WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from March 9

The Viper strikes!

Or so the March 9 episode of Monday Night Raw should be referred to, thanks to the revenge Randy Orton obtained as he attacked Seth Rollins to close out the show.

The former architect of The Shield allowed his ego to get in the way, allowing him to alienate friends and family, leaving him to compete on his own against the man who hurt him and left him sidelined for months on end last winter.

John Cena and Rusev made their date for WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar returned to WWE and the Intercontinental title took center stage again as WWE builds to a high-profile Ladder match on March 29.

While there are many bumps still in the road, it appears as though WWE Creative is finally hitting its stride, as evidenced by the bigger and more important angles of the show.

What did that mean for the quality of this week's broadcast?

Take a look for yourself with this week's look back at Raw.

The Authority Promo

Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Kane, Big Show and J&J Security hit the ring to kick off this week's show.

Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury's attempts to convince their fellow Authority members not to welcome Orton back into the fold fell on deaf ears, a decision that would haunt the rest of the group late in the night.

The Viper ran down each member of The Authority before revealing that he was kidding.

Rollins vowed that he and Orton would destroy Roman Reigns later in the night before embracing to end the segment.

Highlight

Orton referring to Kane as the "devil's favorite dumb ass."

Grade

B+

Analysis

The opening segment did exactly what it was meant to do and that is set the table for everything that would come later in the night between Orton and Rollins.

The Viper's comments about his Authority teammates were funny and entertaining, especially those directed at the stale and boring Kane and Big Show.

A solid start to the show, which would be bookended by the program.

Daniel Bryan vs. Bad News Barrett

Daniel Bryan and Bad News Barrett kicked off the show from an in-ring perspective this week as the WWE Intercontinental Championship took center stage.

Bryan overcame the hard hitting, high-impact offense of Barrett, including a big superplex, to deliver the running knee from out of nowhere and send the current IC champion to yet another clean pinfall loss.

After the match, Barrett attacked a celebrating Bryan with a big Bullhammer.

Moments later he, himself, was taken down in the aisle by Dean Ambrose, who was in action next.

Result

Bryan pinned Barrett.

Grade

C

Analysis

As a match, it was nothing special.

Bryan and Barrett had an impressive series during the build to SummerSlam 2013, and any one of those contests was significantly better than what unfolded Monday night. But the match itself was secondary to the angle that it set up, with Barrett attacking Bryan and Ambrose leaving the Brit lying.

That set in motion the next chapter of the IC title feud, which would occur moments later.

Dean Ambrose vs. Stardust

The Lunatic Fringe battled Stardust, who had acquired possession of the Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown, after the break.

Stardust controlled the majority of the middle portion of the match, working over the knee, before falling prey to the big rebounding clothesline out of the ropes and Dirty Deeds, which helped Ambrose pick up the pinfall victory.

After the match, Barrett again struck, attacking Ambrose until Bryan made the save. From there, Luke Harper and Dolph Ziggler hit the ring.

Barrett thought he had regained the title but found out that he held in his possession a fake, while R-Truth was able to escape with the gold.

Result

Ambrose pinned Stardust.

Grade

B-

Analysis

Again, the match was secondary to everything else that occurred in the segment.

While the emphasis on the title is nice, especially after years of the IC Championship being treated like a prop for midcarders to trade back and forth, the angle has left champion Bad News Barrett significantly worse off than he was prior to his injury.

A bumbling, stumbling fool of a heel who constantly is outsmarted in his attempts to regain possession of the title he won by defeating Dolph Ziggler, Barrett almost has to win at WrestleMania or risk losing absolutely all credibility and legitimacy as a champion.

Brock Lesnar Returns

Brock Lesnar made his return to WWE television Monday night and advocate Paul Heyman had plenty to say.

He raised the possibility that a loss at WrestleMania could lead to Reigns being disowned by his family. But, unfortunately, that desire to win will not change things for the second-generation star.

Heyman argued that Reigns will end up just like The Rock, just like Undertaker and just like any other Superstar to step in his path.

He will end up broken by Lesnar.

More importantly, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is Lesnar's, and he's not giving it back.

Highlight

Heyman's passion and intensity helped elevate this promo into one of the best of this year, so far.

Grade

A+

Analysis

Lesnar's presence definitely helped with the build to WrestleMania, but Paul Heyman did more to put over the main event of the biggest show of the year than anything WWE has to this point.

The conviction with which he spoke struck this writer, especially after his microphone was cut off. From that point on, he upped the intensity tenfold and really hammered home just how much of an unstoppable force the WWE World Heavyweight champion is.

Add to that the fact that he indirectly addressed Lesnar's potential dealings with UFC by mentioning that the title is his and that he refuses to give it back only adds intrigue and leaves the general audience wondering what happens if, in fact, Lesnar does emerge from WrestleMania with his title.

Just outstanding promo work from the greatest and most gifted talker of this, or any, generation.

Ryback and Erick Rowan vs. Kane and Big Show

Ryback and Erick Rowan earned a quality win over Big Show and Kane following months of torment when Rowan pinned Kane following an accidental knockout from the giant to his partner.

After the match, the heels argued among themselves until an irate Stephanie McMahon appeared and berated the proud former heavyweight champions, demanding that the giant and the monster reemerge in time for WrestleMania.

She ended the segment by belittling them, ordering them out of the ring like two children.

Result

Ryback and Rowan defeated Kane and Big Show.

Grade

C-

Analysis

At under four minutes, there was nothing to the match itself. Again, as was the pattern Monday night, the meat of the segment was in the story that was told.

Kane and Big Show have been failing The Authority for quite some time, so it would only be sensible that Stephanie would want to see more out of them.

Unfortunately, that likely means WWE Creative goes back to the well, repackaging them giants as monsters before forgetting it in a month or two and booking them as comedic acts throughout the summer and fall.

At least Stephanie addressed the fact that Big Show and Kane have been, over the last few months, among the worst heavyweight lackeys ever.

AJ Lee vs. Summer Rae

The Bella Twins cut a quick backstage promo, ripe with Flintstone references in anticipation of tomorrow's home-video release, before AJ Lee took to the ring to battle Summer Rae in singles action.

For whatever reason, Eva Marie and Cameron were at ringside with the heel, while Paige accompanied WWE's most popular Diva.

The Black Widow spelled the end of Summer's night, leaving her no choice but to tap out.

After the match, AJ was overly enthusiastic about the win and looked to celebrate with a less enthralled Paige.

Result

AJ defeated Summer Rae.

Grade

D

Analysis

Brie and Nikki's pre-match promo was awful, the type of thing that makes viewers ashamed to be wrestling fans.

The match itself was significantly better, but it was not necessarily good, something that is not difficult to achieve given what occurred before it.

Most interesting of all was the idea that Paige is still playing up the "frenemy" angle, while AJ seems content to accept her former rival as her partner.

How that affects their impending partnership at WrestleMania bares watching as one miscommunication could spell the end for the partnership.

Curtis Axel vs. Rusev

After cutting the promo of his career on SmackDown, Curtis Axel was run over and humbled by WWE United States champion Rusev Monday night, who defeated him without much in the way of trouble.

Following the contest, Cena hit the ring, attacking Rusev and trapping him in the STF. He held onto the hold until the Bulgarian Brute passed out. Then, he woke him up with some water to the face, reapplied the hold and watched as he went unconscious for a second time.

This prompted Lana to give Cena his desired U.S. Championship match at WrestleMania.

Highlight

Cena using the water to wake Rusev up, just so he could reapply the hold, was particularly barbaric and something one does not see out of Cena regularly.

Grade

B

Analysis

This was a solid wrestling angle.

For months, it has been established that Rusev's pride is his greatest attribute. Therefore, to see Cena damage that pride by not only knocking him unconscious but then also humiliating him just to show his dominance once more was a brilliant bit of booking by a WWE Creative that is typically, and deservedly so, criticized for its ridiculousness.

In this scenario, Rusev loses nothing, Cena gets his WrestleMania match and the United States title finds itself involved in its highest-profile feud in a decade.

Big E and Xavier Woods vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro

WWE's least over act returned to television this week as The New Day battled tag team champions Tyson Kidd and Cesaro in a non-title match.

Big E and Xavier Woods represented the trio and scored a big victory over the titleholders when Woods countered a hold into a pinfall for the win.

Result

Big E and Woods defeated Kidd and Cesaro.

Grade

D

Analysis

The New Day has been a failure on the level of Adam Rose and most certainly needs to go the way of the dinosaurs for the sake of Kofi Kingston, Woods and Big E.

Sure, Big E and Woods picked up a major win over the tag champions, a win that is likely to put them in title contention, but they are beyond awful and WWE's crack production staff has done everything in its power to point to fans in the audience who look even remotely like fans of the group.

Like Barret before them, Kidd and Cesaro continued the trend of champions losing non-title matches Monday.

Naomi vs. Natalya

Naomi and Natalya squared off in Divas action Monday night but, if you blinked for moment, you likely missed the match.

Despite being a superior worker in every measurable way, Natalya fell victim to the Rear View, allowing Natalya to score the pinfall win.

Result

Naomi pinned Natalya.

Grade

F

Analysis

Natalya may be the best female worker on the roster, and Naomi is incredibly fun to watch, but this served no purpose.

It did not further the rivalry between The Usos, Kidd and Cesaro, and it also didn't add anything of substance to the Divas Championship picture.

Instead, it was a match for match's sake, and there is no worse reasoning for a contest than that.

The Usos vs. Los Matadores

On the heels of Kidd and Cesaro losing, the tag team division got even more chatoic when Los Matadores made their television returns, defeated The Usos in what is a stunning upset.

El Torito provided a distraction and then suffered for his art by being rammed into by The Usos.

That was OK because Diego and Fernando wound up tossing their hat into the ring for an upcoming tag team title match.

Result

Los Matadores defeated The Usos.

Grade

C

Analysis

The Usos and Los Matadores have always demonstrated strong chemistry between the ropes, and Monday's match was no different. 

Unfortunately it appears as though WWE is going to do everything in its power to get as many Superstars as necessary onto the card, doing so in some sort of tag team turmoil match of sorts in which the winner is the team that lasts through the field.

Los Matadaores are hardworking, and it is nice to see them garner a big win, but one must wonder if it absolutely had to come at the expense of The Usos.

Bray Wyatt Calls Out Undertaker

Bray Wyatt spent Monday daring Undertaker to come find him.

He finally got his wish.

After taking the fabled urn to the ring, Wyatt watched as lightning struck; the words "the man comes around" appeared on the video screen, and the urn was suddenly missing, Wyatt's rocking chair now sitting in the ring.

A giddy Wyatt watched from a distance to close out the segment.

Highlight

The images of a fearless Wyatt laughing in his chair was haunting and everything this feud should be.

Grade

B

Analysis

This was a short, sweet and to the point segment that continued to plant the seeds for Watt vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania.

Whereas many of Undertaker's foes have been caught off guard by the theatricality and deception used by the Phenom, Wyatt seemed to thrive on it, as if it fueled him. It was a nice little addition as Wyatt again proved just how great he is when he believes in the angle or the story he is telling.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins and Randy Orton

Commentators Booker T, Michael Cole and John Bradshaw Layfield discussed Randy Orton rejoining The Authority but at the same time, questioned how much you could trust Orton with a track record like his.

That proved to be foreshadowing as Orton dropped off the apron during the match, refusing to tag Rollins. From there, he watched as Reigns delivered the Spear for the win.

After the match, The Viper struck, brutally assaulting The Architect around the crowd and at ringside before putting him through the announce table with an RKO.

Result

Reigns defeated Rollins and Orton.

Grade

B

Analysis

Reigns' victory allowed him to gain a measure of revenge for last week, but it was really the story of Orton and his revenge on The Authority for the attack he endured months ago at their hand.

The beatdown went on much longer than it should have, but in the closing moments of Orton's slaughter of Rollins, it was easy to see that the performers had been able to turn the audience.

Rollins and Orton are likely to battle at WrestleMania XXXI, and Orton's double-bird and violent assault of Rollins only helps set that contest in  motion.

It will be up to WWE Creative to keep building on Orton's momentum at this point as he still possesses the tools necessary to be WWE's antihero babyface.