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The post-WrestleMania Raw should be where Cody Rhodes explains his arrival to the WWE Universe.Credit: All Elite Wrestling
All eyes are on WWE WrestleMania 38 this weekend and understandably so with it being billed as the most “stupendous” installment of all-time, but there should be an equal amount of buzz surrounding the annual post-WrestleMania Raw next Monday night as well.
It has traditionally served as a “reset” show of sorts for WWE where the new year begins and the deck gets reshuffled, whether that be the Superstars, the storylines or something else entirely. In the past, fans have considered it one of the most exciting editions of Raw all year, despite that not being the case in some time.
The ever-anticipated post-WrestleMania Raw suffered in 2020 and 2021 from not having fans in attendance due to pandemic-related reasons, and the electric atmosphere and audience have always been the best part about it. Without them, the show isn’t remotely the same.
The night after WrestleMania was when Brock Lesnar made his shocking return to WWE in 2012 and where Paige debuted and won the Divas Championship in an impromptu match in 2014. If you want to go back a bit further, you can also point to Goldberg’s WWE arrival in 2003 and Ric Flair’s retirement in 2008 as examples of the episode being historically significant.
WWE must restore some of that lost luster with a strong show this year, regardless of what goes down at WrestleMania. Thankfully, there are quite a few things that could realistically happen and successfully set the stage for an exciting spring season.
These are the debuts and moments you can expect to see transpire on next week’s post-WrestleMania Raw.
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For better or for worse, Cody Rhodes always managed to stir up the audience with his polarizing promos during his time in AEW. Thus, it’d only be fitting if he arrived on Raw following that exact same formula.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com confirmed two weeks ago that Rhodes is indeed on his way back to the company and that it’s merely a matter of when WWE decides to pull the trigger. Although Seth Rollins has hinted that his role at WrestleMania 38 will be revealed on Raw tonight, we’re close enough to The Show of Shows that it would be premature to spoil the surprise at this point.
An impromptu match with Rollins and Rhodes would be logical considering a spot on the ‘Mania card is what Rollins has wanted all along. Rhodes simply showing up and leaving Rollins looking up at the lights is another possibility, but either way, his first promo should be saved for next Monday’s Raw.
Fans will want to tune in to see what he has to say and his storyline reason for wanting to return to his former home of WWE. There will also be interest in whether he’ll mention anything about AEW, so it’s bound to be a must-see segment regardless.
Rhodes returning to WWE at WrestleMania will be a top story coming out of WrestleMania, so building the show around his first promo since signing on the dotted line should be a focal point of the program.
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Between the many losses they’ve endured and the tension they’ve teased, the writing has been on the wall with Carmella and Queen Zelina for several weeks and the post-WrestleMania Raw should be where the split happens.
WWE hasn’t quite figured out how to book its women’s tag team division for the last three years, which is why we end up with the lazily-booked multi-team tag team matches that we do at shows like WrestleMania. Carmella and Zelina are actually the least likeliest duo to emerge victorious given the level of competition involved.
The biggest point of contention between the two has been Carmella constantly flirting with her soon-to-be husband Corey Graves at ringside. That may not be anything more than WWE wanting to promote Corey and Carmella’s new reality show, but the idea of them becoming an on-air couple is compelling.
In order for that to happen, though, Carmella and Zelina will need to part ways. Assuming Bianca Belair wins the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania, she’ll need credible competition and Carmella and Zelina can both be built up outside of the tag team ranks.
In other words, look for these two to part ways without either one of them turning face.
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Both Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns hinted at the possibility of their looming WrestleMania match being title for title at the onset of 2022, but it wasn’t made official until after Lesnar won the men’s Royal Rumble and later the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber.
Their main-event bout will now, in fact, be contested for both the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship. It’s being billed as a unification of the titles, meaning there will be only one undisputed champ coming out of WrestleMania.
Fans won’t be fully convinced that WWE intends to stick with one world championship until a single belt is introduced, at which point reality will start to settle in. Although those things take time, the post-WrestleMania Raw would be an appropriate night for such a prize to be unveiled.
The company could easily settle for either the current Universal or WWE title belt becoming the default top title following ‘Mania, but an updated design is needed to indicate the beginning of a new era. Debuting it during a coronation for the undisputed champion—whoever it may be—would be ideal.
It should also be established what brand it will be assigned to or if the reigning title holder will be pulling double duty between Raw and SmackDown moving forward to clear up any confusion.
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After months of vignettes indicating he was coming to Raw, Veer Mahaan will finally arrive on the red brand next Monday—at least as of now.
Plans change on a whim in WWE so often that it’s entirely possible they delay his debut even further or forget it was ever advertised for that episode in the first place. However, next Monday night would be the perfect time for him to resurface considering the crowd Raw will be held in front of.
The night after ‘Mania typically consists of WWE’s most dedicated, hardcore and passionate fans from across the globe. Those are the same people who have been following along with the running gag of Veer’s Raw arrival being pushed back week after week and are unironically looking forward to seeing what he can do.
Veer may enter to crickets just about anywhere else, but in front of that rabid crowd, he could actually be over, if only to a small degree. A strong showing could go a long way in establishing him as a force to be reckoned with on Monday nights.
WWE booking him in a simple squash against an enhancement talent is presumably how he’ll be utilized his first night in, but if he’s going to make an immediate impact and leave a lasting impression, the former Pittsburgh Pirate needs to target a top talent such as Finn Balor or Rey Mysterio.
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The crossover between Raw and NXT has been fun to follow as of late, but it’s worth nothing that only two stars from NXT have actually had matches on the red brand in 2022: Tommaso Ciampa and Bron Breakker.
Breakker will be challenging Dolph Ziggler for the NXT Championship at NXT Stand & Deliver this Saturday and all signs point to him regaining the gold. That leaves Ciampa as the most likely NXT star to make the move to Mondays, especially with him hinting in a promo two weeks ago that his upcoming encounter with Tony D’Angelo will serve as his swan song from NXT.
Needless to say, Ciampa has done it all in NXT, including winning the NXT title a second time last year. He’s helped elevate many fresh faces, but the time has come for him to show what he can do on the main roster provided he’s up to travel.
Raw is the most likely landing spot for him considering the Raw audience is already familiar with him from the few appearances he’s made on the show this year. LA Knight is another name who could show up, but he might be a better fit on SmackDown and therefore could be saved for next Friday’s show.
It’s unknown how high the ceiling for Ciampa would be on Raw, but the change of scenery could be exactly what he needs to take his career to the next level.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
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