WWE Raw recap, review: Cody Rhodes’ star continues to rise
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
A new era of WWE Raw continued this week with Cody Rhodes firmly planted at the helm.
Welcome back to my "Highs and Lows," this time covering the 4/11/22 edition of Raw featuring Cody’s first match on the show in six years, Lashley furthering his feud with Omos/MVP and Damian Priest possibly turning into a vampire.
Here’s a quick recap of the match results:
- Veer Mahan defeated Dominik Mysterio via submission
- AJ Styles wrestled Damian Priest to a no-contest
- Cody Rhodes defeated The Miz via pinfall after hitting the Cross Rhodes
- Naomi defeated Liv Morgan via pinfall in under three minutes
- Bianca Belair defeated Queen Zelina via pinfall after hitting the KOD
- "RK-Bro" Randy Orton and Riddle defeated "Alpha Academy" Chad Gable and Otis via pinfall
- Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso defeated "The Street Profits" Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins via pinfall to earn a shot at the Raw tag team titles
WWE RAW HIGHS
Cody’s kingdom
In a lot of ways, the return of Cody Rhodes has been treated similarly to Roman Reigns when he re-emerged as "The Head of the Table."
Everything about the way he’s presented tells you a legacy is being built that is important to the company. From the way he’s given plenty of time in matches and copious amounts of pyro, to being able to say words like wrestler and belt (rather than Superstar or Championship), it all exudes top guy energy.
Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes agree to WrestleMania Rematch I WWE on FOX
Even if it’s only been two weeks, this is the first person who truly feels as though they could believably defeat Roman in a match at some point.
I prefer WrestleMania to be the end of stories (not the beginning), so a rematch against Rollins at WrestleMania Backlash doesn’t necessarily thrill me on paper. However, if the match is anywhere near as good as the first, it won’t disappoint.
Tommaso Ciampa officially arrives
Not sure why this didn’t happen on the Raw After Mania to bolster that show, but this official introduction to the main roster was a good start for Ciampa. And yes, I say that because they didn’t change the guy’s name or put a goofy hat on him.
Ciampa has proven to be a valuable commodity in NXT, looks like a million bucks and has a good reputation across the locker room.
We’ve also already seen that he can be positioned on Raw as an in-ring threat — since this isn’t his first appearance — so I have faith here.
Now, let’s just all hope this doesn’t change by next week.
Lashley gets explanation from MVP
One of the biggest problems with The Hurt Business breaking up was lack of explanation and follow-up. The split between Lashley and MVP, however, seems to be going in a much more fulfilling direction.
MVP’s reasoning for turning on Lashley made sense, the rebuttals from Lashley sounded sincere and Omos (sporting a fresh look) already appears to be gaining from sitting under the learning tree of his new manager. If everyone is gaining from this, it’s a win.
Sonya accepts her own open challenge
This was clever, actually, as well as a good use of Sonya Deville following her successful battles with Naomi.
Bianca Belair tricked into signing an open contract with Sonya Deville I WWE on FOX
Bianca Belair needed a fresh challenger coming off multiples matches with Becky Lynch, Doudrop and Liv Morgan. Sonya certainly fits that bill, and it would make sense for her character to target a champion this time.
No, Deville shouldn’t win this feud, but Belair fighting back against an authority figure could be a big positive for her title reign.
WWE RAW LOWS
Damian Priest did what?!
This was confusing on every level.
Damien Priest cuts match with AJ Styles Short and sends an eerie message I WWE on FOX
Why would Priest stop a match to bask in a purple light, then possibly vanish, rather than finish what he started? I just can’t grasp what we were supposed to think happened.
This one is going to take a long explanation from Edge.
Even with the nostalgia feels trying to make this look like Brood 2.0, unless they’re calling it that, I’m not buying this behavior.
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Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
