WWE Raw Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights After SNME

CM Punk opened Monday's WWE Raw, the first since a blockbuster Saturday Night's Main Event, ready to address Seth Rollins' comments about him from last week's show.

The latest appearance from The Straight Edge Superstar headlined a broadcast that also saw the intercontinental and tag team titles up for grabs and the latest in the Women's Intercontinental Championship Tournament.

What went down, who built momentum as 2024 nears its close, and what did it mean for the top feuds and rivalries in WWE?

Find out with this recap of the December 16 broadcast at TD Garden in Boston.

Announced in advance of Monday's show:

• CM Punk promo to start the show
• Seth Rollins promo
• The latest from The New Day
• Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Ludwig Kaiser
• World Tag Team Championship: The War Raiders vs. Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh (c)
• Women's Intercontinental Championship Tournament Triple Threat match: Kayden Carter vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Zoey Stark

A thunderous reaction from the fans greeted CM Punk as he hit the ring at the top of Monday's show.

The Best in the World addressed Seth Rollins early and often, taking shots at him in an attempt to draw him out and into the arena. It worked, eventually, as Rollins appeared in the audience and returned fire.

The result was a chaotic brawl around the arena that ended only when referees, producers and security separated the competitors.

The feud between the two has been steadily ramping up, not in preparation for a WrestleMania showdown or even a Royal Rumble battle but rather the first episode of Raw on Netflix on January 6.

There is no way to sustain this kind of heat all the way to the Rumble on February 1 or beyond. Maybe the two clash on the Rumble or WrestleMania 41 stage, but this is a big-money matchup with plenty of intrigue to help drive viewers to that first broadcast on the new streaming home of Raw.

The content of the promo had enough buzzwords to draw "oos" and "ahhs" from the audience, and the brawl was spectacularly shot and executed.

A great opening segment that makes Punk vs. Rollins as hot as any program in WWE right now.

Grade

A+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• "Just because you grew up idolizing me, putting on a pair of wrestling boots does not make you CM Punk," The Straight Edge Superstar said.
• "You belong in the audience with the rest of the CM Punk fans," Punk said as The Visionary made his way through the audience.
• "This 'fan'...he's got more WrestleMania main events than you ever will. That's a fact, Phil," Rollins said.

• Backstage, tensions continued to mount within The Judgment Day as Finn Bálor took exception to his teammates not having his back Saturday night in his World Heavyweight Championship match against Gunther and Damian Priest.

Ludwig Kaiser again stepped up to the plate, challenging Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Championship in one of two title bouts on Monday's show.

The German controlled the match, capitalizing on a self-inflicted shoulder injury and forcing the champion on the defensive. For the majority of the match, it appeared as though the second-generation competitor's second reign with the gold may be nearing an end.

Resiliency allowed him to fight his way back into the match, though, and his Super Spear finisher gave him the come-from-behind win.

This was another strong contest between these two, who have repeatedly demonstrated above-average in-ring chemistry in show-stealing matches. Breakker's selling here was phenomenal, and Kaiser continues to grow with every in-ring appearance.

Breakker winning was the right call, but it's only a matter of time before Triple H and the creative team have to find a defining moment for Kaiser, who has exceeded expectations and proved himself a face of WWE's future.

Result

Breakker defeated Kaiser to retain the title

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Breakker took Kaiser over the announce table and immediately began nursing his left shoulder. It was a convincing sell, too, as it appeared he may have been hurt legitimately. It was a quality sell job by Breakker, who has been working on that element of his in-ring performance.
• Kaiser and Breakker have chemistry far greater than anyone could have imagined before their series of main roster matchups.

• Backstage, Rey Mysterio told The New Day that no one wants them in the locker room after the way they treated Big E and suggested they find somewhere else to change. 

Backstage, Raw general manager Adam Pearce told interviewer Cathy Kelley that Punk vs. Rollins will headline the Raw debut on Netflix.

In the arena, women's world champion Liv Morgan, Dominik Mysterio and Raquel Rodriguez made their way to the ring for a promo that was cut short by Rhea Ripley, who revealed she is the No. 1 contender for her rival's title.

The segment transitioned right into the Women's Intercontinental Championship Tournament Triple Threat match pitting Rodriguez against Zoey Stark and Kayden Carter.

Carter launched herself through the ropes and onto her opponents, wrestling control of the match away from them entering the commercial break. She remained in charge after the break, using innovative offense to keep Rodriguez and Stark on the defensive.

Late in the match, Rodriguez fended Carter off and set her up for the Tejana Bomb. Instead, Stark came from nowhere to deliver a missile dropkick that eliminated the physically dominant competitor from the equation. She added the G360 for the upset win.

The finish was anything but smooth, but Stark winning was a nice surprise and sets her up to battle Dakota Kai in the semifinals.

Result

Stark defeated Rodriguez and Carter to advance

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Morgan used a bullhorn to taunt the crowd by calling herself the greatest women's world champion ever. That could be a fun introduction to her act if used right.
• Backstage, a brawl between Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn interrupted Jackie Redmond's attempt to get a few words from Rollins. 
• The Miz tried to escape from the rule of Karrion Kross and The Final Testament. It didn't work. Instead, Kross revealed The A-Lister will battle Dexter Lumis of The Wyatt Sicks next week on Raw.

Before the match, a teaser aired in which a zero was prominently featured before turning into a "no" sign.

It was presumably the first hint at the arrival of Penta El Zero Miedo.

In the night's main event, The Judgment Day's Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh defended the World Tag Team Championship against The War Raiders in a match where the other Judgment Day minions were barred from ringside.

The champions controlled the pace throughout, even thwarting the late-match fury of the challengers. But Ivar broke up a pinfall off of Bálor's Coup de Grace to keep his team's title aspirations in check.

As Bálor attempted to grab a chair to utilize on the challengers at ringside, Damian Priest came from nowhere to grab the weapon from him. The distraction allowed the challengers to take advantage and deliver War Machine for the pinfall victory.

The bout was quite good, with some solid in-ring chemistry between the teams and a fun sequence or two down the stretch. The idea of Priest and Bálor continuing their rivalry may not be appealing to those who think it's run its course, but its presentation here was fresh enough that it worked.

The question now is whether Triple H can successfully book a pair of babyface tag champions for the long term or if Erik and Ivar ultimately lose the titles to set up the chase.

Result

War Raiders defeated The Judgment Day to win the titles

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, Jackie Redmond brushed off The New Day to capture Pure Fusion Collective assaulting Kairi Sane, slamming her hand in an anvil case. 
• Commentator Joe Tessitore put over Ivar's New England roots, giving the challenger's pursuit of the titles more gravity and backstory than anything that preceded it in the rivalry. 
• How does anyone survive a McDonagh headbutt? Have you seen that thing? It's a cannonball on a neck.

From the red-hot start to the show featuring Punk and Rollins all the way through the main event, the hype for Raw's debut on Netflix was off the charts.

That debut episode is being promoted on the level of WWE's top premium live events, and the result will likely be one of the biggest, best and more important episodes in the near-32-year history of the show.

We already have Punk vs. Rollins and Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa announced for the show, and all of the storyline potential that goes along with them, and there is also the potential for Ripley vs. Morgan being added along with the numerous high-profile stars teased for the show.

Not everything was great Monday night, but it was far more good than bad, with a recognizable endgame. That's good enough for a positive grade.

Grade: B+