The RAW After SummerSlam Hits Big With Surprises & Pops

The RAW after SummerSlam does not have the same aura as the ‘RAW after Mania,’ but in the greater landscape of the most important Mondays inside a calendar year for WWE, it certainly ranks in the top 10. Much like the ‘RAW after Mania,’ big surprises in the form of debuts, returns, and call-ups offer up a feeling that ‘anything can happen’ in these “Raw-after” shows. Specifically, segments and programs that did not occur but were expected for that past weekend’s major PLE are saved for the ‘RAW after’ show, and with the Hardy Boyz heavily rumored debut at SummerSlam not coming to fruition, the belief from many on social media is that tonight is the night we see their return.

Gunther Gets A Bit Randy?

The show opened with a SummerSlam recap of the RAW programs, ending with a clip of the red brand’s new heavyweight champion and top of the food chain—Gunther. The former intercontinental champion defeated Damian Priest this past Saturday at SummerSlam, so it was fitting that he opened the show with a returning Ludwig Kaiser to introduce him as the new champ to the Baltimore crowd. Gunther received the opportunity to address the crowd in a segment designed to give him his flowers and introduce his first challenge. His first challenger is important, as it is with most first-time champs, and it sets the tone for the run.

Fortunately for Gunther, WWE booked him as well as he could have hoped as Randy Orton’s music hit to the backdrop of a huge pop. Orton came out and highlighted their King of the Ring finals match, in which Gunther was successful. In that match, Orton was pinned despite a video replay that clearly showed his shoulders were not down for the entire 3-count. Randy said that Gunther never beat him, and Gunther would later admit that the lack of clarity in his victory over Orton left a ‘stain on the record’ of Gunther.

Orton acknowledged Gunther’s technical savvy and called their potential matchup a ‘battle of technicians.’ He even evoked Flair-Steamboat as an example of what the two could be capable of delivering for the fans. “Now I know I can fill one of those roles,” Orton stated before prompting Gunther by asking, “Only question is, do you?” Orton’s promo was excellently written, and he touched on former themes of his storied character. “Now you call yourself a living legend, you consider yourself a living legend, and that is perfect because, brother, I made a career out of killing legends. “At Bash in Berlin, I’m gonna do it again. I’m gonna walk out of your home country, the new world heavyweight champion,” Orton said.

Orton delivering his promo in “face-Orton” style, with gaps in speech for emphasis, gave the match a fresh feel from their KOTR booking. This booking is no longer circumstantial; it is now very intentional, and Orton is a veteran who understands that new stakes and fresh rivalries are needed to enhance the importance of this match. But Gunther was ready for this ‘promo battle’ and managed a few witty quips of his own. “So if those voices in your head tell you that you can beat me in Berlin, I have to tell you that your voices are wrong,” Gunther said, referencing the famous first line of the masterpiece that is Orton’s theme music.

Randy will face Gunther in his home country of Germany on Saturday, August 31, and he will be vying for his 15^th championship (one title win from tying the all-time record). If successful, it could set up a significant matchup between Orton and the soon-to-be returning John Cena as he sits one title win from breaking the record held by Ric Flair (16). For Gunther, this could be the first title challenger to kick off a memorable first title defense in a potentially historic reign.

A Priest’s Day Of Judgement

“That’s the new Judgement Day,” Pat McAfee said on commentary following the Damian Priest segment. Priest came out and did not waste any time getting straight to business as he addressed the events of his title loss Saturday. Priest and Gunther put on a very good match, but its climax saw Priest’s former fellow faction member Finn Balor aid Gunther by placing his leg on the bottom rope for a rope break. The turn was distraction enough to take Priest out of his element long enough for Gunther to capitalize, and this was on a night when Dominik Mysterio chose Liv Morgan over ‘Mami.’

Finn Balor popped up on the big screen after Priest called him out and gave ‘motive,’ claiming he’d been biding his time for the last year. The biggest reveal came at the end of his promo when the camera revealed that The Judgement Day, a faction most assumed was over after the two biggest members were drummed out on such a big stage, was still very much together—minus Priest and Rhea. This version of The Judgement Day added Liv Morgan and seemed to promote Carlito to a full-fledged member.

For Priest, the segment was a positive step forward as he was fully ‘faced’ in front of the live crowd at the CFG Bank Arena. He referred to the fans as ‘his new family,’ and the crowd responded well—Priest’s time as champ was hindered by the unclear direction of his half-in/half-out face-heel booking. Combined with a real feud, this definitive direction could serve Priest better than a couple more months as a champion, especially if losing the belt means his character gains clarity.

The Final Boss At Level One

Priest got his hands on JD McDonagh first in what should be a long journey running through the “New Judgment Day” in a Forrest Gump-style marathon. The match was good, and Priest let out plenty of frustrations on JD, whose place in the Judgement Day was elevated, as was everyone else in the faction prior to the turn.

In the end, the match served its intention, which was to get the old OG-JD in the same ring with the NJD, and after Finn, JD, and Dom (with Liv) attacked Priest, Rhea Ripley came out to make the save, and she was able to briefly get her hands on Morgan (Dom escaped, but that moment is coming and will be huge). Priest and Ripley stood tall in the ring, and the crowd loved every second. This feels like the right move—not just separating the two most over superstars in that faction but keeping the faction together and re-establishing it as a heel faction offers plenty of opportunity, especially for Finn.

Sicks-Man Tag Match

The main event was the long-awaited in-ring debut of the Wyatt Sicks faction facing off against the target of their mind games, Chad Gable, teaming with the Creed Brothers. This match was booked last week and heavily promoted as fans were eager to see Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, and Joe Gacy compete under their new characters. Lumis and Gacy showed out, hitting some of the match’s biggest spots. Still, Gable and the gang utilized an actual wrestling strategy to neutralize the Wyatt Sicks’ Gacy, known now as Huskus the Pig Boy, while Lumis adopted the Mercy the Buzzard moniker.

Uncle Howdy and Abby the Witch sat in the middle of the walkway in a rocking chair (Abby seated on the floor beside Howdy). It was a creepy sight that protected the illusion of Howdy. In the end, the faction looked strong, and both Lumis and Gacy seemed to excel in this sudden rise up the roster—reflected by the prime card placement. Lumis picked up the pinfall victory over Gable himself.

A fun fact is that the Wyatt Family debuted in Baltimore 11 years ago, as mentioned in the commentary. This was a big first step towards something more substantial, but it is hard to tell if Wyatt Sicks is officially off the leash or if they are still on a pre-designed path with concrete plans for the near future.

Punk-McIntyre Continues? Seth Reed Between The Lines

It was one of the more disappointing aspects of tonight’s RAW, yet it led to one of the show’s most effective angles. The match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam was hit or miss for many, but the motivations of Punk were not quantified in a logically cohesive way.

Punk opened this segment, and as he was going through his promo, it was difficult to see where he was going, considering his issue with Seth as ‘special guest ref’ cost him the match, but his ‘bracelet motive’ kept the potential for the Drew feud to continue. That is when Seth Rollins’ music hit, and the crowd erupted in one of the biggest pops of the night. At that point, it seemed that WWE was moving forward with the match that Seth said was essentially a decade in the making. Seth did not waste much time, and the two were gearing up to fight when Drew’s voice could be heard by the speakers. McIntyre was in the crowd, a shrewd placement as it directly contrasted with the crowd’s own appeals.

As good as it was, Punk-McIntyre has run its course and can only successfully continue with raised stakes or a meaningful addition to the blood feud (somewhere between Stone Cold-Brian Pillman and Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels). However, it is clearly still an active program, but if there were any doubts, WWE expelled them with the segment’s climax. McIntyre referenced Punk’s dog and wife as he held his wrist up wearing the aforementioned bracelet. That was Punk’s cue to chase down Drew, and that was the end of the Punk segment. Unfortunately for Seth, his portion of the segment was not quite squashed (pun intended). As Rollins watched his big fight payday run out of the ring, Big Bronson Reed, who had a contentious meeting with GM Adam Pearce earlier in the night, attacked Seth.

Reed has been on the main roster for some time, and Creative has tried to get him over as a destructive force, but Breakker’s push has hampered the Australian’s own as a ‘monster.’ That said, the 5-minute segment with Seth did more for his brand than the last five months of WWE TV. Reed attacked Seth and then climbed the top rope to drop a big splash, or ‘Tsunami Splash,’ before climbing right back up the top rope to deliver another. The splash from the top was devastating, and he did it again. Rollins sold it so well, and he was very giving. What sold it so well was the WWE officials attempting to intervene and then being forced to scatter as the Tsunami came crashing down, ready to take out anyone in the way.

Just when you thought Seth had all he could handle, as hints of blood could be seen in his mouth, Reed returned to the well once more and landed yet another Tsunami Splash on Seth, who was coughing up blood by that point. The commentary team put over potential internal injuries, and internal bleeding was the kayfabe diagnosis given to us later in the evening after it was confirmed Seth had been rushed to the local hospital. Reed attempted another splash before the WWE officials finally rolled Seth out of the ring. There should be an investigation into officials’ policy and tactics in hostile situations because it was a monumental failure on their part, but it was an irrefutable success for creative.

Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action

New NEW DAY? If a new version of one familiar faction wasn’t enough, RAW offered a potential makeover for one of the best tag teams and factions in wrestling history, The New Day. Woods and a returning Kofi Kingston continued their feud with AOP and Karion Kross by taking on the former in a tag match. Woods and Kofi came out in ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-inspired gear to promote a line of figures blending the pizza-loving reptiles with WWE superstars like Woods and Kofi (Cody as KC Jones? Yeah, that’s sick).

To help Kofi and Woods, who have been without their third member, Big E, as he remains on the shelf due to injury since March 2022, Odyssey Jones of NXT came out to even the odds. He was terrific and impressed the live crowd with a double sidewalk slam on both beefy members of AOP before taking out Kross. In the back, Kofi admitted to Woods that he met Jones while rehabbing at the performance center, and it was all love between the two. However, Woods was noticeably reserved and appeared a bit put off by the scene. There was nothing said aloud that offered up certain displeasure, but a riff may be forming in New Day.

Interestingly, the feud with Kross and co. was given stakes when Kross attempted to recruit Woods by sewing seeds of doubt between him and his New Day brother Kofi. Perhaps Woods does not like the idea of replacing Big E, but it could greatly boost a mostly ignored program.

‘Roman Reigns‘ Returns’… That was the tagline for this Friday’s SmackDown, where the “Original Tribal Chief” is being promoted for the show. The world will be waiting to hear his first promo since Mania and off the heels of the Bloodline Civil War.

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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