WWE Raw Recap, Grades & Opinion: July 29, 2019

WWE Raw Recap: July 29, 2019

A.K.A. The One Where Maria Threatened To Kick Mike In The Vagina

Results:

• • R-Truth & Carmella def. Drake Maverick & Renee Michelle, meaning R-Truth retains the 24/7 Championship
  • Mike Kanellis def. R-Truth to win the 24/7 Championship
  • Ricochet wins a five man Gauntlet Match to earn a United States Championship match against A.J. Styles at Summerslam
    • Rey Mysterio def. Cesaro
    • Rey Mysterio def. Sami Zayn
    • Andrade def. Rey Mysterio
    • Ricochet def. Andrade
  • Maria Kanellis def. Mike Kanellis to win the 24/7 Championship
  • The O.C. (Anderson & Gallows) def. The Usos & The Revival to win the Raw Tag Team Championships
  • Viking Raiders def. Local Talents
  • Becky Lynch def. Alexa Bliss due to injury stoppage
  • Becky Lynch def. Nikki Cross
  • Seth Rollins def. Dolph Ziggler by disqualification when Brock Lesnar interfered

Match of the Night: Ricochet wins a five man Gauntlet Match to earn a United States Championship match against A.J. Styles at Summerslam

Four of these five men got a chance to shine in this gauntlet match. Unfortunately, Sami Zayn was not one of them. He was quickly rolled up by Rey Mysterio in a confusing booking decision. Mysterio was made to look strong, going over guys like Cesaro and Zayn who could have used the rub. The best segment of the match was between Andrade and Mysterio. This doesn’t come as a surprise, considering the chemistry the two have shown before. Now, Ricochet goes on to Summerslam to challenge A.J. Styles in what should be an excellent match.

Three Thoughts:

D.T.A.

Last week, Stone Cold Steve Austin closed out Raw. This week, wrestlers were living by one of Austin’s mottos: Don’t Trust Anybody. In the women’s division, we saw Alexa Bliss fake an injury (rather convincingly) to get out of her match with Becky Lynch. Once Nikki Cross lost her match against Lynch, Bliss was fine and attacked Lynch. Natalya came out to run off Bliss and Cross, only for her to attack Lynch as well. No one can be trusted on this night.

It looks like what goes around, comes around! @NatbyNature makes a STATEMENT against @BeckyLynchWWE after being attacked by The Man earlier in the day! #RAW pic.twitter.com/BGuvq7nh9f

— WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2019

In the gauntlet match earlier, Andrade pulled the ultimate move of disrespect: he unmasked Rey Mysterio. Mysterio was able to cover his face before it was really seen, but he made the mistake of thinking Andrade would respect the time-honored traditions of lucha libre. Instead, Andrade made a name for himself by tearing the mask off of a legend. 

Pure DISRESPECT from @AndradeCienWWE…

He's got ONE MORE opponent to deal with! #RAW #GauntletMatch pic.twitter.com/TgHpKweILt

— WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2019

Bonus, Brutal Beast

Brock Lesnar showed up in Little Rock, Arkansas to beat up Seth Rollins. The attack was unexpected, vicious and brutal. Lesnar F5’d Rollins into a ring post and onto a chair. He looked like an absolute beast, and his appearance was a welcome surprise. Paul Heyman even tried to stop Lesnar from continuing his attack, but he wouldn’t listen. Lesnar yanked Rollins from the back of the ambulance and continued his assault.

NO. The ambush hasn't stopped and @BrockLesnar is continuing to destroy @WWERollins backstage on #RAW. @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/F5dsNlfT7x

— WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2019

This one segment gave Rollins back some babyface mojo he had been missing. His last few promos have been corny and somewhat poorly received. Giving Rollins as much ammo for a vengeance mission is the best way to book him going into Summerslam. Fans will rally behind someone who was just murdered in the ring and coughed up blood. Weird that it works, but it will.

Golden Good Brothers

The O.C. winning the Raw Tag Team Championships was a bit of a surprise tonight. Gallows & Anderson being consistent losers was the reason Styles started talking to them again in the first place. WWE decided to quickly put the titles back on The O.C. to give them a second title reign. Now The O.C. has all the gold heading into Summerslam. There are lots of options for the tag titles at Summerslam. A match with The Usos, The Revival, The Viking Raiders, or all three could make for a fun addition to the card. 

Oh, this celebration is about to be THE SWEETEST. #TheOC#RAW @AJStylesOrg @LukeGallowsWWE @KarlAndersonWWE pic.twitter.com/f76A6Ezji4

— WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2019

The Usos are the more likely target. Footage was shown of The O.C. and Samoa Joe beating up The Usos and Roman Reigns backstage. They were also part of the massive brawl at the end of the show. Usos, Reigns & Cedric Alexander brawled with The O.C., Drew McIntyre and Samoa Joe. Alexander got the best moment of them all:

CEDRIC, NO, YOU DIDN'T.#RAW @CedricAlexander pic.twitter.com/Q81JInt43q

— WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2019

Grade: A-

This show was one word: vicious. The assault by Lesnar, the sneak attacks by Natalya and the one by Lynch earlier in the day, and the backstage beating of Reigns & The Usos made it a vicious show. The show got us invested in Rollins-Lesnar once again. It gave us an exciting United States Championship match for Summerslam and a good Gauntlet Match tonight. Add in a tag title change and you’ve got yourself a solid show.

#TheMan @BeckyLynchWWE doesn't care what she has to do to get her hands on @NatbyNature… #RAW pic.twitter.com/yo5LJuSf90

— WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2019

One More Thing:

Maria pinning her husband Mike Kanellis to win the 24/7 Championship was strange. The constant emasculation of her husband is difficult to watch. With the title now on a pregnant woman, has the title peaked?

Well, that was a short-lived reign for @RealMikeBennett. @MariaLKanellis is the NEW #247Champion! #RAW pic.twitter.com/ek0cg6LJG0

— WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2019

– Evan Gomes is the Managing Editor of Pro Wrestling for Full Press Coverage. Like and follow on Follow @EvanGomes_ Follow @FPC_Wrestling and Facebook.