WWE RAW May 15, 2023 Live Results, Updates, Winners
Welcome to the live results blog for WWE RAW May 15, 2023 with complete live updates from the show as it aired live from Greensboro, NC, in the build-up for Night of Champions 2023.
The focus was on Intercontinental Champion Gunther who made his first appearance on the red brand. Also, his first challenger was to be determined via a Battle Royal. Women’s Tag Team Championship was supposed to be on the line but Liv Morgan suffered an injury and that match was chalked off.
Cody Rhodes addressed Brock Lesnar after their match was set for Night of Champions. Becky Lynch cut a promo to challenge Trish Stratus after her return last week. Shinsuke Nakamura was set to face The Miz in a singles match.
Check below as we post results live from WWE Monday Night RAW May 15, 2023, with updates, winners, highlights and complete action. And, if you are early, check here for our complete preview.
RESULTS
- Shinsuke Nakamura defeated The Miz in a singles match via pinfall.
- Mustafa Ali won the Battle Royal to become the #1 Contender for WWE Intercontinental Championship.
- Dominik Mysterio defeated Xavier Woods in a singles match via pinfall.
- Indus Sher(Veer & Sanga) defeated Enhancement Talent in a tag team match via pinfall.
- Raquel Rodriguez defeated Chelsea Green in a singles match via pinfall.
- Judgment Day(Finn Balor & Damian Priest) defeated Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a tag team match via pinfall.
LIVE UPDATES
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens come out to open the show. We see how Roman Reigns has set up the tag team championship match against Owens and Sami for Night of Champions. Sami takes the mic and says he is excited after he found out on Friday that they would be defending the title against Roman and Solo. It may be a threat but they do not see it as such and see it as a gift because it is a chance at revenge against Roman Reigns.
Sami says Owens should have beaten Roman for the Universal Championship and he should have himself beaten Roman at Elimination Chamber. They will now keep him in check. Sami says Roman is destroying the Bloodline by himself. He is not content and also wants the tag team titles, but he can’t take it. Owens just sees deadpan into oblivion.
Judgment Day’s music hits and they come out. Owens starts screaming at them and says if they want to fight, they can start right away. Sami calms him down and asks to hear them down. Priest says he is here to fight and gets into the ring. Balor brings up Sami and Owens saying last week that they were done with The Bloodline. But, if they managed to retain at Night of Champions, the line of contenders starts here. Priest adds into it before Rhea Ripley says they run Monday Night RAW.
Owens gets mad and asks Sami if they have heard enough. Sami says he would like to hear from Dominik on this. The crowd does not let him speak with all the boos. Owens says he can’t hear anything and wants to fight already. He goes to punch Dominik but Rhea Ripley gets in front of him and punches him. Sami gets distracted by Dominik and Priest nails him with a punch. Judgment Day keeps beating them up but Sami slips off and brings in a steel chair, forcing them to run away.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs The Miz
Miz offers a handshake but Nakamura kicks it away and asks him to “come on”. Nakamura starts with a few kicks before a knee strike to midsection and a few more. He stomps Miz into the corner. Miz counters a charge with a kick from the corner and chokes Nakamura on the ropes. He hits a running knee to his head behind. Nakamura throws out Miz and hits basement slide before a knee to Miz’s head on the apron and a knee drop. Miz counters with a kick on the apron before hitting an inverted cutter on the ropes, bringing Nakamura down to the floor. We cut to a break.
Nakamura is in control as we return and hits some body kicks. Miz catches his leg but Nakamura still nails him with another kick. Miz misses in the corner and Nakamura hits a more body kicks before setting him on the top turnbuckle for a running knee. Nakamura goes for an armbar but Miz blocks it and quickly hits a DDT to get a close two-count. Miz hits It kicks. Nakamura ducks a big kick before nailing Miz with an enzuigiri.
Miz lands on his feet from a suplex. Nakamura misses a corner splash before Miz misses a hip attack in the same corner. Nakamura hits him with a sliding German suplex. Miz blocks a kinshasa and rakes his eyes. Miz hits Skull Crushing Finale but Nakamura gets his feet on the ropes. Nakamura rolls up Miz for a two-count before hitting Kinshasa to get the pinfall.
Winner – Shinsuke Nakamura
We see a recap of Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez successfully defending the tag team championship against Damage CTRL on SmackDown. Raquel is backstage with WWE Official Adam Pearce and Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville. We are informed that Liv Morgan is injured and not cleared to compete. They all argue over it for a while before Raquel challenges Chelsea for a match.
We get a vignette for Seth Rollins before Corey Graves interviews him. He is asked about the tournament for the first NXT Champion in 2012. Rollins says there was a need to change the industry and he had the vision at the time. He says he could push the industry as a champion. He is then asked about Shield and Seth says they were not ready to wait for the change to happen. Rollins’ turn on Shield is brought up and Rollins says he had to take risks to reach to the top. The interview will continue later.
Gunther comes out with Imperium teammates Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. Gunther stands on top of the announce table while Kaiser announces him, asking for all the gratitude from the crowd for the Intercontinental Champion. Gunther takes the mic and introduces himself, telling the crowd how he has dominated SmackDown for the last year as the longest Intercontinental Champion in the modern era. Now, he will continue his mission on RAW. But, no one has yet got his respect or earned a shot at the title. But that will change in a few minutes as the Battle Royal will find his challenge for Night of Champions.
Battle Royal
Riddle enrages Imperium on the floor before the match could start. Everyone starts to fight as the bell rings. Baron Corbin hits a back body drop to eliminate Akira Tozawa. Corbin hypes up but he gets clotheslined by Dexter Lumis over the ropes for an elimination. Lumis is eliminated by Maximum Male Models. Alpha Academy attack MMM and throws them bout to the floor. Mansoor manages to keep one of his feet from landing and gets back on the apron. Alpha Academy knock him off the apron but Mace catches him. He gets eliminated in the second attempt.
JD McDonagh eliminated Humberto Carillo before Ziggler sends him to the apron and hits a superkick. Von Wagner throws Ziggler over the top for his elimination. McDonagh attacks Ziggler on the floor and sends him into the steel steps. We cut to a break.
The battle royal continues after the break. The Viking Raiders eliminate Cedric Alexander, Von Wagner and Shelton Benjamin one by one. Alpha Academy takes on them. Gable sends Erik to the apron. Erik goes for a suplex but Gable slips out. Gable goes for a German suplex on the apron but Erik holds onto the ropes. Otis hits a splash to eliminate Erik. Ivar tackles Gable to eliminate him. Bronson Reed eliminated both Ivar and Otis in one go. Everyone gangs up on Reed for a while before Mustafa Ali and Johnny Gargano starts to fight.
Gargano hits a DDT on Ali. Ricochet hits a shooting star press on Gargano. The fighting continues. Elias eliminates Apollo Crews. Reed clotheslines Elias to eliminate him. Riddle hits a hurricanrana on Ali to eliminate him. Riddle fights off Imperium on the apron before Reed tackles him to eliminate him. Reed is sent to the apron by Ricochet and Ali. Reed gets Ricochet to the apron and gets him on his shoulder. Ali hits a missile dropkick on Reed to eliminate both Reed and Ricochet in one go to win the match.
Winner – Mustafa Ali
Ali celebrates for a while as he is pumped up.
Becky Lynch comes out and says part of being The Man is accepting issues. Becky says she is going through some issues and when things get overwhelming, they have to ask for help. She asked for help from two legends in Lita and Trish Stratus. Stratus got mingled with her family so much that her judgement got clouded and she could not see what everyone else saw from a long way. Becky says thank you Trish, not for all her work, but for smacking at her head, reminding her of standing up for people depending on them when she insulted her daughter, and giving her a target. Becky says she will kick her head in at Night of Champions.
Rhea Ripley is backstage and is asked for comments on Natalya interrupting her attack last week on Dana Brooke. Rhea starts to comment but Natalya interrupts. Natalya says Rhea deserves respect but she is making it hard for everyone to give it to her. Rhea replies that everyone knows that Natalya saved Dana so that fans get interested in her once again. She warns Natalya to never repeat it again. Dominik comes in and tells Mami that its time.
Mustafa Ali has pop in his step as he is walking backstage. Ali gives a speech of positivity to Alpha Academy and Maxine Dupri. He moves on and finds Imperium trio. Gunther congratulates him but adds that Ali has won this match just to lose at Night of Champions. Ali counters by saying he feels sorry for Gunther that he would not return from Saudi Arabia with the title.
Dominik Mysterio vs Xavier Woods
Dominik takes the mic during his entrance and mocks Xavier Woods for thinking that he will beat him. Woods says he agrees that he does not have anyone to watch him back, but he is grown man and able to take care of himself. Woods asks him if he can do it or needs permission from Mami. Dominik completes his entrance and the bell rings.
Woods starts with an arm wringer. Dominik reverses it. Woods takes him down with an arm wringer. Woods puts on a side headlock before hitting an armdrag. He hits a big clothesline before he sets up Dominik on the ropes for a dropkick. Dominik comes back with a knee to midsection. Dominik attacks him some more in the corner before enraging the crowd. Woods catches him with a dropkick. Dominik gets him under control. Woods overpowers him and hits a suplex. Dominik runs out and hides behind Rhea. Rhea engages Woods as Dominik gets back into the ring. We cut to a break.
Woods hits some jabs as we return. Dominik hits back with a big uppercut. He puts Woods to the top as the crowd chants “You Suck”. Woods fights back on the top and hits a missile dropkick. Woods fires quick punches and chops before a running elbow to get a two-count. Woods hits corner splash and a corner clothesline. He hits a back elbow, a big boot in the corner and a clothesline. Dominik throws Woods to the floor. He catches Woods with an elbow as he returns. Dominik hits three amigos suplexes.
Dominik goes for a frog splash but Woods gets his knees up and gets a close two-count. Woods then hits a gutbuster for another two-count. Woods goes for an elbow drop but Rhea pulls Dominik out to the floor. Woods hits an elbow drop on Dominik on the floor before Rhea distracts Woods to allow Dominik to hit him. Dominik distracts the referee and Rhea takes a big swing at Woods. Dominik gets Woods in a backslide and covers him to get the pinfall.
Winner – Dominik Mysterio
We get a vignette for JD McDonagh where he says when he sees people who could not lace his boots get ahead of him, he realizes that he is peforming for an ungrateful audience. We see him leaving the arena when Cathey Kelly catches up with him and asks him about the attack on Dolph Ziggler. McDonagh says Ziggler is the best man to send the message to the whole locker room.
Indus Sher(Veer & Sanga) vs Enhancement Talent
Veer nails the man on the arpon with a big elbow before dropping the one inside. He manhandles his opponent for a while before tagging in Sanga. Sanga kicks at him before slamming him to the mat and throwing him to the corner to tag in his partner. Sanga hits a body slam on his partner before tagging in Veer. Veer hits a corner splash. Sanga tags in for a double team backbreaker/leg drop combo to get the pinfall.
Winner – Indus Sher
Jinder Mahal takes the mic and says these are Indus Sher and they will reign supreme. Mahal then takes the commentary mic and says many people say they will rule on RAW but Indus Sher will make it a reality.
Imperium are with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Gunther says he will not tolerate the kind of disrespect that they showed him to his stablemates last week. Owens gets enraged and calls them for a fight next week. Sami says they will find a partner for a trios match.
Cody Rhodes Ends it at Night of Champions
Cody says this arena has memories of being the first home for Starrcade but Brock Lesnar does not appreciate the arena. Cody then tells us a story of a frog and a scorpion where scorpion stings the frog while it was carrying scorpion through a river. Cody says its Brock’s nature to hunt. He asks Brock how is his face, and says that when he sees his face in the mirror, he is content since he broke Brock’s face. He goes on to say that Brock is better than 99.9% of wrestlers but at Backlash, he was better than Brock.
Cody says he beat Brock by counter a wrestling move with a wrestling move but Brock called it a cheap win. Cody concludes that Brock would have attacked him even if he defeated him after a 20-seconds beatdown. He says Brock is always looking to take down the next big thing, but it will stop at Night of Champions.
Zoey Stark is talking to Nikki Cross, who is in her own thoughts. Stark starts screaming at her when Candice LeRae interrupts and tells her not to talk to Nikki that way. Stark mocks Candice asking where is her ittle weird family. Candice tells her to settle it in the ring. Stark says she is up for next week.
Raquel Rodriguez vs Chelsea Green
Raquel starts on the offensive with some big shots. She looks for a powerslam into in the corner when Sonya Deville distracts her. This allows Chelsea to slip out and sends Raquel into the corner. Chelsea keeps up with the attack which includes chop blocks and flatliner. She keeps Raquel grounded for a while before Raquel overpowers her. Chelsea hits a dropkick to ground Raquel once again. Raquel overpowers her and drops her on the ropes. She follows with a few clotheslines. She hits a trio of fallaway slams and then a corkscrew senton. She hits Tihana bomb to get the pinfall. Sonya Deville throws tantrum on the floor.
Winner – Raquel Rordiguez
Raquel gets to the stage where she is attacked by Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler. Ronda says Raquel’s job is to defend these titles and she does not do it every week, she will be beaten up. Ronda snaps her arm before Shanya nails her with a knee strike.
Imperium are backstage after the break. The camera pans to Paul Heyman standing opposite them. Heyman tells his phone to call Roman Reigns.
We cut to part 2 of the interview with Seth Rollins. He is asked why this iteration of him is the best version. Rollins replies that reigns are off in this character and he can do anything. He adds that this is first time that WWE Universe is the catalyst to change him this time around for the first time. Rollins says nobody on the top is willing to take any risks, but he can do it to take the industry forward. Rollins is asked about his thoughts on Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns. The interview will continue next week.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs Jugment Day(Finn Balor & Damian Priest)
Balor starts with a waistlock takedown on Sami. Sami counters a hammerlock into an arm wringer and gets him down with an armbar. Balot gets up but Sami puts on the hammerlock. Balor hits him with a back elbow. Sami hits a couple of armdrags before Balor takes him to his corner. Priest tags in and hits big punches on Sami. Sami drives him into the corner face first before an elbow shot from the second rope to get a two-count. Owens tags in and hits several punches. Priest hits back with a shot but Owens replies with a chop. Owens sends him to the floor. Balor gets into the ring and he is also sent to the floor. Balor asks Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio to get out. We cut to a break.
Judgment Day is in control of the match against Sami. Balor lays on heavy shots on Sami before whipping him from corner to corner and hitting a big shot. Sami explodes out of the corner with a clothesline. Sami kicks Balor away and tags in Owens. Priest comes in from the other side. Owens hits quick shots on both Balor and Priest. Priest moves to the floor. Owens drops him with a clothesline and hits a senton. Back to the ring, Owens hits a cannonball to get a near fall.
Owens hits more kicks and punches before Dominik picks his leg. Priest attacks Owens from behind. The referee boots Rhea and Dominik from ringside. Priest and Balor keep protesting it and waste time. Owens nails Priest with a superkick. Woods attacks Dominik on the stage and takes him backstage in the brawl. Priest rolls up Owens as he looks for a tag. Priest kicks Owens to the floor. Paul Heyman comes out to the stage as we cut to another break.
Owens fights Balor on the apron after the break. Priest, the legal man, decks him from behind. Priest knocks off Sami from the apron before Balor attacks him some more on the floor. Quick tags between Judgment Day member to keep Owens under control. Owens kicks out of a pin after a leg drop. Priest nails big shots as he sets up Owens on the top. Owens fights back off a superplex. They trade blows on the top. Owens drops Priest back to the mat with headbutts and hits a Swanton Bomb but is unable to cover.
Sami gets back to the apron and gets the tag. Balor comes from the other side and hits punches before a double leg takedown. Sami hits a Michinoku driver to get a near fall. Heyman is on his phone on the stage. Balor avoids a move from the top and hits a slingblade on Sami. Sami comes back with a blue thunderbomb to get a near fall. Imperium are at ringside now. Balor takes advantage of the distraction and hits an inverted 1916 DDT. Owens breaks the pin. Priest comes in but Owens hits him with a stunner.
Sami sets up Balor in the corner and hits Helluva kick. Imperium trio gets to the apron to distract the referee. Owens fights them off but Priest drops him on the apron. Sami hits a tope suicida on Priest on the floor. He returns to the ring and looks for another Helluva kick but Gunther grabs his leg while other Imperium members distracted the referee once again. Balor hits a shotgun dropkick before hitting Coupe de Grace to get the pinfall.
Winners – Judgment Day
Judgment Day duo is on stage while Imperium are ringside as they all smile. Owens and Sami recover in the ring to close the show.
