Welcome to Fightful.com's live coverage & discussion for Monday Night RAW (5/16/22)!
We'll be bringing you full, fight-by-fight results of every match on the card as we're just 24-hours removed from WrestleMania Backlash!
— The show begins and we a video package highlighting the feud between Bobby Lashley and Omos, which will culminate inside of a steel cage, which will kick off our show! We then head to the ringside area where our commentary team of Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, and Corey Graves welcome us to tonight's show, and they run down tonight's card. We then see a 'Countdown To Cody' and we'll hear from 'The American Nightmare' at 10:00 p.m. ET [in 2 hours].
Omos (with MVP) vs. Bobby Lashley — Steel Cage Match
— Cedric Alexander attacks Lashley during his entrance, Omos leaves the cage and the brawl ensues on the entrance ramp. WWE officials come down to break up the fight, Lashley walks down to the ring and gets in the cage and we head to a commercial break before this one officially gets started. Back from the break and both men are in the ring and this one is underway. Lashley immediately goes for the Hurt Lock, Omos powers out and grabs Lashley by the throat and wallops him with a chop to the chest. Omos rakes Lashley's eyes and plants him with a slam. Lashley yells at MVP from inside the cage and MVP gets on the apron but Lashley grabs him through the cage and smashes MVP into the metal grates. Lashley rocks Omos with a spear and goes for the cover but Omos kicks out at two-and-a-half! Lashley climbs the cage, Omos chases after, Lashley kicks him down but Cedric Alexander climbs on the outside and meets Lashley at the top but Lashley launches Cedric off and into the ring. Omos uses the distraction and grabs Lashley off the top and fires him into the cage. Omos drills Lashley with a big boot and launches Lashley into the cage and Lashleygoes flying through the fence! Lashley slides off the fence and steps to the floor and Lashley wins!
Winner - Bobby Lashley
— We then see a video package showing the feud between Mustafa Ali, The Miz, Ciampa, and United States Champion, Theory. The aforementioned United States Champion then makes his way down to the ring and he'll face Mustafa Ali, after the break.
Theory (actually Veer Mahan) vs. Mustafa Ali
— Before the match begins, The Miz comes down donning a referee shirt and tells referee, Daphanie LaShaun to leave, which she does. Theory grabs a mic and says since he's Vince McMahon's protege, he's learned to expect the unexpected, which is something Ali should follow because he's not facing Theory, he's facing Veer Mahan! Veer wastes no time making his way to the ring and this one is underway. Ali with a drop-kick to start, then another but Veer stymies his momentum and takes him down with a press then launches Ali to the corner. Ali kicks his way out of the corner, Veery shoves him back and wallops him with a pump kick then a slam. Veer lifts Ali but Ali slides out and nails Veer with a pair of super-kicks and runs the ropes but Theory trips him from the outside as Miz purposely looks away. Ali sends Veer to the outside and lands a pair of baseball slides then goes for a dive through the ropes but Miz stands in front of him and pretends to be counting Veer to get back into the ring. Miz shoves Ali, Veer comes out of nowhere and cracks Ali with a lariat then locks in the cervical clutch, and Ali taps!
Winner - Veer Mahan
— After the match, Theory asks Veer to reapply the clutch, which he does, Theory takes some selfies in front of Veer, and Ali then Miz joins in. Theory tells Veer to clear the announce table, he does and Rey and Dominik Mysterio come down! Veer goes to attack them but Rey kicks him back, Dominik dives over the top but Veer catches him but Rey knocks him back with a diving leg drop and Veer is outraged at ringside and thinks better of it.
— Backstage, we see Adam Pearce, who's approached by Becky Lynch and it's announced that we'll hear from the former RAW Women's Champion, after the break.
— Back from the break and Becky Lynch says that she saw Sasha Banks and Naomi leaving the arena, earlier tonight and that she should just be named the new number one contender for the RAW Women's Championship. Pearce says the six-pack challenge is nixed and Lynch will face Asuka for the right to become the number one contender.
— We then see a video package highlighting the feud between RAW Tag Team Champions, RK-Bro, and SmackDown Tag Team Champions, The Usos. Riddle makes his way down to the ring, and he'll face Jimmy Uso, after the break.
Jimmy Uso (with Jey Uso) vs. Riddle
— Jey distracts Riddle right from the jump, Jimmy capitalizes and slams Riddle before going for the cover but Riddle kicks out. Riddle with a pump kick and then a suplex, Jimmy comes back with a slam but Riddle catches him in a triangle choke, Jimmy lifts and they spill out of the ring. Jimmy gets back in the ring and nails Riddle with a dive through the ropes back to the outside Jimmy launches Riddle into the steel steps and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Riddle's in control whilst back in the ring. Jimmy clocks Riddle with a cross-body and then goes for the cover but Riddle lifts the shoulders at two. Riddle hits a super-kick and then goes for the senton but Jimmy gets his knees up. Both competitors struggle to their feet, Jimmy catches Riddle, who launched himself off the ropes and plants 'The Original Bro' with a Samoan Drop then goes for the cover but Riddle kicks out. Jimmy goes up top, Riddle follows him and lands a headbutt, Uso shoves him back and goes for a splash but Riddle gets the knees up. Riddle hits an elbow and then goes up top but Jey trips him from the outside, Jimmy goes for a roll-up, and the referee catches Jey trying to help Jimmy and stops the count, Riddle uses the distraction to get a roll-up of his own and gets the 1-2-3!
Winner - Riddle
— After the match, The Usos go for the attack but Riddle escapes and celebrates on the entrance ramp.
— We then see Liv Morgan backstage being interviewed by Kevin Patrick. Los Lotharios interrupt and invite Liv to the Kiss Cam and AJ Styles and Finn Balor come in and make Los Lotharios leave.
— A video package is shown of 'The Judgement Day' and their actions over the past number of weeks. Edge, Damian Priest, and Rhea Ripley are then shown backstage. Rhea says they're done being who the fans want them to be and it's time for complete brutality. Edge calls Rhea and Damian his 'Saints of Fate' and says others should do the same and join them and says they're open for any WWE star on the roster to join the group. Edge says even AJ Styles, Finn Balor, and Liv Morgan can join if they want to put their differences to the side.
— Back at the ringside area, AJ Styles, Finn Balor, and Liv Morgan make their way down to the ring, and Styles and Balor will face Los Lotharios, after the break.
AJ Styles & Finn Balor (with Liv Morgan) vs. Los Lotharious (Angel & Humberto)
— AJ and Humberto start this one off. AJ trips Humberto and then slams him before making the tag to Balor, who nails Humberto with a swooping drop-kick to the knees and locks in an armbar before tagging AJ back in. AJ sends Humberto into the corner but Humberto slides out and sends AJ face-first into the middle turnbuckle before applying an abdominal stretch. Angel's tagged in, slams AJ, and makes the tag right back to Humberto, who chops AJ in the chest and makes the tag back to Angel. Balor's tagged in by AJ and they take out Los Lotharios, Angel and Humberto slide to the outside but AJ and Balor dive through the ropes and take them out on the outside and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Humberto goes up top and dives down looking for a moonsault on Balor but Balormeets him with a double up-kick. Balor nails Humberto with a drop-kick then goes up top, AJ comes out of nowhere and lands the Phenomenal Forearm on Angel, and Balor hits the Coup-De-Grace on Humberto and gets the three-count!
Winners - AJ Styles & Finn Balor
— After the match, Styles, Balor and Morgan all hit a 'Too Sweet'.
— We then see Kevin Owens backstage with Chad Gable and Otis of Alpha Academy. Gable has an envelope of the DNA results from Ezekiel. Owens opens it and says the results were contaminated by barbecue sauce. Owens and Gable turn to Otis then Gable says the chain of custody on the samples was broken. The three bicker over whose fault it is and Gable says it doesn't matter, because next week, he'll 'beat the truth' out of Ezekiel.
— A video package is then shown from last week where Sonya Deville was removed as a WWE official and then lost to the returning Alexa Bliss in a match shortly thereafter. Bliss then makes her way to the ring and she'll face Sonya Deville in a rematch, after the break.
Alexa Bliss vs. Sonya Deville
— Sonya attacks Alexa right as the bell sounds. Alexa knocks Sonya back and nails her with a drop-kick. Alexa with a double knee takedown then goes for a moonsault but transitions into another knee attack, Sonya rolls her up and goes for the cover but Alexa kicks out. Sonya misses a moonsault of her own, Alexa goes for a DDT but Sonya slides out and rolls Alexa up again but Alexa kicks out. Alexa powers out of a headlock and lands a neck-breaker but Sonya wallops her with a running knee and goes for the cover but Alexa lifts the shoulders after a two-count. Sonya removes the top turnbuckle pad then plants Alexa with a spine-buster then goes for the cover but the referee was too busy putting the turnbuckle pad back on and is late to the count which allows Alexa to kick out at two! Sonya yells at the referee and Alexa uses the distraction to plant Sonya with a DDT for the 1-2-3!
Winner - Alexa Bliss
— After the match, Sonya argues with the referee again and slaps the referee in the face, and exits.
— We then see a video package highlighting the feud between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, Cody makes his way down to the ring and we'll hear from 'The American Nightmare', after the break.
— Back from the break and Cody Rhodes is in the ring. Cody says he doesn’t understand why Seth Rollins is upset since he’s now beaten him twice fair and square. Cody says Rollins earned his way to the top and mentions that Rollins hasn’t won much until recently. Cody says he felt dead inside with some paint on his face but he still endured [referencing Stardust]. Cody says the most important thing he ever learned, is that he’ll never be ‘The American Dream’, so he had to embrace being ‘The American Nightmare’. Cody says he’ll give Rollins one last chance…At Hell In A Cell. Rollins appears on the big tron and says Cody hasn’t beaten him fairly one single time and says every man or woman that’s stepped foot inside a HIAC has come out unchanged. Rollins laughs maniacally and accepts Cody’s proposal for a HIAC match at the namesake premium live event. Cody tells Rollins that he’ll see him in hell.
— We then head backstage and we see Asuka, who says all Becky Lynch does is cry and tonight, she’ll shut her up and become number one contender.
— Commentary then announces that it’s officially, Cody Rhodes will face Seth Rollins inside of a Hell In A Cell, at the namesake premium live event, next month.
— Back to the ringside area, Kevin Owens and Alpha Academy make their way down to the ring and we head to a commercial break before Gable will face Ezekiel.
Chad Gable (with Kevin Owens & Otis) vs. Ezekiel
— Ezekiel wallops Gable with a shoulder block then applied an armbar. Ezekiel slides out and locks in a headlock, Gable powers out and plants Ezekiel with a suplex then goes for the cover but Ezekiel kicks out. Ezekiel rolls to the outside, Otis cheap shots him with a running shoulder tackle while Gable distracts the referee and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Gable has Ezekiel grounded with an armbar then lands a German suplex before going for the cover but Ezekiel kicks out. Gable slams Ezekiel then goes up top and hits a moonsault before going for another cover but Ezekiel lifts the shoulders after a count of two. Ezekiel comes back with a clothesline then sends Gable to the corner and lands a splash, Gable with a roll-up but Ezekiel rolls Gable right back and gets the three-count!
Winner - Ezekiel
— After the match, Ezekiel exits the ring as Owens and Otis go for the attack. Ezekiel celebrates on the ramp and the heels angrily look on from afar.
— We then see a 24/7 Title segment backstage featuring R-Truth, Tamina, Akira Tozawa, Reggie, Dana Brooke and Carmella.
— Back at the ringside area, Lacey Evans makes her way down to the ring and we’ll hear from Lacey, after the break.
— Back from the break and Lacey Evans is in the ring. Lacey says she’s grateful for the fans applause and she wants to show the WWE Universe that she can ‘break the cycle’. Lacey says while she may not be better than anyone in the back, she knows that they’re not better than her either. Lacey then waved to the fans and exits.
— We then see a replay of tonight’s events, thus far as well as a hype package for this Friday’s episode of SmackDown, where RK-Bro will face The Usos in a Tag Team Championship Title Unification Match.
— RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair then makes her way down to the ring and she’ll be seated ringside for our main event of the evening which will go down, after the break.
Becky Lynch vs. Asuka — RAW Women's Championship Number One Contenders Match
— Asuka goes on the attack to start. Lynch trips Asuka, who rolls to the outside, Lynch goes for a baseball slide but Asuka chops at her legs and wallops Lynch with a bevy of strikes. Lynch trips Asuka to the floor snd launches her into the barricade as we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Lynch looks for the Manhandle Slam back in the ring, Asuka slides out, trips Lynch and lands a leg drop before going for the cover but Lynch kicks out. Lynch rolls up Asuka, who kicks out but Lynch looks to apply the Disarm-her, Asuka transitions into the Asuka Lock but Lynch rolls her back for a pin but Asuka kicks out. Lynch goes up top and dives down but Asuka evades and looks for an armbar but Lynch scrambles to the ropes and grabs the bottom rope to force the break. Lynch chokes Asuka with the bottom rope, Lynch slides out of the ring and yells at Bianca Belair, who’s seated at ringside, Asuka chases after Lynch but Lynch sends Asuka right into Belair. Becky gets Asuka back in the ring and looks for a slam but Asuka spits green mist into Lynch’s face, Belair was on the ring apron jawing at Lynch so the referee never saw the mist since he was arguing with Belair to get off the apron and Asuka trips Lynch to the mat and gets the 1-2-3!
Winner - Asuka (Will Face Bianca Belair For The RAW Women’s Championship at Hell In A Cell)
— After the match, Asuka slides out of the ring and celebrates on the entrance ramp, Lynch’s trying to clear the mist off her face and Belair stares Asuka down from the ringside area from afar as the show goes off-the-air!
