WWE RAW Results Coverage, Reactions & Highlights for May 1, 2023

The Backlash wrap-up and Night 2 of WWE RAW begins with a recap video of Night 1 of the WWE Draft on SmackDown. Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves join us at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, as the show goes live.

WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H takes the stage and starts Night 2 of the WWE Draft. He reminds us of the rules and eligibility criteria, and unveils the new WWE World Heavyweight Title belt, exclusive to RAW due to Roman Reigns’ draft to SmackDown. Triple H introduces the Draft pool for tonight and announces that Brock Lesnar will not be eligible. He confirms that the new post-Draft rosters will come into effect on May 8th, following WWE Backlash.

Triple H announces the first-round picks: RAW chooses SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, SmackDown picks WWE United States Champion Austin Theory, RAW chooses Seth Rollins, and SmackDown selects Charlotte Flair.

Paul Heyman comes out and admires the new WWE World Heavyweight Title belt while fans chant “ECW!” before he makes his way to the ring. Heyman grabs the mic and talks about how he, along with Solo Sikoa, was drafted to SmackDown with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. He mentions The Usos’ recent defeat and promises to address it later in private before publicly discussing it at WWE Backlash. Heyman insults the people of Texas and points out the new WWE World Heavyweight Title belt, claiming it would look good around the waist of the Tribal Chief, Reigns. The fans boo as Heyman praises Reigns and puts down other wrestlers.

Seth Rollins interrupts Heyman’s rant, and fans continue singing his theme song as he makes his way to the ring. Rollins taunts Heyman, saying he is now on his show, and Roman can no longer run from him. Rollins promises to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Night of Champions, then asks fans how fast he can drop Heyman to Stomp him. Heyman takes a phone call, and Solo Sikoa enters the scene to stand with Heyman. Heyman announces that Sikoa will face Rollins later in the night.

The show heads to commercial break, and when it returns, Bayley and Dakota Kai are granted a title shot.

After the break, footage is shown of Cody Rhodes arriving at the arena, where Adam Pearce approaches him and requests that things do not spiral out of control, despite Brock Lesnar’s presence.

The show then displays the RAW and SmackDown Draft rooms, with WWE NXT Superstars watching from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan vs. Bayley and Dakota Kai

In the ring, Damage CTRL’s Bayley and Dakota Kai are already there, while WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan make their entrance for a non-title match. Liv and Kai exchange counters and holds, and Bayley enters to slam Liv but misses the elbow drop. Raquel tags in and takes down Bayley. Liv and Raquel use each other as weapons on Bayley, but Kai distracts the referee, allowing Bayley to rake Liv’s eyes and send her to the floor. Kai then kicks Liv into the ring post.

The show returns, and Kai lands a running kick on Liv for a two-count. The match continues with both teams exchanging blows. Raquel finally gets tagged in and executes her signature moves on Kai, but she manages to kick out at two. Liv is set to leap off Raquel’s shoulders, but Bayley interrupts, leading to Raquel getting rammed into the apron at ringside.

Kai aims to finish off Liv, but Raquel rushes in to break it up, and all four wrestlers end up on the apron. Bayley tags in, but Liv doesn’t see it. Liv drops Kai with Ob-Liv-ion, but Bayley takes advantage and stacks Liv up for the pin and victory for Damage CTRL.

After the match, Bayley and Kai celebrate, and we see Booker T exiting the RAW Draft room, while his wife Sharmell exits the SmackDown room. The show heads to commercial.

The show returns from the break with footage of Brock Lesnar walking backstage earlier in the day. Adam Pearce approaches Lesnar and mentions Cody Rhodes being present tonight, expressing his desire to maintain peace. Lesnar laughs and walks away. The show then plays a video package of Lesnar vs. Rhodes feud.

On the stage, WWE Hall of Famers Booker T and Sharmell announce the second round of the WWE Draft Night 2. RAW selects Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, SmackDown chooses The Usos, and RAW picks The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, and Damian Priest, keeping the four-person group on RAW. SmackDown selects The LWO, consisting of Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde, and Zelina Vega.

In the ring, Braun Strowman and Ricochet make their entrance for their match against Alpha Academy, but the show cuts to a commercial break.

Alpha Academy, consisting of Otis and Chad Gable with Maxxine Dupri, make their entrance as the show returns from the break. Ricochet and Gable start the match, exchanging holds in the ring. Gable stuns Ricochet with a chop, but Ricochet responds with a scissors takedown and a stiff kick. They continue back and forth until Gable hits a big German suplex on Ricochet.

Braun Strowman and Otis tag in, and Otis unleashes on Braun in the corner before splashing him. However, Braun quickly returns with a big running corner splash of his own. Braun hits a flying crossbody, and then scoop slams Otis in the middle of the ring.

Ricochet tags in and walks on Braun’s shoulders before hitting the Swanton off Braun’s shoulders onto Otis for the pin and victory.

After the match, Strowman and Ricochet celebrate their win as the music plays in the background.

The show returns from the break with a video package hyping the Backlash Street Fight between Damian Priest and Bad Bunny.

On the stage, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels announces the third round of the WWE Draft Night 2, with NXT Superstars watching from Orlando. However, the music interrupts, and Brock Lesnar makes his entrance to a massive pop.

Lesnar is all business as he heads towards the ring, with Adam Pearce walking alongside him, attempting to calm him down. Fans boo as Lesnar shouts out Fort Worth and asks how it feels to be looking at the only real cowboy in the state. Pearce interrupts, reminding them of the Draft business they need to discuss.

Pearce asks Lesnar to leave or be escorted out by security. Lesnar taunts Pearce, saying that he will need more than one group of security guards. A second group arrives, but Lesnar remains unfazed. Suddenly, Cody Rhodes makes his entrance and attacks Lesnar from behind, dropping him to the ground. Security swarms Cody as Lesnar regroups at ringside. Lesnar has a small cut, but he smiles at Cody before leaving as the show heads to commercial.

The show returns from the break, and Shawn Michaels resumes the third round of the WWE Draft Night 2. RAW selects WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, and SmackDown chooses Asuka. RAW then picks The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, while SmackDown selects Sheamus, Butch, and Ridge Holland of The Brawling Brutes.

Backstage, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are seen with Matt Riddle, who talks about how great it is that they are all on the same brand. Riddle also mentions looking forward to beating up Jimmy Uso tonight, but Owens is not thrilled about hanging out with Riddle.

Matt Riddle vs. Jimmy Uso

In the ring, Riddle makes his entrance with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for his match against Jimmy Uso. Jey Uso accompanies Jimmy to the ring, and Kevin Patrick hypes their upcoming match at WWE Backlash.

The bell rings, and Jimmy immediately attacks Riddle. While the referee is distracted, Jey hits a sneaky enziguri to the back of Riddle’s head, knocking him down. Owens confronts Jey at ringside, and they exchange words, while Jimmy continues to dominate Riddle in the corner. The referee warns Jimmy to back off, but he continues the assault.

Owens falls to the floor, and Sami Zayn throws a steel chair to Jey Uso, who catches it. The referee sees Jey holding the chair with Owens down, so he ejects Jey from ringside. Zayn, Owens, and Riddle stand together at ringside as Jimmy looks on. The show goes to commercial.

When the show returns from commercial, Jimmy Uso slams Matt Riddle for a two-count. The two exchange moves, with Riddle hitting a corner clothesline and an Exploder suplex. Jimmy counters with a knee and an enziguri, but Riddle kicks out of the subsequent pin attempt. Jimmy exposes a turnbuckle while the referee is distracted, but Kevin Owens interferes, hitting Jimmy with a knee strike. Riddle capitalizes on the opportunity, hitting the Floating Bro from the top rope for the win.

After the match, Riddle celebrates with the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, but Owens appears annoyed once again.

A video package hyping IYO SKY is shown, and Corey Graves promotes SKY’s upcoming match against RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at WWE Backlash.

Eric Bischoff exits the RAW Draft room, followed by Rob Van Dam from the SmackDown room, who bumps into Elias and Rick Boogs. Another commercial break follows.

After the break, Paul Heyman is found backstage motivating Solo Sikoa to take out Seth Rollins, as per Roman Reigns’ instructions. Jimmy Uso joins in and questions why his brother wasn’t present for the Matt Riddle match. Heyman explains that Solo was recruited to eliminate Riddle, so his focus had to be on that. Heyman and Solo leave, giving Jimmy some privacy.

Moving on to Round 4 of the WWE Draft Night 2, WWE Hall of Famers Eric Bischoff and Rob Van Dam make their way to the stage, with fans chanting for RVD. Bischoff announces RAW’s selection of Trish Stratus, and RVD reveals that SmackDown has picked Karrion Kross and Scarlett. RAW then picks Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, while SmackDown chooses LA Knight.

Next up is MizTV, where The Miz boasts about RAW’s successful picks in the 2023 WWE Draft, including new RAW Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura, who enters to a warm welcome. Miz introduces Nakamura and praises his achievements, suggesting that he has a chance to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. However, when Miz asks Nakamura if he thinks he can win the title, Nakamura’s response is difficult to comprehend, leading Miz to mock him. Miz then proposes a partnership, but Nakamura surprises him by revealing that the Japanese phrase he used earlier actually means “tiny balls” when translated. Miz tries to attack Nakamura, but he counters and finishes him off with Kinshasa in the center of the ring.

Finally, we see free agent Omos and MVP walking backstage before heading to commercial.

After the break, Omos accompanied by MVP makes his way to the ring where enhancement talent Anthony Alanis is already waiting. Alanis attacks Omos with body shots, but Omos barely flinches. Alanis continues his offense with a punch to the face and trash-talking, but Omos counters and slams him face-first into the top turnbuckle. Omos then lands a massive boot and finishes off Alanis with a chokebomb for the quick victory.

Following the match, Omos stands tall and steps on Alanis’ chest while MVP cheers him on. The segment ends with Omos yelling and talking trash.

Later, we are shown a replay of Triple H unveiling the new WWE World Heavyweight Title from the previous week. WWE Producer Molly Holly is seen exiting the RAW Draft room, while Senior Vice President of Live Events “Road Dogg” Brian James comes out of the SmackDown Draft room before heading to a commercial break.

In the fifth round of the WWE Draft, Molly Holly and “The Road Dogg” Jesse James announce RAW’s selection of Braun Strowman and Ricochet, while SmackDown picks Shotzi. Raw’s next pick is Bronson Reed, and SmackDown gets NXT’s Pretty Deadly, Elton Prince, and Kit Wilson.

The Judgment Day, comprised of Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley, enter the ring, and Priest demands the crowd stand for their champion’s draft selection. Ripley is announced as Raw’s first pick, and she boasts about her dominance. The Judgment Day will face Zelina Vega at Backlash and remind everyone why Ripley is the most dominant champion in WWE.

Finn Balor joins in and predicts Priest will leave Bad Bunny in pieces around Puerto Rico. Priest challenges Bad Bunny, saying he may be a music superstar but Priest is the star in the ring. Domink Mysterio attempts to speak but is drowned out by boos from the crowd. Despite the interruptions, Mysterio manages to express his excitement for Priest and Ripley’s dominance at Backlash, and their upcoming fight against the Latino World Order (lWo).

The lWo appears on stage, and Rey Mysterio assures that they are not running or hiding and that they will beat the Judgment Day. If Domink thought getting beaten by the belt at WrestleMania was bad, he would have brought out “La Chancla” if they had stayed on the same brand.

The show returns from the commercial break with a promo for Imperium, announcing their arrival on WWE Raw.

A 6-person mixed tag team match is announced, pitting The Judgment Day (Dominik Mysterio, Damian Priest, and SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley) against The Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, and Zelina Vega).

The Judgment Day vs. The Latino World Order

The match kicks off with Rey Mysterio facing off against his son Dominik, but Rhea Ripley quickly tags herself in and gets in Rey’s face, shoving him. Rey retaliates by throwing Vega onto Ripley, who quickly takes her down and attempts a Riptide. Vega counters into a DDT, but Ripley manages to pick her up for a suplex. Priest tags in, and Santos Escobar enters the ring to take him on. Escobar hits a running double knee, but Priest quickly retaliates with a forearm and punches Rey down on the apron. Priest goes for a springboard, but Escobar kicks him out of midair. Dominik charges at Escobar, but Escobar catches him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Rey tags in and hits Dominik with a seated senton off the apron. The lWo poses in the ring as the show heads to another commercial break.

As the show returns from the commercial break, Priest hits Escobar with a pair of corner clotheslines. He charges at Escobar, but gets floored with a dropkick. Rey and Dominik tag in to loud applause, and Rey takes down his son with two punches. Dominik reverses a whip, but Rey catches him with a head-scissor takeover. He gets Dominik in the corner and starts punching, but Dominik cuts him off. Rey is sent into the ropes but lowers his head, allowing Dominik to kick him. Rey hits a springboard cross-body block, but Ripley breaks up the pin and punches Vega down. Ripley military presses Rey over her head, but Vega catches her with a 619 to the midsection. Vega then pulls the top rope down to get Ripley out of the ring.

Back in the ring, Dominik dropkicks Rey and tags Priest in. Priest charges, but he hits the ring post shoulder-first when Rey moves. Rey knocks Priest into the ropes, and Dominik sweeps Rey’s feet as Finn Balor distracts the referee. Escobar takes Dominik out with a suicide dive, but Ripley counters with a dropkick. Vega then hits Ripley with a meteora off the apron. Rey knocks Priest into the ropes and goes for a 619, but Balor takes the hit to protect Priest. Priest grabs Rey by the throat and hits him with South of Heaven for the win.

Replays are shown of Cody Rhodes punching Brock Lesnar in the face earlier in the show. Cathy Kelley interviews Rhodes backstage, where he declares that he has to win against Lesnar on Saturday or risk going to the back of the line. WWE Hall of Famers John “Bradshaw” Layfield and Teddy Long announce the 6th round draft picks for Raw and SmackDown respectively.

The show heads to another commercial break.

Backstage, Byron Saxton interviews Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, asking her about being drafted to SmackDown. Belair responds that it doesn’t matter what brand she’s on, as long as she represents the WWE Universe to the best of her abilities. Damage CTRL interrupts, and Bayley questions why Saxton is interviewing Belair when he should be talking to the top three draft picks. Belair retorts that she will beat IYO SKY at Backlash and send her to SmackDown empty-handed. SKY shouts in Japanese, and Belair says that Dakota Kai doesn’t need to translate because they understand each other.

Teddy Long and John “Bradshaw” Layfield announce the final draft picks. Raw selects Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis), Katana Chance, and Kayden Carter from NXT. SmackDown drafts Rick Boogs and Cameron Grimes from NXT.

The show heads to another commercial break.

Solo Sikoa, accompanied by Paul Heyman, enters the ring as he prepares to face Seth “Freakin” Rollins.

After a commercial break, the commentators discuss the upcoming WWE Backlash card, and they announce that the brand-new Monday Night Raw roster will go into effect next Monday.

Solo Sikoa w/ Paul Heyman vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins

The action intensifies as Solo Sikoa catches Seth Rollins with a Samoan Drop for a near fall after Rollins missed a springboard knee. Both wrestlers exchange blows, with Rollins hitting a Sling Blade on Sikoa. Rollins then attempts a Falcon Arrow, but Sikoa reverses it into a suplex. Sikoa follows up with a big splash for another near fall.

Sikoa continues to dominate the match as he hits Rollins with a series of strikes and a running shoulder block in the corner. Rollins tries to fight back, but Sikoa catches him with a sit-out powerbomb for a close two-count. Sikoa climbs to the top rope and goes for a splash, but Rollins rolls out of the way. Rollins then hits the Stomp for the victory.

After the match, Rollins celebrates in the ring as Paul Heyman looks on. The commentators hype up the upcoming WWE Backlash event and the new Raw roster that will go into effect next week.

After the break, Rollins lands an overhead kick on Sikoa, causing him to stumble briefly before charging at Rollins. Rollins sidesteps, and Sikoa’s head collides with the top of the ring post. Rollins takes advantage of the situation and unleashes a flurry of punches on Sikoa, who manages to reverse a whip but is unable to bring Rollins down with a short-arm clothesline. Rollins continues his assault, using elbows and kicks before ultimately flooring Sikoa with a discus clothesline.

Sikoa retreats out of the ring, but Rollins isn’t done yet and hits him with two suicide dives before getting him back in the ring for a springboard knee attempt, which Sikoa evades. Sikoa then executes a Samoan Drop on Rollins, but only manages a near fall. In the meantime, Paul Heyman is on the phone at ringside, and the action continues in the ring with Rollins countering a Spinning Solo from Sikoa into a roll-up for a two-count. Rollins lands a superkick and charges, but Sikoa counters with a Spinning Solo, almost getting the pinfall.

Sikoa pulls Rollins up, and Rollins taunts him by insulting Roman Reigns. Enraged, Sikoa hits Rollins with a Spinning Solo before mounting him and punching him. The referee warns Sikoa, and Rollins rolls out of the ring, with Sikoa in hot pursuit. Rollins gains the upper hand, but The Usos interfere, causing a disqualification.

As Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, along with Matt Riddle, enter the ring, a massive brawl ensues. Corey Graves is cut off mid-sentence as the show runs out of time. The winner by disqualification is Seth “Freakin” Rollins.