With barely any time to breathe following WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, it's already time for WWE fans to get hype once again. It's now time for Monday Night Raw on Netflix, and as many know, this is one of the most exciting episodes of the year. This is where we see how the following year will play out, see the newly crowned champions like John Cena and Becky Lynch address the fans for the first time, and maybe even see some unexpected wrestlers join the roster.
CinemaBlend will be live and reacting to all the events of Monday Night Raw as we watch along with a Netflix subscription and report on the events of the night. Those that missed our live blogs can still see what we had to say about Night 1 as well as Night 2's craziness, and be sure to keep checking in as we talk about this latest episode!
We're less than twenty minutes out from Monday Night Raw, and I have to say I miss Michael Cole interrupting whatever was playing on USA Network to announce that. The Netflix screensaver and countdown just doesn't hit the same. Nevertheless, I'm thrilled to be reporting on tonight, and eager to see how John Cena sets out to "ruin wrestling."
One thing I am looking out for tonight is if we'll see any of Karrion Kross. For those who missed it he cut a NSFW promo that sounded like a mixture of being in character and venting his real frustrations with how the WWE is using him. Take a look below and judge if it's a work or if he's speaking from the heart here.
WWE conveniently edited out Stone Cold Steve Austin crashing into the barricade during its recap video of WrestleMania 41. I'm sure that wasn't a mistake!
Paul Heyman arrives in an all-black SUV, and Seth Rollins is in tow. Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria are also seen walking with their tag titles. Dirty Dominik Mysterio has his IC championship, and Finn Balor is nowhere to be seen. Finally, Main Event Jey Uso is here and dressed to impress.
As expected, John Cena is opening the show. They're keeping the all-black titantron with white lettering, and he has the belt on backwards. I love it.
Cena instructs the ring announcer to hand him the mic, but then leaves him standing there until he can do a few laps around the ring. Cena hands him a note, and it appears he wants him to read for him? Apparently it's an apology and Cena wrote a new introduction for him to read.
Cena starts off by telling the audience that they're not worthy. He chastises the fans for thinking they can boo him prior to winning the title, and cheer him now that he's made history. He says it's not a "functional relationship," and tells the crowd to go "Straight to hell." He demands an apology and the boos start raining down.
John Cena continues to listen to jeers from the crowd and insults them for trying to bring them down. Says they mean "nothing" to him. He points to his Titantron and notes he has "27 dates" left to work in WWE and then he's gone. He stresses they aren't matches, they're appearances. Cena promises he will stop wrestling as soon as that ends. He says he's taking the Undisputed WWE title with him if no one beats him and making the company make a new title.
John Cena instructs the audience to get their cameras out, and is blindsided by Randy Orton! Orton knocks Cena out with an RKO, and it would appear his match for Backlash is set. It makes sense considering Randy is from St. Louis, which is where the event will be held.
Even if we've seen John Cena and Randy Orton face off a hundred times in the past, I can't help but want to see them run it back one more time. In fact, Orton was one of my top picks for Cena to wrestle in his retirement run.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez walk to the ring. They're already getting their rematch for the Women's tag-team titles against Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria. I'm hoping to hear some explanation for what happened with Bayley and why she was removed from WrestleMania 41, especially after rumors she wasn't injured.
Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria make their entrance to Lynch's music. I guess I get the logic since she's the bigger superstar, but it seems to step on the fact Lyra is currently holding two titles in the WWE. We'll see how this match goes.
The crowd is pretty subdued considering the competitors that are in the ring right now. Perhaps they're waiting to see if Bayley shows up or there's some other development. In fairness, an immediate rematch to a match we just saw last night is not the most exciting thing.
Raquel Rodriguez giving Lyra Valkyria a power bomb from the top rope earns the first "This is awesome" chant from the crowd. It was very cool.
Liv and Raquel win the titles back on Monday Night Raw! This has to lead to a Becky Lynch heel turn, right?
Yep. As predicted, Becky Lynch attacked Lyra after the win and exited the ring. Was she the person who attacked Bayley?
New Day is next up, and they're wearing very stylish attire. The unicorns and vibrant colors are gone. I really like Kofi's white fur coat.
I will say I love New Day having the tag-team titles again and being absolutely obnoxious heels about it. It's been too long since they've had a relevant storyline.
Alpha Academy showed up, and Maxxine Dupri wants to see the new champions take on Akira Tozawa and Otis. Xavier declines the offer initially, but after some goading they accept. Here we go!
The lights go dark, and Rusev comes out onstage. The Crowd goes wild! Why is Rusev here?
The New Day flees from Rusev, and he begins to destroy the Alpha Academy. Tozawa is tossed from the ring and Otis is dropped almost immediately. He uses "The Accolade" to make Otis pass out. The crowd chants "Rusev Day" as he stands tall in the ring.
Dominik Mysterio and Finn meet up backstage, and while he seems upset at first, he assures Dom he is still in his corner. I'm not sure I buy it, but Finn has surprised us before!
Iyo Sky makes her grand entrance, title still in hand. She's wearing her ring gear from WrestleMania still but I'm not mad about it. The crowd is chanting for her as Michael Cole says she's the "afterthought" no more.
Iyo Sky says last night was the best night of her career. She says beating Bianca makes her the best. Crowd interrupts with a "You deserve it" chant and she thanks them. Overall it was an incredibly cute promo and I'm so happy Iyo felt confident enough to speak. Unfortunately NXT champion Stephanie Vaquer is here, and I assume she's issuing a challenge.
Looks like Iyo and Stephanie are about to battle, but Adam Pearce interrupts and asks the fans if they want the match. Nice swerve, let's get it on!
"This is awesome" chants are starting before anything has happened. I feel the same way.
Both women are giving the crowd exactly what they want with lots of technical moves and high-flying action! This is living up to the hype! Iyo Sky's suicide dive was a thing of beauty.
We're in a commercial break, but look who posted on X after Rusev's debut. Can't wait to see Big Bronson Reed back!
I've heard Stephanie Vaquer and the women of NXT were on another level, and this match is winning me over. She's keeping up with Iyo and they're putting on a great match.
Stephanie Vaquer just did her signature move, and the crowd begs for it to happen for a second time. Iyo isn't having it though, and regains control. Iyo gets a nearfall with a back breaker and the crowd begins the fourth "This is awesome" chant. Sorry Pat McAfee, math was wrong there.
The crowd begins to chant "Fight forever" for this fantastic match. Seriously, we're getting a Mania-quality showdown! It all grinds to a halt though as Roxanne Perez and Giulia show up and end the match with a disqualification. Rhea Ripley gets involved. Rhea is rocking a nasty black eye.
Rhea Ripley hands her title back to Iyo Sky, but seems to say she wants another chance at the title. Tbh, I'm not sure she deserves it with her losing record to Sky, but it's WWE that does the booking and not me.
It seems like the WWE is cool with Karrion Kross after he was included in this bit with New Day. Glad to see he's not getting his walking papers after that rant!
Details are coming in from Deadline on Rusev's deal. Looks like he signed a two-year contract, while Lana is on a WWE Legends deal she signed earlier this month. Glad to see both of them back!
Jey Uso arrives with the World Heavyweight Championship. The whole crowd is "yeeting" and having a blast, but why would we expect anything different?
The crowd gives Jey "You deserve it" chants. He smiles, and looks a bit emotional before he starts to speak. He's about to speak but the crowd begs him to hit the music again. He obliges but quickly makes his way back to speak. Jey says this is something he's wanted since he was a kid, but he's hear now. The road wasn't easy, and he gave it all he had to beat Gunther. He points out he made "The Ring General" tap. The crowd roars in approval.
Sami Zayn interrupts Jey Uso's celebration, but it doesn't look like he's going to issue a challenge. He's just waving to the crowd and rocking a polo and dress pants. We'll see what this is about.
Sami gives Jey a hug, and congratulates him on his win. The crowd chants "Sami Uso," referencing his past alliance with the Bloodline. He apologizes that he wasn't there to back him up in the fight against Gunther. He hated missing WrestleMania. He almost missed coming to Las Vegas entirely, but showed up to make sure he was the first one to tell him how proud he was of him. Sami has the crowd hype and nearly brings Jey Uso to tears.
I expected a heel turn from Sami Zayn, but it looks like they're just going to hit the music again and celebrate together. It was a fine segment, but why send Sami and not Jimmy Uso?
Ah, here we go. Jimmy Uso is in the ring now. Not only that, but he's wearing a "Yeet" shirt! All three men hug and celebrate in the ring.
AJ Styles gives a backstage interview. He's upset he lost to Logan Paul but is taking the loss. Karrion Kross interrupts and points out just how terrible it was he lost. AJ Styles said he refuses to use heel tactics to win, and suggests he handles Paul himself. Kross says he just might. Looks like he's getting his chance to shine!
Wow, not even 24 hours as champion and Dominik Mysterio has to defend the Intercontinental title against Penta? That's a rough draw, and I'm not sure he's quite ready for that kind of challenge. Hopefully Finn Balor was serious about giving him some backup.
Monday Night Raw returns from commercial and Gunther is getting into it with Michael Cole and Pat McAfee. He begins to choke out Cole but his caught with an elbow from McAfee. Security tries to get Gunther, but he chokes out McAfee instead.
Pat McAfee's face is blue, I think he really choked him out. Damn, that was crazy!
Pat McAfee walks to the back so that's a relief to see. I thought for a minute Gunther gave him a pretty nasty receipt. I think McAfee was just playing it up for the Monday Night Raw audience in attendance.
Pat McAfee is backstage and drinking water, and despite looking like he blew some blood vessels in his face. Michael Cole asks Adam Pearce to handle the situation and returns to the commentary table with Joe Tessitore to applause from the crowd.
All that action made me completely forget Dominik Mysterio has to defend his title against Penta! He's looking confident, and is flanked by Finn and Carlito. Will it be enough to beat his challenger?
Penta is back in his usual ring gear for this evening, and ready to win a championship. I think he has a solid chance of getting it done tonight! By the way, Michael Cole is still ranting on commentary about what Gunther did.
Dominik Mysterio's moveset in this match is already so much better than it usually is in matches. It looks like the WWE is deciding to treat him as a competent wrestler finally. Penta is struggling a bit in the early minutes.