Photo Source: WWE.com
The episode of WWE Raw the night after WrestleMania is usually filled with big surprises, debuting superstars, and a wild crowd. Which unscheduled superstar had the best night this year?
As is often the case, the post-WrestleMania edition of WWE Raw was a huge show. WWE usually pulls out all the stops to ensure fans who traveled great distances for Mania get another quality show out of their trip. Major events often take place, like a superstar’s debut appearance or match. It’s also a time for superstars to make a triumphant return to WWE, whether from injury or time with other companies.
Over the years, there’s been no shortage of superstars showing up unannounced on Raw after Mania. The biggest name to do so is likely Brock Lesnar, who made his return to WWE in 2012 the night after WrestleMania 28 by destroying John Cena. Other surprise appearances include the debuts of Paige in 2014, Kalisto and Neville both in 2015, and Enzo Amore and Big Cass in 2016.
Last year following WrestleMania 33, The Revival made their main roster debut by defeating New Day — and destroying both Kofi Kingston’s ankle and the New Day ice cream cart in the process. Also last year, Finn Balor returned from a lengthy injury absence to much acclaim.
With the injury bug biting over the last few months, several superstars were rumored to be ready to return to competition. The Raw after WrestleMania proved to be a good point to bring some back. With superstars also making the leap from NXT to Raw, there’s quite a few fresh faces on Monday nights.
But who had the best appearance right out of the gate? Time for a power ranking!
6. No Way Jose
Out of all the superstars to show up unannounced on Raw, No Way Jose was the only one who was kind of sort of advertised beforehand. Jose was scheduled for a match against John Skyler (hey, another WWE debut!), and a hype video for the match was aired before a commercial break.
Beyond that, though, Jose’s appearance was not very noteworthy. The match itself was a dud, lasting only a few seconds. Jose won, of course, with his wind-up punch, which is not going to cut it as a finish outside the nurturing environment of NXT.
No Way Jose’s claim to fame is his energetic party lifestyle. Hmmmm, where have I heard that before? Befitting that gimmick, Jose made his entrance on Raw with a full conga line of supporters. After the brief match ended, the revelers continued their party and headed to the back.
On the one hand, giving Jose a squash match victory in his debut may be a sign that there’s big things on the horizon for him. Not everyone makes their main roster debut by just trouncing their opponent. Most of the names I mentioned above, if their first appearance was a match, endured at least some form of offense from their opponent.
But on the other hand, having a pair of eyes, I fear for how well Jose’s gimmick will translate to main roster success. Look how long it took for Tyler Breeze to reach relative success as half of the Fashion Police. Can No Way Jose avoid what plagued Breeze early on?
5. Authors of Pain
Much like No Way Jose, the Authors of Pain debuted in a relative squash match. They answered the open challenge thrown out by Heath Slater and Rhyno, and made short work of the first ever SmackDown Tag Team Champions. But there’s a few reasons why Akam and Rezar are ranked this low in terms of the night’s debuts.
First, they debuted on a night where General Manager Kurt Angle established a tournament of sorts for the now-vacant Raw Tag Team Championship. But was this match a part of the tournament? Nope. Wouldn’t a greater impact have been made if AoP were immediate contenders for the titles?
Second, at this point in their run, Slater and Rhyno are less “former tag team champions” and more “hey, we’re not on Main Event this week!” Sure, they’re not exactly on the same level as John Skyler, but there’s less of a gap than you might think.
Third, the dismissal of Paul Ellering should have happened more officially on Raw itself, and not in a backstage web exclusive. Ellering is a Hall of Fame manager, and while he’s not the only reason for AoP’s success, he is a big part of it. I get it if a 64-year-old guy doesn’t want to go on the road full time, but it should have been more clear on the broadcast itself.
Still, Akam and Rezar are hella fun to watch. The way they can dismantle even the best tag teams out there is a joy to watch. It’ll be interesting to see how well they get themselves over without Ellering, but I’m here for the ride.
4. Bobby Lashley
Short, sweet, and to the point. Bobby Lashley’s return to WWE after a decade was everything it needed to be to reintroduce him to the WWE Universe.
As Elias serenaded the crowd with his latest hit, “New Orleans is Filled With Nothing But Scumbags (Remix),” a powerful guitar riff echoed through the arena. The big screen revealed that Lashley had indeed come back, and he marched down to the ring to confront Elias.
It’s not like Lashley hasn’t been busy over the past ten years. He’s wrestled for TNA/Impact (who I hear is hiring, by the way), winning the world title while there. And he is a fairly accomplished mixed martial artist, with success in both Strikeforce and Bellator.
So when Lashley hit the ring, it was as if he had just left WWE yesterday. A neckbreaker gave way to a tremendous stalling vertical suplex — one handed, to boot — and left the former WWECW standout standing tall.
If that’s how Lashley returned, why is he not even in the top half of the list? Honestly, he’s a multiple time world champion, and he returned to ambush a guy he’s got no history with and who’s never won a championship in the company. Despite holding wins over John Cena and Braun Strowman, Elias hasn’t yet ascended to the top of cards just yet. He may get there, given his recent feud with Cena. But as it stands right now, Elias is a step down for Lashley’s career accomplishments.
3. Ember Moon
I went back and forth in my head when ranking these debuts. How high should Ember Moon go, given that she is immediately associated with the new Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax? And Moon picked up a pinfall victory over the former champ, Alexa Bliss, after hitting a beautiful Eclipse, which is possibly the greatest move in professional wrestling.
After thinking of ranking Ember’s debut higher, I decided that if she would have debuted opposite Jax, like challenging her for the championship, she could have leapfrogged into the number two spot. Even if she faced Jax in a face vs. face match, because neither superstar should be a heel at this stage, it would have taken the cake.
But debuting alongside the champion effectively takes her out of the title picture at the moment. You can argue that a superstar needs to pay his or her dues before getting title matches, but there’s plenty of precedent for a debut in a championship opportunity. Sami Zayn comes to mind, when he answered the United States Open Challenge against John Cena. How about Finn Balor debuting in a qualifying match for the newly-introduced Universal Championship?
Still, Moon looked like a megastar in the limited action she saw in the tag match on Raw. That Eclipse to Bliss was picture perfect, and it’s going to become your favorite finisher in due time.
2. Samoa Joe
Welcome back, you magnificent monster.
Samoa Joe’s return from injury probably should have happened a week or two earlier, just to find a way to squeeze him onto the WrestleMania card in some way, shape, or form. After being a part of the company for nearly three years, Joe has yet to appear on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
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But who cares about that right now? All is right with the world now that Joe is back, and immediately going after Roman Reigns is the best way to get him back in his groove. Joe and Reigns have waged some great wars in the past year, so putting them together almost guarantees great material.
Let’s not forget that, for all intents and purposes, Joe returned to book himself in a Universal Championship match. Reigns is scheduled to take on Brock Lesnar at The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia at the end of the month. Joe has issued a challenge for Backlash, with is just a week later. The odds that Reigns will be champ by Backlash are pretty high.
It’s a little upsetting for Joe to not have had a match, or done anything physical beyond pace along the stage. But the promo he cut on Reigns was straight fire, and there’s few superstars better on the mic than Samoa Joe. To hear him lay it all out is a treat, and it’s great to have him back in the fold.
1. Jeff Hardy
Let’s face it, no one last night had a better unscheduled appearance than Jeff Hardy. Lashley had the shock factor, Moon had the great in-ring action, and Joe had the fire promo. But Hardy had a little bit of everything in his big appearance. Plus, he came back to join the main event match, and he’s setting himself up for potential inclusion in the Intercontinental Championship. Not a bad first night back, huh?
Jeff’s night started out by coming down to even the odds for Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, who were temporarily outnumbered by The Miz and his Miztourage. If Hardy was coming back, most had the odds pegged as being a part of the Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt/Woken Universe angle. So seeing him as regular old Team Extreme Jeff Hardy was a bit of a shock.
The main event match was handled mostly by Rollins and Balor, but when Hardy got involved he was the Jeff Hardy of old. He moved like a man half his age for most of the match, and hung in there with the “young kids” Balor and Rollins. (Yes, I’m aware Balor isn’t exactly a “kid” these days.)
But perhaps the best part of the evening for Jeff was his encounter backstage with Matt and Wyatt. Matt pointed out that Jeff had beaten his “Broken condeeshun” before Wyatt addressed him as Brother Nero. And how about Jeff dropping in and out of the Team Extreme and the Woken Universe like it was nothing? The looks on Rollins and Balor’s faces were priceless, as was Jeff’s ability to keep a straight face. Big things are on the horizon for Hardy — especially if he does eventually get “Woken.”
Next: WWE Raw Review for April 9
Who do you think had the best surprise appearance on the post-WrestleMania edition of WWE Raw this year?