WWE Monday Night Raw Review – 4.13.26

We did it, friends. We’ve made it to the last Raw on the long, long Road to WrestleMania. Take this as a reminder to pace yourself this week. We have a LONG stretch of content this week. It’s okay to take breaks, it’s okay to watch things later, and it’s okay to not watch things at all if you need to take a break from wrestling.

Before we jump into it, let me plug something else! Peacock and WWE released their newest annual documentary, “The Heartbreak Kid: Becoming Shawn Michaels,” this morning as they do around every Mania. I have written a review and it’ll be up tomorrow morning right here on the Blog of Doom, something I’ll probably come back and link to right here. It truly is a GREAT documentary and I’m excited for you to read the review.

The last week in the WWEVerse: Raw / NXT / Evolve / Impact / SmackDown / Rebellion / Lucha Libre AAA

Then, Now, Forever, Together.

We begin with the face of Roman Reigns in a vignette. CM Punk tried to revise the Tribal Chief’s history but the WWE Universe lived through it all. Unfortunately it also includes Pat McAfee. Roman says a punter has never run his mouth to him and that nobody believes in Punk because it isn’t 2012. He’s giving Punk the chance in the main event tonight to tell the truth or he will do it. “This message has been approved by your Tribal Chief.”

Arrivals! CM Punk is sitting in the locker room. Stephanie Vaquer is here. Charlotte Flair meets Alexa Bliss and will battle Lyra Valkyria tonight. Gunther smirks.

You are looking at The Golden1 Center in Sacremento, California. This is Monday Night Raw with nearly 12,000 fans live on Netflix and presented by DoorDash. Here’s a look back at the attempt at a contract signing last week between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar.

Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and the center of our universe WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque are in the ring with the contract. Adam has decided to have the men sign the contract separately which is something he probably should’ve done weeks ago. WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman interrupts as he does. He introduces us to Brock Lesnar as we are reminded that Brock and Oba will open Night Two and will be broadcast on ESPN. Brock signs, Points To Sign, and Paul calls it a Nigerian death warrant for Oba. Brock: “You won’t even know his name after this weekend!” Brock leaves and we’ll see Oba later tonight.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves greet us from ringside and Corey thinks something funny might happen tonight in this situation. We catch up on the iShowSpeed story. This takes us to a taped segment with iShowSpeed and WWE World Tag Team Champions The Vision (Logan Paul & Austin Theory). Logan tells Speed that he’s a wrestler now whether he likes it or not. Theory tells him to lock in. They do some cinematic training together in the darkened NXT Arena. They’ll kick off Night One live on ESPN2 against The Usos and L.A. Knight.

Charlotte Flair (with Alexa Bliss and Lilly) vs Lyra Valkyria (with Bayley)

The great Alicia Taylor is our ring announcer tonight. I had not been paying attention enough to notice that Lilly was with Alexa again. Bliss defeated Bayley on SmackDown due to shenanigans, and I’d imagine we see more shenanigans tonight. Cole notes Nikki Bella is still rehabbing and hoping to be ready for WrestleMania, so I guess we’ll see where that goes. Lyra shoves Charlotte and she responds with a Flair chop. Flair flops over the top rope and tries to boot Lyra, who kicks her to the outside and misses a dive on her, Charlotte booting her as the fans “woo” and we take an ad break, including one for former WrestleMania participant Bad Bunny on Spotify.

As we return, Charlotte is pulled off the second rope by Lyra for a near fall. Lyra takes time to pose and tries for a moonsault, the wasted time giving Charlotte time to lift her knees. Charlotte boots Lyra in the chin and hits a moonsault, Lyra kicking out of the pin attempt. Lyra snags Charlotte for a good fisherman suplex and pin attempt. Bayley Points To Sign to remind Lyra what this is all about. Charlotte tosses Lyra onto Bayley and rolls her back in. Charlotte rolls up Lyra, Bayley grabs Charlotte’s leg and Lyra rolls Charlotte into a three. As you’d expect, the four women push and shove a bit after the match.

Lyra Valkyria pins Charlotte Flair. It was fine. I’d like to see it again one day. I was a bit surprised to not see the other two teams.

L.A. Knight and The Usos (Big Jim and Main Event Jey Uso) talk about Speed when up walk The MFTS (Solo Sikoa, JC Mateo, Talla Tonga and Tonga Loa). Solo tells the Usos they’re making the family look bad by hanging out with Knight. Knight pitches the idea of three of Solo’s squad facing them tonight, yeah.

Cole sends us to a sneak peak of the Hulk Hogan docuseries coming to Netflix which I’ll probably be reviewing because I’m a sucker for a documentary and I think the comments section will be something special.

WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer joins us in the arena for a chat for unbiased journalist Cathy Kelley. Shoutout to Cathy! Speaking of Cathy, she’s knocked down and out by an invading Liv Morgan as Liv and Stephnie brawl again. The officials can’t keep them apart as they keep breaking through and brawling and Liv gives us crazy eyes. They rocked this, not going to lie. Cathy is helped to the back by the refs as we take a look back at Rhea Ripley attacking B-Fab and Michin on SmackDown before Jade Cargill defeated Iyo Sky.

Jackie Redmond is backstage with Iyo Sky. Asuka and Kairi Sane come up and Asuka reminds Iyo that last year she went into Mania as champion and is just Rhea’s sidekick this year. Asuka says that Kairi will prove her loyalty against Asuka tonight.

The Usos (Main Event Jey and Big Jim Uso) and L.A. Knight vs The MFTS (Solo Sikoa, JC Mateo and Tonga Loa with Talla Tonga)

Jimmy and Jey yeet through the crowd through Jey’s theme being modified to “it’s just us” instead of “it’s just me,” which was the simple change they needed instead of whatever that theme song was two weeks ago. Solo last competed on Raw in December, losing to Gunther in the Cena tournament, while this is the in-ring Raw debut for Mateo and Loa. After Jey is worked over a bit, Knight gerts the hot tag and a top rope elbow on Loa for a pin broken up by Mateo. Jimmy hits a super kick, Solo gets the spike, Jey pulls him outside and dives into him but is bounced onto the announce desk. Tama Tonga appears in the announce area and eyeballs the rest of the MFT squad, giving Knight a chance to BFT the abandoned Loa for the pin.

L.A. Knight pins Tonga Loa, Knight & The Usos defeat The MFTs. I haven’t been into SmackDown, but we’re advancing a story happening there which is good. We missed a good chunk of this match thanks to commercials, so I don’t have much of a rating to give you. I’d like to see more of Solo on Raw.

Cole updates us on Cathy Kelley. She’s going to be okay. She better. I’ll fight for Cathy.

Here’s a look at Pat McAfee saying some things on SmackDown.

The Ring General Gunther has joined us in the arena for some thoughts. After we take a break, Seth Freakin’ Rollins runs in to attack Gunther. Seth grabs a mic and says he’s finishing the job at WrestleMania. He wants to know why things are personal for Gunther. Gunther returns to the ring and says he’s solving Paul Heyman’s problem because Seth is pissing him off. He’s tired of Seth strutting around thinking he’s the best. “It’s very personal for me to expose that Seth Rollins can’t lace my boots.” They brawl again and the suits are selective and do not break up this battle. Pearce, get your people. Seth tries to stomp Gunther on the steel steps but Gunther dodges, diving into the crowd. These two will battle Saturday. Meh segment for me.

John Cena narrates a video package about Club WWE, which provides early access to tickets and merch, rewards and a community forum. Join the waitlist. Or not.

AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio is complaining to Pearce. He signed a contract to fight Finn Balor, not The Demon, so this isn’t fair.

Celebrities! They love Raw! Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, an actor from Netflix’s “Man on Fire,” is here. Dylan Cardwell of the Sacramento Kings has the Kings Championship belt. The stars love Raw!

Iyo Sky vs Kairi Sane (vs Asuka)

This will probably give us some indication of if Iyo Sky has a road to WrestleMania. She might also have a road to the Raw After Mania and a showdown against Asuka there because they have to have things to advertise for that as well. Kairi spears Iyo into the corner and drops the running elbow in the corner and then one to a standing Iyo. Good back and forth action for a bit as we’ve gotten a few times in Raw showdowns between these two. Kairi pulls Iyo to ringside and tries to toss her into the timekeeper’s area, Iyo keeping off the barricade onto her instead to send us to another stretch of advertisements.

We’re back in the ring and trading blows when we return. Kairi runs into a kick and then a beautiful missile dropkick. This crowd really loves some Iyo. Iyo lands the Bullet Train and goes up top, Kairi bouncing up to push her on the ringpost. Iyo pulls Kairi up to the second rope and sets up a super plex, Kairi headbutts her. With Iyo tied up in the ropes, Asuka jumps up and smashes Iyo into the ring post as referee Jessika Carr checks on Kairi. That triggers the music of Rhea Ripley, who I assume was backstage checking on Cathy, who runs out and tries to Riptide Asuka. Here’s WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill to attack Rhea and now here’s Iyo to leap onto Jade. Kairi tries to pull Iyo inside in all of this and Iyo kicks her and heads up for the moonsault, Asuka again knocking her down as the ref again misses it. Kairi rolls up Iyo and gets the win. Becky might’ve been right about Jessika.

Kairi Sane pins Iyo Sky. This was a good match which is typical when these two wrestle. I’d imagine we might be getting a Raw After Mania tag match? The mystery remains.

Here’s a video package hyping up Becky Lynch vs AJ Lee set to “Kerosene” by The Warning.

The center of our universe WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H has gotten an introduction and is in the ring with Raw General Manager Adam Pearce. They bring out Oba Femi to get the second contract signature. Oba gets all the chants. He signs and we have finally made this match we’ve been hyping for a month official which is good since the show is days away. Heyman appears on the ramp. “I’ve never, ever seen someone come across to the audience as the biggest star in the industry as fast as Oba Femi.” He knows Oba is a violent man and he’s staying on the ramp. He makes several Oba/Brock comparisons. Everything’s going to come down for Oba at Mania. Paul promises that his door will be open when Oba needs to rebuild his career after Mania. Oba says it is taking everything in him to not come down the ramp and beat him up (the fans chant “beat his ass”). He tells him to go ahead and close the door of opportunity because the only one he needs is the door to WrestleMania. Oba says it is all just business but this time we can ALL feel it because “it is time to put an end to The Beast.” He tells Paul that if he was honest, Paul would have said his client is scared of Oba Femi. Paul Heyman, known for his honesty. Oba: “I have always been the one. I’m the one, Paul. I am the one and I know it, they know it, and at WrestleMania you will know it too.” Hell of a promo for Oba.

Here is the music video for “Trouble” that Liv Morgan released today. It’s not bad. It’s no Sabrina Carpenter.

In case you have forgotten about him, here’s a video of Triple H entering at WrestleMania 32. You could bid on a skull mask worn by an extra and autographed by the center of the universe. You could also just CashApp me the money instead.

Je’Von Evans and Dragon Lee vs Rusev and JD McDonough

These four will join Penta and Rey Mysterio in the ladder match at Mania. Rusev slams Lee around. Je’Von gets the tag and does bouncy things until he runs into Rusev’s right hand. Rusev catches Evans and tosses him over the announce table with a fallaway slam to send us to break.

Lee and JD battle when we come back, Lee ranaing JD to ringside and bringing him back in for a snapdragon suplex. JD hits a Spanish Fly for a two, Evans breaks the pinfall. Evans lands the Red Dot on Evans and bounces onto him at ringside. Lee rolls JD into the Styles Clash for the pin. WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio tries to save the good guys from a Rusev attack after the match but runs into a clothesline. WWE Intercontinental Champion Penta tries for the save but is kicked down as well as Rusev delivers kicks to the entire field.

Dragon Lee pins JD McDonough, Lee & Evans defeat Rusev & McDonough. We lost a good bit of this to the break too, but it’s all Mania setup anyway.

Cole and Graves run us through the entire programming lineup for the big WrestleMania weekend and run through the card. Niz will have your SmackDown review, Scott Keith will Rant on the two nights of WrestleMania and I’ll have the Raw After Mania for you.

Pearce is on the phone talking about Cena on the phone when Danhausen joins us. He demands to speak to Cena and Pearce suggests he speak to him at WrestleMania. “Hopefully I can see him because you can’t see me.” Danhausen disappears.

OTC1 Roman Reigns joins us for our main event segment of the evening. He asks for acknowledgement and is immediately interrupted by WWE World Champion CM Punk and “Cult of Personality.” We cut to Punk walking through the crowd slapping hands all the way down to ringside. Walk faster Punk, some of us like to go to sleep. He eventually finds his way to the top of the announce table so we can start this promo. He’d like to speak some truth and Roman tells him that if he comes in the ring, they won’t need mics. Punk envies that his dream was handed to Roman and that Roman was champion for 1,316 days because he hates how hard Roman worked his ass off to be that great. He hates the amount of times that Roman has main evented WrestleMania. Sika was a great man and he loves and respects the old timers and hates that he invoked his name in vain and sincerely apologizes for it. Punk steps in the ring.

“I hate that there’s more than one royal family in professional wrestling and I hate that I envy the fact that I wasn’t born into a dynasty. I don’t know what having that kind of family is like. CM Punk was born in the backyards, avenues and alleyways of Chicago. I was a misfit who had to find my own family.” He found his family on the indies, in Japan, and in VFW Halls. Sunday night, there will be gold above his head and Alicia Taylor will be saying “and still, heavyweight champion of the world.”

Roman responds. “That’s probably the truest stuff I’ve ever heard you say… up until the end. Let me tell you something true. I hate you too. I’ve hated you for a long time. But the main reason is because of your relationship with all of them. You see, I hope that one day when I get to the point where I leave, they miss me as much as they missed you. I hope one day when I leave they chant for me for ten years straight.” On Sunday, the time is up. “On Sunday, we fix this mess that you started. On Sunday, we make this place where we had it at the very top worth every single dollar. On Sunday, the Tribal Chief takes back over and you and the whole world will acknowledge me.” They stare at each other as the credits roll.

A so-so show tonight that never really lost my interest. The last week of shows before Mania are always safe and you know the performers with Mania matches aren’t going to be doing anything crazy to endanger their spots. Things were more promo heavy than usual, but the promos were mostly good. Oba especially was solid. As far as the matches, Asuka-Kairi was a good match worth checking out. You’re not missing a lot by just watching the ten minute “Raw highlights” video they’ll post on YouTube tomorrow. As far as Mania itself, they’ve done a solid job of building up my hype after a very slow start for the Raw side of things.