WWE Raw Recap, Grades & Opinion: April 22, 2019

RAW: April 22nd, 2019

A.K.A. The One With The Superstar Shakeup-Shakeup

More wrestlers continue to change brands as others settle in. Cesaro is on RAW, Bobby Roode is now Robert Roode, and the Viking Experience are now the Viking Raiders. Lots of change, and a new number one contender Universal Championship contender, came out of RAW this week.

Results:

• A.J. Styles def. Samoa Joe & Rey Mysterio to earn a spot in the main event.
• Naomi def. Billie Kay w/ Peyton Royce
• Baron Corbin def. The Miz & Drew McIntyre to earn a spot in the main event.
• Cesaro def. Cedric Alexander
• Viking Raiders vs Lucha House Party never gets started due to Viking Raiders attacking Lucha House Party
• Becky Lynch def. Alicia Fox
• Robert Roode def. Ricochet
• A.J. Styles def. Baron Corbin, becoming the #1 Contender for the Universal Championship at Money in the Bank

Match of the Night: A.J. Styles def. Samoa Joe & Rey Mysterio with the Styles Clash.

These three veterans put on a well-paced opener to the night. All three men had time to shine, with Mysterio having a surprising amount of time in control. Styles came out on top, hitting a Styles Clash on Mysterio that landed on Joe before pinning Joe for the win. It wasn’t great to see the United States Champion take a pinfall in a multi-man match, but Joe can rebound from a loss to someone as good as Styles.

Three Thoughts:

Sami Zayn is Insufferable

Sami Zayn continues to be excellent. He said he hasn’t been bitter – his time away from the WWE Universe was the happiest time of his life. He then showed highlights of his time off like your annoying friend who just got back from time abroad. Soon this new attitude will have to get channeled into a feud. For now, Zayn’s music signals that one of the most entertaining segments on RAW is about to start.

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Solo Swiss Superman

Cesaro could be getting a singles run. The Swiss Superman has been moved to RAW without his Bar teammate Sheamus, who is out with a concussion. Cesaro beat Cedric Alexander in a hard fought match with an interesting result. With Alexander being the bigger “newcomer” it’s interesting that Cesaro got the win. Could that mean WWE has big things in place for Cesaro now as a solo act?

Top Titles, Top Feuds

The two main singles titles have their feuds set for Money in the Bank. Becky Lynch furthered her feud with Lacey Evans through a promo. After Lynch’s win over Alicia Fox, Evans clocked Lynch twice with the Women’s Right. With a little more time, this feud could be hot in time for Money in the Bank.

Styles winning sets up him versus Seth Rollins in a dream match for Money in the Bank. This first time ever meeting will be a great match, but what story WWE builds around the match will determine if it is a classic or not.

Grade: B+

Overall an enjoyable Monday Night RAW. Fresh matches like Roode-Ricochet and Cesaro-Alexander really helped this week feel different. For RAW, different is good.

One Last Thing: Bray Wyatt came back with the Firefly Funhouse. This will be his Ultimate Deletion, a la Matt Hardy. No words can do it justice, so here:

.@WWEBrayWyatt is back and welcoming everyone to his #FireFlyFunHouse. Yes, you read that correctly. #Raw pic.twitter.com/VPI7lvZaDi

— WWE (@WWE) April 23, 2019

– Evan Gomes is the Managing Editor of Pro Wrestling for Full Press Coverage. Like and follow on Follow @EvanGomes_ Follow @FPC_Wrestling and Facebook.