WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from July 13

If you are a fan of contract signings, boy, were you giddy following Monday's Raw.

For the rest of the fanbase, the July 13 episode of WWE's flagship show will forever be remembered as the night the NXT generation of Divas took over sports entertainment as Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch all made their main roster debuts.

It was a defining moment, one that fans will hold onto as they hope and dream of a women's division no longer dominated by Total Divas and one-dimensional characters.

Roman Reigns avenged weeks of torment at the hands of Bray Wyatt. Brock Lesnar continued to stalk after Seth Rollins, and Cesaro once again stole the show in a fantastic match.

Overall, Monday's broadcast was a show much better than the individual segments would suggest, even if the show-closing segment was a colossal failure of creativity on behalf of the writing staff.

What did WWE have in store just six days before Battleground?

Find out now with this look back at Raw.

Brock Lesnar Promo

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman kicked off this week's show, the latter promising that the havoc Lesnar unleashed on the Cadillac last week is symbolic of what The Beast Unleashed will do to Seth Rollins this Sunday at Battleground.

The WWE World Heavyweight champion interrupted and promised to burn Suplex City to the ground. Kane interjected himself, suggesting that all involved remain professional...or else. Heyman responded, mocking the Director of Operations' status as Undertaker's little brother, to which the crowd chanted "baby brother."

Heyman closed out the promo by promising that Suplex City would come to Atlanta if Rollins provoked his client.

Grade

C

Analysis

Unstoppable force and mouthpiece threaten to demolish and destroy. Cowardly heel runs his mouth despite threat and commentators hype contract signing later Monday night, where someone is almost certainly going through a table.

It is a story that has been told a million times and, while not fresh, was made entertaining by Paul Heyman's outstanding promo skills.

The "baby brother" line about Kane was brilliant, though.

Randy Orton and Ryback vs. Sheamus and Big Show

Two midcard feuds were spotlighted in the night's opening match as Randy Orton partnered with intercontinental champion Ryback to face Big Show and Sheamus, all the while The Miz sat in on commentary at ringside.

Ryback impressed early, diving over the top rope.

Yes, you read that correctly.

From there, the heels took control of the match, working over Orton until the hot tag was made to The Big Guy. The champion exploded into the ring and finished Sheamus off with a top-rope splash following an RKO from The Viper.

Result

Ryback and Randy Orton defeated Sheamus and Big Show.

Grade

B-

Analysis

This was a fine, exciting and entertaining way to kick off the show. Ryback continued his string of motivated, quality performances, while much of the emphasis was put on Sunday's IC title match.

The Miz tried to interfere in the match, distracting Ryback, but it failed miserably with a spot that was not really necessary.

The biggest takeaway from this one, though, was that Sheamus again jobbed. As the current Mr. Money in the Bank, the follow-up to his ladder-match victory has been incredibly underwhelming. The Celtic Warrior is a great old-school bully villain, but he has not been supported at all by a WWE Creative that booked him to win the briefcase, seemingly without any sort of plan going forward.

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt...or Not

Bray Wyatt made his way to the ring for his match with Dean Ambrose, but as he blew out the lantern and the lights came on, Roman Reigns stood directly behind him. From there, he proceeded to beat Wyatt around the ringside area before the action spilled inside the squared circle. 

Wyatt managed to blast Reigns with his lantern and escape, but Reigns was hot on his trail seconds later.

Result

No-contest

Grade

B+

Analysis

It is about time Roman Reigns showed some sort of anger and fury over the situation with Wyatt.

He has clearly been angry about the use of his family to provoke him, but he has done nothing about it, typically getting cut off by Wyatt. 

Monday night, though, he avenged weeks of torment and did so by beating him at his own game, then punishing him physically. It worked and was a great way to put heat on the angle without sacrificing Ambrose, which is exactly where it looked like this may be heading at first.

The Divas Revolution Arrives

The Bella Twins and Alicia Fox were in the squared circle following the break, and Brie and Nikki were glowing over their recent Teen Choice Awards nomination.

Nikki talked about her historic title reign, the fact that she had run through all of the competition and claimed that she had done more to give the Divas a chance than anyone.

Stephanie McMahon interrupted the proceedings, introduced Paige and then revealed the debuting Becky Lynch and Charlotte.

Naomi and Tamina took exception, leading to the arrival of NXT Women's champion Sasha Banks.

A huge brawl between the nine women erupted, with Team Bella being tossed to ringside, with the other six Divas left to exchange words in the ring.

Stephanie watched from atop the ring, pleased with what she had seen.

Grade

A+++++

Analysis

There are not enough pluses in the world to describe how awesome this segment was.

Sure, Stephanie had to make sure it seemed like she was the all-knowing oracle who brought about change in women's wrestling, rather than the women themselves, but that was forgotten the moment that Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks walked through the curtain. 

Those three women have done as much, if not more, than anyone to make NXT the most must-see show in the WWE Universe. They have been everything the Divas are not allowed to be: legitimate wrestlers and role models for women in the audience.

Of course, whether or not their potential is realized and they are afforded the opportunity to actually change perceptions of the Divas remains to be seen.

For now, they had a monumental night. It will be up to WWE Creative and Triple H's influence to ensure that they enjoy much success.

Six-Man Tag Team Match: The Prime Time Players and Mark Henry vs. The New Day

Xavier Woods cut a pre-match promo about the New Day winning the tag titles at Battleground before the Prime Time Players and Mark Henry made their way to the ring.

The heels worked over Titus O'Neil for the majority of the match, with Big E even mocking the former Florida Gator's trademark bark. Moments later, O'Neil made the hot tag, and Henry finished Woods off with the World's Strongest Slam.

Result

The Prime Time Players and Mark Henry defeated The New Day.

Grade

C-

Analysis

This was fine for what it was.

The spotlight was shone on The PTP and The New Day ahead of this Sunday's tag team title match, but WWE Creative again made a puzzling decision.

Why The New Day has been so systematically torn down after getting over as much as it did is a mystery. That the tag team lost to someone like Henry, who was beat down and jobbed out as much as anyone on the roster in recent weeks, is that much worse.

Hardly a way to make anyone eagerly anticipate the tag title match, but it was a fun and energetic match while it lasted.

R-Truth vs. King Barrett

The feud that no one asked for continued Monday night as R-Truth battled King Barrett.

Truth picked up the win with the Lie Detector.

Afterward, he retrieved his "robe" and "scepter" while fans groaned in unison.

Result

R-Truth pinned King Barrett.

Grade

F

Analysis

This feud is so bad that even a non-offensive match like this one is dragged deep into the depths of awfulness.

Barrett deserves so much more than what he has gotten to this point. The fact that the King of the Ring has been more of a curse than a blessing only makes matters worse.

What the company continues to see in Truth at this point that warrants putting him over talented midcard stars in the prime of their careers is a mystery—even if he is a solid opening-match act.

Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Rusev

John Cena hit the ring for the United States Championship Open Challenge and found himself confronted by more than one Superstar for the first time.

Rusev answered first, but he was quickly interrupted by rightful No. 1 contender Kevin Owens. Cesaro made it a gathering of four, and a Triple Threat match was born.

Owens, sensibly, realized that he still had his match against Cena on Sunday night and understandably walked out, leaving Cesaro and Rusev to do battle.

A superkick from Rusev ended the Swiss Superman's night and earned him an immediate shot at Cena's U.S. title.

Result

Rusev defeated Kevin Owens and Cesaro in a Triple Threat match.

Grade

B+

Analysis

Even Kevin Owens understood the absurdity of being booked in a Triple Threat match just days before a guaranteed title match and walked out rather than risking injury.

That aside, this was some damn fine wrestling from three completely different workers. The brief summary of the entire segment hardly is an accurate portrayal of just how outstanding a wrestling match this was. It was 24 minutes of hard-hitting, high-impact offense that ended without a Superstar's trademark finisher, proving that a wrestler can, in fact, win a match with a basic strike.

Rusev looked a bit winded, but, for the third consecutive week, Cesaro stole the show with a phenomenal performance that will be hard to deny when WWE Creative begins fleshing out its next set of storylines.

United States Championship Match: John Cena vs. Rusev

Cena found himself trapped in the vaunted Accolade, which Rusev used to counter the Attitude Adjustment. Unfortunately, that was as far as the match got in its five short minutes.

Owens ran in to cause the disqualification, ensuring that it is Cena whom he faces Sunday at Battleground for the United States title.

He delivered an impressive Pop-up Powerbomb to Rusev and jawed with Cena to end the segment.

Result

Rusev defeated John Cena by disqualification.

Grade

D

Analysis

So if that was the end game for Owens, what was the point of including him in the Triple Threat match? Here, he would have been able to look strong and manipulative, rather than looking like a coward who walked out on a competition, regardless of whether it made sense or not.

This was fine, but it felt like a major downer following the excellent work that preceded it.

Neville vs. Stardust

Credit: WWE.com

Stardust returned to the ring for the first time since his father, the legendary Dusty Rhodes, died.

His opponent? The Man That Gravity Forgot, Neville.

Stardust worked as a heel, keeping Neville grounded for the most part. Neville mounted a comeback, nearly catching the ring veteran for a pinfall on some strong near-falls.

On one such attempt, though, Stardust rolled through and held onto the tights for the pinfall victory.

Result

Stardust defeated Neville.

Grade

D-

Analysis

The biggest creative failure of the night was forcing Stardust to play the role of a heel in his hometown and so shortly after his father died.

The match was far too short to mean anything, and the action was rushed as a result, leading to a sprint that the crowd was never really into.

It was a disappointing return to the squared circle for Stardust, who really should have been spotlighted better than he was here.

Contract Signing

Credit: WWE.com

Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins bookended the show, meeting in the squared circle for the night's climax.

Heyman again spoke on behalf of Lesnar, promising the utter destruction of Rollins at Battleground. Rollins did some more trash-talking and then was caught with his hands under the table.

Lesnar removed an ax handle, foiling plans for a weapon-assisted Authority beatdown.

That did not stop Rollins and Kane from trying to take out The Beast. Unfortunately, they failed miserably as Lesnar bashed Kane's ankle with the ring steps before exiting.

A frustrated Rollins berated Kane to end the show.

Grade

D-

Analysis

This was a retread in every way imaginable.

It was a contract signing that ended in chaos, like any other ever. The same theme from the opening-promo segment was replicated by Heyman here, and Rollins even managed to repeat the "burn down Suplex City" line.

The Authority got way too much offense in on Lesnar, just like a few weeks ago, and Rollins allowed his ego to drive a wedge between him and Kane, echoing every episode of Raw from this past spring.

This was the definition of lazy booking from WWE Creative, and had it not been for Heyman's attempts to sell a pay-per-view, this would have earned a failing grade.