The New Judgement Day Beatdown, Strap Match & More on RAW

The August 19^th edition of Monday Night RAW took place live from the Amerant Bank Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home of the NHL Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. Just about two weeks out from ‘Bash in Berlin’ in Germany, there are plenty of storylines left to play out, and room left for additional matches.

We are in a limbo period of sorts with WWE programming as the shift for SmackDown from FOX to USA Network begins in roughly a month, and the RAW shift to Netflix coming several months later (beginning January 2025) that will include John Cena on his retirement tour. These two facts help to rationalize the single truth that RAW has been better TV this summer. One of the hottest angles in wrestling is playing out between Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan/Dominik Mysterio, propping up a larger narrative of Damian Priest’s Judgement Day versus the newest inception.

Questionable RAW, No Judgement

Despite being the hottest act in wrestling, the program was given little time and not much more fuel. It can be argued that the program is white hot and only needs to coast to BIB, and that’s probably true, but the segment we got was essentially the Judgement Day standing tall over Rhea and Priest. The most they gave us was a terrible name for Rhea and Priest—The Terror Twins…Lame.

We Gonna RAW Like It’s 1989/2007

Is there anything cooler than ‘face’ Randy Orton? Put aside the pure joy we’ve seen on his face in this run and the one pre-injury (RKBRO 4:20, anyone?), but the confidence and swag he exudes are on another level. He is not phoning it in. He is soaking it in, which certainly adds to the Gunther storyline.

Randy opened the show, and Gunther was not far behind as the pair continued the excellent gamesmanship we saw last week on the mic. Gunther invoked the Orton family name, and for Randy, things have become even more personal than the record-tying championship win he hopes to secure at ‘BIB.’ It was all to set up a match with Kaiser, who came out to attack “The Viper,” and Orton, who returns to RAW action with terrific matchmaking.

Orton vs. Kaiser

This was a strong showing for Orton and gives him some momentum as we get closer to Bash in Berlin, but the work Kaiser did on Randy’s knee may end up being a hindrance in Germany for the belt.

A Cross To Bear

Commentary used Nikki Cross’s name as the Wyatt Sicks entered the chat on Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile’s “match,” and it just simply works. It does not need to be goofy or insulting to the audience’s intelligence. Instead, treating them as a ‘wrestling faction’ in and out of the ring has given them an authenticity that was missing from similar (but not as cool) acts in the past—the ones that never got over and never had a chance.

Uncle Howdy delivered the segment’s final blow as he hit Sister Abigail on Chad Gable—who was directly responsible for involving Ivy Nile in an attempt to create his new faction that he dubbed “American Made.”

CM Re-Run?

One of the greatest pieces of CM Punk’s legacy in AEW is the “Dog Collar Match” he had with MJF. While MJF was a proven talent to many at that time, a certain percentage of fans questioned whether MJF was ‘all gab’ or ‘no jab.’ The match between Punk and MJF was part of a body of work that proved MJF could work and CM Punk could move the needle like no other. Fast forward to Punk’s current WWE run. Injuries have certainly derailed his momentum, but he can contribute so much more, as we witnessed in his AEW run. Thus far, his feud with McIntyre has fallen flat, so why not introduce a stipulation?

The Strap match makes sense, but it feels familiar for no reason. There are so many directions to go, so why go down one with the same scenery? Punk hinted at having a secret, but it was not until he set up the ‘Strap match’ with Drew announcement by showing dozens of bracelets fans have made for him to replace the one Drew stole. The idea that the strap is a metaphor certainly makes sense, but that’s not what stipulations are for—if factions keep interfering, make it a cage match; your brother comes back from the grave after supposedly being burned in a fire, have an inferno match. But when someone steals your family memento, do you really need the strap match just because they both go on the wrist? If it were a hat, would it be hair vs. hair? Thank goodness Punk’s family reminder wasn’t a toe ring.

Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action

• The New Day could be headed towards newer days as Xavier Woods continued his looks of disappointment even in victory tonight. Woods and Kofi Kingston teamed with Odyssey Jones to take on The Final Testament in a six-man tag booked last Monday. Kofi took the brunt of the damage, playing into the storyline perfectly, but the hot tag to Jones paved the way for victory. Woods was noticeably disgruntled. This could be very interesting, but hopefully, we get a bigger development by Bash in Berlin.
• Sheamus and Pete Dunne worked a physical match as both men lived up to their brawling branding. Dunne, as the heel in the match, was intense in his offense and really sold the personal facet of this feud for him. Sheamus picked up the win off the ‘Brogue Kick,’ but this feud is far from over and should serve to put Dunne over as a mean and formidable heel. So far, Dunne is more than holding his own; he has done enough to earn the confidence of creative to get more out of this program. What was interesting was hearing the commentary team talk about a TNA talent, Joe Hendry, with no other obvious motive than to put him over following his work with Dunne in NXT. Hendry is a clear talent, but that does not explain why WWE would put him over like this if it were not a clear indication that the promotional relationship is only getting stronger.
• Sheamus will be on ESPN’s College Gameday this Saturday as a ‘guest picker,’ giving his wins/losses for this week’s NCAA schedule.
• Bronson Reed was victorious over The Miz for a second consecutive week, this time in a NO DQ match. This was Miz fighting for his friend, R-Truth, which was noble, but the match ultimately resulted in a Reed feud with Stroman in the battle of big men.
• There will be a tournament to decide the number one contender for the IC title, but after the crazy awesome Bron Breakker video package that was shown, the champ should be favored to win regardless of who emerges as the challenger.

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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