Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly WWE RAW hits and misses series.
Last night’s episode went down at the Nutter Center in Dayton, OH. Rhea Ripley kicked off the night with a promo segment. We also saw the in-ring return of Sonya Deville. Sami Zayn versus Ilja Dragunov capped off the night.
Here’s what went down on the July 15, 2024, episode of Monday Night RAW.
Hit – Rhea Ripley promises to end Liv Morgan’s revenge tour
Rhea Ripley made her explosive return to WWE RAW last week. Mami kicked off the show tonight with an in-ring promo. Rhea called out Liv for the shenanigans she’s been pulling with Dominik Mysterio. Dom showed up to try to explain his stance. Liv Morgan interrupted the pair only for Rhea to challenge Liv for the Women’s World Championship at SummerSlam.
A decent promo to kickoff Monday Night RAW. It feels weird to see Rhea without the world title around her waist. Dominik trying his best to talk through the crowd was funny. Liv’s promo was arguably the worst part of the segment. It remains to be seen how Triple H builds the title program on the road to SummerSlam 2024.
Miss – Sheamus debuts new theme song on WWE RAW
Sheamus took on Bronson Reed last night on RAW. The Celtic Warrior debuted a new theme song from Def Rebel. It seems “Written In My Face” is gone for good. The two men delivered a hard-hitting match, which ended with a win for Sheamus. Pete Dunne showed up to save his old partner from Reed only for Dunne to turn heel on Sheamus.
It’s about time WWE got rid of Def Rebel for good. They are terrible. Their songs are terrible. “Written In My Face” has been a crucial part of Sheamus’ presentation for so long.
Enough of that, let’s talk about the match. I thought it was good, short, but good. I do not want Reed to be a filler feud for Sheamus.
Miss – Sonya Deville squashes Zelina Vega
Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark, and Shayna Baszler interrupted Zelina Vega’s backstage interview to set up a match. Deville and Vega met inside the squared circle. Baszler attacked Vega’s arm, allowing Deville to pick up the win.
I don’t get WWE’s booking of Zelina Vega. One week she’s competing for the top title. The next, she’s jobbing to a returning Sonya Deville. The match was short to make Deville look dominant. Let’s see what’s next for Zelina Vega following her loss and potential storyline injury.
Hit – Gunther and Damian Priest on WWE RAW
Priest called out Gunther for a verbal confrontation. Both men engaged in a war of words. Priest brought up his troubled past growing up on the streets. Gunther made a mockery out of Priest’s background. Braun Strowman showed up for a match against Priest, which the champion won before taking out Gunther.
Gunther went off on Priest big time. The promo really brought out emotions from the world champion. For those wondering who’s the babyface, the promo from this week’s WWE RAW should clear any and all confusion. I’m really looking forward to this world title clash at SummerSlam 2024.
Miss – Chad Gable & Creed Brothers lay waste to Bo Dallas
Chad Gable told RAW GM Adam Pearce he figured out that Bo Dallas was Uncle Howdy. Gable called out Bo in the middle of the ring. Bo showed up only to be jumped by the Creed Brothers. The trio then ganged up on Bo who laughed throughout the beatdown. The lights went out and the rest of the Sicks appeared causing Gable and the Creeds to leave the ring,
The Creeds have officially aligned with Chad Gable, but it wasn’t how I was expecting this union to happen. The WWE Universe was fixated on Bo and didn’t really seem to care about this new alliance between Gable and the siblings despite waiting months for it to happen. Also, I can’t tell which one of these two groups is playing babyface here.
Hit – Drew McIntyre loses his cool… again
Drew McIntyre came to the ring to conduct business with Adam Pearce, who told him to apologize to WWE officials for assaulting them at Money in the Bank. McIntyre said “no” and shoved the officials again. Seth Rollins arrived and brawled with McIntyre before sending him out of the ring.
Pissed off Drew is the best Drew. The way his switch flipped after Pearce told him to apologize was some solid character work. Drew versus Punk is arguably the biggest WWE RAW feud heading into Summerslam. I think we might get a triple threat featuring Punk, Drew and Rollins before WWE gives us Drew versus Punk, possibly at Bad Blood.
Honorable Mentions from WWE RAW
Luke Harper appeared via VHS on WWE RAW. Harper cut an emotional promo wherein he referenced the deaths of Brodie Lee (aka Luke Harper) and Bray Wyatt (aka Windham Rotunda). This storyline has been a mixed bag of emotions thus far. It seems we will get a more vulnerable side to the Sicks one by one before they unleash themselves once again.
Sami Zayn defended his Intercontinental Championship against Ilja Dragunov in the main event of WWE RAW. Ilja continues to shine week in and out. Zayn had a great title defense a few weeks into his lackluster match against Bron Breakker. Speaking of Breakker, the Badass took out both Dragunov and Zayn once again on RAW.
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