Results
- Bron Breakker & Austin Theory def. Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins (WWE World Tag Team Championships) (8:46)
- Sol Ruca def. Raquel Rodriguez (WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship) (10:15)
- Ethan Page & Rusev def. Dragon Lee & Chad Gable (9:09)
- CM Punk def. Sami Zayn (Undisputed WWE Championship) (20:28)
Gunther risks altering tonight’s main event
This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, live from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, opened with the arrival of the new Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn. Shortly after pulling into the venue with a top-down BMW, he had a face-to-face backstage with his expected opponent tonight, Cody Rhodes. Zayn said Rhodes probably thinks tonight will be a cakewalk, and that he’ll easily take the title right back from Zayn.
“I actually came up to you just to say good luck,” Rhodes said.
Suddenly, Gunther, who has been the third man in this Smackdown title picture mix, jumped into the frame and attacked Rhodes! He powerbombed the ex-champ through a table set up nearby. The “Ring General” got in the face of Zayn and warned that he’s soon to be his next big challenger. “Cody is not your problem anymore,” he said.
Gunther kicked the door of Zayn’s BMW, slamming it into the head of a bloodied Rhodes as the segment came to an end. Before we went to a live shot inside the arena, our main event tonight was put in doubt! We’ll see what happens on that front later…
Seth Rollins makes a promise to LA Knight
We went to the ring, where, as announced ahead of time, Seth Rollins came out to get the program started. It was confirmed last week that Rollins will challenge WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns at Summerslam.
Before Rollins could get started, the expected “CM Punk” chants started to echo through the venue. This crowd is aware of the rumors that Punk, who we haven’t seen since April, could very well return tonight.
Rollins successfully turned the crowd’s attention back to his current storyline with a blunt line: “To be honest with you, I couldn’t care less about that guy right now. Look, he’s just not my business.”
Rollins addressed Reigns, causing the crowd to shift into “OTC” chants. He broke some news: Reigns won’t be appearing tonight. He said Reigns was the “chosen” member of the Shield from the start, and that never sat right with him.
Rollins started pointing out children in the crowd. “I was that boy,” he said. “I sat in these stands, and all I ever wanted to do, my entire life, was to walk down that ramp.” He said his dreams were handed off to someone, Reigns, who didn’t deserve it. After the Shield, Rollins said every move he made in his career was so he could take Reigns’ spot. “I believed Reigns and I were running the same race. But, Chicago, boy, was I wrong.”
Rollins said that Reigns once admitted to him that he works “10 times” less than him, but makes 10 times more than him. “He said that bulls*** with such bravado that it made me want to puke!”
Rollins said it was never about the money for him; it was the grind (Anyone who recently took those reported TKO pay cuts feels the same way, it seems). So, why does he need to beat Reigns? “I need to prove to myself and that five-year-old Seth Rollins that’s sitting in the stands, that through hard work, that through sacrifice, through dreams, you can still achieve greatness,” he said.
This promo wasn’t interrupted by any of Reigns’ Bloodline henchmen, but instead LA Knight. He came out with a quite jaded approach to this Reigns and Rollins feud. Each week, he says, getting into the ring and boring the crowd with their speeches.
Knight had some sour grapes about how Rollins simply talked his way into a title shot: “I happen to remember a time when you had to win matches, you had to win tournaments [to get a title shot].” Well, to be fair, the people who are winning the tournaments are just tossing away their title shots.
Knight cut a long-winded promo about how Rollins and many from his generation have tried to hold him down, and that they won’t be able to. Rollins said he doesn’t like Knight, but he respects him. And, respectfully, he has to focus on Reigns right now. Once he gets the title, he says, he’ll happily give him the title shot first.
After Rollins left the ring, Jimmy Uso emerged from the crowd and dropped Knight with a superkick to end the segment.
The exchange was maybe some nice foreshadowing if Rollins wins the title at Summerslam, although I find that unlikely. Surpassing the 15-minute mark, this segment felt a little too long. It feels unintentionally fitting to Knight’s character that he felt overlooked by the end of this. I think Rollins had a nice speech further explaining his motivation to face Reigns, though.
Backstage, we saw currently suspended Nick Aldis help push Gunther out of the building. We briefly heard Gunther take a knock at Aldis and his “failed” wrestling career (foreshadowing about a match?). Adam Pearce, who is overseeing Raw and Smackdown currently, got in the face of Aldis and said he’s risking losing his position forever.
The Vision gains gold… And a new member
The first match of the night saw Austin Theory and Bron Breakker of The Vision try to retake the WWE World Tag Team Championships, battling in a rematch against The Street Profits. Before The Vision walked out, Paul Heyman approached them backstage and expressed frustration about how unsuccessful the group had been. Breakker never took out Seth Rollins, and Austin Theory couldn’t even beat Joe Hendry last week. He said if they lose tonight, he’s no longer supporting them: “Come back with something worthy of your wise man, or don’t come back to me at all.”
Ford got a hot tag after the show returned from a break and went on a run of moves against Breakker. Breakker tagged Theory in after giving Ford a pop-up powerslam. Street Profits gave Theory a Doomsday Device Blockbuster. A near fall was stopped by Breakker, who got into the ring.
After a quick sequence, all four men were laid out. Logan Paul attempted to slide a pair of brass knuckles into the ring, but was stopped by the referee. As the ref tossed one pair of knuckles, Paul successfully tossed a second set into the ring (veteran move by Paul here).
Breakker put on the knuckles, but had them knocked out of his hands. Ford wiped out Breakker at ringside with a huge dive over a ringpost. It seemed like Dawkins was about to put away Theory… But then Maxxine Dupri, who has been caught between her Alpha Academy buddies and Theory in backstage segments as of late, hit the ring and dropped Dawkins with a low blow! Theory rolled up a hurt Dawkins for the pinfall win in eight minutes to reclaim the WWE World Tag Team Championships.
There was a lot of speculation about whether Dupri was an understudy of Theory, possibly a girlfriend? We got our answer after the bell, as she hopped into Theory’s arms and kissed him on the lips.
Well, there we have it: Dupri has gone all-in on the heel turn and officially joined The Vision. All the hints that we were right around the corner from a Vision split were simply a swerve. Not only is the group still around, they’ve also grown in size.
This was a short match. This little bit of it we saw on TV was fine. I’m a little bored with The Vision and was honestly itching to see some of the group’s members strike out on their own, but maybe this change will add something interesting to the midcard act. We’ll see.
Backstage, we saw a heartbroken Otis and Akira Tozawa see Maxxine Dupri leave with her new crew.
Backstage, a doctor told Adam Pearce that he doesn’t feel confident letting Cody Rhodes fight tonight. That doesn’t sound good…
Sol Ruca retains with help from IYO SKY
It was revealed that a seven-man gauntlet next week will determine the opponent for WWE Intercontinental Champion Penta at Summerslam. Those competing next week: Dragon Lee, Chad Gable, Joe Hendry, Je’Von Evans, Dominik Mysterio, Ethan Page, and Rusev.
It was revealed in a backstage segment that the damage Rey Mysterio suffered last week in his match against Ethan Page explains why he isn’t in the bout, despite having wins over some names involved.
The second title match of the evening was next: Sol Ruca put her WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship up against Raquel Rodriguez. Commentary said that Cody Rhodes was sent to the hospital for tests to see if he could compete tonight. I feel like if someone from my show needed to go to the hospital for tests, I wouldn’t have them scheduled to compete in an hour – but I’m not Adam Pearce.
Rodriguez dodged a moonsault to the floor early in the match, but was hit with a springboard corkscrew just moments later. Back in the ring, Rodriguez folded Ruca with a hard lariat following a series of reversals. The challenger had the advantage as the show went into a break.
Ruca connected with a springboard crossbody as the show returned. The champ battled back into the fight, getting a near fall with a knee strike. A springboard frogsplash was countered by Rodriguez. It was at this point that Roxanne Perez showed up at ringside to cheer on her Judgment Day teammate.
Perez got on the ring apron to distract the referee. As this happened, Liv Morgan grabbed a leg of Ruca to prevent a Sol Snatcher. Rodriguez took Ruca from the corner and slammed her down, but it wasn’t enough for a three-count.
IYO SKY, who will be facing Morgan at Summerslam, appeared at ringside and her and Perez out with a springboard moonsault. This was a scary moonsault, as she had to land in a narrow space between the commentary table and a podium set up for Ruca’s belt. Credit to her, she nailed it.
This sequence distracted Rodriguez, who was hit with a Sol Snatcher for the pinfall finish in 10 minutes. It’s lame that we got two matchups back to back that end with an interference angle, but that’s how it goes on Monday nights usually. Otherwise, this was a fine episode. The story here is that Morgan’s issues are getting in the way of others and arguably caused Rodriguez to lose in this matchup.
Oba Femi, Paul Heyman trade words & a change to the main event
The next segment saw Paul Heyman, representing Brock Lesnar, come to the ring and address Oba Femi.
Heyman warns that Femi’s actions and comments have motivated Lesnar, and that accepting a Hell in a Cell match against him is the “biggest mistake of his life.” Just as Heyman was about to leave the ring, Femi’s music hit.
Femi joked that he came out so Heyman would have a face to talk to. Heyman reminded Femi that the saying goes “talk s***, get hit.” So, instead, he’s going to talk facts. He talked about Lesnar’s career of success in Hell in a Cell. There was a line about how Femi was entering the “Brocktagon,” what?
Femi said that the fact that Lesnar showed up last week proves that his comments got under the skin of “The Beast.” Femi tried out some wordplay here, saying Heyman is just a mouthpiece for Lesnar: “Mouths need to be fed. But how can you feed if you have no head?”
Femi thankfully refocused on this match, saying he plans to beat Lesnar in front of his own children, Beyond The Mat style, at Summerslam. “You have to walk through hell in order to get to heaven. So tell your client, I’ll see him in hell.”
Femi had a nice line at the end here. The rest of this was kinda lame. I’m gonna chalk this segment up to an off night for both these men.
Backstage, Sami Zayn was informed that Cody Rhodes can’t compete tonight. Trying to hide his smile, Zayn said: “He’s out? That’s terrible … I don’t wish ill upon Cody, or anybody upon that matter.” CM Punk chants became deafening from the crowd.
Zayn said that he should delay his title shot to Friday. Adam Pearce entered the shot and said he promised Chicago a title match tonight and will deliver it. Against who? We’ll find out!
We saw a quick clip showcasing El Grande Americano being at last night’s Mexico vs. England World Cup instant classic. He was shown on the broadcast, for anyone who might’ve missed it.
Rusev, Page win ahead of next week’s #1 contenders match
Before the highly anticipated title showdown, we saw a tag matchup where Ethan Page and Rusev faced off against Dragon Lee and Chad Gable, four of the seven men in the Intercontinental title #1 contender match next week.
The heel duo got the advantage to start, jumping Lee and Gable before the bell. Gable tossed Lee over the top and to the outside, allowing him to do a huge dive onto both Rusev and Page just before a commercial break – this looked awesome.
They built up for a hot tag to Lee as the show returned from commercials. Lee scored a kick in the corner to Page, a DDT, then a draping double stomp off the top rope for a near fall. Rusev dragged Page to their corner then tagged himself in.
An attempted double-team suplex to Lee was stopped by Gable. He gave an Angle Slam to Page but was dropped by a thrust kick from Rusev right after. It came down to just Lee and Rusev in the ring. Lee came off the top with a move but was caught by Rusev, who instead scored a Uranage. Rusev connected with another thrust kick, then locked in The Accolade for the submission win in nine minutes.
Rusev kept hold of the move after the bell. Gable stopped the submission and attempted to suplex Rusev, but was dropped by a series of elbows from Page. Rusev applied The Accolade to Gable. In for the save was Joe Hendry, who sent Rusev out of the ring then gave Page a fallaway slam.
Hendry fell behind in a two-on-one attack from Page and Rusev. Hendry became the next man to get locked in The Accolade. It took numerous officials to pry Rusev off him to end the segment.
Backstage, Jimmy Uso said he’s going to Smackdown to get Solo Sikoa. LA Knight appeared in the parking lot and was about to attack Uso from behind, but was dropped by Jacob Fatu.
Here’s what they announced for next week:
- Roman Reigns to appear
- Brock Lesnar to appear
- IYO SKY vs. Roxanne Perez
- Dragon Lee vs. Chad Gable vs. Joe Hendry vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Ethan Page vs. Rusev (WWE Intercontinental Championship #1 Contenders Match) (Gauntlet Match)
Punk returns, captures the Undisputed WWE Championship
The main event saw Sami Zayn defend his Undisputed WWE Championship. It was announced earlier in the night that Cody Rhodes was unable to compete after being brutally attacked by Gunther. Nick Aldis, despite being on leave from his managerial duties, said he found a name. So, who would take his place?
After Zayn made his way to the ring, we saw a backstage shot where Chicago’s own CM Punk walked into the Allstate Arena. “Cult of Personality” started to play in the venue, and it suddenly all became real: Punk is back. Just like he said on the Raw after Wrestlemania, Punk would be waiting and ready, because you never know when a title opportunity could fall out of the sky. Tonight was that night he talked about months ago.
There was some tension in the ring before this one got underway. Zayn got in Punk’s face and briefly pushed him. Punk laughed it off. Punk sent Zayn out of the ring and hit a tope suicida before the show went into commercials.
Punk got a near fall after the show returned with a neckbreaker. A crafty clothesline earned him another two-count moments later. Punk climbed to the top rope but was knocked off-balance by Zayn, who met him at the top for a superplex. We went into another break. Zayn and Punk were in a back-and-forth striking exchange as the show returned.
Punk lifted up Zayn for a GTS, but Zayn escaped. A Blue Thunder Bomb from the champ was similarly avoided. Punk connected with a step-up knee in the corner, but his follow-up running bulldog was countered by Zayn into a labored Blue Thunder Bomb. The champ got a near fall after hitting the move.
An exploder suplex into the corner from Zayn was stopped by Punk, who hit a series of knees. Punk flung out the step-up knee in the corner again, then scored the running bulldog upon second attempt. He connected with an elbow drop off the top, but Zayn survived with another kick out.
Punk kept the pressure on Zayn with an Anaconda Vice. A tap was teased by the champ, but he eventually escaped. Punk tried to follow with a Sharpshooter, but Zayn prevented the move with a series of stiff upkicks.
Zayn nearly caught Punk with a roll-up pin, but it gave him just two. A nice callback to how Zayn won the title in Riyadh last week. Zayn scored his own GTS for another narrow near fall.
Zayn started setting up for a Helluva Kick. Punk took a page out of Zayn’s book, countering with an exploder suplex into the corner. Punk tried for a Helluva Kick, but Zayn reversed into yet another GTS! Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Punk kicked out again!
Zayn got down to his knees and, in Punk’s face, said he put up a “hell of a fight,” then disrespected him with a pair of slaps. Punk worked up to his feet while continuing to eat clean blows from Zayn. Eventually, they were both on their feet, and Punk was powering up with a series of punches.
Punk hit a third step-up knee in the corner. A Helluva Kick from Zayn was dodged by Punk (they kind of bungled this spot, unfortunately, and ran into eachother in the corner). Punk hit a Helluva Kick of his own, then put away Zayn with a GTS for the pinfall in 20 minutes. Punk is not only back, he’s the Undisputed WWE Champion.
In a callback to his classic world title match against John Cena, Punk blew a kiss while sitting on the barricade then left through the crowd as the show came to a close.
A lot to unpack here. First, I thought this was a good match. The finish spamming near the end, and the botched Helluva Kick certainly took this match down a peg. But, these two had some fun exchanges down the stretch in front of a red-hot crowd – it was hard to not buy into the moment.
I’m definitely not the only one who is disappointed that Zayn ended up being a transitional champ, as many had expected. But his work with Rhodes and Gunther was becoming cyclical and a new name had to get thrown into the mix. I think this is a fine way to do that. Punk returning in Chicago has become somewhat of a trope, as has “[wrestler] suddenly gets attacked, causing a last-minute replacement to be needed.” But, despite that being the typical booking utilized here, I still think it was enjoyable.
Final thoughts
Heading into tonight’s show, it felt like we were going to get a big episode of Raw. That definitely feels like what happened tonight. Two title changes, a massive return, plus a change to a faction means it was a more eventful episode than most nights of the show. While there were low points, mainly that segment with Oba Femi and Paul Heyman, I think they delivered on the highs tonight adequately. And, luckily for WWE, that final segment side-stepped the Team USA World Cup game, so some last-minute tune-ins likely got to see that moment.
