WWE Raw results, winners, grades and reaction: The talk of the town before this week’s Raw was the return of WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.
The Beast has been away from in-ring competition for a while but he was back with Paul Heyman by his side.
Instead of naming a challenger for his crown, Heyman confirmed that Lesnar would be part of the Royal Rumble.
The Beast would start at the No.1 position, as he wanted a new challenge ahead of the New Year.
Grade A
That’s something different to start Raw with. Lesnar going in as No.1 is interesting given that he hasn’t been involved in long fights recently.
Rey Mysterio tried to reclaim his WWE US title back from Andrade but Zelina Vega, again, had a huge role to play in the match.
It seemed that Rey was set for the win but Vega put Andrade’s foot on the rope and the match had to be restarted despite a three count.
El Idolo then launched Vega accidentally to Rey, and the challenge was upset over the proceedings. This allowed Andrade to hit the Hammerlock DDT and pick up the win. He then ripped Mysterio’s mask off and the officials shielded the former champ.
Andrade was gloating in an interview of all he did but Rey came charging back and took his mask from El Idolo.
Andrade beats Mysterio
Grade A
I am not a fan of the masks getting ripped off but this feud seems to be continuing for a while. The match was great and the pair put up another fantastic showing.
The tag team titles were on the line as the Viking Raiders tried to defend their crown from The OC and The Street Profits.
This was another decent match on Raw with The OC doing their bit dominating early on but it wasn’t going to be enough for them.
The Profits also had some bright spots but it was the Viking Raiders that ultimately won. Karl Anderson was the recipient of a huge hit as the Raiders kept hold of their titles.
Raiders beat OC and Profits
Grade A
All three teams were excellent in the clash and the triple threat match delivered. The Profits looked great and it is only a matter of time before they pick up the titles soon.
Becky Lynch came out and spoke about beating Asuka and how she has fallen short a number of times.
The champion was determined to set things straight in their upcoming clash but Asuka came out and cut a promo in Japanese.
Lynch wasn’t going to take this lying down and hit her rival with a punch.
Grade A
Although we couldn’t understand what Asuka was saying, all she did was taunt Lynch.
This rivalry has been built well and it will be interesting to see how things develop between the pair.
Erick Rowan was back with his pet (hidden in a cage) and took on another local competitor. The match was another squash for Rowan but there was something different regarding this.
Rowan forced his competitor to look inside the cage, and the challenger got sprayed with some red mist.
Grade D
At least WWE did something different with this but the squash matches are getting tiring. Who knows what is inside that cage.
After Randy Orton surprised AJ Styles by feigning injury, it was time for Styles to get some revenge.
He was up against Akira Tozawa and seemed set to win the clash after a Phenomenal Forearm.
However, Styles decided to mock Orton and hit Tozawa with a DDT and an RKO too.
Styles beats Tozawa
Grade A
Styles was at his best again as a heel and his rivalry with Orton seems to be bubbling away. It is a little upsetting seeing Tozawa act as fodder as the cruiserweight is more than that.
After last week’s shenanigans, Lana and Lashley were back in the ring to complete the ceremony regarding their marriage.
Rusev did have something to say as he appeared on the giant screen and shared images from last week’s botched ceremony.
Lana was furious and started screaming at her ex, but Lashley told her to “shut up” and challenged Rusev to a match next week.
Liv Morgan was also backstage and said she would stand beside Rusev next week in the clash.
Grade D
This wasn’t the worst segment regarding this storyline but this just has to end. The match next week could be the end of the chapter but with Morgan involved, there will be more of this in the coming weeks.
Sarah Logan was set to face Charlotte Flair but attacked The Queen even before the match started.
Logan looked impressive but took things a little too far by stamping on Charlotte’s robe. That got The Queen enraged and she demolished her challenger after that.
Grade B
Charlotte’s march to the Royal Rumble seems to be gathering pace and she did a great job on Logan too.
Logan deserves more time on TV and a proper match between the pair could be something great in the future.
No Way Jose was beaten down to a pulp by Drew McIntyre with the Scottish Psychopath also attacking the Conga line.
Two Claymores were handed to Jose before the Scot confirmed his entry into the Royal Rumble.
McIntyre beats Jose
Grade B
McIntyre looked like a perfect heel as he attacked the Conga line and it will be interesting to see how he does at the Royal Rumble.
Aleister Black was back in action, this week against Shelton Benjamin, and he made short work of the former Tag champion.
However, Buddy Murphy was waiting in the wings and attacked Black after his loss last week.
The Australian also used a steel chair on him and sat cross-legged, taunting the beaten up Black.
Black beats Benjamin
Grade B
Murphy vs Black round 3 seems to be on the cards, and the Australian did a stellar job with the attack on the Dutchman.
The pair have put up two quality matches so far, and it will be interesting to see how the third one goes.
Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe were set to face AOP and Seth Rollins.
Joe claimed he had a third man to help but kept the identity of his helper a secret. That turned out to be The Big Show who returned to Raw after almost two years.
Show helped them pick up the win as Seth Rollins attacked him with a steel chair that caused a DQ.
The faces also got the last laugh as Show knocked out Rollins with a punch at the end.
Owens, Joe and Big Show beat AOP and Rollins
Grade B
The match was great but it should have been someone else apart from Show being the third man.
Show was a great athlete at his time, but WWE needs to push others into the light. Big Show cannot be the third man for this team throughout the rivalry as he has done his bit on WWE in the past.
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