Reviews

The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 07/15/24 Review

By John Canton • Published 15th July 2024
WWE Raw Deal July 15

It’s WWE Raw with Rhea Ripley opening the show, Damian Priest facing Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre in the house, Sami Zayn in action against Ilja Dragunov, and more.

The big news from last week’s Raw was the return of Rhea Ripley. The Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan ran away while Ripley shoved Dominik Mysterio away rather than hug him. Ripley is back after about three months off, so it should lead to her having a match with Morgan at SummerSlam.

This is the Raw Deal for episode #1625 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

A video package aired about the Liv Morgan-Rhea Ripley rivalry over the last few months. As I mentioned above, Ripley returned last week with her eyes set on Morgan, who has the Women’s World Title that Ripley had before she got hurt.

Let’s Hear from Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley was shown exiting an elevator and then she walked in the backstage area leading to her entrance. The fans popped huge for Ripley, who is technically a heel with The Judgment Day, but the fans love her. Ripley got married to AEW’s Buddy Matthews while she was away with her injury, so congratulations to her.

It was Michael Cole and Pat McAfee on commentary. Cole said that Ripley’s return drew 15 million views on WWE’s social media platforms.

Ripley: “Monday Night Raw…Mami’s home.” The fans cheered. Ripley said it’s been three months since she’s been in this ring and that’s all because of one person…Liv Morgan. Ripley said that Morgan’s walking around with something she never lost, the Women’s World Championship. Ripley said that Morgan thinks she took Ripley out, but what she did was piss Ripley off. Ripley wanted Morgan to come out there so she can rip her apart.

Dominik Mysterio was here for the interruption. He was wearing his goofy coat while carrying a black rose in his hand. Dominik tried to talk to Ripley, who turned her back to him.

Liv Morgan did a promo in the backstage area while talking about how her voice was weak because she was in Mexico on tour. Morgan reiterated that she said that she wanted to take everything from Ripley. Morgan said she’s gotten to know Dominik, she has looked into his eyes and even kissed him. Morgan said she was closer to him than even Rhea was. Morgan said that Mami may be back, but Liv is on top.

Ripley said that she knows Liv would be too scared to face her since Live knows when she faces Ripley, Liv’s revenge tour ends. Ripley said she’s waited three months, so she can wait a bit longer and issue this challenge. SummerSlam – Rhea Ripley against Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship. Liv said that she always knew this would lead to that, so she’s not going to run. Liv said that she’s not the same Liv that you knew. Liv said that just like she helped Dominik beat his deadbeat dad, which Rhea couldn’t do, Liv accepted the challenge. Liv said she hopes to see Dom there too. Liv said bye.

Ripley spoke into the camera saying at SummerSlam, she’ll not only end the revenge tour and Liv’s title reign, she will end Liv’s career. Ripley: “Watch me.” They played Ripley’s music while Dominik tried to hold the ropes open for her, Ripley stared at him and then Ripley left on her own. Dominik tried to talk to Ripley on their way to the back and Ripley threw the rose down.

Analysis: It was the obvious setup for the Ripley-Morgan match at SummerSlam. I think we all knew that was coming, so it’s nice of them to make it official. Morgan is doing a good job as the manipulative heel while Ripley is always going to get strong reactions from the fans because they see her as a big star, which she is. Dominik tried to talk, but Ripley wanted nothing to do with him so he had no success at all trying to make things right with Ripley.

Drew McIntyre was shown walking backstage after being suspended last week. Gunther was also shown walking backstage. They showed Ilja Dragunov walking in the parking lot. Sami Zayn, the Intercontinental Champion, was also shown walking backstage.

Sheamus made his entrance for singles action.

(Commercial)

Rhea Ripley was shown walking backstage when Dominik Mysterio walked behind her trying to explain. Dominik said it’s not what it looks like. Ripley went into the room, there were some flowers in there and Ripley asked what’s this? Dominik said he was trying to make it up to her. Damian Priest walked up to Dominik to see how it was going. Dominik said it’s not going well. Ripley threw the flowers at Dominik and shut the door. Dominik said to Priest it was complicated. Priest put his hand on Dominik’s shoulder for support.

Bronson Reed vs. Sheamus

Sheamus had a new, generic song. I miss “Too Many Limes” and “Lobster Head” already. They exchanged punches to start. Sheamus tried to knock Reed down, but couldn’t do it and Reed ran over Sheamus with a running body attack. Reed hit a running senton onto a seated Sheamus. There were some kicks by Sheamus followed by Reed headbutting Sheamus. There was a shoulder tackle from Sheamus that knocked Reed out of the ring. Sheamus hit Reed with a knee to the jaw while on the apron. Reed pulled Sheamus over the top to the floor. Reed hit a shoulder tackle on Sheamus on the floor. Reed tossed Sheamus over the commentary table. Reed went back in to stop the referee’s count, then back out to the floor and Sheamus hit Reed with the ten forearms to the chest. Sheamus rubbed McAfee’s hair at ringside as the show went to break.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Sheamus hitting Reed with multiple clotheslines. Sheamus lifted Reed and hit the White Noise slam for two, which is an impressive move on a 330-pound man like Reed. Sheamus went up top, jumped off, Reed moved and Reed caught Sheamus leading to a Powerbomb by Reed for two. That was also an impressive move. Reed went up top with a moonsault attempt, but Sheamus avoided it and Sheamus hit a running knee to the jaw for the pinfall win after about ten minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Sheamus

Analysis: ***1/4 A clean win by Sheamus in a physical match. I’m a bit surprised by the finish of the match since Sheamus doesn’t win with a running knee that often, so I was surprised when Reed was unable to kick out of the move. I thought it was a fun match while it lasted.

After the match, Bronson Reed was about to attack Sheamus, but Pete Dunne was in the ring and Dunne nailed Reed with a kick to knock Reed out of the ring. Dunne left the ring when Sheamus tried to shake his hand. Dunne went back into the ring and hit Sheamus with a forearm to the back. Dunne left alone. Reed went up top and hit a Tsunami splash on Sheamus. Reed stood tall.

Analysis: A heel turn for Pete Dunne. His tag team partner Tyler Bate is injured for the rest of the year most likely, so Dunne might get a mild push as a singles heel.

Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley were shown talking in The Judgment Day’s dressing room while Finn Balor, JD McDonagh and Carlito were playing the WWE 2K24 video game. Ripley talked to Priest about everything he had going on while thanking Priest for handling everything while she was away. Ripley asked if he needed help, but Priest said he could handle it. Ripley asked why Carlito was there. That’s when Dominik Mysterio interrupted. Dominik said he tried to talk to Ripley all week and Ripley said what about the last three months or was he too busy playing around with his little girlfriend? Ripley left angrily. Carlito: “She’s angry, huh?” The crowd laughed.

(Commercial)

Sami Zayn was shown walking backstage with the Intercontinental Title on his right shoulder. Ilja Dragunov walked up to Zayn to thank him for the title match. Zayn said Ilja deserves it. Zayn said he’s been watching Ilja for a long time and Ilja reminds Zayn of himself. Zayn said Ilja fights like his life depends on it while adding that’s the kind of person that deserves a shot at the IC Title. Zayn told Ilja to bring his absolute best. Ilja told Zayn to do the same.

Analysis: They are both excellent at selling moves and making comebacks, so Zayn is right to say they are similar.

A video aired about Gunther talking about his career. Gunther said that this was never his dream because dreams are a waste of time. Gunther talked about dominating as the NXT UK Champion and in NXT as well. Gunther said he outgrew NXT and had a vision of saving the Intercontinental Championship. Gunther said with ease, he took his prize and became the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. Gunther said for two years, the best in WWE said they would beat him and for two years, they fell at the end of the Ring General. When his title reign ended, he claimed a new prize – the King of the Ring. Gunther said the pinnacle of WWE should be so much more. Gunther said that at SummerSlam, the prestige of the World Heavyweight Championship will change forever.

Analysis: It was a great video showing the kind of guy that Gunther is. I’ll probably pick Gunther over Damian Priest at SummerSlam.

Zelina Vega was interviewed by Jackie Redmond earlier in the day. Vega said she’s going to be at the front of the line whenever Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley settle their issues. Vega said if it wasn’t for Dominik Mysterio, she’d be the champion. The trio of Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark interrupted with Sonya saying that the line starts with them. Vega insulted Deville for having a big forehead. It led to a match challenge.

Zelina Vega entered for singles action.

(Commercial)

Sonya Deville (w/Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark) vs. Zelina Vega

It is Deville’s first match in 11 months since tearing her ACL last year. Vega countered Deville with a bulldog and a kick to the back. Vega delivered a 619 kick by the ropes. Stark distracted the referee, so Baszler tripped up Vega and stomped on Vega’s right arm. Deville hit a reverse DDT slam called Deville’s Advocate for the pinfall win. It went less than two minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Sonya Deville

Analysis: * Easy win for Deville thanks to her friends.

After the match, the trio of Deville, Baszler and Stark attacked Vega some more. The trio of Kayden Carter, Katana Chance & Lyra Valkyria made the save for Vega.

Analysis: That should set up a six-woman tag team match at some point and some other matches as well.

Damian Priest was shown walking backstage. Dominik Mysterio walked up to Priest about how he didn’t warn him about Ripley. Priest said he tried to warn him. Jey Uso walked up to them saying he heard Rhea Ripley was single. Priest said maybe. Jey told them to say that he said hi. Yeet! After Jey left, Priest encouraged Dominik to show Jey who Ripley belonged to. Dominik said he’ll go take care of business right now. Priest laughed as Priest walked down the hallway for a segment up next.

Analysis: A lot of backstage segments in that first hour. Just saying. The first hour had about 12 minutes of in-ring action. I think that’s low.

(Commercial)

Adam Pearce, the Raw GM, was shown talking to two referees in the locker room. Chad Gable walked in saying that he knows Uncle Howdy is Bo Dallas, so he wondered what Pearce talked to Bo about last week. Pearce said that Bo is here tonight so go talk to him if you want. Gable said he’s going to call Bo out tonight and he’ll handle things his way.

Face to Face: Damian Priest and GUNTHER

Damian Priest, the World Heavyweight Champion, made his entrance for a face-to-face segment. He also has a match. Nice Joe Hendry sign in the front row. Priest called out Gunther to come out there right now.

GUNTHER walked out in all black attire and he joined Priest in the ring. Gunther talked about Priest living his dream as the World Heavyweight Champion. Gunther told Priest that he’s not living up to the prestige of the championship. Gunther said that Priest’s reign has been nothing. Gunther told Priest he wanted to lift him the weight off his shoulders, just hand Gunther the title and they move on.

Priest said he wished it was SummerSlam right now so he could knock the stupid smirk on Gunther’s face. Priest said we heard Gunther say this was never his dream. Priest told Gunther he fought for 20 years on the street to get here, let alone become the World Champ. Priest said that if you’re just here for a paycheck, we don’t need you here. Priest told Gunther that he earned this and Gunther is the last person around here that is taking the title from him.

Gunther recognized his hardship and said that being on the street is your choice. Gunther took a shot at Priest’s parents for not giving him a good life. Gunther said that his parents provided him with everything. Gunther told Priest that WWE was calling him to sign with them and they did that to prevent people like Priest from becoming World Heavyweight Champion. Gunther spoke about how he was going to restore the honor and prestige of this great sport and the World Heavyweight Championship. Gunther said he didn’t understand why the people don’t love him to death. Gunther told Priest no matter what he achieves in life, he’s always going to be street trash.

Priest told Gunther that for somebody who has so much clarity, it’s crazy to see what you see what’s coming. Priest said Gunther lost at WrestleMania because he has no heart. Priest said Gunther doesn’t know what it’s like to fight for everything you have. Priest told Gunther he’ll fight from the bottom because he’ll have nothing. Priest said that at SummerSlam we’ll find out if Gunther is nothing more than a boring, conceded, privileged scumbag. They went face to face as Braun Strowman entered for his match with Priest. That match is next.

Analysis: Since Priest and Gunther are both heels, this felt like an attempt to make Priest the babyface for their SummerSlam match. Gunther came across as a conceited jerk while Priest felt like more of a likable babyface. Priest was a babyface before he was in The Judgment Day, so it’s not a new concept for him. I thought it was smart to have this kind of segment to show off the personalities of both guys more. I still think Gunther is going to win at SummerSlam.

(Commercial)

Jey Uso was backstage with Raw GM Adam Pearce, who told Jey he was against Dominik Mysterio. Jey was happy about that and he left.

Bron Breakker walked up to Raw GM Adam Pearce to complain about Ilja Dragunov getting an Intercontinental Title match against Sami Zayn. Pearce said that Zayn requested it while reminding Bron that he lost to Zayn at Money in the Bank. Bron suggested maybe he’d ruin the match. Pearce told Bron to leave, so Bron walked alone while Pearce told security to make sure Bron left.

Damian Priest vs. Braun Strowman

This was not for Priest’s World Heavyweight Title. Priest nailed Braun with a kick to the head. Priest nailed Braun with a forearm. Braun grabbed Priest by the throat and tossed Priest across the ring. Braun nailed Priest with a shoulder tackle. Braun clotheslined Priest over the top to the floor. Braun ran around the ring, he charged at Priest, who avoided it and Priest tossed Braun over the barricade. Braun was grabbing his left knee to sell an injury on the floor.

(Commercial)

Priest was in control with elbow strikes to the head while Braun was limping around. Braun hit two clotheslines. Braun hit a forearm smash to the chest for two. Braun tried a lift, Priest got out of it and Priest delivered a few kicks to the back. Braun attempted another lift, then he sold the knee and Priest was back on his feet. Priest kicked Braun again. Priest hit South of Heaven for the pinfall win after about nine minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Damian Priest

Analysis: **3/4 A quality win for Priest to give him some momentum going into SummerSlam. Braun doesn’t lose clean that often, but it makes sense for Priest to get the win in a match like that since Priest is in a huge match at SummerSlam.

Gunther went into the ring after the match. Gunther chopped Priest, so Priest fought back with punches. Gunther chopped Priest again. Priest nailed a clothesline to knock Gunther down. The fans cheered for Priest clearing the ring.

Analysis: It was another way to get Priest cheered. Simple enough.

The trio of Otis, Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri were talking backstage. Chad Gable walked up to them saying it was good to have his crew behind him. Xavier Woods walked up to them and Dupri said that Otis & Tozawa would love to team up with Woods against The Final Testament. Woods was happy about it. Gable left on his own. Woods told Otis & Tozawa they’ll handle The Final Testament next week.

The team of Kayden Carter & Katana Chance entered with Lyra Valkyria for tag team action up next.

This Friday on Smackdown: How will Cody Rhodes respond to The Bloodline’s brutality? Plus, US Champion Logan Paul returns after LA Knight issued a SummerSlam challenge last week.

(Commercial)

There were clips shown of the WWE live events in Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico. They mentioned and showed new WWE signee Stephanie Vaquer competing at those events.

Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark (w/Sonya Deville) vs. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (w/Lyra Valkyria)

Carter and Chance did some double team kicks on Baszler to get some offense going. Stark got the tag leading to a kick on Chance. Stark applied a chinlock as a clip aired of the new movie Twisters. They plugged the movie a lot. Chance gave Stark an armdrag into the ropes. Chance did an arm drag along with a dropkick. Carter was back in as she launched Chance into Stark with a corner splash. Carter sent both heels out of the ring leading to Chance doing the Keg Stand double team diving move onto both opponents on the floor. Well done.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Carter kicking Baszler while they were on the mat. Chance tagged in against Stark with a bulldog and a hurricanrana. Chance hit a running clothesline and a flipping leg drop to the back for two. Stark hit a knee smash with a loud leg slap. Baszler tagged in with her own knee with a loud leg slap. Baszler went for an armbar, Chance got out of it and hit knees to the ribs. Carter tossed Chance onto Baszler and that got a two count. Deville went after Chance on the apron, so Lyra tripped up Deville. Stark kicked Lyra on the floor. Chance hit a double foot stomp to Stark’s back. Chance did a jackknife pin on Baszler for two. Stark tagged in with a missile dropkick. Stark flipped Chance over leading to Baszler hitting a knee smash and Stark covered Chance for the pinfall win after about ten minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark

Analysis: *** It turned out to be a pretty good match. Baszler & Stark getting the win was not a surprise since their new group with Deville is going to get a mild push at least. Carter & Chance are always fun to watch. They just aren’t being used that much right now.

There was a clip shown of The Miz at the American Century Championship this past weekend. The Miz finished in 85th out of 89 golfers. The Miz hit a shot onto the green, so Pat McAfee recapped The Miz celebrating Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce.

Analysis: Congratulations to The Miz for finishing 85th out of 89th. Better than last overall, I guess.

Finn Balor & JD McDonagh were talking to Rhea Ripley, who said she was happy about them being World Tag Team Champions. Dominik Mysterio walked up to Rhea Ripley saying Jey Uso was talking about her, so he challenged him to a match. Dominik said he wanted to prove that Mami belonged to him. Rhea didn’t like that, so she left. Carlito to Dom: “Not cool.”

Drew McIntyre was shown walking backstage for his meeting after the break.

(Commercial)

Drew McIntyre Meeting With Adam Pearce

The Raw GM Adam Pearce was in the ring and he introduced Drew McIntyre for this chat. Drew made his entrance with a big smile on his face while slapping hands with fans on the way to the ring. They replayed why Drew was suspended two weeks ago.

Pearce said he thinks they are on the verge of something special with Drew. Pearce said he thinks that CM Punk against Drew McIntyre can be pretty special. Pearce said that he wants the match while the fans want the match and Punk is trying to get medically cleared because he wants the match. Pearce asked Drew if he wanted the match.

Drew said that you know he wants this match more than anything in this world. Pearce said good. Pearce told Drew to leave the irrational, unprofessional behavior behind. Pearce said if Drew can do that then Pearce is ready to do business. Drew said he understood why Pearce did what he did. Drew talked about having to stay home last week when Punk and Seth Rollins spoke in this ring, but Drew had to be at home. Drew said he wants this match more than anything and Punk wants this match more than anything. Drew asked the fans if they wanted the match. The fans cheered. The fans chanted “CM Punk” after that. Drew wanted Pearce to make the match official.

Pearce brought referees Rod Zapata and Danilo Anfibio into the ring. Pearce wanted Drew to apologize for striking them after Money in the Bank. Drew wondered why he had to do it. Pearce said that they got hurt, so he wanted Drew to apologize for it. The fans chanted “Say you’re sorry” at Drew. Drew walked up to Danilo and Rod, who are both much shorter than him. Drew: “No.” Drew said that the referees have screwed him around here. Drew said that everything with Punk is all because of Pearce. Drew said that Pearce deserved that elbow and Pearce should be apologizing to Drew right now. Drew said that everybody should be apologizing to Drew right now. Drew complained about Seth Rollins thinking that he could face CM Punk before Drew does. Drew kept on ranting, so Pearce said that if Drew didn’t accept what he did then Drew would still be suspended.

Drew shoved referees Zapata and Anfibio down when they got in his way. Seth Rollins went out to the ring and punched Drew a few times. Rollins superkicked Drew out of the ring. The fans were singing Seth’s song even though the music wasn’t playing. Drew went to the backstage area while Rollins celebrated in the ring. That ended it.

Analysis: A heel like Drew McIntyre refusing to apologize fits his character. He’s not the kind of guy to say sorry because, in Drew’s mind, he thinks everybody else is in the wrong and not him. That’s who he is as this heel character. That Rollins-McIntyre interaction might lead to a match between them.

Wyatt Sicks VHS Tape – Erick Rowan

The tape played featuring Erick Rowan sitting on a chair. Rowan said that the last few years have been very hard. Rowan said that they were inseparable and always had each other’s backs. Rowan said one day, the whole world changed. Rowan said that he lost a brother – the person who believed in him the most was gone (Luke Harper). Rowan admitted that it knocked him on his ass, but in those situations, you get up and keep moving because life goes on. That led to Rowan saying that when he thought he had everything going, he had another brother die (Bray Wyatt). Rowan said he lost his will. Rowan said he didn’t want to get out of the well he was in and wondered who would miss him.

Rowan was handed the sheep mask that he used to wear. Rowan said it gives him hope. Rowan said when he was at his lowest, he knew he needed help. Rowan said that he had a purpose in life to help those who needed it. Rowan said that this mask provides a beacon of hope. Rowan said that they are going to take their broken hearts and make some beautiful art. Some creepy images appeared next and that was it.

The announcers talked about it with Cole saying that Rowan was a tortured soul who hasn’t been able to overcome the loss of his brothers.

Analysis: It was Erick Rowan’s turn to explain why he is the way he is as part of the Wyatt Sicks group. Rowan being sad about his friends Harper and Wyatt dying does make a lot of sense because he was so close with them. They are taking their time by having the wrestlers tell their stories, which is good because it teaches the audience about the people in the group.

Dominik Mysterio made his entrance for his match after the break.

(Commercial)

A song from Jelly Roll called “Dead End Road” is a SummerSlam theme song. There were tweets shown of Triple H inviting Jelly Roll to perform at SummerSlam. Jelly Roll replied that it sounded like a good time, so he’d be there.

Jey Uso made his entrance to a big ovation while the fans were doing the arm swinging with him. Dominik attacked before Jey was done so it was a cheap shot.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Jey Uso

There were punches from Jey, but Dominik came back with a dropkick. Dominik punched Jey a few times while telling Jey not to talk about Mami like that. Dominik delivered shoulder tackles to the ribs followed by a chinlock. Dominik hit three vertical suplexes aka Three Amigos on Jey for a two count. Dominik dropkicked Jey into the ropes. Jey avoided a 619 kick attempt and Jey sent Dom out of the ring. Jey went for a dive, but Dominik punched him to stop that. Dominik sent Jey into the ring post. That led to a break.

(Commercial)

The match continued as Jey fought back against Dominik with punches along with an enziguri kick to the head. Jey hit the running hip attack against the turnbuckle that didn’t even touch Dominik. That camera angle was bad for that spot. Liv Morgan went to ringside and pulled Dominik out of the ring to save him from a move. Jey dropkicked Dominik so that Dominik fell on Morgan on the floor and Morgan turned so that she was on top. Rhea Ripley made her entrance while her music played. Morgan left into the crowd and Morgan went up the stairs to run away from Ripley. Dominik went back into the ring and Jey hit a Spear. Jey hit an Uso Splash off the top onto Dominik for the pinfall win after nine minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Jey Uso

Analysis: **3/4 The match was okay, but the outside the ring stuff took away from the action. I’m not a fan of playing Rhea Ripley’s music during the match because it totally takes away from the match. I get why it’s done so that the attention can be on her at that moment. I just don’t like it when they do it. Anyway, Liv Morgan running away fits her character while Jey capitalized on the situation to bet Dominik. That was the result most of us expected.

After the match, Jey Uso stood tall in the ring while Rhea Ripley looked at him from ringside. Jey did the “call me” signal to Ripley, who just walked away although I think she had a bit of a smirk on her face.

A video aired about Ilja Dragunov, who is in the main event against Sami Zayn. They showed highlights of Dragunov in action on Raw and some NXT clips too.

Sami Zayn was shown getting ready backstage.

Chad Gable made his entrance for a promo.

They are really promoting the movie Twisters a lot during Raw. Just saying.

(Commercial)

Dominik Mysterio was shown backstage again. Damian Priest said you lost in front of Rhea and that’s rough. Rhea Ripley walked up to Dominik saying that she didn’t belong to anyone, she was not his, and said that Dominik was hers. Ripley gave Dominik a black flower. They smiled and she left.

Analysis: The many segments involving them ended on a happy note…for now.

Chad Gable Calls Out Bo Dallas

Chad Gable was in the ring when he announced that Uncle Howdy was Bo Dallas. Chad announced this as if it was some big discovery even though we all knew it. Gable called out Bo to the ring right now so they could solve their problem.

Bo Dallas walked out dressed in regular attire including a Wyatt Sicks shirt. When Bo was in the aisle, he was attacked by Julius and Brutus Creed from behind. Julius and Brutus hit Dallas repeatedly from behind. They threw Dallas into the barricade. Julius tackled Dallas into the ring post. The Creeds put Bo in the ring. Gable celebrated with The Creed Brothers. While Gable did that, Bo was laughing and Bo got onto his knees. The Creeds held Dallas while Gable hit Dallas with forearms to the head. Bo was laughing again. The Creeds hit a double team knee/powerslam combo to knock Bo down. Gable gave Bo a German Suplex, which led to more laughing from Bo against the turnbuckle. Gable shouted at Bo asking him what is he laughing at? Bo said something to Gable that I didn’t catch.

The lights went out in the arena while the fans lit up the building with the cell phone light as the fireflies. The Wyatt Sicks music played as smoke filled the ring around Gable and The Creeds.

The Wyatt Sicks characters walked out to the ring slowly with their masks on three of them (Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis & Erick Rowan) while Nikki Cross had creepy face paint as she carried the lantern down to the ring. Gable and The Creeds left the ring while the group approached the ring. Bo was on his knees in the ring as the group surrounded him. Bo extended his arms surrounded by the group. That was it.

Analysis: It was something new from the Wyatt Sicks group since we saw Dallas out there without the Uncle Howdy costume. It was also nice to see The Creed Brothers join Chad Gable, which had been rumored for a couple of months and it makes sense as a group of amateur wrestlers who have made it in WWE. Dallas kept on laughing even though he got his ass kicked, which is a confusing way to react, but it works in terms of being a weird character like Dallas in this Wyatt Sicks group. It’s still in the early stages of the group obviously. At least there was some more progress this week.

(Commercial)

It was main event time as Ilja Dragunov made his entrance as the challenger.

Next week on Raw:

* CM Punk returns

* Lyra Valkyria vs. Sonya Deville

* Xavier Woods, Otis & Akira Tozawa vs. The Final Testament – Karrion Kross, Akam & Rezar

Sami Zayn made his entrance as the Intercontinental Champion. There were about 13 minutes until the top of the hour.

Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov

Zayn chopped Ilja leading to Ilja delivering his own chop to the chest. Ilja nailed Zayn with a few punches to knock him down. Zayn sent Ilja out of the ring followed by Zayn doing a springboard moonsault onto Ilja on the floor. The show went to break there.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Ilja spinning around the ropes leading to a clothesline called the Constanine Special. Ilja hit a running boot to the face. Ilja went for a lift, Zayn delivered some punches and Zayn did a springboard leapfrog leading to a clothesline. Zayn connected with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Ilja hit a few boots to the face followed by a release German Suplex. Ilja charged, Zayn got a boot up and Zayn hit an Exploder Suplex into the turnbuckle. Zayn charged, but Ilja was back up with a boot to the face for two. Ilja hit a Powerbomb. Ilja charged, but Zayn got a boot up to block an H-Bomb smash and Zayn covered for a two count. Both guys were down selling. Ilja managed to kick Zayn out of the ring. Ilja hit an H-Bomb off the apron onto Zayn on the floor. Ilja sent Zayn into the ring. Ilja jumped off the top with a missile dropkick. Ilja went up top and jumped off with a Senton Bomb, but Zayn got the knees up to block. Zayn did a crucifix pin attempt for two. They continued to battle with Ilja on the apron. Ilja did a headbutt, but Zayn came back with a Helluva Kick that knocked Ilja off the apron to the floor. Bron Breakker arrived by the entrance area and he ran around the ring for a Spear on Ilja at ringside because Zayn saw it coming. Zayn avoided it. It went about 11 minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Ilja Dragunov

Analysis: ***1/4 It was very good while it lasted, but I’m not surprised by the finish at all. We saw Bron was told to leave earlier. However, we know he’s a heel and heels lie, so of course he showed back up and caused an inconclusive finish to the match. Sami and Zayn had instant chemistry together. Ten more minutes and it could have been a classic. They just weren’t given a chance to have that kind of match. It was a match that was done to set up Bron’s return and to get Bron heat for interrupting a title match.

After the match, Zayn fought with Bron on the floor. They went into the ring where Bron hit a back body drop. Bron ran the ropes leading to a Spear on Zayn. Bron posed over a fallen Zayn. That was the end of the show.

Analysis: I assume this leads to Bron against Sami at SummerSlam. They could include Ilja in the match to make it a triple threat. I think Bron is going to leave SummerSlam as the new Intercontinental Champion and if he doesn’t win it there, I will be surprised.

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Three Stars of the Show

  1. Drew McIntyre
  2. Sami Zayn/Ilja Dragunov
  3. Rhea Ripley

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The Scoreboard

7.25 out of 10

Last week: 7.25

2024 Average: 7.59

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Final Thoughts on WWE Raw

It was okay overall. There have certainly been better episodes of Raw this year. The in-ring action was below average for Raw. I was excited about the Sami Zayn-Ilja Dragunov main event, but of course it ended with a Bron Breakker attack, which was expected. Nothing else really stood out in terms of in ring action although I thought Sheamus and Bronson Reed had a fun match. But why did they get rid of Sheamus’ “too many limes” song? Frustrating.

This show felt like it set a record with the number of backstage segments that took place. The Judgment Day was on so many times throughout the show. I am not necessarily complaining about that. I’m just saying there were so many segments featuring them and I wonder if WWE could have consolidated some of them so that they had more action in the ring. I’m not sure if we needed every single segment that took place. In the end, Rhea Ripley seemed to be ne nice to Dominik Mysterio while Liv Morgan ran away from Ripley without getting touched. Cool. Save that for SummerSlam.

They did more with the Wyatt Sicks this week, so that’s nice to see. Erick Rowan did an interview about two “brothers” passing away referring to Luke Harper/Brodie Lee and Bray Wyatt, which really must have been tough on him. It makes for good television because it shows that this big man hurts just like the rest of us. It also leads into why he’s part of this Wyatt Sicks group. I’m glad Chad Gable has a new group with The Creed Brothers. That should go well.

The next WWE PLE is SummerSlam in Cleveland on Saturday, August 3rd. Here’s the lineup so far.

* World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest (c) vs. GUNTHER

* Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

* WWE Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax

You can watch WWE SummerSlam, streaming live on Saturday, August 3, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.

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Thanks for reading. Please check out my reviews of every WWE PPV ever listed in order. Go Toronto Blue Jays. My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter/X @johnreport