WWE RAW Results: Legend interferes with title tournament; missing star returns to get revenge - Winners, Recap, Grades & Highlights (May 8, 2023)

RAW after Backlash kicked off with a hype reel for the World Heavyweight Championship tournament before Cody Rhodes came out.

Rhodes celebrated his win against The Beast and then pointed to the Heavyweight Title. Cody said that he was going to walk away as the new champion before we headed for the first match.

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Damian Priest was backstage and said that Bad Bunny needed the help of a whole island to take him down. He planned to secure the new title and bring it to The Judgment Day.

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WWE RAW Results (May 8, 2023): Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament

Priest went after Nakamura early on before getting some elbow strikes on Rollins as well. Shinsuke came back with a big suplex before getting Damian with a running knee and the guillotine knee drop.

Nakamura dodged some big moves and went for a diving knee strike but missed. Rollins took the reverse STO from Damian before Nakamura locked in a sleeper hold on Seth.

Damian tried for the Razor's Edge but missed before getting caught in a knee bar from Nakamura. Seth went for the Frog Splash and hit it on both opponents before getting the win on Nakamura.

Result: Seth Rollins def. Damian Priest & Shinsuke Nakamura

Grade: B

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Mustafa Ali vs. Otis on RAW

Ali went for a sleeper hold early, but Otis broke out of it. Ali got a dropkick in before Otis took him down with a tackle and got the military press before hitting a big lariat.

Maxxine and Chad Gable were both trying to get Otis' attention before Ali sidestepped a big spear and sent Otis into the ring post. Mustafa followed up with the 450 Splash and picked up the win.

Result: Mustafa Ali def. Otis

Grade: C

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Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament on RAW

Rhodes was in control early on and got some big dropkicks, followed by a Suplex to Balor on top of the Miz for a near fall. Balor took a big scoop powerslam from Rhodes before Cody missed the Disaster kick.

Miz came in with a sudden DDT before Balor missed the Coup de Grace. Miz got the Skull Crushing Finale on Balor, but Cody broke up the pin. Cody got the Cross Rhodes, but Miz tried to steal the pin.

Rhodes got another Cross Rhodes in the ring before Brock Lesnar came in and took him out with an F5. Balor came in with the Coup de Grace on Miz and picked up the win.

Result: Finn Balor def. Cody Rhodes & The Miz

After the match, Brock sent Cody through the announcers' desk and said that he wanted a fight at Night of Champions. Cody was knocked out, and Brock asked who the coward was now before dropping the mic on him and walking off.

Grade: B+

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Rhea Ripley vs. Dana Brooke on RAW

Dana went after the champ with a dropkick right off the bat, but Rhea took her down and hit some big moves as the match went on. Brooke came back with a bulldog but was caught and dropped off a dive.

Rhea got a botched Riptide before locking in a submission hold and making Dana tap out. After the match, Rhea hit another Riptide and locked in the hold once again before Natalya came out to confront Ripley.

Result: Rhea Ripley def. Dana Brooke

Natalya and Rhea had a staredown in the ring before the champ retreated.

Grade: C

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Imperium vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn on RAW

Kaiser and Zayn kicked off the match, and the champs were in control early on. After a break on RAW, Owens unloaded on Kaiser before hitting a big slam and dropping him on the apron with a lariat. KO got a senton before Vinci broke up the pin.

The tag was made to Vinci, and he took out Sami from the apron before Kaiser came in for a double team. Kaiser took the stunner and went over the ropes before Sami was tagged in and came in with the Helluva Kick on Vinci for the win.

Result: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. Imperium

Grade: B

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Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green were getting people to sign a petition for a title rematch by telling them it was for saving the ocean or something. They approached the Gargano Family, and Indi called in Dexter, who gave Deville and Green a thumbs down.

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Zoey Stark vs. Nikki Cross on RAW

The newcomer from NXT went after Nikki with a slap to kick things off and kicked her down in the corner. Zoey got a dive on the ropes before getting a near fall off a strike to the face.

Nikki dodged some big moves and got a dropkick before getting the splash in the corner, Nikki went up the ropes, but Stark dragged her down and hit a superkick. Stark hit the Z360 and picked up the big win on her debut.

Result: Zoey Stark def. Nikki Cross

Grade: C

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Xavier Woods and Akira Tozawa ran into Rhea Ripley and Dominik backstage. Woods ended up booking a match against Dom before RAW continued.

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Trish Stratus was out next and made fun of Becky Lynch, who was missing. She said that RAW was her show and that Becky shouldn't come back. We got Lynch's music, and Trish acted surprised but then laughed because it was a joke.

Trish then talked about how her own daughter wanted to name her doll Becky Lynch since she was a big fan. Lynch's music hit a second time, and she showed up from behind and took down Trish. Becky was yelling at her from the ring as Trish retreated backstage.

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Xavier Woods vs. Dominik Mysterio on RAW

Dominik started off strong but took a diving crossbody before he was sent outside and hit the ring steps on the way down. Back after a break on RAW, Woods got a big clothesline and a DDT before getting a near fall.

Dom came back with a lariat of his own and tried for a pin before trying for a move from the apron, but Woods tripped him up. Woods got the rope-assisted missile dropkick from up high before Ripley dragged Dom out of the way of an elbow drop.

Dominik came back in after the distraction and rolled Woods up for the sudden win.

Result: Dominik Mysterio def. Xavier Woods

Grade: B-

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Veer, Sanga, and Jinder Mahal got a backstage promo talking about being on RAW.

The Miz was still trying to get Shinsuke to team up with him before Nakamura challenged him to a match next week.

Backstage, Raquel and Morgan signed Deville and Green's petition for a tag title rematch before they made fun of the champs.

Cody was emotional about his loss in the tourney tonight and said that he accepted Brock's challenge.

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Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament on RAW

The match went outside early, and Seth got a Slingblade on the floor before Balor hung him up on the ropes and powerbombed him onto the barricades. After a break on RAW, Balor took a superkick to the face before they took each other out with kicks to the head.

Rollins got the superplex, but Balor countered the Falcon Arrow into the 1916 for a near fall. Balor was bleeding from the face and unloaded on Seth with kicks in the corner, even trying to take out the ref when he tried to stop him.

Balor missed the double stomp and took a Pedigree for a near fall. Rollins got two stomps before finally picking up the win!

Result: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor

Grade: B+

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Episode rating: B

We got three big championship tournament matches tonight on RAW as well as a big debut and an unannounced visit from Brock Lesnar.