The top contender for the world heavyweight title was determined Monday night in a special episode of WWE Raw from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Sheamus, Damian Priest, Seth Rollins, and Dominik Mysterio squared off in a Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender's match to determine the next challenger to Gunther's World Heavyweight Championship.

Elsewhere, women's world champion Liv Morgan took her victory lap following her women's Crown Jewel Championship victory over Nia Jax, while Dragon Lee sought to avenge his friend, Rey Mysterio, against Chad Gable. And Sami Zayn addressed the WWE Universe after coming to the aid of Roman Reigns and The Usos Saturday.

Find out what went down, how it graded out and what it means for the road to Survivor Series on November 30 with this recap of the Raw after Crown Jewel.

Match Card

Announced in advance for Monday's show were:

• No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way match: Sheamus vs. Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio
• Dragon Lee vs. Chad Gable

Liv Morgan Promo

WWE teased the introduction of a rivalry between the team of women's world champion Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez and women's tag team champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill last week.

It reached the next level Monday night, with the babyfaces confronting the heels to kick off the show.

Belair and Cargill interrupted a victory lap for Morgan, who responded by planting the seeds of dissent between them.

Things descended into physicality as Belair slapped Morgan, and Raw general manager Adam Pearce interjected himself into the proceedings to announce a Battle Royal to determine the No. 1 contender to Morgan's title.

This was an effective way to kick off the show in that we got the continued tease of a Belair-Cargill split, the next chapter in the budding rivalry between the two teams and the announcement of a match with championship implications.

That is how you maximize minutes, even if there is an argument to be made that it's too early to begin the inevitable Belair-Cargill breakup.

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Why, yes, the hatred for Dirty Dom does transcend borders. The Riyadh crowd rained down boos on the heel. 
• Morgan tried creating dissension between Belair and Cargill, the second time in as many broadcasts that has happened. Analyst Corey Graves teased the same at Crown Jewel, claiming they are individuals at heart, hence their individual entrances.
• Belair slapped the life out of Morgan, whose face was bright red as the segment concluded.

No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal

Participants: Belair, Cargill, Maxxine Dupri, Ivy Nile, Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, Shayna Baszler, Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane, Lyra Valkyria, Isla Dawn, Natalya, Sonya Deville, Alba Fyre and Zelina Vega

Iyo Sky earned a shot at the Women's World Championship via a grueling victory in the night's opening Battle Royal.

This after Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez interfered, leading to the eliminations of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill in a moment that will likely lead to a high-stakes tag title match at Survivor Series...if Sky doesn't get her opportunity at the premium live event first.

Elsewhere, the Battle Royal did a decent job of highlighting some of the ongoing "stories" in the Raw women's division, but it served to showcase one inconvenient truth: The roster is loaded with talent with only so many opportunities to shine.

Hopefully, that becomes more of an initiative heading into 2025 because, as great as Triple H and his creative team's efforts have been, the utilization of the women's division beyond the four or five most frequently featured stars has left a lot to be desired.

Result

Sky won, last eliminating Valkyria

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Nile eliminated Dupri to continue that story of friends-turned-enemies.
• It was nice to see Valkyria last to the final four in her return to Saudi Arabia, where she last felt like someone in the middle of a major push.
• Belair and Cargill's staredown and tease drew a monster reaction, which indicates that the eventual match will be straight fire. 
  
• Can we get a best-of-seven series from Valkyria and Sky, mostly so we can see excellent matches from two of the best ring workers in the division every week?

• Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed The New Day's Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston. The Wyatt Sicks interrupted with a new video that saw Bo Dallas confront the abducted Miz, revealing they always wanted him, never The Final Testament. A clip of The Miz promising Dallas and Curtis Axel that he would make them stars from years earlier preceded it. A nice touch and some true long-term storytelling. 

The New Day vs. The War Raiders

Miscommunication between Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods led to another crushing defeat for The New Day at the hands of The War Raiders.

Late in a competitive match, Kingston set up for Trouble in Paradise, only for Woods to tag himself in.

Erik and Ivar responded by laying out Kingston and finishing the former King of the Ring off with War Machine for the win.

The action was solid and both Michael Cole and Corey Graves did some of their best work in weeks on the headset, all while New Day continued their downward spiral to what feels like a split and War Raiders built momentum ahead of their upcoming world tag title opportunity.

This was another strong segment in a series of them this week.

Result

The War Raiders defeated The New Day

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Cole told the story of Erik and Ivar and the serious injuries they have had to overcome to get back to the squared circle. It helps with getting The War Raiders over with fans at home, which will ultimately translate to the live experience.
• Graves followed Cole's work by examining the styles of both men earlier in their careers compared to how they compete today. Great stuff and one of the best calls in weeks.

Sami Zayn's Explanation

On the heels of his appearance at Crown Jewel, where he saved Roman Reigns and The Usos from a beatdown at the hands of Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Jacob Fatu before errantly kicking The OTC, Sami Zayn addressed his actions Monday night.

Before he could say much, Jey Uso interrupted and questioned whether his longtime friend intended to kick Reigns. Jimmy Uso joined the fray from there, trying to talk sense into his brother while questioning Zayn's trustworthiness.

After some more verbal back-and-forth, Jey implored Zayn to come to SmackDown Friday night and join him, his brother and Reigns to talk things out.

This was a logical next step in the gradual reunion of the OG Bloodline. Jimmy, who wanted nothing to do with Zayn, would logically take issue with Jey trying to reunite with him after the accidental kick to The Head of the Table.

Jey, understandably, supported his friend.

Now it will be up to Zayn to determine whether he shows up Friday night and is interested in settling differences with Reigns ahead of what most expect to be a WarGames match with the revamped Bloodline.

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• "I can't tell you how proud I am to come out here in front of my people and speak our language on WWE TV," Zayn said.
• Jey claimed to have watched the footage from Saturday, then asked Zayn if he meant to kick Reigns, begging the question: Did Jey actually watch the footage?
• "I don't hate you, Jimmy. You're not a bad guy. You make bad decisions," Zayn said.
• "I was wrong. Just because he's not blood-related...that don't make him family. He is family," Jey said. "I see Jey Uso. I see Jimmy Uso and I see...Sami Uso." 

Dragon Lee vs. Chad Gable

Dragon Lee sought revenge after American Made's Chad Gable attacked Rey Mysterio last week in the Triple Threat No. 1 Contender's match, squaring off with the Olympian in singles competition.

What ensued was a great match between two of the best in-ring performers on Raw, with styles that complement each other well.

Late in the match, Zelina Vega prevented Gable from cheating and earned an attack from Ivy Nile for her troubles. Rey Mysterio hit the ring to check on Vega, and a tussle with Gable ensued.

The distraction allowed Lee to deliver Operation Dragon and score the pinfall victory.

This was excellent, and if the idea in the coming weeks is to let the LWO and American Made have great matches on Monday nights, so be it.

More of this, please.

Result

Lee defeated Gable

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, interviewer Jackie Redmond caught up with Seth Rollins, who put over Bronson Reed as a monster before turning his attention to the night's main event. For some reason, it feels like that Reed name-drop might come into play later.
• Lee took a hellish bump over the ring post and to the floor entering the break. The slow-motion replay, which showed how close he came to a catastrophic landing, was outstanding.
• Justified "This is awesome" chants for Lee and Gable. (That's how it goes, right?)
• Backstage, Gunther took responsibility for his loss to Cody Rhodes, calling The American Nightmare the better man at Crown Jewel. He twice took shots at Ludwig Kaiser for not taking care of Sheamus last week, and he ended the promo by saying they must both do better.
  

No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match

Damian Priest will have the opportunity to avenge his SummerSlam loss to Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship after defeating Dominik Mysterio, Sheamus, and Seth Rollins in a No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way match.

The Archer of Infamy overcame a devastating Tsunami from an interfering Bronson Reed to catch Mysterio in midair with South of Heaven for the win.

The match that preceded the finish was as great as expected given the talent involved. It was physical, featured great storytelling and sequences, and it benefited from quality near-falls.

The work by all involved to present Mysterio as someone who might actually belong, only to have him cower as Reed tore through the babyfaces, was outstanding.

Speaking of the Australian, he bounced back from Crown Jewel spectacularly here and looks as dangerous as ever after costing Rollins a championship opportunity.

Priest vs. Gunther may not be the most exciting option for some, but the babyface has been one of the best stories of 2024 and has earned another shot at the world title that he only lost because of Finn Bálor.

Result

Priest defeated Sheamus, Rollins and Mysterio to become No. 1 contender

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• So much was made of Mysterio not deserving this opportunity or being a real threat that one has to wonder if this is the beginning of a slow burn to an eventual title win, either as a reformed underdog babyface (the worst choice) or the gutless heel who cheats his way to victory (the better option).
• Fans and analysts may have undervalued Sheamus for the last few years. Few consistently turn in the best match of any show the way he does. That the Irishman is at his best at 46 years old is even more impressive.
• Reed smashing everyone and looking like a total beast is exactly the creative recovery he needed after Saturday's loss, even if he was booked extremely well in the match against Rollins. The Tsunami to his rival, through the announce table, was the exclamation point on things.

Overall Grade

WWE rolled into Riyadh and delivered one of its best weekly television shows from an in-ring perspective in months.

Lee and Gable stole the show with a physical battle while the women's Battle Royal to start the show featured enough intertwined storytelling and a great finish from Sky and Valkyria to make it a success.

A good New Day vs. War Raiders contest and a fantastic main event capped off the broadcast.

Add in the rejuvenation of Reed, teased breakups for more than one tag team and the latest in the Bloodline drama, and you have an easy thumbs up for the November 4 episode of Raw.

Grade: B+