WWE Raw preview (May 9, 2022): It’s still too soon for Cody Rhodes

Raw airs tonight (May 9) with a live show from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. This is the first Raw episode during the four week build towards Hell in a Cell, coming up on June 5.

It’s still too soon for Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes is now 2-0 against Seth Rollins after defeating him in their rematch at WrestleMania Backlash. After the win, Cody gestured that he’s ready for a shot at WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Like usual, Cody is sadly mistaken.

The real reason it’s too soon for Cody to get his title shot against Roman Reigns is because that match is being saved for one of WWE’s upcoming stadium shows on the schedule after Hell in a Cell. As far as Hell in a Cell is concerned, Cody should be well aware that Seth Rollins isn’t finished with the American Nightmare just yet.

Cody won their rematch by grabbing a handful of tights on a roll up. It’s not exactly the kind of impressive finish that screams out Cody is ready for Roman or done with Seth. Seth was seething after the match. This is a man who is so bad at moving on that he once extracted Rey Mysterio’s eyeball just to get a win. It seems to me that Cody will have to finish Seth off once and for all inside the cell in four weeks before it’s time to face Roman.

Where does that leave the WWE Universal championship for Hell in a Cell? It’s not clear if Roman will even appear on Raw tonight to address that point.

The rest of the title scene

Bianca Belair needs a new challenger for the Raw women’s championship. Sonya Deville, Carmella, and Zelina Vega don’t pose a serious threat to the champ. Becky Lynch is preoccupied with Asuka. Rhea Ripley just joined a new faction. Nikki A.S.H. and Doudrop seem to be forming an alliance. Liv Morgan hasn’t really been a factor in the title scene in a bit. Who knows when Alexa Bliss or Bayley will return to television. WWE shouldn’t waste any time choosing one of these women as the next in line for a title shot.

It’s too early to know if RK-Bro will continue their feud with The Bloodline heading into Hell in a Cell. But one thing we do know is the Street Profits have said they want the next shot at the Raw tag team titles.

United States Champion Theory got one over on Mustafa Ali last week by booking him in an unfair handicap match. Being able to text Vince McMahon on the fly has its perks, that’s for sure. Is Ali still coming after Theory tonight, or will he have to deal with Tommaso Ciampa first?

Sasha Banks and Naomi are the Women’s tag team champions and have a title match scheduled for later this week on SmackDown. They probably won’t factor into plans for Raw tonight.

The 24/7 title scene is now about divorce, at least for Reggie and Dana Brooke. R-Truth knows about the pain of divorce because it’s been far too long since he’s been with the 24/7 title. Maybe his luck will change tonight.

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- Asuka stole Becky Lynch’s spotlight two weeks ago when they both returned to WWE television in the same segment. Asuka’s team then beat Becky’s last week in the Raw main event. There’s a pretty good chance they’ll be facing each other at Hell in a Cell.

- Omos finally picked up a win over Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania Backlash, thanks to an assist from MVP. So what’s next for these two men? Probably another rematch, I’d assume.

- Edge managed to beat AJ Styles at WrestleMania Backlash because Rhea Ripley got directly involved and revealed herself to be the newest member of Judgment Day. I hope Liv Morgan gets along with Styles and Finn Balor, because she’ll have to join this story if she plans to get revenge on Rhea.

- Veer Mahaan is biding time squashing jobbers until Rey Mysterio is ready to return and dish out some payback for what Veer did to his family.

- Kevin Owens is driving himself nuts over Elias’ younger brother Ezekiel, who is definitely not Elias. Ezekiel was pinned by Chad Gable in a six man tag match last week, so we’ll see how he bounces back tonight.

What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?