By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw on the USA Network
Aired live on May 6, 2019 from Cincinnati, Ohio at U.S. Bank Arena
[Hour One] Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Renee Young were on commentary… Vince McMahon made his entrance. Cole told the story that Roman Reigns claimed he would appear, but WWE management said he’s not welcome because he’s a Smackdown wrestler. Vince said Raw would be one for the ages and a Raw that people will never forget. McMahon said that’s in part because it’s starting with him.
Roman Reigns’s entrance music interrupted McMahon. Reigns entered to a positive reaction and a Smackdown graphic was used to list his name. Vince told Reigns that he didn’t know why he was there, but he said that he had the Cincinnati police waiting. McMahon said Reigns was assigned to Smackdown. “Who the hell do you think you are?” McMahon asked.
Reigns said he’s been on Raw for the past four to five years. He said he talks about leaving the place better than he found it. He recalled Vince and his children saying that they were no longer the authority and that the fans are in charge. Reigns said it’s over now. He said he doesn’t take Vince’s orders, he takes them from the WWE Universe.
Vince asked if Reigns thinks he can show up whenever he wants. Reigns said that if the fans keeping making noise he’ll show up every Monday. Vince said that wouldn’t happen. He said it would be anarchy and he would have no control.
Daniel Bryan made his entrance dressed in street clothes while the broadcast team noted that he hadn’t been seen since WrestleMania. “This is a bad dream,” Vince said. He noted that Bryan and Reigns are both assigned to Smackdown. Bryan said he was robbed by Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania and he spent the last month in solitude and meditation while searching for answers that only he and Vince could understand. Bryan said he hoped to have an intellectual conversation with Vince.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston made his entrance. Kingston said that if Bryan had a problem with the way things went down at WrestleMania, he could have come to him rather than the McMahons. Bryan said his complaint is that Kingston is an undeserving champion who never should have received a title shot at WrestleMania. Bryan called Kingston a pancake throwing novelty act. “And yet here I am standing before you with this around my waist,” Kingston said.
Vince said he just had an epiphany. Vince brought up having a wild card rule where three wrestlers from Smackdown could show up on Raw on a given occasion and three wrestlers from Raw could appear on Smackdown on a given occasion. Vince deemed himself a genius. Kofi said he questioned why Reigns should have all the fun so he came to Raw. Bryan said he came for his title shot.
Drew McIntyre walked onto the stage and said that if Vince didn’t have control and no one backstage had the set to do anything about what was happening, then it was up to him. McIntyre said it’s not Smackdown presents Raw. He referred to Reigns as an egomaniac who thinks the rules don’t apply to him. McIntyre said he would Claymore Reigns back down to earth. Reigns pointed out that it didn’t work so well for McIntyre at WrestleMania.
McMahon suggested having a WrestleMania rematch between Reigns and McIntyre, and another between Kingston and Bryan for the WWE Championship. “I’m brilliant,” Vince said. “This will be a night you will never forget.” Vince started to leave the ring and then AJ Styles made his entrance. The broadcast team wondered what Styles wanted as the show went to break… [C]
Powell’s POV: So what did Vince’s character have in mind if it wasn’t for those matches setting themselves up? Anyway, the live crowd was excited to see the Smackdown talent appear. So is the big plan to have three wrestlers each week allowed to blow off the brand split rule? I guess it could set up a sense of not knowing who will appear week in and week out if that’s what they are going for.
Coming out of the break, Vince and Styles were in the ring together. Styles asked what Vince was doing. He said he finally got to Raw via the Superstar Shakeup, and now Vince is allowing Smackdown talent on Raw. Vince brought up the wild card rules and said he just came up with it. Styles complained about Seth Rollins’s best buddy Reigns being allowed to show up. Styles said that maybe he’ll show up on Smackdown with a couple of his friends on Tuesday. Vince made it seem like certain wrestlers could be invited.
Seth Rollins made his entrance and said Styles showed his true colors when he sucker punched him last week. Rollins said Smackdown was fine before Styles arrived and it’s been fine since he left. Rollins said Raw is his show and called it Monday Night Rollins. Vince said it’s actually his show. Styles said said he will take the WWE Universal Championship at MITB.
Vince said it was obvious that both men wanted to compete. They acted like they were ready to face one another, but Vince said his idea was for Rollins and Styles to team up. Rollins objected. Vince said he would team with Styles against a team that would be coming out shortly. Cole said Rollins and Styles can’t get along and questioned who they would face… [C]
1. Seth Rollins and AJ Styles vs. Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin. Ring announcer Mike Rome gave Corbin his special introduction. Rollins and Styles worked well together during the first couple of minutes and hit back to back dives onto their opponents heading into a break. [C] The heel duo isolated Rollins, who eventually came back with a blockbuster on Corbin.
Rollins tagged in and worked over Lashley, who had also tagged into the match. Styles set up for his finisher, but Lashley drove him into the corner to break it up. Styles fought off interference from Corbin on the apron, then Lashley speared Styles through the ropes. Lashley landed awkwardly, but popped up and heeled on the crowd. Styles went for a tag, but Lashley took Rollins off the apron and ran him into the barricade. [C]
Styles went for a springboard move and ate a punch from Corbin, who covered him for a two count. Corbin barked at the referee over the count. Rollins took a hot tag and performed a suicide dive onto both opponents. Late in the match, Styles took out Lashley at ringside. Rollins set up for his finisher on Corbin. Rollins superkicked Corbin in the gut, which led to Corbin stumbling into a move from Styles, who was on the apron. The blow from Styles caused Corbin to back into Rollins. Styles went for a Phenomenal Forearm on Corbin, but he ended up hitting Rollins instead. Styles left the ring. Corbin hit End of Days on Rollins and pinned him…
Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin defeated Seth Rollins and AJ Styles in 19:00.
Powell’s POV: I have to question the logic of following up the opening segment with a Baron Corbin match. Corbin has become the face of Raw stagnation for some viewers regardless of how much WWE management seems to love him. And now he was given a pinfall win over the WWE Universal Champion, so there’s no sign of the company scaling back on his push. That said, the match was entertaining and added more drama to the Rollins vs. Styles feud.
Cole narrated highlights of Shane McMahon costing The Miz his match against Bobby Lashley last week…
The Miz was shown sitting down in a chair outside of Shane McMahon’s locker room door… Sami Zayn made his entrance… [C]
Zayn started his in-ring promo by asking the crowd what they have to complain about tonight. He said they already got Roman Reigns coming over from Smackdown, and they’re getting a WWE Championship match. Zayn said that fans are stuck with the miserable person they see in the mirror all the time. Zayn said fixing yourself like he did is hard work when complaining is easy. He said the fans take the easy way out because they are all cowards. Braun Strowan made his entrance and glared at Zayn from ringside.
[Hour Two] Zayn acted like he was ready to fight Strowman, but then he fled the ring when Strowman entered. Zayn hopped the barricade. Strowman went to another area and cut him off, then ended up chasing Zayn backstage…
Lucha House Party made their entrance for a match. The cameras cut backstage where Strowman chased Zayn until he was blocked by a closed garage door. Zayn opened the door partially and tried to escape underneath it, but Strowman grabbed him by the legs. Strowman hoisted up Zayn and tossed him into a dumpster. “Who’s the coward now?” Strowman asked. Strowman watched as a garbage truck arrived and poured the contents the dumpster into its back end…
2. “Lucha House Party” Lince Dorado, Kalisto, and Gran Metalik vs. three enhancement wrestlers. The local wrestlers were not introduced nor mentioned by name by the broadcast team. LHP dominated one of the independent wrestlers and Dorado finished him off with a shooting star press his teammates both performed moves on him…
Lucha House Party defeated three enhancement wrestlers in 1:00.
The broadcast team spoke behind their desk and touted the wild card rule giving the show a pair of WrestleMania rematches. Young wore a Miss Elizabeth t-shirt. They set up a video package of Reigns beating McIntyre clean at WrestleMania… Ricochet made his entrance for a match… [C]
Powell’s POV: Based on that Reigns vs. McIntyre video package, you’d think everyone at WrestleMania loved Reigns.
A WWE Community video aired and focused on their work with Make A Wish. It included Ronda Rousey, John Cena, and others meeting some Make A Wish kids…
Backstage, Natalya and Naomi found invitations left by Lacey Evans, who invited them to appear at ringside in formal ringside gear. Naomi wasn’t happy about being told what to wear. Dana Brooke showed up had her own invitation. The women noted that their invitations smelled like peach cobbler… The Miz was shown still seated outside Shane’s office…
3. Ricochet vs. Robert Roode for a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match. The broadcast team noted that Roode pinned Ricochet, and said Roode campaigned all day about how he deserves to be in the MITB ladder match. At 1:40, Roode placed the ring skirt over the face of Ricochet and punched him repeatedly.
Ricochet rebounded with a moonsault from the middle rope. Roode came right back with a spinebuster for a two count. The wrestlers fought on the ropes. Ricochet got the better of it and knocked Roode down, then hit him with a 630 splash and pinned him…
Ricochet defeated Robert Roode in 4:20 to keep his spot in the MITB ladder match.
The broadcast team announced Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio for the U.S. Championship will be held at the Money in the Bank event…
Rey Mysterio and his son Dominick were shown walking and talking backstage. Heath Slater showed up and greeted both men. Rey was heading into his locker room and sent Dominick off on his own. Samoa Joe rushed into the picture behind Dominick… [C]
Powell’s POV: I like that they took the time to address the fact that Roode beat Ricochet the week before Ricochet was named to the MITB ladder match and Roode was left out of the match. Those are small details that fans care about. I’m even happier that it looks like Joe will finally crush Dominick. That may have been the best hook going into a commercial break that I’ve seen all year.
Backstage, Joe told Dominick that he’s happy they finally get to meet in person. Joe said Dominick tried to embarrass and humiliate him when he went to the ring and hoisted him onto his shoulders after their match last week. Joe told Dominick to tell Mysterio that he very much looks forward to defending his title against him at MITB…
Powell’s POV: Nooooooo!!!!! Come on, destroy the poor kid already.
Lacey Evans made her entrance while the broadcast team recapped her recent issues with Becky Lynch. Naomi, Dana Brooke, and Natalya made their entrance wearing regular attire. Alexa Bliss also came out…
4. Lacey Evans vs. Allie Katrina. Naomi, Brooke, Natalya, and Bliss watched from ringside. Evans won quickly after the Woman’s Right.
Lacey Evans defeated Allie Katrina in 0:35.
After the match, Evans said she had Naomi, Brooke, Natalya, and Bliss at ringside so that they could see what a legitimate lady is capable of. Evans told the four women that if any of them had the audacity to cash in an MITB contract on her then they will quickly regret it because they will come up short just like The Man will come up short.
Becky Lynch made her entrance and roughed up Evans in and around the ring. Lynch went for her submission finisher, but Evans rolled out of the ring and backed up the ramp…
Daniel Bryan was shown backstage looking down and stroking his beard. Bryan looked into the camera and complained about Kingston being a shill. He said he has no choice but to eliminate Kingston as a role model. Bryan said he is correcting course for human history so that he can be what he was born to be, the planet’s champion…
The Viking Raiders made their entrance. Cole hyped the NXT Takeover event for June 1, then said the Raiders would face the Raw Tag Champions after the break… [C]
Powell’s POV: That’s a pair of squash matches tonight and I don’t consider that to be a negative. Why have main roster regulars lose squash matches when local wrestlers can do it instead?
The Usos were shown sneaking around the backstage area…
5. Raw Tag Champions Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder vs. “The Viking Raiders” Ivar and Erik in a non-title match. The entrance of Hawkins and Ryder was not televised. Hawkins and Ryder got a little offense, but the Viking Raiders hit the Viking Experience on Ryder and pinned him…
The Viking Raiders defeated Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder in a non-title match in 2:45.
Cole hyped the WrestleMania rematches heading into a break… [C]
Powell’s POV: The fact that they didn’t even show Hawkins and Ryder making their entrance says everything you need to know about how much the company is behind them. The crowd was nearly silent during the match and I’m guessing people in the last row could hear Cole yelling about how the Viking Raiders beat the tag champions.
Bray Wyatt hosted the Firefly Funhouse segment on the usual set. He asked Mercy the Buzzard what was happening. Mercy had a bunch of cotton in his mouth and claimed nothing was happening. Wyatt discovered that Mercy ate the rabbit puppet. Mercy said the rabbit was trying to get him to subscribe to his Bohemian worldview. Wyatt said Mercy can be forgiven just like he was. Wyatt said Mercy should be actually rewarded. Wyatt said it was picnic time. He put on shades and then looked down at a bunch of kids were shown wearing festive attire while sitting expressionless on the set’s floor. Wyatt delivered the “all you have to do is let me in” line to close the skit…
Graves and Young were confused by what they saw, while Cole said some people are enjoying it because it’s taken social media by storm. Ugh. The broadcast team recapped the Rollins and Styles tag team drama…
Rollins delivered a backstage promo. He said it didn’t matter whether Styles hit him with the Phenomenal Forearm accidentally or on purpose. He said Styles made his point when he hit him in the mouth for the second straight week. Rollins said the next time Styles walks away from him it will be with two black eyes and a broken face…
Ring entrances for the Reigns vs. McIntyre match took place. The crowd was flat for Roman’s second entrance of the night… [C]
Powell’s POV: So Roman came back for unfinished business, which apparently turned out to be facing a guy he beat decisively at WrestleMania. Meanwhile, someone clearly told Michael Cole to be more enthusiastic tonight, and he’s responded by being ridiculously obnoxious.
[Hour Three] 6. Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre. McIntyre suplexed Reigns, which led to Cole going apeshit on commentary about how impressive it was. McIntyre had Reigns upside down behind him and ended up flipping him over to make him slam face first into the apron heading into a break. [C]
Reigns caught McIntyre leaping from the ropes with a Superman Punch for a good near fall. A short time later, Reigns speared McIntyre and was going for the pin when Shane McMahon and Elias attacked him for the DQ.
Roman Reigns defeated Drew McIntyre by DQ in 14:10.
After the match, The Miz ran out and chased Shane through the crowd and out of camera view. Elias held up Reigns and then McIntyre blasted Reigns with a Claymore Kick. The cameras cut backstage where Shane ran and hid from Miz, who raced right by the area where Shane was hiding. Charly Caruso popped up with a camera crew and tried to interview Shane about his cage match against Miz. Shane rushed away and was about to climb into a limo when Miz hit him from behind with a chair. Miz ran Shane’s head into the limo a couple times. Super Shane came back with a low blow, then climbed in the back of the limo and ordered the driver to leave…
Powell’s POV: Reigns vs. McIntyre was longer and more entertaining than that lopsided letdown of a WrestleMania match. Vince McMahon just had to send the message that Roman Reigns was back in full force at WrestleMania, and in the process he told viewers that nothing had changed with Reigns, deprived Roman of a strong comeback story, and damaged a top heel in McIntyre. Can anyone really say with a straight face that either character is better off because of that WrestleMania finish?
The broadcast team hyped the WWE Championship match and set up a video package that recapped Kingston beating Bryan at WrestleMania 35… [C] An ad for Smackdown hyped Kevin Owens opening the show, and Shane McMahon crowning the new tag champions…
The broadcast team recapped Strowman putting Zayn in a trash dumpster and being hauled away by a garbage truck…
“The Revival” Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were in the ring for a match with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson when Cole set up a replay of the back shaving footage from last week. The Usos walked onto the stage and showed off “Ucey Hot” and said that when you perspire, you’re on fire. They said it should be activated right about now. The Revival started scratching their asses and rubbing their groins on the ground. Dawson and Wilder joined the Usos on the stage and took a bottle water, which they poured down their pants. The Usos said they were supposed to drink the water, and pouring it on themselves like they did made it worse. The Revival screamed and headed backstage in agony…
Powell’s POV: Are you f’n kidding me? Putting aside the obvious question of whether this is petty punishment for The Revival for not re-signing with the company, creative is making the Usos, two of the coolest characters in the company, look like complete dorks with this awful comedy.
Kofi Kingston delivered a promo from his locker room. He said he would retain his WWE Championship and send Bryan back where he came from…
No Way Jose led his goof troop of Rosebud Rejects on a conga dance around the ring. Lars Sullivan came out and destroyed some of the goof troopers. Jose tried to save them, but Sullivan dumped him over the barricade, then went back to destroying them. Jose returned to the ring only for Sullivan to punch him out and then dump another goof trooper to the floor. Sullivan performed a sit-out powerbomb on Jose…
A video package aired on Naomi being inducted into the Boys & Girls Club Alumni Hall of Fame…
Powell’s POV: I don’t care if WWE couldn’t even make it through a single show without blowing off the wild card rules, Lars Sullivan is an angel of mercy for destroying Jose and his awful crew.
Vince McMahon was on the phone telling someone about the wild card rules. He said Elias and Shane don’t count, and they will have three wild card participants. Lars Sullivan entered the room and stared at Vince, who nervously told the person on the phone that it would be four people instead of three. “Good luck,” Sullivan said to Sullivan, who then walked away…
7. Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. Before the match, Kingston brought out a plate of pancakes and tossed them to the crowd. Mike Rome delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. A “Kofi” chant broke out. Bryan started the match with a pair of running dropkicks. Bryan went for a third, but Kingston cut him off with a clothesline. Kingston clotheslined Bryan to ringside, then performed a dive over the top rope onto Bryan at ringside heading into a break less than a minute into the match. [C]
After some back and forth action, both wrestlers went for simultaneous cross body blocks and crashed to the mat going into another break at 8:15. [C] Kingston took a backdrop over the top rope to ringside and landed hard on the floor. Damn. The ref checked on Kingston, then Bryan picked him up and ran him into the barricade. Bryan whipped Bryan toward the step. Kingston ran up the steps and to the top rope before performing a dive onto Bryan.
Back inside the ring, Kingston performed a top rope frogsplash onto the back of a standing Bryan, which led to a two count. Bryan came back with the LeBell Lock. Kingston rolled out of it and reached the ropes with his foot to break another hold that Bryan applied. Cole noted that Bryan had been targeting the left shoulder of Kingston throughout the match. Bryan threw kicks at the bad shoulder.
A short time later, Bryan performed a German suplex into a bridge for a two count. Kingston came back moments later with the Trouble in Paradise kick and scored the clean pin.
Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan in 17:20 to retain the WWE Championship.
Kingston celebrated his win after the match. Cole closed the show by wondering which Raw wrestlers would appear on Smackdown on Tuesday as part of the wild card rules…
Powell’s POV: In regards to Vince’s claim at the top of the show, I assure you that I will forget this night and soon. The main event was entertaining and the show had some decent moments, but this didn’t come anywhere close to feeling as special as Vince made it out to be. And with the benefit of a few hours to think about the wild card rules announcement, I don’t get it beyond my initial thought that they can surprise people with wrestlers crossing brands from time to time. If they really intend to make this the norm then I’m not sure what purpose the brand split really serves, as I suspect that the novelty of seeing wrestlers jump from show to show will get tired in a hurry. I guess it’s encouraging to see Vince react in some way to his ratings decline, but I don’t see this as the long term fix to his booking failures. I will have a lot more to say about this show in my weekly, same night members’ exclusive audio review.
Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and guest Court Bauer discussing MLW’s future, pay-per-view possibilities, whether MLW talent could appear on the AAA event at MSG, Salina de la Renta serving as the executive producer for the latest MLW Fusion television show, and more.
Just end the brand split then idiot. This is painfully cheesy. And do they have to waste twenty minutes to make a tag Main event? Same thing different week
This first hour of RAW has been painful to watch. No wonder ratings are down. Just when you think it can’t get any worse.
I really don’t see a point in the brand extension or this new “wild card” rule as basically any wrestler from any brand can show up anywhere as the so called “rules” currently stand. The booking is as incoherent and inconsistent as Vince McMahon’s promo at the top of the show.
Thank God Roman is back on Raw. The show sucked without him…wait a minute I think it sucked with him too.
WWE seems to think that if fans don’t watch SmackDown or at least on a regular basis, that they might think Reigns has left the company due to not seeing him on Raw anymore. Reigns also left Raw following a decisive and dominant WrestleMania victory followed up by the Shield winning and going out on top one last time on their WWE Network special. So I really don’t get what “unfinished business” he had left on Raw. McIntyre did make one or two one off comments about Reigns getting a “lucky victory” and “running away from him to SmackDown” but Reigns didn’t call out McIntyre directly and seemed to be coaxed into the rematch. These comments were also made several weeks ago and many fans have likely forgotten about them. And why should it bother Reigns that a defeated WrestleMania opponent makes excuses and tries to save face after losing to him? He could have always just challenged McIntyre from SmackDown and an interpromotional match could have been set up for a Pay Per View or Special Event or something if McIntyre continued making these remarks and it wasn’t just a one time thing prior to a match with Seth Rollins.
This first hour of RAW has been painful to watch. No wonder the ratings are down.
This show sounds brutal. After weeks of fumbling through the Superstar shake-up, they’re doing Wilcards now? Poor Nikki Cross can’t even get a brand yet. Lol.
“with a straight face”………..Yep both characters are fine since that Wrestlemainia finish…McIntyre is still a strong heel.. look who got left laying after the DQ match Reigns. McIntyre wasn’t damaged he didn’t lose.
Jericho used to bounce back after loseing a big match it never hurt him… same with McIntyre.
You could be correct… buuuuut I don’t think so.
They’re different styles of heels though, which is an important point that can’t be overlooked. For a guy like McIntyre, who’s supposed to be a no non-sense, bruiser type, losses like WM eat a little more credibility away.
“petty punishment for The Revival for not re-signing with the company,”
oh but of course Vince always has to be petty when he doesn’t get his way.
he’s a 73 year old big baby.
Hell WWE did better tonight explaining their logic than Game Of Thrones has done the past 2 weeks so there’s that.
Remember when people though 1995 was the worst year of the WWE? With a straight face, I would rather see 1995 WWF programming than current WWE. Bret Hart endorses The Revival and Vince officially buries them. Gee I wonder why they won’t resign the contract?
The Revival and the Usos is a dream rivalry and they have turned it into *this*. The USOs have signed, the Revival have not. OK – have them have the hot feud they are capable of and just have the USOs win the feud. That is the right and best way to do business.