WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for May 28

On a Memorial Day edition of WWE Raw, what’s in store for the flagship show? Follow along with our live review!

Previously on WWE Raw, Roman Reigns got cheered. That’s it, folks, our work here is done!

This week on Raw, there’s been two big matches signed with huge stakes. Up first is a seven-superstar, “Second Chance” gauntlet match. The winner will receive the final berth in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match on June 17. There’s no word on an entrance order, but all three members of the Riott Squad, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mickie James, and Dana Brooke are all set for their latest opportunity. Who will head to Chicago with a chance to capture the briefcase?

The other match is the latest in the Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge. Although, just how “open” this week’s challenge was is unclear. Seth Rollins, the unquestioned star of WWE Raw, will defend his title against Jinder Mahal. It’s the biggest chance the Modern Day Maharaja has had since returning to Raw earlier this year. Can the Kingslayer retain in the face of his newest challenge (on his birthday, no less)?

Other big stories on Raw this week? How about Braun Strowman and his quest to be Mr. Money in the Bank — a victory over Finn Balor last week was rivaled only by the ease with which Braun made applesauce. There’s Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax, and their war of words ahead of their Raw Women’s Championship Match at MITB. Let’s not forget Roman Reigns and his quest to become the official Universal Champion, either.

And the continuing saga of Bobby Lashley, Sami Zayn, and casual transphobia will likely be featured this week, too. So, there’s that.

Related Story: WWE Raw: 5 Predictions for May 28, 2018

Follow along with a Memorial Day edition of our live WWE Raw review. The action gets under way at 8 p.m. ET.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Memorial Day Remembrances

Somehow, there’s still a bunch of people out there who don’t really understand what Memorial Day in the United States actually is all about. More than once, I’ve seen friends, family members, acquaintances, and random people on social media wish everyone a “happy” Memorial Day.

Surprisingly if you look at their storytelling, but unsurprisingly if you look at their relationship with the armed forces, WWE gets it. The opening video package was almost a perfect encapsulation of what the holiday is all about. Servicemen and servicewomen gave their lives in battle so us slobs can have sales on cars and TVs, and get a day off to have barbecues and go to the beach. If you don’t take at least a minute to remember that, you’re in the wrong.

Man of Few Words

The beautiful video is followed up by a very exposition-heavy promo from Braun Strowman. He very helpfully explains the rules of a Money in the Bank Ladder Match, tells us who else is in the match, and describes his eventual cash-in when he wins. Um, thanks?

Out comes Finn Balor to explain some more things about the match — did you know it’s every man for himself in the ladder match? Because I sure didn’t. Strowman doesn’t appreciate someone trying to one up his rule describing, so he compliments Finn by telling him he put up a great fight in last week’s main event.

For a little guy.

The typical actions follow: Balor guts up and slaps Braun across the face, Braun throws him literally across the ring, and Kurt Angle wanders out to make a match because INTENSITY GRRRRRRRR. What killed me was Angle stopping at the top of the ramp in the middle of a brawl between two of his main event superstars so he could conduct the audience with the “You suck” chants. What a dweeb.

Anyway, at least two guys are in the ring and have a beef, so Raw rules dictate a match must be made between them RIGHT NOW.

Bobby Roode watches his competition tear each other apart. Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Finn Balor vs. Braun Strowman

Result: Finn Balor defeated Braun Strowman via disqualification

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

Kevin Owens joined the proceedings for commentary, which raises the odds of an interference finish from “maybe” to “it happened already and you just didn’t see it.” After last week’s terrific main event clash between Balor and Strowman, you just get that feeling that this week would be a schmozz finish.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1001258105936666624

As Braun just viciously assaulted Balor without mercy, Owens went on and on about how “there’s always someone to blame” when he falls short. On the one hand, I love that he’s playing the blame game, because it’s just good heel work. You shouldn’t want to cheer someone who whines like a baby when things don’t go his way, rather than accept his fate. But on the other hand, it makes the action in the ring secondary.

Still, Owens is a layered enough character to pull off everything required of him. He manages to keep some focus on the match, like when he just whipped out a crowd mic and taunted both superstars. And he stays true to his character throughout, too. He claims he doesn’t know what SmackDown superstars are in the MITB match because “I don’t watch SmackDown.” And why would he? He reminds the commentary team that he’s a “prizefighter” who’s been without a prize for far too long, too.

And of course, just as Balor gets going and looks like he may pull off an upset, there’s KO to prevent a second Coup de Grace, giving us the DQ finish that was as plain as the nose on your face. Strowman shows his displeasure with the whole thing by throwing a ladder about 20 feet up the ramp, which oh my god.

This week’s match wasn’t nearly as good as last week’s, because it was too derivative without adding anything to it. The DQ finish, though expected, also took away from the match. Still it wasn’t all bad, since Braun is a freak of nature and can throw people further than most can throw a baseball.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Quick, Get Out of Dodge!

Scared for his life after near death via ladder, Kevin Owens wisely tries to flee the arena. I almost feel bad for that poor valet kid, he’s just trying to do his job, man. But while Owens is waiting for his keys for that “gray car over there,” Kurt Angle puts an end to his retreat.

KO’s excuse is lamer than “the dog ate my homework,” in Angle’s opinion. Why would he be leaving for a Memorial Day soiree if he’s Canadian? Plus, he’s got a match tonight against Bobby Roode, who was a little perturbed about the comments Owens made on guest commentary.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

True Renaissance Man

Elias is the best non-wrestling part of WWE Raw every week, and you can’t convince me otherwise. Maybe it’s because, as a musician and theater technician, I’ve dealt with artists like him with far too much regularity. When Elias asked for the lighting change, I had a flashback to a singer who waited until five minutes before his performance to tell me he hated the lighting cues I was using, and wanted “more pink” in the lights.

Literally the only bad thing about the segment is that it seemed like the creative team ran out of ideas. Like, they wrote a beginning, and fleshed out the middle, and forgot about the ending. I call it “Saturday Night Live Syndrome,” because a ton of sketches on that show suffer the same problem. If you’re recording a song, you can get away with no ending by doing a fadeout. With live theater, it just seems awkward.

Especially when the segment is still going on after the commercial break, with no changes. Hey, if this leads to Elias vs. Rollins at Money in the Bank, sign me up!

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Intercontinental Championship Match

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Jinder Mahal (w/ Sunil Singh)

Result: Jinder Mahal defeated Seth Rollins via disqualification; Rollins retains

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

When Rollins comes down to the ring with Elias still “performing,” you can smell the feud in the air. And then when Seth threw the stool, you could practically taste it. Well, not the stool, the feud.

The birthday boy Rollins got off to a quick start, but Mahal turned things around quickly thanks to a slight distraction from Singh at ringside. But since a big part of this match took place during a commercial break, we don’t know exactly how good it really was. You can guess, though, and based on everything post ad-break it was a banger.

Say what you want about his WWE Championship reign, but Jinder Mahal is Actually Good now? He’s never going to give you a five star match, but he has really settled into his role as “evil heel who’s stronger than you first think.” He’s like the epitome of a true heel in an age where the bad guys get cheered because they’re “cool.” No one cheers Jinder, and it makes him that much more effective.

And how many times do I have to say “Seth Rollins is the best thing about Raw these days”? Dude buckle bombed Sunil Singh into Jinder, not to mention everything else he did. Tonight we got about 7/8s of a great match. But that last 1/8….

I understand Rollins going crazy and using the chair, I really do. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Singh was ejected from ringside, Rollins dealt with him when he came back, Jinder was down, the victory was right there. Instead, Seth grabbed the chair and intentionally got himself disqualified so he could dish out the most punishment possible. I say this a lot, but wouldn’t that work just as well if Rollins wins the match, then grabs the chair for retribution? I get it’s not the most babyface thing to do, but it’s a real thing to do.

But the Elias attack after the fact made up for it a bit. Once again, Seth Rollins delivers in a big way on WWE Raw.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Nia Jax vs. Michelle Webb

Result: Nia Jax defeated Michelle Webb via TKO

Rating: DUD

Before we get into this match, let me just point out how much I enjoy the segments wrapping around the commercial breaks this week. From KO running away after Balor/Strowman, to Elias still being in the ring “singing” as Rollins entered the arena, to now Seth being tended to by medical professionals and refusing their help, it gives the show better flow. And Rollins refusing the stretcher is a nice little wrinkle for his character.

And now we move into hour number two for WWE Raw, which in recent weeks has been pretty uneven. Nia Jax — the reigning Raw Women’s Champion — has somehow reverted to squash matches against “local competitors.” Ronda Rousey — the veteran of a single televised match in her career — is out on commentary, and her headset doesn’t work for most of it. Ha, what a production we’re running here.

Anyway, Jax has a microphone for the entire “match,” which is just a way to poke fun at Rousey the entire time. Apparently, Nia is back to a heel, even though she seemed to be doing okay as a face. These rapid fire character changes aren’t doing anyone any favors, you know.

After humiliating her opponent, Jax goads Rousey into the ring, only to literally laugh in her face and turn her back on her challenger. And Rousey’s response? To stand there and do nothing. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, that doesn’t seem ideal.

Once again, it’s like WWE had an idea, and got about 75 percent of the way through fleshing it out before just putting it on television. They’re Microsoft releasing new software. IT doesn’t have to be finished, it just has to mostly work, and we’ll patch it later on when we see what’s wrong with it.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)

Result: Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt defeated The Ascension via pinfall

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

Hey, WWE remembered that Tag Team Championships exist! Woo hoo!

Seriously, though, why does it seem that whenever a tag division starts picking up steam, someone (cough cough VINNY MAC cough cough) puts the brakes on? Even on SmackDown, I feel like once the Bludgeon Brothers won the titles they rarely show up anymore. Could it be that the television shows are being booked around the pay per views, and there’s not enough time for everyone on co-branded shows? Hopefully that extra hour actually helps.

And the shame of the whole thing is that there’s a lot of potential for great matches in the Raw tag division. Look at this match here: it’s pretty good, considering the Ascension have been booked like non-factors for the past (checks notes) holy cow, THREE AND A HALF YEARS? Jeez, that’s rough.

But Hardy and Wyatt are working well as a team, even if they don’t get on TV every week. If Michael Cole was doing something other than ridiculing King “Maxwell” during the whole match, it would be even better. But there’s no importance to the tag division, so this match, even slightly better than average, falls flat. It had a clean finish, so at least it had that going for it.

BBBQ (The Extra B is for B-Team)

Now, the hottest tag team on WWE Raw is definitely the B-Team of Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas, who’s looking more like Boris the Animal every week. They want a tag title match, but Kurt Angle doesn’t think they’ve earned it just yet. In a side conversation that puts their perennial opponents Breezango to shame, Axel and Dallas decide that Angle wants them to throw a barbecue to win over all the other tag teams on Raw so they’ll be okay with the B-Team getting a title shot. How could this go wrong?

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens

Result: Kevin Owens defeated Bobby Roode via pinfall

Rating: 2.25 out of 5 stars

Folks, I sat here watching this whole match, and it was like a big bowl of beige. It was perfectly fine, nothing was exceedingly bad about it, but nothing was truly outstanding about it either. If this match didn’t happen, there would be literally no difference in the outcome of the show, or the build to Money in the Bank.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, Bobby Roode is probably going to win the briefcase, because he’s got negative momentum heading into MITB. Another loss here continues the slide Roode has been on since heading to WWE Raw in the Superstar Shake-up. At least tonight he takes the L to a guy like Kevin Owens, a former Universal Champion. But seriously, Roode can’t beat Elias on the regular, what kind of chance would he have against KO?

Another thing this match had going for it? A clean finish out of nowhere. After the first hour featured non-finishes and interference up to your eyeballs, things turned around to actually allow the matches to finish. Owens picking up a legit victory after threatening to bail earlier in the match makes it seem like he can do anything.

Of course, after the match, Braun Strowman returns to get revenge on Owens for screwing up his match earlier in the night. His revenge involves powerslamming KO mercilessly. But because Strowman actually listened to Finn Balor to open the show, he knows that at MITB, it’s every man for himself. So after he’s finished with Owens, he turns his attention to Roode, who had been acting as a cheerleader during the beatdown.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Sorry Mr. Lashley, I Apologize

Sami Zayn, who entered WWE as one of the last true babyfaces after his NXT run, is really doubling down on being a heel. Like,  I get that he did actually apologize for what he did, and he explained his actions, but then he tried to justify them? And get an apology of his own? He’s like a Bond villain come to life: “Before I Helluva Kick you, Mr. Lashley, allow me to explain in great detail what my plan entailed.”

It’s honestly quite sad, because Sami was such a good babyface. He’s doing well in his role as a heel, but without Kevin Owens — which seems to be the plan — it doesn’t seem like it makes sense anymore. The whole reason Sami went to the dark side was to help out his estranged best friend. Now, he’s following the philosophy of that friend, but not really associating with him at the moment. It makes his actions seem too out of character, which makes it less effective.

I’m not sure how I feel about Sami being the sacrificial lamb for the big Bobby Lashley return, but it seems like that’s where we’re at. It also seems like we’re dropping the vertigo thing, and now it’s just Sami being mean-spirited and hateful — literally the two things you would least associate with Sami Zayn the person.

It’s not all bad, because we get Zayn with his reading glasses again. Now he’s added in a clearing of the throat before reading. If this continues, Sami’s gonna be wearing those glasses on a chain around his neck and wiping them down as he talks before summer is over.

Still, it’s been a long road to get to “Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley at Money in the Bank,” so overall this is still a thumbs down from me.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Drew McIntyre (w/ Dolph Ziggler) vs. Chad Gable

Result: Drew McIntyre defeated Chad Gable via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Last week, Chad Gable and Dolph Ziggler had a pretty good match based on a backstage confrontation. After that match, Drew McIntyre added insult to injury with a vicious Claymore Kick, setting up this match here.

From the get-go, it was all McIntyre. He’s like literally a foot and a half taller than Chad Gable, and he absolutely exploited that advantage. That’s the kind of thing Drew should be doing — just absolutely obliterating everyone he’s got a size advantage over. He’s one of the most dominating superstars in all of WWE, so he should be a force to be reckoned with.

The way commentary is building McIntyre up is refreshing, too, because too often they just gloss over any kind of character development during matches or feuds. The Coach, or “Monday Night Saxton” as he’s been hilariously dubbed by Corey Graves, fully references Drew’s first stint in WWE as the “Chosen One.” But he only does so to point out that Drew took his shortcomings from that stint, left the company to fix them, and then come back better than before. Yeah, it’s a tad revisionist, but you can’t argue that the improvement isn’t true. He’s a beast now, when before he was just pretty good with a lot of potential.

Gable is kind of like Ziggler in that he’s a pretty good rag doll for bigger opponents. So even though Gable/Ziggler was probably the better match, Gable/McIntyre was visually more impressive. Still waiting for this to finally lead to a Jason Jordan return, but I guess we’re still waiting at least another week.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Curtis Axel is a Man For No Seasons

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If we were to put terrible segments on a sliding scale from “so bad it’s good” to “Lashley Sisters”, this one is the complete opposite end of “Bayley: This is Your Life.” It’s been a long time since I laughed so hard I spit all over my computer screen, but that streak is over.

Let’s take a look at all the things that we had in this segment:

• Rhyno’s gluttony once again acknowledged (some spray cheese would have been nice here, but a tray of bologna sandwiches will do just fine)
• BOTATO CHIPS AND BOTATO SALAD
• Curtis Axel not knowing who the Raw Tag Team Champions are
• Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews listing the things that should be at a cookout
• NONE OF THIS FOOD IS SEASONED

I can’t talk about the brats they had, because they looked like the wurst.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1001291404990009344

Right up until the food fight, I was all for this, but as the terrible beans and potatao salad went everywhere, all I could think of was “If I was in the gauntlet match, I’d be really mad because the ring is going to be disgusting.”

And speaking of the gauntlet match, are we really giving the seven women less than a half hour? The men had a gauntlet match back in February that ate up two hours of the show! But back then, we didn’t need to put Rhyno through a table.

After the commercial break, the B-Team complains to Kurt Angle, who makes a Tag Team Battle Royal for next week to determine challengers for the Raw Tag Team Titles. Curtis Axel is so happy he hugs Angle, because messy hugs are the best, I guess.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Gauntlet Match, Winner is Final Entrant in Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Bayley vs. Liv Morgan

Result: Bayley defeated Liv Morgan via pinfall

Rating: DUD

Throughout the night, all the participants in this match shared their thoughts (Dana Brooke even proved the numbers don’t lie). Before the match, Bayley said the odds may be against her, but she was going to prove everyone wrong.

She got off to a great start by eliminating Liv Morgan in mere seconds after a quick Bayley-to-Belly Suplex.

Bayley vs. Sarah Logan

Result: Bayley defeated Sarah Logan via pinfall

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

This match took a bit longer, but the result was the same: Bayley scored a pinfall victory out of nowhere to win the first two matches of the gauntlet.

Following the pinfall, Liv Morgan returned to the ring, and she and Logan delivered a two-on-one beatdown before the next competitor made her way to the ring. That next competitor?

Bayley vs. Ruby Riott

Result: Ruby Riott defeated Bayley via pinfall

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Honestly, the set up of this match meant most of it happened in the commercial — apparently, some of it was part of WWE’s Instagram story, which I think is ridiculous. So what we saw was Riott locking in a resthold, Bayley getting in no offense, and then a Riott Kick for the victory.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Ruby Riott vs. Dana Brooke

Result: Ruby Riott defeated Dana Brooke via pinfall

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Another match that was way too short to mean anything, because food fights are more important than actual wrestling matches. Dana hit her handspring back elbow, but nothing else, and a quick Riott Kick ended it again.

Ruby Riott vs. Mickie James

Result: Ruby Riott defeated Mickie James via pinfall

Rating: 2.25 out of 5 stars

This was the most substantial of the matches to this point of the gauntlet, but it also featured the second commercial break in the match, which had only been going on for roughly ten minutes to that point.

On a show where opening promos regularly go twenty minutes uninterrupted, having two breaks in a match less than half that length is absurd. I’m not saying matches should never have commercial breaks in them, but they should be part of the story. “Well folks, we don’t want to cut away from this match, but we have to get these last words from our sponsors in!” would be a great way to build drama in the match. Instead, we get “RAW ROLLS ON” every ten minutes?

Anyway, Mickie put on a great show — in front of her hometown crowd, no less — but lost when Ruby grabbed a handful of tights on a rollup.

Ruby Riott vs. Sasha Banks

Result: Sasha Banks defeated Ruby Riott via submission; Sasha Banks qualifies for Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The crowd was deflated when local hero Mickie James was eliminated, but Sasha pulled them back into it. While Riott/James was the most substantial match, this was the best of the matches in the gauntlet. Only problem was the story behind it was backwards.

When you think of a gauntlet match, the whole point is to endure. There’s two logical finishes: a babyface comes in early, wins a few matches to get to the end, but loses to a fresh heel; or the babyface endures throughout and overcomes the fresh heel at the end. That’s it — no other finishes make any sense whatsoever.

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So of course, Ruby Riott — the heel — is on her fourth match of the night, and she’s gassed. Sasha Banks — the face — is fresh as a daisy, spending a mere five minutes in the ring before forcing Riott to tap out. It’s completely counterintuitive, and cheapens the idea of a gauntlet.

Think of it this way: if the plot of Star Wars was such that the movie focused on Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin dealing with internal conflict and production delays, only to solve all crises just to have Luke waltz in and destroy the Death Star, it’s a very different movie. You need to see the heroes go through trials and tribulations, not the bad guys. In this gauntlet, Ruby Riott was the sympathetic figure.

It’s becoming an epidemic with WWE booking, especially on WWE Raw. A few weeks ago, Jinder Mahal (a guy I referred to earlier as a great heel) was walking around with rib tape after an assault by Roman Reigns (who wasn’t on the show this week… interesting). Rib tape is like the universal symbol of “hurting babyface,” but he’s the villain of the story! Tonight, Riott is booked like the valiant conquering hero, only to fall in the end to, uh, the actual hero?

While it’s great to see Sasha in the ladder match, the journey was kind of silly. Take away the booking mistakes, and it would be a great match. But given the context, it’s not very good at all.

Next: Is Ronda Rousey Ready for Nia Jax at MITB?

Overall, this show was a mess. The first hour was pretty good, even with bad finishes. But the rest of the show fell off a cliff. What did you think about this week’s episode of WWE Raw?