WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from December 27

Credit: WWE.com

Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of the go-home episode of WWE Raw before the Day 1 pay-per-view on Sunday.

Last week's show saw Omos and AJ Styles end their alliance following a loss to Rey and Dominik Mysterio. After leaving The Phenomenal One knocked out, Omos said the next time he saw Styles would be in a match.

Maryse and The Miz appeared to have some issues a couple of weeks ago, but last week's interview with Edge on his talk show revealed it was all a ruse so The Miz could get one over on The Rated-R Superstar.

We also saw Bobby Lashley begin what appears to be a babyface turn. He teamed up with Big E against Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens, but it was how he interacted with MVP earlier in the night that seemed to indicate a potential turn.

With Day 1 fast approaching, most of Monday's show was spent hyping the PPV and making sure every feud was addressed. Let's take a look at what happened on this week's WWE Raw.

Raw opened with Riddle and Randy Orton welcoming us to the final episode of 2021. After Otis and Chad Gable came out and traded some insults with them, we got Riddle vs. Gable.

The former Olympian took control early and used his grappling skills to bring Riddle down into a pinning combination for a one-count. The Bro backed him to the corner with some kicks, but Gable grabbed his leg and hit a dragon screw over the middle rope.

Gable hit a beautiful tiger suplex for a near-fall. He applied an ankle lock, but Riddle rolled out of it. Riddle drilled Gable with a knee followed by the Floating Bro for the win.

Otis vs. Orton took place right after the break. The Viper attempted to hit the RKO right away, but Otis easily countered him and hit a running splash.

Otis shoved Orton out of the ring, but when he tried to run him down, Orton sent him into the steel steps. The Legend Killer spiked him with a rope-hung DDT. He called for the RKO, but Otis hit a powerslam instead.

Orton avoided a Vader Bomb in the corner and hit the RKO for the pin and the win.

Grade: B+

Analysis

The promo segment that opened the show was not as funny as WWE wanted it to be, but the match that followed was all kinds of fun.

Riddle and Gable had great in-ring chemistry and put on a quick five-minute clinic. Gable looked especially impressive because he pulled a few moves out of his bag of tricks that we don't see too often.

The second bout between Otis and Orton was just as good but in a different way. They told more of a story involving Otis being able to counter the RKO instead of just focusing on getting in as many moves as possible.

Cringe promo from Riddle aside, this was a fantastic way to open the show.

Reggie and Dana Brooke teamed up for a mixed tag match against R-Truth and Tamina. Truth knocked Reggie down with a shoulder tackle to get things going.

Reggie hit a back elbow before he and Truth collided in the middle of the ring. Tamina tagged in and superkicked Reggie back to his corner so he could tag Brooke.

The 24/7 champion hit a flurry of kicks to take her down before Tamina nailed her with a stiff back elbow. Truth tagged himself in, but Reggie rolled him up for the win.

Grade: C-

Analysis

This was a short match that was designed to get laughs, but we actually saw a few good wrestling moves between the jokes. It just wasn't enough.

Brooke looked a little more confident than she usually does and appears to be in the best shape of her life. If she can impress management, 2022 could be the year she finally wins a women's title.

Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins took on Rey and Dominik Mysterio in a tag match this week to determine who would get the next title shot against RK-Bro.

Dom and Ford started for their teams with a basic lockup into a side headlock takeover. They came to a stalemate and shook hands before Ford brought him to the corner so he could tag Dawkins. Dominik got to his dad and brought him in to take on the big man.

Dawkins ran over Rey with a shoulder tackle before he brought in Ford for a double-team combo. Rey took Ford over the top rope so he and Dom could hit tandem moves to take out both Profits to send us to a break.

We returned to see Ford and Dom trading strikes. Both men made the tag, and Rey started to go on offense against Dawkins. He tried to hit the 619, but Dawkins took him down with a jumping back elbow for a two-count.

Ford tagged in and hit a massive frog splash, but Dom broke up the pin. Rey got Ford into position and hit the 619. Dom followed up with a frog splash to get another close two-count.

Dawkins threw Rey out of the ring so he and Ford could finish off Dom with a super blockbuster for the win.

Grade: A-

Analysis

There were two moments in this match when Ford showed off his unreal athleticism. One involved saving Rey from botching a spot, and the other saw him lift Dom up from a backbend like it was no big deal.

Both teams were on point in this match and delivered a fantastic performance. It was physical, competitive, creative and highlighted the strengths of each competitor.

If you didn't have fun watching this match, maybe pro wrestling isn't for you.

AJ Styles came out for a promo, but he was quickly interrupted by Grayson Waller from NXT and Apollo Crews with Commander Azeez. After some jaw-jacking back and forth, Azeez challenged Styles to a match that he immediately accepted, but we ended up getting Crews instead.

The bout got started after a break. Styles took control early, but Crews was quick to turn the tables. He slowed down the pace a bit as he began to pick The Phenomenal One apart.

Crews pressed Styles above his head and dropped him on the apron to send us into a break. We returned a moment before Styles began to make a comeback.

He unleashed a series of quick strikes as he began to build momentum. He dropped Crews on his knee with a neckbreaker for a two-count. The former WWE champion hit a backflip into a reverse DDT in the corner.

Crews hit a fireman's carry slam on the apron for a near-fall. Styles hit a beautiful counter into a hurricanrana for a two-count before he hit the Styles Clash for the win.

Grade: A-

Analysis

Anyone who doesn't see how good Crews is between the ropes is covering their eyes and willingly ignoring his incredible skill. He might not be pushed the right way most of the time, but he always delivers in matches like this.

He and Styles hit some difficult spots and made them look easy. If WWE gave Crews more opportunities like this, he would win over a lot of fans.

Styles appears to have turned the corner and become a babyface after his split from Omos. The crowd was in his corner, so it looks like Omos is going to be the heel in this feud.

Kevin Owens was out to deliver a promo, but he was soon joined by MVP, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin. They teased reuniting The Hurt Business even though they kind of did that a couple of months ago and then never followed up with it.

KO ended up facing Alexander in a match while Benjamin and MVP watched from ringside. KO backed Alexander to the corner right after the bell.

He hit Alexander with a senton followed by a cannonball in the corner, but Alexander came back with a slam on the apron. Owens countered a side suplex and hit a fisherman's buster for a two-count.

Owens hit the Stunner for the win while looking right at MVP.

Grade: B

Analysis

This was a decent match that fell on the short side. With five more minutes, they would have stolen the whole show.

Alexander and Benjamin helped out Bobby Lashley a few weeks ago, so seeing them trying to reform The Hurt Business again seemed weird.

MVP not caring that KO took out both men after the match indicates that the stable is not making a return, which is sad because they worked so well together.

Damian Priest put his United States Championship on the line this week against one half of The Dirty Dawgs, Dolph Ziggler.

The Showoff tried to take a cheap shot, but Priest caught his leg to block a superkick. They traded some punches before Priest had to counter the Zig Zag and hit a big boot to the face.

He cornered Ziggler and hit some knees to the body and an uppercut. Ziggler avoided a corner splash and ran Priest from corner to corner as he slammed his head into the top turnbuckles.

The Archer of Infamy nailed him with a couple of hard right hands. We returned from a break to see Priest whip Ziggler to the corner. The Showoff started to take control and taunted the champion until he began to fight back.

Priest hit a series of power moves that ended with a broken arrow for a close two-count. Ziggler spiked him with a jumping DDT for another near-fall. Priest ended up getting himself disqualified when he refused to stop beating down Ziggler in the corner.

He kept attacking Ziggler after the match was over and hit his finisher on the floor to end the segment.

Grade: B

Analysis

We have grown so used to the fake crowd noise WWE uses that when it decides not to, the crowd sounds dead most of the time. That was the case during this bout.

Priest and Ziggler were putting in some good work, but based on how the fans sounded, you would have thought they were stinking up the place. Maybe it was more of an issue with where the mics were placed throughout the arena, but it was definitely noticeable.

The finish was anticlimactic and did little to help either man, but everything that came before it was good. This week's show had some great action between the endless video packages and promos.

Raw ended with Eric Bischoff overseeing the ceremony with The Miz and Maryse renewing their wedding vows. Bischoff got a huge pop during his entrance, and The Miz almost tripped getting into the ring.

The Miz used this opportunity to give a promo about his match with Edge before he and his wife exchanged their vows.

After Maryse gave her vows, The Miz delivered his in French. He screwed it up and gave the speech in English. It was equal parts awkward and romantic.

Edge came out and made fun of them before blood rained down from the ceiling on them to ruin their ceremony and end the show.

Grade: C

Analysis

The Miz and Maryse were both fine in this segment, and Bischoff seemed especially happy to be there, but these things are never that good.

We all knew Edge would come out and do something to ruin the festivities. The fact that the blood looked more like chocolate syrup just made the ending weird.

This feud has had some good segments, but this was as down the middle as it gets.