As we rolled into The Raw before SummerSlam emanating from the Xcel Energy Center, the crowd’s energy was infectious. The show started with a piece of Seth Freakin Rollins straightaway throwing facts over the faces of Drew Mclntyre and CM Punk, whom he will manage as a special referee on SummerSlam night. Adding to that, we got a seething Wyatt 6 segment as some members once again chased off Chad Gable and his allies: The Creed brothers. A few stellar matches made the show live up to the top-notch expectations, taking us one step ahead of the Cleveland show with a fuller heart.
Quick sneak peek of 7/29 Monday Night Raw:
Video package: A highly enthralling video of the SummerSlam set being geared up for the second-largest wrestling night of the year set the tone for the ideal GO-Home show.
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Seth Rollins is on the vanguard of his referee duty at SummerSlam
Polls of the day
Poll 1 of 4
Who had the most shocking moment on WWE Raw?
Wyatt's in-ring debut
Liv Morgan destroying Judgment Day clubhouse
Other
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What do you think the 'X' on Dexter Lumis' forehead signifies?
Rebellion
Mystery
Danger
Loyalty to Bray Wyatt
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Do you think WWE made the right decision with the WrestleMania 41 venue?
Absolutely
No way
Could have been better
Don't care
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Who do you think is the real identity behind Sister Abigail?
Alexa Bliss
Liv Morgan
Nikki Cross
Someone else
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Seth Rollins headed to the ring next with his hilarious referee gear. Before the Visionary started giving away the notable instructions for the high-stakes Mclntyre vs Punk match, Michael Cole gave a quick recap of the past special referees at the Biggest party of the Summer including Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Jesse The ‘Body’ Ventura in different timelines. Next, Punk called both Punk and McIntyre out, referring to them as morons. Punk, as usual, remained unphased while making his style entry to the ring. Drew Mclntyre followed and the verbal skirmish got going.
Rollins laid it out clearly that they weren’t allowed to touch each other before their official game hour kicked off. Rollins added that they keyed up every other referee in the division, but he wants to see them fight, regardless. While the Scotsman tried to discern Rollins’ wrath for Punk and the merely professional ‘issues’ with him, the Visionary rebuffed his friendly advances. A lot of verbal jabs and anti-jabs kept on free-flowing throughout the entire heated segment. But to pick the crux of it, Rollins will be the strict, unbiased boss who decides the disqualification and the law of the counts.
Liv Morgan destroyed Judgment Day Clubhouse (backstage segment)
As we looked at the Judgement Day clubhouse next, it looked totally off the place with Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio standing clueless. Rhea Ripley spotted the offender, and it was none other than Liv Morgan. After sending a chilling threat to her regarding SummerSlam, the members decided to rebuild the play station with Mami being a bit quizzical about Carlito’s unforeseen assistance. Priest then asked for help from Balor for handing Gunther tonight. When the Judgment Day leader gave him a counter-proposal of taking care of Sami Zayn and Jey Uso, Mysterio passed on the responsibility to Carlito.
The Creed Brothers (Chad Gable) vs Alpha Academy
Winner: The Creed Brothers
The Creed Brothers alongside Chad Gable went after the Alpha Academy members next. After a massive clash of jaw-dropping maneuvers, flying from both sides, the Creed Brothers got the upper hand with a pinfall, sticking to their last week’s fate. Post the match, as soon as Gable tried to dominate his former students, the light went off. The three of Wyatt’s 6 members (Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis) walked through the entrance and took their masks off, catching the crowd off guard. White Sister Abigail emerged from the top out of nowhere to overthrow Gable, and the rest of the Wyatt 6 went to crush the ego of the Creed Brothers. The segment went down with Uncle Howdy’s sinister laugh, as Gable ran in fear after spotting his silhouette.
Backstage segment
Will they meet at SummerSlam to settle the final score? Before we could get the time to anticipate, the Judgement Day clubhouse drama took over again. Carlito dealt with pressure from the Judgment Day members to handle Jey Uso later the night, leading him to walk away slowly with a gloomy demeanor.
Big Bronson Reed vs Sheamus
Winner: Sheamus
We moved on to the saga of Sheamus and Big Bronson Reed, who had an epic fight last week. They resumed it with full swing, as both ferocious fighters put their all into burying each other. Mixing and mingling of a series of punches, slams, brougue kicks, clotheslines, head-butts, and a lot of trash talk made the match a huge adrenaline trigger. Pete Dunne’s brief interference in favor of Reed added to the drama. Finally, Reed secured his win by heading to the top rope and floored Sheamus with a tsunami.
Video package: Damian Priest discussed his issues with the Ring General ahead of their grudge match and promised to rob him of the idea of getting his hands on the World Heavyweight championship. Main Event is out to tackle Sami Zayn next.
Video package:
Before Uso got on his boots, a video featuring Bron Breakker strategically undermining his SummerSlam opponent Sami Zayn aired. While he accepted that Zayn has achieved a freaking lot in his career and he’s top at his game, he stated that the Intercontinental Champion already knows that he will face a clean loss at SummerSlam. Countering Zayn’s joke about Breakker’s preparation, the former NXT star said the joke will be on Zayn this Saturday.
Jey Uso vs Cartilo:
Winner: Jey Uso
Jey Uso had an early hold over Carlito next. Despite Carlito putting a heart and soul effort to weed out the ‘YEET’, Usos’ dynamic deliveries of a series of menacing wrecked his opponent’s balance. Finally, after going back and forth for a while, Uso took out the apple from Carlito’s face with a spear. Jey Uso walked away as the deserved winner.
Jey USO keeps racking up the wins!#WWERaw #SummerSlam #YEET pic.twitter.com/VIhxxgrp4T
— FirstNameJ0hn (@FirstNameJ0hn) July 30, 2024
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Next, Zelina Vega’s fragile arm is on the line.
Backstage segment:
In between a backstage interview, Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark, and Shayna Baszler unleashed havoc on Vega, causing her arm an injury. While the officials quickly called it off, Vega was seen shrinking in pain in her arm.
Backstage segment:
A mutual deal between R-Truth and The Miz came up when Cathy Kelley inquired into The Miz’s mental space before heading to the SummerSlam in his homeland.
Karrion Kross vs Xavier Woods (Final Testament):
Winner: Xavier woods
The drama between Karrion Kross and Xavier Woods escalated after the former put him on the notice, addressing a few issues ahead of their match. A furious Woods punched Kross in the face, getting the ball rolling. With the two taking center stage, the heat was up. The match was as much physical as it was verbal. After a rugged few minutes, Final Testament aided Woods in surpassing the threat of Kross successfully and indulged in a post-victory celebration.
Sami Zayn vs Dominik Mysterio
Winner: Sami Zayn
Next, Sami Zayn was interviewed about his backstage barbs with Bron Breakker. After elucidating how nonsensical it was, Zayn walked up to face Dirty Dominik Mysterio and destroyed him via DQ in a non-title match.
Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance, and Kayden Carter vs Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark.
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Winner: Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark.
The six-women tag team match was underway the next with Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance, and Kayden Carter getting under the skin of Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark. After a fantastic showdown, the babyface trios of Deville, Baszler, and Stark stood tall unless Damage CTRL set them apart.
Gunther vs Finn Balor
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Winner: Gunther
The Ring General defeated Finn Balor by chance with a referee’s decision. After trading stiff shots, both men were down with Balor, losing his senses. Despite Damian Priest’s intervention, the decision went into Gunther’s favor. The show wrapped up with Priest and The Ring General engaging in a brawl as they set the stage alight for SummerSlam.