Despite a loaded card and heavy promotional push towards Friday's Greatest Royal Rumble show in Saudi Arabia, fans still aren't quite sure whether the card will play out more like a live event special on the WWE Network or something more akin to WrestleMania. Monday night's episode of Raw, which served as a de facto go-home show, sadly offered very little in terms of raising the bar of anticipation as WWE delivered a largely hit-or-miss affair, including a relatively dull opening segment between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.  

The three-hour show did have its moments, of course, and heated up mid-stride with a series of fast-moving segments. But very few of the actual Greatest Royal Rumble feuds or matches were given much attention or expansion in terms of storylines. And even a run-in from Ronda Rousey in the main event couldn't fully overcome some of the curious decision making that went into WWE agreeing to present the Greatest Royal Rumble card to begin with. 

Not only is the show running oddly close to WrestleMania, the shameless duplication of the Royal Rumble name in the title (including an inaugural 50-man Rumble match with nothing at stake but a trophy) screams of a money grab. Even worse, a closer look at the stacked card reveals the sore thumb of women not being allowed to compete in the host country.  

While WWE did its best to hide that fact by booking women into the main event of Raw on Monday, it's a clear step backward for the company's principles and a reality that was conveniently not explained to the viewers at home.

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Ronda Rousey saves Natalya  

Mickie James, Alexa Bliss and The Riott Squad faced off against Nia Jax, Natalya, Ember Moon, Bayley and Sasha Banks In a 10-woman tag match in the main event, one designed to showcase the depth of the Raw women's division. The heels took the upperhand late following a chop block from Logan that left Natalya favoring her knee in a manner which was staged to look as real. James escalated matters further by dropkicking Natalya out of the ring after she made a tag, which forced referee John Cone to call for help backstage.  

Jax came in to clean house, which triggered a brawl between members of both teams. After action spilled to the floor, Jax hit a running splash from the ring apron onto members of both teams. But James left the side of an ailing Bliss to run over and take another cheap shot on Natalya's knee. Out came Rousey to rescue her friend. James hit a baseball slide dropkick from behind to anger Rousey. The former UFC champion then countered James' attack into an armbar, which triggered a disqualification loss for the babyfaces and an instant tap out from James.

Rousey didn't just make a storyline save of Natalya, she rescued what was on pace to be a third straight Raw closer since WrestleMania featuring a multi-person match that felt nothing more than a glorified house show main event. Rousey once again looked and acted the part of a star, although it remains unclear what her next feud will look like after beating down Sonya DeVille and James in consecutive weeks. Grade: B 

Roman Reigns faces off with Brock Lesnar 

Lesnar, the universal champion, made his first appearance since re-signing with WWE after WrestleMania 34. It was a topic that Paul Heyman gloated about, along with referencing the "non-PG era elbow smashes" that Lesnar used to scar up Reigns' face. Heyman then said the odds are stacked more against Reigns inside a cage at Greatest Royal Rumble on Friday than they were for WrestleMania. "You are stepping into a cage against the greatest fighter in the history of the Brocktagon," Heyman said. 

A group of what appeared to be planted fans chanted Reigns' name in unison as the camera panned, drawing a reaction from Heyman. Finally, Reigns came out and stared Lesnar down in the center of the ring. He finally spoke up: "I don't know how I'm going to get back, but I do know one thing, St. Louis: I'm coming home with that title. And you can believe that." 

Talk about a weak way to hype up a match very few fans even want. If the Reigns' fans were a plant in hopes of artificially garnering boos for Lesnar than it's an attempt of desperation from WWE creative that feels like a new low. In the end, Reigns' said absolutely nothing in his awkward promo and the two never put their hands on each other. Outside of Heyman delivering as expected on the microphone, this segment did nothing to raise excitement ahead of Friday and exposed a complete lack of ideas to advance the overall story any further. Grade: D+ 

Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre make a statement 

The new heel duo teamed up for a tag team match against Titus Worldwide, whom they attacked last week. The crisp double teaming was evident from the start as McIntyre picked up Apollo Crews by the legs so Ziggler could super kick him, only for McIntyre to hit an Alabama Slam immediately after. The brief match ended shortly after as Ziggler hit a ZigZag just as McIntyre connected with a Claymore to lay out Crews.  

McIntyre cut a stirring promo after saying he's especially dangerous to a locker room that has gone soft. He sees no fire, only people collecting paychecks and believes he is everything that a superstar looks like and sounds like, with the credentials to back it up. "I'm not what WWE wants," McIntyre said. "I'm the wake-up call and reality check that this place desperately needs." Ziggler added that they "don't give a damn about stealing the show because this right here is the show." 

This is how you present a pair of heels as incredibly cool and dangerous. In fact, this was near perfection. Not only is their double finisher about as destructive a tag team move in WWE today, the promo from McIntyre felt edgy and different. Whether McIntyre ends up serving as simply the muscle for Ziggler (a la Diesel to Shawn Michaels) or the duo competes for the Raw tag team titles, these two have collective star power in spades. Grade: A-

What else happened on Raw? 

  • Elias def. Bobby Roode via pinfall: Elias' in-ring concert was interrupted before it even began by Roode's music. The two-segment match which followed saw Elias deftly roll out of the ring after getting hit with a blockbuster from the second rope. When he returned, he caught Roode's throat on the top rope and rolled him up for the 1-2-3.   
  • Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy def. The Ascension via pinfall: A pre-match promo saw Wyatt welcome Hardy to the darkside by saying "there can be no light together, we will cast a shadow that will engulf all living things." After Viktor hit a cartwheel to avoid Hardy, "The Woken One" called it "wonderful" and teased the crowd into giving it an odd standing ovation. The match ended when Wyatt blocked Konnor's attempt at interference by hitting his Sister Abigail. He then joined Hardy to land a double Twist of Fate on Viktor for the finish.  
  • Kurt Angle joins The Sami & Kevin Show: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens debuted their new in-ring talk show by doing karaoke to Angle's "you suck" theme song refrain and unfolding a lawn chair for him to sit on. The heels traded insults with Angle, referencing how desperate the Raw general manager was to keep his job to feed his five kids. "See, there's your mistake," Owens said. "You forgot Jason Jordan." Zayn replied, "That's no mistake. For years, Kurt kind of forgot about him, too." Angle said that not only will he repay them at Friday's 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match, so will Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho "and every other superstar you have endeared over the years." Angle then booked a tag team match for later tonight.  
  • Seth Rollins, Finn Balor take hard pass on Miztourage offer: Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel interrupted Rollins in the locker room to mention how they said goodbye to The Miz last week "and hello to their futures." The reveal that both were wearing Rollins' T-shirt under their jackets wasn't enough to sway him into teaming up, however. Neither was Dallas saying they could be the new Shield. After Axel attempted to put out his fist, Rollins countered with, "Sorry boys, it's going to be a hard no." They tried the same move on Balor later, wearing his T-shirt and offering a "too sweet" hand gesture that was similarly denied.  
  • Chad Gable def. Jinder Mahal via pinfall: After Gable thanked Angle backstage for bringing him to Raw as a singles competitor, Mahal interrupted to complain about losing his United States title to Jeff Hardy last week, and he followed by insulting Gable. A suddenly babyface Gable called him out and Angle booked an instant match between them. Gable countered The Khallas by walking up the turnbuckles and falling backward to steal the pin.  
  • Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley def. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn via pinfall: After using classic tag team psychology to build heat and prevent the hot tag, Owens & Zayn welcomed a hurricane once Strowman finally tagged in. "The Monster Among Men" hit a pair of tremendous shoulder tackles on Owens outside the ring and clotheslined Zayn on the inside. He then hit a missile dropkick onto the floor against KO. After Lashley prevented Zayn from escaping up the ramp, both hit their finishing move on him with Strowman getting the pin after a running powerslam.
  • Baron Corbin ambushes No Way Jose: A match between the two never became a reality. After Jose's dancing entrance, a disgusted Corbin interrupted to tell him, "Jose, you just aren't on my level" and left to go backstage. Jose continued to party, but when he reached the top of the ramp, Corbin ran out to clothesline him. A handful of stomps and a chokeslam backbreaker later left Jose down and out.   
  • Alexa Bliss cuts faux public service announcement: Looking solemn with the words "A Moment of Bliss" behind her, the former Raw women's champion cautioned how bullies work in silence and need to be outed. She then told a story about giving food to a homeless woman only to see Jax take it and "gobble it down" in front of her. "I'll never forget the sound of Nia just laughing and chewing," Bliss said. "And I did nothing and I'm going to have to live with that for the rest of my life." 
  • Seth Rollins & Finn Balor def. The Miztourage: This turned out to be every bit the virtual squash it looked to be coming in. Rollins hit a stomp on Curtis Axel and tagged in Balor for the Coup de Grace and the 1-2-3.