Monday Night Raw Review - April 15, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rhea Ripley Relinquished the Women's World Championship

This came completely out of nowhere and was such a bummer. Ripley had been champion for over a year and was ready to feud with Liv Morgan, but if there's any silver lining to this, it's that their rivalry will mean even more once Ripley returns, potentially with the roles reversed if Morgan organically turns heel. Ripley was already on the verge of turning babyface anyway with how beloved she's become. Even with Damian Priest being the World Heavyweight Champion, The Judgment Day will definitely suffer without her around for the foreseeable future.

Sheamus def. Ivar

It's great to have Sheamus back after an eight-month absence due to injury. It's just as great to have his old entrance music ("Written in My Face") back as well. He's been talking about that for years, but I never thought it'd actually happen. He looked like he was having a blast out there and the Montreal gave him an awesome reaction. I thought he was being over-the-top on purpose because he'd turn heel at the end of the night by interfering in the Intercontinental Championship main event, but nope, he was just thrilled to be back. Oh, and his hard-hitting affair with Ivar was fun while it lasted.

Paul "Triple H" Levesque Presented Awesome Truth with New World Tag Team Championship Belts; #DIY def. The Creed Brothers and The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) in a World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat  Tag Team Match

It's about damn time! Now that the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championship have finally been separated, it only made sense to ditch the brand-centric nonsense and debut new belts. They're a significant upgrade over the red-strapped crap. The subsequent Triple Threat tag team match was solid, but the crowd didn't have an incentive to cheer for any one babyface team over the others. Awesome Truth don't need a long reign, so I'd be perfectly fine with them losing the belts to #DIY on next week's Raw.

Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae def. Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile

Every single match involving LeRae, Hartwell and whoever they've faced has been forgettable, but that's because the focus has been on the character development with LeRae and Hartwell. That was once again the case here with Hartwell going along with LeRae's heel antics, so her turn is complete as well. I appreciate that they've been featured consistently on television since the storyline started, but the key is in the follow-up.

Andrade def. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio

This match has been in the works for a while. They worked well together and produced a quality contest, but the crowd was largely quiet for it. Honestly, it's hard to blame them considering how cold Andrade has been since his return to WWE. He lasted a while in the men's Royal Rumble, but he really hasn't done a lot since then and feels miscast as a babyface. Beating Mysterio was a step in the right direction, though.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven def. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter

Green loses a majority of her matches, so it was a refreshing for her to actually win for a change. Granted it was against a team that hasn't won a televised match in months, but hey, it was a victory, nonetheless. The match was pretty pedestrian stuff, and I'm not sure what purpose it was supposed to serve, especially since I don't see Green and Niven challenging for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship anytime soon.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes Endorsed Jey Uso; Uso def. Finn Balor

With Uso set to challenge Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash, it was logical for Uso to beat one of Priest's stablemates before then. They had a good match in the time they were allotted, but it never got out of first gear. Judgment Day attempted to lay out Uso afterward, but he escaped the attack. Uso still doesn't feel like a threat to the title, but the effort was there.

Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn def. Chad Gable

I don't think it's a stretch to say that Zayn's homecoming entrance was one of the very best in Raw's history. Everything about it was masterful. The match itself was of course excellent and had terrific drama. Gable turning heel afterward was wonderfully executed and he got major heat for it. That ensures he'll remain in the mix for the title going forward and hopefully he'll win it eventually. I'm glad the Intercontinental Championship was spotlighted in the main even. The momentum Gunther built up with it isn't going to waste.

Overall Show

This was a super strong show coming off last week's post-WrestleMania episode. The Montreal crowd was hot for what mattered (not as much during the middle of the show), Ripley vacating her title was newsworthy along with the unveiling of the new tag title belts, and the main event was top-notch. Raw has found a formula that works and they've done a better job of hyping up matches and segments in advance that leave viewers looking forward to the following week. It's nice to not feel like we're in a placeholder period ahead of the upcoming Draft.

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