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WWE RAW Results – May 15th, 2017

The show opens with a video package focusing on Braun Strowman trying to take out Roman Reigns after WWE Payback. Footage from last week in London is shown of Reigns confronting Strowman and going after his injured elbow.

The RAW opening hits. We go live inside the Prudential Center in New Jersey where a big display of pyro goes off. Michael Cole is the first to welcome us to the show.

RAW General Manager Kurt Angle opens the show and heads to the ring. Angle talks about Roman Reigns “settling the score” with Braun Strowman last week. He says Strowman suffered a shattered elbow, flew back to the United States and underwent surgery. Angle says Strowman may be out of action for up to six months. He notes that Strowman set his sights on the Universal Championship and asks who will now challenge Brock Lesnar for the championship. Angle gave it a lot of thought and it has to be earned, not given. He says at Extreme Rules for the first time ever, we will have a Fatal Five Way match and the winner will face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. Angle has given thought to who those five will be. He reveals the five: Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns.

Angle promises Extreme Rules will be historical.

Here comes Roman Reigns to interrupt.

Angle stays in the ring as Reigns gets inside with a mic in hand. Very mixed reaction for Reigns in Newark tonight. Reigns says we don’t need a Fatal Five Way match because he is the No. 1 Contender. “This is my yard. I beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania. I put Strowman in that ambulance. And I’m the only guy around here that can beat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.” Finn Balor interrupts and has something to say.

Balor brings up he was the first ever Universal Champion. “Oh and I never lost my title,” adds Balor. He says if Reigns wants a “piece of the beast”, the line starts behind him. Reigns tells Balor he has a lot of heart, but he doesn’t have the killer instinct to beat Brock. Balor brings up beating Reigns during his first night on RAW.

Samoa Joe interrupts. He says Reigns and Balor have it wrong. Joe says it is about two things: actions and results. He talks about choking out Seth Rollins. Joe suggests he will win the Fatal Five Way match and will go on to face Brock Lesnar.

The lights go out. When they come back on, Bray Wyatt is standing in the middle of the ring and has a mic in hand. Wyatt says the beast is approaching and they are all really scared. “You will cower. You will fall. And you will run,” says Wyatt.

Here comes Seth Rollins. He says Extreme Rules is still many weeks away and that New Jersey didn’t come here for talking. Rollins says he came here to fight Samoa Joe. Rollins and Joe start brawling at the end of the ramp. Wyatt attacks Balor. Reigns tosses Wyatt out. Rollins works the left knee of Joe against the ropes. Joe limps up the ramp. Wyatt with a shot on Rollins sending him out of the ring. Reigns with a Superman to Wyatt. Rollins with right hands to Wyatt. Balor with a double dropkick to both Wyatt and Rollins at ringside. Balor goes up to the top turnbuckle, Reigns misses a Superman and Balor with a Sling Blade takedown. Reigns rolls out of the ring. Balor hits the ropes and dives over the top rope taking out both Reigns and Rollins at ringside.

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus is next.

-Commercial Break-

Backstage, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins are arguing with Roman Reigns nearby. Kurt Angle breaks it up and books Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt and Reigns vs. Balor.

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus

Jeff goes after Sheamus immediately in the corner. Jeff avoids a Brogue Kick and gets a roll up for a quick two count. Jeff tosses Sheamus over the top rope and dropkicks him through the ropes. Sheamus catches Jeff trying to dive out and slams him against the barricade.

-Commercial Break-

Back live, Sheamus drops a big knee on Jeff off the corner. Some loud “DELETE” chants in New Jersey tonight. Sheamus catches Jeff with a quick scoop slam. Jeff with a quick kick away dropkick to Sheamus. Jeff with an atomic drop and jumping low blow combo. Sheamus catches Jeff with a big knee to the face for a close two count. Sheamus catches Jeff with double boots in the corner and pulls himself up to the top turnbuckle. Jeff catches Sheamus with a modified Twist of Fate/Stunner off the corner for another close two count. Cesaro jumps up on the ring apron to distract Jeff. Matt pulls him off. Sheamus catches Matt with a big boot. Jeff with a Twist of Fate to Sheamus. Jeff goes up top and connects with a nasty looking Swantom Bomb over Sheamus. Jeff gets the pinfall for the win.

Winner: Jeff Hardy

After the match, Matt and Jeff Hardy celebrate the win.

-Commercial Break-

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox

Footage from last week’s match is shown. The replay shows Fox got her shoulder up as Banks got the pinfall on her. Banks with a shoulder block early on Fox. Banks catches Fox with a kick to the face. Fox fires back with a kick of her own from the corner. Fox with a northern lights suplex on Banks for a two count. Banks with repeated clothesline takedowns and a dropkick to Fox. Banks with a tilt-a-whirl head scissors to Fox. Fox with a roll up on Banks from the corner and Banks kicks out. Fox holds on to the ropes to avoid a backcracker. Fox tosses Banks out and Banks grabs her knee. Banks with a small package for another two count on Fox. Fox catches Banks with a big scissors kick to get the pinfall.

Winner: Alicia Fox

Big Match Announced for WWE Extreme Rules

Kurt Angle announced on tonight’s episode of RAW that the the winner of a Fatal 5-Way match at the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules event will face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title. Here is the updated card for the show:

#1 Contenders Match for the WWE Universal Title
Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns

RAW Tag Team Championship
Sheamus and Cesaro vs. The Hardy Boyz

WWE Extreme Rules takes place on June 4, 2017. As always, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of the event.

Another Match Announced for WWE Extreme Rules

WWE announced on tonight’s episode of RAW that Dean Ambrose will defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against The Miz at the upcoming Extreme Rules event. Here is the updated card for the show:

#1 Contenders Match for the WWE Universal Title
Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns

WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose
The title can change hands on a count out.

RAW Women’s Title Match
Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss
Kendo stick on a pole match.

RAW Tag Team Championship
Sheamus and Cesaro vs. The Hardy Boyz

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Austin Aries vs. Neville

WWE Extreme Rules takes place on June 4, 2017. As always, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of the event.

Cedric Alexander Returning to Action from Injury

PWInsider reports Cedric Alexander is scheduled for RAW and SmackDown television events this week.

Alexander has been out of action since suffering a knee injury back in February. Original prognostics called for Alexander to be out of action for 3-5 months, which is par with PWInsider’s story.

Prior to his injury he was involved in the storyline with Alicia Fox before breaking up with her after she cost him a match on RAW.

Several Wrestlers React to Randy Orton’s Remarks About Indie Wrestling

Indie wrestler Ricochet issued the following remarks regarding Randy Orton’s recent comments about how indie wrestlers perform their matches:

“Guys, not everyone is going to like every style of wrestling. Same in any sport or music, movies & pretty much every form of entertainment. So just enjoy what you like! And I dunno about you all but I’ve always thought Randy was awesome! Still is! I just love wrestling, every type. Wish more people were this way. It’s an amazing art that I’ve been blessed to make a living from. I feel that us as wrestlers, expressing our style of wrestling is what makes it an art. Not someone else’s opinion of it.”

Goldust sent out the following tweet on the matter:

Former WWE Superstar Batista also had some words:

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Triple H Working Vince McMahon, Safety Concerns in Wrestling, Booker T’s Commentary, More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane and Glenn Gilbertti (Disco Inferno).

Russo comments on the dynamic at the top of WWE between Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. Russo says a fan wrote him a letter this past week suggesting that Triple H is ‘working’ his father-in-law, Vince McMahon, in an attempt to ascend to the top of the mountain that is WWE.

Russo truly believes that Triple H is working Vince McMahon, and although he had a lot of pleasurable experiences with Triple H in the past, he also remembers times when he wasn’t as easy to deal with. He recalls one time when Triple H refused to do the job for D-Lo Brown, who had put Triple H over for months upon months. This really aggravated Russo because the creative team wanted to keep D-Lo Brown strong and the one time they asked Triple H to return the favour, he refused to do so.

The fan who wrote Russo suggested that Triple H has convinced McMahon that social media is WWE’s most important statistic at this point, ahead of television ratings and things of the sort. Since social media is compiled mostly of hardcore fans, WWE’s product has skewed towards a niche fanbase in an attempt to get positive reinforcement from their social media target base.

Jim Cornette Experience Recap – Vince McMahon Biopic, Reigns and Strowman Sightseeing in Rome, More!

Cornette opens today’s show by mentioning that two of his 2017 appearance dates have been cancelled. He also mentions that a recent booking he had stirred some controversy, after Austin Idol reportedly demanded an extra $100 on top of Cornette’s pay in order to appear at the show as well. Idol wanted to be paid more than Cornette because he was the biggest star on the show in his own opinion.

Cornette was always a fan of Idol throughout the years but he thought that was a very disrespectful move by Idol. He hopes to get some clarification on this in the coming days, because he felt like this was a personal slap in the face by Idol.

Speaking about the script for Pandemonium (the Vince McMahon biopic), Cornette says that a child must have written it because it’s complete rubbish. He has a strange feeling that the writer, Craig A. Williams, and the Producers were simply out to make a quick payday from Vince McMahon, who they must have known would never okay that script, and therefore would buy it from them.

Cornette comments on the idea that today’s wrestlers may actually be their own worst enemy. He says that some of today’s performers do things from time to time that really make you scratch your head, and the recent picture of Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman sightseeing together in Rome is one of those things.

Kevin Owens Goes Into Heel Mode on Fan Wanting an Autograph

If you’re at a WWE event, don’t ask Kevin Owens for an autograph because things may not go your way.

WWE posted footage of Owens making to his way to the ring and when a fan in attendance reached out with a piece of paper asking for his autograph, Owens grabbed the paper and dropped it to the ground.

Make sure when you come to #WWELive you don’t ask for an autograph from #KevinOwens… ??

A post shared by WWE (@wwe) on May 12, 2017 at 12:48pm PDT

Jinder Mahal Reveals the Secret to His Body Transformation

While speaking to Pratyay Gosh, Jinder Mahal talked about how he was able to get into his current physical shape and revealed that consistency is the secret:

“The secret is consistency. I literally haven’t had a cheat meal in 3-4 months. I haven’t eaten anything I shouldn’t have. Even now, on the tour, I have my cooling bag with me and I carry 5 meals with me so that I eat every 2 hours. I eat 30/40 grammes of carbohydrates, 30/40 grammes of proteins with every meal. Then there’s cardio 6 days a week and weight training 6 days a week. I also became straight-edge. I also do a lot of Olympic compound movements. Then there are lots of basic squats, lots of push-ups and other exercises. Overall, from diet to exercise, I’m seeing good results. I’m going to keep getting in better shape because not only do I look better but I feel better. I feel better inside the ring in terms of stamina and endurance, which is important if I want to become WWE Champion and have long matches every night.”

While Mahal has denied steroid use in multiple interviews, Dave Meltzer noted back in January that he believes the WWE Superstar is juicing. He made the following remarks after an episode of RAW, where Mahal appeared way bigger than he previously did:

“Jinder Mahal then came out and my God! Jinder Mahal’s traps have grown incredibly. He’s shredded. He looks like, I mean … anyway, Jinder Mahal has changed his physique completely in like a couple weeks. And he’s got acne all over his back.”

Meltzer continued, “He is what he is and if this was USADA (the United States Anti-Doping Agency), he would probably be in trouble.”