Eva Marie Arrives on WWE Raw, But Doesn’t Wrestle

Eva Marie made her return to Monday Night Raw this week, but her return match to WWE didn’t go quite the way fans expected. “All Red Everything” was booked for a match with Naomi, but it was NXT UK’s Piper Niven (never identified in the match) who actually wrestled and promptly squashed the former SmackDown Women’s Champion. Marie then grabbed a microphone after the match and declared herself the winner.

Niven, previously going by Viper on the independent circuit, was seen as one of the top stars on NXT UK’s women’s division prior to her jump to Raw. You can see the full squash match below.

Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp then reported Niven’s new name on Raw roster would be “Doudrop.” That was not used throughout the segment, so it’s possible WWE scrapped that plan.

Marie’s initial WWE run ended back in 2017, one year after she was handed a 30-day suspension for a Wellness Policy violation and disappeared from TV. But two years after announcing her departure, Marie was already talking about a return in interviews.

“Sure. I’m always going to have that itch. I absolutely love wrestling. You never know. It’s one of those things where things have totally taken off for the women of WWE,” Marie told TV Insider back in 2019. “They are killing it right now. I think it’s so amazing. Of course, if the opportunity arises and the timing is how it’s supposed to be, I definitely would come back to shake things up because I can always bring the heat. That’s for sure.”

“Absolutely. WWE is my No. 1. My home. My family. They prepared me for all the things I am doing and what I want to do in my career,” she told The Wrap in September 2020. “I am forever grateful to the company, to Vince [McMahon], Hunter [Triple H] and Stephanie [McMahon]. If it made sense, of course I’d come back home.”

What did you think of Marie’s first night back on WWE television? Do you think she’ll actually wrestle in the near future? Let us know in the comments below!