Monday Night Raw Review - July 29, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Seth "Freakin" Rollins Mediated the Face-Off Between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre

We've heard a lot from these two since January, but this was a strong final verbal exchange between Punk and McIntyre. Both delivered their promos exceptionally well and I liked that it didn't end in the usual brawl. Rollins played his role well per usual and they certainly teased that he'll factor into the finish in some way as the special guest referee. While I wish Rollins had taken the segment more seriously, he did add a different dynamic to the intense energy McIntyre and Punk were bringing.

The Creed Brothers def. Akira Tozawa and Otis

I couldn't tell you the last time the Creeds won on television, so this was a necessary win for them to get back on track. Chad Gable's been feuding with his former stablemates for the last little while, so it was a logical match to do. Plus, Otis and Tozawa are popular enough to sustain the loss. Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis and Erick Rowan attacking the Creeds afterward was well done as it set up next week's six-man tag team match. I'm slightly surprised we're not getting that at SummerSlam, which is where Bray Wyatt had his debut match back in 2013 and his first match as The Fiend in 2019.

Sheamus def. Bronson Reed

I liked this significantly more than their previous encounter a few weeks ago. It felt more competitive and the crowd was livelier this time. Reed is excellent and I'm glad he had a chance to show that in this match. I'm also glad he was able to pick up the victory for a change. Pete Dunne providing an assist made sense so that feud could be furthered as well.

Jey Uso def. Carlito

It didn't really feel like this match served a purpose other than to get Uso on the show. Why was there no follow-up to him and Sami Zayn beating the World Tag Team Champions last week? Perhaps they're saving that for after SummerSlam when Zayn (presumably) isn't occupied with the Intercontinental Championship. This was fine yet forgettable.

Karrion Kross def. Xavier Woods

Kofi Kingston competed on WWE's recent tour of Japan, but Kross said he got "reinjured" during the tour, which is why Woods had to go at it alone here (Kingston's "injuries" are clearly worked, by the way). This was a decent match, but the crowd simply did not care. I think the same can be said about the storyline on the whole. Kross picking up a few wins has been nice to see, but I don't think he's benefiting from this feud much at all.

Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn def. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio by Disqualification

Similar to Uso vs. Carlito from earlier in this evening, the only purpose this seemed to serve was killing television time. It was well wrestled, but it lacked meaningful stakes or a reason to exist. The disqualification finish protected both guys, but the execution was lame. Bron Breakker attempting to lay out Zayn afterward but Zayn getting the better of him this time was smart, though that botched clothesline to the outside looked pretty bad.

Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler def. Katana Chance, Kayden Carter and Lyra Valkyria

The trio of Deville, Stark and Baszler are being booked as well as they possibly can be from an in-ring standpoint, but they still aren't connecting with the audience. This was a solid six-woman tag team match, but putting it in the death slot in the third hour did them no favors. Are Damage CTRL supposed to be babyfaces now? They brawled with Deville's crew post-match to no reaction.

Gunther def. World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor

It's such a shame that these two weren't able to have their match for the NXT United Kingdom Championship at that cancelled NXT UK TakeOver: Dublin event back in April 2020. I'm happy we got it at all, but this obviously wasn't the hot atmosphere they would've had in Dublin. Of course, part of that was due to the heel vs. heel dynamic here, but it was the best bout on the show by a wide margin. The post-match brawl between Gunther and Damian Priest was effective in hyping their SummerSlam match.

Overall Show

I was already looking forward to SummerSlam (partially because I'll be in attendance), but this go-home edition of Raw did absolutely nothing to make me more excited for it. There was more filler than there should have been and there wasn't a lot of life throughout the three hours (the crowd was fairly quiet from the get-go). This wasn't a bad show necessarily, but other than the video packages, the best parts were the opener and the main event (and we've seen better from everyone involved in both segments).

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