Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins & CM Punk Set The Table For SummerSlam

Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and with the SummerSlam go-home edition of RAW taking place live from the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, there are as many storylines in need of that last push heading into Saturday’s PLE as the state has bodies of water.

A Go-Home Welcome

Tonight’s opening segment started with Seth Rollins, the special guest referee for the CM Punk–Drew McIntyre ‘fight’ at SummerSlam, and he came out in an outfit suited for a referee—or at least a ref heading to Paris’ fashion week. He had zebra-printed boots and leather pants to highlight his black and white striped (ref-inspired) top, complete with his signature shoulder pads. It was certainly a look, but let’s hope he is wearing a more traditional WWE official shirt come SummerSlam. Seth was soon joined by Punk and then McIntyre.

Seth Rollins made it clear from the jump that any physical contact between Punk and/or McIntyre against each other and/or Seth would cancel their SS match. Then, Seth made it clear that he wanted to be the ref in this match when he learned that no WWE official wanted to ref this blood feud.

This was a great way of retroactively adding in a plot line into the main story, and it is not a retcon because WWE officials have been abused by both men one way or the other—from McIntyre putting his hands on them several times, including the incident at Money in the Bank for which he was suspended to Punk tricking a WWE official into aiding his successful attempt at costing Drew his match. The officials certainly have cause for not wanting to ref this match, but it should be an active part of the storyline, not a throwaway line from Seth on the go-home episode. Drew reminded Seth that Punk is a ‘cancer,’ a word Rollins used to describe Punk long before his Survivor Series return. Admitting they don’t always see eye to eye, Drew told Seth to remember their ‘common enemy’ in Punk.

Last week, McIntyre posted a photo with AEW’s Jack Perry, the wrestler with whom Punk had his final backstage encounter before the company terminated his contract and any chance at future dealings. Drew even posted the pic with a caption that said, “It’s a real photo, cry us a river.” The caption referenced Perry’s words during his PPV match the night of his altercation with Punk. In the match, Perry had a spot involving a car, and before using it, he looked directly into the camera and said it was ‘real glass’ before saying, “Cry me a river.” The quote was in reference to a criticism by Punk for using real glass as opposed to ‘gimmick glass.’

Punk was not happy with Drew; that was obvious, but they successfully blurred the kayfabe line and used it willingly to further the storyline. Punk later spoke about how his name was chanted in arenas throughout the country when he was gone, and with the fans delivering an acapella version of Seth’s theme music, Punk delivered the line of the night off the dome. “They sing his song, they chant my name, you’re the third wheel in this match at SummerSlam,” Punk harped at Drew in the middle of the ring. “How does that feel, Drew?

“The one positive about PDS (Punk Derangement Syndrome) is you get to be in my orbit, you get to breathe the rare air that CM Punk produces.” These weren’t the words of a face, and Punk is clearly suffering from his own version of PDS after telling Drew he was stepping in the ring with “the best in the world,” a moniker that once fit the Punk brand as well as “The Excellence of Execution” fit Bret Hart, but he is not that CM Punk anymore. Considering that Punk has not looked sharp since his return to the ring, and topping that off with the fact that the only thing worse than “old Punk” is “injured Punk” returning from the IR. It was clear that Punk was unhappy with Seth’s role in all this, and he attempted to check Rollins, too.

Perhaps all of this is setting up a full heel version of Punk because after 8-months of this experiment, it is safe to say that the CM Punk that left WWE never returned and never will, but there are few superstars with the creative mind necessary to reinvent and evolve the beat of their drum to fit the beating pulse of the WWE Universe©– CM Punk is one of those superstars.

That Girl Is Liv…id

The Judgement Day’s awesome lair, and the envy of every 15-year-old (and at least one writer in his mid-30s), was ransacked and left in ruins. All the gifts, including a PS5 with WWE 2K24 just to be ‘shill,’ from Liv Morgan to Dom Mysterio over the Summer. The boys were clearly bummed, and TJD morale appeared to be at an all-time low, but Mami was there to make sure ‘the boys’ focused their disappointment on the alleged guilty party—WWE champ Liv Morgan.

Morgan and Mami are set to battle it out at SummerSlam in Rhea Ripley’s first taste of action since returning from injury. Rhea’s return came while she was still not cleared for action, which is evident by her lack of physicality since returning. Ripley will attempt to win back the title she was forced to relinquish. For Liv, she gave a fantastic performance via video vignette. With tears in her eyes and smeared mascara as her ‘warpaint,’ Liv delivered a promo with passion and anger, the kind that you cannot help but fear (a woman’s scorn and all).

Dom, Zane, I See You (IC Who?)

No matter how you cut it, this was a solid match, and Dom got the chance to showcase in a match with the man who can showcase anyone. This was NOT Bret Hart VS 1-2-3 KID, but it did offer a glimpse of what Dom can deliver at this point in his career, especially when matched well.

Unfortunately, as predicted, the match ended in a schmoz, but Jey Uso came out to help even out the odds against TJD. After “Main Event,” Jey Uso cleared the ring of TJD, and Bron Breakker delivered a beatdown on IC champ Zane. The IC champ, however, did manage to land an exploder on Breakker after countering the blindside attack. Is Breakker ready for the lights of a ‘big time match’ at the Summer WrestleMania?

Gunther vs. Balor

As for the forgotten member of TJD, Balor was placed in the main event against Gunther days before he challenged the leader of TJD and heavyweight champ Damian Priest. The match was clean, and both men showed why they are considered two of the very best on the roster. That said, the pairing was odd, considering they both play up their heel schtick both in-ring and out of it. Each superstar showcased the best of themselves, but Gunther was booked to look stronger, rightfully so but the match had an odd ending as Gunther locked on a sleeper that put Finn to… well, sleep.

It was all to set up a brawl between champ and challenger as Priest came out to perhaps ‘soften up’ Gunther before Saturday. That is a smart plan because if Gunther wins, it may be the last time anyone has a chance at the title, considering how long Gunther held the IC title.

Now That’s What I Call A Debut Volume 2

The Creed Brothers picked up the win against their mentor’s old faction members, Otis and Tazawa. Chad Gable locked on his ankle submission on Otis when Maxine jumped on his back for the save. As Gable turned his attention to her and received a slap for it, he inched closer and closer before the lights went black, and things started to get ‘sickening.’ The three men in the ring circled up, unsure where the threat would come from, and frantically prepared for a fight. Eventually, three men made their way to the ring under the cover of masks, and when they reached the ring apron, they stood outside the ropes and revealed themselves.

The distraction from Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, and Joe Gacy was enough for Nikki Cross (Abby the Witch) to get the jump on Gable, literally, as she dove from the top turnbuckle, and that is when the rest of the Wyatt Sicks took out the Creed Brothers. After Lumis and Gacy displayed some double teamwork, Rowan put the exclamation on the physicality on both Creed Bros. Luckily, Gable was able to slip out of the ring and stumble his way to the gorilla, but Uncle Howdy forced a detour out of the area. This was the first in-ring physical interaction from the group, and it was done well. Keeping Howdy as the ‘boss figure’ was a good visual for the faction leader and an important distinction considering how huge Rowan looks beside the group.

While Wyatt Sicks’ original debut on RAW in Corpus Christi came weeks ago, this was a different sort of debut and perhaps the most important. While the group has looked awesome on the back of some great production and talented set designers, it’s all for not if the faction doesn’t ‘play’ in-action on WWE TV. Tonight, they took an important step towards the very important first match. There was a video package played later in the evening with the same theme as the others, this time focusing on Lumis. When we cut back to live TV, Gable was with GM Adam Pearce, bragging about uncovering the identities of the Wyatt Sicks (He must not have the social media). He listed the names of all members, excluding Nikki Cross, and Pearce jokingly said ‘of course he knew’ and pointed out they were all under WWE contracts. That is when Gable demanded a 6-man tag match next week against the Wyatt Sicks in what will be their first match.

Tidbits/Other In-Ring Action

• Pete Dunn cost his former fellow faction member, Sheamus, his match against Bronson Reed. The match was so-so, but it furthers Dunn’s first meaningful solo feud. However, is it not at SummerSlam? They could’ve hit the fast-forward button on this, and it would be one hell of a pre-show match, but either way, this is a highly anticipated showdown for those in the know.
• Jey Uso picked up the singles win over Judgement Day adjacent member Carlito. Carlito was supposed to ‘handle’ Jey for TJD but failed that mission.
• NXT “Great American Bash,” a former WCW PPV, will premiere on the SyFy channel tomorrow. It will be a two-week event that will span WWE’s time on SyFy before returning to USA Net.
• The Miz is ‘hosting’ SummerSlam, not surprising considering the show is taking place in Clevland, Ohio—Miz’s hometown.
• SummerSlam Schedule: Undertaker’s 1 DeadMan Show starts at 1 PM ET, Countdown to SummerSlam-4ET/1PT; SummerSlam- 7ET/4PT; SummerSlam Post-Show- Immediately following SummerSlam

Mario Mungia

Mario Mungia Jr. has a decade worth of experience as a combat sports journalist and correspondent which began with ThaBoxingVoice (TBV) as a podcast co-host, writer and editor-in-chief. Aside from his online resume, Mario spent a fair portion of his early career working for Spanish/English magazine Premier Round and the Mexican website Izquierdo. Mario has also contributed to NYFights while simultaneously working for MIC Sports Network as part of the broadcast crew covering local high school sports. Since then, he has launched his own podcast/live stream (Infighting/Work In Progress) and is covering pro wrestling for FightsATW.

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