WWE Raw results, recap, grades: No. 1 contender for Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton finds The Fiend's weakness

AJ Styles beat Keith Lee and Riddle to secure a spot opposite McIntyre at the TLC pay-per-view

With the WWE TLC pay-per-view coming in December, WWE champion Drew McIntyre needed a new challenger lined up for the event. On Monday's edition of Raw, a triple threat between AJ Styles, Keith Lee and Riddle was set to determine the new No. 1 challenger after the three men won singles matches the previous week.

In the end, Styles would emerge as the next man up for McIntyre, but the champ has big concerns surrounding him. The Miz continues to be a threat to cash in the Money in the Bank contract at any opportunity while Sheamus may be McIntyre's friend, but is inching closer and closer to turning on his buddy.

CBS Sports was with you all night, bringing you highlights and replays of all the action. Read on for everything you need to know coming out of the final Raw of November.

Drew McIntyre's next challenger set

Sheamus was a guest on Miz TV, with The Miz and John Morrison asking why Sheamus gave Drew McIntyre his family heirlooms weeks back on Raw. Miz and Morrison said they know Sheamus is jealous of McIntyre and that they know Sheamus wants the WWE championship McIntyre has. Miz suggested Sheamus "cash in" his years of frustration in the tag match and allow Miz to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Sheamus eventually lost it and attacked both men before Miz bludgeoned him with the Money in the Bank briefcase. McIntyre and Sheamus talked backstage after, with Sheamus thanking McIntyre for "helping him," but then both men laughing it off.

AJ Styles def. Keith Lee and Riddle via pinfall with a Phenomenal Forearm. The early stages of the match revolved around Lee in the giant spot, presenting the biggest problem to be solved with his mix of size and athleticism. Riddle and Styles had their moments, but every time Lee built momentum, the match was all about him, throwing his opponents around the ring and even leapfrogging both men simultaneously in a big show of his athleticism. Down the stretch, Riddle and Lee got into a striking exchange, with Riddle knocking Lee from the ring. As Lee went down, Styles came off the top rope with a Phenomenal Forearm to Riddle to score the win and secure against McIntyre at TLC. Later in the night, Styles told Miz he would try to help in cash in on McIntyre because it would be easier to beat him than McIntyre at TLC. Also later in the evening, Riddle was confronted by MVP, who called Riddle's business ideas dumb and shoved his face. When Riddle stood to confront him, Bobby Lashley attacked, locking Riddle in the Hurt Lock.

Drew McIntyre & Sheamus def. The Miz & John Morrison via disqualification after AJ Styles interfered in the match. After a hot open by Sheamus, he began to trade words with Styles, who was on commentary. That distraction eventually allowed Miz and Morrison to take over by attacking Sheamus from behind. Sheamus eventually made the hot tag, letting McIntyre dominate until Sheamus asked for the tag back in to finish the match. Morrison pulled Sheamus from the apron first, leading to a distraction before Styles leaped into the ring to hit a Phenomenal Forearm for the disqualification. Miz was upset, but after Morrison hit Starship Pain and Miz a Skull-Crushing Finale, Miz seemed ready to cash in the Money in the Bank contract. McIntyre got back to his feet and threw Morrison from the ring before hitting Miz with a Claymore before the bell rang. As McIntyre moved toward Styles, Styles flipped backward over the top rope, landing on Omos' shoulders. Styles continued to tell McIntyre how lucky he was while on Omos' shoulder as the show went off the air.

Styles remains a ready option for any spot where WWE needs a capable main event player, so his getting the win was mostly predictable as Lee and Riddle aren't really positioned for that spot yet. Both men looked good in defeat, however, and neither was hurt in the process. If anything, Riddle getting a program with Lashley is a move in the right direction. The slow burn to Sheamus' eventual turn on McIntyre is also being handled really well, with no one but McIntyre seeming to trust his old friend, though even McIntyre's trust seems limited. Miz being upset at Styles' interference didn't make complete sense, since winning a meaningless tag match should have been far less important than having a huge opening to put a beating on the champ before cashing in the contract, but they are booked into a bit of a corner with not wanting to take the briefcase out of Miz's hands yet but also having to make it seem like he's ready to make the move. Grade: B

Randy Orton finds The Fiend's weakness

Alexa Bliss hosted Randy Orton on A Moment of Bliss to start the show. Bliss recapped Orton losing to AJ Styles in last week's main event, saying Orton should ask himself why The Fiend interfered to help cost Orton the match. Orton said he has a lot in common with The Fiend, but they're different because The Fiend wears his pain on the outside, but Orton bottles his up inside to help him blend in. And, while both hear voices, The Fiend hears Orton's voices. Orton said he found Bray Wyatt's weakness in 2017 and burned it to the ground, and now he needs to do the same to The Fiend, then turned to Bliss and said, "It looks like I have." Bliss asked Orton if the voices in his head might be telling her lies and asked, "Who is manipulating who?" As the lights began to go out, Orton asked, "See what I mean?" Only to be met with Bliss asking the same question. The lights returned and Orton was holding Bliss as The Fiend appeared. Rather than attack, The Fiend slowly walked forward and held out his arms, nearly begging for Orton to hand Bliss over. After Orton did so, he rolled out of the ring and laughed, asking The Fiend, "Who's laughing now?"

This was a relatively short segment, but was important in furthering the story between two of WWE's top stars. There's no way around calling back to the 2017 feud between the two, which was largely a disaster. But Orton playing off burning down the Wyatt Compound as finding Wyatt's weakness and having to do the same with The Fiend is not a bad move. I don't fully understand what Bliss' character was going for in some ways, staying in Orton's face after he made it clear she was that weakness, but seeing The Fiend look desperate and vulnerable for the first time was a good character moment. Grade: B

What else happened on WWE Raw?

Jeff Hardy def. Elias via pinfall with a Swanton from the ring post through a ringside table in a Symphony of Destruction match. The finish was very scary, with the ring steps not being moved before the spot and Hardy appearing to hit his head on the corner of the bottom step.

Slapjack def. Ricochet via pinfall after hitting the Lightning Spiral. RETRIBUTION ran interference throughout the match, Dana Brooke also was out, slapping Mustafa Ali in the face. In the end, the numbers game got the better of Ricochet. Brooke's involvement set up a match with Reckoning later in the night.

Lana & Asuka def. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler via pinfall when Lana pinned Baszler after a knee from Asuka. This was the second straight win with Lana and Asuka beating the women's tag champs, leaving Jax and Baszler furious.

Cedric Alexander def. Xavier Woods via pinfall with a Lumbar Check. The New Day cut a promo before the match talking about their wins over The Hurt Business which MVP interrupted to say they were actually tied at 2-2. After winning the singles match, Alexander celebrated walking up the ramp, leaving Shelton Benjamin and MVP confused in the ring as to why he wasn't next to them.

Dana Brooke def. Reckoning via pinfall with a schoolboy pin. Ali got on the apron during the match and Brooke avoided a boot from Reckoning off the distraction to score the win. After the match, Ali yelled at Brooke that there's no failure in RETRIBUTION, saying she failed him after Brooke embarrassed him earlier in the night.