11 Burning Questions For WWE Raw (April 11th)
Can WWE weather the WrestleMania hangover?
After a Sunday that involved a two-hour pre-show and a five-hour event (which includes a near hour-long overrun), the WrestleMania XXXII hangover is in full swing. Diehard fans survived a weekend that in addition to Sunday’s activities included a Friday NXT TakeOver show and Monday Night Raw. That’s a ton of wrestling to take in, even for the most dedicated fan.
But after all of those shows, where does WWE stand heading into Monday night? WrestleMania saw two new champs crowned, and Raw last week shook things up a little more with a new #1 contender, new Intercontinental Champion and several new superstars debuting. The Raw after WrestleMania often is described as an event that “hits the reset button” for the company, but is that what really happened?
We also saw last week that WWE can ignore the most consequential stipulations on a whim in less than 24 hours, as Shane McMahon lost his match for control of Monday Night Raw, and then was put in charge of the program the next night.
As much fun as the Raw after WrestleMania usually is, this really is the critical episode. WrestleMania is behind us, so if WWE is going to move forward in a positive direction, this is the first opportunity to see how the company is going to press ahead. Or, we’ll see if they’re just going to flounder.
With that said, let’s take a look at the big questions starting WWE in the face for Monday night…
11. Is That It For Ryder?
At WrestleMania, Zack Ryder finally achieved his goal of hearing his entrance music played at the big event. Despite being a part of WWE for nearly a decade, Long Island Iced Z had never gotten a proper entrance at Mania. That changed on April 3.
Not only that though, Ryder also walked out of WrestleMania with just his second singles title, winning the Intercontinental Championship ladder match in a complete shocker. Most fans figured that this was a simple “thank you” to Zack for his years of service and a way to quickly transition the title from Kevin Owens to someone else, while some fans held to the hope that Ryder would finally be pushed a little.
We got our answer last week, as Ryder lost the IC title to the Miz (with an assist from the returning Maryse) and then lost a rematch on Smackdown. So now that Ryder is out of title shots, is that it for him? Will he simply slink back down the card into semi-obscurity, or could he just possibly win a few matches here and there now?