Usually, there’s somewhat of a “reset” within the landscape of the WWE following the peak of Wrestlemania after the culmination of many storylines, and it’s almost somewhat of a natural decline in momentum because fresh angles have to start to build again. Management understands this and looks to use the draft to kick start a fresh direction of the product with shuffling the deck as far as the talent that works together on specific shows. With that, the post-WM programming can sometimes be used as a way to put the pieces of the puzzle in place for the new direction rather than the immediate sizzle of angles, especially if WWE brass plans to save those big storyline moments for after the draft.
That being said, Raw this past Monday was extremely newsworthy, probably even more so than anything that will be revealed or set up at the draft episode.
The show opened with the biggest news of the week, as Rhea Ripley revealed that she was forced to vacate the Women’s championship after she suffered a shoulder injury. As of this writing, it’s not known if she will require surgery, but according to The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, it would put her on the shelf for 3-4 months, depending on the severity of the injury. Assuming there’s minimal damage, that opens the door for Ripley to be back in time for Summer Slam in August, but it’s important to keep in mind that the extent of the injury will be key to determine what stage might host her return. Her recovery in time for Summer Slam isn’t a given yet so it will be interesting to see the direction the women’s title scene takes while she’s on the sidelines.
Obviously, it’s very unfortunate that she suffered an injury after such a high profile match at Wrestlemania 40 during such a wave of momentum as one of the most popular stars on the roster, but I really don’t think that the injury will truly hinder her career path. Despite being the champion ahead of WM, the win against a star the level of Becky Lynch was still somewhat of a coronation for Ripley as a bonafide star so there was still a lot of mileage for her as the champion on Raw.
However, the ability to turn a negative into a positive exists with this situation, as regardless of her role as a heel in The Judgment Day, she was being cheered on a regular basis by the audience so this allows her to return as a baby face. At the same time, since the injury happened in a brawl with Liv Morgan, it will elevate her stock as a heel on the show, and thus there will be a natural rivalry for the championship when Ripley is back on Raw.
Speaking of The Judgment Day, Damien Priest, who won the world championship after the MITB cash-in at WM, will be elevated, at least for the time being in that role on Raw. It will be intriguing to see if management runs with Priest or if he’s used in the role of a transitional champion. More specifically, that decision might be determined by who gets drafted to the Monday night show, especially if you take into account that the brand will be somewhat thin on star power until the rosters get shuffled around. Cody Rhodes did a promo that implied that he will be back on Smackdown since he won Roman Reigns’ belt, Seth Rollins is scheduled to take time off, Ripley is injured, Punk is on the sidelines, and Drew McIntyre’s status is unknown so there’s not much to work with in terms of the main event scene right now.
The Damien Priest/Jey Uso bout that is scheduled at Backlash for the title make sense since it gives the new champion an over babyface to work with, taking into account Uso’s popularity from his association and then feud with The Bloodline. At the same time, it was more or less the only option for a title match since Uso is essentially the only top baby face available at the moment. If I had to guess, I’d say that the draft will send Kevin Owens to Raw to set up for the next challanger for Preist to give him another over baby face to work with in the title scene. Sure, Priest can go in the ring, but it always helps to have an opponet that can make you look good, and Owens has always been able to do that, which is what he did for Roman Reigns early in the heel turn, and also why he was chosen as the opponet for Steve Austin when Stone Cold did a comeback match a few years ago.
Drew McIntyre, as mentioned, is currently unavailable on the Raw roster, with some speculation that he might not to resign with the company right now to be able to spend time with his family. The rumor mill suggest that McIntyre has 5-6 weeks left on his current contract. I have to be honest, while it is completely possible that he might decide to allow his current deal to expire, it’s very doubtful that he’s going anywhere outside of the WWE scope at this point in his career. In truth, it gives him much more flexibility in terms of how much time he wants to takeoff if he isn’t signed for any obligations. For example, if he inks a new deal, he would have some type of timetable to be back on television within a certain amount time frame, given that you could reasonably assume that he would be working there for very good money with a new contract. On the flip side, if Drew allows his contract to expire, it gives him the choice to spend time with his family for as long as he wants and gives him more leverage for negotiations as far as when he returns to the WWE road schedule.
Some fans might want to fuel misguided speculation that Drew could make the jump to All Elite Wrestling, but the much more realistic option is that he will remain under the WWE umbrella. The wheels are already in motion for the big time CM punk match, and it’s more a matter of when the real-life Phil Brooks would be health that it takes place, not if the office would continue to spotlight the feud. The ability to work with Punk and be featured in a high profile spot, suggest that McIntyre will remain in the WWE in the future. Just for the sake of discussion, if Tony Khan wanted to throw a silly amount of money at McIntyre, you could make the flimsy argument that perhaps McIntyre would consider it, but with all of the discussion of chaos behind the scenes, AEW probably isn’t a realistic option for McIntyre .
Finally, Sami Zayn defended his newly-won Intercontinental championship against Chad Gable in the main event segment. This was a very wise decision, both in terms of adding depth to the roster, which as mentioned previously is needed, and in the very well done post-match angle. Keep in mind, presentation is the key to emphasizing importance. Gunther had a record-breaking championship reign because of his believability and in-ring skills. However, what truly spotlighted that as much as possible was how the title run was featured on the show and thus the level of importance that it was given. Along the same lines, booking the IC title for the main event slot on television and allowing two stellar workers like Sami and Gable have the time to work a competitive bout, emphasized not only the importance of the title, but presented both athletes in a brighter spotlight than they had previously. Furthermore, the Gable heel turn was brilliant since it wasn’t done in the typical cliche pro wrestling heel turn spot.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
