This year’s WWE Raw after Wrestlemania 41 went down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, presenting perhaps the most raucous show of the year. Infamously, this main roster show after the Show of Shows is infamous for witnessing some major returns, and last night, it didn’t disappoint, either.
Making the speculations true, Rusev is back in the WWE, and he’d seemingly be a part of WWE Raw, for the time being. After signing up with the WWE leading up to the Wrestlemania season, the former United States Champion made his return to WWE TV on the post-Mania show, attacking both members of Alpha Academy.
Originally, The New Day was in the ring on WWE Raw talking about their WrestleMania victory when Otis, & Akira Tozawa accompanied by Maxxine Dupri came out and issued a challenge to the new World Tag Team Champions in a title match. As the two teams were about to start the match, the lights briefly went out, and out came Rusev after a gap of more than five years.
Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston left the scene as Rusev entered the ring and destroyed both Tozawa and Otis. Rusev took out Otis with a kick before placing him for an Accolade to end the segment.
WWE Raw After Wrestlemania 41: NXT Champion Makes In-Ring Debut On April 21 Episode
Following his return on WWE Raw, Deadline reports that Rusev had signed a two-year deal with the WWE. While Rusev’s wife and former manager Lana didn’t appear, she also signed a WWE Legends deal.
“Rusev is back to crush the WWE and become World Champion,” Lana told Deadline. “We have been cooking this up from our Bulgarian kitchen since the day we left, and with the help of Paradigm, we were able to make this a reality! Machka Crush.”
WWE Raw: Sami Zayn and JD McDonagh returned on post-Mania show
In a celebration segment on WWE Raw, Sami Zayn returned and hugged the new World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso to have a reunion with both Jey and Jimmy Uso. This was Sami’s first appearance on WWE TV since his Elimination Chamber loss to Kevin Owens. Sami seemed to have turned on Jey, but he composed himself.
Furthermore, Dominik Mysterio (c) defeated Penta to retain the Intercontinental Championship on WWE Raw after Wrestlemania 41. JD McDonagh returned during this match and pushed Penta off the top rope. This led to Dirty Dom stealing the win. The entire Judgment Day celebrated after the match.