CM Punk Starts the Show, Chad Gable VS Jey Uso
After a recap of what went down at Money in the Bank, Monday Night Raw kicked off this week with none other than CM Punk. CM Punk talked about how actions have consequences, and that is exactly why he keeps costing Drew McIntyre the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk then said he wanted to get his hands on Drew, but to do that he needs McIntyre’s suspension to be lifted before Seth “Freakin” Rollins made his presence felt as he walked down to the ring. Seth called out Punk for being entitled and that he won’t stand for his selfishness before The Best in the World responded with a pretty terrible apology! This ultimately resulted in Rollins telling Punk that as soon as he’s medically cleared to compete, The Visionary will break his arm and put him back on the shelf permanently! This was a hell of a start to the show, CM Punk said some interesting things, but it was Seth Rollins’ fire and actual disdain for his rival that really made this feel massive!
Grade: B+
After Liv Morgan told Dominik Mysterio that they need to get on the same page, it was time for the first match of the night as Chad Gable took on Jey Uso. This was solid action, both guys didn’t do anything wrong, but it did feel like they were holding back a little. Still, Master Gable pulled off some great moves and he was looking in a pretty strong position until the Wyatt Sick6’s music hit and this distracted Chad enough for Jey to hit the Spear and score the win! After the match, Abby the Witch once again appeared and handed a box to the commentary team as Chad Gable ran away!
Grade: C+
Bronson Reed VS Pete Dunne, Sami Zayn Promo, The Judgment Day VS Braun Strowman and The Awesome Truth
Sheamus was talking to Jackie Redmond about his 15-year Anniversary in WWE before Bronson Reed walked in to tell Sheamus to focus on his match closely. That’s because The Big Aussie was out next as he went one-on-one with Pete Dunne. This felt like a very random match, but the action in the ring was pretty decent, and it was just nice to see Bronson Reed wrestling again. Pete Dunne did his best to try and tire down Bronson, but in the end, a massive Tsunami scored Reed the win. After the match, Sheamus ran down to make the save, but Pete Dunne didn’t want anything to do with his former Brute!
Grade: C+
The Judgment Day were chatting backstage as Seth “Freakin” Rollins came over and praised Damian Priest before he told the World Heavyweight Champion that he needs to be better at Summerslam. El Campeon then told Rollins that once he’s done with Gunther, he’d be happy for them to face off again. After this, Priest picked up a phone call, teasing a potential appearance down the line. Sami Zayn was out next to a large ovation as the Intercontinental Champion talked about the fact that he’s no longer the underdog in this situations because he is the Champion! Bron Breakker then arrived, and instead of just asking for a rematch, Breakker Speared Zayn not once, but twice after WWE officials failed to do anything helpful! It’s also worth mentioning that Ilja Dragunov demanded a match with Bron Breakker right after this which is always exciting!
Grade: C+
It was then time for some Tag Team action as The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, and Carlito took on the trio of Braun Strowman and The Awesome Truth. This was a totally fine match, there really wasn’t much point to it, but the crowd seemed to enjoy it which is okay. Braun Strowman only seemed to care about running through JD McDonagh and this ultimately took him out of play, and following R-Truth celebrating for literally no reason, Finn Balor connected with the missile dropkick followed by the Coup de Grace to score the W!
Grade: C+
Bron Breakker VS Ilja Dragunov, Damage CTRL VS Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter
Adam Pearce told CM Punk that he has to stay at home next week so he can speak to Drew McIntyre before Liv Morgan attempted to warm up Dominik Mysterio. This is when the rest of The Judgment Day walked in and Damian Priest was not at all impressed! Priest also did some more teasing as to who his potential phone call might have been with! We then got an interesting Wyatt Sick6 video revealed Joe Gacy, Erick Rowan, and Dexter Lumis as some of the members of the new faction before Chad Gable demanded Adam Pearce do something about them. As Pearce then headed into his office, he was met by none other than Bo Dallas! Damage CTRL then had a great video promo which was honestly shot really well before we headed into a match between Bron Breakker and Ilja Dragunov! This was a good match, the action was smooth whilst also hard-hitting, but it again felt like they were holding something back. However, the interesting thing about this contest is Dragunov had Breakker on the ropes to the point where Bron through a chair at The Mad Dragon to get himself disqualified. Sami Zayn then ran down to try and make the save, but it all just resulted in The Badass chucking both Sami and Ilja over the announce table! I can’t express enough how much I want a Triple Threat to happen!
Grade: B-
Damian Priest got a great video package where he made great points about his run as World Heavyweight Champion before he made it clear to Gunther that he will prevail at Summerslam. Pat McAfee then did a great job with the “Piero-Patostrator” before Karrion Kross cut a great promo on The New Day! It was then time for some more Tag Team action as Damage CTRL took on the trio of Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance, and Kayden Carter. Everyone in this match has won Championship gold so they can go in the ring, and I think that was very much the case in this contest. The KC’s are a lot of fun to watch, as are Damage CTRL, whilst Lyra Valkyria has all the makings to be a Main Roster World Champion. Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t care which was a shame and the match ultimately ended with DC picking up the win following an Over the Moonsault from Iyo Sky. After the match, Damage Control were attacked quite viciously by Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark, and I have to say, I thought this was really cool!
Grade: C+ for the Match, B for the Aftermath
Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio VS Rey Mysterio and Zelina Vega
After promos from The LWO, Sonya Deville, and Gunther (Gunther’s was particually great), it was Main Event time as Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio teamed up to take on The LWO’s Rey Mysterio and Zelina Vega in Mixed Tag Team action. This match was alright, the action itself wasn’t exactly good or bad, but it was all about the story surrounding Liv and “Dirty” Dom. After Vega was taken out, Morgan tripped Rey Mysterio on the top rope and this allowed Dominik to nail a Frog Splash to finally score the win before it finally looked like Dom was going to embrace the Women’s World Champion! However, Rhea Ripley’s music then hit as The Eradicator made her return and you could tell that she was properly pissed off with Mysterio! Rhea being back is always going to be a good thing, and I think Dominik and Liv are doing a great job!
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