Monday Night Raw Review - May 8, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Cody Rhodes Addressed the Audience

I thought it was weird for Rhodes to start the show if he wasn't involved in the first Triple Threat of the night, but it became clear later on why it was necessary for Rhodes to address his win over Brock Lesnar at Backlash. I appreciated his nod to his time to Jacksonville during the pandemic (as part of AEW), though I wish he mentioned his unfinished business with Roman Reigns and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Then again, maybe that would have emphasized how the World Heavyweight Championship is inferior (which it is, but you don't want to call attention to that).

Seth "Freakin" Rollins def. Shinsuke Nakamura and Damian Priest in a World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First-Round Triple Threat Match

You put three top talents in the ring together and you can expect excellence. Rollins is on a whole other level right now compared to Nakamura and Priest, but Nakamura is still very over and Priest is coming off a stellar performance against Bad Bunny at Backlash, so the crowd was into this. It was all action and a total blast. Rollins advancing was logical and I'm glad Priest wasn't pinned. I hope he can continue to be pushed and doesn't become a background player again.

Mustafa Ali def. Otis

Ali was declared a "free agent" during last week's WWE Draft, and for those who missed it, that means he can appear on either brand at any time. I thought he'd pull jobber duty here, but he actually scored the win after miscommunication on the outside between Maxxine Dupri and Chad Gable. I'm fine with "the custody of Otis" storyline continuing because it's been mildly entertaining so far, but Ali winning seems strange if he's technically not a member of the Raw roster.

Finn Balor def. The Miz and Cody Rhodes in a World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First-Round Triple Threat Match

While this wasn't as strong as the first Triple Threat on this show, it was still very entertaining despite a dead crowd. All three guys worked hard and the finish played out exactly as it should have been with Lesnar costing Rhodes the victory. Rhodes should be nowhere near the World Heavyweight title as his story is with Reigns. Lesnar challenged Rhodes to a "fight" at Night of Champions and Rhodes later accepted, so I assume it will be No Disqualification or something similar.

SmackDown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley def. Dana Brooke (Non-Title)

I was honestly shocked Brooke got a televised entrance. She's barely been on Raw since the 24/7 Championship was retired late last year and I'm not complaining. This was a total showcase for Ripley as it should have been. Brooke is not in any way a threat to the title and nor is Natalya, but it looks like that will be Ripley's next program. Natalya is an incredibly boring choice as a contender, but I suppose Raw doesn't have many other options right now with very few of the other women in the division being over at the moment.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn def. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) (Non-Title)

I'd like to see Imperium get a real run in the tag title picture being the talented team that they are, so it was a shame that they were fed to Owens and Zayn here as throwaway opponents. Don't get me wrong, it was a quality contest and it wasn't as if Imperium was straight-up squashed, but the clean loss doesn't indicate they'll be in line for a championship opportunity any time soon. By the way, we still don't know if Owens and Zayn will defend at Night of Champions with it being in Saudi Arabia. They haven't worked those shows in years (if ever), but the whole gimmick of Night of Champions in the past was that every title must be defended. WWE hasn't stated that yet, so maybe that won't be the case this year.

Zoey Stark def. Nikki Cross

I wasn't the biggest fan of Stark in NXT for the longest time because she was so bland as a babyface, but as I've mentioned before, she's really come into her own as a heel. Obviously, she's super skilled in the ring as seen here and will be a nice addition to Raw's women's division. I like that she was immediately put into action on this show with a win and Cross was a good, established opponent for her to beat. Consistency will be key for the NXT call-ups in order for them to get over.

Becky Lynch Attacked Trish Stratus

Lynch hasn't been gone from Raw long enough for this return to really pack a punch, but at least the crowd came alive for her (or so it sounded it like, it could have been piped-in noise). I thought Stratus' promo was decent but far from great. I can definitely why others would think was terrible, though. Stratus is still finding her footing as a heel after not portraying one in almost two decades, so hopefully she can improve in the role as the program progresses.

​Dominik Mysterio def. Xavier Woods

This was the third match on the show that was set up in a backstage segment. Mysterio is obviously over as a heel and Woods is a reliable babyface, but I just didn't have any interest in this. It was well worked and they were given a decent amount of time, but at this point in the show, I was ready for the main event and I think the rest of the crowd was as well. Perhaps this is leading to Kofi Kingston returning soon so The New Day can face The Judgment Day.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins def. Finn Balor in a World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinals Match

This was the perfect match to do in the Raw semifinals seeing as how Balor beat Rollins to become the inaugural Universal Champion seven years ago, and Rollins was able to avenge that loss here on his path to become the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion. Balor even hit the same barricade powerbomb on Rollins that Rollins inadvertently injured Balor with at SummerSlam 2016. Balor didn't stand a chance of winning, but it was a thumbs-up main event, nonetheless. It virtually doesn't matter who wins the SmackDown semifinals 

Overall Show

This was the first edition of Raw with the rosters from the 2023 WWE Draft going into effect, and unfortunately, there was nothing that really stood out beyond the tournament matches. We saw some fresh faces, but the boring vibe remained and the three hours definitely dragged. What's worse is that Backlash was such a success and that Puerto Rico crowd was rowdy all weekend, but it was back to the norm with this Jacksonville crowd sitting on their hands for a majority of the episode. Granted, there wasn't a whole lot for them to get excited about, so hopefully this isn't a sign of what's to come in this "new era" for the red brand.

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