On the road to Crown Jewel on November 2, Monday's Raw featured the return of undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes.

What did The American Nightmare have in store for world heavyweight champion Gunther when the two were under the same roof, just weeks from their clash for the new Crown Jewel Championship?

Find out with this recap from a show that also saw women's tag team champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defend their titles against Damage CTRL's Kairi Sane and Iyo Sky.

Match Card

Announced in advance for Monday's show at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis:

• The return of Cody Rhodes
• Rhea Ripley appearance
• WWE Women's Tag Team Championship: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL
• Kofi Kingston vs. Bron Breakker
• R-Truth vs. The Miz

Rhea Ripley Kicks Off Raw

Rhea Ripley opened the show Monday night, wasting little time calling out Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez.

However, Tiffany Stratton interrupted to threaten the Australian with "big, big trouble" if she crosses WWE women's champion Nia Jax again.

Morgan and Rodriguez then hit the ring and beat down both women before standing tall to close the segment.

This was a lazy segment to start the show. There was no substance to speak of; the only takeaway was a tag team match that would be broadcast later. The most exciting part was the unlikely pairing of Ripley and Stratton, who will take on the heels later in the show.

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The look on Ripley's face when Stratton, not Rodriguez, entered the arena was both surprise and disgust. It was the perfect reaction.
• The dichotomy of Ripley and Stratton, one in black and the other in pink, made for a great visual. Without knowing anything about either woman, you knew they were two different people with different personalities and attitudes. A nice touch.
• With Stratton teaming up with Ripley later, could this be a test run to see how she is accepted as a babyface?

WWE Women's Tag Team Title: Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair vs. Damage CTRL

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair withstood the challenge of Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane to retain their titles in Monday's opening contest but not without an assist from NXT's Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend.

The champions found themselves on the defensive late on, but a distraction from the former challengers allowed them to recover and for Belair to deliver the KOD for the pinfall victory.

The match was very good, as expected given the talent involved. Cargill's growth and evolution as a worker have been fun to watch, and she was as good here as she has ever been.

Belair is one of the best of her era, Sky is among the best wrestlers in the industry and Sane is still underrated.

The finish protected Damage CTRL's credibility and gave them an out. Now, they have a reasonable argument for a rematch while the champions turn their attention to Jackson and Legend.

Result

Cargill and Belair defeated Damage CTRL to retain

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The more television exposure for Jackson and Legend, the better.
  
• In a pre-recorded promo, Bron Breakker explained his actions from last week, claiming Jey Uso did not show him the same respect he afforded the intercontinental champion so he ensured it did not go unpunished.

• Raw GM Adam Pearce sat down with "Big" Bronson Reed and got him to agree not to physically confront Seth Rollins and if he could do that, he would grant him a match against The Visionary.

Alpha Academy vs. The War Raiders

In the first match of an impromptu tag team No. 1 contenders' tournament, Alpha Academy's Otis and Akira Tozawa battled The War Raiders (Erik and Ivar).

The returning competitors obliterated the competition, bowling over the babyfaces en route to a one-sided victory.

This was an emphatic return for the (not-so-Viking) Raiders, immediately catapulting them into tag team title contention.

It remains to be seen if they can take the titles from The Judgment Day, but this was a great reminder that they can.

Result

War Raiders defeated Tozawa and Otis

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Big, badass tag teams rolling over opponents is always fun. That said, it is hugely disappointing that Otis and Tozawa did not mean more after the Chad Gable breakup.
• "I have conquered beasts and slayed kings," Rollins told Pearce while reminding him of what he has accomplished during a backstage interaction with the Raw GM.

Cody Rhodes and Gunther Promo

Cody Rhodes and Gunther met in the center of the ring for a promo ahead of their Crown Jewel main event and did not disappoint.

Pleasantries were exchanged, including Gunther voicing his respect for WWE champion, but he swiftly turned that into an insult.

Things got testy, with Rhodes reminding The Ring General that he defeated the most dominant titleholder of the last decade at WrestleMania 40, proof that he is more than the secondary champion the heel claimed he was.

Gunther initially refused a handshake before relenting, wished himself luck and walked out to close out the segment.

There was some great promo work from Rhodes, a master of putting over the significance of big-time matchups. Gunther also continued his strong run on the mic, not backing down in the face of WWE's top star.

This was exactly what it needed to be and emphasized the significance of a match that otherwise would have felt like a retread of the old inter-promotional booking that used to surround the Survivor Series event.

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Rhodes thanked the fans in St. Louis for being the originators of the "We want Cody" chants.
• "There's not many in this company that I respect, but I have respect for you," Gunther said to Rhodes.
• "Everyone's friend is no one's real friend," The Ring General said.
• "You think you are swimming in the deep waters, but your feet are still touching the bottom of the pool. You have never been in the ring, one-on-one, with me," The American Nightmare warned his rival.
• "I have already defeated a frightening beast," Rhodes said, in reference to Brock Lesnar.

Kofi Kingston vs. Bron Breakker

A week after he was on the receiving end of a Spear, Kofi Kingston squared off with his attacker, Bron Breakker, in one-on-one action.

Breakker dominated the early moments and the outcome was seldom in question. Not even as Kingston fought his way back into the match did it feel like he was a threat to Breakker and ultimately, he wasn't.

The former IC champion exploded off the ropes with a Spear and scored the win.

After the match, Xavier Woods attempted a save, but Breakker threatened to overwhelm him too. Jey Uso made the save, clearing the ring of the heel before standing tall, their business unfinished.

Result

Breakker defeated Kingston

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• A cool video package spotlighting Dragon Lee aired. There should be more of these, especially on the weeks when time restraints prevent competitors from appearing regularly. Something like this could do more for Pure Fusion Collective than meaningless tag matches.

• This was the first time it was obvious that fans had sat through a long taping night, as the heat for the match was non-existent.

R-Truth vs. The Miz

The match between R-Truth and The Miz was less about wrestling and more about advancing the story involving the latter and Karrion Kross.

The Kross-led Final Testament arrived on the scene, distracting The A-Lister seconds into the match and allowing Truth to steal the win.

Afterward, Kross instructed the Authors of Pain to attack Truth, which they did, before rolling him back into the ring for Miz to deliver the Skull-Crushing Finale.

The stuff with Kross is finally starting to connect, so it was nice to see it continue here, but this felt like an abbreviated segment in which everything happened quickly. Nothing had the chance to sink in before the show headed to another commercial break.

Result

R-Truth defeated The Miz

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, Jey Uso opened his locker room door, only to find Jimmy Uso inside waiting on him. He had no time for his sibling and walked away.
• A Wyatt Sicks bumper aired in the middle of the match, just moments before The Final Testament appeared. Subtle? Not so much.
• Jey again refused to hear Jimmy out, telling him to get out of his face before leaving.

Rhea Ripley and Tiffany Stratton vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

In a match made earlier, Rhea Ripley and Tiffany Stratton battled Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez in Monday's main event.

The heels capitalized on dissension between Ripley and Stratton early and seized control, isolating the latter and working her over. A hot tag to The Eradicator sparked a babyface comeback and had Ripley and Stratton in a position to pick up a big win.

Instead, Nia Jax interfered, drawing a disqualification.

Ripley and Jax teed off before the latter laid out Morgan with the Annihilator, setting up Stratton to cash in her Money in the Bank contract. But Dominik Mysterio saved his love interest and The Judgment Day retreated to close out the show.

The match was fun, and the Ripley-Stratton team had a fun dynamic. Morgan and Rodriguez had solid chemistry as a heel team, picking up where they left off as partners previously. Finally, Jax's involvement made sense given her upcoming match with the women's world champion.

It all worked, even if the time for Ripley vs. Morgan to wrap up is drawing near.

Result

No-contest

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• With Ripley and Stratton bickering at ringside, Rodriguez hoisted Morgan overhead and tossed her onto their opponents on the floor.
• Ripley has a great hot tag, which makes you want to see her be able to execute that more often.
• Stratton will be a huge babyface star for WWE sooner rather than later.

Overall Grade

While there were elements to this week's Raw that worked extremely well, this was a rare letdown that can likely be attributed to its pre-taped nature.

The crowd was clearly tired the later into the show it got, the heat was not nearly what it usually is. The result was a broadcast in which important things happened such as the Usos' interaction, but viewers would be hard-pressed to think they missed something hugely significant if they did not tune in.

The return of The War Raiders was welcome, Rhodes and Gunther shined on the mic and the women's tag team title match was boatloads of fun.

Those three things, and a main event that was better than expected, still weren't enough to make this feel like anything other than a run-of-the-mill episode, though.

That should improve next week in Philadelphia.

Grade: C+