WWE Raw: Live Updates, Match Results, Highlights and Reaction from April 17
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live blog for WWE Raw on April 17.
This week's show continued to lay the groundwork for Backlash with Brock Lesnar returning to respond to Cody Rhodes' challenge for a match.
We also saw Bobby Lashley battle Austin Theory, and The Miz faced Seth Rollins.
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We are going to be doing things a bit different moving forward. Erik Beaston will still have you covered with the regular recap and grades, and this will be a space for a more detailed description of what happened during each match and segment.
The latest segment and match will be listed at the top of the page, so make sure to refresh throughout the show for more updated results.
The Judgment Day vs. Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Matt Riddle
The main event of the night saw Priest, Bálor and Dominik Mysterio take on Zayn, Owens and Riddle in a six-man tag match.
Bálor and Zayn started off with an aggressive exchange, but both men tagged out after a bit. KO and Priest squared off, and The Archer of Infamy brushed off a few shoulder tackles before being knocked down with a dropkick.
The Prince tagged in and took control against The Prizefighter. After being knocked out of the ring, Ripley leveled Owens with a clothesline while Bálor distracted the ref.
The Original Bro got the tag and hit the Irishman with a series of his most well-known moves before Priest tagged in again.
When we returned from a break, Riddle was being decimated by The Judgment Day. He hit a German suplex to Dom out of desperation before Zayn got the hot tag and went to work.
Zayn hit a brutal sunset flip powerbomb on Dom for a two-count. Ripley pushed Zayn off the top turnbuckle so Dominik could hit a frog splash, but KO broke up the pin.
The ref caught Ripley red-handed when she tried to interfere for a third time and booted her from ringside. The end of the match saw Bálor take a Stunner from Owens, a Helluva Kick from Zayn and a Floating Bro from Riddle.
Winners: Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Riddle
The Bloodline rushed the ring and began attacking the winners as soon as the match was over. Rey and the LWO ran to the ring to make the save. The show ended with a huge brawl involving everyone.
Mia Yim and Candice LeRae vs. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were sitting ringside to watch Mia Yim and Candice LeRae take on Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville. Kevin Patrick called them The Complaint Committee, but there is no word on if that is an official team name or just something he came up with on the fly.
LeRae and Green started for their teams with a quick exchange of moves. Deville tagged in and they attempted to hit a double suplex, but The Poison Pixie countered into a double DDT.
Nikki Cross was shown watching from the front row as The Jersey Devil nailed LeRae with a hard kick. She and Green finally hit the double suplex, but LeRae was able to tag in Yim shortly after.
Yim and Deville had an awkward moment when Yim went for a Code Red, but they were able to pull it off in the end. Deville got caught using the ropes during a pin, but Green was able to tag in and hit an Unprettier for the win.
Winners: Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville
Green threw a drink at Morgan after the match, but Rodriguez held her back to avoid a fight.
Heel Trish Stratus is Back
Trish Stratus came out to explain why she turned on Becky Lynch last week, but she started by talking about how she revolutionized women's wrestling.
She ripped into Lita and Becky while saying there would have been no women's revolution if she hadn't paved the way. Trish said Becky never thanked her for opening the doors for her in this business.
She said even referred to a certain group as "The Four Horse Ladies." She took credit for the attack on Lita and claimed she did it so she could screw them out of the women's tag titles.
Trish claimed to be the most important figure in the history of WWE and vowed to make sure nobody forgets it.
Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory
The United States champion was booked in a non-title match this week when Austin Theory faced the former U.S. titleholder Bobby Lashley.
They locked up and The All Mighty forced A-Town into the corner to prove he was the more powerful of the two. Theory became enraged when Lashley knocked him down with a shoulder block, but his anger wasn't enough to stop the powerhouse from gator-rolling him all over the ring.
Lashley countered a suplex into a beautiful delayed vertical suplex. Theory avoided the Hurt Lock and nailed Lashley with a series of strikes, but all it seemed to do was make Lashley mad.
We returned from a break to see Theory starting to put things together as he rained down punches on a grounded Lashley.
He continued to control the pace and keep The All Mighty off his feet, but he never seemed to be able to keep him down long enough for a three-count.
Lashley began to regain his composure and dropped Theory with one of his old finishers for a two-count. Theory rolled into the ring and got caught in the Hurt Lock, but Bronson Reed came out of nowhere to break it up and cause a disqualification by attacking Lashley.
Winner: No-contest
Reed continued to attack Lashley, and even got an assist from Theory, before he hit a big splash from the top rope.
The Miz vs. Seth Rollins
The Miz was out first for his match with Rollins. The A-Lister attacked him before he could even get his jacket off. He beat him all around the ring and slammed his head into the announce table.
The commentators pointed out how Miz is angry with Rollins for what happened to him at WrestleMania 39. As soon as the bell rang, The A-Lister was back on him with shoulder thrusts in the corner.
The Visionary began to collect himself and hit a trio of suicide dives as the crowd continued to sing his song for a few minutes after it stopped playing. The A-Lister shoved him off the barricade into the timekeeper's area to send us into a break.
Rollins was starting to regroup when we returned, and the crowd began singing again to give him a boost. He hit a series of strikes to get a big pop from the fans
The crowd began to chant "This is awesome" right as Miz countered a buckle bomb and hit a unique codebreaker in the corner for a close two-count.
Rollins recovered and hit the buckle bomb, but when he tried to hit a frog splash, The A-Lister grabbed him in an inside cradle for another close two-count.
He managed to avoid the Stomp and hit two consecutive DDTs for yet another near-fall. Rollins was able to hit a superplex into a falcon arrow a few moments later, and that allowed him to hit the Stomp for the win.
This was easily the best match The Miz has had in a long time. Go check this out if you missed it.
Winner: Seth Rollins
We got a brief backstage segment with Matt Riddle, KO and Zayn. It seemed like Owens wanted nothing to do with Riddle but Zayn tried to play the peacemaker.
The Original Bro said he isn't there to joke around or be some idiot. He stormed off but Owens looked kind of impressed.
Cody Rhodes Speaks
During a backstage segment with The Judgment Day, Heyman approached the group. He asked if they were satisfied with what Sikoa did to Mysterio. Bálor seemed unimpressed.
Heyman told them to make sure they take out Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens so "They don't end up in debt to their Tribal Chief."
When we went back to the arena, Cody Rhodes came out wearing his tights and a hoodie instead of his usual suit or ornate ring jacket. He gave a signed belt to a small child at ringside.
He started with his usual "So, what do you want to talk about?" before he called out Brock Lesnar. Pearce came out and said he doesn't think it was such a good idea because Cody is not medically cleared, which is weird because he was dressed to compete.
Rhodes grabbed a chair and Lesnar came out as Pearce tried to talk him down. He promised to give The American Nightmare the match he wants at Backlash if he stops what he is doing.
Lesnar dared him to come get some, so Rhodes started fighting off the security guards who showed up to keep them apart.
The Beast Incarnate ended up leaving while Rhodes continued to beat up a bunch of indie wrestlers dressed as guards. He grabbed a mic and said "Brock Lesnar, I grew up around cowboys, and you are not a cowboy. You are a coward."
Bianca Belair vs. Dakota Kai
This was a non-title match but commentator Corey Graves made sure to mention that a win would likely earn Kai a title shot in the future.
They locked up a few times and Belair kept forcing Kai to the corner. After the third time, The Captain of Team Kick was able to take her down. They had a bit of a misstep in the corner but quickly recovered so The EST of WWE could hit a dropkick.
Kai kicked Belair's head into the ring post to knock her out of the ring as the show went to a break.
The Raw women's champion began to build up a head of steam when we returned. She hit a series of power moves that ended with a delayed vertical suplex and a moonsault for a two-count.
Belair countered the Scorpion Kick but ended up being planted on her face a moment later to give Kai a near-fall. She climbed to the top rope but missed a double stomp.
Belair attempted to hit a gutbuster but ended up losing her grip in the middle of the move. Kai seemed to be fine, so Belair picked her up for the KOD. Kai countered and sent the champ into the middle turnbuckle.
After avoiding a running kick, Belair was able to successfully hit the KOD for the pin. Bayley and Iyo Sky did not look happy at ringside.
Winner: Bianca Belair
After the match was over, Sikoa and The Usos took out the LWO. We then saw a video from earlier in the day with Alpha Academy, Maxxine Dupri and Adam Pearce that didn't really accomplish anything.
Back in the arena, Bianca Belair made her way to the ring for a match against Dakota Kai.
Rey Mysterio vs. Solo Sikoa
The match got started as soon as we returned from the commercial. Mysterio tried to stay out of Sikoa's radius by using his quickness, but one shot put the legendary luchador on the mat.
The Street Champ unloaded on him in the corner, but Mysterio was able to hit a quick crossbody for a near-fall. Sikoa made him pay for it with a stiff right hand to the face.
He kept Mysterio grounded for a long time with a trap submission and some more strikes. The high-flyer tripped him into the middle turnbuckle and brought him out of the ring as we went to another break.
We returned to see the powerhouse still dominating his much smaller opponent. It took a bit, but Mysterio was able to begin making a comeback. He went for a moonsault but Sikoa grabbed him out of the air to hit a Samoan drop.
The Master of the 619 set him up and hit the move, but Sikoa easily kicked out at two. He managed to get Sikoa into position for the 619 again, but The Usos coming down the ramp distracted him.
Legado del Fantasma came out of nowhere to attack The Usos and protect Mysterio so he could hit a second 619, but he missed the splash that followed and was hit with a nasty Samoan Spike to give Sikoa the win.
This was a great match with some fun spots. Sikoa is a star just waiting for his breakout moment.
Winner: Solo Sikoa
Opening Segment
Raw opened with The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman coming out to the ring. They barely had a chance to say anything of substance before The Judgment Day showed up.
Heyman and Damian Priest shook hands as The Advocate talked about how they were all villains who probably wouldn't get into heaven.
Heyman talked about how The Bloodline and The Judgment Day are forming a short-term alliance, but Rhea Ripley and Sikoa would not stop staring daggers at each other.
He said they can help each other with their problems and laid out some of the current rivalries for both groups. Heyman announced Sikoa would battle Rey Mysterio tonight.
The newly inducted WWE Hall of Famer made his entrance as the show cut to the first break.
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