WWE Raw Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights Before Money in the Bank 2026

WWE returned to the historic wrestling city of St. Louis Monday night for the go-home episode of Raw, headlined by an appearance from Roman Reigns and a high-stakes No. 1 Contender's Match with Women's World Championship implications.

What went down, how did each segment grade out, and what impact did it have on this weekend's Money in the Bank premium live event?

Find out with this recap of the October 5 Netflix broadcast.

Announced in advance of Monday's show were:

Women's World Championship No. 1 Contender's Match: Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan

Sol Ruca and Lola Vice vs. Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez

AAA Cruiserweight Championship Match: Rey Fenix vs. Ethan Page

Je'Von Evans and Penta vs. Bron Breakker and Austin Theory

LA Knight and Roman Reigns Kicked Off Raw

Last Time in Action: LA Knight and Solo Sikoa fought The Usos to a no-contest (Raw, August 24); Roman Reigns defeated Penta (Raw, September 14)

LA Knight hit the ring to kick off the show and wasted little time addressing his Money in the Bank opponent this Saturday in New Orleans, Roman Reigns. He mentioned that they both may need to fend off the 946, but the difference is that he will not complain about it.

This brought out the OTC, who claimed he never loses his poise. He said he is in the deep end and has been there for a long time.

He claimed Knight took the "b***h road" when he laid the Tribal Chief out in Mexico City, then called the Megastar a whiner and "just another egg in the omelet."

The No. 1 Contender replied and called Reigns a manufactured industry plant and said he may make Reigns spit out his fake, ultraviolet teeth.

The segment ended with the challenger exiting with momentum on his side ahead of the biggest match of his career.

Reigns showed great fire on the mic but the majority of what came out of his mouth was rehashed from a promo he has delivered before and better.

Knight's "industry plant" comment was fun, but even his insults felt repetitive.

There is a lot of meat on this proverbial bone, and the match in New Orleans will likely be red-hot. This promo, though, felt very much like a collection of better stuff, rolled into one go-home confrontation. That is not always a bad thing, but even "B"-level work from these two feels like a letdown.

Last Time in Action: Penta and Je'Von Evans defeated The Judgment Day (Raw, September 28); Bron Breakker lost to Evans via DQ (Raw, September 21); Austin Theory lost to Evans (Raw, September 14)

Five days away from a potentially career-changing Money in the Bank Ladder Match, three of its entrants competed in tag team action as Penta partnered with Je'Von Evans to battle Bron Breakker, who partnered with his Vision teammate, Austin Theory.

The World Tag Team Champions dominated the action, isolating Evans and cutting him off from his partner. A little separation late in the match and a tag to the luchador sparked a comeback for the babyfaces.

Maxxine Dupri distracted the official, and Logan Paul slid the brass knuckles into the ring, too far and within reach of Evans. The Young OG blasted Theory and won the match for his team.

After the match, Bronson Reed attacked the victors until Oba Femi made the save. The Ruler fended off Auszilla and Breakker, then stared down Reed. "At Money in the Bank, your ass belongs to Oba Femi!" he exclaimed in a segment-closing promo.

Evans and Penta defeated Theory and Breakker

Evans is growing and evolving as a main roster talent rapidly. His expressions and body language during matches is off the charts and ahead of schedule. He is popular with fans and is going to be a main event-caliber guy sooner than even his critics likely expected.

The promo from Femi to wrap up this segment was outstanding. Forget waiting until WrestleMania. Let him steamroll Roman Reigns at Survivor Series and start his rule as soon as possible.

Lola Vice and Sol Ruca vs. Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez

Last Time in Action: Lola Vice defeated Roxanne Perez (Raw, September 28); Sol Ruca defeated Maxxine Dupri and Lyra Valkyria (Raw, September 7); Raquel Rodriguez lost to Vice (Raw, September 14)

Before the next match, a prerecorded promo from the 946 aired, threatening to take out The Usos next as they systematically pick apart the Bloodline. Afterward, Roman Reigns told Jimmy and Jey to handle it.

Back in the arena, Ruca and Vice got off to a hot start, taking the fight to Judgment Day's Perez and Rodriguez. Ruca launched herself to the arena floor, wiping her opponents out as the show went to break.

Back from commercial, the former Women's Intercontinental Champion fought out of her opponents' grasp and made the tag to Vice, who exploded into the match and teed off on her opponents.

The action broke down from there, with both teams making key saves and neither team re-establishing dominance. An ill-fated MIA backfist from Vice to her own partner, by accident, allowed The Prodigy to roll the former MMA competitor up for the win.

Perez and Rodriguez defeated Ruca and Vice

There was plenty of good action here, even if the match got a little messy and disjointed late. The finish was outstanding and sold the idea that come Saturday night in the Big Easy, Vice and Ruca will not be friends or partners, giving the latter a chance at a receipt.

It is nice to see Perez get the exposure that she has across Raw and AAA over the last month. One of the most gifted young wrestlers on the roster, she is a star of the future and finally feels like someone building momentum instead of playing third fiddle.

After the match, The Usos, Reigns, and Adam Pearce were backstage. The Raw GM revealed that the 946 will be in action next week, squaring off with The Bloodline. Except, it will not be The OTC. It will, instead, be Jimmy and Jey, and Solo Sikoa battling the rival faction.

Last Time in Action: Rey Fenix and Penta defeated Los Perros del Mal (AAA Worlds Collide, September 30); Ethan Page defeated Joe Hendy (Main Event, September 17 )

A backstage confrontation between AAA Cruiserweight Champion Rey Fenix and "All Ego" Ethan Page resulted in a one-on-one match Monday night.

The luchador started fast, frustrating his opponent and putting him on the defensive. Page seized control ahead of the break, though, and maintained it from there.

The loudmouthed villain taunted the audience while wearing down Fenix, but the masked superstar fought his way back and, late, set up for a Mexican Muscle Buster.

Page wiggled free and looked for a fisherman's buster, but Fenix escaped that and scored a small package rollup for the win.

This could have been so much hotter and meaningful if there was an ounce of effort that went into getting the crowd to care. It was the product of a random backstage meeting, featuring a guy primarily on SmackDown and another who has (wrongly) not been utilized on TV in weeks.

Fenix winning was the right call, though, as the Lucha Bros continue to build momentum in WWE.

Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh

Last Time In Action: Rey Mysterio and El Grande Americano lost to Dominik Mysterio and Omos (AAA, October 3); Dragon Lee defeated Big Cass (Raw, September 28); JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio lost to Je'Von Evans and Penta (Raw, September 28)

Oh, look, another match featuring The Judgment Day against two opponents they talked trash about in a backstage segment.

Rey and Lee utilized McDonagh's frustration over Joe Hendry's repeated Funko Pop taunts against him and went into the commercial break with momentum on their side.

The Judgment Day controlled the match as the show returned from the timeout, only for Rey and Lee to mount a comeback. The babyfaces had momentum on their side, with the Hall of Famer leading the charge, until Big Cass appeared and laid out Lee. Rey fended the massive competitor off, but he took his eyes off his opponent, allowing McDonagh to rock him with a headbutt and score the win.

After the match, Cass beat down the luchadores, leaving them lying after a big boot.

The Judgment Day defeated Mysterio and Lee

This was similar to the recent Judgment Day tag team matches that have kept Dirty Dom and McDonagh on TV, despite having limited-to-no other plans for them. The action was solid, the crowd was into it, but there was nothing of any other substance than what we have seen and this was weaker than the match a week ago against Evans and Penta.

With that said, the stuff with Big Cass was great and positions him as the big, giant bully ready to make Lee's life a living hell. Considering what the uber-talented luchador was doing before this, its a massive step in the right direction.

Last Time in Action: Becky Lynch lost a Fatal 4-Way Match to Liv Morgan (Raw, June 8); Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio lost to El Grande Americano and Stephanie Vaquer (Raw, September 14)

A shot at Stephanie Vaquer's Women's World Championship was at stake in Monday's main event.

Liv Morgan fed off of a revenge mindset to take the fight to Becky Lynch early and often in Monday's main event, but could defeat her. As frustration set in, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez made their presence felt, perpetrating sneak attacks and cheap shots, each failing to put The Man down.

La Primera made her presence felt, fending off the heels before chaos reigned supreme. She got involved in the closing seconds of the marquee match-up, laying out both women and demanding that Adam Pearce make a Triple Threat Match between them for Saturday's Money in the Bank.

The authority figure obliged, and Vaquer landed a Spiral Tap on her opponents, then closed out the show while standing tall.

We are sleeping on how great Morgan has become as an in-ring performer. She has delivered every time she has had a legitimate opportunity to here in 2026, and this was no different. Her and Lynch have great in-ring chemistry and a one-on-one match-up between the two, without the overbooked finish, would be a banger.

Yes, the match had an overbooked finish, but it was a means to an end. We knew we were getting Lynch vs. Vaquer vs. Morgan and Money in the Bank is a big enough platform for it. In a perfect world, that is a PLE main event. Saturday night, it could steal the show.

It would be really easy to look at the main event participants or any other act on the show and give them props tonight, but Femi stood out like a sore thumb in the best way possible.

The Ruler was crisp, explosive, and eye-catching in his physical interactions with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, then put a great big exclamation point on the segment with a stellar promo the likes of which you see from guys much more experienced and comfortable on the mic.

He was excellent tonight and sold the hell out of his match with Reed.

WWE Raw continues to be the most consistent of the company's two main roster brands and tonight's show was another entertaining watch.

It did venture into the realm of repetitive, with Penta and Evans vs. The Vision and The Judgment Day vs. Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee, two matches that felt very much like mash-ups of repetitive contests we have seen numerous times in revent weeks.

Still, this show did a solid enough job of hyping Saturday's Money in the Bank, featuring a blockbuster match announcement in the form of The Bloodline vs. 649 for next week, and was capped off with a great main event.