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It may have taken more than an hour to get warmed up, but the go-home episode of Monday Night Raw turned up the intensity just enough in select feuds to survive an otherwise inconsistent flow just six days out from WrestleMania 33.  

A non-sanctioned match between Triple H and Seth Rollins became official for Sunday as things continued to escalate in an entertaining direction. The same can be said for the Roman Reigns-Undertaker feud, which benefitted from a near heel-like swerve from “The Big Dog.” 

As the closing credits hit, Goldberg was the last man standing, moments after connecting with a spear on Brock Lesnar to tease what could be the main event this weekend.

Let’s look back on what happened on Raw and what it means entering WrestleMania 33.

Be sure to stay with CBS Sports the entire week as we go in-depth on WrestleMania 33 live from Orlando.  

WWE Raw results 

In-ring confrontation -- Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax: Their fatal 4-way match at WrestleMania for Bayley’s championship was given the stipulation of being an elimination match. Charlotte worked hard to continue stirring up strife in the friendship of Bayley and Banks, making a case that Banks is using her to get a title shot. Banks eventually attacked Flair as a brief brawl between all four ensued. 

Bayley & Sasha Banks def. Charlotte Flair & Nia Jax via pinfall: Lots of time was given to Flair and Banks to further their individual rivalry. After multiple false starts, Banks’ eventual hot tag saw Bayley clean house. In the end, Bayley blocked a big boot from Flair and hit her Bayley-to-Belly finisher for the win. Afterwards, Jax took out Bayley and Banks before posing with the title. 

Backstage -- Sami Zayn and Stephanie McMahon: Zayn entered himself in Sunday’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and dedicated it to recently fired general manager Mick Foley. McMahon, the Raw commissioner, interrupted him, saying things are different now and he will need to earn his spot by defeating Kevin Owens tonight in a no disqualification match. If Zayn loses, McMahon said he will join Foley in the unemployment line. 

McMahon’s threat of such a harsh punishment felt a bit disingenuous due to the fact that there was no chance Zayn would lose under these circumstances. At the same time, it was good to see the synergy of her not forgetting from last week that Zayn had acted insolently to his employer.

Austin Aries def. Noam Dar via submission: With angry WWE cruiserweight champion Neville on commentary, Aries hit a pair of running discus forearms and his submission move, Last Chancery, to force Dar to tap. Aries and Neville stared down from a distance after the match.  

Contract signing -- Triple H and Seth Rollins: Rollins limped to the ring with a crutch and was forced to sign a “hold harmless agreement,” which ensured WWE and Triple H could not be held liable for what happens to Rollins in a non-sanctioned match on Sunday. Triple H delivered a lengthy promo about the lifestyle Rollins gave up by listening to the fans and leaving The Authority. Rollins said it was never about “fame, fortune, money or power … this is about redemption.” After Rollins signed the paperwork, Triple H attacked his injured knee. Before he could connect on a Pedigree, Rollins hit a backdrop to send Triple H over the top rope and soon after nailed him with the crutch to force him into retreat. 

Over-the-top-rope challenge: Despite the rules of this match never properly being communicated, Big Show stood strong in the end by eliminating a series of mid-card superstars in succession. In a match that was more Royal Rumble than traditional battle royal, attempting to preview Sunday’s match, Big Show got revenge by clearing out the ring after a group of seven wrestlers teamed up to eliminate him. Braun Strowman then came out to threaten Big Show, ultimately preferring to wait until WrestleMania to take physical action.

This poorly conceived “match” was nothing but a cluster from the start, with no real rhyme or reason in terms of rules and no winner ultimately announced. Strowman’s comments appeared to reveal he will be part of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, although it’s fair to assume we may also seem him again during the Reigns-Undertaker match.

Backstage -- Roman Reigns: “I’m a grown man. I don’t read into signs. I don’t worry about mind games and I don’t believe in dead men. What I believe in is the big fight.” -- Reigns on The Undertaker.  

Backstage -- tag team turmoil: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson viciously attacked Cesaro and Sheamus during an interview, using a piece of wood and a ladder to take out both.  

Neville def. Jack Gallagher via submission: Gallagher used both his stiff head butts and a rehashed spot involving an umbrella off the top rope to test Neville. But the heel champion turned a late superplex into his Rings of Saturn submission to force the tap. After the match, Aries interrupted Neville on the video screen by dancing with The New Day backstage during what was called an “AAN Special Report.” 

Confrontation -- Roman Reigns and The Undertaker: Regins drew early boos for saying he’s going to put The Deadman down at WrestleMania in “the biggest moment of my career.” The Undertaker’s gong blared before a video showed him digging Reigns’ grave with Taker saying, “The Roman Empire will fall and the ultimate thrill ride will be your last ride.” After the lights went out, Taker showed up standing behind Reigns, delivering his classic “rest in peace” line before summoning thunder by raising his arms and then lowering them to turn out the lights.

Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson: Amore and Cass cut a fun promo quoting Allen Iverson before the match. The bout never got started as Cesaro and Sheamus attacked The Club from behind with a ladder. With “E-C-W” chants pouring in from the Philadelphia crowd, Gallows and Anderson ended up turning the tables on both teams and standing tall following a melee.  

Someone must have been reading my recent critique as it was good to see Gallows and Anderson’s unforgivable weekly burial come to an end. Considering there’s no justification for having your tag team champions lose each week, this was well-received. Including the ladder was interesting as well though no stipulation was added to the WrestleMania match.

Backstage -- Kevin Owens: The former champion said he was never best friends with Chris Jericho and that Y2J was never his hero. “At WrestleMania, I’m not only taking his United States championship, I’m going to turn the ultimate thrill ride into Chris Jericho’s ultimate demise.” 

Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens by pinfall: Great action outside the ring in this no disqualification match as Zayn landed a Tope Con Hilo from the stage and Owens answered with a DDT onto the ring steps. Zayn rallied late with an exploder suplex that appeared to drop Owens on his head and a tornado DDT onto the floor. Samoa Joe’s attempt for a run-in was foiled by Jericho, who snuck up from behind to attack him. Zayn used the distraction to roll up Owens for the win. After the match, Jericho officially put Owens on the list for betraying their friendship.  

Great little match here with some big, physical spots. While it was created to get the Jericho-Owens feud over, Zayn continues to prove he is one of the most underutilized superstars on the roster.

Confrontation -- Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar and Goldberg: Heyman referred to Goldberg as a real-life superhero who deserves respect and admiration but said he will get “chewed up and spit out” by Lesnar. He then prayed for Goldberg in Hebrew before adding, “My client Brock Lesnar does not fear the spear because at WrestleMania on Sunday, Goldberg, you can’t survive the F5.” Goldberg’s music hit and he speared Lesnar on the floor with Lesnar selling a rib injury on his walk back up the ramp. Goldberg removed his shirt and celebrated in the ring with the universal championship as the show closed.   

WWE Raw grades 

Raw women’s championship fatal 4-way build: Bold move for WWE to give the entire first half hour of a WrestleMania go-home show to the build of a match that completely lacks buzz. The opening promo fell flat and featured poor acting, continuing the tease that Banks’ heel turn is coming. The match had its moments, however, and Bayley received a huge pop following the pin. Still not convinced the experiment of Bayley as champion has worked, which makes it easy to second guess whether a singles match between Flair and Banks would’ve been a better choice for Sunday. Grade: C+

Triple H and Seth Rollins contract signing: Great promo here from Triple H about living a ruthless and rich lifestyle was offset perfectly by Rollins’ response, which referenced his indie wrestling background. Rollins is clearly healthy enough in real life to have a match but he has sold the injuries perfectly just the same. Later in the show, a video package later highlighting their feud dripped with intensity, reminding how much Triple H’s disappearance from Raw last year hurt the product. Grade: A-

Cruiserweight championship build: It’s a shame WWE.com has this match listed as part of the kickoff show for Sunday as Neville and Aries have the potential to steal the show inside the ring. Their final showcase bouts on Monday were strong but unspectacular. But while Aries’ backstage dancing with The New Day was a fun moment, it came out of nowhere and made little sense. Even worse, it robbed from the heat and intensity of the feud. Grade: C+

Reigns and Taker face off again: While it’s hard to take seriously that WWE will actually follow through with it, the teases of a Reigns heel turn during this segment were incredibly well done. The overall lack of respect that Reigns has shown for The Undertaker, despite saying “with all due respect” plenty of times, has been intriguing. There were numerous ways to nit-pick The Undertaker’s video package, including his shill use of the WWE’s “ultimate thrill ride” tagline for WrestleMania (which is not at all consistent with his character’s personality) and the cheesy grave with Reigns’ name on it, but the overall segment worked. Grade: B+

Goldberg spears Lesnar: Heyman did strong work as always on the microphone to set things up and Goldberg delivered a stiff spear that Lesnar sold well. Seeing Goldberg once again dominate without facing any form of retribution leads one to believe this was his final moment in the sun and he’ll be doing plenty of selling come Sunday. Grade: B