WWE Raw Results
May 8, 2023
Report by Lovell Porter for Wrestlezone.com
In-Ring Segment: Cody Rhodes
Rhodes asks the Jacksonville crowd what they want to talk about. He made his home here during the pandemic, and they made a lot of memories. How about they make another one tonight? Rhodes notes that he battled “The Beast” Brock Lesnar. At Backlash, he found out what Lesnar was made of because it was all over his hands. Lesnar was a distraction. It’s clear to Rhodes what’s next for him, and it’s the World Heavyweight Championship.
Rhodes walks up the ramp to the stand that holds the new World Heavyweight Championship. He’s looking forward to hearing Samantha says, “And NEW World Heavyweight Champion, Cody Rhodes!” Rhodes officially starts the tournament. Seth “Freakin” Rollins’ music hits. Rollins and Rhodes have a staredown before Rollins makes his way to the ring.
World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Match: Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Damian Priest
As soon as the bell rings, Priest clocks Nakamura with an elbow. Priest gives Rollins one as well. Priest beats down Nakamura in the corner. Rollins knees Priest in the back, sending him out of the ring. Nakamura and Rollins stare each other down. Rollins hits the ropes and eats a flurry of strikes from Nakamura. Nakamura blasts Rollins with a sliding German suplex. Priest tries to sneak in a boot, but Nakamura avoids it. Nakamura catches Priest with a sliding knee. Before Priest can react, Nakamura follows that with a leaping knee strike off the apron to the back of Priest’s head.
After the break, Rollins flattens Nakamura and Priest with a crossbody off the top. Nakamura and Priest both fall to the outside area. Rollins lands suicide dives on Priest and Nakamura. Rollins tries another on Priest, but Priest clocks him in midair with a punch. Nakamura sets Priest on the top and lands a running knee. Diving knee strike off the second rope by Nakamura. Priest kicks out. Priest drops Nakamura with a nasty right hand.
Check out last week’s coverage: WWE Backlash Results (5/6/23)
Rollins tries a springboard, but Priest counters and lands a leaping flatliner. Rollins kicks out. Everyone lands a kick, which leads to everyone being down. Everyone trades strikes. Rollins back into a sleeper hold by Nakamura. Nakamura tries a reverse exploder, but Rollins lands on his feet. Discus clothesline by Rollins. Rollins goes up top. Priest crotches him on the top rope. Priest tries a Razor’s Edge, but his knee gives out. Rollins lands a Stomp. Nakamura breaks up the pin. Rollins is pissed.
Nakamura tells Rollins to come on. Both men trade strikes. Nakamura ducks Rollins’ knock out shot and lands his reverse exploder. Nakamura calls for the Kinshasa. Priest breaks it up with a lariat. Priest sets up South of Heaven. Nakamura reverses it into a knee bar. Priest is about to tap. Rollins lands a frog splash off the top on Nakamura out of nowhere. Priest writhes in pain, clutching at his knee. Rollins drops Nakamura with a Pedigree for the win!
Winner- Seth “Freakin” Rollins
WWE Raw Results Continue on the Next Page!
Mustafa Ali vs. Otis w/Chad Gable and Maxxine Dupri
Otis runs over Ali. Ali manages to avoid Otis until he’s turned upside down with a lariat. Otis calls for the Caterpillar. Gable and Dupri both get on the apron. Dupri doesn’t want Otis to do it. Gable does. Otis charges Ali. Ali moves out of the way and lands a 450 Splash for the win.
Winner- Mustafa Ali
World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Bálor vs. The Miz
Rhodes sends Bálor out of the ring and tries a few quick pins on Miz. Rhodes suplexes Bálor on top of Miz. Miz kicks out. Rhodes catches Bálor and Miz with a suicide dive. After the break, Rhodes lands a dropkick off the top that takes out Bálor and Miz. Rhodes drops down and uppercuts both Bálor and Miz. Rhodes lands powerslams on both Miz and Bálor. Double Cody Cutter by Rhodes. Rhodes clutches at his injured shoulder.
Rhodes sets up Crossroads on Bálor. Bálor counters, but Rhodes reverses that into a drop-down kick. Disaster Kick by Rhodes. Bálor kicks out. Miz manages to DDT Rhodes and Bálor at the same time. Miz tries the Skull Crushing Finale. Rhodes counters. Bálor drops Miz with the slingblade. Final cut by Bálor. Rhodes kicks out. Bálor sends Rhodes flying with the Woo dropkick. Bálor misses the double stomp off the top. Miz knocks Rhodes off the apron. Skull Crushing Finale by Miz.
Check out last week’s coverage: WWE Backlash Results (5/6/23)
Rhodes breaks up the pin. Rhodes hits Crossroads on Bálor. Miz tosses Rhodes out of the ring and tries to steal the pin. Rhodes immediately gets back in the ring and breaks up Miz’s pin. Rhodes proceeds to give Miz three Crossroads in a row. As Rhodes pins Miz, Brock Lesnar hops the barricade and pulls Rhodes out of the ring. F5 by Lesnar. Bálor crushes Miz with the top rope double stomp for the win.
Winner- Finn Bálor
After the match, Lesnar picks up Rhodes and F5s him through the announce desk. Lesnar grabs Rhodes and asks him what he wants to talk about. Lesnar wants a fight, and he wants it at Night of Champions. Rhodes is out cold. Lesnar quips, who is the coward now? Lesnar drops the mic and walks away. Referees and officials check on Rhodes.
WWE Raw Results Continue on the Next Page!
SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley w/Dominik Mysterio vs. Dana Brooke
As soon as the bell rings, Brooke dropkicks Ripley. Ripley pancakes Brooke and rains down rights and lefts. Ripley beats down Brooke. Brooke surprises Ripley with a wheelbarrow bulldog. Brooke dives off the top but is caught by Ripley. Riptide by Ripley. Ripley does the release version of the move instead of sitting out to a pin. Ripley chuckles at Brooke before locking in the Prisim Lock. Brooke taps out.
Winner- Rhea Ripley
After the match, Ripley hands Dominik the SmackDown Women’s Championship and hits another Ripetide on Brooke. Ripley slaps on the Prisim Lock again. Natalya’s music hits. She is one of the new addition to the Raw Roster. Natalya gets in Ripley’s face. Ripley walks away.
Undisputed Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. IMPERIUM
Kaiser and Zayn trade strikes. Hip toss by Zayn. Vinci gets a blind tag and clubs Zayn while he is tossing Kaiser out of the ring. Zayn goes up top, but Kaiser pushes him off the top into a lariat by Vinci while the referee is distracted. Vinci and Kaiser land their patented double kick in the corner. IMPERIUM poses over Zayn as the show cuts to a commercial. After the break, Vinci and Kaiser are working over Zayn.
Zayn manages to tag in Owens. Owens stomps a mudhole in Kaiser. Owens sends Kaiser flying with a backdrop. Inverted atomic drop by Owens. Owens sets up a cannonball after nailing a lariat. Vinci tries to break it up but gets blasted with a right hand by Owens. Ownes hits a patella brainbuster. Owens lands a swanton. Vinci breaks up the pin.
Check out last week’s coverage: WWE Backlash Results (5/6/23)
Kaiser and Vinci catch Owens with a high/low. Owens surprises Kaiser with a lariat that turns him inside out. Vinci knocks Zayn off the apron. IMPERIUM sets up the Imperial Bomb. Owens back body drops Vinci and drops Kaiser with a Stunner. Vinici charges in and eats a Helluva Kick from Zayn. Zayn pins Vinci.
Winners- Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Zoey Stark vs. Nikki Cross
Stark slaps Cross in the face. Cross attacks Stark. Stark sends Cross into the corner and lays in a bunch of stomps. Modified Arabian Press by Stark. Cross charges in and gets obliterated by a clothesline from Stark. Kick out by Cross.
Cross fires up and lands a few strikes. Corner Splash by Cross. Cross tries a tornado DDT, but Stark tosses her to the mat. Z360 by Stark. Stark pins Cross.
Winner- Zoey Stark
WWE Raw Results Continue on the Next Page!
Backstage, Trish Stratus is passing out Becky Lynch Missing posters backstage.
In-Ring Segment: Trish Stratus
Startus asks the crowd if they have seen Becky Lynch. She’s very worried and concerned bc Lynch is missing. She’s used all her platform and tools to aid in the search. She knows Lynch will be found, and when she is, the WWE Universe will say, “Thank you, Trish!” Stratus says Lynch is probably in Iowa with her dumb daughter. Stratus says no one is going to steal her spotlight. Lynch’s music hits. No one ever comes out.
Stratus belly laughs and calls the crowd dumb for believing Lynch would ever return. Lynch’s music hits again. Stratus yells at the truck to cut the music because that joke is done. Lynch appears behind Stratus. Lynch slaps Stratus in the face. Becksploder by Lynch. Stratus rolls out of the ring and scurries away. Lynch tells Stratus she wants her.
Backstage, Adam Pearce, Owens, and Zayn are in the trainer’s room with Rhodes. He has an ice pack on his ribs as the doctor checks on him. Rhodes is in bad shape.
Xavier Woods vs. Dominik Mysterio w/Rhea Ripley
Woods takes Dominik down and ties him up. Dominik manages to get to the ropes. Dominik offers Woods a handshake that ends with Dominik kicking him in the gut. Dropkick by Woods. Dominik knocks Woods into the corner. Dominik dropkicks Woods into the ropes and tries a 619. Woods moves out of the way. Dominik back body drops Woods over the top. Woods slams his face on the ring steps on the way down.
After the break, Dominik works over Woods. Woods fires up and lands a roaring elbow. Slingshot DDT by Woods. Dominik kicks out. Woods drapes Dominik on the top rope and lands a double stomp. Woods tries the Limit Breaker, but Ripley pulls Woods out of the way. Dominik rolls up Woods for the win.
Winner- Dominik Mysterio
WWE Raw Results Continue on the Next Page!
Backstage, Raquel Rodiguez and Liv Morgan sign Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville’s petition for a shot at their titles. Green and Deville laugh. They planned on facing Damage CTRL for the titles since there is no way Rodiguez and Morgan retain them.
The Miz walks up to Nakamura backstage and blames him for neither continuing in the World Heavyweight Championship Tournament. Miz pitches them teaming up again. Nakamura says they should get together next week… in the ring… one-on-one, for a match. It’s gonna be awesome. Miz mumbles, that’s the opposite of awesome.
World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Match: Finn Bálor vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins
Rollins and Bálor trade hold. Bálor is sent out of the ring. Rollins lays in a chop before sending Bálor into the ring. As Rollins gets back in the ring. Bálor sneaks in a kick. Bálor powerbomb Rollins into the barricade. Rollins is screaming in pain as Bálor leers at him. That one was personal. That’s the same move that ended Bálor’s Universal Championship run. After the break, Rollins splashes Bálor in the corner. Backbreaker by Rollins.
Rollins’ left arm is dangling. Rollins tries a frog splash, but Bálor gets his knees up. Bálor turns it into a pin. Rollins kicks out. Bálor traps Rollins in a crossface. Rollins escapes. Bálor sets up the Woo dropkick. Rollins counters with a superkick. Rollins falls on top of Bálor. Bálor kicks out. Bálor and Rollins trade strikes. Rollins boots Bálor out of the ring. Rollins follows.
Check out last week’s coverage: WWE Backlash Results (5/6/23)
Both men take turns slamming each other’s heads into the ring apron. Rollins gets the advantage and slams Bálor’s head into the apron repeatedly. Rollins sends Bálor back into the ring. After a strike exchange, Bálor drops Rollins with an over head kick. Bálor rolls Rollins up but rolls through and lands a double stomp. Bálor goes up top. Rollins hops up top and lands a superplex.
Bálor escapes Rollins’ falcon arrow attempt. 1916 by Bálor. Rollins kicks out. Woo dropkick by Bálor. Bálor goes up top. Rollins avoids the Double stomp off the top. Rollins lands a one-armed Pedigree. Bálor kicks out at 2.9. Rollins tries a Stomp, but Bálor avoids it and rolls Rollins up. Rollins rolls through and hits an inverted Stomp. Bálor gets to his knee, and Rollins Stomps him again for the win.
Winner- Seth “Freakin” Rollins
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