WWE Raw Results, Highlights, and Grades: Brand warfare loses the plot

Humberto Carrillo vs. Karl Anderson

Next up we heard from AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows of The O.C. Styles wanted to state something for the record “for all the idiots to understand it,” explaining that while he’d love to defend his United States Championship against Humberto Carrillo, he can’t because Carrillo disrespected The O.C.

Luke Gallows follows it up by saying that when someone disrespects one member of The O.C. they disrespect every member, and that’s why Karl Anderson is going to face Humberto Carrillo because of how he was disrespected as a member of The O.C.

With the explanation laid out, it was finally time for the match to start. Gallows and Styles looked like they would provide a numbers advantage on the outside, but Street Profits made their way out to even things out. Carrillo hit a huge dive to the outside that took out all three members of The O.C. before things went to commercial.

Back from the break, the match begins with veteran Karl Anderson dominating. While he may never have the nickname in WWE, Anderson did have an homage to his old name “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson with an ‘MG’ on one leg of his tights and ‘KA’ on the other. I miss the “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson entrance from NJPW.

Anderson hit some big strikes and put on a headlock to wear down Carrillo, but Humberto slowly began to fight back and nailed a sliding dropkick to a seated Anderson. He followed it with a standing moonsault that garnered a near fall.

Carrillo then hit a big top rope high cross body for another nearfall, and went for a springboard only to be caught by Karl Anderson and driven hard into the mat with a huge spinebuster. AJ Styles caused a distraction to the referee, allowing Gallows to grab Humberto and guillotine him briefly on the ropes.

It was enough for Karl Anderson to roll him into a pinfall, but Montez Ford shifted the weight into Carrillo pinning Anderson while the referee was still turned. Gallows tried to interfere, but Dawkins yanked him off the apron and Carrillo scored the pinfall to get the sudden victory.

Grade: B+, This was a fun match. I’m a sucker for Karl Anderson in singles action, it’s an absolute shame the company has made him a singles star yet. Fun finish as well with Street Profits further neutralizing the numbers advantage at the end. 

Seth Rollins is interviewed by Charly Caruso

Backstage, we heard from Charly Caruso who interviewed Seth Rollins. She asked why he would accept Andrade’s offer for a match with Seth’s WWE Survivor Series spot on the line. Rollins explained that he won’t back down from a challenge, and as a leader of Team Raw he would prove himself against Andrade.

Rollins also had a fun nod to the local crowd while making an interesting comparison. He talked about Tom Brady, as they were in Boston, and that Brady has been so good for so long that half the world wants to see him fall. He then turned to Caruso and said, “sound familiar?” Rollins wrapped with his signature “burn it down,” but it was his Brady comparison that felt like an interesting character note for someone who has felt stagnant for some time.

Grade: B, This wasn’t really a special promo in many ways, but I really enjoyed the little nod to Brady. They could be planting seeds of turning Rollins, or I’m giving them way too much credit and they’ll forget about this in two days. 

Bobby Lashley vs. No Way Jose

Back from commercial break, we saw Bobby Lashley make his way to the ring for action against No Way Jose. Lana accompanied Lashley, grabbing a microphone to reveal before the match that today was “the happiest day of her life” because she filed for divorce this morning. The crowd responded with some “Rusev Day” chants, but Lana shut them down with some “bad news.”

Lana explained that Rusev had been served with a restraining order when he returned from WWE’s European tour, and that Rusev couldn’t come within 90 miles of her. Lashley whispered in Lana’s ear, and Lana laughed things off for a moment before correcting herself and saying she meant 90 days, then corrects herself again and says she meant 90 feet. Lana then said she just gets so flustered when around Lashley.

When the match finally began, Bobby Lashley took the early advantage with some dominating offense. No Way Jose built some momentum and fought back with some brief offense, but Lashley quickly regained control with a big one-arm slam.

Lashley locked in a Full Nelson submission and held on tight until Jose was out cold. The referee called for the ball, and Lashley took the submission victory. After the match, Lashley and Lana kissed and made out in the center of the ring for a longer period of time than anyone was comfortable with.

Grade: D-, Considering the low low bar set by previous Lashley and Lana segments, this one didn’t have to do much to be better, but it wasn’t really good by any stretch of the imagination.