WWE Raw Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for April 3

Raw, Source: WWE.com

Raw was in Orlando as part of WrestleMania Weekend. Find out what happened on the craziest show of the year. Who debuted, and who returned?

Previously on WWE Raw, we finished the build to WrestleMania. To be honest with you, the less said about that episode, the better. But WrestleMania itself was really good! So let’s talk about that instead.

First, it seems the Undertaker has retired from WWE. After he was defeated by Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, he left his gear in the ring before leaving. What did Reigns have to say about this incredible moment?

And the Universal Championship was on the line at WrestleMania. Brock Lesnar survived Goldberg’s onslaught to capture the championship. Lesnar and Paul Heyman are being advertised for tonight’s episode of Raw. Would Goldberg show up, too?

Finally, Triple H and Seth Rollins had their unsanctioned match at WrestleMania. Stephanie McMahon would go through a table before Rollins hit The Game with a Pedigree for the win. What kind of condition is Stephanie in?

Must Read: 25 Greatest WrestleMania Moments in WWE History

The Raw after WrestleMania is known for being one of the best shows of every year. Superstars debut, or return to action, and new storylines usually kick into high gear. This year should be no different.

With that, let’s get to the highlights from Raw for April 3, 2017.

Clean Up This Yard

BEST ROMAN REIGNS PROMO EVER.

He said it himself, he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. In all honesty, it was really the only way to address the elephant in the room – how will the post-Mania crowd treat Reigns?

The opening segment was very classy. Giving the audience a chance to pay tribute to Undertaker was a good move by WWE. And the seemingly organic change from pro-Taker chants to anti-Roman chants was beautiful. When Roman’s music hit, you knew it was going to be intense for a variety of reasons.

Now, I know I’m the kind of guy who uses hyperbole to make points like, all the time. But when I wrote above that this was the best Reigns promo of all time, I am not exaggerating one bit. IT was a masterpiece. Honestly, the only thing that could have made it better would have been if Roman just said, “Believe THAT” as he left.

I just want to point out that I hate that commentary pointed out the crowd reactions. The preemptive “Oh, they’re a wild bunch, don’t listen to ’em, it’s all fun” thing is a lame cop-out. Just let everything happen as it will, and deal with the fallout later. If heels get cheered, see if they can handle the situation and improvise to get the appropriate response. 

Raw Tag Team Championship Match

Matt & Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

Result: Matt & Jeff Hardy defeated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

It feels very strange to be reviewing Monday Night Raw and writing about Matt and Jeff Hardy. Still a very surreal thing.

But the Hardy Boyz are back, and they look to be having a ball. It’s a little disappointing that we seem to have Broken But Held Together With Duct Tape Matt Hardy instead of the full-blown deal. However, in due time I’m sure we’ll get a true Broken Universe in WWE.

The rematch here against Gallows and Anderson was nothing special (besides the first appearance by the Hardy Boyz in several years). It was a good way to reintroduce Matt and Jeff to a new audience. And The Club looked fairly dominant for a good stretch of the match. It’s been a long while since Gallows and Anderson looked truly dominant on Raw, so a good showing against the Hardyz was huge for them.

However, right now everything is all about Matt and Jeff, so they pick up the victory. It was a good sequence at the end – classic Team Extreme, which seems to be how things are going for at least a little bit.

Hopefully the Hardy Boyz are getting a nice little nostalgia run before embracing the Broken Universe. The legality may still be a question, but once that’s settled it would be very easy to “break” the brothers again. 

Neville vs. Mustafa Ali

Result: Neville defeated Mustafa Ali via submission

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The King of the Cruiserweights had a great match to kick off the six-week long WrestleMania event. Tonight, he gets to address his subjects before the match to inform us about the celebration happening on 205 Live, when he’s interrupted by Mustafa Ali. I have to say, Ali is a great next feud for Neville if/when the Aries story is over.

The first part of the match was a little slow – at least as slow as a match between these two can be. But after the commercial break it picked up, and if you don’t want to see these two on a bigger stage you’re insane. It had some similarities to their 205 Live match a few weeks ago, sure. But that top rope Spanish Fly Ali does is ridiculous for all the right reasons.

I really appreciate Neville refusing to do his super exciting finisher unless it’s absolutely necessary. He’s doing so well as this terrible human being who hates everyone but himself, I feel like he’s been spending too much time with Kevin Owens.

But the Rings of Saturn as a finish for Neville works. He’s got the strength to look like he can literally rip his opponent’s arms out of their sockets. It may have taken a while, but the cruiserweights are starting to put it together, and Neville has been a big reason why. 

The New Raw GM Sucks

The big takeaways from Vince’s appearance were definitely big. First, there’s no denying he knows that the fans disagree with I’m about Reigns. I mean, we had an idea that he knew, but confirmation is huge.

Next: A “Superstar Shakeup” next week affects the rosters. There’s been a lot of desire to see certain superstars switch brands – AJ going back to Raw and The Club, Sami Zayn heading to SmackDown, etc. It remains to be seen if any of that happens.

Finally, and the biggest of the bunch, is Vince naming a new Raw General Manager. Stephanie will be out for “some time” after her table spot at Mania, and Foley got fired, so Vince chose Kurt Angle. It had been widely assumed this would be the case – in fact, I predicted it several weeks ago when Foley was forced to fire someone.

And, hey, we got a Teddy Long appearance out of this segment, too. So there was really something for everyone here!

As far as Angle goes, it will be interesting to see how he responds to Stephanie once she returns. There is a lot of history between the two from back in the day, and that should be acknowledged. Regardless, having Kurt Angle back on TV on a regular basis is a great thing for everybody. 

New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods, w/ Kofi Kingston) vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)

Result: The Revival defeated New Day via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

While I love Corey Graves on commentary, I really think he day Byron Saxton is gonna flip out on him. Graves is absolutely ruthless – and yeah, I still love it.

But New Day coming out with their Road Warrior shoulder pads and ice cream oven mitts and sexual innuendo leads to an open challenge answered by the only logical choice: The Revival. Dash and Dawson have been ready for a callup for months, but they had been a big part of the NXT Tag Team Championship scene until TakeOVer this weekend.

I always love seeing the post-Mania crowds lose their minds over the NXT callups. Most of those guys and girls had been busting butts to get to Raw or SmackDown, and hearing the crowd response on a debut like that must be incredibly validating. And to the dozen or so people watching who were wondering who these seemingly bland dudes were, just wait.

It’s kind of crazy how similar these two teams are, yet they are amazingly different, too. This is basically the best tag team in NXT history going up against one of the best teams currently on Raw (one of those is kayfabe, guess which one!). It’s a shame that the majority of The Revival’s control of the match happened in commercial. But it’s made up for in the finish.

Dash and Dawson are the best tag team currently employed by WWE. That huge cheer at their entrance? Look at how quickly they turned those cheers to boos. Kicking over the ice cream cart, trying to shoot murder Kofi’s leg – they are so good at what they do. Looking forward to big things from them.

Enzo & Cass Meet The New GM

First off, Enzo and Cass doing their spiel backstage without the crowd to easily sing along was a lovely change of pace. It was refreshing to hear the crowd (mostly) stay quiet and actually listen for a change.

Second, this trio could be the best thing to happen on WWE in a long time. Angle is so good at playing a lovable goofball, and Enzo and Cass can make him the greatest straight man in wrestling history. If Enzo and Cass can be to Angle what Edge and Christian were to Commissioner Foley back in the day, it’ll be a tremendous thing to watch. 

Bayley, Dana Brooke, & Sasha Banks vs. Emma, Nia Jax, & Charlotte Flair

Result: Bayley, Dana Brooke, & Sasha Banks defeated Emma, Nia Jax, & Charlotte Flair via submission

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

How good is it to see Emma again? Thank god we didn’t have to wait another 17 weeks to get the best version of Emma back.

On the same token, how bad is it that Dana Brooke is on the opposite team from two of her prior associates? I was a little nervous at first that there would be no acknowledgement of Emma’s history with Dana; thankfully that was cleared up quickly.

For me, this match saw way too much of Bayley being dominated. Lest we all forget, she’s the Women’s Champion, you know? Technically, that makes her the best woman on the roster. She should not have been the one to take all the damage, not after winning a four-way eliminator 24 hours prior.

And these camera cuts are getting out of hand, because I could have sworn that Sasha was turning on Bayley and intentionally not taking the tag. It took an extra second before I realized Charlotte pulled her off the apron.

Post-match, Nia asserts herself as the dominant force in the Raw Women’s division. Charlotte tried to do that, but nope. And Emma is the smartest one out there, because she ran away quicker than a dog stealing table scraps.

Angle Has His First Intervention

Sami Zayn is a weirdo. A goofy, fun weirdo, but a weirdo nonetheless. I mean, we can all see that he’s pushing to be traded to SmackDown, right?

Also, I can’t help but feel like Jinder Mahal is benefitting greatly from Rusev’s injury. Like, If he wasn’t hurt, it would be Rusev as the final man eliminated from the Andre the Giant Battle Royal.

Who’s Next? Haha, No One

Story time with Uncle Paul was, as per usual, a good promo. The way Heyman spins things is amazing. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but even when he’s off his game he’s better than 90% of the rest of the guys who talk.

A couple of quibbles, though. Heyman prefaced his story by saying Brock tells it to his kids, and Heyman does the same. Then the main character – our “superhero” – is ridiculed for believing in things like honor, honesty, valor, and family. Family is a bad thing? Are you saying you’re both deadbeat dads?

Even Heyman can’t always control a post-Mania crowd, though, because in the middle they turned on him hard. Once mention of Roman Reigns was made, there was no coming back. I mean, it was basically once per hour that the fans voiced their extreme displeasure with Reigns. Why would you keep going back to the well?

Business picked up when Braun Strowman came out, though. In the immortal words of Bray Wyatt, “Anyone but you, Roman.” And I can’t be the only one salivating at the prospect of Strowman vs. Lesnar at some point in the near future.

Chris Jericho Is Still Here?

Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I just figured a loss at Mania and he’d be out to rest up for his Fozzy tour.

But no, Y2J is still here, and he’s putting parts of body parts on The List now. Even Kevin Owens had enough, so he and Samoa Joe destroy Jericho backstage. After a powerbomb through a table, the damage was done.

Of course, the scheduled match between Jericho/Rollins and Joe/Owens ends up in flux. Jericho wasn’t cleared to compete, but Angle promises to find Rollins a partner.

Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Sheamus & Cesaro

(Winners Become Number One Contenders For Raw Tag Team Titles)

Result: Sheamus & Cesaro defeated Enzo Amore & Big Cass via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I know they debuted at WrestleMania, but the kilts on Sheamus and Cesaro are a beautiful touch. They’re finally getting along together, so some matching entrance attire is wonderful to see.

What confused me about this match was the finish. Enzo & Cass are the ones who want the title match. In a classic, “Go out there and get it” moment from Angle, they got a match for tonight.

And they promptly lose.

I don’t necessarily think the finish was bad, just odd. I’m glad Sheamus and Cesaro are marching towards a title match, obviously. The idea of the Hardy Boyz running a traditional tag match with Sheamus and Cesaro is delightful.

As far as the finish goes, I loved the execution of a weird concept. Enzo and Cass use Boom Shaka Laka as their finisher, right? Cass tosses Enzo off the top rope onto a fallen opponent. Easy enough. Tonight, though, Sheamus and Cesaro have it well scouted, and Sheamus tosses Enzo into a giant uppercut from Cesaro.

So what are we going to do with Enzo and Cass now? Could they be shuffled around in the Superstar Shakeup and head to SmackDown? Do they eventually get a shot at the titles? And how are they doin’?

Jinder Mahal vs. Sami Zayn

Result: Sami Zayn defeated Jinder Mahal via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Poor Jinder, even jumping an opponent before the match isn’t enough. But A for effort for kicking out after the three count, bud.

Jinder has been looking exceedingly good lately – not necessarily his possibly Wellness Policy violating physique, but his in ring work. It’s hard to show how good you really are when you get like 5 minutes here and there to work stuff out.

As far as Sami, what’s the plan here? He’s gotta be headed to SmackDown, one would assume. His time on Raw has been somewhat uneven. And given the roster on Tuesday nights, there’s lots of good possibilities for Zayn to feud with. (Of course, some of them might head to Raw but I digress.)

Not a whole lot more to say about this match. There wasn’t much of one in the first place – all pre-match shenanigans took up a bunch of the time.

I think it’s possible Kurt Angle made this match to get more of a feel for guys on the roster. Remember, he’s been away from WWE for a while, he may not be up on who everyone is and what they do. And if he wants to get rid of “dead weight,” he needs to see who’s got potential and who doesn’t.

Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins & Finn Balor

Result: Seth Rollins & Finn Balor defeated Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Finally, he’s back.

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When Balor started performing on house shows, it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before he’d be back on television. Heck, maybe he’d be a surprise on the WrestleMania card somewhere.

Nope. Instead, Balor missed what would have been his first WrestleMania, only to return tonight on Raw. As I mentioned above, Angle may not understand exactly who everyone is or what they’re truly capable of. If that’s true (damn true), he should probably get a look at everyone, right?

Something really cool about this match: all four competitors are former NXT Champions. Who would have thought that one day, an entire multi-man match could be booked in the main event of Raw with every competitor being an NXT Champ? If only Bo Dallas could have been added, too.

One problem – it’s Seth Rollins’ fault that Balor missed so much time. Does Angle know the history there? Of course, after the match, Rollins raised Finn’s arm, as he’s turned over a new leaf since SummerSlam. But that story can’t be over yet, can it?

A second problem: “Finn Balor has pinned the United States Championship!” I can understand maybe keeping Joe as bulletproof and not having him take the pin. But why does the US Champion have to be the one staring at the ceiling after a match?

It will be interesting to see where everything goes from here.

Related Story: WWE WrestleMania 33 Fallout Predictions

What did you think of Raw this week?