Winners, Live Scores, Reactions and Highlights from July 15

Mami was back and things got interesting for Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan, Dominik Mysterio and the rest of The Judgment Day Monday night on WWE Raw.

Rhea Ripley’s return kicked off the show, addressing everything that’s happened since she was sidelined by Morgan the night after WrestleMania XL.

What happened, what did the former women’s world champion say when she took the stage on USA Network?

Check out this recap of a show that continued the road to SummerSlam and featured the final face-off between World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest and Gunther.

The new features announced in advance for Monday’s show were:

• Damian Priest and Gunther face to face
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov
• Sheamus vs. “Big” Bronson Reed
• What’s next for Drew McIntyre?
• Rhea Ripley’s Speech to the WWE Universe
• Priest vs Braun Strowman

Rhea Ripley kicked off the night’s show by walking out to the squared circle to a huge pop and almost immediately found herself interrupted by Dominik Mysterio.

Before the sweet and shy villain could plead his case for his Mami’s forgiveness, Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan appeared on the video screen.

Doing his best to taunt Ripley, Morgan only infuriated her further, leading to Ripley issuing a challenge to a match at SummerSlam.

Morgan surprisingly agreed, admitting she wasn’t going to run.

The segment ended with Ripley promising to end Morgan’s career before thwarting any attempts by Mysterio to make things right.

It was a great start to the show that highlighted Monday night’s main storyline, put Ripley front and center, and continued to build tension between Mami and Dom Dom as questions about their relationship ran rampant.

Grade

A

Highlights and takeaways

• Michael Cole revealed in a commentary that Ripley’s return last week garnered 50 million views on social media.
• Mysterio, looking like a young Eddie Guerrero, paid homage to one of his idols by calling Ripley “Mamacita” the same night the former women’s champion wore a Chyna-inspired top.
• “Mami may be home, but Liv is finally on top,” Morgan said.

Following a backstage confrontation last week and an ensuing brawl, Sheamus faced off against “Big” Bronson Reed to kick off the in-ring portion of tonight’s show.

A physical and hard-hitting war between the Celtic Warrior and the Australian ended with Sheamus hitting Reed with a knee strike for the pinfall victory.

But it didn’t stop there. After the match, Pete Dunne came out of nowhere to thwart a sneak attack from Reed. After a brief and tense encounter with his former Brawling Brutes teammate, The Bruiserweight attacked Sheamus from behind.

Reed took advantage and stood tall to wrap things up.

The match was strong, as you’d expect from Sheamus and Reed at this point, and there’s considerable intrigue in the story the former and Dunne are telling at the moment. A second strong segment in a row.

Result

Sheamus defeated Reed

Grade

B+

Highlights and takeaways

• Sheamus introduced a new entrance song, an odd choice given fans’ excitement for the return of “Written In My Face.”
• “There’s a sign in the crowd that says ‘Monday Night Meat’ and the meat in the ring right now is amazing!” Pat McAfee said in commentary.
• Will Reed ever win one of these matches against top-tier talent? It feels like this story is repeated too often, with the big man never really getting any momentum.
• Backstage, Ripley thanked Damian Priest for keeping things going with Judgment Day in her absence and, when Mysterio asked for a moment, was subjected to another verbal assault from Mami.

A backstage confrontation earlier in the show between Zelina Vega and Sonya Deville was the centerpiece of this match.

A short contest saw Deville overwhelm Vega and claim victory with his new finisher, Deville’s Advocate.

After the match, the winner and her new associates Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler instigated a beatdown before Kayden Carter and Katana Chance saved them, sparking another random trios feud involving the former tag team champions.

It was a needless loss for Vega, who was arguably the best performer in this event. Beating her seemed counterproductive when anyone else could have found themselves in this position.

Result

Deville defeated Vega

Grade

A

Highlights and takeaways

• Backstage, Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn told Ila Dragunov that he had a title shot tonight because he earned it, not because he defended it against Bron Breakker.
• Gunther was the subject of a stunning promotional video in which he told his story and promoted his upcoming world title match against Priest.

The story of an unworthy champion versus a predestined champion was apparently not enough for WWE as Triple H and the creative team added another element: class warfare.

Monday’s face-off between world heavyweight champion Damian Priest and ring king Gunther introduced the idea of ​​the ring general as a preferred contender while portraying the archer of infamy as someone who fought his way from the streets to the top of professional wrestling.

It’s a story that can be incredibly effective in the right script, but it feels like it was needlessly shoehorned into this show. Audiences devoured it and gave the first indication that fans are ready to accept Priest as a babyface, and maybe that alone will prove that this was the right direction to take.

Until that happens, it still feels like an unnecessary addition to a story that told itself based on what we’ve already seen so far.

Grade

C+

Highlights and takeaways

• Backstage, Chad Gable told general manager Adam Pearce he would call Bo Dallas later tonight.
• “Your reign was nothing. No prestige. No contribution,” Gunther criticized Priest’s run as champion.
• “I want to take this weight off your shoulders, spare you this embarrassment at SummerSlam. Just give me the title,” Gunther suggested.
• “For someone who claims to have such clear-sightedness, I’m amazed you can’t see what’s coming,” Priest said.

The rivalry between Braun Strowman and The Judgment Day wrote its final chapter on Monday as The Monster Among Men took on world champion Priest.

El Campeon weathered the initial storm that was Strowman’s furious assault, capitalized on an injured knee and pushed him to the mat with South of Heaven for a clean win.

Strowman is perennially beloved by the crowd, so hearing the Dayton fans erupt in joy over Priest’s victory is a promising development for the world champion as he prepares for one of the most important matches of his career.

The long-term plan is clearly for him to break away from his Judgment Day faction and go it alone as a babyface. This seems like a positive first step that he and the creative team can build on.

Result

Priest Pinned Strowman

Grade

B

Highlights and takeaways

• Strowman hit the barricade before the break and sold a knee injury, setting up the second half of the match.
• Priest’s ability to defeat Strowman was crucial to the success of this segment. He proved that he could win on his own, something he’s struggled to prove since winning the world title.

Less than an hour after Chance and Carter came to Vega’s aid after her loss to Deville, the fun-loving duo took on Stark and Baszler in tag team action.

The heels isolated both opponents at different points in the match, but a hot tag from Carter to Chance late in the match sparked a babyface return for the former tag team champions.

Deville attempted a diversion but Lyra Valkyria pulled her off the apron, only to receive a big kick to the face from Stark.

The action stopped and the heels took the win as the newly formed trio continued to gain momentum.

The match was better than expected and the crowd was going all out, but it would have been even better if the fans had any reason to care about the babyfaces beyond their fun and energetic performance in the ring.

Result

Stark and Baszler defeated Chance and Carter

Grade

C+

Highlights and takeaways

• Backstage, Chad Gable tried in vain to rally his former Alpha Academy teammates to his side, while the Rambling Rabbit puppet watched in the background.
• Still backstage, Mysterio told Ripley that he had managed to get a match against Jey Uso after a confrontation between them earlier in the show. He dug himself an even deeper hole, however, as Ripley continued to ignore him.

All Drew McIntyre had to do to get his suspension revoked by Raw General Manager Adam Pearce was apologize for injuring two WWE referees.

Instead, he refused and the suspension remained intact.

An angry Scottish warrior pushed the same two referees, then threatened…