WWE Raw results and recap for Monday, May 13 indicates that the Miz opens things and informs us of (stop me if you heard this) the importance the Money in the Bank match. He quickly got to his match against Shane McMahon inside a steel cage at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, in what should be a fun match, before welcoming his first guest, Roman Reigns.
WWE Raw Monday, May 13 Results And Recap: Seth Rollins Has Something To Prove!
Tension was in the air as The Miz sounded like the old Miz, and Reigns said, “he’d punch the old Miz in the mouth. I came to hang out with the old Miz… the guy that chases Shane-O-Mac around the arena.”
The Miz’s response? He acknowledged it took thirteen years for him to earn the fans’ and his peers’ respect, but Shane didn’t deserve any. He then became a little unhinged, to which Shane came out.
Shane canceled Miz TV and The Miz and Reigns were attacked from behind by Bobby Lashley and Elias. Guess what’s next?
Roman Reigns and The Miz beat Bobby Lashley and Elias by disqualification
A funny thing happened on the way to the opening wrestling match…
This was an entertaining match that showcased some great athleticism, especially from Elias walking the top rope, until Shane attacked Reigns outside the ring. The Big Dog flew when he leaped over the ropes in a suicide dive and took out everybody before Elias, Lashley, and Shane overwhelmed him in the ring.
The Miz came to the rescue with a steel chair, and Reigns followed that up with a Superman Punch to Elias and Lashley. The fans weren’t having any of it as they soundly booed Shane and company throughout their doublecross.
Mojo Rawley beat Apollo Crews by pinfall
What could have been an interesting mid-card match was over quick as Crews appeared to hurt his knee (story line?) and Rawley took advantage of it. Either this was a big push for Rawley, as Crews had taken an advantage of the Wild Card Rule, or Crews seriously hurt himself doing a maneuver he’s done a thousand times. Here’s to hoping he’s not badly hurt.
Nikki Cross Offers to Sub for Alexa Bliss
Alexa Bliss was backstage on her cell phone, trashing the recent royal mother while complaining that her luggage was lost in transit. Looking to be helpful (yeah, right!) Cross offered a sympathetic ear and volunteered to take Bliss’ place in the Fatal 4-Way match.
Women’s Championship Signing Event
Lacey Evans (Raw challenger), Charlotte Flair (Smackdown challenger), and Becky Lynch (dual champion) met in the ring for a typical contract signing. Sounds simple enough, if only life in the WWE was simple.
It’s safe to say, The Man was the crowd favorite and played well to it when Michael Cole asked if she realized “how grueling it’s going to be Sunday, when you defend both of these championships?”
Becky’s response was what we’ve come to expect: “It’s not that I don’t know how much of a beating I’m going to have to take, it’s that I don’t care.”
Once the trio sat down to take care of business, insults were traded, with the general consensus being Lynch isn’t “lady enough” to be champion. Of course, Lynch didn’t take any of their lip and took both on after the signing. It looked like Lynch tried to powerbomb Flair into the table, but we’ll never know as Evans interrupted her. Lynch responded by nearly slapping on a Dis-Arm-Her on Evans before Flair hit her with a big boot.
Lynch was then powerbombed through the table by Flair, with an assist from Evans. As the announcers pointed out, the numbers were too great for Lynch. At Money in the Bank, that won’t be an issue. This is looking like a couple of good matches, even if the Flair-Lynch feud has been run dry. The fact both ladies stood over her with the respective brand belts will only add fuel to the fire.
“Mr. Former” Baron Corbin beat Ricochet by pinfall
An exciting match with a pay-per-view feel saw Ricochet kick out after a Deep Six, frustrating Corbin, who did his usual griping at the ref. Corbin went for an End of Days to finish it, but Ricochet countered it into a DDT.
Corbin returned the favor by kicking out after a standing Shooting Star, before countering once again with an End of Days for the pin.
Introducing a ladder, Corbin set it up and climbed the ladder for the briefcase hanging above as an ornament for symbolic reasons. Ricochet pushed the ladder over, sending Corbin outside the ring while sending his own message.
Rey Mysterio’s Interrupted
While being interviewed about his upcoming United States Championship match with Samoa Joe at the pay-per-view and Samoa Joe’s sending a message via Mysterio’s son, Dominic, he was interrupted by Cesaro, who called Mysterio out for having his son there, and even went so far as to question if Dominic was his son. A brawl began, of course, that led to a match later on and a possible storyline to come after the pay-per-view.
AJ Styles’ Side
Styles sets the record straight that his Phenomenal Forearm was meant for Baron Corbin, but “when you disrespect me, I’m going to fight you.”
It’s been an interesting heel turn for Styles as he hasn’t gone full heel. Sure, he’s attacked Seth Rollins, but it’s either been in the heat of the moment, or an accident. Is it just the competitive streak of two of the best Superstars out there? We’ll find out this Sunday.
Fatal 4-Way: Nikki Cross beat Natalya (pinfall), Naomi, and Dana Brooke
Each Superstar’s entrance was intercut with their promos for the upcoming Money in the Bank match. Except for Nikki Cross, who had no promo, but Alexa Bliss cut hers, then came down to commentate and really push Cross.
A fun preview of what we’ll see this coming Sunday, this had a pay-per-view energy. A ladder had to come into play at some point, as well as a melee of bodies fighting for it or to keep others from using it. Eventually, Brooke climbed the ladder and jumped onto the other three.
Immediately afterwards, Cross (what’s with the Scottish psychopaths lately?) dragged Natalya through the ropes and hit her with a spinning neckbreaker for the pin in what was a highly successful Raw debut.
Since she volunteered to take Alexa Bliss’ place for this match, we’re probably seeing a future story arc between her and Bliss, especially if Bliss losses the Money in the Bank match.
Cementing this, Cross helped Bliss to set up the ladder, and then allowed Bliss to climb the ladder and claim the briefcase, smiling the whole time. While they’re in cahoots now, how long until Cross turns on Bliss? Stay tuned!
Sami Zayn Makes his Case
Zayn continued pointing out the negativity among the fans during a promo for his upcoming match with Braun Strowman for Strowman’s spot in the Money in the bank Match. It’s safe to say, this rivalry feels more to put Zayn over than enhance a story arc.
Rey Mysterio beat Cesaro by pinfall
An opportunity to further Mysterio’s and Samoa Joe’s feud can’t be passed up, so Samoa Joe had a taped reply to Mysterio’s earlier comments about coming to him, not his son, when there’s something to be said. Dominic is so going to get a beat down, but we have a match here, don’t we?
After a failed 619 by Cesaro, Mysterio nearly won after a Sunset Bomb, but Cesaro kicked out. Seeking to capitalize, Mysterio jumped off the top rope and was caught with a forearm, but kicked out.
After countering Cesaro’s counter, Mysterio hit with a 619, then a splash for the pin.
This was an exciting match that showcased what both Superstars can do, and should only add to their stories going forward.
The Revival Drops the Gauntlet
After two weeks of embarrassment, The Revival countered with a lecture and insult about the Usos wanting to be the “skidmark on the underpants of society” and “the embarrassment to The Revival stops right now.”
Kinda curious when this feud is going to take off beyond a few exchanges.
Firefly Funhouse
Just when it looked like we’d miss out on Raw’s newest, and disturbingly fun, segment, it’s shown prior the night’s main event.
Wyatt has a secret, but he “can’t do it alone,” and needs the help of all of his Fireflies. “So, who’s with me?”
“There’s still a lot of darkness in this old noggin. But don’t worry. This time, I learned how to harness it.”
A quick morph, and he shares his secret, reappearing in a demonic clown-like appearance straight out of a horror movie.
Yep, still dark, and still showing a great deal of promise in the old Undertaker type of mold.
Rollins Has Something to Prove?
Stating that Styles showed his true colors, Rollins then pointed out he had to prove to everyone that “this is my industry. That this is my show, that I am the backbone of Monday Night Raw.”
Falls Count Anywhere: Sami Zayn beat Braun Strowman via pinfall
Zayn started out trying to avoid Strowman ( a very smart move), but that didn’t go so well after Strowman manhandled him, bulldozing him twice outside the ring.
After leading Strowman on a merry chase through the fans and backstage, Zayn threw debris at Strowman to slow him until he grabbed a trashcan and hit Strowman a couple of times with it. He only infuriated Strowman more, and he subsequently bounced Zayn into a support pillar a few times.
Just as Zayn’s misery was about over, Baron Corbin attacked Strowman with a trashcan, and put Strowman through a merchandise table.
In true Strowman fashion, he fought off Corbin, then continued chasing Zayn. But Zayn continued to run, it gave Drew McIntyre a chance to jump Strowman in the locker room area, which only seemed to enrage Strowman more, and he fought off the Scottish Psychopath.
On the ramp leading to the ring, Strowman continued mauling Zayn, burying him under several ladders. Corbin and McIntyre double teamed Strowman, double suplexing him onto a ladder. When he got up, McIntyre hit him with a Claymore, and Corbin dragged Zayn over to cover Strowman with Corbin and McIntyre helping to pin Strowman.
With the match over and Strowman slowly regaining consciousness, Corbin tossed Zayn onto the ramp, effectively ending their working relationship. Begging and pleading didn’t work, and neither did running as Strowman caught Zayn, then choke slammed him through the announcer’s table.
The match may have been lost, but Strowman set the stage to unleash his vengeance on McIntyre and Corbin in the future.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this was a pretty good episode following a few episodes that were, let’s be honest, basement fodder. Last week’s was bad, but it was good compared to the week before. Showing improvement is good, right?
The best part was the lack of dark matches that have plagued the show for the last couple of weeks. The fast-paced action and consistent storytelling was a big plus, and it’s helping to make Money in the Bank more interesting.
