Monday Night Raw Review - July 1, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Chad Gable Was Attacked by Jey Uso and Taunted by The Wyatt Sicks

There was nothing special about the actual verbal exchange between Uso and Gable, but both men cut quality promos hyping up the men's Money in the Bank Ladder match. Of course, the most interesting part of the segment was The Wyatt Sicks playing more mind games with Gable. It was another nice hook for the rest of the show with fans waiting to find out what was on the VHS tape this week.

Xavier Woods def. Karrion Kross

I'm glad this feud got the chance to be furthered during the first hour of Raw for a change instead of being saved for the third hour when viewers are a lot less likely to care. Kross and Woods had a decent match (at least from what we saw because the commercial break). I wasn't a fan of Woods winning, but I realize The New Day had to win at some point. The Final Testament got good heat for laying out New Day afterward.

Women's World Champion Liv Morgan def. Zelina Vega

This wouldn't have been anything special even six months ago, but Morgan and Vega have done an effective job building up their feud in recent weeks. As I've mentioned before, Morgan is playing her role exceptionally well, but Vega deserves credit as well for being a believable challenger. The crowd bought into some of those nearfalls down the stretch. They had a fun match and the involvement of Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio at ringside hyped their own encounter for later on.

The Judgment Day Attacked Seth "Freakin" Rollins

The tension within Judgment Day has been the focal point of the build for Rollins vs. Damian Priest, much like it was heading into Rollins vs. Finn Balor at Money in the Bank last year. It's essentially the same story, but I hope the tension actually amounts to something this time. This was a solid segment that saw Balor and Priest back on the same page attacking Rollins, but I suspect that won't last and Balor will factor into the finish of Priest vs. Rollins on Saturday.

Zoey Stark def. Dakota Kai and Ivy Nile in a Triple Threat Match to Qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I felt bad for the women because they clearly worked hard and they had a well-wrestled match, but none of them are remotely over. Maybe Kai when she cuts promos and attempts to get heat, but that's about it. The biggest problem is that WWE has them working either with each other or other people who are also not over, so no one really benefits in that case. Nothing against Stark, who is skilled in the ring, but I preferred to see Kai get the opportunity in Money in the Bank this year.

Rey Mysterio def. Dominik Mysterio

This was the first time these two have gone one-on-one since their WrestleMania match last year. I'm sure they'll have more matches in the future, so I had no issue with this happening on free TV. They had an entertaining outing with the expected shenanigans from Morgan and Vega at ringside. Maybe we get a mixed tag team match post-Money in the Bank? On a side note, I'd save Dominik finally beating Rey for when Rey retires.

Bron Breakker Attacked Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn

Breakker and Zayn had an excellent exchange that successfully hyped up their Intercontinental Championship clash for Money in the Bank. It's well documented that Zayn is a terrific talker, but Breakker surprised me with his mic work here. Breakker laying out Zayn twice (you'd think Zayn would've learned his lesson the first time) was well done. I can see Zayn retaining in fluky fashion at Money in the Bank, but I assume this was a red herring and Breakker wins, anyway.

Drew McIntyre def. Sheamus and Ilja Dragunov in a Triple Threat Match to Qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Needless to say, they saved the best for last. McIntyre and Sheamus had a tremendous Triple Threat with Gunther at WrestleMania 39, and although this didn't reach those same heights due to commercials and lack of time, it was still an above-average main event with plenty of hard-hitting action. McIntyre already called his shot by saying he would win the briefcase and cash it in that same night, so he was the safe choice to quality, but I appreciated that Dragunov was protected in defeat by not being pinned.

Overall Show

The wave of momentum Raw and SmackDown have been riding since Clash at the Castle continued with this show. It was another very enjoyable episode on the whole with two more Money in the Bank qualifiers, a championship match and strong hype for the pay-per-view. Additionally, it wasn't related to Money in the Bank, but the second sit-down "interview" with Uncle Howdy and Bo Dallas was as compelling as the first.

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