Monday Night Raw Review - July 8, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Seth "Freakin" Rollins Confronted CM Punk

This was the perfect way to kick off the show coming off Punk's involvement in the World Heavyweight Championship match at Money in the Bank. Punk's promo was what you'd expect him to say (which is to say it was strong) and Rollins' rebuttal was even better. It was an excellent exchange all around with both guys making great points. I still prefer Punk vs. Drew McIntyre one-on-one at SummerSlam and not a Triple Threat, but I'm curious what Rollins' involvement will end up being.

Jey Uso def. Chad Gable

This match was announced a week ago, but the focus was less on the action and more on when The Wyatt Sicks would come out and who they'd target. Thus, they had a decent match, but it was ultimately an afterthought. The lights going out allowed Uso to pick up the win, and while I thought The Wyatt Sicks would go after him, he got out of there before they could, so Uso is still directionless. Gable wasn't attacked, either, but Nikki Cross (I'm not sure what else to call her right now) did deliver another VHS tape to the commentary table. It aired later on in the night, but it was once again Bo Dallas/Uncle Howdy talking to himself and most members of this group unmasking. It was as well produced as the other ones. Dallas was also shown sitting in Adam Pearce's office during another point of the show.

Bronson Reed def. Pete Dunne

Reed was involved in a Money in the Bank qualifier two weeks ago, but otherwise, he's barely been featured since he was chasing the Intercontinental Championship coming out of WrestleMania 40. Now he's moving into a mini feud with Sheamus that he's bound to lose, but at least he picked up a victory here in a well-wrestled match with Dunne. Afterward, Dunne teased tension with Sheamus (apparently because of how The Brawling Brutes ended according to Michael Cole on commentary), so that was an intriguing development.

Bron Breakker Attacked Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn

Zayn cut his usual underdog promo about beating Breakker at Money in the Bank and proving his doubters and detractors wrong in doing so. Breakker didn't say much, but he immediately got his heat back by laying out Zayn with a Spear in the ring and at ringside. Ilja Dragunov coming to Zayn's aid set up his rematch with Breakker for later on. This was simple stuff, but it was effective and necessary.

Carlito and World Tag Team Champions The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonagh) def. Awesome Truth and Braun Strowman

Strowman has been feuding with Judgment Day pretty much ever since he returned to Raw a few months ago, but I'm not sure what the endgame is supposed to be. He would have been a fitting opponent for Priest as World Heavyweight Championship, but I don't think we're going to get the chance to see that before Priest likely loses his title to Gunther at SummerSlam. Nonetheless, this was a solid six-man tag team match. I suspect The Miz turning on R-Truth (again) is imminent as they continue to rack up losses.

Ilja Dragunov def. Bron Breakker by Disqualification

This wasn't on the same level as their last encounter a few weeks ago due to not being given enough time, but it was still very good for what it was as they have terrific chemistry together. Dragunov was protected in defeat with the disqualification finish and Breakker was again made to look like an absolute badass. In other words, he's totally fine despite suffering his first singles loss on the main roster at Money in the Bank. He'll probably be Intercontinental Champion by SummerSlam.

Damage CTRL (IYO SKY, Dakota Kai and Kairi Sane) def. Katana Chance, Kayden Carter and Lyra Valkyria

The babyfaces have had issues with Damage CTRL over the last month, so this was a logical match to do. None of these women are all that over at the moment and therefore the crowd was unsurprisingly quiet, but I appreciated they were given as much time as they were and it was a nice outing. Following their victory, Damage CTRL got laid out by Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark and Sonya Deville, so they're officially a unit. The question is, which trio will be babyface? Or will both trios be heel?

Dominik Mysterio and Women's World Champion Liv Morgan def. The LWO (Rey Mysterio and Zelina Vega)

As soon as this was announced as the main event (along with all of the hints that were dropped by Priest earlier in the evening), you had to know Rhea Ripley was returning and that's exactly what happened. The main event itself was entertaining with all four stars working well together. Ripley received a massive reaction from the crowd upon coming out and her face-off with Dominik was a compelling cliffhanger for next week.

Overall Show

Raw's been on a roll recently and this was another above-average effort. There was follow-up from Money in the Bank, build for SummerSlam, progression of several storylines and the usual enjoyable action. There's a lot to like on Raw right now and they're doing a wonderful job of making every show feel must-see. It's clear they've found a rhythm that works and everything is coming together in time for SummerSlam. Two thumbs-up again this week.

SEE MORE: Raw Reviews