Summary
The road toWWE’sBash In Berlinbecomes a little clearer asMonday Night Rawairs in front of an electric crowd in Austin, Texas. The show featured an Intercontinental Championship 2 Out Of 3 Falls rematch between Bronn Breakker and, Sami Zayn, Gunther and Randy Orton adding fuel to the fire of their World Heavyweight Championship match at the upcoming PLE, CM Punk having “travel issues” until he showed up out of nowhere to attack Drew McIntyre, and the trio of Sonia Deville, Shayna Bayzler, and Zoe Stark revealed they are to be known as Pure Fusion Collective.
Perhaps the biggest news of the night involved The Terror Twins, Damien Priest and Rhea Ripley, as they will finally get their hands on Dirty Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan in Germany on August 31st. Winners & Losers recaps the night’s action with facts, context, and opinions about the current state of WWE, during one of the hottest eras in the company’s history. This week’sRawepisode took place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
The Terror Twins and The Judgment Day
Is this currently the hottest feud in WWE?
You know an angle is red-hot when a fan’s camera footage of Rhea Ripley chasing Liv Morgan around the concourse of the Moody Center in Austin, Texas receives the same fanfare it would get as part of the live TV broadcast.Everything in this story is working at present.Dominik Mysterio and Liv’s romance is deplorable. Damien Priest emerging behind the loathsome couple like Michael Myers was perfect, and the cheers he earns amplify with every passing week. Backstabber Balor is a snake, shrouded in mystery and waiting for his moment.
The close-misses of Rhea Ripley getting her hands on Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio coming inches to falling foul of Priest only add value to theirconfirmed mixed tag-team encounter at Bash In Berlin. The suspense is as satisfying as each individual payoff. Punk and Drew continue to cook at maximum temperature but this feud is giving those two a run for their money as the current best rivalry in the WWE.
Pete Dunne and Sheamus
A regional rivalry between the Celtic Warrior and Britain’s Bruiserweight
Don’t call him Butch. It was a short interview segment with Jackie Redmond butPete Dunne’s intense growling and British delivery was immaculate.He feels justified in attacking Sheamus over recent weeks, having been discarded by him and feeling humiliated by his name change.In two short minutes, he put himself back in to Monday Night Raw’s conversation.Intimidating his interviewer with menace and purpose, he made the lovable Celtic Warrior seem dictatorial, and his point of “where’s Ridge if he’s so about the boys?” was superb.
As for Sheamus, this is the perfect chance for him to get back in the saddle.His everyman Irish persona is the best of his WWE career. It’s got enough essence of who he is to buy into, with the pedigree and championship collection of a Hall Of Famer, but he hasn’t been featured on a PLE since returning from injury and hasn’t had a single’s match on a PLE since his classic encounter with Gunther at Clash At The Castle in September of 2022.Both men need this and both men are delivering.The match on Raw next week is pivotal.
Pete Dunne is yet to have a singles match on a WWE PLE since being called up to the main roster. He was NXT United Kingdom Champion for 685 days.
The World Heavyweight Championship Scene
Gunther has a lot of talent to work with in the current World Championship picture
The World Heavyweight Championship picture shifted in an enormous wayafter Gunther emerged from SummerSlam as the new dominant force on Monday Night Raw.After his 666 day run as Intercontinental Champion, preceded by 870 days as NXT United Kingdom Champion and followed up by winning King Of The Ring 2024,it feels like it will take a Herculean effort to overthrow him.The big Austrian will be favorite in virtually every match he will be in for at least the next 4 months and yet, still, the WHC scene feels electric.
As Gunther and Randy Orton’s excellent mic jousting was interrupted by Drew McIntyre and, shortly after, an unscheduled CM Punk, this new dawn felt a lot more real on tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw.Punk’s glance at Guntheras he raged through the backstage area felt pointed. McIntyre has always been clear that his goal is to be Champion, and Jey Uso’s popularity will surely see him enter this picture too.
Adam Pearce
A little praise for the man keeping Monday Night Raw on the tracks
It was a fairly quiet Monday Night Raw solet’s give Adam Pearce his flowers. Pearce continues to be a charismatic General Manager who doesn’t embroil himself in storylines. This is a man so good at his job that the headaches caused by the likes of Drew McIntyre, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed haveaudiences feel sympathetic for the boss character on a wrestling show. It truly is a new dawn.
He is fun when updating the Raw card on social media, his competitive-not-confrontational relationship with Nick Aldis avoids all of the usual tropes and feels fresh because of it.Adam Pearce positively redefined the General Manager role, and the fact that he can legitimately still lace up the boots and have a serious wrestling match opens up endless possibilities for the future.
Bronson Reed’s Tsunami Splash
The Australian’s finishing move reaches new heights
Bronson Reed had one of the biggest breakthrough momentsof the Paul Levesque era on last week’s Raw, putting Seth Rollins out of action for the foreseeable future by hitting his finisher six times. This week he another victim, the always-underrated Miz. As The Miz lay broken on the canvas, Reed made his way to the turnbuckle. The crowd let out the kind of “ohhh!” usually reserved for when a good insult about someone’s mother has been cast.
The anticipation for his finishing move has magnifiedand Bronson Reed’s presence has been recognized. This encounter was set up in comedic fashion by R-Truth, naturally, and it would be Miz’s tag-team partner who would be this week’s real victim, taking the Tsunami again and again, amid panicking officials and an irate Adam Pierce. In one short segment last week, WWE creatives managed to makeBronson Reed feel as dangerous as literally anybody on this roster, and hats off for that.
American Made & Ivy Nile
WWE’s newest faction begin in impressive fashion
After weeks of build up,Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers are officially American Made. With a great new logo, a second victory over The Alpha Academy in three weeks for The Creed Brothers, Chad Gable cutting an impressive “America first” promo from the Olympics in Paris, and a generic Def Rebel entrance theme, the group also gave its clearest indication of a fourth member.Ivy Nile has been seen around the group since their inception and involved herself by attacking Maxine Dupree, smashing her into Michael Cole and Pat McAfee’s announcer’s desk, and costing Otis and Akira Tozawa the match.
With SummerSlam now in the past and a looming run with The Wyatt Sicks on the table,American Made have the opportunity to make themselves a priorityin the eyes of the WWE audience. Gable created magic with Sami Zayn and Otis earlier this year. The Creed Brothers are future world tag team champions. Ivy Nile has a chance to prove herself like never before. It’s all coming up red, white, and blue.
Ivy Nile’s last victory on Monday Night Raw came over Valhalla on January 22nd, 2024
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Xavier Woods & The Final Testament
A crossroads is approaching for The New Day
The New Day tell excellent stories aboutthe power of long-lasting friendship, and the unease of Xavier Woods around Kofi Kingston’s bulldozer-like introduction of sort-of new member Odyssey Jones has been intentionally uncomfortable viewing, with their lack of communication causing mounting tension.Feeling like a third wheelsees Woods in the Losers column but there’s a potential greater problem with this angle.
Karrion Kross and The Final Testament have been a large presence on WWE televisionacross Raw, SmackDown and NXT since forming in the first week of this calendar year. Their aim of splitting up The New Day has been clear since the beginning but more of their own personality is desperately needed.Who are The Final Testament?Their aim is to cause destruction and chaos but what is their cause?These questions are in real need of answeringto stop them being the generic villain fodder that they’re in danger of becoming.
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Def Rebel
WWE’s theme music remains a hot topic among fans
Wrestling has been an absolute blast for the whole of 2024, and one of the most enjoyable aspects of WWE TV has been theimprovement on all levels of production. From unique camera shots and creative shot ideas, to new ways of presenting promos and entrances, WWE are taking a product that is into its fifth decade and revitalizing it to a point where it feels fresh to new and old fans alike. However, theme songs are a problem. Fans have expressed a lot of frustration over the music produced by Def Rebel, the music production team that has taken over CFO$ spot in WWE since 2020.
It’s hard not to notice that the intro to Bron Breakker’s entrance music is a confusing mess when he cuts an incredible promo and drops a line we are likely to be hearing for the next twenty years, asking “we got any dogs barking in INSERT TOWN”, but it’s followed by an air-raid siren and a confusing collection of sounds. American Made are hitting every beat but their theme song neither plays into the “you suck” chants Gable has inherited, nor the feel of the group. Perhaps it’s only noticeable because of the enormous raising of all other standards butimproving the uniform nature of the company’s entrance themesfeels like a necessary part of WWE’s evolution.
Jey Uso and Sami Zayn
Trouble in paradise for one of WWE’s most lovable duos
Both inside and away from The Bloodline,the friendship between Sami Zayn and Jey Uso has been one of WWE’s most endearing partnerships. Read between the lines of their interactions on the last two episodes of Raw and things are not as Ucey between the two.Sami is currently crippled with self doubt, having lost his Intercontinental gold, been unable to overcome Bron Breakker, and showing all of the characteristics of his pre-WrestleMania slump.
Jey Uso’s vocal positivity and hyping of Sami’s talents is visibly not landing with his friend, no matter how well-intentioned his actions may be. It doesn’t feel catastrophic, but something isn’t sitting right between the two at present. Main Event Jey Uso’s presence was sorely missed at SummerSlam. There’s no need for cause or alarm,his ties to The Bloodline guarantee him top billing in the futureand his reaction from the live audience as deafening as ever. However, it’s hard to see where this storyline will bring the two talents, at the moment.
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