WWE Raw from Kansas City, Mo. advertised Night 2 of the WWE Draft featuring multiple celebrity appearances from Logan Paul, IShowSpeed and three-time Super Bowl champion Pat Mahomes.
Raw also advertised Jey Uso, Ricochet and Andrade vs. The Judgment Day as well as Sami Zayn vs. Big Bronson Reed for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. WWE Raw’s Draft night also marked the go-home show for WWE Backlash set to emanate from France on May 4, 2024.
WWE Draft Results on April 29, 2024
Round 1 | Stephanie McMahon
- IMPERIUM (WWE Raw)
- Jade Cargill (WWE SmackDown)
- Damage CTRL
- Kevin Owens
Round 2 | Logan Paul And IShowSpeed
- CM Punk (WWE Raw)
- The Pride (WWE SmackDown)
- Braun Strowman
- Tiffany Stratton
Round 3 | APA
- LWO (WWE Raw)
- Legado Del Fantasma (WWE SmackDown)
- Drew McIntyre
- Shinsuke Nakamura
Round 4 | Teddy Long And Madusa
- The Judgment Day (WWE Raw)
- Naomi (WWE SmackDown)
- Ilja Dragunov
- Chelsea Green and Piper Niven
Round 5 | The Dudley Boyz
- The New Day (WWE Raw)
- Pretty Deadly (WWE SmackDown)
- Lyra Valkyria
- Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell
Round 6 | Adam Pearce And Nick Aldis
- The Final Testament (WWE Raw)
- DIY (WWE SmackDown)
- Bronson Reed
- Blair Davenport
WWE Raw Ratings
- April 22, 2024 | 1.597 million
- April 15, 2024 | 1.807 million
- April 8, 2024 | 2.362 million
- April 1, 2024 | 1.784 million
- March 25, 2024 | 1.729 million
WWE Raw Ticket Sales
- WWE Raw Venue: T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, Mo.)
- WWE Raw Tickets Distributed: 9,854
- WWE Raw Tickets Available: 706
WWE Raw Winners And Grades
Liv Morgan Challenges Becky Lynch
WWE Raw in Kansas City opened with Logan Paul and his “special guest…” three-time Super Bowl MVP Pat Mahomes.
Liv Morgan walked out, still about 40% babyface, but she cut a heel promo by saying Becky Lynch owes Liv Morgan a title shot. Morgan also bragged about taking out Rhea Ripley. Fans also booed the line “Liv Morgan Revenge Tour.”
Nia Jax interrupted this segment to a chorus of boos that every heel in the business should be jealous of. One of the only true heels in the women’s division (Nia) was attacked by future heel Liv Morgan, setting up a match between the two on Nia’s last night on Raw.
WWE Raw Opening Segment Grade: B
Stephanie McMahon Returns, GUNTHER Def. Xavier Woods
Stephanie McMahon announced WWE Raw’s four first-round picks, most notably Jade Cargill. Theodore Long was seen backstage celebrating Jade Cargill being drafted to WWE Raw, and that pairing would be a dream scenario.
Once again, there was an Uncle Howdy QR Code during a New Day segment. It’s looking more and more like the Uncle Howdy stable will initially target The New Day.
GUNTHER chopped the living hell out of Xavier Woods, eliciting a loud response. Woods battled right back, once again proving he is one of the most underrated brawlers who ever lived.
The story of this match was GUNTHER zeroing in on Woods’ right knee, prompting the referee to tease stopping the match.
After fighting for his life, Woods refused to tap out to GUNTHER’s Half-Crab. Kofi Kingston grabbed a towel, but Woods waved him off as Kofi tossed the towel into the crowd. The crowd was in a fervor. Finally, reluctantly, Woods tapped out.
During a Jey Uso interview, Liv Morgan was seen leaving Dominik Mysterio’s locker room. And the plot thickens.
GUNTHER vs. Xavier Woods Grade: A-
Logan Paul Appears Live, Braun Strowman Returns
Samantha Irvin announced Pat Mahomes to the Kansas City crowd. The living legend received a more-than-warm reception.
CM Punk was drafted with the first pick of the second round of the draft as IShowSpeed peaked the mic like crazy announcing him.
After announcing the second-round draft picks, Logan Paul and IShowSpeed “got real” by cutting a promo on Jey Uso.
Jey Uso interrupted Logan Paul as the pair tried to “out-yeet” one another.
Logan Paul said Jey Uso’s vocabulary consists of two words, “yeet” and “Uce.” The Judgment Day then beat down Jey. Mahomes then turned heel by giving Paul three Super Bowl rings, which Paul used to accidentally strike JD McDonagh.
Braun Strowman made the save for Jey Uso (who was getting beaten down by Logan Paul’s Super Bowl Brass Ring). Strowman confronted the Heel Mahomes and two of Mahomes’ fellow Chiefs teammates in a strange segment.
Logan Paul, Jey Uso and Pat Mahomes Segment Grade: B-
Sami Zayn Def. Bronson Reed By DQ
Backstage, Sami Zayn laid out Chad Gable with a Helluva Kick. Drew McIntyre threw a fit on Booker T for supporting WWE Raw’s drafting of CM Punk. Punk was drafted ahead of McIntyre, which infuriated Drew.
Bronson Reed dominated this match through the commercial break. It was made clear that Reed was eligible to be drafted “unless he won the WWE Intercontinental Championship.”
Chad Gable attacked Sami Zayn for the disqualification, and this was the type of DQ I’m perfectly fine with. It furthered a top feud between Gable and Zayn and it protected 2024 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner Bronson Reed.
Reed hit Zayn with a Tsunami for his troubles. He then came back with a Death Valley Driver on Gable for interrupting his match. I smell a Triple Threat at WWE Backlash.
Sami Zayn vs. Bronson Reed Grade: B-
CM Punk Confronts Drew McIntyre
The APA announced the third-round draft picks, including a “deadbeat dad” reference from JBL.
The LWO was drafted as a unit which included Carlito who turned on the group days ago on WWE SmackDown. But IMPERIUM was not drafted to include Giovanni Vinci, who was kicked out of the group last week on WWE Raw.
Drew McIntyre was furious with being drafted in Round 3. CM Punk then made a surprise appearance from a suite, calling McIntyre a “little b—h.” Ron Simmons ended the segment by saying “Damn!”
Backstage, Chad Gable yelled at Maxxine Dupri for celebrating mediocrity.
CM Punk Return Grade: B
Candice LeRae Def. Maxxine Dupri
Maxxine Dupri connected with a very awkward-looking spinning heel kick, but did follow up with an impressive Fisherman’s Suplex and a kip up.
Newly minted heel Indi Hartwell attacked Ivy Nile on the outside, opening the door for LeRae to connect with the Wicked Stepmother for the win. Abusive Chad Gable isn’t going to be happy about this.
Candice LeRae vs. Maxxine Dupri Grade: C
CM Punk Appears Live
Drew McIntyre stalked the WWE suites looking for CM Punk, and Punk remained one step ahead of Drew by walking out to the ring. Drew looked defeated.
CM Punk said he had five minutes and 46 seconds to cut a promo so he could do it in less time than Drew McIntyre was champion.
Drew McIntyre’s real-life elbow injury is being credited to CM Punk in storyline. 1:33 in, Punk delivered his iconic “…in this ring, on this microphone…” line.
Punk said when he’s 100% he would make Drew McIntyre’s life a living hell. Per Pat McAfee, the promo clocked in at two minutes.
CM Punk Promo Segment: B
Liv Morgan Def. Nia Jax
Fans didn’t know whom to side with. They hated Nia Jax, but they also weren’t too thrilled with Liv coming off Rhea Ripley’s injury.
Tiffany Stratton was sitting in the front row to support her real-life travel buddy Nia Jax.
Naomi interfered, brawling with Tiffany Stratton, which led to a Liv Morgan win. Morgan is now the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Women’s World Championship.
Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax Grade: B
The Awesome Truth Def. Alpha Academy
The Miz was a little bit more on rhythm during Awesome Truth’s entrance.
In a hilarious reference from earlier in the night, R-Truth called Pat Mahomes “the insurance guy.”
Alpha Academy’s loss to The Awesome Truth, coupled with Maxxine Dupri’s loss, does not bode well for their next meeting with Chad Gable.
Awesome Truth vs. Alpha Academy Grade: C+
Jey Uso, Andrade And Ricochet Def. The Judgment Day
Michael Cole had the line of the night during Jey Uso’s entrance when he told Pat McAfee “…and they said you don’t have any stamina. You’ve yeeted more than once tonight!”
JD McDonagh’s face was battered and bruised after being punched once with Logan Paul’s Super Bowl Brass Ring, but Jey Uso’s face was just fine despite being punched several times with that same ring. No, this is not a storyline flaw, because Samoan wrestlers notoriously have extremely thick skulls.
Rey Mysterio called Dominik “Dirty Sanchez” earlier in the night due to Dom’s mustache.
Jey Uso received an intense hot tag and remains more over than Damian Priest. A surprise Jey Uso title win could help further The Judgment Day’s inevitable downfall.
The main event’s pace picked up big time during the final minutes of WWE Raw, resulting in a victory for the babyfaces due to another Judgment Day miscue.
