Drew McIntyre Starts the Show, Bron Breakker VS Ludwig Kaiser
Monday Night Raw kicked off this week with Drew McIntyre hijacking in the show and cutting a fiery promo on CM Punk. Drew talked about how everyone who chants CM Punk’s name is dead to him, and how he now has his family on his side (because he was wearing a friendship bracelet with their names on). McIntyre then went on to say that he’s going to go on to win the Money in the Bank Briefcase so he can rub being the World Heavyweight Champion in whilst Punk’s sitting at home. This was a great promo, Drew is absolutely killing it right now!
Grade: B+
Chad Gable arrived at the arena clearly still in shock over what happened at the end of last week’s show before Bron Breakker took on Ludwig Kaiser in the first match of the night. This was a solid match, Bron is a lot of fun to watch right now whilst Ludwig has always been a technical wizard. Kaiser actually got a lot more offense in then expected, and he ended up technically winning this match, even if it was due to Sheamus wrecking him in the face with a superb Knee! The Celtic Warrior was then planning to powerbomb Kaiser through the announce table, but his plans got ruined by a nasty Bron Breakker Spear!
Grade: C+
Men’s and Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Matches: Lyra Valkyria VS Shayna Baszler VS Kairi Sane, Liv Morgan Promo, Braun Strowman VS Chad Gable VS Bronson Reed
Damian Priest was not impressed with The Judgment Day having fun with their new gifts from Liv Morgan before Bron Breakker demanded Adam Pearce give him a shot at the Intercontinental Championship. Sami Zayn then appeared and agreed to the match which is pretty exciting! It was then time for a Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match as Lyra Valkyria, Shayna Baszler, and Kairi Sane all looked to progress. This was actually a fun match, all three women are former NXT Women’s Champions, and they showed why here. Kairi looked great, Shayna looked smooth, and Lyra very much held her own! In the end, Sane was able to deliver the InSane Elbow to The Queen of Spades before Valkyria took advantage and hit the Nightwing to score the win!
Grade: B-
Drew McIntyre demanded Adam Pearce add him to the Money in the Bank Ladder Match which Pearce rejected before Liv Morgan arrived to cut a promo about how much she loves Dominik Mysterio. Zelina Vega then arrived and said she wants a shot at the Women’s World Championship which Liv agreed to do next week. Dominik Mysterio then arrived and told Zelina he wants to help her before a brawl broke out between Morgan and Vega. In the end, Rey Mysterio got involved and this led to Dominik shoving his Father over which Liv saw as him protecting her. I don’t know what’s going on anymore.
Grade: C+
Adam Pearce confirmed that Chad Gable is clear to compete, but he wouldn’t speak about Gable’s mental state before we got a terrific video package for Seth “Freakin” Rollins. Now that’s a star! Liv Morgan then tried to win Dominik Mysterio over again before she somehow got R-Truth to agree to giving The Judgment Day a shot at the World Tag Team Championships. Chad Gable then appeared and cut a great promo about how he will never die before he took on Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed in a Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match. I thought Bronson Reed looked good here, and Chad Gable is always great! Braun Strowman was probably in control the most, but he got wiped out by The Judgment Day who attacked him and took him out of the match completely. This allowed Master Gable to hit a picture-perfect Moonsault to get the amazing victory before Sister Abigail arrived and scared Gable off again. She then handed Michael Cole a box to end the segment!
Grade: B- (Just for Gable)
Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn VS Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, Seth “Freakin” Rollins Interrupts Damian Priest, Karrion Kross VS Kofi Kingston
Michael Cole revealed that there was a VHS tape inside of the box from Sister Abigail before Chad Gable wanted to apologise to the Alpha Academy. Otis and Akira Tozawa didn’t seem interested whilst Maxxine Dupri at least seemed a little bit more keen, but even she wasn’t sure. Diamond Mine then appeared and checked in on Gable, and all of this was really well done. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn then took on Katana Chance and Kayden Carter in Tag Team action which was hurt by the fact that the crowd didn’t care. In the end, it was Fyre and Dawn who picked up the victory before they were attacked by Damage CTRL!
Grade: C
Damian Priest arrived at The Judgment Day’s Clubhouse to see Liv Morgan leaving, and Finn Balor was the only person inside! I feel sorry for Priest! The Miz was then not impressed with R-Truth for booking them in a Title defense before Damian Priest arrived to cut a promo on Seth “Freakin” Rollins. Damian said that Seth will never be World Heavyweight Champion as long as he is around before Rollins arrived and said that Priest is only Champion because of help. In the end, Seth added some stakes to their Championship match as if Priest wins, Seth can’t fight for the Title as long as El Campeon is around, but if The Visionary wins, Damian Priest must leave The Judgment Day. Priest then responded with an interesting line about them needing him more than he needs them, and after he accepted, Gunther’s music hit as The Ring General arrived to remind everyone that no matter what happens at Money in the Bank, he’s winning the Gold at Summerslam! This was a great segment, genuinely very well done to all involved!
Grade: A-
We got a very interesting video where Bo Dallas was talking to Uncle Howdy. Not only was this actually quite surprising, but it was actually really good, and was emotional at times. Kofi Kingston was then out next as he went one-on-one with Karrion Kross. This match only went a couple of minutes as Kofi got distracted by AOP destroying Xavier Woods backstage. This distraction allowed Kross to hit The Final Prayer to score the win! I like Karrion Kross so I’m always glad to see him win, but there really wasn’t much to this.
Grade: C
World Tag Team Championships: The Awesome Truth VS The Judgment Day
And in the Main Event, The Awesome Truth put their World Tag Team Championships on the line against The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and JD McDonagh. The action in this match was decent, but it was all about the storylines and the things going on on the outside. Liv Morgan arrived early in the match to watch on before Carlito and Dominik Mysterio arrived later on. This excited Liv who tried to once again hug “Dirty” Dom before Braun Strowman arrived to chase the Heels off. R-Truth was then rolling in the ring before Liv Morgan jumped on the apron and distracted him before she ultimately took him out! This allowed Finn Balor to hit his trademark dropkick before Balor climbed to the top rope and delivered the Coup de Grace onto Truth to score the win meaning The Judgment Day are once again Tag Team Champions! I’m more than happy with this result, and you can tell that Liv is definitely starting to win some of them over!
