A Look at Last Night’s ‘Raw’

CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Damian Priest, Bo Dallas and Rhea Ripley all played starring roles

A very eventful Raw kicked off with CM Punk–and ended with Rhea Ripley.

Here is a look at what unfolded last night:

10.) Seth Rollins confronts CM Punk

CM Punk opened the show after causing Drew McIntyre to fail his Money in the Bank cash-in.

Punk congratulated John Cena on his retirement, adding he would like one more match against Cena. Punk then switched gears to talk about Drew McIntyre. He showed footage from Saturday’s post-show, in which an enraged McIntyre stormed onto the set and attacked anyone who tried to stop him. For that, McIntyre was suspended indefinitely. Punk explained that his motivation for screwing McIntyre out of the World Heavyweight Championship time and time again was to teach him the lesson that his actions have consequences.

So long as he’s around, Punk vowed, McIntyre will never win the title. However, he also wanted desperately to get his hands on McIntyre. So Punk asked Pearce to come out and lift McIntyre’s suspension for either a match as soon as Punk’s cleared, or a fight as soon as possible. Pearce did not come out to answer Punk, but Seth Rollins did.

When McIntyre cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Saturday, he did so during the title match between Rollins and Damian Priest. The match had a stipulation that if Rollins lost, he would not be allowed to challenge for the title so long as Priest was champion. Rollins came out to remind Punk that when he interfered and cost McIntyre the match, he also cost Rollins. Punk apologized to Rollins for getting caught in the crossfire of his very personal issues with McIntyre, but admitted he couldn’t really feel all that sorry about it.

Rollins and Punk have a chemistry that makes their promos feel like two people who genuinely hate each other. They’ve been butting heads since Punk’s return to WWE in November, but Rollins’ absence due to injury pushed their feud to the backburner. Now that he’s back, Rollins brings another dimension to the Punk-McIntyre story.

9.) The Wyatt 6 return

Chad Gable and Jey Uso faced each other one-on-one after they both came up short in the Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match this past weekend.

The match was still going on when the lights in the arena began to power down, a tell-tale sign that the Wyatt 6 were up to something.

Gable has been the target of the Wyatt 6 for the last few weeks, and he became very nervous. Uso took advantage of the distraction and speared Gable before covering him to win the match as quickly as possible. As soon as the bell rang, Uso rolled out of the ring and ran out of the arena, leaving Gable alone and ripe for the picking.

Fog filled the ring and the Wyatt 6’s music played, and Gable sat up to see the witch from the Wyatt 6 facing him from outside the ring. He rushed out of the arena, tripping over himself in the process, and the ghostly woman turned around to deliver another package to the commentary team containing another VHS tape.

8.) Pete Dunne dismisses Sheamus’ friendship

In the locker room, Jackie Redmond congratulated Sheamus on his fifteenth anniversary in WWE, and she asked about his goals moving forward. Sheamus said that he has won almost everything in WWE, but there’s still one thing that’s eluded him: the Intercontinental Championship. Sheamus is not the only one with his sights set on the title, though. Bronson Reed interrupted the interview to tell Sheamus he intended to win the championship, and to prove that he deserved it more in his next match, against Sheamus’ former Brawling Brutes teammate Pete Dunne.

In the match, Reed had an obvious size advantage over his opponent, but the scrappy Dunne still put up a fight. It didn’t take too long for Reed to win the match, but he was not about to stop just because the bell rang. He had a point to make. Reed continued beating down on Dunne, and Sheamus ran down to the ring to come to his old friend’s defense. Sheamus brawled with Reed and sent him packing before giving Dunne a hug–but Dunne pushed him off.

When Sheamus left the Brawling Brutes, it was due to an injury, but the group fell apart during his absence. Dunne not forgiving Sheamus adds a new element to his character.

7.) Damian Priest gives Seth Rollins another chance

Seth Rollins approached Damian Priest backstage to discuss their match at Money in the Bank. He appreciated that Priest was honest in his promise that the rest of The Judgment Day would not interfere in the match. Because Priest kept his word, Rollins told him that he would hold up his end of the bargain and refrain from challenging Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Rollins also reminded Priest that as good as he was, he’d have to be even better to beat Gunther at SummerSlam. As Rollins started to leave. Priest stopped him and said that he still had a lot left to prove–and threw out their gentleman’s agreement. After SummerSlam, Priest said he will offer Rollins another shot at the title. They shook on it and Rollins walked off, and Priest answered a phone call that made him smile from ear to ear.

6.) The Judgment Day defeat Awesome Truth... again

Last month, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh of The Judgment Day defeated Awesome Truth to become the new World Tag Team Champions. This week, The former champions and Braun Strowman took on the new champions and Carlito in a six-man tag team match.

The team of Awesome Truth and Strowman worked very well together, controlling the action for most of the match. Strowman’s strength made the biggest impact, but he abandoned the match to chase McDonagh through the crowd, leaving Awesome Truth to their own devices. This allowed Balor to hit R-Truth with a Coup de Grace and pin him, finally earning a victory for the Judgment Day over Strowman, and proving that their winning the titles wasn’t a fluke. The Miz already had an issue with R-Truth for booking matches without discussing with him first, including the match in which they lost their titles. This loss only added fuel to the fire of his anger.

5.) Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio caught in compromising position

In the Judgment Day clubhouse, Liv Morgan tried to discuss strategy with Dominik Mysterio before their match against Zelina Vega and Rey Mysterio in the main event.

Dom was irritated at having to participate in the match in the first place, as he was trying to distance himself from Morgan and her advances. But Morgan managed to talk Dom into letting her help him stretch and loosen up before the match. She positioned herself suggestively on top of Mysterio to help him stretch his legs, so when the rest of The Judgment Day walked into the room they misinterpreted what was happening. Priest scolded Dom for even letting Morgan near him, and Mysterio promised he would put an end to it.

4.) Bo Dallas finds Adam Pearce

The third Wyatt 6 VHS tape showed Bo Dallas talking about his family, how he found them abandoned and gave them a purpose. His monologue played over video of the family members, showing their faces below the masks. He warned that the time had come to set them free, and asked the disembodied voice of Uncle Howdy if he thought they were sick. Howdy affirmed that he did, and Dallas declared that if that is the case, then sick is what they will be.

When the video ended, Chad Gable found Adam Pearce and criticized him for not doing more to protect him from the Wyatt 6. Pearce told Gable to look inside himself and think about why the Sicks were targeting him, but it only made Gable angry. He stormed off, determined to figure out a solution even if Pearce wouldn’t do anything more to help him.

Pearce then opened the door to his office, and saw Bo Dallas sitting and waiting for him.

3.) Bron Breakker retaliates

Sami Zayn addressed the audience after his successful title defense against Bron Breakker on Saturday. He gave Breakker credit for bringing all his power and speed, but pointed out the crucial mistake Breakker made: underestimating him.

Breakker interrupted Zayn’s celebration, but didn’t say anything at first. Zayn asked for the reason Breakker came out, but he didn’t answer, just kept staring at him. Zayn asked again and still didn’t receive a response, so he handed the microphone to Breakker.

Breakker began to answer in a calm and collected manner, but dropped the mic and speared Zayn out of his shoes. He continued to attack the champion while officials rushed to the ring to break them up, but Breakker just kept going back for more. When officials finally managed to usher Breakker up the ramp, Ilja Dragunov came out to check on Zayn, and confronted Breakker as he passed him.

Later in the night, Dragunov faced Breakker in a match, reigniting a rivalry that dates back to their time in NXT. The match was explosive and intense, as is the norm for these two, but it ended in a disqualification when Breakker picked up a chair and threw it at Dragunov. Breakker continued the assault once the bell rang, and Zayn came out to fight off Breakker and repay the favor Dragunov afforded to him earlier in the night. Breakker fought back, throwing both Zayn and Dragunov over the announce table and into the barricade, standing tall over the both of them.

2.) New faction attacks Damage CTRL

In their quest to make a change and climb back to the top of the women’s division, Damage CTRL took on Lyra Valkyria, Kayden Carter, and Katana Chance in a six-woman tag match. These two teams have been at odds for a good while now, especially Iyo Sky and Lyra Valkyria, but rarely has Damage CTRL had the upper hand throughout their feud.

Last night, that changed.

Damage CTRL won the upper hand, but they didn’t get to celebrate their victory for long. They were victims of an attack by Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, and their new ally Sonya Deville. For weeks, Baszler and Stark resisted Deville’s offer to help them rise the ranks in their division, but it seems they finally accepted.

1.) Mami’s Home

After accidentally costing Dom Mysterio the victory in his match against Rey Mysterio last week, Liv Morgan was determined to make things right. To do this, she asked Adam Pearce for a mixed tag team match; herself and Dominik Mysterio versus Zelina Vega and Rey Mysterio. Dom did not appreciate the gesture, as he was supposed to keep his distance from her, but he had no choice once the match was made official.

The two managed to work together once Dom decided to make the best of the opportunity to finally win a match against his father. Morgan proved to be vital to the match, much as she had been in many recent Judgment Day matches. When Rey had his son on the top ropes, Morgan slid a steel chair into the ring. The referee saw it and moved it out of the ring, but while his back was turned, Morgan illegally attacked Rey. He landed hard on the ropes, giving Dom the perfect opportunity to land a frog splash and pin his father.

Dom got caught up in the moment and hugged Morgan, and Morgan took it a step further by wrapping her legs around him and pulling him on top of her. He’d been in this position before and fought to get out of it, but this time, he didn’t resist as Morgan pulled his face close to hers.

The two were nose to nose when Rhea Ripley’s music hit.

Rhea Ripley is back on Raw / WWE

After months of absence, the eradicator wasted no time making her way to the ring. Ripley chased Morgan away before confronting her Dom, who looked like a puppy who’d been caught breaking a vase. He tried to welcome her back with a hug, but Ripley was incensed.

Ripley pushed him aside and walked towards the exact, and he followed her the whole way, begging for forgiveness.