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CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, and Seth Rollins Bring Electric Feel to ‘Raw’

The segment between the three was the highlight of the final Raw before SummerSlam

Noelle Perry

Here are the Top 10 highlights from last night’s WWE Raw:

10.) Seth Rollins lays down the law of the land

Seth Rollins kicked off the final Raw before SummerSlam, where he will act as the special guest referee in the highly anticipated match between Drew McIntyre and CM Punk.

Wearing his best black and white stripes, Rollins beckoned the two competitors to join him in the ring to discuss the rules and regulations of the match. The tension in the ring was palpable, the extent to which all three men detest each other was clear.

Rollins explained he is the perfect choice to be an impartial judge, as he equally despises both McIntyre and Punk. He reminded them that they were not to lay a finger on each other or him before the match–or it would be canceled. Hearing this, Punk rolled out of the ring, but McIntyre told him to stop being a coward and step back in. Punk said that he was not worried about what they might do to him, but rather what he might do to them. Rollins asserted his authority and told Punk to get back in the ring, which he did, but criticized Rollins for being a “bootlicking office boy” on his way. McIntyre spoke directly to Rollins, reminding him that while they have their professional differences, they share a common enemy in Punk whom they both believe is a threat to the future of WWE. His attempt to swing Rollins’ sympathy towards himself was futile, as Rollins distrusts McIntyre just as much as he does Punk.

Finally getting to the rules and regulations of the match, Rollins laid down the law. The only rule, he said, was that the two competitors listen to everything he says and comply with every rule he enforces. Rollins implied that he would use his discretion, but also would not tolerate anyone messing with him. Punk told Rollins that he did not trust him to be unbiased, and requested he not try to help him defeat McIntyre. That was too much for McIntyre, who said Punk was concerned about the wrong guy. Rather than worrying about whether the ref was acting fairly, McIntyre said Punk should worry about his opponent. Punk was not worried because while he may not be as physically impressive as McIntyre, he has the passion and the support of the crowd on this side. He asked McIntyre, “What do you got?” and McIntyre showed him that he still had the friendship bracelet bearing the names of Punk’s family, which he stole after beating Punk unconscious a few weeks ago. Enraged, Punk stepped towards McIntyre and got in his face, as close as he could without touching him and getting the match called off.

This was an outstanding segment, building even more anticipation for SummerSlam.

9.) Liv Morgan trashes The Judgment Day

The Judgment Day walked into the clubhouse to find it trashed, clearly the work of Liv Morgan. Later in the night in a video package, Morgan was seen burning mementos of her “relationship” with Dominik Mysterio.

Last week, Mysterio humiliated Morgan by announcing that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with her, making his loyalty to Rhea Ripley abundantly clear. Morgan left the arena in tears, but has since shifted her focus. Morgan has channeled her anger entirely to her defense of the Women’s World Championship against Rhea Ripley at SummerSlam. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Ripley and Mysterio are in her path of destruction.

8.) Chad Gable’s former pupils face his new lackeys

Akira Tozawa and Otis took on Julius and Brutus Creed. Last week, Chad Gable tried to recruit his former Alpha Academy pupils, and when they rejected him, the Creeds assisted Gable in beating them down.

Julius Creed and Otis started the match, and Otis was immediately driven into the Creeds’ corner. The two brothers double-teamed Otis, but hitting Otis is like hitting a brick wall, so their punches hardly had any effect. Otis made his escape and ran to pick up Tozawa, using him as a projectile against the Creeds, taking control of the match. Alpha Academy continued to dominate, but when Gable interfered, the tides quickly turned and the Creeds picked up the win. Gable and the Creeds were not finished, and continued to deal even more punishment to Otis. That was until Maxxine Dupri jumped onto Gable and made him let go. He scolded her as he had done many times before, but Dupri had since grown a spine and rather than cower in fear, she slapped Gable clean across the face.

7.) Wyatt Sicks in-ring debut set for next week

As Chad Gable started to berate Maxxine Dupri for slapping him, the lights in the arena began to go out, signaling the arrival of the Wyatt Sicks. Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, and Joe Gacy entered through the fog. Gable and the Creeds stared at them in stunned silence, and they were caught off-guard when Sister Abigail jumped on Gable from behind. Gacy, Lumis, and Rowan then went into action, laying out the Creeds and giving us our first taste of action from the Wyatt Sicks.

Later in the evening, Gable found Raw general manager Adam Pearce and insisted he book Gable and the Creed brothers in a six-man tag match against Rowan, Lumis, and Gacy for next week, which will be the in-ring debut of the Wyatt Sicks. Pearce obliged, but warned Gable to be careful what he wished for.

6.) Pete Dunne interferes in Sheamus versus Bronson Reed

Bronson Reed faced Sheamus after finding himself caught in the middle of conflict between the Brawling Brutes.

Last week, Sheamus got his revenge on Pete Dunne for attacking him by kicking him down before Dunne’s scheduled match against Reed. This week, Reed sought to make Sheamus pay for getting that match called off. He was able to do so, but only with the unsolicited help of Dunne.

Just when Sheamus looked poised to win the match with a Brogue kick, Dunne popped up to hit him over the head with a shillelagh. Knocked out, Sheamus was easy prey for Reed, who sealed the deal with a tsunami from the top rope.

5.) Carlito fails to solve The Judgment Day’s Jey Uso problem

In last week’s main event, Jey Uso and Sami Zayn defeated tag champs Finn Balor and JD McDonagh. To make things right and gain some brownie points with The Judgment Day, Carlito challenged Uso to a singles match. Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest thought that this was a bad idea, as SummerSlam was less than a week away and they had more important things to worry about, so Carlito had to take on Uso without any backup.

Though Carlito put up a fight, he was no match against Uso on his own. He pulled out an apple and took a bite to spit in Uso’s face, but Uso caught him with a spear, causing him to spray it into the air instead. After successfully pinning Carlito, Uso celebrated his victory by picking up the apple he knocked out of Carlito’s hand and took a bite.

4.) The Final Testament continue to wear down Xavier Woods

Xavier Woods faced Karrion Kross one-on-one in the hopes of finally putting their seemingly never-ending feud to rest.

Over the past week during WWE’s tour of Japan, Woods’s New Day partner Kofi Kingston returned to in-ring action, but quickly re-aggravated his shoulder injury that was originally given to him by Kross. Before the match started, Kross took the mic to express his doubts of that claim, stating his theory that Kingston could not handle Woods getting more attention than him. He told Woods that he would forfeit the match tonight if he joined The Final Testament, told the audience that the power of positivity was a lie, and told Kingston to retire. This latest attempt to convince Woods to join The Final Testament was also unsuccessful, as Woods did not meet any of the demands and instead started beating Kross before the bell could even ring.

Woods did not retain the upper hand for long, and with no one to accompany him at ringside, he was defenseless against Kross and the rest of The Final Testament. After interference from Scarlett and the Authors of Pain, Kross pinned Woods to win the match.

3.) Sami Zayn fends off foes from every angle

Much like Carlito, Dom Mysterio was tasked with taking down one of the men who defeated The Judgment Day last week. Mysterio faced the Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn, only five days before he would defend the title against Bron Breakker at SummerSlam.

Unlike Carlito, Mysterio had some backup. After the match was underway, Carlito and JD McDonagh showed up to offer support, despite instruction from Ripley and Priest to leave Mysterio to handle the match himself. They tried to help Mysterio win when the referee was not looking, but Zayn could not be stopped. He delivered a blue thunder bomb to Mysterio and covered him, but Carlito and McDonagh broke up the pin and started beating down on Zayn, forcing a disqualification. Jey Uso ran out to defend Zayn and took down The Judgment Day. Zayn rose to his feet, but was swiftly felled again by a spear from Bron Breakker out of nowhere. He began his own assault on Zayn, but the tenacious Intercontinental Champion popped back up and Breakker retreated.

2.) Damage CTRL returns to make a statement

The team of Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, and Lyra Valkyria took on the team of Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark, and Shayna Baszler. Stark picked up the win for their team with a Z-360, continuing their dominant streak.

They did not have much time to celebrate, as Damage CTRL made their way to the ring to ambush them. Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai made easy work of Baszler, Stark, and Deville, shattering their display of dominance and sending them packing.

When asked by Cathy Kelley about the event, Damage CTRL explained that Deville’s group owes all of their success to Damage CTRL’s absence. They’ve returned to establish their dominance, beginning with Dakota Kai challenging Deville next week.

1.) Gunther faces Finn Balor in anticipation of SummerSlam title shot

Ahead of challenging Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, Gunther faced off against Finn Balor.

Though Gunther earned the title opportunity by winning the King of the Ring tournament, he turned his rivalry with the champion from professional to personal when he insulted Priest, calling him and the rest of The Judgment Day “street trash”. Gunther’s goal is to bring prestige to the title, something he believes the title lacks by virtue of it being held by Priest. Balor did not take too kindly to these comments, and aimed to soften up Gunther for Priest. While he usually would be accompanied during the match by one or more of his Judgment Day cohorts, Balor requested to go it alone this time.

Throughout their careers, Balor and Gunther had never faced each other one-on-one, making this a highly anticipated matchup. These are two of the most renowned wrestlers in the world. Gunther stated he respected Balor’s abilities, and he thought The Judgment Day was holding him back from reaching his full potential. There has been some tension within The Judgment Day, and Gunther looked to exploit that with this comment, getting under Balor’s skin.

The match format was not necessarily the best to showcase their abilities, with less than 15 minutes allotted for the match and about commercials eating up some of that precious time. But the two delivered a compelling and physical match.

By the end, Gunther’s chops left Balor’s chest red and raw. While the action during the match was dynamic, the finish was slow and steady, and a bit unsatisfying as Balor was neither pinned nor tapped out. Gunther won after putting a sleeper hold on Balor, rendering him unconscious.

Even though the referee called to end the match, Gunther was not finished. He went back to lock Balor in a choke hold, only releasing when Priest ran to Balor’s rescue. Priest went straight for Gunther and immediately began raining punches on Gunther. Though Gunther tried to fight back, he could not get in much offense after such a grueling match as the one he just endured.

Priest flung him around the announcer’s table, onto the barricade, and into the Prime station cart, with no regard to anything or anyone in the path of destruction–adding even more fire to their title match at SummerSlam.

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Noelle Perry
NOELLE PERRY

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