Reviews

The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 08/19/24 Review

By John Canton • Published 19th August 2024

It’s WWE Raw featuring CM Punk’s message for Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton has thoughts about Gunther, Sheamus facing Pete Dunne, and more.

Pat McAfee announced earlier today that this is his last WWE Raw commentary assignment for now. Pat works for ESPN’s college football show College GameDay starting soon and it will keep him busy on Saturdays over the next four months. Even though it’s not a Monday show like Raw, it’s going to lead to him being off Raw. Michael Cole is also switching back to Smackdown in two weeks while Joe Tessitore takes over as the Raw lead announcer starting in two weeks on September 2nd. I think once January gets here and Raw is on Netflix, we’ll see Cole on commentary with McAfee again. I certainly don’t mind Corey Graves or Wade Barrett as announcers either. It’s a good team.

This is the Raw Deal for episode #1630 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the FLA Live Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

CM Punk was shown walking around backstage wearing a “Generation of Jade” shirt. They also showed the three women’s teams in the Women’s Tag Team Title match later tonight. The “Terror Twins” buddies Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley were also shown walking backstage.

It was Michael Cole and Pat McAfee on commentary.

Let’s Hear from Randy Orton

Randy Orton made his entrance in his wrestling gear while wearing one of his RKO shirts. Good job by the crowd singing Orton’s song. Orton challenges Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at Bash in Berlin on August 31st. A clip was shown of Gunther and Orton exchanging words last week on Raw, which led to Drew McIntyre walking out there which allowed Orton to hit an RKO on Gunther. There were “Randy” chants before Orton said a word.

Randy Orton welcomed us to Monday Night Raw. Orton said he’ll be a 15-time World Champion the next time he does that. Orton said that the match could have just been about the World Title, but Gunther decided to make it personal. Orton mentioned Gunther talking about his father and grandfather, then Gunther turned his back and Orton had no choice but to hit him with the RKO.

The World Heavyweight Champion Gunther arrived in all black and the World Title around his waist. The champ was booed on his way to the ring. Gunther told Orton and the booing fans to shut up so they could listen to what he had to say. Gunther wondered what Orton was celebrating while mentioning the RKO last week. The fans chanted “you suck” at Gunther. That led to Gunther telling Orton it was the only celebrating he was going to do. Gunther told Orton he had made this very personal. The fans chanted “USA” so Gunther called the fans lowlifes for saying that. Gunther told Orton he’ll never hit an RKO on him again. Gunther said after he’s done with Orton in Berlin, he’ll leave Orton a bloody mess and leave him exposed as a very successful, yet underachieving one trick pony.

Orton spoke about how it’s going to be a long flight for Gunther going eight hours to Berlin while having a boot shoved up your ass. Orton said it’s a size 15 boot that’s double wide. Ludwig Kaiser attacked Orton from behind, but Orton knocked him out of the ring with a clothesline. Orton turned to face Gunther, so Kaiser hit Orton with a chop block. Gunther hit Orton with a clothesline. Gunther and Kaiser stood tall while Orton was down selling on the mat.

Analysis: That’s going to set up Orton for a match with Kaiser. They really didn’t say that much in terms of new material that we haven’t heard, but this Florida crowd is absolutely on fire. The fans loved Orton and they booed Gunther a lot, so it was tough for Gunther to say what he wanted to say. I doubt Gunther will lose at Bash in Berlin, but I expect him to have a great match with Orton. It should be outstanding like their last match.

A clip was shown of Pete Dunne doing a cheap attack on Sheamus last week. Dunne attacked Sheamus with a shillelagh (a piece of wood) and hit Sheamus in the left hand with the shillelagh.

Sheamus was interviewed by Jackie Redmond, who asked Sheamus about his injured hand. Sheamus said tonight there will be retribution. Sheamus said that he had some tricks to teach these young thundercats. Sheamus asked the crowd if they were ready for a banner.

Sheamus made his entrance. I’m still getting used to the new theme song. I miss “too many limes” and even the song he had before that. It’s not like it’s a bad song. I just liked the others more. Anyway, Sheamus against Dunne is after a break.

(Commercial)

It was announced that Raw’s main event will be Randy Orton against Ludwig Kaiser.

Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne

It started with Sheamus hitting a clothesline while Dunne came back with a forearm. Sheamus caught Dunne leading to an Alabama Slam. Dunne hit a jumping kick to the head followed by a hammerlock takedown. Dunne attacked Sheamus’s left arm/hand that was injured, but Sheamus came back with a backbreaker. Dunne was on the apron, so Sheamus hit a running body attack to knock Dunne off the apron and onto the commentary table. Sheamus sent Dunne back in, Sheamus gave Pat a high five and Dunne knocked Sheamus down. Dunne dropkicked Sheamus into the steel steps followed by Dunne stomping on the left hand of Sheamus. That led to a break.

(Commercial)

Dunne was in control working over the left hand of Sheamus. Dunne did some light slapping to the face, so Sheamus used that to fire back up and Sheamus called him Butch or a bitch, so Dunne nailed Sheamus with a forearm. Sheamus came back with a double axhandle along with a corner clothesline. Sheamus hit a running powerslam. Dunne pulled on the fingers of Sheamus followed by Dunne hitting the ten forearms to the chest by the ropes. Dunne celebrated that, so Sheamus was back up with his own Ten Beats forearms to the chest as the fans counted along. Sheamus hit ten more forearms after that. Sheamus charged, Dunne stopped that with a step up kick. Dunne went for a moonsault off the turnbuckle and Sheamus stopped that with a jumping knee for two. Dunne was talking to Sheamus while he was getting pinned. Dunne countered Sheamus by the turnbuckle leading to Dunne hitting a sitout Powerbomb. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for the match. Dunne trapped Sheamus’ bad left hand against the turnbuckle, Dunne attacked the hand, the referee made Dunne move back, Sheamus pulled the turnbuckle pad off and Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Sheamus

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a “banger” as usual for Sheamus. Getting a lot of time helped a lot. I’m happy to see Pete Dunne in a longer match on Raw because that hasn’t happened too often for him. I thought Sheamus did a terrific job of selling the left hand injury throughout the match. It was a unique finish because of Sheamus pulling the turnbuckle pad off leading to the Brogue Kick for the decisive win. I assume they go with Sheamus/Kaiser at Bash in Berlin because Kaiser is from Germany, so it’s important to give Sheamus a win here.

The New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods were backstage with Odyssey Jones. After Jones left, Kofi said he noticed that Xavier’s energy was a bit low. Woods said he wished Kofi talked to him about bringing in Jones and trying to replace Big E. Kofi said this was not about getting Odyssey into New Day and replacing Big E. Kofi said that they became a family and nothing is going to change that. Kofi said that Jones is in the same boat that he was in before The New Day when they wished veterans would have helped them. Woods said that you are right and he gets it. Jones walked it, so they were all fired up while Jones aggressively hugged Woods, who was smiling. That six-man tag is next.

Analysis: I thought Kofi Kingston’s explanation to Xavier Woods made a lot of sense. I don’t know if this angle will lead to Woods going heel because The New Day has been together for nearly ten years, but it might happen.

(Commercial)

There were clips shown of the Fanatics Fest in New York City over the last weekend. There were a lot of moments with WWE superstars interacting with celebrities and hanging out with fans.

A video package was shown about the Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker talking about how he’s going to be the biggest star in this company. They showed highlights of some of the success that Bron had in NXT. Bron’s run on Raw was shown as he said he was here to take this place over. There were clips shown of Bron Breakker winning the Intercontinental Title from Sami Zayn earlier this month.

Analysis: The Raw roster has a lot of good midcard talent that Bron can feud with over the IC Title. I think Bron will have a long title reign that sees him hold the title for at least the rest of this year and perhaps into WrestleMania season.

They showed highlights of Ivy Nile turning on her friend Maxxine Durpi last week on Raw.

Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers walked up to their pal Ivy Nile working out backstage. Gable officially welcomed Ivy Nile to the American Made team. Nile said she’s the real deal and she’s the pitbull while trashing Maxxine Dupri. Gable said that they aren’t done with the Wyatt Sicks. Gable asked how they were made and they put their fists in to say “American Made.” Nice ending.

Maxxine Dupri entered for singles action. Otis and Akira Tozawa were there for the entrance, but then they went to the back.

(Commercial)

Ivy Nile vs. Maxxine Dupri

This should be kept short. Just saying. Dupri hit a dropkick to send Nile out of the ring. Dupri sent Nile into the barricade followed by a suplex on the floor. Dupri tossed Nile over the commentary table. Back in the ring, Nile kicked Dupri in the head followed by punches. The lights went out in the building as a sign of The Wyatt Sicks group being around. No contest for this match after about one minute.

Match Result: No Contest

Analysis: It was shorter than I even thought. I won’t even rate it since it was a throwaway match designed to just set up the post match attack. I’ll give Dupri credit for her aggressiveness because that part of it was good.

The ring was filled with smoke while the creepy music played. Sister Abigail aka Nikki Cross was in the ring, so Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers went into the ring. Cross attacked Nile with a cross body block. The trio of Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis and Erick Rowan attacked American Made. Uncle Howdy was in the ring, he grabbed Gable and he hit the Sister Abigail neckbreaker on Gable. The fans loved it. The Wyatt Sicks celebrated over Gable’s fallen carcass.

Analysis: It was good to see the Wyatt Sicks back on the show after a week off and it was two weeks ago they beat Gable’s American Made group. At this point, the Wyatt Sicks have been booked like a dominant group that will be tough to stop.

CM Punk was shown walking backstage with a brown leather strap around his neck

(Commercial)

A video aired featuring Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley. Priest spoke about this new lame version of The Judgment Day tried to take them out, but the Terror Twins stood their ground while those clowns ran. Priest said that Dom & Liv will receive their punishment. Ripley said there’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Ripley said that her and Damian kept Dom safe this entire time. Ripley told Liv Morgan she’s become a “discount Rhea Ripley” and Ripley said at Bash in Berlin, they will put them through the mat.

Analysis: Good promo. I think Rhea & Damian should win at the Bash in Berlin.

Let’s Hear from CM Punk

CM Punk got a big ovation as usual. Punk had a leather strap around his neck. Punk congratulated the Florida Panthers on winning the Stanley Cup Championship and the fans cheered. Nothing says hockey like south Florida. The fans were good during the playoff run, so I’ll give them credit. Punk said that he had very exciting news to share.

Punk spoke about how he wanted to share a story while talking about Fanatics Fest. Punk talked about how he was asked about WWE’s hot streak and they asked why does Punk think they are on a hot streak. Punk said that it’s because of the fans. Punk spoke about a nice young lady in a wheelchair who got out of the chair, she said she defeated cancer and somehow CM Punk was a source of strength for her. Punk mentioned some friends of his fighting cancer of his own. Punk talked about how a young lady from Taiwan flew 15 hours just for 15 seconds with Punk and took a picture. Punk spoke about a fan from Jordan flying a long way to meet him. Punk talked about how it means a lot to him because he’s missed the fan for ten years. Punk spoke about how fans like you drive him. There was a “CM Punk” cheat. Punk showed all the bracelets that fans gave him. Punk said it might be a Taylor Swift thing, but he’s like Taylor Swift for men. Punk mentioned Drew McIntyre taking the bracelet off him in Chicago when Punk was knocked out.

Punk talked about how he knows Drew McIntyre wants to walk away after getting the win at SummerSlam, but he knows that Drew is obsessed with him. Punk mentioned Drew is obsessed by wearing a bracelet with Punk’s wife’s name on it. Punk said that he made Drew a bracelet – the strap. Punk said that he talked to Raw GM Adam Pearce and that means at Bash in Berlin, it will be a Strap Match. Punk went on to explain about how to win a Strap Match. Punk said he wants to “whip this bitch” and take his bracelet back. Punk told Drew he wants to leave him with lasting scars so that he can never forget the name of CM Punk.

Drew McIntyre showed up for the interruption. Drew stood by the entrance talking about how he was going to bring the violence to Punk. Drew wondered if Punk was drinking for suggesting a match like that. Drew said he accepts a Strap Match. Drew said that match was a week away, but maybe they could have a fight right now. Drew wanted Punk to put the strap down. Punk said you can have the strap if Drew gives Punk the bracelet back. Drew shot down that idea. Drew said that April and Larry are safer with him. Punk told Drew that he won’t be safe in Berlin because it’s not Punk attached to Drew, but it’s Drew who is attached to Punk. That led to Punk’s music ending it.

Analysis: The Strap Match idea was obvious after last week when Punk beat up Drew with the leather strap. The ending to that promo didn’t have an emphatic ending, but I liked most of it. Punk is doing a nice job of coming across as a babyface who is genuinely happy to be there. Punk’s connection to the fans is real and is what made him feel like a bigger star when he made his initial rise over a decade ago. Anyway, I’ll pick Punk to win the Strap Match, so then they’ll be 1-1 and that will lead to a Hell in a Cell Match at Bad Blood in October.

Liv Morgan, the Women’s World Champion, and Dominik Mysterio were backstage for a promo. Liv said that they are the most dominant couple in WWE. Liv said that it will be them on top, which is how they like it. Dominik Mysterio challenged Damian Priest to a match tonight and they can leave everybody else in the back. Dominik said that they can do it if Priest is man enough.

The New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods made their entrance with the big man Odyssey Jones. Kofi & Woods were in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles style gear again.

This Friday on Smackdown: Is there any stopping The Bloodline? The Bloodline defends the WWE Tag Team Titles vs. The Street Profits and LA Knight defends the US Title vs. Santos Escobar.

(Commercial)

They showed Florida Panthers NHL legend and Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo at ringside.

The Final Testament – Karrion Kross, Akam & Rezar (w/Paul Ellering & Scarlett) vs. The New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, and Odyssey Jones

Kofi started on Woods with some running forearms against the turnbuckle. Kross came back with a punch. Kofi connected with a dropkick off the turnbuckle. Scarlett grabbed Kofi’s foot, so Kross hit a backbreaker followed by Death Valley Driver. Rezar had Kofi on his shoulders leading to Rezar slamming Kofi into the turnbuckle.

(Commercial)

Kross was in control of Kofi with an overhead suplex. Akam got the tag, Kofi avoided him and Akama hit the ring post. Kofi was reached for the tag leading to Kofi tagging Jones instead of Woods, who seemed upset about it. Jones a splash against the turnbuckle followed by Jones hitting a double clothesline. Jones with a headbutt on Akam for two. Kofi nailed Kross with Trouble in Paradise. Rezar tossed Kofi across the ring. Woods hit a top rope elbow on Rezar and Akam slammed Woods. Jone hit a spinning Bossman Slam on Akam for the pinfall win after about seven minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, and Odyssey Jones

Analysis: **1/2 A solid match to put over Jones in a big way as a newcomer on the Raw brand. There is the story advancement as well because Woods didn’t get the tag from Kofi, which seemed to upset Woods, but since they got the win, there was no issue. It certainly seems like it will become an issue in the future. The Final Testament group looks intimidating, but they really aren’t being pushed in a way that makes them look like threats.

The New Day and Jones celebrated. Woods didn’t look that thrilled about it, but he was smiling a bit.

Damian Priest spoke to Rhea Ripley backstage. Priest said of course this match against Dominik Mysterio is a trap, but Priest wants to get his hands on them. Priest said that they won’t stop until they pass judgment on this lame ass Judgment Day. Ripley liked that.

A video aired about WWE Hall of Famer Afa Anoa’i, who passed away last Friday at the age of 81 years old. It was the same video that was on Smackdown. Rest in peace, Afa.

(Commercial)

They showed former UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler at ringside.

Bronson Reed made his entrance. They showed his brutal repeated Tsunami attack on R-Truth last week just like Seth Rollins the week before that.

The Miz was backstage looking ready for his match. Raw GM Adam Pearce said he only allowed this match because Miz wanted it so much. The Miz said that Reed took out his friend R-Truth while Miz said he didn’t have many friends in this business, but he fights for them. The Miz said he has to do this.

No Disqualification Match: Bronson Reed vs. The Miz

It’s a No Disqualification Match because The Miz wanted it that way. Reed knocked Miz out of the ring with a body attack. Miz grabbed a chair that he used to hit Reed. Miz tried to attack again, but Reed knocked the chair down. They were on the floor and Miz avoided a charging Reed, who went running into the ring post. Miz tossed weapons into the ring, so the fans chanted tables and Miz brought a table into the ring. They were in the ring where Miz hit Reed with a kendo stick, but Reed stopped that, grabbed the kendo stick and broke the kendo stick. Reed gave Miz a body slam onto a trash can. Reed sat on a chair while putting his foot on Miz’s neck as the show went to break.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Reed charging, Miz avoided it and Reed went crashing into a chair that was wedged against the turnbuckle. Miz hit Reed in the ribs with a chair. Miz hit a Tornado DDT onto a chair for just a one count. Reed: “Don’t piss me off!” The table was set up against the turnbuckle. Miz hit Reed with the kendo stick to the body. Miz hit a running kendo stick attack to the chest. Miz jumped off the top, Reed caught him, Miz broke free and Miz kicked Reed a couple of times. Reed came back with a clothesline. Reed picked up Miz and gave him a Death Valley Driver into the table against the turnbuckle. Reed went up top and hit a Tsunami splash for the pinfall win after eight minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Bronson Reed

Analysis: *** A good match with The Miz having a lot of babyface fire and not wanting to quit out there. Reed getting the win is the right call to continue building him up as a monster. The long term story is going to be Reed against Seth Rollins at some point, so Reed should win more matches leading up to that match.

Bronson Reed went up top again, but this time Braun Strowman made his entrance. The fans loved it. Strowman stood in the ring for a staredown with Reed, who was laughing about it.

Analysis: That’s a nice tease for a future match between Strowman and Reed. That will be fun when it happens. Strowman is used sparingly, but I think this is a spot that makes sense for him to get involved. I’d have Reed get the win when they have that match.

Sheamus was interviewed by Jackie Redmond. Sheamus credited Pete Dunne for putting on a banger with him. Ludwig Kaiser interrupted to say that Sheamus was an opening act while Kaiser was the main event. Sheamus asked Jackie to excuse them. Kaiser said after he beats Randy Orton tonight, he’s coming after Sheamus. That led to Sheamus saying they are 1-1 so any time he wants to have a match, they can do it. Sheamus said that he’s going to watch Kaiser lose tonight and take an RKO. Kaiser said nothing.

Analysis: I know Sheamus-Kaiser has been a Raw feud without having a PLE match, but I think they should do that match at Bash in Berlin in Kaiser’s home country of Germany. The crowd would be hot for it.

Dominik Mysterio was shown walking backstage. He got a good luck hug from Liv Morgan on his way to the ring.

(Commercial)

Bron Breakker, the Intercontinental Champion, was interviewed by Cathy Kelley. Bron said that he heard there was a tournament to determine his next challenger. Broke claimed that Adam Pearce didn’t like him being the champion. Bron said it’s not his fault that he’s a genetic freak and is so good that he’s going through the roster. Bron told the poor soul that wins the tournament that he’ll Spear them through the floor and give them a beating of a lifetime and that will be Bron’s fault.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Damian Priest?

The Mysterio-Priest match never happened. After Priest made his entrance, the trio of Carlito, JD McDonagh & Finn Balor tried to attack, but Priest fought them off on the floor. Priest hit superkicks on Carlito & JD while Balor ran away. Rhea Ripley was in the ring behind Dominik, she blew him a kiss and Ripley headbutted Dominik while Priest punched Dominik. Ripley cleared off the commentary table. She teased putting Dominik through the table, but Liv Morgan showed up and Liv hit Ripley in the back with a steel chair. Priest was beaten up in the ring by the four Judgment Day guys. Carlito gave Priest a Backstabber. Liv sent Ripley into the ring post, Liv sent Ripley into the commentary table and Liv sent Ripley into the steel steps. Liv threw Ripley into the ring post. Balor went up top and jumped off with the Coup de Grace double foot stomp. Morgan hit Oblivion on Ripley as well. Dominik went up top and jumped off with a Frog Splash on Priest. The fans were booing loudly as The Judgment Day posed over fallen Priest & Ripley.

Analysis: A cheap attack as expected because it was a way to get heat on The Judgment Day (new version) by doing a 5-on-2 attack on Priest & Ripley. Morgan was the only one to hit Ripley and Morgan was dominant throughout that attack. This didn’t surprise me since Priest & Ripley had the advantage over the last couple of weeks, so it was time for the heels to be in control. Perhaps there will be babyface help for Priest & Ripley in the future like Jey Uso & Sami Zayn, but for now, there was no help for the Priest/Ripley duo.

(Commercial)

The Judgment Day did a promo backstage. Finn Balor said that’s just a sample of what will happen to Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley at Bash in Berlin. The Judgment Day said that Damian Priest was World Champion because of them and now he’s not World Champion because of them. Liv Morgan said that Dominik is all man and she’s going to make Ripley her bitch. That was it.

A Progressive Match Flo replay was shown of the Women’s Tag Team Title situation that led to this match.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn vs. Damage CTRL – Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane vs. Pure Fusion Collective – Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark (w/Sonya Deville)

The Sky & Sane team are the babyfaces although they aren’t being pushed that much as faces. Sky and Sane cleared the right early on. Sky hit a suicide dive on the champions. They went to a break there.

(Commercial)

Stark worked over Sane while the other four women were on the apron. Stark wanted a suplex, but Sane hit a DDT to counter. Sane kicked legal woman Baszler and Sky tagged in against Fyre. Skey was on fire with uppercuts. Sky hit a back elbow splash on Fyre and Sky hit a springboard missile dropkick on Stark & Dawn. The fans were excited by the offense. Sky hit running double knee attacks two times in a row. Sky lifted up Fyre, who landed on her feet and Fyre kicked Sky down. Sane made the tag leading to a double team superplex by DC on Fyre and Sane covered for two. Fyre headbutted Baszler and then kicked Deville off the apron. Sane hit a Spear on Fyre. Baszler tagged in with a knee on Sane. Stark tagged herself in, then Baszler tagged in and Baszler hit a running knee on Sky. Sane went up top with a cross body block on both PFC women. Baszler got a hold of Sane with the Kirifuda Clutch submission. Sane got out of that leading to a back fist. Sane went up top, but Dawn tagged herself in. Baszler tried to choke out Sane, but Dawn hit a backstabber and legal woman Fyre hit a Swanton Bomb. Fyre pinned Baszler to win. It went about 12 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn

Analysis: *** A pretty good match with a lot of action. There was too much illegal action, but I expected it with six women in the match. The crowd wasn’t into it that much, but Damage CTRL did provide some high-flying offense to make it interesting. The Sky & Sane team carried most of the match even though they didn’t get the win. It was a quality win for Fyre & Dawn keeping their titles.

Ludwig Kaiser and Gunther were shown talking backstage in the locker room. Randy Orton was also shown taping up to get ready for their match.

(Commercial)

Jey Uso was interviewed backstage by Jackie Redmond. Jey spoke about how Sami Zayn is taking a break to clear his head a bit. Jey is focused on singles gold as well. Jey said that he has entered the tournament to challenge for a shot at the Intercontinental Title. Yeet.

The announcers were shown on camera. Michael Cole said that Pat McAfee is leaving us for a couple of months due to football season. A video package aired about Pat McAfee making his commentating return at the Royal Rumble. That led to videos of Pat having fun doing commentary. There were some funny replays.

After the video aired, Cole said that Pat was going away to do some football. Pat said that he would see us in a few months again. Pat said it’s a dream come true. Sheamus will be the guest picker on ESPN College Gameday. Cole said that Pat will be back in January when we kick off 2025 on Netflix. Pat said he’ll miss WWE when he’s gone.

Analysis: I don’t know why Pat has to be off Raw when he’s working for ESPN College Gameday on Saturdays, but maybe it’s a case of wanting to lighten his workload a bit since he has a daily sports show as well. Anyway, Pat will be back on Raw in early 2025 as they said. I like Pat’s commentary work. He’s good and he’s improved over the years.

Next week on Raw:

* Braun Strowman vs. Bronson Reed

* Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender’s Tournament Begins

* Uncle Howdy vs. Chad Gable

Analysis: That is the first Bo Dallas/Uncle Howdy match in years. I’m certainly intrigued by how that one goes. The Strowman/Reed match should be fun too.

Randy Orton made his entrance for the main event.

(Commercial)

Ludwig Kaiser vs. Randy Orton

Orton ran over Kaiser with a shoulder tackle. Kaiser worked over Orton with a hard chop to the chest. Orton came back with a fallaway slam across the ring. Orton worked over Kaiser with the ten punch combo along with an uppercut to the chest. They left the ring where Kaiser hit a chop, so Orton chopped Kaiser in return. Gunther showed up when Orton wanted to do more, so Kaiser hit Orton in the back of the left knee just like he did earlier in the night. Kaiser picked up Orton and slammed him onto the commentary table like Orton loves to do. Kaiser sent Orton into the steel steps so Orton’s left knee hit the steps. Kaiser ran around the ring and dropkicked the knee into the steel steps. They went to break there.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Orton selling the left knee injury while Kaiser worked on the knee by elbowing it and stretching the leg. Kaiser splashed the left knee a few times. Orton countered a Kaiser move by kicking Kaiser over the top to the floor and they were right in front of Gunther. Kaiser sent Orton into the steps, then he went around the ring and charged at Orton, but this time Orton nailed him with a clothesline. Orton picked up Kaiser leading to a belly-to-back slam onto the commentary once and a second time. Orton did a third belly-to-back slam onto the commentary table right in front of Gunther. Orton tossed Kaiser further onto the table to send him over the table so that he went onto the chairs. Orton broke the referee’s count and then back out to bring Kaiser back into the ring. Orton hit the snap powerslam. Kaiser did a necksnap across the top rope followed by a jumping kick for two. Kaiser went for a move off the turnbuckle, Orton got back to his feet and hit a superplex. Orton hit the draping “vintage” DDT for two. Orton went for more, Kaiser got a rollup for two and Orton hit an RKO for the pinfall win. It went about 12 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Randy Orton

Analysis: *** Easy win for Orton as you would expect. I doubt anybody watching this thought that Kaiser could win, so it’s a case of the obvious result also being the right result. It’s a win to give Orton momentum going into Bash in Berlin. Kaiser is good and I’m happy he’s getting featured in a singles match like this, but this was all about Orton building momentum with the win.

After the match, a furious Gunther went into the ring to fight Orton, who was ready for it. Orton had the upper hand as he sent Gunther into the turnbuckle. Orton teased the RKO, but instead did an eye poke and the show ended there.

Analysis: A quick brawl to add some more heat to that story. Simple enough.

===

Three Stars of the Show

Randy Orton
Sheamus
Bronson Reed

===

The Scoreboard

7.25 out of 10

Last week: 7.5

2024 Average: 7.62

===

Final Thoughts on WWE Raw

I’ll be brief with my final thoughts this week and just say it was a good show overall, but not as strong as the recent better episode of Raw. The longer matches really helped the show while a couple of other matches were actually just segments to further angles. I thought Sheamus and Pete Dunne had the best match.

I think in terms of promos, the main stories like Gunther-Orton and Punk-McIntyre really weren’t advanced that much with the promos. Yes, we did learn that Punk-McIntyre will be a Strap Match, but I thought their promos were underwhelming. They’ve certainly had better ones together.

This wasn’t the kind of episode that was must-see by any means, but Raw remains the best of the weekly WWE shows, in my opinion.

The next WWE PLE is Bash in Berlin on August 31st in Berlin, Germany. Here’s the lineup so far.