WWE On the way to the upcoming Bad Blood PLE on October 5th and this week's episode Monday Night Raw Came from Calgary, AB, Canada, Home of Bret 'The Hitman' Hart. A few weeks after the 30th anniversary of his historic Summerslam Cage Match against his brother Owen, Bret would make his first WWE appearance since appearing at Clash At The Castle in 2022, getting verbally attacked by Gunther before Sami Zayn saved the day.
Elsewhere, it's been announced that CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre Part 3 will take place inside Hell In A Cell and it's a night to remember as Finn Balor puts Damien Priest in the hospital before the Bad Blood match. Jey Uso became the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship and Bronson Reed returned to fix Braun Strowman.
6 Finn Balor
Break week for Prince
Finn Balor was great for every moment on this week's Monday Night Raw. Challenging Damien Priest to a match at Bad Blood, he then jumped his opponent with Doomsday and put him in the hospital. Balor may have lost his first singles match to Rey Mysterio via DQ, but he destroyed the Hall of Fame in the process and afterward.
Balor and Priest in Bad Blood it's one of those rare moments where he feels the outcome really matters. Finn needs Doomsday for a new look to feel legitimized. To reach the next level, Damien Priest still has a point to prove. This is a tough matchup to predict and a poor candidate to steal the entire card in Atlanta, GA.
Finn Balor has not won a singles match on the PLE card since defeating Edge in an I Quit match at Extreme Rules in October 2022.
5 Jay Uso
In the main event, Jay Uso has a date with destiny
Before discussing The Uso won a Fatal Four Way to win an Intercontinental Championship match against Bron Breakera word for his crowd reactions. This is future world champion material. See how many “Yeet” signs appear in his view. Check out dozens of his shirts in the audience. He ended up with old, young, and men of all pronouns. Jey Uso blushes feels undeniable in both the short and long term.
Raw's Main Event was unmissable entertainment. Braun Strowman's impressive display was interrupted when Bronson Reed suddenly appeared and launched himself from the barricade like Batman to tackle Strowman through the table. Pete Dunne scored as close to two counts as it is possible to score without winning. Ilja Dragunov was great as always, but Uso won. Doomsday has a target on his back, but the Uso vs Breaker for the Intercontinental Championship feels huge.
Jey Uso and Bron Breaker have yet to meet in singles competition.
4 Drew McIntyre
A Scottish warrior crosses the line. Again.
If there is no line that one will not cross in the name of anger, it is very dangerous indeed. Threatening to fight his friend Wade Barrett, Drew McIntyre felt like a master. They feel like real life mates not only because of their shared heritage, but because you can't fake that natural level of love. Drew showed up, promising to let Barrett go if he got involved again McIntyre will cross any line to hurt CM Punk.
It was this column that praised Adam Pearce a few weeks ago. His interaction with Drew here was intense, and Punk and Drew delivering the news that the rubber match would be Hell In A Cell was perfect. Win or lose in Atlanta, Drew continues to be one of WWE's biggest winners of 2024.
Drew McIntyre went 0-2, losing to Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton in Hell In A Cell matches.
3 Bad Blood
WWE got the memo about resurrecting this PLE
It's been twenty years since Bad Blood was the last on the list of upcoming WWE PLE events. The logo is filled with blood, which is uncharacteristic for a WWE event. Metro Boomin's promo with Cody Rhodes feels cool and culturally relevant. Most importantly, WWE is the core of PLE. Some of the bitterest feuds of the year is about to be resolved on October 5.
Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan will bring back the SummerSlam Championship match, only this time the winner will feel definitive. Finn Balor and Damien Priest have spent most of the last 12 months battling it out for control of Doomsday, and we're about to find out who the better man is. CM Punk and Drew McIntyre haven't pulled a punch all year and now they'll take their feud to Hell In A Cell. As it stands, Bad Blood delivers exactly what it advertises.
Bad Blood 2004 was headlined by Triple H defeating Shawn Michaels in a Hell In A Cell match.
2 Gunter
Nobody in Canada is badmouthing The Hitman
There aren't many things in wrestling as loud as Canada's welcome to the appearance of Bret 'The Hitman' Hart. Gunter cuts off Bret Hart in his home country It's enough to put him in the “Losers” column as he's been booted out of the building, but accolades for the Austrian's mic work of late have been overdue. Whether it's calling Priest “street trash,” challenging the legacy of Randy Orton's generation, or He uses Bill Goldberg to feud with Bret HartGunter works on his verbal skills with impressive results.
Bret Hart has made disparaging comments about Goldberg many times over the years, as the Hitman blames him for ending his career with an infamous headbutt during a match at Starrcade 99.
The need for big promos is a must for any superstar, but he will especially need verbal skills Now CM Punk is putting him in the spotlight. There have been some mild interactions so far, but this storm is approaching fast. Gunter still rejected Sami Zayn's challenge, but he can't run forever.
1 Pure Fusion Collective
A big loss for the former power trio
Natalya Neidhart returned to Monday Night Raw Calgary, AB. It's great to see him on Raw for the first time since confirming his new WWE contract this summer, but this was his first win on the Main Roster since last November. Great for her, Lyra Valkyria and Zelina Vega, but this feels like a bad loss for Pure Fusion Collective.
On the surface, this is a harmless defeat for the hero who returns to his hometown. However, it doesn't help that Stark, Deville and Bayszler look like a credible threat as Damage CTRL and WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Bel Air and Jade Cargill.
- Bret Hart's last appearance on Monday Night Raw was on July 4, 2016.
- Making The Wyatt Sicks vs American Made feel like a PLE match with the opening montage is something to be left behind.
- Bret was proud of the fact that the American made ones came in when he entered the building.
- Gunther pulling out the Bill Goldberg card was one of the funniest moments on WWE TV this year.
- Bad Blood 2024 will be Finn Balor's first singles match at PLE since SummerSlam 2023.
- Natalya returned on June 3 in her first match on Raw after losing to Kiana James.
- Uso “YEET!” out of control.
- This is not a bird. Not a plane. This is Bronson Reed.
- Rey Mysterio has just one win since May.
- Joe Tessitore is a natural.