam Pearce introduced Je’Von to Raw’s newest superstar, “All Ego” Ethan Page! Now those two have a lot of history together! Anyway, CM Punk was then out next to reflect on his loss to Roman Reigns in the Main Event of WrestleMania 42! Punk talked about all of the losses that he’s faced over the past 6 months, all the losses that the WWE Family has faced, as The Best in the World put over everyone in the back who makes WWE what it is today! CM Punk then said that whilst he could disappear, you never know when a Championship opportunity may fall from the sky, which was good timing as Cody Rhodes came out next to tell Punk that he’ll be waiting! Cody looked like an absolute mess here, but I guess that this may well lead to a Summerslam match between Rhodes and Punk down the line!

Grade: C+

After Finn Balor had a video promo saying that he’s going to take JD McDonagh out of the wrestling business for good, Ethan Page made his Monday Night Raw debut against Je’Von Evans! These two have an awful lot of history, with Ethan Page breaking Je’Von Evans jaw back in NXT (which eventually led to one of the best matches across all WWE programming in 2025)! It actually made a lot of sense to pair these two together here, as it allowed Ethan to look strong in his proper Main Roster debut! Both guys looked good, with neither man gaining a real advantage until the arrival of Rusev! See, after Evans dealt with The Bulgarian Brute, Page took advantage with a Twisted Grin to beat The Young O.G. on debut! After the match was over, Rusev continued to assault Je’Von Evans, leading to Penta running down to make the save, only for Ethan Page to trip the Intercontinental Champion up, meaning the segment ended with Rusev locking in the Accolade (to Penta)! It’s great to see Ethan Page on the Main Roster, although I’m a little bit surprised to see him on the opposite brand to Chelsea Green!

Grade: B-

The Judgment Day were out next to celebrate Liv Morgan winning the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 42, with Liv thanking her family for always having her back! Before Morgan could say anything else, Sol Ruca made a surprise appearance to congratulate Liv on becoming WWC, an act that Morgan seemed to dislike (for whatever reason)! Adam Pearce then decided to come out and book an impromptu match, meaning we got Liv Morgan VS Sol Ruca on the Raw after WrestleMania! In fairness, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be on the Raw after Mania, with new up-and-coming stars facing off against the established Champions! I also appreciated that we didn’t ignore the fact that Sol’s set to have a Last Woman Standing Match against Zaria at NXT Revenge tonight, with Zaria arriving at one point to attack Ruca, opening the door for Liv to get the win via an ObLIVion! The decision to have Zaria cost Sol Ruca was definitely a much better one than having either Roxanne Perez or Raquel Rodriguez get involved, whilst it seems like we’re not done with Liv Morgan VS Stephanie Vaquer!

Grade: C+

Bron Breakker Returns to Raw, Finn Balor VS JD McDonagh

After a brilliant video package replaying the illustrious career of Brock Lesnar, The Vision came down to the ring as Paul Heyman needed to make it clear that Brock has indeed retired! Honestly, I hope this is true, as otherwise, what is the point of all of this?! Anyway, Austin Theory and Logan Paul then didn’t say much of anything as Paul welcomed Bron Breakker back to Monday Night Raw! Bron said that a year ago today, he joined The Vision as its leader due to Seth “Freakin” Rollins not being capable enough anymore! This brought out Seth who absolutely nailed Breakker in the back with a steel chair, only to get jumped by Theory and Paul! This resulted in a returning Street Profits running down to make the save, taking out the World Tag Team Champions, before Breakker stood tall over Rollins after a pair of Spears! Bron Breakker looked like an absolute mess here; he had blood all over him!

Grade: C+

After a video promo aired, JD McDonagh looked to make good on his words as he went one-on-one with Finn Balor in the Main Event match of the night! This felt like vintage Finn Balor with the trunks + shaved beard combination, and the chemistry was always going to be strong given they’ve known each other since JD’s first day in the industry! Balor VS McDonagh delivered, although I kind of feel like the ending came rather sudden through a Coup de Grace! After the match was over, Dominik Mysterio attacked Finn Balor from behind, only for Balor to stand tall once again! I just knew that WWE was going to do Balor VS Mysterio 2!

Grade: B-

Roman Reigns Closes the Show

After LA Knight made it clear to Gunther that he too wants the World Heavyweight Championship, and Rhea Ripley said her goodbyes to Iyo Sky (again), the final segment on the Raw after WrestleMania saw The Bloodline reunite with The Usos either side of Roman Reigns! Roman said that he misses having The Usos alongside him, and that he wants to go back to when they were running this whole company for 4 straight years! However, one person who clearly doesn’t want to reunite The Bloodline is Jacob Fatu, as The Samoan Werewolf made it clear to Roman that he’s not here to acknowledge him, and that he needs the World Heavyweight Championship! As a result, Jacob challenged Roman to a match for the Title at Backlash, but Reigns wasn’t convinced that Fatu was ready for that challenge yet, or more specifically, that Fatu isn’t ready to acknowledge The Tribal Chief yet, especially after he loses! Honestly, I didn’t see a Roman Reigns-Jacob Fatu feud coming, but I like it a lot! Like I’ve said time and time again, if you can get Roman Reigns on every PLE, he should be the Champion!