Humberto Carrillo certainly did not waste his opportunity to make an impression on Raw, giving Universal Champion Seth Rollins all he could handle after some passive-aggressive shade compelled The Beastslayer to challenge the 205 Live veteran to a match. But with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt looming ahead in a Universal Championship Falls Count Anywhere Match that can’t be stopped for any reason, Rollins was simply not going to let himself be defeated — let alone by an upstart, no matter how talented.

And make no mistake; Carrillo is talented. The purple-brand workhorse whipped Rollins to and fro with a seemingly bottomless array of springboard armdrags, darted the champion with suicide dives and generally gave Rollins such a fit that he couldn’t help but be impressed. Carrillo seemed inches from victory after a sky-high moonsault hit its mark, but his attempt at a second moonsault (the first only got two) was blocked by boots to the face from Rollins, who followed up with a superkick and Stomp for the victory.

Nonetheless, Carrillo seemed to have gotten, in some form, what he had come for. The champion was so impressed with his opponent’s efforts that he returned to the ring after the bell and shook Carrillo’s hand. He might not be ready to contend for the title, but the idea of Humberto Carrillo as Universal Champion is clearly not as farfetched as it was just a few hours earlier.

Despite a loss to Universal Champion Seth Rollins, Humberto Carrillo is thankful for the respect he earned from both Rollins and the WWE Universe during his Raw debut.