Raw recap & reaction: Somebody call Dom’s Mami (2024)

What’s Your Fantasy

This thing between Liv Morgan, Dirty Dom, and the Judgment Day is fantastic. And mostly because it’s playing off of something relatable while everyone involved knows exactly what they’re doing.

Liv, clearly relishing her new role, is doing the best work of her career. I’m not taking about in the ring, but just from a character standpoint. She has motivation besides “watch me” and is willing to do whatever if it justifies the ends. And right now, that means taking everything from Rhea Ripley, including Dom Dom.

Dom, for his dirty part, is doing a lot of protesting but not nearly enough action. He’s clearly tempted, and it doesn’t help that he and Rhea had some issues before she got injured. Liv’s attention clearly gives him something he’s missing now from Rhea and probably missed then. But the weirdest part of the whole thing? Liv is openly telling him that she wants him because it will get to Rhea! That alone would make any person with at least one working brain cell question this whole scenario, but not him.

And then there’s the Judgment Day. Finn Balor specifically interjected himself multiple times this week whenever Dom and Liv got a little too close for his comfort. Initially I took that as Finn policing this man’s life like he’s a child. And even the announce team framed Finn as Dom’s dad in those situations. But he’s actually being a solid guy trying to stop one of his friends from hurting another. Plus, it would totally destroy their group dynamic if Dom breaks Rhea’s heart and Rhea breaks Dom in half as a result. Their crew is in an impossible situation that I know I can relate to, and I wager many others can as well.

Liv took her words and actions a step further when she did this:

That’s a brilliant plot development that makes one wonder that maybe her intentions aren’t solely about revenge. Or she’s playing Dom like Eddie Van Halen on an electric guitar.

There's so much character development and plot machinations here that are simple, like Dom trying his hardest not to smile at Liv laying hands on him, and it all adds up. Of course, the ultimate crescendo comes when Rhea comes back. And there’s no doubt that’s the payoff to all of this. She’s not just coming back for her title or for revenge on the woman who took her out; now it’s about something even more personal.

That Dom can’t see that while his friends clearly do says so much about him, and possibly even more about Liv. It’s foul, dirty, and beautiful. Oh and when Raw ended, there’s one member of the crew missing: Dom. Like I said, subtle but says a lot.

B-Sides

Ain’t That a B*tch

Before I get to this, I went with the song title because of one person: Pat McAfee. For those who missed it, Pat called Caitlin Clark a, “white b*tch” and caused a little ruckus. He apologized although he says he meant no harm and meant it as a positive. Geno and I wondered if he’d use the phrase on Raw, and sure enough, he called Braun a “big, white b*tch!” That’s the most passive aggressive move I’ve seen in quite some time, but I give him props for never missing an opportunity to show his pettiness.

But I digress.

This is part of Judgment Day’s night. The story revolves around them reestablishing dominance, with Finn taking on Dragon Lee, and building to Damian Priest vs. Rey Mysterio. Thoughtful storytelling through construction is something I always appreciate. It sounds like a low-to-middle bar, but it’s not always done in professional wrestling entertainment.

This was a great back and forth between two guys with complementing styles, but it came down to that dreaded numbers game. Dragon, as fly as he is, is just one man; so dealing with JD McDonagh and Pledge Carlito proved too much for him. Finn got the W but the ending segued into an old problem who refuses to go away: Braun. This works for Braun in the simplest sense that he’s against bullies, and enjoys beating up on JD. Who doesn’t? The plot thickened when Braun chased Judgment Day away, stood tall with Dragon & Rey, and the World Heavyweight champ ordered Carlito to handle the Braun problem.

Now.

LL Cool J

He didn’t.

At least not one-on-one. Braun manhandled Carlito, but opened himself up to hellacious beatdown from Judgment Day. Complete with multiple chair shots to his knees. But not before swatting a chair. Yes, he swatted a chair away like it was a fly at a cookout. And I elaborated on the rest of what happened earlier, so you already know what went down.

Bad Dog No Biscuits

A few things on Bron Breakker vs. Ricochet:

I love the friendship developing between Ricochet and Ilja Dragunov. It’s organic and forged through combat. Their mutual respect for one another is blossoming into something else. That’s the stuff of a good buddy cop flick.

Part of what makes Bron so talented is his selling ability. Yes, he’s incredibly fast, agile, and built like a tank, but he makes his opponents look good. Even when said opponents have busted ribs like Ricochet did during this match.

The match lasted longer than I imagined, considering those ribs. But it also gave us moments where Bron glared at Samantha Irvin every chance he got just to rub salt in the wound. Those are the heel tendencies he developed in NXT that he didn’t have when he first made waves during the brand’s 2.0 days.

Bron finished off Ricochet with a spear, and the post match drama involved a stand off between WWE officials and the former NXT champ. He threatened Ricochet with steel steps because, of course he did, and only relented when Ilja showed up. By relented, I mean he threw the steps at Ilja’s head. That furthered Ilja & Ricochet’s friendship and added another layer to a long feud between Bron & Ilja. Will Ilja step in for his injured friend and defend his honor? Will Ricochet’s pride even allow for such a thing? Bron doesn’t care since he wants both of them dead and promised Adam Pearce to make his life hell on earth for that King of the Ring snub. I loved all of this action and want more of it.

STOP

That’s what happened during this impromptu tag team championship match between Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill and Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark. I wondered why they booked this match out of the blue, but that became clear when the match stopped in its tracks.

Before getting to that, the match itself didn’t do much for me. It didn’t disappoint, but it never exceeded expectations either. The most interesting part was the camera angle used towards the end. It was the equivalent of one take; it followed the action continuously, both in and out the ring. Really appreciated that touch.

As for the big story coming out of the match? Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn interrupted the match when it looked like Bianca & Jade had the win in their hands. They, along with Shayna & Zoey, assaulted the champs. I was actually surprised Zoey & Shayna took that interference so well. While Zoey didn’t get pinned, it’s hard seeing how they get another shot at the championships, even with wrestling logic. I’m sure someone will find a way to make it happen, but I’d prefer the challengers show a little anger at the team who possibly cost them their only shot at the tag titles. Especially since, later on, we found out just how little respect Isla & Alba have for the once and possibly still number one contenders.

Singles

• Is New Day about to break up? It feels weird typing that, but Karrion Kross distracted Kofi Kingston during the New Day’s tag match against AOP, which meant Kofi wasn’t there when Xavier went for a tag. That led to AOP squashing the former King of the Ring in the middle of the ring.
• Kiana James made pretty quick work of Natalya in her Raw debut. Based on Nattie’s backstage reaction to the loss, something is brewing with her right now.
• Otis still didn’t do the right thing this week. He had every opportunity to snuff Chad Gable but he chose not to. Instead, he turned his ire to Sami Zayn, yet again. I’m still onboard but I do hope they don’t drag this out for too long.