WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from December 12

With just six days until Roadblock: End of the Line, the Superstars of WWE's Raw delivered one last broadcast that helped sell the biggest matches, most prominent feuds and hardest-hitting storylines to the masses.

Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens' once impenetrable friendship was put to the test once again as they challenged The New Day for the Raw Tag Team Championships in a Triple Threat match that also involved Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns—their respective opponents Sunday night.

Sami Zayn, torn over what he considers a lack of respect from Raw general manager Mick Foley, demanded a trade to SmackDown. What would the Hardcore Legend have to say to such a demand?

The New Day was on the verge of making history as the longest-reigning champions in tag team division history, just one win away from etching their names in the history books. Or were they? Turns out insulting and humiliating Stephanie McMahon is not the way to top off your evening.

With so much to accomplish ahead of this weekend's huge pay-per-view and only three hours left to sell the audience on the show, the Raw brand had its work cut out for it.

How did it fare, who won and what grade did each segment earn?

Take a look for yourself.

Raw Tag Team Championship Match

The New Day was one win away from making history as the longest-reigning tag team champions of all time. To do so, they would have to successfully retain the Raw Tag Team Championships against Cesaro and Sheamus and Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows in a Triple Threat match.

After a hot start, Kofi Kingston found himself isolated from Big E and trapped in Anderson and Gallows' corner. A big middle-rope dropkick caught Gallows, but Sheamus cut off the champion's comeback attempt.

Anderson took down Sheamus, leaving Cesaro to save the match. The crowd erupted as the Swiss Superman legally exploded into the match, delivering a series of uppercuts and the 619. The Cesaro Swing followed, as did the Sharpshooter.

Big E saved the tag titles, but Cesaro quickly dumped him over the top rope. Kingston's Trouble in Paradise caught Sheamus, and the champions retained, earning their place in history.

Result

The New Day defeated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson and Sheamus and Cesaro to retain their titles.

Grade

B+

Analysis

This was the wild, chaotic match most expected it to be, with the outcome most expected. The New Day breaks Demolition's decades-long record, proving a dominant tag team can still exist in today's breakneck pace wrestling landscape.

The match was phenomenal, and the crowd's reaction for Cesaro and Sheamus suggests they are over enough to carry the mantle going forward. In fact, now that the record is broken, it would not be a surprise if the champions lose the titles as early as Roadblock this Sunday night.

Regardless, this is an incredible accomplishment for The New Day. Originally left for dead with a motivational-speaker gimmick, the trio rebounded, adapted their gimmick and became one of the biggest breakout acts in recent years. They deserve the honor and have helped hold together a constantly changing tag division.

Curtis Axel vs. Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman wasted little time lying waste to Curtis Axel Monday, knocking him out for another dominant victory.

Axel fought back at a few spots but was overwhelmed from the beginning; the former intercontinental champion was pummeled into oblivion.

Result

Braun Strowman defeated Curtis Axel.

Grade

C

Analysis

Strowman's dominance continues. The fact Sami Zayn's promo on Mick Foley came up prior to the match suggests the Underdog From The Underground and the unstoppable big man will have another war at some point in the foreseeable future.

Lince Dorado vs. Ariya Daivari

The budding rivalry between Jack Gallagher and Ariya Daivari took center stage Monday night during the latter's match against Lince Dorado, returning to Monday nights for the first time in months.

During the bout, Gallagher interrupted the proceeds, microphone in hand. He labeled himself an "extraordinary gentlemen" and announced his intention to interfere in the match.

A brawl broke out, and the match was called off before it could ever really get started.

Result

No-contest?

Grade

C+

Analysis

It is nice to see a secondary rivalry in the cruiserweight division, especially given the lack of development that has gone into it.

Gallagher may be the division's most entertaining character, but until WWE Creative does enough to present other, equally as interesting characters, the division will continue to suffer.

Rollins Report with Kevin Owens

Seth Rollins dusted off The Rollins Report for this week's show, another in a long line of wrestling talk shows. Reiterating he wants a match with Triple H, he turned his attention to Kevin Owens.

The Universal champion fielded questions from Rollins about his friendship with Chris Jericho, who made his presence felt, too. Y2J was none too pleased about the revelation that Owens got the two of them a championship opportunity against The New Day.

Rollins, an expert antagonist, pitted Jericho against Owens by claiming the champion was bossing him around. Eventually, the heels made their way to the ring to beat down Rollins until Roman Reigns made the save and a brawl broke out.

The babyfaces stood tall, while the heels retreated to close the segment.

Later in the night, it was announced that Reigns and Rollins would join the night's main event, making it The New Day vs. Owens and Jericho vs. Rollins and Reigns for the Raw tag titles.

Grade

B+

Analysis

This segment accomplished three very important things.

First, it continued to remain fresh in fans' minds that Rollins has unfinished business with Triple H. Even if that business is months old and has not been touched on recently until last week, it still figures to play heavily into the next few months as WWE prepares the card for WrestleMania 33.

Second, it planted the seeds for the Jericho-Owens divorce, which appears closer and closer with every passing week.

Finally, it set up a huge match for later in the night and the last true test for The New Day following a champagne bath for Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon.

TJ Perkins vs. the Brian Kendrick

The rivalry between TJ Perkins and The Brian Kendrick continued Monday night as the cruiserweight rivals battled in singles competition.

Despite a dominant performance from Perkins, including controlling the action into and out of the break, Kendrick was able to secure the victory following Sliced Bread No. 2.

Result

The Brian Kendrick defeated TJ Perkins.

Grade

C

Analysis

There is nothing ever inherently wrong with the matches between Kendrick and Perkins, but they lack the extraordinary quality fans would expect from two workers of their quality.

The Kendrick win keeps him strong, but Perkins' losing streak has done little to make him look like a Superstar deserving of a championship opportunity at Roadblock.

The Rich Swann absence was somewhat disappointing, too, given he is the champion who will defend against both men at Roadblock.

Bayley vs. Alicia Fox

A week after beating Alicia Fox, Bayley looked to continue her push toward the Raw Women's Championship.

By beating Alicia Fox. Again.

Late in the two-minute sprint of a match, Bayley caught a swinging Alicia Fox with the Bayley-to-Belly for the pinfall victory.

Result

Bayley defeated Alicia Fox.

Grade

D

Analysis

Did you know Bayley can beat Fox? In case you were not paying attention to last week's show, she can.

The most notable thing to come out of this segment?

Apparently Fox and cruiserweight champion Cedric Alexander are "a thing," according to gossipmonger announcer Michael Cole.

Lana Addresses Last Week's Show

A week after setting Enzo Amore up to be humiliated and then brutally assaulted by Rusev, Lana addressed her actions. She suggested fans, like Amore, were gullible.

Big Cass interrupted and applauded his tag team partner's willingness to back up his big words.

A brawl between the two broke out, ending with Rusev getting the best of the big man and leaving with his lovely bride to a chorus of boos.

Grade

C-

Analysis

This was a logical next step in the program as Big Cass would naturally want to avenge the beating his friend took last week. Rusev getting the best of Cass is the right move in that it makes him look like a bigger deal so when Cass picks up a win over The Bulgarian Brute, if that happens, it will mean more.

The lack of heat for Cass was a bit concerning, though, as the crowd was not nearly as hyped as it typically is with Enzo. A strong performance Sunday at Roadblock could erase that problem.

Sami Zayn vs. Jinder Mahal

Sami Zayn, fresh off demanding a trade to SmackDown, squared off with Jinder Mahal in the former 3MB member's return to Monday nights after a weeks-long absence.

Zayn ran over him, delivering the Helluva Kick for the win.

After the match, Mick Foley confronted Zayn just weeks after a heated exchange between them. He announced he and SmackDown's Daniel Bryan had worked out a trade that would send Zayn to the blue brand in exchange for a Superstar of "equal value," Eva Marie.

That set off Zayn, who demanded a match with Braun Strowman at Roadblock. Foley motivated the former NXT champion and then gave Zayn 10 minutes at the pay-per-view to prove he could hang with the destructive big man.

Result

Sami Zayn defeated Jinder Mahal.

Grade

A

Analysis

The Zayn story is the most intriguing on Raw right now. What, on the surface, may appear to be a storyline devoted to trading Zayn to SmackDown is actually an opportunity to build him into a bigger and more valuable star to Raw.

The gutsy babyface who never says die is a character who stands the test of time and will help Zayn connect with the audience in a way Match of the Year candidates against Kevin Owens never did.

Strowman is the right guy at the right time to program against Zayn and the 10-minute time-limit gimmick allows Zayn to win without Strowman looking weak as a result.

Triple Threat Match for the Raw Tag Team Championship, Part Deux

On a night in which Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns were putting the final touches on the hype behind their Roadblock matches, it was the history-making New Day who stole headlines late in Monday's episode.

Xavier Woods replaced Kofi Kingston in the match and showed tremendous toughness in withstanding offense from all four of his opponents, including a Lionsault and Walls of Jericho at the hands of Y2J late. The resiliency he showed was key to the finish, as well.

Jericho and Owens' bickering resulted in Rollins dropping the former with a Pedigree. As Big E pulled The Architect from the ring, an alert Woods was able to drape his arm over Jericho for the win.

After the match, Owens berated Jericho, who left him behind. As Owens turned around, he ran right into a spear from Reigns, who stood tall, with both his United States and Owen's Universal Championships high overhead.

Result

The New Day defeated Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins and Jeri-KO.

Grade

A

Analysis

This was even better than the opener and a testament to the six men involved.

Not only did they provide an action-packed main event full of drama and unpredictability, but they also weaved two stories throughout.

First was Jericho and Owens' continued descent into bickering besties, with their friendship on the rocks as the latter's dependency on Jericho and upcoming championship defense weighs on him. Second was Woods' extraordinary performance as the resilient good guy—the underrated third wheel who proved his worth and brought the win home.

Reigns standing tall to close out the show was also the ultimate troll on the Philadelphia fans by WWE Creative, who undoubtedly remembers the reaction Reigns received in the same city when he won the 2014 Royal Rumble match.