Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly WWE RAW hits and misses series.
WWE returned to Baltimore for RAW after SummerSlam 2024. The show featured appearances from The Judgment Day, Gunther, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, and Seth Rollins among others.
Here’s what went down on 8/5 Monday Night RAW.
Hit – The Viper steps up to the World Champion
Ludwig Kaiser introduced new World Heavyweight Champion Gunther. The champion entered the ring and cut a promo before he was interrupted by SmackDown’s Randy Orton. The Viper reminded Gunther of the controversial ending to their King of the Ring finals. Orton challenged Gunther to a world title match at Bash in Berlin. The champion accepted and the match was confirmed.
Kaiser did his usual fantastic introduction of Gunther. The title really looks good on the Ring General. Even Orton admitted Gunther is a good-looking champion. Having Orton as Gunther’s first opponent is a great booking decision in my opinion. The pair had a great match back in Saudi Arabia. Orton telling Gunther he wanted the champion to see what’s coming to him was a cold line.
Miss – Lyra Valkyria vs. Shayna Baszler on WWE RAW
Lyra Valkyria took on Shayna Baszler in singles action on WWE RAW. Sonya Deville and Zoey Stark interfered to cause a DQ win for Lyra. Damage CTRL arrived to clear the ring setting up IYO SKY versus Sonya Deville later for the night.
I don’t know what Lyra even gained from this match. She didn’t get a clean win over Shayna. The match wasn’t even good. It was short. It seems as if the unfortunate injury to Katana Chance might have affected WWE’s plans for Lyra.
Hit – Bronson Reed destroys Seth Rollins
CM Punk came to the ring to address his loss from this past Saturday. Punk said he wanted round two against Drew McIntyre. Seth Rollins showed up and took off his shirt. Both men teased a brawl before McIntyre interrupted. Drew told Punk he still had his prized bracelet causing Punk to leave the ring and go after him. Bronson Reed attacked Rollins. The former JONAH squashed Rollins with multiple Tsunamis causing the latter to spew blood from his mouth.
I’m happy that the feud between Punk and McIntyre is continuing. Both men were involved in one of the most intense and entertaining build-ups to SummerSlam 2024. I enjoyed their match as well. Rollins will have his match against Punk, but the Visionary might have to deal with Reed first. Bronson looked like a complete monster when he pummeled Rollins. That said, why didn’t officials just move Seth out of the way after the third Tsunami?!
Miss – A-Town Down vs. Awesome Truth on WWE RAW
Theory and Waller had a crossover tag team match on RAW. This match was announced after Miz and Truth embarrassed A-Town Down at SummerSlam. The SmackDown tag team picked up the win against former World Tag Team Champions.
This was just a regular tag team match on WWE RAW. The crowd popped big time for brand heroes Awesome Truth. It remains to be seen if Theory and Waller will stick together as a tag team on the blue brand.
Hit – The Wyatt Sicks versus Creed Brothers & Chad Gable
Creed Brothers and Chad Gable entered the ring to “You Suck” chants. The Wyatt Sicks had a long but really cool entrance. Uncle Howdy watched all the action from his rocking chair. Rowen, Gacy and Lumis dominated the action before Creeds and Gable took control. Gacy and Lumis slammed the siblings on the announce desk before putting away Gable inside the ring.
This was a brilliant performance from Gacy, Rowen and Lumis. They couldn’t have asked for better opponents. The Creeds and Gable were fantastic as well. Gable’s Chaos Theory on Rowen was a thing of beauty. The crowd was red hot for Wyatt Sicks throughout the match. I just hope the Creeds and Gable do not get buried in the long run.
Honorable Mentions
- Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser had a very good match on WWE RAW. Both men got plenty of time to show their chemistry. The two men battered each other with stiff strikes. Sheamus took some punishment from Kaiser before giving Imperium’s mouthpiece a taste of his own medicine. I expect to see more from these men.
- Odyssey Jones finally made his long-awaited arrival on the red brand. The big man made his presence known during New Day versus AOP. Jones took out Kross before taking care of Akam and Rezar. My jaw dropped when Jones carried both Akam and Rezar for a sidewalk slam. New Day should be glad this man is on their side.
- IYO SKY and Sonya Deville had, in my opinion, the worst match of the night. There were some instances of miscommunication. Either IYO is too fast for Deville or the former authority figure is suffering from ring rust. I cannot tell.
- Finn Balor introduced Damian Priest to the new Judgment Day comprising himself, McDonagh, Carlito, Liv, and Dominik. Priest and McDonagh had a really good match on WWE RAW. JD is one smooth worker. Judgment Day ganged up on Priest but Rhea Ripley showed up to one of the biggest pops for the night. The Terror Twins may be ousted from their group but they won’t stop until they bring brutality to The Judgment Day.
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