5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (29 April - Results & Review)
Punk and McIntyre save an otherwise dull draft show; world title feud disappoints.
No matter how hard WWE and its ardent fans want to deny it, the post-WrestleMania lull or hangover is a very real thing.
It seems like every year, the anticipation builds for WrestleMania and the immediate aftermath of WWE’s biggest show. But once the fanfare dies down, the company settles into something of a rut – both creatively and qualitatively – and the product suffers. Crowds get quieter, the energy level dips, and the shows become noticeably lackluster by comparison.
WWE tries to avoid this with gimmicks such as its annual draft, but even that couldn’t save Raw Monday night. The red brand served up its go-home show ahead of Backlash France, and it couldn’t not have felt like a less-important program for that PLE. The one Raw match currently on the card – a world title feud between Damian Priest and Jey Uso – feels like the third or fourth most interesting angle on Raw right now, and that’s not a good sign.
Even with six rounds of the draft and several legends making appearances, Raw dragged for its three hours, save for a tremendous multi-segment cat-and-mouse game between two wrestlers who are currently injured. There were some other decent moments Monday night, but this was largely a forgettable show that marks a low point in 2024 for Raw.
Let’s get to it…