WWE Raw Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From October 26

WWE rolled into Fresno, California, on Monday night for the latest episode of Raw, headlined by a dream match of sorts as Becky Lynch battled Stephanie Vaquer for a shot at Liv Morgan's Women's World Championship.

Who emerged victoriously from the high-stakes match-up and the rest of the night's loaded card?

Find out with this recap of the October 26 broadcast, featuring grades and analysis for each of the show's biggest matches and moments.

Lineup

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Announced in advance of Monday's show were:

• Women's World Championship No. 1 Contender's Match: Becky Lynch vs. Stephanie Vaquer
• No Disqualification Match: Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria
• Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez
• Chad Gable and Dragon Lee vs. Big Cass and Ethan Page
• The latest from the Bloodline and 946

Adam Pearce Kicked Off Raw

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The Raw general manager kicked off the show, revealing to the fans in Fresno that Stephanie Vaquer is unable to compete.

Her scheduled opponent, Becky Lynch, is in the arena. As a result, The Man will challenge the Women's World Champion Liv Morgan, for the title tonight.

Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn interrupted the proceedings and took exception to Pearce not booking him on the show, despite bringing him to Fresno for promotional photos.

After dismissing the authority figure, he turned his irritation toward the fans, telling them that they need to be spoon-fed everything, citing Trick Williams and CM Punk as proof.

He claimed that his joining The Bloodline took the wrestling world to new heights and took credit for WWE having a lucrative Netflix contract. He claimed no one puts all of the pieces together like him, unless their names are Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, and Kurt Angle, but he will not brag about that.

He took exception to Superstars coming out and interrupting him, specifically mentioning Penta and Je'Von Evans, the latter of whom interrupted him. Evans told The Last Real Good Guy to say it to his face.

A lengthy exchange ended with Pearce booking Evans vs. Zayn for the WWE title next.

Grade

B+

Top Takeaways

• A 20-minute heel promo at the top of the show? Is this 2003?
• "While you're trying to be one of the best, I'm trying to be the best," Evans said. A killer line from a young face of the future.
• Zayn killed it in this promo. There was sense of truth to everything he said and being allowed to cut these scathing promos has to be cathartic for a wrestler who, to his point, is probably underrated and undervalued considering his resume and contributions over the last decade.
• Zayn vs. Evans to kick off the show? Yes, please.

Undisputed WWE Championship Match: Je'Von Evans vs. Sami Zayn

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Last Time in Action: Je'Von Evans lost the ladder match (Money in the Bank, October 10); Sami Zayn, Johnny Gargano, and Ricky Saints lost to Rey Fenix, Penta, and Trick Williams (SmackDown, October 23)

Zayn narrowly escaped Fresno with his Undisputed WWE Championship intact following a grueling match with Evans.

The Young OG pushed the Last Real Good Guy to the brink more than once, delivering a frog splash late in the match that the champion just narrowly kicked out of.

Midway through the bout, Penta appeared and teased a Money in the Bank cash-in, only for Bron Breakker to attack out of nowhere. The distraction ultimately led to Zayn delivering the Helluva Kick for the pin and the win.

After the match, The Vision beat down and left The Vision lying in a heap to close out the segment, with Penta and Evans each suffering a spear from Breakker and a Tsunami from Bronson Reed.

Result

Zayn defeated Evans

Grade

B+

Top Takeaways

• Evans and Zayn's chemistry is off the charts. This was a fun, totally unexpected match.
• WWE would not possibly be silly enough to book an angle where Breakker beats Penta for the briefcase, would it? Because the way the Badass looked at the guaranteed title shot feels like for foreshadowing.
• The Vision still feels like a second-tier faction, no matter how often they get over on the opposition. It lacks that one big figure right in the middle, someone who can bring championship credibility and considerable WWE success to the table.

No Disqualification Match: Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria

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Last Time In Action: Lyra Valkyria defeated Bayley (Raw, September 21); Valkyria lost to Lola Vice (Raw, October 19)

After months of physical and mental torment, Bayley finally achieved revenge over Lyra Valkyria in a No Disqualification Match on Monday.

Having lost two consecutive matches to her former friend and tag team partner, the Role Model did not miss a chance to punish Valkyria. She whipped her with a belt, used a kendo stick, and rolled out of the way during a moonsault attempt, leaving her opponent to crash and burn ribs first on a chair.

Along the way, she absorbed tremendous punishment in her own right, including a missed elbow that caught a steel chair. She never gave up, never let the pain and suffering get the best of her.

Instead, Bayley showed the same resiliency that had come to define her entire WWE career. She caught Valkyria mid-flight with a powerbomb onto a trash can, then delivered an elbow drop from the ropes, driving her opponent through a table on the floor.

Back inside, she downed Valkyria, applied a crossface with kendo stick to the mouth, and forced the submission.

Result

Bayley defeated Valkyria

Grade

B+

Top Takeaways

• Backstage, Adam Pearce caught up with Je'Von Evans and Penta and gave them a shot at Bron Breakker and Austin Theory's World Tag Team Championship at Crown Jewel.
• Bayley took a wicked front bump on the guardrail that could have been far worse than it was. Ditto a table bump moments later. It is a testament to both women that they were not hurt in any major way.
• This was a fantastic feud-ender. It featured some great, intense action that left its mark on the competitors involved. The crowd was right there with everything they did as the action intensified and the finish was great.
• This was a great moment for Bayley. If she is, in fact, continuing her career with WWE, this is a momentum builder.

Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez

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Last Time in Action: Iyo Sky and Chelsea Green defeated Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez (Raw, October 19)

Iyo Sky inched closer to a shot at the Women's Intercontinental Championship Monday night with her victory over Raquel Rodriguez.

It came in the closing seconds of a hard-fought match that saw the Genius of the Sky overcome the strength and size advantage of her opponent. Rodriguez hoisted Sky up for a Tejana Bomb but the babyface countered into a rollup for the victory.

After the match, Roxanne Perez attacked Sky out of nowhere, then joined Rodriguez in a two-on-one beatdown that concluded with The Judgment Day standing tall.

Result

Sky defeated Rodriguez

Grade

B

Top Takeaways

• Rodriguez is one of the more underrated members of the WWE roster over the last year. She has worked hard and developed into a strong worker who can be counted on to deliver against every wrestler of every background.
• Sky is great but it has never been more needed to get her away from the Judgment Day. Every exchange feels repetitive at this point.
• Solo Sikoa cut a pre-taped promo with The Bloodline (including Roman Reigns) in the background. In it, he accepted a match with Royce Keys and showed off the personality that has gotten him over with audiences. All while Jey Uso fought for his life not to break in the background.

Dragon Lee and Chad Gable vs. Ethan Page and Big Cass

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Last Time in Action: Chad Gable defeated Dragon Lee and Rey Mysterio (Raw, October 19); Big Cass lost to Rey Mysterio (Raw, October 12); Ethan Page lost to Fenix (Raw, October 5)

Big Cass and "All Ego" Ethan Page picked up a huge tag team victory Monday night on Raw, thanks to better-than-expected chemistry and a wicked Ego Plex on the arena floor.

Late in the match, Page delivered his finisher to Gable, leaving him unable to continue on the outside. With referees checking on the reigning Intercontinental Champion, Lee fended off Cass and Page, showing great guts and determination along the way.

A big boot from Cass halted his momentum and Page delivered another Ego Plex to score the victory.

Result

Page and Cass defeated Gable and Lee

Grade

C+

Top Takeaways

• Not quite up to the level of Gable and Lee's more recent matches, but this was still a solid tag team match that sold the latter as a resilient Babyface while giving Gable an "out" that did not involve him losing clean.
• It will be interesting to see if that was an injury angle on the floor or nor. If it was, it was handled extremely well and at least gave the impression that it was.