There are nights as a pro wrestling fan that get imprinted in your brain for how important they were in the launching of the next great superstar. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's epic promo at the 1996 King of the Ring pay-per-view is likely the one that most easily comes to mind, if not Austin's bloody loss one year later at WrestleMania 13 to Bret Hart that cemented his transition into the rarified air of crossover megastar.  

While trying to compare the ascension of any wrestler to that of Austin would be futile considering the heights at which he went on to reach, SmackDown women's champion Becky Lynch is having the kind of three-month stretch since her heel turn at SummerSlam that is starting to feel like the organic creation of a phenomenon in waiting. And should Lynch go on to one day reach that kind of stardom, there's little question Monday's episode of Raw -- which featured her surprise (and bloody) run-in across brands -- will be looked back at as a turning point. 

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Becky Lynch leads SmackDown ambush of Raw 

As a follow up to her brief run-in during the opening segment, Ronda Rousey was asked backstage during an interview with Charly Caruso about Lynch's response from last week. The Raw women's champion called out Lynch for being "hyper sensitive" and "a millennial man," including comparing her to a whiny male who eats avocado toast. Rousey then closed with an emotional rant claiming she didn't change the meaning of the term "fight like a girl" to hear Lynch, "the leader of the women's evolution," refer to herself as "the man." Nia Jax -- who secured a future title shot at Evolution -- and Tamina Snuka then walked in to stare Rousey down and wish her luck on Sunday. 

Sasha Banks and Bayley wrestle to a no contest: Raw closed with women's captain Alexa Bliss and fellow Survivor Series teammates Mickie James, Jax and Snuka joining her inside the ring. Bliss announced a match between Banks and Bayley for the final spot on the Raw team. The entertaining match came to an end when Snuka and James forced the no contest by breaking up the Banks Statement on Bayley and attacking both wrestlers. Bliss entered the ring to announce there was no winner, which opened a spot for Ruby Riott as the fifth member. Just as Riott joined the heels in raising their arms in unity, backstage footage played on the big screen of an attack.  

Rousey screamed on the floor of the locker room as Lynch applied her Dis-Arm-Her, until referees and road agents broke them up. Lynch then walked out to the ring alone before her SmackDown women's teammates entered from the crowd to take out the Raw members in a violent Survivor Series preview. Lynch had her nose busted open during the melee, forcing her to wipe blood on her hands and arms, and smear it across her face. Out came Rousey to take out much of the SmackDown team with one arm until Lynch took her out from behind with a chair. After Team SmackDown escaped through the crowd, a bloody Lynch raised her arms in celebration from the second tier of the arena. Backstage, the broadcast ended with Stephanie McMahon threatening acting Raw general manager Baron Corbin to fix the situation to make sure it doesn't happen again on Sunday.  

After weeks of declaring Lynch as the best thing going in WWE today, this one felt more like her Austin 3:16 moment than anything else. The legend of Becky Lynch somehow only grew larger on this night thanks to the surprise nature of her appearance, the brutal (and badass) manner in which she carried herself and the inadvertent blood which, in this PG era, turned into a surprise that helped give the moment a legitimate feeling of intensity. Let's hope WWE knows what it has in Lynch right now, and does nothing but book her strong and get out of the way as arguably the most important member of WWE's "women's evolution" finds out how great she really is.  

Even more, Lynch's arrival numbed the blow of two absolutely painful promos delivered by Rousey earlier in the night. If there was anything worse than Rousey's delivery, it was the dreadful writing WWE continues to give her. Having Rousey, who has been repeatedly criticized in real life following the rough end to her MMA career for being too sensitive, call out Lynch for being able to dish it out but not take came across as nothing short of cringeworthy. Rousey has regressed fast from the strong promo she cut three weeks ago on Nikki Bella as WWE continues to do her no favors by scripting dialogue that Rousey's character either shouldn't or wouldn't ever say. Grade: A- 

Dean Ambrose explains himself

Declining to talk with Corey Graves about Sunday's Survivor Series match against Shinsuke Nakamura, Seth Rollins only wanted answers from Ambrose. After Rollins summarized that Ambrose "isn't man enough" to tell him the truth, "The Lunatic Fringe" appeared on the video screen for a rebuttal. Sitting on the hood of a car next to a fire burning inside a barrel, Ambrose said he doesn't owe anyone an explanation because neither Rollins nor the fans -- whom he ripped for having no manners and needing a shower -- deserved it.  

Yet provide an explanation is exactly what Ambrose did, claiming that he has been the same guy this whole time and it was the self-absorbed Rollins who changed. "I used to think the Shield was stronger together," Ambrose said. "The truth is, The Shield made me weak … the burden of being your brother made me weak." Ambrose closed by dousing his tactical vest in gasoline and throwing it into the fire. "Every day is a new day, a chance to be reborn and a chance to take the past and burn it down," he said. Rollins angrily left the ring and stormed backstage.  

While Ambrose certainly presented a strong visual to illustrate his feelings with the burning vest, the promo he delivered felt too scripted and predictable for such a long-awaited moment. Ambrose's heel turn simply felt darker and cooler the less he spoke in recent weeks, leaving a shred of mystery as to his reasoning. Even though there was certainly no reason to delay it any longer, Ambrose's delivery lacked the underlying edge of believability that all great promos tend to have. This was an actor carrying out his lines in a manner that failed to suspend the belief that just maybe the real-life Ambrose had been harboring feelings of being the one Shield member who never got his due. Grade: C+ 

What else happened on Raw?  

  • Braun Strowman cuts deal with Stephanie McMahon: Raw's first attempt at a tag team battle royal match to open the show was quickly broken up by Strowman, who cleared out the ring single-handedly. He sat down on a chair to declare he's not leaving until acting general manager Baron Corbin "gets these hands." Out came McMahon to reason with him and turn his attention toward defeating SmackDown at Survivor Series. They eventually cut a deal that Strowman, if he keeps his hands off of Corbin until after Sunday, can get a rematch against Brock Lesnar for the universal title if Raw wins. Strowman threatened he would go to WWE Headquarters and "destroy the whole thing" if she was lying. After Rousey ran out to cut a brief promo on Lynch before getting into McMahon's face, Corbin came out to play peacemaker, but his attempt to place his hand on Rousey's shoulder led to an angry hip toss. Strowman closed by telling him to "enjoy your time being Stephanie's lap dog because after Survivor Series, I'm going to neuter you."  
  • Tamina Snuka def. Ember Moon via pinfall: Bliss watched from backstage on a monitor as Jax's constant distractions at ringside played a huge part in the finish. Jax got the attention of her former friend as Moon climbed to the top rope for the Eclipse. Snuka took advantage by knocking her off with a superkick before landing a sloppy top-rope splash for the 1-2-3. Afterwards, Jax stomped on Moon before hitting a leg drop.  
  • Finn Balor def. Dolph Ziggler via pinfall: The segment began as a heel promo with Drew McIntyre taking credit for breaking The Shield and then breaking Kurt Angle last week. McIntyre called Angle an embarrassment for crying and said, "Raw is my show now and I will mold it into my image. No more room for weakness." Out came Balor to defend Angle's honor after being humiliated. McIntyre went on to cut a fairly epic promo, which led to Balor challenging him to a match. McIntyre said Balor must defeat Ziggler first before considering "lowering myself to your level." After a head butt from McIntyre and a commercial break, the match began with a Ziggler cheap shot. A series of near falls followed from both until Balor landed a Tope Con Hilo on the outside but missed a Coup de Grace in the ring. Ziggler rolled him up, but Balor countered to get the pin. Later on backstage, McMahon named Balor, McIntyre and Ziggler to the Raw Survivor Series team and insisted they wait until after Sunday to tear each other apart.  
  • The Riott Squad continues to taunt Natalya: Riott joined her teammates inside the ring for a mock apology for breaking the glasses of Natalya's late father, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart," one week ago. Riott failed in an effort to fool the viewer with faux regret, only to then turn back heel on the drop of a dime in the same way that Alexa Bliss does, which made her delivery feel flat when revealing, "I enjoyed every second of it." Riott then rubbed salt in the wound by adding, "In that moment, it clicked as to why Jim wore those sunglasses. It was because he was ashamed to look at his own daughter." Natalya snuck up from behind on Riott after her music hit and attacked her before she fell victim to the number's game as the Riott Squad laid Natalya out with her father's finishing move, the Hart Attack.   
  • Bobby Roode and Chad Gable win tag team battle royal: Raw's second attempt at this match, with the winners being named captain of Raw's Survivor Series tag team match, saw a quick finish. Roode and Gable hit a creative tandem move as Gable landed a moonsault on Konnor of the Ascension just as Roode hit him with a neckbreaker. The finish saw Roode save Gable from elimination by knocking Konnor off the apron for the victory.  
  • Brock Lesnar previews the violence to come on Sunday: Paul Heyman cut a strong promo reliving Lesnar's victory over AJ Styles at last year's Survivor Series. He followed up his reference to the Eagles' song "Hotel California" by telling the kids who don't know it to "Google it, bitches, I'm not here to educate you." Heyman closed with his spoiler (not a prediction) of "Suplex City, F-5, 1-2-3 … your winner, the champion of champions, Brock Lesnar." Out came Jinder Mahal -- who still holds a grudge for losing his WWE championship to Styles -- to offer his help to Lesnar in preparing. With a smile on his face, Lesnar accepted as Mahal entered the ring to show him his breathing and meditation techniques. Lesnar then clotheslined him hard before hitting German suplexes on the Singh Brothers. After tossing Sunil Singh onto Mahal outside, Lesnar closed with an F5 of Mahal on the floor. 
  • Bobby Lashley def. Elias via countout: Lashley's pre-match posedown, complete with narration from Lio Rush, was interrupted by Elias on the stage. He placed a mock phone call to child protective services for the kidnapping of a child (Rush). The match came to an abrupt end later on when Rush emerged from under the ring to hold Elias' ankles and prevent him from beating the 10-count. Elias took out his anger for losing out on the final spot of the Raw Survivor series team with an attack on both, including a toss of Rush through the ropes and into Lashley.