WWE RAW 4/22/2024: 3 THINGS WE HATED AND 3 THINGS WE LOVED

Welcome back to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show where they're definitely not planning to start an actual war between Scotland and Ireland in June, what are you talking about? They're just laying the groundwork for Clash at the Castle feuds between Sheamus and Drew McIntyre and Becky Lynch and Piper Niven, it's fine. It's fine.

Anyway, we're going to get into some of the stuff that will inevitably lead to a ground war in the United Kingdom, but we're not going to get into everything that happened on "Raw" this week, because that show is three hours long and we only have six talking points. For something more comprehensive, check out our "Raw" results page; for now, you're here in the world of our opinions! Did we appreciate Becky Lynch's latest main event victory to kick off her latest title reign? Did we accept Chad Gable's explanation for turning on Sami Zayn last week? And most importantly, is there any tag team on the red brand that isn't actively in the process of breaking up? Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 4/22/24 episode of "WWE Raw."

Hated: DIY Being So Frigidly Ice-Cold That Literally Any Change Is Welcome

Here at the WINC Loved/Hated Department, we love to smuggle in a thing we loved disguised as a thing we hate, and I know it looks like that's what I'm doing here. But I'm not. Tommaso Ciampa teasing a split with Johnny Gargano and breaking up DIY legitimately sucks. It sucks if they stay a team and both go heel, which is basically the exact same thing Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell just finished doing, and it sucks if Johnny stays a face and they feud, because at this point I'm not sure even people who loved their "NXT" saga would give a damn. That story mattered because Ciampa and Gargano were presented like superstars. Nobody turned on anybody until they had won the tag titles on the biggest possible stage and lost them in the only tag team match to ever main event a Takeover special. DIY have done nothing since reuniting on the main roster. Not one single thing. So who cares if they feud?

Honestly, the most depressing thing about the whole thing is that even though there's no upside to any of this, no possible good outcome, I was still kind of glad it happened, because at least something is happening. And what was the alternative — them winning the tag titles? The crowd couldn't care less about them. Crickets. Nothing. The crowd didn't want DIY to win; they were cheering for Truth, and for The Miz. The Miz. In 2024. There's no coming back from that. You don't put the tag titles on a babyface team that can't get cheered over The Miz in 2024.

Here's an idea: How about we split up DIY via the draft before any great betrayal can happen and have both guys go their own way again? At least Ciampa was seeing some singles success before he got hurt and Gargano came back, and Gargano should have a better shot of making it as a singles guy now that Dexter Lumis has been banished to the shadow lands. WWE waited too long before pulling the trigger on the DIY reunion, didn't get behind them with any sort of real push after it happened, and have now had them lose so many tag title matches that there's no believable reason for them to stay a tag team. It was a miss. Own it, and do what you can to salvage anything left. Don't assume a heel turn will save them, and don't stick them with each other in a singles feud that will also go nowhere. Just move on.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Loved: Kaiser's Turn, Perfectly Timed

The back and forth, will-they-or-won't-they-implode run for Imperium is officially over after Ludwig Kaiser put the boots to Giovanni Vinci, and the timing here could not be better for all involved. With the WWE Draft on the horizon, GUNTHER's minions can go their separate ways or feud on the same brand for a long time to come, and this also (along with his declaration for King of the Ring) further breaks GUNTHER away from his record-setting, 666-day Intercontinental Championship run.

That said, if you thought GUNTHER was headed toward a babyface run on the heels of that loss at WrestleMania and his acknowledgment of new champ Sami Zayn, not so fast! That approving smile he gave Kaiser when he reached the back after taking care of seemingly agreed-upon business in the form of the beatdown of Vinci tells us that those two, at least for now, will remain aligned on the side of relative evil.

The biggest winner here, I think, is Kaiser, who has something about him that is very unlikable, so good on him (and on the company) for embracing as much. The hair, the look, the accent, the snooty presence — all will work in his favor, annoying the hell out of us for the foreseeable future. GUNTHER is obviously off to the races for bigger and better things, and deservedly so, likely beginning with the King of the Ring tournament itself; I'd peg him as the odds-on favorite. As for Vinci, settle the business with Kaiser (probably after some time away) and then perhaps a repackaging is in order. Athletically, it's all there for him, but I've always thought he was the clear-cut #3 of this group, so a fresh coat of paint could serve him well.

Written by Jon Jordan

Hated: Do We Really Need To Be Body-Shaming In 2024?

I'll be honest — given that Drew McIntyre has been thrust into this ongoing storyline with CM Punk, I don't think that his verbal exchange with Sheamus on "Raw" Monday night even needed to happen in the first place. I get that WWE seems to be gearing up to have the two of them collide in a match at WWE Clash at the Castle, but with Sheamus facing Nakamura here and McIntyre being entangled with Punk, I don't necessarily feel as though McIntyre needs this program with Sheamus. All that being said, the main problem was the content of the promo itself.

As Sheamus pointed out at multiple points during the segment, he and McIntyre have a rich history with one another. WWE could've utilized this to their advantage and made the promo all about that, perhaps making the focal point one or both of them recalling a memory they shared with one another and have Sheamus use that to illustrate the change in McIntyre's behavior (which was the point of the entire thing). Instead, they chose to have McIntyre take shots at Sheamus' weight and publicly body-shame him, making for a quick and ineffective way to generate heat for McIntyre and an uncomfortable few minutes for the live audience and the audience at home to watch. It was just unnecessary, especially when there were better ways to achieve what WWE was looking to do.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Loved: Chad Gable Justifies His Heel Turn

When Sami Zayn captured the Intercontinental Championship from GUNTHER at WrestleMania 40, there was no doubt in my mind that the storylines that go along with the title would continue to be high-tier. I knew Chad Gable's heel turn was coming after he was the one to "train" Zayn ahead of the match, and my thoughts were solidified when we found out that the two would be facing off in Zayn's hometown in the main event last week. Even though I knew it was coming, I thought a heel turn for Gable was the best thing for him to freshen up his character, as well as the Alpha Academy's story. And boy was I right!

Gable came out on "Raw" Monday night and straight-up said what he did to Zayn was justified. He said the great story of Zayn retaining in his home town just wasn't good enough for Zayn, and he had to rub it in. Gable also said Zayn put the championship right in front of his face as Gable was in the corner "weeping," but he still tried to be the better man and give Zayn his moment in the ring, holding up his hand in victory. What really got Gable upset, however, and where the heel turn justification really came in, was Zayn taking the title to his wife at ringside. Gable truly believed that it should have been his moment with his family ringside at WrestleMania. He was so passionate about it, it really made me believe he was justified in turning into a bad guy.

Of course, Gable had to address the rest of Alpha Academy in this promo, as we all were curious how this was going to impact everyone else: Otis, Maxxine, and Tozawa. Gable popped off on them all, saying he lost in Montreal because he's been wasting his time "training a bunch of freaking losers." Oof. After the happy-go-lucky Gable we've been seeing on TV for months and months now, that certainly hit. He said Tozawa just dances and racks up losses, Maxxine is pretty but "dumb as a box of rocks," and that his longtime tag partner Otis has proven himself "beyond a shadow of a doubt to be the biggest disappointment of them all." OUCH. That one was rough.

In a truly sleezy heel manner, Gable made his students agree that from now on, they're only going to focus on him, that they are all going to work together to win his Intercontinental Championship. Together. He made Tozawa, Otis, and Maxxine pledge themselves to helping him. No. Matter. What. As someone who loves a good bad guy, this unhinged Chad Gable is exactly the refresh he needed with his character. While I don't see this leading to Gable actually winning the championship from Zayn (though I wouldn't necessarily mind that), I think it's going to make for one heck of a story, at least through Backlash here in a few weeks.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Hated: Can We Not With Liv Morgan And Dominik Mysterio

I was fine with Becky Lynch winning the World Women's title in the main event battle royal, even though a lot of people were pulling for Liv Morgan. I get that, but Morgan really needs to beat Rhea Ripley for the title for her story to be satisfying, and really, who cares about a title you won in a battle royal, anyway? It's not a strong enough win to really help someone like Morgan, whereas a star on Lynch's level can afford one of her numerous title reigns being a relatively weak TV battle royal victory. It makes sense and I'm not mad about it.

The brief face-to-face between Morgan and Dominik Mysterio backstage, though? That could be a problem.

Now look, I'm all for drama in wrestling. Wrestling is drama. Wrestling is relationships and romance and in-ring weddings and adultery. But this Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan feud is the last feud in the world that needs to start revolving around Some Dude. I understand that Ripley is injured and we're out here looking for something for Morgan to do that keeps her on her whole "revenge tour" schtick, and who knows, maybe it goes well, but if this turns into Morgan trying to seduce Dom away from Ripley or anything like that, that's gonna suck. Please do not give me babyface Rhea Ripley being all wounded and betrayed because sultry seductress Liv Morgan stole her man or whatever; that would just kill Rhea's mystique dead. This is a highly personal conflict between two pro wrestlers, both of whom have now (storyline) injured each other, with tons of history behind them that has nothing to do with Dominik Mysterio. Don't ruin it by making it about the Rhea/ Dom relationship, instead.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Loved: Another TV Main Event For A Women's Title

One week ago, Rhea Ripley sadly had to vacate the WWE Women's Championship after 380 days due to injury. With a suddenly vacant title, WWE needed to move quickly to crown a new champion. Their solution was a 14-woman battle royal, and the women were given roughly half an hour and the main event. The match flowed well and advanced storylines in the process; the participants got in some good spots, such as the table spot with Piper Niven, Becky Lynch, and Nia Jax. It seems to be setting up a future showdown between Niven and Lynch, hopefully in Scotland.

In the end, it came down to Lynch and Liv Morgan, who bad had a fun sequence with a meh ending, but when it's all said and done, Lynch is the new WWE Women's Champion, and despite the lackluster ending, it was still a fun match. It's always a plus when multiple women can be showcased, especially in a main event spot. After winning her seventh world championship, Lynch jumped the barricade to celebrate with fans, many of whom were young girls. It was cool to watch her celebrate with them and to see their reactions.

There was also a sign that read "Women Run the WWE", which Lynch grabbed and held up. WWE still has a long way to go before anyone can say that women truly run the company, but the women getting big matches and headlining shows is important, and helps move women's wrestling forward in terms people taking them seriously and seeing them as legitimate draws. That said, another sign on "Raw" simply read "More Women's Titles," and those two signs reflect the dichotomy of women's wrestling. Still it seems like many fans can't get enough of the women and want them to have more of a spotlight, and WWE seems to be trying, at least to an extent, to give it to them. They deserve it.

Written by Samantha Schipman

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2024-04-23T06:15:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd