One of the least entertaining and most uneventful episodes of Raw in quite some time was held Monday night in Milwaukee, where despite two titles being contested on the show, one could not help but wonder why WWE's booking was so uninspired and boring despite the potential its roster provides. The intercontinental championship was defended in an open challenge format that provided the opportunity for a surprising challenger; instead we got the man who has faced Rollins the most frequently over the last six months.

There was one key development in the women's division but even that came with a sour note as the segment it led to was an absolute disaster. All in all, this was one of the worst editions of Raw that WWE has put on since WrestleMania 34, and that is saying something because there have been a number of duds -- including just last week.

Let's take a look at what went down -- and everything that went wrong -- on Raw.

Welcome to the Baron Corbin Show

Raw began with Corbin, the interim general manager, in the ring with Bobby Lashley (now going by "The Almighty," wearing a leather vest with glasses) and Drew McIntyre. Corbin claimed that he would get the permanent role soon and remember who sided with him in his battle to the top. He then welcomed in Braun Strowman -- live via satellite from Birmingham, Alabama -- who showed off a gruesome elbow and announced he would be on the shelf for "a few weeks." Strowman guaranteed he would get back to 100 percent and make everyone pay for last week's attack. Corbin then announced that the match was on no matter what for TLC, noting Strowman would have to forfeit if he cannot wrestle, thus making Corbin permanent GM.

Bobby Lashley def. Elias via pinfall (No Disqualification): Elias interrupted the opening segment to say Corbin was a terrible GM and make fun of Lashley ahead of their match. Elias looked to get the 1-2-3 after an elbow drop from the top rope, but Lio Rush pulled the referee out of the ring, leading to a disqualification. Corbin restarted the match under no DQ rules. Elias grabbed his guitar but was immediately attacked by all three men; he was drilled with a chair and hit with a slightshot face-first into the steel steps. Lashley then ran around the ring and speared Elias in homage to Strowman before rolling him into the ring and pinning Elias with one knee.

Backstage in a selfie promo, Balor said he had come to a decision that he had no choice but to stand up to Corbin and take control of his career. Balor and Corbin were booked for the main event -- despite it being a match we've seen dozens of times recently -- and that went off the rails, too.

Drew McIntyre & Baron Corbin def. Finn Balor via pinfall: After dominating most of the long match, Balor appeared to have Corbin beat, but Corbin avoided a Coup de Grace, grabbed a microphone and suddenly announced that it was now a handicap match. Out came McIntyre, who recovered quickly after Balor welcomed him with a tope con hilo. Moments later, McIntyre took out Balor outside the ring and hit him with the Claymore for the win. Lashley's music hit after the match, and he hit him with the Yokosuka cutter. Corbin then hit Balor with End of Days, and McIntyre added another Claymore.

The crowd didn't even boo; it just sat there surprised at the ridiculousness of the booking. It makes sense for Corbin to be abusing his authority and destroying faces with the thought that Strowman will return at TLC, squash Corbin and get over huge. But to book an entire episode of Raw around Corbin, Lashley and McIntyre -- three heels who have nothing in common and no real reason to be working together -- taking out Elias and Balor is just lazy. We will clearly get a meaningless tag team match next week and then probably a six-man tag before TLC. Grade: D

Alexa Bliss takes control

After kissing up to Corbin backstage for doing a great job laying down the law on Raw, Bliss offered her help in any way possible. Corbin, noting how busy he is running the entire show, offered her the opportunity to take over the entire Raw women's division, which Bliss immediately accepted. Bliss later tried to make nice with Sasha Banks and Bayley, offering them a chance to do a Q&A with the WWE universe in the middle of the ring later in the show.

In that segment, Bliss started by praising herself and trying but failing to drive a wedge between Banks & Bayley. After just one question from a planted audience member to which neither Banks nor Bayley had a good response, Mickie James, Alicia Fox and Dana Brooke attacked Banks & Bayley from behind, knocking them off their directors chairs. Banks & Bayley quickly cleaned house to end a segment.

Well, that was stupid. Literally just last night on the Starrcade broadcast, Brooke was a face teaming with Banks & Bayley. Bliss being put into this role is smart as she is sidelined indefinitely with concussion concerns, but she used her new power to ... have Banks & Bayley attacked from behind for no reason and have the attackers fail at doing so? What is exactly the point of that when there's already a heel trio in the Riott Squad who did the exact same thing inside of the same hour on the show? Grade: D

What else happened on Raw?

  • Dean Ambrose gets immunized: In a promo taped while sitting in a doctor's office, Ambrose railed on the fans and their disgusting nature, saying he decided he needed a full gamut of immunizations before appearing on another Raw. With six shots already in his shoulder, Ambrose pulled down his pants to take a long needle and ripped Seth Rollins. "There is no shower that can wash away your sins, and there is no medicine that can sure the sickness in your soul. You're a lost cause, compadre," he said. This was far better than his promo last week.
  • Lucha House Party def. The Revival via pinfall: The Revival excused their loss last week for not understanding "lucha house rules;" after promising to win this match under regular rules, it was again announced the match would be contested under the three-on-two format. It did not take long for LHP to use the rules to their advantage, hit their finishers and win.
  • Nia Jax traps Ronda Rousey but actually does nothing: Jax, alongside Tamina Snuka, cut promos on Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey, joking about knocking out Lynch and Rousey's career being in a downturn since they fought the first time.Jax claimed she was the top of the mountain, which brought a smiling Rousey out to loud chants. Rousey told Jax that she has been lucky on a number of occasions, but her luck had run out. Rousey promised to rip Jax's arm off and slap Charlotte Flair across the face with it as chants began again. Rousey challenged Jax immediately, but Jax denied her and began rambling on purpose. That's when Snuka stepped behind Rousey, which led Natalya's music to hit. However, as Natlaya ran down to the ring, she was attacked at ringside by the Riott Squad. Rousey ran out to save her and the segment ended. Why do the Riott Squad hate Natalya all of a sudden, and why would Jax have them planted in this scenario when Snuka could have just taken out Rousey with her?
  • Raw Tag Team Championship -- AOP (c) def. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable via pinfall to retain the titles: Before the match, manager Drake Maverick promised Roode & Gable would feel the fear he did from Big Show when he pissed his pants. When the match began, Maverick stole Roode's robe, took it backstage, placed it in a toilet and urinated on it. This was shown in the arena in the middle of the match while Roode & Gable had the upper hand. Distracted, Roode got thrown into Gable, who got knocked off the apron; AOP then hit their elevated powerbomb finisher. This actually sounds worse than it was as Maverick whistling Roode's theme music while peeing was a nice touch.
  • Ember Moon def. Alicia Fox via pinfall | Jinder Mahal def. No Way Jose via pinfall: With Curt Hawkins in her corner (?), Moon hit the Eclipse and beat Foxy. Then No Way Jose's music hit and a conga line ran ringside. After the commercial, Mahal had some problems with Jose but eventually hit The Khallas for the win.
  • Intercontinental Championship -- Seth Rollins (c) def. Dolph Ziggler via pinfall to retain the title: With Ambrose not in the arena, Rollins announced he was getting back to what he does best -- being a fighting champion. There were rumors about who would answer Rollins's open challenge, but the fact that it was Ziggler was completely an eye-roll considering how often we've seen this match recently. That said, the match was great. Ziggler got a near-fall with a famouser and twice avoided a Stomp from Rollins, the second time countering into a Zig-Zag for another two count. The match got a light "this is awesome" chant as Ziggler gave up on attempting a superkick with Rollins unable to stand. Ziggler taunted him, so Rollins rolled him up in an inside cradle for a 2.8 count. Ziggler setup for a maneuver from the top rope, but Rollins pounced, hitting the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for a rare non-finisher 1-2-3.