WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from September 24

Super Show-Down was on the horizon as the top stars of WWE Raw took to the squared circle Monday night, each looking to build momentum for themselves ahead of the October 6 extravaganza in Australia.

With so many ongoing rivalries, including The Shield vs. the self-proclaimed "Dogs of War," WWE Creative faced the tall task of presenting a show that furthered each program while building intrigue and excitement for a massive show.

The creative team did so with championship bouts, a one-on-one showdown a month in the making, potential redemption for Brie Bella and an appearance by birthday girl Stephanie McMahon.

The Shield Kicks Off Raw

The Shield kicked off the show, with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins touting their championship accolades while reminding fans that the trio has always been about greatness. That is why Brock Lesnar came back and why Raw general manager Baron Corbin has been booking himself in matches.

Corbin answered the criticisms, booking a Six-Man Tag Team match against The Shield for later Monday night, with partners to be announced later.

Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre also chimed in, planting the seed for dissension within the group.

All three singled out Dean Ambrose and said he does not need his partners, with Ziggler adding that the intercontinental title could belong to The Lunatic Fringe if he joined forces with them.

The Shield appeared unfazed by the mind games and stared down its rivals to close the segment.

Grade

A

Analysis

Presenting the possibility that Ambrose could betray his Shield mates in search of individual accolades and championship gold is booking brilliance.

No matter how many times the trio attests to being stronger and reunited, there is that hint of doubt in the back of the Superstars' minds that one or the other could betray them as Rollins did in 2014.

Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre playing mind games shows they are not just brutes who specialize in beatdowns but, rather, they can manipulate and toy with the competition when necessary.

The mystery regarding Corbin's partners for later in the night was a nice hook for fans debating a switch to Monday Night Football.

Finn Balor vs. Jinder Mahal

Finn Balor and Bayley will battle Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox as part of the Mixed Match Challenge, but Monday, The Extraordinary Man battled The Maharaja in singles competition.

The Irishman controlled early, delivering a senton over the top rope and wiping out Mahal heading into the break.

Back from the commercial, Mahal had the upper hand, trapping his opponent in an abdominal stretch.

Late in the bout, Sunil Singh and Alicia Fox attempted to interfere, but Bayley cut them off, delivering a Bayley-to-Belly to the former.

Capitalizing on the distraction, Balor scored a schoolboy roll-up for the win over the former WWE champion.

After the match, a frustrated Mahal threatened physical harm to Singh but calmed himself down as part of his new inner-peace gimmick.

Result

Balor defeated Mahal

Grade

C

Analysis

Well, at least they did not job Balor to Mahal.

A glorified advertisement for the Mixed Match Challenge, this was fine for what it was but hardly anything memorable or particularly interesting.

Balor and Bayley should have the chemistry to be one of the favorite teams to watch in the tournament, but it does neither any real benefit. Mahal looks like a fool, too, further diminishing whatever credibility he had left.

The Bella Twins and Natalya vs. The Riott Squad

The rivalry between The Bella Twins and The Riott Squad has been steadily building for weeks and will culminate in Australia when the former team with Ronda Rousey to battle the latter in a massive Six-Woman Tag Team bout.

Monday, The Bellas teamed with Natalya to battle Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan in a preview of the upcoming bout.

Brie Bella rolled early, unloading on Riott with a running knee that stunned the trio's leader.

The momentum lasted briefly as the heels seized control, isolating the popular competitor from her partners. When Bella attempted to fight out, Riott, Morgan and Logan cut her off and continued building their advantage.

As action broke down late and Natalya entered the match, ready to put Logan down with a Sharpshooter, Riott made a blind tag and blasted The Queen of Harts with a Riott Kick for the upset win.

Result

The Riott Squad defeated Natalya and the Bella Twins

Grade

B-

Analysis

As a match, this was nothing special. It featured the same tag team formula prominent in most of the company's television matches and lacked the real hot finish that would have elevated its quality.

What it did do, to the benefit of its overall grade, is present The Riott Squad as a threat ahead of the Super Show-Down match. Too often, the group is used to put babyfaces over, so the fact Riott, Morgan and Logan were allowed a rather significant win is a big help to buying into the trio as a force on Raw.

At least until Rousey obliterates the team in Australia.

Chad Gable vs. Konnor

Konnor looked to reverse the fortunes of The Ascension early, wearing down Chad Gable with his strength and size advantage.

Bobby Roode provided a distraction at one point that allowed Gable to grab hold of an armbar in the ropes.

He followed up with a German suplex for a near-fall but ultimately found himself run over by his bigger opponent, who put Gable away with a gut-wrench powerbomb.

Result

Konnor defeated Gable

Grade

D

Analysis

It would be great if this feud would end as immediately as possible.

Why would anyone want to cheer a guy such as Gable, who just lost to a guy like Konnor, who has been so poorly utilized to this point as part of The Ascension that he and partner Viktor somehow have less credibility than Curt Hawkins?

A terrible way to keep this program alive.

Raw Tag Team Championship Match: The Revival vs. Dolph Ziggler and Drew Mcintyre

The September 3 edition of Raw should have been a banner one for The Revival. A sneak attack by Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler cost Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder the opportunity to challenge for the Raw Tag Team Championship, though, and sidelined the duo for nearly a month.

Monday night, Dawson and Wilder sought vengeance, and the titles that eluded them, in a high-profile championship clash with The Showoff and the sadistic Scot.

Dawson and Wilder controlled early, but an ill-advised charge by Wilder on the outside ended with him smacking face-first into the steel steps. The heels proceeded to isolate him into the break, controlling the bout.

A hot tag to Dawson ignited a closing stretch that was red-hot and had fans biting on a potential title change.

Dawson scored a near-fall off a powerbomb, and a superplex/splash combination nearly put Ziggler away. A tornado DDT by Wilder to McIntyre outside the ring stunned the big man while the challengers worked over his partner.

A botched Fameasser spot gave way to a Doomsday Device reminiscent of The Road Warriors for a strong near-fall.

From there, McIntyre took over and the heels rolled to a victory, using the Claymore/Zig Zag combo to put Wilder away.

Result

McIntyre and Ziggler defeated The Revival

Grade

B

Analysis

This would have been even better if the pace had slowed down just a notch late in the match. Some sloppiness hurt what was otherwise a really strong contest that highlighted the potential The Revival has as a babyface team.

Dawson and Wilder seized the spotlight and packed as many homages to classic tag teams and babyface spots as they could into this bout. Ziggler bumped to make everyone look even better, while McIntyre exploded into the match late and looked like the unstoppable force he is.

A quality title defense that showed off the constantly evolving in-ring chemistry of Ziggler and McIntyre.

Bobby Lashley vs. Elias

After a brief edition of The Kevin Owens Show that spotlighted Lio Rush but did little to tell us any more about the newcomer, the show's namesake watched from ringside as Elias squared off with Bobby Lashley in the continuation of their rivalry.

Just 12 days from teaming with Owens to battle Lashley and John Cena at Super Show-Down, Elias controlled a good portion of the match, working the left leg of his opponent.

Lashley continuously attempted to fight back, but Elias cut him off, taking his knee out from underneath him and working the knee heading into the break.

Back from the commercial, Elias continued to control the bout, but an inverted DDT sparked Lashley's comeback.

Later at ringside, Owens chased after Rush and caught Lashley with a knee to the face, drawing the disqualification win for the hometown hero.

Lashley recovered and made the save for Rush after the match before standing tall to close out the segment.

Result

Lashley defeated Elias via disqualification

Grade

B

Analysis

This may have been as over as Lashley has been to this point. Being in his home state did not hurt matters, but the odds being against him made it much easier to cheer for him.

As did mouthpiece Rush, who has the charisma Lashley has been missing. Making him the focus of the booking both before and after the match may be missing the point of pushing Lashley, but the crowd was more receptive to the former ECW champion than it has been in the past, so that may be complaining for complaint's sake.

The match itself was merely OK and did enough to put heat on all three ahead of the high-profile tag match that will spark Cena's return on October 6.

Nia Jax vs. Alicia Fox

Credit: WWE.com

Ember Moon accompanied Nia Jax to the squared circle, while Alicia Fox was seconded and thirded by Alexa Bliss and Mickie James.

Earlier in the bout, Moon wiped out James at ringside, preventing her interference in a match dominated by Jax.

A well-timed kick and neckbreaker by Fox downed Jax and allowed the heel to control the bout.

Fox would impress, keeping the former women's champion reeling for the majority of the bout. The sudden power of Jax, though, would prove the end of her victory aspirations as she finished her with the Samoan Drop for the win.

Result

Jax defeated Fox

Grade

C

Analysis

There was nothing inherently wrong with this, but it does not seem to be going anywhere.

Rather than a compelling story, this feels like the leftovers of the women's division being trotted out there to have a match with no real direction or reason to care.

Jax has been properly spotlighted the last two weeks and has found an ally in Moon, but is anyone really eager to see her get her hands on Bliss again? Why must those two be entwined to the extent they are?

Is it possible to come up with something more interesting for James to do while we still have her for this run?

These are all questions WWE Creative does not seem all that interested in providing answers to.

The Shield vs. Baron Corbin and AOP

Credit: WWE.com

After three hours of speculations, Raw GM Baron Corbin revealed his tag team partners to be Akam and Rezar, known collectively as the unstoppable AOP. Before the colossal showdown, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre made their presences felt, taking a seat at the top of the ramp.

As the action broke down prior to the final commercial break of the night, the heels teased getting involved, opening up The Shield to a sneak attack from Corbin and AOP into the break.

The massive villains dominated the action during the break, working over Reigns before a tag to Rollins appeared to turn the tide in the babyfaces' favor.

It did not.

Rezar and Akam took turns working over the intercontinental champion as chants of "Dean" filled the arena, anticipating the hot tag to The Lunatic Fringe on a night when his allegiance to The Shield had been tested. Corbin worked over The Architect, arrogantly standing over him and basking in the jeers of the audience.

At ringside, Reigns found himself on the receiving end of a beatdown at the hands of AOP, the victim of the Last Chapter. With the universal champion down, Rollins caught Corbin with a near-fall out of desperation but immediately fell to the Deep Six for a count of two.

Rollins created separation, taking out Rezar with a headscissors and delivering a superkick to Akam. He finally made the hot tag to Ambrose, who exploded into the match and took the fight to Corbin.

Ambrose countered Deep Six with a cradle for a count of two. From there, he dispatched Corbin to the outside and delivered a baseball slide that knocked all three of them into the guardrail.

The Lunatic Fringe scaled the ropes but was crotched by Akam. Ambrose escaped End of Days, climbed to the top and delivered the diving elbow, but AOP broke up a pin.

Reigns delivered the Superman Punch, Rollins the Stomp and Ambrose capitalized on two suicide dives by The Architect to deliver Dirty Deeds.

With Ambrose charging to the outside, Reigns tagged himself in and scored the win off the spear.

Result

The Shield defeated AOP and Corbin

Grade

A

Analysis

This was an action-packed main event that built to Ambrose's involvement, allowed him to shine and featured a finish that keeps alive the mystery surrounding his intentions. After watching Reigns steal the glory in the form of the pinfall victory, he was forced to survey the situation and pledge his allegiance either to Ziggler, McIntyre and Strowman or his Shield mates.

He bumped fists with his longtime stablemates, but the potential for a betrayal remains.

AOP was fairly protected here, looking strong as the duo laid out Reigns while also not eating the pin.

The question is whether Corbin's loss to Reigns will bring about the end of his time as Raw general manager, particularly after Stephanie McMahon did not seem all that enthusiastic about his job performance to date.

A match that left a hint of the unknown to close the show, rather than giving fans the same predictable nonsense they had become accustomed to, was a welcome addition.

However, it was not enough to save a show that was often boring and uneventful, two words not typically associated with the flagship show over its quarter-century existence.