The road to WWE Backlash continues tonight.
WWE RAW returns from the Simmons Bank Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas tonight at 8/7c on the USA Network.
On tap for tonight’s show is WWE United States Champion Austin Theory vs. Bobby Lashley in a non-title match, as well as Brock Lesnar responding to Cody Rhodes’ WWE Backlash challenge.
Also scheduled for the show this evening is Trish Stratus explaining her attack of Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins will go one-on-one against The Miz and more.
Featured below are complete WWE RAW results from Monday, April 17, 2023. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live from 8-11pm EST. on the USA Network.
WWE RAW RESULTS (4/17/2023)
This week’s show kicks off with the usual “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.” opening signature narrated by future WWE Hall of Fame legend John Cena.
The Bloodline & The Judgment Day Kick Off Raw
From there, the theme for the weekly three-hour WWE on USA Network program hits and we shoot inside the Simmons Bank Arena where Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves welcome us to the show.
We then hear The Usos theme song and out comes Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa and “The Wise Man” of The Bloodline, Paul Heyman. Jey Uso gets us started on the mic. “Little Rock, Arkansas … The Bloodline is now in your city!”
Jey then hands the stick over to “O.G.” Paul Heyman. The fans boo as “The Wise Man” prepares to drop some wisdom on us. Heyman introduces himself with his unofficial Bloodline job title. As he mentions tonight will make history, he is cut off.
The familiar sounds of The Judgment Day theme hits the house speakers and out comes Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. They all head down and enter the ring.
After the two army squads stare each other down, Heyman welcomes Mr. Priest, sir, and then says it’s a very good day to be a bad guy. Jey Uso says he’s not sure what’s going on. Heyman says he knows because Roman Reigns didn’t want anyone on their side, well, except Solo Sikoa knowing.
Heyman says to his understanding, even Mr. Finn Balor has issues with what is going on but is going to put his issues aside for the sake of good, short-term villainery. Heyman mentions The Judgment Day having a Bad Bunny concern. He points out Solo Sikoa is good at handling such concerns.
Paul continues and tells Jey to please switch places with Solo. They do and Heyman continues. Rhea Ripley switches places to keep a face-to-face position with Solo despite him moving. Heyman asks if everything is ok. Ripley says it is for now.
“The Wise Man” mentions The Bloodline having problems, too. He mentions having Sami Zayn problems, Kevin Owens problems, Cody Rhodes problems and Riddle problems. He mentions a big six-man main event for tonight with those guys and The Judgment Day.
He also mentions Solo Sikoa is going to go one-on-one against Rey Mysterio. He tells Dom he’s sorry he’s got to witness such savagery up close and personal.
Rey Mysterio vs. Solo Sikoa
With that said, Rey Mysterio’s theme hits and the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame inductee emerges and makes his way down to the ring for tonight’s opening contest against “The Enforcer” of The Bloodline.
As he heads to the ring with his LWO shirt on, we head to a pre-match commercial break. When we return from the break, everyone is cleared out of the ring except Mysterio and Sikoa. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.
We see Mysterio blast Sikoa with some fast leg kicks early on. He tries avoiding the bigger man early on and is doing a good job at that until Sikoa bounces Mysterio’s head off the mat with a huge lariat as he was coming off the ropes.
Sikoa spends a couple of minutes in the offensive driver’s seat until Mysterio fires up and hits some high spots to the floor to shift the momentum in his favor. As he does, we head to a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.
When we return from the break, we see Mysterio doing well but not for long, as Sikoa takes over. He hits a big Samoan Drop for a close near fall but Mysterio hangs on and takes back over. He hits a 6-1-9 but when he goes to finish things off, we see Jimmy and Jey Uso emerge from the back.
The LWO runs down and we get a big brawl between The Bloodline and the LWO. In the ring, Sikoa takes back over and after hitting his Samoan Spike, he covers the WWE Hall of Fame legend and scores the pin fall victory.
Winner: Solo Sikoa
The Bloodline Beats Down LWO
Once the match wraps up, we see Jimmy and Jey Uso hit the ring and along with Solo Sikoa, they proceed to beat down Rey Mysterio and the LWO. Sikoa feeds Rey to The Usos, who hit their 1-and-Done finisher on him before leaving he and the LWO laying.
Adam Pearce Approached By Maxine & Alpha Academy
We shoot backstage and see Adam Pearce looking annoyed in a close-up camera shot. When the camera pans out, we see Maxine from Maximum Male Models and Alpha Academy.
Chad Gable and Maxine bicker back-and-forth about Otis and the WWE Draft to Adam Pearce. Pearce wants nothing to do with any of this. He excuses the three from his office and the quick backstage segment wraps up.
Bianca Belair vs. Dakota Kai
We return inside the Simmons Bank Arena and the theme for Bianca Belair hits. With that said, the Raw Women’s Champion emerges and heads to the ring. “The EST of WWE” is in action next. We head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see a quick video package announcing WWE Backlash 2023 host Bad Bunny appearing live on next week’s installment of WWE Monday Night Raw on the USA Network from Chicago, Illinois.
After that, we see Belair in the ring awaiting the arrival of her opponent. With that said, the theme for Dakota Kai hits and out comes the Damage CTRL member for this women’s one-on-one showdown.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. We see Belair faring well early on, however Kai starts to fight back. Once the action hits the floor, we see Kai pull firmly into the offensive lead after ramming Belair into the steel ring post.
From there, we head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues. When we settle back in from the break, we see Damage CTRL cheering Kai on as she continues to dominate the action, taking it to Belair in the ring.
Belair hits a running blockbuster on Kai to slow her down. Both ladies are down and recovering. When they make it back to their feet, we see “The EST of WWE” start to take over. She hits some suplexes and the Damage CTRL members at ringside are starting to look discouraged.
The Raw Women’s Champion hits a springboard off the ropes into a splash on Kai for a close near fall attempt. Moments later, Belair hits her K.O.D. finisher and scores the pin fall victory. Good match.
Winner: Bianca Belair
Cody Rhodes Addresses Brock Lesnar .. NEXT!
We shoot to the commentary desk and we see Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick, who remind us of the savage attack from Brock Lesnar to Cody Rhodes on the Raw After WrestleMania show.
After that, we shoot backstage and we see “The American Nightmare” making his way through the hallways to the entrance towards the ring. On that note, we head to another commercial break.
“Mr. Nice Guy” Bronson Reed Is Coming
When we return from the break we see a vignette for “Mr. Nice Guy” Bronson Reed.
Paul Heyman Confronts The Judgment Day
After that, we shoot backstage and we see The Judgment Day. Damian Priest talks about Bad Bunny returning to Raw next week. He mentions how he doesn’t need to be his friend. Dominik Mysterio says it’s the same as him not needing Rey Mysterio to be his father.
Paul Heyman walks by and asks The Judgment Day if they’re satisfied. All seem to be until Finn Balor, who says, “eh.” Heyman tells Balor it’s his turn to do “eh” to Sami Zayn and company later tonight, so The Judgment Day doesn’t fall out of favor with “The Tribal Chief.”
They claim they handled their business. Rhea Ripley tells Heyman, “Bye Paul” in an intimidating way. Heyman calls Roman Reigns as he walks away.
Cody Rhodes Wants To Talk To Brock Lesnar
When we return inside Simmons Bank Arena, we hear the familiar sounds of Cody Rhodes’ theme music. Out comes “The American Nightmare” to an enormous pop from the fans in Little Rock.
Cody heads to the ring in his ring gear, prompting Corey Graves to ask on commentary why it looks like Cody is looking for a fight. They remind everyone about the attack he suffered at the hands of Brock Lesnar and his subsequent challenge to “The Beast Incarnate” for a showdown at WWE Backlash.
The music fades down and the crowd cheers pick up as Cody grabs a mic. The “Cody! Cody!” chants break out as he begins to speak. “So, Little Rock … what do you wanna talk about?” He then immediately calls out Brock Lesnar.
Adam Pearce comes out instead. He tells Cody he’s not medically cleared. He gets in the ring and says we all respect Cody for what he’s trying to do. The fans chant “We want Brock!” Pearce says he can’t do that and asks Cody to please leave the ring, again pointing out he’s not medically cleared.
Rhodes thanks him for the respect and says he’ll show the same back, and says he’ll leave. The fans boo as Cody drops the mic and exits the ring. He stops and reaches under the ring. He pulls out a chair and heads back into the ring.
Pearce says if Cody is not going to leave on his own, he’ll help him do so. He calls to the back and asks security to come out and help Cody leave. Pearce tells Cody to think about this and pleads with him to leave.
Brock Lesnar’s theme hits and the crowd explodes and then begins booing. Pearce tells Cody not to do this. Brock emerges in a black cowboy hat and black trench coat. Pearce tells Cody he’ll give him the match with Brock at Backlash. He says he’ll make it official right now and again begs Cody not to do it tonight.
Lesnar waves Cody on and tells him to come get some. Cody looks conflicted. He isn’t any longer, as he starts blasting security guards left-and-right with the steel chair. He beats all the security guards up and turns his attention to Brock, who is smiling ear-to-ear.
Cody exits the ring and tries to go after Brock, but is stopped by another dozen security guards. Cody beats all them down and then charges in Brock’s direction, only for another wave of security to stop him at the last moment.
He gets back in the ring and gets back on the mic. He tells Brock he can wear all the cowboy hats he wants. He says he grew up around cowboys and Brock isn’t a cowboy — he’s a coward. He drops the mic and the fans pop as his theme hits. We head to another commercial break.
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar Set For WWE Backlash
We return from the break and we see footage of Cody Rhodes beating down security guards in an attempt to get his hands on Brock Lesnar. We then shoot live backstage and see Brock Lesnar walking with a big smile on his face.
It is then announced that Cody Rhodes will go one-on-one against Brock Lesnar at the upcoming WWE Backlash 2023 premium live event, hosted by Bad Bunny, in San Juan, Puerto Rico on May 6.
The Miz vs. Seth Rollins
From there, we shoot back inside Simmons Bank Arena where The Miz’s theme hits and “The A-Lister” makes his way down and settles inside the ring. His music dies down and he awaits the arrival of his opponent.
Now the familiar sounds of Seth “Freakin'” Rollins theme hits and out he comes as the fans inside the arena in Little Rock sing the “whoa-oh-oh’s.” He nears the ring and is attacked by The Miz before the match starts.
The two brawl at ringside with Miz beating him down. Back in the ring, the bell sounds and we’re officially off-andp-running with this one. We see Miz dominating the action straight out of the gate due to the early start.
Rollins starts to fight back into the offensive lead as he hits a bunch of dives from the ring to the floor on Miz. After that, Miz back-body drops Rollins over the barricade and into the crowd. On that note, we head to a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.
When we return from the break, we see Miz still in the offensive lead. Rollins looks to take back over with a buckle bomb on Miz in the corner, however The Miz counters and hits a modified code-breaker on Rollins.
Moments later, Rollins does fire back up for an offensive takeover where this time he does hit the buckle bomb. Rollins comes off the top-rope but Miz gets the double knees up and Rollins crashes and burns. Miz tries following up for the cover but Rollins kicks out before the count of three.
Rollins looks for the Stomp but misses. Miz counters with a big DDT and he rolls through for a follow-up DDT. He goes for the cover but again Rollins finds a way to kick out at the count of two to keep this one alive.
Things build to a spot where Miz looks for a Skull Crushing Finale off the top-rope. Rollins counters and hits a super-plex. He rolls through into a follow-up Falcon Arrow and then backs in a corner. He waits for Miz to get up, runs and connects with a Stomp for the pin fall victory. Good match.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Backstage With Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Riddle
We shoot backstage after the match and we see Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Riddle all talking about tonight’s main event against The Judgment Day. Zayn mentions Riddle has some ideas.
Owens cuts him off and tells him to leave the thinking to he and Zayn. Zayn tells Owens to hear Riddle out. Riddle thanks Zayn and then mentions how he should do the toe-bro and kick Sikoa.
Owens thinks it’s stupid. Riddle says he was joking. He says he’s not an idiot. He says The Bloodline almost took his career. He says he saw two best friends do something awesome while he was on the sidelines.
He says he’s here to help them kick some ass tonight and at Backlash. Owens is upset as Zayn rubs it in a bit, telling him he told him so. “Sami, you did it again!” Zayn tells himself once left alone in the locker room. We head to a commercial break after this.
Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory
As we settle back in from the break, we see a video package reminder of Bad Bunny returning next week. Also we see video highlights of Trish Stratus turning heel on Becky Lynch and the duo losing the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championships.
From there, we see footage of Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed fighting to a double count-out on last week’s show. We then return live to the ring entrance of “The All Mighty” one himself.
Bobby Lashley heads to the ring for his advertised non-title showdown against WWE United States Champion Austin Theory. The winner of the 2023 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal settles in the ring looking ready to fight.
While Lashley settles into the squared circle for our next match of the evening, we head to a pre-match commercial break. When we return, we see Lashley still wrapping up his entrance. His music then dies down.
Now the familiar sounds of Austin Theory’s theme hits and out comes the WWE United States Champion to a chorus of boos from the Little Rock crowd inside Simmons Bank Arena. The bell sounds and we’re off-and-running with this one.
Lashley immediately grounds and controls Theory with mat-based amateur wrestling skills. Back on the feet, Theory pounds away with forearms to gain some footing but Lashley then over-powers Theory and hoists him up for a stalled suplex.
“The All Mighty” clotheslines Theory over the ropes and out to the floor. He goes to pick Theory up from the ring apron but Theory drops Lashley down throat-first over the top rope. Back into the ring, Lashley starts taking over again.
Bobby calls for The Hurt Lock but Theory drops down and blasts Lashley with a kick to the throat. This shifts the offensive momentum in Theory’s favor briefly. The U.S. Champion delivers some shots until Lashley fights back into the lead and bounces his dome off the turnbuckle in the corner repeatedly.
Theory heads to the floor to re-group. Lashley heads out after him. Once on the floor, Theory ends up slamming back-first into the ring apron. Lashley hoists Theory up and rams him into the steel ring post. On that note, we head to a mid-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see several back-and-forth shifts in momentum until finally it appeared that Lashley was going to apply The Hurt Lock on Theory for the finish. Instead, out of nowhere, Bronson Reed hits the ring and attacks Lashley.
Winner via DQ: Bobby Lashley
“Mr. Nice Guy” Attacks “The All Mighty”
Once the bell sounds to end the match between Lashley and Theory, we see “Mr. Nice Guy” Bronson Reed continue his savage assault on “The All Mighty.” He beats him down out to the floor and rams him into the steel ring post.
Back in the ring he muscles Lashley up over his shoulders. Lashley escapes and goes for The Hurt Lock but Austin Theory blasts him with a drop kick. Reed picks Lashley up and hits him with a Samoan Drop. He heads to the top rope and comes flying off with his Tsunami splash.
Trish Stratus Gives Us A History Lesson
We return inside the arena and hear the familiar sounds of Trish Stratus’ theme song. The WWE Hall of Fame legend makes her way down to the ring and we head to a commercial break.
When we return, Trish Stratus says she’s gonna give the kids a history lesson.
She reflects on coming to WWE when the women’s division was a joke. She says some might say it was she and Lita but that’s not true. It was her first and without her there would be no women’s revolution, and certainly no women in the main event of WrestleMania.
Stratus says when fans chanted “This is Awesome” at Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania, they should have chanted “Thank you Trish.” She says if you listen to Becky Lynch, you’d think the women’s revolution started with the Four Horse ladies.
Trish then started to wonder if Lynch actually believed her own hype. She says she had to find out so she came back and made friends with her. She says not once did Becky thank her for opening the door for her.
As she continues, she mocks Lita for being Becky Lynch’s little side-kick. She looks at her body and says “this is nobody’s little side kick.” She then admits that she was the one who took out Lita. She says she did that so it was crystal clear that the person who screwed Becky Lynch out of her titles was her.
She touts taking out Lynch and when the fans boo, she makes it clear that she doesn’t care. She refuses to let anyone re-write history. She says she is not a nostalgia act and is nobody’s side kick.
She says she’s the greatest of all-time and the single most important figure in the history of WWE. She says she’s hear to make sure no one forgets it. She drops the mic and walks off.
Candice LeRae & Michin vs. Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
We shoot to a quick Cody Rhodes backstage interview reacting to his segment with Brock Lesnar earlier in the show and then we shoot back inside the arena where the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan come out.
The two will join Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves on special guest commentary for our next match of the evening, which will feature Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green taking on the team of Candice LeRae and Michin. Before the match, we head to a commercial break.
When we return from the break, the team of Candice LeRae and Michin are making their entrance. Out next are “The Complaint Committee,:” as Corey Graves refers to them on commentary. The bell sounds and we’re off-and-running with this one.
The champs sit at ringside while the action gets underway. Nikki Cross is in the front row, stalking Candice LeRae, according to Graves. We see some back-and-forth action and then this match wraps up after only a few minutes, with Deville and Green earning the victory.
After the match, Deville and Green exit the ring and get in the faces of the champs, Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan. They throw drinks in their faces and run off before the champs can do anything back.
Winners: Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
WWE Superstars Are Ready For The 2023 Draft
Elias, Rick Boogs and The Street Profits, and eventually Baron Corbin are all shown talking about the 2023 WWE Draft backstage when we return. They talk about how tag-teams can be split up in the draft.
Akira Tozawa walks up and also talks about the Draft, delivering some bad comedy in the process. Baron Corbin tries complimenting Tozawa on his joke but even Tozawa wants nothing to do with him.
The Usos Are Ready For WWE Backlash 2023
We shoot backstage and we see The Usos and Solo Sikoa. Jimmy and Jey cut a promo about being the ones and mention being ready for the six-man tag-team bout at WWE Backlash against Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Riddle.
The Judgment Day vs. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Riddle
Back inside the arena, The Judgment Day theme music hits and out they come for our main event of the evening. Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio head to the ring accompanied by SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley.
The trio settle inside the ring after Ripley whispers something into Dom’s ear. The three are ready for tonight’s six-man tag-team main event showdown against the threesome of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Riddle.
As The Judgment Day finish settling into the squared circle for our final match of the evening, we head to another quick pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we hear the sounds of Riddle’s theme song. “The Original BRO” emerges and stops at the top of the stage. He is joined by Kevin Owens. “The Prize Fighter” stops and the two are joined by Sami Zayn.
The three head to the ring to a huge pop as the fans sing along with the catchy-ass theme of Sami Zayn. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with our main event of the evening here on Raw.
Sami Zayn and Finn Balor kick things off for their respective teams. Zayn takes it to Balor early on. Balor tags in Dom. The fans boo. Dom does nothing and tags in Priest. Priest looks at Zayn, who turns and tags Owens in.
The fans pop as “The Prize Fighter” hits the ring like a man possessed, as he starts taking it to the biggest member of The Judgment Day. Priest ends up slowing Owens down with a big right hand before tagging Balor back in.
On the floor, Rhea Ripley sneaks in a big clothesline that turns Owens inside-out. Balor follows up and rolls Owens back in the ring where he elbows the crap out of him right in front of his teammates. Meanwhile Ripley soaks in some heat from the crowd at ringside.
Riddle tags in and hits the ring taking out every Judgment Day member in reaching distance. He hits a nice fisherman suplex and even throws Dom out to the floor. He ends up chokeslammed on the hard part of the ring apron by Priest.
As Riddle crashes and burns out on the floor at ringside, we hear Ripley laughing sadistically at him as we shift gears and head to a mid-match commercial break as the action in our Raw main event of the evening continues.
When we return from the break, we see Riddle still on the wrong end of a one-sided beat down, courtesy of The Judgment Day. This lasts until “The Original BRO” finally makes the much-needed tag to Zayn.
Zayn takes the hot tag and starts taking it to Dominik Mysterio, the legal man in the ring for The Judgment Day team. Dom fights back into the lead and he connects with a top-rope frog splash for a close near fall.
Everyone involved in the match ends up in the ring. Zayn clears everyone except Dom out to the floor, as Dom is laid out in the ring. Zayn hits the ropes for a dive but Ripley grabs his foot to stop him. The referee ejects Ripley from ringside.
Dom tries rolling up Zayn, but Zayn kicks out and follows up with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a close near fall. Owens is eager for the tag and he finally gets it. Owens heads to the top-rope. He goes for a swanton bomb but lands on the waiting knees of Dom.
Mysterio tags in Balor, who hits a shotgun drop kick before climbing to the top rope for the Coup de Grace. Owens tags in Zayn. Owens hits Stunners on everyone in sight and then Zayn follows up with his kick finisher in the corner.
Zayn tags in Riddle, who heads to the top-rope. He comes soaring off with the Floating Bro for the pin fall victory. The crowd explodes at the finish. As soon as the match ends, however, The Bloodline hit the ring and immediately start brawling with Owens, Zayn and Riddle.
The commentators mention that they’re out there because The Judgment Day didn’t hold up their end of the deal. The LWO runs out and we have an enormous brawl going on inside the ring with bodies flying everywhere. Rey ends up hitting high spots and Owens puts bodies through the table at ringside. That’s how this week’s show wraps up. Thanks for joining us!
Winners: Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Riddle
