Winners And Grades On May 15, 2023

WWE Raw advertised Cody Rhodes responding to Brock Lesnar ahead of their showdown at WWE Night of Champions. Raw also advertised Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz, a live appearance by Becky Lynch and a Battle Royal to determine the No. 1 Contender for GUNTHER’s Intercontinental Championship.

Last week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.790 million viewers.

WWE Raw Results on May 15, 2023

• Shinsuke Nakamura def. The Miz
• Mustafa Ali wins IC Title Battle Royal
• Dominik Mysterio def. Xavier Woods
• Indus Sher def. Local Competitors
• Raquel Rodriguez def. Chelsea Green

WWE Raw Ratings

• May 8, 2023 | 1.790 million
• May 1, 2023 | 1.778 million
• April 24, 2023 | 1.815 million
• April 17, 2023 | 1.815 million
• April 10, 2023 | 1.818 million

• WWE Raw Venue: Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, N.C.)
• WWE Raw Tickets Distributed: 9,670
• WWE Raw Tickets Available: 174

WWE Raw Winners And Grades

Sami Zayn And Kevin Owens Open Raw

Sami Zayn cut an extremely heated promo on Roman Reigns that was leaps and bounds above anything Roman Reigns is capable of on his best day.

Judgment Day was booed, Rhea Ripley was not.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens seemed to dismissively accept a challenge from The Judgment Day, but this was not made clear coming out of the opening segment.

Opening Segment Grade: B

Shinsuke Nakamura Def. The Miz

The Miz seemed like he was on his way to a heel victory after a thumb to the eye and the Skull Crushing Finale, but Nakamura just barely got his foot on the rope.

I don’t know what WWE is gettin Nakamura ready for, but he would have been a great candidate to challenge GUNTHER for his Intercontinental Championship.

Miz vs. Nakamura Grade: B

Mustafa Ali Wins IC Title Battle Royal

When GUNTHER announced the WWE Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal, Kevin Patrick treated it like it was a breaking news story, even though this was advertised on WWE.com.

Matt Riddle taunted IMPERIUM, which all but gave it away that Riddle was going to win this Battle Royal. Instead, Riddle was eliminated with help from IMPERIUM during the tail end of the match.

Ma.çé dropped Mån.sôör out of fear of Dexter Lumis, which resulted in eliminations for both.

Von Wagner eliminated Dolph Ziggler and Corey Graves really put it over. JD McDonagh, who had also been quickly eliminated attacked Ziggler shortly thereafter.

Of note, Wagner, McDonagh, Xyon Quinn and Apollo Crews were all recent NXT callups featured in this Battle Royal.

There was huge heat from this North Carolina crowd for Erik and Ivar after they eliminated South Carolina’s Shelton Benjamin.

Consistent with reports that there will be an underdog winner of this Battle Royal, Mustafa Ali won by eliminating Ricochet and Bronson Reed simultaneously. Mans even received excessive pyro.

IC Battle Royal Grade: B-

Becky Lynch Appears Live

Becky Lynch cut a great promo on Trish Stratus one day after Mother’s Day after Stratus called her child stupid.

Following Lynch’s promo, WWE cut to the back to show Rhea Ripley angrily staring down Lynch.

Becky Lynch Promo Grade: B+

Dominik Mysterio Def. Xavier Woods

Xavier Woods received another massive pop but no Francesca. No New Day entrance feels complete without her.

Dominik Mysterio continued to receive immense heat, but fans didn’t dare boo Ripley as they chanted “Mami” for the second time of the evening.

Dominik Mysterio won with a Lucha pinning combination after receiving help from Ripley.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods Grade: B

Indus Sher Def. Local Competitors

Corey Graves leaned into the anonymity of Indus Sher’s opponents, calling Drake Thompson a create-a-wrestler.

If WWE commits to Indus Sher, they have a real chance to be established as a viable tag team. Hopefully they aren’t booked like the Hindu Viking Raiders.

Indus Sher vs. Local Competitors Grade: C

Cody Rhodes Responds To Brock Lesnar

Cody Rhodes was favoring his ribs throughout this segment, which figure to be a focal point during his match against Brock Lesnar.

Of course, the first Starrcade reference in the Greensboro coliseum came from Rhodes.

Fans hung on to Cody Rhodes’ every word throughout another great promo.

Cody Rhodes Promo Grade: A-

Raquel Rodriguez Def. Chelsea Green

I’m not a fan of Raquel Rodriguez’s new entrance sunglasses.

Raquel Rodriguez made quick work of Chelsea Green, but the story was a returning Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler attacking Rodriguez and challenging her and Liv Morgan for the Tag Team Championships.

Seth Rollins appeared in a series of sit-down interview clips with Corey Graves. Rollins subtweeted Reigns by saying champions at the top are not taking risks and are more concerned with retaining their titles. When Rollins was asked about Reigns directly, WWE teased the answer for next week.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Chelsea Green Grade: C+

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens Vs. The Judgment Day

Poor Damian Priest continues to be in the “setup guy” role even after his great performance against Bad Bunny. His time will inevitably come.