Raw Deal - Raw recap for May 15, 2023

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn head to the ring to start tonight's show. Sami says he is excited and "one on tonight," because he and Owens will be defending their tag team titles against Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns at Night of Champions. He says that this is the biggest threat to their titles on paper, but he and Owens see it as a gift, as they get a chance at revenge on Roman Reigns that they never thought they would get. Sami says Owens should have beaten Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship, and that he should have beaten Roman for the title himself, but Roman has cheated through an entire title reign and has gone unchecked for too long, and now, they check him. He says the problem with Roman is that he has gone unchecked for so long that he does not know when to stop, and now Roman is pushing too far and too hard with himself, The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) and the tag team titles. Sami says that it is not enough for Roman to be Undisputed WWE Universal Champion for over 1,000 days and wants the tag team titles, too, and tells Roman that he cannot have them. Suddenly, The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, Dominik Mysterio) arrives. Owens is happy that they are here, because he is sick and tired of talking The Bloodline and knows The Judgment Day are here for a fight, then says he wants to fight. Sami says he started out at a ten and that Owens is higher than he is, then allows The Judgment Day to be heard out. Damian Priest says Kevin Owens is spot on and that he would love to fight, but Finn Balor holds him back, saying they are here to talk and wish them the best of luck against Roman Reigns. He then says he is confused because they say they are done with The Bloodline only to be beaten up by Roman, and says that if they manage to win, there will be a whole line of Superstars waiting, starting with The Judgment Day. Rhea Ripley then reminds everyone that The Judgment Day runs Raw, then Sami says that The Judgment Day have provided fantastic points, then wants to hear what Dominik Mysterio has to say. Dominik Mysterio is booed beyond belief as soon as he tries to speak, and Owens wants to punch Dominik in the face. Sami allows it, then Rhea Ripley gets in the way. This allows Damian Priest to hit a cheap shot, starting a 4-on-1 beatdown that Sami stops very quickly with a chair.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest) is official for later tonight.

Shinsuke Nakamura beats The Miz after Miz's attempt at a cheap shot by poking the eyes as the referee moves the ring skirt back backfires.

Backstage, WWE official meets with Raquel Rodriguez, Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green. We find out that Liv Morgan was injured last week and that tonight's WWE Women's Tag Team title match is postponed because Liv is not medically cleared. Sonya and Chelsea see this as Adam Pearce moving the goalposts and demands that the women's tag team titles be awarded to her and Chelsea, but Adam Pearce says that is not happening. Raquel says that the tag team title match may not be happening, but she is more than happy to defend Liv's honor by facing Chelsea in a match. Chelsea says Raquel will regret this as Sonya pushes her out of the room, and Raquel responds with "Okay, Karen."

In footage from earlier today, Corey Graves interviews Seth "Freakin'" Rollins. Seth Rollins talks about becoming the very first NXT Champion in a time when there was a need for change, and says that winning that championship helped him push the industry forward and pave the way. When he became a part of The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns), the three members of the group, including himself, wanted change and would not take "no" for an answer. It would not be long before he would turn on the group and go solo. Rollins says he turned on The Shield because they had beaten everyone there was to beat and that he had to take risks to reach ultimate success, saying that if he did not do what he did, the future would have been very different.

Before the next match, Gunther stands on the announce table as Ludwig Kaiser introduces him. Gunther says that an introduction is due, and says that for almost a year, he dominated SmackDown as the undefeated and longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of the modern era. He then says that from this day forth, he will continue his vision on Raw. Gunther then says that no man has been announced as a challenger to his title, nor has any man on Raw earned his respect. Gunther then announces that the battle royal that is going to happen next will give him his next challenger at Night of Champions, who will have the chance to both earn his respect and beat him for his title.

Mustafa Ali last eliminates both Bronson Reed and Ricochet to win a battle royal and earn a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Night of Champions. During the match, JD McDonagh attacks Dolph Ziggler after both men are eliminated, and Gunther sics both Ludwig Kaiser and Matt Riddle to ruin his chances of winning in response to Riddle kicking one of his sandals in their general direction before the match.

Becky Lynch heads to the ring. Becky admits she has been going through some things, and that sometimes people have to man up and ask for help when things become unbearable, which is why she asked Lita and Trish Stratus for help. She says that Lita was great and had not skipped a beat, but her judgment was clouded and she had no idea Trish came back not to help her, but to help herself, but despite all of that, she thanks Trish. Becky then says she is thanking Trish for turning on a light that had been off for many months when she hit her in the back of the head, and when Trish insulted her daughter, she gave her badness a face, a name and a target. She says that Trish was once number one in the business and wants to be it again, but she has done so much and will continue to be "it" until it is over and she will kick her head in at Night of Champions.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Rhea Ripley. Rhea says Natalya needs to stay in her lane, then Natalya shows up and says this is about beating down a woman who was already beaten and not allowing respect to the women she runs through. Rhea says everyone knows Natalya got in the ring not to save Dana Brooke, but to become relevant again, and warns her that if she interferes again, she will end her career rather than boost it. Rhea then leaves with Dominik Mysterio.

Backstage, Mustafa Ali is met by Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) and Maxxine Dupri. He says that he used to be a loser like them until he thought more positively and became a winner. He then runs into Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci). Gunther congratulates Mustafa Ali and calls him the rightful challenger to what is rightfully his, then says he feels bad for him due to the beating that he will give him before shaking his hand and wishing him good luck. Mustafa Ali says he feels bad for Gunther for the effort that he will take in beating him and winning his title, then tells Gunther to stay positive.

The Lambert Family are the recipients of the Fast X seat upgrade.

Before the next match, Dominik Mysterio and asks Xavier Woods if he is convincing himself if he can beat him because it is a new day. Woods admits he has nobody to watch his back right now, but he is a grown man who can stand on his own feet and fight his own fights. He then asks Dominik Mysterio if he can do the same or if he has to ask Rhea Ripley for permission to speak.

Dominik Mysterio beats Xavier Woods following the distraction and the cheap shot from Rhea Ripley.

We get a closer look at JD McDonagh. He says that for the longest time, he believed that if he worked as long as he did, trusted the process and treated people with respect, his time would come. However, people who could not lace his boots got opportunities before he did, he realized he was performing for an audience of fools, and since then, he has been destroying everyone in his path.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews JD McDonagh. He says he came to Raw to make a statement, and he made one against Dolph Ziggler. He says Ziggler has done it all, but he will soon learn not to bet against him.

Indus Sher (Veer Mahaan and Sanga) beat two unnamed opponents (later revealed to go by the names of Levar Barbie and Drake Thompson, who are independent wrestlers Lucky Ali and Jackson Drake, respectively). After the match, Jinder Mahal says that Indus Sher will run Raw and that their future is written in gold.

Backstage, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are met by Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci). Gunther says he will not tolerate the disrespect they gave his men last week, then Owens says that next week, they will fight all three of them. Sami Zayn says they will find a partner. Gunther accepts the challenge.

"The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes heads to the ring. Cody states that he knows Greensboro, North Carolina and its grounds as the site of the very first Starrcade, then states that Brock Lesnar is not here tonight. Cody then tells the story of the scorpion and the frog, where the scorpion asks the frog for help to the other side of the ring. The frog refuses as the scorpion would sting him, but the scorpion promises not to sting them under the pain of them both drowning. He then rides on the frog and stings the frog anyway because it is in his nature, then says it is in Brock Lesnar's nature to hunt.Cody then asks Lesnar how his face in, as Brock Lesnar sees a lion in the mirror when he should see the black eye and stitches that he gave him when he beat him at Backlash, then accepts Lesnar's challenge at Night of Champions. He then says he will not go "out of bounds" on Lesnar, as Lesnar is on top because he is better than 99.9% of everyone who enters a WWE ring, but it just so happened that Lesnar was not better than him that night. Cody says that even if he was imbued with the powers of a god, Lesnar would still complain about him getting a cheap win, and says it is all about who is the next big thing on Monday Night Raw. He says that Lesnar was once the next big thing, but he ended up just being next after conquering wrestling and MMA, then tells Lesnar to step aside because he is not the next big thing anymore and he is in his way.

Backstage, Zoey Stark is annoying Nikki Cross and trying to get her attention when Candice LeRae shows up and defends Nikki. When Zoey mentions Candice's family, Candice says they can settle things in the ring. Zoey says she will see Candice next week.

Raquel Rodriguez beats Chelsea Green. After the match, "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey and "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler attacks Raquel on the stage, then tells Raquel to defend the title and that she will catch a beating every week until she does before she and Shayna lay her out.

Backstage, Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci) is met by a man in a suit. Gunther shakes hands with the man, who happens to be Paul Heyman. He is here as a visitor as he calls Roman Reigns.

We see more of Corey Graves' interview with Seth "Freakin'" Rollins. Rollins says his current iteration of himself is the best, as his hands are off the wheel and he gets to experience the fans with the most authentic version of himself. Rollins says there is an organic relationship between himself and the fans, who are now the catalyst for the change, and that he is the man to hold the World Heavyweight Championship because "we need to change again." He says nobody at the top wants to take risks and that they are all about protecting themselves than moving the industry forward, and that it is time for a new world champion in the way that it should be done. The interview continues next week as Corey Graves asks about Roman Reigns.

We hear from Apollo Crews, who is excited to be back on Raw for the second opportunity of a lifetime and that he earned this opportunity. He says nobody will be saying his name without putting respect on it. He says that he did it all by being a man that his children can be proud of and that he will not be reduced by his past because this is his time.

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest) beat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. During the match, Finn Balor calls for backup in the form of Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio, but they soon get ejected from ringside for getting physically involved in the match. Xavier Woods then suddenly shows up and attacks Dominik, forcing him to the back. Paul Heyman then shows up before the final commercial break of the night. Later on in the match, Paul Heyman talks on his cellphone, then Sami Zayn sees Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci), which nearly costs him the match. Imperium soon distracts the referee and Kevin Owens, and they keep distracting the referee, giving Finn Balor the advantage and the pinfall.

This week on Raw Talk: Shinsuke Nakamura and a confrontation with Finn Balor and Damian Priest! Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Dexter Lumis and Indi Hartwell! Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci)!

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