Monday Night Raw recap: 4/29/19

Monday Night Raw came to us this week from the Rupp Arena, home to the Kentucky Wildcat basketball team. A lot went on this week, some good and some not so good. I am going to break down the key moments for you. Let’s get started!

Alexa Bliss announced the participants for the Raw Men’s and Woman’s Money in the Bank matches on her talk show, “A Moment of Bliss.” For the men, we will have Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, and last year’s winner, Braun Strowman. Why Corbin is in this match is beyond me. He is a former winner, but I would have chosen someone else. Ricochet did bring up Corbin’s failed cash-in when all four men were in the ring with Bliss to kick off the show. This would lead to the opening contest, a tag match between Baron Corbin and Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman and Ricochet.

The match was okay. McIntyre hit a nice Claymore kick to Strowman on the outside of the ring. Corbin and McIntyre took turns beating on Ricochet, until Braun got in on the hot tag. McIntyre ends up turning on his partner, since there was still tension between the two from the previous week. Strowman hits the power slam on Corbin. Ricochet comes in and hits the 630 from the top rope for the win. It was nice to see Ricochet pick up the victory after he lost to Robert Roode last week. Roode was nowhere to be seen in this episode.

The four women from Raw that will compete in the Money in the Bank match will be Dana Brooke, Natalya, Naomi, and Alexa Bliss. I knew Bliss was going to add herself to the match. I am happy for Dana Brooke though. She had so much potential coming out of NXT. She was still green, but you could see something was there with her. Bliss ended up having a match with Naomi. The main thing I took from this match was Alexa kept tying her shoes. She did not change into her regular ring gear. It looked like she was wearing Chuck Taylors. Naomi picked up the win with the rear view and the split-legged moonsault. I laughed when Alexa just left her shoes on the stage when she walked to the back. I am not quite sure what they are doing with her character right now. One minute she is wrestling and the next she is hosting. I know she had a concussion at one point, so I guess they are just being protective of her.

The Miz and Shane McMahon are continuing their feud. The two will meet at Money in the Bank in a Steel Cage match. Let me back up a second to explain what lead to all this. Miz TV returned to Raw this week with guest, “The Almighty” Bobby Lashley. Miz mentions how he feels that Lashley has not lived up to his full potential. Lashley mentions Miz’s WrestleMania loss to Shane and also insults Miz’s father. This set Miz off and lead to a one-on-one match with the two. Shane McMahon would come down to the ring as a distraction for The Miz. Lashley hits a spear on Miz to pick up the win.

Both men attack Miz after the match. Shane hits Miz with a series of punches and ends up choking him out with a UFC-style leg submission. This is what leads to Miz challenging Shane to the cage match later in the night. I thought this feud would be over with, but I guess not. It is cool seeing Shane as a heel. We have not seen him play the villain role in a while. Shane will probably do some crazy dive off the cage. We shall see.

We got week two of the Firefly Fun House, Bray Wyatt’s fun, yet creepy new gimmick. This week he is painting a picture. He says it helps him express himself. He reveals it, and it shows a fire burning with the Sister Abby doll in the middle. Sister Abby is not too happy about this when she appears. We get a word of the day, Sociopath, along with a new character, Rambling Rabbit. This overall could be either a huge fail or a huge success for Bray. I had my doubts when I first saw it, but now I am very curious to see where this all goes. Watch the videos from the last two weeks over again. Look at Bray’s mannerisms and facial expressions. They really play a role in trying to grasp this new character. I am not here to say this will be a success or not, but I am anxious to see how this all plays out.

Becky Lynch is interviewed by Charly Caruso, who asks her about defending both belts at Money in the Bank. She goes on to explain her reasoning behind the choice. She says she did not make history dodging everybody. She did it by beating everyone. Lacey Evans would eventually come out. She brings up Becky’s Irish temper getting the best of her. Lacey goes on to say that she is done talking. The two go at it for a few minutes. I like this feud. Lacey has a big upside. I would have liked to have seen her in more matches before she got a title match, but I feel she will be ready.

The show closes out with the contract signing between AJ Styles and Seth Rollins. Wrestling fans know how these contract signings go down. AJ talked about how Smackdown was good to him for two years. He mentions that he likes Seth and has known him for many years, but now he has something that he wants. Seth said what AJ did on Smackdown was phenomenal, but he will have to be better than phenomenal to beat him. They talk about Seth being the next AJ Styles as well. Seth said he never wanted that.

They sign the contract and brawl to close the show out. Styles hit the phenomenal forearm to Rollins through the table that was set up in the ring. This is going to be a good feud. There are two things to take away from this closing segment. First off, AJ should be the heel here to me. He does not have to, but I just feel it would add more fuel to the fire. Second, if anyone can make the Univeral Title mean something, it is these two men. I wish they had held it off until Summerslam, but I guess they want to capitalize and get more eyes on the Money in the Bank show.

Here are some other notable things from this week’s episode

• Rey Mysterio picked up the win in his match with Samoa Joe. Rey lasted a lot longer in this one than he did in his WrestleMania matchup with Joe.

• Heel Sami Zayn is amazing. He cuts good promos and cut another one here, insulting the fans. He is showboating and being very obnoxious when he comes down to the ring. It seems like he has finally found his comfort zone.

• Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins beat The Revival once again in tag team action. Good for those guys. They deserve it.

• Gallows and Anderson are back on Raw. They lose a match against The Usos. Maybe we could see Gallows and Anderson team back up with AJ in his feud with Seth. AJ does not really need it, but it would give The Good Brothers something to do. They have been a major disappointment in WWE. This is not the same team that was very successful in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

• That whole segment with the Usos filming The Revival backstage as Dash Wilder shaves Scott Dawson’s back was so unnecessary. It does nothing to help these guys. Plus, it makes The Revival look like a joke. The Usos vs. The Revival can sell itself and be a great feud on its own. I hope that is the end of this kind of thing with these two great teams.

• Lio Rush was not with Bobby Lashley this week. Rumors have been circulating about backstage heat on him and possibly not seeing him on TV anytime soon. That is something to keep an eye on.

That is it for my recap. I will be back later this week to recap NXT. Raw had its moments. Overall, it was just an okay show. Let’s hope for a good Smackdown and NXT this week. Take care, and I will see you next time.