The road to WWE Backlash 2023 begins tonight.
Following a successful and entertaining WrestleMania 39 two-night premium live event at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA., WWE returns to the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. for the post-WrestleMania Raw show.
On tap for tonight's edition of the weekly three-hour WWE on USA Network television program is the fallout from WrestleMania Goes Hollywood and the start of the build towards WWE Backlash 2023.
What will be the fallout of Cody Rhodes failing to finish his story against Roman Reigns? Who might make the move up from WWE NXT after a big WWE NXT Stand & Deliver 2023 show on Saturday, which closed with Carmelo Hayes defeating Bron Breakker for the WWE NXT Championship, freeing up the former champion for a potential move.
Things are always bigger and better on the post-WrestleMania edition of WWE Monday Night Raw every year, and tonight should be no exception!
Featured below are complete WWE Monday Night Raw results from Monday, April 3, 2023. The following report was written by Rajah.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live from 8-11pm EST. on the USA Network.
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW RESULTS (4/3/2023)
The "WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together." opening signature narrated by future WWE Hall of Fame legend John Cena airs to get us ready for the always-entertaining post-WrestleMania episode of WWE Monday Night Raw.
Triple H Kicks Off This Week's Show
From there, we shoot into a WrestleMania 39 two-night highlight video package. After the lengthy package wraps up, we shoot inside the Crypto.com Arena where the camera pans the venue as Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves welcome us to the show.
We then get right down to action as the familiar sounds of the theme for Triple H plays and out comes the WWE executive. "The Game" heads to the ring to the "Bow Down to the King" entrance tune and a massive roar from the WWE Universe.
The WWE Hall of Fame legend settles inside the squared circle and does his pose on the ropes in the corner. His music dies down and he officially welcomes us to Monday Night Raw with his gravely, raspy voice. He says if he wasn't on a high before, that reception just put him on one.
He goes on to talk about the ultimate spectacle from this past weekend and an event that truly lived up to its' name, "The Grandest Stage of Them All." We hear some mixed bag reactions to that. Triple H talks about it all coming from one man's vision four decades ago at Madison Square Garden.
Triple H goes on to mention that he just wanted to come out here tonight to say thank you to every Superstar in the back for putting their bodies on-the-line each and every week. He also wants to thank the staff and the crew that make a weekend like WrestleMania possible, and make a show like tonight at Crypto.com Arena possible.
"Even Stu, on camera." The fans break out in a thunderous "Stu! Stu!" chant. "Say hi, Stu!" Triple H adds. The fans pop again. Cool moment for ole' Stu. He continues and says he saw a ton of blueprints and drawings of what things would look like but nothing prepared him for the sight inside SoFi Stadium on Saturday and Sunday night.
Finally, he takes one moment to thank the most important people -- all of you. The WWE Universe. The people that make it possible to do what we love to do day in and day out. The fans give themselves a big pop. Nice of them! After that a loud "Triple H! Triple H!" chant breaks out.
Following a weekend where WWE dominated the social media buzz worldwide, he alludes to the sale reports and merger of WWE and UFC as the topic literally everyone wants to talk about today. He says he wanted to come out here to assure everyone that WWE is not going anywhere. They will be here week-in and week-out just as always.
Time To Acknowledge Our "Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns
He continues and asks us to please help him acknowledge one more person. "946 days. Please rise and help welcome, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion -- Roman Reigns!" The iconic sounds of the theme for "The Tribal Chief" plays and out comes The Bloodline leader accompanied by "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman and "The Enforcer" Solo Sikoa.
Reigns makes his deliberate walk to the ring and slowly settles inside. The music finally dies down and Reigns pans the massive L.A. crowd. The fans start drowning him out with boos and then chants of "Cody! Cody!" After that some loud "Roman sucks!" chants spread around the building as "The Tribal Chief" smirks.
From there, he finally begins on the mic. "I guess ..." that's all he gets out before loud boos drown him out again. "I guess after last night's performance, we should do it like this tonight. Hollywood ... ACKNOWLEDGE ME!"
"The American Nightmare" Confronts "The One"
Before he can say anything else, the familiar sounds of the opening notes of the theme for Cody Rhodes plays. The crowd roars and out comes "The American Nightmare" as the packed house inside Crypto.com Arena sings the lyrics along with it. Cody gets the same fireworks treatment on his way to have a conversation in the ring that the champ did moments ago.
Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves provide some sound bytes as the man who failed to "finish his story" on Sunday night, large-in-part due to interference from Solo Sikoa, settles inside the ring and poses for the crowd as even more fireworks and pyro erupts. The fans do the loud "Whoa!" part of his theme song as he finishes his entrance and the music fades down.
He begins by saying he thinks he knows what he wants to talk about this time. He says today is going different than he thought it would. He says he expected to be standing here as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. "I'll acknowledge this. Last night at WrestleMania, you were the better competitor," Rhodes tells Reigns.
Rhodes says doing this in front of the world is always part of the job, but he doesn't like the extra bodies in the ring next to him. He says Reigns has had many close calls during his reign as champion, "but last night ... I HAD you." The fans chant "Cody! Cody!" as he reiterates that he knows what he wants to talk about and it all boils down to just one word.
The fans begin chanting "Rematch! Rematch!" before he even says anything. He finally says, "Rematch!" and the fans pop as Reigns rolls his eyes and smirks at him. Reigns decides against speaking, instead opting to pass the mic back to "The Wise Man," before crossing his arms and staring at Rhodes again. Heyman then asks when did Rhodes have in mind for this "hypothetical rematch." Cody responds, "TONIGHT!"
"No rematch," responds "The Wise Man" after briefly conferring off-mic with "The Tribal Chief." Heyman says there won't be a rematch tonight, not at Backlash, not in Los Angeles, not in Puerto Rico, "No. No. No. NO!" The fans boo. "That's what you call calling the shots because you live on the 'Island of Relevancy.'"
Cody asks "Mr. Heyman" if he thinks he's in a regular mood tonight. He doesn't want the shenanigans or tomfoolery. He asks if he's sure they don't want the rematch. He says he knows exactly how tough Roman is. He says he technically fought both he and Sikoa last night. He says let's do a tag match, something right here and right now.
"Mr. Rhodes, ladies and gentlemen of Los Angeles, CA. and Solo, I have been informed by 'The Tribal Chief' that your challenge has been accepted ... to parameters, though." He then proceeds to list the conditions. He says if someone in the locker room is so stupid to be willing to team with him, it has to be someone who wrestled this past weekend at WrestleMania.
He tells Cody now he'll realize how alone he is, because anyone who agrees to walk that aisle tonight and team with him against Roman and Solo will never get another title match with Roman Reigns as long as Roman Reigns is the Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion. "So uhhh, who you wanna talk about now, Cody?!" Heyman sarcastically says.
And then it happened.
The iconic sounds of the entrance tune for a certain "Beast Incarnate" plays. As Brock Lesnar emerges with his cowboy hat in-hand, the crowd goes wild. Lesnar puts the hat on and begins the walk. Corey Graves says that stipulation doesn't apply to Lesnar anyways, because he lost the right to challenge Reigns for the title at SummerSlam anyways, so the rules don't apply to him.
Lesnar grabs Cody and the two embrace and smile as they stand off with Reigns and Sikoa. The fans chant "Holy sh*t!" and then "You f*cked up!" Reigns and Sikoa exit the ring with "The Wise Man" as Cody and Lesnar hug again in the ring while Lesnar's music plays to end a very entertaining opening segment on this commercial-free hour number one of the Raw After Mania.
Omos vs. Elias
After the ring is cleared out, the sounds of Omos' theme plays and out comes "The Nigerian Giant" accompanied by MVP for our opening contest of tonight's show. He settles inside the ring as Graves and Patrick talk about him coming up short against Lesnar on Sunday night.
Now the theme for Elias plays and out he comes for this one-on-one showdown against the massive Nigerian. The bell sounds and Elias charges at Omos, who grabs him by the throat, hoists him up and plants him down into the canvas.
Omos scoops Elias up and slams him again and we hear MVP shouting, "punish him!" at ringside. Omos does exactly that big scooping him up and slamming him again. Corey Graves mentions how Omos did the same thing to Brock Lesnar with ease at WrestleMania.
We see Omos scoop Elias up and drop him down face-first on the top turnbuckle in the corner. He blasts him with a big boot and then scoops him up and plants him into the mat with his finisher for a very quick squash match victory.
Winner: Omos
The Usos' Services Aren't Needed By "The Tribal Chief" Tonight
Once the opening contest wraps up, we see The Usos backstage. They approach the locker room of Roman Reigns. They knock on the door and out comes "The Wise Man." They tell him to let them in to have a word with Roman Reigns. Heyman informs him that "The Tribal Chief" took a step outside to prepare with Solo Sikoa for his match tonight.
He says Reigns told him to tell them that it was a successful night for some of The Bloodline over the weekend. He tells them to take it to the private jet for some sushi and wait for Reigns to join them later. Jey Uso looks super annoyed and even Jimmy doesn't look to thrilled.
They walk off as Heyman heads back in the locker room and says, "I handled it, my Tribal Chief." The locker room door shuts and we head down to the commentators, who introduce a Hall of Fame 2023 induction highlight package.
Rey Mysterio Confronted By Austin Theory
We see some mainstream media coverage of WrestleMania Weekend and then shoot back inside the arena where Bad Bunny is interviewed about being the host of WWE Backlash 2023 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
From there, the familiar sounds of Rey Mysterio's theme song plays and out comes the latest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. He stops to chop it up with Bad Bunny at ringside and then heads in the ring as his music fades down and a loud "6-1-9!" chant breaks out.
He talks about having an emotional week, mentioning his WWE Hall of Fame induction and prompting a loud "You deserve it!" chant from the crowd. He says without them he wouldn't be standing here. He gives a special thank you to Bad Bunny but before he can leave, Austin Theory's theme plays.
Out comes the WWE United States Champion. He tells everyone to hear him out as the fans boo. He tells Rey that they have something in common -- they both did what they said they were going to do at WrestleMania. He insults Rey and then boasts about beating the greatest of all-time in John Cena.
The fans drown out Theory as he tries to continue talking with loud "You tapped out!" chants. He says, "Nah nah nah, all of you tapped out because you didn't believe in me." He settles inside the ring and confronts Mysterio as the fans dog him with more negative chants.
Theory continues and asks where's the worst night of his life that Cena claimed he would experience on the Raw After Mania. He says no one can touch him. "You still suck!" chants break out. Theory says he doesn't suck because he beat John Cena.
He says the fans will probably still chant at the top of their lungs, "Cena! Cena!" He tells them to go ahead and cheer for him because he's not here. "He's a part time!" Theory tells Rey that he's just gonna be another legend he's collecting on his list. Rey says the only thing he'll be collecting is his own teeth after he hits him with a 6-1-9.
Austin Theory vs. Rey Mysterio
The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with our second match of the evening. The two immediately get this one underway. Rey fares well early on but Theory starts to take over.
After a couple of minutes of good back-and-forth action, we see things start to pick up. As it looks like Rey is zeroing in on a victory, out of nowhere his son Dominik Mysterio comes to the ring and tries to interfere.
Theory ends up capitalizing on the confusion and taking out Rey with his A-Town Down finisher for the pin fall victory. After the match, things get even more interesting.
Winner: Austin Theory
Damian Priest Beats Down Bad Bunny
Once the match wraps up, we see Dom head over and get in Bad Bunny's face in the front row. They bicker back-and-forth off-mic in Spanish. Dom turns away and tries turning back around for a sucker punch, but Bad Bunny blocks it and decks Dom.
Damian Priest yanks Bad Bunny over the guard rail and slams him down to the floor. He tells him off-mic, "You didn't need to get involved, bro." Again we see Bad Bunny and Dom mix it up, where Bad Bunny once again decks the son of the WWE legend.
This time Priest gets physical. He decks Bad Bunny and then clears off the commentary table. He hoists Bad Bunny up and puts him through the table with his finisher. Bad Bunny gets dropped right on his head and goes through the table. "Somebody get some help!" we hear Kevin Patrick frantically say.
Officials rush to check on Bad Bunny while in the ring, Dom continues to get in cheap shots on his father. Dom and Priest leave Rey and Bunny laying and head to the back as the fans shower them with boos. Looks like a tag-team match is in the works for WWE Backlash 2023.
Adam Pearce Confronts Damian Priest Backstage
We head to a commercial break after that. When we return, we see Adam Pearce backstage talking with Damian Priest following his savage assault of Bad Bunny moments ago. He says his actions were justified because he took a shot at he and Dom multiple times. He says if he didn't like Bad Bunny, then it would have been really bad. He walks off.
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens Want A Celebratory Fight
Now we head back inside the arena where we hear the familiar sounds of the entrance theme song of Sami Zayn as he and Kevin Owens make their way out and head to the ring together to an enormous, thunderous reaction from the L.A. crowd.
The new Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions settle in the ring and pose to the crowd before the music fades down. Before they can say a word they are drowned out by deafening, "You deserve it!" chants.
Kevin Owens begins by agreeing that they do deserve it, but adds that the fans deserve it, too. The fans react with a loud "Ole! Ole!" chant as Zayn gets ready to follow up with some comments of his own. Zayn begins by saying it's been a crazy year for him.
Zayn continues by saying from a WrestleMania match with Johnny Knoxville last year all the way to what we saw on Saturday night at WrestleMania Goes Hollywood in Los Angeles. He says he knows it's often said but he needs to mention it -- none of this would be possible without the fans. He thanks them and says that's enough gushy stuff.
He mentions that he knows L.A. likes to celebrate. Owens agrees and says he hopes Zayn has the same celebration in mind. He says he likes to celebrate with a good fight. He mentions how something about L.A. makes him want to fight with his heart on his sleeve.
Now Owens asks anyone in the back that wants to help them celebrate, come out and join them for a fight. With that said, the familiar sounds of The Street Profits plays. Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford come out, as the two are always in search of "the smoke."
Montez Ford begins by singing the initials, "L.A." He tells the fans to look who it is, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions. He talks about this being a marvelous day in the city of Los Angeles. The two head to the ring and say this toast is for them. He says like the crowd says, they truly deserve it.
Dawkins and Ford head into the ring and make it clear that they want to make a name for themselves. The two agree that "we want the smoke" and then their music plays as they square off against Owens and Zayn. On that note, we head to a commercial break. The match is up next.
The Street Profits vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
When we return from the break, the bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. We see Dawkins and Zayn kick things off for their respective teams. Zayn immediately jumps into the offensive lead, taking it to Dawkins and bringing him to the mat.
Zayn works on the arm of The Street Profits member, who eventually escapes and returns to his feet. Dawkins fires up on offense and starts hitting Zayn with everything in his arsenal until Zayn slows him down and brings him back to the mat.
From there, Zayn continues to focus his attack on the arm of Dawkins. He brings him over to his corner and tags Owens in. Owens comes in the ring and delivers some offense and then tags Zayn right back in. Ford tags in for The Street Profits and he shifts the offensive momentum in their favor.
Owens tags back in and helps return the offensive lead to the favor of the champs, but not for long, as Ford blasts him with a modified Pele kick from the floor to the ring apron. Back in the ring, Dawkins tags in and adds to the punishment to Owens, before quickly tagging Ford back in.
Ford blasts Owens with a big drop kick for a close near fall. He controls the arm of "The Prize Fighter" on the mat as Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick talk us into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues in the ring.
When we return from the break, we see some great back-and-forth action, with Ford showing off his crazy athleticism. Owens hits a big senton splash for a huge shift in momentum and then Zayn follows up with his running kick in the corner for the win. Great match.
Winners: Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
Seth "Freakin'" Rollins Wants To Party
We shoot backstage for a quick interview with Seth "Freakin'" Rollins after a video package showing highlights of his match with Logan Paul at WrestleMania Goes Hollywood:
After touting his "stomp heard 'round the world" that sent Logan Paul and his buddy KSI back to "the wasteland of social media," he talks about the party not being backstage but out there. He also does the "we the ones" gesture as a tease before telling the dummies in the truck to play his music.
The fans begin loudly singing the "whoa-oh-oh's" as Seth "Freakin'" Rollins heads to the ring. As he continues his walk, we head to a commercial break. When we return from the break, we see Rollins in the ring playing the role of conductor, leading the fans in singing the "whoa-oh-oh's."
Bobby Lashley vs. Mustafa Ali
Somehow that's all that was as we shoot backstage after nothing happens and we see Bobby Lashley. He talks about it being bittersweet to come out on the stage at WrestleMania and not compete.
Up walks Bronson Reed who taunts "The All Mighty One" for not having a match on "The Grandest Stage of Them All." Lashley takes this as the insult that it is and challenges Reed to fight now. Reed can't, however, as he's got other things going on.
Reed walks off and up walks Mustafa Ali. He mocks Lashley for getting a lot of "no's" lately. A no to a match at WrestleMania. A no to a match tonight against Bronson Reed. Ali tells him to change his mindset if he wants to get rid of the negativity surrounding him as of late.
Lashley starts beating him down backstage. He drags him out to the ring where he pounds on him for an additional minute before easily trapping him in his Hurt Lock submission finisher for a quick-and-easy squash match victory. Afterwards, we head to another commercial break.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Roman Reigns Has Some Questions For "The Wise Man"
Now we return from the break to The Bloodline locker room. We see Roman Reigns looking perturbed. He asks "The Wise Man" if The Usos have left. He says they have and have gone to the gym. He asks if Heyman knew Brock Lesnar was going to be here tonight.
Heyman says Lesnar always takes off for nine months to a year after WrestleMania, he had no one of knowing. He says he loves Roman Reigns from rescuing him from that lifestyle.
He tells Reigns that Lesnar lost his chance to ever challenge him for the title again after they beat him at SummerSlam. He says Lesnar has nothing to lose. Reigns sarcastically says that's just great.
He then hypes Solo Sikoa up, saying he's beaten Lesnar before, noting it's one of his greatest achievements and he'll just do it again. He then tells Sikoa he'll tag him in after that to handle Cody. He asks if Solo understands. We fade away to end the segment.
Raw & Women's SmackDown Champions Confront Each Other
We return inside Crypto.com Arena where Bianca Belair's theme hits and the Raw Women's Champion makes her way out and heads to the ring. She talks about her victory over Asuka at WrestleMania and how she's still the champ.
She says beating top competition is what makes her "The EST of WWE" and she's proud after this weekend to still be "The EST of WWE." Before she can say anything else, the familiar sounds of Rhea Ripley's entrance tune hits the house speakers and out comes the new SmackDown Women's Champion.
She talks as she heads to the ring, gloating about being the Women's Royal Rumble winner for 2023 and the one to conquer "The Queen" Charlotte Flair to become SmackDown Women's Champion on "The Grandest Stage of Them All."
Ripley tells Belair that she chose Charlotte but assures her that she'll get to her soon enough. Belair tells Ripley that there's a reason she chose Charlotte instead of her. Belair says she's made it clear she's all about getting in the ring with the best, and that includes her.
She says one day when Ripley is ready, they'll share the ring together and really see which one of us is the best. Ripley smiles, the two have a stand off and "Mami" exits the ring to end the segment.
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai
Now the familiar sounds of Liv Morgan's theme hits and out she comes accompanied by Raquel Rodriguez. The two head to the ring together as they will be in action in a women's tag-team bout when we return.
On that note, we head to a quick pre-match commercial break. When we return, the Damage CTRL theme hits and out comes the duo of Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai ready for tag-team action.
The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. We see some good back-and-forth action early on. Rodriguez is impressive coming out of the gate with explosive power spots. Morgan tags in.
From there, things start to go downhill for the Morgan and Rodriguez duo, as Kai and Sky take turns utilizing frequent tags and keeping a fresh body on the weakened Morgan at all-times.
As they continue to beat her down, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the match continues. When we return from the break we see Sky still taking it to Morgan as the fans try and rally behind Morgan.
Moments later, we see both ladies make a tag after Morgan buys herself some time by taking out Sky. Rodriguez gets right back into the power spots as she takes the hot tag and goes on an offensive spree.
Rodriguez beats down Kai but Sky tags back in. Sky and Kai try and double-team Rodriguez, but the bigger and more powerful competitor ends up taking them both out. We see her knock Kai into Sky, which sends Sky crashing and burning on the floor at ringside.
She scoops Kai up and tags in Morgan. The two hit a double-team spot and then Morgan blasts her with her Oblivion finsher for the pin fall victory. With the win, Rodriguez and Morgan earn themselves a tag-team title shot.
Winners and earning WWE Women's Tag-Team Championship opportunity: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
The Miz Is Done With Surprises, Until "The Original Bro" Shows Up
After the women's tag bout wraps up, we shoot backstage and see one of the co-hosts of WrestleMania Goes Hollywood, The Miz, heading towards the ring. As he does, we shift gears and head to another quick commercial break.
When we return, The Miz heads to the ring and says he expected to sing, dance and have some fun at WrestleMania but ended up being the recipient of all of the surprises on "The Grandest Stage of Them All."
He mentions how Snoop Dogg surprised him with three matches, one of which was a handicap match against Pat McAfee and George Kittle, he says. He says he was then surprised with Shane McMahon, who he beat so bad he couldn't even finish the match.
From there, Miz mentions how Snoop Dogg then decided to get involved and connect with one of the worst People's Elbows of all-time. He says tonight starts the beginning of a new season and he's done with the surprises.
With that said, the familiar sounds of Riddle's theme hits and out comes "The Original Bro" to a huge pop from the fans inside the Crypto.com Arena. He tells Miz "surprise" and then beats him down. A match between the two is announced for next week.
Brock Lesnar With A Shocking, Savage Assault Of Cody Rhodes
It's main event time here on the Raw After WrestleMania show. We hear the familiar sounds of Roman Reigns' theme and out comes "The Tribal Chief" and "The Enforcer" of The Bloodline, Solo Sikoa, accompanied by "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman.
The Bloodline duo make their way down to the ring accompanied by their special counsel for the highly-anticipated featured tag-team main event of the evening. As they settle inside the squared circle, we shift gears and head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return, the familiar sounds of Cody Rhodes' theme hits and the crowd goes ballistic as "The American Nightmare" emerges and makes his way down to the ring. He settles inside to an even bigger pop as the fans sing the "WHOA!" portion of his catchy entrance tune.
Now the iconic sounds of Brock Lesnar's theme hits and out comes "The Beast Incarnate" looking ready for a fight. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion and the conquerer of The Undertaker's streak heads down to the ring and settles inside.
It's main event time here on the Raw After Mania. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Literally the first thing that happens is Brock Lesnar turns and takes out Cody Rhodes. Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman look shocked. They exit the ring as Lesnar begins a prolonged beatdown of Cody.
Lesnar beats down Cody from pillar to post for what seems like forever. He beats him down in the ring, hitting him with suplexes, F-5s, standing on his throat, etc. He takes him out to the floor and just pulverizes him further. He bashes him into and through anything that isn't nailed down.
Back in the ring, Lesnar grabs the bottom half of the steel ring steps and plants Cody into them with a vengeance. He goes to leave but decides he hasn't had enough. He runs back down to the ring and grabs a steel chair. He pushes it down on the throat of "The American Nightmare" as fans boo like crazy and Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick keep asking "Why?!" on commentary.
A ton of officials, including Adam Pearce, rush to the scene to check on Cody in the ring as Lesnar finally exits the squared circle and heads back up the long entrance ramp once again. A hush comes over the crowd as we see the officials check on him, but then the noise picks up again when Lesnar comes from the back and takes off his gloves to shoot the double birds to Cody and the crowd. The crowd boos and we go off the air with medics checking on Cody. Thanks for joining us!