WWE RAW Results May 22, 2023, Live Updates, Winners, Highlights
Welcome to the live results blog for WWE RAW May 22, 2023 episode which was also the go-home edition for WWE Night of Champions 2023 PLE.
A trios match was set between Imperium and Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & a mystery partner. The mystery partner was not the only intrigue in this match though. A talk was felicitated between Gunther and Roman Reigns last week which later led to Imperium interfering in Owens & Sami’s match. With Roman & Solo’s face-off with the tag champs approaching, did Roman have specific instructions for Imperium?
Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar were going to be under the same roof on the final RAW episode before their Night of Champions fight. Becky Lynch was set for a contract signing segment with Trish Stratus.
Singles matches on the card included Zoey Stark taking on Candice LeRae, Dominik vs Apollo Crews, and Finn Balor vs Shinsuke Nakamura. Seth Rollins’ interview with Corey Graves also continued. Check below for the complete results live from WWE Monday Night RAW May 22, 2023 episode along with live updates, updated match card, winners, highlights and complete action.
RESULTS
- Bronson Reed defeated Ricochet in a singles match via pinfall.
- Zoey Stark defeated Candice LeRae in a singles match via pinfall.
- Alpha Academy(Otis & Chad Gable) defeated The Viking Raiders(Erik & Ivar) in a tag team match via pinfall.
- Finn Balor defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in a singles match via pinfall.
- Raquel Rodriguez defeated Sonya Deville in a singles match via pinfall.
- Dominik Mysterio defeated Apollo Crews in a singles match via pinfall.
- Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Matt Riddle defeated Imperium(Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci) in a tag team match via pinfall.
LIVE UPDATES
Cody Rhodes was walking backstage earlier today and gets attacked by Brock Lesnar. Lesnar throws around Cody into some production cases before smashing Cody’s arm with a keg.
Tag Titles!
Paul Heyman is in the ring and he says he does not have anything to do with the attack on Cody, but it may serve as a warning for Cody as he try to slay the beast Brock Lesnar. He then moves to talk about tag team title match at Night of Champions and he claims that Roman and Solo will become the tag champions by beating Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Heyman closes off the promo by welcoming us to RAW.
Owens and Sami come out. Heyman is gone by the time they wrap up their entrance. Sami starts to talk about their match this weekend. Sami says the match is very personal. Owens says Roman dedicated the match to The Wild Samoans Afa and Sika. So, he also wants to dedicate their wins to the true pillars of The Bloodline – Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso. Sami then steers the conversation towards their match against Imperium but they are interrupted by Imperium’s entrance.
Imperium try to surround and outnumber Owens and Sami but Matt Riddle runs out. Imperium retreat but then suddenly run back to the ring. Owens, Sami and Riddle deal with them easily. Riddle hits Gunther with a ripcord knee and Sami and Owens hit him with a clothesline to send them packing.
Byron Saxton is with Adam Pearce as he come out of Cody’s locker room but Pearce refuses to comment. He also declines to the possibility of a broken arm for Cody.
Ricochet vs Bronson Reed
Ricochet escapes from the corner a few times before he hits a low dropkick to left leg. He then targets the back of the knee. Reed blocks a baseball slide but Ricochet nails him with an enzuigiri. Reed comes back with a Thesz press, elbow drop and low tackle. Ricochet rolls to the floor and Reed hits him with a running shoulder tackle off the apron. We cut to a break.
Ricochet fights off a delayed vertical suplex with knee strikes. Reed hits him with a Samoan drop. Ricochet drops his arm and face on the ropes. Low dropkick, punches, superkicks and standing shooting star press from Ricochet but Reed kicks out at 1. Ricochet hits more kicks until Reed stops him with a punch. Reed goes for a tackle once again off the apron but Ricochet catches him with a knee strike midair. Ricochet hits an enzuigiri back in the ring. Reed trips him on the ropes, follows up with a clothesline, body slam and Tsunami to get the pinfall.
Winner – Bronson Reed
Apollo Crews is backstage and hopes Cody is good. Dominik and Rhea Ripley interrupt and reminds the interviewer that this was time for Rhea Ripley interview. Dominik throws shade on Apollo by pretending that he does not know Apollo. Rhea Ripley takes over and challenges Natalya for a match at Night of Champions. Apollo also interrupts and Dominik tries to argue with him. Rhea says Dominik will face Apollo tonight.
Seth Rollins’ interview with Corey Graves continues. Rollins says he loves Roman as his brother but he has no respect for the person and champion he has become. He accuses Roman of taking opportunities from everyone else. He wants to become the World Heavyweight Champion so that people can forget about Roman. When asked bout what to expect from Rollins as the champion, he says he will be around, defending the title week in week out and represent WWE. We see a footage of AJ vs Seth match from independent scene. AJ says he predicted Rollins becoming a star and he did become a star.
We see an argument between Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Shinsuke Nakamura last week. Byron Saxton joins them live for some comments but Priest snaps thinking about of his loss. Balor says Nakamura tried to disrepect Priest and he will have to pay for it.
Candice LeRae vs Zoey Stark
We get a vignette Zoey Stark where she says she is calculated and vicious and the fans would not like her because she will beat all of out favorites. She then makes her entrance for the match.
Zoey catches Candice with an attack in the corner right after the bell. She continues to attack Candice in the corner before a suplex. Some ground and pound punches follow. She puts on a choke. Nikki Cross comes out and tries to hype Candice. Candice hits a jawbreaker to break free and hits punches, dropkick, and a dropkick on the apron to knock Stark out to the floor. Candice and Nikki start to argue and Stark tackles them both into the steel steps. Zoey takes Candice back to the ring and hits Z-360 to get the pinfall.
Winner – Zoey Stark
Lesnar’s Terror Continues
Mustafa Ali is interviewed backstage to be asked about his emotions heading into Intercontinental title match. Ali tries to speak but is unable to says anything before saying that he always dreamt of being a champion. Brock Lesnar gets past him. He tells Ali to get a life as he goes to make his entrance.
Brock gets into the ring amid mixed reaction from the crowd. Cody chants take over the arena now. Lesnar mocks Cody by asking the crowd what they want to talk about. Lesnar informs us that Cody will not fight him at Night of Champions and issues an open challegne for Night of Champions. After a while Cody makes his way out to the stage. Adam Pearce and other crew members try to stop him. Cody has a sling on his arm but he removes it. Brock attacks and corners Cody. He puts on the Kimura lock. Lesnar puts on extra pressure on it and Cody keeps screaming. Later, he stomps on the arm before leaving. Cody screams send me medical now when Pearce gets into the ring.
The Viking Raiders(Erik & Ivar) vs Alpha Academy(Otis & Chad Gable)
Maxinne Dupri is out with Alpha Academy while Valhalla is there with The Vikings as usual. Gable counters arm wringer with some quick technical moves but he fails to trip Erik. He counters a back body slam with a hurricanrana. Erik hits him with a a big forearm,. Ivar comes into hit Gable with some quick punches. Quick tags between The Viking Raiders as they double team on Gable. We want Otis chants. More corner tackles from The Vikings. Gable fights off a choke and hits back elbows and punches on both opponents.
Ivar tries to stop him from a tag but Gable fights The Viking off and tags in Otis.
Otis hits a clothesline and a running tackle on Ivar before a back elbow on Erik. Ivar is hit with a body slam. Otis hit caterpillar on Erik. Otis misses a tackle in the corner and tags in Gable who fails to hit a German suplex. Otis is knocked off the apron. The Vikings go for a double team before Gable fights back to kick Ivar off the top and uses a bridge after an O’Connar roll to get the pinfall.
Winners – Alpha Academy
Adam Pearce barges into Cody’s locker room but Cody shouts at him after the door closes. Pearce gets out of the room.
Indus Sher gets a pre-recorded promo saying that last week was the start of their terror and that they will rule RAW.
Finn Balor vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Balor starts with a waistlock takedown. Nakamura counters with a hammerlock. Some back and forth grappling before Balor controls the arm. Nakamura counters it with some quick movements and takes Balor to the mat. Balor hits his knee cap on Nakamura. Nakamura fights back with some kicks. Nakamura with more attack in the corner before a knee strike forces Balor to the floor. Nakamura brings him back but Balor catches him with a kick on his way back. Priest trips Nakamura off the apron and kicks at him a few times to take us to a break.
Balor is in control but Nakamura starts to hulk up. He catches Balor’s kick and starts to hit back. He blocks more attacks from Balor and hits a sliding German suplex. He mocks Priest on the floor before returning to the ring to hit a Pele kick. He hits more knee strikes before some back-and-forth action. Balor hits a slingblade but Nakamura counters with a dropkick when Balor goes for a shotgun dropkick.
Balor hits a double stomp on the chest. He misses Coupe de Grace and Nakamura drops him with a kick. Priest pulls Balor out of the ring. Nakamura attacks Priest with quick punches and throws him over the barricade. Balor hits a dropkick on Nakamura from behind against the barricade. Balor brings Nakamura back to the ring to hit Coupe de Grace and gets the pinfall.
Winner – Finn Balor
Sonya Deville vs Raquel Rodriguez
Sonya stomps and breaks Raquel’s sunglasses and hits kicks and knee strkes. Sonya hits a knee strike from the top. Sonya pummels Raquel in the corner with more and more punches. The referee separates them. Raquel finally fights back from the corner with a bit boot. She hits a corkscrew elbow drop in the corner before hitting Tihana Bomb to get the pinfall.
Winner – Raquel Rodriguez
Chelsea Green attacks Raquel from behind after the match. Shotzi runs out and makes the save. She takes down Sonya and hits a suicide dive to close the segment.
Adam Pearce is given an update that Cody is very angry and is not letting anyone in the room and shouting at everyone. Trish Stratus comes in to talk about her contract signing segment and pitches an idea to put no touch polocy tonight. Pearce says there is no precedence for the no-touch policy.
Contract Signing
Becky Lynch comes out first and proclaims that The Man has come to Hersheys. Trish comes out and mocks Becky before saying Becky is getting this reception due to the work that she did back in her days. Trish also refutes the fact that she is trying to be the #1 again, and claims she was always #1. She signs the contract and says this is his first contract signing but it will be Becky’s last one.
Becky calms her down on the no-touch policy and assures her that she will not attack her tonight. Becky then runs down Trish on the mic, slipping in a rap in between it. Becky claims that she has accomplished much more than Trish and that she will whoop her at Night of Champions. Becky signs the contract and Trish pushes the table over in frustration.
Adam Pearce calls someone higher up on Cody. He informs that Cody is refusing to get checked but his arm is clearly mangled. Pearce says he needs some help here.
Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi Blackheart are backstage and Shotzi says she respects Raquel and has her back anytime she needs it. Raquel says she has found her new tag team partner.
Apollo Crews vs Dominik Mysterio
Crews starts with some shoulder tackles. Dominik hangs onto the ropes to avoid a move before Crews hits a dropkick, followed by a delayed vertical suplex and powerslam. Dominik trips Crews on the top rope and stomps on him in quick succession. Dominik hits a suplex to get a two-count. Dominik puts on a chinlock before Crews gets up but Dominik hits him with a knee. Crews catches a crossbody and hits a fallaway slam. He hits a blockbuster from the top before a crossbody from the top.
Dominik hits a dropkick to set up 619 but Crews ducks down and pulls Dominik to the floor to drop him with a clothesline. Rhea Ripley gets in Crews’ face. Dominik plays possum and trips Crews into the steel steps. Dominik then distracts the referee and Rhea drives Crews into the ring post. Crews manages to beat the countdown but Dominik hits a frog splash to get the pinfall.
Winner – Dominik Mysterio
We get another segment of Seth Rollins interview where we see some of the footage from his past title wins. Rollins says since he was not put in the top spot, he had to work extra hard to get to that place.
Imperium(Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci) vs Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Matt Riddle
Riddle starts against Kaiser who easily takes control to corner Riddle. Vinci tags in and keeps the attack going. Riddle fights back with kicks and corner splash and hits a gutwrench suplex. Gunther tags in. Riddle ducks his chop and hits kicks to his leg before Gunther chops him. Gunther hits a body slam to take us to a break.
Riddle is trying to fight back and tag out against Kaiser. Kaiser sends him to the ropes and hits a suplex to get a two-count. Gunther tags in and Riddle hits him with a Pele kick. Kaiser comes in to stop Riddle from tagging out. Riddle sends Kaiser out of the ring. Riddle goes to tag Sami and Owens but they are pulled off the apron. Gunther hits a lariat to get a near fall. Riddle hits a German suplex. Tags to Owens and Vinci.
Owens hits quick shots and then some rapid stomps near the ropes. A clothesline and senton is followed by a German suplex and a cannonball from Owens to get a two-count. Kaiser tries to distract once again. Owens tries to hit a powerbomb on him but Vinci attacks him and Imperium double team to drop Owens on the apron and to the floor. We cut to a break.
Owens hits a frog splash as we return from the break. Sami gets the tag against Kaiser and hits clotheslines and a back body drop. Sami knocks Gunther off the apron before hitting a Michinoku driver on Kaiser to get a two-count. Kaiser blocks Helluva kick with a big boot. Gunther gets the blind tag and attacks Sami from behind after he dumps Kaiser to the floor. Sami hits blue thunderbomb on Gunther and Vinci breaks the pin. Riddle comes in to deal with Vinci and is tripped on the top.
KO comes in but Kaiser takes him to the floor. Gunther puts Sami in a sleeper choke. Riddle hits floating bro to break the submission. Sami hits exploder on Vinci after he tags in. Gunther blocks Sami before Owens and Riddle beat him up and throw him over the announce table. Sami sends Kaiser to the floor with a back body drop. Vinci hits Sami with a clothesline before Sami counters with Helluva kick. Owens tags in and hits Swanton bomb to get the pinfall.
Winner – Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle
The winners celebrate in the ring. Imperium regruops on the ramp.
Someone knocks on Cody Rhodes’ door but he says he does not need any help. Its Triple H who comes in. Hunter asks him to get his arm checked. Cody tells him it’s not happening. HHH understands that he is afraid that he will pull the match if Cody is found injured. Cody says he fought with a torn pec and will now fight with broken arm. Cody continues to be passionate and HHH has to leave ultimately.