Raw vs. SmackDown #1 – April 23 & 24

Raw

Elias defeated Bobby Roode

This was a pretty slow match, mostly made up of backhand chops and rest holds. WWE even managed to squeeze in a split-screened commercial to promote Greatest Royal Rumble this Friday. The only positive of this match is that the finish came out of nowhere, with Elias picking up the victory via a quick roll-up.

Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt defeated The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)

The Ascension managed to get in more offense than I expected, but in the end, it was a pretty convincing win for the ‘Deleters of Worlds’ as they pick up momentum heading into Jeddah where they face the Bar for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships.

Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre defeated Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews

This one was a more convincing win than Hardy and Wyatt’s over the Ascension. The match itself was nothing special but established McIntyre and Ziggler as a genuine threat to Raw‘s tag team division.

Chad Gable defeated Jinder Mahal

Mahal attacked Gable during his entrance and dominated this match for the majority, and the crowd was beginning to get restless, as evidenced by “Rusev Day” chants, which I think is the most noise they made all night. Gable managed to escape with the win, albeit with what looked like a botch. Probably Mahal’s fault.

Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

Lashley actually took a lot of offense in this one, building to a highly anticipated Braun Strowman ‘hot tag’. Once that happened, Lashley and Strowman gained the upper hand, and following a Stalling Suplex from Lashley, the ‘Monster Among Men’ hit a Running Powerslam on Zayn for a decisive victory. There were a couple of entertaining moments in this match, namely Owens and Zayn trying to run away, but overall, it will probably just serve to add further tension between Owens and Zayn, and Raw General Manager Kurt Angle

Finn Bálor and Seth Rollins defeated The Miztourage (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel)

Don’t ask why Axel and Dallas are still using The Miz’ music and referring to themselves as the Miztourage, but nonetheless, the match was a lot more even than I thought it would be. Eventually, Bálor and Rollins managed to get the job done, but somewhat irritatingly remained completely cohesive, despite Bálor being one of three challengers for Rollins’ WWE Intercontinental Championship at Greatest Royal Rumble.

The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan), Alexa Bliss and Mickie James defeated Nia Jax, Ember Moon, Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley

This match was pretty much exactly what you’d expect until Natalya sustained a leg ‘injury’. This took the ‘Queen of Harts’ out of the match and left her reeling at ringside. Following a Nia Jax leap off the apron onto almost all other competitors in the match, Mickie James viciously targeted Natalya’s ‘injured’ leg. This led to ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey making her way down to the ring and attacking James herself, and thus the disqualification victory for James’ team.

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