WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from July 10

On the heels of an explosive Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view event, Raw invaded Houston with considerable buzz.

Roman Reigns would make his first appearance since committing attempted vehicular homicide on Braun Strowman following their Ambulance match Sunday night. What would he have to say about his actions at the show and his proposed SummerSlam match with universal champion Brock Lesnar?

Speaking of Lesnar, The Beast Incarnate would find himself on the receiving end of challenges from both Reigns and Samoa Joe, who believed he should still be No. 1 contender after taking The Beast Incarnate to the brink.

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose earned themselves the ire of The Miz and his Miztourage, Bayley picked up a rare win and Big Cass addressed the WWE Universe after obliterating Enzo Amore at the pay-per-view.

What all went down, how might it affect the future of Raw and why?

Take a look with this recap of Monday's USA Network presentation.

Big Cass Kicks Off Raw

One night after obliterating Enzo Amore in what amounted to a one-sided squash, Big Cass kicked off the evening's broadcast to a chorus of boos. The fans in Houston were none-too-welcoming of the 7-foot-tall turncoat as he took the microphone and began his address to them.

Cass vowed to win the WWE Universal Championship, headline WrestleMania and represent the company better than anyone ever has, and he will do it without the fans on his side. He warned against bandwagon jumpers, denouncing them and their support.

Big Show hit the ring and quickly sent Cass fleeing to the sanctity of the locker room as a feud between the two was clearly teased.

Grade

B+

Analysis

This echoed Cass' contribution to "Raw Talk" Sunday night but was hardly as organic or convincing as it was on that show.

The idea of a match with Big Show is hardly appealing, but beating the former world champion and establishing himself as the new giant of WWE is the right step to take from a booking perspective.

An interesting start to the show given the plethora of other newsworthy stories to come out of Sunday's pay-per-view.

Finn Balor vs. Elias Samson

The match that wasn't at Great Balls of Fire kicked off the in-ring portion of this week's show as Finn Balor squared off with "The Drifter" Elias Samson in singles competition.

Balor's music interrupted another song from Samson, and the visibly annoyed former NXT and universal champion made his way to the ring.

The NXT exports worked a stiff, snug style heading into the break.

Back from the commercial, Balor fought from underneath and mounted a comeback, but Samson caught him with a big boot to halt his momentum. Moments later, Samson swept his leg and Balor fell shoulder-first onto the ring apron.

Samson worked over the previously injured shoulder, but Balor continued fighting back, ultimately ending the match with the Coup de Grace and his arm raised in victory.

Result

Finn Balor defeated Elias Samson.

Grade

C+

Analysis

The match may have brought the rivalry between Balor and Samson to an end, and it may have been well-wrestled, but Sunday's Great Balls of Fire lost nothing by not having the bout on the card.

Balor won decisively, as he should have, but he still appears directionless on the red brand.

At what point will he re-enter championship contention? When will he seek the title he never lost?

More importantly, when will he do something that actually matters?

These are questions that need answering before Balor descends too far into a state of irrelevance.

The Hardy Boyz vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

The Hardy Boyz addressed the WWE Universe Monday, just 24 hours after losing an Iron Man match to Sheamus and Cesaro.

Matt referenced the Broken character a few times before promising to create more magic in WWE. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows ended their brief television hiatus, vowing to kill the Hardys' magic.

This, naturally, led to a match.

Anderson and Gallows worked over Jeff until The Charismatic Enigma caught the former with a jawbreaker and made the hot tag to his older brother.

Matt unloaded to chants of "delete" and even appeared to have the match in hand.

Gallows caught him with a kick to the back of the head, setting up a running knee by Anderson and the Magic Killer to give the good brothers a big victory.

After the match, The Revival's Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder hit the ring and left The Hardy Boyz lying to close out the segment.

Result

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows defeated The Hardy Boyz.

Grade

C+

Analysis

The decision for Anderson and Gallows to go over here was the right one.

Matt and Jeff Hardy had a hellish 30-minute match Sunday night, and the idea that they would shake off the pain and punishment from that bout to beat Anderson and Gallows is ridiculous.

The win would seemingly put Anderson and Gallows right back in title contention while the post-match beatdown dealt by the returning Revival gives The Hardy Boyz something to keep them busy with ahead of SummerSlam.

The march to The Broken Hardys continues, though, as both the match and the preceding promo segment were heavy on references to the popular Impact Wrestling gimmick.

Miz TV

Intercontinental champion The Miz, flanked by The Miztourage and Maryse, welcomed the WWE Universe to another edition of "Miz TV." His objective this week: present the first ever Mizzies.

Miz named himself the greatest man in WWE before running down his fellow Raw Superstars and their empty promises from Great Balls of Fire. He recapped the babyfaces who failed to do what they vowed to, including Seth Rollins, who fell in defeat at the hand of Bray Wyatt.

Ambrose, having heard enough from his rival, interrupted the ceremony and took the fight to Miz. Unfortunately, he found himself on the receiving end of a three-on-one beating.

That is until Rollins made the save.

The former Shield mates stood tall to close out the segment.

Backstage, though, it was a different story. Ambrose admitted there is tremendous distrust between the two, something he said Rollins screwed up when he turned his back on him years ago. He denounced the idea of a Shield reunion and went on his way.

Grade

B

Analysis

This was a better segment than it had any right to be.

Rollins interjecting himself in the feud made sense given the fact that Miz called him out for his Great Balls of Fire loss. The insistence by Ambrose that there will be no Shield reunion tempers any expectation of such an event occurring while subsequently opening the door for it if WWE Creative changes its mind.

After a consistent run atop the Raw brand for the last year, working Miz and Co. at SummerSlam has to be considered a step down for Rollins though, right?

Wrong.

If anything, Miz will give Rollins the heel necessary to help him finally achieve greatness as a babyface. Plus, a Miz-Rollins match is fresh and interesting at a time when those types of bouts are rarities.

Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss

At Great Balls of Fire, Alexa Bliss' cowardice preserved her Raw Women's Championship reign as she was intentionally counted out during her match with Sasha Banks.

Monday night, she teamed with Nia Jax to battle her top contender and former champion Bayley in a rematch of last week's showdown.

Banks and Bayley overwhelmed and outclassed Bliss throughout the early portion of the bout, but a tag to Jax turned the tide in the heel's favor. The physically imposing competitor ran over Bayley and proceeded to work her over, using her strength to her advantage.

Sensing her opponent had been thoroughly beaten down, Bliss re-entered the ring and continued the assault on Bayley.

At ringside, Jax missed a shoulder tackle to Banks, crashing into the guardrail. Inside the squared circle, Bayley rolled up the distracted champion and scored the pinfall victory.

Result

Sasha Banks and Bayley defeated Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss.

Grade

B-

Analysis

Holy crap, Bayley won a match!

Two weeks ago, it appeared as though the obvious path to SummerSlam featured Jax finally getting her opportunity to challenge Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship. After the events of Great Balls of Fire and Bayley's win here, it looks like the Raw women's division could be headed to another high-profile Fatal 4-Way match.

Given the wealth of talent at its disposal, one can hardly blame WWE Creative for wanting to maximize it.

It still feels like there is more money in a Jax-Bliss showdown, but for now, giving all four Superstars something to do is the right decision at this moment.

R-Truth vs. Goldust

The months-long rivalry between Goldust and R-Truth came to a head not on pay-per-view but, rather, free television, where they squared off in an intensely personal one-on-one match.

Goldust controlled the match, working over Truth and demonstrating why he was a former two-time intercontinental champion. Late, Truth capitalized on his former tag team partner's showmanship and delivered a nasty powerbomb.

Goldust survived, took advantage of a knee injury and delivered the Curtain Call for the win.

Result

Goldust defeated R-Truth.

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was a surprisingly competitive match, though, like Balor vs. Samson from earlier, it was no great omission from Great Balls of Fire.

The clean win essentially puts an end to their dispute and sets Goldust up for a midcard run if WWE Creative opts to take the story in that direction.

Truth losing leaves him in a bit of limbo, but as he has done on so many occasions throughout his WWE career, expect him to rebound and remain a fixture on television for one reason or another.

Kurt Angle, Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe Talk SummerSlam

Credit: WWE.com

Raw general manager Kurt Angle took to the ring and discussed the most important moments from Great Balls of Fire, particularly the Ambulance match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. The Olympic gold medalist revealed that Strowman continued to refuse medical attention and that he is not sure when The Monster Among Men will be back.

WWE universal champion Brock Lesnar and advocate Paul Heyman made their ways to the ring, joining Angle in the squared circle.

Lesnar and Heyman were uninterested in any potential SummerSlam opponents, and when they turned to leave, Reigns' music played and The Big Dog interrupted the proceedings. He took credit for handling Angle's Strowman problem and suggested the GM owes him one.

Unimpressed, Lesnar said Reigns deserves nothing and being in the ring with him is as close as he will get to the championship.

Samoa Joe made his presence felt. He reminded everyone involved that Reigns has never beaten him, then claimed The Big Dog is pretty talkative for someone who lost at Great Balls of Fire.

The segment ended with Angle announcing Reigns vs. Joe for next week, with the winner challenging Lesnar at SummerSlam.

Grade

B

Analysis

Raise your hand if you totally expect Reigns to spear his way through Samoa Joe and into the SummerSlam main event.

Just checking.

This was a strong promo that put the emphasis on the universal title and set up a can't-miss main event for next week's show. Everyone involved came across well, even if it was interesting to hear Joe criticize Reigns for talking trash after a loss when he, himself, lost at the same show.

Lesnar as the antagonistic champion, egging his potential challengers on and essentially daring them to step to him, never gets old and is a big reason his runs with the title work.

Akira Tozawa and Cedric Alexander vs. Neville and Noam Dar

Credit: WWE.com

Accompanied to the ring by Titus O'Neil, Akira Tozawa teamed with Cedric Alexander to battle cruiserweight champion Neville and Noam Dar.

Tozawa found himself isolated from Alexander and at the mercy of his opponents heading into the commercial.

Every time the Japanese star attempted a comeback, Neville was able to cut him off.

Alexander finally received the hot tag and squared off with Neville for a bit. Late, Tozawa was once again the legal man, and he targeted the champion.

With Alexander taking out Dar at ringside, Tozawa was able to deliver the falling senton for the win.

Result

Akira Tozawa and Cedric Alexander defeated Neville and Noam Dar.

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was the same cruiserweight tag team match we have seen from different combinations of stars for the last year. Nothing of note was accomplished other than to tell the world that Tozawa is still the No. 1 contender going forward.

Alexander was impressive in his brief explosion of offense and really should be the guy to finally dethrone Neville when the time comes.

While it felt very much like the same old song and dance, the match was a quality one, elevating its grade.

Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt

Credit: WWE.com

In a rematch of their show-opening match at Great Balls of Fire, Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins rekindled their rivalry in Monday's main event.

Wyatt overwhelmed Rollins, who was nursing an eye injury, for the majority of the match. A headlock proved particularly effective, even as the fans in Houston opted to partake in the wave rather than enjoying the match unfolding before them.

Rollins mounted a comeback late in the match, scoring near-falls off a big top-rope clothesline, a blockbuster and a falcon arrow.

None of those trademark moves was able to put Wyatt down for the count, though, and The Reaper of Souls made The Kingslayer pay for it. Targeting his opponent's eye, which was injured 24 hours earlier, Wyatt poked it and delivered Sister Abigail to score his second relatively clean victory in as many nights.

After the match, The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel came through the audience and targeted the fallen Rollins for the disrespect he showed them earlier in the night.

Dean Ambrose made the save and obliterated Miz with a steel chair to close out the show.

Result

Bray Wyatt defeated Seth Rollins.

Grade

B+

Analysis

Holy crap! Bray Wyatt made it through Monday's show without having to pay back his win over Rollins at Great Balls of Fire.

He did so in convincing and logical fashion, too. Capitalizing on an injury he caused Sunday, he put Rollins away Monday and garnered himself some much-needed momentum ahead of SummerSlam.

As for Rollins, it appears as though The Architect and Ambrose will reunite to battle Miz and The Miztourage.

The big question is whether another former associate may join them to help even the sides. Would WWE really waste a Shield reunion on a midcard, or would it merely serve as the stepping stone for something bigger and better as the fall approaches?

Whatever the case may be, expect speculation involving The Shield to run wild.