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Raw After SummerSlam Shows WWE’s Depth

Rhea Ripley, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and the Wyatt Sicks all highlighted WWE’s incredible roster

Noelle Perry

Bronson Reed had a breakout moment last night on Raw, which was among the highlights of the show from the entire summer. CM Punk and Drew McIntyre continued their feud, the Wyatt Sicks debuted, and Randy Orton also made a surprise appearance.

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

10.) Randy Orton lays out challenge for Bash in Berlin

Ludwig Kaiser returned to introduce Gunther, the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Gunther celebrated his new title, promising to reign for a very long time. His speech was interrupted by a surprise appearance from Randy Orton, whom Gunther defeated in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament. Gunther admitted that he was caught off guard by the SmackDown superstar showing up on Raw, and Orton begrudgingly said that Gunther looked good with the title.

Orton also said that he was the only reason Gunther had the title match in the first place, as that was the prize for winning the King of the Ring tournament–but he called into question the validity of that victory. Orton’s shoulders were not flat on the mat when the referee counted to three, and while that decision was final, it necessitated another match for Orton and Gunther.

Orton challenged Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at Bash in Berlin at the end of this month. Gunther accepted and shook Orton’s hand, pulling him close to tell him that nothing catches him out of nowhere. 

9.) Ludwig Kaiser seeks revenge on Sheamus

Ludwig Kaiser had more business than just being Gunther’s personal announcer. He faced Sheamus, the man whom he blamed for causing the injury that left him sidelined for weeks. 

Before Sheamus could even make it to the ring, Kaiser attacked him. This match was extremely personal for both men, making them hit even harder than they already would have. Kaiser targeted his opponent’s weak spot in Sheamus’ knee, but Sheamus was wise to it and was able to counter.

When Sheamus looked poised to win the match, Pete Dunne showed up and ran towards him with a shillelagh, much like he did last week. This time, however, Sheamus saw it coming and moved out of the way, leaving Dunne to run straight into the ring post. Sheamus knocked out Dunne before stepping back into the ring, but the distraction gave Kaiser ample time to recover and catch Sheamus by surprise. The upper hand didn’t last for long, though, and Sheamus won the match after nailing Kaiser with a brogue kick.

8.) Damian Priest calls out Finn Balor

Damian Priest marched to the ring to call out Finn Balor, furious that his Judgment Day brother betrayed him and cost him the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam.

Priest explained he wasn’t upset about losing the title because that’s something he can win back. He expressed that the real reason he was upset was because Balor betrayed not only him, but everyone who believed in him. He beckoned Balor out to the ring to face him man to man, but instead Balor responded through video.

Balor told Priest that he brought all of this on himself, that he was the one who betrayed the Judgment Day by acting like a leader when the group was supposed to be equals. Balor said he was still upset about losing his World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins last year due to Priest teasing a Money in the Bank cash-in. He refused to fight Priest now, saying he would send JD McDonagh in his place–and when he did come to fight, it would be when Priest least expected it. The final shot of his message revealed the new lineup of The Judgment Day, with McDonagh, Carlito, Dominik Mysterio, and Liv Morgan all having Balor’s back.

Priest stormed backstage in search of Balor.

7.) Damage CTRL battles Sonya Deville for dominance

Lyra Valkyria faced Shayna Baszler in the next bout of their ongoing feud. Though Baszler was accompanied by Zoey Stark and Sonya Deville, Valkyria was on her own after all of her allies were taken out by Baszler, Stark, and Deville over the course of the last couple of weeks. 

Valkyria nearly made quick work of Baszler, but her pinfall was broken up by Stark and Deville, forcing the match to end via disqualification. They grabbed Valkyria and beat her, looking to pick her off the same way they did to all of her friends. It was not long before they were interrupted by Damage CTRL. 

Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai were not there to help Valkyria, though they did fight her assailants off of her. Their only goal was to prove they were the most dominant trio in the women’s division. They certainly made a good argument by standing tall after their brawl with Baszler, Stark, and Deville.

Kai was set to face Deville after this confrontation, but backstage before the match, Kai was jumped by Deville, Stark, and Baszler. They targeted Kai’s bad knee, making it impossible for her to compete that night.

While Kai was unable to compete, Sky took Kai’s place to get revenge on Deville for injuring her Damage CTRL teammate. She was successful, defeating Deville in her first loss since returning to Raw.

6.) Ivy Nile aligns with Chad Gable

Backstage, Maxxine Dupri attempted to speak with Ivy Nile. Nile came up to Raw with the Creed Brothers and quickly became friends with Dupri, but since the Creeds began helping Chad Gable attack the Alpha Academy, it was unclear where her loyalties lay. 

Gable interrupted the conversation and told Dupri that Nile was with him. He also stated he was done with Alpha Academy because he had a new team. Gable ushered Nile away, and she reluctantly followed.

5.) CM Punk begs for a fight

CM Punk spoke to the crowd after his loss to Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam.

Despite the defeat, he was not upset. Punk was injured by McIntyre in January and was told recovery would take nine months, but he did it in only five and can now get back to doing what he loves. He called out McIntyre to continue the fight, but Seth Rollins responded instead. 

Rollins came looking for a fight. Punk agreed, and the two began to square up before the voice of McIntyre bellowed through the arena. He entered through the crowd to gloat about his victory, but Punk and Rollins refused to give him any attention and stood frozen looking at each other. McIntyre finally got their attention when he reminded them that he still had the friendship bracelet bearing the names of Punk’s wife and dog. Punk ran out of the ring and chased McIntyre out of the arena, only to learn that Raw General Manager Adam Pearce had already escorted him out of the building.

4.) Bronson Reed destroys Seth Rollins

Earlier in the night, Bronson Reed spoke backstage. He was disappointed that Sheamus had a match scheduled for Raw and he didn’t, despite the fact that he beat Sheamus in their match last week. Reed had decided that in order to make a name for himself, he would have to take matters into his own hands. 

Immediately after Punk left Rollins in the ring to chase after McIntyre, Reed appeared and attacked Rollins.

In remarkable fashion, Reed delivered a horrific beating on Rollins, hitting two tsunamis before officials rushed in to check on Rollins. As he walked away from the scene, Reed decided he was not finished and went back to work, delivering four more tsunamis while officials begged for him to stop. Rollins was left coughing up blood, and officials had to roll Rollins to the edge of the ring to keep him out of Reed’s line of fire.

Reed wanted to make a name for himself, and brutalizing a multi-time world champion was the perfect way to do so.

3.) Odyssey Jones helps The New Day

AOP battled The New Day, as Kofi Kingston made his return to Raw.

Kingston had been injured on-screen by Karrion Kross, who is attempting to break up the new day.

Though Kingston was cleared to compete, his shoulder was still recovering, and AOP exploited this weakness at every opportunity. The Final Testament also utilized their numbers advantage, and Kross interfered to ensure AOP retained the upper hand.

The New Day were outnumbered until Odyssey Jones showed up. In his first appearance on Raw since being drafted to the brand, Jones donned a New Day shirt and drove Karrion Kross over the barricade, evening the odds for Kingston and Woods. The distraction helped Woods to turn the tides in his favor, and he rolled up AOP’s Rezar to snag the victory.

Upset by their loss, AOP went after Kingston and Woods, but Jones quickly stopped them. The powerhouse made quick work of AOP’s Akam and Rezar, throwing the behemoths around. Kross tried to step in, but Jones picked him off easily, too. The New Day celebrated with Jones, who made an impressive debut on Raw.

2.) Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley look out for each other

JD McDonagh took on Damian Priest in a battle of a former and present member of The Judgement Day.

Back when McDonagh was just a prospective member of The Judgment Day, Priest was the only one hesitant to grant him full membership. As their story developed, McDonagh was trained by Finn Balor, making him the only person closer to Balor than Priest was. He believed this was why Priest disliked him, and Priest’s mistreatment of Balor’s closest friend may also have contributed to Balor’s decision to betray him. When Priest tried to get his hands on Balor and seek vengeance, McDonagh stepped in to protect his mentor.

Priest took all of his anger to this match, and while McDonagh got some good offense in, it was nothing compared to Priest’s rage-fueled beatdown. As Priest positioned himself for the South of Heaven chokeslam to finish off McDonagh, Balor popped up and jumped on him from behind, ending the match in disqualification.

Balor attacked Priest with a barrage of fists before Carlito, McDonagh, and Dominik Mysterio, who arrived with Liv Morgan, joined in on the assault. Despite being grossly outnumbered, Priest fought them all off before meeting Balor face to face. He picked up Balor for the Razor’s Edge, but Morgan pulled him down.

Morgan and Mysterio knocked Priest down, but the two retreated when Rhea Ripley came out. Morgan wasn’t fast enough, and Ripley grabbed her to throw her against the ring post. Ripley lifted Morgan up for a Razor’s Edge onto the announcers’ table, but Mysterio pulled her to safety, and the two ran away. 

McDonagh went back into the ring to work on Priest while everyone else was down, but Ripley followed behind him–and McDonagh found himself caught between the Terror Twins with nowhere to hide. Priest and Ripley destroyed McDonagh before hugging each other. After being betrayed by the family they built, Ripley and Priest had no one left but each other.

1.) The Wyatt Sicks make their in-ring debut

The Wyatt Sicks made their in-ring debut against Chad Gable and the Creed Brothers, who are now known as American Made. The Sicks all entered together before Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, and Dexter Lumis ran forward to begin the match. Uncle Howdy sat on a rocking chair at the bottom of the entrance ramp with Nikki Cross at his feet, blocking the exit for American Made after the rest of the Sicks tossed them out of the ring. 

Gable and Lumis started the match, but neither of them stayed in for long. Lumis and Gacy attempted to intimidate their opponents with their eerie taunts, backed up by their in-ring ability. The Wyatt Sicks worked well as a team, using tandem offense to take and keep control of the match. They were dominant for much of the match. Even when American Made ganged up on Gacy to take control of the match, he was able to fight out of it and quickly take down the Creeds with one double clothesline.

Rowan tagged in shortly after, mopping the floor with American Made. The Wyatt Sicks capped off their debut match with a finishing sequence to Gable that emphasized the importance the group places on working together as a family, as they each had an equal part in putting him down for good and it would not have worked without each of their contributions. 

With this match, The Wyatt Sicks established themselves as a group on Raw and set the tone for their run. Though the visuals they delivered were spooky, there were no hokey supernatural elements in their game, just solid wrestling. American Made were the perfect opponents for this debut, as their technical wrestling style and no-nonsense gimmick kept the match grounded.

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Noelle Perry
NOELLE PERRY

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