WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Seth Rollins threatens Paul Heyman, takes out CM Punk with a stomp

Rollins grabbed the upper hand in his ongoing feud with CM Punk and Roman Reigns

When CM Punk called in his favor to Paul Heyman, requesting Heyman be in his corner for Punk's WrestleMania match against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, it placed Heyman firmly between a rock and a hard place. Monday's Raw did not see that situation improve for Heyman.

Rollins broke down the situation to Heyman, pointing out that both Punk and Reigns don't care about him and just use him for their own wants and needs. Then, Rollins threatened to violently remove Heyman from the equation. This led to Punk running in to save his friend from an attack only to be laid out by a Rollins stomp as "The Visionary" grabbed the psychological upper hand less than two weeks out from WrestleMania.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Target Center in Minneapolis.

Rollins threatens Heyman, stomps Punk

Paul Heyman came out to end the show by saying that he will always be loyal to Roman Reigns, but he will also always be loyal to CM Punk and being loyal to both does not mean he will betray either one at WrestleMania. This brought out Seth Rollins to confront Heyman. Rollins said that neither Punk nor Reigns care about Heyman. When Reigns lost the championship at last year's WrestleMania, he abandoned Heyman to the cruel whims of The Bloodline. And when Punk walked out on the company more than a decade ago, he also walked out on his "best friend" in Heyman. Also, Heyman only came to Punk for help in WarGames after he came to Rollins first, and Rollins pointed out that Punk only agreed because it meant he could get a favor from Heyman, not because of their friendship.

Rollins then suggested that he could make things easy and just remove Heyman from the situation entirely. After Rollins began to manhandle Heyman, Punk ran in to make the save. Rollins and Punk brawled around the ring before Rollins was able slide into the ring and hit a stomp on Punk as Punk came through the ropes. Rollins set up Heyman for a stomp as he was consoling Punk, but Rollins spared him. The show ended with Rollins telling Heyman "now you owe me a favor."

This is an interesting situation because Punk, Reigns and Rollins are all using Heyman. Heyman is really in a no win situation at this point and also watched Punk lay out Reigns on SmackDown and now Rollins lay out Punk on Raw. Every note of the story isn't hitting perfectly but in a way, all three men are acting somewhat like heels while an old man is stuck as the ultimate victim. Grade: B

What else happened on WWE Raw?

• Adam Pearce added Rhea Ripley to the women's world championship match at WrestleMania. Ripley, Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky briefly exchanged words before signing their contract. Belair and Ripley eventually shoved Sky out of the way, leading to Sky taking out both women with a springboard dropkick.
• Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor spoke about both being added to a four-way match for the intercontinental championship at WrestleMania. While acting excited for Mysterio, Balor took the opportunity to deliver a few backhanded compliments.
• Women's Intercontinental Championship – Lyra Valkyria (c) def. Bayley via pinfall with a roll-up. Valkyria offered a handshake after the match and Bayley slapped her hand away before changing her mind and reentering the ring for a hug.
• El Grade Americano & The Creed Bros def. LWO via pinfall when Americano landed a diving headbutt with a loaded mask on Dragon Lee. Later in the show, Rey Mysterio petitioned for a match with Americano at WrestleMania, a request to which Pearce agreed.
• Jey Uso confronted Gunther about Gunther's attack on Jimmy Uso the previous week. Uso said he was scared of Gunther and that Gunther had been three steps ahead of him up until the attack. But while Gunther beat his twin to a bloody pulp, a lightbulb went off and he realized he wasn't afraid of the world heavyweight champion anymore. Uso closed by saying he would say a prayer the night before WrestleMania asking forgiveness for the man he was about to become.
• World Tag Team Championship – New Day def. War Raiders (c) via disqualification. New Day brought a chair into the ring and Ivar ended up hitting Xavier Woods in the stomach with it while trying to take it away, leading to the disqualification. New Day attacked and laid out both War Raiders after the match, focusing on both Raiders' previously injured necks.
• Penta def. Dominik Mysterio via pinfall with a Penta Driver. Carlito attacked Penta after the match only for Bron Breakker to make the save, spearing Carlito and Mysterio before delivering a spear to Penta. Finn Balor then attacked Breakker from behind before posing with the intercontinental championship.