Where do you go from here?

Wrestlemania Week in Las Vegas has officially concluded. And there’s a lot to appreciate after the very flounder “mania” closes with the obvious formation of new major powers in wrestling. Plus, there are new WWE Champions, World Heavyweight Champions, Men’s Intercontinental Champions and Men’s US Champions, but there weren’t much shakeups in the women’s division. Iyo Sky and Tiffany Stratton both held their own world titles against three of the top stars in the division, and even the female tag titles returned to Raquel Rodriguez on “Raw” after paying back Becky Lynch with Lyra Valkyria and Wrestlemania to Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. In fact, Lynch and Valkyria have come to have the clearest direction for someone in the company after the former turned on the latter in “Raw.”

However, almost everything else still needs something clearly needed. Are feuds like Jade Cargill vs Naomi and Drew McIntyre vs Damian Priest really over? Who will try out a new title holder? And with the final shard of the original lineage finally being cut off, how powerful will Paul Heyman’s new faction grow to fill the void? “The Immortal Showcase is over” – Where are you going from here?

“The Samoan Werewolf” finally has his first single championship in WWE, and from what we’ve seen from Jacob Fatu so far, he’s absolutely ready to run the male midcard division than he already has in “WWE Smackdown.” It is likely that a common theme throughout this article, and FATU may face Knight again next month with the WWE Backlash. However, technically, there is no rematch clause within WWE unless it is convenient to book, so he can easily fight on Friday, which is all due to the character of Knight and his cheekiness. However, Fatu has no reason to give Knight a rematch. He neatly secured the “Megastar” into the middle of the ring after a pair of Moonzoos, so no interference or distraction from the Solosicore or the rest of the pedigree.

WWE did not paint itself into the corners with Fatu and Bloodline because of that fact. Sikoa came out on Fatu, which makes perfect sense, but didn’t descend into the ring with him. All of Fatu won the US Championships themselves. As Sikore didn’t interfere, there’s no real reason for Sikore and Fatu to get caught up in a feud for now. There is tension behind the scenes, but it’s not enough for WWE to have to choose to act immediately. Sikoa can wait while Fatu runs through everyone else who challenges him. WWE didn’t take off exactly because Sikoa’s experiments lacked a better term, so leaving it and letting Fatu do his thing is probably best for what fans want to see.

Fatu runs long in the US title, before defeating guys like Andrede and Miz, once again flesh feud with Brown Strowman (intentional pun), and perhaps even drew McIntyre or Damian Priest somewhere. If WWE wants to look more famous with the mid-card belt, then you can put Fatu in a big feud after some solid and dominant defenses can absolutely do it.

Written by Daisy Ruth

After months of inadequate attacks, personal attacks and right hand, Naomi and Jade Cargill finally squared in singles action at 1pm on WrestleMania 41. Cargill left Vegas with what she wanted after being blown away by a fierce brawl: her persuasive, victory over her ex-best friend, and a chance to travel on a clean slate. Or what about her?

Cargill attended a post-WrestleMania meeting after the show, bullying fans with the potential continuation of the mania after her and Naomi feud. There is reason to believe that the feud will be revisited in the upcoming episode of WWE Smackdown, which leads to WrestleMania backlash just three weeks away, but Cargill is relatively tight and lips about how the expanded feud between her and Naomi may seem accurate. Naomi also maintains silence about her loss and further programmes with Cargill, but the general consensus here is that Naomi and Cargill have not yet been made in their saga.

So where do we go from here?

Whatever Naomi and Cargill wear, it must be more of a leap and boundary than accumulation in the mania. With a clean loss in her record, Naomi can’t afford to take her foot off the gas when it comes to harsh punishment for Cargill. Cargill can’t afford to be complacent so that the feud doesn’t fall flat and prematurely. They may have had a WrestleMania moment, but I would argue that their performance in Vegas is nothing more than an out-lap. They were testing the water at the time. Now it’s time to put things in high gear for a lap that flies towards the backlash. They really need to push every nuance, every depth of their characters into every corner to make it worth watching this feud. If the two do it right after the enthusiasts and do the full send thing, the inevitable match in the backlash is a must-see contest, especially with cards that are usually ignored because WWE’s roster is relatively unstoppable.

There are also questions from Bianca Bella. When offering my thoughts on the fallout of Night 2 triple threat against the WWE Women’s World Championships, I touch on the overall impact on the division, but simply put, there is no way Bel Air won’t be involved in this feud. If her aggression during the Triple threat is something that passes, we’re planning on a more intense tween version of “-est” (if not a full heel turn). It’s not clear who will take away following the match between Naomi and Cargill. Can you head towards a triple threat among the WrestleMania 40 trio in Backlash?

Everything can happen in wrestling. The phrase could not have been more true.

Written by Angeline Phu

It was a strange few months for Drew McIntyre. The former WWE champion returned to his focus on Roman rule and bloodline following his feud with CM Punk. After behind the scenes controversy erupted around his elimination from the 2025 men’s royal rumble match, McIntyre had reported that he was set to win an elimination chamber, but he instead ended up in a WrestleMania feud with the priest of Damien who made money at McIntyre’s bank a year ago. I even looked for moments where the match was in question when McIntyre got the glass in his eyes after the priest slammed him with the windshield of the car, but he competed and won, revenging his “mania 40 loss” and ended this roller coaster at least with his arms.

Despite his victory, the advancement of the “Scottish Psychopath” remains unknown. With the World Heavyweight Championship (in theory) and the WWE title in John Cena’s hands on the heels, he’s already rebutting Randy Orton, and he’s not chasing the world title, as he reminded us with “Raw.” As for the “Smackdown” hierarchy, the only natural choice for McIntyre’s next opponent is Rhodes. That storyline is likely to feature both strong wrestling and strong promotions, and McIntyre is a good nemesis for building Cody back to Cony’s level. However, it remains to be seen how Rhodes will respond to his WrestleMania loss to Senna. I don’t even know if he’s on “SmackDown.”

The immediate future of the priest is even more difficult to determine, beyond McIntyre, as there are no many heels in “Smackdown” at his specific level. He seems to be positioned too highly. He could work with younger heels like Solosicore and Carmelo Hayes, or even anti-heroes like Lanite, but any combination of those names gives them a match that both participants need to win. To be honest, the best thing for the priest – and perhaps even for McIntyre, if Rhodes is not available, then continue to fight back with McIntyre and at some point he will regain his victory. Personally speaking, I enjoyed their WrestleMania match well and it’s okay to see them go to it again.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair went to war at one WWE Women’s Championship on WrestleMania night. But if there’s a match that can be run again in next month’s Backlash, this is this with Flair’s character, despite Stratton having cleanly beaten her on “the most epic stage of them all.” Flair is unlikely to make this loss well, especially after all these two women have experienced personal attacks during the now infamous “Smackdown” promotion segment. Nor does it mean that Stratton defeats his dream opponent during his WrestleMania debut, lifting his head a month later, and engaging the championship in talent.

Meanwhile, it can be argued that Stratton and Flair will not face each other again. WWE has not hinted at a post-mania draft, but Flair has been able to head to “WWE Raw” very well and take part in the mix with Bianca Belair and Rhea in the face of women’s world champion Iyo Sky. With the risk of entering personal territory, Flair has a reason to move the brand, and fans will never think about it again.

Stratton rattles out several names at a press conference after the show on Saturday, excited by the possibility of a new feud. She mentioned both Bella and Ripley, and Jade Cargill. Naomi will also be a great feud for Stratton. Her new heeled character quickly earned steam with fans, making it a great feud for Stratton as many people wanted to beat Cargill.

There’s also Nia Jax, who is always waiting on the wing to try and take the championship again from Stratton. The list of women on “Smackdown” varies, but outside of Jax and Naomi, there are not many heels working on the blue brand. Stratton is one of the champions who can benefit from the shake-up of the Postrest Tourmania roster. That is, if she and Flair are apart from each other and Flair doesn’t win the title with the backlash.

Written by Daisy Ruth

So despite Cody Rhodes’ claims in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 41, the world title number 17 actually happened at John Cena in the main event on Sunday. With the split-point match and results, Cena shot the WWE Championship with low blows and belt shots, with the help of Travis Scott, rather than the rock that the story expects. It is a bitter end for Rhodes’ title reign, a year after abdicated Roman reign and ending his own historic run, questioning when and where he will re-emerge and apply himself. He refused to comment on WrestleMania’s losses after the show, and was not seen on Monday’s “WWE Raw,” so it’s very likely that it will take time to reevaluate everything in the right way, and that’s still not enough. However, he is being promoted for this week’s “Smackdown.”

Cena was on “Raw” to show off his record-breaking WWE Championship. If no one has abdicated him, it will also achieve his goal of being the last direct, non-controversial WWE champion. However, he met someone he and Rhodes knew very well in Randy Orton and caught “the greatest ever” in RKO out of nowhere before lifting the title to make his intentions clear. Orton and Cena are renowned rivals, but this becomes a flip of normal dynamics. Cena looks like Orton will be reeling around the heels and Orton will be adding to the 14 world titles. There is also the question of how Rhodes reacts when his friends pursue his title.

For months, Orton defended Rhodes and his title reign, opposing the insurmountable odds with Bradline and Kevin Owens. That dynamic alone adds the possibility of triple threats and disparities between babyfaces, contrary to Cena.

Written by Max Everett

Iyo Sky stepped into WrestleMania as WWE Women’s World Champion, but despite an unbeaten streak at Triple Threat Championship Matches, no one was expecting her to go out with her gold in her hands yet. Sky was the third wheel of her own title feud built on WrestleMania and perceived underdogs, particularly against Ripley’s general reservation and Bel Air’s unbeaten WrestleMania Streak. So, as Sky pinned Bel Air to secure the victory, defeated Bel Air’s WrestleMania unbeaten streak and continued her reign in Vegas, her upset victory absolutely changed the game. Now, where will all precedents and all expectations go out the window and go from here? Where do Sky, Belair and Ripley go from here?

Belair first needs a little bit of time from the title scene. Not because she has exhausted the possibilities of her claims, but because there are more pressing issues in her life than another chance of money. Her two former friends (because I don’t think I’m friendly with either of them), Naomi and Jade Cargill, are torn between each other in “WWE Smackdown.” If they pace things right, it is enough for their three-way feud to rebel them, and perhaps to carry them to Summer Slam. In any case, Bella’s focus should be on Naomi and Cargill.

Ripley knows he appeared in “WWE RAW” after WrestleMania to save Sky from a post-match beatdown. There’s no way Ripley can get that title right away. As of Wrestlemania 41, Ripley failed to defeat Sky in the three innings of the title. Two times in “Raw” and once in “The Grandest Stage of All.” I can’t imagine that after three failed attempts, she will succeed in regaining the title. There is no way this program lasts longer than a backlash. If that doesn’t end in any of the three previous episodes of “Raw.” As for what Ripley does after losing to Sky…it’s everyone guessing. Rest and travel to Smack Down can give Mami much needed refreshment.

Well, for the sky. After Ripley, Sky has the opportunity to take on a very new enemy. With NXT women’s champion Stephanie Verker on “WWE RAW,” there are so many women who can compete for Sky’s title under the Red Brand, and many women who can call “NXT” women. The sky is the limit (intended) of the new WWE Women’s World Championship. Where does Sky go from here? The same place she always was: the summit.

Written by Angeline Phu

Dominique Mysterio is the Intercontinental Champion after standing up on the occasion with a frog splash, then placing waste on fellow Judge Day member Finn Valor and capturing gold. For some reason, in some way, in the last few weeks, Mysterio has slowly emerged as a babyface. His evolution into a good guy was apparently complete thanks to the Las Vegas crowd on Sunday, after he won the title and returned to the ring to celebrate his second time, along with fans watching the post show behind a panel outside the arena. Fans were singing for “Dirty Dom.” He said he plans to celebrate the victory with chicken nuggets and burgers.

But where does he go from here? This is easy, and the end of Judgment Day seems hopefully near. That’s why Mysterio gets a pin on Valor and strengthens their split over the coming weeks, perhaps in a one-on-one match in the backlash. Mysterio and Valor are likely to face off in St. Louis, hopefully Mysterio holds the championship. After that, Valor and JD McDonna can now easily slide into the tag team photos, now that McDonna has returned after “raw.”

On Monday’s “Raw”, Mysterio had his first successful defense against Penta and Valor. However, once Judgment Day was over, Baroai didn’t look very happy to be drawn into the group’s embrace to celebrate the rest of the faction. Surprisingly, it was McDonna who helped Mysterio get the victory, but if Split moves forward, he could easily be dependent on Valor.

Mysterio, Liv Morgan, and Raquel Rodriguez can come out as their own trio and perhaps take Carlito with them. Morgan and Mysterio are still cute acts together, and they’ve had a lot of media appearances on each other. There’s no real reason to break them up, and it’s not interacting with the actual content in WWE programming anyway, so putting them together is still a good idea. At this point, Mysterio doesn’t seem to need everything behind him, especially the faction of the heels, and he can stand on his own in the championship for more and more time afterwards.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Seeing what came after WrestleMania 41 for attendees in Saturday’s main event on Monday’s “WWE Raw,” it added another different name to the mix after a shocking collaboration between Paul Heyman and Seth Rollins over the weekend.

By turning on both the CM Punk and Rome rule and handing the victory over Rollins, it was clear that “Presenter” was the latest “Paul Heyman Guy” to deal with the issue to close “Law.” It didn’t take long for the punk to feed. The ruler then descended into the ring to do what Punk couldn’t do, sent a spear to Rollins, delivering Superman punches to Heyman before setting the spear to the previous “Sage.” However, when he ran for the move, he was torn out of the sky with a Bron Blakeker spear, losing the InterContinental title over the weekend and marking his first action ever since engaging in an alliance with Heyman and Rollins.

Rollins and Blakeker wrote Punk and appeared to rule for different spells. After that, Rollins stomps on Punk’s head, then sees reign and stomps on the “tribe chief” to finish things. Things are clearly far from governance, Punk, Rollins, Blakeker, Heyman, so that’s a problem when Regulation and Punk each come back to pick things up. But with Rollins’ victory, he’s a WWE uncontroversial top guy in his words, and he could also target money – especially at Reigns’ cousin Jey Uso The WWE World Heavyweight Champion, who celebrates alongside his brothers Jimmy and Sami Zayn on Monday’s show.

Rollins claims that the future is running through him, meaning that it’s not just his old skeleton that he’s trying to fill. Breakker is clearly here to help him do it – and he may not be the only one. It seems that the new faction that is forming around Heyman will only grow…but how big and with whom? I hope Rusev is just back and Jeff Cobb is folded and the likes of Ilja Dragunov and Bronson Reed are ready to return soon. No matter who the particular name is ultimately, I feel it is very likely that Heyman and Rollins are building a new, dangerous alliance. That’s bad news for everyone else on “Raw.”

Written by Max Everett