By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw (Episode 1,555)
Live from Providence, Rhode Island at Amica Mutual Pavilion
Aired March 13, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Kevin Patrick welcomed viewers to Raw and was joined on commentary by Corey Graves. Edge made his entrance and was introduced by ring announcer Mike Rome. Once Edge was in the ring, the broadcast team ran through the previously advertised matches and announced that Rey Mysterio would appear.
The crowd cheered loudly for Edge, who told them it never gets old and that’s why he does this. Edge said everyone knew why he was there. “Finn Balor, get out here right now so we can finally be done with this,” Edge said.
“Judgment Day” Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley, Dominik Mysterio, and Damian Priest walked onto the stage. Balor told Edge to spit it out. Edge said he didn’t come to say anything, he came to end it. Edge assumed Balor would hide on the stage. Edge also be attacked by “Lurch, Pugsley, and Wednesday” if he went to the stage.
Edge told Balor that if he wanted their match to be at WrestleMania, then he would get it. Balor mocked Edge and spoke about the beating he gave him at Extreme Rules. Edge cut him off and said he wasted his comeback fighting them and playing to a bunch of TV screens in the ThunderDome. Edge said he didn’t have time.
Edge conceded they made Judgment Day better, but called them an Emo Delight. Edge said they’ve left him lying every other week and even made him say “I Quit” and still hit Beth Phoenix with a Conchairto. Edge said they’ve made his life miserable and the only way it can end is Edge vs. Balor inside Hell in a Cell at WrestleMania. A “yes” chant broke out.
Balor said he’s been to hell and he was spit out “because hell couldn’t handle my demon.” Balor said he’d see Edge at WrestleMania. “But until then…” Balor said while motioning for the others to go to the ring. Ripley, Dom, and Priest headed to the ring and attacked Edge.
Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, and Dexter Lumis ran to the ring to help Edge and then the show cut to an abrupt commercial break… [C]
Powell’s POV: The Edge and Balor feud has felt pretty cold, so I like the idea of making it a Hell in a Cell match. The feud has gone on long enough that the the gimmick feels justifiable, and it does create the feeling that this will truly be the end of their feud.
1. Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio (w/Rhea Ripley) vs. Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis (w/Candice LeRae). The match was joined in progress. A graphic listed Austin Theory vs. Angelo Dawkins for later in the show. Lumis threw a nice dropkick that sent Priest to ringside. Priest rushed back in and was taken down with a drop toe hold.
Gargano tagged in and ate a forearm strike from Priest, who followed up with Snake Eyes. Dom tagged in and worked over Gargano with punches. Gargano rallied with a nice head-scissors takedown. Both heels ended up at ringside and then Gargano performed a senton dive onto them. [C]
Dom performed the Three Amigos suplexes on Gargano and covered him for a two count. Gargano avoided a 619 attempt and then speared Dom through the ropes. Gargano made a hot tag while Dom also tagged out. Lumis put Priest and Dom down with back to back spinebusters. Lumis showed good fire as he suplexed Priest and then kipped up and then performed a leg drop that led to a two count.
A short time later, Dom rolled up Lumis and put his feet on the ropes for leverage. LeRae shoved Dom’s feet off the ropes to break up the pin. Ripley went after LeRae and put her in Electric Chair position before dropping her face first on the barricade. Lumis approached Ripley, but Priest ran over and clotheslined him.
Priest threw Lumis back inside the ring and performed a Flatliner style move. Dom tagged in and hit a frogsplash on Lumis and had him beat, but Gargano broke it up. Gargano superkicked Priest to ringside and then hit him with a suicide dive. Dom took out Gargano with a shot from the ring. Dom went for a move on Lumis, who countered into his finishing hold. Dom made a blind tag to Priest, who ended up hitting South of Heaven on Lumis and pinning him…
Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio beat Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis in 14:05 of television time.
Powell’s POV: A pretty good opening tag match. It went longer than I anticipated, but they filled the time nicely. Lumis hasn’t been asked to do much actual wrestling on television since he was called up, but he held up his end of the match nicely.
The broadcast team spoke at ringside and officially announced Edge vs. Finn Balor in a Hell in a Cell match for WrestleMania…
Footage aired from earlier in the day of Cathy Kelley trying to interview The Miz when he arrived at the building. Chad Gable showed up and asked if they’d seen Otis. Miz pointed out that he’d just arrived at the building and blew off Gable. Kelley asked Miz if he would consider having a co-host. Miz laughed at the idea and asked her to name one star big enough.
A few feet away from the interview, “Damage CTRL” members Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky attacked Trish Stratus. They capped it off with a triple superkick. A group of referees arrived to hold off the heel trio…
Omos and MVP made their entrance for the face-to-face segment with Brock Lesnar… [C]
MVP delivered a brief promo and said that the biggest mistake that Brock Lesnar has made was accepting a match with Omos. Lesnar made his entrance wearing his country boy attire. Lesnar entered the ring and was all smiles as he sized up Omos. There was a “holy shit” chant that was censored (why?).
Lesnar approached Omos and looked him up and down. Omos held up his fist and moved it toward Lesnar’s face. Lesnar took a step back and nodded. Omos lowered his hand and extended it for a handshake while a “Suplex City” chant broke out. Lesnar shook Omos’s hand and smiled.
Omos didn’t Lesnar’s hand. Lesnar stomped the foot of Omos, who then cleared him from the ring by sending him over the top rope (on the second try). Producers ran out. Lesnar nodded, smiled, and backed away despite Omos yelling at him to return to the ring. The broadcast team suggested that Lesnar was hesitant and fearful of Omos…
Powell’s POV: The Lesnar vs. Omos match does nothing for me on paper, but the holy shit chant is a good sign that a lot of fans view it as the spectacle that it is intended to be.
The broadcast team narrated highlights of the recent segments involving The Bloodline, Sami Zayn, and Cody Rhodes…
Cody Rhodes made his entrance for his match against LA Knight… [C] The broadcast team hyped Cody challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania… LA Knight made his entrance…
2. Cody Rhodes vs. LA Knight. There was a brief “Cody” chant early in the match. Knight caught Rhodes on the top rope and suplexed him. The broadcast team played up Rhodes being in trouble. [C] Knight remained in offensive control coming out of the break. Rhodes eventually battled back and hit a Cody Cutter and eventually got the win after executing CrossRhodes…
Cody Rhodes defeated LA Knight in roughly 10:00
[Hour Two] After the match, there was another “Cody” chant and then he spoke about the warnings that he was getting from Paul Heyman about staying out of The Bloodline’s business. Cody said he doesn’t work for Heyman or The Bloodline, so if he wants to fight alongside Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens then he can do that.
Cody also recalled Heyman saying not to make it personal. Cody said that’s a joke because it’s been personal since he first appeared on the show when he was 21 years-old. He said it’s personal when he’s choked up every week. Cody spoke about wearing a tailored suit, not because he thinks he is somebody, but because he wants to be somebody.
Cody recalled Heyman saying he should acknowledge Roman Reigns. “I acknowledge you, dammit,” Rhodes said. “You need to acknowledge me.” Cody said he’s been perfect since he returned to WWE. He said he grew up thinking he was a prince in the business, but he has no crown.
Cody said he’s waited his whole life and on April 2, he will pin Reigns and become the first member of his family to become the undisputed champion. Cody’s music played. He knelt down and kissed the mat, and then went to ringside and shook hands with a lot of younger fans in the crowd…
Powell’s POV: A good match and another strong promo from Cody. Not that it should surprise anyone, but I believe that was the first official confirmation of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match being held on night two.
Seth Rollins was interviewed by Byron Saxton on the backstage ring set. Saxton asked Rollins for his reaction to being knocked out by a Logan Paul sucker punch. Rollins said Paul was acting like he won the lottery and that’s because he landed the shot of a lifetime. Rollins said that one thing people have learned about him is that he can’t be kept down.
The Miz showed up and said Rollins was just upset because Paul knocked him out with a single punch. The Miz informed Rollins that Paul would host a live edition of ImPaulsive TV. Miz said he expects to be invited as a guest.
Baron Corbin showed up and said that his schedule just cleared up and he’s available to be a guest. Miz said Paul’s all booked up. Corbin made a pitch to co-host WrestleMania with Miz, who passed. Corbin made a pitch to Rollins, who wasn’t interested. Corbin got upset and told Rollins that he’s lucky they weren’t fighting because he would knock out Rollins faster than Paul did. Rollins assumed that was a challenge and said he’d see Corbin in the ring…
Patrick hyped Elias vs. Bronson Reed for after the break… The WrestleMania video aired. We are 19 days away… [C] A portion of Elias’s entrance was shown. Rick Boogs was with him taking notes. Bronson Reed’s entrance followed…
3. Bronson Reed vs. Elias (w/Rick Boogs). Reed dominated Elias to start. Elias caught Reed with a high knee, but Reed came right back with a poweslam. Reed followed up with his Tsunami splash and scored the pin…
Bronson Reed beat Elias in 2:10.
Powell’s POV: Fortunately, Elias didn’t get nearly as much offense as he did during his oddly competitive television matches with Solo Sikoa.
Cathy Kelley stood backstage and tried to provide an update on Trish Stratus, but Chad Gable showed up. Gable had “missing” signs for Otis and asked if she’d seen him. Gable headed off to search for Otis. Becky Lynch and Lita stormed by…
The broadcast team hyped a recap of last week’s John Cena and Austin Theory segment… An ad for Smackdown aired… [C]
Kevin Owens was interviewed backstage by Cathy Kelley, who asked why he won’t accept Sami Zayn’s help. Owens said he needed help for a long time and he didn’t get it, and now Sami is the one seeking his help. Owens said that he wishes Zayn the best, but he doesn’t want any part of it.
Owens recalled telling Cody Rhodes that if he wants to help Zayn, that’s his problem. Owens said he wanted to fight alone, including when he fought Solo Sikoa later in the show. Owens assumed that Sikoa wouldn’t be alone and said he’s fine with that…
A video package recapped the John Cena and Austin Theory segment from last week’s Raw…
Footage aired from earlier in the day of “The Street Profits” Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins mocking Austin Theory over the Cena segment. Theory said he hoped the Profits continued to be good at what they were doing because they would probably be unemployed in a couple of months. Theory said he always gets what he wants and his match with Cena will be the biggest match at WrestleMania.
Theory claimed to be the most important thing in WWE. Theory wondered who was the toughest member of the Street Profits. Theory settled on Dawkins, then told Ford that he’s just a big bag of jokes. Theory said that when Ford is handed an opportunity, he falls flat on his face.
Theory said he wished he could relate, but when he gets an opportunity he goes straight to the top. Theory spoke about the smoke that the Profits mention and said Ford just chokes. Dawkins stepped up and challenged Theory to a match. Theory asked the Profits what they are doing at WrestleMania. “Oh, that’s right, nothing,” Theory said before laughing and walking away…
U.S. Champion Austin Theory made his entrance for his match against Dawkins… [C]
Powell’s POV: Theory served the Profits what he had to eat last week. I wonder if Ford will be chasing Theory for the U.S. Title coming out of WrestleMania.
The broadcast team hyped Theory vs. Cena for the U.S. Championship for WrestleMania… The Street Profits made their entrance…
4. U.S. Champion Austin Theory vs. Angelo Dawkins in a non-title match. Dawkins dropped Theory with a punch. Theory came back by pulling Dawkins to the floor and running him into the barricade. Theory pounced on Dawkins and threw punches at him, then picked him up and ran him into the barricade again. [C]
Dawkins had a flurry of offense and picked up a two count. Theory came back with a leaping punch, but Dawkins knocked Theory down with a shoulder block. Theory clotheslined Dawkins using the top rope and then rolled through the ropes and dropkicked Dawkins, which led to a two count. Dawkins picked up a couple of two counts and then hit an enzuigiri. Dawkins went for a move in the corner, which Theory cut off with a punch. Theory hit A-Town Down and scored the clean pin…
U.S. Champion Austin Theory defeated Angelo Dawkins in 9:40 in a non-title match.
After the match, Theory put Dawkins in the STF, which the broadcast team noted is one of Cena’s favorite holds. Montez Ford ran out, causing Theory to release the hold and roll to ringside. “You can’t see me,” Theory said while standing on the floor…
Powell’s POV: Theory regained some momentum after being destroyed by Cena last week. I remain very intrigued to see where Theory stands coming out of WrestleMania and wether last week’s segment will somehow lead to him being in a better place.
A sponsored flashback recapped Kofi Kingston’s championship win at WrestleMania in 2019…
Paul Heyman was interviewed by Cathy Kelley. Heyman stormed onto the set and said The Bloodline has a problem in Kevin Owens. Heyman said the problem would be solved by Solo Sikoa. Heyman said Cody Rhodes has a problem. Heyman said Cody believes the truth shall set him free, but he’s making stupid mistakes by making things personal with Roman Reigns.
Heyman said of course it’s personal to Cody and that’s what makes him such a compelling and intriguing challenger at WrestleMania, but he called him a schmuck for mockingly acknowledging Reigns.
Heyman said he would give Rhodes a chance to acknowledge Reigns in person next week on Raw. Heyman said Rhodes would acknowledge his Tribal Chief. He said Cody would determine whether he’s a challenger or a problem. Heyman said that if it’s the latter, Reigns would love to personally solve it…
The WWE Hall of Fame video for Rey Mysterio was replayed… Graves hyped Ric Flair appearing on Wednesday’s “The Bump” to announce the next Hall of Fame inductee…
[Hour Three] Rey Mysterio made his entrance for an in-ring promo. Rey thanked the crowd, which responded with “you deserve it” chants. Rey recalled celebrating twenty years last year and now celebrating the biggest honor of his life. Rey said it’s not just his award, it’s made from the people who helped him during his career and made from the fans connecting with him throughout his years in the business. Rey said the award is for “all of us.”
The Judgment Day theme interrupted Rey. Dominik Mysterio walked out with a mic in his hand and mockingly congratulated his father for finally making it to the WWE Hall of Fame. Dom said Rey actually deserves it because he put his entire life into the business. Dom said he hopes it was worth it. The crowd serenaded Dom with “you suck” chants.
Dom entered the ring while saying that Rey earned the honor at his expense. Dom said Rey chose all of the stranger fans rather than being there for his own children. Dom got the “what?” treatment while telling stories about promises that Rey made and didn’t deliver on.
Dom took issue with Rey promising him a new car. He recalled that his friends all got new Mercedes, while Rey got him a BMW. “And it wasn’t even an M-series,” Dom complained. Awesome. Dom called Rey a sad excuse for a father, then took it back and called him a sad excuse of a man.
Dom said he would let Rey enjoy his Hall of Fame induction, but then challenged him to a match at WrestleMania. Rey said he wouldn’t fight his own son. The fans booed. Rey said he loved Dom and always would, and added that there would be no match at WrestleMania.
Dom asked the fans if that was their Hall of Famer as Rey exited the ring. Dom told Rey to do what he does by running. Dom said Rey ran from Raw, his family, and him. Dom said the only thing Rey taught him was what not to be. Rey turned and looked back at Dom and then headed to the back…
Powell’s POV: It’s really interesting to see WWE stretch out the announcement of Rey vs. Dom as well as the expected Usos vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn matches. I like the way they’ve announced the bulk of the card, yet still have those big match announcements to make with less than three weeks until the show takes place.
Cathy Kelley stood outside the trainer’s room seeking an update on Trish Stratus. Stratus, Becky Lynch, and Lita emerged from the room. They all agreed that Damage CTRL should have finished the job. Trish said she’s been hit harder and all they accomplished was pissing her off…
The Miz made his entrance dressed in a suit. Graves said Miz would sit in on commentary for the next match… A WrestleMania Goes Hollywood video featured Rhea Ripley, who did a Stranger Things spoof… [C] Patrick hyped WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico with Bad Bunny as the guest host…
Baron Corbin was in the ring and his terrible entrance theme was playing while he shadow boxed. Seth Rollins made his entrance…
5. Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin. The Miz was on commentary. Rollins played to the crowd once he entered the ring and was attacked from behind. Once Rollins recovered, the referee called for the bell to start the match. Rollins clotheslined Corbin over the top rope and then hit him with a suicide dive while the crowd chanted his entrance theme.
Rollins jawed at Miz, who said Seth’s entrance theme was the most annoying song he’s heard in his entire life. Rollins threw Corbin onto Miz. A short time later, Miz went after Rollins, who caught him with a kick as he entered the ring. Rollins launched himself off of Miz’s back and then put Corbin away with a Stomp that led to the three count…
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin in 2:20.
Powell’s POV: A quick crowd pleasing match. Miz is booked with Rollins every week now, so I assume Miz will play some part in the Rollins vs. Logan Paul match at WrestleMania.
Chad Gable continued his backstage search for Otis. Mustafa Ali popped out and tried to talk, but Gable blew him off. Gable found Otis taking part in a photo shoot with Maximum Male Models. Gable said Mansoor was supposed to have a match. Mansoor said he broke his nail scrolling through Instagram, so his match was postponed until next week.
Gable told Otis that he could be a model with him. Gable jumped in the shot. Mansoor claimed that Gable broke his camera. Mace said Gable broke it with his “ick.” Maxxine went off about Tom Sandoval and then called for Otis to join her because they had work to do. Gable tried to get Otis to leave with him, but he opted to follow the models…
Bianca Belair made her entrance… [C] The broadcast team hyped the WWE video game pre-order, and then Chelsea Green and Carmella made their entrance…
6. Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Chelsea Green (w/Carmella) in a non-title match. Graves asked how good Carmella looked watching Green’s back. He said that’s all he’s allowed to say about how hot his wife looks or else Twitter will get mad at him again.
Belair put Green down with a backbreaker and performed a standing moonsault that led to a two count. Green dripped up Belair on the apron. Carmella took a cheap shot while the referee was focused on Green. Belair was covered by Green for a two count. [C]
Belair took offensive control and dropkicked Green. Belair followed up with a shoulder block in the corner and then powered up Green and held her up before suplexing her. Carmella climbed onto the apron to protest. Belair did a handspring into the ropes, which knocked Carmella to the floor.
Belair went for a standing moonsault in the same motion, but Green put her knees up. Green caught Belair in an inside cradle for a two count. Green caught Belair with a forearm, but Belair came right back with a KOD and pinned her clean…
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair defeated Chelsea Green in roughly 8:00 in a non-title match.
After the match, Carmella entered the ring and ended up working over Belair. Asuka ran out in street clothes and then joined Belair and taking back and forth shots at Green. Asuka picked up the women’s title and held it out for Belair, but then yanked it away a couple of times. Asuka danced and swayed with the title belt. Belair got annoyed. Asuka smiled and let mist come out of her mouth and then laughed maniacally while she set the title belt down…
Powell’s POV: I hope the idea is to be ambiguous with Asuka now so that it packs a punch when she cheats to win the title at WrestleMania. It’s too late to do much character development going into WrestleMania, but hopefully there’s a plan in place to do it coming out of the show.
The broadcast team hyped Lesnar vs. Omos for WrestleMania…
Solo Sikoa made his entrance for the main event. Graves hyped Roman Reigns appearing on Raw next week in St. Louis… [C] A merch ad for Steve Austin gear on 3:16 Day…
The following matches and segments were announced for next week’s Raw: Logan Paul hosts the ImPaulsive talkshow, Austin Theory vs. Montez Ford in a non-title match, Bianca Belair and Asuka vs. Chelsea Green and Carmella, and Roman Reigns appears… Kevin Owens made his entrance dressed in jeans and a t-shirt…
7. Solo Sikoa vs. Kevin Owens in a Street Fight. Owens made it to ringside and was greeted by Sikoa. The bell rang to start the match as they were fighting on the floor. They quickly entered the ring where Owens put Sikoa down and hit him with a senton. Sikoa rolled to the floor. Owens followed and was caught with a punch. The crowd chanted for tables.
Both men battled back to the ring briefly before returning to ringside. Sikoa pulled chairs out from underneath the ring. Owens cut him off and ran him into the ring steps. Owens pulled out a table for the big pop. Sikoa cut him off with a superkick and tossed him over the broadcast table. Sikoa pushed the table back underneath the ring for easy heat. [C]
Owens tossed several chairs into the ring. He kept one and worked over Sikoa with it at ringside. Owens entered the ring and set up six chairs in the middle of the ring (three chairs facing three more chairs). Sikoa returned to the ring and Owens worked him over so that he fell onto the chairs. Owens went up top, but Sikoa recovered and cut him off.
Sikoa joined Owens on the ropes and they fought for position. Owens headbutted Sikoa, who dropped to the ring. Sikoa grabbed Owens and tossed him from the top rope onto the six chairs. A “holy shit” chant broke out and was censored (why?).
Owens rolled to the floor. Sikoa followed and was run into the barricade and then hit with a cannonball. Owens threw Sikoa over the barricade and then followed him into the crowd. They fought past WWE’s production row and made their way to the stage. Owens ran Sikoa into the video wall and then followed him into the backstage area.
When Owens walked through the curtain, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso immediately blasted him with a double superkick. The Usos dragged Owens to ringside and threw him inside the ring. Jimmy and Jey hit Owens with another double superkick. Sikoa picked up Owens and put him down with the Samoan Spike and then pinned him…
Solo Sikoa defeated Kevin Owens in 11:40 in a Street Fight.
Powell’s POV: You had to know this was coming. It’s predictable and yet it’s right for the story, as something has to drive the Owens character to realize that he can’t beat The Bloodline on his own. Perhaps the only surprise is that there wasn’t a violent post match beatdown and the Bloodline trio was simply content with Sikoa getting the win.
Overall, this was good, solid edition of Raw on the road to WrestleMania. I will be back with my weekly same night audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Raw by grading the show below.
Gee, wonder if Flair will be there to announce Batista as the next inductee into the (imaginary) HOF?
An old TV trick is to censor words that aren’t swears to appear more edgy.
As for the USA Network, it might have more to do with “holy” than “shit” so they don’t have to hear complaints about offending people’s religious sensitivities
Raw is also rated TV PG, which would not have repeated swearing, whatever the implications regarding “holy”. Raw’s former rating of PG 14 would.
I gotta say, Dom has become somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me since joining JD. He’s a great heel who plays the part so well that it’s hard to remember how not good he was prior to turning.