Raw Recap for 5/23/2022

 It’s a gray and rainy Tuesday morning here in Colorado, but that’s not gonna stop us from talking wrestling. The Usos are now our undisputed tag team champs after SmackDown. We’ve got the Hell in a Cell pay per premium live event under two weeks away. Will Raw build our upcoming show AND develop our many characters in meaningful ways? Let’s get into it, dear reader, with our weekly Raw Recap!

Raw started off with a recap of SmackDown, where the Usos (with an assist by Roman Reigns) managed to get a straight up victory over RK-Bro to win the undisputed tag team championships. Riddle headed out to the ring afterward, and he explained that Randy’s been having a rough go of it lately. Orton has had back issues and those came into play during their match on Friday. Riddle vowed VENGEANCE for Randy and himself, and also called Roman a tribal piece of trash. So, this thing will probably continue for a while.

Before the first match, we got a quick rundown of the card for tonight, featuring the return of the Cody Counter - he’ll be facing off against the Miz at the top of the third hour tonight.

Opening Contest: Riddle and the Street Profits vs The Usos and Sammy Zayn

Riddle rushed the champs on the ramp, and we had a full on brawl that took a commercial break to calm down before we even got started. We have seen so many iterations of this match over the past few months that it’s tough not to glaze over their hundredth outing, but the addition of Zayn into the six-man does put an interesting wrinkle on things. It was a decent match! Zayn puts so much character into this version of himself. Riddle was out for revenge tonight, and his hot tag sequence really let him show how much he’s learned from Orton. Riddle ended up alone with Sami in the ring after the Profits took out the Usos ringside. The Usos elected to walk out on Zayn after that, and left Zayn to eat a hanging DDT and an RKO as Riddle got the win. 

A nice Orton pose from all three good guys in the ring implied that the bad blood that started between the Profits and RK-Bro has been put on hold for a while.

A video package reminding us of last week’s cage match led us into a Bobby Lashley promo, in which he challenged Olmos to YET ANOTHER match. Tonight, Bobby wanted a match with MVP, and the winner would choose the stipulation for Bobby and Olmos’s match at Hell in a Cell.

The Judgment Day headed to the ring next, and a video package let us know that we’ll be getting a Crown Jewel show in November. And then, because we enjoy just leaving talent in the ring for like twenty minutes at a time for the live crowd, we went to break.

A backstage segment followed, with Adam Pearce and Dana Brooke. Dana wanted a match with Carmella in the future, because she bumped into Mella last week and Mella was…mean about it. Pearce agrees, Dana walks off, bumping into an arriving Becky Lynch in the process. Brooke is going to build an entire card off of walk-by bumpings, just you watch.

Becky then complains to Pearce that she should be the one in the Hell in a Cell match with Bianca Belair. Lynch reminded the GM that Asuka won their match last week via mist that still hasn’t come out of Becky’s hair. Pearce, to his credit, says since both women cheated to some degree, they will have a rematch tonight. If Becky wins, she’s added to the championship match at the pay per premium live event. Becky finds these terms acceptable.

Oh, right, The Judgment Day! We returned to the ring where they were abandoned so very long ago. Damien Priest told us that Edge welcomed us all into his stable, but we lack the courage to help ourselves. Rhea Ripley offered to forgive Liv Morgan for being a lousy tag team partner if she were to join The Judgment Day. Edge dropped some names as potential next additions to his group - Ciampa, Corey Graves, Alexa Bliss, Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, Liv Morgan - but it’s AJ he has his heart set on. 

Match #2: AJ Styles and Liv Morgan vs Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley

 

Our second match of the night was a lot like the first. The chemistry between AJ and Priest and Morgan and Ripley is undeniable, it’s just difficult to get excited for the same match we have seen so many times before. 

Still, the mixed tag team element made for some fun interactions. I especially loved Styles calling Rhea out with a finger point and Ripley responding by snapping at his digit. Liv was once again on point with her exaggerated reactions to Ripley’s power moves, and her presence even when she’s not in the ring is undeniable

Edge interfered a number of times in the match, by forcing a rope break to save Rhea and later by stabilizing the ropes so a rebound attack by Liv Morgan turned into a pinfall for Ripley. That resulted in the quick victory and a lengthy beating for the faces afterward. No Finn Balor for the save tonight, as The Judgment Day stood tall at the end of the segment.

Miz followed with a short interview backstage with Kevin Patrick. Miz had some sound advice about never trusting a man with a neck tattoo. He also noted that Cody’s ego has gotten out of control, and that the man has more pyro than the fourth of July. These are all fair points.

Jerry “The King” Lawler headed to the ring for a very long, very awkward interview with Veer. Hey, at least the casual racism I was expecting never came to pass! Anyway, Lawler asked the secret to Veer’s success, but was not answered. He followed up with a question about the Mysterios, but Veer didn’t have a comeback for that one either. Lawler then decided to try and save the segment with some hair jokes, which angered Veer into speaking. 

Veer said Rey is a legend, but defending his son has made him weak. He was about to attack Lawler when the Mysterios ran out to double team Veer, as heroes often do. I’m pretty sure Veer was going to try to yeet Rey over the top rope from a military press, but that ended up turning into an awkward roll onto the apron. The Mysterios then hit Veer with about a dozen dropkicks to knock him off the apron, mercifully ending this bit. The feud, however, continues: a trend we will see throughout tonight’s program.

Alexa Bliss then spoke to Sarah Schreiber, who talked up Bliss’s winning streak since her return. Bliss mentioned beating Sonya Deville a few times, and suggested maybe some therapy would work wonders for the disgraced former GM. Alexa will be fighting Nikki A.S.H. tonight, and she reminded Sarah that they used to be best friends. “But now I’m best friends with a doll, and Nikki dresses up like a superhero…it sounds weird when I say it out loud.” Bliss is a beacon of joy and I’m glad she’s back! Her music hits and she heads out to do some work.

As an aside, it’s kinda weird that WWE has decided that the best way to change the entrance music of several superstars is to keep the beginning of the song and then change the meat of it. I’m sure there’s market research that says keeping the entrance recognizable for the crowd is important; changing the music so somebody doesn’t get paid for making the recognizable part is also very important to WWE.

Match #3: Nikki A.S.H. (w/ Doudrop) vs Alexa Bliss (w/Lily)

Corey Graves wastes no time getting to what’s important - throwing Sasha Banks and Naomi under the bus, yet again, for leaving last week. At this point it’s just character assassination. It has also been revealed that Pat McAfee didn’t know about the suspensions when Cole was slamming the tag champs during SmackDown. That stunned silence from Pat was legitimately him just not knowing what was happening in front of him. I did a whole thing on this already, but it’s worth pointing out that WWE is just hammering down on how disappointed the entire WWE universe is because of a thing they could have easily booked around. Ugh.

Anyway that wasn’t what was going on in the ring. While Sasha and Naomi were being dragged, Nikki was being squashed. Doudrop was trying to will Nikki into a more aggressive fighting style, but Nikki is who she is. Nikki did have one little hope spot, getting Alexa onto the turnbuckle, but an extended superhero pose led to her getting shoved onto the mat. Bliss followed up with Twisted Bliss and a pinfall. 

Seth Rollins spoke with Kevin Patrick in the tiny interview ring nest. Seth lamented that the crowds used to sing his song, but all he hears now is CODY chants. Cody even gets a countdown clock! Seth said he had a clock in his head, but what happens when that clock strikes zero? Maniacal laughter followed.

It is so hard to figure out when to put these match headers. Cody gets his entrance and pyro, but then there’s a commercial break. And then an Asuka video package. And THEN Asuka spoke with Sarah Schreiber. Asuka told Sarah that she’ll turn Becky into a Big Time BABY. Finally, the Miz headed to the ring, so it’s time for…

Match #4: Cody Rhodes vs The Miz

Honestly, the crowd was kinda dead for most of this match. Miz and Cody also lacked the chemistry we’ve seen from Cody and Rollins, as there were a number of timing issues on moves and some sloppy ring work in general. It was a pretty short match, as Cody headed to the top of the turnbuckle and was shoved off by an interfering Seth Rollins, resulting in a DQ finish. 

Seth and Miz teamed up to attack Cody after the bell, tossing Cody into the steel ring steps and injuring Rhodes’s knee. Seth went as far as to grab Cody’s weight belt from a small child; he then beat the hell outta Rhodes with it. Cody, ever the hero, managed to leave under his own power, and returned the gift to the wee lad in the process.

Match #5: Ezekiel vs Chad Gable (w/ Otis and Kevin Owens)

KO once again shined on commentary, while Otis was ringside for this match. The match itself was good for what it was. Otis got involved in the match and was ejected from ringside, allowing Owens to slide in and attempt to attack Ezekiel. The referee caught Owens, and ejected him as well. That distraction was enough to allow Ezekiel to roll up Gable for a quick three count and the win.

After the match, a furious Kevin Owens challenged Ezekiel to a match at Hell in a Cell.

We then got a recap of a match so recent, I can still see MY recap of it on this screen. We cut to Kevin Patrick as he waited outside the trainer’s  room. Cody emerged, and KP asked for a “health update”, which feels like weird phrasing. Cody said he was still breathing, and if Seth wanted to finish the job at Hell in a Cell, he would be there waiting.

Match #6: Bobby Lashley vs MVP (w/Olmos)

The winner of this match chooses the stipulation for Lashley and Olmos at Hell in a Cell. MVP spent most of the match stalling and evading Lashley. When MVP missed a stomp and feigned a knee injury, it provided Olmos enough time to nail Bobby with a lariat outside the ring. MVP hit a fine looking Helluva Kick on Lashley, but Bobby was able to recover and dump MVP near the announcers’ table. Another attack from Olmos led to a count out victory for MVP.

Back in the ring, MVP took a swing at Lashley, who caught MVP in the Hurt Lock for some measure of revenge. 

We were then told Lacey Evans will be in action on next week’s Raw. Will she be playing a face? A heel? WHO’S TO SAY?

Bianca Belair headed to ringside to observe the main event, but not to join in on commentary.

Main Event: Asuka vs Becky Lynch

Just because it’s the same main event two weeks in a row doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good match. It just means it’s harder to be excited. Still, these are two of the best wrestlers on the planet, and they had another good outing. It was balanced, with several submission attempts by both women.

In the end, Becky Lynch ended up outside the ring after a hip attack from Asuka. A follow up attack launched Lynch into Belair’s lap. Asuka went for a head kick to Becky, but a quick dodge led to an inadvertent foot to the side of the champ’s noggin. Becky was able to slide back into the ring, and Asuka narrowly beat a ten count. As Asuka slid into the ring, Lynch was able to catch her in a rollup pin for the victory.

Becky will be added to the championship match at Hell in a Cell, and the beginning of 9-1-1 tells us we’re done here. 

We’re two weeks away from Hell in a Cell and the card is shaping up! Tonight’s Raw didn’t feel terribly essential, but some matches were added to the pay per premium live event card and some other storylines were allowed to breathe a little more. I’m looking forward to some of those matches at HiaC, as well as some of these longer running narratives to wrap up. 

If watching three hours of wrestling isn’t your jam, let’s catch you up with tonight’s Five Good Things:

1- The opening promo and six man match was a fine start to the show! Riddle showed some emotion and mic skills, and while the six man wasn’t anything unique, it did have some solid action and an interesting finish.

2- The Judgment Day vs AJ Styles and Liv Morgan was another good matchup between wrestlers with fantastic chemistry. I’m a big fan of all four of these wrestlers, and I’m still interested in seeing how this whole storyline develops. I also love speculating about who else might join Edge’s stable, as right now there is a lot of potential talent just waiting for the Rated R Superstar’s guidance.

3- Alexa Bliss’s pre-match interview and her short match with Nikki A.S.H. was great. Bliss is fantastic on the mic and in the ring, and it’s just great to have her back in action. I’m also hoping Doudrop is able to trigger a change in Nikki, and not just because typing A.S.H. is annoying.

Also, we’re gonna need more women’s tag teams for the upcoming tournament.

4- Kevin Owens continues to be a highlight during his stints on commentary, and he adds so much to the Ezekiel storyline. 

5- The main event was another good match between two top tier superstars in Asuka and Becky Lynch. I’m happy with a three way match for the championship at the pay per premium live event, and I’m really looking forward to the women doing their best to steal the show.

I appreciate you stopping by, and would love it if you drop your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Twitter @ElOsoPequeno, where I try to remember to post whenever I update the blog. I recap Raw, Dynamite, and Rampage weekly, and also plan to write about any other wrestling that I happen to watch. There’s also a weekly wrap up on Fridays, and I’ll do predictions before any big AEW or WWE pay per premium live events. That means Sunday and Monday programming for the next couple weeks, with pre and post show content for both Hell in a Cell and Double or Nothing! And you get BOTH at NO EXTRA COST!

Have a good one!