WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from December 7

The final WWE Raw before the TLC pay-per-view didn't make fans thrilled about what's next; it nose-dived.

Blame a string of poor decisions. Blame rivalries that are simply lifeless. 

Monday's Raw did offer a handful of welcome, unexpected items. Rhyno returned to WWE. Alberto Del Rio ditched Zeb Colter. More often than not, though, the show left one perplexed.

Why didn't The League of Nations figure into the final segment where Sheamus desperately needed backup? Why did WWE ask Tommy Dreamer at 44 years old to work two matches, while a number of wrestlers sat in the catering area the whole night? Why can't the company make clear heel-face distinctions in the Divas division?

WWE Creative's slump continues. The road to WrestleMania can't come soon enough.

The show began with stables colliding, a well-executed match followed and then the bottom fell out. Read on for highlights, recaps and grades for the TLC go-home show.

Factions Face Off

The League of Nations opened the show, with Sheamus mocking Roman Reigns and talking up his comrades. The Celtic Warrior claimed his group was the best WWE had to offer.

The Wyatt Family soon emerged to dispute that claim. Bray Wyatt promised chaos before Tommy Dreamer and The Dudley Boyz arrived. The ECW fan favorites announced they had a fourth member in their ranks—Rhyno.

Roman Reigns then charged out with The Usos and Dean Ambrose.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"We tried to find someone from America, but we couldn't find anyone fit enough to lace our boots."—Sheamus.

Fans chant "Yes!" to Wyatt Family-League of Nations faceoff.

"This is all my world, and I'm just allowing you to breath in it."—Wyatt.

"We'll see your chaos and raise you to the extreme."—Bubba Ray.

Grade

B

Analysis

Surprising move to have the two faction feuds overlap. That helped the opener to have a touch of the anything-can-happen feel Raw has lacked of late.

Sheamus went on for too long. He can still be the leader and have Barrett be more of the mouthpiece. WWE needs to let the best talker among the group talk the most.

Fatal 4-Way 16-Man Elimination Match

The League of Nations vs. The Wyatt Family vs. The Usos, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns vs. The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno

Chaos marked the early part of the match. 

Bray Wyatt led an assault on Jimmy Uso. Rhyno floored a series of foes in a row. Bodies flew around the ring in high-paced action.

Tommy Dreamer pinned Erick Rowan to send away The Wyatt Family. Sheamus pinned Bubba Ray Dudley to eliminate that squad. The League of Nations beat up on Jey Uso for a long stretch before Roman Reigns went on a flurry.

Reigns ended the bout with a spear on Sheamus, with his nose bloody as he celebrated.

Result

Reigns, The Usos and Ambrose win via pinfall. 

Memorable Moments and Quotes

The Usos hit a double superplex as Strowman slams the brothers.

A brawl breaks out between 12 wrestlers at once.

Grade

B

Analysis

The action itself was wild and fun. It allowed Raw to feature a bunch of wrestling to get the show rolling.

As well-executed as the match was, though, the booking hurt its power. The Wyatt Family can't continue to look this ineffective. A 44-year-old Dreamer eliminated the foursome. That's just silly.

And why does WWE insist on having its champions lose? Reigns pinning Sheamus does nothing for their feud. It only serves to weaken The Celtic Warrior's momentum.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens

Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae watched on from ringside in their "VIP section." Dean Ambrose watched on from backstage with a bucket of popcorn in hand.

Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler began the bout on the mat, with the intercontinental champion talking trash as he clamped on a headlock. The Showoff fought back, but Owens remained in control, punishing his foe with shots to the head.

Owen throttled the babyface. Ziggler looked to simply survive. 

Even after hurting his shoulder, Ziggler continued to fight on. But a pop-up powerbomb did him in.

Ambrose came out, still munching on his snacks. He tossed popcorn and soda into Owens' face before walking off. 

Result

Owens wins via pinfall. 

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Owens hits a fallaway slam against the guardrail. 

"Hey, Showoff, show me something."—Owens to Ziggler.

Owens cracked Ziggler's shoulder against the ring post.

Ziggler hits Owen with a DDT on the floor.

"Where's my damn music?"—Owens when Ambrose's music hits, not his. 

Grade

A-

Analysis

Kudos to both Ziggler and Owens here. The champ masterfully took apart the babyface with a methodical beatdown. He looked like a true heel, thanks to his viciousness and trash talk.

The match did well to elevate both men. Owens looked like a overpowering beast; Ziggler played the man who just would not quit. 

And even as silly as the popcorn stunt was, at least those rivals got to create a moment. Breeze didn't do anything on the outside. The camera barely even pointed his way.

Naomi and Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox and Brie Bella

Alicia Fox and Brie Bella had Team B.A.D. hurting early. Tamina Snuka pulling Fox down by her hair changed things around, though.

Naomi and Sasha Banks then beat up on Fox. Despite colliding with each other, those heels picked up the win courtesy of a Rear View.

The New Day congratulated Team B.A.D. After offering them unicorn horns to wear, they all danced together.

Result

Banks and Naomi win via pinfall. 

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Fox hits two tilt-a-while backbreakers on Naomi.

Banks hits a snap mare, and Fox lands dangerously on her leg.

Grade

C

Analysis

It's not clear where this story is supposed to be heading. Team B.A.D. keeps feuding with The Bellas, but with no advancement of the story, no indication that a climax is coming at any point. Whatever happened to the feud with Natalya?

And pitting heel against heel so regularly makes it hard to invest.

It's nice to see Team B.A.D. used underhanded techniques to win, but when it comes against two other heels, it doesn't serve its purpose to create pathos for the other team. 

The New Day vs. The Lucha Dragons

Wearing unicorn horns, The New Day bragged about donating to The League of Nations and helping Kim Kardashian and Kanye West name their new baby.

The champs then acted out a scene where a cat gets stuck in a tree. They complained about having to defend their titles in a ladder match.

Once the bout began, The New Day slammed both Kalisto and Sin Car around the ring. Xavier Woods played the trombone as Big E and Kofi Kingston dominated.

Outside, Jimmy Uso beat up Woods. Distracted Kingston fell victim to Sin Cara rolling him up.

Result

The Lucha Dragons win via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"You know, Booty West has a certain ring to it."—Big E.

Big E suplexed Sin Cara out on the floor. 

Sin Cara hits a springboard moonsault onto both Kingston and Big E.

"Beat him like he stole something."—Jey Uso to his brother.

Grade

C+

Analysis

The New Day's usual silly shtick entertained. This was better timed than recent segments that asked the trio to hold the audience's attention for too long.

The champs showed flashes of destructive power to balance out their comedy. They need more of that. More showcases of their dominance makes them more convincing champions.

The altercation between The Usos and Woods was the best part of a solid match. WWE is not being especially creative with this feud, but at least this upped the animosity between everyone involved.

Miz TV with Charlotte and Ric Flair

Backstage, The Miz again offered to make Neville the next Daniel Bryan. Donny Deutsch from Donny on USA offered to get the high-flyer on his show.

On the Miz TV segment, The Miz watched the Flairs show off their matching Rolexes. Flair announced he would be in Charlotte's corner at TLC.

Charlotte said she would do anything it took to win. She didn't want to talk about Paige. 

The Miz needled the Flairs until Charlotte exploded. Paige came out, slapped The Nature Boy and soon found herself taking punches from Charlotte.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"I feel sorry for your wife."—Charlotte to The Miz.

"The only thing lower on the food chain than you is that backstabbing, two-faced, Gothic piece of trash, Paige."—Charlotte to The Miz.

Paige does the the Ric Flair strut.

Grade

D

Analysis

Charlotte's slow-burn heel turn apparently sped up. She acted like a full-on villain here, cocky, ornery and cold-blooded. Why on Earth then is the audience supposed to root for her against Paige?

WWE is leaning heavily on Charlotte's last name. It's been tiresome. At least here, it led to Paige getting some heat by cracking him against the chin.

And why is WWE so intent on giving Charlotte so much mic time? She's the female Roman Reigns in that she succeeds in short bursts. Putting her in this spot only served to exposed her weakness as a talker.

Ryback vs. Rusev

JP Yim/Getty Images

In a pre-match promo, Lana forgave Ryback for knocking into her last week. 

During the bout, Rusev took his time entering the battle, biding his time at ringside. The Big Guy manhandled Rusev, slugging him with right hands.

A trip to the outside left him hurt, though. Ryback was unable to hit his power moves afterward. Rusev pounced.

Ryback thought he ran into Lana and was distracted by her claiming she had a broken ankle. Rusev clamped on The Accolade as the referee counted to 10.

Rusev celebrated with a makeout session with Lana.

Result

Match results in double count-out.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Ryback spins over the top rope onto Rusev.

"We're having fun!"—Ryback.

Grade

D+

Analysis

The heart of this in-ring story was that Ryback's shoulder was hurt, yet he went for shoulder tackles and shoulder thrusts. The Big Guy should have adjusted his offense to compensate for the bad win. And that doesn't mean doing his awful-looking versions of Lucha Libre-style moves.

Rusev's post-match torture of Ryback was the best part of another underwhelming match between these two.

If Ryback is going to be Rusev's victim as he moves on to bigger prey, that's fine. Just don't put them into a full-fledged feud together.

Jack Swagger vs. Stardust

Titus O'Neil interrupted Stardust backstage again, telling the strange Superstar he needs some time to himself. O'Neil then sat in on commentary as Stardust wrestled.

Jack Swagger had Stardust in the ankle lock. Alberto Del Rio charged out, which distracted Swagger. Stardust took advantage momentarily. 

Swagger put on the ankle lock again to win.

Del Rio attacked Swagger with a chair. He took out Stardust as well. The United States champ traded chair shots with Swagger before darting away.

Swagger barked at Zeb Colter, who just rode away on his Rascal. Backstage, Del Rio fired Colter and threatened to smash him with a chair.

Result

Swagger wins via submission. 

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"At the highest level."—Stardust to O'Neil when asked he if can read.

Grade

D

Analysis

The match started during the commercial break. It was over just moments later. That's as bizarre a decision as WWE made all night. 

Collecting so many sound losses like this one makes Stardust potentially feuding with O'Neil a ho-hum proposition. There's little reason to feel that either man is a threat.

Del Rio ditching Colter was the sole positive here. It made no sense that they were aligned in the first place. And if this means that the MexAmerica angle is over, good riddance. Del Rio will be far better off.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Braun Strowman

Credit: WWE.com

With their respective "families" watching on, Braun Strowman walloped Tommy Dreamer. He toyed with the former ECW champ.

Strowman then choked out the veteran.

Result

Strowman wins via submission.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"He's never faced anything like Braun Strowman."—John "Bradshaw" Layfield on Dreamer.

Grade

F

Analysis

Placing this at the end of the show was a major mistake. Why give fans a reason to drift off?

And with a host of underused talent backstage, WWE chose to have Dreamer wrestler twice. The better move would have been to push this to the middle of the show, have Strowman devour Zack Ryder and then have The Dudley Boyz and the ECW crew try to save him afterward. 

The option WWE went with instead was painful to watch.

The Sheamus and Roman Reigns Showdown

Credit: WWE.com

Roman Reigns addressed the crowd, eyeing the ladders propped up over the ring. He talked of his climb to the top of WWE, before calling out Sheamus.

The Celtic Warrior dismissed Reigns' chances of dethroning him. Reigns tried to incite Sheamus with insults.

Eventually, the two enemies brawled. They knocked each other into ladders, chairs and tables around the ring.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"As I get higher, I lost some friends, and I gained a bunch of enemies. But I kept climbing, I kept digging, I kept scratching and clawing."—Reigns.

"I thought Irish men were supposed to have potatoes. But it looks like you're smuggling some tater tots."—Reigns to Sheamus.

Grade

F

Analysis

The segment, meant to be the final selling point for a main event at a pay-per-view, had no energy, no chemistry and no tension.

WWE asked Reigns to recap his own story too much. It armed him with playground insults. It set him up to fail.

By the time the brawl erupted, several fans had likely tuned out or else were too disenchanted with the show to care. And what's the point of Sheamus forming The League of Nations if it doesn't make its presence felt when needed?

This segment, like much of the show, needed a rewrite before airtime.