Raw Deal - Raw recap for May 1, 2023

Triple H shows up for the Night 2 first round picks of the WWE Draft that start tonight's show. He says that Night 1 shook the WWE down to its core and that tonight is no except, and that all remaining undrafted Superstars are subjected to being drafted tonight. He also mentions that a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned, and that the title and its holder will be exclusive to Raw due to Roman Reigns' move to SmackDown. Triple H also announces that Brock Lesnar is ineligible for the draft, as he has renegotiated his deal as a free agent, allowing him to appear anywhere at any time. He also announces that NXT Superstars are open to be drafted to the main roster, and that the new rosters will take effect after Backlash on May 9th. #1 is Rhea Ripley - the current SmackDown Women's Champion - for Raw. #2 is current United States Champion Austin Theory for SmackDown, bringing the United States title to the blue brand. #3 is Seth "Freakin'" Rollins for Raw. #4 is Charlotte Flair for SmackDown. After the picks are made, Triple H introduces Paul Heyman, then shows him the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Heyman then heads to the ring while Triple H heads to the back. Heyman introduces himself to the fans, then brags about being drafted with Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns at #1 on SmackDown on Night 1, then mentions that they will be overseeing the fate of The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso), who could not win back the tag team titles. He says that he will address The Usos in private tonight, and that The Usos will address their problems at Backlash when they team with "a problem solver" in Solo Sikoa against Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Matt Riddle. He also assures that Roman Reigns will take care of business, and that some of it will involve the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which he says would look good around Roman's waist. Heyman says that if a title is created, Roman Reigns will dominate it to WrestleMania, and yet Roman cannot compete for it because he will not be on Raw. As Heyman talks about "the children" of the locker room who should know better and should act like men, he mentions the word "freakin'," and Rollins shows up. Rollins this should be Christmas for Heyman, as Roman does not have to run away from him any more and that he can focus more on keeping The Bloodline from going "poof" in his face and less on keeping him away from his title rematch. Rollins then takes into account that Heyman is "a spoiler guy" and proclaims that he will become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and show what a real champion looks like. Heyman then gets a call from Roman Reigns, and Rollins tries to ruin by getting people to chant his entrance theme, much to Heyman's aggravation. Heyman is able to complete the call, then tells Rollins that he is "pissing off [his] tribal chief." Rollins says that if Roman is upset now, he will not like this, then asks the fans how fast he can get Heyman flat on the canvas so he can stomp Heyman's head into it. This leads to Solo Sikoa showing up. Solo Sikoa heads to the ring, and Heyman holds Solo back as he says that strings are being pulled at this moment before proclaiming that Rollins and Solo will have a one-on-one match tonight. Rollins says they do not have to wait and that Solo is on.

In backstage footage from earlier tonight, WWE official Adam Pearce asks "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes not to let tonight spiral into chaos during his meeting with Brock Lesnar tonight.

We see a video package of the events leading up to "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar's face-to-face meeting later tonight.

Damage CTRL (Bayley and Dakota Kai) beat Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez with a blind tag and a schoolkid pin from Bayley to Liv Morgan.

Booker T and Sharmell are the Round 2 drafters for Raw and SmackDown, respectively.

In backstage footage from earlier today, WWE official Adam Pearce asks Brock Lesnar to keep the peace tonight, as tonight is a big night. Lesnar chuckles and says "Good luck with that," then leaves.

Booker T and Sharmell show up to announce the Round 2 picks for Night 2 of the WWE Draft for Raw and SmackDown, respectively. #5 is Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for Raw. #6 is The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) for SmackDown. #7 is The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio) for Raw. #8 is The Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro, Zelina Vega) for SmackDown.

Ricochet and Braun Strowman beat Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis).

"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels and WWE official Adam Pearce are the announcers for the Round 3 draft picks for Raw and SmackDown, respectively.

We see a video package chronicling the events between Damian Priest and Bad Bunny leading to their San Juan Street Fight at Backlash.

"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels and WWE official Adam Pearce arrive to announce the Round 3 draft picks for Raw and SmackDown, respectively. Before they can make any announcements, Brock Lesnar suddenly shows up. Pearce pleads with him to keep the peace, but Lesnar stares at Pearce and Pearce backs off as Lesnar heads to the ring. Lesnar asks the fans in Fort Worth, Texas how it feels to see "the only real cowboy in the state" before Pearce shows up with security, and asks him to leave before security makes him leave. Lesnar tells Pearce it will take more men than that, and Pearce calls in more security, which shows up. Suddenly, "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes shows up from behind Lesnar and attacks him. Security floods the ring to keep Cody away from Lesnar, who makes it to the ramp.

"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels announces the Round 3 draft picks. #9 is Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for Raw. #10 is Asuka for SmackDown. #11 is The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) for Raw. #12 is The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch) for SmackDown.

Backstage, Matt Riddle meets with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and says this week is the best, as they are all on Raw, Sami and Kevin are still tag team champs, they are facing The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa) at Backlash and he will be putting the hurting on Jey Uso tonight.

Matt Riddle beats Jimmy Uso with help from Kevin Owens on the ring apron. At the start of the match, Kevin Owens agitates Jey Uso into fighting him at ringside, then falls down. Sami Zayn then smacks a chair, throws it to Jey, then gets the referee's attention. This works, and Jey Uso is ejected from ringside.

We see a vignette for Iyo Sky.

Eric Bischoff and Rob Van Dam are the announcers for the Round 4 picks for Raw and SmackDown, respectively. Rob Van Dam runs into Elias and Rick Boogs on the way to the ring.

Backstage, Paul Heyman tells Solo Sikoa that Roman Reigns wants him to take Seth "Freakin'" Rollins out. Jimmy Uso shows wanting to know why Solo Sikoa was not at ringside tonight, and Heyman tells him that Roman has Solo on assignment to exterminate "a clown" on Raw. Heyman and Solo then leave the room to Jimmy.

Eric Bischoff and Rob Van Dam show up to announce the Round 4 draft picks. #13 is Trish Stratus for Raw, #14 is Karrion Kross for SmackDown, #15 is "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler and "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey for Raw, and #16 is LA Knight for SmackDown.

It's time for Miz TV. After proclaiming himself the biggest pick in the WWE Draft, he then brings out his guest for tonight, Shinsuke Nakamura. When asked if he has a chance at winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Nakamura says "Hai." Miz then says that he is the "workhorse champion" Triple H had in mind, not Nakamura, and says Nakamura would be "a great number two." He says they could help each other out and combine their brands into a merger called "Miz-uke Nakamura," then tells Nakamura that things are different on Raw compared to SmackDown and that he could have no better person to watch his back. Nakamura admits that Miz has more experience than him, but tells him that he is the guy with "chinsai kintama," which means "tiny balls."Miz goes for a cheap shot, but Nakamura gets the upper hand and hits him with the Kinshasa.

Omos quickly beats Anthony Alanis (known on the indies as Adrian Alanis).

Molly Holly and "Road Dogg" Jesse James head out to announce the Round 5 draft picks for Raw and SmackDown, respectively.

Molly Holly and "Road Dogg" Jesse James show up to announce the Round 5 draft picks for Raw and SmackDown, respectively. #17 is Braun Strowman and Ricochet for Raw. #18 is Shotzi for SmackDown, #19 is Bronson Reed for Raw, and #20 is Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince) for SmackDown.

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, Dominik Mysterio) head to the ring. Damian Priest announces Rhea Ripley as the first draft pick of the night, and Rhea Ripley says that this is no surprise as The Judgment Day runs Monday Night Raw. Ripley then says that Zelina Vega will regret everything she has done to her on SmackDown when she pretzels her and proves herself as the most dominant champion in WWE. Finn Balor says Rhea Ripley will roll Zelina up and that Damian Priest will tear Bad Bunny apart and leave fluffy pieces of him all over Puerto Rico. Damian Priest tells Bad Bunny to hear his word carefully, as he picks his words very carefully, then gets worked up at first before delivering a promo in Spanish and telling him that at Backlash, he will receive his punishment. Dominik Mysterio says that Priest and Ripley will dominate at backlash as the Fort Worth, Texas crowd boos him and tries to drown him out, and that The Judgment Day will dominate Bad Bunny, Zelina Vega and Rey Mysterio at Backlash in what will be the last night he gets to embarrass "his deadbeat dad" and "his loser friends in the Latino World Order (Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro, Zelina Vega)." Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar and Zelina Vega show up, and Rey says he is glad that he and Dominik are no longer on the same brand, because the only thing worse than hitting him with a belt is with a sandal. He also says that he looks forward to Zelina beating Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women's title and Bad Bunny beating Damian Priest and anyone who gets in his way. He then says that before all that, The Judgment Day will get smacked by the LWO.

We see a video package for Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci).

The Judgment Day (Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, Rhea Ripley) beat The Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Zelina Vega) in a six-person tag match after Finn Balor takes the 619 for Priest, who hits Rey with the South of Heaven from the apron to the ring. During the match, Rhea Ripley lifts Rey Mysterio over her head and nearly press slams him out of the ring before Zelina Vega stops her.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes. Cody says Brock Lesnar is in his head and has been in his head since the night after WrestleMania, and now that Lesnar has free agent status, he gets what he wants, but he will not get what he wants on Saturday, as Doomsday bleeds, Lesnar is human, and he is the one who has to win or else the whole idea of finishing the story ceases to exist and he moves to the back of line, which he refuses to do not now and not ever.

JBL and Teddy Long head out to announce the Round 6 draft picks for Raw and SmackDown, respectively.

Backstage, Byron Saxton interviews Bianca Belair. Belair says that regardless of what brand she is on, she is focused on retaining the Raw Women's Championship on Saturday. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky) shows up, and Bayley says Byron should be interviewing them as they are future champions and Rhea will give Bianca "a real reason to be blue." Bianca says she has always been impressed with Iyo Sky and knew that she would be the unique, talented, competitive talent the women's division needed, but since she joined Damage CTRL, she has been held back. She also says that she hopes Iyo will get a taste of what it means to step out and finally shine at Backlash, and Iyo tells Bianca that she will become champion. Dakota tries to translate, but Bianca says it is not needed, as she and Iyo understand each other.

JBL and Teddy Long show up to announce the Round 6 draft picks for Raw and SmackDown, respectively. #21 is Alpha Academy for Raw, #22 is Rick Boogs for SmackDown, #23 is Katana Chance and Kayden Carter for Raw, and #24 is Cameron Grimes for SmackDown.

We hear from Xavier Woods, who says that The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) is coming back to the red brand to inject some new energy to Raw.

Seth "Freakin'" Rollins beats Solo Sikoa by disqualification after The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) run into the ring and attack Rollins. The show ends with Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Matt Riddle running into the ring to brawl with Solo Sikoa and The Usos.

This week on Raw Talk: Austin Theory! The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, Dominik Mysterio)! Elias and Rick Boogs!

Here are the top ten moments from tonight's show!

Round 1:

#1 - Rhea Ripley - Raw

#2 - Austin Theory - SmackDown

#3 - Seth "Freakin'" Rollins - Raw

#4 - Charlotte Flair - SmackDown

Round 2:

#5 - Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn - Raw

#6 - The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) - SmackDown

#7 - The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio) - Raw

#8 - The Latino World Order - SmackDown

Round 3:

#9 - Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez - Raw

#10 - Asuka - SmackDown

#11 - The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) - Raw

#12 - The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch) - SmackDown

Round 4:

#13 - Trish Stratus - Raw

#14 - Karrion Kross - SmackDown

#15 - "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler and "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey - Raw

#16 - LA Knight - SmackDown

Round 5:

#17 - Braun Strowman and Ricochet - Raw

#18 - Shotzi - SmackDown

#19 - Bronson Reed - Raw

#20 - Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince) - SmackDown

Round 6:

#21 - Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) - Raw

#22 - Rick Boogs - SmackDown

#23 - Katana Chance and Kayden Carter - Raw

#24 - Cameron Grimes - SmackDown

Supplemental Picks (Night 1):

Apollo Crews - Raw

Candice LeRae - Raw

Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville - Raw

Dexter Lumis - Raw
Hit Row (Ashante "Thee" Adonis, Top Dolla, B-Fab) - SmackDown

JD McDonagh - Raw

Lacey Evans - SmackDown

Maximum Male Models (Mace, Mansoor, Maxxine Dupri) - Raw

Natalya - Raw

The Viking Raiders (Ivar, Erik, Valhalla) - Raw Zoey Stark - Raw

Supplemental Picks (Night 2):

Akira Tozawa - Raw

Dana Brooke - Raw

Emma - Raw

Grayson Waller - SmackDown

Indus Sher (Jinder Mahal, Sanga, Veer Mahan) - Raw

Johnny Gargano - Raw

Los Lotharios (Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo) - Raw

Nikki Cross - Raw

Odyssey Jones - Raw

Piper Niven - Raw

Riddick Moss (formerly Madcap Moss) - Raw

Tamina - Raw

Tegan Nox - Raw

Xia Li - Raw

Free Agents (and when they were declared as such):

Baron Corbin (Night 2; supplemental draft)

Brock Lesnar (Night 2; announced by Triple H at the beginning of the night)

Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin (Night 2; supplemental draft)

Dolph Ziggler (Night 1; supplemental draft)

Elias (Night 2; supplemental draft)

Mustafa Ali (Night 1; supplemental draft)

Omos and MVP (Night 1; status negotiated by MVP to give Omos more exposure on both brands)

Von Wagner (Night 1; initially not part of the draft pool, revealed as draftable on SmackDown LowDown and declared a free agent in the supplemental draft)

Xyon Quinn (Night 2; initially not part of the draft pool, revealed as draftable on Raw Talk and declared a free agent in the supplemental draft)