Wrestlemania has come and gone and while it is the WWE’s biggest event of the year, the real fun happens the night after. Unofficially known as Snarkamania, the crowd at RAW the night after is typically a most vocal, opinionated, and generally unruly crowd and it makes for some great TV.
Quick And Dirty Wrestlemania Recap
A better than average show and much better than last year’s. Highlighted by a fantastic match for the newly christened WWE Women’s Championship and a ridiculous Hell In A Cell Match.
photo: WWE
Divas No More
In a long overdue move, the WWE has retired the ‘Divas Title‘, that awful purple butterfly belt, and the term ‘Divas’ for their female performers. In a short ceremony during Wrestlemania, WWE Hall Of Famer Lita presented the new WWE Women’s Championship and announced that their female performers will now be known as ‘Superstars’, just like their male counterparts. An amazing triple threat match with Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and current champion Charlotte, all making their Wrestlemania debut was one of the highlights of the show. Charlotte would retain, but a new era has arrived for women’s wrestling in the WWE.
Shane McMahon Is A Crazy Person
Shane McMahon, son of WWE owner Vince McMahon, returned to the WWE after a decade long absence. He wanted control of Monday Night RAW and stated he would bring RAW into a new era. Vince McMahon would grant that wish if Shane could do one thing. Defeat The Undertaker in ‘Hell In A Cell’ on the grandest stage. Shane accepted that challenge.
Say what you will about professional wrestling being “fake”. That is a 46 year old man who hasn’t performed in a WWE ring for close to 10 years taking a 20 + foot leap onto…nothing. Hell In A Cell matches shorten careers. As much of a spectacle as it is, it takes a toll and performances like this display it like few other things can. Undertaker was victorious, but as the saying goes, he won the battle but Shane won the war.
Reigns Gets Booed, Crowd Gets Muted
The very predictable main event ended with Roman Reigns victorious over Triple H with a very predictable crowd reaction. The WWE decided to cut down a substantial portion of the crowd reaction, which was probably not the best decision. The real winner here was Triple H’s garish entrance, which included his wife Stephanie McMahon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDjh-8IB_jw
This entrance is more over than Roman Reigns. Just look at that hair.
Snarkamania Is Here
Totally negating what he said barely a month ago, Vince McMahon is going to give a barely walking Shane a chance to run RAW into the ground and the crowd absolutely LOVES it. Roman Reigns gets absolutely savaged by the audience, but he goes a bit of a different path, stating he’s not a good guy or a bad guy, but THE GUY and that he will be a fighting champion. Chris Jericho, A. J. Styles, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn all want a piece so we get a Fatal 4 Way at the end of the night, but more on that later.
The Realest Guys In The Room Are Here
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady are one of NXT’s longest tenured talents. Working in the WWE developmental system since 2012 and carving out a niche as a wildly popular and unorthodox tag team, Enzo and Big Cass had the RAW crowd eating out of their palms, and against longtime veterans The Dudley Boyz. Enzo and Cass will be WWE Tag Team Champs, it’s just a matter of time, and if you don’t believe that, you’re S A W F T.
NXT’s Coming Out Party
Enzo and Cass weren’t the only NXT talents to make their debut on RAW last night. Apollo Crews, who wrestled on the independent circuit as Uhaa Nation, and Baron Corbin would also make an impact with their first appearances on Monday Night Raw. Apollo Crews has the capability to be a HUGE star for the WWE. He has the power, agility, and looks to be a champion and a title for him will come sooner than later. Corbin is a big and powerful talent with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. Both men are welcome additions to the main roster
A ‘Phenomenal’ Main Event
photo: WWE
The main event for RAW was to be a Fatal Four Way to name a number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Chris Jericho, A. J. Styles, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn were slated to compete. Owens would attack Zayn during RAW, thus making it a triple threat but that was not to be. Shane McMahon would declare the four way match would continue with a new competitor. Crowd favorite Cesaro would make his return from injury, the crowd would explode and a frenetic match would commence. This was easily one of the better RAW main events in a long time, and that is all credit to the competitors in the ring. Every one of these men has had massive success elsewhere, Jericho most notably in WCW and WWE, and having a stage like RAW to showcase that to a larger audience is only a good thing. The match would conclude with A. J. Styles pinning Jericho and The Phenomenal One is now the #1 contender for Roman Reigns’ WWE Title.
It is a great time to be a wrestling fan and The Turnbuckle Bandwagon will be here to bring you all of the excitement that it has to offer.
