Amid a push by his brother Jimmy Uso to get him to reunite with him and Roman Reigns against the revamped Bloodline, Intercontinental champion Jey Uso ironically rolled into the City of Brotherly Love Monday night on WWE Raw for a defense against Bron Breakker.

Did the master of YEET successfully defend his title against his angry, vengeful, explosive opponent or did the weight of outside pressures prove too much for the champion?

Find out with this recap of the October 21 show, which also featured the continuation of the No. 1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament, including grades and analysis for each segment.

Match Card

Announced in advance of Monday's show were:

• Intercontinental Championship Match: Jey Uso (c) vs. Bron Breakker
• Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed are in the same building
• No. 1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament Match: Rey Mysterio  and Dragon Lee vs. The Creed Brothers
• No. 1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament Match: The New Day vs. Authors of Pain  

Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed Kick Off Raw

The rivalry between Seth "Freakin" Rollins and "Big" Bronson Reed reared its head early Monday night as The Visionary attacked Reed as he entered the squared circle,

A fired-up Rollins called out the man who attempted to end his career two months earlier and a brawl ensued, with security and referees attempting to pull them apart. The intense confrontation continued until all involved finally separated them and dragged them in different directions.

This was a hot start to the show that ensured viewers would not tune away. Rollins and Reed brought the intensity and the result was a high-energy kickoff segment.

From there, the women's world champion Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez interrupted a promo featuring Damage CTRL's Kairi Sane and Iyo Sky, setting up a tag team match between them for later in the show.

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• "You wanna be famous? Get your ass out here and I'll make you famous!" Rollins demanded of Reed.
• Reed missed a Tsunami and crashed through the announce table.

Tag Team No. 1 Contenders Tournament Match: New Day vs. Authors of Pain

New Day cashed their ticket to the next round of the Tag Team No. 1 Contenders Tournament, defeating The Final Testament's Authors of Pain, though not without a little help.

Late in the match, as Akam and Rezar appeared to seize back control of the match, R-Truth appeared at ringside and attacked The Miz, then Karrion Kross, providing a distraction that allowed Kingston to score a roll-up and the win.

The match was fine for what it was but the meat of this segment was in the closing moments. Truth got a measure of revenge, Miz continued to tease an allegiance with the heels, and New Day moved one step closer to the redemption of winning tag team gold.

Oh, and The Wyatt Sicks returned, fighting off The Final Testament until it appeared as though Miz would be left to suffer at the hands of Uncle Howdy. Instead, Paul Ellering shoved the former WWE champion out of the way and endured the mandible claw to close out the segment.

The Sicks vs. Final Testament feud appears to be on tap and given the crowd's eruption for the former, it is one the WWE Universe is ready to embrace.

Result

New Day defeated AOP

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Kross at ringside, ominously staring at Woods, made for a story in and of itself.
• Miz appeared at ringside, dressed all in black, and watched from the edge of the commentary table, the final piece in Kross' puzzle of the last three months.
• Truth's appearance drew a big pop from the fans in Philly. He is perpetually over.

Damage CTRL vs. Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan

Born of a backstage confrontation, Kairi Sane and Iyo Sky squared off with Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez in tag team action.

The heels seized control of the match entering the commercial break following a massive clothesline from Rodriguez to Sane. Several minutes of heel control gave way to a hot tag to Sky and a babyface comeback.

Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson, watching from ringside ahead of their Tuesday match against Sane and Sky, delivered a cheap shot that drew a disqualification.

From there, the NXT heels beat down Damage CTRL and stood tall before Morgan and Rodriguez confronted them. Rhea Ripley arrived to a thunderous ovation and laid out the heels before trapping Morgan in the Prism Lock.

Before she could down the women's world champion, Dominik Mysterio made the save, rescuing his love interest from the grasp of his former Mami. Ripley stood tall to the delight of the fans in Philly.

This was a perfectly executed segment in that the creative team was able to focus on two different women's programs without shorting either. We know Damage CTRL and Meta-Four have an issue that will be resolved Tuesday on NXT on The CW and Ripley once again came oh-so-close to revenge on Morgan, Mysterio, and Rodriguez.

Did it further anything? No, but with reduced television time, it got everyone on screen in a manner that did not feel forced and highlighted the women's division in a significant segment of the two-hour broadcast.

Result

No contest

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Rodriguez cut a promo in a pretaped vignette explaining her actions against Rhea Ripley. This was well-produced and something overdue by a week or so.

• Jackson and Legend getting the TV time that they have in recent weeks is promising for them and suggests their call-up to the main roster is a given, if not imminent.
• The crowd's reaction to Ripley tossing Mysterio around was enormous. That is the money match, not Ripley vs. Morgan. 

• After another backstage brawl, Raw general manager Adam Pearce announced Rollins vs. Reed for Crown Jewel.

Tag Team No. 1 Contenders Tournament Match: LWO vs. American Made

Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee joined The War Raiders and New Day in the finals of the Tag Team No. 1 Contenders Tournament by way of their victory over Julius and Brutus Creed Monday night.

The competitive, back-and-forth match came down to the involvement of Zelina Vega, Chad Gable, and Ivy Nile at ringside as their confrontation provided enough of a distraction that Mysterio was able to deliver the 619 and Lee added a frog splash for the victory.

The action was strong and, more importantly, proved that giving four guys with the talent level of Mysterio, Lee, and the Creeds will result in a great match. One of the downfalls of the two-hour format is that the longer matches fans had grown accustomed to on Monday nights are no more, meaning the talent involved has to maximize their minutes.

All four competitors did that here. The result was the best match of the night.

At least to this point in the show.

Result

Mysterio and Lee defeated American Made

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, Finn Bálor reiterated his concern over Damian Priest laying his claim to a World Heavyweight Championship opportunity, to which Dominik Mysterio asked, "What if I became champion?" The group laughed and Carlito vowed to fix everything.
• For the love of Terry Funk, can we please find something more for Zelina Vega to do?
• American Made is in a rut and has fallen off significantly since Chad Gable's Intercontinental Championship pursuit ended unsuccessfully.
  

Intercontinental Championship Match: Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker

The Intercontinental Championship Match pitting Jey Uso against Bron Breakker was marred by interference late as The Bloodline made its presence felt.

After Uso fended off Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa at different points, it appeared as though he may hang on and successfully retain his title. He downed Breakker and delivered his top rope splash, only for The Badass to kick out at two.

From there, Fatu caught Uso with a superkick and delivered a Samoan Drop through the commentary table, setting him up for a super spear from Breakker, who scored the win and his second Intercontinental Championship to the dismay of the fans in Philadelphia.

The match was beyond overbooked late but it furthered the story of Uso and his impending agreement to join his brother Jimmy, Roman Reigns, and a fourth against The Bloodline at Survivor Series in War Games.

Breakker regained his title, too, which many believed he never should have lost in the first place.

That it was Fatu, who was on the receiving end of Uso's threats Friday night, that cost Jey the title made plenty of sense and sets that program up as the secondary rivalry to Reigns vs. Sikoa.

Result

Breakker defeated Uso to win the title

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, Damian Priest interrupted world heavyweight champion Gunther and reiterated his intention to challenge him and again become El Campeon.
• Breakker and Uso executed a trading of suplexes spot on the ring apron that did not garner the reaction they had hoped and instead, came across as awkward.
• The Breakker-Fatu staredown was magic and should have Triple H and the creative team scurrying to find a way to get them in the same ring.
• The false finish off of Uso's superkick and top-tope splash was fantastically done.

Overall Show

The biggest takeaway from Monday's show may have been the escalation of the Bloodline saga but the rest of the show featured some quality stuff along the way.

We saw the re-emergence of The Wyatt Sicks and the instigation of their rivalry with The Final Testament, the intensification of Damage CTRL's battle with Meta-Four, the latest in the tag tournament, and the reintroduction of Damian Priest's pursuit of Gunther for the world title.

There was a lot happening over the course of the two hours and almost nothing to do with the upcoming Crown Jewel event, outside of the never-ending Rollins vs. Reed brawl.

That suggests next week's show will be a harder sell for the premium live event.

For now, this was a solid episode that did a lot right, limited the missteps, and had a hot finish that will lead to a Survivor Series main event.

Grade: B+