Category: WWE News & Results

Report: Rhea Ripley injured, ‘may be forced to vacate her championship’

Rhea Ripley was attacked backstage by Liv Morgan on the April 8 Raw, which apparently is when she was injured.

Pro wrestling can be a dangerous line of work, even when the physicality involved isn’t in an official match. It appears WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley may have found that out the hard way.

According to PWInsider, Ripley was injured during the April 8 episode of Raw, when she was the victim of a backstage attack by Liv Morgan. It’s rumored to be bad enough that she may have to vacate her title.

PWInsider.com has heard that the issue is severe enough that the talk internally is that Ripley may be forced to vacate her championship, possibly as soon as tonight’s episode of Raw.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful said he and his outlet are working to confirm the report as well.

The irony is that Ripley had a 17-minute title defense against Becky Lynch to kick off WrestleMania 40 on Saturday, April 6 and apparently came out of that just fine. So to be injured during a relatively routine backstage attack segment is a cruel hand to be dealt by fate if true.

Ripley was already promoted for tonight’s episode of Montreal to address Morgan’s actions, though now it seems she may also discuss the status of her championship reign. We’ll update this story as more details emerge, but it’s safe to say WWE fans will be hoping for the best for Ripley.

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How Roman Reigns forged WWE’s current success — and what’s still left for him to accomplish

Cody Rhodes is the face of WWE’s new era, but Roman Reigns built the foundation for it.

WWE has recently gone out of its way to let the world know that WrestleMania weekend was the dawn of a new age for the company.

By virtue of his win in the main event of WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes will lead the charge.

But even in defeat, Roman Reigns was not completely overlooked, as fans flooded social media not only to congratulate Rhodes, but to thank Reigns for his historic run as champion.

For 1,316 days, Reigns held a championship in WWE, and while he didn’t appear on every episode of Smackdown nor did defend his title at every premium live event, he made every last one of them count.

During his time as champion, Reigns led WWE to unprecedented success, rivaling only the revered “Attitude Era” in terms of its impact. 

And it all started with Reigns, who sat at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and re-evaluated his career to that point. Upon some reflection, Reigns realized he wasn’t happy with where his career had been and where it appeared to be going. Let’s not forget that Reigns was slotted as the Royal Rumble runner-up in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

“I was ready to retire,” Reigns said during his episode of  A&E’s “Biography: WWE Legends.” 

“And once I fully removed myself by choice, not due to circumstances, that’s when I was able to be truthful with myself. That’s when I could really take an authentic, genuine eye and look at what I had been doing, look at what I had done. And that’s when I knew I wasn’t happy with it.”

“I still felt like I didn’t achieve what I had set out to do,” he added. “That I didn’t reach my potential. I was still under that ceiling … and it was time to break it.”

Given all of WWE’s recent success, the ceiling has been broken.

Just look at WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia, where WWE announced it sold more than 200,000 tickets to its five wrestling shows and broke attendance and gate records for Raw, Smackdown and NXT. I personally saw some lengthy lines at WWE World, especially at the WrestleMania Superstore.

WWE came into WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia on a hot streak and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. This new era of success for WWE would not exist if it wasn’t for Reigns’ dominant run as champion.

Reigns’ dominance is only one aspect of his run that is fascinating, but it is the most obvious. He is the fourth-longest reigning champion in WWE history, behind only Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan. Yet unlike those legendary figures, Reigns spent his entire run as a heel.

WWE has traditionally been what some of our elder members of the wrestling community would call a “babyface territory.” Going back to the days when the company was known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation, WWE has traditionally built itself around one heroic babyface. Sammartino, Hogan, Steve Austin and John Cena are a few examples.

Although other promotions found success promoting a heel as the face of the company  (Jim Crockett Promotions with Ric Flair and World Championship Wrestling Hulk Hogan are two examples), WWE has largely followed the formula of having a babyface as the centerpiece of the storytelling.

What has made Reigns so compelling is his authenticity. You can tell that he is living within the Tribal Chief character. You can tell that there are pieces of Joe Anoa’i sprinkled throughout the character that simply weren’t there when he was portraying the “Big Dog.”

“Roman Reigns is the most cinematic portrayal of what a champion is in the history of sports entertainment,” said Paul Heyman during “Biography.” 

I couldn’t agree more.

But for me, the most fascinating aspect of Reigns’ time as champion is how he helped create new stars while only being pinned a total of two times in almost four years. 

According to Reigns, that was intentional.

“If it was just about me, I could have been done a good bit ago. For this to be what it’s supposed to be, to max out the potential of it, I can’t be the only one that benefits from this.

“That’s all I want. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

From Jimmy and Jey Uso developing their own identities, to Sami Zayn becoming one of the most sympathetic babyfaces ever, to Rhodes finishing his story in grand fashion, all of it happened because Reigns was doing his part.

However, there is still one more babyface to create, in my opinion. And that is the Tribal Chief himself, Roman Reigns. Every time Reigns makes an entrance, thousands of people hold their index fingers in the air in solidarity and acknowledgement of their Tribal Chief.

That happens despite Reigns being firmly entrenched as the villain in every story. Imagine what could happen if Reigns became … the hero? 

Whatever name you want to slap on this current era of WWE, with Reigns as its centerpiece, it has the potential to be a lot of fun.

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Jon Moxley at WrestleMania? Tony Khan says WWE didn’t ask

We’ll never know if AEW would have allowed Jon Moxley to make a cameo in the main event of WrestleMania 40.

Among the glorious chaos of the Night 2 main event at WrestleMania 40, one of the more surreal moments was when The Shield’s music hit. The drama built up until Seth Rollins, dressed as he did back when the group was together, entered the ring with a steel chair (though the cameras missed it).

He was immediately decked by a Roman Reigns Superman punch, but it turns out Rollins was there for an important storytelling reason. Given the choice between hitting Rollins or Cody Rhodes with the chair, Reigns smashed Seth across the back as payback for then he turned on his Shield teammates and broke up the group years ago.

That proved costly, as it gave Rhodes the chance to recover and win the match. So everything worked on in logical fashion, and Rhodes was even seen after his victory saying a special thank you to Rollins.

Still, because Rollins had been in a grueling match earlier that night against Drew McIntyre, the first impulse was that he couldn’t possibly be coming to the rescue. Despite every rational reason why it couldn’t work, there was a second or two where many WWE fans thought the same thing: Wait, is Dean Ambrose really coming out here?

The third member of The Shield has been better known in recent years as Jon Moxley and has worked for AEW since 2019. That fact alone would seem to rule out any kind of participation at WWE’s biggest event, but it turns out there’s an even simpler explanation.

As ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley found out directly from AEW CEO, GM and head of creative Tony Khan, “WWE did not reach out to AEW about using Jon Moxley for a one-off appearance.” That’s that.

Whether Khan would have agreed to do it is an interesting “what if.” It almost doesn’t matter in the end, both because Rollins turned out to be the proper person in that spot and because in the moment, it was enough that The Shield’s music made viewers believe Moxley might be coming.

As cool as it would have been to see him, the mere uncertainty worked in WWE’s favor, making for a small but clever wrinkle in what turned out to be a very entertaining match.

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Report: Giulia to sign with WWE, fulfill remaining dates

Giulia has reportedly agreed to sign with WWE.

NXT regularly introduces new signings to packed crowds at premium live events, providing fans the chance to greet them in what’s essentially their debut. It sparks buzz and anticipation for when they eventually become full-time players in WWE’s developmental brand,

At Saturday’s NXT Stand and Deliver, the camera panned to former STARDOM talent Giulia, seated next to William Regal and former STARDOM official Rossy Ogawa, as commentary introduced her to the home audience. While not mentioned as a new member of the roster, she had long been speculated as WWE’s next potential big-name addition.

It comes with little surprise that just days later, Fightful Select (subscription required) reports that Giulia has agreed to sign with WWE. Before transitioning, she’ll fulfill remaining dates, including a stint with Ogawa’s upcoming promotion. One of those final matches will happen on Thursday, April 12 at Korakuen Hall, where she’ll tag with Syuri against Hanan and Mayu Iwatani.

Interestingly, the report reveals WWE offered Giulia more money than AEW, while also not using an agent in negotiations. Regal and Ogawa were also pivotal in the process.

Regarding Giulia’s potential start date with NXT, Fightful Select adds she could begin at any time as she currently remains in the U.S.

WWE signing Giulia marks its first significant acquisition from outside the company in 2024, after not landing Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay and Mercedes Moné. While prioritizing and succeeding with internal talent development the last few years, bringing in the Italian-Japanese star could signal a shift in strategy. She’s a credible, decorated title holder — arguably too proven for NXT. But the same applied to Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and other talents who established themselves outside of WWE before signing.

Now, it’s a waiting game to see when Giulia makes her next appearance and the level of promotion NXT gives her off the bat. Whenever it happens, particularly as top stars transition to the main roster, she’ll be a welcomed presence for the weekly show and the occasional premium live event.

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WrestleMania 40 set new WWE records for gate, viewership, more

WrestleMania XL really was the biggest and most successful WWE event ever in multiple ways.

Almost every year, WWE pushes the idea that WrestleMania will be the biggest show of all time without really defining what that means. But there are subjective marks of success, and WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia just set the bar higher in a lot of them this past weekend.

WWE announced today that the two-day event was “the most successful and highest-grossing event in company history,” meaning not just for WrestleMania but any event it has ever put on. Specifically, the show that ended in Cody Rhodes defeating Roman Reigns in a star-studded main event set new company records for:

  • Gate, breaking last year’s previous high by 78% thanks to the reported attendance of 145,298 at Lincoln Financial Field over Saturday and Sunday nights
  • Viewership, with an audience 41% larger than the previous high set last year
  • Merch sales, up more than 20% over the record set at WrestleMania 39

WWE also touted the largest gates in SmackDown and Raw history for the Philadelphia shows on Friday and Monday, respectively, as well as the largest attendance ever for an NXT event (16,545) for Stand & Deliver on Saturday afternoon.

The records should come as no shock since WWE has been on a sellout streak for its weekly shows for several months, and has been hot in general for the better part of 18 months. It’s also impossible to compare WrestleMania records across eras since it’s only been a two-day event during the current decade.

That said, there’s no question that a large number of fans are willing to pay more than ever to attend WWE’s biggest shows, and since those shows are also being well received creatively, there’s no sign of that changing any time soon. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if these WrestleMania 40 records stood were falling by this time next year.

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2024 WWE Draft set to start on April 26 episode of SmackDown

WWE officially announced the return of the draft, scheduled for Friday, April 26 on SmackDown, and Monday, April 29 on Raw.

Triple H raised a few eyebrows when he casually confirmed the WWE Draft’s return during WrestleMania week. Though somewhat expected, it confirmed imminent roster changes for Superstars on both Raw and SmackDown, possibly including talent from NXT as past drafts have.

While Ilja Dragunov made a surprise appearance on Raw to face Shinsuke Nakamura, WWE confirmed the return of the draft, as well as the NXT Champion taking part in the selection show. It’s scheduled for April 26 on SmackDown and April 29 on Raw, days before the Backlash premium live event.

WWE didn’t provide further details about the draft or any potential rules. However, it’s reasonable to anticipate more announcements as it approaches, especially as WWE begins reshuffling its roster post-WrestleMania.

The focus of the 2024 draft may center on the movement of world title holders. With both Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest on Raw, they’ll likely be separated. This could result in Priest and Judgment Day transitioning to Friday nights, or Rhodes relocating to the blue brand.

Additionally, other titleholders may also change brands to bring fresh matchups, as was the case in previous drafts. Sami Zayn and Logan Paul might swap places, and Rhea Ripley and Bayley could do the same, particularly to distance the latter from Damage CTRL.

Along with Dragunov, fellow NXT talent Roxanne Perez appeared on the Raw after WrestleMania. Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams and Lyra Valkyria are additional potential call-up candidates if WWE wants other young, upcoming names.

Any remaining uncertainties will soon be clarified with the WWE Draft in less than three weeks. It won’t just reshape rosters but influence WWE’s programming path for the remainder of 2024 and leading into WrestleMania 41, just as the 2023 draft did. Let’s wait and see what unfolds as WWE looks to continue its momentum from a memorable weekend.

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What did The Rock give to Cody Rhodes on the Raw After WrestleMania?

Cody Rhodes looked shaken by whatever The Rock handed him on the Raw After WrestleMania.

The story that Cody Rhodes finished by defeating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 was one of perseverance, determination and heroism. The one he’s about to start just might be a mystery.

While addressing the crowd during a long but intriguing opening segment on the Raw After WrestleMania Monday night, Rhodes was interrupted by the arrival of The Rock. The Final Boss did some of his usual shtick, insulting the fans and riling up some mixed crowd reactions.

He also did some unusual things, like asking Rhodes if they could swap title belts (he had The People’s Championship gifted to him by the widow of Muhammad Ali), just to hold. The fans started a “this is awkward” chant in response.

Before he left, The Rock confirmed that he has to go away for a while, as it’s been widely reported he’s off to shoot “The Smashing Machine” about MMA legend Mark Kerr shortly. He also made it clear he’ll come back at some point to go after Rhodes, whether he’s still champion or not. But before he departed, he said he had something to give Cody.

The Rock handed something to Rhodes but told him he didn’t even need to open his hand to know what it was. Then he cryptically said “don’t ever break my heart again” before calmly leaving the ring.

It’s not like The Rock to speak in riddles, and whatever it was, it was small enough to fit in the palm of the hand. It also clearly unnerved Rhodes.

The comments section of WWE’s post on X is full of guesses, some serious and some not. Among the most interesting early theories:

  • It’s a lighter, playing off the real life news that Cody’s tour bus caught on fire during WrestleMania week
  • The Rock is giving back the Rolex Cody gifted to him, as well as Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins
  • It’s a ring of some sort, perhaps Dusty Rhodes’ Hall of Fame ring

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The bummer is that we might not learn more about The Rock’s mystery “gift” until whenever he returns to WWE, unless Rhodes decides to address it at some point. It sure has fans talking, though, and that was probably WWE’s goal in doing this in the first place.

Let the speculation continue.

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Raw After WrestleMania results 04/08/24: New era includes Rock mystery, Cena cameo, same CM Punk

The Raw After Mania didn’t disappoint, though Drew McIntyre might have his head explode thanks to CM Punk.

When WWE Raw rolls into the Wells Fargo Center tonight, it’s going to help turn the page from whatever we just came out of to what Cody Rhodes has dubbed the Renaissance Era. That’s a fine name for it since professional wrestling is back and sports entertainment seems to be fading away like a bad dream once you’ve been awake for 15 minutes.

Also, now that Rhodes is the new champion, he can call it any damn thing he wants.

Last year’s Raw After WrestleMania was famously a big letdown, feeling like any other Raw in mid-June rather than a show that would chart the course for exciting new things ahead. The blame was laid squarely at the feet of Vince McMahon, who apparently did the opposite of saying “perfect, no notes” and concocted a whole new show on the fly. And not a great one.

In contrast, even with Triple H already very much putting his stamp on WWE with WrestleMania 40, you can imagine he’ll want to keep the excitement going with a compelling show tonight in Philly. We already know the first hour is commercial-free, which WWE can no doubt afford to do after the massive WrestleMania gate and the extra sponsorships it showed off compared to years past.

There have been some more hints put out about surprises and such for tonight, but we can’t tell you what they are because Adam Pearce has us blocked on X. We’re not even sure what we did, but we’re all of a sudden big Nick Aldis fans now.

(Just kidding, Scrap Daddy, we still love you even if you don’t feel the same.)

In any case, we’re looking forward to this new era kicking off, so let’s do exactly that.

WWE Raw After Mania results from Philadelphia:

(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)

  • Triple H and Cody Rhodes kick off the new era, but The Rock says he’ll come for Cody eventually
  • Newly crowned champs Damian Priest and Sami Zayn are shown entering the arena
  • Ilja Dragunov def Shinsuke Nakamura by pinfall
  • A video package shows how Drew McIntyre won, then quickly lost the World Heavyweight Championship, and McIntyre is shown heading into the arena earlier today
  • The Judgment Day has more singles gold but no tag team titles … and still has an R-Truth problem
  • The Awesome Truth and John Cena def. The Judgment Day by pinfall
  • Bronson Reed cuts a promo before he’s part of a four-way No. 1 contenders match, and there’s an unusual test pattern in the background on a monitor …
  • Rhea Ripley tells Dominik Mysterio he needs to handle Andrade betraying him but gets attacked out of nowhere by Liv Morgan
  • Roxanne Perez def. Indi Hartwell by pinfall
  • Sami Zayn and Jey Uso still remember their special handshake, apparently
  • Natalya and Perez bump into each other backstage and say they’ll see each other on NXT
  • Sami Zayn is now a champion but Imperium isn’t quite done with him
  • A promo video airs for the impending return of Sheamus

  • Sami Zayn and Chad Gable def. Imperium as Gable pins Vinci
  • Jey Uso cuts his own promo before the main event
  • The three general managers discuss putting their differences aside for the sake of the product, but they get a visit from Chelsea Green, upset about being left out of WrestleMania; she’s happy when she learns she has a match, but the laughs by the GMs suggest she may not be thrilled about her opponent
  • Jade Cargill def. Chelsea Green by pinfall in a matter of seconds
  • Zayn finds Gable and says he knows what Chad wants as a favor: a shot at the Intercontinental Championship; next week in Montreal, it’s on, and Gable says he can’t wait
  • Drew McIntyre says “what happened last night was complete and utter BS,” noting his moment lasted only five minutes and 46 seconds; he thanks Seth Rollins but “that bondage Undertaker” screwed it all up and also says it’s on sight with CM Punk
  • Jey Uso wins a Fatal Four-Way No. 1 Contenders Match, earning a World Heavyweight Championship shot after CM Punk prevents McIntyre from winning

Cody Rhodes finished one story, but The Rock makes it clear another one is just starting

Both “Triple H” and “thank you Hunter” chants greet the CCO as he takes the ring. “Here’s the thing, I came out here to thank you,” he says, noting that by every metric it was the biggest WrestleMania ever.

He had the privilege of welcoming everyone to Mania and now has the privilege of welcoming everyone to Raw. It’s time to welcome the man who will lead us into a new era, which of course is Cody Rhodes. The new Undisputed WWE Champion shakes hands with Triple H before holding his title aloft to multiple sides of the ring.

A big “you deserve it” chant greets Rhodes, after which Triple H congratulates him while also giving Roman Reigns some props for his title reign.

The CCO mentions it’s a gate record for an arena show tonight, and he also shows off a video tribute to Cody set to “Rise Up” (albeit on smaller monitors since the large Tron isn’t in the Wells Fargo Center to squeeze more people in). It brings Rhodes to tears, and he hugs Triple H, who departs afterward.

Cody kneels down and kisses his title belt before getting to his “What do you want to talk about?” catchphrase. Rhodes turns to Samantha Irvin, asking her to announce him again as the new Undisputed WWE Champion, and she happily obliges.

He tells the fans that together, they are standing on top of the mountain, and he acknowledges the 1,316-day run for Reigns, wondering if he’s the most important superstar of our generation. The fans start a “thank you Roman” chant in response.

Rhodes discusses the “why” and shows a clip of his daughter imploring him to finish the story. He says he wants her to know that when he goes to work, he does so in the main event and as champion. Cody ponders the new experience of having the line be for him, but as he gets to the undisputed bit, he’s interrupted by The Rock.

There are some boos for the Final Boss but a “Rocky” chant as well. Ah, but then the trolling arrives in the form of an “Undertaker” chant, and it’s hard for The Rock to start talking as he gets booed when he tries.

The Rock finally says he came out to give flowers but also to insult Philadelphia for breaking the record for the largest gathering of trailer park trash. Both men then take turns holding up their titles for the crowd. Oh yeah, The Rock as The People’s Championship, remember?

Ignoring the fans, The Rock congratulates Rhodes for beating Reigns and says his mom and late dad were proud of him. He talks about the two belts and then asks if there’s any way The Rock can hold “that title.”

Rhodes says yes, if they can swap. Rock says it feels right and thanks Cody for allowing him to do it. The fans start a “this is awkward” chant while they hold each other’s championships.

The Rock confirms that “he has to go away for a little while now,” which he doesn’t want to do since he and Cody made it cool again. When he comes back, though, The Rock is coming for Rhodes whether he’s champion or not.

“I’m looking forward to it,” replies Cody. The Rock reminds Rhodes that while Cody beat Roman, but the previous night, Rock beat Cody. Rhodes’ story with Reigns might be over, but their story has just begun.

Rhodes says that while The Rock is the Final Boss, he’s the champion, the champion of the fans, and that means he’s The Rock’s champion. The Rock says he has something to give Cody before he rides off into the sunset, and he insists Rhodes doesn’t even have to open his hand to know what it is.

“Don’t you ever break my heart again,” The Rock says before departing. And Rhodes suddenly looks shook.

New gold in The Judgment Day hasn’t solved their R-Truth problem

Finn Balor taunts the doubters, and Rhea Ripley says they have some business to attend to. First, though, they bring out the new World Heavyweight Champion, Damian Priest.

The celebration doesn’t last long before it’s crashed by R-Truth, who says he’s brought the tag team titles back to The Judgment Day. It sounds like he’s about to advocate for The Miz joining, but The A-Lister instead joins them in the ring to try to explain to his partner that neither of them are in the group.

Balor is unamused, vowing that the Awesome Truth is going to have the shortest title reign ever. Finn challenges them to put the titles on the line right here, right now, but R-Truth says they can’t because there are only three of us.

He’s not talking about Little Jimmy, but rather “the guy you can’t see.” JD McDonagh happily accepts, then The Judgment Day starts beating Truth down before he can reveal their partner.

“The man you can’t see” helps Awesome Truth defeat The Judgment Day

Well this is a handicap match to start, but we’ll see if it stays that way. Does R-Truth have a real live person to partner with them? They might not need one the way they’re performing early on.

The momentum for the new Rag Tag Team Champions seems to be fading during a picture-in-picture segment, but reinforcements arrive in the form of John Cena. He quickly tags in and hits some offense, and all three men pull off the “15 Knuckle Shuffle” and simultaneous Attitude Adjustments to get the win.

Sami Zayn hasn’t quite freed himself from Imperium

Yet another new champ and another “you deserve it” chant. Zayn says he really wanted to do something historic this year at WrestleMania, and he did it by defeating the best Intercontinental Champion of all time.

With the fans singing again, Sami says they all helped him with their belief. Same with his wife and kid, and his friend Kevin Owens. One other person helped him too, but before he can get to that, he’s interrupted by Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci.

Kaiser says Gunther spent two years putting all his hard work into elevating the IC title, and it breaks his heart to see “somebody like you” holding that championship right now. Imperium heads toward the ring but thinks better of it when Chad Gable joins Sami in the ring.

CM Punk screws Drew McIntyre, Jey Uso wins a title shot

A strong case could be made for any of these four gentlemen, though you’d assume either Jey to keep the face-heel dynamic intact or Drew to seek revenge for the MITB cash-in.

Oh yeah, no DQs in a match like this, so sure, table in the corner, why not? It’s unfortunate for Jey as Reed powerslams him through it.

One thing the fans enjoy is Reed and McIntyre exchanging chops in the finest big meaty men tradition. Reed ends up eating a bunch of superkicks until he’s speared by Uso, and McIntyre hustles to break up the pin.

Reed recovers quickly and nearly pins Ricochet, then McIntyre prevents him from launching into a Tsunami. Reed clears off the Spanish announce table (even though they aren’t there), but he’s the one who ends up on it, and Ricochet hits him with a springboard 450 splash to put him through it.

With McIntyre looking for a win, he’s suddenly grabbed by CM Punk, and Uso takes advantage with a spear and an Uso Splash to win it.

John Cena: I’m hoping to come back to ‘my family’ for one last WWE run

One final WWE stint for John Cena sounds like a real possibility for 2025.

John Cena got to play his part in the very popular Night 2 main event Sunday at WrestleMania 40, even if it was just a cameo. It’s fair for fans to wonder if they’ll ever see him in a similar match in a starring role again, but Cena may have seen the success The Rock had this year and thought, “I’d like some of that for myself.”

At the very least, the idea of one last legitimate WWE run before he calls it a career is something Cena is entertaining. The only problem” His busy Hollywood schedule. Cena isn’t on The Rock’s level yet as an actor and movie star, but he’s been taking on an increasing number of roles and broadening his range.

Still, he’s hopeful he can reconcile the worlds of entertainment and pro wrestling in a way that allows him to give WWE a proper farewell, as he explained as a guest on “The Pat McAfee Show” Monday in Philadelphia.

“I’m crossing my fingers and toes and my heart that maybe, maybe just maybe, I can tell the Hollywood world to pump the brakes for a while and come back to my family for one last run,” Cena told a delighted McAfee.

Cena later doubled down on that sentiment on social media, vowing to “do my best and walk the talk” to make it happen.

McAfee and the fans present at WWE World also suggested that Cena could go for another world title, to which he responded that “those shots gotta be earned” and made a self-deprecating crack about his win-loss record over the past three years.

Cena said his filming schedule is full “through just about Christmas,” which would mean the earliest his “one last run” could occur would be the very end of 2024 into the start of 2025. The upside is that using The Rock’s involvement this year as a blueprint, that could position him very nicely for a program that would lead to something big at WrestleMania 41.

It’s a bit too early to get excited about that, but Cena chooses his words carefully and wouldn’t likely put this idea out there if he didn’t intend to see it through. That makes it feel it’s a question of when and not if WWE fans will see him back in the ring as a leading man instead of a supporting player.

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WWE Raw After WrestleMania preview 04/08/24: A new story begins

A new era on the Raw After WrestleMania? Without question.

Nothing encapsulates just how unrelenting the WWE schedule really is than the Raw After WrestleMania. Less than 24 hours after the event that everything builds to over the course of an entire year, the performers are back at it again, moving forward in brand new and often exciting directions.

That surreal feeling is even more pronounced this year for two reasons. One is that WrestleMania 40 was pretty spectacular, delivering a main event for the ages on Sunday night. The Showcase of the Immortals often sends fans home happy, but it rarely raises the spirits of the entire industry the way it did this weekend.

The other part is that while wrestling promotions are certainly not alone in declaring a moment in time the start of a new era, they do it with far more frequency and a lower success rate than many other enterprises. But with Triple H firmly in charge of WWE’s direction — a fact we were reminded of many times over the weekend — this is in many ways the first Monday in decades where it’s literally true.

WWE hasn’t promoted anything for tonight’s episode yet, preferring to let fans bathe in the afterglow of WrestleMania 40, which is understandable. It’s also worth noting that last year’s Raw After WrestleMania was widely viewed as a letdown, as Vince McMahon’s reported rewrites meant it barely followed up on the most prominent subplots from WrestleMania 39 at all.

That shouldn’t happen tonight in Philadelphia, where some of the most interesting questions should be answered:

  • What will Cody Rhodes want to talk about? Just kidding, we’re pretty sure we know the answer to that. But who will be least enthusiastic about the new undisputed champ?
  • Is The Judgment Day stronger than ever with Damian Priest now a world champ alongside Rhea Ripley? Or might there be internal strife with Finn Balor sans gold and Dominik Mysterio taking an ‘L’ at WrestleMania?
  • Will anyone want to be anywhere near Drew McIntyre after he had his moment and then lost it? And will CM Punk show up to gloat about it and really send McIntyre spiraling?

We’ll update this post if and when WWE makes any announcements about the card or segments for tonight. Until then, make plans to join us here at Wrestling Junkie at 8 p.m. ET, when we’ll be serving up live Raw After WrestleMania results and updates for what’s sure to be a fascinating episode.

Click here for the Raw After Mania live blog.

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