April 29, 2019 Monday Night RAW

Monday Night RAW

Promotion	WWE
Date	April 29, 2019
Venue	Rupp Arena
City	Lexington, Kentucky
Previous episode	April 22, 2019
Next episode	May 6, 2019

The April 29, 2019 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's RAW brand, which took place on April 29, 2019 at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

Episode summary[]

Alexa Bliss revealed the Raw Men’s Money in the Bank participants on “A Moment of Bliss”[]

Right, then. To business. Alexa Bliss wasted no time giving the people what they were waiting for on Raw, opening the show with a “Moment of Bliss” installment that brought out Team Red’s participants in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match one by one: Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman.

And, true to form, the competitors immediately began butting heads. Even though Ricochet and McIntyre found some common ground in dunking on Corbin’s various shortcuts (stealing McIntyre’s victory last week) and shortcomings (failing to win the WWE Title when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract in 2017), the confab largely consisted of chest-puffing and promises of victory to come. Strowman was conspicuous by his silence until he could take no more, shutting down all arguments by forecasting the return of “Mr. Monster in the Bank” and offering a “preview” of the festivities by challenging McIntyre & Corbin to a tag team match against himself and Ricochet. They immediately accepted, despite their differences — and, perhaps, against their better judgment.

Alexa Bliss announced the Raw Women’s Money in the Bank participants on “A Moment of Bliss”[]

To business, once more: With the Men’s participants in the Raw Money in the Bank Match already announced, Alexa Bliss turned the spotlight on Team Red’s representatives in the women’s field in a “Moment of Bliss” follow-up that held not one but two surprises. Naomi and Natalya were seemingly shoe-ins, but Raw will also field perennial underdog Dana Brooke and the surprise addition of Bliss herself, whose in-ring appearances have been on the sparse side for most of 2019.

The Goddess all but declared herself the pre-emptive winner upon announcing her name (moments after calling for a moment of decorum among the bickering participants, no less). Naomi, looking to take Bliss down a notch or two, challenged her to an impromptu match, and despite some minor hurdles — Alexa didn’t have her boots — provoked Bliss into agreeing to the bout.

Naomi vs Alexa Bliss[]

There’s an old sports-entertainment adage that you should always have a pair of boots close by. Alexa Bliss, bereft of hers and forced to compete in unlaced Chuck Taylors, ended up on the wrong end of that old chestnut thanks to Naomi, who had no patience for Bliss’ continued attempts to tie her laces and no mercy when it came to capitalizing on her equipment issues. Bliss, ironically, had a chance to put this one away when she shoved Naomi face-first into the turnbuckle, but her insistence on yelling about her shoes to the ref led to her being leveled with a Rear View and split-legged moonsault. Her fortunes could change at WWE Money in the Bank, but Bliss might need to start over if she wants to become a two-time contract holder. A pair of boots would be a good first step.

Raw & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch brawled with Lacey Evans[]

Facing Charlotte Flair at WWE Money in the Bank isn’t necessarily a death sentence for Becky Lynch’s reign as double champ: She’s been there, done that and has The Queen's number. Lacey Evans, on the other hand, has more or less had The Man’s number over the last several weeks, placing “Becky Two Belts” into something of a defensive posture as she prepares to defend her Raw Women’s Title against The Lady of WWE.

To ask Becky, though, everything is going according to plan. She wouldn’t have pursued both titles if she couldn’t defend them, and she never met a punch she didn’t enjoy taking. To prove her point, Lynch attempted to bait Evans into a fight and got what she asked for, as The Lady emerged, declared she was “done talking” and immediately swarmed The Man in a ringside scrap so vicious that it took 10 officials to finally separate the two on the second attempt.

Results[]

Singles Match: Naomi defeated Alexa Bliss

Other on-screen talent[]

Commentator: Renee Young
Interviewers: Charly Caruso & Sarah Schreiber