WWE Raw after WrestleMania takeaways: Fatu 'needs' Reigns' title, more

WWE Raw on April 20 took place T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and featured a showdown between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu.

The Raw after Mania brought a few surprises with the call-ups of Ethan Page, Sol Ruca, and Joe Hendry (who appears next week). The Street Profits also made a return, attacking tag champs Austin Theory and Logan Paul during a segment that featured Bron Breakker and Seth Rollins. We saw Oba Femi open the show with a one-line mic drop, Finn Bálor pinned JD McDonagh, and RHIYO scored a win over the Kabuki Warriors.

Here’s the top takeaways from this week’s show:

CM Punk teases title program vs. Cody Rhodes

It seems CM Punk’s new entrance thing is silence until he yells, "It’s Clobberin’ Time!" It works, as long as we get "Cult of Personality" at some point. Punk took the mic to show that he wasn’t feeling down on himself after losing to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.

Punk said he dealt with a lot of losses recently, including his dog Larry, personal friends and WWE family behind the scenes. However, he said showing up every week helped him heal. Keeping his head held high, Punk said he’s just going to stay ready for the next opportunity, because you never know when one will "fall out of the sky."

.@CMPunk was proud to carry the World Heavyweight Championship! 🙌#RawAfterManiapic.twitter.com/GsIYw5J6vk

— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2026

Enter Cody Rhodes, who revealed severe damage to his left eye.

Rhodes entered the ring, and although he beat Randy Orton at Mania and still has the title, felt like he lost. Rhodes was a little caught off guard, because he thought Punk would crash out after losing to Reigns. Instead, Punk once again confirmed he’s in a good place, and as he stared at Rhodes’ title, once again said he’s going to stay ready "because you never know when a championship opportunity is gonna fall out of the sky."

"Hey Punk, just say when," Rhodes replied.

"Just say when."

ANYTHING can happen in the future for @CMPunk and @CodyRhodes... 👀#RawAfterManiapic.twitter.com/ZgaPbprS8k

— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2026

Man. Rhodes has shown up on WWE television with parts of his body mangled more than anyone else in history. This was a fantastic tease for Punk and Rhodes’ future. Although, given how WWE and TKO ruined the build between Rhodes and Orton with forced celebrity involvement, one can’t help but wonder how Jelly Roll will be a part of the story.

Ethan Page wins Raw debut

In a backstage segment with Penta and Je’Von Evans, Ethan Page appeared to make it known he’s not only on Raw now, but he’s going to be in the men’s Intercontinental Championship scene. A tense interaction between Evans and Page led to Adam Pearce creating a match.

Fast forward a little, and the match goes down. Evans was favoring his ribs, selling damage from the fantastic ladder match at Mania. The match unfolded nicely, but out of nowhere, Rusev appeared to cause a distraction. Page hit his finisher a moment later to win his first match on Raw.

What a debut for Ethan Page!! 😱@OfficialEGO | #RawAfterManiapic.twitter.com/PNFtopgcqx

— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2026

After the match, a brawl with Rusev, Evans and Penta took place. Page clapped for Rusev after handling both.

This was a good showing for Page in his Raw debut. WWE put him in the right spot for the IC title, because that scene needs a strong mic worker right now.

Liv Morgan spoils Sol Ruca’s Raw debut

After gloating about her title win over Stephanie Vaquer at Mania, Sol Ruca’s music hit. Ruca and Morgan exchanged a few words before Adam Pearce interjected and called for a match to begin immediately.

WOAH! 🤯

SOL RUCA IS HERE!!!@SolRucaWWE | #RawAfterManiapic.twitter.com/0kjtDBeLY2

— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2026

Ruca did what she does best: flew all over the place with her unique offense, wowing the Las Vegas crowd. Ruca pulled off a slick counter to Morgan’s finisher to hit a Sol Snatcher a moment after, but Morgan rolled out of the ring to prevent the pin. Ruca gave chase, but was attacked from behind by her former partner Zaria. After barely beating the 10-count, Morgan hit Oblivion this time to get the win.

ARE YOU SERIOUS, SOL RUCA?!? 🤯@SolRucaWWE | #RawAfterManiapic.twitter.com/BDUgG7rr8V

— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2026

During Morgan’s exit, Vaquer met her at the entrance for a staredown.

Ruca received quite the warm welcome from the Vegas crowd, and she capitalized with a solid match against the champ. It was a solid introduction to the main roster, but it appears a sustained program with Morgan will come at a later time, given the Vaquer’s appearance after the match. Regardless, Ruca is a solid call-up to the Raw brand.

Jacob Fatu "needs" Roman Reigns’ title

In the final segment of the show, Roman Reigns strolled to the ring with The Usos. Reigns got on the mic and said he wanted to discuss some family business. He said he doesn’t want Jimmy and Jey to serve him, but be alongside him, because when they’re tight, they run the business.

"I'm not asking you to serve me, I'm just asking you to be my blood and stand with me."@WWERomanReigns wants to go back to the good old days with @WWEUsos. 👀 ☝️#RawAfterManiapic.twitter.com/kyQ2uCk8PX

— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2026

Just when they all were throwing their 1s to the sky, Jacob Fatu’s music hit.

Fatu came to the ring looking intense as ever. Reigns said there’s only two reasons he could be out here, and Fatu made it clear that he intends to come for Reigns’ title – not because he wants it, because he needs it, and everything that comes along with it: the money, the bigger house, and better schools for his kids. Fatu said at Backlash, he’s going to level up his family by taking that title.

"I don't want that title, I NEED that title."

Jacob Fatu just challenged Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship! 🤯@jacobfatu_wwe | @WWERomanReigns | #RawAfterManiapic.twitter.com/gQyzyIGdGJ

— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2026

Reigns calmly warned Fatu that he might not be ready for the weight of the title. He said he’s not sure if Fatu can handle winning the title, or losing and having to acknowledge him. Ultimately, he said he will give him a week to really think about it.

So this was an interesting way to close the show. It felt like the beginning of the next chapter in The Bloodline saga with Reigns and The Usos back together, and yet, they’re facing a challenge from another family member. It’s a good move to put Fatu in the title picture after his win over McIntyre at Night 1 of Mania, even though many were buzzing over Oba Femi’s call out of Reigns during the Mania post-show on Sunday. That’s a program that should come, but that feels more like a SummerSlam main event.

This article originally appeared on Wrestling Junkie: WWE Raw after WrestleMania: Fatu confronts Reigns, Punk-Rhodes tease