And hello there, one and all welcome to Finishers
and Factions does Monday Night Raw. Now, this
is the Raw after WrestleMania. We are still...
broadcasting from Las Vegas, Nevada. But we've
moved from Allegiant Stadium over to T -Mobile
Arena with an attendance of 19 ,262 people for
the Raw after WrestleMania. Now, the Raw after
WrestleMania, it's... It's supposed to be sort
of like the boxing day after WrestleMania It's
supposed to be that low that we've just had this
huge event It's a almost it can sometimes be
a complete systems reset It's the end of some
storylines and this is where we start setting
up the new ones and because of that Not a massive
amount of wrestling in this role. I think in
total we have Three matches and Yeah, it's three
matches the rest of it is promos victory laps
just superstars really wanting to get out in
front of the crowd and Do you know what who can
blame them? We want to get we want to see all
of the the victors the losers We want to this
is where if you didn't manage to fuck it like
catch all of WrestleMania weekend. I mean I Why
not? I certainly managed it. So there's no excuse.
And it just gives you that that sense of closure
around. Yeah, WrestleMania weekend. So let's
dive straight in. We had an opening VT, which
recapped WrestleMania weekend. Obviously, if
you haven't caught any of it, then we are we
at finishers and factions are here to serve because
we've got. Night one and night two broken down
in our normal fashion where myself and my normal
co -host, Rich, who is not joining me this week,
he did a lot of the wrestle at the pre WrestleMania
shows solo. So as a favor, I've given him the
day off to be able to do this and and and. Finishes
and Factions does NXT, which will be the next
episode we come out with. Now, before we move
on to NXT, of course, I will be taking us through
Monday Night Raw, which starts with an in -ring
promo from our new WWE Champion, John Cena. Now
- John Cena obviously this is not the you can't
see me Cena that we've known for the last 20
some odd years this is heel Cena and Yeah, he's
come out basically to take his victory lap after
winning over Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania weekend
wasn't done in the cleanest fashion. But as always
in WWE, it is a case that a win is a win. Now
Cena has come out. Nothing's changed about his
demeanor. I mean, he's now one hell of a record
holder at being a 17 time world champion, which
is a phenomenal achievement in of itself. But
before Cena's even said anything he's calling
the ring announcer Mark Nash who's filling in
for Alicia Taylor Who announced all over WrestleMania
weekend needs to give those older vocal cords
a good rest I think and Basically hands Nash
a note to read out And, do you know what? The
note itself just sort of stroking John Cena's
ego a little bit, not that it needs any stroking
at this point. It's a case that, yeah, we're
not looking at, I'm not gonna go over what was
in there, but his first actual words were, winners
write history. Which is true no matter how you
look at it, we're not. It's not an outrageous
statement to make It's a case that he's still
harping on about the fact that his relationship
with the WWE Universe and the fans and everything
else that goes along with that is Dysfunctional
that no matter what he does no matter how he
does it what he says what yeah, no matter what
he is hated In one form or another and he's had
enough which do you know what I can't say I blame
him for He is now that he has become the world
champion he is once again the face that runs
the place It is a case that Cena wants apologies
from everybody, but he knows he won't get it
and Yeah, it's a case that the crowd almost on
cue are then Chanting back at him that they are
that they're not sorry They're not sorry for
how they've treated him. He's I mean to a certain
extent. He's encouraged this behavior throughout
the years again to a certain degree now he then
of course confirms that the WWE Universe do not
mean anything to him as a person and this is
when the crowd start chanting calling him an
asshole which to be honest somewhat illustrated
Cena's point and out of the original 36 dates
that we were given on John Cena's farewell tour
he reveals that he has 27 dates left. And if
everything goes to plan for him, he is just making
appearances. These aren't 27 matches that he's
going to be having. These are appearances. It's
a case that every time he appears on WWE television,
it is a case that is another date scrubbed off
the list. He is So yeah, he plans to make all
of these appearances rather than rather than
the Making it sort of 27 times. We're gonna see
him wrestle again And Cena is taking those undisputed
that undisputed title with him when he goes which
in fairness is Everything that he is saying now
was said before WrestleMania as well Sena mentions
Cody Rhodes and honestly the crowd in Las Vegas
booed Rhodes hard and again this sort of illustrates
John Sena's point a little bit is that if they
were They booed Rhodes because he lost he lost
the title which I can understand some people
being upset about I mean, when you watch back
the match, it's a case that the deck was very
much stacked against him. This wasn't an easy
win under any circumstances. Now. Yeah, this
just sort of went to illustrate more of Cena's
point of how fickle the crowds are in WWE, and
it's very much the same in any sort of. Any sort
of sport I feel I don't think it's just WWE.
I think it's any sort of sport that has a that
has a crowd football soccer crowds football crowds
is Are very much the same if your team's winning
then you're on top of the world if they're losing
then they're the worst thing the worst thing
on the planet and And you'll always get Somebody
that doesn't like the same team that you like
and you won't like some of the teams that somebody
else likes It works exactly the same way Now
Sina is doubling down and saying that there is
no one like him left. And he then goes on to
give the crowd a chance to get a picture of the
last real champion, which is going to be a bit
of a talk line for him, I feel, over those next
27 dates. But somebody that takes issue with
this, basically as Cena is doing this, Randy
Orton, the Viper. comes in behind and hits John
Cena with those most three dangerous letters
in sports entertainment. R -K -O. And yeah, John
is hit with that R -K -O. And that's Randy Orton
basically declaring himself for the world title
picture. Now, we are... 100 % expecting or my
expectation at this point is that we're gonna
see a rehash of the Randy Orton John Cena rivalry
which honestly Outside of the attitude era was
one of the best Rivalries, I mean their I quit
match all that time ago was phenomenal now At
this point to close out this section of the show
the crowd are singing Randy Orton theme tune
voices back to him, which was honestly it was
really nice to hear and Really enjoyed it. Now
we went from there into a VT recap of WrestleMania
which saw Bayley being attacked and taken out
so Lyra so Lyra Valkyria who was supposed to
be tag teaming with Bayley on WrestleMania Sunday
to face the then tag champs Liv Morgan and Raquel
Rodriguez But obviously after being attacked
Bayley was declared not fit to compete basically
Adam Pearce had to turn around to Lyra and say
look basically you've got 24 hours to figure
this out you need a tag partner or other tag
partner otherwise we're going to have to scrap
the match sort of thing and I mean Lyra found
a phenomenal partner in the man Becky Lynch who
returned at WrestleMania and honestly I don't
think anybody saw this coming especially considering
in so many interviews she's she's gone on record
saying you know what I'm not going to do it anymore
it's not going to happen so yeah no I'm done
I've got nothing left to come back for at this
point and the pair, Lyra and Becky, went on to
win the Women's World Tag Team Championships.
Now, that was a phenomenal piece of business
done at that point. and we go from that VT into
another VT promo which basically promotes WWE,
Worlds Collide, a PLE which will be featuring
NXT and Triple A, the new acquisition which is
a Mexican based promotion featuring mostly lucha
libre stars such as the like of Rey Fenix, Penta,
Rey Mysterio, have probably all competed in this
promotion at one stage or another, but there's
so much other talent on offer out of that promotion,
it is untrue. Now, this will be the same weekend
as Money in the Bank, which will be on Saturday,
the 7th of June in Los Angeles, California. So
that will be one to keep, one to... Look back
on now This takes us quite nicely into match
one Which is for the Women's Tag Women's World
Tag Team Championships Which is basically a WrestleMania
rematch WrestleMania rematches on Monday Night
Raw after WrestleMania are not uncommon But obviously
this sees Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez versus
the new champions of Lyra, Valkyria and Becky
Lynch. Now it is revealed in the warm up to this
match that Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolan of NXT
are in the crowd as they have a shot at the titles
on NXT the next night. And we also get a health
update on Bayley. It is revealed that she has
a partial shoulder dislocation with an anterior
labral tear. I'm no doctor but that sounds damn
painful and obviously everybody here at Finishers
and Factions wishes Bayley a speedy, speedy recovery.
Because yeah, it just wasn't the same having
WrestleMania without the role model. But she
will be yeah, she'll be out for a chunk of time.
I feel so we look forward to having Bailey back
now to start this match off and the Women's World
Tag Team Championship match we had Liv and Becky
start but Liv is leaving nothing to chance. She
goes absolutely hell for leather on Becky and
and Yeah, it was This I think that that Liv Morgan
Raquel Rodriguez were competing in a way that
Made it fit. Yeah, it made it feel for me that
Like I'm trying to think how to word it It made
it feel to me like live and Raquel had had something
stolen away from them. I don't think they thought
they deserved to lose, but the loss they took
was fair. It was legitimate, in my opinion. But
Loira and Becky don't stand idly by. At one point
they hit a double baseball slide. And Liv and
Raquel, in the early starts of this match, just
do not seem to be in sync with one another at
all. The loss of that title seems to have majorly
affected them. Now we do see some big hits from
Becky Lynch who's obviously only had one other
match and that was to win these titles who hits
the Bexploder Liv Morgan at one stage stages
a small comeback rolling through off the manhandle
slam into a two -count then Liv then goes on
to hit a code breaker attempts oblivion but Lynch
manages to pull out a counter. Now moving on
from there it appears my notes are telling me
that Lyra and Lynch are attempting double team
superplex to Raquel but Liv puts the kibosh on
that one by plucking Lynch from the top rope
and power bombs are in the ring and Lyra has
to adapt her stance and instead pulls a super
runner, but Raquel's power is just too much for
Lyra's little body weight to get that to try
and pull that move off as Lyra then ends up being
power bombed from the top rope for a two count.
We do start to see some light at the end of the
tunnel for the current women's tag team champions
Lyra hits a night wing to Raquel goes for a pin
but only gets the two count as Liv gets Raquel's
foot on the rope to break the pin now Becky does
not take kindly to this. It's been a case that
Liv has been heard to be going around saying
that she was the one that retired the man all
that time ago. So I think there's been some beef
bubbling under the surface between Becky Lynch
and Liv Morgan. It's a case that Lynch levels
Liv. goes for another manhandle slam but is driven
into the ring post as Lyra dives through the
ropes delivering boots to Liv. Now Liv and Raquel
do go on to win this match and regain their championships
after Liv hits an oblivion. This now makes Liv
and Raquel four -time women's tag team champions
and yeah it's a case that they are extending
that reach they are still the most accomplished
women's tag team in WWE history I believe having
held the titles now for a record fourth time
now To have held the championships for what must
be less than 24 hours is not a fantastic legacy
for For both Becky and Lyra and Lyra hasn't missed
out on a massive amount as she is still women's
Intercontinental champion however This could
be one of the last times we see the man properly
in the ring. So to have lost that championship
so very quickly is obviously going to be upsetting.
It's upsetting for both of them. They're both
of Irish origin and they felt a kinship in that.
On top of that, Becky has been a huge... mentor
to Lyra. It's a case that this isn't the first
time they've worked together, I believe. And
yeah, they look to commiserate one another in
the middle of the ring. But something snaps in
Lynch's brain when she just goes and goes completely
hog wild on Lyra. I mean, considering we saw
Obviously the well -known relationship between
Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch We saw Seth Rollins
to pull one hell of a heel turn out of his ass
at WrestleMania night one to then be on the roar
after WrestleMania seeing Becky Lynch doing something
similar is Is not entirely unsurprising in my
opinion, but still Very shocking to see something
like that from somebody that hasn't been in the
ring In such a long time and we weren't expecting
her to come back So this does leave the door
open for a for a storyline moving forward in
my opinion But yeah husband and wife heel turns
in 48 hours What a what a way to to open raw
there from there we go into a VT promo of the
main event of WrestleMania Saturday. This was
more so just to illustrate, obviously, Becky's
just pulled one hell of a heel turn out of her
ass. And yeah. Seth did exactly the same thing
in the night one main event that men's triple
threat match being Heyman being one hell of a
Conductor in that and yeah, we do full coverage
of that in our finishes and factions episode
So I'm not going to go back over it into in any
detail here because I'd implore you to go back
Listen to that episode because it was a fantastic
episode that we are so so very proud of Now moving
on from there we get an announcement basically
that it is revealed already that WrestleMania
41 was the most socially viewed WrestleMania
of all time generating a huge 1 .1 billion views
across all social platforms, which is a huge
number of views. I mean, the Finishes and Factions
TikTok page doesn't have that many views. Now,
of course, if anyone is in any way, shape or
form interested in our social media at all, then
we can be found. The TikTok is at Finn and fact
podcast. Finn and fact pod, sorry. It's a case
that we are posting on there regularly. You'll
get new podcast episode updates as well as original,
as much. original content as myself and Rich
can put out at any one time. So yes, we 100 %
implore you to come and give us a follow on there
and yeah, drop us a message. Have a look at what
videos we've already put up. You'll see a nice
mix between myself and Rich and also be able
to put some faces to a name as we are aware that
this is an audio podcast. Maybe we'll branch
out into doing video podcast again sometime soon.
But at the moment, this format works really well.
And yeah, who knows? We may be able to move forward
with that at another time. But moving on from
there, it is a case that we go back in -ring
for another in -ring promo. Our new Raw Tag Team
Champions, the new day. come out to basically
brag and gloat on their win over the War Raiders.
Now again we had a lot to say on this when it
went when it all went down and Again, I'd implore
you to go back and listen to the episode to get
mine and Rich's thoughts on it because I think
we had some, we had some things that we had sort
of in common, but as well, we had some polarizing
views as well. So we'd love to hear what you
guys think on that. Now. This title wins at this
title this latest title win for the new day Seems
to have sort of elevated their over in already
over inflated egos into something approaching
a God complex in my opinion as we are getting
a lot of Xavier Woods telling everybody to drop
to your knees and thank God for the new day and
And yeah, I said on one of our earlier podcast
videos that I don't agree with how they've treated
Big E after Big E was forced to retire. But the
new face of the new day, I am not against at
all. I'm really rather enjoying it, actually.
It's nice to see all of that coming into play.
Now, as the new champs get done saying that they
are the greatest tag team living or dead, which
is a subject to debate, I feel, but we won't
go into that, Alpha Academy, fronted by Maxine
Dupree, come out and... Basically to remind them
that they beat the New Day not too long ago in
60 seconds and Yeah, Maxime basically baits the
New Day into a title match which they initially
refuse before being called minute men now Such
an odd little turn of phrase, but obviously referring
to the fact that they can only last a minute
now It's taking every ounce of my own self -control
to say I think we know somebody else that knows
that at least Xavier Woods can last longer than
a minute But yeah, I'm not rich. I'm not gonna
stoop to that level page But yeah, they initially
refuse it after being called minute men then
they are all for it now Just as this match is
about to begin the lighting changes in the arena,
and instead of the new day, we welcome Rusev
Day. Now, I, again, not a huge fan of Rusev.
I remember following his career as he went through
WWE on his first initial run. I was then watching
AEW when he went over there and became Miro.
and he seems to have the same effect everywhere
he goes he is a big brutish bastard and no bones
picked about that as it goes but it is a case
that his size gets him in the door has he actually
got anything else to keep him in the game because
last time I seem to remember And I would love
to sit here and be able to blame WWE's booking
on the fact that they booked him wrong, which
I'm sure there are some decisions that some people
would go back and say, do you know what? I probably
wouldn't have done this. I probably wouldn't
have done that. And you'd probably be well within
your rights to have that opinion. But regardless,
That would then mean that AEW made all of the
same mistakes and learned nothing from Rusev's
initial run because the same thing happened in
AEW that happened in WWE. He came in as this
big, brutish bastard, got himself in the door,
had a ton of hype behind him. And then sort of
faded into obscurity, drifted down into the mid
card, which is where he then stayed. And I honestly
hope that that isn't going to be the case this
time. I hope that we are... sort of Triple H
and the team get the booking right and they can
actually get behind him. I would love to sit
on a future episode of Finishes and Factions
and say I was wrong about Rusev. I am a Rusev
fan. Thank God for Rusev Day. But at the moment,
honestly... It's looking like more and more of
the same. New Day Scarper out of the ring as
Rusev makes his way down, which sort of leaves
Alpha Academy being Otis and Akira Tozawa in
the ring to try and deal with this big Bulgarian
brute. And yeah, he makes relatively short work
of them. It's a case that... Tozawa, I mean,
he weighs about, what, about the same as a bag
of, same as a two kilo bag of flour, went through.
So yeah, Rusev wouldn't have seen much challenge
in him. It didn't stop him being scrappy and
continually going for it. But Otis ends up getting
put into the accolade, which was Rusev's signature
submission maneuver. And yeah, it's a case that
He makes a very impactful statement upon his
return that he is back. He is brutish and yeah,
stay out of his way basically, which is from
what I remember, the original point they made
with him when he first debuted in WWE. So it's
looking very much like more and more of the same.
Now we move from in -ring and switch to backstage
and go to the Judgment Day's clubhouse where
it is party time! As Dom, Liv, Raquel and Carlito
are celebrating every last bit of the new gold
that has made its way in because as well as Raquel
and Liv regaining their Tag Team Championship
gold Dirty Dominic Mysterio has managed to claim
his very first main roster singles title As he
lifted the IC title off Bron Breaker in a fatal
four way On I believe that was WrestleMania Sunday
off the top of my head Yeah, so We go into there.
Don makes a reference to how glad he was that
Rey Mysterio regrettably missed WrestleMania
due to an injury he suffered on the Friday night
SmackDown episode, the go -home episode of SmackDown
before WrestleMania, which was incredibly sad.
But it again is to be sort of expected to a certain
degree. I certainly wouldn't expect anything
less. Not a jibe at Rey Mysterio as a performer.
It is just that Rey Mysterio is regrettably getting
older He's not getting younger and he will be
prone to more To more and more injuries as as
his career progresses. So yeah I'm not saying
this is the last time that we'll ever see Rey
Mysterio, but that clocks a tick in and I'm not
really expecting many more years of 619 left
in the WWE. Now Finn enters the frame at this
point looking rather upset and intense but declares
what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but still
looks pretty upset. There is a reason that Finn
Balor would be looking upset at this point as
Dirty Dom ended up pinning Finn Balor himself,
his Judgment Day teammate and I suppose sort
of opponent in that fatal four way, to win that
title. So it was at Finn's expense almost that
Dom picked up this title win. But... Is this
just going to fuel more contempt within the Judgement
Day that they've got to sort of go down this
route maybe? Is that what we're seeing or is
that how we're going to be moving forward? Is
Finn going to be content with playing second
fiddle to Dom Mysterio? Now I'm not a performer
myself but I'm not sure I could stand being second
fiddle to... Dirty Dominic Mysterio of all people
but hey ho who knows maybe a Finn Balor Finn
Balor is a better performer than I figuratively
am And I hope that's true. I've had a lot of
time for Finn Balor over the years Not an out
-and -out fan, but I'm not one of his biggest
haters either. I've Really enjoyed his stuff
with the Demon King I've seen excerpts from his
time in NXT, which looked really good And yeah,
some of the matches that I've seen him in since
has been absolutely phenomenal. I mean, it's
been nothing, nothing out now recently. The last
match that I saw Finn Balor that I really liked
him in was obviously the street fight between
him and Damian Priest before Damian Priest was
drafted to Smackdown. But yeah, other than that,
very much a case that Yeah, just not feeling
it now We do get a few facts About WWE in Las
Vegas. This is the 11th Monday Night Raw To take
place in the city of entertainment But the last
one the last episode to of Monday Night Raw to
take place in Las Vegas was back all the way
back in 2017 so eight years ago, somewhere around
there, which is a horrendously long time. Now,
the next segment that we come to is another in
-ring promo which sees our Women's World Champion
EO Sky, the genius of the sky, coming to do her
victory lap as it goes. Now, she declares that
she is over the moon with her wrestlemania saying
that it was quote the best night of her career
uh unquote i've put so far because we have come
nowhere near to seeing everything that eo sky
has to offer and i think there's so much more
left in her future we have got so much more eo
sky to see and she's such a joy she really is
um now She also says that her beating two of
the best being the EST of WWE Bianca Belair and
Mommy Rhea Ripley is Will well by the law of
transference should make her the best now And
she also mentions obviously one of the big running
themes through her road to WrestleMania was being
shoved to one side by both Bianca and Rhea. Now
obviously that has averted, but yeah she's glad
not to be being forgotten any longer. Now she
is interrupted and met in ring by the reigning
defending NXT Women's Champion Stephanie Vacure.
Do you know what? Stephanie came out very respectful,
very demure and comes out to congratulate Io,
introduce herself and pay her respects which
I think was probably a massive breath of fresh
air for Io as she spent a lot of her road to
WrestleMania as we've discussed on previous episodes
being completely disrespected by her opponents.
Now Stephanie proposes a Champion versus champion
match as Stephanie only really wants to compete
against the best of the best To keep pushing
herself just to get that little bit better now
at first Eos down to clown as it goes she's she's
down to get down with it and Adam Pearce, just
to make an appearance I think, comes out and
makes it officiel. And that match starts right
now! As a poor referee ends up legging it down
the entrance ramp into the ring. That draws us
into match two, which sees the women's singles
match between Eoskai and Stephanie Vacure. And
honestly, they spent a good couple of minutes
feeling each other out as they've never faced
one another before. They will obviously be aware
of each other's bodies of work. But we're also
told that EO Sky made history at WrestleMania
41 as the first female Japanese star to win at
the show of shows, which is just WWE breaking
down all of those barriers that have been put
up before by backwards ways of thinking basically,
and I am here for all of it. Obviously, NXT is
still wrongly, in my opinion, viewed as the developmental
territory for WWE. And again, I feel that this
is wrong. I don't feel like this should be the
case. But by that measure, we sort of expect
EO Sky to come out on top in this. The offense
really sort of supports it. Io with a missile
drop kick and a bullet train attack for a two
count at one stage during the match. But Vecchio
being the consummate professional that she is,
gives us a... gives us a dragon screw and a meteora
for our own two count and this is sort of the
running theme for this match to a certain degree
is that it's just they are going it's tip for
tap basically E .O. does it and then Stephanie
does exactly the same thing back to her But in
her own words sort of thing. It's one of those
they are it goes through a big period of like
feeling each other out and then going from there
into Into just sort of yeah, very sort of tit
-for -tat wrestling but At one point, I will
be honest, it's a case that, and I had to take
the name from the announce team that named this
move, Viqueur with a disgustingly beautiful hurricanrana
pump fake into a pin. Now, this only gets a two
count, but it was just a beautiful move and it
is, unfortunately, other than the name, it's
so difficult to describe what happens in this
move. So... Monday night raw seriously go back
and watch it and watch this women's singles match
match two on the card and You'll know the move.
I'm talking about when we come to it now Yeah,
as I've said already both sky and for cure matching
each other move for move You know sky with a
Spanish fly and it's shortly after this that
the the match is essentially almost abandoned
at that point as Roxane Perez makes an appearance
along with the beautiful madness Julia and as
both women appear at least at this stage to be
aligned with one another they both come out and
set in on the cure and sky and Honestly all seems
a little bit lost for them both at this point
Because yeah, it's two on two they've got the
drop on them and both women's champions don't
seem to be in any great hurry to to get themselves
out of it until Until Well, who else should come
out but Rhea bloody Ripley who comes out to help
the two champions now She is sporting one hell
of a black eye and I can only assume that she
attained this black eye in the match at WrestleMania
Sunday, and I'll be honest, I don't recall her
coming out with any sort of injuries at all,
but this just means that either she hid it really
well, but yeah, you can't miss this shiner on
sort of the, I think it was the right hand side
of her face. No, left hand side of her face as
she faces you, it is that left hand, her left.
And yeah, it is a case that... Julia retreats
not breaking a stair with with mommy and Roxanne
Perez doesn't Doesn't really want any part of
real bloody Ripley either now once the once that's
cleared Ripley Handing sky back the belt but
sort of declaring she's not done with this title
just yet So we have got more EO and mommy content
coming shortly Thank God. Now, switching gears
entirely, we have a VT promo this time, and this
VT is basically a whistle stop tour of Mr. WrestleMania.
Well, I can't even call him WrestleMania main
event. He is main event world champion. Jey Uso's
life and career culminating at WrestleMania,
where he became our world heavyweight champion
after putting Gunther away, not just pinning
that Austrian monster. He tapped him out. And
yeah, it is a case that... we cut to in -ring
where Jay makes his first entrance as a WWE world
champion and honestly the entire T -Mobile arena
including Jay Uso was yeeting. I was yeeting
at this. It was such an atmosphere that you could
taste that atmosphere through the screen of watching
it. Even though I wasn't watching it live, I
got every last ounce of it. Even talking about
it now, I can feel the goose bumps. It's untrue.
But the highlight of his entrance for me, that
t -shirt that he was wearing, the World Heavy
Yeet champion. I want it. I want that shirt.
100 % I want it. Now, he comes to the ring, eventually
makes it all the way down after doing several
encores of day one ooze. It's all me ooze. He
talks about how he's wanted this since he was
a kid, how hard it was. sort of Jay had a little
bit of a brag about making Gunther tap which
was lovely love that all together and Jay wraps
it up by basically saying do you know what I'm
going to be here week in week out I'm going to
be your fighting champion. I am not just going
to turn up for the big events. It's going to
be a case that I am here to I am here to make
sure that every last person that supported him
is not disappointed by the fact that they supported
him for him then to go sort of part time champion
on them after that. No. This is where we get
a surprise entrance from mr. Sammy Zane who Comes
out basically to celebrate with Jay now Jay and
Sammy have not always had the best relationship
in the world When they were both part of the
bloodline Jay was one of the big advocates for
getting shot of Sammy, but Since all of that
bloodline stuff was put behind them, they've
grown quite a close friendship, a comradery between
the two of them. It's been lovely to see and
it was really nice to see Sammy's aim back. Obviously
he was put on the shelf after a packaged pile
driver from... Kevin Owens on the road to WrestleMania,
which put him out of action. And the irony is
he was put out of action for a neck injury, which
is exactly what Kevin Owens is now on the shelf
for himself. So we love that. Love a bit of irony.
And yeah, Sammy's got a little bit of stuff to
say. Talks about how... Being sidelined is hard
for him a lot of what he says is how it's made
him feel He regrets not being able to be at WrestleMania.
He was in Vegas He took part in the WrestleMania
roast Apparently had a really good outing on
that had some really funny insights it's a case
that He nearly didn't come out to Vegas at all.
Because he couldn't compete. It was too close.
It was going to be too uncomfortable for him.
Which, you know what, I think we can all sort
of appreciate to a certain degree is that if
you can't do what you want to do to the best
of the ability that you want to do it, do you
really want to start watching all your mates
have a good time doing what you want to do? It
just doesn't work that way. So Sammy and Jay
and the Las Vegas crowd are yeeting away. The
last person to come out for this segment was
Big Jim. Now, Big Jim was there at WrestleMania
night one when Jay won the title. He came out
and celebrated with him there, but he is not
going to miss out on his twin brother's celebration
on Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania. And we
have all three of them in there in the ring.
Yeeting, it was such a wholesome moment where
this could have all been turned on its head.
We could have had the set up for. Jay's first
defense backlash. We could have had that this
week. We didn't. We had the wholesome moment
of the embattled babyface's victory lap over
that. Yeah, just the insurmountable heel champion.
And yeah, I've loved every second of this story
going forward. Really looking forward to what
Jay can do as champion. Now from there we go
into a VT promo which shows a WrestleMania post
-match interview with Logan Paul held by Cathy
Kelly. Now Cathy Kelly is bringing up what I
suppose Logan Paul would deem as some controversial
points about his match with AJ Styles which he
came out as the victor. Kelly points out that
his win may not have been possible without his
manager and the distraction from Carrie and Cross.
Paul quite dismissive saying basically a wins
a win and now Paul is basically on the lookout
for the next mountain to climb. And yeah, he
wasn't really having any of this, not doubting
me. I'm not here to be doubted. I'm here to be
enjoyed. And I'm here to enjoy myself as well,
which is very sort of Logan Paul -esque from
what we've seen. Now, cut to present day where
Jackie Redmond is standing by with AJ Styles
for an interview. AJ admits that while the loss
is difficult to take, that he's gonna take the
L, move on, bounce back, which is something that
AJ Stolls has done a lot over his career, not
just in WWE, but in TNA, in New Japan, he's done
low, yeah, everybody's gotta be able to bounce
back from these, from every last, every last
sort of... What's the word? Every last little
setback that happens. You can't let it get you
down. I mean, I'm one to talk. I'm a bugger for
it. But this sort of seems to catch the attention
of one Carrion Cross, who is incensed by the
fact that the person that he deems as the best
of us... has lost to Logan Paul and it sort of
legitimizes him. I mean AJ Styles is an absolute
mammoth of a star in the worlds of professional
wrestling. He's had presentations in most major
promotions and has come to settle in the WWE
which is where he will likely retire. So yeah,
I can sort of understand why Karrion is putting
so much weight behind AJ. Now, AJ does point
out that Cross is sort of obsessed with the heel
styles, but says that heel styles ain't coming
back. He even goes as far as to say, when I was
heel styles... It's a case, when I was that darker
version of myself, I couldn't look at myself
in the mirror. I didn't like what I saw. So,
he's been put away, he's not coming back, and
basically turns around and says, look, if you're
that upset by it, sort it out your damn self
instead of trying to get somebody else to do
it. And that segment closes with a sickening...
sickening smile spread across Karrion Kross's
face and yeah I feel like there are some some
dark times on the horizon for it and do you know
what I've not seen a lot of Karrion Kross in
WWE I know he was released at one point and then
bought back he's been underutilized overlooked
and I think nothing sort of stands out or makes
that more prominent than if you look at his performance
in the Bloodsport event that was held in Las
Vegas this past weekend as well, which he and
a couple of other WWE superstars went and competed
in, including Charlie Dempsey and Tavian Heights
of No Quarter Catch crew from NXT, Natty Neidhart
competed at Bloodsport as well. Yeah, there was
there was a good few people that went and and
competed and it was a really good event I've
seen clips of it. I've seen bits of it I haven't
seen any like beginning to ends of it, but some
real aggression some fantastic Styles put on
put on display there for it and carrying crosses
matches that mean the guy is an absolute brute.
We know he's got a jiu -jitsu backing to all
of his combat sport ability so it's not horrendous
to go to that extent. Now we come back from a
commercial break to ringside where we see the
former world heavyweight champion Gunther going
absolutely berserk. at Michael Cole specifically.
Pat McAfee is a bit of collateral damage for
something said earlier in the show. Now, Cole
has been quite outspoken about about Gunther
and nothing in my opinion that he has said about
Gunther is wrong. It's nothing is factually incorrect.
And yeah, sure, maybe some of his some of his
I don't feel this but I know that Michael Cole
during this segment says this and yeah it's a
case that maybe some of his opinions are what
may be deemed as controversial but yeah what
happens during this promo is just inexcusable
really inexcusable it's a case that Cole, to
Gunther's face at least, was being very respectful
and apart from when he goes to the point of saying,
look, I wasn't the one that tapped out on Saturday
and that just seems to push Gunther over the
edge. He takes a swipe at Cole, knocking his
headset off and locks a sleeper hold in. thankfully
was not held for too long as the hero of the
story Pat McAfee comes in with a forearm clubbing
blow to the back of Gunther's head and as security
and execs are flooding ringside it is a case
that They just aren't enough as Gunther manages
to lock in a rear naked choke hold. There's more
security holding back Pat McAfee's entourage
than there is trying to get Gunther off of Pat
McAfee, which, yeah, I think was a detail possibly
overlooked at the time, maybe? None of Pat McAfee's...
Team to the best of my knowledge are professionals
in combat sports So you understand wanting to
protect them from Gunther himself, but I feel
if they got a few more security guards they could
have They could have 100 % broken this rear naked
chokehold on On Pat McAfee, which honestly was
held for such a long time the guys lips were
turning blue at one point I'm convinced of it
and yeah as it sounds it's a case that a combination
of Adam Pierce execs and security eventually
get Gunther to break the hold Gunther is marched
into the back out of the building as far as I'm
aware as McAfee is taken to the trainer's room
accompanied by Michael Cole. Now, after Pat McAfee
is sent into the trainer's room for medical treatment,
it is a case that Pierce turns to Michael Cole
and says, look, It's inexcusable. It shouldn't
have happened. Please take the rest of the night
off. I've got Joe Tesatoria down on announce
desk now. He's getting himself set up. He'll
take over announcing the rest of the show. And
Cole, as the true consummate professional that
he is, says, no, I've started. I will finish.
I am not letting Gunther win. And actually puts
out a rather powerful message and says, look.
As commentators, if we can't have an opinion,
if we can't speak our minds on what it is that
we're supposed to be commentating on, then what
the hell is the point? And I completely agree.
Gunther had no right whatsoever to go after Michael
Cole and Pat McAfee as neither of them are professionally
trained fighters. It's like going after children
to a certain extent. But Cole, on his way back
to announce desk, basically says to Adam Pearce
that something had better be done about it. And
do you know what? I think if any of us had experienced
anything like this in the workplace, we'd be
saying exactly the same damn thing. However...
Moving on obviously from announce desk at this
point. We will have Joe Tessa Tory from Friday
night Smackdown and of course Michael Cole returning
trying to compose himself So yeah moving on from
there We go into the well What turns out to be
the main event match of the evening, the third
match on the card, a Men's Intercontinental Championship
match, which sees Dominic Mysterio, our current
champion, accompanied to the ring by Carlito
and Finn Balor, versus Penta, one of the... participants
in the Fatal Four Way from I believe it was Sunday
night of WrestleMania. Now this is Dom's very
first title defense and honestly in the opening
stages Penta seems to have all of the offense
here. Dom doesn't seem to be able to get any
head of steam going. He seems to be able to evade
a few moves, but doesn't really seem to get ahead
of steam in terms of an offense going for him
I mean Penta goes for a Mexican destroyer at
one point and Dom sort of intercepts and counters
with a hurricane DDT Penta then hits a later
attempt at a Mexican destroyer on Dom as Dom
wisely rolls out of the ring to give himself
a bit of space. Finn goes to check on Dom at
this point and catches a Hurricanrana from Penta
who jumps off the apron to do so. It's a case
that... This match wasn't even horrendously long
in my opinion. It wasn't a long match It wasn't
a drawn -out match which in some cases probably
benefited a lot of people especially the two
gents in the ring who would have had a full -on
WrestleMania weekend to go through as well as
then having to get ready for a title defense
match afterwards now Penta tries to go high -risk
at one point and Carlito sort of distracts the
ref we then see the return of JD McDonough who
has been out with Broken ribs punctured lungs
from a rather nasty landing against an announced
desk several months a few months earlier and
he comes in pushes Penta off the top rope and
Yeah, Dominic Mysterio. It's a 619 and a frog
splash to retain. And yeah, this just keeps all
the gold in Judgment Day's camp. Judgment Day,
as far as the faction goes, have had a phenomenal
Monday night. A reasonable sort of WrestleMania
weekend. It's a case that they have got no real
room to complain. Now... As Judgement Day are
retreating up the ramp back to their clubhouse
to celebrate, no doubt. Obviously, first time
JD McDonnor has seen anybody. He's congratulating
Dom. He's so proud of Dom. And yeah, the only
one that seems slightly perturbed by all of it
is Finn Balor. Now Finn seems to be positioning
himself more and more on the outside looking
in of the Judgement Day. So I don't think Finn
Balor's time with Judgement Day has got much
legs left on it. Mark my words, I would say,
possibly by backlash, I want to say. Finn Balor
will split from the Judgement Day. And either
create a faction of his own to rival them or
just go off on a singles run or possibly He may
even be up for a release once that happens. It's
unknown. I don't know what's gonna happen It
will be interesting to find out now We go from
there into a VT promo, which basically documents
El Grande Americano's debut victory at WrestleMania
and then we come to the final closing thing of
of Monday Night Raw. It was an in -ring promo
where Seth freaking Rollins and the wise man
Paul Heyman come to address the actions of Saturday
night's main event. Now the crowd initially are
switching between chants of thank you Seth CM
Punk and OTC and yeah it is a case that once
Seth actually gets on the mic he spends a fair
amount of time bragging about stealing Paul from
Reigns and Punk being the winner of the main
event but is then interrupted by CM Punk who
is coming to the obviously when we've seen CM
Punk coming to the ring and and going through
like coming down for a match his hands are all
taped up from like the middle of his forearm
up to up to his knuckles He's managed to get
one hand taped. In fact, he's still taping it
as he's coming down the ring. The other hand
is completely un -taped. And yeah, it is a case
that CM Punk comes down, proceeds to beat the
living daylights out of Seth Rollins. After Seth,
he feels Seth is suitably incapacitated. He turns
his attention to his once best friend Paul Heyman
who he backs into a corner but Seth comes out
and nowhere from behind him rakes the eyes and
curb stomps Punk's face into the mat which is
just completely eliminates him. As Seth is checking
on Heyman the OTC's music hits as well And all
we see is Seth scrambling to get CM Punk out
of the ring. Get him out. He's dead weight. There's
no need to have him there anymore. As soon as
Roman hits the ring. He spears Seth Rollins,
sets himself up and Superman punches Heyman,
which we don't very often. We see obviously a
lot of. collar cuffing and things like that,
sort of getting him round the scruff of the neck
and things like that. It's not very often we
see somebody actually physically land a blow
on Paul Heyman as it goes. Sorry, having a quick
drink there. And yeah. Roman basically sets himself
up in the corner. Calling for another spear,
but to the wise man now He is surprisingly intercepted
by an initially hooded figure who is It is revealed
to be the human missile himself. Mr. Braun breaker
and and brought as the I mean the spirit we know
that Carlito probably being the one that can
tell you the most about them we know that Brawn
breakers Brawn breakers spears are Infamous infamously
sort of able to rip people in half almost so
Romans at Roman taking one of those spears will
not have been fun for him, but as Bronn and Seth
are exchanging looks Bronn looks to make his
move but ends up sailing straight past Seth and
lands another spear but on an emerging CM Punk
at this point we see Seth embrace Bronn knowing
that they are now working to confirming once
and for all that they are in cahoots and Bronn
makes his move to is then given instructions
by Seth to go and basically cause a bit more
pain to Roman Reigns on the outside. Now Breaker
goes to lay him out, but OTC is not going down
without a fight, lands a fantastic uppercut on
the chin of Bron Breaker, but... Breaker just
shakes it off takes the long way around builds
up as much speed as he can and Spears reigns
through the barricade into timekeepers Which
looked oh so very painful now Seth at this point
is in ring barking orders To get Roman back in
the ring once once there he is held in place
in a headlock of sorts by Brom Breaker and made
to watch as Rollins delivers another stomp to
Punk and then in short order delivers a stomp
to Roman Reigns himself and Breaker, Rollins
and Heyman stand victorious in the ring not having
said a huge amount about how this all sort of
came about so any questions you had off the back
of that main event were going were left unanswered
for the time being. Who knows? Maybe we'll find
out a little bit more on Friday Night SmackDown.
But that brings to a close this episode of Finishers
and Factions does Monday Night Raw. Now we will
see you will hear from me especially again when
we come back to do finishers and factions does
NXT and this will be the NXT after Stand and
Deliver which was a phenomenal PLE in its own
right. Some would say possibly even better than
both nights of WrestleMania put together. That
is something for you guys to sort of decide for
yourselves but... Maybe we'll get a post up on
our TikTok account. I'd love to hear what your
guys' thoughts are. So, by all means, thank you
so much for listening to me ramble on. I hope
you have a fantastic week ahead and I hope that
you tune in to listen to finishers and factions
does NXT. See you there!