WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from Aug. 3

You know it's a successful WWE Raw when the final match kicks off and you glance at the clock and say, "Oh, it's ending already?"

That's what happened Monday night despite nothing monumental unfolding. A show that began with a 10-bell salute and video tribute to the late Roddy Piper ended up entertaining throughout. Sure, there were a few squash matches in the middle that didn't exactly tear the house down, but overall, WWE delivered a quality night's worth of wrestling and drama.

Seth Rollins and Neville thrilled in an impromptu WWE title match. Paul Heyman delivered a seething sermon. And the women's division continued its run of getting more spotlight than it once did.

The following is a look at those moments and more, breaking down the highs and lows of Raw in San Jose, California.

Seth Rollins Issues a Pair of Challenges

Don Feria/Associated Press

A smug Seth Rollins blamed sympathy for his losing to John Cena last week, saying he took it easy on his opponent after leaving him with a fractured nose. He described what it felt like to have Cena's nose crunch under his knee and mocked his rival.

Rollins challenged Cena to a title-versus-title bout at SummerSlam.

He joked that Cena might be better off forfeiting the United States Championship. And to show the fans that he can outdo Cena at anything, he issued a WWE World Heavyweight Championship challenge.

The champ added, though, that there were two caveats: His opponent had to be under 6'0'' and fewer than 200 pounds. WWE teased that El Torito would take him up on it, but instead it was Neville.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Rollins wears a "Never shuts up" T-shirt to mock Cena.

"I felt John Cena's nose crack on my knee."—Rollins

I know you're sitting at home in bed, nursing your wounds, looking like a cross between a raccoon and a Picasso painting."—Rollins

Grade 

B

Analysis

It was a smart move by WWE to play up Rollins breaking Cena's nose. He used it as a notch in his belt and as a means to further their feud. The segment had the champ looking heartless, dangerous and purposefully oblivious to the truth.

This promo didn't really pick up in terms of entertainment value, though, until he started showing some emotion at the mention of SummerSlam. 

Rollins-Cena is going to be a thrill ride if that's indeed the direction WWE goes. It's hard to imagine that Cena will be healthy enough by that point, though, having just had nasal surgery and all.

Neville vs. Seth Rollins (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)

Seth Rollins found himself in trouble early. Neville's speed and high flying had the champ reeling. 

A trip into the announce table slowed Neville down. The Man Who Gravity Forgot withstood Rollins' offense and kept dishing out high-octane, high-altitude moves. He even landed a Red Arrow, but Rollins' foot was on the rope during the referee's count, allowing Rollins to survive.

A missed second Red Arrow attempt opened the door for Rollins to hit the Pedigree and wrap things up.

Result

Rollins wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Neville hits a corkscrew dive over the top rope onto Rollins.

Neville hits a corkscrew moonsault from the top rope.

Neville floors Rollins with a reverse hurricanrana.

Neville lands a hurricanrana from the top rope.

"What a heroic effort by Neville!"—Michael Cole.

Grade 

A

Analysis

Going with the rare WWE title match on Raw, in an early slot no less, led to an electric crowd cheering on an excellent match.

Allowing Rollins to do more damage throughout would have been preferable, but this really elevates Neville. He comes out of the bout looking like a real contender, having just twice been a fingertip away from being champion.

As an added bonus, the commentary team added some depth here. Mentioning both men's NXT Championship reigns is a smart nod to the developmental brand. And John "Bradshaw" Layfield added to the match by bringing up how Neville had a chance to become the first British WWE champion. Commentary is supposed to remind us of stakes like that.

The New Day and The Ascension vs. Los Matadores and The Lucha Dragons

Xavier Woods barked on the outside as Big E and Kofi Kingston went to work in the ring. The Prime Time Players sat in on commentary, watching as their potential challengers went to battle.

Sin Cara flew around the ring, knocking The New Day around. Los Matadores had Viktor and Konnor reeling.

Trouble in Paradise knocked Kalisto off the top rope and kept the luchador down for a three-count.

Result

The New Day and The Ascension win via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"Commentary again? I'm glad that you're fighting champions."—Woods to The Prime Time Players

"Byron is about as a popular as a lion hunter in Zimbabwe."—John "Bradshaw" Layfield 

 Sin Cara hits Kingston with a springboard moonsault.

Grade 

B-

Analysis

Not a particularly standout match, but it featured some solid action and showcased all the teams relatively evenly. It's nice to see the No. 1 contenders have to earn their way to title contention. 

This shouldn't be enough to catapult The New Day into that spot. Having them go through more trails to get their title shot makes for some exciting tag action along the way and makes their accomplishment mean far more.

Perhaps a 30-minute Iron Man tag bout on SmackDown against The Lucha Dragons?

Nikki and Brie Bella vs. Becky Lynch and Charlotte

The Bellas found themselves having to escape from submission holds early on. Charlotte nearly locked the Figure Eight on Nikki Bella. Brie Bella barely slipped out of Becky Lynch's Dis-arm-her.

The sisters gained control, slowed the match down and proceeded to punish Lynch.

Charlotte and Nikki traded power moves once the former NXT women's champ was in the mix. She bent Nikki's legs backward with her signature submission move for the win.

Result

Lynch and Charlotte win via submission.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Paige dubs her team "The Submission Sorority."

Both Alicia Fox and Paige rock "Hot Rod" T-shirts.

Nikki yanks Charlotte from the second rope by her foot.

The Bellas do a double leg roll.

John "Bradshaw" Layfield makes a Don Quixote reference as he tells the story of the "Divas Revolution."

Grade 

B

Analysis

It's nice to see the announcers mention the length of Nikki's reign and that she's chasing AJ Lee's record. It's an easy way to make her title run more significant and add suspense about how long she can keep it going.

And while this match wasn't a stunner by any means, it was a good, solid bout. Credit for that partially goes to all the focus on The Submission Sorority's submission skills.

The overall narrative is intriguing as well. We're seeing cracks in the Bella regime. Something big is definitely brewing, something that hasn't been true about the women's division nearly often enough.

Miz TV with Cesaro and Kevin Owens

The Miz tipped his hat to Roddy Piper before plugging all his side projects. He quickly started calling out Ryback, demanding that he vacate the Intercontinental Championship.

Kevin Owens explained that Cesaro is jealous of him but didn't get far into his speech before a well-dressed Cesaro arrived. Owens mocked Cesaro, saying that all of The Swiss Superman's hard work in the business wouldn't make him as good as Owens.

Cesaro ridiculed him for walking out of his matches recently.

Things heated up quickly. Owens knocked The Miz into Cesaro before escaping out of a Cesaro Swing attempt. The former NXT champ escaped as a flying chair, courtesy of Cesaro, landed at his feet.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"There would be no Cutting Edge. There would be no Highlight Reel. There would no Body Shop, no Barbershop, no Snake Pit. There would be no Heartbreak Hotel, and there would certainly be no Miz TV if it wasn't for the originator of them all—Piper's Pit."—The Miz

Cesaro mocks Owens by changing his catchphrase to "Walk Owens, Walk."

"Kevin, quite frankly, you're an embarrassment."—Cesaro

"Why don't you let the two guys who can actually fight handle this, OK?"—Owens to Cesaro

Grade 

B+

Analysis

It was odd to see The Miz do a babyface move and pay tribute to Piper, but it's understandable, considering Hot Rod's influence.

Cesaro is looking stronger on the microphone these days. He's gaining momentum in that department, step by step. That's going to allow him to truly move up to top-tier status.

There was some really good tension here, and this is bolstered by the simple, effective nature of the story. Cesaro is the honorable one; Owens is shady. WWE is getting this feud right at every turn so far.

Mark Henry vs. Rusev

Rusev manhandled his larger opponent. He laid into Mark Henry with stomps and right hands.

Henry did offer a counterattack, but The Bulgarian Brute didn't take long to put away the big man. A thrust kick to the mush earned Rusev the win.

Rusev followed up with some celebrating, extra kicks and staring down at his fallen prey.

Result

Rusev wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Fans chant, "We want Lana!"

"There's about 8 billion people on the planet, and Mark Henry's the world's strongest."—John "Bradshaw" Layfield

Grade 

C+

Analysis

A good, dominant win propels Rusev somewhat. He needs to notch some victories to make up for his recent win-loss record. A strong Rusev makes for a better bout against Dolph Ziggler eventually.

It's good to see him back to being Bulgarian rather than trying to make the tenuous connection with Russia. And when he's through knocking down WWE's cellar-dwellers, it will be great to see him back in more competitive action.

King Barrett vs. Zack Ryder

King Barrett belittled Zack Ryder before dismantling him in the ring. Ryder had a brief flurry but lasted just moments against Barrett.

A Bull Hammer put Ryder away early.

Result

Barrett wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"Count some royal sheep!"—John "Bradshaw" Layfield

Grade 

C-

Analysis

A Barrett win is a welcome sight. In what was essentially one of the old jobber-versus-star matches, there was no suspense; rather, this was a showcase of Barrett's power.

Not the most entertaining contest one will see, but you need to have these kinds of one-sided bouts to build folks up.

It's not clear what WWE has in mind for Barrett next, though. He has no rival in his sights at the moment. Even with SummerSlam being four hours long, he may end up missing the card because of that.

Paul Heyman Rants About SummerSlam

Paul Heyman recounted the Brock Lesnar-Undertaker feud, talking trash about The Deadman the whole time. 

Brock Lesnar arrived, looking ready for a fight. He brought rings steps in between the ropes and stood atop them like an Olympic athlete awaiting his gold medal.

Heyman talked of The Undertaker begging for a rematch at WrestleMania 31; the inevitability of his client facing The Deadman sold the hell out of the SummerSlam main event.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"Before I subject you to the presence of The Beast, I want to remind you that it was The Undertaker who picked this fight."—Heyman

"WWE's angry alpha dog becomes a submissive little bitch when he comes up against The Beast Incarnate."—Heyman

"WWE had no choice but to sanction this fight. The fight will happen in a parking lot, a church, in hell itself."—Heyman on Undertaker-Lesnar

Heyman dubs Undertaker-Lesnar the "match too big for WrestleMania."

Heyman recites Latin as he issues The Undertaker mock last rites.

Grade 

A+

Analysis

Heyman is the king of selling a match. He put on a clinic of that art form here.

WWE Creative should thank him for being able to plug up all the plot holes of the feud. He made The Undertaker waiting for his revenge make sense. He added a layer of intrigue by blaming Vince McMahon for not allowing The Undertaker his rematch and painting The Deadman as desperate post-streak ending.

When he's on fire like this, all Lesnar needs to do is stand there and glare at the camera.

Paige vs. Naomi

Paige and Naomi locked up early like two rams intertwining horns.

Naomi was cocky and a showboat and had Paige grimacing on the canvas. The heel dominated; Paige just looked to survive. 

A missed crossbody led to Paige getting control of the match. The PTO ended the bout decisively. 

Result

Paige wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Naomi pulls Paige's body against the ring post.

Grade 

B-

Analysis

A slow-paced, grind-it-out affair wasn't quite as entertaining as the earlier women's match.

Still, it's wise to give Paige a win after she's been putting over the newcomers recently. The Submission Sorority comes out of Raw looking strong.

And Naomi isn't hurt by the loss thanks to how much she dominated. She thrived as a vicious, bombastic heel.

Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose

Credit: WWE.com

A fast-paced matchup saw Dean Ambrose fly around the ring and Roman Reigns clobber Sheamus.

Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper's teamwork halted Ambrose's momentum, however. Once Randy Orton entered the scene, things shifted in the babyfaces' favor. The match turned chaotic, with everyone landing haymakers and signature moves.

It was a spear to Sheamus that finally wrapped things up.

Result

Orton, Reigns and Ambrose win via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"I've always admired your penchant for brutality, Sheamus."—Wyatt

Ambrose hits a diving elbow on all three heels. 

Harper wallops Ambrose with a clothesline on the floor.

Reigns dropkicks Wyatt off the announce table.

Ambrose dives into Harper, sending him crashing into the announce table.

Grade

B+

Analysis

Everyone here had the crowd revved up. It was a fun, high-energy match, although not a classic by any means.

Sheamus is clearly still gunning for Orton. And it looks more and more like we're getting two-thirds of The Shield versus two-thirds of The Wyatt Family at SummerSlam. Getting Sting in there somewhere would make it fresher, but it doesn't look like WWE is headed that way.