The night after WrestleMania is always a great time and although WWE might try their best to stop beach balls from breaking loose during the Show Of Shows it still happened and we very well could see a repeat the next night in NOLA.
We also could get a couple answers after what happened last night in the Superdome. Now that Asuka’s streak is finally broken it could mean the beginning of a difficult period to get over if they’re not careful about it.
On the other hand, Ronda Rousey has wrestled her first match in WWE so that could open her up to competing more often.
But with Brock Lesnar signing a new WWE deal and setting up a Universal Title Match in Saudi Arabia later this month at the Greatest Royal Rumble it seems like anything could be around the corner in WWE.
Opening Segment
Stephanie McMahon’s music hit and a wave of boos washed over the crowd inside the Smoothie King Center. Stephanie walked out limping and selling her match with Ronda Rousey last night.
Steph held her arm close to her the entire time and didn’t move it as the crowd chanted, “you tapped out.”
McMahon said she expected more from the crowd and then insulted the crowd for smelling awful. McMahon said people had to admit that they had to be surprised by how amazing she was last night as she brilliantly turned the crowd’s “you deserve it” chant around on them.
Then she introduced Rowdy Ronda Rousey who came out to a huge ovation. Steph admitted that the better woman won as the crowd filled the arena with “Ronda Rousey” chants.
Steph called Ronda a role model and said she was beaten by the best in the world and there’s nowhere they can’t go with her talent and Steph’s spotlight. As Steph talked about the message the two of them could spread the crowd cut her off with a very loud “bullsh-t” chant then they followed with a very loud, “shut the f-ck up” chant.
“Give it to up for my friend WWE’s Rowdy Ronda Rousey,” Steph said as Ronda just laughed. They shook hands and hugged. Then Rousey’s smile went away and Rousey flipped Stephanie around and locked in another armbar after taking off the split that McMahon was using.
The crowd cheered this move which pretty much mirrored the McMahon/Austin segment on the Raw After WrestleMania 14. Rousey waved at everyone and walked away while the medical staff surrounded Stephanie McMahon and led her off while people doing the “na na na na goodbye song.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, may we please have a little respect for Stephanie McMahon?” Jojo asked on the microphone for some reason which received an enormous boo.
Nia Jax vs Alexa Bliss and Mickie James
Nia Jax came out and fans loved seeing her. They broke out into a “you deserve it chant” at the sight of her with the Raw Women’s Title.
Alexa Bliss came out and said Nia is as big of a bully as Ronda Rousey. She said Nia likes to throw her weight around which is 2 times as much as herself and Mickie weigh.
Bliss said she lost at Mania because she’s a compassionate woman and was distressed when she saw Jax destroy Mickie James during the opening of their match at Mania.
Bliss said Nia is cold as ice and that’s why she doesn’t have a partner. Then Jax told her to shut up and got a nice pop. She said that she enjoyed everything she did to Bliss and James at Mania and she’s the new Raw Woman’s Champion. She also said that Bliss is wrong because she does have a partner which was Ember Moon.
Nia Jax handled Mickie James for a bit and then she tagged in Ember Moon who received a great ovation. Moon took it to James and Bliss got the tag to feel some of her fury as well.
Ember knocked Bliss down and climbed up to the top rope to hit the Eclipse which is her top rope corkscrew stunner and it’s amazing. Bliss had no chance after that and Moon covered the former Raw Woman’s Champion for the win.
Kurt Angle Backstage
Angle was talking on his phone about how Ember Moon is the spark the Woman’s Division needs. Then he turned around and Braun Strowman was there with his Raw Tag Team Titles. Nicholas was there too and then Strowman said it pains for him to do it but they’re relinquishing the Raw Tag Team Titles.
They handed the titles back over to Angle and Braun said his partner has a scheduling conflict because he is still in the 4th grade.
No Way Jose vs John Skyler
No Way Jose made his WWE main roster debut and he came out with a huge conga line. Everything about this screams Rosebuds and that scares me for No Way Jose.
But No Way Jose got an enhancement talent which was great to see and he’s having a ton of fun. But he didn’t take too much time and cut right to the chase landing his knockout punch before just dancing his way to a celebration.
Winner: No Way Jose
Kurt Angle was watching this all go down backstage and The Bar walked up and wanted their Tag Team Titles. Angle said he wouldn’t give them their titles back because they lost to a freakin’ 10-year-old.
Then Angle set up something he calls a “tag team eliminator” which will determine The Bar’s opponents for the vacant Raw Tag Team Titles at the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.
The Revival vs The Club
Dash and Dawson kept Gallows isolated until Anderson got the tag and he started cleaning house. He hit a top rope neckbreaker and a top rope cross body for a two count. Then he hit a spinebuster but Dash broke it up.
Gallows took a bump on the outside while Wilder made a blind tag but as soon as Karl Anderson noticed it was too late and he ate a Shatter Machine.
This match was a part of the “tag team eliminator” tournament to decide who will be facing The Bar in Saudi Arabia.
Winners: The Revival via pinfall
Seth Rollins Addresses NOLA
Seth Rollins went out with his new IC Title and waited in the ring until he got a sufficient amount of “you deserve it” chants. Then Seth said that was the loudest “burn it down” chant he’s ever heard as well and it brought a huge chant. This crowd was lit for Rollins.
Seth said he finally caught up with Roman and Dean and now every member of The Shield is a grand slam champion and he got to win it at WrestleMania which makes it so special. Suddenly, Finn Balor was out to interrupt.
Finn said there’s something he needs to get off his chest and Seth invites him to join the party. Balor said Seth deserves it and this got another “you deserve it” chant going in the crowd.
Then Finn Balor proceeded to challenge Seth Rollins because he didn’t lose at Mania, he was “the other guy.” He said he wanted to the be the first to step up and challenge him to the IC Title and they shook hands on it until The Miz came out with Axel and Dallas.
The Miz said he was more than happy to interrupt and Seth doesn’t deserve it. They got in the ring as the “asshole” chants rose up as The Miz said he made the IC Title the most relevant title in WWE as the crowd cheered that statement because it is a fact.
The Miz said he’s a changed man because he became a father and everyone cheered for him then the crowd started chanting “he’s got kids!” The Miz said he’s got little Monroe Sky to worry about it now and Maryse said when Monroe see her daddy lose his title it made her cry which also made Maryse cry which in turn made The Miz cry.
Seth said he’s not surprised The Miz cried because that’s what everyone does when they try to watch him wrestle. The Miz said Finn should go to the back of the line because he wants his rematch. Then Seth said if he wants to invoke his rematch clause then they can do it right now.
The Miz was in a full suit and he said he will get his rematch when he wants it. Then he said he wants his rematch at Backlash which got a big boo. The Miz said if he wanted a match though then The Miz and his Miztourage could face Balor and Rollins.
Suddenly Jeff Hardy came out who was recently cleared for a return from injury and the heels left while the babyfaces including a newly returned Jeff Hardy celebrate in the ring.
Mandy Rose vs Sasha Banks
Have you ever noticed how Michael Cole says, “it’s boss time!” every time Sasha’s music hits? I wonder if he likes doing that.
As they were prepared to square off Bayley came out and she looked like she had a real purpose for being out there. She walked around the ring and got in for a second and posed while her music played and then she jumped out again to stand at ringside.
The crowd chanted the “Bayley I wanna know if you’ll be my girl” song as Rose and Banks fought on and The Boss gained an advantage with an arm submission. Mandy soon broke it up and bounced Banks’ head off the top turnbuckle and hung her off the top rope to snap her back into the ring.
Mandy had an abdominal stretch locked on until Banks flipped her around and ended up on the top rope where she hit a top rope double knees from Sasha. The took it ot the outside and Rose nailed a forearm on Banks and pushed Bayley. The Hugger took a swing at Rose but accidentally clubbed Banks.
Then Rose put Banks in the ring and delivered another massive forearm for the win. Bayley left looking sorry up the ramp while Banks had a spoiled look on her face and looked rather upset.
Paige Retires
Paige took the microphone and said it was sorry to miss WrestleMania. The ring is her heart, her blood. But unfortunately, because of neck injuries, she has to retire as an in-ring competitor.
She said this is the hardest thing she’s ever had to say in her entire career while she thanked everyone in the back and said she was proud to be part of the WWE Women’s Division. “Thank you Paige” chants broke out as she continues.
She also thanked her family and Daniel Bryan because he came back from a career-ending injury yesterday at WrestleMania and for that, he gave her hope. She also thanked Edge because he has so much more and as much as it hurts her she will have to go do something else.
She said New Orleans is where she debuted four years ago and won the Diva’s Championship and now she will retire in the Big Easy as well.
As she welled up with tears the crowd chanted “this is your house” and she thanked them. She said it will always be her house and then she left the microphone in the ring along with one of her t-shirts as her very short career came to an official end as she waved goodbye and took a final bow before leaving.
Ladies and Gentlemen…
Elias was in the ring and he was playing away for a bit as the crowd started to clap along. They all wanted to Walk With Elias.
Elias said everyone paid to see an Elias performance but Cena interrupted him while huge crowds for Elias took over his own words. He said he will perform tonight as long as he understands it’s the same unappreciated scumbags from last night and the crowd cheered.
“We are scumbags” the crowd chanted as Elias almost broke and said he’s glad they can finally admit it. Then Elias started to play a nice little song while the crowd clapped along and he said as the crowd claps he wants to punch them in the face and then Bobby Lashley showed up.
There were tons of “welcome back chants” and then Lashley hit a neckbreaker and held Elias up in a vertical suplex forever before finally hitting it.
Backstage Segment
Kurt Angle was on the television and suddenly Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn walked in with suits on looking for a job. Kurt said TNA is hiring and then ended up saying he had one spot on Raw open and the two had to wrestle for it tonight.
Heath Slater and Rhyno vs
Heath said it’s a shame they’re not in the tag team eliminator and he’s got kids and he’s talking about a whole slew of them and he needs this job. So if there’s any man who’s man enough to come and face them then come on out.
Then Authors Of Pain came out complete with Paul Ellering. Akam and Rezar looked great too. Rezar hit some strong punches to Slater and Akam came down with a top rope leg drop.
Rezar took out Rhyno on the outside and then they hit The Last Chapter for the win over Heath Slater. But as they were leaving, Akam and Rezar stopped Paul Ellering and left him looking sad on the bottom of the ramp because his boys ditched him.
Winner: The Authors Of Pain via pinfall
Roman Reigns Was Very Sore
Reigns’ music hit and there didn’t seem to be as many people hating him. They were loud, but maybe it was a different kind of shouting at The Big Dog. Corey Graves said Reigns had 20-30 stitches on his head after two shots from Lesnar’s forehead during the Mania main event.
Roman Riegns took the microphone and said, “as you can see I got my ass kicked last night” and everyone cheered. “But I’m here tonight” and then the booed, “but I can tell you this much though, Brock Lesnar isn’t and to be honest I don’t even know what happened yesterday.”
Then Roman said what eats him up the most is that Vince McMahon couldn’t even smarten him up because Brock is one hell of a businessman because on Wednesday last week Lesnar was going back to the UFC and today he has a match against Lesnar in a steel cage in Saudi Arabia that he didn’t even know about until he found out on the internet.
Then Roman said that if they keep putting him in matches against Lesnar he will win the Universal Championship.
Roman dropped his mic and started to leave and then Samoa Joe came back!
Joe said to break out the tinfoil hats because Roman thinks there’s a conspiracy. Joe said Brock didn’t just beat Reigns, he exposed him. For a year Reigns said he was the only one who could beat Lesnar and he failed which makes him a failure.
This promo from Samoa Joe will take a lot to get out of because he was burying Reigns as he called him a liar and said he lies to his fans, family, and himself. Joe said everytime he steps in the ring with Lesnar he gets jacked up while Brock gets richer.
Joe said all Reigns does is make excuses but he bears good news because the cycle will end because after Lesnar is done ragdolling Reigns around the cage in Saudi Arabia he’ll be there at Backlash to put him to sleep.
Titus Worldwide vs Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Hardy was seen backstage talking to the Andre The Giant trophy and then suddenly they were here and appeared in the ring. Now they’re a legit team. Neat!
The crowd sang “He’s got the whole world in his hand” and Coachman obviously didn’t understand they were singing to Wyatt. Hardy got the tag and he did his thing and got to yell “delete.”
Then Hardy whipped Wyatt into Apollo and Bray sent him back for a Side Effect. Matt got a bunch of delete chants going after Wyatt took out Titus O’Neal.
But Apollo hit a dropkick on Hardy so Wyatt tagged in. He ended up setting Apollo up in a Sister Abigail which turned into a Twist Of Fate from Hardy. Then they made the pinfall to win and pose in the ring.
Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn
The winner of this match will receive a contract for Monday Night Raw because apparently there’s only one spot let.
Kevin tried for pop-up powerbomb right from the get-go but Zayn blocked it and he eventually launched himself over the top rope to land on Owens as Kurt Angle looked on backstage.
Kevin tried to powerbomb Sami on the apron but Zayn reversed it into a slingshot into the ring post. Kevin Owens blocked a high-risk move from Zayn and hit an elbow followed by multiple pin attempts just to wear Zayn down.
Zayn flipped around Kevin Owens and nailed a blue thunder bomb and Owens rolled outside. KO baited Zayn on the outside and caught him with a kick to the head when Zayn went for hit diving DDT through the corner of the ropes.
Then they moved back inside and KO put Sami down following it up with a top rope splash while Kurt Angle looked on in awe backstage.
Owens nailed a clothesline to the corner a couple of times and ran back for one more but Sami came back with a Helluva Kick as Kevin rolled to the apron and the crowd chanted “fight forever.”
Suddenly, Kevin nailed a pop-up powerbomb but the force of it drove Owens out of the ring and to the floor. By the time Kevin got back in the ring and to the top turnbuckle, Sami kicked him and climbed up for a superplex spot.
Neither Sami or Kevin could make it back to their feet by the referee’s count of 10 so the referee called for the bell.
Then Jojo announced that neither KO or SZ would be earning a spot on Monday Night Raw because neither guy actually won.
Backstage
Jeff Hardy was walking with Finn and Seth when Matt Hardy walked up to him. Jeff and Matt had a moment that was quite WONDERFUL and Jeff sad he left him a message but it probably got deleted but he knew he was preparing for the Andre Battle Royal.
Jeff said he feels wonderful and then Bray Wyatt came up and hugged Jeff while saying “Brother Nero I knew you’d come!”
After Matt and Bray left, Jeff Hardy looked at Finn and Seth who wondered what that was all about.
The Miz and Miztourage vs Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Jeff Hardy
The Miz and Rollins started it off but Miz didn’t want to lock up so he tagged in Curtis Axel who got some “let’s go Axel” chants.
You could accidentally hear Seth Rollins say “take the head” as he shot Curtis off the ropes before he got on a headlock. Then Bo came in and a Seth tool them both down and hit a legdrop.
Rollings got on his hands and knees and so did Balor as Jeff Hardy got to hit Poetry In Motion on either member of the Miztourage. On a funny note, Michael Cole mistakenly called the move Whisper In The Wind and Corey Graves corrected him to which Cole replied, “I should have known I came up with the name.”
Balor took some damage from The Miz and Miztourage while the NOLA crowd cheered him on. He took a neckbreaker for a two count and then The Miz tagged in Curtis Axel.
Axel hit a nice dropkick and asked if anyone saw that which everyone did. Then Bo Dallas had a chance to come in and apply some damage to the first-ever Universal Champion.
Balor finally got free from Bo Dallas afer nailing a suplex and the he started to crawl toward his corner but The Miz ran in and took Seth off the apron. Balor hit a dropkick and he eventually got to Jeff Hardy who started to clean up.
Hardy hit the inverted atomic drop on Axel as the crowd chanted “Brother Nero.” Bo Dallas came in and they tried to double team Hardy but Jeff hit a Whisper In The Wind on both of them taking Dallas and Axel out.
The Miz got the tag and so did Rollins who hit a blockbuster on The Miz and a suicide dive on Axel. Rollins hit another dive on The Miz and Axel once again as the crowd chanted “burn it down.”
The Miz moved out of the way to avoid a clothesline from Rollins which bounced Seth’s body off the turnbuckle. The Miz climbed up to the top and Rollins hopped up to hit a superplex followed by a falcon arrow.
The Miztourage ended up outside and Balor hit a flipping dive on both of them. Then Seth Rollins nailed a curb stomp on The Miz and picked up the win.
Winners: Seth Rollins, Jeff Hardy, and Finn Balor
After the match was over, Bo Dallas took a Twist Of Fate, a Coup De Gras and a Swanton Bomb followed by another curb stomp from the babyfaces and Curtis Axel got the same treatment.
The babyfaces ended the night the right way with a cheering NOLA crowd who were still living off the high from WrestleMania the night before.
