Will Monday be Rusev Day? It might not be the biggest question coming out of WrestleMania 41 weekend, but with the Bulgarian bruiser now confirmed to be back on the WWE roster, you have to wonder whether the big man might show up tonight on this year’s “Raw after ‘Mania.”
Naturally, Rusev isn’t the only name being tipped to make a surprise appearance on what has become known as one of WWE’s most unpredictable shows of the year. When we discussed the question as part of our Uncrowned WrestleMania 41 roundtable, the other names that came up included Matt Cardona, Malakai Black, Ethan Page and Trick Williams.
How did the first “Raw after ‘Mania” become such a fixture in the WWE calendar? Like a lot of the best things in wrestling, it happened semi-organically. Look back to the mid-1990s, when WrestleMania was first hitting its stride, and you’ll quickly find examples of surprises on the ensuing episode of “Raw” — Mankind’s infamous debut in 1996, to name but one.
There have been plenty of other surprise debuts over the years: A 24-year-old, 286-pound Brock Lesnar turning up — accompanied by Paul Heyman — to toss around Al Snow, Maven and Spike Dudley like ragdolls in 2002; then Goldberg in 2003, or even the likes of Umaga in 2006 and Paige in 2014. All four went on to win gold soon after debuting on WWE’s unofficial yearly holiday. In the case of Paige, she picked up the now-retired Divas Championship within one night.
For every big debut, though, there has been a similarly important return: Batista riding to the rescue of the McMahons after WrestleMania 25, for example, or Finn Balor arriving to even the numbers in a six-man tag match after WrestleMania 33. Then there’s perhaps the most famous of them all: Lesnar returning on the “Raw after Mania” in 2012.
Back then, “The Beast Incarnate” had been gone from the WWE for eight years, and was almost universally assumed to have turned his back on the promotion. But when John Cena took to the mic to call out The Rock (who had defeated him the night earlier), the unmistakable sounds of Lesnar’s theme rang out instead.
Of course, surprises don’t have to involve a prodigal son figure making their return. Over the years, we’ve also had Ric Flair’s retirement, Dolph Ziggler cashing in his Money in the Bank to beat Alberto Del Rio, Hulk Hogan embracing his babyface roots once again, and The Rock telling the new Universal Champion Cody Rhodes last year that their fates would collide again soon enough in future.
What makes this time of year so ripe for a surprise in the first place? Plenty of people have made the comparison over the years of the “Raw after ‘Mania” being the wrestling equivalent of a “season opener” — meaning the WWE’s writers need to move quickly to establish new plots, after wrapping up some of their biggest ones the weekend before.
These days, WWE even doesn’t hide away from the fact that expectations are a little extra at this time of year — they’ve gone as far as adopting the official label “Raw after WrestleMania” for tonight’s show in Las Vegas. But even with the advance notice, they still haven’t lost their ability to wrong-foot us when necessary — just look at Lesnar turning on Rhodes back in April 2023.
That isn’t to say the whole “Raw after Mania” tradition isn’t without any drawbacks. Debuting on one of the biggest weekly shows of the year might seem like a dream come true for talent, but it also raises expectations. Last year, buzz aplenty came with the first outings for Ilja Dragunov and Roxanne Perez. Since then, the former has been sidelined with injuries, while Perez has gone from dominating the women’s Royal Rumble to being pushed back toward NXT. Neither is to blame, but their respective stories still show how being unveiled on “Raw after Mania” is far from a guaranteed golden ticket.
Still, the annual excitement around tonight’s outing can even trump injuries and poor booking. Look at the other names we’ve had thrown around this past WrestleMania 41 weekend as potential debutants or returnees: Oba Femi, Asuka, Jeff Cobb, Ilja Dragunov (take two) — not to mention anticipated plot twists, like the potential breakup of Judgment Day following Dominik Mysterio’s betrayal of Finn Balor.
Of course, they’re all just speculation at this stage. But isn’t that the fun of it? Tradition tells us tonight is more special than the typical Monday night, but all we can do is guess as to what might be coming.
Will Monday be Rusev Day? It might not be the biggest question coming out of WrestleMania 41 weekend, but with the Bulgarian bruiser now confirmed to be back on the WWE roster, you have to wonder whether the big man might show up tonight on this year’s “Raw after ‘Mania.”
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Naturally, Rusev isn’t the only name being tipped to make a surprise appearance on what has become known as one of WWE’s most unpredictable shows of the year. When we discussed the question as part of our Uncrowned WrestleMania 41 roundtable, the other names that came up included Matt Cardona, Malakai Black, Ethan Page and Trick Williams.
So how did the first “Raw after ‘Mania” become such a fixture in the WWE calendar? Like a lot of the best things in wrestling, it happened semi-organically. Look back to the mid-1990s, when WrestleMania was first hitting its stride, and you’ll quickly find examples of surprises on the ensuing episode of “Raw” — Mankind’s infamous debut in 1996, to name but one.
There have been plenty of other surprise debuts over the years: A 24-year-old, 286-pound Brock Lesnar turning up — accompanied by Paul Heyman — to toss around Al Snow, Maven and Spike Dudley like ragdolls in 2002; then Goldberg in 2003, or even the likes of Umaga in 2006 and Paige in 2014. All four went on to win gold soon after debuting on WWE’s unofficial yearly holiday. In the case of Paige, she picked up the now-retired Divas Championship within one night.
For every big debut, though, there has been a similarly important return: Batista riding to the rescue of the McMahons after WrestleMania 25, for example, or Finn Balor arriving to even the numbers in a six-man tag match after WrestleMania 33. Then there’s perhaps the most famous of them all: Lesnar returning on the “Raw after Mania” in 2012.
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Back then, “The Beast Incarnate” had been gone from the WWE for eight years, and was almost universally assumed to have turned his back on the promotion. But when John Cena took to the mic to call out The Rock (who had defeated him the night earlier), the unmistakable sounds of Lesnar’s theme rang out instead.
Of course, surprises don’t have to involve a prodigal son figure making their return. Over the years, we’ve also had Ric Flair’s retirement, Dolph Ziggler cashing in his Money in the Bank to beat Alberto Del Rio, Hulk Hogan embracing his babyface roots once again, and The Rock telling the new Universal Champion Cody Rhodes last year that their fates would collide again soon enough in future.
So what makes this time of year so ripe for a surprise in the first place? Plenty of people have made the comparison over the years of the “Raw after ‘Mania” being the wrestling equivalent of a “season opener” — meaning the WWE’s writers need to move quickly to establish new plots, after wrapping up some of their biggest ones the weekend before.
These days, WWE even doesn’t hide away from the fact that expectations are a little extra at this time of year — they’ve gone as far as adopting the official label “Raw after WrestleMania” for tonight’s show in Las Vegas. But even with the advance notice, they still haven’t lost their ability to wrong-foot us when necessary — just look at Lesnar turning on Rhodes back in April 2023.
Advertisement
That isn’t to say the whole “Raw after Mania” tradition isn’t without any drawbacks. Debuting on one of the biggest weekly shows of the year might seem like a dream come true for talent, but it also raises expectations. Last year, buzz aplenty accompanied the first outings for Ilja Dragunov and Roxanne Perez. Since then, the former has been sidelined with injuries, while Perez has gone from dominating the women’s Royal Rumble to being pushed back toward NXT. Neither is to blame, but their respective stories still show how being unveiled on “Raw after Mania” is far from a guaranteed golden ticket.
Still, the annual excitement around tonight’s outing can even trump injuries and poor booking. Look at the other names we’ve had thrown around this past WrestleMania 41 weekend as potential debutants or returnees: Oba Femi, Asuka, Jeff Cobb, Ilja Dragunov (take two) — not to mention anticipated plot twists, like the potential breakup of Judgment Day following Dominik Mysterio’s betrayal of Finn Balor.
Of course, they’re all just speculation at this stage. But isn’t that the fun of it? Tradition tells us tonight is more special than the typical Monday night, but all we can do is guess as to what might be coming.
