Monday Night Raw has come under some complaints recently about the amount of in-ring action during their three-hour weekly broadcasts being more loyal to their advertising partners than the actual fans. The July 22 show did nothing to quell those concerns. Most of the action and the promos were above average, but the commercial breaks and specifically the timing of them this week left a lot to be desired.
Looking at the overall landscape ahead of SummerSlam, however, Raw is still distancing themselves from the SmackDown brand and Monday was another notch in their bedpost. Here's a full breakdown of each of the segments.
Gunther Promo - Priest Fight: B+
Gunther opened the show cutting a new promo and the Green Bay crowd let him have it immediately. He called Damian Priest to the ring and instead of giving average-level mic game, Priest kept quiet and brought the violence. The rumble was interrupted by a commercial break a few minutes into the show, which was extra weird, but the actual promo was magnificent, setting up the fight for the title at SummerSlam.
Bron Breakker (w) vs Ilja Dragunov: A-
Really good match to start off the in-ring action as the two staged an Intercontinental Championship No. 1 contender match, setting up the winner to face Sami Zayn at SummerSlam. Breakker is the next big thing and earned that reputation with his athleticism and violence while Dragunov's sells were magnificent. I still don't know whether or not he was actually concussed.
Lyra Valkyria vs Sonya Deville (w): C+
Valkyria is on the rise as a potential future champion but she doesn't yet intrigue at a top level, but it's coming. When you hear a wrestler tell their opponent "Let Go!" so they can complete a move, they aren't ready. The leader of the newly dubbed Studline (Michin is wild for that one) ended the match with a Deville's Advocate.
I love the Studline! https://t.co/zDbM4Uy7sB
— Michin 미친 (@MiaYim) July 22, 2024
Wyatt 6 Promo: Abigail Video: B+
No interview this week, just a bunch of actual horror-style looks at Abby the Witch, which actually went over pretty well.
CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins Promo: A
The reveal that Punk and McIntyre can't beat on each other until SummerSlam was good, but bringing Rollins out to instigate and be named the special guest referee took things over. Fun times.
Final Testament (w) vs Xavier Woods, Otis, Tozawa: B-
This was one of those matches where it was actually frustrating seeing all the good stuff happen on one side but the ending doesn't match the momentum. The Wisconsin crowd was in love with their hometown hero who hit a Ric Flair strut before dropping down to do the caterpillar. It was insane. Then somehow, a Woods run ended with him jumping into Karion Kross' arms to get slammed down and defeated. Weird ending.
Push Otis.
Chad Gable, Otis, Wyatt 6 Promo: A-
Gable and the Creed Bros entered the ring to once again implore the former Alpha Academy members back into the fold. Otis stood up for himself and his cohorts, but was eventually overpowered. That led to the latest Wyatt 6 installment, this time with Uncle Howdy actually getting in the ring. He delivered his brother's famed Sister Abigail to Gable to an enormous pop, which led to an immediate commercial break. What?
Big Bronson Reed vs Sheamus: C+
The continuation of the filler storyline from last week when Pete Dunne interrupted Reed vs Sheamus, so of course the favor was returned this episode when Reed was supposed to be squaring off against Dunne. Meh.
Rhea Ripley, Dom Mysterio, Liv Morgan Promo: A
"You want him? Come get him!"
Get the full recap here.
Zelina Vega Promo: B+
What's great about Vega on the mic is that her real-life desire to be recognized for the immense talent that she is comes through in every promo. WWE needs to do better by her.
Zelina Vega (w) vs Zoey Stark: C+
The crowd was absolutely dead for this one and USA had the nerve to go to a commercial break to draw it out even longer.
Jey Uso, Sami Zayn (w) vs Judgement Day: B+
The key storyline through the entire show was the Judgement Day "looking" for Uso to get payback for flirting with Ripley, against her wishes. Several skits were done to get to this match, including Zayn stepping in when Finn Balor and JD McDonagh were jumping him, leading to the final match. Zayn and Uso reunited from their Bloodline days was great to see. The match action was pretty good. Coup de gras, 1D, Slingblade, Superkicks, Moonsault and an Uso Splash for the victory over the tag-team champs.
Then to finish off the show, Bron Breakker snuck into the ring and finished off Zayn with a spear. Good stuff.
Overall Show: B
With that said, USA Network losing Raw to Syfy for the next two weeks as they are part of NBC Universal's 2024 Olympics coverage. So the additional ad spots and weird timing makes sense, but the partnership with the WWE has to be better. The timing of cutting out from the Priest-Gunther and Wyatt 6 scenes was absolutely unacceptable and damaged the overall product.
The Final Testament vs Otis et al match went to commercial and came back at 1:24. At 1:29 the match was over and Gable and company were on the ramp; commercial. Back four minutes later at 1:33 the battle ensues leading to Wyatt 6's entrance and at 1:39 the Sister Abigail was delivered. Immediate commercial. That's just dumb.
