On the heels of a major defeat at the hands of Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel and ahead of Damian Priest's challenge for his World Heavyweight Championship, Gunther returned to WWE Raw on Monday night to address The Archer of Infamy.

What did The Ring General have to say and what else did the flagship show have in store for its fans?

Find out with this recap of the November 11 broadcast.

Match Card

Announced in advance of Monday's show:

• Women's Tag Team Championship: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill (c) vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez
• Bronson Reed appearance
• Gunther promo

Gunther Promo

World heavyweight champion Gunther kicked off the show, poised to address his new No. 1 contender, Damian Priest. Before he could say much of anything, the former champion hit the ring, daring The Ring General to say it to his face.

Priest told Gunther that the insurmountable monster who dominated WWE was no longer that. He was, instead, a shell of himself.

Ludwig Kaiser interrupted proceedings, only for Gunther to cut off his rant. Priest leveled Kaiser and the segment came to an end without The Ring General denouncing The Archer of Infamy's claims.

This was a great segment that played on the previous promo segments between Priest and Gunther. This time, it is the typically brash champion who is reeling from a loss that left him doubting himself as he prepares for a former champion more confident than ever.

This established the story of the Survivor Series title match and set up Priest vs. Kaiser later in the show.

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Priest rocked a Bad Bunny shirt, begging the question: Could the biggest streaming artist in the world be on his way back to WWE? 
• "This vibe of yours...it started fading because you started doubting yourself. You were just in Saudi and I saw that vibe starting to fade even more because you were pinned by Cody Rhodes," Priest said.
• Gunther shut down Kaiser's promo, drawing "Oos" from fans as the teased tension between champion and sidekick continues to heat up.

Damage CTRL vs. Pure Fusion Collective

In her first match back after three months away following an assault at the hands of Pure Fusion Collective, Dakota Kai joined her Damage CTRL teammates, Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane, for a six-woman tag against Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark.

The heels spent the majority of the match working over Sane, only for The Pirate Princess to create separation, break out of their grasp and make the tag to Kai.

A spirited comeback concluded with Sky delivering Over the Moonsault and continuing to build momentum ahead of her upcoming Women's World Championship shot against Liv Morgan.

An energetic tag match saw the right team go over and build momentum for a championship bout that will likely take place at Survivor Series on November 30.

Result

Damage CTRL defeated Pure Fusion Collective

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Kai's return in the pre-match, backstage promo drew a big response from the fans and a high-five from interviewer Cathy Kelley.
• Backstage, Xavier Woods sported a Baron Corbin T-shirt during a backstage segment with Kofi Kingston. R-Truth and Pete Dunne that ended with a match made between Kingston and Dunne later in the show.
• Wade Barrett called back Sky and Stark's reign as tag champions during their NXT run. 

Kofi Kingston vs. Pete Dunne

Born in a backstage confrontation earlier in the night, Kofi Kingston squared off with Pete Dunne in singles competition as Xavier Woods watched from ringside.

Dunne controlled the match early and often until Kingston mounted a babyface comeback late.

After Woods wiped out Dunne at ringside, Kingston confronted his tag team partner, taking exception to his interference. The distraction allowed Dunne to recover and deliver the Bitter End for the win.

This was a match that doubled as a story advancement, with the tension between Kingston and Woods escalating to the point that the former was finally angered by his teammate's selfishness.

One of two things is going to happen: Kingston is going to turn heel and the entire New Day will be on that side or the split is coming whether longtime New Day fans like it or not.

Result

Dunne defeated Kingston

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Woods was noticeably irritated and frustrated by the situation as he seconded Kingston at ringside.
• Woods is already a great heel and has not even officially turned yet.

Bronson Reed Promo

Bronson Reed hit the ring for some promo time and wasted no time calling out Seth Rollins.

The babyface answered the call and brawled with the big man at ringside.

The intensity was there and the result was another fun pull-apart that, hopefully, results in the concluding match of the rivalry.

It's been great and has done wonders for Reed, but it feels like this has run its course and there's little else to get out of it.

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• "I am not a competitor. I am a monster," Reed said.
• Rollins recovered and ran across the announce table to cut off an attempted Tsunami attempt by Reed.

Damian Priest vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Before Damian Priest battled Ludwig Kaiser, Rollins met with Raw general manager Adam Pearce, who gave him what he wanted: a one-on-one match-up with Reed.

From there, Sami Zayn approached and pitched Rollins on setting aside his differences with Roman Reigns and teaming with the OG Bloodline to battle the new Bloodline in WarGames at Survivor Series.

Rollins balked at it, questioning why anyone would want to stand beside Reigns given everything he has done. A resounding "no" from The Visionary.

Back in the squared circle, Priest and Kaiser delivered a fun match that saw the No. 1 contender overcome his opponent's attack and put him down with South of Heaven for the pinfall victory.

Another quality showing from Priest, who is a bona fide top guy in WWE, while Kaiser might be the most underrated wrestler on the roster right now.

Result

Priest defeated Kaiser

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Zayn told Rollins he was the only guy who could team with the OG Bloodline at Survivor Series, a line that is sure to rub Kevin Owens the wrong way when it comes time to rekindle that rivalry with his best friend.
• Kaiser looks to be in the best shape of his career. He's been ridiculously good all year, especially in the series of matches with Sheamus, and has earned a bigger push.
• Gunther retreated, seemingly intimidated by the victorious Priest. A logical next progression based on the story ignited in that opening promo segment.

Karrion Kross Threatens The Miz

After The Miz was released by The Wyatt Sicks, Karrion Kross and The Final Testament confronted him.

The A-Lister said he wanted a leave of absence, but Kross instead threatened to break his legs, with Akam and Rezar dragging the former WWE champion to the ring.

"Where are the Wyatts?" Kross demanded to know. He got his answer in short order as The Wyatt Sicks appeared.

Miz blasted Erick Rowan with a steel chair, to which Uncle Howdy laughed before a brawl ensued. The heels laid out the enigmatic babyfaces and Kross embraced Miz.

Still, the heels looked on with a sense of fear as a beaten-down Howdy laughed maniacally to close the segment.

This was an interesting development, with Miz and Kross clearly working together to sucker The Wyatt Sicks in, only to find out that Howdy appeared unsurprised and even overjoyed by the development.

What that means for the heels remains to be seen, but it would be great if we got something from Howdy explaining how and why he knew to expect the betrayal that came from Miz.

Grade

C+, with plenty of room for growth depending on where this story goes

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Kross has been great over the last six months, and it's nice to see him get the opportunity to shine in a significant storyline.
• Is anyone better at making the most of what is given to him than The Miz? He feels like a guy totally out of his realm in this story, but he was outstanding here. 

Women's Tag Team Championship

Not even interference from Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton could result in new women's tag team champions as Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill successfully retained against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez in Monday's main event.

The short match saw the champs benefit from a well-timed save from Naomi to pick up the win.

After the match, a brawl between the women ensued, with Iyo Sky rushing to the aid of the babyfaces. The champions, Sky and Naomi stood tall to close out the show.

There was little to this match, with most of the important developments coming after as it appeared Triple H and the creative team had set the stage for the women's WarGames match.

If that is the case, it would be interesting that the women's match would be just four competitors per team as opposed to the men's, which is set to feature five.

Result

Belair and Cargill retained

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The commentary team noted that Belair is the winningest Superstar in all of WWE in 2024, with 23 victories.
• Cargill vs. Rodriguez could be a lot of fun as a power vs. power matchup.
• Naomi rushing the ring to assist Belair and Cargill made a ton of sense dating back to their Big Three team at WrestleMania 40. 

Overall Grade

There was plenty to like about this show, with several significant developments unfolding involving Rollins.

There was some strong work from Priest and Gunther, further teases of dissension within The New Day and The Judgment Day, and we saw The Wyatt Sicks laid out for the first time.

It was a good show that felt a bit rushed, likely due to a double-taping setup and the two-hour run time. Still, it continued the road to Survivor Series and gave fans intriguing storylines to follow and a big brawl of a main event segment to boot.

A quality show, if not an earth-shattering one.

Grade: B