WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from July 2

It is fitting that Monday's episode of Raw culminated with a port-a-potty because it was jam-packed with mediocre crap.

The July 2 broadcast did little to generate any excitement for an Extreme Rules pay-per-view that feels ice cold rather than red hot, which it should be as the lead-in to August's SummerSlam.

One-dimensional angles, uninteresting storyline developments and in-ring action that failed to create excitement for the program, it was a show that felt every bit the placeholder it was.

Also, Roman Reigns wrestled twice. While that is not at all a bad thing given the quality of his work, the fact that Bobby Roode, Jinder Mahal and Elias have been as underutilized as they have over the last month is an indictment on the writing team.

Relive the show, find out what made it so incredibly unspectacular and how each match graded out with this recap of Monday's USA Network presentation.

Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre Interrupt Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns kicked off this week's episode of Raw and wasted little time talking trash on Bobby Lashley, again bringing up his departure a decade ago.

Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre interrupted, with the latter criticizing Reigns for always wanting to be the hero, as witnessed by his rescue of friend Seth Rollins a week ago.

Ziggler poked fun at Rollins' status as a former champion before joining McIntyre in a two-on-one beatdown of The Big Dog.

Rollins made the save, and after the break, general manager Kurt Angle announced the predictable tag team main event for Monday night.

Grade

C-

Analysis

It feels like I say this every week, but this is a completely useless opening segment in which the outcome, the announcement of the match, could have been accomplished in a pre-show WWE.com post.

It is such a tired booking crutch when actually starting the show with that match would have been a fresher, more effective and warmly received segment than the one we got.

That no one really stood out on the mic, or had the chance to, only hammers home the uselessness of the ordeal.

Matt Hardy vs. Curtis Axel

Prior to the match, The B-Team again did their impersonation of Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt, who missed the bout after being involved in a car accident Friday, per WWE.com.

Axel controlled the majority of the bout but faced the fiery comeback by Hardy.

Dallas tried to get involved at one point but was thwarted by the Woken Warrior.

Axel recovered, sent Hardy into the ring post and scored the pinfall victory moments later.

Result

Axel defeated Hardy

Grade

C+

Analysis

The match was inoffensive but did nothing to make me want to see the Raw Tag Team Championship match between The B-Team, Hardy and Wyatt any more or less than I did before this show started. 

That the contest featured the two least dynamic in-ring workers involved in the feud did the contest no favors.

Nothing to go out of your way to see, much like the entirety of the feud to this point.

Titus Worldwide vs. The Authors of Pain

A week after The Authors of Pain bailed out of the ring rather than face the wrath of Titus O'Neil and Apollo Crews, the former NXT tag team champions battled Titus Worldwide Monday night.

They overcame raw athleticism from Crews to deliver a double-team dominator that left the smaller of their opponents reeling and in need of a tag.

Akam and Rezar scored a decisive, dominant and unmatched victory by sending O'Neil shoulder-first into the steel post and finishing Crews off with the Last Chapter.

Result

The Authors of Pain defeated Titus Worldwide

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was exactly the one-sided ass-kicking it needed to be, especially in the wake of last week's decision to have Akam and Rezar leave rather than confront the undercard duo.

The Authors of Pain have such an upside that it has been somewhat disappointing to see them so underutilized in their first few months with the brand.

Hopefully this is the start of a significant push for the duo that obliterated competition in NXT. 

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre

On the same night Reigns is slated to team with Lashley to face The Revival, The Big Dog teamed with Rollins to battle Ziggler and McIntyre in the first of his two big tag team matches.

Rollins and Ziggler spent the opening moments of the match grappling, teasing the pace that will make up their 30-Minute Iron Man match at Extreme Rules, before The Showoff tagged McIntyre into the match. Reigns tagged in and paired off with McIntyre.

A big right hand stunned McIntyre, but a well-timed distraction by Ziggler allowed his partner to flatten The Big Dog with a clothesline and seize control of the bout. The intercontinental champion and his partner took turns working over Reigns, grounding the most prominent star on the Raw brand and isolating him from Rollins.

A huge right hand allowed Reigns to make the tag to Rollins and the babyfaces to roll. A frog splash from The Architect to Ziggler nearly ended the match, but a late save by McIntyre kept the heels in it.

After the break, Rollins found himself trapped in a Ziggler headlock. A desperate attempt at a hot tag, though, was cut off by McIntyre, who worked over the exhausted Rollins. The heels, utilizing excellent psychology, continued to tease a hot tag but cut it off.

An Irish whip into the guardrail on Ziggler and a superkick to McIntyre created the opportunity for the long-awaited tag. A buckle bomb to The Showoff enhanced that opportunity.

Just as The Architect was about to tag Reigns, The Revival came from out of nowhere and yanked The Big Dog off the apron, laying into him.

Ziggler and McIntyre paired off on Rollins, while Dash and Dawson focused their attack on Reigns. The heels left the babyfaces lying to close out the segment, with Reigns' availability for the night's main event in question.

Result

Reigns and Rollins defeated Ziggler and McIntyre via disqualification

Grade

A

Analysis

The heat for the match, particularly late as Rollins teased the hot tag to Reigns, was off the charts and elevated it beyond your typical tag team fare.

The Revival's involvement made sense because, obviously, they would want to keep Reigns from gaining momentum with a big win while also weakening him before their main event bout.

Ziggler and McIntyre have wicked chemistry as a team and that was on full display here. Protecting them here, sparing them a defeat, keeps them strong and sets up another tag match between the two teams at a later time.

Perhaps at SummerSlam? 

Baron Corbin Addresses Finn Balor

A week after his tag team with Finn Balor disintegrated, costing them a match against Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens, Stephanie McMahon's personally appointed constable of Raw, Baron Corbin, hit the ring to address his budding rival. 

Corbin started his promo by saying that, in life, people need others to push them to be the best they can be. He relived the events of last week and admonished Balor for his "inappropriate" and "unprofessional" behavior. He offered the Irishman the opportunity to apologize for his actions, to which an arriving Balor flashed a large toothy grin as he entered the arena.

Corbin feigned an apology of his own, and Balor apologized for making fun of his vest and getting him fired from TGI Friday's.

Balor cracked some other quips before Corbin lashed out, telling Balor he needed to suck up his pride and apologize.

Corbin clocked him and Balor responded, fighting Corbin out of the ring and to the safety of the floor.

Constable Corbin looked annoyed and frustrated with Balor as we stared him down from the ramp.

Grade

B

Analysis

Corbin was much more convincing on the microphone here than he was when he was The Lone Wolf over on SmackDown. There is something about him in the role of corporate suck-up that just works, against all preconceptions.

His disingenuous attempts to "help" Balor by forcing him to apologize was great stuff, while Balor's quips were fun and inoffensive.

It remains to be seen if WWE books the obvious Balor-Corbin match right away or sets the former up to run the gauntlet before finally getting his hands on Corbin.

Either way, this is a fun and refreshing use of two guys who have long been better than their positions on the card.

Ember Moon vs. Liv Morgan

With the announcement Monday of Ruby Riott's unfortunate injury, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan were left to go it alone without their leader.

Morgan was in singles competition, battling her fellow NXT alumni, Ember Moon.

Morgan controlled the match early, using a headlock to ground Moon. A springboard crossbody by the babyface had her rolling heading into the break.

Morgan continued to work over Moon coming out of the break, but her offense was not strong enough to keep her opponent down.

Moon fought back and ultimately delivered the Eclipse to score the win.

Result

Moon defeated Morgan

Grade

C

Analysis

Matches like this only serve to highlight how little Moon and the remnants of The Riott Squad actually have going on at this point.

They are women wandering aimlessly around a roster jam-packed with Superstars more prominently and focused upon by management than them—despite their potential and obvious talent.

Moon winning helps her for this week, but unless WWE Creative builds on it, it is a meaningless victory.

Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley vs. The Revival

Credit: WWE.com

For the third week in a row, Lashley and Reigns sought to put their differences aside as they battled The Revival in tag team action.

Reigns, hellbent on avenging the assault he suffered earlier in the night at the hands of Dawson and Dash, refused to tag his partner into the match, despite enduring yet another beating at the hands of his opponent.

Even as Reigns mounted a comeback and had the opportunity to tag Lashley in, he resisted. When Dash and Dawson double-teamed Reigns, the referee called for the bell.

Rather than finally getting in the ring and unloading on the heels, a frustrated Lashley dropped off the apron and headed to the back, leaving Reigns to endure the Shatter Machine from The Revival.

Result

Reigns and Lashley defeated The Revival via disqualification

Grade

C+

Analysis

The story of Reigns' ego getting the best of him and Lashley leaving him to suffer in the bed he made for himself was an interesting one. But after watching The Big Dog wrestle earlier in the night, kick off the show with a promo and engage Angle in a vignette, it was a bit overkill.

The emotional impact is lacking because fans had been exhausted on Reigns, because they do not believe in Lashley and because The Revival's credibility has been shot from months of losing.

That made for a segment that did not work nearly as well as it should have, especially considering it set up Reigns vs. Lashley for the pay-per-view.

No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

Credit: WWE.com

No Way Jose was already in the ring following the break, ready to avenge a loss to Mojo Rawley from a few weeks back.

Rather than hitting the ring ready for a match, Rawley instead said Jose was not worthy of a rematch. From there, he attacked the fun-loving NXT star and attacked a member of his conga line. The innocent bystander took a nasty bump before Jose fought his way back into the equation.

Rawley could not be stopped, though, leaving Jose laying after driving him into the ring apron.

Grade

C

Analysis

Is it nice to see a focused, mean, aggressive and unforgiving Rawley?

Sure.

Does anyone care or is a sudden leap up the ladder on an already-crowded Raw roster likely? 

No.

Beating down local indy guys and Jose will not help him gain any credibility, either.

Nia Jax vs. Mickie James

Credit: WWE.com

At Extreme Rules, Nia Jax will challenge Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship she had stolen from her at Money in the Bank. Monday, she battled Mickie James in singles competition.

Before the match, Jax cut a promo in which she vowed to end her issues with Bliss and it will be in an Extreme Rules match on July 15.

Accompanied by Natalya, she hit the ring for her match with James, who had Bliss in her corner.

The veteran James worked the knee of Jax, keeping the popular star grounded and unable to use her power advantage.

As Jax mounted her comeback, Bliss attempted to get involved in the match, but Natalya pulled her to the floor.

The momentary distraction allowed Jax to deliver a Samoan Drop and score the win over James.

Result

Jax defeated James

Grade

C+

Analysis

Jax did a solid job of selling her knee injury, and James was booked better than she has been in months, with her in-ring expertise allowing her to target the limb and punish her opponent.

Like most of the angles and matches on this show, it did nothing to make anyone want to see a match between Jax and Bliss any more than they did previously, but it was solid enough for what it was.

This still feels very much like a placeholder until Ronda Rousey returns and kicks ass at the pay-per-view.

Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens

Credit: WWE.com

The main event between Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens never got started as the latter bailed out of the ring and ran to the back, eager to escape the wrath of his rival.

Except, he hid in a portable toilet that Strowman eventually found him in.

He also trapped him inside and dragged the portable crapper into the area, where he set it up on the stage. From there, he ran and shoved it to the arena floor in another amazing show of strength and fury.

As the show went off, medics and crew members checked on a beaten-down Owens as Strowman stood tall.

Result

F

Analysis

Yes, it is fun to watch Strowman display his strength in these extraordinary feats, but at some point he goes from being a monster to a caricature and he is tiptoeing that line right now.

This was stupid television that did not further the storyline by any means. Instead, it showed us the same thing the last three weeks of television have: Strowman is a punishing force and Owens is his punching bag.

The only thing notable about this otherwise ineffective angle?

The use of a port-a-potty, which was made most famous by Stone Cold Steve Austin and Goldust during a 1998 episode of Raw.