WWE Raw Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights After Backlash 2026

On the heels of an explosive Backlash premium live event in which Roman Reigns survived Jacob Fatu to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, WWE Raw emanated from the Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Would Fatu do as expected and fall in line behind The Tribal Chief as part of a special Acknowledgement Ceremony, or did he raise hell and leave Reigns lying once again?

Find out with this recap of the May 11 show, including grades and analysis for each of the night's matches and segments.

Lineup

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Announced in advance of Monday's show were:

Acknowledgement Ceremony featuring Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu

Oba Femi Open Challenge

Women's Tag Team champions Brie Bella and Paige appear

Joe Hendry and The Street Profits vs. The Vision

The Vision Kicks Off Raw

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Fresh off a victory over Seth Rollins at Backlash, Bron Breakker led Paul Heyman and world tag team champions Logan Paul and Austin Theory to the squared circle to kick off Monday's broadcast.

The Wiseman took the mic and addressed the WWE Universe, claiming Rollins was not ready to combat Breakker and will never be ready to have a victory over The Vision.

Heyman turned the mic over to Theory, but before he could say much, the Street Profits interrupted. Montez Ford said he came to Raw to whoop up on The Vision because his wife, Bianca Belair is busy at home with the baby.

Paul cut a braggadocious promo, only to be interrupted by Joe Hendry and set up the first match of the night.

Grade

C

Top Takeaways

Breakker defeated Rollins and his contribution to this promo segment was...nothing. He did not utter a single word in what felt like a big missed opportunity for him to take his victory lap.

Considering how meaningless and one-dimensional the rest of the segment was, the lack of Breakker promo was even more glaring.

This felt like wasted television time to set up a six-man tag team match that was announced in advance anyway.

The Street Profits and Joe Hendry vs. The Vision

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Last Time in Action: Joe Hendry defeated Austin Theory (Raw, May 4); Logan Paul, Theory, and IShowSpeed lost to LA Knight and The Usos (WrestleMania, April 18); Street Profits defeated Los Garzas (Main Event, October 27); Bron Breakker defeated Seth Rollins (Backlash, May 9)

Breakker, Paul, and Theory controlled the action coming back from the break, isolating Ford and cutting him off from partners Hendry and Angelo Dawkins.

The babyfaces fought their way back into the match, but another commercial break brought with it more heel dominance.

Late in the match, Rollins appeared and attacked Breakker. The distraction allowed Ford to roll Theory up and score the win for the babyfaces.

After the match, Rollins helped Dawkins to his feet, only for Breakker to flatten him with a spear. That the Street Profit was downed infuriated Ford, who confronted Rollins to close the segment.

Result

The Street Profits and Hendry defeated The Vision

Grade

C+

Top Takeaways

The match was fine but the Rollins interference was predictable. This felt like a wholly uninspired start to the show that spent 30 minutes accomplishing nothing new outside of highlighting the tension and distrust that exists between Rollins and, well, pretty much everyone else on the roster.

Breakker looked great, and the crowd was super into Hendry, so that was a positive.

Backstage, Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan interrupted Adam Pearce, conversing with the Original El Grande Americano and his two lackeys, Bruto and Julio. As a result, Pearce booked Dirty Dom to defend his AAA Mega Championship against definitely-not-Chad-Gable later Monday night.

Penta Promo

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Frustrated by weeks of trash talk, intercontinental champion Penta called out "All Ego" Ethan Page.

A back-and-forth promo gave way to Page denying Penta's request for a match between them on May 23 at Saturday Night's Main Event. Before the luchador could finish his promo, Rusev interrupted.

The Bulgarian Brute took credit for last week's tag team victory and repeatedly told Page to shut up. All Ego did not oblige and claimed Je'Von Evans barged into Adam Pearce's office and claimed Rusev could not beat him. That brought out the Young OG, and after some further back-and-forth, a brawl broke out that concluded with the babyfaces standing tall.

Grade

C

Top Takeaways

There was nothing about this that accomplished anything other than, perhaps, setting up a match that would have made plenty of sense being announced in advance.

Page is a gem and will be a big star, but there is still that lack of established connection between him and the audience. More opportunities to speak in front of the fans will do him good.

Je'Von Evans vs. Rusev

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Last Time in Action: Ethan Page and Rusev defeated Penta and Je'Von Evans (Raw, May 4)

The product of the promo segment that preceded it, Evans and Rusev squared off in singles competition.

The Bulgarian Brute controlled the action coming out of the break, using his strength advantage to overwhelm the Young OG early and often.

Evans capitalized on an opening to fire off some offense, but the heel cut him down with a fallaway slam on the commentary table, uttering the words, "he's just a kid," entering another break.

Back from the timeout, Evans mounted a comeback and, after some back-and-forth action, the babyface overcame back pain to deliver the OG Cutter and secure the victory.

Result

Evans defeated Rusev

Grade

C+

Top Takeaways

Neither Evans nor Rusev could really afford a loss here, but the booking necessitated one would.

This was a solid match, nothing better or worse, that saw Evans pick up a big win. It came at the expense of Rusev, though, at a time when he was rebuilding traction with fans. How The Bulgarian Brute rebounds will determine if he remains in the IC title picture of falls back into obscurity.

Backstage, Asuka embraced Iyo Sky, congratulating her on becoming the woman she knew she could be.

Paige and Brie Bella Answer The Judgment Day

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Last Time in Action: Paige and Brie Bella defeated The Irresistible Forces (SmackDown, May 1);

Women's tag team champions Brie Bella and Paige hit the ring to answer The Judgment Day's Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez, who called them out last week.

The heels interrupted the champions, and Bella criticized Perez for aligning herself with Liv Morgan. Rodriguez took a shot at Paige's past before Morgan attacked from out of nowhere.

The heels stood tall to close the segment out as Michael Cole declared: "The Judgment Day wants all the gold!"

Grade

C+

Top Takeaways

The shots taken by each team elevated this, but it was a standard promo for the most part followed by physicality.

Backstage, Jimmy Uso tried to convince Roman Reigns to leave the Jacob Fatu thing alone and not force him to acknowledge him. The OTC, citing the need for order, said Fatu would hold up his end of the deal or he would be gone.

Iyo Sky vs. Sol Ruca

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Last Time in Action: Iyo Sky defeated Asuka (Backlash, May 9); Sol Ruca lost to Zaria (NXT, April 21)

In a battle between the best wrestler on the WWE roster and a main roster newcomer, Iyo Sky battled Sol Ruca. Impressive athletic ability highlighted the opening moments until Sky caught her opponent with a dropkick to the stomach mid-handstand.

Back from the commercial break, Sky fought out of a superplex and rocked Ruca with a Shotei uppercut. She brought the NXT export crashing back to the mat with a top-rope Spanish Fly, driving the wind out of her.

Later, Ruca rocked a charging Sky with a boot to the face, climbed the ropes, and delivered a modified DDT for a near-fall as chants of "this is awesome" spilled from the stands.

Sky hesitated on the Over the Moonsault, and Ruca got the feet up, catching her opponent square in the jaw. She tried for the Sol Snatcher seconds later, but Sky caught her with a crucifix rollup for the pin and the win.

Result

Sky defeated Ruca

Grade

B

Top Takeaways

WWE should feel real confident about Ruca after this one. Is her timing a tad off? Sure, but that will come the more that she works with quality main roster competition. She shared the ring with the standard bearer for in-ring performance in the women's division and the crowd chanted "this is awesome." That is a true seal of approval.

The only negative? The lack of follow-up involving Becky Lynch. Both women have a recent history with the women's intercontinental champion, and this was a perfect opportunity to involve her in some way. It is, instead, a missed opportunity. (Update: Lynch mocked Ruca following the loss in a brief backstage vignette)

Oba Femi Open Challenge

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Last Time in Action: Oba Femi defeated Otis (Raw, May 4)

Oba Femi hit the ring for his namesake open challenge, only to find out from Raw general manager Adam Pearce that no one would step up to battle him.

Not willing to take a cancellation, Femi walked backstage, grabbed Los Garza, and proceeded to carry both Angel and Berto to the ring, where he brutalized them and beat them down, leading to a short, sweet, and concise Handicap Match victory.

Result

Femi defeated Los Garza

Grade

A

Top Takeaways

Femi's insatiable hunger for destroying fools is going to do wonders for him until WWE shows its hand regarding his next big feud.

Kudos to Los Garza for bumping all over the ring to make Femi look even more like a world beater than he already was.

Backstage, Finn Balor wiped out JD McDonagh, ensuring he would not get involved in Dominik Mysterio's Mega Championship defense.

AAA Mega Championship: Original El Grande Americano vs. Dominik Mysterio

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Last Time in Action: Los Americanos Hermanos defeated Los Americanos (Raw, May 4); Dominik Mysterio lost to Finn Balor (WrestleMania, April 19)

Ahead of his Mask vs. Mask showdown with El Grande Americano at AAA's Noche de los Grandes on May 30, the Original El Grande Americano challenged Dominik Mysterio for the AAA Mega Championship and quickly found himself on the defensive after being sent face-first into the ring post.

Back from the commercial break, though, Americano mounted a comeback that saw him score a quick near-fall on the champion.

Interference from Rayo, Bravo, and the rival El Grande Americano allowed Mysterio to catch his opponent with a 619, win the match and retain his title.

Result

Mysterio defeated the OG Americano

Grade

B

Top Takeaways

It is going to be so good to have Chad Gable back in a few weeks.

How WWE still has not recognized that there needs to be some sort of synergy between AAA and Raw, and booked this OG Americano as the heel, is still mind-boggling.

The match was a ton of fun, which is not surprising given the talent involved. The interference was incessant and hurt the overall quality, but it at least made sense given the intense hatred between the "luchadors."

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviewed Austin Theory and Logan Paul. Maxxine Dupri, who has been caught in the background talking to Theory for several weeks, could be spotted in the car they got into, hinting at her involvement in The Vision sooner rather than later.

Acknowledgement Ceremony

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Last Time in Action: Roman Reigns defeated Jacob Fatu (Backlash, May 9)

Before Roman Reigns could officially welcome the WWE Universe to the Acknowledgement Ceremony at the conclusion of Monday's show, Jacob Fatu arrived and wasted little time laying out both Jey and Jimmy Uso before making a beeline for The Tribal Chief.

A brawl erupted until Reigns neutralized him with a steel chair, laying into The Samoan Werewolf.

Fatu recovered, and the battle between The Tribal Chief and his cousin continued, culminating with a Tongan Death Grip and powerbomb through the commentary table.

Fatu stood tall to close out the show, reiterating his determination to take the World Heavyweight Championship from Reigns. He feigned leaving, only to drive Reigns and The Usos through the timekeeper's area to close the show.

Grade

A

Top Takeaways

There was a moment when it felt like WWE might swerve us by having Fatu actually acknowledge Reigns but, thankfully, that was extinguished fairly quickly with that first shot at Jey Uso.

Reigns continues to bump all over the ring and ringside area to put his cousin over. It has worked, as even the staunchest pro-Tribal Chief audiences have converted to chants of "Fatu" by the end of the show.

This was a strong way to cap off the show, but where do we go from here? A straightforward rematch at Clash in Italy or does WWE throw a gimmick in there to justify the rematch?

MVP and Overall Grade

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MVP: Jacob Fatu

This show was heavily sold on the Acknowledgement Ceremony and Jacob Fatu's response to his beatdown of Roman Reigns at Backlash.

The Samoan Werewolf did not disappoint, showing the same fire, intensity and aggression that he had before in beating down The Tribal Chief and retaining his post-PLE momentum.

His chaotic brawl with Reigns and sprinting hip check through the guardrail provided this week's show a much-needed angle in which something actually happened.

Overall Grade: C+

Outside of the show-closing segment, this felt like a placeholder of a show in which nothing happened or really mattered. There was some entertaining in-ring action, Sol Ruca impressed in her biggest test to date, and Oba Femi rolled, but fans will be hard-pressed to remember anything that occurred in the first two hours and 15 minutes.