WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Brock Lesnar, DX, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows return on season premiere

Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg and X-Pac were not the only familiar faces to return to WWE

The WWE Raw season premiere was a homecoming for a number of superstars. Brock Lesnar, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows all made surprise returns on Monday night; meanwhile, DeGeneration X returned for the group's 25th anniversary celebration.

Bobby Lashley, who entered the show as United States champion, has a bone to pick with Lesnar, who assaulted Lashley nine months after Lesnar was defeated for the WWE championship at Royal Rumble. The nefarious Seth Rollins took advantage of the chaos that Lesnar brings, capturing the U.S. championship and avoiding Lashley's immediate fury.

Gallows & Anderson returned to WWE after a two-and-a-half-year stint outside of the company, reuniting with AJ Styles against their fellow former friend Finn Balor. DX members Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg and X-Pac were all in the house to celebrate a quarter-century since the faction's formation.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Lashley fighting a war on two fronts

Lashley made his way to the ring for a U.S. championship defense against Rollins when he cut a promo reminding fans of the many superstars he has defeated, including Lesnar. Queue Lesnar, who made his first WWE appearance since losing to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam on July 30. Lesnar acknowledged Lashley with a "howdy!" before planting the U.S. champion with two F5s and snatching a Kimura Lock. 

Referees and other WWE officials attended to Lashley, and it appeared his scheduled U.S. title match was in jeopardy. Rollins, visibly sporting injuries from his Fight Pit match against Matt Riddle at Extreme Rules, entered the ring. Rollins implored Lashley to be the fighting champion he claimed to be. Rollins got under Lashley's skin by suggesting the champion, a former solider, was an embarrassment to the military and his country. Against the advice of ringside officials, Lashley agreed to an immediate title match.

U.S. Championship -- Seth Rollins def. Bobby Lashley (c) via pinfall to win the title after landing a pair of Stomps. Rollins immediately went on the offense against a terribly compromised Lashley. The champion showed incredible durability and fortitude in kicking out of near falls after a Pedigree and frog splash. Rollins' injured ribs slowed him enough for Lashley to hit a spear, but it was not enough to secure the victory. Lashley succumbed to the damage he suffered from Lesnar, ate two Stomps and relinquished his U.S. championship. Byron Saxton caught up with Lashley backstage. Lashley assured that he would get to Rollins after dealing with Lesnar. The former U.S. champion challenged Lesnar to meet him next week on Raw.

Styles gets some backup

Earlier in the evening, Balor and The Judgement Day gave Styles an ultimatum. Balor, after weeks of coercing Styles to join the group, wanted a firm answer from his old friend. Balor insisted Styles was either with or against Judgement Day. Styles feigned fealty to Balor, telling his fellow Bullet Club alumnus that he needed friends before bending the knee, shaking Balor's hand and hugging him, seemingly accepting a role in Judgement Day.

Instead, the "friends" Styles was referring to were actually a returning Gallows & Anderson. The O.C. officially reunited on Raw 30 months after they were released by WWE. The trio brawled with Judgement Day members Balor, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio. The O.C. got the upper hand and sent the villainous group packing.

Degenerate into something, fool

Raw opened with a reunion between DX members Triple H, Michaels, Dogg and X-Pac. Triple H, who was busy producing the show Raw, warned his Kliq to watch their language and avoid mentioning their unmentionables. This was a call-back to a 1997 segment where Triple H and Michaels mocked a legitimate letter from WWE's network partners to tone down the group's language and subject matter. Jokes about choking the chicken were made.

DX closed out the show in style. Directly following the main event, they arrived in a cannon-equipped Jeep. The quartet handed out glowsticks to the crowd before hitting the ring. X-Pac took a moment to acknowledge their late DX member Chyna. Dogg put a twist on his regular microphone schtick, calling the group "DeGeriatric X" and allowing the crowd to acknowledge current AEW performer Billy Gunn. Triple H and Michaels closed out the show with their respective DX catchphrases.

There was so much to love about how WWE handled the Lesnar-Lashley-Rollins situation. Rollins is long overdue for a title run after months of delivering stellar performances and putting over other superstars like Roman Reigns, Edge, Riddle and Cody Rhodes (three times). Lashley looked formidable in defeat while wearing the wounds of Lesnar's assault. Most excitingly, Lesnar is back in the mix and won't be wrestling Reigns or going after a world title for the trillionth time. A sequel to Lashley vs. Lesnar should be great. Lashley has been vocal that their initial feud was unsatisfying. He should be very motivated to deliver a second time around.

Anderson and Gallows will bolster the WWE roster nicely, and their feud with Judgement Day should produce great matches. It was a little rough to see Judgement Day lose momentum so quickly after a stellar conclusion to Balor's "I Quit" match against Edge at Extreme Rules. The opening DX stuff was a fun throwback: pleasantly inappropriate and inoffensive in its length. The closing segment left much to be desired. Expectations weren't high, but nothing really happened. They did their typical thing and left the ring. At least the trip down memory lane did its job without taking too much time from this generation's superstars. Grade: A-

What else happened on WWE Raw?

• Sami Zayn read Jey Uso the riot act. Zayn insisted that Jey needed "to be cool" and more "Ucey." A frustrated Jey looked to Reigns for support, but Reigns was firmly on Zayn's side. Riddle interrupted The Bloodline and challenged Reigns to a world title match. Reigns rejected the request. Zayn, egged on by Jey, challenged Riddle instead. A departing Reigns demanded that Jey stay at the arena with Zayn. Reigns insisted it was Jey's responsibility to guarantee Zayn a victory over Riddle. In the main event, Riddle def. Zayn via pinfall after landing the RKO. Jey notably refused to help Zayn or allow Jimmy to assist their Bloodline teammate. This was in direct violation of Reigns' orders; however, it was Zayn who told Jey not to interfere

• Johnny Gargano def. Theory via pinfall after landing One Final Beat on his former pupil.

• Rey Mysterio def. Chad Gable via pinfall courtesy of a 619 and springboard splash. Judgement Day members Dominik and Rhea Ripley watched from ringside. Dominik implored his father to hit him and slapped Rey when his dad refused. Dominik clocked his father as the legendary luchador was fending off Judgement Day members Balor and Priest. The segment concluded with Dominick hitting Rey with the 619.

• Damage CTRL sat down with Saxton for an interview. An angry Bayley simply stared at the camera while Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky did the talking. Candice LeRae def. Bayley via pinfall with a pinning combination. Damage CTRL assaulted LeRae and Bianca Belair, who tried to make the post-match save.

• Dexter Lumis crashed The Miz's birthday celebration with Maryse. Miz was gifted a baseball bat and giant exercise balls, Maryse wound-up face first in cake and Miz fled the ring without his wife. Michaels and Dogg convinced Miz to wrestle Lumis next week. If Lumis loses, he's gone for good; if Lumis wins he gets a WWE contract.

• Omos def. local wrestlers Joey Ace and Chico via pinfall in a handicap match.

• Bray Wyatt interrupted the broadcast with a cryptic video with Wyatt repeating, "Revel in what you are."

• WWE announced the return of Elias next week on Raw.