 Damian Priest Confronted World Heavyweight Champion Gunther and Attacked Ludwig KaiserPriest and Gunther had some strong verbal exchanges heading into their first match at SummerSlam, so I'm glad they're picking up where they left off. This was more great stuff from the two of them and even Ludwig Kaiser played his role well. Gunther teasing tension with Kaiser was interesting, though I'm sure it will be a while before it amounts to anything. This set up Priest vs. Kaiser for later in the show. Damage CTRL (IYO SKY, Kairi Sane and Dakota Kai) def. Pure Fusion Collective (Zoey Stark, Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville)No disrespect to Kai, but I totally forgot that she's been sidelined for the last few months and that it was Pure Fusion Collective who took her out of action. Pure Fusion Collective has barley had a presence since Raw went back to two hours and it's not like they meant much prior to that, either. This was a well-worked match that kept SKY's momentum rolling after becoming number one contender. Pete Dunne def. Kofi KingstonDunne felt disrespected by R-Truth calling him Butch behind his back and Kingston stood up for Truth, so that's how this match came to be. I'm actually surprised this lasted as long as it did considering the focus was on The New Day arguing at ringside and not the in-ring action, but what we got was solid. The teases of tension between New Day need to be leading to something soon, hopefully right around the 10-year anniversary later this month. Bronson Reed and Seth "Freakin" Rollins BrawledReed basically goaded Rollins into giving him a rematch after Reed cost Rollins the victory in last week's number one contender's main event and Rollins was dumb enough to fall for it despite winning clean at Crown Jewel. Hey, I'm not complaining if it means Reed finally wins a match that matters, but I'm not holding my breath. That rematch will take place next week. This was another fun brawl from them. Damian Priest def. Ludwig KaiserThis was yet another instance where Kaiser didn't have the slightest chance of winning but looked credible in defeat, nonetheless. They had a quality contest and it was encouraging that Priest was as over with the crowd as he was. On a side note, I didn't mention it earlier, but it was confirmed that Priest will challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series. The Miz and The Final Testament Attacked The Wyatt SicksI realize this is an undercard feud and most fans likely aren't going to care in the long run, but this was actually really well done. Personally, I'm enjoying it and feel like it's the perfect program for both factions right now. Final Testament acting like they were going to attack Miz so they could lure Wyatt Sicks to the ring was smart and the heels got good heat. Wyatt Sicks won't be damaged by one beatdown. WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill def. Women's World Champion Liv Morgan and Raquel RodriguezIt wasn't the most encouraging sign that this started so close to the ending of the show, not to mention there was a commercial break in the middle. Thus, this was on the shorter side and we didn't get to see much of it. It was fine for what it was. The shenanigans right before the finish and afterward indicate women's WarGames is indeed happening and I can't say I'm a fan. We'll see what they have in store, but doing women's WarGames with these competitors feels incredibly unnecessary and forced. Overall ShowThere was nothing wrong with doing four-on-four with the men's WarGames match, yet it was established on this edition of Raw that it will be five-on-five after all. Likewise, there's no reason for there to be a women's WarGames match if it doesn't make sense, and this year, it doesn't make sense to do one. That stuff aside, this was a serviceable show. It was slightly weaker compared to other two-hour episodes we've gotten since early October, but several storylines were progressed and two big matches were announced for next week with the Rollins vs. Reed rematch and Sheamus challenging Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Championship.
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