Monday Night Raw April 24th 2023, Live from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
As Raw comes on the air, the announcers welcome us to the show before the music of the
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes hits! The fans cheer loudly as Cody makes his way out onto the stage and heads down the ramp to the ring. Cody enters the ring, looking sharp in his suit with both titles around his waist. He soaks in the cheers for a minute before speaking up, asking the fans what they wanna talk about? He says he knows what he wants to talk about, this title match at Backlash. He says so far since they became #1 contenders, Karrion Kross has established himself as a major threat to him and Seth by taking them out every chance he gets, and forcing them to work together to stop him. Seth meanwhile, showed he's not to be trusted when he stomped him last week.
Cody says the message has been received from both guys but he has a message of his own, he didn't spend years busting his ass to get to this point just to fumble right away. He spent years to get to this point and finish his story, but now a new book has started and it's where he establishes himself as an all time great champion. Suddenly,
Seth's music hits and he comes strolling out onto the stage.
Seth says he's so sick of hearing Cody talk about his story, he did it, he beat Roman Reigns. But like Cody said, the story is over and now he's taking that title and getting back on top where he belongs. Cody goes to speak, but as he does,
Karrion Kross's music hits!
Kross comes out and talks about how they're both wrong and the new story will be one of darkness and despair when he knocks them both out and becomes champion. He then turns to Seth and calls him a clown. He says after he knocks Seth out at Backlash maybe Seth will stop being a clown and become a disciple for him. Seth laughs and says he's a follower for nobody and dares Kross to face him tonight if he wants to run his mouth. Kross accepts, but
Adam Pearce pops up on the tron and confirms it, but also makes Cody Rhodes the special guest ref for the match. Raw goes to break shortly after.
After the break, we go backstage to
Becky Lynch in the interview area where she's asked about what happened to Lita last week. She says she doesn't know who did it, but someone took Lita out. She was injured last week in the mystery attack. She promises to find out who did it, and Trish Stratus comes in and offers to help her to figure out who took out Lita. Becky agrees and we head back to the ring for our first match of the night.
Match #1:
Singles Match
Nikki Cross vs Sonya Deville w/ Chelsea Green
A fairly short match. Nikki starts hot by tackling Sonya and pounding on her, until Sonya shoves her off and bails out of the ring to re-group. Chelsea comes over to check on Sonya...but Nikki comes off the top rope and dives onto both champs with a diving crossbody! Nikki beats her chest before throwing Sonya back into the ring, but Chelsea grabs Nikki, who spins around and screams in her face, causing Chelsea to run away in fear! Nikki rolls back into the ring now...but Sonya hits a sliding kick to the face!
The finish comes a couple minutes later after Sonya has been in control of the match, and she hits a spinebuster! Sonya covers...but Nikki kicks out at 2! Sonya now goes to the corner, stalking Nikki as she gets up and Sonya tries a spear...but Nikki kicks her in the face to block! Nikki now grabs the head of Sonya...and hits a tornado DDT coming off the ropes! Nikki now drags Sonya up and places her feet on the top rope, looking for The Purge Swinging Neckbreaker...but Chelsea is on the apron and grabs her partner's feet to block it!
Nikki goes down but gets back up as Chelsea pulls Sonya onto the ring apron and Nikki realizes what happened and Chelsea taunts her...but Nikki comes running and tackles Chelsea off the apron, falling through the ropes with her! Nikki slams the head of Chelsea into the mats on the floor, then picks her up and throws her against the barricade! Chelsea is down and Nikki now rolls back into the ring...but walks right into a Jumping Kick from Sonya! Sonya covers and gets the pin!
Winner via pinfall: Sonya Deville!
After a break, we go backstage to the Women's Champs,
Rhea Ripley and Asuka.
Rhea mentions how tonight they'll be teaming up to face their Backlash challengers, Zelina Vega and Bianca Belair in a tag match. Rhea says the two of them are the champs for a reason, they're the most dominant women in WWE. She respects Bianca, but as for Zelina? She's just a pipsqueak and will be the reason they lose tonight.
Asuka now speaks up and says Bianca wasn't ready for Asuka at WrestleMania, and won't be at Backlash either. She promises victory tonight as well, and says nobody is ready for Asuka and Mami. Rhea smirks as the camera cuts away to the parking lot.
In the parking lot, we see Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley brawling! Both men are trading punches as security tries to stop them, but anytime a security guard grabs either one of them, they deck them! Lashley takes advantage of two guards grabbing Brock and jumps on him, taking him down! Lashley lands a few punches before getting up and telling Brock he's gonna regret ever pissing him off. Lashley now pops open a car trunk...and pulls out a tire iron!
Brock gets back to his feet and Lashley smacks him in the ribs with the tire iron! Brock is doubled over, and Lashley picks him up...and hits a spinebuster onto the hood of a car! Lesnar goes down! Adam Pearce now comes running with refs and security guards, and they grab Lashley, and the force of 8 men holding him back is enough to stop his rampage! Adam Pearce tells him to save it for Backlash, but Lashley says he doesn't wanna wait and tries to break free, but Adam Pearce threatens to cancel the Fight Pit Match! Lashley starts to calm down...but Brock Lesnar is now standing on the car and jumps off and wipes everybody out!
Brock Lesnar now throws the guards away and picks up the tire iron, and smacks Lashley across the back with it multiple times! Lashley yells out in pain as Brock scoops him up...F5 onto the car! Brock laughs and says he'll see Bobby at Backlash if he can even make it, and hops in his car and drives off as Raw goes to break.
Back from the break, we go backstage to
Damage CTRL, who are plotting about Bayley's upcoming match against Candice LeRae. Suddenly
Becky Lynch walks up and shoves Bayley!
Becky says she knows them well enough to know it was them who took out Lita last week!
Bayley laughs and says if they were gonna take her out, they would have taken out Becky at the same time. Besides in case Becky forgets, they beat Becky and the has beens at WrestleMania, they've moved on. Becky doesn't believe them, and
Dakota threatens they'll hurt Becky right now if she doesn't watch herself...when suddenly someone yells for help!
Becky runs off, as Damage CTRL go the opposite way towards the ring. Becky goes down the hallway and finds Trish Stratus face down on the ground! Becky checks on Trish, as do doctors. Becky now asks Maxxine Dupri who did this, and Maxxine says she doesn't know, she just heard something and came to check it out and saw Trish down. Becky looks angry and we cut to the ring for our second match.
Match #2:
Singles Match
Candice LeRae vs Bayley w/ Damage CTRL
As the bell rings, Candice goes right after Bayley for attacking her recently, but Bayley bails from the ring to avoid her and hides behind Dakota and Iyo. Candice looks annoyed...but then decides to dive onto them, wiping all 3 women out! Candice is fired up and grabs Bayley, and throws her into the steps! Candice yells at Bayley about attacking her, then throws her into the ring, but Dakota tries to clothesline her...but Candice ducks and shoves Kai into the ring post! Candice threatens Sky, who backs off and lets Candice get in the ring..but as she does Bayley grabs her for a small package pin...but Candice kicks out at 2!
A couple minutes later, Bayley has taken control of the match after the hot start from Candice, and hits her with a neckbreaker. She goes for a pin but only gets 2. Bayley smacks LeRae across the face a couple times and tells her she should have taken her offer to join Damage CTRL when she had the chance. She drags her to her feet now, and snaps off the Bayley to Belly! Bayley covers...but Candice kicks out again at 2! Bayley is feeling frustrated now and runs her hands through her hair and pounds the mat. She now goes up top, potentially looking for her elbow drop...but Candice gets up and jumps up top, firing a couple punches at Bayley before hitting her with Ms. LeRae's Wild Ride! Candice covers after the top rope swinging neckbreaker...but Dakota pulls the ref out of the ring!
The finish comes shortly after this when Candice slides out of the ring and throws Kai into the barricade before stomping on her, but with Bayley distracting the ref, Iyo Sky comes running and takes out Candice with a dropkick! Iyo now holds Candice back as Kai gets up and kicks her in the face! They throw her into the ring now and Bayley pulls her up...Rose Plant! She covers and steals the win!
Winner via pinfall: Bayley!
As we come back from the commercial, we go right back to the ring for our next match as Johnny Gargano tries to complete the third and final step towards getting a match with Austin Theory at Backlash in an Extreme Rules Match with "The Giant" Omos.
Match #3:
Extreme Rules Match
Johnny Gargano vs Omos w/ MVP
A true david vs goliath match here as Omos uses his massive size to dominate early on and throw Gargano around the ring, before eventually picking him up and tossing him over the top rope and to the floor. Omos flexes and roars as Gargano sits against the barricade, wondering how to attack him before deciding to grab a kendo stick from under the ring. He slides into the ring with it and ducks a swat from the giant, and smacks him in the side with the stick to no effect! He cracks him with it one more time to no effect before going for a third...but Omos catches the stick, yanks it out of his hand and breaks it in half over his knee!
A few minutes later, Omos is still in control, bringing the fight to the floor and setting up a table after launching Gargano spine first into the ring post. MVP comes over and taunts Johnny, telling him he won't be going to Backlash as he watches him pull himself to his feet, but Omos is on him and scoops him up, looking to launch him face first into the post now...but Johnny slides down the back of the giant and shoves him into the post face first! He has a chance! Johnny pulls Omos back by his pants, then rams him into the post again! Johnny now gets on the apron, superkick! Omos falls to his knees! Johnny now backs up...then comes running and cannonballs into the big man and finally knocks him down!
A couple minutes later, after beating the hell out of a downed Omos with a chair, Johnny has somehow managed to drag Omos up and onto the table. He now climbs up to the top turnbuckle...and hits a frog splash to put Omos through it! Johnny might have an opening to win if he can get Omos into the ring! Johnny gets up and starts trying to drag his opponent up...but MVP comes over with his cane, and cracks Gargano in the back with it! Gargano goes down and MVP laughs!
The finish comes shortly after with the fight back in the ring and a table set up in the corner and Omos holding a chair as Gargano lays on the mat after getting smacked across the back with it. MVP now throws a trash can into the ring and tells Omos to finish this. Omos puts the chair down, then picks up Gargano and scoop slams him onto it! Omos places a foot on the chest of Gargano...but he kicks out at 2! Omos looks surprised, but pulls Gargano back up, and lifts him up for the Choke Bomb...but Gargano turns it into a DDT onto the trash can! The finish comes a few minutes later after MVP has again hit Johnny with his cane, but this time Dexter Lumis comes out from under the ring and chokes him out! Dexter now helps Johnny up, and together they throw Omos through the table! Johnny now covers with Dexter and he gets the pin!
Winner via pinfall: Johnny Gargano!
After the match: Johnny Gargano is helped to his feet by Lumis, who raises his arm in victory. Austin Theory now pops up on the tron and congratulates Johnny, saying he somehow survived tonight but at what cost? He's barely able to stand. He says at Backlash he proves he's better than Johnny and beats him once again, and after he does, he never wants to hear from Johnny again. Raw now goes to break.
As we come back, we go to a hallway backstage where
Bianca Belair and
Zelina Vega stand.
Bianca says tonight is their chance to send a message to the champs that they're in trouble this weekend at Backlash. She says she has all the confidence in the world in Zelina tonight, and she's going to show Asuka why she is the EST and will take back her title at Backlash.
Zelina now speaks up and mentions how Rhea keeps discounting her. She says Rhea is underestimating what's gonna happen when she's going 1 on 1 with a pissed off latina and promises to shock the world at Backlash and become the Smackdown Women's Champion because she's not just fighting for her, she's fighting for all of Puerto Rico. We now cut away to another hallway backstage.
Elsewhere, we see
Nikki Cross holding her head as she walks backstage, when
Piper Niven comes up to her.
Piper asks her what she was thinking facing Sonya tonight? Basically walking into a handicap match.
Nikki says she wanted to prove herself and shut them up. She says she would have won if Chelsea didn't get involved, but she'll get a match with Chelsea and handle her.
Piper sighs and says no she won't...because she already talked to Adam Pearce and next week, they will reunite to face Chelsea and Sonya in a non title match.
Nikki smiles and says really? Piper wants to play with her again?
Piper warns her it’s gonna be 1 night only but yes she has her back vs the champs. Nikki hugs her and we cut away to the ring.
Match #4:
Tag Team Match
The Good Brothers w/ Mia Yim vs Los Lotharios
A short match here. At the start, Angel and Humberto avoid fighting and instead try to flirt with Mia Yim, both of them offering her a rose, and Mia takes them! The cousins both offer her a kiss...but she laughs and throws the roses down and stomps on them, just as Anderson and Gallows blindside the cousins! From here, the match only goes a few minutes before Garza hits a drop toe hold into the middle turnbuckle on Gallows, then tags in Humberto. Humberto waits for Gallows to get up, then springboards into the ring...but gets caught by the throat and chokeslammed! Gallows tags in Anderson, boots Garza off the apron, and The Good Brothers hit the Magic Killer for the pin!
Winners via Pinfall: The Good Brothers!
After a commercial break, we go backstage to
Johnny Gargano sitting with
Candice LeRae and
Dexter Lumis. He thanks Dexter for the assist earlier but says at Backlash, he has to face Austin Theory alone. He mentions Theory making him jump through hoops to get to him, and says he taught Theory everything he knows. When he took him under his wing in NXT, he was just a cocky rookie who didn't know anything. Now he has a giant head because he's had some success on Raw. At Backlash, he humbles Austin and takes the US Title.
Candice wishes him luck and mentions the fact she was outnumbered tonight vs Bayley and says she might have to find some friends of her own to handle Damage CTRL. We now cut to the ring for the champs vs challengers tag match.
Match #5:
Tag Team Match
Zelina Vega and Bianca Belair vs Rhea Ripley and Asuka
A good back and forth match with both teams having a good showing. Zelina shows some fire against Rhea early on, sending her reeling to the floor before diving through the ropes and hitting her with a hurricanrana into the barricade! Zelina pounds on Rhea on the floor, but Asuka comes over and blindsides her with a running kick to the face! Asuka taunts her but Bianca comes flying off the top with a diving crossbody on Asuka! Later on, Bianca and Rhea are legal and Bianca comes off the ropes looking for something, but Rhea cuts her off with a big clothesline! Rhea picks her up now, and throws her right into the ribs of Vega knocking her off the apron! Rhea now rolls up Belair, but she kicks out at 2.
Rhea tags in Asuka now and she hits 2 german suplexes on Bianca, followed by a third into a pin, but Bianca kicks out at 2. The finish comes a few minutes later when Zelina and Asuka are legal and Zelina hits a top rope hurricanrana on Asuka! Asuka goes down but rolls into the ropes and slowly stumbles to her feet, and Zelina hits her with a spin kick to the ribs then jumps for Code Red, but Asuka sidesteps and dazes Vega with a spinning backfist! Asuka now grabs Vega and takes her down into the Asuka Lock! Bianca tries to come in for a save, but as she does she gets speared by Ripley! With no help on the way and not near the ropes, Vega is forced to tap!
Winners via submission: Asuka and Rhea Ripley
After the break, we go backstage to the locker room area where
Apollo Crews is chatting with some roster members, when
Mustafa Ali comes up and tells him he got lucky last week.
Apollo says it wasn’t luck, just skill.
Mustafa says he knows he’s better than Apollo, and he’ll prove it. Next week he wants a rematch before they might end up going to different shows.
Apollo agrees and says he’ll talk to Pearce about it. We now cut to the GM in his office.
In the office of
Adam Pearce. Adam says he had a meeting with Triple H earlier and after the draft not only will there be a world champion on each brand, but the tag team titles will officially be unified and the winners of the title match at Backlash will remain on the brand they’re drafted to as the WWE Tag Team Champions. The other show will be given the vacant World Tag Team Championships for their tag team division to fight for. We now go to the ring for the main event.
Match #6:
Special Guest Referee Match
Seth Rollins vs Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett
As one would expect, Cody Rhodes calls things right down the middle for his Backlash challengers and lets them fight it out. Early on Kross dominates Seth after a Scarlett distraction and he wears him down with strikes and throws him across the ring a couple times with suplexes. Seth gets up in the corner and Kross charges in, but Seth sidesteps and Kross hits the turnbuckles before Seth dropkicks him in the back, then rolls him up for an early pin attempt that only gets a 1. Kross gets back up but Seth instantly drops him with a superkick right into another pin, but this one only gets 2.
Later on, Seth has just hit three straight suicide dives on Kross, wiping him out on the floor and he's fired up! Seth now drags the big man up and tosses him back into the ring, then climbs up on the apron, but he misses Scarlett coming over and as he leaps for the top rope, Scarlett grabs his foot and drags him down, bouncing his face off the side of the ring! The fans boo as Scarlett tries to act innocent, but Cody has had enough of her distractions and ejects her from ringside! Scarlett argues, but Cody tells her again to leave. Kross gets up and sees this and he's furious, and yells at Cody, even shoving him but Cody tells him to focus on the match not him. Kross threatens to drop Cody, but Seth is up and springboards into the ring and drops Kross with a knee! Seth crawls over and covers...but Kross kicks out at 2!
The finish comes shortly after when Seth goes for the Stomp on Karrion, but he moves out of the way and as Seth turns around, he snaps off an exploder suplex! Kross now waits for Seth to get up...and hits a running forearm smash to the back of the head! Seth drops and Kross covers...but he only gets 2! Kross yells at Cody, telling him to count faster and shoves him...but Cody shoves him back! Kross now gets in the champ's face, and tells him he's going to destroy him..but Seth gets up and spins him around, and superkicks him! Seth now bounces off the ropes...Curb Stomp! He pins and Cody counts the pin!
Winner via Pinfall: Seth Rollins!
After the match, Seth gets his arm raised in victory and he wastes no time to taunt Cody, and tell him he's going to do that to him at Backlash. Cody says he's looking forward to seeing Seth try and exits the ring, and Raw ends with a stare down between them.
WWE Backlash Final Card:
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match:
Seth Rollins vs Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett vs Cody Rhodes (c)
Fight Pit Match:
Brock Lesnar vs Bobby Lashley
Unified WWE Tag Team Championship Match:
The Street Profits vs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (c)
Smackdown Women's Championship Match:
Zelina Vega vs Rhea Ripley (c)
Street Fight:
The Judgement Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio) vs The LWO (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar and Bad Bunny)
Raw Women's Championship Match: If Asuka Uses The Mist, She Will Be DQ'd And Lose The Championship:
Bianca Belair vs Asuka (c)
United States Championship Match:
Johnny Gargano vs Austin Theory (c)
