WWE Monday Night Raw: Results, highlights for Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso and more
Monday Night RAW hit Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn's home town of Montreal, as he looked to defend his title against Alpha Academy's Chad Gable. Gable and Zayn worked together to get that title off longtime holder Gunther. Tonight though, the pair duked it out for that very title.
Of course, that wasn't the only big match on slate for tonight. "Main Event" Jey Uso defeated Judgment Day's Finn Balor and then managed to win a 3 vs. 1 as the rest of the Judgment Day sans Damian Priest tried to jump Uso. Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley won the award for saddest moment of the night as she was forced to vacate her championship in order to nurse an injury to her shoulder caused by Liv Morgan. And, of course, the Celtic Warriors, Sheamus, returned to WWE after eight months to enormous applause and a huge win over Ivar. We still don't know what his storyline will entail, but it's still nice to see Sheamus back in WWE.
Here is everything that went down on Monday Night RAW, April 15, 2024.
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Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable for the Intercontinental Championship
During the show, Gable hyped up his match against Zayn by saying that during training for Gunther, he had discovered a weakness in Zayn's game. Early on though, it was Zayn who had the advantage, forcing Gable out of the ring twice. Gable bounced back nicely, forcing Zayn out of the ring as well and landing a splash both inside and outside the ring for the first cover of the match. Zayn kicked out.
Gable continued to pour on the pressure, putting Zayn in multiple ankle locks. Keen-eyed viewers probably remember that this was the same strategy that Gable tried to pull on Zayn during their gauntlet match. That didn't end well for Gable, so why would he go for that same tap-out strategy again? Zayn was, of course, able to counter and landed the first serious hit of the match, bouncing off the top rope onto Gable outside the ring.
SAMI ZAYN IS COOKING‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️#WWERAW
pic.twitter.com/ylJpSuIQhs— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) April 16, 2024
The chemistry between Zayn and Gable was apparent throughout, and even their story was told in their fight as well. Gable helped train Zayn to defeat Gunther, so there were several instances were Gable or Zayn would try to perform a move only to be countered by their opponent. There was even one moment where both competitors tried to suplex each other and swapped positions multiple times before Zayn was finally able to get a grip and perform Gable's signature move.
After all the ankle locks, Zayn was clearly fighting while hurt. Still, that didn't stop Zayn from landing a Helluva kick to finish Gable off. His first Intercontinental title defense resulted in a win.
SAMI ZAYN BEATS CHAD GABLE AND RETAINS HIS IC TITLE
INCREDIBLE AND BRUTAL MATCH BOTH MEN ARE INCREDIBLE #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/weLuapohEr— CrispyWrestling (@CrispyWrestlin) April 16, 2024
After the fight, Sami Zayn attempted to show sportsmanship by offering a hand to Gable. Gable proceeded to lift Zayn's hand to show his support for the new Intercontinental champ. However, the good vibes between them didn't last long. Gable proceeded to suplex Zayn right out of his wife's arms and throw him around the outside of the ring.
CHAD GABLE HAS TURNED ON SAMI ZAYN AND IS HEEL 🚨🚨🚨🚨
HE TOOK SAMI AWAY FROM HIS WIFE
LMAOOOOOOOOOO#WWERAW
pic.twitter.com/C9sBZesufz— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) April 16, 2024
As everyone expected, Chad Gable is turning heel once again.
Jey Uso vs. Finn Balor
Things got off quick in this one. Off the bat, Balor hit Uso with a sneak attack while Main Event Jey wasn't looking. Damian Priest was watching on with joy. Earlier in the show, Priest told Balor that he wanted him to show Jey Uso the meaning of loss, and early on, Balor was doing just that, hitting Uso with chop after chop, hold after hold.
Sure, Uso was able to get a few licks in of his own, but each one was met with a swift counter from Balor.
Some Finn Balor vs Jey Uso offense. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/mzXRRbu97G
— Pro wrestling coded (@DoubleDragonXP) April 16, 2024
Uso wouldn't go down without a fight. After a few kickouts from the former Bloodline member, Uso started landing a few blows of his own. A spear and a splash later, and Uso found himself covering a helpless Balor.
Jey Uso se lleva la victoria ante Finn Bálor con el Uso Splash en un combate sencillito, en su rivalidad con Damian Priest por el World Heavyweight Championship. Lo lógico. #WWERAW pic.twitter.com/p8Eoqj9IZg
— LuigiWrestling (@LuigiWrestling) April 16, 2024
But The Judgment Day always comes prepared. After the match, Uso's next opponent Damian Priest came out to gloat in Uso's face, but it was more than a showboat, it was a trap. Dominik Mysterio and J.D. McDonagh were waiting, and jumped Uso. However, despite being outmanned 3-to-1, Uso was still able to fight back The Judgment Day, even landing a super kick on Dominik Mysterio. Uso was finally able to get away after grabbing McDonagh and slamming him into Balor, who were both hot in pursuit of Uso after the kick to Dirty Dom.
Jey Uso ended up in The Judgment Day's trap!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/TGH31aWnp1
— WWE (@WWE) April 16, 2024
Cody Rhodes does not feel threatened by The Rock
WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes made his way back on RAW to remind everyone how important Seth Rollins was to his victory over Roman Reigns. Rollins had to sacrifice everything to help Rhodes win, and it could be some time before we see Rollins in the ring yet again. Rhodes continued, telling the crowed that he was unintimidated by The Rock's threats to make him bleed. Rhodes did, however, express concern for the rest of The Bloodline. On SmackDown, The Bloodline introduced their newest member, Tama Tonga, by having him take out Jimmy Uso. That act allegedly came "by order of the Tribal Chief," but, as Rhodes mentioned, Roman Reigns was nowhere to be found when it went down.
After all that, Rhodes gave the ring to his former tag team partner and former Bloodline member Jey Uso, leaving him with "Until we yeet again." Classic.
Chelsea Green and Piper Niven vs. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance
Carter and Chance have been arguably the hottest women's tag team in WWE right now. However, even they were having trouble against Piper Niven. Whenever Chelsea Green was in the ring, Chance and Carter were in full control, but Niven was making their lives miserable. Even when Carter had an opportunity to win by pinning Green, Niven had to come in and ruin the pin just for it to be immediately flipped in Green's favor. Shockingly, Green was able to get the win by pinning Carter. Of all matches tonight, this was one of the most shocking results.
Chelseaaaaaa Greennnnn and Piper Niven finally win a match
W Canada is Chelsea Green country 🇨🇦#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/p61HJ30ZZN— CrispyWrestling (@CrispyWrestlin) April 16, 2024
Andrade teaches Dirty Dom a lesson
Even though Dominik Mysterio had backup with him in J.D. McDonagh, Andrade was in full control of this match from the bell. Dom was resilient though. After being hit with a Three Amigos and a double knee, Mysterio was able to kick out twice before rolling out of the ring to avoid another devastating move from Andrade.
Dom eventually got his chance, landing a Canadian Destroyer on Andrade from the edge of the ring. Andrade was somehow able to kick out. The match didn't last much longer as Andrade got his strength back right away and was able to pin Dom soon after.
ANDRADE WINS #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/0aNQVC9kzS
— jah! (@DakotaKaiFC) April 16, 2024
J.D. McDonagh didn't take too kindly to the loss and jumped Andrade. Together, he and Dom were able to beat Andrade pretty good. Fortunately for Andrade, Ricochet, who has had both Dom and McDonagh's numbers lately, was nearby and jumped in to help out.
Ricochet saves Andrade post-match from the Judgement Day! #WWERAW pic.twitter.com/f4nc4AZuTi
— NSSWrestling (@NSSWrestling) April 16, 2024
The Judgment Day continues to be fairly thin after Priest and Balor. The absence of Rhea Ripley certainly won't help. Earlier in the show, Finn Balor told Damian Priest that The Judgment Day should be focusing on getting the tag team title back. If Ricochet and Andrade become a tag team, that will become a much tougher task.
Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile vs. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell
Maxxine Dupri is no longer the scared, shy fighter that LeRae berated a while back. Early on in this fight, Dupri even went as far as to taunt LeRae after Dupri nearly pinned Hartwell.
Many people expected the relationship between LeRae and Hartwell to continue deteriorating during this match, but funnily enough, the opposite happened. Where Hartwell has been the voice of reason in that duo lately, someone who values respect over victory, it was Hartwell who pulled a few sneaky moves during this match. Her first move was distracting the referee while Dupri was crawling to tag in Ivy Nile. The ref never saw the tag, so when Nile tried to pin LeRae, the referee prevented it from happening. Hartwell then took that opportunity to drag LeRae over Dupri (who wasn't the legal woman) and secure the victory.
Indi Hartwell abraza el lado oscuro, y ella y Candice LeRae se llevan la victoria ante Ivy Nile y Maxxine Dupri. Indi y Candice ya son heels oficialmente. #WWERAW pic.twitter.com/B97zlPuCyr
— LuigiWrestling (@LuigiWrestling) April 16, 2024
It was a very heel move from someone who looked to be moving in a face direction. It will be interesting to see where the LeRae-Hartwell team goes from here.
Triple threat match to determine World Tag Team contenders
Adam Pearce had more up his sleeve for Awesome Truth. As the World Tag Team champs were crowned, Pearce announced that Awesome Truth's first opponents were going to be determined right away in a three-way tag team match. The contenders? DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano), The Creed Brothers (Julius Creed and Brutus Creed), and The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods).
The Creed Brothers appeared to be in charge of this match from very early on. Brutus Creed hit his opponents with a double clothesline early on. However, from that moment on, this was a very back and forth match. It seemed like every wrestler involved got their moment in the ring. Nobody was left behind and everyone came very close to winning the match.
Ultimately though, it was DIY that would come out on top. All four members of Regeneration X will now battle for the World Tag Team Title.
DIY are the #1 Contenders! These boys better win those titles. #WWERAW
pic.twitter.com/eanhgfKB0X— LIGERBOMB (@LigerBombPro) April 16, 2024
New look for the tag team title belts
The Awesome Truth joined RAW general manager Adam Pearce and Triple H in the ring to introduce the new RAW tag team belts.
The new World Tag Team Titles pic.twitter.com/nQKnW6b3MY
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) April 16, 2024
Not only are there new belts for The Miz and R-Truth to enjoy, but they will also no longer be called the RAW Tag Team champs. Rather, they will now be called the World Tag Team Champions.
“I see right through you Tommaso Ciampa!”
R-Truth had Triple H breaking character like 2022 Jey Uso 😭😭 #WWERAW pic.twitter.com/WQj8CQejsb— Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) April 16, 2024
Of course, the moment didn't hit R-Truth for a while. He wasn't sure why the belts were there. He even referred to Triple H as Tommaso Ciampa, which...yeah, I can see it. It wasn't until The Miz started speaking to R-Truth in French that Truth realized that the belts were now his and The Miz's to take.
For the first time in eight months...it's FIGHT NIGHT!
The Celtic Warrior made his triumphant return to WWE since August 2023 to the tune of his iconic 'Written in My Face' theme, and was paired up against Ivar for his first fight back. Sheamus wasted no time dropping Ivar from the second rope and, of course, had to hit him with the Ten Beats of the Bodrhan.
Sheamus was in full control for the entire match, hitting Ivar with a knee to the face and a brouge kick to claim victory.
SHEAMUS WINS IN HIS RETURN AND THAT GOATED BROUGE KICK IS BACK #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/R4vra3FDGC
— CrispyWrestling (@CrispyWrestlin) April 16, 2024
Rhea Ripley kicks off RAW...in a sling
After much speculation that Ripley was injured after being blindsided by Liv Morgan last week on RAW, Ripley kicked off tonight's show raising her title in her left hand, while her right hand was in a sling. Ripley wasted no time saying how upset she was. She'd been told she needed to vacate her Women's World Championship. Ripley didn't fight the decision though. She merely offered a threat, warning that whoever claims her title in her absence, wouldn't hold it for long when she came back.
RHEA RIPLEY SAYS SHES GONNA BE OUT FOR A FEW MONTHS AND SHE HAS TO VACATE THE TITLE 💔💔💔💔💔#WWERAW
pic.twitter.com/gPdmrnfA7y— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) April 16, 2024
After this revelation, Liv Morgan walked into the arena surrounded by security. Morgan was clearly very happy with the news. She had a huge smile the entire time. The segment ended with Ripley decking a security guard. She was clearly very upset, but there was nothing she could do.
How to watch Monday Night RAW:
Time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
Where: Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada
TV: USA Network
Stream: WWE Network
Match Card for WWE RAW, April 15:
"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio vs. Andrade
Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable for the Intercontinental Championship
Jey Uso vs. Finn Balor
Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile vs. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance vs. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven
What happened last week on RAW?
Last week's RAW was the RAW after WrestleMania, meaning there was a lot to unpack. The show started with an awkward belt exchange between The Rock and the new Universal Champion, Cody Rhodes. After that was done, we saw the WWE debut of Ilja Dragunov, otherwise known as the Czar of NXT, against Shinsuke Nakamura. Dragunov emerged victorious. Dragunov wasn't the only new face to make their debut last week though.
NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez also made her WWE debut in a match against Indi Hartwell. Hartwell had an opportunity to finish Perez off but was interrupted by her tag team partner Candice LeRae, allowing Perez to get the victory. There has been tension boiling between LeRae and Hartwell for some time now. With the two scheduled to fight Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile tonight, we could see LeRae and Hartwell's relationship reach a boiling point.
Aside from the debuts, more challengers for major titles became apparent as well. After Chad Gable stepped in to help Sami Zayn take down Imperium's enforcers in Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci, Zayn offered Gable the opportunity to win the IC Championship for himself. Of course, Gable and Zayn were the last two competitors in the ring for the gauntlet match to face Gunther at WrestleMania. Zayn played the ironman in that match, and although Gable could have easily taken advantage of the tired Zayn, Gable allowed Zayn to regain his strength before the pair fought to face the Ring General. After losing to Zayn, Gable offered to help train Zayn before his WrestleMania match. These two have a lot of recent history and tensions will certainly be running high during this fight.
In regards to the World Championship, "Main Event" Jey Uso won the fatal four-way match to get a shot at Damian Priest. However, he didn't do so without some help from CM Punk, who grabbed Drew McIntyre's leg from outside the ring in order to prevent the Scottish Warrior from finishing off Jey Uso. Although there has been no confirmation that McIntyre or CM Punk will be in attendance at Montreal, their rivalry is arguably the hottest in WWE right now and it would not be shocking if they made an appearance.
What happened Friday, April 12, on SmackDown?
Based on the results from WrestleMania, it was clear that the Bloodline was going to see some changes in the near future. However, no one expected Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa, and Jimmy Uso to take accountability for Roman Reigns' loss. Perhaps the Bloodline was turning face...or maybe not.
After addressing the crowd, Paul Heyman handed the mic to Solo Sikoa, who proceeded to embrace Jimmy Uso before letting him be attacked by Tama Tonga. Tonga devastated Jimmy Uso and even took Uso to the corner with a chair. Sikoa then turned back to Paul Heyman, who attempted to call Roman Reigns. Sikoa took the phone from Heyman's hands and crushed it. Perhaps this means that Sikoa was acting independently. It's hard to believe that Reigns would call for such a drastic action.
SmackDown also gifted us with an immediate WrestleMania rematch, as, in an effort to determine Cody Rhodes' next challenger, the stars aligned as LA Knight took down Bobby Lashley and Santos Escobar while AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio. Each of them won their triple threat matches to set up a fight with a shot at the Universal Championship on the line.
On the women's side, we saw a match to determine the No. 1 contender for the WWE Women's Championship. Originally, it seemed that the current champion Bayley was going to offer an open challenge for her title, specifically hoping for her old friend Naomi to take the shot. However, before Bayley could get the challenge off, Tiffany Stratton stepped in, hoping to get the shot before anyone else could. Eventually, Naomi would make her way out to the ring though, and the pair duked it out for a shot at Bayley's belt. Naomi emerged victorious.
Predictions for RAW Tonight:
Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable
Given all the fanfare and build-up to Sami Zayn's championship belt, taking it away just a week after defeating someone as imposing as Gunther would seem a little anticlimactic. Furthermore, WWE has hinted at a heel turn for Chad Gable for a while. Whether it was his rude demeanor toward Zayn after their match to determine the No. 1 contender for the IC Championship or his insistence that Zayn "owes him one" after helping train him to defeat Gunther, Gable is either being super competitive or is gearing up for a massive turn. He believes he would have defeated Gunther as well. He also knows that he could've easily taken Zayn out of the running in the gauntlet match had he taken advantage of Zayn when he was still tired from defeating Shinsuke Nakamura and Bronson Reed. If he loses tonight, we could very well see him turn on Zayn and start a rivalry between the two.
Jey Uso vs. Finn Balor
This one seems obvious. Damian Priest is the man on Judgment Day right now. Jey Uso is his top contender. Having Uso lose to Finn Balor would only trivialize the fight between Uso and Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship. Uso has the opportunity to prove himself worthy of taking on Priest right now, which means a win over Balor should definitely be in the cards for tonight.
Dirty Dominik Mysterio vs. Andrade El Idolo
All Dirty Dom does is lose. All Andrade has done recently is win. This isn't rocket science here. When Rhea Ripley reprimanded Dom for trusting in Andrade last week, she told Dom to "deal with it." While Dom emerged from that conversation saying he would talk to Adam Pearce, implying that he would ask the RAW general manager for a match against Andrade, it was clear that he did not want that fight, especially after Andrade helped Rey Mysterio defeat Dom and Santos Escobar at WrestleMania. Dominik Mysterio is not ready to take on someone as talented as Andrade El Idolo and that will be very evident tonight.
Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri vs. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell
The rift between Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell grows bigger every time we see them, and it would not be shocking to see the tag team break up after tonight. Considering Hartwell's doubts about LeRae really started emerging after LeRae berated Dupri in the ring in early March, seeing these teams back in the ring together could push Hartwell over the edge and make her leave her partner. That dynamic will obviously be the main focus of the match as a whole and it should give Ivy Nile and Dupri several opportunities to walk away with the victory.
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance vs. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven
Carter and Chance are the much hotter team right now. They have a massive win streak and have history of defeating Green and Niven. On the other side, Chelsea Green just got embarrassed by Jade Cargill a week ago. Green and Niven likely aren't at their best currently, and doing anything with Carter and Chance other than building their incredible chemistry as a threat to the Kabuki Warriors would be a misstep by WWE. Carter and Chance should win fairly easily.
What's going on with Uncle Howdy?
Since RAW last week, there have been tons of Easter Eggs across various WWE medias hinting at an Uncle Howdy return. Before RAW even went on air, the Wells Fargo Center cut the lights and played an ominous song, giving off a similar vibe to what we saw with Bray Wyatt's White Rabbit.
During the actual broadcast, Bronson Reed had a promo for his four-way match against Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, and Jey Uso. During the promo, the screen flickered and the bottom-right of the screen flashed "hello."
Told ya Lexi @AlexaBliss_WWE and Uncle Howdy are just getting started. Hello 👀😈 pic.twitter.com/pJbsQ4P26Z
— Pep Bliss (@BlissPep) April 9, 2024
Since then, the hits have just kept on coming. WWE's official X account posted and, almost immediately, deleted a huge text that just read "hello" numerous times.
#WWE just deleted this tweet, did Uncle Howdy get hold of WWE's account 😂#unclehowdy pic.twitter.com/IxI8lnO5md
— Simon Moon ⭕ (@Mr_Pepperwood) April 11, 2024
On SmackDown, during Bianca Belair's match, the screen flickered yet again and the words "You forgot about us" appeared in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
“You Forgot About Us.”
Bo Dallas/Uncle Howdy
Braun Strowman
Erick Rowan/Redbeard
Alexa Bliss
WWE is about to reunite the remaining four members of The Wyatt Family led by Bo Dallas, and it will be absolutely epic. pic.twitter.com/UzwozvXcCq— Phil Ouimette (@Philouimette_) April 14, 2024
This could imply that more than just Uncle Howdy is returning. Perhaps Redbeard and Alexa Bliss could be returning as well. And if that wasn't enough, the WWE account posted, and promptly deleted another tweet just yesterday, hinting at Uncle Howdy's return to action.
WWE’s mysterious post that was quickly deleted appears to be related to the message that was shown on Smackdown 👀
“You forgot about us” pic.twitter.com/u8LysySLy7— WrestlingWorldCC (@WrestlingWCC) April 14, 2024
Clearly, something is going on. And while anything could happen, it's unlikely we see any of the Wyatt 6 return on RAW tonight. The hints should become much more obvious as their return approaches. Keep an eye out for another teaser to drop tonight though.
Who are the current RAW title holders?
Cody Rhodes (on the RAW brand) - Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion
Damian Priest - World Heavyweight Champion
Rhea Ripley - Women's World Champion
Sami Zayn - Intercontinental Champion
The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) - Raw Tag Team Champions
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WWE Monday Night Raw results: Winners, updates on Sami Zayn and more