WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for May 7

WWE Raw (Photo Source: WWE.com)

Backlash may have been a train wreck, but that means WWE Raw will be better, right? Follow along with our live review right here tonight!

Previously on WWE Raw, nothing really happened. Then Backlash happened, but still, nothing really happened. Basically, if you haven’t been paying attention since WrestleMania, you haven’t actually missed anything.

This week on Raw, hopefully we’ll finally get that hard reset everyone’s been waiting for since Mania. But with the Superstar Shake-up and Greatest Royal Rumble gumming up the works, the entire company has been treading water for a month. Even Backlash, the first co-branded non-Big 4 pay per view since 2016, was a dumpster fire, to put it mildly.

Now, all eyes are looking ahead to Money in the Bank next month. (I gotta tell you, I could have sworn Extreme Rules was up next, and MITB was in July. Whoops!) Everyone’s apparently got one question on their mind: Has Roman Reigns earned yet another chance at Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship? If you watched Backlash, I’d argue the answer is “not even close,” but apparently we’re still playing this awful terrible game that has no end in sight. So what’s next for The Big Dog tonight?

The bigger issue at hand, in my opinion, is determining just who will compete in the Money in the Bank Ladder Matches this year. Hopefully, both the men’s and women’s matches are co-branded, because four ladder matches (and briefcases) would be overkill. The Miz is participating in one qualifier on Tuesday’s SmackDown Live. Will Raw have any qualifiers this week?

According to WWE’s preview, everything else lined up is basically “Are these friends still friends?” Both Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn and Bayley & Sasha Banks have been at odds lately. Banks and Bayley’s troubles go further back, but KO and Sami nearly exploded at Backlash. What’s up in the land of friends?

Related Story: WWE Backlash 2018 Final Rating

Please join us right here for our live review of WWE Raw. The action starts at 8 p.m. ET.

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Always Gonna Be An Uphill Battle…

I know the point of Kurt Angle saying “We never stop!” is supposed to be a good thing. But after Backlash, maybe stopping is something WWE should look into. Just a brief little reset for even a week or two would do wonders for the product. Allowing superstars to heal up, let stories marinate, the works.

Angle goes on to talk about the next stop being Money in the Bank, and thankfully fills us in that there will be only two ladder matches — one for the men, one for the women. That terrifying possibility of a SmackDown Men’s SmackDown Women’s, Raw Men’s and Raw Women’s quartet is averted.

The first two qualifiers on Raw tonight are both triple threats. Ember Moon, Ruby Riott, and Sasha Banks will be up first for the women, and Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, and Sami Zayn go for the men. This brings out Braun Strowman with a hilarious story about attempted murder as a child, and Kevin Owens shortly follows.

I can’t tell if Owens delivered a brilliant, coherent, sort-of-breaking-kayfabe-but-not-really promo, or if he rambled like a lunatic who wasn’t funny enough for comedy or serious enough for drama. It was entertaining, so I guess we’ll go with the promo. Conspiracy Victim

Chris Jericho

Kevin Owens is something I can get behind.

Of course, it’s a roundabout way of getting to another MITB qualifier, naturally Owens vs. Braun. And it starts right now!

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Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens, Money in the Bank Qualifier

Result: Braun Strowman defeated Kevin Owens via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

I’m a little worried that Strowman is becoming too much of a caricature of a monster. Surviving a truck running into the ambulance he was locked in? Fine. Respawning like he was Shredder after getting crushed by a garbage compactor? Also fine. Resorting to running around the ring just to run guys over in a comedic fashion? Ehhhh…

There’s more to the Braun character than “haha look at him flatten the little guy!” Much more. Let him put together an actual in-ring match, and save the running around for where it makes sense. I mean, it’s not like WWE is known for beating popular things into the ground, right? (But Owens doing a damn shooting star press to sell the last one is alright in my book.)

All that said, I like the match, even if it’s not breaking any new ground. Owens is the smartest coward on Raw, even though he doesn’t need to be such a scaredy cat. He picks and chooses where to take the easy way out, and when to stick around for a bit. Maybe he did learn from Sami Zayn last night at Backlash, when Zayn tried to convince him to bail.

It wouldn’t be a Strowman match (or any big man match, it seems) without a shoulder-to-the-ring-post spot. It opens the door for KO to take charge, and leave Strowman in the worst shape we’ve seen him in for a long time. Superkicks and a huge bullfrog splash looked like it could spell the end for Braun, but the Monster kicked out. He couldn’t quite hit the cannonball, or the Pop Up Powerbomb, and Braun finishes him off.

Owens eating the running tackles outside the ring were clear highlights, as was rthe bullfrog splash. Outside of that, it was pretty standard fare with a unbelievable predictable outcome.

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*sigh*

Okay, so Roman Reigns is one of the biggest problem areas on Raw today. The whole story is one for another article, because it’s too long to get into now.

There’s no easy way to fix what’s happening with Reigns. It’s like WWE is just trying to ignore the fact that the past month of his career has completely destroyed everything they had worked so hard to get for the first few years, but still hadn’t quite finished. He may as well go back to square one.

But instead, he’s out here talking about how he’s still “The Guy,” when just about all evidence points to the contrary? It’s odd, and hopefully the end of this episode ends with Finn Balor heading to MITB and Roman heading for something different.

More Possible Qualifiers

Bayley talks about hugging the briefcase, so someone should tell her that’s not exactly how you win the match. Then Breezango makez joeks before cutting to Goldust asking for a chance in the MITB match. Uh, really? I like Goldust and all, but that seems a bit odd — unless he’s going to win the whole thing, in which case hell yeah!

He’s interrupted by Jinder Mahal, who wants to remind everyone just how much better Backlash 2017 was than this year’s edition. Okay, so he just wants in the MITB match, too. Angle agrees to think about it, but only if Jinder finally wins a match on Raw in his rematch with Chad Gable.

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No Way Jose, Titus O’Neill, & Apollo Crews (w/ Dana Brooke) vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) & Baron Corbin

Result: The Revival & Baron Corbin defeated No Way Jose, Titus O’Neil, & Apollo Crews via pinfall

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

This match unfolded exactly as you would expect. Even the little things started clicking at points, like the blind tag at the en between Dawson and Corbin. Dawson is the tag team specialist, but his chemistry is with Dash Wilder. Corbin didn’t immediately go for the tag, so Dawson hung around to wait. Then Corbin cleaned Jose’s clock with an End of Days to finish it.

Besides that, the match was little more tha na house show match, with the exception of the heels winning. Jose is already coming down off the high of that post-Mania debut. Corbin is still trying to establish himself as a contender on Raw after the Shake-up. Titus Worldwide is just kind of there, but they’re doing their thing.

What I liked about this is that it’s the weirdest motley crew of NXT alumni in a single match. You have the only two time NXT Tag Team Champions, a guy with a comedy act, a dominant force who never won the big one, and a hot young star who should have been a bigger deal than he ever was. Add Titus “Make it a Win” O’Neil, and the head patter Dana Brooke, and it’s strangely a great combination.

There should absolutely be more “random” matches like this moving forward. It gets more people on the show, and it’s inoffensive enough while being entertaining. Plus, six man tags, even if overused, are usually not terrible. It’s a win-win for everyone.

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Sasha Banks vs. Ruby Riott (w/ Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) vs. Ember Moon, Money in the Bank Qualifier

Result: Ember Moon pinned Ruby Riott to qualify for Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My only problem heading into this match? All three women have a legitimate claim to be in the Money in the Bank match. Ember is the toughest sell, but her debut has been pretty high-profile thus far. Sasha and Ruby go without saying. But only one can make it? Talk about a Sophie’s Choice.

Unsurprisingly, the match was great. There isn’t a weak link among the bunch, so any of the pairings during the match killed it. Sasha vs. Ember is one that a lot of people are going to like for a long time. We’ve already seen the others, but they’re all great. The back and forth dives were some of the best executed aerial attacks to the outside in a long time, and they were strung together so well.

The extracurriculars in the match even made sense, too. When was the last time that was the case? The Riott Squad remembered that there’s no disqualifications in triple threat matches, so they take it upon themselves to save Ruby from a loss. The two on one assault against Sasha brings out Bayley to help her I-guess-still-friend, and now things are again muddied. (That story is the slowest of slow burns, practically glaicial, but when it finally heats up it should still be great.)

With the distraction, Ember hits a damn double Eclipse, and she punches her ticket to the ladder match. Bold decision, but there was really no wrong decision other than only having one of these three in the match to begin with.

After the match, Ember cuts a kind of awkward promo backstage. I think “mysterious warrior who never speaks” was a better character for her than “werewolf cosplayer who’s just happy to be here.” But what do I know?

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Who is Bobby Lashley? (WHY is Bobby Lashley?)

Just in case you can’t pick up subtext, WWE gives us a video package all about Bobby Lashley and his athletic career, from amateur wrestling to WWE and back. The package is incredibly well produced, as is often the case with WWE’s production team. From the soundtrack, to the narration, to the story itself, it makes Lashley seem like a huge get. And if you didn’t follow his first WWE run a decade ago, now you know why his return was such a big deal.

Then, things took a strange turn. In a Mr T. Hall of Fame speech moment, Lashley sat down with Renee Young to tell his life story. It’s awkward, because it doesn’t seem to do anything. As good as the NXT videos about Finn Balor and Roderick Strong were, this was a swing and a miss.

I still think Lashley is going to turn heel sooner rather than later. This is going to be a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of things, which is why it’s so weird.

Trouble in Yep-Ville

Sami Zayn thinks there’s a conspiracy afoot. He may be right! Kevin Owens is not in a great mood, which isn’t really that notable. Zayn wants Owens in his corner, but can’t get him to say “Yep.” Uh oh, that isn’t a good sign, is it?

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Jinder Mahal (w/ Sunil Singh) vs. Chad Gable

Result: Jinder Mahal defeated Chad Gable via pinfall

Rating: 2.25 out of 5 stars

Chad Gable is great, and I want him to be a major player for a long time. He may not be Universal Champion material (yet, if ever), but he could be an Intercontinental Champion one day. So it’s kind of sad that, even though he did so much in this one, it was still basically a squash.

I don’t quite understand the “must-win” aspect of the match for Mahal. Everyone is making a big deal about how he had yet to win on Raw, but it’s been literally a month. Four episodes. I’ve seen Curt Hawkins hit triple digits twice on a losing streak, and not once has any match he’s competed in been “must-win.”

But Jinder has that “top heel” look, even if nothing else about his screams “top guy.” He’s big and strong, so of course he has to look big and strong with 50/50 booking.

Again, Gable looks great, and I’m stunned that Jason Jordan didn’t come down to make the save after the match. Seemed like it was the perfect set-up, although I can guarantee that a Long Island crowd would have crapped all over a JJ appearance there. Even if it was to reform American Alpha.

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/993666666306256896

Jinder tries to get himself into the MITB qualifier by virtue of his win, but Kurt Angle borrows a catchphrase from Zack Ryder to tell him no. And I died a little inside. Woo woo woo, you know it.

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Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler

Result: Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno via pinfall

Rating: 1.75 out of 5 stars

3MB REUNION, BAYBAY! Sadly, Drew has no desire to be in a band anymore; he’s in that “I’m a serious artist now” phase that doesn’t leave time to be a party band. Oh well, we can still dream, can’t we?

The match is nothing more than a glorified squash. That’s how it should play out right now, though. Dolph and Drew are building themselves up to be big deals on Raw. Slater and Rhyno have kids and spray cheese. It’s a pretty big divide.

So before anything much happens, Ziggler and McIntyre take care of business. I’m hoping that they’re going somewhere beyond “possible tag team champs,” but at this point, I’d take that for both superstars. Start slow, and take the journey slowly.

I’ll also say that the record scratch in Ziggler’s theme makes so much more sense with something coming before it. But McIntyre’s theme is sooooooo good I hate hearing it cut off like that. Maybe CFO$ can come up with something better that is less a medley of their current themes, and something that is a legit mash-up. It’s really the only thing I don’t like about the pairing, and it’s such a small nitpick that I hate to bring it up. But I have a word count, and you won a squash match, so there.

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Elias vs. Bobby Roode

Result: Bobby Roode vs. Elias

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

Last night at Backlash, Elias put down Bruce Springsteen to get heat from the New Jersey crowd. It’s a great thing to do, because everyone can agree that even if he’s good, New Jersey folk elevate him to a godlike status, and that just isn’t the case.

Tonight, Elias goes after Billy Joel to get heat from the Long Island crowd. And that you just don’t do. Personal problems and demons aside, Billy Joel is a god, and the voice of a generation and location and — oh, I see what I’m doing.

After Joel cracks and a dig at the Islanders (fully deserved and accurate, by the way; the “new” Coliseum is basically the old one with a fresh coat of paint and less seats), it’s time for a rubber match even though Elias is up two matches to one. But Roode lived up to his name, rudely interrupting Elias at Backlash and delivering a Glorious DDT.

Of the three matches, this was probably the worst one. Too many rest holds, like both superstars studied the Reigns/Joe match from Backlash. Roode gets one of his two wins back, but he’s yet to really “wow” anyone since heading to Raw. He announces his intention of being in the Money in the Bank Ladder match, because it’s the new “point to the WrestleMania sign.”

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Challenge Accepted

The top babyface and best in-ring performer on WWE Raw finally makes an appearance on the show in the third hour. Seth Rollins is hotter than the sun right now, and the pop he gets from the crowd is ridiculous.

But here’s the thing: After Backlash, Rollins kind of has no opponent right now. It’s probably Finn Balor, but he may (however improbably) win the MITB qualifier later tonight and be out of the running for a month. So what does Rollins do?

He comes out and sets his new direction with an admittedly uneven promo. The Miz may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but I would argue he was a fighting champion. It seems more a backhanded dig at Brock Lesnar than anyone else, which is practically confirmed when Rollins declares he wants the IC Title to be the title on Raw. Your move, Beast.

Rollins issues an open challenge for the Intercontinental Championship — great idea! It’s answered by Mojo Rawley — not as great an idea! The crowd responds with “We Want Ryder” chants (no, we don’t), which Rawley reacts to like a king.

Rollins is so good in the ring, a series of open challenges every week could lead to some great matches. The John Cena US Open Challenge was almost always great, so Rollins has a good template to follow.

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Intercontinental Championship Match

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Mojo Rawley

Result: Seth Rollins defeated Mojo Rawley via pinfall

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

If all future Intercontinental Open Challenge matches are like this, then let’s keep doing them. And if all future Mojo Rawley matches are like this one, please do something big with him. He’s a former Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner, so at one point someone saw something in him.

But the star of the show, of course, is Seth Rollins. The match with Mojo isn’t nearly as good as the stellar Backlash match he had. It’s also just a bit under the match against Finn Balor in last week’s main event. However, trying to claim a match is bad just because it’s not a 4-5 star classic is ludicrous. 24 hours after carrying a pay per view, you can’t necessarily expect miracles.

The near falls and Mojo’s kickouts may have been a bit much. If Mojo is getting a major push, it would make a little sense. But allowing Rollins’s transitional moves to get counts of 2.999999 is a strange way to build a guy up.

The finish is great, since Rollins is basically the man of a thousand finishers. Superkick, ripcord knee, superkick, Blackout — it’s academic from there. Mojo showed a hell of a lot, and it’s the best I can remember seeing him. But the new Mr. Intercontinental starts off his new open challenge on a high note, and I want more from both superstars. That’s the sign they did their jobs well.

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Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel vs. Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt

Result: Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt defeated Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel via pinfall

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

So Bo and the Axe Man are no longer supporting actors? If WWE actually does something with them, it would be a Mineola Miracle. They don’t have an official team name, but in their pre-match promo, they kept mentioning “Stay Tuned.” So let’s run with that for a while.

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Of course, when your opponents in your reintroduction match are the reigning Raw Tag Team Champions, it’s a major uphill battle. No way should the champs be losing non title matches less than two weeks after winning the titles.

So it’s a pretty standard kind of affair, with the champs dominating and getting an easy win. Nothing special one way or another.

The only thing of note, besides Stay Tuned using Axel’s old theme music, is something Michael Cole said.

At one point, Wyatt looked to finish off Axel, but Bo tried to interfere. Bray kicked him in the gut to knock him out of the ring, and Cole said, “No brotherly love there.”

Are… are they setting up an acknowledgement that Bray and Bo are brothers. Will they somehow team up? Is Bo the next to become “Woken”? And if so, is Axel going with him.

Hey, look at that — intrigue in a midcard match! It CAN be done!

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Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns, Money in the Bank Qualifier

Result: Finn Balor pinned Sami Zayn to qualify for Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I had this whole thing written out comparing Roman Reigns to Carl Winslow from Family Matters, which also indirectly called Braun Strowman and/or Seth Rollins “Steve Urkel,” which was strange. But the point was that the Family Matters showrunners were willing to adapt their original plan of focusing their show on the Winslows, putting Urkel front and center when it was clear he was the breakout star of the show. WWE is not willing to do that.

Or are they? Reigns seemed a safe bet to go into the Money in the Bank match based on his track record of always getting what he wants. Late entries into the Royal Rumble (when Triple H isn’t champion screwing things up), matches in the Elimination Chamber, and so on and so forth. But taking the loss tonight (even without getting pinned or made to submit) indicates at least a tiny step back for the Big Dog.

Of course, a feud with Jinder Mahal may not be the panacea that WWE intends. While it’s likely that the goal is to finally get Reigns the reactions they want him to get, it’s also likely that no one cares about this program enough to boo or cheer.

Let’s focus on Finn Balor being one step closer to finally getting that Universal Championship rematch he is still yet to receive. With Strowman and Balor starting off the MITB match, we need a heel presence soon. You have to figure Samoa Joe will end up in there. Big Cass, too. There’s still four other names to be added, but already this is shaping up to be a tremendous MITB match.

The actual match here was pretty good, if overbooked to hell to make Reigns seem like a damn Superman. Heel Sami Zayn is a freaking revelation; he’s so good at every little thing he does. The little shoulder shrugs after attacking Balor after the Coup de Grace to Reigns was such a jerk move. Give that man a title feud.

Next: Seth Rollins Should Be in Universal Title Picture

But overall, this episode of WWE Raw was honestly only slightly better than Backlash last night. There was less outright dreck, but the high points couldn’t hold a candle to Miz/Rollins or most of Styles/Nakamura. And we still haven’t gotten a true reset in the post-Mania and -Shake-up era. What gives?