Credit: WINC
We’re live from the WWE ThunderDome at the Yuengling Center in Tampa as MVP welcomes us. He’s in the ring to introduce WWE Champion Bobby Lashley. Out he comes with the women from backstage. Adnan Virk welcomes us to RAW. He’s joined at ringside by Corey Graves and Byron Saxton. We get a video package on Lashley’s win over Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania Backlash last night.
MVP says he told Lashley he had some surprises for him tonight, referring to the women. MVP hypes last night’s win and says Strowman is suffering from broken ribs while McIntyre was too beat up to get out of bed this morning. MVP says Lashley did everything he did last night while injured. Lashley shows us his fist with swollen knuckles. MVP says they’re swollen from pounding the faces of McIntyre and Strowman. Lashley says The Allmighty Era never ends, and MVP says we are witnessing it. MVP says Lashley was supposed to have the night off but they are issuing an Open Challenge for anyone who wants to face… the music interrupts and out comes McIntyre to a pop.
McIntyre hits the ring and comments on Lashley being a fighting champion. He then accepts the Open Challenge. MVP says Drew interrupted him before he finished. The Open Challenge is for anyone in the locker room, except for Drew and Braun. Fans boo. MVP tells Drew to get to the back of the line. Lashley and Drew start to fight but Drew rocks him and Lashley goes to the floor to regroup. The women keep screaming. MVP and Lashley yell from ringside with MVP telling Drew to get to the back of the line.
AJ Styles vs. Elias
Styles wins by DQ when Ryker interferes.
Winner by DQ: AJ Styles
After the bell, Omos backs Ryker up the ramp as Elias sends AJ over the steel ring steps. Elias stomps on AJ at ringside but Omos comes back down the ramp and Elias retreats. Omos checks on AJ as Elias and Ryker look on.
– Alexa Bliss and Lilly are backstage on a swing. She mentions having the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions as their guests tonight. Back to commercial.
– Back from a break and we get a plug for tomorrow’s WWE NXT episode with NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano cutting a promo on his Steel Cage match with Bronson Reed.
We get a look at last week’s eight-man match and how Randy Orton dropped The New Day with RKOs. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are with Riddle backstage now. Orton ends up walking in and he was told to be there so Adam Pearce could speak. Pearce was not there and this was just a ruse by Riddle. Riddle says they had such a good time last week and even though it ended on bad terms, they could make this a 4-way group and Orton could apologize for what he did. Orton says that’s not going to happen because he’s not sorry.
Kofi warns Riddle he will end up on the receiving end of a RKO if he’s not careful. Kofi and Orton have words and Kofi challenges him to a match. It’s on for later. Kofi and Woods walk off. Riddle goes to speak but Orton hushes him. Orton walks off.
– Alexa Bliss is backstage with Lilly at Alexa’s Playground. She says they’re excited because they have two new friends coming to play. New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina Snuka are there now. Natalya is on a swing but Tamina is standing. Natalya talks about how proud they are of their win and how tough it was beating Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. Tamina is ready to leave.
Bliss says Lilly wants to know their favorite color. Natalya says probably pink. Tamina says black and blue, which will look great on Bliss’ face if she tries anything weird. Bliss says that was not very nice but she’s lucky Lilly really likes them. Lilly really liked how Tamina beat Reginald up a few weeks ago. Tamina mentions how she has no problem swatting Reginald again if he tries anything during tonight’s rematch. Bliss rambles on about Lilly collecting wings of dead bugs and other body parts.
Natalya and Tamina are weirded out. They walk out while Bliss is rambling about Lilly. Bliss wishes them good luck and says she and Lilly will be watching. The Firefly Fun House music starts up as we go to commercial.
Angel Garza vs. Drew Gulak
Garza wins with the Wing Clipper.
Winner: Angel Garza
After the match, Garza stands tall as his music hits. We go to replays. Garza walks over to the corner and grabs his rose. He kneels down over Gulak and taunts him with it, then snaps it in half and shoves it down his throat. Garza exits the ring and shows off, smiling at Gulak’s mouth full of rose petals.
WWE 24/7 Champion R-Truth is backstage hiding when Kevin Patrick tries to get an interview. Truth didn’t recognize Patrick and thought he was hiding from a Superstar. Truth says he has to keep a low profile because he heard there was an Open Challenge for his title. Patrick informs him the Open Challenge is for the WWE Title. Truth goes on until Akira Tozawa rolls him up from behind to win the title. Tozawa says the tables have now turned. Tozawa runs off with the 24/7 Title. Truth yells out and says he’s tire
Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston
Woods starts playing the trombone on the outside, distracting Orton and allowing Kofi to roll him up.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
After the match, Riddle hits the ring to calm Orton down while Woods joins Kofi to celebrate. Orton wants to go at Kofi but Riddle holds him back. Riddle has words with The New Day while Orton seethes and makes his exit. Riddle follows but stops and turns around to shove Woods to the mat out of frustration. Kofi holds Woods back now as Riddle follows Orton up the ramp and to the back.
Naomi, Lana, Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke are in the back with Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville. They’re arguing about who deserves the next title shot. Charlotte Flair interrupts and says they’ve all had a million chances and blown them all. Deville says they will figure out who is next in line after tonight’s title match but if they will excuse us, Flair has a private matter to discuss. The others leave Flair alone with Pearce and Deville. Flair says she should be getting a one-on-one match for the RAW Women’s Title, not a Triple Threat. Pearce understands she’s disappointed about last night, and asks why should she get a singles shot. Flair says she was not pinned last night. Deville understands where she’s coming from and says if she can beat Asuka tonight, she can get her shot. Pearce says that’s fair. Rhea Ripley interrupts and taunts Flair. Ripley came to tell Pearce and Deville she’s ready for some new competition because Flair is nothing but yesterday’s news.
Flair fires back and promises to be the new RAW Women’s Champion when they face off. Flair walks off. Ripley says she will be watching Asuka vs. Flair from ringside just in case The Queen falls from her throne. Ripley walks off as Deville and Pearce look at each other a little surprised.
Natalya (C) and Tamina (C) vs. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler – WWE Women’s Tag Team Champioships
After a series of counters, Natalya eventually gets the win with the Hart Attack to retain.
Winners: Natalya and Tamina
After the match, Natalya and Tamina celebrate as the music hits. Jax checks on Reginald at ringside. We hear Lilly’s laughing echo around the arena. We go to replays now as the Lilly laugh keeps repeating.
– Still to come, Sheamus vs. Ricochet. Back to commercial.
Sheamus vs. Ricochet
Ricochet is able to fight and even kick out of one Brogue Kick to Sheamus’ surprise, but he’s put away with another Brogue Kick.
Winner: Sheamus
After the match, Sheamus stands tall as we go to replays. Ricochet is down on the outside now as Sheamus takes the mic and brags about the win. Sheamus also tells WWE Champion Bobby Lashley to keep his eye on his own title because he might answer that Open Challenge. The music starts back up as Sheamus raises the title in the corner.
– T-BAR and MACE are backstage now. They cut a promo on Bobby Lashley’s Open Challenge, mentioning how Lashley previously paid his debt, but now they wonder which one will end his legacy. It’s as simple as the flip of a coin. They flip a coin and catch it. They go on and tease that they will take Lashley’s WWE Title tonight.
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
After a distraction from Ripley, Asuka counters a Figure Four into an inside cradle for the win.
Winner: Asuka
After the match, the music hits as Asuka rolls to the floor to recover. Ripley is up at ringside now, laughing at Flair, who is furious in the ring. We go to replays. Ripley raises the RAW Women’s Title at ringside, taunting Flair. Asuka is all smiles on the other side of the ring.
We see John Morrison walking backstage. Kevin Patrick stops him and asks if he can even attempt to explain what happened with the Lumberjack Match between The Miz and Damian Priest at WrestleMania Backlash last night. Morrison says when he tries to explain what happened to The Miz, it feels like someone is picking at his brain, like something is rotting inside. He doesn’t think the Lumberjacks (the Zombies) have visited a dentist or washed in some time. Morrison says Miz might never be the same, and that’s why he’s dedicating tonight’s match to him. Morrison says he loves Miz, wherever he is. He walks off.
The Miz vs. Damian Priest – Lumberjack Match
Priest picks up the win with Hit The Lights.
Winner: Damian Priest
After the match, Priest stands tall and joins Schreiber on the stage. He speaks some in Spanish and dismisses Morrison. Schreiber asks what’s next. Priest teases that he might answer Bobby Lashley’s Open Challenge tonight.
– We see Bobby Lashley and MVP backstage getting ready.
– We get a quick promo from Bronson Reed to promote tomorrow’s Steel Cage match on NXT against NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano. Back to commercial.
Kevin Patrick is backstage with Shelton Benjamin now. He brings up Cedric Alexander but Shelton doesn’t want to waste time on him. He wants to talk about answering Bobby Lashley’s Open Challenge. Cedric interrupts now, clapping and congratulating Shelton on finally challenging Lashley. Cedric says Shelton got a fluke win over him last week and now thinks he can challenge Lashley. Cedric goes on and says Shelton will always be worthless. Shelton drops Cedric with a big shot to the mouth. Shelton walks off as Cedric clutches his jaw.
– The announcers show us the opening segment with MVP, Drew McIntyre and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley.
– Back from the break and we get a new “Eva-Lution” coming soon vignette with Eva Marie.
Bobby Lashley vs. Kofi Kingston
Drew comes out and steals MVP’s cane, and while he’s doing that, Kofi is able to roll up Bobby from behind for the upset.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
After the bell, Drew joins The New Day on the ramp as the music hits. We go to replays. MVP and Lashley stand tall in the ring, yelling out at Drew and The New Day, who are celebrating the win. Lashley taunts them by raising the WWE Title in the air as the post-WrestleMania Backlash edition of RAW goes off the air.
