WWE Raw takeaways: Roman Reigns returns; Naomi, IYO SKY, Rhea Ripley SummerSlam match set

USA Today

3 days ago

The OTC is back, but where will he fit in at SummerSlam?
WWE Monday Night Raw on July 14 took place at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., and featured a No. 1 contender gauntlet match to face Gunther at SummerSlam.
The fallout from Evolution and Saturday Night's Main Event was a big focus of this week's show – and this episode was jam-packed with key moments. WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella faced Chelsea Green, Gunther gloated about retiring Goldberg, and AJ Styles may have landed an Intercontinental Championship match at SummerSlam against Dominik Mysterio.
Here's the top takeaways from a very strong episode of Raw:
Naomi takes a victory lap, gets SummerSlam triple threat
The new Women's World Champion Naomi kicked off the show to take a victory lap for her successful cash-in on IYO SKY at Evolution. The crowd attempted to chant "You deserve it," but Naomi didn't want to hear it.
She said they didn't "feel the glow" but they're definitely feeling her now as the new champion. Naomi sent a message to all of the "raggedy heifers" in the back to proceed with caution.
Enter Rhea Ripley.
Ripley said she had two goals going into Evolution: beating IYO SKY and getting her title back. But now that Naomi ruined those plans, she's been added to the list.
Enter IYO SKY.
The former champ told Ripley to get in line because her shot should be first. Naomi then said they both can get to the back of the line. The "back-ity, back, back of the line."
Enter Adam Pearce with a solution: all three will mix it up in a triple threat for the title at SummerSlam.
This was a fun first promo from Naomi as champion. She didn't bend to the crowd coming around to cheer for her. I'm not a fan of the triple threat announcement for SummerSlam, though. It feels like Naomi is being punished for successfully cashing in, but heel champs are going to find themselves in these predicaments.
Judgment Day retain women's tag titles
The first match of the night had some gold on the line: champs Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez faced The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi San) for the women's tag titles.
This was a good back and forth match that was largely dominated by the champs early on. However, the challengers turned the tide and got themselves in position to win the titles with clever teamwork, beating down on Perez. Just when a double team move put Perez down for what would have been a three count, Dominik Mysterio jumped on the apron to distract the referee to prevent a count.
Rodriguez broke up the pin, and a moment later, Perez rolled up Asuka for the pin to escape with a title defense.
Mysterio getting involved in every Judgment Day match he's not officially in is getting a little tiresome. On the heels of Evolution, just let the women work. Sure, that's part of the numbers game and the advantage of being in a faction, but the interference took away from this one. At the end of the day, it was a championship match on weekly television, which is always welcome.
Paul Heyman on Seth Rollins' health
Seth Rollins legitimately hurt himself during a match against LA Knight at Saturday Night's Main Event, raising many questions about what will happen with the Money in the Bank briefcase and other booking plans.
Jackie Redmond caught up with Paul Heyman backstage to ask if there was a medical update on Rollins. Not only did Heyman dodge the question, but he said Rollins has until next June to cash in the MITB contract. Therefore, Rollins' health is "not a relevant subject."
Well, throw out all of the theories about the briefcase being put up for grabs again in a multi-way match. It appears WWE will put the MITB briefcase on ice until Rollins returns – which if done right, could be one of the best cash-ins ever. The right play would be to keep Rollins off programming until he shows up out of nowhere to cash in and steal a title. First and foremost is his recovery, which hopefully goes well.
Lyra Valkyria wins incredible 2-out-of-3 vs. Bayley
With a shot at Becky Lynch for the Women's Intercontinental Championship on the line at SummerSlam, Bayley and Lyra Valkyria clashed in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match.
The crowd was hot early for this one, filling the arena with dueling chants. Just as the action got intense, Bayley scored a quick roll-up pin to score the first fall.
Valkyria bounced back to put Bayley in trouble, but a hard Irish Whip reversal into the turnbuckle had Valkyria screaming in agony. Bayley seemed proud of her work, but didn't go for the pin. As Bayley continued to go to work, a pin attempt was reversed, and Valkyria evened the score with a three-count.
From that point, the action only got more intense as the race for the final pin was on. The final sequence was amazing: Bayley dropped an elbow to the back of Valkyria, straight into a crossface after the pin failed. Bayley then attempted to kick off the ropes to give herself more room, but Valkyria reversed it and lifted her up for a Nightwing to get the pin.
Women's wrestling has owned the past 72 hours. This was a fantastic match that didn't miss a beat. The only thing that could have made this better is if it was for the title itself instead of No. 1 contender status. Bravo, Bayley and Valkyria.
CM Punk wins gauntlet match, Roman Reigns returns
The main event of this week's show was a No. 1 contender gauntlet match, with the winner earning the right to face Gunther at SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight title. Bron Breakker started things off, as Gunther overlooked the action from a box seat.
Breakker's first opponent was Penta. Zero fear was shown, but Penta was eliminated after Breakker hit a spear as a counter to a springboard maneuver.
Up next was LA Knight. Another valiant effort was given, but another spear connecting sent Breakker to the next opponent.
Enter Jey Uso, who came in on fire. After sending Breakker to the outside, Uso called for an encore to his entrance theme, and yeeted into a commercial break. Uso overcame a momentum shift, just to get screwed over by interference from Bronson Reed. Another spear, another pin for Breakker.
Enter CM Punk. Once again, another opponent came in like a house on fire. After some back and forth, Punk caught Breakker in a submission hold, which prompted Reed to come into the ring and drop an elbow. Uso returned, hearing his music for a third time during this gauntlet. With the odds evened, Punk caught Breakker with a GTS to win and advance to SummerSlam to face Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship.
After the match, Breakker and Reed put a post-match hurtin' on Punk and Uso.
As Reed was going up for a Tsunami, Roman Reigns' music filled the speakers to a ridiculous pop from the crowd. The OTC cleared the ring with multiple Superman punches and a spear. Reigns helped Uso to his feet, but didn't extend that courtesy to Punk. All the while, the crowd was chanting at the top of their lungs.
What a way to close an incredible episode of Raw.
Reigns is back just in time for the build to SummerSlam. Seeing him and Uso on agreeable terms is nice, but where will he fit into the second biggest show of the year? Surely plans have changed drastically after Rollins' unfortunate real injury, so it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks.