{"id":159727,"date":"2026-04-21T00:42:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T04:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=159727"},"modified":"2026-04-21T00:42:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T04:42:51","slug":"raw-after-wrestlemania-review-5-stand-out-moments-from-annual-post-wrestlemania-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/21\/raw-after-wrestlemania-review-5-stand-out-moments-from-annual-post-wrestlemania-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Raw after WrestleMania Review: 5 Stand Out Moments from Annual Post WrestleMania Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

WWE’s Raw after WrestleMania show has often been considered the most unpredictable night of the year<\/a>. In 2026, that much held true as the post-WrestleMania show featured both men’s world champions, the new women’s world champion in action, two NXT call-ups (with another being promoted for next week), the departure of a Raw stalwart, possible confirmation of a legend’s retirement, teases of two upcoming title matches, and more.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, the show was loaded from start to finish and did its job to set up new storylines and continue some ongoing feuds on the road to Backlash in May. Here are five standout moments from the Raw after WrestleMania 42.<\/p>\n

Top Moments from Raw after WrestleMania 42<\/h2>\n

5. Rhea Ripley says goodbye for now to Monday Night Raw<\/h3>\n

When Rhea Ripley defeated Jade Cargill to win the WWE Women’s Championship on Sunday night<\/a>, it seemed she was on borrowed time with Monday night Raw. Sure enough, that was confirmed on the Raw after WrestleMania.<\/p>\n

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Ripley was able to get a fitting send-off, however, in the form of one final Rhiyo tag team match against the Kabuki Warriors. Asuka continued her manipulations before the match, suggesting that Iyo Sky’s alliance with Ripley has only benefited Ripley. Had Sky stayed with the Kabuki Warriors, however, Asuka would have had her back. But Sky chose to betray her family and her senpai to side with Ripley, who is now champion, while Sky is nothing. Asuka and Kairi Sane promised to beat Sky and Ripley, but that turned out to be the best laid plans. In the end, some miscommunication between Sane and Asuka, compared to perfect tag team work by Rhiyo, made all the difference. Sky got the pin after an Over-the-Moonsault on Sane, leading to Asuka berating her charge in Japanese. Meanwhile, Sky and Ripley celebrated their final tag team match, at least for a while.<\/p>\n

Later in the night, Ripley and Sky said their goodbyes as Ripley told Sky to take care of herself and Sky told Ripley to go be a great champion on SmackDown. Since joining the main roster in 2021, Ripley has primarily been a Raw superstar. This will mark the first time in her career that she will call the blue brand home. Ripley on SmackDown opens up the possibility for some fresh match-ups along with the chance to renew some iconic rivalries (here’s looking at you, Charlotte Flair<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

4. Sol Ruca and Zaria bring NXT rivalry to main roster<\/h3>\n

There is perhaps no more hated rivalry in the WWE women’s division than that between former friends and tag team partners, Sol Ruca and Zaria<\/a>. On Monday, that rivalry made its way from NXT to the main roster.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old Sol Ruca, who is only in her fourth year of being a professional wrestler, really turned heads with her performance against Bayley on Saturday Night’s Main Event a few months ago. Ruca had been rumored for a call-up ever since that match, and what better stage than the Raw after WrestleMania? As Liv Morgan was celebrating her championship victory<\/a>, Ruca showed up to congratulate the new champ, noting that she was inspired by her journey. Morgan didn’t appreciate being interrupted and told Ruca that if she wanted to make it to next WrestleMania, she would get out of her ring right now. Ruca told Morgan she didn’t come to the ring looking for a fight, but she wasn’t going to back down from one either. Adam Pearce came out, and a few moments later, Ruca and Morgan were in the ring for a match.<\/p>\n

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Sol Ruca is bringing her successful NXT run to Raw. Photo Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ruca looked fantastic in her first official match as a member of the Raw roster and likely would have had things won if not for an unwelcome visit from her old friend. Ruca countered Morgan’s Oblivion into the Sol Snatcher, but Morgan wisely rolled out of the ring before Ruca could get the pinfall. Ruca responded by taking out Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez on the outside, but as she celebrated, Zaria attacked her. As Ruca rolled back in the ring to beat the 10-count, Morgan was waiting. She hit Oblivion and claimed her first victory as the new champion.<\/p>\n

Zaria and Ruca are set for a last woman standing match on NXT on Tuesday night to culminate their rivalry and likely mark Ruca’s last match as a full-time member of the NXT roster.
\n<\/p>\n

3. Ethan Page wins his Raw debut<\/h3>\n

Another NXT wrestler who had an impactful night was Raw’s newest male superstar, Ethan Page<\/a>. All Ego interrupted Je’Von Evans and Penta to suggest that Evans didn’t deserve another shot at the Intercontinental Championship. Page, however, did deserve it, and he always got what he wanted. Adam Pearce suggested the two settle things in the ring and made the match official between two of Raw’s newest stars.<\/p>\n

Page and Evans wrestled a great match that really worked to highlight the strengths of both men. In the end, though, Page had a bit of a guardian Bulgarian. As Evans had Page on the announce table, Rusev appeared in the timekeeper’s area. Evans turned his attention to Rusev, the man who believes Evans cost him his shot at the Intercontinental Championship on Sunday night. Evans took out Rusev, but the distraction allowed Page to roll back in the ring to safety. Page countered the OG Cutter into the Twisted Grin to claim the victory in his Raw debut. However, Page may not be able to jump to the front of the line just yet, as Rusev took down both Evans and Penta after the match before placing the IC title over his shoulder, making his intentions clear.<\/p>\n

2. Cody Rhodes and CM Punk tease world title match<\/h3>\n

It’s often been said that you don’t need to get ready if you stay ready, and CM Punk is staying ready.<\/p>\n

On Raw after WrestleMania, Punk noted he was dealing with a lot of loss lately, including the loss of his title. But he couldn’t be sad because he was never even supposed to win that second title in the first place. He simply stayed ready after his three-minute title reign and waited for another opportunity to arise. That opportunity came when Seth Rollins got injured. Punk became champion and did everything in his power to make his run on top meaningful. It all culminated with him getting the chance to live out his dream by main eventing WrestleMania 42. He gave everything he had to that match, and Sunday just wasn’t his night. That didn’t mean he was going away, however, or that he was going to wallow in his loss. Nope, he was just going to stay ready for the next chance that came his way.<\/p>\n

Enter the next chance to come his way, one Cody Rhodes.<\/p>\n

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Rhodes was surprised Punk wasn’t crashing out, as Rhodes acknowledged he felt like a loser, and he won his match. Punk challenged the assertion, saying he didn’t feel like a loser even if technically he was. Rhodes shouldn’t feel like one either, but Punk understood. Rhodes battled his friend, his mentor. That’s hard. Punk got to beat up someone he hated. That was easy. But Punk told Rhodes he knew what it was like to shoulder the responsibility of being champion, as heavy is the head that wears the crown. Rhodes’ path forward was simple: just keep winning and keep holding that title. Punk’s was to stay ready. He eyed Rhodes’ title as he told his friend, ” You never know when the next opportunity will fall out of the sky. Rhodes told Punk the opportunity was his<\/a>, and all he had to do was “just say when.”<\/p>\n

A Rhodes\/Punk title match is certainly blockbuster and fitting of a PLE in its own right, but it’s given even more gravity when you consider these two haven’t gone head-to-head since 2008. And that match, a count-out victory by Rhodes after just four minutes, really didn’t have much to it. Both Rhodes and Punk were vastly different wrestlers back then. In all, it’s hard to believe Rhodes and Punk, who have shared time in two different companies, have only had two singles matches, both 18 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Jacob Fatu calls his shot against the OTC<\/h3>\n

Jacob Fatu, fresh off defeating Drew McIntyre in a brutal unsanctioned fight, has already determined his next course of action. Fatu wants the shoe deal, the private plane, the cars, the big house, and the money to put his kids in better schools. He doesn’t want the title of tribal chief, but he wants everything else that comes with it. And that means beating the man who currently holds the championship, his older cousin, Roman Reigns.<\/p>\n

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Reigns, who seemed on the verge of reuniting the Bloodline before Fatu’s interruption, agreed that he wanted all of that for his cousin, too. But he needed Fatu to consider a few things. If he were to beat Reigns, would he be able to handle the burden of being champion? And if he were to lose, would he be able to handle the burden of acknowledging his tribal chief? Reigns told Fatu to think about his challenge and get back to him next week. Reigns wasn’t saying yes or no, but he told Fatu he didn’t think he was ready for all that comes with being champion. He told his “little cousin” he’d see him next week. Reigns and the Usos made their exit as Fatu stood in the ring. The last thing you heard as Raw went off the air was Reigns telling Jimmy Uso to talk some sense into Fatu, to which Uso said he would.<\/p>\n

Fatu has never faced Reigns in singles action, so this would be a verifiable dream match for many. It also signifies something that recent years have probably already told us. The Bloodline isn’t going anywhere<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WWE’s Raw after WrestleMania show has often been considered the most unpredictable night of the year. In 2026, that much held true as the post-WrestleMania show featured both men’s world champions, the new women’s world champion in action, two NXT call-ups (with another being promoted for next week), the departure of a Raw stalwart, possible […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2418,"featured_media":159650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12,2192,25,317,4,3,320],"tags":[140,98,157,8442,3006,8833,5174,217,9339,3041,77,202,8820,9655,9036],"class_list":["post-159727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","category-wrestling","category-raw","category-women","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","category-wwe-women","tag-cm-punk","tag-cody-rhodes","tag-ethan-page","tag-iyo-sky","tag-jacob-fatu","tag-jevon-evans","tag-kabuki-warriors","tag-liv-morgan","tag-raw-after-wrestlemania","tag-rhea-ripley","tag-roman-reigns","tag-rusev","tag-sol-ruca","tag-wwe-wrestlemania-42","tag-zaria"],"modified_by":"Marilee Gallagher, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159727"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159745,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159727\/revisions\/159745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}