WWE RAW HITS & MISSES (7/22): Gunther-Priest, Dragunv-Breakker, Valkyria-Deville, Punk-McIntyre-Rollins segment, Ripley-Dom, Main Event Tag Match

Gunther – Priest – HIT: Raw got off to a good start with Gunther coming out to address things that he said about Damian Priest last week. Gunther is so good in his role, looking down on everyone. It is interesting how he is lumping in the rest of Judgment Day with this negativity towards Priest. The whole Judgment Day dynamic is odd to me right now. But, I will focus on this opening segment. The way that Priest came out and just attacked Gunther instead of getting into a war of words with him was great. He is clearly positioned at the babyface here which is the right way to go. I’m curious to see where they go with Priest after SummerSlam.

Dragunov vs. Breakker – HIT: This #1 contender match for the Intercontinental Title was very good. I don’t understand why Bron Breakker wasn’t punished for his actions at the end of Raw last week when he was supposed to be banned from the building. Instead, he gets this opportunity. That doesn’t make sense. I won’t complain about the match itself. I was thinking we were heading towards a triple threat for the IC Title, so I will take the singles match with Sami Zayn taking on Breakker again. Ilya Dragunov and Breakker work well together. They have good chemistry in the ring. This was a good match, but I have mixed feelings about the end. Why not just count Dragunov out? I’m not a fan of referee stoppages in general. He can’t get back into the ring, so count him out.

Valkyria vs. Deville – MISS: The match was actually fine, but the presentation for Lyra Valkyria leaves a lot to be desired. She was given a big push out of the block after being called up to Raw. But, she hasn’t connected with the fans, nor established her character or personality. Who is she? I enjoy Carter & Chance as a team, but they are cold as an act. So, putting two cold acts together does nothing for Valkyria. And then she loses here. I get wanting to re-establish Sonya Deville now that she’s back, especially with her new partnership with Stark & Baszler. But, this did nothing for Valkyria even though she lost due to interference. So, how much did it do for Deville to only win like that? And, how did the referee not see the interference? It was poorly executed with him standing right there.

Punk / McIntyre / Rollins – HIT: It was good to hear CM Punk say that he is cleared to wrestle again. He was good on the mic as usual. I like how Drew McIntyre refused to fight even though he’s been wanting to fight. We got the big expected announcement of Punk vs. McIntyre at SS. We also learned that Seth Rollins will be the special guest referee for the match. That makes sense given his involvement in the storyline from the beginning. And the referees have been a problem at times with Punk pretending to be one, and Drew beating some up. But, I worry a lot about his involvement in the match. We aren’t getting a clean win here.

Gable / Creeds / Alpha Academy / Wyatt Sicks – MISS: I see a lot of potential in Chad Gable’s new faction with the Creed Brothers. But, they need to be getting wins and looking strong as a new faction. Instead, they are pathetically trying to re-recruit three losers in the former Alpha Academy crew and failing to do so, and then getting physically dominated by the Wyatt Sicks. Am I the only one bothered by WWE exploiting the death of Bray Wyatt by using his brother as some sort of surrogate? I saw a lot of praise for the moment when Uncle Howdy did Sister Abagail on Gable, but all I could think about what how almost every Mexican wrestler in American promotions is still doing Eddie Guerrero’s shoulder shimmy, three amigos and frog splash as an “homage” that is really just a way to exploit a man’s death to get a cheap pop.

Rhea Ripley – MISS: I don’t buy that Rhea Ripley wants to be with Dominik Mysterio. That is not the way to play her character. I’m guessing that Dominik and Liv Morgan are playing with Ripley, and Dom will turn on her to help Morgan keep the Women’s Title at SS. That will cement him and Morgan as a duo and keep him a heel as he should be, while possibly getting more sympathy for Ripley. But she is a badass. She doesn’t need sympathy. And she should never come across like she needs or even wants Dominik at this point.

Gunther Video – HIT: Gunther is a star and should 100% win the World Championship at SummerSlam.

Zayn & Uso vs. Balor & McDonagh – HIT: I question the end of this match. What is the endgame of Sami Zayn & Jey Uso beating the Tag Team Champions? I mean, Zayn is the IC Champ, defending that Title against Breakker at the PLE. So, we aren’t going to see a Tag Title match then. Finn Balor is facing Gunther on next week’s Raw, so we won’t get the Title match then. Balor lost here and will lose again to Gunther, so the new Tag Champs aren’t looking strong. There is a lot of complexity going on with Judgment Day right now, which isn’t a bad thing. But, it can be a little confusing. I am still giving this match a marginal Hit as it was a good main event. It was fun to watch. Obviously, there was so much talent in the ring it was going to be good. The results bring it down a bit in my mind.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com’s WWE Raw Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com.