Raw Deal - Raw recap for July 22, 2024

Gunther heads to the ring to start tonight's show. As this happens, it is announces that Raw will be on SyFy for the next two weeks. Gunther says he has taken time to reflect on what he said to Damian Priest last week, and that he meant every word that she said last week, calling Priest and the fans in the arena "bums." He says that what is stake is the honor, prestige and reputation of this great sport and the World Heavyweight Championship, which he says Damian Priest does not live up to. He also goes to call Priest "a pretender" and "a wanna-be," and says that he knows who Damian Priest is through his friends and that today is the day that he judges The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh) collectively as "street trash." Gunther then asks Priest to come to the ring and hand him the World Heavyweight Championship that he is not worthy of carrying, and Damian Priest shows up and heads to the ring. Priest almost immediately punches Gunther in the face, and referees quickly rush in to try to stop the ensuing brawl. Security also shows up, as do other backstage officials, but Priest starts laying security out before going after Gunther again.

Backstage, Gunther and Damian Priest's brawl continues as Jackie Redmond is reporting, and once again, security, referees, officials and even General Manager Adam Priest have to get involved.

Bron Breakker beats Ilja Dragunov by referee stoppage to become #1 contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship after Dragunov is knocked out following a Spear by Bron Breakker that causes Dragunov to hit the back of his head on the ring apron.

Backstage, Rhea Ripley meets with the rest of The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh) and Carlito to focus on club business, and says it is not long before they have all the gold again. Dominik asks Rhea about Jey Uso, but Rhea says they are just playing around. Rhea then mentions what is going on between Dominik and Liv Morgan. Finn Balor proposes that Dominik should take care of Jey Uso once and for all, but Rhea sees no point in going to war with him. Finn tells Dominik he knows what he has to do.

Backstage, General Manager Adam Priest welcomes Drew McIntyre back to Raw in front of the two referees that McIntyre refused to apologize to last week.

Backstage, Xavier Woods celebrates Akira Tozawa's birthday with Alpha Academy (Otis, Maxxine Dupri, Akira Tozawa).

It is announced that Damian Priest and Gunther have been ejected from the arena and sent home for the rest of the night.

Sonya Deville beats Lyra Valkyria after Katana Chance and Kayden Carter fight Zoey Stark and "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler for getting involved in the match.

We see another video from The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross is revealed to be "Abbie" as Uncle Howdy says that he is an answer to all the lies.

CM Punk heads to the ring. CM Punk announces that he is medically cleared, that he and Drew McIntyre will fight and that he will get his pound of flesh, then calls McIntyre out so he can get the beating he deserves before putting on his wrist tape. McIntyre shows up and says he has waited for this, and says there is nothing stopping him from getting in the ring and tearing him apart, except for the part where he does not want to. Punk says he wants to, and referees and officials have to hold him back as McIntyre says their match is a big money match, then says that he turns to family to calm down when he gets emotional and produces Punk's bracelet. General Manager Adam Pearce shows up and says McIntyre is officially reinstated and Punk is officially medically cleared, then makes their match official for SummerSlam. He also says that the match will be off if they lay hands on each other before then, and that the person who throws the first punch will be suspended. He then introduces the special guest referee for the match: Seth "Freakin'" Rollins. Rollins shows up and says Punk and McIntyre both hate each other and that their chaos has scared everyone away from getting between them. He then says he is "a solution guy" and not "a problem guy," and says he knows a guy who thrives on chaos. He also says this guy would love nothing more than to put them both in their places, and it is himself.

Backstage, Carlito tells The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh) that they must divide and conquer, and that he and JD McDonagh go one way while Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio go another way to look for "Main Event" Jey Uso. Liv Morgan catches up with Dominik and says everything will be okay, but Dominik says everything is okay. Liv leaves when Finn Balor shows up.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Sami Zayn. Sami says Bron Breakker and Ilja Dragunov went to war for his title and Bron Breakker earned his shot, and that he is taking Breakker seriously. He tells Breakker not to make the same mistake he made at Money In The Bank and to take him seriously. All of a sudden, Sami and Cathy hear noise, and Sami notices JD McDonagh and Carlito attacking "Main Event" Jey Uso. Sami comes to Jey's aid, and McDonagh and Carlito soon flee.

The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, Rezar) beats Xavier Woods and Alpha Academy (Otis and Akira Tozawa) in a six-man tag match. After the match, Chad Gable shows up with The Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus Creed). After the commercial break, Gable says there is something in him that keeps him wanting to help his former crew, then mocks Otis for teaming with Xavier Woods and losing and says using his brain was never Otis' strong suit. He compliments The Creed Brothers, then demands that Otis come back to his coach and rejoin him, even promising some extra protection The Wyatt Sicks. Otis says that Gable fled the scene instead of protecting The Creed Brothers last week, and refuses to re-join. Gable asks Maxxine Dupri and Tozawa if they will let Otis speak for them, then sics The Creed Brothers on Otis and Tozawa, and The Creed Brothers go to town before Otis overpowers them and grabs Gable. The Creed Brothers attack Otis before he can do anything to Gable, but as Gable hands them metal folding chairs to use as weapons, The Wyatt Sicks make their presence known. "Abbie," "Mercy," "Ramblin' Rabbit" and "Huskus" show up, but Uncle Howdy shows up behind Gable in the ring and hits him with Sister Abigail.

"Big" Bronson Reed vs. Pete Dunne ends before it begins when Sheamus suddenly shows up and attacks both men. Pete Dunne narrowly misses the Brogue Kick when he rolls out of the ring, but Bronson Reed gets nailed with it.

Backstage, Rhea Ripley finds out what happened regarding "Main Event" Jey Uso and Sami Zayn. Finn Balor says he is tired of being disrespected week after week and that he and JD McDonagh will beat respect into Jey and Sami. He also says that if Gunther wants to call them a joke, then he will beat him in the ring. Rhea tells The Judgment Day (Finn, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, McDonagh) and Carlito that nobody is supposed to touch Jey Uso, then finds out about Liv Morgan meeting with Dominik backstage and takes him to the ring.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews Sheamus. Sheamus says he knows the business like the back of his hand and knows "Big" Bronson Reed wants to take him out to make a name for himself. As for Pete Dunne, they can either settle their differences over a pint like "proper fellas" or settle their differences in the ring.

Rhea Ripley heads to the ring and forces "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio in with her. Rhea then calls out Liv Morgan, telling her that if she wants Dominik, she can come get him. Liv Morgan's music hits, but Liv shows up inside of the crowd and not at the ramp. Liv says she is not coming to the ring because she actually has some self-control, as she has waited for all this time and she can wait for her until SummerSlam. She then says she has feeling for Dominik and that Dominik has feelings for her and even Rhea cannot deny it. She says Rhea cannot deny it because gorgeous men like Dominik do not go for women who look like Rhea and instead go for women who look like her. Dominik tries to stop Rhea when Rhea tries to leave the ring. Rhea gets angry at Dominik, and Dominik asks Rhea to let him handle this. Liv asks the crowd to let Dominik speak, as she knows what he will say and that she feels the same way, and tells him to say "those three little words." Dominik tells Liv that he hates her and that she has ruined his life, and chews her out in both English and Spanish. Liv starts crying and slowly walks away, and Rhea then whispers something in to Dominik's ear before licking and kissing him.

Cathy Kelley interviews Zelina Vega, whose right arm is wrapped up, on the stage. Zelina says her injury will not stop her and that nobody will keep her down. She says she has been underestimated her entire people and that it is time to shut some people up.

Zelina Vega beats Zoey Stark after Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter go after Sonya Deville and "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler for getting involved in the match and Zelina Vega uses her arm brace to her advantage and hits the Code Red for the win.

Backstage, Xavier Woods asks General Manager Adam Pearce for a one-on-one match with Karrion Kross, saying that he has to handle this on his own. Pearce grants Woods the match. Woods leaves, then McIntyre confronts Pearce for introducing Seth "Freakin'" Rollins into his SummerSlam match as a special guest referee. Pearce tells McIntyre to take it up with Rollins when he tells him the special instructions for the SummerSlam match next week.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn). Isla says they will have a message for the former Women's Tag Team Champions at SmackDown, then Shayna Baszler, Sonya Deville and Zoey Stark and says they are the ones who run the division. Alba and Isla remind them of Zoey's loss, then Sonya says they will be their biggest issue and the ones to take their tag titles. Isla says they are welcome to try, but Sonya says they will do it.

We hear from Gunther, who mocks the previous World Heavyweight Champions before stating that he cannot respect entertainers and that he is the only one who can take the title to a level never seen before. He says that Damian Priest will fail and that he will represent the power, presentation and prestige that the business desperately needs when he becomes World Heavyweight Champion.

Sami Zayn and "Main Event" Jey Uso do their Bloodline handshake while surrounded by fans at the concourse before heading to the ring for the next match.

Sami Zayn and "Main Event" Jey Uso beat The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonagh). After the match, Sami Zayn is hit with a Spear by Bron Breakker.

This week on Raw Talk: The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Akam, Rezar, Paul Ellering)! "Big" Bronson Reed! Zelina Vega!

Here are the highlights for tonight's show!

Here are the top ten moments from tonight's show!