Raw recap & reactions (July 15, 2024): Rhea’s revenge tour begins

Rhea Ripley was Raw’s focal point this week. Was there ever any other option? After last week’s big return, Rhea made two things clear almost immediately. One, she challenged Liv Morgan to a match at SummerSlam. Liv kept her distances from Rhea during the opening segment, which made sense for her character and the larger story. Building more heat between these two for the next couple weeks without letting Rhea lay a finger on Liv shouldn’t be a problem. Liv’s come a long way on the mic with her latest iteration, and all the work between Dom and Liv for the past few months went a long way. The two got close this week but Liv ran for the hills, much like last week. It begs the question what exactly Liv has up her sleeve to give her even a remote chance at SummerSlam. If there’s one thing I want before we get to August, it’s showing why I should think Liv will put up a fight. She’s the cowardly lion right now and wants no static.

Then there’s the second, and possibly larger story: Dom Dom.

It played out throughout the night with Dom’s romance attempts going nowhere fast. It felt like a nice sitcom set up with the guy doing his best to make things right but ultimately fighting a losing battle. I like how they integrated the rest of Judgment Day here too, especially as we got more of the story. Not only did Dom lie about talking to Rhea every time they asked, but son didn’t speak to her for three months. I’d love an explanation from Dom on that one because as dirty as he is, that sounds a bit odd. He and Rhea had their drama before her injury, but I want to know why he went three months without talking to the woman.

That brings me to the point where Dom wrestled Jey Uso. Jey made his intentions to holla at Rhea known and Damian pushed Dom into wrestling Jey on principle. I get that. You can’t just let anyone disrespect you to your face when it comes to your significant other. Even if she’s throwing flowers at you and rebuffing every advance you’re making in her direction. But after Jey defeated Dom, I’m sure I saw Rhea smile at Jey. Right? I’m not imagining that am I? If not smile it was at least a smirk. That makes me wonder if there’s another plan in her mind when she made up with Dom later. Rhea is clearly a face, so maybe betraying Dom like he betrayed her is a way to keep her that way while not letting Dom’s boos interfere with her reaction. Or maybe she’s being straight up with him and all is forgiven.

Either way, my favorite story on Raw continues and I’m very excited about the future.

B-Sides

Okay Dunn

This one is short but definitely sweet: Pete Dunne is officially beefing with Sheamus. The former Brute fired the official shot after Sheamus defeated Bronson Reed in a match that slapped a lot of meat.

Oh, and Bronson still isn’t finished with Sheamus either. Last week, I noted that the former WWE champ had a lot of problems on his plate; well that plate just got heavier. While Bronson is still a part of this, Pete and Sheamus are the emotional core. I’m looking forward to Pete’s explanation, and how he ties it into the Brutes breaking up, him forming New Catch Republic, and where he is now given Tyler Bate’s injury status. Hopefully this elevates Pete through giving him more mic time, and truly establishes him as a solo act.

Giant Slide

Braun Strowman made Damian Priest look great this week. After weeks where Braun had his way with Judgment Day, the World Heavyweight champ handled it himself. And he did so using his brains.

Damian didn’t wax the ring with Braun; he simply used the bigger man’s strengths against him. It started when Braun revved up the locomotive and charged towards the champ. But Damian moved at the last minute. Braun crashed through the barricade and hurt his knee, which slowed him down from that point forward.

Damian fought hard for it since even a one-legged Braun is a problem, but he got him up in the South of Heaven for the win.

I’m harping on Braun selling for Damian and Damian’s smarts because it’s connected to the preceding moments with GUNTHER.

First off, both men handled their business here. GUNTHER’s scumbag entitlement leapt through the screen with every word he uttered. His promo not only sold the viewpoint that he’s above everyone because he’s built differently, but it made Damian sympathetic without betraying his character. The Judgment Day member constructed his story with GUNTHER’s with a few choice lines without overdoing it, and established a nice dynamic for their championship match. Besides presenting the champ with yet another challenge to give his reign merit, it’s now the entitled challenger vs. the hardworking champion. Even the fact that Damien wrestled this week while GUNTHER didn’t says a lot about.

Sorry Not Sorry

This started weird. Drew McIntyre all happy, smiling, obeying Adam Pearce, and kowtowing to the fans was weird. But it turns out that was the point.

Drew’s “act” broke when the GM asked for an apology. Then he let it all rip, got in a quick promo on Seth Rollins, and demanded his match against CM Punk. Seth, who, like Candyman, always comes when you call his name, hit the ring. We got a brief skirmish between he and Drew, which ended with Seth standing tall and Drew irate outside the ring.

But the big news here is Drew’s still suspended. Based on his attitude and Adam’s stance, I don’t know this resolves itself. I really have no clue.

Crew

Rowan was on fire here. This was emotional, succinct, and felt incredibly real. Of all the Wyatt Sicks videos, this is the one that feels like a home run. It used props and an honest story to connect dots; this guy lost Brodie Lee and Bray Wyatt back to back. He felt lost and turned to the one person who extended a hand. Why wouldn’t he? I understand why Rowan is with this group and what it means to him. And all it took was a few minutes on camera.

Now that’s the high part of the Wyatt Sicks segments for me. The low point came here:

I like Chad calling out Bo and acting like he’s Sherlock Holmes. I love the Creeds finally joining forces with Chad officially and beating down Bo. But when the rest of Bo’s crew showed up, I wanted more action. This is a group that assaulted several people when they first showed up. Not saying they need to do that again because it becomes dull if it’s overdone, but they show a bit too much restraint for me. I wanted more even if I understand the slow boil approach.

Singles

• Sonya Deville defeated Zelina Vega thanks to some outside help from her crew. But shoutout to Zelina for dissing Sonya’s forehead before the match. Zelina needs a crew because defeating these three by herself ain’t happening. Perhaps that’s Kayden Carter & Katana Chance? They came to her aide but a later development showed why they might not be enough.
• Bron Breakker made good on his promise: He said he’d destroy Ilja Dragunov and Sami Zayn during their Intercontinental championship match. That’s exactly what happened in the main event. Bron looks like a beast and it feel like a matter of time before that championship is his.
• Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark defeated Kayden & Katana. Like I said, they might not be enough, even with Lyra Valkyria on their side.

Another fun show with solid matches that fed into larger narratives. Keep giving me that and I’m a happy man.

What say you, Cagesiders? Does Rhea have a thing for Jey or are she and Dom Dom good?

Sound off!