Braun Strowman sent a message, loud and clear, to universal champion Brock Lesnar during a steel cage main event against Big Show that headlined the September 4 episode of Raw.

The Monster Among Men pummeled the giant, defeated him and sent him crashing through the side of the steel structure to cap off what was overall a quality holiday episode of the flagship show.

Jeff Hardy challenged The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, John Cena battled upstart Jason Jordan and Roman Reigns had a few words for the franchise star against whom he will compete at the September 24 pay-per-view event.

Find out who emerged victorious during Monday's broadcast and what effects the results of the show will have in the weeks to come with this recap of the USA Network broadcast.

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Jason Jordan would face his toughest test to date Monday night as he faced the measuring stick of WWE, John Cena, in the night's opening contest.

Jordan utilized his documented mat work to out-wrestle Cena, grounding the 16-time world champion as both pro- and anti-Cena chants broke out in Omaha, Nebraska. A waist lock helped the NCAA wrestler maintain control of the bout.

A big Irish whip allowed Cena to take control heading into the break.

Cena once again fought from underneath late, delivering his trademark side suplex slam and Five Knuckle Shuffle.

Jordan evaded an Attitude Adjustment and rolled Cena up for a two count. The STF followed, though, leaving commentators Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Booker T to question whether the inexperienced singles competitor could score the victory.

Jordan countered into a crossface, to which Cena countered into a fireman's carry. Jordan countered that and delivered two straight Northern Lights suplexes for a near-fall.

It would take one last counter, out of a side suplex, followed by the Attitude Adjustment, to net the victory for the franchise star.

Result

John Cena defeated Jason Jordan

Grade

B

Analysis

This was a solid enough match but it did feel, at more than one point, that the Superstars were going through the motions until it was time to execute the hot, frenetically-paced last third of the match.

With that said, Jordan looked strong in defeat, as has been the case for a few weeks now. He hung in there with Cena, proving himself capable of working with the best and not looking horribly out of place.

The question is, what is the end game with Jordan?

Does he finally win a high-profile match or is this the case of WWE stringing a nonexistent carrot in front of him before settling him into the deep, dark abyss of nondescript midcarders?

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Moments after Cena defeated Jordan in the opener, Roman Reigns interrupted and after a quick break, enjoyed the leader of the Cenation in a verbal spat.

After some refreshing back-and-forth that felt more natural than the forced insults from a week ago, Cena admitted a lack of respect for Reigns and vowed to beat his ass at No Mercy.

Reigns, unfazed, told Cena to do it now.

There was no fight and the segment ended with The Big Dog walking away, the anticipation for the upcoming match enhanced significantly.

Grade

A

Analysis

Whereas last week felt like a loss for Reigns, who came across as overly scripted, this felt more natural and believable. He was quick to shoot back at Cena, who pointed out his fly being down, and responded to harsh criticisms the way you would hope his character would.

Cena spoke with great conviction, even if half of what he said felt hypocritical.

Especially the part about Reigns being the golden boy.

The impending match will be infinitely more exciting thanks to the strengths of these verbal wars than it would have otherwise been with the tired WWE Creative booking tropes.