WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from June 13

With Money in the Bank six days away, WWE rolled into New Orleans for Raw and a contract signing between John Cena and AJ Styles ahead of their dream match on June 19.

The two faces of professional wrestling throughout the 2000s and well into the current decade signed their names on the dotted lines, making their bout at Money in the Bank official. What latest development ensured there will be a definitive winner?

Speaking of high-profile matches at Money in the Bank, WWE world heavyweight champion Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins came face-to-face in "The Ambrose Asylum," hosted by former partner Dean Ambrose. With all three members of The Shield in the same ring, reliving history and talking championship gold, it was a combustible situation.

Which of the three Hounds of Justice would be left standing, the championship and potential Money in the Bank cash-in in his sights?

Ambrose would have to pull double duty on Monday, battling Chris Jericho in the main event of the show. Would The Lunatic Fringe further establish himself as a favorite to win the coveted briefcase in the upcoming ladder match or would Jericho have other things in store for his rival?

What roles would Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Alberto Del Rio and Cesaro play?

Fans found out Monday night on the USA Network, and now you can, too, with this look at the winners, grades and highlights from the June 13 episode.

The New Day Promo

WWE tag team champions The New Day kicked off the show with a promo discussing its title defense against The Club, Enzo Amore and Big Cass and The Vaudevillains.

Enzo and Cass interrupted to a thunderous ovation. Cass promised to win the titles but admitted that there is no issue between the babyfaces. They joked, with Cass insinuating that Enzo spent the night with Xavier Woods' "girl," Francesca.

Enzo and Woods traded comedic barbs before Aiden English and Simon Gotch interrupted. The Club followed, and Michael Cole revealed a huge eight-man tag team match to take place after the break.

Grade

C

Analysis

As a fun comedic bit that gave Enzo, Big Cass and The New Day an excuse to share the screen for the first time in an extended segment, this was fine. As final hype for Sunday's tag title match, this accomplished little.

There was no real sign of animosity between the teams, none stood out in any measurable way and the result was a greater desire to see the babyfaces talk for 20 minutes than fight.

The New Day and Enzo and Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillains and The Club

The result of the night's opening segment, the eight-man tag team match pitting The Vaudevillains and The Club against The New Day and Enzo and Big Cass, featured the same wild and chaotic closing segment that fans have come to expect from matches like these.

Each Superstar took center stage, getting a signature move of some sort in late, with Big E notably tossing Aiden English around like a rag doll with an impressive suplex.

As the bout wound down, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson entered the ring and delivered The Magic Killer to Kofi Kingston for the win.

Result

The Club and The Vaudevillains defeated The New Day and Enzo and Big Cass.

Grade

C+

Analysis

WWE has perfected the multiman tag team match formula to the point that it regularly steals entire periods of television broadcasts. It is easy, cheap and entertaining, which is exactly what this one was.

The Club winning was a nice touch, but at the same time, it seems to suggest that it will not be leaving Las Vegas with the titles. At least, that is, if WWE Creative's 50-50 style of booking holds up.

Given how long babyface champions The New Day have dominated the scene, a heel run seems most likely, but The Vaudevillains are nowhere near over enough to warrant that type of push.

Thus, Anderson and Gallows look poised to buck the trend and pick up the titles at Sunday's show.

Rusev Attacks Titus O'Neil

As Titus O'Neil made his way to the ring for a scheduled match, United States champion Rusev attacked him from behind.

Looking to do damage ahead of Sunday's title defense, The Bulgarian Brute beat him down and applied The Accolade as officials attempted to pull him off.

Grade

C+

Analysis

After having his ego bruised on Thursday night, Rusev snapped and attacked O'Neil, showing cracks in his recent calm, cool personality.

It was a nice touch, too. Rusev needed a segment that reminded fans of just how violent a performer he could be, while O'Neil is now forced into the role of resilient babyface forced to overcome injury if he is to win his first singles title.

What was a fairly simple segment proved more than effective.

'The Ambrose Asylum' with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns

Dean Ambrose hit the ring for the most heavily advertised segment of the week—"The Ambrose Asylum" with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.

He introduced The Architect, who received a tremendous ovation upon his arrival. Boos erupted as the champion made his entrance.

The trio relived its days as The Shield before Rollins shifted his focus to Reigns and the fact that his former tag team partner never beat him to win the gold. Both Reigns and Ambrose questioned whether Rollins could win on his own, without The Authority, Kane or J&J Security there to help him.

Ambrose teased cashing in Money in the Bank on Sunday, perhaps even turning the main event into a Triple Threat match. He shockingly laid out Reigns with Dirty Deeds and stood tall, staring up at the briefcase hanging overhead to close out the segment.

Grade

A-

Analysis

This was well done in that it presented fans with a look at the long history between the three competitors, built to the title match at Sunday's pay-per-view and teased the potential involvement of Ambrose in the night's festivities.

It was interesting to take the stroll down memory lane with the three Superstars and realize just how influential they have been to the product since the split of The Shield two full years ago.

All three have been staples of WWE programming as singles acts, and Sunday night could be the latest chapter in their intertwining stories.

Non-Title Match: Paige vs. Charlotte

Just days before a tag team match pitting WWE women's champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke against Natalya and Becky Lynch, the titleholder found herself opposing Paige in a non-title match.

With Natalya and Lynch on commentary, Brooke attempted to protect her friend and mentor from their mocking. As a result, she rolled Charlotte back into the squared circle and into the Ram-Paige from the popular Brit for the upset win.

Result

Paige defeated Charlotte.

Grade

D

Analysis

Would you look at that? Paige won another meaningless non-title match against Charlotte.

This did nothing to build anticipation for a tag team match that is ice-cold in terms of excitement. Outside of Charlotte, no one involved has a defined character, and the issues between them aren't particularly interesting.

The result is an underwhelming use of the women and a definitive cooling-off of the women's revolution.

The most interesting element of the match, and one almost completely missed by commentators, was the fact that Brooke was responsible for her associate's loss. As we saw later in the show, Charlotte berated her accomplice, planting the seeds of dissension between the heels.

Zack Ryder vs. Sheamus

Set up earlier in the night via backstage segment, Sheamus vs. Zack Ryder was little more than an excuse to put the spotlight on The Celtic Warrior ahead of Sunday's match against Apollo Crews.

Ryder had a flurry of offense early, shoving Sheamus head-first into the steel post and gaining the upper hand. He even delivered a Broski Boot and a top-rope elbow in an attempt to build drama. Sheamus, though, cut off his comeback with a Brogue Kick to secure the victory.

After the bell, Sheamus fled through the audience as Crews attacked him.

Result

Sheamus defeated Zack Ryder.

Grade

D-

Analysis

This was the epitome of lazy booking, a foregone conclusion of a match that served only to set up a run-in ahead of a match few can muster excitement for on Sunday's show.

The audience never bought into Ryder's comeback because, contrary to popular belief within WWE Creative, one major victory at WrestleMania was not enough to make up for the complete and utter lack of upward mobility for him over the course of the last four years.

This was a squash, plain and simple, and neither Sheamus nor Crews is interesting enough at this point to draw anticipation from the audience.

Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn

Two of the best wrestlers on the planet squared off on Monday night, as Sami Zayn and Cesaro renewed their rivalry, battling just days before competing in the Money in the Bank ladder match.

The Superstars showcased the tremendous chemistry they have with each other, Cesaro blasting his opponent with his trademark European uppercuts before trying a Cesaro Swing. Zayn fought out of it, and the two delivered a series of counters and reversals.

A duck-down by Cesaro turned into a sunset powerbomb from Zayn for the upset victory in eight minutes. 

Result

Sami Zayn defeated Cesaro.

Grade

B-

Analysis

There is no such thing as a bad Zayn-Cesaro match. The WWE Universe unfamiliar with their work in NXT got just a small sampling of the magic they can work with each other when paired together. Their action is crisp and fluid, and it looks like poetry in motion.

The outcome was a bit of a surprise, as a Cesaro victory seemed imminent.

After all, Zayn is the consummate underdog and has not won many matches on Raw and SmackDown as cleanly and decisively as he did this one.

With that said, Zayn needed it in order to be presented as a credible choice to leave Sunday's show with the briefcase in hand. While it would have been nice to preserve Cesaro's heat, it came in a hard-fought victory that will mean more in the long run than a useless win over someone like Alberto Del Rio would have.

John Cena-AJ Styles Contract Signing

The most anticipated match on Sunday's show took center stage, as John Cena and AJ Styles signed the contract that made official a bona fide dream match.

Cena put over the importance of this weekend's bout, name-dropping promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Ring of Honor while relaying to the audience how great and important to this generation of sports entertainment Styles is.

After The Phenomenal One arrived, Cena pitched the idea of a singles match, guaranteeing that The Club would not get involved.

Styles suggested that, if he had come to WWE some 15 years ago, Cena would never be the franchise star that he is today. Instead of Cena headlining pay-per-views, starring in movies and selling boatloads of merchandise, it would be Styles.

"I would be the face that runs this place," he continued.

Cena told Styles to quit complaining "like every indy dude before you" and insinuated that his latest rival left his manhood in Japan.

Styles vowed to prove to Cena that he is not every other indy guy he has ever competed against and proceeded to sign the contract for a singles bout. 

Grade

A-

Analysis

This was the best segment of the night and had nothing to do with "shoot"-like comments between the two. Instead, it was the passion demonstrated by Styles, who looks like a guy still determined to prove himself against the top star in the industry.

No matter how critically acclaimed his career has been or how many championships he has captured, his legacy is not complete until he beats Cena, thus backing up his claims of the last few weeks.

It feels like a legitimate beef between competitors, and the idea that the match will ensue without the predictable involvement of The Club is appealing.

Cena does not get nearly enough credit for putting over the importance of a wrestler or feud when the time comes, something he did with outstanding precision on Monday night.

One has to question listing Styles' indy accomplishments and then tearing them down moments later, but all is forgiven when one takes into consideration the fact that The Phenomenal One came out of the segment looking even stronger than before.

The Lucha Dragons vs. Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio

Credit: WWE.com

As the result of a segment earlier in the show, where Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio's bickering saw their spots in the Money in the Bank ladder match put up for grabs by Corporate Kane, the rivals were forced to put their differences aside to battle The Lucha Dragons.

The intra-fighting threatened to erase the heels from Sunday's match, but Owens managed to deliver his Pop-Up Powerbomb to Sin Cara for the victory.

After the match, Del Rio got the last laugh, delivering a superkick to a kneeling Owens.

Result

Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio defeated The Lucha Dragons.

Grade

C+

Analysis

The action was solid enough, but this was more about the story of dissension between Owens and Del Rio than anything else.

With that in mind, it was effective, with Owens continuing to take any underwhelming story and make the most of it. Del Rio was also strong, even if he is the weakest link in Sunday's Money in the Bank ladder match.

All in all, it was nice to have a match with high stakes featured on what had been an otherwise uneventful show, though it never once felt like Owens and Del Rio were at risk of actually losing their spots.

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

Credit: WWE.com

Just in case the WWE Universe had not gotten tired of the Ambrose-Jericho pairing before now, the two headlined Monday's show. The presence of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens on commentary, Alberto Del Rio as the guest timekeeper and Cesaro as guest ring announcer all ensured chaos to close out the show.

As the match headed to break, the Superstars filling guest roles had a staredown at ringside.

Late in the bout, Ambrose countered a Codebreaker with Dirty Deeds to score the clean pinfall win, negating Jericho's win from SmackDown.

The Superstars in Sunday's match got involved post-match, exchanging finishers and signature maneuvers before the action broke down around the squared circle. Owens introduced a ladder to the proceedings just before Zayn took to the top rope and launched himself onto the Superstars on the arena floor.

With the Superstars laid out at ringside, Jericho climbed the ladder and grabbed the briefcase, holding it high overhead as the show wrapped up.

Result

Dean Ambrose pinned Chris Jericho.

Grade

C

Analysis

It was difficult to get invested in the match. Jericho vs. Ambrose has been overexposed in recent weeks, and though it's no fault of their own, the contest had a "been there, done that" feel to it.

Even the show-closing segment felt stale. It was nothing fans have not seen before, nor was there anything about it to enhance excitement about Sunday's show. Worst of all, the ladder match itself feels like the third-most important match at the event, something few would have expected from the pay-per-view's namesake.

Jericho standing tall was a nice touch, but aside from Del Rio, he is the least likely to leave Las Vegas victorious, rendering it meaningless.