Roman Reigns And Seth Rollins Collide, WWE Raw Results 5/22/2017

It seems like Raw went from being the #1 brand in WWE to the #3 spot behind NXT and SmackDown Live in less than a week. Saturday and Sunday’s WWE events were thrilling and full of unexpected surprises fans are still talking about today. But we must carry on and refocus to the future. Extreme Rules is two weeks away and there is still ground to cover.

Opening Segment

Bray Wyatt’s intro seemed to interrupt the opening promo hyping the fatal 5-way at Extreme Rules. Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, and Bray Wyatt will do battle to determine the #1 contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Title.

Bray Wyatt walked to the ring surrounded by his fireflies and he was ready to lay it all out in his own unique way. Bray told everyone in the crowd to stand up for soon the slaves of The Beast shall be liberated. He said they should rejoice for their one true savior, Bray Wyatt and everybody lost their minds. He is super babyface whether Vince likes it or not.

Bray kept speaking in metaphors and referred to The Beast. Bray said he’s in control and soon he will rip the chest open of The Beast and feast right on his black heart. That was a nice line.

Of course, he meant Brock Lesnar when referring to this Beast, but good lord was it a promo that could be used in a sermon.

Wyatt brought up Seth Rollins and the crowd popped pretty well, but Bray said his destiny dies in malice. Joe didn’t get much of a reaction. Bray said he sacrificed him too. He mentioned Finn Balor and he got just about as much of a pop as Seth’s name. But out of the 5 of them, Bray Wyatt seems to have the majority of the reaction.

After all, Bray Wyatt is awesome and most people see it at this point. He paused before mentioning Roman Reigns and the boos that greatly outweighed any positive fan reaction. It seems Roman gets a lot of female cheers for some reason. Guess Bray isn’t pretty enough.

Speaking of pretty boy Reigns, his music hit next and he came out with his shoulder still taped up selling the damage from the brawl at Payback.

Roman stopped for a second before speaking to let the men boo and the girls scream. Then he said Bray should talk trash to his face. Bray called Reigns his old friend and said it was good to see him again. “Here’s the skinny man, I am the truth and I am the only one here that can beat Brock Lesnar,” Bray said.

Roman said he’s going to beat four guys at Extreme Rules and go on to beat Lesnar. Then he said he’s not worried about Extreme Rules. He’s worried about how he’s gonna get Bray’s ass out of his yard.

Insert Kurt Angle and tons of “you suck” chants while Angle waves like a politician here.

Angle said he’s looking at two of the odds on favorites in the Extreme Rules fatal 5-way. He said he wants to know who’s got the momentum going into Extreme Rules. Kurt saw Bray and Roman in the ring together and he wanted to see that match happen next. So it happened.

Bray Wyatt vs Roman Reigns

They stalled a bit before locking up to let the chants rise up before Bray rushed in for the lock up. They battled for strength before Roman caught a headlock. Bray hit a shoulder block but Roman didn’t budge. Bray found that hilarious for some reason.

Roman started to take Bray down with strikes, and Bray went to the corner and smiled at Roman upside down. Bray quickly grabbed him in the Sister Abigail, but Reigns got out of it and threw Bray outside.

Roman beat Bray around the ring for a bit, but Wyatt took control once they got back in the ring. Wyatt didn’t go for a pin though instead, he just bit the rope and smiled. Bray threw Roman ribs first into the turnbuckle and Wyatt just rolled around on his back like a child playing in the sand.

Bray finally went running toward Roman and he was hit with a still jumping clotheslines. Bray took control as “let’s go Roman/Roman sucks” chants broke out. Roman went for a move off the ropes, but Bray met him with a jumping shoulder block that turned him inside out.

Both men were out on the mat and then Samoa Joe’s music hit. Joe came strolling to the ring looking intent on destroying someone. He stood above both men and turned to Wyatt. Joe told Bray to get his ass up to help him assault Roman but Bray stayed sitting in the turnbuckle.

Joe walked up to Roman and slapped on the Coquina Clutch as the ref called for the bell. Joe soon turned his attention to Bray Wyatt and then Seth Rollins’ music hit and he came sprinting to the ring.

Roman hit Bray with a Superman Punch and Wyatt rolled out of the ring. Roman and Seth stood side by side in the ring and looked at each other. All four men stared each other down while music played that didn’t belong to any of them for some reason.

Backstage Segment

Roman asked Seth “what did I tell you? I told you I don’t need your help.” Seth said he was out there for Joe, not Roman. Kurt Angle walked up and told them their night wasn’t done yet. He said it’s about teamwork in a fatal 5-way for some reason. Then he booked them against Joe and Wyatt later on in the night.

The Drifter Elias Samson came strolling up to Angle after Seth and Reigns left. Kurt said Samson’s been trying to get his attention for a long time. Then he booked Elias vs Dean Ambrose. The Drifter didn’t say anything. He just kept strumming his guitar and kept on drifting.

Akira Tozawa vs Ariya Daivari

Tozawa laid some stiff shots to Daivari and kept on the pressure to keep his opponent at the defensive. Daivari moved out of the way and hit Tozowa with a clothesline. He kept Akira down and stomped at his foe, but got kicked in the face by Tozawa.

Tozawa soon found himself with a quick comeback and he hit his nice looking senton off the top rope. 1-2-3 and Akira Tozawa won. The announcers spent most of the match talking about Tozawa’s street fight match on 205 Live the next night. The Brian Kendrick was backstage watching the match on a monitor while Michael Cole kept interviewing him. Yet again, another effective segment from the Cruiserweight Division.

Backstage Segment

Sasha Banks was backstage and she was asked about her rubber match against Alicia Fox tonight. Suddenly Noam Dar and Foxy walked up and Dar said Sasha is jealous because she doesn’t have anybody.

Dar said Banks isn’t the boss, she’s the — “what?!” Sasha snapped. Dar said if she’s going to snap like that, he wasn’t telling her.

Elias Samson vs Dean Ambrose

The Drifter started off alone in the ring with the spotlight on him. He started strumming and singing a promo that went in line with the storyline. It was a heel promo in sing-song and the crowd hated it. He got INSANE heat from the crowd.

Samson kept playing for a bit actually before Dean Ambrose’s music broke through. The Miz and Maryse were introduced on commentary and Miz leaned back in his suit talking trash about Ambrose.

The bell rang and the WWE Universe was about to get their first taste of The Drifter. Spoiler: he’s salty.

Elias got a headlock on Dean and he wouldn’t break it up. Dean tried to fight off, but it didn’t work. Finally, Ambrose broke free and hit him with a couple arm drags followed by an arm bar. Elias grabbed a handful of hair and took Ambrose down with a shoulder block.

They traded chops until Elias Samson followed with a powerful shot that took The Lunatic Fringe down. Samson slid outside the ring and bashed Dean’s head off the apron. Then he delivered a running knee strike to Ambrose’s head from the floor.

The Drifter was already out to a better start on the main roster than practically his entire run in NXT. He ended up being almost like some sort of enhancement talent at Full Sail.

Samson kept Ambrose down with a tight headlock, but then Dean started to stir. He was sat back down by The Drifter and he kept him down as long as he could. Ambrose started stomping and acting like the spirit of the lord was within him or something and he separated from Samson.

The Drifter delivered a savage clothesline to Dean that caused Ambrose to shake like he was having a seizure. Dean was really putting The Drifter’s strength over. Elias got an arm bar on for a minute, but Dean returned to his feet.

Ambrose delivered some closed fists to Samson’s face and followed it with a boot the face and a neckbreaker. Both men were on the mat, but Dean started to stir first. They both got to their feet at about the same time and Dean took Elias down with a pair of strikes and followed it up with a clothesline.

Ambrose climbed to the top rope and dove on Elias. The Drifter lifted his knee and drove it into Dean’s face to show almost veteran awareness for the two count. Dean got up and delivered a clothesline.

Suddenly Miz ran down to the ring. Once he was in there he took a second and then attacked Elias Samson. The Drifter wins via DQ. If Ambrose is DQ’ed at Extreme Rules, he’s going to lose the IC Title.

Ambrose chased Miz around the ring in an attempt to get revenge, but The Drifter caught Dean and hit a swinging neckbreaker. Dean ended the segment on the mat and The Drifter won his debut match.

Backstage Segment

Big Cass was running backstage yelling “what happened?”

“I don’t know, they didn’t say,” said a referee as they ran in the same direction.

The camera panned over to Enzo Amore who was facedown on some broken wood or something. It looked like he was laid out. The Smacktalker Skywalker looked unconscious.

Big Cass leaned over his friend and tried to wake him up. “What happened?” he asked again. Nobody had any answer for Cass.

Later on, Enzo was sitting up and speaking to paramedics. They asked him if he remembered anything and he said he didn’t know because he got jumped. He said he woke up to them asking him questions.

They got Enzo up and Kurt Angle stood above him looking concerned. Kurt told Enzo they’d get to the bottom of what happened. Cass said Angle better find whoever jumped Enzo before he does.

Finn Balor vs Karl Anderson

These two guys used to light up the world on the same team as members of the Bullet Club. Now was their chance to light up Monday Night Raw.

Finn grabbed the mic and said by the sounds of things Balor Club was in the building. It’s cool they’re just calling Balor’s fans the Balor Club now. Finn slipped up a little bit when saying “fatal 5-way match” he said “oops.” Finn is just great.

Suddenly Paul Heyman’s voice started to ring out and the arena erupted in applause. Paul cut a great promo to hype Brock Lesnar. At this point, Paul Heyman should just come out with the Universal Championship.

Heyman listed everyone in the match and cut a little promo on each of them. He called Roman “the man who laid the Dead Man down” and that got plenty of heat for Roman. Let’s just remind people why they should hate Reigns and then keep trying to push him like a babyface, okay? Good plan!

Heyman asked permission to come in the ring and said: “I’m just an advocate.” Then he told Finn that he’s nobody’s victim. He said Finn’s no underdog. Then he started to put Finn over by saying everyone sees him coming. He called Finn the most talented in-ring performer in WWE today.

Paul Heyman said of all the possibilities at Extreme Rules he looks forward to Brock vs Finn for the Universal Championship the most. Then he shook Finn’s hand on behalf of Brock Lesnar and wished him good luck.

Balor said he wished Brock Lesnar was there but he wasn’t “surprise surprise,” Finn said. Balor told Paul to deliver a message to Brock Lesnar that he was going to beat The Beast Incarnate at Extreme Rules.

The Club’s music hit and Karl Anderson finally made his entrance alongside Luke Gallows.

Karl Anderson kept up the pressure early on and put Finn on the defensive until Balor landed a dropkick to a seated Anderson after rolling out of a sunset flip combo. Finn stomped on Karl and showed a lot of aggression.

Balor hit some knee strikes and Gallows got up on the apron to distract him. Anderson took advantage of that and took control of the match. He draped Finn across the ropes and Gallows hit a cheap shot while the ref wasn’t looking.

Karl Anderson used to be called The Machine Gun, I wish WWE would have kept that up. It probably has something to do with the fact that Americans love machine guns… yeah, that’s gotta be it.

Anderson kept Finn down with a headlock until Balor muscled his way out. Anderson hit a backbreaker and got a two count. Finn bought back, Anderson hit an uppercut, but Balor caught him with an overhead kick. Both men were out but got up at about the same time.

Anderson went charging but caught some feet to the face. Then Finn hit a dropkick and started to fire up. He chopped Anderson a couple of times and caught him with a kick that sent him to the floor.

Finn ran across the ring and dropkicked Gallows through the ropes and delivered a kick from the apron. Anderson ran over to Finn, but it didn’t work — he got served too. Anderson moved out of the way to avoid a Coup De Grace and hit a spinebuster on Finn Balor for a two count.

Anderon tried to hit a powerbomb, but Finn flipped around and landed on his feet. Then he double stomped Karl’s ribs. Anderson rolled outside and Finn delivered a dive to both members of The Club.

He threw Anderson back in the ring and hit a sling blade. It wasn’t too long before he was on the top rope ready to hit the Coup De Grace on The Machine Gun. 1-2-3 and Finn Balor defeated Karl Anderson on Raw.

Alicia Fox vs Sasha Banks

Noam Dar and Alicia Foooox were in the ring looking like a lovely young couple. But Sasha Banks wanted to come out and prove what she could do. She looked ready to settle the score with Foxy.

Sasha looked focused, but Fox looked crazy. Then again, Alicia Fox always looks crazy. Foxy rolled outside to consult with Dar, but Sasha dived on her. Dar distracted Banks by mocking her in hilarious fashion. Foxy took out The Boss on the apron and took control of the match.

She kept Sasha down with a headlock until Sasha separated herself. Banks sent Fox against the turnbuckle face-first and then hit the running double knees. Foxy started to fight back, but Sasha set her up with the double knee drop she does while her opponent is suspended through the ropes. Then Sasha pinned her and won. Sasha didn’t even nee a Banks Statement.

Noam Dar got in the ring and started talking trash to Sasha and she slapped him. Then Foxy jumped Banks from behind and hit a really rough looking scissors kick across her back.

The segment ended with Sasha on the mat. That was a bad looking scissors kick. Michael Cole asked Booker T if he was okay and Booker said “yeah” even though he sounded distraught. He just watched his own finishing move get butchered. He didn’t sound okay with it.

Backstage Segment

Kalisto and Apollo Crews were backstage and Kalisto asked Crews what was wrong with him. He told Crews he was fighting all of Titus’ battles and then asked him if he attacked Enzo.

Apollo said he didn’t do it without saying he didn’t do it. He might have done it, who knows? Crews said Kalisto has known him a long time but Titus offered him something he couldn’t refuse. Apollo said he wanted Titus’ connections because he was known all over the world. Then Titus walked up to Kalisto and said he knows what’s going on, Kalisto wants to be the first international member of the Titus Brand.

Kalisto said he didn’t want to be in the Titus Brand and O’Neil said Apollo was going to teach him a lesson tonight.

Backstage Segments

They went into a “Shattered Dreams Productions” segment. Goldust cut a really sweet promo that had almost a throwback feel to it. He said R-Truth’s light is flickering, unlike gold that never loses its luster.

Goldust was handed a script and threw it back saying he didn’t need a script because this is his picture because he’s back in the director’s chair. He said he’s in control of how and when his next film will end.

Goldust said “the Golden Age [insert creepy inhale here] is back”

Alexa Bliss was interviewed about her “kendo stick on a pole match” at Extreme Rules. They showed a clip from last week when Bayley took a kendo stick to the back from Bliss.

Alexa said she doesn’t feel bad for Bayley and the sound of the kendo stick against Bayley’s flesh makes her salivate. Okay… masochist, much?

Bliss said she’s going to tattoo Bayley with welts at Extreme Rules. Then Bliss said she’s going to do the same thing with Mickie James that she’s going to do at Extreme Rules. She’s going to crush her dreams. Yay for dream crushing.

Kalisto vs Apollo Crews

If WWE was trying to figure out a way to get fans to care about Apollo Crews, aligning him with Titus O’Neil might not have been the right move. Of course, people will pop when he finally turns on Titus, so that’s something to look forward to.

Apollo took Kalisto out with a dropkick and received praise from Titus who stood at ringside. Then he got a vertical suplex on Kalisto and held him up there forever before landing it.

Crews held Kalisto down with a front face lock and Kalisto got out of it. Crews brought Kalisto back down with a sweet looking kick to the head. Then Apollo held Kalisto up for his finisher, but Kalisto rolled him up for a two count. “Sick him!” Titus barked from ringside.

Kalisto suddenly hit the Salida del Sol and got the win. Titus got in the ring and chastised Apollo Crews for not taking orders.

Matt Hardy vs Sheamus

The winner of this match got to pick the stipulation for their match at Extreme Rules. So that was a reason to want to win. If they end up making it a ladder match, that might be too many ladder matches in WWE in such a short time. After the ladder match at WrestleMania 33 and the outstanding one at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, WWE might be overdoing that stipulation. Especially considering the fact that Money In The Bank is coming up soon for the blue brand.

The Hardy Boyz came out in their new acid wash t-shirts and Matt’s pants were green to match their new shirt. Matt and Sheamus locked up and Sheamus used his strength to attempt to gain an advantage, but Matt locked in a headlock and refused to let go.

Sheamus finally hit a shoulder tackle that sent Matt to the mat and after a forearm uppercut, he took Matt down with a headlock of his own.

Sheamus was sent outside, and he came back to almost get hit with a Twist Of Fate. Sheamus scurried outside the ring and Matt followed him. Sheamus sent Matt’s ribs against the ring as the crowd started chanting “Brother Nero.”

Sheamus punched Matt’s lower back and clubbed his chest a few times before blasting him off the apron onto the barricade. Sheamus went to get Matt and jumped on the top rope to hit a diving shoulder tackle for a two count.

Sheamus kept up the assault on Matt until Hardy sidestepped and Sheamus hit nothing but turnbuckle during a charge. Matt kept driving Sheamus’ face against the turnbuckle as the crowd chanted “delete.”

Matt jumped on the top rope, but Sheamus hit a hit him with a forearm and plucked him off the top rope. Sheamus hit a rolling senton and got a two count. Sheamus kept Matt down with a headlock for a bit after that.

Matt bounced Sheamus off the ropes but got a kick to the chest in return. Sheamus hit White Noise on Hardy for a close two count. Cesaro gave some words of coaching from ringside as Sheamus tried to think of what to do next.

Sheamus placed Matt on the top rope and Jeff jumped on the apron to distract The Great White Hope. Matt used the distraction to hit a DDT for a two count. Sheamus scooped Matt up, but Hardy squirmed out of it. He tried to hit the running bulldog, but Sheamus didn’t go for it. So Matt hit the Side Effect instead.

Matt started to pump himself up and did the “delete” taunt. Sheamus hit a running knee to Matt’s face and went for the cover. Hardy reached up and grabbed the bottom rope to stop the count.

Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick, but Matt ducked while Jeff Hardy climbed to the apron and hit a plancha on Cesaro who was sneaking around the ring. Matt Hardy hit the Twist Of Fate on Sheamus and got the win.

Therefore, The Hardy Boyz got to pick the stipulation of their match against Shasaro at Extreme Rules. So, if they lose they only have themselves to blame. Matt spoke like he was Broken complete with a “yesssss” at the beginning of his promo. He said they are going to lock them up and tear them down inside of a steel cage.

So it’s official. The Hardy Boyz vs Sheamus and Cesaro in a steel cage match for the Raw Tag Team Titles at Extreme Rules. That should be fun.

Tony Nese vs Austin Aries

Even though he wasn’t in the match, Neville still decided to come to the ring to see what’s up.

Austin took it to Nese as soon as the bell rang. Nese is the Premier Athlete and wanted to prove why he calls himself that. Aries hit an elbow drop as we kept wondering.

Nese stayed on the mat and A Double was able to show some of his submission proficiency as Neville looked on. Aries rolled up Nese, but he kicked out at two. Nese rolled out of the ring to avoid another attempt to lock in the Last Chancery and A Double hit a suicide dive.

Then Nese took advantage by hitting Neville’s bad leg. Aries got a boot up and caught Nese, leaped to the top rope, but Nese knocked him out of midair with an elbow to the chest.

Aries applied a guillotine choke on Nese, but Tony muscled out of it. Aries soon locked in The Last Chancery and Nese had no choice but to tap. After the match, Neville attacked Nese to prove how bad of a guy he is. Austin applauded from the ramp as he made his exit.

Mickie James vs Alexa Bliss

These two women have a history against each other. They are former friends. Bliss came out without Nia Jax by her side too. Guess they’re not having Jax follow Alexa anymore.

Bliss got a waist lock on Mickie and the two traded that move for a bit. Bliss hugged the ropes and told the ref to get her off of her.

Bliss backed Mickie into the corner and then started stomping a mudhole in her. James soon returned the favor and hit a kick to Bliss’ midsection followed by two diving clotheslines. James hit a neckbreaker for a two count.

Mickie started delivering some stiff looking forearms across the face of Bliss and kicked her in the face. Bliss got caught with an elbow and another kick to the head. But all Bliss needed was one shot to the chin and Mickie was down. Alexa hit a DDT and got the pin. Well, that looked easy enough.

Alexa Bliss started searching underneath the ring and brought out a kendo stick. Why does the ring crew always need a kendo stick to set up the ring? Bliss hit Mickie with the kendo stick and Bayley ran down to make the save after damage had already been done.

Bayley grabbed the kendo stick and Alexa powdered out of the ring.

Bray Wyatt and Samoa Joe vs Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns

Bray’s fireflies hadn’t diminished at all, in fact, the looked to be even thicker as he made his entrance. They played a piece of Seth’s entrance on accident and then started playing Samoa Joe’s music. Corey Graves said it was more mind games from Bray. NICE COVER!

Seth and Roman discussed who would start the match first against Bray Wyatt. Roman didn’t seem to want to give up the honor of starting. But as soon as he left the ring, Bray went charging at Rollins.

Seth threw Bray out of the ring and turned to Roman to show off. He attacked Bray on the outside and pounced on Joe. Seth threw Bray back inside but got knocked off the apron to the barricade by the Eater Of Worlds.

Bray continued to take the fight to Seth as Roman reached for the tag. Roman finally got the tag and kicked Bray. He followed it up with a Samoan Drop, but as he was cocking his fist, Bray did his spider walk and distracted him. Joe attacked him from the apron and Bray used the diversion to gain the advantage.

Roman was sent outside and Samoa Joe drove his head into the ring post. Then Joe threw Roman against the apron and punched him a few times in the chin. Joe and Roman took it back to the ring with Joe as the legal man.

Kurt Angle looked on from backstage as Roman took more abuse from The Destroyer. Joe held a chin lock on Roman as Bray looked on in delight. He kept up the pressure on The Big Dog until Roman finally started to stir. Joe tossed Roman to the corner and landed a kick to the back of Reign’s head for a two count.

Bray got the tag and hit a running corner splash to Roman. Bray looked very pleased with himself as he returned the focus to Roman in the middle of the ring with a rear chin lock.

Roman tried to Hulk Up, but Bray tossed Roman out of the ring before he could. Joe tried to assault him again, but it didn’t work the second time. Roman sent Joe into the ring post with authority. He pulled Bray down across the top rope throat first, and hit Joe again. Bray went running for Roman, but Reigns ducked and Bray went tumbling outside.

Seth Rollins got the tag as soon as Joe did, but Rollins took control. He hit a blockbuster on Joe and a plancha on Bray. Then he hit Joe with a sling blade and started to fire up. Seth put Joe outside with Bray and hit a suicide dive on them both.

Seth climbed to the top rope but was distracted by Bray. Joe hit him with a clubbing blow and climbed up to join Seth. Bray climbed up too and they looked like they were going for a double superplex. But Seth fought out of it and hit a double cross body off the top rope instead.

Roman came in as soon as Bray went for a Sister Abigail, and they sent Bray out of the ring. Joe ducked a Superman Punch from Roman and he ended up hitting Seth.

Rollins and Reigns started arguing as Bray pulled Roman out of the ring. Samoa Joe locked on the Coquina Clutch on Seth. He never tapped, but the ref called off the match when he noticed Seth wasn’t showing any life. After all, it’s always a good idea to call a match when someone looks dead.

Seth remained on the mat recuperating from having the life choked out of him while Bray and Joe looked proud.

Kurt Angle was shown backstage looking on in the monitor. Finn Balor walked up to him and told him not to leave him out of the fun next week. Angle said Finn isn’t going to be facing one of those four guys, he’s going to be facing two of them.

Kurt Angle also said Seth Rollins is going to be facing Roman Reigns next week too. “Damn I’m a good GM” Angle said as Raw came to a close.