WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from Oct. 20
The Oct. 20 edition of WWE Raw offered a sampling of the brutality and anarchy that await those who enter the Hell in a Cell.
The go-home show was not without its misfires, but mostly the company infused buzz into the pay-per-view's buildup. An enraged Big Show, a victorious Damien Mizdow and Seth Rollins' turncoat ways added to their respective rivalries.
Ramping up the uncertainty and energy of those matches mostly makes up for WWE's habit of repeating matches from SmackDown.
The following is a look at what worked and what didn't. All the night's bouts and promos receive letter grades based on their entertainment value and the wisdom of the decisions involved.
The Authority Open Raw
1 of 9
The Hell in a Cell hung above The Authority as they stood in the ring.
Triple H talked up the night's main event. He spoke of his history inside that structure and how much it changes the men who battle inside it.
Seth Rollins called himself the undisputed future of the WWE before promising to defeat Dean Ambrose at Hell in a Cell. Randy Orton claimed that his match with John Cena was the true main event.
That bout, as Triple H informed us, was now a No. 1 contender's match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
"It's not the kind of match you win; it's the kind of match you survive." —Triple H
Orton bad-mouthing the Kansas City Royals incites the crowd.
Grade
B
Analysis
The added stipulation was the biggest thing to take away from the segment. WWE hadn't mentioned who was next in line to face Brock Lesnar until now.
While Orton vs. Cena is a match we've seen quite often, this twist makes it more intriguing.
Triple H and company's threats and promises were standard fare. Rollins and Orton did what they should have—declare their future victories.
The Usos vs. Sheamus vs. Goldust, Stardust and The Miz
2 of 9
The Miz sent his stunt double Damien Mizdow into the match, telling him that it was a big opportunity for him.
Jey Uso battled hard but found himself in trouble early. The heels took turns clocking him. Jey escaped long enough to let Sheamus in, and The Celtic Warrior went on a rampage.
He dominated Mizdow and took part in the fun when The Usos started flying around. As Sheamus floored Stardust with a Brogue Kick, Mizdow sneaked in and rolled him up for a three-count.
Result
"The Miz," Stardust and Goldust win via pinfall.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
Stardust hits a springboard dropkick from the top rope.
Sheamus leaps from the top rope onto his opponents outside the ring.
"I won! I won!" —The Miz when Mizdow got the pin
Grade
B+
Analysis
A fun match that picked up speed toward the end was better than the one from Friday's SmackDown that featured the real Miz. Stardust's high-flying and Mizdow's antics were its biggest strengths.
WWE wisely planted some seeds of dissension between Miz and Mizdow. The latter is sure to get upset about the former taking credit for his hard work.
That feud is seemingly headed in an interesting direction, while the one between the tag team champs and The Usos has lost its spark. Before Night of Champions, animosity between them was amped up. Since then, it's been a lukewarm battle at best.
AJ Lee vs. Alicia Fox
3 of 9
Paige watched on as Alicia Fox clashed with the Divas champ.
AJ Lee went for a number of early pinfalls but could only get two-counts. Fox responded with a bit of hair-pulling and smacking AJ's face against the mat. She taunted the champ as she kept on the attack.
When AJ went on a comeback, Fox looked to retreat, but Paige awaited her outside the ring. They pretended to fight to allow Fox to get the schoolboy pin for the victory.
Result
Fox wins via pinfall.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
Fox hits her beautiful bridging suplex.
"I hate you!" —Fox screams at AJ.
Grade
B-
Analysis
A surprising finish will be what folks talk about following this contest. It looked for a moment that Paige was going to turn on her partner, perhaps hinting at that actually coming about later on.
The match was solid, with both women being aggressive in spots.
The Paige and AJ rivalry, though, is really dragging. There is not nearly enough intensity between them. As they head into Hell in a Cell for their fourth straight pay-per-view meeting, it's hard to get excited.
Randy Orton, John Cena and Paul Heyman Segment
4 of 9
Backstage, Seth Rollins and Randy Orton shared some simmering tension.
The Viper told Rollins to stay out of his way and that he didn't want him to be on his team. Rollins reminded him that he could cash in his Money in the Bank contract should Orton win the world title.
Once Orton stepped into the ring, he recalled his history with John Cena. He trashed his opponent in between telling the fans that the Kansas City Royals wouldn't win the World Series in 100 years.
Cena soon charged out and started calling him a dumbass. He went into juvenile-humor mode in response to Orton.
Referencing the Royals, he went for cheap pops. Eventually, he started talking about taking on Brock Lesnar and his obsession with beating him.
Paul Heyman interrupted. He called their discussion "revisionist history" and talked up his client. Cena lifted up him for an Attitude Adjustment but changed his mind.
Orton didn't hesitate with his finishing move. He floored Cena with an RKO and then followed up with an RKO to Heyman as well.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
"Time really flies!" —Orton yells at the crowd.
"I was third-generation royalty and Cena was just some punk kid from Boston, Massachusetts, who thought that he could rap." —Orton
"This Sunday, you go face to face with the man who runs the place. And hell is coming with me." —Cena to Orton
"My client has no equal." —Heyman
Grade
B
Analysis
In just a few short minutes, fans experienced the highs and lows of Cena's promo skills in a segment that had both peaks and valleys.
There was far too much Royals talk. How many WWE fans (especially international ones) really care what either Cena or Orton think about the Kansas City baseball team?
Cena's silly side was painful to watch, but then he followed that up with the kind of focused, passionate promo that he's famous for. Orton was better than expected during his time on stage, aggressive and nasty. The audience didn't care for it, though.
What WWE should have been doing weeks ago followed. Heyman discussing the idea of Lesnar waiting for his next prey was the ideal way to keep the WWE title in the current storylines.
Orton attacking Heyman is going to have consequences, and that's the most interesting thing to come out of this segment. That was a strong hint that we're headed for Lesnar vs. Orton soon.
Big E vs. Rusev
5 of 9
In their latest collision, Rusev and Big E traded right hands to the ribs early on. After a brief brawl outside, Big E had control for a moment.
Then came The Bulgarian Brute, a boulder rolling down a mountain. He elbowed Big E to the mat, stomped on his chest and took him off his feet with a spinning heel kick.
Rusev clamped on The Accolade, and the end was near for Big E.
Lana did her usual anti-America rant and called for the Russian flag to come down from the rafters. Thanks to Big Show, Old Glory came down instead. When Rusev tried to tear it down, a soldier in uniform jumped into the ring.
A swift kick to the mug took down the would-be hero. Staff attended to the young man as Rusev exited.
That left Big Show, who soon came out to the ring, so angry that he struggled to speak. He seethed as he discussed what Rusev had done.
The giant challenged Rusev to fight early, but he didn't come out. Big Show promised to hunt him down instead.
Result
Rusev wins via submission.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
Big E leapfrogs over Rusev.
"I'm sorry, Big E. You better get ready to tap out." —JBL
"I'm going to rip your giant heart out and devour it." —Rusev
"What you just did is going to make me unleash every bit of wrath I have within me all over your head." —Big Show
Grade
A
Analysis
The match was fine—the same kind of exchange we've seen from Big E and Rusev during their last few clashes. The incident that followed was more moving.
WWE took this story in an unexpected direction, upped the stakes for Big Show vs. Rusev and added emotional firepower to it. Big Show now enters that bout with so much to fight for that it's bound to suck in the audience far more than it would have otherwise.
Brie Bella vs. Summer Rae
6 of 9
Summer Rae was in control in the opening moments. Brie Bella came back with hard kicks but soon found herself on the mat, firmly in Summer's grip.
Brie charged back with a dropkick and a running knee, but Summer dodged her first missile dropkick. Brie hit it the second time, followed by a Bella Buster.
Result
Brie wins via pinfall.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
"Somebody's going to be a Bella butler." —JBL
Grade
C-
Analysis
What an odd, awkward match. Summer looks to have regressed from her NXT days.
She didn't sell the missile dropkick enough, popping up too soon. Elsewhere, she didn't seem to be giving much effort.
Aside from her normal overacting, Brie was fine here.
The bout had a sensible narrative of the babyface coming back against the heel. Add that to the fact that it made good booking sense to have Brie on a roll like this, and it got a better grade than the in-ring action would have had on its own.
Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Mick Foley and a Dummy
7 of 9
Dean Ambrose barked about how he was finally going to get his hands on Seth Rollins. He pulled out a Rollins dummy and propped him up in a chair.
He tore off the fake Rollins' right hand and started use the limb to slap it around. He pulled out various tools, threw out various puns and tortured the doll.
He hit it with a piledriver before the real Rollins showed up. Rollins insulted the crowd and his Hell in a Cell opponent.
Mick Foley soon came out and talked about Rollins and Ambrose's legacy. Mr. Money in the Bank trashed him before Foley recalled his Hell in a Cell experiences. Ambrose said that Foley was the only one who might understand him and that he didn't care what kind of scars he would suffer inside the steel structure.
The Lunatic Fringe then chased Rollins away with a steel chair before tossing the dummy at him.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
"I got that no good, backstabbing, half hair-dyed, Power Ranger suit sellout inside Hell in a Cell." —Ambrose
"You're a smart guy; you're no dummy." —Ambrose to the Rollins dummy
"You've finally found an opponent you can relate to on an intellectual level." —Rollins to Ambrose
"I even subscribe to the WWE Network for an undisclosed sum." —Foley
"I'm not sure that either one of you are prepared for the life that awaits you on the other side of that cell." —Foley to Ambrose and Rollins.
Grade
A-
Analysis
Pardon the pun, but Foley sold the hell out of this match.
His rant about the psychological scars that await these two men, the dangers of the match and how crazy you have to be to thrive in it punctuated the power of the Hell in a Cell gimmick. Whether Rollins and Ambrose can deliver on those elements in the PG Era is another matter, but Foley did his job in getting fans pumped.
Ambrose's moments with the dummy bordered on him being too out there and reliant on cheap humor. WWE has to avoid sending him down that road and let him be a nutty, fearless anti-hero instead.
Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler
8 of 9
Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler grappled for control early on in a battle that The King of Swing won. He nailed Ziggler with a great right hand, but The Showoff responded with a clothesline that sent them out of the ring.
A ring rope to the throat had Cesaro back on top.
Elbow drops and ax handles had Ziggler reeling. The two foes traded momentum, near-falls and high-impact moves from that point forward.
A European uppercut knocked Ziggler out, earning Cesaro the win. The Swiss strongman then attacked him with The Neutralizer after the bell.
Result
Cesaro wins via pinfall.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
The announcers pay tribute to Ox Baker, acknowledging his passing.
Cesaro press-slams Ziggler into a gutbuster.
Ziggler drop-kicks Cesaro in midair.
Grade
B+
Analysis
Excellent chemistry between two great athletes led to some big-time entertainment. The match was a bit short, but that's likely to leave the audience wanting more in the near future.
Cesaro's non-title win likely got him a crack at the Intercontinental Championship at Hell in a Cell. The exchange between champion and challenger here pointed to that collision having show-stealing potential.
The Authority vs. Dean Ambrose and John Cena (3-on-2 Street Fight)
9 of 9
Before the match, John Cena found Dean Ambrose prepping by watching See No Evil 2. Cena compared himself to Superman and Ambrose to Batman before discussing their strategy.
Kane had to stop Randy Orton and Seth Rollins' squabbling backstage.
Chaos erupted once the match was underway. Ambrose hurled himself off the announce table onto The Authority and whacked Rollins with a chair.
Kane and company soon took over, though. They throttled Ambrose as Cena watched on from the apron.
Once Cena got involved, he tried to throw Rollins into a table but instead went forehead first into a steel chair in the corner. On the outside, Orton flung Ambrose into the steel steps.
As The Authority dominated, Kane ordered the Hell in a Cell to come down.
The match turned far more fast-paced at this point, with Ambrose going on a flurry, swinging a steel chair and a Kendo stick.
In the midst of the chaos, Orton hit The Lunatic Fringe with an RKO for a three-count. His celebration was short-lived, though. Rollins attacked him and then stood on the cell to gloat.
Result
The Authority wins by pinfall.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
"I like to beat up scumbags." —Ambrose
Kane smashes Cena into a table.
Ambrose drop-kicks Rollins into the cell.
Rollins nails Orton with the Curb Stomp.
Grade
A
Analysis
WWE got fans pumped for the mayhem and violence that the Hell in a Cell promises. It was a great table-setter, especially with Rollins' attack on his own partner.
That act left so many unanswered questions in the air. The audience now goes into Hell in a Cell not sure exactly how things will unfold.
This would have been an even better match had it not defied its own logic early on. It's a Street Fight; why would anyone wait to be tagged in? It's not as if the referee is going to disqualify anybody.
That aside, the end result is that Hell in a Cell got some added hype. Orton's match with Cena is suddenly more interesting. Ambrose and Rollins, meanwhile, showed that their match is going to be a stunner.
.jpg?w=600 "WWE Raw Results & Grades 🔠")
