By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw (Episode 1,721)
Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum
Streamed live May 18, 2026, on Netflix
[Hour One] Michael Cole opened the show on commentary and set up a recap of last week’s show-closing segment with Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu…
An SUV arrived in the back. Roman Reigns emerged from the vehicle. A crew member handed Reigns the World Heavyweight Championship belt. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce met Reigns, who said he was going to call out Jacob Fatu, but they were both surprised when they heard his entrance theme playing.
Jacob Fatu made his entrance, and there were loud “Fatu” chants from the crowd. Corey Graves checked in on color commentary. Fatu heard Reigns say he wanted to call him out. He told Reigns to come out so he could dog walk his ass.
Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso made their entrance and joined Fatu inside the ring. Jey held a chair. Jimmy recalled Fatu talking about how he was willing to do anything to make life better for his wife and kids. Jimmy said part of that was acknowledging Reigns.
Jey wound up with the chair, but Fatu cut him off with a punch. Fatu worked over Jey until Jimmy intervened. Jey slammed the chair over the back of Fatu, who no-sold it. Fatu put Jey in the Tongan Death Grip and held the hold until he heard entrance music.
Roman Reigns made his entrance and was serenaded with “OTC” chants once he entered the ring. Reigns got the better of Fatu initially. Reigns went for a Superman Punch, but Fatu applied the Tongan Death Grip. Jey superkicked Fatu twice, but he didn’t release the hold. Jey speared Fatu, and then Jimmy hit Fatu with a top rope splash.
The Usos hit 1D on Fatu. The Usos tied Fatu’s arms in the ropes. Reigns hit Fatu with a Superman Punch, then had the Usos hit him with a double superkick. Reigns followed up with another Superman Punch and then had the Usos fire away with another double superkick. The Usos freed Fatu from the ropes and then whipped him toward Reigns, who speared him. There were loud “OTC” chants.
Adam Pearce walked out as Reigns and the Usos were nearing the stage. Reigns told Pearce he would do whatever he wanted with Fatu. Fatu got a mic and called for Tribal Combat. Pearce tried to tell Reigns no, but Reigns got pissed and accepted the match.
Cole assumed the match would be held at Clash in Italy. He noted that there had been only two Tribal Combat matches. Graves said anything goes and the loser must acknowledge the winner…
Cole narrated backstage/arrival shots of Seth Rollins, Oba Femi, and Judgment Day…
A video package spotlighted the history between Finn Balor and JD McDonagh, and then Balor made his entrance for the opening match before a commercial break… [C]
Powell’s POV: A strong opening segment that made Fatu look like a badass even when he got his ass kicked due to it being a three-on-one situation. Will Fatu find backup, or will he just win the Tribal Combat match and take control of the family?
A graphic noted that Je’Von Evans was born and raised in Greensboro…
1. Finn Balor vs. JD McDonagh in a Street Fight. McDonagh’s entrance was not televised. Balor was in offensive control when he pulled a table out from underneath the ring. McDonagh hit Balor with a suicide dive. McDonagh took ring announcer Alicia Taylor’s mic and hit Balor with it.
Balor and McDonagh fought into the crowd and were eventually at the back of the main floor. McDonagh slammed Balor into some production crates. McDonagh climbed to the top of the crates and performed a moonsault off onto Balor. [C]
McDonagh dominated the offense and set Balor on top of a table. McDonagh went to the ropes, but Balor cut him off and placed McDonagh on the table. Balor went up top for his finisher, but Dominik Mysterio came out and stopped him.
The heels got the better of Balor until Dom accidentally hit McDonagh with a 619. Balor put a trash can over McDonagh’s head and hit him with a shotgun dropkick and a Coup de Grace for the win.
Finn Balor defeated JD McDonagh in 14:15 in a Street Fight.
Powell’s POV: An enjoyable match in the moment, but I’m not a fan of how quickly Balor has run through McDonagh. I didn’t expect McDonagh to win clean, but Dom turning this into a handicap match seemed to be a good way to give McDonagh a win. Rather, Balor beat him clean what became a glorified handicap match. On a side note, roughly an hour before the show, WrestleTix listed the venue as being set up for 9,761 with 9,151 tickets distributed. 19,866 is listed as the total number of seats on the map. The last time WWE ran the venue was on May 16, 2025, when 11,883 tickets were distributed for a Smackdown show.
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Seth Rollins, who said he has no allies and is a marked man, but he has to put an end to The Vision. Rollins said he hasn’t had a match on Raw in about nine months. Rollins said that should change tonight. Rollins said Adam Pearce gave him the main event. Rollins issued a challenge to any or all Vision members to face him. Rollins told Kelley that he would like to see Bron Breakker accept the challenge. Rollins questioned whether Breakker is a nepo baby who can’t hack it, an athlete who turns into a wad of wasted potential, or everything Breakker claims to be. Rollins told Breakker to show him in the main event…
Oba Femi was shown backstage while his open challenge was hyped… [C]
Backstage, Byron Saxton interviewed Sol Ruca, who said she’s stoked that she’s had a chance to face some of the best women in the business. Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch interrupted Ruca. Lynch said Ruca hasn’t faced the best. Lynch said Ruca is 0-2 and should go back to NXT.
Ruca said she had to go. Lynch started talking about how young people today give up so easily. Lynch acted surprised when she heard Ruca’s entrance theme. Ruca was shown making her entrance. Ruca got a mic and said there was no point in doing this backstage. Ruca told Lynch to come out and face her like The Man she claims to be.
Lynch made her entrance. Ruca said she’s good at proving people wrong. Ruca called for Lynch to face her on the spot. Lynch got the crowd worked up about seeing the match before saying, “Okay, no.” Lynch said she would love nothing more than to perform for the people of Greensboro because they could use some excitement in their lives.
Lynch said that if Ruca is ready, she would face her at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Lynch told Ruca to remember she’s not just a star maker, she’s a star breaker. Ruca said she saw what Lynch was trying to do, but she wasn’t falling for it. Ruca said she would snatch Lynch’s soul again, and this time she’ll snatch her title. Lynch jawed at Ruca and welcomed her to the big time before making her exit…
Cole set up the John Cena-hosted ad for Club WWE…
Powell’s POV: How long are they going to drag out this bit to gather email information and other data, er, the vetting process for this exclusive club? Anyway, I’m Lynch vs. Ruca is a nice addition to the SNME lineup.
Backstage, World Tag Team Champions Logan Paul and Austin Theory were talking about the Street Profits while Paul Heyman listened. Bron Breakker showed up and told Heyman to make the match with Seth Rollins. Heyman decided it would be Rollins vs. Theory instead. Breakker asked Logan and Theory if he could have the room.
Breakker asked Heyman what he was doing. Breakker said he can beat Rollins. Heyman said he knew that, but now he knows where Rollins will be, what time he will be there, and why his hands will be full. Heyman asked Breakker if he wanted to run this play. Breakker smiled and nodded in approval…
Original El Grande Americano made his entrance with Julio and Bruto… [C] The end of El Grande Americano, Bravo, and Rayo’s entrnace was shown coming out of the break…
2. El Grande Americano, Bravo, and Rayo vs. Original El Grande Americano, Bluto, and Julio in a tornado rules match. Cole explained that no tags were needed in this type of match.
[Hour Two] Ludwig Kaiser wore his black and gold gear, while Chad Gable wore red, white, and blue. There were some dives from both teams that Gable capped off with a moonsault onto the other wrestlers on the floor. Gable superplexed Bravo and covered him for a near fall. [C]
Gable’s team performed simultaneous German suplexes and then hit simultaneous moonsualts, which resulted in a near fall. A “this is awesome” chant broke out. Kaiser’s team came back. Bravo and Rayo held Bluto while Kaiser headbutted him with his loaded mask before pinning him…
El Grande Americano, Bravo, and Rayo beat Original El Grande Americano, Bluto, and Julio in 10:45 in a tornado rules match.
Powell’s POV: Good work from the wrestlers, but it feels like it’s more trouble than it’s worth for this comedy gag.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Paige and Brie Bella were shown backstage…
In a sponsored spot, a delivery company’s mascot showed up backstage and delivered food to Otis and Akira Tozawa. Cole went crazy about it and yelled, “Corey, give me some”…
Powell’s POV: Insert your own joke here about the wrestlers ordering their own food being a sign that TKO slashed the catering budget.
Cole announced Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu in Tribal Combat for the World Heavyweight Championship for the Clash in Italy event… A video package aired on Tribal Combat…
Powell’s POV: I know the WWE production team is elite, but I’m a little bit skeptical about this turnaround time. Oh, I know, Fatu must have told them that he was challenging Roman to Tribal Combat. Yeah, that’s it.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso in a backstage area. Jey said he knows about Tribal Combat because he’s been in it. LA Knight showed up, causing Kelley to leave. Knight shook his head at the Usos. Jimmy told him not now. Knight went off on them about doing the same thing The Vision did during their feud. “You do dirt, you get dirt,” Knight said. Jimmy told him “not now” again and then left with Jey…
Cole’s sit-down interview with Ethan Page aired along with an “earlier today” graphic. Page handed Cole a card with questions he had written for him. Cole read lines about Page’s jawline and how he wants to rename the Intercontinental Title the Ethan Page Championship.
Cole said he couldn’t do it anymore and asked Page why he acts like this. Cole said Page has the looks, charisma, and athletic ability, but he thinks his ego will cost him the title on Saturday. Page said he would be the first man to put fear in Penta’s vocabulary, and he’ll leave the ring with the title…
Powell’s POV: Page was an arrogant d-bag during this interview segment. In other words, Page was terrific because that’s exactly what he was going for.
Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez made their entrance with Liv Morgan… [C]
3. Paige and Brie Bella vs. Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez (w/Liv Morgan) for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. The champions were in the ring coming out of the break. The challengers had the champions down heading into an early break. [C]
Late in the match, Brie went to the ropes and was shoved to the mat by Morgan. The referee spotted it and ejected Morgan. As Morgan protested, Perez tried to hit Brie with a title belt, but she ducked and then rolled up Perez for the win.
Paige and Brie Bella beat Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez in 10:15 to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.
Morgan returned and attacked the champions as they were celebrating. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria ran out and roughed up the Judgment Day members. Paige and Brie held up their title belts at ringside…
LA Knight approached Seth Rollins in the parking lot. Rollins asked if they were going to do this now. Knight said Rollins would have a match and might even win, but he’d be stomped out. Knight made it clear he’s no fan of Rollins, but he told him that he’s going to need help. Knight had his luggage with him and told Rollins good luck finding it…
Oba Femi was shown walking backstage while Cole hyped his open challenge for after the break… [C] A Penta video aired. He plugged his Intercontinental Championship match for SNME…
The fans were shown getting to their feet in anticipation of Oba Femi’s entrance. The lights went out. The fans popped. Oba made his entrance while the fans chanted his name. Oba was doing his in-ring pose when a blonde man entered the ring (I knew he was in the building, but holy shit, is that a jacked Jonny Fairplay?!?!?).
Brock Lesnar attacked Oba from behind. Lesnar hit Oba with four F5’s. Lesnar stayed down on the mat and smirked as he watched Oba sell. Cole spoke about how everyone believed Lesnar when he said he retired. Lesnar left the ring and backed his way to the stage… [C]
Powell’s POV: Brock Lesnar or Jonny Fairplay. Hey, it’s a common mistake (in Jonny’s mind only). All kidding aside, this was a hot angle. I never bought into the idea that Lesnar was finished at WrestleMania, but I did think he would only return for a retirement match at SummerSlam in Minneapolis. Obviously, he’s back for more than just SummerSlam.
Highlights of Lesnar attacking Oba were shown…
Adam Pearce was shown walking through a hallway backstage as he barked orders to producers Shawn Daivari and Shane Helms, and referee Jessika Carr. Pearce told the producers to find Paul Heyman and bring him to his office.
Pearce entered his office, where Heyman was waiting for him. Pearce asked what the hell he just watched. Heyman said he heard Pearce was looking for him. Pearce said he filed Lesnar’s retirement paperwork for him, then asked what happened out there. Heyman said Lesnar is retired. Heyman pulled a contract out of his jacket. Heyman said Lesnar’s signature was on the contract, and if he could get Oba to sign, he’d have the biggest rematch in history…
The broadcast team ran through the SNME lineup…
Cathy Kelley interviewed “The Street Profits” Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins backstage about challenging for the World Tag Team Titles on SNME. Yes, they still want the smoke. Ford spotted something off-camera. Ford told Dawkins to go if he wanted to waste his time, but he shouldn’t expect him to get involved.
Dawkins approached Seth Rollins, who was warming up for his match. Dawkins said they don’t have to be friends or trust each other. Dawkins said he couldn’t speak for Ford. “But last week, good looking out,” Ford said. Rollins said he had to focus because he had a match. Rollins’ entrance music played, and he walked through the Gorilla Position area.
[Hour Three] Seth Rollins made his entrance for the main event… [C]
Cole announced that WWE wrestlers would appear at the UFC Freedom 250 fan fest event in Washington, D.C. Cole said it was a free ticketed event…
Austin Theory made his entrance with Logan Paul. Rollins performed a suicide dive onto both men. Rollins roughed up Theory on the floor and then rolled him inside the ring…
4. Seth Rollins vs. Austin Theory (w/Logan Paul). The referee called for the opening bell once the wrestlers were inside the ring. Theory dodged a Stomp before Rollins tossed him to the floor. Rollins went for a kick on the apron, but Theory caught his leg and swung it into the ring post. Theory put Rollins’ foot in between the ring post and the ring steps, and then kicked the steps. Moments later, Theory picked up Rollins and crotched him on the barricade, and then punched him, causing Rollins to fall into the timekeeper’s area. [C]
Logan interfered, which led to a Theory near fall. Logan passed his brass knuckles to Theory and then distracted the referee, but Rollins dropped Theory with a superkick. Rollins picked up the brass knuckles and put them on. Logan pointed it out to the referee, who took the weapon away. Rollins knocked Logan off the apron. Theory rolled up Rollins for a near fall. Rollins battled back, hit the Stomp, and scored the pin.
Seth Rollins defeated Austin Theory in 12:55.
Afterward, Logan attacked Rollins. Angelo Dawkins ran out to help, but Logan and Theory got the better of him. Montez Ford ran out and helped his partner. Ford cleared the heels from the ring and then dove over the ropes and turnbuckle onto them at ringside. Ford returned to the ring and asked Dawkins why he was there.
Bron Breakker entered the ring. Ford shoved Dawkins out of the way and took a spear from Breakker. A limping Rollins went after Breakker and put him down. Rollins set up for a Stomp, but Logan grabbed his foot. Breakker speared Rollins. Breakker had his allies toss Rollins to the floor. Breakker grabbed the top piece of the ring steps. Logan and Theory placed Rollins on the bottom piece of the ring steps.
Adam Pearce came out with several referees and producers. Breakker gave up the ring steps, only to tackle Rollins again. Pearce barked at The Vision in the entrance aisle. Cole said Rollins and the Street Profits needed to get on the same page or it was going to be a disaster. Breakker glared at Rollins, who was mean-facing Breakker as the executive producer credits were shown moments before the show concluded…
Powell’s POV: The main event didn’t feel like a main event, but the involvement of Breakker, Logan, and the Profits helped. Brock Lesnar’s return was the highlight of the night and one of the only major talking points coming out of this episode. I will be back shortly with my weekly same-night audio review of Raw for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of the show by grading it below.
They sure got that Tribal combat promo together quickly
Seth vs a faction
Finn vs a faction
Women’s tag champs vs the same faction
Jacob vs a faction
The tribal thing seems like a step backwards. Can’t Jacob just want to be champ? Why bring race into it?
Glad Becky and Sol will be on SNME. That feels like a main event, unlike the other matches.
I was hoping we were getting the return of bum ass Corbin instead we get “BORK LEGNAR!”
lol
This might be the first time in history that someone wanted Baron Corbin more than Brock Lesnar. Corbin just wrapped up a WSW tour in Australia, so maybe he’ll show up soon, given the rumors.