Raw recap & reactions: The dangerous hangover – Cageside Seats
2025-04-22T05:00:00Z
Paul Heyman put all his chips on a visionary and a dog on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
Seth Rollins isn’t the ONLY one to align with Paul Heyman… pic.twitter.com/qBEm8egaQN — WWE (@WWE) April 22, 2025
Paul Heyman hinted at more “Paul Heyman” guys possibly joining him. Paul isn’t one to just say things but he’s also a known rabble rouser. Sometimes he puts words together to throw off his opponents.
Well, he wasn’t this time.
Bron Breakker, fresh off of losing his Intercontinental championship, now walks hand-in-hand with Seth Rollins & Paul E.
Why? Don’t know yet. How? Don’t know that yet either. But it was an incredible sight. One night after producing a main event that made me jot like the Kermit the Frog meme, WWE gave me something positive to think about. It doesn’t undo the hurt nor does it get them completely out of the dog house, but I’m at least open to forgiving them. Eventually.
There weren’t a lot of words said during this last segment, and it was better for it. The crowd didn’t let Seth get his usual thing out of his mouth, and then CM Punk’s music hit. Usually a man of many words, Punk spoke with his fists this time. He went straight for Seth and then turned his attention to Paul. That not only showed his anger but his hurt. He didn’t finish the job on Paul because Seth stopped him then stomped him.
Then along came Roman Reigns. I figured Roman might come through the crowd for a sneak attack and an ode to the Shield days, but nope, he came straight ahead. I don’t know if it was intended but I saw that as one of those tactical mistakes Seth gets on Roman about. Why go straight ahead when you can go for the surprise? That said, Roman’s idea worked for a bit. He went through Seth then clocked Paul with a Superman Punch. Everything looked good for the Tariff Tribal Chief for a bit…and then that’s when Bron happened.
The landscape has changed on Monday Night Raw! pic.twitter.com/eJZ3Iv5p4K — WWE (@WWE) April 22, 2025
A friend reminded me that many moons ago, Paul gave Bron his blessing on NXT. That makes this one hell of a payoff to what was more than likely a throwaway moment. I don’t know what else to say other than it was dope and I can’t wait to find out more.
B-Sides
Sigh.
So the Women’s Tag Team championships, which already have the same amount of value as those Bison Dollars M. Bison talked about in 1994, went back and forth just to facilitate a heel turn? Did Becky Lynch really need to lose her tag title to turn on Lyra? A Becky heel turn is cool and I hope it does a lot for Lyra and gives her inaugural run as Women’s Intercontinental champ some sizzle because it’s been less than meh so far.
This didn’t start the show off on its best foot but that changed rather quickly.
The more I think about it, the more Randy Orton being John Cena’s first opponent as the new WWE champ. It’s a brand new dynamic for an age-old rivalry. How does it look with a heel John and a face Randy? I imagine Randy will call John out on some things rather than pulling a Luke Skywalker and trying to get Darth Vader to reject the Dark Side. But I can also see Randy testing him to see how “bad” John really is right now. Is he really this guy or is it a facade? Is he really willing to get in the mud or is he more comfortable dipping in a toe or two?
John is great cutting his heel promo. He did another one this week where he called out Las Vegas for cheering Cody one day then booing him the next. It wasn’t that much different than his first heel promo a few weeks ago, and it felt a bit different with that title across his shoulder. But does he really want to be the bad guy? It’s one thing to play dirty against Cody. It’s a horse of a different color doing it against a guy who has no problem kicking you in your head if it means wining the match or putting you out of commission.
Deep Cuts
A lot of deep cuts this week because the Raw after Mania is usually a newsy affair. Just a PSA while you scroll the page.
RUSSEV DAY! Russev made his triumphant return during a tag team champions segment. Odd but hey, it’s Russev. He looked great, his music was meh, and he wrecked Alpha Academy. Funny enough, the point of Otis & Akira stepping out there anyway was to prove they deserve a shot at New Day. Well, when one man wrecks you like that, you kinda disprove your theory of the case. New Day continued their greatness in their heel roles, and escaped a Russev beatdown.
Stephanie Vaquer showed up for the occasion too. Not to show off but to challenge IYO SKY just to see who reigns supreme. Competition for the fun of it. And they really showed why this is a feud the territory should invest in down the line. Their styles complement each other perfectly as they both hit hard and fly high. I didn’t invest too much into it since I knew we wouldn’t get a winner; this was a tease and I know that rubs some fans the wrong way. I get it. My curiosity always stayed on how it might end and who might do the ending. Answer? Roxanne Perez. Saw that coming because of course she wants to ruin Stephanie’s fun before they go at it on the next NXT. And she definitely didn’t want anyone else to pin the NXT Women’s champ before she did. What I didn’t see coming was Giulia showing up and working with Roxanne. That’s very interesting. I really can’t wait for Ms. Perez to leave Orlando but this development might make me look at things a bit differently.
BUT BUT, we also got Rhea Ripley. Rhea saved IYO, because they’re friends, and stared down Giulia and Roxanne. So Rhea vs. IYO will happen eventually but there’s some smoke with Rhea and IYO, or Rhea and Stephanie teaming against Giulia and Roxanne.
They celebrated Jey Uso. No heel turns. No new challengers. Just Jey, Sami Zayn, and Jimmy Uso enjoying themselves in the ring. I’m glad it went that way.
That celebratory mood was short-lived. And I mean Wizard of OZ munchkin short. GUNTHER showed up ringside with more than a few words for Michael Cole & Pat McAfee. Son got tired of hearing how he tapped out, which the entire arena repeatedly told him. And I’m sure he didn’t like hearing it from the announce team. The funniest part was Michael saying he wasn’t the one who tapped out. I cackled. GUNTHER attacked Michael, Pat stepped in, saved Michael, and GUNTHER put him in a hellacious yoke. Pat’s crew from his show hopped over the barricades, security came out, and it became a huge melee. It’s the type of chaos I love for Raw even though I have no idea what this means for GUNTHER. Is he really beefing with a commentator now? Doubtful. So we’ll see where this goes.
Jd McDonagh is back too! JD made his return during Dirty Dom’s first Intercontinental title defense. JD saved him from taking an L and keeping that championship away from Penta. But the bigger news is that Finn Balor is truly the odd man out in a group that he helped build. Everyone, including JD, is on board with Judgment Day’s newfound success. Everyone except Finn. How long will he bite his tongue and be a good soldier? And when he leaves, will he go solo?
Incredibly entertaining Raw that felt important. Weirdly, this Raw felt more important than WrestleMania. We got new alliances, new challengers, and some new alignments. Best of all, I have tons of questions that hopefully have satisfying answers. I always see WrestleMania as the season finale. With that in mind, this was an excellent season premiere.
What say you, Cagesiders? Do Punk and Roman reluctantly team to defeat Paul’s new crew? And, more importantly, is Paul done recruiting?
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