Former NXT North American Champion Wes Lee made his return to the brand last night, after being out of action for months due to an injury he sustained in December 2023. While many fans are happy to see him back in action, some have questioned whether he’s ready to compete again, and according to “Fightful Select,” Lee is definitely medically cleared.

Advertisement

Notably, Lee jumped off the barricade onto the ring steps, which was a good indicator that he is ready to go. According to the report, sources within “WWE NXT” have confirmed that he’s medically cleared, and noted how his recovery came as a surprise since they believed he could have potentially been out of action for a year at least, as well as there being a legitimate chance that he’d be forced to retire.

Lee’s injury was unfortunately so serious that even Shawn Michaels opened up about it during an appearance on “Busted Open Radio.” In the interview, Michaels noted how close he is with Lee, and that he believes they are similar in their passion for wrestling. Michaels explained that Lee’s “NXT” injury announcement was legitimate, and that he would be welcomed back when healthy. It remains to be seen what the next step will be for Lee, but since he confronted NXT North American Champion Oba Femi, it seems like his eyes are set on recapturing the title again. The next few weeks will go a long way toward proving how well Lee’s speedy recovery truly went.

Advertisement

NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez successfully defended her title against both Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley during “WWE NXT” Spring Breakin’ Week One. During last night’s “NXT,” Perez confronted “NXT” General Manager Ava about why she wasn’t drafted to the main roster. Much to her surprise, Ava introduced her to her next opponent, Chelsea Green. Following the segment, their match is now set for next week’s “NXT” installment.

Advertisement

WOAH 😳@roxanne_wwe will defend her #WWENXT Women’s Championship NEXT WEEK against…@ImChelseaGreen!#NXTSpringBreakin pic.twitter.com/DblWSEhID0

— WWE (@WWE) May 1, 2024

Notably, Green was recently drafted to “WWE SmackDown” alongside Piper Niven, which makes her return to “NXT” and title shot a bit odd. Green did, however, have a backstage interview during the show, where she explained that she’s currently a “hot commodity” and that her return to the brand is simply just a cameo. According to online records, the last time Perez and Green faced one another was 2021’s ROH Glory by Honor pay-per-view, and the “NXT” Women’s Champion has yet to suffer a defeat to Green.

It remains to be seen if Perez will lose the title to Green next week, but it might just be safe to bet on the reigning NXT Women’s Champion instead considering that her opponent is technically signed to “SmackDown.” For any fans wondering what the plans are for Perez, a “Fightful Select” report last month claimed that the star has impressed WWE higher-ups. Reportedly, backstage officials have been happy with her heel character as well as her professionalism behind the scenes. They also apparently believe she’ll have a lot of success in WWE. Based on this, it’ll likely only be a matter of time before she makes her move to the main roster.

Advertisement

After last Friday’s “WWE SmackDown” disappointed in viewership, was the company able to use this week’s “WWE Raw” to bounce back? Yes and no. According to Wrestlenomics, “Raw” posted a respectable 0.55 P18-49 rating, with 1,683,000 total viewers on average. That’s a 5% increase over the previous week’s episode, but the show is seeing a dip compared to the period immediately leading up to and following WWE WrestleMania 40, with an 11% drop from the average of the previous four weeks.

Advertisement

Although “Raw” is on the USA Network while “SmackDown” is on broadcast TV with Fox, the red brand nearly matched Friday’s show in viewers from 18-49. Additionally, while the average viewership for the 18-49 demo is at the same level as it was last April, the quarter as a whole is up 9%, indicating an increase in interest from the key demographic.

Regarding the quarter-hour ratings, the show peaked during the 9:45-10:00 p.m. ET segment, which featured a live promo from CM Punk and backstage segments featuring Drew McIntyre, Dominik Mysterio, and the Latino World Order. Ever so slightly behind that quarter-hour was the 8:45-9:00 segment, which included Logan Paul, Jey Uso, The Judgment Day, the return of Braun Strowman, and an appearance from Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Advertisement

The most-viewed clip on YouTube coming out of Monday’s show is Strowman’s return, which has nearly twice as many views as the Punk-McIntyre confrontation. Prior to coming back this week, Strowman had been out of action for about a year, with Monday’s show seeing the former Wyatt Family member drafted to “Raw.”

Swerve Strickland achieved his dream of becoming the first Black AEW World Champion at the company’s newest pay-per-view event, Dynasty, last week, dethroning Samoa Joe in the main event. WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW commentator Jim Ross was on the call for Strickland’s match and spoke about him winning the title on a recent episode of his “Grilling JR” podcast. 

Advertisement

“That’s one of the things that attracts me to [Swerve Strickland], is that he is a very, very physical, tough guy,” Ross said. “I want to know more about his military service, got to address that because he’s mentioned it two or three times in interviews and so forth. And I think that’s a good thing to sell for a babyface, especially, that you served your country. He’s a tough guy. The angle going into that match with he and Joe, I thought was extremely well done, very physical.”

Ross said he gives a lot of credit to Joe for how physical the match was. He said that you need a dance partner going into a main event like that, and he called Joe an “amazing” dance partner and a great champion, who may likely hold the gold again in the future. As for Strickland, Ross said the new champion is living the dream.

Advertisement

“Being the first Black AEW Champion was a big deal to him,” Ross said. “It wasn’t like it was just a throwaway promo line. He really, really was motivated to accomplish that feat and for him, he did it.”

Ross, who is currently commentating for AEW only on pay-per-views in his new deal, called the first match on the card, Kazuchika Okada versus PAC for the AEW Continental Championship.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Grilling JR” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.