Tuesday Morning RAW July 16th

Tuesday Morning Raw

Author: Barrett Bannon

Raw: 16/07/2024

Channel: Foxtel WWE Channel/Binge/Kayo

The WWE is setting up a massive Summer Slam this year with this week’s Raw setting up and previewing some of the matches that should be taking place at the PLE that will be taking place on the 6^th of August (AUS). This week we see the return of Rhea Ripley and how she reacted to Liv Morgan’s Revenge tour, we also see Damian Priest and Gunther face to face before Summer Slam as well as Dominic Mysterio doing whatever he can to make Rhea forgive him.

The Return of Rhea Ripley

This week’s show started in the only way it could’ve with Rhea Ripley going out to the ring and calling out Liv Morgan. Instead of Liv, Dominic Mysterio made his way to the ring with a rose in his hand in an attempt to apologize to Rhea who was not having anything to do with Dom. At this Liv Morgan would appear on the screen to talk to Rhea about how she had successfully taken everything from her. Rhea would use this opportunity to challenge Liv to a championship match at Summer Slam and then threaten to not only win the match but also end Liv Morgan’s career. The build in this feud has made this match into one of the most highly anticipated matches at Summer Slam where hopefully we will see Rhea regain her gold in a match that will match the hype.

Sheamus Vs Bronson Reed

The first match of the night went to Sheamus and Bronson Reed in a hard-hitting match between the two. Sheamus would come out the winner after a failed moonsualt attempt from Bronson Reed which was followed up by a brogue kick from Sheamus to knock Bronson down. Bronson Reed was not happy with this as he would attempt to attack Sheamus until Pete Dunne would come out to save his former Brawling Brute buddy Sheamus. The friendship would not last for long as Pete Dunne refused to shake hands with Sheamus and decide to use this opportunity to strike an unaware Sheamus. Pete Dunne would walk away and allow Bronson Reed to finish the job with a Tsunami as we see a side of Pete Dunne that we have not seen since being on the main roster. With the history between Dunne and Sheamus this storyline could lead to an interesting match between the two and see Ridge Holland return to the main Roster to get involved in this feud as well.

Damian Priest, Gunther, and Braun Strowman

Priest who was in a good mood with the return of Rhea would head out the ring to go face to face with his Summer Slam opponent Gunther. This face-to-face was one of the better performances we have seen from both Damian Priest and Gunther as Priest would talk about how hard he fought to get into the WWE and the hardship that he went through before making it. Gunther would talk about how easy his own life was and call Damian street trash as Damian would tell Gunther that he is not going to win at Summer Slam because he doesn’t have a heart. Before an impromptu brawl started between the two Braun Strowman would come out to face Priest in their scheduled match. Damian’s match against Strowman was one-sided as Strowman would hurt his leg earlier on in the match after getting thrown over the barricade by Priest. Damian Priest would end the match with a South of Heaven choke slam when Gunther would come out and cut celebrations short. Priest was prepared for this though and showed Gunther why he is the World Heavyweight Champion. Before this segment, a lot of fans would have believed it was more likely for Gunther to win at Summer Slam yet the change we saw in Priest here showed that the match at Summer Slam may not be as one-sided as people may think.

Dominic Mysterio VS Jey Uso

After a long night of trying to find a way to get Rhea to forgive him, Dom resorted to defending Rhea as his own by going up against Jey Uso who was interested in Rhea being newly single. Dom would come out firing at the start of this match getting the jump on Jey and dominating for the first half of the match. Jey would manage to gain some momentum later in the match, but it would be cut short after Liv Morgan would save Dom from being hit by an Uso splash. Dom was not happy as he would try and tell Liv to leave him alone before he found himself wrapped up in Liv’s arms again. Rhea would not stand by and let this go on as she would come down and scare Liv off and tell Dom to go and win the match. Dom however would get back into the ring where he was met by a spear from Jey Uso losing him the match. Dom would go on later to try and apologize to Rhea one last time when Rhea told him she is not Dom’s, but Dom Dom is hers showing that Dominic may be out of trouble with Rhea for now.

Wyatt Sicks

This show’s Videotape showed us Erick Rowan being interviewed by Bo Dallas in a heart-wrenching segment. Erick would talk about the passing of both Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt and how hard losing the two had been for him. He then would talk about how meeting Uncle Howdy had given him something new to live for and how this new faction had given him hope. Someone who had lost hope though was Chad Gabel with Adam Pearce as this week Chad would call out Bo Dallas who had figured out was Uncle Howdy. This would then confirm an alliance being formed between the Creed Brother and Chad Gabel as the brothers would attack Bo Dallas as he was going to meet Gabel in the ring. Bo found this beatdown surprisingly funny though as he would laugh the entire time confusing Chad and the Creed brothers. At this, the lights would go out and the rest of the Wyatt Sick would come down to the ring as Gabel and the Creed Brothers fled the ring. This Segment showed Dallas in the ring for the first time since his return and we also get to see the start of a possible new faction with the Creed Brothers and Chad Gabel. This could all be leading to a match between Gabel and the Creed Brothers against the Wyatt Sicks further down the line in a feud that has been extremely interesting and highly emotional so far.

Other Highlights:

• Sonya Deville defeated Zelina to make it into the title scene.
• Shayna Baszler and Zoe Stark defeated Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.
• Drew McIntyre refused to apologize for his actions at Money in the Bank when Seth would come out and save Adam Pearce and the refs keeping a potential triple threat at Summer Slam.

Sami Zayn Vs Ilja Dragunov

The main event was a match for the Intercontinental Championship. While this match had the potential to steal the show it felt slow and boring, and it did not live up to what it could have been. Bron Breaker would once again interfere in the match as he speared Ilja Dragunov and took out Sami Zayn. While tonight’s match was predictable the inclusion of Ilja Dragunov tonight showed that a triple threat is on the cards for the Intercontinental Championship at Summer Slam in a match where all three opponents have a chance to win.

This week showed that the Judgement Day truly run all of WWE with all the drama between Liv and Rhea along with Damian Priest being shown in a new light. The tension between Chad Gabel and the Wyatt Sicks continues to build and the battle for the Intercontinental Championship heats up. With Summer Slam just weeks away there is potential for anything to happen on Raw with the build-up to the PLE being extremely interesting.