 World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest and Gunther BrawledI really liked the verbal exchange Priest and Gunther had last week and this was even better. Gunther received great heat during his brief promo and Priest wasted no time taking the fight to him. They had a hot brawl that the crowd was into it. Priest feels like a full-fledged babyface at this point, but I know that can't be the case until Priest finally leaves The Judgment Day (which will hopefully be soon after SummerSlam). Bron Breakker def. Ilja Dragunov in an Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contender's Match by Referee StoppageThese two have had a few matches on Raw in the last month or so (in addition to their battles in NXT), so they obviously work well together and had another entertaining encounter here. I thought there was a chance we'd get a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental title at SummerSlam, but evidently not, and that's fine. The referee stoppage finish was clearly done by design to protect Dragunov in defeat, though Dragunov really needs to start winning soon. Sonya Deville def. Lyra ValkyriaEverything about the feud pitting Deville, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark against Valkyria, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter has been very basic so far. I appreciate that it's gotten all of them consistent television time, but does anyone currently care? This was well wrestled and it wasn't a squash the same way Deville vs. Zelina Vega was last week, but I still have no idea what the endgame is supposed to be other than to keep all of these women busy. Seth "Freakin" Rollins Addressed CM Punk and Drew McIntyreMany of us assumed it was inevitable, but Punk announced he's been cleared to compete, leading to Adam Pearce making Punk vs. Drew McIntyre official for SummerSlam. He also confirmed that Rollins will be the special guest referee. Everyone's mic work in this segment was solid and I'm glad we now know what we'll be getting at SummerSlam. Rollins' involvement isn't necessary, but I don't know what else you do with him at the event otherwise. I assume he unintentionally screws Punk. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross and Authors of Pain) def. Xavier Woods, Otis and Akira Tozawa; Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers Attacked Otis and Tozawa Before The Wyatt Sicks Attacked GableAre Otis and Tozawa still technically Alpha Academy? Or does Gable own the name? In all seriousness, this was a perfectly passable six-man tag team match, though I don't get the feeling most fans are overly invested in the storyline. The post-match angle was well done with Gable's group laying out Otis and Tozawa before Wyatt Sicks attacked Gable. Gable vs. Bo Dallas and Gable vs. Otis are both strong possibilities for SummerSlam, even though it might be a complete card with seven matches already confirmed. Pete Dunne vs. Bronson Reed Went to a No ContestReed beat Dunne two weeks ago and Dunne attacked Reed last week before also attacking Sheamus, so that's why Reed and Dunne were going to have a rematch here. Sheamus attacked both of them before the bell, so it never got underway. This was a quick and painless way of furthering the feud. I'm happy that this has given Reed something to do, but it feels like the focus is actually on Sheamus and Dunne. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio Told Women's World Champion Liv Morgan That He Hates HerThe ongoing angle with Mysterio, Morgan and Rhea Ripley continues to be the best thing on Raw right now. It won't be for everyone, and I can understand some being bothered by how far they've gone with aspects of it (Morgan's character being sexualized, Ripley licking Mysterio, etc.), but everyone's been playing their roles exceptionally well and Mysterio telling off Morgan was a significant development. Despite that, my prediction is still that Mysterio will end up with Morgan at SummerSlam, or at the very least "accidentally" costing Ripley the match. Zelina Vega def. Zoey StarkStark helped Deville beat Vega last week, so Vega was able to get some revenge with a win over Stark this week. Similar to Valkyria vs. Deville from earlier, it's basic booking without much meaning behind it. The match was decent and at least it gave Vega a rebound win after losing to Morgan and Deville in the last two weeks. Again, where are we going with this stuff other than to kill television time? Jey Uso and Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn def. The Judgment Day (World Tag Team Champions JD McDonagh and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) (Non-Title)Uso and Zayn reuniting as partners was cool. Could it be a sign of what's to come as far as their involvement in the Bloodline storyline? This was a fairly inconsequential main event because all of these guys are doing different things at the moment, but it was a good match for what it was. You'd think this would earn Uso and Zayn a shot at the World Tag Team Championship, but Zayn being busy with Breakker (who attacked Zayn afterward) heading into SummerSlam might prevent that from happening (unless it's saved for later on). Overall ShowRaw started out on a high note with the brawl between Gunther and Priest followed by Breakker vs. Dragunov, but the show lost some steam outside of the segments with McIntyre, Punk and Rollins as well as the one with Ripley, Mysterio and Morgan. It was a middle-of-the-road episode with a few highlights sprinkled in and more SummerSlam hype. Of everything advertised for next week's Raw, I'm really looking forward to Gunther vs. Finn Balor (a match we were supposed to get at an NXT UK TakeOver special four years ago but were robbed of due to COVID).
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