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WWE RAW, JUNE 24, 2024
THE FOLLOW UP
The big question coming into Raw this week would be that of the follow up to the Wyatt Sicks. It was an angle that was an amazing spectacle, yet one that was easy to poke holes in as you wondered how it would fit in today's “real” world of WWE. What we got was a very real and powerful piece with Bo Dallas that humanised the man behind Uncle Howdy. It gave us the reason why and allowed us to understand the motives of the group, which all stemmed from real life happenings. It was a brilliantly produced video, and the delivery of the tape was equally as creative. There are still questions over how the group will be presented moving forward, and what they will look like when the bell rings. Is it too over produced? When Nikki Cross walks out with smoke machines blazing and lighting special effects, all brilliantly done, of course. But it does take away from the idea that this is a group hijacking the show of their own accord. But what would the group be without those special effects? It’s just one of those things where it’s probably best to not overthink it. But I am interested in seeing where the balance will be between reality and cartoon with this group.
As for Chad Gable? Last week we were left wondering why he was targeted by the group. We still don’t have an answer. You can read into the fact that he was pulled from and again added to his Money in the Bank qualifier and think that plans changed during the week. I did like the follow up with Cathy Kelley trying to get answers throughout the night. Extra security hanging around are the extra little details that you now get from WWE. Gable putting on a brave face and continuing his act, while looking over his shoulder was very good stuff. We are still not sure if this is leading to a Gable vs Wyatt’s story, or if this is just being done in order to add another layer to the Gable/Otis story. We also don’t really know if the Wyatt group will be presented as babyfaces or heels. A lot of things remain unanswered and I am looking forward to seeing how they play out.
PUNK IS COMING
Drew McIntyre’s show opening promo was excellent. There is no doubt he is a heel, after some weeks of arguments being made that he could be seen as the babyface in this story. And he could still be, but this was an outstanding heel promo. Adam Pearce calling Drew out for “quitting” last week was another simple thing that made perfect sense. Thus far CM Punk has been mostly doing his “happy to be back” routine. I am expecting the fired up, pissed off, wanting to settle a score version of Punk to arrive once he returns from this attack. The best version of Punk. Is it too obvious that he ruins Drew’s night again at Money in the Bank?
LIV’S NIGHT
Liv Morgan had a memorable night on Raw. She is excelling in her role and doing the best work of her career as she continues to stir the pot with the Judgment Day. Some of this is all very silly and light hearted right now, but as we have seen with Paul Levesque’s booking, the seeds are being planted for this to turn into a much more heated situation.
Zelina Vega also had a very memorable night, arguably doing the best mic work of her WWE career. Vega has long been a background player, rarely given the chance to be a main character, but she is stepping up and maximising her moments.
JUDGEMENT TURMOIL
Thanks to Liv, we have new tag team champions on Raw. The Irish men, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh. As someone that has been involved in the Irish wrestling scene for years and worked with JD many, many times, this was just fantastic to see. It was once an impossible dream for someone from this country to make it to WWE, now we have the first ever Irish tag team champions, on a roster that also includes Sheamus, Lyra Valkyria, and Becky Lynch again, most likely. It is inspiring for the many great young Irish talents hoping to follow them one day. It was a welcome sight to see Awesome Truth’s reign come to an end. One that has done damage to the titles in my opinion. They are a one note act that ran its course quite a number of months ago.
Then we have the world champion. The “Gentleman’s bet” put to Damien Priest by Seth Rollins is certainly interesting, and makes it very hard to see anything other than a title change at Money in the Bank. But the beauty of Paul Levesque’s booking is that you can never be too sure. All signs are pointing towards a major Judgment Day split with a babyface Damien Priest, possibly joined by a returning Rhea Ripley and Dirty Dom against Liv Morgan and the Irish lads who were pretty happy to have her help in winning the tag titles. This is all good stuff that is building to a potentially huge blow up in the near future.
Gunther looked like a star on Raw. He got a massive pop when his music hit, and a standing ovation when he delivered that killer line at the end of his promo. He will be a centrepiece of Raw once we move towards Summerslam and into WWE’s first ever Berlin PLE this September.
I can be reached at matthewmacklin90@gmail.com
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