WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from March 28

Brooklyn was the penultimate stop on the Road to WrestleMania Monday night, and WWE was busy sewing up lose ends ahead of its premiere event.

Roman Reigns and Triple H were in the same building ahead of their WWE World Heavyweight Championship match in Dallas, and "The Big Dog" would undoubtedly be looking to carry on his assault against The King of Kings.

Did he succeed, or was the COO the last man standing?

The Undertaker and Shane McMahon appeared ahead of their Hell in a Cell match. What McMahon family drama would be in store for the viewing audience?

And how physical would the final build to Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar be?

Fans found out Monday night on the USA Network. Now you can to, with this look back at the show, including grades and analysis.

The Undertaker Promo

The Undertaker kicked off this week's show, just days ahead of a showdown with Shane McMahon inside Hell in a Cell.

Undertaker cut a brief promo about the match before McMahon interrupted to a big ovation. The competitors hurled insults at one another, including one from Shane-O-Mac insinuating Undertaker's legacy ended two years ago when he lost to Brock Lesnar.

A fight ensued, leading to McMahon blasting The Phenom with a television monitor and delivering his trademark elbow drop from the top rope through the announce table at ringside.

McMahon ended the segment by pointing at the WrestleMania sign, as per the norm at this time of the year.

Grade

B-

Analysis

This was one "your momma" joke away from being the exact opposite of what you would hope to see out of a feud that will ultimately conclude inside Hell in a Cell.

Thankfully, it recovered nicely in the end with a great little brawl that culminated with a dynamic flying elbow from McMahon to The Phenom. That one action, McMahon's breathtaking and high-risk maneuver, instantly had this writer guessing what he will be willing to do on the grand stage.

That is a good thing and will only create more buzz and anticipation for the bout come Sunday.

Zack Ryder vs. Chris Jericho

AJ Styles arrived early, cutting off the match before it could start. When the bell finally did ring, Ryder tried for a quick rollup and nearly scored the win.

Later, Jericho again fell for the distraction, allowing Long Island Iced Z to score the pinfall victory.

After the match, the Superstars cut a promo leading to the official announcement of The Phenomenal One vs. Y2J at WrestleMania.

Result

Zack Ryder defeated Chris Jericho.

Grade

C-

Analysis

Ryder's victory should have meant more than it did. Unfortunately, he is being set up as the classic red herring, a guy on the roll whom fans can buy into pulling off the upset, but, in reality, he's just a guy in a mix of them.

This was all about setting up a Jericho-Styles match that should mean more but, unfortunately, it has been watered down by repetition. Still, it will probably be awesome, and this finally set it up so that is the silver lining.

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte

Sasha Banks watched from ringside as Charlotte and Becky Lynch battled in a preview of this Sunday's Divas Championship match.

Lynch mounted a fiery comeback at one point, only to be cut off by the champion.

Late in the match, Charlotte ended up at ringside, and Banks taunted her. Lynch followed, chasing the Divas champion around ringside, only to have Ric Flair trip her up.

Charlotte followed with Natural Selection for the pinfall victory.

Result

Charlotte defeated Becky Lynch.

Grade

C-

Analysis

The women's hard work was there, but the booking of this one was so repetitive, stale and ineffective that it is difficult to imagine a WWE Creative staff sitting around a table and pitching it as a good idea.

Distraction from Banks? Check. Interference from Flair leading to Charlotte's victory? Check. Lynch looking like a gullible fool? Check.

How this was supposed to make viewers excited about Sunday's match more than they were prior, is a mystery.

Kane and Big Show vs. Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel

In a preview of Sunday's Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Big Show and Kane joined forces to battle The Social Outcasts' Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel.

Before the match could get too far, every Superstar without a match at this weekend's show hit the ring, battling for the right to stand tall heading into the battle royal.

Superstars from Darren Young to Fandango, Mark Henry to Tyler Breeze, hit the ring as chaos erupted. The gigantic Kane and Big Show, though, stood tall, exchanging a glare to end the segment. 

Result

No-Contest

Grade

D 

Analysis

If you have seen one match degenerate into a wild brawl to promote a battle royal, you have seen them all.

This was no different, with the only exception being Kane and Big Show did not come to blows at the end of it.

With no truly interesting competitors involved, and no dark-horse favorite outside of the aging giants, Sunday's match is about as uninteresting as this writer can remember a WrestleMania bout being.

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon Promo

WWE world heavyweight champion Triple H and wife Stephanie McMahon made their entrance to the arena—the first hints of hype for this Sunday's highest-profile match.

Triple H put over the WWE title's history and importance to the entire locker room before shifting focus to himself.

The Game blamed Roman Reigns for everything that will happen to him this Sunday, claiming The Big Dog awakened a fire in him that had laid dormant this past December at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view.

He vowed to end Reigns' dreams and continue his run at the top of the industry, while Stephanie suggested nothing else on the card but the WWE title match means anything.

Reigns made his way to the ring, endured a few boots but landed several hard rights to send the champion scurrying.

The challenger in this Sunday's match stood tall to close out the segment.

Grade

B-

Analysis

The biggest problem with this promo, which was excellent regardless, was it did more to make this writer more invested in Triple H's story rather than his opponent's. Considering Vince McMahon has thrown all of his eggs in the Roman Reigns basket, that is a major problem.

Also of interest was how much it seemed like Triple H and Stephanie were both quick to deflect focus off the other matches in order to prop up The Game's match this Sunday.

Wise? Probably not.

Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio

The New Day cut a promo prior to the singles bout between Kofi Kingston and Alberto Del Rio, but The League of Nations' arrival interrupted them.

Del Rio attacked right from the bell, but Kingston sidestepped him and the former world champion crashed onto the arena floor.

The Mexican-born Superstar controlled the bout throughout, but Kingston mounted a comeback, even delivering the SOS for a near-fall.

Late in the match, Del Rio tried for the Cross Armbreaker, but Xavier Woods and Big E's distraction at ringside led to Kingston's rollup for the upset win.

After the match, Jonathan Coachman made a surprise appearance, announcing ESPN's SportsCenter will be live in Dallas at the site of WrestleMania before dancing with the winners.

Result

Kofi Kingston defeated Alberto Del Rio.

Grade

C

Analysis

Coachman's announcement is huge for WWE in that it gives it the mainstream-media coverage of WrestleMania it so desires. Plus, it was nice to see Coach back on-screen for a cameo.

As for the match, it felt like the same average match, wrestled by the same two teams, we've seen countless times in this lead-in to WrestleMania. There is a great match to be had between New Day and The League of Nations.

Here's hoping all the mediocrity leading to April 3 was worth it for that one special out that shines the spotlight back on the tag division.

Kalisto vs. Konnor

In an attempt to prove Kalisto can beat a much-larger opponent, the United States champion battled The Ascension's Konnor in singles competition Monday night.

The stronger, former NXT tag champion controlled early, but Kalisto proved the resilient babyface, fighting from underneath and using Salida del Sol to pick up the win.

After the match, Kalisto fended off an attack by Viktor. Ryback hit the ring and did his "feed me more" shtick before leaving.

Result

Kalisto defeated Konnor

Grade

D

Analysis

There was so much wrong with segment it is almost impossible to pinpoint where to start.

Kalisto somehow fended off an attack by both members of The Ascension. If Konnor and Viktor were not already buried, they are now. There is not a chance in hell any logical booker would possibly think it was a good idea for that to air on television without intentionally trying to hurt The Ascension.

Then there is the continued lackluster build to the United States title match. No one cares about the program between Kalisto and Ryback, and that was evidenced by the silence their staredown was greeted with.

Nothing happened, their story was not furthered and the result will be an ice-cold reaction Sunday inside AT&T Stadium.

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman Promo

Paul Heyman did his best sell-job for Sundays Street Fight between Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose, putting his client over as a once-in-a-lifetime athlete who destroy Ambrose Sunday night. Just as he told us two years ago when Lesnar beat Undertaker, he guarantees he will demolish his opponent.

Ambrose interrupted, wheeling a wagon to ringside. He retrieved weapons from under and around the ring, including the barbed wire baseball bat and chainsaw Terry Funk and Mick Foley gave to him, as well as other odds and ends, before returning up the ramp as Lesnar and Heyman watched on from the ring.

Grade

B

Analysis

Paul Heyman is such an incredible salesman. The manner in which he put over Lesnar, recalled history and simultaneously looked to the future is phenomenal. He understands the importance of telling story in every one of his promos and also uses vivid and descriptive words and phrases to get his point across.

It really is a joy to watch him work.

The intriguing thing about this segment was the way that Ambrose made his way to the ring, collected the weapons and never once set his sights on Lesnar. It is like he completely refused to acknowledge that The Beast was in the ring.

Was it a game of sorts, paying the attention-seeking badass no mind? Or was it a way of saying that he is more focused on the weapons and how to use them than he is on whom he will use them?

Either way, it was much more interesting and entertaining than the majority of the show to this point.

Paige vs. Emma

Emma dominated the action early, perhaps in an attempt to reintroduce herself from an in-ring perspective to the audience at large. She wore Paige down with an impressive dropkick and flattened her with the Emmamite Sandwich.

The Anti-Diva (who is now a Total Diva?) fought her way back into the match, using a series of knee strikes and a fallaway slam to her advantage. With Tamina distracting the referee, and action at ringside between the other Divas breaking down, Lana was able to sneak into the ring and deliver a nasty kick to Paige that softened her up for Emma to score the victory.

After the match, Eva Marie's music played, and she hit the ring, taking down Lana and standing by her Total Divas castmates.

Result

Emma defeated Paige.

Grade

D

Analysis

Before the rant, allow this writer to state for the record that it was very nice to see Emma back in a Raw ring proving her abilities to the main roster audience. With that out of the way..

Is this the most tone-deaf WrestleMania in recent memory?

Does anyone behind the curtain even pay the slightest amount of attention to the response the wrestlers they send to the ring on a nightly basis receive? If so, who in their right mind, decided the best idea was for the fifth addition on the babyface side of the Divas tag match should be Eva Marie? 

That is such a colossally bad move that one has to think the company is purposely going out of its way to troll fans and/or set its talent up for failure. Of course, that is merely speculation, but how many times has Eva Marie entered an arena to scathing jeers? And how absolutely tone deaf to the audience and their wants does one have to be not to realize it?

And that is by no means an indictment of Eva Marie herself. Anyone watching NXT can tell the woman are improving. She is a great heel, and her ring work is getting better with every passing match. Putting her on the heel side of things would have worked so much better, and the jeers could easily be explained away.

In this case, the heroines of the match will endure ridiculous and unnecessary boos as a result of Creative's complete ignorance to what actually goes on from the page to the ring.

Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn and Sin Cara vs. Stardust, The Miz and Kevin Owens

Credit: WWE.com

The big preview match for this Sunday's Ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship was a Six-Man Tag Team bout that feels familiar to anyone who has watched an episode of Raw or SmackDown anytime over the last year.

The match felt disjointed for its majority, the match felt disjointed, especially through the first two commercial breaks.

Fast-forward to the closing moments as Sami Zayn made a hot tag to Sin Cara, who climbed the ropes and tried for a Swanton Bomb, only to crash into the knees of Stardust. Zayn tagged back in and sparred with Miz, who tried for the Skull Crushing Finale but found himself on the receiving end of a rollup. 

The action broke down, each Superstar predictably landing a signature or finisher on one another. Finally, Owens and Zayn were left to revisit their feud, with the latter talking trash until Zayn blasted him with the Helluva Kick following a Tornado DDT for the win. 

Result

Sami Zayn, Sin Cara and Dolph Ziggler defeated Kevin Owens, Stardust and The Miz. 

Grade

C

Analysis

This match was the perfect representation of this show as a whole in that it was average and felt like something we have seen 100 times before. Add to it the fact that it was disjointed from the very beginning and you have an underwhelming mess that did absolutely nothing to make this writer excited to see these six guys battle it out in a Ladder match Sunday.

In fact, the only guy in the pay-per-view match this weekend even remotely close to interesting is Zack Ryder. Though he may be the aforementioned red herring, at least there is the redemption story to get behind. The others? Talented guys with no upward mobility, wrestling a match that will be great but ultimately mean nothing, on an undercard with so many Superstars in similar positions.

Finally, it seems mightily out of place for Zayn to suddenly end his vendetta with Owens prior to WrestleMania, in a match no one will remember tomorrow, instead of at the grand stage.

Final Hype for Triple H vs. Roman Reigns

Credit: WWE.com

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon made their way to the ring for the second time Monday night and picked up right where they left off, yapping at the audience until Roman Reigns' theme music exploded over the PA system and the fans in Brooklyn reacted with apathy.

A brawl ensued, The League of Nations got involved, and suddenly, the key players from Sunday's midcard matches appeared. Everyone fought, while Triple H retreated, with his title held high as a frustrated Reigns stood tall.

Grade

F

Analysis

And thus, the final build to the WrestleMania main event ends not with a bang, but a whimper.

This was as awful and unexciting a way to build to the most important match on a WrestleMania card as this writer can ever, ever remember WWE executing on the go-home episode of Raw.

Sure, Reigns' dive over the top rope was cool, but we have been exposed to it so many times over the last year that it no longer means what it should.

Even the tug-o-war over the title between Reigns and Brock Lesnar on last year's broadcast had the visual of two behemoths grabbing hold of the sport's top prize.

This? This was a retread of the multiman brawl we witnessed not two hours earlier. Worse yet? It was not even as good.

The fans in Brooklyn did not care about seeing Triple H or Reigns back out there for the second time in a night, and the result was a lethargic romp rather than a meaningful exclamation point on the feud.

It was a fitting end for the show, though, especially considering how mishandled it was from top to bottom. A criminally underwhelming and disappointing chapter in the story of WrestleMania 32.