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WrestleMania 42 is this weekend. Just as big is the follow-up this Monday, famously dubbed as the “Raw after WrestleMania,” an event all its own. And if advertising holds, viewers will see some big names.
WrestleMania opponents Roman Reigns and CM Punk, as well as Brock Lesnar and his Mania foe, Oba Femi, join Logan Paul, Rhea Ripley, and Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer on WWE’s website promoting tickets for the show at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. Featured stars listed are Punk, Ripley, Penta, and Jey Uso.
AXS, the show’s ticket seller, features the same promotional graphic as WWE’s website, but with Rollins in place of Lesnar.
Barring the usual “card subject to change,” the advertising is promising. Part-timers Reigns and Lesnar could add intrigue to Raw, especially if they each lose on WrestleMania Sunday.
On Thursday, Reigns had a friendly social media exchange with Mania disruptor Pat McAfee, who has had his own issues with CM Punk. If something is brewing, Reigns showing up on Raw could further the start of something big.
Oba Femi appears poised to become WWE’s “Next Big Thing,” but past rumors suggest Brock Lesnar won’t lose until he’s ready to retire, which John Cena has said could come at SummerSlam in Lesnar’s home state of Minnesota. Whatever Lesnar or his advocate, Paul Heyman, have to say — win or lose — should be interesting.
Everyone else listed is a Raw regular, so an appearance isn’t out of the ordinary. Ripley, though, has also appeared on SmackDown to promote her Mania match against WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill. A win by “Mami” could make Monday’s listed appearance Ripley’s swan song on the red brand, at least for the foreseeable future.
The post-Mania Raw has produced several memorable moments in WWE history. Last year, Bron Breakker broke out, joining forces with Seth Rollins. In 2003, Goldberg made his WWE debut, spearing The Rock into oblivion.
Yet, few moments are more infamous than 2017, when fan backlash toward Roman Reigns reached a fever pitch. After beating The Undertaker the night before at WrestleMania 33, Reigns was booed out of the building and showered with obscenities.
As he stood in the ring for nearly 20 minutes, he let the crowd vent before hitting them with a verbal Superman punch: “It’s my yard now.”
