WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 4

It wasn't just the rowdy, spirited Montreal fans who made the May 4 edition of WWE Raw such a blast.

Inspiration clearly spurred on the creative team. Surprises popped up all night. Emerging stars captivated.

After several sluggish weeks, Raw perked up. Thank a cast of characters that includes Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn and Randy Orton. They worked to churn up momentum en route to Payback.

No new matches were added to the pay-per-view card, but rivalries intensified. WWE foreshadowed future collisions between Ryback and Bray Wyatt, along with Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler. There remain decisions to nitpick, but WWE did well to thrill the Montreal crowd and keep the folks at home talking.

The New Day Challenges Randy Orton and Roman Reigns

Credit: WWE.com

The New Day

Randy Orton kicked off Raw by talking about what he intended to do to both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

It didn't take long for the ring to fill up. Reigns entered, claiming he would be the one delivering the payback on Rollins. The two foes bickered until The New Day arrived to spread its message of positivity.

Big E and company invited folks to clap along with them. They informed the two world title contenders that they would be battling in a Handicap match.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"Roman Reigns is going to experience bitter disappointment, but that's not my problem."—Orton

"Fighting is in Roman Reigns' DNA."—Booker T

Fans chant "RKO!" to Reigns.

"If you come near me, you won't be standing."—Reigns to Orton

"Not only does Seth Rollins have your number; he has it on speed dial."—Big E

Grade

B

Analysis

When Orton is having fun, as he clearly is with his current anti-hero persona, he is at his best. He's been great as a lone-wolf babyface. This was one of his stronger promos. 

Adding The New Day to the mix was a welcome curveball. Booker T comparing The New Day to The Fabulous Freebirds rang hollow, though.

Getting Orton and Reigns more angry with each other heading into Payback is Booking 101. However, WWE has to stray from opening every Raw with a promo. The pattern feels lazy at this point.

The New Day vs. Randy Orton and Roman Reigns

The tag team champs found it difficult to take down Roman Reigns and Randy Orton despite having a three-on-two advantage.

Orton flung Kofi Kingston around the ring. Reigns left Xavier Woods writhing.

A distraction from Kingston shifted things for a good while. The New Day cornered Reigns and took turns trying to knock the wind from him. When The Viper finally entered, he went on a rampage, leaving the champs flattened all over the ring.

Reigns inadvertently put the flurry to an end. He speared Orton, allowing Kingston to pick up the pinfall.

Kane then booked the babyfaces for another bout against each other later in the night. 

Result

The New Day wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Restless fans begin to chant "JBL!" and "CM Punk!"

"Big E is a lot better fighter than he is a clapper."—John "Bradshaw" Layfield

Orton catches Kingston off the top rope and delivers a power slam.

The New Day gloats backstage.

Grade

B-

Analysis

Kingston doesn't look natural as a heel, but he is clearly working hard to make that shift. The entire team is in progress as characters.

WWE could have shown The New Day to be more dangerous here. They were outmatched more than they were overpowering. They did look like a cohesive unit.

Their overzealous backstage celebrations were the best part of their act. This is something that should be explored further.

Ryback and Bray Wyatt Trade Barbs

Ryback claimed to eat his own fear, that he wakes up hungry, ready to live life to the fullest. He called out Bray Wyatt, ready to take him on.

Wyatt appeared on the big screen. With smoke hovering around him, The Eater of Worlds called Ryback a scared little boy.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"The Big Guy loves you too."—Ryback to the fans chanting "Goldberg!" at him

"You don't scare me. You never would, you never could, you never will."—Ryback

Grade

C-

Analysis

Ryback did well here despite the pushback from fans. This was just too short of a segment. Wyatt's response, especially, felt unfinished.

With Payback so close, it's surprising that something more concrete didn't happen here.

The Ascension vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd

The Ascension controlled the bout early. Viktor and Konnor kept Tyson Kidd in their corner, overpowering him.

Cesaro turned things around when he entered. He knocked back Viktor's jaw again and again. The Swiss strongman swung his foe around; Kidd cleaned up with a drop kick.

That was enough to put The Ascension away.

Result

Cesaro and Kidd win via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"Tag team of the future? When does that future start?"—John "Bradshaw" Layfield on The Ascension

Cesaro hits nine running European uppercuts in a row.

"Cesaro is a beast, what a special athlete."—Michael Cole

Grade

C+

Analysis

JBL spent too much of the bout trashing The Ascension again. The duo at least got to look powerful at times. 

It's clear, though, that the focus is on Cesaro and Kidd here. This was meant as a means to push them back into contention. It remains to be seen whether WWE will ever consider The Ascension anything other than stepping stones.

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Backstage, Kane sent Seth Rollins into a rage by booking him against Dean Ambrose, with J&J Security banned from ringside. The WWE champ only got angrier. Kane added the stipulation that if Ambrose won, he would be added to the Payback main event.

The Lunatic Fringe throttled Rollins in the early going. Rollins responded with aggressive strikes and by wearing down his former ally.

As the pace picked up, it favored Ambrose. He flew around the ring and scored a cluster of near-falls against the world champ.

The fight carried the men to the outside of the ring. It remained just as wild when it returned between the ropes. J&J Security tried to interfere, but Ambrose rolled up Rollins for the win.

Result

Ambrose wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"Canada doesn't matter."—Rollins

Ambrose hits a rebound clothesline on the outside of the ring.

Ambrose winds up with his right hand and slaps Rollins with the left. 

Fans chant "Ole!" for Sami Zayn.

Rollins powerbombs Ambrose into the guardrail.

Grade

A

Analysis

These two men don't disappoint. WWE continues to pair them together, and their stellar chemistry keeps resulting in enthralling ring work.

This was one of the best matches on Raw in 2015. The stipulation was an intriguing addition, and Ambrose forcing his way into Payback's title match is a welcome surprise. Suddenly, that main event has a new energy.

Ambrose moves from the midcard to the marquee in a hurry. He will need a more long-term rivalry soon, though. Rollins is set to be busy with Reigns and likely Brock Lesnar before long.

Rusev vs. Fandango

Rusev's early assault slowed when the big man hit the ring post.

Fandango, meanwhile, got Lana to start doing his signature dance. That infuriated Rusev, inspiring him to oust her from ringside. The distraction opened things up for the ballroom dancer.

A kick to the jaw changed things around in the Russian bruiser's favor. The Accolade did Fandango again.

Result

Rusev wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

A smiling Lana "Fandangos."

Grade

C

Analysis

Rusev showed some vulnerability here. Fandango got far more offense in than one would expect.

The big takeaway here is that WWE further teased Lana breaking away from Rusev. She's riling him up by welcoming the crowd's positive response. Seeing the trajectory of this narrative is easy.

She's set to turn face, apologize for all her anti-America rants and leave Rusev to fend for himself. There's a big chance that this unfolds at Payback with The Ravishing Russian somehow costing Rusev his match.

Stardust vs. R-Truth

With a mysterious bag in the corner, Stardust battled the man who knocked him out of the King of the Ring tournament.

Stardust nailed R-Truth with punches early on. After the two men collided, things evened out. R-Truth dug into the bag, only to find a mess of plastic spiders.

That scared the rapper, allowing Stardust to win.

Result

Stardust wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Stardust grins as he plays with the spilled spiders.

Grade

D+

Analysis

There has to be a better use of Stardust than having him play with spiders and mess around with R-Truth. Hopefully, this was just a one-off, and we're not about to see him get stuck in a feud with the spider-fearing Superstar.

That is sure to get silly rather quickly.

John Cena's Open Challenge

John Cena toyed with the crowd, working its negative chants into his speech. He talked up his upcoming match with Rusev.

The U.S. champ poked fun at the fans and generated a touch of cheap pop by mentioning the Montreal Canadiens.

Bret Hart answered Cena's challenge, or so it seemed. The Hitman instead tried to introduce someone. Heath Slater interrupted, however.

Hart clubbed him with a microphone and welcomed Sami Zayn. 

Zayn had Cena retreating early. The champ, though, grounded the NXT star with his power. Zayn struggled with a bad shoulder and called off the doctor to continue fighting.

Zayn escaped the STF; Cena slipped out of the Kofi Clutch. It looked as if an Attitude Adjustment would put the match away, but Zayn kicked out.

A second one did the trick, though.

Result

Cena wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Fans chant "Ole!" and sing "John Cena sucks!"

Slater tried to call the fans incompetent in French.

"There's no way this kid is going to quit at home."—Booker T on Zayn

Zayn hits a tornado DDT after flying past the ring post.

Grade

A+

Analysis

Cena's ability to improvise to work around the crowd is special. So many Superstars would try to force the scripted promo into that situation and fail. 

Cena, though, can turn an angry crowd around like few others have ever been able to do.

This rant sounded just like so many of his previous ones. It's a performance like this, as strong as it was, that has fans so tired of his shtick.

Zayn received a raucous reaction from his hometown fans. 

The announcers played up Zayn's gutsiness and how much he pushed Cena. Zayn's shoulder injury also softens the blow of the loss.

What a tremendous performance by Zayn in the brightest of spotlights. His ceiling is mighty high. It's going to be a thrill ride once he's on the main roster for good.

Nikki Bella vs. Naomi

Nikki Bella didn't make it to the ring. Tamina Snuka and Naomi blindsided both the Bellas. 

The black-clad duo pounded on the sisters before leaving them out cold outside the ring.

Result

The match never starts. 

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Tamina superkicks Nikki out cold. 

"This is what family is about."—Naomi

Grade

B-

Analysis

There's obviously no match to grade here, and despite its brevity, this segment worked well.

The announcers played up these women's connections, saying that they are cousins by marriage. That's a simple entry point to this storyline. Plus, Naomi was surely tired of being outnumbered.

WWE has found an ideal place for Tamina right away. Like she did with AJ Lee, she will thrive as an enforcer. 

The company just needs to give us a reason to root for the Bellas. You can't just start treating folks like babyfaces and expect the audience to roll with it. Some character development is missing here.

Neville and Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus and Bad News Barrett

Bad News Barrett strutted out in full kingly attire. He promised to rule with an iron fist before Dolph Ziggler soon had him reeling on the outside of the ring.

Ziggler and Sheamus continued their rivalry here, brawling near the guardrail. Neville continued what he began with Barrett at King of the Ring. The high-flyer kept the match's pace fast.

A distraction from Sheamus took Neville off his game. That opened the door for Barrett to nail him with his signature move.

Result

Barrett and Sheamus win via pinfall. 

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"Gather round, you filthy commoners."—Barrett

Ziggler tags Sheamus with a thunderous superkick.

Sheamus tosses Ziggler over the guardrail.

Barrett clips Neville out of the air with a Bull Hammer.

Grade

B-

Analysis

This is a clear case of two pairs of rivals getting a crack at each other via a tag team match. Neville stood out once more, as did the intensity between Sheamus and Ziggler.

While not a great bout, it sets up what's next for these four men. Clearly, The Celtic Warrior and Ziggler are going to add to their bad blood. And Neville and Barrett aren't through colliding.

WWE is going to have to get Barrett some better-looking royal gear. His scepter is something you would find at Family Dollar.

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton

Before the bout, The Authority arrived. Jamie Noble announced that he would be the special announcer, Joey Mercury would be timekeeper, Kane would be the enforcer and Seth Rollins would provide commentary.

Randy Orton went for the RKO early, but Roman Reigns evaded the move. 

The match moved to the outside, where Orton slammed Reigns into the guardrail and The Juggernaut clocked Noble. Back in the ring, another RKO failed, but Reigns' Superman punch connected.

Kane then led his posse in beating down Orton and Reigns. Dean Ambrose charged in, adding himself to the fray.

The babyfaces cleared the ring and then eyed one another. Orton floored Reigns with an RKO right before Ambrose struck The Viper with Dirty Deeds.

Result

Match ends in a no-contest. 

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"I'm better than all three of them combined, and I'm going to prove it."—Rollins on his Payback opponents

Reigns flies over the top rope onto The Authority.

Grade

B

Analysis

The match itself was nothing special. For as short as it was, it sure dragged.

This was meant to be more of a segment to set up the Fatal 4-Way at Payback. In that way, it succeeded.

Fans witnessed plenty of animosity between each man. The Authority looked cunning in cornering Orton and Reigns. Ambrose, meanwhile, came off as an avenger of sorts, coming in to save the day.

The complexion of the main event is drastically different now. Ambrose adds a welcome fire to the mix.