Here are my Raw Thoughts, Facts, & Stats (And Some WrestleMania Facts):
For everything that happened last week in WWE & NXT on Raw, NXT, Main Event, Smackdown, & Level Up, visit
darrenswinloss.wordpress.com/2k24wk.
Great opening segment with Jey Uso, Jimmy & the Birthday Boy, Solo Sikoa. Nice save by Cody Rhodes. I can see Rhodes & Jey VS Jimmy & Solo in the near future. Sorry I have no new facts for Jey VS Jimmy at WrestleMania.
Cool video on Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax. I will have more facts about the history of Last Woman Standing Matches later.
What does Paul Heyman have under his sleeve?
#DIY VS The Creed Brothers was incredible. I wanted both teams to win, but #DIY deserves to be part of WrestleMania. The Creeds have their entire Careers ahead of them. They'll be main eventing WrestleMania one day. FACTS: This was Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano's 1st Raw since they & The Awesome Truth lost to The Judgment Day in an 8-Man Tag on February 19, their 1st Raw opener since February 5, their 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match since they lost to New Catch Republic on Smackdown on February 9, & 1st on Raw since they lost to The Judgment Day on January 29. This was time they were in a match against someone other than The Judgment Day or Imperium since they lost to The Creed Brothers on Raw on November 6, 2023. This was Brutus & Julius Creed's 1st Raw & opener since they lost to #DIY in a Fatal 4-Way Match on February 5 & their 1st 2-on-2 Match on Raw since they lost to The Judgment Day on December 18, 2023. This was the 2nd 2-on-2 Match between them after Raw on November 6, 2023, which was won by The Creed Brothers, so they each won 1 match, which was the last match between 2 former NXT Tag Team Champions on Raw.
Kayden Carter & Katana Chance VS Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae was short but OK. I like LeRae as a heel. FACTS: This was Kayden Carter & Katana Chance's 1st Raw since March 4. This was Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae's 2nd week in a row on Raw. This was the 3rd 2-on-2 Tag Team Match between them after NXT on November 18, 2020 (won by Hartwell & LeRae) & Raw on December 11, 2023 (won by Carter & Chance), so Carter & Chance won 1 match & Hartwell & LeRae won 2 matches. This was the 1st time that Hartwell & LeRae won 2 matches in a row since they defeated Shotzi & Ember Moon (May 4, 2021) & Zayda Ramier & Zoey Stark (June 1, 2021) on NXT & 1st time they did it in consecutive weeks & on Raw.
This Bray Wyatt documentary is going to be amazing. I'm already crying watching the trailer.
Awesome segment with Cody Rhodes & Paul Heyman. Rhodes got away with saying a lot of things that I didn't expect him to.
***WM FACTS: Cody Rhodes VS Roman Reigns will be the 16th match to be re-matched at WrestleMania & 4th year in a row, but 7th after Hulk Hogan VS Andre The Giant (WM 3 & 4), Bret Hart VS Yokozuna (WM 9 & 10), The Hardy Boyz VS Christian & Edge VS The Dudley Boyz (WM 16 & 17), The Undertaker VS Shawn Michaels (WM 25 & 26), Sheamus VS Daniel Bryan (WM 27 & 28), John Cena VS The Rock (WM 28 & 29) to take place at consecutive WrestleManias.***
OK promo by Nia Jax.
Cool WrestleMania Highlights with LA Knight.
Nice segment with Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso.
Funny segment with Pat McAfee.
Ricochet VS Dominik Mysterio was a great match. FACTS: This was Ricochet's 2nd week in a row on Raw & his 1st 1-on-1 Match on Raw since he lost to Dominik Mysterio on October 30, 2023. This was Dominik Mysterio's 1st Raw since March 4. This was the 2nd 1-on-1 Match between them after Raw on October 30, 2023, which was won by Mysterio, which was the last time 2 former NXT North American Champions wrestled each other on Raw. This was Ricochet's 1st 1-on-1 win since he defeated Shinsuke Nakamura by Disqualification on Raw on September 4, 2023 & 1st by pinfall on Raw since he defeated Nakamura on June 26, 2023.
Great Contract Signing with Sami Zayn & GUNTHER. It was different. ***WM FACTS: GUNTHER is the 4th Intercontinental Champion to defend his title at back-to-back WrestleManias after Randy Savage (2 & 3), Ultimate Warrior (4 & 5), & The Rock (13 & 14) & the 12th after those above, as well as Shawn Michaels (9 & 10), Razor Ramon (10 & 11), Ken Shamrock (14 & 15), Chris Jericho (16 & 17), William Regal (17 & 18), Stardust & Dolph Ziggler (31 & 32), & Finn Balor (34 & 35) to wrestle in back-to-back Intercontinental Championship Matches at WrestleMania.***
I love the shot following Sami Zayn out of the arena into Awesome Truth & #DIY, then Indus Sher, & then following Awesome Truth to the ring.
The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher was a little silly, especially the finish. FACTS: This was The Miz's 1st Raw since The Awesome Truth & #DIY lost to The Judgment Day in an 8-Man Tag on February 19, R-Truth's 2nd week in a row on Raw & their 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match since they lost to The Judgment Day on January 15. This was the 1st time they wrestled against The Judgment Day since they got back together in January 2024. This was Sanga & Veer's 1st Raw of 2024, their 1st Raw overall since they lost a Tag Team Turmoil Match to The Creed Brothers on November 27, 2023, & their 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match on Raw since they defeated Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin on September 16, 2023. This was Awesome Truth's 1st 2-on-2 win since they defeated JD McDonagh & Dominik Mysterio on Raw on January 1.
Wow. Interesting words from Chad Gable to Sami Zayn.
Awesome video on CM Punk. Looking forward to him on Raw next week.
Tremendous segment with Seth Rollins & Drew McIntyre. That was the best segment to sell their match at WrestleMania, as it's been forgotten about because of Cody Rhodes, The Rock, & Roman Reigns.***WM FACTS: Seth Rollins VS Drew McIntyre is the 1st World Heavyweight Championship Match at WrestleMania, making it the 1st new World Championship to be defended at WrestleMania since Goldberg VS Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33, & the 1st time since WrestleMania 37 that 2 World Championships will be defended at WrestleMania. McIntyre will be the 6th wrestler to wrestle for the Intercontinental Championship & a World Championship at consecutive WrestleManias after Randy Savage (WM 3 & 4), The Ultimate Warrior (WM 5 & 6), Shawn Michaels (WM 10 & 11), The Rock (WM 14 & 15), & Chris Jericho (WM 17 & 18), but 1st to challenge for both Championships.***
Good Becky Lynch promo.
The New Day VS The Alpha Academy was a fun match. FACTS: This was Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods' 1st Raw since February 26. This was the 1st time they wrestled against someone other than Imperium since they lost to The Judgment Day on Raw on November 6, 2023. This was Otis' 1st Raw since he lost to Ivar on January 8, his 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match on Raw since he & Chad Gable lost to The Creed Brothers on October 30, 2023, & the 1st time he teamed with someone other than Gable on Raw since he & Tucker defeated The Miz & John Morrison on October 19, 2020. This was Akira Tozawa's 1st Raw since he & Maxxine Dupri lost to Ivar & Valhalla on February 5, his 1st 2-on-2 Men's Tag Team Match on Raw since he & Drew Gulak lost to The Lucha House Party on October 26, 2020. This is the 3rd time they have teamed up after they lost to The Creed Brothers in a Tag Team Turmoil Match on November 27, 2023 & they defeated Indus Sher on Main Event on March 14.
This was The New Day's 1st win since they defeated Chad Gable & Otis on Raw on October 23, 2023.
Good interaction with Becky Lynch & Liv Morgan.
Love seeing Pharoah tonight. Good conversation between Seth Rollins & Cody Rhodes.
The next 2 weeks of raw will be amazing.
Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax was a great match. What a way for Becky to end her weekend with becoming a US Citizen, visiting the White House, & now remaining undefeated in Last Woman Standing Matches & beating Nia for the first time. Great face-off with Rhea Ripley. FACTS: This was the 1st Last Person Standing Match of 2024, the 1st since Seth Rollins VS Shinsuke Nakamura at Fastlane on October 7, 2023, the 1st Last Woman Standing Match since Alba Fyre VS Mandy Rose on NXT on November 15, 2022, the 1st on the main roster since Bianca Belair VS Bayley at Crown Jewel on November 5, 2022, & the Last Person Standing & Last Woman Standing Match on Raw since Natalya VS Lacey Evans on October 7, 2019. This was Becky Lynch's 3rd week in a row on Raw, 1st Raw main event of 2024, & her 2nd Last Woman Standing Match & 1st since she defeated Charlotte Flair at Evolution on October 28, 2018, giving her a Last Woman Standing Match Record of 2-0-0, making her the only woman to compete in more than 1 Last Woman Standing Match out of the 6 Last Woman Standing Matches in WWE & NXT History. She is the 1st since Cody Rhodes on February 19 & 26 to go from the Raw opener to the following week's main event. This was Nia Jax's 1st Raw since February 26, 1st Raw main event of 2024, & her 1st Last Woman Standing Match in her Career. This was the 3rd 1-on-1 Match between them after Raw on January 1 & March 4, which were both won by Jax, so now Lynch won 1 & Jax won 2 matches, making it the 1st Women's Match to take place 3 times in 2024. ***WM FACTS: Becky Lynch VS Rhea Ripley will be Becky Lynch's 6th Women’s Championship Match at WrestleMania, which is the 2nd most Women’s Championship Matches at WrestleMania after Charlotte Flair (7) & 1st since WrestleMania 38. Rhea Ripley will be the 2nd year in a row after Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 38 & 39 that someone will be wrestling in a Women’s Championship Match at back-to-back WrestleManias & the 2nd year in a row after Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 38 & 39 that someone will be defending the same Women’s Championship that she won at the previous WrestleMania. Becky Lynch VS Rhea Ripley will be 1st ever 1-on-1 Women’s Match to take place on NXT & WrestleMania.
Here are my Raw Match Rankings:
1) #DIY VS The Creed Brothers
2) The New Day VS The Alpha Academy
3) Ricochet VS Dominik Mysterio
4) Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax
5) The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher
6) Kayden Carter & Katana Chance VS Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae
EXIT 16 on the Road to WrestleMania: Raw in Raleigh, NC was another great one. Every match had a purpose & nothing was a waste of time.
NEXT STOP: EXIT 17: Smackdown in Milwaukee, WI
Ends Raw Thoughts, Facts, & Stats, and for your WrestleMania W/L Records, Facts, & Stats, visit
darrenswinloss.wordpress.com/wm