On the heels of an explosive Survivor Series: War Games that saw CM Punk coexist with Roman Reigns to lead The OG Bloodline to victory over Solo Sikoa and the new Bloodline, The Straight Edge Superstar rolled into the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington to open Monday's WWE Raw.

What did The Best in the World have to say about his latest, high-profile victory and who did he target next?

Find out with this recap of a show that also saw the first action in the Women's Intercontinental Championship tournament and a celebration of 10 years of The New Day.

Match Card

Announced in advance of Monday's show:

• CM Punk's show-opening promo
• Women's Intercontinental Championship Tournament: Dakota Kai vs. Katana Chance vs. Shayna Baszler
• Damage CTRL (Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane) vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez
• The New Day's 10th-Anniversary Celebration
• R-Truth vs. Pete Dunne

CM Punk Kicks Off Raw

CM Punk opened Monday's Raw and wasted little time laying out what is next for him: the Road to WrestleMania.

Seth Rollins interrupted, and a tense verbal exchange unfolded before a brawl, which brought Jey Uso and Sami Zayn to the ring.

Rollins eventually engaged Zayn in a back-and-forth until The Visionary referred to him as "stupid," leading to a match between the two being announced for later in the show.

This was a hot, commercial-free start to Raw that set several threads in motion.

We know Punk vs. Rollins is the endgame, but the latter's obsession with Roman Reigns remains strong. He lashed out against Punk, Uso and Zayn for teaming with The Tribal Chief, ultimately leading to the night's main event.

Whether he ends up involving himself in Reigns' Bloodline civil war remains to be seen but at least the long-overdue Rollins vs. Punk showdown is on the horizon.

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• "There are different ways you can 'finish your story,'" Punk said, teasing his journey to WrestleMania and a potential clash with Cody Rhodes.
• "I really should have knocked your ass out the same day you came back to WWE," Rollins told Punk.
• "I know where I'm going. I know what I want and, kid, you ain't it," Punk said.
• "You spent the last six months thinking about me? I don't think about you at all," The Straight Edge Superstar said.
• "That monster Roman Reigns? You created that monster. You created that monster when you put a chair in his back 10 years ago," Zayn told Rollins in reference to The Visionary betraying his then-Shield teammate in 2014.

Damage CTRL vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

Women's world champion Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez may have lost at Survivor Series on Saturday, but they recovered nicely to defeat Damage CTRL's Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane.

The match was short and to the point as Rodriguez overwhelmed the opposition with her power and ferocity, downing Sane with the Tejana Bomb for the win.

After the match, the victors' beatdown of Sky led to Rhea Ripley making the save, only to be sent crashing into the corner of the announce table, potentially injuring her broken orbital socket potentially even more.

It may be impossible to make Sky less of a priority than she was here. Not only did Damage CTRL lose, but Ripley's arrival also took the focus off of them and put it on her and the unfinished business with the heels.

Sure, the injury angle may justify the Australian missing some TV time, but otherwise this was a counterproductive segment.

Result

Rodriguez and Morgan defeated Sky and Sane

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Joe Tessitore revealed on commentary that Sky will challenge Morgan on December 14 for her title at Saturday Night's Main Event.

• The pop for Ripley was on the same level as Punk and Rollins, proof of her star power on this show.
• Backstage, Gunther brushed off Finn Bálor's request for a world title shot, instead saying he would get a match made with Dominik Mysterio.

Dakota Kai vs. Katana Chance vs. Shayna Baszler

The first Triple Threat match in the tournament to crown the first women's intercontinental champion saw Dakota Kai outlast Shayna Baszler and Katana Chance to advance.

Kai, who has seen her career start and stop at times due to injuries, proved her resilience by outlasting her rivals to prove herself in singles action and score the win.

A solid match, this was as much a breakout for Chance as it was the eventual winner.

The athletic underdog highlighted her unique offense and stood out from her two opponents as someone with the potential to be a high-flying, high-energy babyface.

Result

Kai defeated Chance and Baszler

Grade

B

Top Moments

• The attempted hurricanrana from Chance grabbed the fans' attention.
• Kai has worked so hard for so long to get to this point that it was nice to see her kick off a presumed singles run with a big win. 

10 Years of The New Day

The New Day, as we know it, is no more.

Big E returned to WWE Raw in an attempt to prevent Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston from making what appeared to be a heartbreaking announcement about the future of the group.

When he offered to be their manager to help get the team back on the same page, though, his longtime teammates turned on him.

They lashed out at Big E for "putting himself first" at the expense of their brotherhood. They ruthlessly ripped him apart, and when the former WWE champion refused to accept their new attitudes, they kept him at arm's reach before he left the ring in disbelief.

"It's just us now," Woods told Kingston as the segment came to an end.

No one had The New Day going heel on Big E on their bingo card. The way they did it, dismissing his broken neck and asking why he did not return despite "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Edge and Kurt Angle all coming back from the same injury, was ruthless and had fans doing the unthinkable: Booing Kingston in 2024.

This was a stellar segment with legitimate emotion and a devastating creative development for longtime fans of The New Day. It is also a jumping off point for the next chapter of the group's WWE story, something fans should be excited about.

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• WWE preceded the celebration with a phenomenal video package looking back at The New Day's greatest moments, some of which you can dive deeper into with this countdown of the group's 15 greatest moments and matches.

• "Kofi, 10 years ago, you were mulling retirement because you had your passion beaten out of you. Woods, 10 years ago, you and I were almost fired," Big E said.
• "What we built means something to a lot of people," Big E said.
• "E...you left us," Woods said. "Yeah, you broke your neck. So what?" Kingston said.
• "We didn't change. We didn't evolve, at our own deficit, for you," Woods said.

Gunther vs. Dominik Mysterio

After Gunther insisted on facing Dominik Mysterio since it was the second-generation Superstar who defeated Damian Priest a few weeks back on Raw, The Ring General clashed with Dirty Dom in a one-on-one contest.

The world heavyweight champion got a tougher-than-expected test and nearly suffered a humbling upset off a frog splash.

However, Gunther recovered and downed Mysterio for the win, only to be attacked by Finn Bálor, who left The Ring General lying to close out the segment.

And with that, it appears we know the direction the world champion is headed.

A showdown with Bálor is on the horizon, but the question remains: What happens when the veteran competitor fails to dethrone Gunther and has to convince his Judgment Day teammates that he is still the one to listen to?

Result

Gunther defeated Mysterio

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The low blow, 619 and frog splash not only led to a great near-fall but also generated "Dirty Dom" chants from the fans, proving that hell may well have frozen over.
• "Hope you learned your lesson, Dom," Bálor was overheard telling his Judgment Day teammate. 
• Backstage, an unknown assailant attacked Jey Uso, leaving him clutching the back of his head.

R-Truth vs. Pete Dunne

The burgeoning rivalry between R-Truth and Pete Dunne, born of the former's inability to decipher that The Bruiserweight and Butch are the same person, wrote its latest chapter Monday night.

Despite a focused attack by Dunne, Truth was able to further frustrate the British Strong Style competitor by upsetting him with a roll-up.

There wasn't much to this one outside of Truth's typically fun antics.

It was what it was and will likely lead to the escalation of the feud, though Dunne has more to offer than comedy wrestling.

Result

Truth defeated Dunne

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The crowd chanted "Butch," to the dismay of the heel, proving the efforts to train the audience to do so had worked.
• Backstage, Zayn asked Adam Pearce who attacked Uso. When the Raw general manager insisted he did not know, the former intercontinental champion insinuated it was Rollins and he would make him pay in the main event.

Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins used Zayn's emotions against him in the closing moments of Raw's abbreviated main event, convincing him to put down a steel chair and catching him with a small package roll-up for the win.

From there, he attempted to plead his case, insisting he did not attack Uso backstage, nor did he screw him out of the win.

With The Visionary making his way up the ramp, a hooded Drew McIntyre made his return, blasting Zayn with a Claymore and standing tall over the former intercontinental champion to close out the show.

Rollins taking advantage of the situation continued to tease a potential heel turn, despite his attempts to explain his way out of it.

His big night was almost immediately overshadowed by McIntyre, whose return has been hotly anticipated and whose actions suggest he has taken exception to Zayn and Uso proving to be exactly who he thought they were by reuniting with Reigns.

The follow-up will be of great interest, especially when the Scot gets to explain himself.

Result

Rollins pinned Zayn

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, Pearce informed Bálor that he would get a world title opportunity against Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 14. He also told the Irishman that he will defend his world tag team title next week.
• Tessitore gave away the McIntyre reveal a second or two before The Scottish Warrior actually showed himself. Not a big deal and something that he will time better with more experience. 

Overall Grade

This was the best episode of Raw since the road to WrestleMania 40.

We had new stories introduced, an all-timer segment out of The New Day, a new direction for Gunther and some quality women's wrestling early in the broadcast.

McIntyre's return was an exclamation point on the proceedings.

WWE is clearly already eying WrestleMania 41 season and all it wants to accomplish creatively and that was on full display here, with possible matchups hinted at all night long.

That is the type of focused, long-term booking fans demand, and Triple H and the WWE creative team have no problem delivering.

Grade: A