WWE Raw advertised Night 2 of the WWE Draft as Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar are both present for the go-home show for WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico. Raw also advertised Matt Riddle vs. Jimmy Uso and Judgment Day vs. LWO.
Last week’s broadcast of WWE Raw, with Bad Bunny and the unveiling of the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship, garnered 1.185 million, essentially flat with last week.
WWE Raw Results on May 1, 2023
- Damage CTRL def. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez
- Ricochet and Braun Strowman def. Alpha Academy
- Matt Riddle def. Jimmy Uso
- Omos def. Local Competitor
- Judgment Day def. LWO
WWE Draft Results
WWE Raw
- Rhea Ripley | Round 1, Pick 1
- Seth Rollins | Round 1, Pick 3
- Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens | Round 2, Pick 5
- The Judgment Day | Round 2, Pick 7
- Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez | Round 3, Pick 9
- The New Day | Round 3, Pick 11
- Trish Stratus | Round 4, Pick 13
- Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler | Round 4, Pick 15
- Braun Strowman and Ricochet | Round 5, Pick 17
- Bronson Reed | Round 5, Pick 19
- Alpha Academy | Round 6, Pick 21
- Katana Chance and Kayden Carter | Round 6, Pick 23
WWE SmackDown
- Austin Theory | Round 1, Pick 2
- Charlotte Flair | Round 1, Pick 4
- The Usos | Round 2, Pick 6
- LWO | Round 2, Pick 8
- Asuka | Round 3, Pick 10
- The Brawling Brutes | Round 3, Pick 12
- Karrion Kross | Round 4, Pick 14
- LA Knight | Round 4, Pick 16
- Shotzi | Round 5, Pick 18
- Pretty Deadly | Round 5, Pick 20
- Rick Boogs | Round 6, Pick 22
- Cameron Grimes | Round 6, Pick 24
WWE Raw Ratings
- April 24, 2023 | 1.815 million
- April 17, 2023 | 1.815 million
- April 10, 2023 | 1.818 million
- April 3, 2023 | 2.260 million
- March 27, 2023 | 1.843 million
- WWE Raw Venue: Dickies Arena (Fort Worth, Texas)
- WWE Raw Tickets Distributed: 10,405
- WWE Raw Tickets Available: 0
Mike Tyson Vs. Logan Paul In WWE? (PWB)
WWE Raw Winners And Grades
Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman Kick Off WWE Raw
Seth Rollins remains the front-runner to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship despite how one-dimensional his character is.
Rollins finally made mention of never getting a rematch against Roman Reigns, which does not constitute as long-term storytelling.
WWE Raw Opening Segment Grade: B
Damage CTRL def. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez
The announcers talked up how Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are adding value to the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships for a change, only for the tandem to lose.
The fact that Damage CTRL was drafted as a unit, and suggests their breakup is on hold, but this time around the tag team was Bayley, not Iyo Sky, and Dakota Kai so perhaps it’s still in the works.
Damage CTRL vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez Grade: B-
Braun Strowman and Ricochet def. Alpha Academy
Booker T and Sharmell announced the Round 2 picks.
Both Maxxine Dupri and Chad Gable walked Otis to the ring, suggesting Alpha Academy had no chance in this one.
Right on cue, Otis and Gable lost however there wasn’t nearly as much dissension between Gable and Dupri as you’d think.
Strowman and Ricochet vs. Alpha Academy: B-
Brock Lesnar Brawls With Cody Rhodes
Brock Lesnar interrupted Shawn Michaels and Adam Pearce’s WWE Draft announcements.
Adam Pearce referred to his cavalcade of security as his gentlemen, which is the least-intimidating name for security I’ve ever heard.
Cody Rhodes attacked Brock Lesnar from behind and Rhodes and Lesnar didn’t bother fighting through security as Rhodes fought desperately to do just that.
Brock Lesnar’s new t-shirt looks eerily similar to the iconic Bullet Club t-shirts.
SmackDown continues to load up on groups as the Brawling Brutes, the LWO and The Usos will all be Smackdown-bound.
Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes Brawl Grade: B
Matt Riddle def. Jimmy Uso
Sami and Kevin did an Eddie Guerrero-style blind chair trick, and when Jey Uso was (wrongfully) thrown out because of it, this crowd went crazy.
Sami, Kevin and Matt Riddle cheated their ass off all to defeat poor Jimmy Uso.
Matt Riddle vs. Jimmy Uso Grade: B-
MizTV With Shinsuke Nakamura
RVD (who continues to be massively over in Texas) and Eric Bischoff announced the Round 4 WWE Draft picks.
Miz pitched the team of “Mizuke Nakamura,” which actually has a great ring to it.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs are on the same show (for now), yet there is no reunion in sight.
Shinsuke Nakamura taught The Miz a phrase in Japanese, and it translated to “the guy with tiny balls.”
MizTV Grade: B
Omos def. Local Competitor
Omos, like Brock Lesnar, negotiated free agent status into his contract. I’m telling you, if he wins that WWE World Heavyweight Championship, I will not be the least bit surprised.
Omos secured a squash victory on the go-home show of WWE Backlash, and his match against Seth Rollins suddenly feels like a toss-up.
Omos vs. Local Competitor Grade: C+
Judgment Day vs. LWO
Road Dogg and Molly Holly announced WWE Draft picks for the fifth round. Of note, Pretty Deadly received a nice pop when their names were called at the end of the fifth round.
At this point, any Judgment Day vs. LWO match feels like trolling, especially if LWO loses again.
Rhea Ripley threatened to “pretzel” Zelina Vega at WWE Backlash, which is a reference to her popular pinning combination.
Damian Priest was showered by “what” chants, and he responded by cutting the promo in Spanish. Dominik was a super heel per usual. Mysterio did a great job squeezing the most heat possible out of this crowd.
Fans were fully behind Rey Mysterio until he said Zelina was going to beat Rhea for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Kevin Patrick talked about how Damian Priest and Bad Bunny grew up in the same city and know each others’ families. Considering they are headlining a WWE pay-per-view, the go-home show should not be the first time I’m hearing about this.
Rhea Ripley delivered a great running dropkick to Santos Escobar, who sold it perfectly.
Judgment Day picked up the win when Finn Balor took a 619 in place of Priest. Death, taxes and LWO losing on television.
Judgment Day vs. LWO Grade: B
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2023/05/01/wwe-raw-results-winners-and-grades-after-wwe-draft-concludes/