WWE Raw results, recap, grades: The Bloodline invades and dominates; Theory retains title over Seth Rollins

The Bloodline started the show by invading Raw and then picked up a pair of in-ring victories

While the headlines leading into the first Raw of 2023 were all about a pair of championship contests, it was an invasion by The Bloodline that was the biggest storyline running through the show on Monday night.

The Bloodline, still stinging from a loss on SmackDown, invaded Raw in the opening moments of the show looking to make a statement. This would lead to WWE officials throwing the group into a pair of matches later in the night as punishment.

However, it was ultimately The Bloodline who did the punishing.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The Bloodline dominates Raw locker room

The Bloodline invaded Raw to kick off the show. After The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Sami Zayn took over the ringside area, Kevin Owens made his way out with a microphone. Zayn told Owens it was a hostile takeover and people were going to get hurt, leading Owens to try to storm the ring before Adam Pearce made his way out and said that The Bloodline is not the authority in the building and that the group would leave the building before sending the standard hapless security guards to the ring to get thrashed. Owens then ran to the ring but was overwhelmed, leading to a large segment of the Raw locker room running to Owens' aid and running off the invaders. Pearce then said that if the group wanted to come to work, he'd put them to work and each of them would have a match later in the night.

Solo Sikoa def. Elias in a Music City Street Fight after hitting a Rock Bottom from the ring apron onto a piano. The match saw both men use instruments as weapons throughout before Sikoa got the big finish. During the match, musician Hardy also hit Sikoa with a guitar but the shot had no effect.

The Bloodline def. The Street Profits & Kevin Owens via pinfall when Sami Zayn hit Montez Ford with a Helluva Kick. After the match, The Bloodline dragged Owens into the ring before attacking him as a group. Solo Sikoa grabbed a chair but Sheamus and Drew McIntyre ran in to attack Sikoa and Zayn before taking out The Usos.

The Bloodline had suffered a few losses of late, with Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins picking up a win over the group two weeks ago on Raw and Owens teaming with John Cena this past Friday to beat Zayn and Roman Reigns. Given how strong WWE has kept the group for all this time, there's nothing surprising about them -- without Reigns -- coming back to Raw to run roughshod and pick up a few wins. It's predictable, but this is a group who will be kept incredibly strong until WWE decides otherwise. Grade: B

What else happened on WWE Raw?

• Raw Women's Championship – Bianca Belair (c) def. Alexa Bliss via disqualification after Bliss attacked the referee. Bliss snapped in the middle of the match after clutching at her head and attacking the referee before brutalizing the champion outside the ring, including hitting Belair with a DDT on the ring steps. During the attack, Belair appeared to injure her mouth as a stream of blood ran from her lips. Later in the show, Bliss said that she didn't lose control but instead had gained control of Belair's mind.
• Dexter Lumis def. Chad Gable via pinfall by reversing a cradle pinning combination.
• Damage CTRL def. Becky Lynch & Michin via pinfall when IYO SKY hit Michin with a moonsault. Michin joined Lynch midway through the match. Lynch was distracted attacking Bayley during the finish, allowing Michin to take the pin.
• United States Championship – Austin Theory (c) def. Seth Rollins via pinfall after hitting A-Town Down. Theory attempted to leave the match down the stretch but Rollins grabbed him before the champion could run off through the crowd. Theory then tried to use his title belt to strike Rollins but ate a superkick. Rollins went on a run, but the pair crashed into the referee, causing a delay in the count after Rollins hit a pedigree. Theory hit Rollins with a low blow as the second referee was distracted, he followed that up with a chop block to Rollins' already-injured knee and hit A-Town Down to retain his title.