The last 3 hours WWE Monday Night Raw of 2024 took place in Evansville, Indiana. It’s a big week on Raw and the go-home show for Bad Blood featured CM Punk and Drew McIntyre engaged in verbal combat at Hell in a Cell, while Braun Strowman won the Last Monster Standing match thanks to Seth Rollins returning to attack Bronson Reed . Gunther will finally face Sammy For the World Heavyweight Championship on next week’s Raw, finally give in to Sami’s requests.
Speaking of champions, the new Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso was congratulated by Braun Breaker as part of a face turn and R-Truth returned, Only for the MS to turn on him And let him beat in the ring. Zoe Stark defeated Lyra Valkyria and Judgment Day overcame the LWO before laying down another beatdown on Damian Priest. It was also a big week for Xavier Woods, who defeated Rey Mysterio after pulling off his mask, and will face Jey Uso for the Intercontinental title next week.
Bran Breicher
A glimpse into the long-term future of Bron Breaker
It is easy to forget that Bron Breaker spent his first few years as one of NXT’s biggest babyfaces. Despite coming up to the main roster and working havoc as one of Raw’s main heels, the feeling is that The long-term future of Bron Breaker is certainly one of the main faces of WWE. His promo congratulating Main Event Jey Uso for being the better man and showing genuine respect and love for the IC Title gave us our first glimpse of the future.
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The seed of doubt was about whether this would be Breaker playing Possum though His interaction with Gunther later in the evening suggests that he is now one of Raw’s main faces. It’s a good creative decision. The dogs bred in every town Bronn visited, The WWE powers that be are paying attention to this popularity surge and running with it. Let’s see how it plays out.
Xavier Woods
He has finally won… but at what cost?
scoring A win over Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio is one hell of a boost to Xavier Woods’ resumeBut the way was as subdued as possible. Seemingly accidentally pulling off Mysterio’s mask, he scored a cheap roll-up victory while Rey hid his face in shame. Woods being booed by the crowd after his win is a sign of how people feel about his new direction.
After Kofi Kingston was offered a championship opportunity, his New Day teammate gave up his Intercontinental Championship match in favor of Woods, who will face Jey Uso for the IC title next week. Woods, however, thanked Kofi by costing him in his match with Chad Gable by trying to cheat. The New Day used to get exactly the same reaction that USO enjoys today, being the premier choice of kids everywhere and being cool enough for the adults to join the party. How Woods performs next week will drive The New Day’s popularity forward.
Drew McIntyre and CM Punk
The end of the line for the 2024 feud
January 27, 2024. That’s the date of this year’s Royal Rumble and, over 8 months later, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre will finally end their bitter rivalry this Saturday At WWE Bad Blood. It is the right moment to call time on this feud. Both men elevated their respective positions. CM Punk is able to draw extreme reactions and bitterness from anyone, Drew can go toe to toe with the best in the WWE in any capacity.
If you haven’t seen a second of their feud, This segment was enough to convey the hatred in their upcoming match. This is not about sporting competition or the road to the World Heavyweight Championship. It’s about hate. There are two men willing to take each other to their limits to stand over their opponent’s broken body. Hell In A Cell will let the world know who is the better man.
The corn
A much-needed change of direction for the MS
It has already come. After R-Truth returned to Monday Night Raw earlier in the evening, he volunteered Awesome Truth for a tag team match against Authors Of Pain. And then it happened. The Miz turned pizza, dropped Rabbi Amt and left him for dead In the ring for AOP to get the victory.
After being sponsored by Braun Storvman and billed by Bronson Reed, the MS had had enough. In fact, The Miz is a much more enjoyable performer when he’s a bad guy. He can do it all, but his complicated relationship with the WWE audience makes The Miz more engaging when he’s enraged.
Raw’s Main Event and Seth Rollins
The Last Monster Standing match delivered and then some
For the last six weeks, The main event of Monday Night Raw was must-see TV. Last week, the Intercontinental Championship changed hands as the world celebrated Jey Uso. Other recent main events have included Jey USO vs. Damian Priest and the Fatal Four-Way Number One Contender’s Match for the Intercontinental Championship between Dragunov, Dunn, Reed and USO. Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman more than lived up to those standards.
These two best were a four-day demolition derby in the last few weeks. Cars, walls, barricades and tables were used as props in their physical encounters leading up to the match. Everything about it was fun. The ring collapsed, Strowman launched himself off the top rope onto around fifteen people. It all worked and then Seth Rollins returned to secure victory for Braun Strowman. Bronson Reed put Rollins on the injured list on August 5, and The Architect would get his revenge on Reed by curb stomping him on some steel steps and standing tall at the end of Raw.
The judgment day against the terror twins
A lot of people who need new things
For most of the year, The inner turmoil of Judgment Day proved entertaining television. Liv Morgan replacing Rhea Ripley is seamless. Finn Balor and Damian Priest locked horns while they were faction members together and now Priest has gone solo. It feels like the rivalry is treading water for a few weeks.
Maybe Rhea’s injury has taken its toll, maybe it’s just the storyline reaching its natural conclusion, but tonight’s Judgment Day vs. LWO match and giving Priest another beat down in the aftermath felt stale. Both Rhea vs Liv and Finn vs Priest are sure to be incredible this weekend. however, All parties will benefit from new focus on next week’s Raw.
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After 11 years of sharing a roster, this was the first singles match between Xavier Woods and Rey Mysterio.
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The new Intercontinental Championship, complete with blue, is here to stay as it is sold on WWE Shop.
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Zoey Stark’s victory over Lyra Valkria was her first singles win on Raw since May 6.
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R True returned to Raw for the first time since August 12.
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See you soon, Ilja Dragunov. His ACL injury is expected to keep him out for 6-9 months.
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Gunther finally gave Sami Zayn a World Heavyweight Championship match.
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The loss was only Bronson Reed’s second in 1-vs-1 competition since May.
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This was Braun Strowman’s first victory in a 1-vs-1 match since beating Chad Gable on June 17.