Monday Night Raw – May 1, 2023 (2023 Draft Night Two): All At Once

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 1, 2023
Location: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

It’s a double shot this week as we have the second night of the Draft, plus the go home Raw for Backlash. On the first hand, there were already some big moves in the Draft and it’s going to be even bigger this week. On the second hand, Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar are both here. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the first night of the Draft, with both shows picking up some big names.

Here is HHH to get things going. He explains the rules, saying that all of the remaining roster is eligible to be drafted. Since Roman Reigns is officially on SmackDown, the World Heavyweight Title is coming to Raw. Brock Lesnar is officially a free agent and can appear on both shows. Finally, there are select NXT names who can be drafted as well. Here are the first picks:

Monday Night Raw
Rhea Ripley
Seth Rollins

Smackdown
Austin Theory
Charlotte

With the picks out of the way, HHH brings Paul Heyman to the ring (after a quick stop to look at the World Heavyweight Championship) for a chat. Heyman is here to address some issues that Roman Reigns wanted him to bring up. First of all, the Bloodline (minus the Usos) has been drafted to Smackdown, meaning tonight we find out the fate of the Usos.

That would be the Usos who did NOT win back their Tag Team Titles from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Heyman will address that with them in private, but on Saturday, there is a six man tag between the Bloodline and Zayn/Owens/Matt Riddle. Either way, Reigns will be at Smackdown next week to take care of a lot of things…..including the World Heavyweight Title. Or not, as Reigns can’t compete on Raw.

The worst thing about that is how many people think they can be the man but just can’t beat Reigns. Heyman says FREAKIN a few times so here is Seth Rollins to interrupt. After the conducting of the fans, Rollins says he thinks Reigns is gone so he can finally stop running from Rollins. Heyman doesn’t like Rollins suggesting he’ll win the title and gets on the phone to Reigns. The fans start singing and Heyman says he can’t hear his Tribal Chief. Rollins threatens Heyman with a Stomp but here is Solo Sikoa to interrupt. Heyman says Reigns has pulled the strings to make the match for tonight. Rollins is in, Reigns or not.

Earlier today, Cody Rhodes arrived and Adam Pearce asked him to not let it get out of hand with Brock Lesnar.

Damage Ctrl vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan

Non-title with Iyo Sky the odd Ctrl member out. Morgan takes over on Bayley to start before Rodriguez drives her into the corner with straight power. A distraction results in Morgan being low bridged to the floor though and we take a break. Back with Morgan getting over to Rodriguez for the tag as everything breaks down. Morgan gets dropped onto Rodriguez’s knees but she’s able to hit Oblivion on Kai anyway. Bayley is right back in with a sunset flip into a rollup to pin Morgan at 8:01.

Rating: C. This feels like a way to set up a title match at Backlash with the drama of where the titles are going to go after next week. It isn’t like there are a ton of options to come after the titles in the first place so this worked as well as anything else. I don’t think the titles will change hands, but at least they have a little something going on, assuming that is where they go.

Brock Lesnar arrived earlier today and Adam Pearce said he wanted to keep the peace. Lesnar: “Good luck with that.”

Here are Booker T. and Sharmell to announce the next picks.

Monday Night Raw
Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens
Judgment Day

Smackdown
Usos
LWO (Joaquin Wilde/Cruz del Toro/Zelina Vega/Santos Escobar/Rey Mysterio)

Well there goes the drama over the Usos and the Bloodline being on different shows. And why was Ripley a different pick from the rest of Judgment Day if they’re going to be on the same show?

Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Alpha Academy

Ricochet flips away from Gable to start but the fans would rather see Otis. Rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner plants Ricochet though, meaning it’s a double tag to bring in Otis and Strowman. They trade running shots in the corner until Strowman runs him over with a big crash. The Swanton off of Strowman’s shoulders gives Ricochet the pin on Otis at 2:26. I’m surprised it went that short.

Video on Damien Priest vs. Bad Bunny.

Here are Shawn Michaels and Adam Pearce to announce the next picks but Brock Lesnar interrupts. Pearce tries to calm him down but Lesnar gets in the ring and asks how it feels to look at the only real cowboy in Texas. Pearce sends security out but Lesnar says that’s not enough. More security comes out for the staredown until it’s Cody Rhodes to drop Lesnar from behind with a single right hand (that was weird). Security separates them, with Lesnar not exactly trying to get to Rhodes.

Post break, here are those picks:

Monday Night Raw
Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez (Women’s Tag Team Champions)
New Day (Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods)

Smackdown
Asuka
Brawling Brutes

Matt Riddle is really excited to be on the same show as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Riddle goes off for his match as Owens wonders if they can go to Smackdown instead of being around him.

Matt Riddle vs. Jimmy Uso

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens and Jey Uso are here too. An early Jey distraction lets Jimmy take over but Owens and Zayn fake a chair shot, earning Jey an ejection. We take an early break and come back with Jey hitting a pop up Samoan drop for two. They head outside with Riddle being sent into the barricade before Jey kicks him in the face for two back inside. Jimmy takes the turnbuckle pad off but a Sami distraction lets Owens send him into it instead. That’s enough for the Floating Bro to finish Jimmy at 7:31.

Rating: C. This was another storyline match rather than anything else and it worked well enough. The idea over the last few weeks is that the Bloodline is a lot weaker on their own without the numbers advantage and that was on display here. Riddle needed the win too, as he hasn’t been doing much since his return.

Video on Iyo Sky.

Rob Van Dam is here to present the picks but runs into Elias and Rick Boogs, who get along with him.

Paul Heyman gives Solo Sikoa a pep talk when Jimmy Uso comes in. Jimmy wants to know where Sikoa was but Heyman says Sikoa had an assignment from Roman Reigns. Heyman and Sikoa leave, with the former still buttering up Jimmy as he walks out.

Here are Rob Van Dam and Eric Bischoff for the next picks:

Monday Night Raw
Trish Stratus
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

Smackdown
Karrion Kross (with Scarlett)
LA Knight

It’s time for MizTV to recap the Draft so far before bringing out Shinsuke Nakamura. Miz thinks Nakamura could be a great World Heavyweight Champion but Nakamura brings up Miz’s testicle. Kinshasa drops Miz rather quickly and Nakamura gets to take a bow.

Omos vs. Anthony Alanis

Chokebomb finishes Alanis at 48 seconds.

We look back at the debut of the World Heavyweight Title.

Road Dogg (actually named Jesse James for what feels like the first time in forever) and Molly Holly handle the next picks.

Monday Night Raw
Braun Strowman/Ricochet
Bronson Reed

Smackdown
Shotzi
Pretty Deadly (NXT)

Pretty Deadly handled what seemed to be dying pretty well.

Here is Judgment Day to brag about sticking together and promising to win at Backlash. Rhea Ripley isn’t overly nervous about facing Zelina Vega because she always comes out on top. Finn Balor promises that Bad Bunny will be turned into little pieces of fluff and Damien Priest threatens Bunny in Spanish. Dominik Mysterio can barely get a word in over the booing, eventually saying he can’t wait to see what happens on Saturday.

He’s ready for a six person tag tonight but here is the LWO to interrupt. Rey Mysterio promises to win tonight and for Vega to win at Backlash. He can’t wait to see what Bad Bunny does either, but tonight it’s time to beat up the whole team. Dominik’s heat was off the charts here and it took him a long time to not say much.

Video on Gunther.

LWO vs. Judgment Day

Rey Mysterio/Santos Escobar/Zelina Vega vs. Dominik Mysterio/Damien Priest/Rhea Ripley. Rey starts with Dominik but Ripley tags herself in to try Riptide on Vega. That’s broken up so Priest comes in to forearm the heck out of Escobar. Dominik comes in but gets dropped with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. It’s quickly back to Rey, who knocks Priest outside for a dive as we take a break.

Back with Rey getting to beat up Dominik but Zelina has to save Rey from Ripley. Vega knocks Ripley outside and Rey loads up the 619. Finn Balor offers a distraction though and Dominik cuts Rey off. Vega and Ripley get knocked down on the floor, leaving Balor to take the 619 for Priest. South of Heaven finishes Rey at 8:48.

Rating: B-. The end result is the right way to go, as it makes Priest feel that much bigger. It is going to feel like something that matters if Bad Bunny beats him at Backlash. Priest needed a bit of a build like this and it helps things out a lot. The other four were doing their thing as well, with Vega especially doing a nice job of making herself feel like a bit more than a foregone conclusion to Ripley.

Bianca Belair is ready to beat Iyo Sky next week but here is Damage Ctrl to mock her. Belair doesn’t think much of them but does think Sky can become a huge star. After she loses at Backlash of course. Sky yells at her in Japanese, with Belair not wanting the translation.

JBL and Teddy Long handle the next picks:

Monday Night Raw
Alpha Academy
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter (NXT)

Smackdown
Rick Boogs
Cameron Grimes (NXT)

It’s about time for Grimes.

Backlash rundown.

Seth Rollins vs. Solo Sikoa

Paul Heyman is here with Sikoa. Rollins has to duck a right hand in the corner to start and let’s conduct the fans a bit. Sikoa gets frustrated as Rollins picking up the pace and headbutts him down in a simple comeback. A low bridge puts Sikoa on the floor but he cuts off the dive as we take a break.

Back with Rolling knocking him to the floor for a series of suicide dives. They get back inside where Sikoa hits a Samoan drop into Spinning Solo for two. Sikoa rains down right hands before they head outside, where Sikoa posts himself by mistake. Back in and Rollins hammers away but the Usos run in for the DQ at 10:39.

Rating: B-. They might as well have held that ending up on a big sign during the match as WWE isn’t going to want either of these two to take a fall here. Rollins continues to be presented as someone who could be a special kind of threat to Reigns and that could be interesting long term. It was a hard hitting back and forth match, but neither was getting pinned here and neither should have been.

Post match Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn join the fight to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There was a lot going on with this show and it only kind of worked. The matches were mostly good but this was almost all about the Draft. That makes things more complicated as the show becomes more of a preview than anything else. For now though, things are looking good on paper, but there is a lot left to find out in the coming weeks. This show was a big special feature, which didn’t lend itself as well to a three hour format. Good enough show for a one off, but the important stuff starts next week.

Results
Damage Ctrl b. Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez – Rollup to Morgan
Braun Strowman/Ricochet b. Alpha Academy – Swanton to Otis
Matt Riddle b. Jimmy Uso – Floating Bro
Omos b. Anthony Alanis – Chokebomb
Judgment Day b. LWO – South of Heaven to Rey Mysterio
Seth Rollins b. Solo Sikoa via DQ when the Usos interfered

Final Draft Picks

Monday Night Raw
Rhea Ripley
Seth Rollins
Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens
Judgment Day
Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez (Women’s Tag Team Champions)
New Day (Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods)
Trish Stratus
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler
Braun Strowman/Ricochet
Bronson Reed
Alpha Academy
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter (NXT)

Smackdown
Austin Theory
Charlotte
Usos
Asuka
Brawling Brutes
LWO (Joaquin Wilde/Cruz del Toro/Zelina Vega/Santos Escobar/Rey Mysterio)
Karrion Kross (with Scarlett)
LA Knight
Shotzi
Pretty Deadly (NXT)
Rick Boogs
Cameron Grimes (NXT)

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.