WWE Monday Night Raw Review – April 24, 2023
Kicking off this week’s Raw with Cody Rhodes asks Chicago what they want to talk about, then says they could talk about the Draft or his upcoming match with Brock Lesnar at Backlash. He then throws it over to a few pictures of Lesnar’s attack on him 3 weeks ago on Raw then says he wants to show fans something else. He takes off his watch and weight belt then reveals a scar on his shoulder. He says this is the 1st time he’s stood in the Allstate Arena since facing Seth Rollins at Hell In A Cell with a torn pec. He addresses Lesnar directly and tells Lesnar to pick a spot. He says he was able to defeat one of the very best with the aforementioned injury but he didn’t do anything that night. He says a sold out arena propped him up on their shoulders and carried him to the finish line. He thanks Chicago before Finn Balor’s music hits and he appears.
Balor says he hates to break up the party but everyone has scars. He says he saw that Rhodes had Roman Reigns beat at WrestleMania but he got screwed. He questions why Rhodes got screwed and says the answer was that no one had his back. He says he understood why he trusted Lesnar to be his tag team partner but he needs to be smarter. He says Rhodes can’t win his match with Lesnar on his own in Puerto Rico. Rhodes cuts Balor off and says he was under the impression there was mutual respect between them. He says he’s not buying whatever Balor’s selling and Balor says if he respects him then he’ll hear him out. Balor says that Rhodes as a member of Judgment Day would be unstoppable, and tells him not to make the same mistake he made at WrestleMania on May 6th.
Rhodes says he appreciates all Balor has done for him but he declines to join Judgment Day. Balor says that’s a pity because you’re either with Judgment Day or against them. Rhodes says Balor is of the impression that he’s not medically cleared to compete tonight but that’s not the case and he was cleared a few hours ago. He says he can’t think of a better message to send to Lesnar than to go toe 2 toe with him tonight.
6 Man Tag Team Match
Latino World Order (Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro) vs. The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso & Solo Sikoa)
Joaquin Wilde & Jey Uso lock up to get this match started then Wilde delivers a dropkick before Jimmy Uso tags in and delivers a chop followed by a shoulder to his midsection. Solo Sikoa tags in and executes a headbutt but Wilde sends Sikoa to the outside. The Usos try to interfere but Santos Escobar & Cruz Del Toro send them crashing to the outside with dropkicks. Wilde & Del Toro then go flying over the top to level them as Escobar does the same to Sikoa as we go to a break.
After the break Sikoa delivers a back elbow to Wilde. Wilde fires back with a DDT then tags in Escobar as Sikoa tags in Jimmy. Escobar delivers a pair of jumping elbows but Jimmy fires back with a kick to his midsection.
Escobar responds with an enziguri and a crossbody off the top rope. Del Toro tags in and delivers a dropkick off the top then climbs back up to the top and delivers a 450 Splash. He goes for a pin but Jey breaks the fall.
Escobar attacks him and the action spills to the outside. Jey sends him crashing into the ring post before Wilde jumps him. Sikoa sends Wilde crashing into the apron spine first as Del Toro delivers an enziguri to Jimmy back inside the ring.
Sikoa tries to interfere but the referee catches him. Jey then hops up on the apron and the referee gets distracted by him & this allows Sikoa to deliver the Samoan Spike to Del Toro. The Usos then follow it up with 1D for the win.
Winners: The Bloodline
After the match Jey grabs a mic and says himself and Jimmy had 1 bad night at WrestleMania. Jimmy says Friday won’t be a bad day for The Bloodline when they recapture the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions and their victory will be dedicated to Roman Reigns.
We then head backstage to Cathy Kelley is with the Raw Women’s Champion Bianca BelAir. Kelley asks BelAir how she feels about facing Iyo Sky at Backlash, and BelAir says she’s excited. Damage CTRL walks in and Bayley tells BelAir Sky will bring home the Raw Women’s Title to Damage CTRL. Sky tells BelAir she wants to face her tonight and BelAir tells her to say less. Bayley tells BelAir to get ready for the 3 of them to beat up herself and 2 other opponents and BelAir says that while she was talking to Sky, she’s happy to accept Bayley’s challenge.
We are back from the break we go backstage and see Jey Uso on the phone. He runs into 1/2 of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and cuts himself off mid sentence. Zayn says he’s not here for a fight but he heard him dedicate their upcoming Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles match to Roman Reigns. He asks him whether or not he thinks that’s weird then asks what happens if they come up short after putting Reigns’ name on the match. He tells him that it won’t be good and he deserves better. Jey asks Zayn why he cares and Zayn says he feels bad. Jey tells him that he shouldn’t feel bad and he doesn’t need to worry about Bloodline business anymore because they both made their choices.
We then head to a video recapping Trish Stratus’ betrayal of Becky Lynch as well as her promo from last week.
We then head backstage to Cathy Kelley is with Trish Stratus. Kelley asks Stratus if she can provide any insight as to why Becky Lynch isn’t at Raw and Stratus says Lynch isn’t doing so well. She says she confided in her about her struggles being at the top of the women’s division and being a mom. She says she’s thriving while Lynch cracked and crumbled. She says she puts Lynch out of her misery and she deserves to be thanked.
Tag Team Match
Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) vs. Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin delivers a knee to Angelo Dawkins on the apron, Montez Ford then delivers a series of right hands to his spine but Benjamin gets Ford on his shoulders. Cedric Alexander makes the blind tag and rains down right hands then tags Benjamin back in.
Ford catches him with an enziguri then tags in Dawkins as Benjamin tags in Alexander. Dawkins delivers a splash in the corner then follows it up with an enziguri. Dawkins hits a spinebuster then tags in Ford & he ascends to the top and delivers From The Heavens gets the win.
Winners: Street Profits
Triple H says he had the incredible privilege of competing in front of the WWE Universe, but now he has the incredible privilege of ensuring WWE can be around for generations to come. He says he’s here to talk about Roman Reigns, who is coming up on 1,000 days as champion. He says he can’t name too many Superstars who would be able to hang in the ring with Reigns, then says along the way, he did something smart negotiating himself into a position where he didn’t have to defend that championship as frequently. He says while that’s great for Reigns, it’s not great for WWE because fans deserve more. He says that why he said WWE would be changed by its core during the Draft. Triple H says that Reigns will stay as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion on the brand he is assigned to while the other brand will crown a new World Heavyweight Champion at Night Of Champions on May 27th. He unveils the redesigned World Heavyweight Title before he says the World Heavyweight Champion will be one of respect that defends the World Heavyweight Title at any place and any time. He says the World Heavyweight Champion will earn the acknowledgement of fans.
We then head backstage to Cathy Kelley is with Judgment Day. Kelley addresses Damian Priest & Finn Balor asks if he’s invisible. Priest tells Balor to get ready and Balor does so. Kelley asks Priest for his reaction to Bad Bunny being in Chicago tonight and Priest says Bad Bunny’s success in WWE has come from him. He says he doesn’t interfere in Bad Bunny’s music career but he’s looking forward to seeing him later tonight.
After the break we go backstage to The Usos & Solo Sikoa. Jimmy is trying to strategize with Jey for their upcoming match. Jey is spaced out and Jimmy asks what’s wrong. Jey asks Jimmy if he’s thought about what happens if they don’t win back the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles and Jimmy asks where this is coming from. Jey says he ran into Sami Zayn & Jimmy becomes angry. He tells Jey he needs to stay focused and Jey says all he’s saying is what if they don’t win. Jimmy insists that they’ll win and that won’t be an issue, but Jey doesn’t respond. Jimmy then storm off.
6 Woman Tag Team Match
Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez & Raw Women’s Champion Bianca BelAir vs. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Bayley & Iyo Sky)
Bianca BelAir & Iyo Sky lock up to get this match off with BelAir delivers a single leg dropkick. Kai tags in and BelAir catches her with a delayed vertical suplex. Raquel Rodriguez tags in and delivers a splash in the corner before Liv Morgan tags in and delivers a cannonball off Rodriguez’s shoulders then she follows it up with a Codebreaker but the action spills to the outside and Sky delivers a cheap kick to Morgan.
After the break Dakota Kai fires off right hands on Morgan. Bayley tags in then immediately tags Sky in. Bayley delivers a running boot before Sky hits the double knees and locks in a crossface. Morgan escapes and Kai tags in. Sky & Kai then look to double team but Morgan catches them with a kick and tosses Sky out of the ring. BelAir looks to tag in but Sky pulls her off the apron and tosses her into the ring steps.
Morgan then delivers a backstabber to Kai and tags in Rodriguez as Kai tags in Bayley. Rodriguez delivers a pair of lariats and a fallaway slam then hits a corkscrew elbow. She goes for a pin but Kai breaks the fall. Rodriguez tosses Kai out of the ring then tags in Morgan. Rodriguez powerbombs Morgan onto Kai & Bayley on the outside. BelAir then gets Bayley in the ring and hits the KOD for the win.
Winners: Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez & Raw Women’s Champion Bianca BelAir
After the match Sky & BelAir stare one another down before BelAir hugs Rodriguez & Morgan.
United States Champion Austin Theory welcomes fans to Austin Theory Live then says this is the experience everyone wants to be part of. Fans start to boo and Theory says that while they may not want to be part of the experience, Bobby Lashley & Bronson Reed certainly do. He asks why he was put in a Triple Threat Match at Backlash and questions where his respect is then points to the World Heavyweight Title. He says the World Heavyweight Title should be around his waist rather than on a pedestal because he’s earned it, but instead, he’s in a Triple Threat Match where he doesn’t have to be pinned or submitted to lose his United States Title.
Bobby Lashley’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. He tells Theory the only problem he has with him is that he’s holding the United States Title. He says Theory keeps running his mouth, then asks him when he’ll step up and accept all challengers. He tells Theory he knows how tough he is, but he doesn’t think Theory knows that himself. He asks Theory if he’s lazy or scared and says he should be welcoming every chance he has to fight for his title.
Lashley says Theory questions who requested the Triple Threat Match at Backlash and says he did. Theory says if he’s so good at requesting matches then where was his WrestleMania match. Lashley says he should knock Theory’s teeth for saying that and Theory looks to clock him. Lashley ducks it and they spill to the outside. Lashley sends Theory into the barricades before Bronson Reed appears out of nowhere. Himself & Reed beat down Lashley before Theory holds him in place and Reed squishes him between himself and the ring post. Theory & Reed get Lashley inside the ring where Theory hits Lashley with A Town Down. Reed then blindsides Theory and delivers a senton. He ascends to the top and delivers Tsunami to Theory then holds up the United States Title.
Chad Gable vs. Mustafa Ali
Chad Gable delivers an arm drag then Mustafa Ali responds with one of his own but Gable catches him with a suplex and a pair of back elbows. Ali executes a kick to his head but Gable hits a 2nd suplex.
Ali fires back with a tornado DDT then ascends to the top rope and looks for a 450 splash. Gable rolls out of the way and sets up for a German suplex but Ali rolls him up for the win.
Winner: Mustafa Ali
We head backstage to Sami Zayn. Jimmy Uso approaches him and tells Zayn to stop playing mind games with Jey. Zayn says he’s speaking the truth and Jimmy asks Zayn what happens if himself & Kevin Owens lose. Jimmy says Owens will turn on him and he’ll deserve every bit of it. He tells him not to worry about Jey but his own brother instead.
Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Balor
Cody Rhodes & Finn Balor lock up to get this match started then they go back & forth with submission holds before Balor delivers an arm drag. He then delivers a chop but Rhodes responds with several right hands and plants Balor face first then looks for a crossbody but Balor ducks out of the way and Rhodes is sent to the outside.
Balor follows him out there then sends him crashing into the announce table before he stares down the World Heavyweight Title as we go to a break.
After the break Rhodes delivers a right hand to Balor then he follows it up with a scoop powerslam and the Disaster Kick then goes for a pin but Balor kicks out. Rhodes looks for the Cody Cutter but Balor catches him and plants him. He then delivers a series of stomps and a Sling Blade but Rhodes delivers the Cody Cutter and goes for a pin.
Balor kicks out and delivers a double stomp then follows it up with a shotgun dropkick and ascends to the top. He looks for the Coup De Grace but Rhodes moves out of the way and delivers a Pedigree then follows it up with Cross Rhodes for the win.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Seth Rollins welcomes fans to Monday Night Rollins then introduces himself and says he was going to come out and see how Chicago was feeling about Omos at Backlash but something bigger has caught his eye. He stares down the World Heavyweight Title then says Triple H came out and said some nice things about Roman Reigns and the list of people he’s beaten but there is one person not on that list. He says some of the roster still want to fight to push the industry forward then says this is the chance to have a World Heavyweight Champion that’s more than part timers. He says if a new World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned at Night of Champions then Chicago has one guess to figure it out.
Omos’ music hits, and himself & MVP appear. MVP asks Rollins to forgive him for the interruption and says he respects him immensely. He tells Rollins he thinks that he’s one of the greatest Superstars to compete in a WWE ring then says he’s achieved virtually every accomplishment there is. He says that it’s his responsibility to get Omos giant matches, and a match over Omos would be huge. He advises Rollins to stop making predictions about his future because he might not have one after Backlash.
Rollins thanks MVP for his kind words then says Omos is the tallest, strongest, most powerful force he has ever seen. He says Omos is once in a generation because he was born that way. Rollins says that he made himself once in a generation and says while he should be afraid of him, he’s not and tells Omos he’ll make him famous at Backlash. He says he will deliver a Curb Stomp to Omos and when he wakes up an arena full of people will be singing his song.
After the break we see Matt Riddle strategizing with an annoyed Kevin Owens. Sami Zayn walks in and Owens asks where he’s been. Zayn says he hasn’t had a great night and Owens says neither has he as he points over to Riddle. Zayn tells him he talked to Jey Uso, & Owens asks why Zayn is pleading to him. He tells him he needs to focus so they can keep the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles then storms off. Riddle says he knows what Zayn is going through, and tells him that everything will be cool with him and Owens because they’re bros.
Rey Mysterio vs. Damian Priest
Rey Mysterio wastes no time as he fires off a series of right hands and kicks but Damian Priest responds with a big boot and several stomps. Mysterio delivers a back elbow and a kick but Priest catches him with a gutbuster as we see Bad Bunny pulling up to the Allstate Arena.
Priest ascends to the top and gets Mysterio up on his shoulders but Mysterio fights his way out and delivers a hurricanrana then he follows it up with a kick to Priest’s face before Priest delivers a right hand and tosses Mysterio under the bottom rope as we go to a break.
After the break Priest delivers an elbow to Mysterio in the corner. Mysterio sends Priest colliding with the ring post shoulder first then delivers a moonsault to him on the outside. He tosses him back into the ring then ascends to the top and delivers a senton before he hits a crossbody off the ropes. He catches Priest in the ropes and sets up for the 619 but Priest catches him with a thrust kick and goes for a pin. Mysterio kicks out and Priest sets up for Razor’s Edge but Mysterio escapes and goes flying. Priest catches him and plants him.
Priest grabs a chair but Mysterio catches him with a dropkick as he goes to get back into the ring. Mysterio then grabs the chair but Priest catches him with a chokeslam. Mysterio escapes and delivers a hurricanrana then executes the 619 and ascends to the top rope then Priest tosses the chair at his head before he can fly which causes a disqualification.
Winner By DQ: Rey Mysterio
After the match Priest hits Mysterio with South Of Heaven then clears the announce table. Bad Bunny’s music hits and he appears with a kendo stick in hand. He makes his way down to the ring and hits Priest with the kendo stick. He sends him toppling over the announce table then continues beating down Priest with the kendo stick. Priest retreats but before he can leave Bad Bunny grabs a mic. He says he’s not hosting Backlash but he’s going to beat him in the ring and informs him that they’ll be facing one another in a Street Fight.
Updated Backlash Card (May 6th)
6 Man Tag Team Match
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn & Matt Riddle vs. The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso & Solo Sikoa)
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lensar
Smackdown Women’s Title Match
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Zelina Vega
Seth Rollins vs. Omos
United States Title Triple Threat Match
Austin Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed
Raw Women’s Title Match
Bianca BelAir (c) vs. Iyo Sky
Street Fight
Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest
