WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from June 7

With WWE Hell in a Cell less than two weeks away on June 20, the card for the pay-per-view is finally starting to come together.

This week's Raw featured Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre making their WWE title match official with a contract signing.

After confronting Alexa Bliss last week, Shayna Baszler found herself the focus of attention on this week's edition of "Alexa's Playground."

We also saw five tag teams compete in a special Battle Royal to determine the No. 1 contenders for Omos and AJ Styles' Raw Tag Team Championships.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on Monday's Raw.

Tag Team Battle Royal

R-K-Bro, The New Day, Viking Raiders, Mace and T-Bar, and Lince Dorado were out at the top of the show for the tag team Battle Royal. Gran Metalik was absent because of an injury.

An unannounced entry came out while Styles was cutting a promo on everyone. John Morrison said he would compete on behalf of his team despite The Miz being injured.

Orton and Riddle hit Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods with RKOs to get the action started just as the show cut to a break. When it returned, the bell rang and the match officially began.

Instead of teaming up to increase their odds, Morrison and Dorado went after each other first. JoMo sprayed Dorado in the face with his drop stick, which was a squirt gun The Miz was holding for him. It allowed Morrison to throw him out. Mace and T-Bar eliminated Johnny Drip Drip a few seconds later.

Everyone teamed up to take out Mace and T-Bar at the same time. The six remaining competitors paired up and fought in different corners.

Several eliminations happened in quick succession to leave The Viking Raiders as the winners.

Grade: B-

Analysis

The promo before the match was unnecessary, but it did give this random No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal a bit more context, so it wasn't a total waste of time. Styles had a few good lines.

Having Morrison and Dorado compete by themselves seemed out of place, especially since they were both eliminated within minutes. Having one of them survive until close to the end would have been a more satisfying story to follow.

The rest of the match was decent. We saw some of the big double-team spots these teams have made famous. Having Erik and Ivar win was a pleasant surprise because it seemed like this was Orton and Riddle's match to lose.

Elias vs. Jaxson Ryker

Elias gave a speech about why he had to leave Jaxson Ryker during their match for the tag titles last week. Ryker showed up and attacked him from behind. After a break, the match got started.

Ryker had a new haircut to go along with his change in attitude. He had the upper hand for a long time before Elias was able to get in a bit of offense.

Eventually, though, Elias ran away from the fight to give Ryker a count-out victory.

Grade: D

Analysis

WWE gave Ryker the fake babyface crowd noise when he attacked Elias and throughout the match, so it looks like this face turn is official.

While the former Forgotten Son has some upside, booking him as a good guy is going to be a hard sell. People respect his military service, but he has also upset a lot of fans with his social media posts.

This match was short, didn't feature any memorable moments and ended with a count-out. There was nothing redeeming about it.

Sign on the Dotted Line

McIntyre showed up on time for the WWE Championship contract signing, but Lashley was nowhere to be found when his music began to play.

The Scottish Warrior said they didn't need to wait for him and told a story about Robert the Bruce. As McIntyre prepared to sign, MVP appeared on the big screen with Lashley and his group of female admirers.

The All Mighty made McIntyre agree to a stipulation stating he would never challenge Lashley for the WWE title again if he loses. The match will officially be inside Hell in a Cell.

McIntyre ended the segment by cutting the table in half with his claymore sword.

Grade: C

Analysis

Contract signings are usually predictable and repetitive. This one was no exception. It was just an excuse for them to talk some trash at each other.

McIntyre and Lashley both did well enough with their promos. It was the usual "I will win because I am unstoppable" stuff.

The moment with the sword was funnier than it was intense. At least it worked on the first try.

Ricochet vs. Humberto Carrillo

Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo have both had issues with Sheamus recently, so WWE paired them up for a match to determine who would get to challenge The Celtic Warrior for the United States title.

Sheamus was wearing a mask over his broken nose as he watched the action from ringside. He complained about having to face either of them after what happened to him last week.

The two high-flyers had exactly the kind of match you would expect them to have. They made good use of their agility and overall athleticism to make this a high-energy encounter.

Carrillo hit a beautiful Spanish Fly from the apron to the floor at one point. Unfortunately, neither man could beat the 10-count back into the ring.

Grade: B+

Analysis

Babyface vs. babyface matches don't always work, but it's hard not to enjoy the kind of show two Superstars of this caliber can put on with little to no effort.

The mutual respect between them made this a clean and fair fight that featured several near-falls. This is the kind of match that is usually hiding on Main Event or 205 Live.

The ending was the only weak spot. It was inconclusive and almost made it look like neither man was worthy of a title shot. We should get some kind of development in this storyline next week so Sheamus has a challenger for HIAC.

Jeff Hardy vs. Cedric Alexander

Another fresh matchup took place this week when Cedric Alexander battled Jeff Hardy, whom Alexander called a former great in a pre-match promo.

They locked up, and Hardy ran Alexander from corner to corner to smash his head into each turnbuckle. The veteran jumped from the second rope to hit a double ax handle to the back of the neck.

Alexander hit a back elbow to gain control. He kept Hardy grounded with a series of kicks and a rear chinlock. The Charismatic Enigma took him down with a headscissor from the corner.

Alexander hit a low dropkick and a suplex for a two-count. Hardy dropped him with a Twist of Fate before hitting a Swanton for the win.

Grade: B+

Analysis

Alexander and Hardy had a fun, energetic match. They seemed to have good chemistry despite spending little time in the ring together before Monday night.

It's weird to see Alexander lose clean after he appeared to come out on top against Shelton Benjamin in their feud. It feels like WWE isn't sure if it wants to push him or not.

Asuka and Nikki Cross vs. Charlotte and Rhea Ripley

Nikki Cross chose Asuka as her partner for this tag team match against Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair. Even though her wins were in two-minute challenges, the announcers made it seem like the Scot was on a huge roll right now.

The Queen easily overpowered Cross during their first lockup. Ripley tagged herself in so she could do the same thing. Cross rolled her up for a two-count before tagging in Asuka.

Charlotte tagged herself in and ended up getting double-teamed by Cross and Asuka. Ripley tagged herself in, so The Empress of Tomorrow sent her flying off the apron with a hip strike.

Charlotte and Ripley got into a scuffle at ringside as the show went to a break. We returned to see Cross taking the Raw women's champion down in a headlock. She kept her on defense until she hit a headbutt. The Nightmare picked Cross up on her shoulders for a facebuster.

The rivals began one-upping each other while using unconventional methods to tag each other in. They eventually started brawling, which ended with Charlotte hitting Ripley with Natural Selection. She watched as Cross pinned her for the win.

Grade: B-

Analysis

The tension between Charlotte and Ripley was textbook for this kind of situation. It was predictable, but they made it work with the way they interacted.

It's a little disheartening to see Asuka and Cross treated more like nuisances than real threats. They are great performers with a lot to offer, and they should be seen as dangerous.

We all saw the end coming, but it still worked for the story WWE is trying to tell here. This wasn't groundbreaking, but it was enjoyable.

Mansoor vs. Drew Gulak

Mansoor and Drew Gulak met for a match this week to give the Raw newcomer some exposure against one of the best technicians in the company.

The former cruiserweight champion used his submission skills to keep Mansoor grounded for a little while. Even when Mansoor escaped his grasp, Gulak maintained control and scored several near-falls.

During one of those pin attempts. Mansoor countered into his own pin for the victory.

Grade: C+

Analysis

It was great to see both Gulak and Mansoor get some screen time, but this match would have benefited from a few more minutes.

Positioning Mansoor as an underdog is a smart move. He will likely face Gulak again and get a more decisive win to solidify himself.

Riddle vs. Kofi Kingston

Orton chose to remain backstage, but Woods was there to support Kingston as he took on Riddle. A few minutes into the match, The Viper made his way to the ring and went after Woods.

Kingston cut him off with a dropkick before he sent Riddle out of the ring with another kick. Orton recovered and slammed Woods onto the announce table.

Kingston took out Riddle and Orton with a dive from the top rope. We returned from a break to see The Original Bro building up a head of steam as he hit a series of moves.

Kingston hit an awkward hurricanrana for a quick two-count. Riddle took the fight to Kingston and unloaded with a flurry of clubbing blows to the back. He spiked Kingston with Orton's signature DDT, and The Viper told him to finish his opponent.

Kingston countered the RKO and Bro Derek before hitting Trouble in Paradise for the win.

Grade: B+

Analysis

A weird trend is emerging where WWE has people work multiple matches on Raw. We have seen people pull double-duty several weeks in a row. The roster has more than enough people to fill the show, so this seems like a strange pattern.

Riddle and Kingston are both great athletes, so it wasn't surprising to see them put together a good match. The shenanigans at ringside were just enough without overpowering the in-ring action.

The final sequence was especially entertaining. The match had a clean finish and made Kingston look great. Orton will probably yell at Riddle for losing next week.

Alexa's Playground

Bliss and Lilly were in the ring with their swing set to welcome Baszler to Alexa's Playground. The Queen of Spades seemed unfazed and unimpressed.

She knocked over a rocking horse for no reason before taking a seat next to Bliss. The Goddess asked Baszler to apologize to Lilly for upsetting her.

The former MMA fighter said Bliss was delusional and blamed her for Reginald's accidents and losing the women's tag titles. The hostess denied having anything to do with those incidents and asked again for an apology.

Baszler snatched Lilly from her hands, said she was sorry she was just a stupid doll and dropped it. Bliss decked her in the face and jumped on her. The Queen of Spades threw her off and stomped on Lilly's face. The arena began to glitch out, so Baszler took the chance to leave while Bliss cradled her toy friend with a smile.

Flames erupted all around the stage as The Queen of Spades fled. The camera followed her backstage where she narrowly avoided a falling box and piece of the set. The lights flickered as she looked for anywhere to hide.

She locked herself in a room and stacked furniture in front of the door. She spotted Lilly in a mirror behind her, but when she turned around, it was gone. She saw it in the mirror again and broke it with a kick.

Grade: A for effort

Analysis

It's hard to tell if this was brilliant or terrible. The production value for the segment was great, but there was something about it that didn't quite click.

Baszler did an excellent job selling her fear at the end, and Bliss was as creepy as ever. This could be a great storyline if WWE does it right. That's always the challenge, though.

As a whole, this week's Raw was much better than recent episodes. We got to see a few underused Superstars and a handful of good matches.