ORLANDO, Fla. — Once upon a time, Drew McIntyre came back after years in the wilderness and fought his way to becoming NXT Champion … and then, Andrade came along and took the title. The WWE Champion hasn’t forgotten any of that, so when Andrade and Zelina Vega reared their heads on Raw looking for a fight, they didn’t have to push too hard to get a “yes.”

Granted, it’s unclear whether McIntyre thinks of Andrade as a “deserving” opponent, but given their shared past, it’s not hard to see why McIntyre agreed to a Champion vs. Champion Match. If his goal is to rewrite history, this is as good a chance as he’s ever going to get to pay back the man who hampered his rise. And if Andrade is looking to repeat history, this is as good a chance as he’ll get to do that, too.

Anybody who has looked at Oney Lorcan’s Twitter feed for five minutes knows the man loves a good scrap, and he doesn’t seem to take it too personally if he loses. Luckily for him on both fronts, he was facing Aleister Black.

The Boston Brawler probably couldn’t have drawn a more vicious opponent for his second Raw match in as many weeks, and he more than rose to the occasion in a grueling, competitive bout. Lorcan wisely tried to keep The Dutch Destroyer ensnared in a grappling contest to take away Black’s striking ability, but both Superstars eventually abandoned the pretense and started throwing hands, with Aleister connecting with the deciding Black Mass. It’s the same fate that may well await Austin Theory, whom Black will face next week in a Money in the Bank qualifier.

If one year of being Raw Women’s Champion has taught Becky Lynch anything, it’s that someone is always trying to come after the title. And one year of defending it has taught her to have a plan for anyone who does.

In her return to Raw, The Man all but danced on Shayna Baszler’s dashed hopes, revealing that her “silly” phase prior to The Showcase of the Immortals was little more than a ruse to lower Shayna’s sense of security — nobody can get closer to the queen, she reasoned, than a joker she doesn’t see as a threat. And as for the winner of the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match? Lynch vowed to have a plan for that, too. Bold? Yes. Cocky? Perhaps. But she hasn’t been wrong yet.

You could make the argument that Austin Theory didn’t lose anything by coming up short at WrestleMania — by being entered into his match at the last minute, the appearance was a win in and of itself. Clearly, Theory isn’t buying that … well, theory. All Day put on an impressive performance against Akira Tozawa with Zelina Vega in tow in what was both a validation of La Muñeca’s patronage and, crucially, a taste of things to come.

Of course, Zelina has never lacked for confidence in her stable, but Theory certainly performed as advertised. The five-tool prodigy outdid Tozawa in the early goings and rallied from a furious sprint by the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion to win the match with the ATL, much to the delight of fellow clients Andrade and Angel Garza, who joined Theory for a post-match beatdown of The Stamina Monster — to say nothing of the delight of the woman who brought them together.

Austin Theory made quite the statement against Akira Tozawa, but one of Zelina Vega’s other clients, Angel Garza, had the most fun. The former NXT Cruiserweight Champion was a whirling dervish of charisma and brutality against NXT’s Tehuti Miles, a Philadelphia product who was completely overwhelmed by the self-styled lothario.

Making eyes at the ringside photographer and blowing kisses to the audience at home, Garza barely allowed Miles a minute of offense, quickly seizing control with a gorgeous dropkick and eventually sealing the win with the Wing Clipper. Much like earlier, Andrade and Theory joined in for an extra-credit attack against Miles. Whether that’s a sign of what awaits Drew McIntyre remains to be seen, but tonight definitely won’t be the last time we see this.

Charlotte Flair’s WrestleMania victory resulted in a Raw Superstar holding the NXT Women’s Title for the first time in its existence, but that isn’t to say The Queen has looked past the field of challengers at the black-and-gold brand. In fact, she came to Raw with a direct message to NXT, especially next-woman-up Io Shirai.

Dubbing the night “History Lessons With The Queen,” Charlotte ran down the recent series of events and was feeling herself to an extraordinary degree, referring to herself in the third person and declaring herself “the biggest thing” thanks to her win over “next big thing” Rhea Ripley. And as for the NXT Women’s division, she’s out to teach them something more than history. She’s out to teach them humility.

Bobby Lashley was less than pleased with Lana as both a manager and, seemingly, a wife at WrestleMania, as her coaching inadvertently led him straight into Aleister Black’s foot. The All Mighty took steps to rectify the situation on Raw, calmly but firmly asking Lana to quiet down at ringside.

The decision landed them in a brief tiff that nearly got Lashley rolled up by No Way Jose, but luckily for Lashley’s marriage, he kicked out and Speared The Dominican Dancing Machine for the win. Lana seemed to forgive Lashley’s frustration, raising his hand atop the ramp, and if The All Mighty didn’t look at least a little exasperated, he was clearly happy to get a win — literally and figuratively.

Just as Ricochet & Cedric Alexander were beginning to make some waves in the Tag Team division, here come The Viking Raiders to remind them of the pecking order: The former Raw Tag Team Champions effectively grounded Raw’s incredibly popular new tag team, making it abundantly clear that they are looking to reclaim the titles.

For all the very impressive efforts Ricochet & Alexander put together against Erik & Ivar (and for all of Ricochet’s very entertaining trash talk), The Viking Raiders successfully employed a divide-and-conquer strategy, isolating Alexander from Ricochet to secure the win and making the universal, hands-across-the-waist sign to signify their intentions. As for Ricochet & Alexander, rest assured that it’s only a matter of time before they’re in contention for the titles. But that time hasn’t come quite yet.