WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Seth Rollins fends off Damian Priest to retain world heavyweight title

Rollins got Priest to accept his terms of having Judgement Day not at ringside, but Finn Balor still tried to make his presence felt

When he won the world heavyweight championship at Night of Champions, Seth Rollins vowed to be a fighting champion. He lived up to that promise on Monday night, defending his title against Damian Priest in the main event of Raw.

Priest was surprisingly grateful for the opportunity, complimenting Rollins for the guts it took to accept his challenge and going as far as to agree that Judgement Day would not be at ringside for the match. However, the uglier instincts of the group won out and left Priest frustrated when they didn't follow his plan to face Rollins one-on-one.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

Seth Rollins defends his world heavyweight championship

The show kicked off with Seth Rollins cutting an in-ring promo about his decision to issue an open challenge, a challenge that was accepted by Damian Priest. Rollins said that, no matter how you feel about them, Judgement Day is made up of talented and dangerous individuals. This brought Priest and Finn Balor to the ring where Priest thanked Rollins for the opportunity before they traded words and Rollins dared Priest to not have Judgement Day at ringside, which Priest accepted despite Balor's protests.

World Heavyweight Championship -- Seth Rollins (c) def. Damian Priest via pinfall to retain the title. The match was the first world title defense on Raw in more than two years. After a lengthy back-and-forth match, Balor did end up running in to attempt to attack Rollins, with the distraction nearly allowing Priest to win with South of Heaven. Priest was frustrated and asked Balor why he was there before Rollins made the comeback and hit the stomp to retain his title. After the match, Balor entered the ring and came face-to-face with Rollins as the show went off the air.

This didn't feel like an episode where anything meaningful happened aside from a few qualification matches for Money in the Bank. Still, there was some good action, including the match between Kevin Owens and Gunther as well as Rollins vs. Priest in the main event. Considering the goal of having an "active world champion" when the world heavyweight championship was reintroduced, Rollins defending his title on television is a very good thing. That a good match came of it is also a big positive. Grade: B+

What else happened on WWE Raw?

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match -- Becky Lynch def. Sonya Deville via pinfall with a Manhandle Slam. During the match, Trish Stratus' music hit and she began walking to the ring with Zoey Stark by her side. Chelsea Green was also ringside with Deville and interfered in the match several times. Despite all the distractions, Lynch picked up the win to grab a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match.

Gunther def. Kevin Owens via pinfall with a schoolboy pin. The match came about after a backstage confrontation when Gunther said he would teach Owens discipline and a fired up Owens said they needed to fight before storming to the ring.

Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler def. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter via submission when Baszler locked Carter in the Kirifuda Clutch.

Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ended in a no contest after Bronson Reed ran in and attacked both men.

Cody Rhodes appeared on "Miz TV" and briefly discussed wrestling Brock Lesnar with one arm. The Miz then called Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley to the ring. Mysterio called Rhodes a bad father for not being at home with his kid before Rhodes fired words back. Mysterio went to leave the ring but quickly ran back and slapped Rhodes in the face before leaving the ring. Rhodes then took his frustrations out on Miz by hitting him with his cast to end the segment.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match -- Zoey Stark def. Natalya via pinfall with the Z360.

Indus Sher beat down Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin before their scheduled match, leading to the match not happening.