WWE Raw live results: The Rock & Roman Reigns appear
Date: April 1, 2024
Location: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
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Show Recap —
For the last few months, they’ve opened every Raw and Smackdown with a shot of the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia hosting WrestleMania 40. Today they showed the workers putting the stage together.
There was a recap video of last week’s closing angle with The Rock and Cody Rhodes and the continuation that was taped after they went off the air.
Michael Cole, while clearly reading off a piece of paper, said The Rock’s attack was one of the most horrible, despicable and disgusting assaults he has ever seen in WWE. Cole said Rhodes was not medically cleared to appear on Raw tonight.
The first hour of Raw is commercial-free and The Rock is kicking things off. (Raw is also starting with the Iowa/LSU game in half-time.)
The Rock and Roman Reigns segment
Rock entered to a huge reaction and “Rocky” chants but it was more of a mixed reaction when the music cut.
Rock said he made ‘that boy’ bleed last week. The crowd loudly chanted “What” as Rock described what he did. He put Cody’s blood all over that weight belt and the only thing that was missing were the tears of Mama Rhodes.
Rock told Rhodes that he would make him bleed and that’s exactly what he did. The Cody crybabies were so upset. Rock could only laugh at the grown adult crybabies who were upset but there was something that gave him pause. Rock played two home videos of young fans crying over the segment. Rock said stuff like that breaks his heart because he was a proud three-time girl-dad.
Rock advised those parents to put their kids in front of the TV right now. Uncle Rock said there were moments in life when a man had to do what a man had to do. There were moments in life when people talked shit when they shouldn’t talk shit. That’s what Rhodes did so Rock had to beat his punk-ass down. The crowd chanted for Rock and he soaked it in.
Rock said wrestling was cool again. The ratings have skyrocketed because of him. The fans tonight set a record for the largest gate in the history of Raw, also because of him.
Rock did his catchphrase before introducing Roman Reigns. (Rock had already spoken for 8-9 minutes and Reigns entered at about 8:18 pm and finally spoke 4 minutes later.)
Reigns entered with Paul Heyman, Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa. Reigns said it was family above all. The crowd chanted “Yeet” so Reigns responded, “No Yeet.” Reigns threatened to leave if they continued so they did — briefly.
Reigns wanted to thank his cousin because this would be the easiest WrestleMania of his life. They would smash those fools on night one and he would have his way with Rhodes on night two. Rock stood proudly as Reigns put over what he did to Rhodes. Reigns thanked him again for putting his family above all. He set an example that only the Final Boss could set.
Reigns said Rhodes couldn’t fit in his shoes. The Bloodline started making wrestling cool again in 2020 while Rhodes was off somewhere else doing a whole lot of nothing. Reigns claimed Rhodes wanted a piece of the action. The Bloodline allowed him to enjoy it for a while, but they couldn’t have that anymore. This was their mountain and they ran the business.
Seth Rollins interrupted. He entered through the crowd but stayed in the stands. He wasn’t stupid enough to go into the ring and invited the Bloodline into the crowd to fight him and the entire city of Brooklyn. Rollins said they crossed the line last week and he was ready for a fight tonight. Rollins called it the biggest Raw of all time and Brooklyn deserved the biggest main event of all time.
Rollins challenged The Rock. The crowd went nuts but Rollins said Rock didn’t have the balls. Rollins said Reigns might’ve grown a set of balls over the past couple of years and challenged him too. Rollins said it was up to them and even allowed them to pick the stipulation.
Rock told Rollins he beat Rhodes so badly that he had brain damage. Rock told Rollins he wasn’t facing him or Reigns tonight. The crowd booed and chanted “Rocky sucks.” Rock said they always had a plan.
Sikoa grabbed a microphone and accepted Rollins’ challenge. The crowd booed. Rollins gave him credit for having the “biggest bag” in the Bloodline. Rollins accepted. Rock said it was Bloodline rules in their match tonight.
(The opening segment ended at 8:35 pm.)
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They aired a clip from MMA Hour today when Becky Lynch busted in on Rhea Ripley’s interview.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Lynch backstage. Lynch said she was here tonight to finish what she started. She would be in the ring if Ripey cared to answer the call.
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Eight-man tag team match: Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh & Tag Team Champions Finn Bálor & Damian Priest defeated Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano (4:59)
Bálor had a welt on his forehead over his eye and Cole said that was thanks to New Day at a live event.
There was a bit of a scary spot where Gargano hit Dom with a suicide dive but overshot him and went face-first into the mats. He seemed to anticipate it and was probably fine. He got back in moments later and was booted by Priest.
Priest gave Ciampa a Razor’s Edge for the win.
I’m sure they knew the opening segment would go long, but either way, this was a bit of a sprint and set up to give Judgment Day a win before Mania.
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Backstage, Reigns said Rock had things covered tonight. Reigns said he would leave and Rock was fine with that. Rock asked where he was going and Reigns said he had a speech to write. Heyman looked right into the camera and confirmed that Reigns would be inducting him into the Hall of Fame.
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There was footage from the Performance Center of Sami Zayn training with Chad Gable. They watched tape on Gunther before Gable put Zayn through extensive training. Just when Zayn thought he was done, Gable put him in a choke and Zayn tapped out. Zayn asked him what the hell that was. They played sombre music as Zayn told Gable he had enough of this.
Gable told Zayn something was holding him back and pestered him until he admitted what was wrong. Zayn admitted he was afraid of letting people down and disappointing his family. Gable gave Zayn encouraging words, enough to make him continue training. Inspiring music played as Zayn continued. At the end, Gable tried a choke again but Zayn countered it. They smiled and shook hands.
(I’m sure some people really like this but I think it’s pretty hokey.)
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They went to break for the first time at about 8:54 pm.
[SECOND HOUR]
Judgment Day were hanging out in the back. They were all on the same page until Legado Del Fantasma showed up (invited by Dom). Priest pulled Dom aside and said they gave him their blessing to handle Rey Mysterio at Mania but this was too much. Priest told him to cut the crap and left to make a phone call. Ripley wasn’t happy with Dom either. Dom asked Ripley to talk to Priest. Ripley agreed but told Dom they needed to communicate better.
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Sami Zayn defeated Bronson Reed via disqualification (11:50)
Reed was in control until Zayn hit a sunset flip powerbomb out of the ropes for two (this is how Zayn beat Reed in the gauntlet match a few weeks ago). Reed came back with a Death Valley driver for two and they went to break.
(Iowa is up by about 10 points over LSU with less than 5 minutes left.)
Zayn hit a tornado DDT for two. Zayn couldn’t hit an exploder so Reed responded with a twisting vertical suplex and senton. Reed went to the top but Zayn avoided the Tsunami.
Zayn set up for Helluva Kick but stopped upon seeing Gunther drag Chad Gable onto the stage. Gunther went to the back and Zayn left the ring to check on Gable. Gunther ran back out to attack Zayn. Gunther beat him down and posed with the Intercontinental title belt.
Gunther was about to leave but Zayn fought back to his feet. (Whatever Gunther did to Gable must’ve been at least twice as bad because he remained down this entire time.)
Zayn got to his feet but Gunther knocked him down with the IC title belt.
(They never rang the bell or made an announcement but this match presumably ended via DQ.)
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Jey Us ran into Lil’ Wayne backstage. Jey invited him to WrestleMania in Philly and he accepted. Lil Wayne intimated that we’d be hearing a new single.
Damage CTRL were shown arriving earlier today.
Dwayne Johnson will induct Lia Maivia into the Hall of Fame.
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Ivy Nile & Maxxine Dupri defeated Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell (3:37)
LeRae knocked Nile off the top rope behind the referee’s back, a thing that frequently happens in wrestling matches, and Hartwell confronted LeRae about it. Dupri dropkicked Hartwell into LeRae, knocking LeRae off the apron. Dupri rolled up Hartwell for the win. LeRae was displeased.
This isn’t meant as a knock on any of the wrestlers involved, but this match and angle feel completely out of place on these recent Raw shows leading up to Mania.
(Iowa wrapped up their win as this match got going and their game ended shortly after this match did.)
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Jey told Rollins he had his back tonight. Rollins appreciated it. They walked off together.
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Natalya said her favourite WrestleMania moment was Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania 10. She advised any aspiring wrestlers to watch that match.
(Owen, the inventor of the Sharpshooter, won that match, in case you didn’t know.)
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There was a Drew McIntyre video package. He delivered a eulogy while at a funeral home standing over a casket. He buried CM Punk before moving on to Seth Rollins. He said Rollins developed his whole personality on Jared Leto’s Joker. McIntyre planned on taking the broken-down workhorse out back and putting him down once and for all.
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There will be an Andre the Giant battle royal on Smackdown.
Ricochet defeated Ivar (10:05)
Ricochet fought back after a break and hit a beautiful dive. Ivar responded with a sit-out powerbomb for two. Ivar hit a Tour of the Islands and springboard crossbody for two. Ivar tried a corner splash but Ricochet literally caught him and hit a fallaway slam. Ricochet hit a 630 senton for the pinfall win. Ricochet came off great again and has some momentum.
So, Ricochet decisively beats Ivar, while Sami Zayn is having an existential crisis because he can’t beat Bronson Reed.
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Priest was pissed and wondered why Judgment Day hasn’t handled Ricochet. Bálor and his bruised-up face wondered what kind of name “Ricochet” was. Dom said he had just the man for the job. Andrade showed up right on cue. Dom introduced him to Santos Escobar. They shook hands.
Dom told Andrade that if he took care of Ricochet, they’d make him an official member of the crew. Andrade wondered if they needed him to take care of their business. Dom said they wanted him to.
Ripley said she heard Lynch was on the way to the ring and would meet her there. Priest was annoyed that Legado Del Fantasma were using his darts. (Legado Del Fantasma has been playing darts for an hour.)
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[THIRD HOUR}
Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley segment
Lynch stormed out and called out Ripley. Adam Pearce entered and said no. The fans booed. He was fine with that because he didn’t want to jeopardize one of the biggest matches on the biggest WrestleMania of all time. Pearce asked her to leave.
Ripley entered. Pearce tried to talk her down but she busted through him and security to get to the ring. Ripley brawled with Lynch and tackled her down. Security got in the way but Lynch fought them off and hit a dive, wiping out Ripley and security. Security kept them apart and this was over quickly. (This entire segment went less than five minutes.)
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Dakota Kai called Damage CTRL the most dominant woman’s faction ever. At WrestleMania, they would prove to Naomi, Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Bayley that they were the future. They were at Raw tonight to see if anyone could prove them wrong.
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Six-woman tag team match: Dakota Kai & Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka & Kairi Sane (w/Women’s Champion Iyo Sky) defeated Tegan Nox, Zoey Stark & Shayna Baszler (8:57)
The babyface team all hit German suplexes to members of Damage CTRL. I don’t know if they were trying to hide it or not, but you could clearly hear someone shout, “1, 2, 3, 4…” to time the move.
After a break, Stark hit Asuka with a German suplex and hit Sane with a missile dropkick. Nox tagged in and hit a cannonball but Asuka broke up the cover. Everyone traded moves until Kai hit Nox with a running corner kick. Asuka held Nox in place for Sane to hit the Insane Elbow for the pinfall win.
The crowd was quiet for this.
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Cole threatened announced that there will be over 30 hours of live WWE programming this week.
WrestleMania 40 Saturday Card:
- Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch – Women’s World Championship
- Gunther vs. Sami Zayn – Intercontinental Championship
- Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
- Six-woman tag: Dakota Kai, Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Bianca Belair, Naomi & Jade Cargill
- Judgment Day defend their tag team titles in a six-pack ladder match
- Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar
- Roman Reigns & The Rock vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins
WrestleMania 40 Sunday Card:
- Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Championship
- Iyo Sky vs. Bayley – WWE Women’s Championship
- Six-man tag: Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits vs. Karrion Kross & AOP in a Street Fight
- Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton – United States Championship
- LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
- Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes – WWE Universal Championship
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Kelley interviewed Rollins as he walked through the back. She wondered why he would accept a match this close to Mania. Rollins said he only had one gear: petal to the medal. And he always had a Plan B.
Rollins bumped into Drew McIntyre. Rollins told him, “I ain’t dead yet.” As Rollins walked off, McIntyre yelled, “Yet!” which was funny.
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They announced some ancillary events ahead of Mania, one of which includes CM Punk. Pat McAfee added, “CM Punk’s talking right now. I love it. I’m lovin’ it.”
Bloodline Rules: Seth Rollins vs. Solo Sikoa ended without a finish
They went right to a table spot as Sikoa put Rollins through a table with a middle rope Samoan Drop just five minutes into the match. After a break, Sikoa remained in control but he missed a running hip attack and collided with the steel steps. Rollins smashed the steps into Sikoa’s face. Rollins set up a table in the ring and tried a suplex but Sikoa cut him off. Rollins fought back and hit a sunset flip powerbomb through a table.
Rollins hit a curb stomp but Jimmy Uso attacked Rollins. (It’s Bloodline Rules, so there was no DQ.) Jey entered and took out Jimmy. They thought to the back but Jey was attacked by the Rock.
Rock marched down to the ring. Rock stared down at Rollins as the crowd chanted for Cody. Rollins smiled and, in fact, Rhodes entered.
Rhodes, with a bandage over his eyebrow, attacked The Rock as the crowd cheered. (Rock sold a bunch, as usual.) Rollins assisted Rhodes who set up The Rock for a Rock Bottom on the table but Reigns saved Rock. Rollins attacked Reigns but Reigns chucked him and Rhodes into the ring post.
Reigns dropped Rollins with a Superman punch in the ring. Rock chucked Rhodes into the ring and Reigns leveled him with a spear. Reigns and Rock embraced.
Rock revealed a new blue, white and red “Nightmare” weight belt. He whipped Rhodes and Rollins with it before handing it to Reigns who did the same.
They ripped off Rhodes’ shirt and held him down so Rock could whip him repeatedly with the belt. The crowd chanted “Rocky sucks.”
Reigns and Rock held their respective belts up high as the show ended.