WWE RAW Recap, May 22: Samoa Joe, Bray Wyatt, and Finn Balor get some extreme momentum

Reviewing the WWE RAW from May 22, as we get closer to Extreme Rules.

Fast Five

It’s been a long time since we got to see a deep, dark promo from Bray Wyatt, so it felt refreshing to start the night by hearing him speak ill of all the superstars he will be competing with in a Fatal Five Way match at Extreme Rules. Those five will be Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, and Roman Reigns. Speaking of Roman Reigns, it was he who came out to his yard to confront Wyatt. This sparked an idea from the greatest GM who has ever lived, Kurt Angle, who decided to kick the show off with Reigns vs. Wyatt.

These two really know how to bring the violence, and didn’t disappoint everyone’s expectations that were as hastily thrown together as this match itself. Lately, it seems that any time Bray Wyatt fights in a match, some chicanery will eventually ensue, and ensue it did with the appearance of Samoa Joe, and eventually Seth Rollins. Since the match ended via disqualification (Joe hit Reigns first), Kurt Angle decided to put these four guys in a tag match later in the night.

So what is to be done with the fifth member of this Fatal Five Way match, Finn Balor? Balor was ready to fight Karl Anderson (which made fans of Another Promotion Not To Be Named go wild) until we heard the familiar, booming voice of our favorite advocate, Paul Heyman, come through the house speakers. What a delightful treat!

In classic Heyman fashion, he struck the fear of god into anyone who would dare think that his Beast, Brock Lesnar, would be a prize for the winner of the Fatal Five Way Match. Heyman thought Balor to be the most intriguing matchup for Lesnar, and I only mildly disagree. (Wyatt is my pick.)

Balor ended up picking up the W over Anderson, keeping his momentum rolling as we head toward Extreme Rules. (For the sake of a basketball analogy, Balor’s momentum right now could be compared to the Golden State Warriors, while The Club’s momentum is more relatable to the Seattle Supersonics. Too sweet, or too soon?)

In the night’s main event, we got to see Roman Reigns try and get along with Seth Rollins as they battled Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt in tag team action. There was some solid back and forth as we watched both these teams try to put their upcoming match at Extreme Rules on the back burner for the sake of getting some momentum with a win here, but it was ultimately an accidental headbutt from Reigns to Rollins that was the team’s downfall. Rollins thought it had been intentional, and was distracted enough for Joe to apply the Coquina Clutch, and get Rollins to tap out.

As RAW came to a close, we got a last glimpse of a backstage conversation between Finn Balor and Kurt Angle, where Angle decided to book not one, but two matches for next week. Balor will be fighting in a Triple Threat match against Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt, while Roman Reigns will battle his old Shield brethren, Seth Rollins. “Damn, I’m a great GM. It’s true,” says Angle, veins bugling out of his neck as he stares not just at the TV two inches in front of his face, but beyond it. He’s not wrong — it’s damn true.

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What’s It Gonna Be, Boyz?

I love me an old fashioned Winner Chooses The Stipulation For Their Upcoming match… match, so you know I was happy when Matt Hardy and Sheamus competed in one. Since the upcoming PPV is called Extreme Rules, my guesses were that if Matt Hardy won, he’d make their Tag Team Championship defense a Ladder match. On the other hand, if Sheamus won, I figured he would request a Chairs match, if only because his gimmick has been on the hot seat ever since it forced Cesaro to wear a kilt.

After helping his partner withstand some shots from Jeff Hardy, Sheamus was distracted, and was eventually pinned by Matt after a Twist of Fate. After the match, the Hardy Boyz announced that they will be defending their titles in a cage match. Man, I love being wrong all the time.

Highlight Reel

• Akira Tozawa has been getting deep under the skin of The Brian Kendrick on 205 Live, and on RAW we got to see him defeat Ariya Daivari by pinfall. Also, for the first time ever, we got to see some backstage ringside commentary from The Brian Kendrick, who was somehow having a conversation with Corey Graves, despite being backstage without a headphones or a microphone.
• The world doesn’t deserve you, Drifter. With Miz and Maryse dishing C-List celebrity wisdom on commentary, Elias Sampson made his RAW debut against Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. Yes, I’ve been snowballing into more of a Samson mark with each strum on his six-string, but not even I would suspect we’d see the biggest upset in RAW history! Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration given that he won because Miz gave him a little stomp, ultimately disqualifying Ambrose, but still.
• Someone got annoyed with the resident gift of gab, as Enzo was found unconscious by Big Cass. After he woke up and became coherent enough to speak (which conveniently took just one commercial break), he claimed he didn’t know who attacked him. I can’t give an educated guess, but I can confidently tell you who I hope it wasn’t: Big Cass. These guys have a title run in them, and it’d be a shame to break them up sooner than they need to. Sure, Big Cass eventually will deserve a singles run given how much of a specimen he is, but not before he and Enzo hold gold.
• It’s insulting that Sasha Banks needed a rubber match to prove her dominance over Alicia Fox, but I’m glad she did. It feels weird to only have written about Banks in my Highlight Reel section the past few weeks. Before the Superstar Shakeup, Sasha was a staple of the RAW Women’s Division; these days, she’s something you’d find in the clearance section at Staples.
• Goldust doesn’t seem to have any regrets about turning on R-Truth last week, and looks to write his own script as he gets into the final act of his career. The details are impossible to decipher without waiting, but I have a feeling his former tag team partner will want to be the punctuation to end the Golden Age.
• When Kalisto told Apollo Crews that he’s been fighting Titus O’Neil’s battles for him, he was absolutely correct. Crews (and eventually, O’Neil) didn’t take kindly to Kalisto’s harsh reality check, prompting a match between Kalisto and Crews. Kalisto won the match, but lost dignity being involved in a segment that was sponsored by Titus Brand. Even Kalisto misses Braun Strowman.
• Austin Aries did battle with Tony Nese, who is becoming something of a heel in the Cruiserweight Division after his recent beat down of Mustafa Ali on 205 Live, coupled with his alliances with Drew Gulak (and his anti-flying campaign) and now, by the looks of it, Neville. Aries picked up a much-needed submission win in front of his Extreme Rules opponent, but not as much as he needs a win over Neville, who has already successfully defended his Cruiserweight Championship against Aries twice. After the match, Neville pulled the plug on whatever alliance it looked like he had with Nese by way of the Rings of Saturn.
• The RAW Women’s Champion impressed us all again with some destruction of Mickie James, and any nostalgia you may feel (or not feel at all) when she’s on your screen. Alexa Bliss is getting ready to fight Bayley in a Kendo Stick on a Pole match, so it wasn’t a surprise when she wanted to get some batting practice on James’ back. Bayley saved whatever pieces of Mickie James that hadn’t been mashed in by the stick, but the message from Bliss was clear: she is going to hurt Bayley at Extreme Rules.