WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from December 26

The final episode of Raw in 2016 saw Roman Reigns defend the United States Championship against Kevin Owens.

You know, just in case that match had not been overexposed enough in recent weeks.

The story of this week's show, though, was the continued mayhem unleashed by Braun Strowman, whose star continues to rise with every passing Monday.

His demolition of two mediocre tag teams and match with Seth Rollins formed the backbone of Monday's show.

Bayley's quest to unseat Charlotte for the Raw Women's Championship, Neville's growth as a villain and Nia Jax's budding rivalry with Sasha Banks helped round out a much better Raw than fans have been presented in recent weeks.

What all went down and how does it affect the Superstars and stories going forward?

Take a look with this recap of the December 26 episode.

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins Want Braun Strowman

Stephanie McMahon kicked off the show and wasted little time slaying CM Punk and his fans, cutting the chants of his name off by saying "If you can keep that up for two minutes, 15 seconds, you'll last one second longer than Punk did."

Seth Rollins interrupted, questioned Triple H's manhood and suggested The Billion Dollar Princess wears the pants in the family. Roman Reigns joined in, the fans in Chicago greeting his arrival with a chorus of boos.

A tease of a Shield reunion, complete with mention of Ambrose by the boss, received a huge ovation.

McMahon, dismayed, booked Rollins against Braun Strowman and Reigns to defend his United States Championship against a Superstar of her choosing.

She announced a Raw Tag Team Championship match to kick off the show.

Grade

C

Analysis

Stephanie delivered the verbal knockout of the Chicago fans and CM Punk to start the show, hopefully curbing some of those ridiculous and stale chants.

The rest of the segment was the tired old "authority figure books the card" schlock that overstayed its welcome years ago. 

Raw Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day vs. Cesaro and Sheamus

The New Day had the opportunity to regain Raw Tag Team Championships Monday night, but to do so, they would have to unseat a duo in Sheamus and Cesaro who are jelling going into the New Year.

Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston represented the challengers, a questionable choice considering how desperately New Day could use the power of Big E to offset the strength of their opponents.

Kingston blasted Cesaro with Trouble in Paradise late, but it was a blind tag to Sheamus just moments later that allowed The Celtic Warrior to blast Woods with The Brogue Kick for the pinfall victory.

Result

Cesaro and Sheamus defeated The New Day

Grade

B+

Analysis

These two teams simply do not have bad matches with each other.

It may not have been on the same level of Roadblock, but this was another smartly structured match with clever spots and another excellent finish.

While the contests are always of significant quality, it is time to take them away from each other so the bout does not become stale.

Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Nia Jax

Fans of Ring of Honor recognized Scarlett Bordeaux as she made her Raw debut. Unfortunately, her first night under the bright lights of WWE saw her bowled over and demolished by Nia Jax courtesy of a big leg drop.

After the match, Jax addressed her overmatched opponent, blaming her demolition on her choice in idols, Sasha Banks.

Another leg drop finished as the referee rushed to help the young competitor to her feet.

Result

Nia Jax defeated Scarlett Bordeaux

Grade

C-

Analysis

Shining the spotlight on Jax was the right move here. Do not allow her to be overshadowed by Banks and, at the same time, book her in a dominant squash bout so that she maintains her sense of danger.

Solid booking, and Bordeaux did a fantastic job selling the offensive onslaught.

Bayley vs. Charlotte

Bayley made her way to the squared circle and addressed the audience, thanking her fans for what has been a spectacular year. Charlotte interrupted and tried to belittle Bayley, dismissing her victory from last week by pointing out that her shoulder came off the mat before the count of three.

As such, last week's win by Bayley was expunged from the record book. Being a generous champion, though, she offered Bayley another change to beat her. To do so, though, she would need to overcome special referee Dana Brooke.

Late in the match, a real official hit the ring but was pulled out by Brooke. Bayley chased her around the ring and right into a schoolboy rollup from Charlotte for the win.

Result

Charlotte defeated Bayley

Grade

C

Analysis

The match was plagued by the extracurricular stuff involving Dana Brooke and did nothing to enhance the rivalry. Bayley is neither more over nor more defined, leaving some to question why Charlotte would have to go over Bayley in any non-title situation. 

T.J. Perkins vs. Neville

For Neville to assert himself in the cruiserweight division, he had to square off with T.J. Perkins in singles competition.

Neville controlled the pace of the match but could never truly keep control of the bout. On numerous occasions, Perkins frustrated the Brit, fighting out of predicaments to deliver a nasty Detonation Kick that should have helped him to victory.

Instead, The Man That Gravity Forgot countered a rollup and grabbed a handful of tights for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Neville exclaimed that he was the true king of the cruiserweights and vowed to defeat Rich Swann on 205 Live.

Result

Neville defeated T.J. Perkins

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was a match that always felt like it was aiming to be a balls-to-the-wall classic but, instead, felt like a disjointed mess. Neither competitor was on the same page of his opponent, and the result was a clunkier match than one would have expected given the talent of the men involved. 

Neville's post-match promo was exactly the scathing indictment of fans and management that he needed to explain his actions of late. The attitude change and aggressive edge have helped make Neville one of the most intriguing performers on the show.

Enzo Amore and Big Cass Call Out Rusev

On the heels of another beatdown courtesy of Rusev, Enzo Amore was wheeled to the ring in a wheelchair by partner Big Cass.

After a lengthy promo, Cass called out Rusev, who was joined by Jinder Mahal. The heels attempted a two-on-one attack of the big man, but Amore cut Mahal off at ringside.

A brief flurry of fists from the babyfaces sent the heels scurrying to end the segment.

Grade

C-

Analysis

What, exactly, did this accomplish?

Jinder Mahal is now Rusev's flunky, which was established a week ago. Cass and Amore are best friends. They have a problem with The Bulgarian Brute.

Fans knew all of that last week, and this promo did nothing to change things.

Darren Young and Bo Dallas vs. The Shining Stars

Darren Young and Bo Dallas are, apparently, now a tag team after graduating sensitivity training a week ago. This week, they squared off with The Shining Stars.

Before the match could get going, Braun Strowman's music played, and the big man wasted little time tearing through every Superstar in the ring.

He even wiped out Bob Backlund at ringside and hurled the steel ring stairs at three of the competitors. He stood tall, screaming as fans reacted fairly positively for the destructive force. Chants of "Thank you, Strowman" filled the arena.

Result

No contest

Grade

B+

Analysis

That chant was a hell of an indictment on the two teams involved. More importantly, though, it was proof positive of Strowman's growing connection with fans.

WWE Creative has built him to the point that he is a believable destructive force. Whereas he was formerly a bathroom break, they now want to see him demolish nerds and jobbers. It is a delightful segment of television every week and one that has helped him become the baddest man on Monday nights.

Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman

Seth Rollins hit the ring energized and ready to avenge the beatdown both he and Roman Reigns endured at the hands of the monstrous Braun Strowman.

He found out quickly how difficult it would be, enduring a beatdown early.

He would unload with flying knees and a blockbuster ,but neither or those maneuvers was enough to keep Strowman grounded. He, instead, unloaded with tremendous fury on Rollins at ringside.

Before he could do any further damage, Sami Zayn's music hit the PA system and The Underdog from the Underground attacked from behind.

In what was essentially a hit-and-run attack, Zayn hightailed it out of the arena, his rival in hot pursuit.

Back inside the ring, Rollins suffered a Codebreaker from Chris Jericho, who slid into the squared circle like a snake. He delivered a second and stood tall to end the segment.

Result

Braun Strowman defeated Seth Rollins by disqualification

Grade

B

Analysis

The Sami Zayn attack was awesome and did a ton to put heat on next week's Last Man Standing match between him and Strowman. Their feud has, to this point, been one of the more interesting and refreshing of the brand.

The post-match attack by Jericho on Rollins made sense within the context of the story being told. He wiped out The Architect so he could not be there to assist Roman Reigns in his match with Kevin Owens, if need be.

Still, it felt like a step back, especially given the fact that Rollins cleanly pinned Jericho at Roadblock: End of the Line and, thus, has no unsettled business with Y2J.

The Golden Truth vs. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows

The Golden Truth sought revenge Monday night against Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.

Earlier in the evening, the heels had ripped the head off of a teddy bear given to Goldust by Bayley in memory of the late, great Dusty Rhodes.

Anderson and Gallows wore Truth down through the early portion of the match, but a more intense, aggressive Goldust had the former No. 1 contenders reeling.

That is, until Anderson scored a schoolboy rollup for the pinfall victory.

Result

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows defeated The Golden Truth

Grade

C-

Analysis

Well...at least it gives these four guys something to do.

The aggression from Goldust was nice, and it is refreshing to see the heels in a feud they actually have a chance of winning, but neither team is even remotely meaningful at this point, and that is a damn shame given some of the talent involved.

Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari

Credit: WWE.com

Cruiserweight champion Rich Swann had Neville on the brain but had to focus on Ariya Daivari or risk a major upset. 

Luckily for him, he was able to unload a double stomp to the spine and a nasty kick to the head for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Charly Caruso caught up with Swann on the ramp. Swann called Neville a royal sourpuss. "If it's a fight Neville wants, it is a fight Neville will get."

From there, Neville attacked Swann and threw him spine-first into the LED ring apron. The spine exposed, Neville delivered the Red Arrow onto the back to close out the segment.

Result

Rich Swann defeated Ariya Daivari

Grade

B-

Analysis

The bump Swann took into the ring apron is the type of thing he needs to avoid. The greatest asset any wrestler can have is availability, and that is not the way to ensure he remains available to management and Creative.

The match itself was nothing more than a showcase for Swann.

The post-match beatdown was a thing of beauty and gives Swann an excuse not to beat Neville on tomorrow's 205 Live. More importantly, it makes Neville look extremely dangerous, something that will benefit the story and the upcoming showdown between the competitors.

United States Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Credit: WWE.com

Roman Reigns' United States Championship was up for grabs in the main event of Monday's show as The Guy defended against the man he will challenge at the Royal Rumble, Universal champion Kevin Owens.

Owens worked over Reigns early with a headlock. As Reigns was mounting a comeback, Chris Jericho rushed to the ring, providing a distraction that allowed Owens to deliver the DDT for a strong near-fall as the show headed to the final break of the evening.

Owens maintained control of the match as Jericho added in some trash talk at ringside.

The action spilled outside the squared circle, and Reigns grabbed control with a Drive By kick that stunned Owens. Reigns fought back into the match and delivered a humongous sit-out powerbomb for a two-count.

As Reigns set up for the spear, Jericho hopped on the apron. Another distraction allowed Owens to deliver the Codebreaker to his opponent, which netted only a two-count.

From there, Seth Rollins appeared at ringside, fighting with Jericho. Inside, Reigns delivered the spear for the win and successful title defense.

After the match, Rollins delivered two big Pedigrees as if to send a message to Triple H. The former Shield members celebrated to close out the broadcast.

Result

Roman Reigns defeated Kevin Owens

Grade

B

Analysis

Reigns and Owens are struggling to rediscover the chemistry they had a few months back. Perhaps the constant programming of them together has made it difficult for them to keep the in-ring product strong. Whatever the case may be, their recent matches have done little to inspire fans.

The interference from Jericho was true to character but did nothing to add to the contest. If anything, it took away from it.

The outcome was predictable, and fans are no more excited to see Reigns vs. Owens at Royal Rumble than they were earlier.