Raw Deal - Raw recap for August 12, 2024

Rhea Ripley heads to the ring to start tonight's show. Rhea says she has had to think about what happened at SummerSlam and felt embarrassment, heartbreak, and right now, she is "pissed the hell off." She says that "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio stabbed her in the back, then says it just was not deep enough. As for Liv Morgan, Rhea says Liv managed to run away with the Women's World Championship, but she cannot run forever. Rhea says it is time to remind them exactly who she is, then Liv Morgan and Dominik make their presence known from the skybox. Liv says Dominik has some things to get off his chest, and Dominik says she left Rhea because he is a man and deserves to be treated like one, and that Rhea tried to change him instead of letting him be himself. He says that being bossed around and calling Rhea "Mami" was embarrassing, but now he has a girl who calls him "Daddy" who lets him be himself and do whatever he wants when he wants. Dominik also says that Liv also did something Rhea could never do: help him finally beat his deadbeat dad Rey Mysterio. Rhea says she is proud of Dominik for everything that he has accomplished in the last couple of years and says that watching him grow into the man he has become is one of her biggest accomplishments. She says that Dominik finally did something for himself and won championship gold, but she also wanted Dominik to beat Rey on his own so there would be no excuses. She also says that she should be proud of Dominik for making his own decisions, then says it will be the last decision Dominik will ever make. Liv says the only true thing Rhea said is that Dominik is a man and that he is all hers, while Rhea has nothing, her real family is "a million miles away," and her other family is now hers. Liv then says Dominik, the Women's World Championship, the women's division and everything Rhea loves is all hers, but Rhea says Liv took a lot of her weak links and left her standing, and now Liv will have to kill her to stop her. Rhea then says that Liv loves the sound of her own voice, and that now "they" know exactly where she and Dominik are. Damian Priest appears behind Dominik and beats him up in the concession area. Liv tries to jump on Priest, but Rhea chases her away while Priest chases Dominik down the stands and punches him over the barricade before getting him in the ring for South of Heaven. Suddenly, Carlito attacks Priest from behind, allowing Dominik to retreat, but Priest quickly gets the upper hand.

Damien Priest beats Carlito. After the match, JD McDonagh attacks Priest from behind, but he gets laid out. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor show up to attack Priest with Liv Morgan in tow. Rhea Ripley shows up, kicks Carlito in the gut, then confronts Finn Balor, who is alone now that Dominik and Liv have retreated. McDonagh takes the superkick in Finn Balor's stead while Finn retreat, and that leads to McDonagh taking a South of Heaven choke slam. Afterwards, Priest and Rhea hug, but Dominik tries to attack them from the top rope. Priest catches Dominik, then hands him off to Rhea. Liv Morgan saves Dominik from a Riptide, and they flee to the ramp.

Backstage, Ivy Nile meets with Maxxine Dupri and tells her not to be at ringside tonight, then offers Maxxine a spot on Chad Gable's new team after a chat with Gable. Maxxine says she is staying with Alpha Academy (Otis and Akira Tozawa). Ivy says she thought she would say that, then leaves.

We see VHS cassette footage of Bo Dallas. He says everything has come full circle and that things have been heavy lately, especially after last week in Baltimore, Maryland, where it all started. He says that The Wyatt Sicks had their debut where it all began and that "he" was there. Bo says something big is happening, but the work is not done. Bo then sees a message from the nearby television. A voice says the work must continue, and Bo Dallas says "My life for you" repeatedly. The voice says "There you are," and the footage ends.

Backstage, Xavier Woods meets up with Odyssey Jones and Kofi Kingston. Kofi says they have a chance to return the favor against The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, Rezar) this week.

Odyssey Jones beats Vincent Winey. After the match, The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Akam, Rezar, Paul Ellering) shows up, and Karrion Kross and asks if this is another day for more lies and misdirection, and that Kofi Kingston is trying to use Odyssey Jones to respect Big E. He also says that Kofi is using Odyssey to replace Woods, but Woods asks Kross if he is tired of coming out week after week to try to drive a wedge between The New Day, as it will not work. Woods proposes a tag team match, but Kofi makes it a six-man tag to prevent interference. Kross says the devil's work is never done, and accepts the challenge.

Backstage, General Manager Adam Pearce is met by Drew McIntyre, who says that he is looking to the future when Pearce mentions that CM Punk is currently having travel issues and wants to know why Randy Orton is competing for the World Heavyweight Championship. McIntyre says Orton is a snake in the grass and that he will take care of this, then promises to Pearce he will be on his best behavior.

American Made (Julius and Brutus Creed) beat Alpha Academy (Otis and Akira Tozawa) after Ivy Nile attacks Maxxine Dupri from out of nowhere. Oba Femi is seen in the crowd before the match. Also before the match, Chad Gable is seen in Paris, France having gotten away from Wyatt Sicks - with whom he has unfinished business - to watch the 2024 Summer Olympics.

In footage from earlier today, Jackie Redmond interviews Pete Dunne. Dunne says he was never Sheamus' wings and that Sheamus was under his, and that he held him down while going on the run on a lifetime and leaving him with a terrible gimmick. He also show resentment towards Sheamus as well as towards how Ridge Holland left, then says he never wants to hear the name "Butch" again. He says that if he has to beat Sheamus to not hear that name again, then so be it.

We get a closer look at "Big" Bronson Reed and the destructive power of his six Tsunamis on Seth "Freakin'" Rollins on Raw Physics.

Backstage, General Manager Adam Pearce tells "Big" Bronson Reed he is lucky to only pay a fine, but Bronson says he had to make his own opportunities and that breaking Seth "Freakin'" Rollins was part of it. He tells Pearce to find him an opponent, or he will find his next victim.

We hear from Damage CTRL (Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane). Iyo says that Damage CTRL controls the future even though they have been cut in half, and that they are the most dominant force in the women's division as they take another step to becoming champions again. Kairi Sane says what happened to Dakota Kai will be repaid tenfold and that they will take Zoey Stark, "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville's dreams. Iyo Sky says that as long as they run Raw, they will never acheive their glory. We then hear against from Zoey, Shayna and Sonya, who now call themselves "The Pure Fusion Collective," with Sonya saying that they will destroy just like they recently have and Baszler stating they should already be women's tag champs. She says they have ripped through the division before and will do it again, and Zoey says they are the most dominant force and not Damage CTRL.

In memory of Kevin Sullivan, 1949 - 2024.

Candice Michelle is seen in the crowd before the next match.

The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) watch the next match from ringside as it is announced that Dakota Kai will be out for ten weeks with a torn meniscus.

Damage CTRL (Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane) vs. The Pure Fusion Collective (Zoey Stark and "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler) in a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship #1 contender's match ends in a no-contest after Isla Dawn gets involved in the match in response to Alba Fyre getting inadvertently superkicked by Zoey Stark. After the match, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn attack both teams.

Backstage, R-Truth meets with The Miz and says he has gotten The Miz a match with Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Championship. However, the nearby monitor shows The Miz vs. "Big" Bronson Reed, and it takes Randy Orton randomly passing by to tell The Miz that he has got this to get Miz fired up.

Randy Orton heads to the ring. Orton talks about how he won the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time twenty years ago and became the youngest in history, and says that history will repeat itself at Bash In Berlin when he becomes a fifteen-time world champion. Gunther shows up, and Orton tells everyone to take a picture and remember the moment, because he will beat Gunther in a few weeks and make Raw his new home. Gunther acknowledges Orton as one of the greatest of all time, then says that Orton wasted all of his potential and states that this is a new era as well as his era, where there is no room for people who waste their potential. He tells Orton that he will not play a role in the future of his era, but Orton admits he has never been perfect and has made more mistakes than just about anyone in the locker room, even though he has owned up and changed course. He says that has led to him having five kids and a "smoke show" of a wife waiting for him at home and that he has done "pretty damn good" for himself. Gunther says that Orton is very predictable, and predicts that he will give Orton the beating of a lifetime in Berlin, Germany and that Orton will never be World Heavyweight Champion again. He says that when it really matters, Orton always screws it up, as his grandfather and father were both "screw-ups" just like him, who he calls "the biggest screw-up of them all." As Orton stares down Gunther, Drew McIntyre shows up. Orton hits Gunther with an RKO as soon as Gunther turns his back on Orton. McIntyre has no choice but to run away from Punk, and he flees through the crowd.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews Sheamus, who says that he understands a lot yet cannot understand why Pete Dunne has so much beef against him. He says he built Dunne up, but he fell off the WWE wagon as soon as he got injured. As Sheamus says that Pete Dunne wants to make a name for himself at his expense, Ludwig Kaiser shows up and tells Sheamus it is far from over between them and that he will put an end to him. Suddenly, Sheamus is attacked from behind by Dunne with a shillelagh. Kaiser backs off, and referees show up before Dunne strikes Sheamus' hand.

Backstage, CM Punk notices an angry Gunther before being interviewed by Cathy Kelley, who says that there were no travel issues on their flight to tonight's venue. Punk says that he had to tell a "little white lie" to get his hands on Drew McIntyre, because he knew that McIntyre would not show up if he did. He says that Drew can keep the bracelet, but he does not want him mentioning his family without facing any consequences and this will not stop until he gets his hands on him. He says that McIntyre wants to run from a fight that he picked, then looks at the leather belt in his hands and says he has a way to make everyone happy.

"The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry and his son Jacob Henry are seen in the crowd.

"Big" Bronson Reed beats The Miz. After the match, Bronson Reed goes for another Tsunami. R-Truth gets The Miz out of the way, but he ends up taking the bullet as well as the brunt of another Tsunami. Officials show up as Bronson goes for a third Tsunami, but Bronson hits it anyway and goes up for a fourth. R-Truth is moved away from the corner as Bronson goes for a fifth, and General Manager Adam Pearce has to talk Bronson down. Bronson just walks to another corner and hits a fifth Tsunami despite this, and this ends Bronson's path of destruction. Pearce threatens to fine or suspend Bronson on his way out, but Bronson ignores Pearce, goes back to the ring and hits a sixth Tsunami.

Backstage, "Main Event" Jey Uso tells Sami Zayn that all he has to do is be himself and he will be champion again. Sami says he will have to win twice, but Jey says he will win twice and then they will go for tag team gold.

We hear from The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, Carlito, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, Liv Morgan). They say there are no leaders and no egos, and that Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley are a joke and that they will pay at Bash In Berlin. Finn Balor then tells Priest to watch out, as "Backstabber Balor" is about.

Backstage, we hear from Bron Breakker, who says that he will do things "the good old-fashioned way" and that actions speak louder than words. He says that he is a badass and that it is time to do badass thing.

Bron Breakker retains the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Sami Zayn two falls to one (2-1) in a two-out-of-three falls match. Sami Zayn earns the first fall with a Helluva Kick out of nowhere. Bron Breakker earns the second fall with a Gorilla Press Slam followed by two Spears. Bron Breakker earns the third and deciding fall after hitting Sami Zayn out of mid-air with a Spear.

This week on Raw Talk: The Pure Fusion Collective (Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark, "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler)! The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) and Odyssey Jones! "Big" Bronson Reed!

Here are the highlights from tonight's show!

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