WWE Raw Results
May 8, 2023
Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL.
Commentary: Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves
Results by: Roy Nemer of Wrestleview.com
WWE Raw kicks off with a video package hyping up the World Heavyweight Championship tournament.
Live in the arena, Cody’s music hits and out comes Cody Rhodes down to the ring.
Cody gets in the ring as the fans chant his name. He asks them what they want to talk about. Cody says this was his home during the pandemic and they made a lot of wonderful memories together. And he says he wants to make another good memory tonight but before that, he wants to talk about Backlash.
He says he had the task of competing against Brock Lesnar. And he discovered what Lesnar was made of because it was all over his fist. He discovered that Lesnar can be defeated because at Backlash, he beat Brock Lesnar. The night after WrestleMania, Lesnar took away his focus. It became a fight for survival, but not that Lesnar is in the rearview mirror, it is clear what is next for him on Raw and it is the World Heavyweight Championship.
He leaves the ring and starts walking towards the Championship. He asks to see the tournament bracket as we see that it will be Finn against himself and The Miz. Shinsuke Nakamura against Rollins and Damian Priest on Raw.
He says he got out of a fight for survival and he plans on doing that until Samantha announces him as the new World Heavyweight Champion. The fans chant “You deserve it” and he says let the tournament begin.
-Commercial Break-
Cathy Kelley is backstage with Damian Priest. He tells her Bad Bunny did his thing but after a brutal San Juan street fight, the name that will live forever is Damian Priest. Because it took an entire island to put him down. And he will put down Shinsuke Nakamura and Seth Rollins, all by himself. And after that, we will see if it’s Finn Balor or Damian Priest who will bring the World Heavyweight Championship home to the Judgment Day.
World Heavyweight Championship Tournament – Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Damian Priest
The bell rings and we are under way. Priest with a right hand on Nakamura and Rollins. He throws Seth in the corner and he stomps on Nakamura in the opposite corner as Priest sells the injured left leg. He elbows Seth in the corner as Nakamura attacks Priest and Seth throws Priest to the outside of the ring. Nakamura and Rollins are face to face and Nakamura with a knee followed by a kick to the face.
Nakamura with a release sliding German suplex. Nakamura to the outside as Priest goes for a high boot but Nakamura moves out of the way. A kick by Nakamura as he places Priest on the ring apron and Nakamura jumps on him and hits him with a knee to the head.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, Seth with a cross body off the top rope onto both Priest and Nakamura. Priest and Nakamura to the outside as Seth hits them with suicide dives. Seth goes for another dive but Priest hits him with a right hand and Seth falls to the outside of the ring. Nakamura back in and he starts kicking Priest. Nakamura climbs the second rope and he hits Priest with a flying knee. He goes for the cover but Priest kicks out. Seth rolls Nakamura up but Nakamura kicks out. Seth goes for the pedigree onto Priest but Priest throws him onto the ring apron. Priest with a right hand onto Nakamura. Seth jumps off the top rope but Priest with an elevated flatliner. He goes for the cover but Seth kicks out.
Priest and Nakamura with double kicks. Seth with a kick onto Priest and Nakamura with a kick onto the side of the head of Seth and all three men are down. All three men are back up and they exchange right hands. Priest taken down by both Nakamura and Seth as he falls to the outside. Seth with a lariat onto Nakamura as Seth climbs the top rope but Priest trips him up. Priest foes for the Razor’s Edge but Seth lands on his feet. He kicks Priest and hits him with the Stomp. He goes for the cover but Nakamura breaks it up. Seth and Nakamura with right hands and Nakamura slams Seth face first onto the mat. Nakamura goes for the Kenshasa but Priest with a big clothesline onto Nakamura. He throws Seth to the outside. Priest grabs Nakamura but Nakamura with kicks onto the injured left leg. Nakamura with a knee bar onto Priest but Seth hits him with a frog splash off the top rope. Seth grabs Nakamura and hits him with the pedigree. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Imperium are walking backstage hyping up Gunther, saying that he will be on Raw next week. They bump into Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Kaiser tells them they are here and next week, Gunther will be on Raw as Zayn tells them they were in the middle of something and to go away.
Vinci says they do not deal with disrespect, they are Imperium. Zayn says they will still be Imperium in five matches and to come back later. Kaiser tells them they did not just try to disrespect them by saying that because with Gunther arriving next week, that would put Zayn and Owens in a very unfortunate situation. Vinci says if they keep getting disrespected, they are putting themselves and their tag titles in danger.
Owens says why are they henchmen, like The Usos with Roman Reigns. Zayn says they dealt with The Usos for months but they will deal with Imperium in one night and he challenges them to a match tonight.
-Commercial Break-
Otis with Chad Gable and Maxxine Dupri vs. Mustafa Ali
The bell rings and we are under way. Ali jumps onto the back of Otis but he throws Ali down. Ali gets back up and runs to the ropes, he hits Otis with two drop kicks and goes for a third but Otis hits him with a shoulder tackle. Otis goes for a gorilla press but Ali lands on his feet. Ali runs towards Otis but Otis hits him with a big clothesline. Ali in the corner and Otis with a splash s he tries to do the worm. Maxxine tells him not to do it and Gable tells him to do it. They all argue. Otis runs towards Ali but Ali moves out of the way and Otis slams into the turnbuckle. Ali climbs the top rope and hits him with the 450 splash. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Mustafa Ali
The Miz cuts a promo backstage about how he will win the World Heavyweight Championship.
-Commercial Break-
World Heavyweight Championship Tournament – Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Bálor vs. The Miz
The bell rings and we are under way. Finn is thrown to the outside and Cody with a dropkick onto Miz. He is thrown to the outside. Cody runs to the ropes and he is hit with a clothesline by Balor. In comes Miz and he knocks Finn down. Cody back up as all three men fight. Cody with a DDT onto Miz and he throws Finn on top of Miz. Cody goes for the cover but Miz kicks out. Cody with a suicide dive onto both Miz and Finn on the outside of the ring.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, Cody with a dropkick off the top rope onto Finn and Miz. Cody with a forearm to the face onto the Miz. Finn runs towards him and Cody with a bodyslam. And a bodyslam onto Miz. Cody with a double Cody cutter off the second rope. Cody with a disaster kick off the second rope onto Finn. He goes for the cover but Finn kicks out. In comes Miz and he hits them with a double DDT. Miz goes for the cover on Cody but Cody kicks out. Miz goes for the Skull Crushing Finale but Cody gets out of it and Finn hits Miz with a slingblade. Cody clothesline Miz to the outside.
Finn with a dagger. He goes for the cover but Cody kicks out. Finn with a drop kick and he climbs the top rope. Finn goes for the Cop de Grace but Cody moves out of the way and Cody on the ring apron. Miz throws Finn onto Cody. Miz with the Skull Crushing Finale onto Finn. He goes for the cover but Cody breaks it up. Cody throws Miz to the outside of the ring. Cody grabs Finn but Finn with an inside cradle but Cody kicks out. Both men are up, Cody hits him with the Cross Roads. Miz throws Cody to the outside. He goes for the cover on Finn but Cody gets back in the ring and breaks it up. He hits Miz with three Cross Roads. Cody slowly makes the cover onto Miz but Brock Lesnar from out of no where drags Cody to the outside of the ring. Lesnar hits him with an F5 on the outside of the ring.
Finn with the Coup de Grace onto Miz. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Finn Balor
Lesnar hits Cody with another F5 but through the table. Lesnar grabs a microphone and asks Cody what he wants to talk about.
Lesnar is bruised as he grabs the camera and says to look at his face. Lesnar grabs Cody and asks him what he wants to talk about. If he wants to talk about himself. Lesnar tells Cody if he wants to take credit for his face. Lesnar tells him he got lucky on Saturday. Lesnar says he wants to talk about a fight, he wants a fight. Lesnar challenges Cody Rhodes to a fight at Night of Champions. He asks Cody who the coward is.
-Commercial Break-
Rhea Ripley with Dominik Mysterio vs. Dana Brooke
The bell rings and we are under way. Dana with a drop kick onto Rhea. She runs towards Rhea but Rhea with a headbutt. Right hands by Rhea as she slams Dana face first onto the mat. Rhea grabs Dana but Dana with a jaw breaker. Dana with a bulldog in the middle of the ring. Dana climbs the second rope as she jumps but Rhea catches her and she slams Dana onto her knee. Rhea with a Riptide. She grabs Dana and gets her in a leg lock as Dana taps out.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Rhea with another RIptide and Natalya’s music hits. Both women are face to face as Dominik pulls Rhea back and whispers in her hear. Rhea smiles and walks away.
Byron Saxton is backstage with Zoey Stark. He asks her about the added expectations since joining Raw. She says she has complete confidence in her ability. She tells him to come with her s she walks up to Nikki Cross who is drawing circles in the air. Zoey says she is going to succeed because there are nothing but weirdos. Stark challenges Nikki to a match tonight and Nikki accepts.
-Commercial Break-
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. Imperium
The bell rings and we are under way. Zayn and Kaiser start the match. A head lock by Kaiser as Zayn throws him to the ropes and Zayn with a hip toss. Zayn grabs Kaiser and throws him to the ropes as Vinci is tagged in and Zayn throws Kaiser to the outside. Zayn with a clothesline. Zayn climbs the top rope and Vinci distracts the referee as Kaiser throws Zayn off the top rope and Vinci with a right hand. Kaiser is tagged in and he stomps on Zayn in the corner. Kaiser with a right hand on Owens and that distracts the referee. Imperium double team Zayn.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, Kevin Owens is tagged in and he hits Kaiser with an atomic drop and a right hand. Owens with a chop to the chest and he knocks Vinci off the ring apron. Owens goes for the cover on Kaiser but Kaiser kicks out. Owens climbs the top rope and hits Kaiser with a swanton. He goes for the cover but Vinci breaks it up. Owens throws Vinci to the outside of the ring. Kaiser with a right hand on Owens and Vinci is tagged in and they double team Owens. Vinci goes for the cover but Owens kicks out.
Kaiser is tagged back in and he hits Owens with an uppercut. Kaiser runs to the ropes but Owens with a big clothesline. Vinci is tagged in and he runs and knocks Zayn off the ring apron. Owens with a back body drop onto Vinci and a stunner onto Kaiser. Vinci rolls Owens up but Owens kicks out. Owens with a super kick and Zayn is tagged in. Zayn with a Helluva Kick. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winners: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville are backstage getting signatures for a rematch for the Women’s Tag Team Championships.
-Commercial Break-
Zoey Stark vs. Nikki Cross
The bell rings and we are under way. Zoey with right hands and she stomps on Nikki Cross. Zoey on the ring apron and she jumps over the top rope and a splash onto Nikki. She gets back up and Zoey with a big clothesline. She goes for the cover but Nikki kicks out. A chin lock by Zoey in the middle of the ring but Nikki with right hands as she gets out of it. Nikki with a jaw breaker.
Nikki with a right hand. Nikki runs to the ropes and Nikki with a drop kick. A splash in the corner by Nikki and she climbs the second rope. She goes for a tornado DDT but Zoey throws her away. Zoey hits her with the Z360 as she goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Zoey Stark
Byron Saxton is backstage with Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. He asks her if she is feeling extra pressure. She says she welcomes it and it comes with running a division. Woods and Tozawa come in laughing. Dominik tells them to show some respect. Woods says he is looking for a fight and in comes Rhea as Tozawa walks away. Rhea says DomDom accepts.
-Commercial Break-
Trish Stratus walks down to the ring wearing a Becky Lynch missing person’s tshirt. She tells Kevin Patrick that she knows his compatriot is missing but they will find her. She says she has used all of her platforms and tools to find her. She asks Corey to tweet about it. And when they find Becky, every one will be thanking Trish for that.
She says Becky will probably be found in a small corner in Iowa, crying with her dumb daughter. She says Becky’s daughter is two years old, she doesn’t know her colors. She says Becky will not be coming to Raw because this is her show, her spotlight and no one is going to steal her spot light.
Trish says she does not care if you are Becky Lynch as Becky’s music hits. Trish pretends to look for Becky and she says they are all gullible. Trish says Becky is never coming back. She says this one time her daughter wanted a doll and they bought it and brought it over.
Trish says her daughter wanted to call the doll Becky Lynch and Trish asked her why. And her daughter said because she is pretty. Becky’s music hits as Trish says that joke is done. Becky is standing behind Trish as the fans chant her name. Becky with a right hand followed by an uppercut. Becky with the Becksploder and Trish rolls to the outside of the ring. Becky grabs a microphone and says she is back.
Cody is backstage with Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Adam Pearce and a medic. Zayn asks what will happen as we cut to commercial.
-Commercial Break-
Dominik Mysterio with Rhea Ripley vs. Xavier Woods
The bell rings and we are under way. Woods with a head lock take down and Dominik reaches the ropes. Woods with a drop kick followed by a chop to the chest followed by right hands. Dominik in the corner and he throws Woods face first into the turnbuckle. Dominik with a drop kick and Woods on the second rope. Dominik goes for a 619 but Woods trips him up. Woods climbs the top rope and he hits Dominik with a cross body. Woods runs towards Dominik but Dominik throws him over the top rope and Woods hits face first on the ring steps.
Back from commercial, Dominik with the three amigos suplex. He goes for the cover but Woods kicks out. A head lock by Dominik but Woods with right hands. Woods to the ropes and Woods with a spinning right hand. Woods on the ring apron and he jumps into the ring and hits Dominik with a DDT. He goes for the cover but Dominik kicks out. Woods runs towards Dominik but Dominik with a back elbow. He goes for the cover but Woods kicks out. Dominik on the ring apron but Woods trips him up. Dominik back on the ring apron and Woods climbs the second turnbuckle and lands a kick onto Dominik. He goes for the cover but Dominik kicks out. Woods climbs the top rope and goes for an elbow but Rhea moves Dominik out of the way. Dominik rolls Woods up and gets the pin.
Winner: Dominik Mysterio
-Commercial Break-
Shinsuke Nakamura is backstage and he is unhappy. Miz tells him that he told him last week, Raw is more difficult than SmackDown. And he should have had his back. Miz tells him he is willing to forget all of the disrespect he gave him last week if he sides with him. Miz says they will be chanting Mizuke Nakamura as Nakamura challenges him to a match next week.
We cut to Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville backstage. Raquel and Liv walk up to them and tell them if they wanted a rematch, all they had to do was ask. Liv and Raquel sign their petition and tell them that after they defeat Damage CTRL, they will defeat them last week. Sonya says the petition was to get a match against Damage CTRL after Damage CTRL defeats Raquel and Liv Morgan.
-Commercial Break-
Cathy Kelley is backstage with Cody Rhodes. He says he doesn’t feel good. He doesn’t get to be the first World Heavyweight Champion on Raw. A tournament that was his to win. He doesn’t know what else he has to say. He turns back and says he knows that this is the second time that Brock Lesnar has attacked him for no reason and from behind. The only reason he can think of is that Lesnar’s long reigning grip over the main event scene has been releasing. And he has been the man around here. But he doesn’t think that Brock can handle it. Cody says if Lesnar wants a fight, against all of his better judgement, let’s fight. Cody accepts Lesnar’s challenge at Night of Champions.
-Commercial Break-
World Heavyweight Championship Tournament – Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
The bell rings and we are under way. A head lock take down by Finn as Seth gets out of it. A drop kick by Finn and he clotheslines Seth to the outside of the ring. Seth with a slingblade onto Finn on the outside of the ring. A chop to the chest by Rollins as he throws Finn back into the ring. Finn with a kick onto Seth and Seth falls to the outside of the ring. Finn lifts Seth up and throws him into the barricade.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial and Seth with a clothesline. A splash in the corner by Seth followed by a back breaker. Rollins climbs the top rope as he goes for a frog splash but Finn gets his knees up and reverses it into a cover but Seth kicks out. Finn with an arm bar in the middle of the ring but Seth rolls out of it. Finn with a sling blade. Finn goes for a drop kick but Seth with a super kick. He goes for the cover but Finn kicks out. Seth with a kick and Finn falls to the outside. Seth slams Finn’s face into the ring apron and he throws Finn back into the ring. Seth with a kick to the side of the head but Finn with an overhead kick and both men are down. Both men to their feet and Finn rolls Seth up and hits him with a double stomp. Finn climbs the top rope but Seth jumps and he hits Finn with a superplex. Seth lifts Finn up but Finn lands on his feet and he slams Seth onto the mat. He goes for the cover but Seth kicks out.
Finn dropkicks Seth and he climbs the top rope. Finn goes for the Coup de Grace but Seth moves out of the way. Seth with a pedigree. He goes for the cover but Finn kicks out. Seth goes for the stomp, Finn moves out of the way and rolls but Seth hits him with a stomp. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Advancing to the World Heavyweight Championship Final, Seth Rollins