WWE Raw Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights After SNME 41

On the heels of a Saturday Night's Main Event that saw a new world heavyweight champion crowned in the form of CM Punk, WWE rolled into Rio Rancho, New Mexico for a jam-packed episode of Raw that featured the start of the build to Survivor Series on November 29.

What went down between the ropes, on the mic, in and out of the ring, and how did it all affect the red brand ahead of the final premium live event of the year?

Find out with this recap of the November 3 Netflix broadcast.

Lineup for November 3

Michael Marques/WWE via Getty Images

Announced in advance of Monday's show:

CM Punk promo

Penta vs. El Grande Americano

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. Asuka and Kairi Sane

World Tag Team Championship: AJ Styles and Dragon Lee vs. Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh

Stephanie Vaquer and Nikki Bella vs. Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez

CM Punk Celebrates His Championship Win

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Last Time in Action: CM Punk defeated Jey Uso (Saturday Night's Main Event, November 1)

New world heavyweight champion CM Punk kicked off Monday's show, hitting the ring to address the WWE fans on his first night with the gold back in his possession.

He thanked his wife, AJ Lee, and the man he defeated to regain the gold, Jey Uso. He said three minutes was not enough time to hold onto the gold, so he is going to have to make sure he holds onto it a lot longer.

"If you come back and get in my business, I will put you back on the couch," Punk warned Seth Rollins.

The Best in the World called out The Vision as threats, but brought up AJ Styles, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh, Finn Bálor, Sheamus, and John Cena as guys he wants to fight because they have earned a championship opportunity.

Logan Paul interrupted, causing Punk to say "Anyone but you."

Paul stated his case before Paul Heyman, Bronson Reed, and Bron Breakker made their presence felt. They issued a warning to Punk and Paul, the latter of whom did not flinch at the prospect of earning a beatdown from The Vision.

Breakker claimed Heyman bought everyone else two weeks of life and that he is coming for the World Heavyweight Championship. Paul teased walking out on Punk but returned to the squared circle, only to endure a beatdown at the hands of The Vision.

Punk cleared the ring of the villains to wrap up the 26-minute promo segment.

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

Punk being beside himself when Paul walked through the curtain was hilarious. Just absolute disgust.

"I see a b---h without an owner," Heyman said, directing his insult at Paul.

This was an abnormally long promo segment right out of the Monday Night Wars. It was 26 minutes of talk but unlike other bloated promos, this at least was interesting. In one segment, Breakker reintroduced himself to the world title picture and Paul became more interesting than he has been in at least a year. The YouTuber, when insulted and threatened, stuck up for what was right in the moment and fought back against The Vision. Is he a babyface or a heel? Is he legitimately in this title hunt? That there are those many questions surrounding the guy is evidence that this worked.

Stephanie Vaquer and Nikki Bella vs. Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez

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Last Time in Action: Stephanie Vaquer defeated Roxanne Perez (Raw, October 20); Nikki Bella lost to Perez (Raw, October 27); Rodriguez and Perez lost to Bayley and Lyra Valkyria (Raw, October 13)

Born of last week's confrontation between the babyfaces and The Judgment Day, the match pitting women's world champion Vaquer and Bella against Perez and Rodriguez started hot, with the former two riding momentum into the commercial break.

During the timeout, though, the heels isolated Bella and cut her off from her partner, targeting her head and neck area to gain the upper hand. A tornado DDT from Bella finally created separation that allowed her to make the tag to La Primera.

Vaquer exploded into the match, taking the fight to her opponents and delivering a dragon screw leg whip to Rodriguez. She added a high cross body block for a two-count but twice failed to hoist her larger opponent up for the SVP.

The babyfaces continued to roll, with the champion teasing Devil's Kiss on the ring apron. Rodriguez blocked it, though, and slammed Vaquer onto the hardest part of the ring. She added a cheap shot to Bella and Perez scored the win for the heels with Pop Rox to the Hall of Famer.

Result

Perez and Rodriguez defeated Vaquer and Bella

Grade

B-

Top Moments and Takeaways

There was a ton of energy to this, and the crowd even greeted one portion of the contest with chants of "This is awesome," but there was some sloppiness down the stretch that hurt the impact of the finish. Still, it was nice to see The Judgment Day score a big win here while Bella's continued failures likely set the stage for a heel turn and a battle with Vaquer over the title.

Backstage, CM Punk asked Jey Uso if he could trust him. Uso reassured him and a tag match pitting Punk and Uso against Reed and Breakker appeared to be set.

Penta vs. El Grande Americano

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Last Time in Action: Penta lost to Dominik Mysterio in a Triple Threat Match also involving Rusev (Saturday Night's Main Event, November 1); El Grande Americano defeated Galeno Del Mal (AAA Alianzas, November 2)

Flanked by Bravo and Rayo, El Grande Americano squared off with Penta in singles competition Monday night.

The babyface controlled the majority of the opening minutes, keeping Americano off-guard. The heel countered a Mexican Destroyer on the ring apron, though, and sent Penta crashing back-first on it to turn the tide in his favor ahead of the commercial break.

Back from the break and Penta created separation, stunning Americano. While he was not able to mount a consistent offense, he fought his way back into the match. When Bravo interfered, sweeping the fan favorite's legs out from underneath him, he was ejected from the ringside area.

Rayo slipped Americano the metal slab to place in his mask and was summarily ejected from there. Back in the ring, any attempts at cheating were negated and Penta delivered a Mexican Destroyer to secure the victory.

Result

Penta defeated Americano

Grade

B-

Top Moments and Takeaways

Whereas the preceding match suffered from a disjointed spot or two down the stretch, this one was hurt by overbooking involving Los Americanos that took away from what was a fairly strong match up to that point. Penta scored what was a nice bounce-back victory here while the heels lose nothing in defeat. It was a fun, inoffensive use of TV time, but the follow-up will be important to Penta, who is still prominently featured but feels as though he has lost momentum compared to where he was earlier in the year.

A promo video hyping up The Kabuki Warriors aired.

Dominik Mysterio Promo

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Last Time in Action: Dominik Mysterio defeated Rusev and Penta (Saturday Night's Main Event, November 1)

Fresh off his ninth successful defense of the Intercontinental Championship Saturday night, Dominik Mysterio hit the ring for a promo and wasted no time claiming there was no one who could stop him.

Enter his father, Rey Mysterio, who returned after a lengthy foot injury.

The Hall of Famer took exception to his son claiming to be the King of the Luchdores, calling it an insult to El Santo, Blue Demon, and Eddie Guerrero. Dirty Dom claimed to be better than all of them and more importantly, knows he is better than his father.

"You can disrespect me all you want, but I won't let you disrespect lucha libre," Rey warned his son.

The elder warned that as long as he is around, Dom will never be King of the Luchadores and ended the segment by blocking a cheap shot and delivering a 619.

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

The crowd was red-hot for this, with the heel's ability to control the crowd on full display.

This was a fun promo segment that did not reinvent the wheel but reintroduced the father-son rivalry just in time for Survivor Series in their hometown of San Diego. Expect that match to make its way to the PLE card eventually.

Becky Lynch's Words of Warning

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Last Time in Action: Becky Lynch lost to Maxxine Dupri (Raw, October 20)

Becky Lynch jumped on the announce table unexpectedly and cut a scathing promo on the last few weeks of her life, including the injury to husband Seth Rollins, Adam Pearce sending her home, and Maxxine Dupri thinking she is in the same league as The Man.

She sent a warning to Dupri before welcoming her to the big time, a nod to her former Big Time Becks character.

On her way up the ramp, she had an interesting confrontation with The Kabuki Warriors, potentially hinting at a partnership in time for Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29.

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

Lynch is one of the best promos in the business and the fact that she could hit as many topics as she did in this relatively short segment is reflective of it. She was excellent as she seethed over Dupri and the "corrupt referee" trying to keep her down, but was equal parts hilarious and serious when she needed to be.

Speaking of which, Lynch mentioning "the only thing good to come out of New Mexico was a TV show about how much meth you do," in relation to Breaking Bad, had even Wade Barrett cracking up in the background.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. Asuka and Kairi Sane

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Last Time in Action: Bayley and Lyra Valkyria lost to Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss (Raw, October 27); Asuka and Kairi Sane lost to Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley (Crown Jewel, October 11)

The result of the closing moments of last week's show, the next match pitted Bayley and Lyra Valkyria against Asuka and Kairi Sane in tag team action.

The heels seized control of the bout, negating the early onslaught by the babyfaces ahead of the commercial break.

Valkyria dropped Sane with a powerbomb from out of nowhere and made the hot tag to Bayley, who exploded into the match and delivered a big elbow drop to Asuka for two.

Sane cut her down with a forearm from the ring apron after making an undetected tag, but The Role Model recovered and delivered a Bayley-to-Belly for another near-fall.

Valkyria delivered a big leg drop to Sane for yet another two-count, only for The Pirate Princess to drive her into the mat with a double stomp from the top rope.

Late in the match, Asuka sent the former women's intercontinental champion into Bayley, knocking her from the apron. Back inside the squared circle, The Empress of Tomorrow trapped Valkyria in the Asuka Lock, forcing a submission for the win.

After the match, the heels teased a beatdown until Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss made the save, clearing the ring and standing tall to close things out.

Result

The Kabuki Warriors defeated Bayley and Valkyria

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

All four women in this match are awesome and among the best competitors on the roster. They delivered a strong match that may have gotten a little too fancy for its own good, but executed the finish to perfection. The arrival of Flair and Bliss afterward continued to hint at a potential Triple Threat for the Women's Tag Team Championship in the near future.

Backstage, a frustrated Dominik Mysterio interrupted his Judgment Day teammates. Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh told him he would have to deal with it himself because they had tag team titles to win. Roxanne Perez sat Mysterio down, offered some advice, and kept alive the inevitable showdown between her and Liv Morgan for his affections.

World Tag Team Championship: AJ Styles and Dragon Lee vs. The Judgment Day

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Last Time in Action: AJ Styles and Dragon Lee defeated Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh (Raw, October 20)

Two weeks after besting The Judgment Day for the titles, Styles and Lee defended their belts against Bálor and McDonagh.

The challengers took a different approach to this contest, attacking from the opening bell and seizing early control of the bout with quick tags and a focused attack. The babyfaces fought back and launched themselves over the top rope and onto the former champions as the show headed to commercial break.

Back from the timeout and the action was fast and furious, with Lee sparking the championship comeback. Bálor cut him off, though, dropping him to buy the heels a momentary reprieve. A tag to Styles brought the future Hall of Famer back into the fray to square off with McDonagh.

Dominik Mysterio got involved, but his chicanery backfired, leading to Bálor delivering the Coup de Grace to McDonagh by accident. The Irishman made the save for the heels and ordered Mysterio to hit Styles with the Intercontinental Championship, but Sheamus appeared and wiped out Dirty Dom.

Bálor used the shillelagh on Styles, but Lee broke up a pin attempt as the action continued to break down. The latter wiped out two-thirds of the Judgment Day villains at ringside and back inside the squared circle, The Phenomenal One delivered a Styles Clash to McDonagh for the win.

Result

Styles and Lee defeated The Judgment Day to retain the titles

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

This was a quality follow-up to the TV Match of the Year candidate from two weeks ago between these teams. The action was top-notch, the story of Mysterio trying but failing his teammates again will only propel the Judgment Day story forward, and Sheamus is interjected into the IC title picture, where he will have a chance to win the one title that has eluded him.

Backstage, Paul Heyman attempted to manipulate Jey Uso, playing to his ego and the idea Uso has a "vision" of his own.

CM Punk and Jey Uso vs. The Vision

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Last Time in Action: CM Punk defeated Jey Uso (Saturday Night's Main Event, November 1); The Vision defeated Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton (SmackDown, October 3)

Adam Pearce announced the first two opening-round matches of the Time Is Now Tournament for next Monday night in Boston: Rusev vs. Damian Priest, and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sheamus. Nick Aldis will draw the next two matches on Friday on SmackDown.

The main event of the show took to the squared circle late, but featured some solid action early on, with Uso wiping Reed and Breakker out on the floor with a tope.

The heels wrestled control of the match away during the break and punished Punk coming out of it, driving their combined weight into the sternum of the world champion as chants of "Let's go Uso" rained from the stands.

After several moments on the defensive, Punk tagged Uso into the match and the former world champion unloaded on the heels. The fight spilled to the floor, where a count-out was ultimately declared, but it was hardly the end of the war.

Breakker wiped Uso out with a super spear, and the heels teed off on the babyfaces.

Punk grabbed a steel chair to neutralize the heels and Logan Paul returned to the ring to stand by the world champion, only to knock him unconscious with a pair of brass knuckles.

Paul stared down The Vision before handing over the knucks to Paul Heyman, seemingly aligning himself with the faction.

Result

Double count-out

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

This was a perfectly acceptable, albeit abbreviated match, not unlike others featuring the same cast of characters in recent months. The fans were super into it, the action was well-executed, and the outcome protected everyone from an unnecessary loss.

The post-match involving Paul and his alignment with The Vision creates intrigue for next week's show, and that is all one can ask for from weekly WWE television: It gives fans some kind of question to answer next week.

Overall Grade

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This was a marked improvement over Friday's flat SmackDown and Saturday Night's Main Event, which felt like the coldest live-event special WWE has run in recent memory.

From a hot promo segment to start things, to quality in-ring action out of the women's division, to the renewal of the Rey vs. Dominik Mysterio rivalry, to another stellar tag team title match, this was hit after hit.

The ending angle was a bit predictable, but Logan Paul aligning himself with Paul Heyman is an interesting development and should be worth exploring deeper in the coming weeks.

The seeds were planted for key Survivor Series: WarGames matches and rivalries, and it will be interesting to see how the company waters them over the next few weeks.

Until then, Raw remains the best weekly television show produced by WWE.

Grade: B