WWE continued their build, last Monday, towards their next PLE event set for Germany. Monday Night Raw emanated from Amerant Bank arena, the home of NHL Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, which was acknowledged by wrestlers and announcers alike. The night featured heavyweight face-to-face encounters and a rare match stipulation from CM Punk to solidify the upcoming card for the aptly titled (and what is surely to be a) Bash in Berlin.
Randy Orton and World Champion Gunther face off
The night started with the classic “I hear voices in my head” Randy Orton theme, receiving a loud pop from the Ft. Lauderdale wrestling faithful. Gunther and Orton did not have the best microphone repertoire for this encounter, amid a smattering of loud boos for Gunther. This didn’t matter, as Ludwig Keiser carried out a sneak attack on Orton from behind. Imperium stood tall over a beatdown Orton which set up a match for later in the night between Orton and Kaiser, with Gunther at ringside.
CM Punk challenges McIntyre to a rare and brutal stipulation
CM Punk, in what seems like a somewhat hot-and-cold feud with Drew McIntyre decided to heighten the stakes by challenging the Scottish Psychopath to a strap match. McIntyre’s last strap match was against Karrion Kross in October 2023, which few remember. Drew accepted the match with Punk amid his typical posturing from the aisleway. The winner is declared after touching all four turnbuckles, “the best in the world” explained to the crowd. WWE has teased the strap match before making it official on this week’s Raw, as both wrestlers have received welts from the other via a belt over the past month. Drew accepted the match amid his typical posturing from the aisleway.
Pete Dunne still has issues with Sheamus
Continuing the somewhat inexplicable hate that Pete Dunne has towards Sheamus, the two put on a ‘mini-banger’ of a match. The focus for Dunne was targeting the already injured hand of Sheamus. In a spot that has rarely been seen, Dunne shoved Seamus’s arm through the turnbuckle and attacked it several times, landing kicks directly to the wrapped hand. The pain was a great motivator as Seamus ripped the turnbuckle pad loose and abruptly hit a brogue kick for the 1-2-3!
Additional Highlights
Pat McAfee says goodbye to WWE: In a class move, Pat McAfee took the time to thank the live crowd as he announced that this is his last episode of Monday Night Raw for the time being. McAfee has college football duties ahead. He thanked all the producers, wrestlers, and management, hamming it up for the live crowd in attendance.
Wyatt Sicks target Ivy Nile: The Wyatt Sicks have been indicating that they have Ivy Nile in their sights. Nikki Cross ambushed her in the ring, after the non-start match with Maxxine Dupri. Chad Gable’s new group came to the ring to protect Nile, which resulted in a larger ambush on Gable and the Creed Brothers by the macabre members of the continuing Wyatt saga.
New Day for The New Day: Xavier Woods again showed skepticism towards Kofi Kingston about adding Odyssey Jones as a teammate/possible new member of the New Day. He explained that Big E could never be replaced and adding Jones is not his way of doing that. It was Jones, however, who picked up the win against The Final Testament in a six-man tag match. Jones looked quite impressive again in this outing.
“Big” Bronson Reed vs The Miz: Although it was predictable that Reed would win this match, The Miz made the match entertaining. If Braun Strowman had not shown up after Reed pinned the must-see superstar, we likely would have had another victim of multiple tsunamis.
Judgment Day vs Terror Twins build: Building towards the mixed-tag contest for WWE Bash at Berlin PLE saw Finn Balor, Liv Morgan, and Rhea Ripley get involved in what was supposed to be a match between Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio that never officially happened. The segment saw Mysterio and Morgan stand tall over Priest and Ripley.
Women’s Tag Team Title Triple Threat match: The contest for the Women’s World Tag Team Championship saw Damage CTRL vs. the Unholy Union vs. The Pure Fusion Collective compete in a busy match with lots of action. The current champs, The Unholy Union, retained.
Randy Orton vs. Ludwig Kaiser: Gunther served as a persistent distraction for Orton, skulking outside the ring for Orton’s fight with Kaiser. Kaiser, as always, looked great but multiple RKOs finished off the German-born superstar in a fine match that indicates that he will be a future star.
Raw Review
Gunther vs Orton Build: B
The burgeoning Orton/Gunther feud mainly centers on the fact that Randy’s shoulder was not pinned when the referee counted three at King of the Ring, which provided Gunther’s shot, and then eventual win of the World Title at SummerSlam. Orton was granted a rematch with Gunther for the upcoming Berlin show, something Triple H vowed to address. The two men will likely put on a ‘banger’ of a match in Germany. Orton may likely be booed at the event, as Gunther will have the (almost) hometown crowd in his corner.
McIntyre vs Punk Build: C+
The crowd didn’t respond to the challenge by Punk with a roar of approval and fervor as WWE likely intended. The match stipulation can be a bit confusing. In past strap matches, siren lights were used to indicate to fans how many corners were touched by the competitor. It will be interesting to see if WWE goes with this setup for Bash in Berlin. A main contention of this rivalry is over a bracelet stolen from Punk by McIntyre is starting to reveal that WWE may want to end this feud sooner rather than later, based on lack of reaction.
Dunne vs Sheamus: A-
Pete Dunne put on one of his best solo performances on the main roster to date. WWE did a great job of teasing that the “bruiserweight” was going to get the win due to the injury to the hand of Seamus. The definitive victory by Seamus could end this mini-feud or allow it to continue, although likely with a future stipulation. Well done, Pete Dunne.
Wyatt Sicks: A
The segment wasn’t anything that we haven’t seen from the Wyatt Sicks, however, it is refreshing that they are not keeping the attacks relegated to just the men’s division. The crowd seems to be loving whenever they make an appearance. What would normally be a B grade segment was an A, due to how over this faction has become.
New Day and Odyssey Jones: C+
Even though it is great to highlight Jones and his pairing with the New Day, the continual battle against The Final Testament has seemed to run its course. WWE is building Jones perfectly, but it does come at the expense of AOP, which stifles The Final Testament’s momentum.
Tag Team Triple Threat: C
WWE doesn’t seem to know what to do with the women’s tag team division. It is no fault of the competitors, and there was nothing wrong with the in-ring action, however, some direction for the division will need improvement in the future.
Randy Orton vs Ludwig Kaiser: A-
The match gets an A, even though to some it could be considered predictable. When Kaiser has screen time, he performs at a high level and this match served its purpose to build toward the showdown with Gunther.
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