Consider it fitting that this week's episode of Raw served as the go-home show before WrestleMania 35 just six days later. In many ways, Monday's three-hour show was a microcosm of what watching the nearly seven-hour pay-per-view show has felt like in recent years.  

A slow build in the first hour gave way to fireworks and a series of red-hot moments through the midway point before giving way to an extended finish that dragged on too long and was overridden with featured players (Baron Corbin) getting a main event push that goes beyond what logic or the temperature of WWE's most vocal fans seem to dictate. That doesn't mean Monday didn't succeed at raising the overall excitement ahead of Sunday's annual showcase of the best of what pro wrestling has to offer. It's just that it was a bit of a disjointed effort at best that was slightly overbooked and went on too long.  

Luckily for WWE, the notes that were expected to resonate did just that, with nothing bigger than a memorable melee involving the three members of Sunday's main event. Let's take a closer look at the good, bad and the ugly from the final episode of Raw before the "Showcase of the Immortals" at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  

Big fan of WWE? Subscribe to our podcast -- State of Combat with Brian Campbell -- where we go in depth on everything you need to know in WWE each week.

Rousey, Flair, Lynch taken off in handcuffs 

Stephanie McMahon opened Raw by announcing a "winner take all" stipulation for Sunday's main event as both the Raw and SmackDown women's titles will be on the line. A separate stipulation was also announced for tonight's six-woman tag team match where Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch would be removed from the WrestleMania main event should they do anything to prevent their team from winning on Monday.  

Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch def. The Riott Squad via submission: Tensions flared but never boiled over for the winning team in order to keep Sunday's headlining match intact. Rousey and Flair argued inside the ring late until Rousey reversed Liv Morgan's attack into an armbar to produce an instant tap out. That's when Rousey let loose on Flair with punches before Lynch jumped in to trigger a wild brawl. Early attempts by security members to break them up faltered, so all three women broke free with ease. 

A group of police officers tried to separate the women but Rousey broke free and knocked down an officer, which led to her being handcuffed. Lynch and Flair then took separate cheap shots on Rousey before both joined her in handcuffs. The police struggled to remove the women from the arena with Rousey yelling, "We pay your salary, not Vince McMahon." All hell then broke loose backstage in a wild scene that saw Rousey and Lynch begin a kicking war after both were placed in the back of a police car. Flair broke free from her car and kicked over Lynch. Rousey then kicked out the window of the car before driving it into the back of a separate patrol vehicle. The stiffest shot of the melee saw Flair catch Rousey with a running knee to the face as she was hanging out of a broken car window.  

This was awesome. It was also severely flawed from a logic and storyline standpoint thanks to all three getting arrested while committing felony offenses. But sometimes it's more fun to get caught up in the emotion of what's in front of you and not stress about the details. In this case, the three-way brawl between female superstars was as unique and absurd (in a good way) as WWE has produced in a women's angle. Yes, what should have been a simple story that tells itself has been bogged down with unnecessary twist and turns, but it hasn't been boring. With intensity like this, the segment succeeded in bringing even more attention and excitement into Sunday's historic main event. Grade: A 

Seth Rollins stands tall over Brock Lesnar 

Lesnar stood in the ring as Paul Heyman recounted his history of big wins at WrestleMania. Rollins ran out to tell him that no one in WWE -- from the fans to the locker room – wants him here. "Yeah, laugh it up, big boy," Rollins said. "I know you don't give a damn about anyone else but you." Although he admitted it was improbable, Rollins declared a victory over Lesnar wasn't impossible.  

After Lesnar laughed in his face and attempted to walk away, Rollins attacked with a kick to the side of the leg. Lesnar landed a German suplex before Rollins escaped an F5 attempt and hit him with a low blow. A superkick and Stomp followed as Rollins stood tall over Lesnar and held up his opponent's universal championship. Warned during a backstage interview that he would be disqualified for such actions on Sunday, Rollins answered, "Well, yeah, he had it coming. Besides, I'm not a champion … yet." 

This is starting to feel like a broken record saying this, but it's true. While this segment was fine and largely unoffensive, it also failed to generate real buzz so close to WrestleMania. In many ways, it was the perfect example of how pedestrian this build has felt despite the stars in the match and the title at stake. WWE's decision to book a bland and generic "David vs. Goliath" storyline has just about killed the idea that this one could steal the show or produce any form of a dynamic finish to the angle involving the likes of Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose. Grade: C+ 

Batista cuts straight-to-the-point promo on Triple H

Entering the arena to cheers in his home city of Washington, D.C., Batista threw to a video package showing his history of defeating Triple H over the years in big matches, including the main event of WrestleMania 21 in 2005. The voice of Batista echoed over the video saying, "But you never beat me." Batista then grabbed the mic to deliver, "Hunter, kiss my ass," before dropping the mic and emphatically walking off.  

Simple, brilliant and effective. That's how you deliver a message as efficiently as possible without wasting any time in an already packed episode. WWE not only raised the anticipation of a match between two guys hovering around age 50 that one year ago would've been met with groans, the promotion deserves credit for these two avoiding physical contact of any kind until Sunday. That's old school. Grade: A- 

What else happened on Raw?  

  • Sasha Banks & Bayley & Natalya & Beth Phoenix def. The IIconics (via pinfall) & Nia Jax & Tamina Snuka: In a match designed to give Phoenix shine during her in-ring return to Raw, "The Glamazon" looked like she hasn't missed a beat during retirement. Tempers flared throughout between the four babyface members paired up on the same team. The finish came after Phoenix hit her Glam Slam on Peyton Royce for the pin. After the match, Phoenix and Natalya stared down the Boss 'n' Hug Connection as a preview for Sunday.  
  • Apollo Crews def. Jinder Mahal via pinfall: Designed to preview Sunday's Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, this brief match saw the majority of mid-card performers watching from outside the ring. After Crews made quick work of Mahal with a frog splash, his attempt to pose next to the trophy triggered a huge brawl. Despite a strong effort from Titus O'Neil to clear out most of the ring, Crews was the last man standing after knocking Mahal and the Singh Bros. over the top rope.  
  • Raw Tag Team Championship -- The Revival (c) def. Ricochet & Aleister Black via countout: Despite a bunch of dramatic near falls, the pair of NXT superstars were ultimately outsmarted by their champion heel counterparts. That doesn't mean Ricochet didn't attempt to steal the show by hitting an insane Tope Con Hilo over the corner post and outside the ring onto the Revival. Following a brawl outside, however, Scott Dawson hid under the ring and held Ricochet's leg as he attempted to enter, causing him to get counted out. Black hit his spinning kick to lay out Wilder outside before hitting a second Black Mass on Dawson. Ricochet followed with a 630 splash inside the ring.  
  • Drew McIntyre lays out Roman Reigns: A backstage interview saw Reigns deny rumors that he's not 100 percent cleared for WrestleMania thanks to consecutive beatings from McIntyre. So what happened next? McIntyre attacked him from behind before scowling, "You should have said no, Roman." The segment closed with a long glimpse of Reigns struggling back up to his feet.  
  • Heavy Machinery def. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable via pinfall: Quick match to illustrate how much the Glorious duo have fallen. Otis and Tucker popped the crowd with their Bushwackers tribute and Otis doing the caterpillar. The finish came when Otis caught a Gable splash off the top rope and teamed up with Tucker's momentum from behind to slam him for the 1-2-3. The match also featured a brief interruption from Lacey Evans that went nowhere.  
  • Braun Strowman def. unnamed enhancement talent in 2-on-1 handicap match: This one was all about sending a message to Colin Jost and Michael Che of "Saturday Night Live" ahead of Saturday's battle royal. Strowman challenged the pair of jobbers to show the Weekend Update hosts what to expect. The brutal match ended with Strowman landing separate powerslams before picking up both at the same time to hit his finisher and get the pin.  
  • Finn Balor promises The Demon at WrestleMania: During an in-ring interview, Lio Rush called Finn Balor's victory last week a "fluke" and Lashley expressed just how scared of Balor's alter ego he wasn't. Balor suddenly appeared on the big screen and morphed into his dark character, complete with face paint and his tongue stuck out. "I've always been a guy who has had demons," Balor said. "At WrestleMania, my demon will be your nightmare." 
  • Kurt Angle says goodbye to Raw: Amid chants of "Thank you Kurt," Angle entered the ring and threw to a video retrospective of his career on the big screen. Out came Baron Corbin to heckle him and he made reference to fans not enjoying the idea of him as Angle's final opponent at WrestleMania. After being challenged to an exhibition match, Corbin walked onto the apron before laughing and walking away. Rey Mysterio ran in to tell Corbin that someone needs to teach him a lesson in respect. Corbin attacked both and was eventually run off after a splash from Mysterio and an Angle Slam. 
  • Baron Corbin def. Rey Mysterio via pinfall: Talk about an uneventful way to close the go-home show ahead of WrestleMania. The main event saw Mysterio sell right knee and leg injuries before rallying to land a 619. But he missed a top rope splash and Corbin answered with a Deep Six for the pin. As Corbin celebrated on the stage, Angle blindsided him and made him tap out due to an ankle lock.