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WWE Raw Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From July 21
The road to SummerSlam continued Monday night as WWE Raw emanated from Houston with the first appearance of Roman Reigns since his epic return last week.
What did The Tribal Chief have to say amid his intensely personal rivalry with former "Wise Man" Paul Heyman?
Find out with this recap of a show that also featured the latest from CM Punk, Becky Lynch, Lyra Valkyria and more top stars from Raw.
Match Card
1 of 10
Announced ahead of Monday's show:
* Roman Reigns appearance
* CM Punk segment
* Women's Tag Team Championship: Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez
* Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross
* No. 1 Contender Triple Threat: LWO vs. War Raiders vs. The New Day
* Sheamus vs. Rusev
CM Punk Kicks Off Raw
2 of 10
On the heels of last week's victory in the Gauntlet match, new No. 1 contender to Gunther's World Heavyweight Championship, CM Punk, opened Monday's Raw.
In a passionate promo that focused primarily on hyping his title opportunity against The Ring General at SummerSlam, Punk reminded his opponent that he is not any other No. 1 contender...he's the Best in the World.
That brought the champion to the ring for a face-to-face.
Gunther claimed the two of them are equals in that they both have massive egos but his is justified, thanks to his accomplishments in the ring.
"I'm going to make you regret you ever set foot inside a professional wrestling ring," he said. "You will never be the best in the world."
Gunther dropped the mic and walked out, ending the segment emphatically as Michael Cole and Corey Graves hyped the marquee match at MetLife Stadium.
Backstage, Naomi interrupted an interview with Stephanie Vaquer and teased seeing her in France for WWE's Clash at Paris premium live event, where La Primera has the opportunity to challenge for the Women's World Championship by way of her victory in the Battle Royal at Evolution.
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Punk came across as someone who knows what it takes to win gold but may have been underselling the magnitude of his opponent, as if the goal is to win the world title rather than defeating Gunther.
* Like any champion who built momentum by way of a convincing win over a legend, Gunther was a little cocky, but he believed every word he told Punk about his impending downfall at SummerSlam. He is one of the most underrated talkers in WWE this year.
Sheamus vs. Rusev
3 of 10
Sheamus and Rusev wrote the latest chapter in their rivalry Monday night with a rematch from their physical battle a few weeks earlier.
The Bulgarian Brute shook off a top-rope clothesline to the arena floor, delivering a fall-away slam to The Celtic Warrior, driving him into the announce table.
The babyface fought from underneath, enduring everything thrown at him by his physically imposing opponent, including fighting out of the Accolade and to the ropes to force the break.
Late in the match, Rusev exposed a turnbuckle, looking to utilize it to his advantage as he had in their first match.
Sheamus, though, capitalized on a distracted referee and pulled The Redeemer into it. From there, he delivered a devastating Brogue Kick, preventing Rusev from using a shillelagh and scoring the win.
Result
Sheamus defeated Rusev
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* This was another fantastic, physical battle in which two of the best strikers in WWE brought punishing offense. There was drama, a few quality teases and a finish that appropriately played off their past encounter.
* Is there going to be a story that evolves from these matches or is this going to be a never-ending series of contests that, while excellent, never result in anything beyond the stellar in-ring content, not unlike Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes a year ago on SmackDown? It certainly feels like Option 2 at this point.
Tag Team Title No. 1 Contender's Match
4 of 10
Backstage, tensions continued to mount between Lyra Valkyria and Bayley ahead of their Women's Tag Team Championship match against Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez later Monday night.
In the arena, The Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus), LWO (Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde) and The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) battled for the right to challenge for the World Tag Team Championship.
The two heel teams dominated the action, working over the babyfaces, until their egos got the best of them, allowing Del Toro and Wilde to mount a comeback.
Late, Dragon Lee interjected himself in the match, taking the fight to the Creeds until El Grande Americano made the save. Del Toro wiped the American Made heels out at ringside and Wilde countered The New Day, scoring the pin and upset win to earn a shot at Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh.
Result
The LWO defeated The Creed Brothers and The New Day
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* This was a fun match that highlighted the immensely talented tag team division on Monday nights, even if the contests are beginning to feel a little repetitive.
* Can WWE officials do enough in the coming weeks to convince fans that LWO has a chance to dethrone The Judgment Day?
* The use of Lee and the involvement of Americano was interesting, but it would have meant even more for the victors to have won fair and clean and without the abundance of chicanery that accompanied it.
Becky Lynch Promo
5 of 10
Backstage, a confrontation between Stephanie Vaquer and Iyo Sky led to a match announcement for later in the show. Elsewhere, Grayson Waller attempted to get himself on the good side of The New Day.
In the arena, women's intercontinental champion Becky Lynch took to the squared circle for an in-ring promo.
"I should be in New York at the premier of my new movie, Happy Gilmore 2, but instead...I'm in Houston, Texas," The Man said. She accused Lyra Valkyria of gatekeeping championship shots and called her rival out.
The former champion took her up on the offer and joined her former friend and protege in the ring. A back and forth resulted in a No Count Out, No Disqualification match for the title at SummerSlam, with the stipulation that Valkyria cannot challenge for the IC title ever again if she loses.
The No. 1 contender accepted, before delivering her own version of the Manhandle Slam to the heel to put an exclamation point on things.
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Valkyria's mic performance has developed recently but, devoid of any real character or story progression, she has struggled to get the fans on her side in recent weeks.
* The match between her and Lynch at SummerSlam will be an absolute banger and could be a dark-horse candidate for best match on the card.
Women's Tag Team Championship: Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. The Judgment Day
6 of 10
Bayley and Lyra Valkyria did not have the chance to team at WrestleMania 41 after Becky Lynch attacked the former backstage and cost her a spot on the biggest card of the year.
Monday, Valkyria and Bayley challenged Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez in a tag team clash.
The heels cut the ring off, isolating Valkyria, and worked her over. Every time the challenger thought it was time to mount a comeback, the heels battled her back to the mat and beat her down.
When the babyface finally fought back into the match and made the tag to Bayley, The Role Model exploded into the match and unloaded on the competition, driven by desperation and a need to win championship gold.
The action broke down late, for better and worse, culminating with Dominik Mysterio's attempted interference, a cameo from AJ Styles, a sneak attack from Lynch to Valkyria at ringside and a Tejada Bomb from Rodriguez that earned the heels the successful title defense.
Result
The Judgment Day defeated Bayley and Valkyria to retain
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
* This flirted with the old "bowling show ugly" tag Jim Ross popularized when discussing disjointed matchups at points down the stretch, but it recovered nicely to stick the landing.
* Bayley definitely appears headed towards a heel turn, with the desperation to be champion and lack of relief ultimately being her downfall.
* Valkyria vs. Perez is a match that should headline a PLE somewhere down the line. Their chemistry is undeniable, and they have done that dance before. WWE would be incredibly out of touch not to run that match back.
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross
7 of 10
In a rematch from Night of Champions, Karrion Kross sought to continue his quest to drag Sami Zayn to the dark side as they met one-on-one.
An extended heat period saw Kross dominate the action, working a methodical pace and toying with the injured Zayn. He worked over the ribs of his opponent, hoping to drive the fight out of the injured babyface.
As he has so many times throughout his career, Zayn fought his way back into the match, delivering an exploder suplex in the corner.
Scarlett slid Kross a lead pipe and distracted the referee, allowing him to use it to counter a Helluva Kick and score the pinfall victory.
Backstage, Dominik Mysterio attacked AJ Styles, claimed he was cleared to compete and would see The Phenomenal One at SummerSlam.
Result
Kross defeated Zayn
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Kross finally gets a big win in a way that is true to his character and the ongoing story with Zayn. A perfect creative call that helps all involved, including the massively over Kross.
* Zayn is the perfect opponent to help elevate Kross in that he is a selfless performer who goes out of his away to make his opposition look credible and legitimate. That was on full display here.
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Iyo Sky
8 of 10
Two of the best wrestlers in WWE ran it back Monday night in a rematch from their post-WrestleMania showdown as women's world champion Iyo Sky battled Stephanie Vaquer.
La Primera worked a submission hold, looking to force a tap-out from The Genius of the Sky. But the resilient champion fended her off just enough to stay in the match.
Having withstood everything Vaquer threw at her, Sky fired up but the top contender to the women's world title again prevented her opponent from building momentum for herself.
As the action continued, The Secret Hervice's Alba Fyre and Piper Niven provided a distraction that allowed Chelsea Green to come from nowhere and level her opponents.
The babyfaces recovered, set their differences aside and cleared the ring of the heels. That is, until Naomi attacked Sky from behind. The numbers disadvantage set the table for Rhea Ripley to make her way to the ring and lay out the women's world champion and put down Green for good measure.
Result
No-contest
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Like their first encounter, this was all about giving the WWE Universe a taste of the excellence that is Vaquer vs. Sky. This never reached the quality of their post-Mania showdown, but it still highlighted the extraordinary performers and left fans wanting more.
* Ripley, Sky and Vaquer vs. Green, Fyre and Niven is a ready-made six-woman tag match for the go-home addition of Raw, if the creative direction calls for it.
Roman Reigns Promo
9 of 10
Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed made their way to the ring for the show-closing segment, but The Oracle found himself interrupted by his former Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns.
The OTC made his way to the ring, showing no fear in the face of a numbers disadvantage. Heyman greeted him, claiming, "I never want to be disrespectful or rude." Because the WrestleMania 41 betrayal was not both of those things.
A master manipulator, Heyman claimed they could fix their issues, especially in the wake of Seth Rollins missing several months due to his recent knee injury. "You'll always be my family because I love you my Tribal Chief," he said.
"You're not a Wise Man anymore. You're just a dumbass," Reigns replied. Speaking to Breakker, he said: "A few years from now, when you're the man around here, he's gonna take all the credit."
"You couldn't create The Bloodline. No, that was God's work," Reigns added.
Breakker stepped between Reigns and Heyman. "I'm the Big Dog now. I'm the top dog now. I'm the future of WWE. I'm the man around here now," he said.
The competitors came to blows, with the heels beating down Reigns. But Jey Uso made the save, drawing a huge pop and clearing out the heels to close the show.
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* And with that, we are one step closer to a big-time tag team match at SummerSlam pitting Reigns and Uso against Breakker and Reed.
* Reigns was great on the mic and flirted with the fine line between acknowledging the fans and pandering to them.
* Breakker continues to stand out every week, moving another step closer to the big breakout we knew was coming the moment he made his NXT debut.
Overall Grade
10 of 10
Reigns' first appearance since his return last week was the big selling point for this show, and for the most part, the final segment was a hit. Anything else that was strong was merely the cherry on top of the sundae.
The continued spotlight on the women's division, the hilarious means in which AJ Styles encountered Dominik Mysterio, and another strong effort from Sheamus and Rusev made the show a quality episode, even if it wasn't quite to the level of the last two.
Expect an even more focused broadcast next week as WWE puts the final touches on the road to SummerSlam.
Grade: B+
