Welcome one and all to the RAW RECAP presented by THE REVELLEUTION! The first night of the WWE Draft from last week’s Smackdown barely changed the landscape with only a few Superstars who actually changed brands. Two of them being The Unholy Union of Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn who now are a part of Raw. Which Superstars, if any, will swap shows as Night 2 concludes the Draft? And who will step up to face the new Women’s World Champion of Becky Lynch? Let’s get into it, and find out…
The new Women’s World Champion BECKY LYNCH went to the ring for a promo. Despite being a far from impactful promo Lynch still got cheers, far from the online fury that occurred for her victory after Raw, and Lynch remarked that it had been six years since the ‘face break’ moment and two since she’d been a Champion (I guess the NXT title run was for nothing?). Lynch said her title wasn’t just for holding, but for defending and wanted a new number one contender.
Enter, of course, LIV MORGAN to interrupt. The crowd quickly taunted Morgan with chants of Mami, but Morgan ignored them. Morgan went on quite a heel rant to claim the only reason Lynch was champion was because she took out Ripley, which Lynch couldn’t do at WrestleMania. Lynch taunted back and reminded Morgan that she was the Champion because of what she did to Morgan last week (eliminating her).
NIA JAX then interrupted (drafted to Smackdown but the new rosters don’t come into effect until May). Jax complained that the only reason that she wasn’t Champion right now was because Lynch and Morgan teamed up on her last week, before Jax bragged that she was now on the ‘superior’ brand Smackdown. The fans cheered that Jax said this was her last night on Raw, and said she was taking one of them ‘with her’. Morgan had heard enough and knocked Jax off the apron with a Dropkick and accepted the challenge for a match.
STEPHANIE MCMAHON hosted the first round of the Draft. Smackdown selected JADE CARGILL. Raw picked the entire group of DAMAGE CTRL of DAKOTA KAI, IYO SKY and the Women’s Tag Team Champions ASUKA and KAIRI SANE (the tag titles are still cross-brand). So Damage CTRL now move from Smackdown to Raw.
CATHY KELLEY handled interview duties. During on, in the background Liv Morgan was seen leaving a room and shortly after, Dominik Mysterio left the room too.
In Round 2, Smackdown picked The Pride which includes B-FAB to remain on the blue brand. Smackdown also picked TIFFANY STRATTON to stay on Smackdown.
In the third round of the draft, Raw selected The LWO which includes ZELINA VEGA so the group changes shows. While Smackdown picked Legado Del Fantasma which includes ELEKTRA LOPEZ to stay on the blue brand.
In a backstage segment, Chad Gable ran down MAXXINE DURPI for failing to win last week. IVY NILE would appear to lead Dupri off to get her ready for a match tonight.
Singles Match
CANDICE LERAE w/h INDI HARTWELL defeated MAXXINE DUPRI w/h IVY NILE
LeRae got an already in the ring entrance. LeRae shoved Dupri before the bell and when it rang, Dupri tackled her down and slammed her head into the canvas. Dupri hit a Spin Kick to LeRae’s stomach, then a Release Fisherman’s Suplex before she kipped up. Followed up with a Bulldog of sorts then her version of the Catterpiller Elbow. Dupri locked in an Ankle Lock for a long time as LeRae struggled, until Hartwell attacked Nile on the outside to send her into the ring post. Which distracted Durpi as Lerae escaped and sent Dupri into the ropes.
LeRae hit a low kick, then her Wicked Step-mother Curb Stomp to steal the win.
The LWO with Zelina Vega were interviewed by Cathy Kelley.
WWE Hall of Famer ALUNDRA BLAZE co-hosted round 4 of the Draft. While The Judgement Day were drafted to Raw, Rhea Ripley was noticeably not included in the group. Smackdown picked NAOMI to stay on the blue brand. They also picked CHELSEA GREEN and PIPER NIVEN to move to Smackdown.
Singles Match
LIV MORGAN defeated NIA JAX
Jax easily side-stepped and tossed Morgan over a couple of times, then Jax hit a Shoulder Check and drove Morgan’s knee into the mat. A corner Splash followed then a toss from the corner. Morgan hit a Chinbuster, a couple of kicks then an Enzigiri before she chopped down Jax with some Basement Dropkicks. Morgan hit her Dropkick to the back with Jax against the ropes, then the corner Back Elbow with a roll-out twice, but after the second roll-out Jax, of course, no-sold it all to hit a Clothesline.
Jax dragged Morgan to a corner and went to the middle rope for The Annihilator but Morgan got up and clipped the leg to leave Jax hung up for a rope-aided Stomp by Morgan. Morgan tried for a Baseball Slide but Jax caught her and held her Wheelbarrow style to slam her into the announce desk. Tiffany Stratton was shown sitting in the front row to watch the match.
After a commercial break, Jax was in control with a Cobra Clutch but the match went into in-picture for an advert. Back to the match, and Morgan barely got out of the way in time for Jax to charge and hit the ring post. Morgan used a Dropkick to send Jax’s head into the post and then repeatedly slammed Jax’s head into the side of it. Morgan went to the middle ropes but once again, Jax no-sold the attack and swept Morgan off the corner before she hit a Samoan Drop for a two count.
Morgan used a vault-back from the corner to be clutched Wheelbarrow style, but flipped over to send Jax into the turnbuckle. Morgan hit a rope-aided Double Stomp to the back but Jax grabbed the ropes to break the pin. Jax hit a Spinebuste and set up for The Annihilator again but Morgan got up and used Jax’s arm to yank her down make her head hit the top pad a few times. Morgan tossed Jax off with a Powerbomb from the ropes but barely got a two count off it.
Naomi suddenly appeared and attacked Stratton in the crowd before they brawled ringside. It led to Naomi hitting Stratton with a kick along the apron before Jax clubbed Naomi off the apron. The distraction allowed Morgan to hit the Rope-bounce Side Codebreaker and then ObLIVion to get the big victory.
In Round Five of the Draft, Raw selected the former NXT Women’s Champion LYRA VALKYRIA from NXT. Smackdown selected Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell to move to the blue brand.
Backstage Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch had a brief face-off as Lynch mocked Morgan with a not-quite-sincere well done for earning a title shot. Morgan walked off but Lynch was then briefly surrounded by Damage CTRL who warned Lynch that they’d see her around on Mondays now.
In the sixth Round of the draft, Raw picked The Final Testament, including SCARLETT, to move to the red brand. Smackdown used the final main pick to draft BLAIR DAVENPORT from NXT to the main roster.
In supplementary Draft picks after Raw:
Smackdown drafted TEGAN NOX. Raw drafted NATALYA, KAYDEN CARTER, KATANA CHANCE and The Diamond Mine including Ivy Nile.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Although protected with the distraction, it was welcome to see Nia Jax take a pinfall loss. The match was standard Jax with no-selling until the finish but gives Morgan a boost ahead of a title feud against Becky Lynch. Or will that even be the case now that Damage CTRL is on Raw with clear plans for Lynch and the Women’s World title? Elsewhere, Dupri had a good showing but in the end took a loss to a woman who was then drafted to the other brand, so what good did that match serve to anyone?
In terms of the draft itself, Damage CTRL can have a fresh start (tag titles aside) on Raw but do we really need another case of Becky against the group even if things are slightly different without Bayley in the group? There weren’t any major other changes, but Valkyria being moved up was a nice surprise for Raw as was Davenport going to Smackdown. Will they be lost in the shuffle with all the big names already on those shows will be the big question.
That’s your lot for this week! Be sure to stop by in seven days time for the next edition of the RAW RECAP! See you then!