The road to WWE Night Of Champions 2023 wraps up tonight.
WWE RAW returns from the GIANT Center in Hershey, PA. at 8/7c this evening on the USA Network with the final red brand show leading into the big premium live event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this weekend.
On tap for tonight’s show is the Night Of Champions contract signing between Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus, and Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes will be in the same building.
Also scheduled for the show this evening is the latest in Corey Graves’ sit-down interview with Seth “Freakin'” Rollins, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle taking on Imperium in six-man tag-team action, as well as Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Balor.
Featured below are complete WWE RAW results from Monday, May 22, 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 (5/22/2023)
The usual “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.” opening signature narrated by future WWE Hall of Fame legend John Cena airs to get tonight’s show started, as it does each-and-every Monday night at 8/7c on the USA Network.
Brock Lesnar Attacks Cody Rhodes
From there, we shoot to “moments ago” footage that shows Cody Rhodes with his suitcase arriving to the arena when he is sneak-attacked and savagely beaten down by Brock Lesnar.
“The Beast Incarnate” throws him into a pile of kegs and a garage door and other solid equipment laying around. The attack ended with Lesnar hoisting up one of the massive kegs and smashing it into Cody’s arm as it was laying on the garage door. Cody screams and writhes in pain as Lesnar stares down at him.
“The Wise Man” Of The Bloodline Speaks
We then shoot inside the arena where Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick welcome us to the show. We then hear Paul Heyman live in the ring. He starts, “I had nothing to do with that.” He then talks about how it’s only a sample of what Cody is gonna get from Lesnar this weekend at Night of Champions.
“The Wise Man” of The Bloodline then shifts gears and starts talking about Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa and how they are going to beat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag-Team Champions at Night Of Champions this Saturday afternoon in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Imperium Confronts The WWE Tag Champs
As he continues to talk, the theme for Kevin Owens hits and out comes “The Prize Fighter.” He stops and then the catchy-ass theme for Sami Zayn plays and the crowd goes nuts as the former “Honorary Uce” makes his way out as well.
The Undisputed WWE Tag-Team Champions make their way down to the ring to a big pop from the crowd. They settle in the ring, the music dies down and then Zayn jokes about asks where Heyman is, noting he scurried out of there fast.
He then talks about how admittedly their title defense at Night of Champions is personal for him. Owens then chimes in and mentions how Reigns has dedicated the match at NOC to the Wild Samoans. Owens then dedicates it to The Usos.
Zayn brings up their business at-hand here tonight, noting they have a six-man tag-team match along with Matt Riddle against Imperium — WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci.
As they continue to talk, the theme for Imperium hits to cut them off and out comes the trio down to the ring to confront them. The three-on-two picture doesn’t look well for the tag champs but before anything can happen, Matt Riddle runs down and slides in the ring.
Things get physical, with Zayn, Owens and Riddle running off the Imperium trio to end the fiery opening segment for tonight’s Night of Champions “go-home” edition of Monday Night Raw.
Cody Rhodes Suffers Broken Arm?!
We shoot to Byron Saxton, who is outside the medical room where he informs us Cody Rhodes is being examined by WWE personnel. Adam Pearce comes out of the room and Byron asks him how he’s doing.
Pearce says it isn’t clear yet if Cody is going to be able to compete as scheduled this weekend. Pearce goes to walk away but Saxton stops him and asks him about rumors of Cody suffering a broken arm from Lesnar’s savage assault at the start of tonight’s show. Pearce no-sells him and walks off.
Ricochet vs. Bronson Reed
Now the commentary duo of Graves and Patrick run down the scheduled lineup for tonight’s show. After that, Ricochet’s theme hits and out he comes. He makes his way down to the ring for the first match of the evening.
As Ricochet settles into the squared circle, we head to a pre-match commercial break. When we return, we see Ricochet in the ring awaiting the arrival of his opponent.
The theme for Bronson Reed hits and out comes “The Walking Natural Disaster.” He heads into the ring and an “earlier tonight” promo airs where he talks about Ricochet being the reason why he didn’t win the I-C battle royal last week.
We hear the bell sound and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. We see Reed run through Ricochet straight out of the gate. The action spills out to the floor where the big man continues to control the action as we head to a mid-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see Reed still in control, however Ricochet starts firing up and connecting with drop kicks to the knees of Reed to shift the offensive momentum in his favor. He blasts Reed with a pair of super kicks and a standing moonsault for a close near fall attempt.
Again we see things spill out to the floor where Reed looks to squash Ricochet but lands on a flying knee from Ricochet. Back in the ring, Reed takes over and ultimately connects with his top-rope Tsunami splash for the win.
Winner: Bronson Reed
Dominik Mysterio & Rhea Ripley Interrupt Apollo Crews’ Interview
We shoot backstage and Cathy Kelley is standing by with Apollo Crews. She goes to interview him but up walks Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. Dom pretends not to know who Apollo is. Apollo tells Dom he’s everything he’s not.
Ripley then tells Natalya she’s gonna make an example out of her. Dom again tells Apollo to rubn off but Apollo asks what Dom is gonna do if he don’t. Rhea tells Apollo he’s gonna kick his ass. Apollo laughs and says he can’t wait to see him try. We head to another commercial break.
Corey Graves Sits Down With Seth Rollins
When we return from the break, we shoot to part three of Corey Graves’ sit-down interview with Seth “Freakin'” Rollins. Rollins talks very candidly about loving but not respecting Roman Reigns. He says he doesn’t respect the way he has carried himself as a champion, or the schedule he keeps.
Byron Saxton Talks To Finn Balor & Damian Priest
Once the latest portion of the interview, which will continue with a fourth part later tonight, wraps up, we return to Graves and Patrick at the commentary table. They talk briefly about Rollins vs. AJ Styles for the World Heavyweight Championship and then shift gears and talk about how tonight’s Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Balor was set up on Raw Talk.
After that, we return live and Byron Saxton is backstage attempting to talk with Finn Balor and Damian Priest of The Judgment Day. Priest gets upset, telling Saxton that Balor is preparing for a match. He then goes off on him in Spanish and Balor calms him down.
Candice LeRae vs. Zoey Stark
We shoot back inside the GIANT Center in Hershey, PA. where we hear the theme song for Candice LeRae and out she comes. The Poison Pixie settles in the ring as we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see a quick vignette where Zoey Stark proclaims this the start of “The Zoey Stark Era.” When shoot back inside the arena and her theme hits to bring her down to the ring.
The bell sounds and Stark charges across the ring and slams LeRae in the corner and begins working her over. As Stark dominates the early action, we see Nikki Cross trying to rally the fans behind The Poison Pixie.
Now the action spills out to the floor where LeRae hits a big high spot on Stark. Stark fights back and takes out LeRae and Cross. Back in the ring, Stark hits her Z-360 for the pin fall victory in a quick match.
Winner: Zoey Stark
Mustafa Ali Ready For Big Opportunity This Weekend
We shoot to another commercial after the women’s match. When we return, we see graphics hyping John Cena in the number one movie in the world, Fast X, and Batista in the number two film, Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
Now we shoot backstage where Byron Saxton is standing by with Mustafa Ali. He talks about how this weekend is the biggest match of his career when he challenges GUNTHER for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
Ali is overwhelmed and says he knows Saxton expects him to say something about positivity but before he can say much of anything, Brock Lesnar walks by and shoulder checks him before telling him to “Get a life.”
Brock Lesnar Issues Open Challenge For Night Of Champions
He heads straight out through the curtain and after a slight delay, where he looked confused as to what to do, his theme hits and he finally begins walking down to the ring. He settles inside to a chorus of boos from the Hershey audience.
“So, Hershey … what do you wanna talk about?” Lesnar begins to mock Cody Rhodes. He tells the fans that unfortunately Cody won’t be out here tonight. He says Cody won’t be fighting Brock Lesnar at Night Of Champions this Saturday either.
Lesnar says not to worry, because he won’t let us down. He says he’s gonna issue an open challenge for anyone in the locker room to fight him at Night Of Champions. He says all you gotta do is step out to the ring and step up to Brock Lesnar.
Now he gets an answer. Cody Rhodes comes out with his arm in a sling and Adam Pearce and others trying to hold him back. He pushes past them and heads to the ring. With one arm, Cody takes his shirt and sling off and stares down Lesnar.
The two meet in the middle of the ring and Lesnar takes Cody down and slaps a Kimura on him. As he cranks away on the arm he yells at Cody, “You wanna fight me?!” He finally cranks it bad and it looks like he just “broke Cody’s arm” for sure now if he didn’t with the keg earlier.
Lesnar stands up as Cody writhes in pain clutching his arm. Brock walks over and stands on it and then stomps on it hard before walking off and leaving Cody laying as the fans loudly boo and medics and officials rush to check on Cody. We head to another commercial.
Alpha Academy vs. The Viking Raiders
We see highlights of what just transpired when we return. Then Alpha Academy’s theme hits and out comes Chad Gable, as well as Otis with Maxxine Dupri on his arm. They head down to the ring for our next match of the evening.
Their music dies down and then the entrance tune for their opponents plays and out comes The Viking Raiders. The team of Erik and Ivar, accompanied by Valhalla, make their way down to the ring as well.
Now the bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this tag-team contest. Gable and Erik kick things off for their respective teams. Gable starts off well with his mat based grappling skills. Erik uses his power to stuff attempts by Gable a few times.
Ultimately, Gable grounds the big man and starts to control him as we see camera shots of Valhalla and Maxxine Dupri watching on from ringside in the corners of their respective teams. Erik takes over and tags in Ivar,
Erik and Ivar start pounding Gable with clubbing blows before Erik settles on the apron and Ivar picks up where he left off, taking it to Gable as the fans break out in a loud “We want Otis!” chant.
Gable has his attempts to tag out thwarted a few times but he eventually does get the tag and Otis comes in to a huge pop. He hits a big slam on Ivar, which Corey Graves points out is rare. He follows up with his catapillar spot to a big pop. He tags out and as Valhalla and Maxxine get into it at ringside, Gable finishes things off with the pin fall victory.
Winners: Alpha Academy
Update On Cody Rhodes
We shoot backstage to Bryon Saxton, who is outside of a door. Up walks Adam Pearce to enter the room and talk to Cody Rhodes. Saxton tries talking to him but he walks right by him. Cody pops out the door and yells at Pearce to leave, noting there is nothing to talk about.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Balor
Now we shoot back inside the GIANT Center where the violins begin playing and out comes “The King of Strong Style” to a huge pop. Shinsuke Nakamura settles in the ring to fireworks as we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return, we hear Jinder Mahal talking as Veer and Sanga, collectively known as Indus Sher, mean mug the camera. We shoot back live to Nakamura finishing up his ring entrance and then his music dies down.
The theme for The Judgment Day plays and out comes the leader, Finn Balor, accompanied by Damian Priest. “The Prince” heads to the ring and settles inside for our next match of the evening.
From there, the bell sounds and Balor and Nakamura start circling each other. Balor takes Nakamura down and starts controlling him on the mat, as the camera shot changes to show Damian Priest watching on from ringside.
We see Balor hit some big chops and continue to control the action until Nakamura fires up. He hits a baseball slide that knocks Balor out to the floor. Back in the ring,. Nakamura goes for a suplex to bring Balor in, but Priest yanks him down to the floor and clotheslines him.
As the fans boo, we shift gears and head to a mid-match commercial break as the action continues. When we return from the break, we see Balor working over the knee of Nakamura in the ring when the Japanese legend starts to fight back into the offensive driver’s seat.
We see some more back-and-forth action and then things come to a finish when Nakamura gets too focused on dealing with Damian Priest on the floor. This leads to Balor blasting him from behind and then bringing him into the ring for his top-rope Coup de Grace for the pin fall victory.
Winner: Finn Balor
Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sonya Deville
It’s time for one-on-one action in the women’s division. We see footage of Liv Morgan’s injury and get reminded of the big fatal-4-way tag bout for the vacant women’s tag titles on next week’s Raw.
From there, we shoot back inside the arena where we hear the familiar sounds of Raquel Rodriguez’s theme. As she makes her way out, the commentators talk about how she was attacked by Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler on last week’s show.
We head to a pre-match commercial break as Rodriguez settles inside the squared circle. When we return, we see highlights of Rodriguez’s win over Chelsea Green on last week’s show, and the subsequent Rousey and Baszler attack.
After that, the theme for The Complaint Department hits and out comes Sonya Deville accompanied by Chelsea Green. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. Deville blasts Rodriguez with a running knee to start off in the offensive driver’s seat.
Deville gets in some more offense but it isn’t long until Rodriguez takes over and hits her bomb-finisher for the pin fall victory.
Winner: Raquel Rodriguez
Shotzi Helps Raquel Rodriguez With The Complaint Dep’t
Once the match wraps up, we see Deville and Green attacking Rodriguez until Shotzi comes out and helps Rodriguez beat down The Complaint Department.
She makes sure Rodriguez is okay and then hits a big dive through the ropes onto Deville and Green. Looks like Rodriguez has her partner for next week’s title bout.
Trish Stratus’ Request Rejected By Adam Pearce
Now we shoot backstage where we see Adam Pearce getting an update on Cody Rhodes’ arm injury. He is told Cody is super upset but is definitely seriously hurt. Pearce says okay and says he’s about to address the situation.
In walks Trish Stratus who makes a suggestion to Pearce that there be a no-touching policy with she and Becky Lynch during their Night Of Champions contract signing tonight. Pearce rejects this request and then we head to a commercial break.
Contract Signing Between Becky Lynch & Trish Stratus
When we return from the break, the familiar sounds of Becky Lynch’s theme hits and out comes “The Man” for the official WWE Night Of Champions contract signing for her grudge match against WWE Hall of Fame legend Trish Stratus.
Lynch settles in the ring with her wild sunglasses on and tells Trish to get out here so they can handle business. She puts her feet up on the desk and waits.
Now the familiar sounds of Trish’s iconic theme plays and the women’s wrestling legend makes her way out and joins Lynch in the ring. She takes a seat across from her at the desk.
Trish begins speaking and dogs Lynch before signing the contract. Lynch then gives her retort and signs it as well. The match is official for this weekend’s special premium live event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Becky tells Trish if she thought barking like a dog was embarrassing, wait until I kick your ass. She says “Woof, woof, b*tch!” Trish tries flipping the table on her but she scoots back. Trish walks off to end the segment.
Another Update On Cody Rhodes Situation
We shoot backstage and we see Adam Pearce talking on the phone about how no one can talk to Cody Rhodes because he keeps refusing medical treatment. He says everyone who has seen it has told him Cody’s arm is mangled. He says he doesn’t know what to do and that’s what he’s calling this person.
Dominik Mysterio vs. Apollo Crews
Now it’s time for our next match of the evening. The Judgment Day theme hits again and out comes Dominik Mysterio accompanied by “Mami” Rhea Ripley for our next bout of tonight’s show.
As he settles inside the ring, we head to a pre-match commercial break. When we return, we shoot backstage and Byron Saxton is standing by with Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi. Shotzi talks about having a ton of respect for Raquel. Raquel reveals Shotzi will be her partner next week.
Back inside the arena, we see Dom-Dom and Mami in the ring finishing up their ring entrance. Their music dies down and Apollo Crews’ entrance tune hits. Out comes the former recent NXT title contender.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. We see Apollo take the offensive control in the early goings. Dom takes over and goes for his Three Amigos suplex spot as the fans boo.
Apollo takes back over again and hits a huge fall-away slam as fans chant “We want Papi!” Dom tries recovering and firing up, but Crews knocks him out to the floor and levels him with a clothesline.
We see Rhea Ripley get involved on the floor, as “Mami” runs Apollo into the steel ring post as Dom watches from in the ring. The ref nearly counts Apollo out. He rolls in at the count of nine but he rolls right into a top-rope frog splash from Dom for the win.
Winner: Dominik Mysterio
Corey Graves Sits Down With Seth Rollins
We shoot to a video package looking at “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles’ journey through the ranks since joining World Wrestling Entertainment. We then hear the commentators talk about the battle he has with Seth “Freakin'” Rollins for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions.
From there, the commentary duo promotes part four of Corey Graves one-on-one sit-down interview with one-half of the match that will determine the inaugural Raw World Heavyweight Champion at WWE NoC 2023 this weekend in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
On that note, we head to another commercial break. When we return, we shoot to the fourth and final installment of Graves’ sit-down discussion with Rollins. This part focuses on Rollins’ childhood dream of being the WWE Champion. After this, the commentators run down the lineup for Night of Champions.
Imperium vs. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Matt Riddle
After they wrap up the card, we shoot inside the arena where Imperium’s theme hits. WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci all make their way down to the ring for our main event.
As the trio settle inside the squared circle for our final match of the evening, we shoot to a quick pre-match commercial break. When we return, the commentators run down the lineup for next week’s Raw.
Next week’s show will feature the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championship Fatal-4-Way match, as well as the first qualifying matches for the 2023 men’s and women’s Money In The Bank matches.
The theme for Matt Riddle hits and the “BRO!” chants spread throughout the GIANT Center in Hershey, PA. The theme stops and then Kevin Owens’ music hits. “The Prize Fighter” emerges and his tune stops.
Sami Zayn’s catchy-ass entrance music plays and the trio head to the ring. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with the headline bout on this week’s NoC go-home episode of Raw.
We see Zayn and Kaiser kicking things off for their respective teams. After Zayn gets off to a good start, he tags in Riddle, who picks up where he left off. On that note, we head to a mid-match commercial break as the match continues.
As we settle back in from the break, we see Kaiser trying to stop Riddle from making a much-needed tag, as Imperium has shifted the offensive momentum in their favor. As the action continues, we see things spill out to the floor.
Kevin Owens gets taken out and as Imperium remains in a dominant offensive lead in this six-man tag-team main event, we shift gears once again and head into another mid-match commercial break.
Once we settle in from the break, we see Owens leaping off the top rope and connecting with a big frog splash. He then tags in Sami Zayn. Zayn takes the hot tag and hits the ring, taking out any-and-everything that moves from the Imperium side of the ring.
Zayn hits a big Michinoku Driver on Kaiser for a close near fall attempt. He goes for his kick in the corner finisher, but runs into the double boots of Kaiser, who then tags in GUNTHER. The I-C champs hits the ring and takes over.
GUNTHER dominates briefly but Zayn counters with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Riddle hits the ring and starts to fire up. Owens hits the ring and connects with some Stunners before being launched to the floor.
We see Zayn go for his kick in the corner finisher again, only for this time to walk right into a sleeper hold from GUNTHER. He fades and GUNTHER squeezes away on the mat but Riddle connects with a floating bro off the top-rope to break it up. Moments later, Owens hits a swanton bomb off the top for the win.
Winners: Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Matt Riddle
Triple H Has Heart-To-Heart With Cody Rhodes
After the match, we see Cody Rhodes sitting in his locker room. Someone knocks on the door. He yells, “I don’t need any help!” In walks Triple H. Triple H puts his somber voice on and asks Cody to sit down.
The two each take a seat. Triple H tells Cody he needs to get him medical attention. Cody doesn’t want it. Triple H says he can tell by looking at his arm that it’s broken. He says he knows Cody doesn’t want medical attention because he knows it’s broken, too.
Triple H says no one is questioning how tough Cody is. He says he knows he’s afraid. Cody gets upset. He stands up. He says afraid of what. HHH says he knows he’s afraid that if a doctor sees his arm he’s not gonna medically clear him to compete.
Now they talk back and forth about the torn pec Cody worked through and the subsequent year that Cody took off. He says it was rough but would be worst is if he sat out and didn’t compete at Night of Champions.
He talks to Triple H like a man and insists he’s going to Night of Champions and he’s fighting Brock Lesnar. He starts packing his bag. HHH doesn’t say a word. He sits down, pats him on the back and walks off. Cody stops and looks scared. That’s how this week’s show goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!
