Welcome to Bleacher Reports coverage and recap for the post-Day 1 edition of WWE Raw on January 3.
Following Brock Lesnar's shocking WWE Championship win on Saturday, Big E, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins fought to see who would get the next title shot.
After their tag team dissolved recently. Omos took on AJ Styles in the big man's first real test as a singles competitor.
We also saw Damian Priest defend the United States Championship against Dolph Ziggler in a rematch after their last encounter ended with the champion being disqualified.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Monday's Raw.
After his match with Roman Reigns was canceled on Saturday, Lesnar was inserted into the WWE Championship match. At the end of the night, The Beast was WWE champion once more.
The lights went out in the arena when we went live, and when they came back on, Paul Heyman was in the ring receiving a chorus of boos. He brought out Lesnar and indicated they are back together.
The Beast brought the steel steps into the ring and treated them like a stage he could stand on to be above everybody else. He gave Reigns a shoutout and called himself the real champion.
He asked the crowd to acknowledge him before he talked about Heyman and how he was the one who got him in the WWE title bout at Day 1. Heyman spoke about how he had to wheel and deal to make it happen before he talked about each opponent Lesnar defeated at the PPV.
The promo ended with Lesnar and Heyman finishing up without being interrupted by anyone.
Grade: B
Analysis
This was a decent way to open the show, especially since it reunited Heyman and Lesnar without making it into some drawn-out ordeal over the next several weeks.
Lesnar has been especially good since he recently returned. He would be just fine without Heyman but seeing them together just feels right.
It was a little longer than it needed to be, but overall, this was good. It might not be possible for Heyman to give a bad promo at this point.
Otis and Chad Gable ended up attacking Riddle and Randy Orton before a commercial break. When we returned, the tag match was already underway with Gable taking it to Riddle.
The Olympian scored a two-count with a tiger suplex before he began focusing on Riddle's leg. He and Otis kept The Bro isolated in their corner for a bit. Riddle was going to make a desperate tag, but gable yanked Orton off the apron.
The Bro hit Otis with a running knee but when he went for the RKO, Otis countered and dropped him with a big slam for the win.
Grade: B-
Analysis
Gable has grown into a good mic worker, especially in recent months. It has been a slow process but if you look at his promos now against where he was two years ago, it's a big difference.
This was much shorter than it should have been, but every second of the actual match was money. These two teams work well together and seeing Otis get a relatively clean win is always fun.
This will almost certainly lead to Alpha Academy receiving a title shot, possibly at The Royal Rumble. Had this been longer, it likely would have been the Match of the Night.
Reggie and Dana Brooke teamed up for a mixed tag match against Tamina and Akira Tozawa. Last week, R-Truth was in Tozawa's spot.
Reggie and Tozawa started with a quick exchange of counters and takedowns. Reggie avoided a running kick and he accidentally hit Tamina. She decked him in the face and allowed Reggie to pin him with a flipping senton.
Grade: D
Analysis
This was a match that happened. That is the nicest thing that can be said about this. Reggie and Tozawa tried to do something good at first, but it was over in about a minute and ended in the most anticlimactic way possible.
The women never being legal for a single second also made this whole thing a farce.
The women's tag titles were on the line this week when Queen Zelina and Carmella defended the belts against the former champions, Rhea Ripley and Nikki ASH.
Ripley and Zelina started for their teams. The size difference was very evident as soon as they squared off. Zelina slapped Ripley, so the Aussie slapped her back twice as hard.
The powerhouse hit a nice vertical suplex for a two-count before she brought Nikki into the ring. The Queen pulled her into the middle rope and beat her down to take control.
Zelina knocked Ripley off the apron before she rolled Nikki up for the win.
Grade: D+
Analysis
For some reason, this entire match took place without Carmella being the legal competitor for a single second. It was also a short match with only one or two good-looking moves, so that didn't help.
This is two bouts in a row that received less time and storyline development than the single promo segment we got from Becky Lynch before this match took place.
WWE has dropped the ball with the women's tag titles and the 24/7 Championship, especially over the last six months. It's kind of sad to see WWE regressing after spending several years making its women's division better.
Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez took on Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford in a tag team match, and surprisingly, Azeez started for his team against Ford.
The big man got in a few good hits and knocked Ford down with a shoulder block before hitting a body slam. Dawkins had to save his partner from being pinned. Both men ended up making the tag and Dawkins went right after Crews with a clothesline and a diving elbow.
He hit the Silencer but Azeez was right there to prevent a cover. He pulled Dawkins out of the ring but the Commander ended up getting shoved into the ring post. Ford made the tag and hit Crews with a massive frog splash for the win.
Grade: C
Analysis
This was another match that felt shorter than it should have been, but the little bit we got to see was fun and fast-paced, so it's hard to complain too much.
Ford's frog splash is a thing of beauty. Honestly, all four guys looked good here. They just needed a few more minutes to make this a must-see match.
Ziggler and Priest had a rematch for the U.S. title, but this time countouts and DQs would not prevent Priest from losing the belt.
The Showoff started with a slap to the face to incite Priest, but the champ was able to pull back so he did not get disqualified. Ziggler spiked him with a tornado DDT on the floor as we went to a break.
We returned to see Priest beginning to build some momentum. Ziggler countered the broken arrow and hit a running knee for a two-count.
The Archer of Infamy unloaded on the challenger with a flurry of kicks before dropping with a modified DDT for a near-fall. Robert Roode tripped Priest on the top rope while the ref was distracted and it led to Ziggler getting a close two-count.
Priest went after Roode and beat him down at ringside, but he got back in before he was counted out. He hit Roode with a chair and Ziggler took him down with the Zig Zag for a near-fall.
Priest got to his feet and blocked a superkick before hitting the Reckoning for the win.
Grade: A-
Analysis
This was a really good match with some creative spots from both competitors. If anything, this bout proved how underutilized Ziggler has been for the past few years.
Roode's interference was done perfectly for the story they were trying to tell, so it wasn't too egregious. In fact, he added to the match in a positive way.
This might end up being a Match of the Week candidate for some people as it allowed both men to show off the different skills they have developed.
Styles and Omos only broke up last week and they are already having their first singles match, so WWE clearly wants to rush this feud for some reason.
Styles ended up rolling out of the ring almost immediately to sucker Omos into an attack, but the big man ended up hitting a big boot to the face anyway.
Omos whipped Styles to the mat and he slid into the ring post. The Phenomenal One tried to take out his legs with some kicks. He set up for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Omos swatted him out of the air with one hand.
The giant picked Styles up and hit the two-handed chokeslam for the pin and the win.
Grade: C+
Analysis
This was not a five-star match or anything like that, but it was what it needed to be. WWE wants to push Omos and having him beat Styles decisively is going to go a long way.
The match itself had a slower pace than expected, but Styles was trying to sell for Omos, so he wasn't rushing to recover after every bump.
It will be interesting to see where this goes and how both men factor into the Royal Rumble match.
When the bell rang for the main event, Big E and Owens paired up while Lashley took Rollins out of the ring to take him out. The two powerhouses met back in the ring once they had dispatched their other rivals.
They started trading big shots before Lashley took the former WWE champion down with a clothesline. The All Mighty hit a vertical suplex before he turned his attention to KO.
Once Owens and Rollins started working together, they took control by dividing and conquering. They buried Lashley under part of the barricade and powerbombed Big E through the announce table.
We returned from a break to see KO and The Visionary still controlling the pace. E and Lashley decided to team up to take out their opponents and chased them out of the ring into the crowd.
They fought up to the concourse area where Big E slammed Owens through a merch table. We returned from the final break to see Rollins, Big E and Lashley fighting in an aisle before Owens jumped off a higher section of seating to take them all out.
They got Big E back to the ring and Owens hit a senton followed by Rollins with a frog splash, but the powerhouse kicked out. Lashley came in and helped clear Owens and Rollins from the ring for a moment. The All Might hit all three men with Spears to get the pin and the win.
Grade: A-
Analysis
This was a stellar main event with several standout moments. The most surprising thing about it was how Rollins and Owens never turned on each other. They each kept their word and tried to help the other win.
Big E and Lashley would make an awesome tag team, but they are just as good as opponents. Seeing them work together in short bursts has been great over the past few weeks.
Lashley vs. Lesnar is a dream match many thought we would never see, so this is the best outcome we could have gotten in this situation.
