WWE Raw Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights Before Sunday Night's Main Event

WWE hit the Netflix airwaves Monday night with a pre-taped broadcast from Cleveland, Ohio, headlined by Penta vs. Rey Fenix to determine the No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship held by Roman Reigns.

Which lucha brother emerged victoriously from the bout, with a September 14 date with the OTC for the flagship show's top prize?

Find out in this recap, including grades and analysis for each of the night's matches and segments.

World Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Match: Penta vs. Rey Fenix

Women's Intercontinental Championship Match: Sol Ruca vs. Raquel Rodriguez (c)

Backstage, Royce Keys and OTM attacked The Bloodline in the parking garage, leaving The Usos lying and bloodied.

Jacob Fatu made the save, chasing the newcomers off with a pipe and setting the stage for that new chapter of the saga to be a significant part of this week's show.

After Sol Ruca and Raquel Rodriguez made their way to the ring for their Women's Intercontinental Championship Match, Fatu appeared on the commentary table and vowed to "dog walk you three motherf*****s," which led to his microphone being cut.

The idea of Netflix blurring blood content on WWE TV when viewers can flip over and stream entries in the Saw franchise seems rather asinine.

This was a strong way to open the show, with an air of unpredictability, not to mention a group that can prove to be even more dangerous than the most dominant family in the sport.

Fatu is going to be the biggest, most unhinged babyface in the company by this time next year and if not, a creative shake-up will be warranted.

Women's Intercontinental Championship Match: Sol Ruca vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Last Time in Action: Sol Ruca defeated Lyra Valkyria (Raw, August 17); Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez lost to Iyo Sky and Sol Ruca (Raw, August 10)

Seeking to avenge her loss to Big Sexy and regain the Women's Intercontinental Championship, Ruca started her match with Rodriguez red-hot, taking the fight to the champion and wiping her out at ringside. She applied the tarantula, too, but Rodriguez halted her momentum with a cross-body block on the arena floor.

The heel dominated the action from there until Ruca mounted a comeback. She fended off Rodriguez and even thwarted interference from Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez.

Unfortunately for her, Lyra Valkyria appeared, raked her eyes, and allowed Rodriguez to score the successful title defense with the Tejana Bomb.

The match itself was perfectly fine, if nothing more, but this was all about Valkyria's involvement and the escalation of her rivalry with Ruca. While this should move Ruca out of the IC title picture for the time being, expect a Triple Threat match to be announced sooner rather than later.

It was nice to see Ruca fired up and showing some intensity early on here. She has been so one-dimensional to this point in her main roster run that it would be nice to see her evolve her persona.

Last Time in Action: Chad Gable defeated Rey Mysterio (Raw, August 17)

Intercontinental champion Chad Gable hit the ring for a promo and credited the Mexican people for their role in his title reign. He said he planned to have a role on Raw's show in Mexico City and gave props to Dragon Lee.

That brought out the masked luchador, but before he could see much of anything, "All Ego" Ethan Page interrupted and staked his claim to a shot at the title. Gable said he has a list of guys who should have a title shot, but Page is nowhere near the top.

Lee and Page exchanged insults and Gable offered an IC title shot to the winner of a match right here, right now.

This was a formulaic segment designed to set up a match that could have been a backstage segment or a pre-taped segment. With that said, it was nice to see these three guys get mic time on Monday night, as opposed to the normal handful of Superstars allowed that time.

The idea of Gable vs. Lee in Mexico is mighty appealing and something the latter has earned based on his in-ring performances of late.

Page feels like he has taken a significant step back creatively in recent months and that is a shame for a guy with potential to be a top heel on this show.

Last Time in Action: Dragon Lee lost to Rey Fenix (Raw, August 24); Ethan Page lost to Je'Von Evans (Raw, August 3)

With a championship opportunity against Gable at stake, Lee and Page battled in a competitive match that escalated with a dive that sent All Ego across the commentary table at ringside.

Lee tried for a second dive, but Page caught him in the face, stunning him. He sent him into an exposed turnbuckle and looked to have the match won, but the referee noticed it and refused to count.

The luchador recovered and delivered Enter the Dragon for the win.

This was a solid match that got a little too cute late when it really could have been a clean win for Lee. Still, the right guy went over to set up a big match with Gable in Mexico, a match that will have all of the potential in the world to steal the show.

WWE loves that exposed turnbuckle spot right now. This was not the first time we have seen it in recent weeks.

A big win for Lee. He has the potential to be the type of Superstar who can build momentum and get over on his abilities alone.

Last Time in Action: Roman Reigns defeated Seth Rollins (SummerSlam, August 2)

The OTC took to the squared circle to address the WWE Universe and what he perceives as a lack of respect from the likes of Solo Sikoa and LA Knight.

Before he could go any further, the latter interrupted him, staring the World Heavyweight Champion down from the top of the ramp.

Knight accused Reigns of recycling material from three years ago and said he thought the Tribal Chief was better than that. "I've been calling your name for months, and all you have done is put your family and tournaments that you know I can't enter between us."

The Megastar joined Reigns in the center of the ring. Before anything physical could occur, cameras caught a bloodied Solo Sikoa backstage, with producers and officials checking on him.

Knight left the ring to check on him but caught a cheap shot from Reigns.

Unfortunately, this did feel exactly like Knight referred to it as: recycled. It felt like plenty of segments we have seen before, with the Sikoa attack sprinkled in to keep it relevant to the overarching story.

Knight is on fire right now and is clearly feeling himself in this latest flirtation with the main event. As he should.

Je'Von Evans vs. Dominik Mysterio; Evans and Joe Hendry vs. Mysterio and JD McDonagh

Last Time in Action: Je'Von Evans lost to Big Cass (Raw, August 24) ; Dominik Mysterio lost to Dragon Lee (Raw, August 10)

The match between Evans and Mysterio was short-lived as interference from JD McDonagh, just as the babyface was gaining momentum, resulted in a disqualification.

As the heels beat down Evans, Joe Hendry's music played, and the former NXT champion hit the ring to make the save. Infuriated by the chaos that had reigned supreme tonight, general manager Adam Pearce appeared and ordered a tag team match.

Hendry received a hot tag and fired up on his opponents, taking the fight to them and even flying through the air to wipe The Judgment Day out at ringside.

Unfortunately for the Scottish-born competitor, his momentum would not last as McDonagh downed him with a headbutt and Mysterio pinned him to pick up the win.

A perfectly solid match that did nothing of note to further any ongoing stories and if anything, was detrimental to Evans, who is still reeling from his loss to Big Cass last week.

Evans defeated Mysterio via disqualification;

The "singles match turns into a tag team match" is a lazy booking choice of a bygone era. It felt like microcosm of this show, for the most part.

Don't look now, but Mysterio actually won a match in this back half of 2026.

Backstage, Becky Lynch and Stephanie Vaquer engaged in a tense exchange. For the love of all that is good, can we just get this match in all of its glory already?

Paul Heyman Previews Oba Femi vs. Bron Breakker

A video package hyped the match-up between Oba Femi and Bron Breakker on Sunday Night's Main Event, airing live on Peacock this weekend, before Cathy Kelley caught up with Paul Heyman backstage.

The Wise Man said that the match is being billed as "for the future of WWE," which begs the question: what becomes of the loser of that match?

Still one of the best talkers in the industry, he did as much to put over the implications of the match as anything the creative team had to that point.

Rather than selling it based on two big, bad, young stars of the future, he sold the emotional impact it could have on the man who comes up short. A great promo.

Quite literally everything would be better with Heyman providing his viewpoint on it.

World Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Final: Penta vs. Rey Fenix

Last Time in Action: Penta, Rey Fenix, and Dragon Lee defeated Los Perros del Mal (AAA Ola de Calor, August 30)

The Lucha Brothers exploded in the main event of Monday's show as Penta and Fenix squared off for the chance to challenge Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship on September 14 in Mexico City.

A high-energy battle saw the elder sibling control the bout early and often, but a moonsault press by Fenix brought the AAA Cruiserweight Champion back into the match.

Penta attempted a sunset flip powerbomb, but Fenix landed on his feet. He further stunned his brother by kicking out of the Penta Driver at two.

Frustrated, Penta drove Fenix through the announce table, but was still unable to put him down for three. He added the Sacrifice, seemingly dislocating Fenix's arm. When the younger competitor urged him to put him down, Penta charged at him and nearly lost via hurricanrana.

Penta recovered and delivered the Mexican Destroyer for the win.

After the match, Reigns joined Penta in the ring and came face-to-face with the babyface, raising his title high overhead and being met with the "cero miedo" from his new No. 1 contender.

Sure, this felt rather subdued compared to other matches between the two but it was still excellent and had fans in Cleveland hanging on every spot. The pacing was great, escalating until the action-packed finale.

The right guy went over, but this entire tournament was a wake-up call for the rest of WWE to stop sleeping on Fenix.

This was a one-match show for the most part, and that match did not disappoint. Penta and Fenix tore the house down in the marquee match of the night, highlighting their immense talent and proving why they were the right two to compete for the title opportunity.

The main event elevated this one significantly. It was that good. The rest of the show, outside of the phenomenal Jacob Fatu promo, was rather lethargic and did little to drum up excitement for Sunday's Main Event.

It was a show that existed for the sake of it, with strong follow-up from Keys and OTM, but nothing much else.