Grading the RAW roster following WrestleMania 37
Is RAW better off after WrestleMania 37 than it was before the Show of Shows? Entering the pay-per-view Bobby Lashley, Riddle, Asuka and the New Day were all Champions of their respective divisions.
A new title holder was crowned, however, in three of those situations. Rhea Ripley made good on her second WrestleMania match, while Sheamus defeated Riddle to become the new United States Champion.
In his first official match for WWE, Omos captured the RAW Tag Team titles alongside AJ Styles. Plus, Lashley maintained the top spot on RAW as he defeated Drew McIntyre in the first match of Night One.
RAW also boasts the last two call-ups from NXT, in the form of Ripley and Damian Priest. Both former NXT stars joined a relatively stacked Monday night roster.
The following grades for RAW are determined by the potential in each division. The number of believable challengers for a title also factors into the grade. With this in mind, here are the grades for the RAW roster following WrestleMania 37.
#5 Omos and AJ Styles are the new RAW Tag Team Champions
The New Day has had several runs atop the tag team divisions of both RAW and SmackDown. When they win titles, it isn't much of a surprise. When they drop the titles, it's usually to help put over a new team. In this instance, the new duo was AJ Styles and Omos.
Styles kept the action going and gave credibility to the pairing. But once Omos entered the ring, his team was utterly dominant. Since the New Day lost the titles, they should be at the back of the line when it comes to title shots, for the time being.
The Viking Raiders returned to full strength on the episode of RAW immediately following WrestleMania. They beat Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin in back-to-back weeks. Alexander and Benjamin have fallen slightly since the Hurt Business broke up, but they were not squashed when losing to the Viking Raiders.
In addition to those teams, RAW has T-Bar and Mace, the Miz and John Morrison and the remaining members of Lucha House Party. Elias and Jaxson Ryker can operate as a tag team, too. Randy Orton and Riddle also tagged together for the first time on the latest RAW.
The tag team divisions in WWE are usually lopsided. But at the moment both divisions are in great shape. The New Day are trusted veterans and make any opponent look good. They're made men whether they win or lose.
T-Bar and Mace have potential, but need clarity behind their motivations. The Miz and John Morrison are entertaining and can wrestle as a team or as singles stars, whereas The Viking Raiders have been wild-card players since they returned. Either Team RKBro or the Viking Raiders will likely defeat Styles and Omos later this year, which would be an interesting turn of events in a truly stacked division.
Grade: A-