WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from October 18

Crown Jewel airs this Thursday on WWE Network on Peacock, so Monday's Raw was the final chance WWE had to make changes to the card.

The King of the Ring and Queen's Crown tournaments both found their finalists after Jinder Mahal took on Xavier Woods and Doudrop battled Shayna Baszler.

The winners of those matches will go on to face Finn Balor and Zelina Vega in the respective tournament finals in Saudi Arabia.

Raw women's champion Charlotte Flair defended her title against Bianca Belair, and The Street Profits took on RK-Bro.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on the go-home episode of WWE Raw before Crown Jewel.

Jinder Mahal vs. Xavier Woods

Charlotte came out at the start of the show and gave a promo about how she was going to beat Belair tonight to retain the Raw women's title. The EST joined her in the ring and promised to take the title with her to Crown Jewel so she could become a double champion.

The first match of the night was the semifinals bout in the KOTR tourney between Woods and Mahal. Kofi Kingston, Veer and Shanky were all at ringside.

Mahal and Woods locked up, and the former easily overpowered the latter to take him down. Woods tripped Mahal into the middle rope and hit a dropkick to the back, followed by several chops. The Maharaja regained the upper hand and kept Woods on defense for a few minutes until the commercial break.

We returned to see Woods starting to make a comeback, but Mahal countered a DDT and hit a slam for a two-count. Woods recovered but ended up jumping right into Mahal's arms for the Khallas. Woods barely made it to the ropes to break the ref's count.

Mahal placed him on the top turnbuckle, but Woods fought him off and hit a huge elbow drop for the win.

Grade: B-

Analysis

This match was decent, especially for Mahal, but the outcome is what really matters. Wood becoming King of the Ring is something so many people want, and WWE just brought us one step closer to that outcome.

Mahal did a good job keeping up with Woods' speed. It's easy to forget how big Mahal is until you see him next to somebody like Woods.

The booking definitely affected the grade in a positive way. On any other night, this would have gotten a C. Sometimes, the story behind the outcome makes that big of a difference.

Austin Theory vs. Jeff Hardy

After having an altercation backstage while Reggie was trying to avoid other Superstars who wanted his 24/7 title, Austin Theory and R-Truth agreed to have a match.

Truth came out and revealed a bait-and-switch with Jeff Hardy. The Charismatic Enigma looked energized as he made his entrance. Theory and Hardy locked up, and the former backed the latter to the corner for a clean break.

Theory knocked Hardy down and mocked his signature dance. Hardy rolled him up for a two-count before drilling him with a dropkick. Theory rolled out of the ring and hit a neckbreaker on the floor.

We returned from a break to see Theory still dominating the action. Hardy began to rally and hit a series of quick moves for a two-count. They took the fight out of the ring, where Hardy hit Poetry in Motion.

He set up for the Swanton, but Theory tripped him on the top rope and then hit his finisher for the win. Hardy got some revenge after the match and hit the Twist of Fate before taking a selfie with the downed Theory.

Grade: C+

Analysis

Even with a commercial break separating the two halves, this felt like a short match. However, both men looked really good from start to finish.

Hardy works well with these younger talents because he was once in their shoes. He is the perfect veteran to work with somebody who is young and looking to make an impact.

If they went 10 minutes uninterrupted, it feels like they could pull off a show-stealing performance together.

Big E and Drew McIntyre vs. Dirty Dawgz

Big E and Drew McIntyre appeared to put last week's miscommunication behind them as they prepared to take on Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.

The WWE champion started against The Showoff and scored the first couple of knockdowns. He brought McIntyre in to deliver a kick to the gut and a stiff chest chop.

Roode tagged in, but The Scottish Warrior maintained control. Big E came back in, and The Glorious One ate a big back elbow. Ziggler saved his partner from a splash on the apron, but Big E threw The Showoff into the timekeeper's area. Roode ran him into the steel steps to send us to a break.

We came back from the commercial to see The Dirty Dawgz keeping Big E isolated in their corner with quick tags and double-team moves. Once McIntyre tagged in, he took on both men at the same time.

A timing issue with Big E and Ziggler led to an awkward moment on the apron. The Scottish Warrior finally made the tag to the WWE champion so he could finish Roode off with the Big Ending for the win.

Grade: B-

Analysis

WWE's tag team matches often follow a pattern, but that is not necessarily a bad thing when you have four guys like this working together.

The sequence is designed to get pops at certain times and allow both teams to get in plenty of offense. It helps build anticipation for the hot tag at the end.

This was a solid, down-the-middle match that was unnecessary but still delivered some fun action.

Cedric Alexander vs. Mansoor

Cedric Alexander was accompanied to the ring by Shelton Benjamin for his match against the now-solo Mansoor.

They traded a few moves before Mansoor hit a standing moonsault for a two-count. Alexander hit a beautiful modified pump handle suplex.

He locked Mansoor in a seated chinlock to keep him grounded for a moment, but the former NXT Superstar was able to turn things around and hit a neckbreaker for the win.

Mustafa Ali came out after the match and still seemed disappointed in his former partner. He promised to beat Mansoor in Saudi Arabia to wipe the smile off his face. Mansoor said he was going to prove Ali is a coward at Crown Jewel.

Grade: C

Analysis

This was a short match, but both guys had a couple of cool moments, so it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. They packed a lot into the time they had to make it feel competitive.

Mansoor's speech directed at Ali was a bit rough, but his intensity was good. These guys are great athletes, so if they get enough time at the PPV, they should put on a fun show.

RK-Bro vs. Street Profits

Before they face AJ Styles and Omos on Thursday, Randy Orton and Riddle had a match with Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins on this week's show.

Riddle and Ford started for their teams. The Bro almost wrestled Ford into a pin, but he wasn't able to get the three-count. Ford put him in a headlock and wrenched it deep.

Dawkins tagged in and hit a nice dropkick before he dropped Ford onto Riddle for a quick two-count. Riddle countered a double suplex, and Orton pulled Dawkins out of the ring. Ford took out both members of RK-Bro with a huge dive over the top rope.

We returned from a break to see Ford and Orton trading moves. The Viper put him down with a clothesline before he tagged Riddle back in. Dawkins got the hot tag and went to work on The Bro.

Riddle nailed him with a knee to the face. Orton and Ford both came in, and The Legend Killer hit his trademark powerslam and DDT. AJ Styles and Omos came out and caused a disqualification to end the match.

Grade: B

Analysis

Everything before the finish was great. Riddle, Orton, Ford and Dawkins could have easily elevated the match to PPV-quality if they had been given the chance to have a proper ending.

Ford is an absolute breakout star just waiting for his moment, but people should not overlook Dawkins. He has made big improvements in 2021 to become a well-rounded in-ring performer.

Ending this with a DQ is only slightly better than the Profits losing clean, but not by much. This is a combination WWE needs to revisit down the line.

Shayna Baszler vs. Doudrop (Queen's Crown Semifinal)

The semifinal match for the Queen's Crown tournament saw Doudrop battle Baszler for the right to face Zelina Vega in the finals at Crown Jewel.

Vega came out and sat on the throne WWE put on the stage while the match got going. Doudrop powered Baszler to the corner, but The Queen of Spades tried to employ a stick-and-move approach with kicks to the leg.

Doudrop hit a cannonball in the corner, but when she put Baszler on her shoulder, The Queen of Spades shifted into a submission. Doudrop was able to break free, but she missed the running crossbody.

Baszler put her back in the Kirifuda Clutch. After a long struggle, Doudrop rolled back into a pin to get the upset victory.

Grade: C-

Analysis

This was too short to be anything special as a whole, but the somewhat surprising outcome helped a bit.

Doudrop is somebody who could be an important part of the women's division if she is booked as a dangerous powerhouse. While this was portrayed more as an upset win, she still overcame one of the most legit fighters on the roster.

The match itself had little to remember in the way of action. Other than Baszler's intensity, there wasn't much to latch on to.

Finn Balor vs. Mace

Woods came out to watch from the throne as Finn Balor took on Mace, who was without T-Bar by his side for some reason.

The Prince tried to apply a wristlock, but Mace easily overpowered him and took him down for a quick one-count. He drilled Balor with a knee to the body and a clubbing blow to the back.

Mace hit a spinning side slam for another near-fall before applying a nerve hold. The Irishman hit a jumping double stomp as he started to make his comeback.

He hit a few more moves before finishing Mace off with the Coup de Grace.

Grade: C-

Analysis

This match was supposed to give Balor a win in what appeared to be a competitive match, but the outcome was never in question, so there was no reason for anyone to pay more than half-attention.

The confrontation between Woods and Balor after the match added a bit of fun and helped hype their upcoming King of the Ring match at Crown Jewel, so at least we had that.

Since every single Queen's Crown match has clocked in at less than three minutes so far, WWE could have scrapped this to give Doudrop and Baszler more time.

Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair (Raw Women's Championship)

The main event of the night was the Raw women's title match between Charlotte and Belair. They started off with a competitive exchange that ended with both women going for a dropkick at the same time.

The EST sent the champ to the corner and hit a dropkick to take her down on the apron. The Queen yanked her out of the ring by her braid and threw her over the announce table.

We returned from a break to see Belair hit a bodyslam. The Queen got right back up and hit a kick to the body and some chops. She tried to do Bianca's signature moonsault, but The EST got her knees up and then hit the move herself.

Belair lifted her up for a nice delayed vertical suplex to get a two-count. Charlotte hit Andrade's trademark moonsault for another near-fall. The crowd began to chant "This is awesome" as Belair hit a spinebuster.

They took the fight out of the ring, where Belair threw the champ over the announce table to get some revenge. We came back from another break to see them trading strikes. Belair ducked a boot, but the second one connected to take her down.

The EST avoided Natural Selection and hit a modified Glam Slam for a two-count. The Queen nailed a big spear for another near-fall that almost ended the match. Belair hit a German suplex that turned Charlotte inside out, but she still couldn't get the three-count.

Charlotte ended up grabbing a chair and got herself disqualified. Belair took it from her and hit her with it to get the last word. The show ended with Belair standing tall.

Grade: A

Analysis

This was a fantastic main event and a great display of both women's athleticism. They held nothing back and treated this like it was a WrestleMania match.

Sometimes Belair looks a little uncomfortable with certain opponents, but Charlotte is not one of them. They have great chemistry and used it to make sure everything they did looked smooth.

The only reason this didn't get the highest grade possible was the way it ended. WWE has given us too many great matches that end in disqualification this year. This trend needs to stop.

The show as a whole was mediocre with a few bright spots. It at least did a good job reminding us what every match is at Crown Jewel.