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The RAW after WrestleMania 38 kicked off with a short recap of the weekend before 'The American Nightmare' Cody Rhodes made his official return to RAW. The cheers were deafening as Rhodes got in the ring and said that his decision to return to WWE was not difficult.
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He admitted that he signed a multiple-year contract with the company after having "left them in the dust". Cody brought up his dad and showed us a picture of Dusty Rhodes with the WWE Championship at MSG in 1977.
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Rhodes teared up as he said that his dad was his hero and that his return to WWE was not for himself, but to honor his family and his dad.
Seth Rollins came out in a shiny pink suit and danced around the ring for a bit before staring Cody down. The latter held out to hand and Rollins shook it after a bit of hesitation before saying "welcome home" and walking out.
The new women's tag team champions Sasha Banks and Naomi were out next to face Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan in a no. 1 contenders match for the tag titles.
Sasha Banks & Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan on RAW
Rhea Ripley got an early near fall on Naomi off a vertical suplex before Sasha Banks was tagged in. Ripley was isolated in the corner and Naomi came back for a big splash off the corner before Liv Morgan came in and broke the pin.
Banks took out Morgan on the outside before Ripley went outside to beat up The Boss. Naomi took out Ripley and checked on Banks before sending The Nightmare back in the ring. After a break on RAW, Banks and Morgan tagged in, and Banks was hit with a double-team assisted powerbomb.
Sasha Banks got up and made the tag to Naomi before the two hit a double-team Facebuster combo on Morgan for the win.
Result: Sasha Banks & Naomi def. Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan
After the match, Ripley was mad at Morgan and ignored her before walking out alone. The latter chased after her while Kevin Owens was making his entrance for the next segment.
Grade: B
Kevin Owens was out next on RAW and said that he made a mistake by underestimating Stone Cold Steve Austin. KO said that he hurt himself while lifting weights before the show and decided to risk it thinking beating Austin would be easy.
Owens said that the loss should be removed from his record before we got the arrival of Ezekiel. It turned out to be Elias without the beard and he claimed to be Elias' younger brother.
Owens kept insisting it was Elias while Ezekiel insisted he was who he said he was. The two argued about which one of them was a liar and KO started a 10-count, waiting for Ezekiel to get out of the ring.
Kevin Owens counted down to zero and Ezekiel was still standing in the ring as Owens himself walked out.
Dominik Mysterio vs. The Miz on RAW
Dominik got some big in early on and set up for the 619 but The Miz countered it and hit the Skull Crushing Finale before getting a swift win.
Result: The Miz def. Dominik Mysterio
After the match, Rey Mysterio was checking on his son in the ring when Veer Mahaan made his entrance. The Miz made a run for it before Mahaan wiped out Dominik with a kick and took down Rey with a massive clothesline. Mahaan hit a back suplex on Rey before locking in a chokehold on Dominik, knocking him out.
Grade: B
Bianca Belair came out and said that she would have still been a champion if not for Becky Lynch humiliating her at SummerSlam when Lynch made her return. She said that the audience deserved to see Belair as the champion and not the far more celebrated WWE Superstar as well as a member of the four horsewomen, Becky Lynch.
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Bron Breakker - NXT Championship match on RAW
We got an NXT Championship match next on RAW, possibly because no one knows who Bron Breakker is yet, and getting him to win a title on the RAW after WrestleMania would be a great opportunity to get the mainstream fans acquainted with the future Hall of Famer.
Breakker had the early advantage and sent Dolph Ziggler outside after a belly-to-belly suplex. Back in the ring, Ziggler was in control but took a big spinebuster before being tossed into the turnbuckles.
After a break on RAW, Ziggler ate more suplexes before Breakker got the lariat and set up for the finisher. Dolph Ziggler tried to get a rollup off a distraction but Bron Breakker kicked out and hit a dive on Robert Roode on the outside.
Back in the ring, Ziggler got the Zigzag for a near fall. He was trying to get the Superkick finisher but Breakker countered with a spear and got the Gorilla Press Powerslam for the win.
Result: Bron Breakker def. Dolph Ziggler to become the new NXT Champion
Grade: B+
MVP was out next on RAW and said Bobby Lashley has proved that he is still The All Mighty by beating Omos last night. Lashley came out and was bragging about his win before Omos made his entrance.
Omos wanted a rematch and MVP attacked Lashley with the help of Omos and the two destroyed the former WWE Champion. They left Lashley lying in the ring before celebrating in the ring.
Backstage on RAW, Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley set their differences aside and decided to work together once more.
Carmella and Queen Zelina were out next on RAW and Corey Graves threatened to "Chris Rock" his co-commentators if they spoke ill about Mella. Zelina blamed Carmella for last night's loss and called Graves a fool for wanting to marry her.
Mella grabbed the mic and said that she will demote Zelina from a bridesmaid to a flower girl before the two started brawling. Carmella ran to ringside to Graves but she was wiped out by Zelina. The latter walked out and Graves was consoling Mella before they kissed.
The Usos were making fun of Austin Theory backstage on RAW and said that he should be embarrassed. Austin said that Pat McAfee got lucky and that he was going to destroy Finn Balor tonight to prove himself to Mr. McMahon.
RK-Bro & Finn Balor vs. The Usos & Austin Theory on RAW
Finn Balor and Jimmy Uso kicked off the match and Balor managed to get a basement dropkick and tagged in Riddle for a double team. Riddle got on the apron and tried for a dive but Theory went around the ring and dropped him.
After a break on RAW, Riddle was taking a beating in the ring before tagging in Randy Orton who came in and cleared the apron before getting the Draping DDT on Jimmy. Orton was setting up for the RKO but Theory came in with a dropkick.
Both teams rushed the ring one by one for a big sequence, ending with Theory getting the ATL on Balor for the win.
Result: The Usos & Austin Theory def. RK-Bro & Finn Balor
Grade: B
Edge came out next on RAW and said that he didn't expect Damian Priest to be there and help him win his WrestleMania match. Edge said that he and Damian had a lot in common before calling him out to the ring.
Priest joined him and said that Edge's message resonated with him and he pledged his loyalty to the Hall of Famer. They agreed that what the fans thought didn't matter, calling them the sheep.
Edge saying that AJ Styles would want revenge but it would be unwise of him to do so before Styles made his entrance. He took out Damian and sent him over the barricades before taking on Edge in the ring.
Styles sent Edge into the ringpost before getting two steel chairs but Priest came back and attacked him. Styles was being kicked down in the corner by Damian before he and Edge hit the double team spear on The Phenomenal One.
Edge was going for the con-chair-to but a group of officials came in and stopped them.
The Street Profits vs. The Alpha Academy - Texas Tornado match on RAW
Alpha Academy attacked The Street Profits right away and the tag team rules were being broken as the brawl kept going. Adam Pearce came out and booked the match as a Texas Tornado match, meaning this match will have no DQ and no tags are required.
In the ring, Otis and Montez Ford were battling in one corner while Angelo Dawkins and Chad Gable were on the other. Otis came in for a splash on Dawkins before Gable got a near fall.
Alpha Academy set up Ford on a table in the ring but Dawkins stopped Otis from getting the splash. Gable ended up on the table thanks to Dawkins and it was Ford who hit a splash through it before getting the win.
Result: The Street Profits def. The Alpha Academy
Grade: B
Roman Reigns was out next as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and he asked Heyman to elaborate on The Bloodline's success so far in the business, leading up to Reigns' win last night.
Reigns said that he was the last needle mover and was always operating on God Mode. He added that he was not ready to reveal his next step in WWE before asking the fans to acknowledge him as RAW went off the air.
Episode rating: B+
We got a great RAW after WrestleMania with the debut of Veer Mahaan and the return of Elias as Ezekiel. Bobby Lashley was attacked by his former mentor while Edge and Damian Priest announced an alliance on tonight's RAW.
