Raw Deal - Raw recap for July 29, 2024

Seth "Freakin'" Rollins heads to the ring dressed in custom referee gear to start tonight's show. Rollins says he is here to lay out some rules and regulations for Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk at SummerSlam. CM Punk shows up first, followed by McIntyre. Rollins reminds both men that they are not to lay a finger on each other before SummerSlam or else their match is off, and if they lay a finger on him tonight, it will also cause the match to be off. CM Punk rolls out of the ring, and McIntyre tells him to get back in. Punk says he is not scared or worried about what McIntyre or Rollins will do, but what he will do, and is taking himself out of the situation. Rollins sees this as Punk trying to get his way and tells him that this is not how things are going to work, and that he volunteered to be special guest referee because they scared off all the other officials, and that he can give up his position and call off the match. Rollins then says he wants this fight, as does McIntyre and the rest of the fans, and if Punk wants this fight, then he will get back into the ring. Punk gets back in the ring, telling Rollins to enjoy this while he can. McIntyre says that he and Rollins may not see eye-to-eye, but at least their rivalry is a professional one, and that Punk is a corporate ass-kisser and "the real enemy" while he and Rollins are real workhorses. Rollins agrees that he hates Punk as much as McIntyre does, but tells McIntyre that if anyone hates him as much as Punk, it is also him. Rollins then says there is only one rule and regulation and that they will listen to everything he has to say, as he calls the shots and he is the law, and if either man gets out of line, he will put their head in the dirt. Punk tells Rollins that he hopes that he can referee and hopes he calls it down the middle, and warns him that if he screws him, he will deal with him in the back. He also tells Punk that he does not want his help in the match, but McIntyre tells Punk he should be worrying about him. McIntyre tells Punk that he hates him and cannot go anywhere without hearing about him, and that he has said everything he has wanted to say about him. He says the bell is Punk's enemy, for when it rings, he will destroy him. He also hopes that Rollins has compassion in the match, as he will not stop until Punk's heart does and he will be paid handsomely to do something he would willingly do for free. Punk says he absent from WWE for ten years and the fans still chanted his name, and that McIntyre is the third wheel in their match at SummerSlam and that both he and Rollins get to be in his orbit and breathe the same air he does. He hopes that McIntyre enjoyed the last six months of his career, for they were the best six months he had and that he ruined it when he hurt him. He also says that McIntyre "dumbed" himself out of his position because he is his own enemy and a worse one than Punk. Punk then says that he has heart, unlike McIntyre, and that he has the fans chanting his name while he has nothing. McIntyre flashes Punk's necklace, and Rollins laughs at McIntyre dares Punk to take it from him.

Backstage, The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, Rhea Ripley, JD McDonagh) and Carlito find their clubhouse vandalized, and Rhea chalks it up to Liv Morgan getting revenge after last week, stating Liv has stepped over the line one too many times.

Backstage, Damian Priest catches up with The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, Rhea Ripley, JD McDonagh) and Carlito in the vandalized clubhouse. Finn Balor tells Gunther that he insulted everyone in the group when he insulted him, and that he will bust up Gunther. Meanwhile, Carlito prepares to deal with Sami Zayn.

The Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus Creed) beat Alpha Academy (Otis and Akira Tozawa). After the match, The Creed Brothers hold down Otis so that Chad Gable can punch him and put him in the ankle lock. Maxxine Dupri gets on top of Gable, but Gable shrugs him and chews her out. Maxxine replies with a slap to the face. When Maxxine dares Gable to fight her, the lights start going out, and Otis, Maxxine and Tozawa all get out dodge while Gable and The Creed Brothers stay in the ring. "Huskus," "Rabbit" and "Mercy" of The Wyatt Sicks appear and head towards the ring before unmasking. They happen to be Joe Gacy, Erick Rowan and Dexter Lumis, respectively. Gable runs away only for "Abbie" - who is Nikki Cross - to hit him with a cross body. The Wyatt Sicks then lay waste to The Creed Brothers. Chad Gable escapes, but he is soon approached by Uncle Howdy, and he runs away.

Backstage, Carlito tells "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio that he has Sami Zayn, even thought Carlito is supposed to deal with Sami. Dominik tells Carlito that since he is free, he can handle "Main Event" Jey Uso, and Rhea tells Carlito he will deal with Jey alone.

"Big" Bronson Reed beats Sheamus after Pete Dunne shows up and hits Sheamus with a shillelagh.

Backstage, we hear from Damian Priest, who says that his upbringing is being brought up by Gunther, who has no idea of how he grew up when he was handed everything and surrounded by people telling him how great he was. He says that Gunther has never handed the World Heavyweight Championship and that Gunther is an asshole, and that the ring that was an escape from the streets will become the streets when he beats him to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Priest says he has fought for everything he has earned and that he is now willing to die for everything he has got.

We hear from Bron Breakker, who says he is not here to talk down on Sami Zayn, as he does not even dislike him. He says Sami is at the top of his game in stand-up comedy and yet he did not take him seriously. He says that Sami has accepted the fact that he is going to lose at SummerSlam as he is looking forward to a life after him and after WWE, and while Sami has been telling jokes in preparation, he has been training like a dog. Breakker says that the joke is on Sami and that the Intercontinental Championship will be on him.

"Main Event" Jey Uso beats Carlito after Carlito takes several bites out of his apple (and has some of the apple himself).

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews Zelina Vega. Zelina says her right arm feels ago and that she knows she was lucky to have Kayden Carter, Katana Chance and Lyra Valkyria in her corner and that Zoey Stark had to stack the deck against her. As Zelina says that Zoey, "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville know she is a threat, Zoey, Shayna and Sonya surround her and gang up on her before Shayna kicks at the injured right arm. Officials soon step in.

Zelina Vega is tended to backstage in the trainer's room.

Backstage, The Miz announces that he will be hosting SummerSlam this year in his house of Cleveland, Ohio, then R-Truth shows up thinking In Your House is bringing brought back before asking The Miz how he is going to host the whole show from his house. R-Truth wants to know if he should bring hors d'oeuvres or a bag of ice or any party favors, and The Miz says no before eventually declaring he will provide the hor d'oeuvres.

We see footage and photos of WWE on tour in Japan.

Before the next match, Karrion Kross mentions Kofi Kingston re-injuring his shoulder on the Japan tour and that it is only a cop-out for Kofi to skip town because the spotlight is on Xavier Woods instead of him and only because nobody wants to be in tonight's town. Karrion Kross then offers Woods a chance to join The Final Testament, tell the kids that the power of positivity is one big lie, and tell "that one-armed bastard" Kofi Kingston that he should have retired after losing the WWE Championship in six seconds. Woods punches him.

Karrion Kross beats Xavier Woods after dodging the Limit Break elbow.

We see footage of WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque talking with Jesse "The Body" Ventura backstage.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews Sami Zayn. Sami says that he did a comedy show before his last match with Bron Breakker and still won, and that Breakker thought it was a foregone conclusion that he would win and did not take him seriously. He says that Breakker has hit cheap shots week after week because of this, and while Breakker's attitude is different, so is his, and now it is just about beating Bron Breakker's ass. As far as "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio goes, he will handle that business right now.

We hear from Liv Morgan, who says that she would have done anything for "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, then says he is not a man and just "Rhea [Ripley]'s little bitch." She says she wishes that she could take back every tear she cried for him, but now, he will make Rhea's life a living hell and beat Rhea before leaving Dominik with whatever is left while she is still Women's World Champion.

Sami Zayn beats "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio by disqualification. During the match, JD McDonagh and Carlito show up and distract Sami, nearly costing him in the match. The match is over when JD McDonagh gets in the ring and breaks up a pinfall attempt by Sami Zayn. After the match, McDonagh and Carlito attack Sami, then "Main Event" Jey Uso shows up and send them and Dominik out of the ring before hitting them all with a dive over the top rope. Afterwards, Sami is attacked from behind by Bron Breakker, who then goes for a Spear only to be booted in the face, hit with an Exploder Suplex into the corner, and nearly hit with a Helluva Kick before rolling out of the ring. When Sami turns his back on Breakker, Breakker tries to ambush him again, but Sami turns around and clotheslines him out of the ring.

We see another Wyatt Sicks video, this time with Dexter Lumis, who is almost unrecognizable. When asked what he will do when the buzzards start circling, Dexter simply says "Run."

Backstage, Chad Gable tells General Manager Adam Pearce about Joe Gacy, Erick Rowan and Dexter Lumis being under masks earlier before wanting a six-man tag match against him and The Creed Brothers. Pearce makes the match official, but tells Gable to be careful what he wishes for after he leaves.

We hear from Rhea Ripley, who says that if Liv Morgan wants to break and burn things that do not belong to her and pretend to be the victim in her "revenge fantasy," then her revenge tour will come to an end. Rhea says she will make Liv pay after taking her title, three months of her career as well as "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and that she will get her own revenge.

Zoey Stark, "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville beat Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter in a six-woman tag match. After the match, Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane) shows up and brawls with Zoey, Shayna and Sonya, quickly cleaning house and forcing them out of the ring. Iyo Sky hits all three of them with Over The Moonsault on the outside.

In footage from an empty arena from earlier today, Gunther says he gave Damian Priest an easy way out, but Priest revealed he has no control over his own emotions. He calls Priest "an emotional wanna-be" who uses the business to get over his childhood trauma. He says that he used to look up to Finn Balor and considered him a world-class weirdo until Balor became "street trash" when he joined The Judgment Day. He then tells Priest that he will never forgive Priest for using the business to cover up for his pathetic existence, and after SummerSlam, Priest and everyone else will remember SummerSlam as the day he saved professional wrestling and the World Heavyweight Championship.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane). Dakota Kai says Zoey Stark, "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville have been running the place is because they have been gone, and now that they are back, it is time to re-establish order. She then challenges Sonya Deville to a match next week to see how long their group lasts after she cuts the head off the snake.

Backstage, Finn Balor says The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh) and Carlito will wait until SummerSlam to get out of the mess that they have gotten themselves into. Rhea agrees, and says that The Judgment Day has Finn's back, but Finn says he is doing this himself. Rhea and Damian agree, with Damian saying Gunther is their main problem and having faith that Finn Balor will soften Gunther up.

Gunther beats Finn Balor with the sleeper. After the match, Gunther puts Finn Balor back into the sleeper, and Damian Priest soon runs into the ring to brawl with Gunther. The brawl soon makes its way outside as the show ends.

This week on Raw Talk: Zoey Stark, "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville! Bron Breakker! "Big" Bronson Reed!

Here are the highlights from tonight's show!

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