Seth “Freakin” Rollins Lays Out the Ground Rules, The Creed Brothers VS Otis and Akira Tozawa
Monday Night Raw kicked off this week with Seth “Freakin” Rollins coming down to the ring to lay out the ground rules for the big Summerslam clash between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. Both Punk and Drew came down to the ring as Seth made it clear that he was basically going to do whatever he wants on Saturday because he holds the power! Punk made it clear that he doesn’t care what Rollins does as long as he doesn’t help him whilst McIntyre tried to get in The Visionary’s head by reminding him how much they both hate The Second City Saint. We also got some quite funny lines including Drew calling his opponent “Corporate Man Punk” before the segment ended with The Scottish Psychopath teasing Punk with his bracelet! This was really good, everyone did a great job, and this is by far the most exciting match heading into Summerslam!
Grade: B
We headed to The Judgment Day Clubhouse to see it had been destroyed and Carlito was particually upset as the PlayStation had been smashed! Rhea Ripley is very much sick of him and things got worse as we came back from the ad break to find out that Carlito had gotten Dominik Mysterio a match with Sami Zayn! It was then time for the first match of the night as The Creed Brothers took on Otis and Akira Tozawa. This was a pretty decent match, we know how good The Creeds are, but it was also helped by just how over Otis is with the crowd! They loved him here when he was running wild, but too many pieces of interference from Chad Gable was finally enough for Julius and Brutus to pick up the win before Master Gable locked in the Ankle Lock! Maxxine Dupri broke this up and then slapped her former Master before The Wyatt Sick6’s music hit and surprisingly, Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, and Dexter Lumis all unmasked themselves as they took out The Creed Brothers whilst Chad Gable ran away! Another good segment!
Grade: B-
Bronson Reed VS Sheamus, Carlito VS Jey Uso, Karrion Kross VS Xavier Woods
The Judgment Day were once again back as Damian Priest wasn’t impressed by either Dominik Mysterio or Carlito. Priest then offered to be in Finn Balor’s corner for the Main Event, but The Prince said he needed to go at it alone. The next match saw Bronson Reed clash with Sheamus, and this was about as hard-hitting as you would expect. Both guys are pretty big, but they’re also very strong and they showed that with some great moves off the top rope! Sheamus was very much in control of things towards the end, but an “unlucky” moment where Reed got caught in the ropes allowed Pete Dunne to sneak in and deck The Celtic Warrior with a Shillelagh and this allowed Bronson to climb to the top rope and deliver a Tsunami to score the win! Never going to complain when Bronson Reed picks up a W!
Grade: C+
Damian Priest had a great video promo where he said he’s going to bring the streets to Gunther on Saturday (there’s an argument that that match should be a Street Fight) before Bron Breakker had a fun video promo where he said Sami was more focused on being a stand-up comic! Jey Uso then arrived as he was scheduled for a match with Carlito. This went how you would expect, Jey got in most of the offense with Carlito getting a few moves in, and then he got distracted talking to the referee about eating an apple and this allowed Uso to score the win via a Spear. I really have nothing else to say on this match, there really wasn’t much to it.
Grade: C
Zelina Vega was speaking to Jackie Redmond backstage before Sonya Deville’s crew arrived and just beat her up. This is the most “high school” thing I’ve seen in a while! The Miz then announced that he will be hosting Summerslam this weekend (which is nice for him), but R-Truth didn’t seem to get it. Karrion Kross then arrived and cut a good but also funny promo before it was time for him to go one-on-one with Xavier Woods. This was a decent match, but the crowd just didn’t care sadly. I don’t get what’s not clicking with The Final Testament as they have the look, the people, and the talent to be big in this company, but it’s just not working right now. However, Kross ultimately picked up the win after dropping Woods with the Final Prayer, and that is at least something because Karrion’s win-loss record isn’t great!
Grade: C+
Sami Zayn VS Dominik Mysterio, Lyra Valkyria and The KC’s VS Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark
Sami Zayn made it clear that he’s a different competitor than the one who beat Bron Breakker at Money in the Bank before Liv Morgan had a great video where she burnt a bunch of things that belonged to Dominik Mysterio. This was really, really good, and it showed that Liv really has lost it now! Speaking of Dominik Mysterio, he was out next as he took on one Sami Zayn! This was a decent match, both guys are good in their roles, but it ultimately ended up not really finishing in the best way as JD McDonagh and Carlito got into the ring to cause the DQ. This ultimately led to Jey Uso running down to make the save before Bron Breakker attacked Sami from behind, but he was ultimately knocked out of the ring by the Intercontinental Champion to end the segment! That match should be good on Saturday!
Grade: C+
Dexter Lumis had his own Wyatt Sick6 video before Chad Gable geniusly worked out the remaining members of the group! Gable then demanded Pearce book a six-man Tag with The Wyatt Sick6 next week so I’m interested to see how that goes! Rhea Ripley then had her own really good video promo where she said she’s going to make Liv Morgan pay and take her Women’s World Championship back before Lyra Valkyria once again teamed up with Katana Chance and Kayden Carter to take on the trio of Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark. The action here was decent, all six women are capable competitors so they were able to put on a decent showing. Zoey Stark was probably the standout here, and she actually scored the win with the Z360 before Damage CTRL made their return to Monday Night Raw to start a brawl!
Grade: C+
Finn Balor VS Gunther
After Gunther cut a great empty-arena promo, Damage CTRL challenged Sonya Deville’s Crew to a Six-Woman Tag, and more seeds of dissension were planted in The Judgment Day, it was Main Event time as Finn Balor collided with Gunther! This was a good match, it was nice to see Finn Balor working at a level where he’s able to showcase himself off more, and we all know how great Gunther is! Whilst Finn fought valiantly, The Ring General was made to look like a beast here and that showed when he ultimately made Balor pass out in a submission! Gunther then kept the move in after the bell which is when Damian Priest arrived and started a brawl which Priest dominated before the show went off the air. Like most of the Raw feuds, WWE have done a great job booking Priest-Gunther to be the biggest deal it possibly can be!
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