Photo: WWE.com
The April 16 edition of WWE Raw was the first night of the superstar shakeup and it more than shook up the red brand to its very core in the process.
Last night’s WWE Raw continued the trend of stellar post-WrestleMania 34 Raw’s with a great show from top to bottom featuring several key new superstars coming over from SmackDown.
The shakeup will continue Tuesday night on the blue brand and should continue the momentum built last night. With that being said, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the April 16 edition of WWE Raw.
5. The Riott Squad Looking For A Fresh Start On Raw
A trio of superstars that have needed a re-invigoration of sorts in recent memory has been The Riott Squad. The group hasn’t had the best success on SmackDown since debuting back in November, but last night was the dawning of a new era for The Riott Squad.
Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan failed to make as big of an impact as they could have made on the blue brand, but last night was a step in the right direction when they interfered in a high-profiled women’s match on Raw. Sasha Banks and Bayley were having a compelling match, but just when Banks had Bayley in trouble, The Riott Squad hit.
The three laid waste to both Banks and Bayley and made the statement that they are now superstars to worry about on Monday nights. This is a positive move that should help benefit The Riott Squad in the grand scheme of things and a change of scenery felt needed after a few months of floating around on Tuesday nights.
Outside of causing problems for Charlotte Flair along with her allies of Becky Lynch and Naomi, The RIott Squad didn’t do much of anything else on SmackDown. And even at that, the trio never really got the advantage over those three superstars. A switch to Raw should provide Riott, Morgan, and Logan different opportunities to shine.
Hopefully the WWE treats The Riott Squad better on the red brand, but if last night was any indicator, the trio could be in for a successful run on Monday nights.
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4. Matt Hardy And Bray Wyatt Add Needed Dimension To Raw Tag Team Division
One of the more strange feuds in the WWE over the past few months had been between Woken Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt. The two outlandish superstars battled it out until the feuds finale when Hardy beat Wyatt in The Ultimate Deletion.
But that win for Woken Matt helped Wyatt see the light and he is now woken in his own right and in the corner of Hardy. The two have already made an impact as a duo and now are in a prime position to become the new Raw Tag Team Champions after last night’s triumph to advance to the Greatest Royal Rumble event to battle The Bar.
Last night’s match saw Hardy and Wyatt battle The Revival and in the end, Woken Matt and Wyatt deleted their competition and got the win. The two are already gelling as a team and they have the chance to become tag team champions a mere weeks after teaming up for the first time when Wyatt helped Hardy win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34.
The woken warriors bring not only a cohesive team to the tag team division on Monday nights, but they also bring entertainment to the equation. The Raw tag team division hasn’t been in the best place over the past few months, but this is a team that fans can get behind and these two together add a lot to the division.
The expedition of gold has begun and Woken Matt teaming with The Eater Of Worlds could result in a Raw Tag Team Championship win.
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3. Drew McIntyre Makes Big Statement In Raw Debut
The superstar shakeup is all about changing the complexion of Raw and SmackDown with the two brands switching an abundance of superstars from one brand to the other. But as it turns out, a show’s complexion can change in other ways as well as was evident last night.
The change started when Dolph Ziggler was presented as the newest member of the Raw roster over from SmackDown where he was doing nothing but floating around. Ziggler’s switch over to Monday nights wouldn’t have been nearly as impactful had it not been for another huge development later in this segment.
Ziggler was approached by Titus Worldwide who tried pitching to Ziggler that he should join Titus Worldwide, but The Showoff had other ideas. He said he didn’t come alone and then Drew McIntyre hit the ring and took out Titus and Apollo. It was a big-time development that will certainly shake up the red brand even more.
McIntyre had so much momentum from NXT after an otherwise relatively unsuccessful stint in the WWE several years ago, but now he has developed into a polished performer that has a bright future in store. He also adds a lot to Ziggler if he will be with him from now on given how Ziggler needs something intriguing to spruce up his character.
The switch to Raw by Ziggler coupled with the main roster debut of McIntyre has added a lot to Monday nights already and only time will tell how far this duo will go.
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2. Bobby Roode’s Switch To Raw Is A Risky Move
For the most part, all of the superstar moves from SmackDown to Raw last night made sense for both brands. But the final move of the night appears to be a positive move at first glance, but when broken down, it doesn’t seem nearly as clear-cut.
GM Kurt Angle announced that last night’s main event would be a 10-man tag team match featuring The Miz, The Miztourage, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn against Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, and a mystery opponent who would be making his red brand debut. That mystery opponent would end up being Bobby Roode.
Roode and his team went on to get the win in the match and most everyone appears to be happy about Roode coming over to Monday nights, but there is trepidation involved that many aren’t focusing on. The Glorious One is a former United States Champion, but he never quite got going on SmackDown and certainly never matched his NXT work.
And despite him winning gold, he never even sniffed the WWE Championship picture while on the blue brand. It’s hard enough to feel like a key member of the Raw roster as it is given how much talent must be shown in a three-hour show, so struggling to stand out on SmackDown at times won’t help Roode out in his switch over to Raw.
Maybe the WWE will surprise us with Roode, but it seems like The Glorious One is destined to be a lifelong mid-carder on Monday nights that will struggle with an even bigger lack of direction unless something is done to help him out.
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1. Mid-Card Championship Scene Potentially Turned Upside Down
The division that was potentially shaken up the most last night after night one of the superstar shakeup was the mid-card championship scene. It took no time for the shakeup to get going either as last night’s show opened up with the first new addition to the red brand.
As GM Kurt Angle was opening up the show, he was interrupted by the United States Champion Jinder Mahal. Mahal is now a member of the Raw roster, but his first night ended up being more surprising that most would have imagined. Angle put Mahal in a match where he defended his title against the recently-returned Jeff Hardy.
Mahal and Hardy put on a solid match that continued to show how far The Modern Day Maharaja has improved. But in the end, Hardy shocked everyone and defeated Mahal to win the U.S. Championship for the first time in his career to become a grand slam winner in the WWE. This result has potentially greatly turned the mid-card championship scene upside down.
The U.S. Championship and Intercontinental Championship won’t both be on Raw, so with Hardy as the new champion, will Seth Rollins go to SmackDown with the Intercontinental Championship? He could lose it to The Miz who is SmackDown bound or maybe Hardy will end up heading over to SmackDown with the U.S. Championship.
Next: WWE Raw Review For April 16 Show
The mid-card championship picture has a lot to be worked out over the next few weeks, but last night has greatly changed the complexion of it moving forward.