5 Big Takeaways from WWE Monday Night RAW - April 24, 2023

ALL STATE ARENA | ROSEMONT, IL

This week's episode of Monday Night RAW was presented LIVE from the Chicago area, as the winds of change are blowing through WWE. The Draft is coming up soon, and Triple H promised that there was another big announcement coming. Needless to say, these changes are a huge influence on the programming and storylines right now, as there's still some unfinished business on both brands.

It's been all quiet on the Universal title front as Roman Reigns has been comfortably off to TV for a few episodes now, taking a scheduled (and deserved) break. As he creeps closer and closer to 1,000 days as the Head of the Table in WWE, it's always noticeable when he's not around. The shows haven't had quite the same (Superman) punch without him. Despite this, Reigns' cast of supporting characters is still pretty strong. And despite a somewhat lackluster episode of Smackdown on Friday, they always manage to get through a couple of weeks here and there when he's gone.

This week's RAW was no different with major names laying the ground for the promotion's Backlash event on May 6. So... having gotten all that business out of the way? Here's a look at five things that really stood out on this edition of Monday Night RAW.

#1 - Cody is back in a City that he knows very well

Cody Rhodes and Chicago have a long history. It was in this area that his brainchild, All In, helped change the face of pro wrestling forever. It was also the site of his grueling Hell In Cell battle with Seth Rollins. In many ways, the Windy City is where Cody grew from a star to an icon.

As he opened the show with a promo, Rhodes reminded the crowd of their shared past, before discussing his issues with Brock Lesnar and showed the crowd the scar from his torn pectoral muscle last year.

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