The Liv Morgan Revenge Tour continued Monday night on WWE Raw as the women's world champion defended against Zelina Vega, all while intensifying her advances toward Dominik Mysterio of The Judgment Day.

Mysterio found himself pulling double duty, too, as he both fended off the reigning champion and battled his father, Rey, in a WrestleMania 39 rematch.

Elsewhere, the final two combatants in Saturday's Money in the Bank ladder matches were determined in two high-stakes Triple Threat contests.

On the penultimate stop on the road to the weekend's premium live event, find out who cashed their tickets to the high-stakes ladder matches, which Superstars have momentum on their side, and what went down in the latest drama between Morgan and "Daddy Dom" with this recap of the first episode of July 2024.

Match Card

Announced in advance for Monday:

• Women's World Championship: Zelina Vega vs. Liv Morgan (c)
• Money in the Bank qualifying match: Sheamus vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Drew McIntyre
• Money in the Bank qualifying match: Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai vs. Ivy Nile
• Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
  

Jey Uso Kicks Off The Night, Chad Gable Interrupts, The Wyatt Sicks Haunted

Jey Uso opened Monday's show, entering the TD Waterhouse Garden through an adoring audience and immediately discussing this Saturday's Money in the Bank match.

He vowed to leave Toronto with the coveted briefcase, which brought out Chad Gable.

The two exchanged words, with the Olympian looking to shift the attention of The Wyatt Sicks from himself to Uso.

It didn't work.

After a brief physical exchange in which Uso got the best Gable, the former leader of Alpha Academy found himself again having to dodge the newcomers.

He escaped through the crowd, only to be haunted by the shadows of the ominous faction. He then took off through the stands. At the same time, Abby The Witch (the yet-to-be-revealed Nikki Cross) presented Michael Cole with another box, presumably containing another videotape.

This was a great segment to kick off the show. It focused on the ladder match, teased a potential rivalry in Uso and Gable, and it gave us the latest from The Wyatt Sicks.

A big thumbs up.

Grade

A

Top Takeaways

• Gable reminded fans that Uso "took" the fireflies and abandoned his family, two things that should have made him the target of the Wyatts.
• "I told them they could have the fireflies. I'll take the mosquitos or the cockroaches. I'm not trying to end up like your ass," Uso told Gable.
• Uso remains incredibly over with fans, as evidenced by the deafening pop for his entrance.

Xavier Woods vs. Karrion Kross

After weeks of attempting to lure Xavier Woods away from his New Day tag team partner, Kofi Kingston, Karrion Kross battled the Up Up, Down Down host in the night's opening contest.

Kross utilized his strength advantage to dominate the majority of the bout and caught Woods mid-flight with a forearm.

The babyface recovered and caught Kross with a roll-up for the win.

After the match, Kross and The Final Testament beat down Woods and Kingston, leaving them lying to close out the segment.

The match was solid enough, and the post-match attack was executed well, but this still feels like a program struggling to capture the attention of the fans.

Kross and Co. are not connecting with the WWE Universe, and part of that may have to do with the fact that the group is still largely undefined.

Who are they, why are they a thing and what is their endgame?

Those are questions that need to be addressed sooner rather than later if there is any chance of salvaging a faction that probably should be further along than it is.

Result

Woods defeated Kross

Grade

C+

Top Takeaways

• The commentary team openly questioning Woods' accomplishments as a singles star and suggesting he is only successful as a tag team competitor, does not say much about the King of the Ring tournament WWE just held to determine a No. 1 contender to the world title.
• Backstage, the issues between The Judgment Day continued as Damian Priest caught Dominik Mysterio lying about talking to Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan was in the faction's lair, and Finn Bálor took exception to the world champion's comments a week ago. The best part about this story right now? It all makes sense based on what we have seen to this point.

Women's World Championship: Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega

Liv Morgan narrowly escaped her match with Zelina Vega with her Women's World Championship intact, thanks to inadvertent interference from Dominik Mysterio.

Late in the match, the heel found himself shoved to the floor by his father, Rey. Morgan defended him, taking the Hall of Famer out with a baseball slide.

Vega capitalized on the distraction, delivering a 619 and tornado DDT for a staggering near-fall.

Her refusal to use a steel chair introduced by Dom allowed Morgan to take advantage of the situation and deliver ObLIVion for the pinfall victory and successful title defense.

The creative played on Morgan's victory over Becky Lynch, in which she also benefited from a steel-chair mishap courtesy of Dom. It was a clever way to book more of the same without settling into repetitiveness.

It also highlighted Vega as a legitimate contender for championship gold. Her screen time is nowhere near adequate for someone with the talent she has.

And it put more heat on Rey vs. Dom for later in the night, a legitimate main event rematch of their WrestleMania 39 clash, with ongoing storyline implications.

Another strong segment as Raw continues to fire on all cylinders.

Result

Morgan defeated Vega to retain her title

Grade

B

Top Takeaways

• It is going to be difficult to sustain Morgan as a heel as things stand. She is already being greeted with big star reactions.
• Morgan stole Rhea Ripley's Prism Lock, continuing her quest to take everything from The Eradicator.
• "Dom's less Eddie Guerrero these days and more 'American Love Machine' Art Barr," Corey Graves said on commentary, a reference to the great Los Gringos Locos tag team.

The Judgment Day's Issues Interrupt Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins made his way to the ring to discuss Saturday's World Heavyweight Championship match with Damian Priest, in which a loss would result in him being unable to challenge for the title again.

Before he could lay out what it would mean for him, including a look inside at the man he is, Finn Bálor interrupted. Damian Priest followed, and chaos reigned.

The heels laid out The Visionary, and despite clear dissension within the ranks, made their way to the back to close out the segment.

There is a real power struggle between Priest and Bálor, one that could well end with the Irishman betraying his friend and former tag team partner, leading to a brand-new incarnation of The Judgment Day.

That it is difficult to foresee Priest leaving the group right now, and Rollins never challenging for the world title again, means the outcome Saturday night is anything but obvious and that is an exciting thing for the WWE Universe.

Grade

B

Top Takeaways

• Bálor is starting to stand up, speak out and have a mind for his own again. Interesting. And don't forget how many times he has coincidentally been linked to Morgan at this point. Is he plotting a coup?
  
• The graphics in Rollins' new video and graphics loses the "Freakin" part of his name. Now if we could just get the commentary team to drop it, that would be great.
• Priest reiterated that the world title match with Rollins is his business, and no one is going to interfere with it. Look for that to play a role in the outcome at Money in the Bank. 

Money in the Bank Qualifier: Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai vs. Ivy Nile

Zoey Stark is headed to Money in the Bank following her victory over Dakota Kai and Ivy Nile in Monday's qualifying match.

The action was solid and highlighted Kai, who saw her dreams of advancing to the ladder match dashed as women's tag team champions The Unholy Union (Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre) attacked Kairi Sane at ringside, providing a distraction that allowed Stark to capitalize and score the victory.

Stark winning almost guarantees a feat of athleticism Saturday night, which is always welcome, but it would be nice to see the creative team do more with the talented competitor, who has not reached the level expected when she partnered with Trish Stratus a year ago.

Result

Stark defeated Kai and Nile

Grade

C

Top Takeaways

• Can we please get some character development or mic time for Fyre and Dawn? They won the titles at Clash at the Castle in Scotland but have had no follow-up to speak of outside of an attack at the hands of Damage CTRL. It would go a long way in convincing fans to care about them.

There You Are...

In the latest video tape featuring Uncle Howdy and Bo Dallas, fans were treated to the reveal that the latter was talking to himself the entire time.

"We're the ones everyone wanted to forget about. We made them notice us," Dallas said when asked if he thinks he is special, to which he responded that to believe he is special is to suggest there are those who deserve to be forgotten.

"There you are," Howdy said in response, realizing he had exposed the real Dallas to the world.

The video became grainy and warped at times, as it was revealed that Dallas and Howdy are one and the same.

We already knew that, but the manner in which it was executed was compelling, and any doubts about Dallas' ability to carry this act should be erased at this point.

Of interest was Dallas mentioning "false prophets belittling their family."

While he likely meant Gable and Alpha Academy, that could also suggest Dominik Mysterio will eventually grab their attention and perhaps even Solo Sikoa and the reinvigorated Bloodline.

This is character with depth and backstory the likes of which we haven't seen often. Its continued unveiling makes for must-see television.

Grade: A

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

The best family rivalry in the business wrote its latest chapter Monday when Rey Mysterio bested his son, Dominik, thanks to incessant interference from Liv Morgan and Zelina Vega.

The match, much like Morgan's earlier in the show, played on a memorable spot between the champion and Dom. This one saw Mysterio land on top of Morgan, as she had him a few weeks back.

From there, Vega took the fight to Morgan and back inside, Rey delivered the West Coast Pop for the win, leaving Morgan to implore Dominik not to be mad at her.

"I'll make it better," she said to the fuming second-generation star.

This worked, so much so that it feels a mixed tag match for Money in the Bank should not be out of the question. It feels like a perfect time to go that route based on what we saw Monday night.

Result

Rey Mysterio defeated Dominik Mysterio

Grade

B

Top Takeaways

• Even compared to last year's WrestleMania, Dominik has grown and evolved as a performer so much. His character work, in particular, has been superb.
• The idea Rey is out here having these matches every week, against guys who are his son and those young enough to be, is a testament to his excellence. He is in the GOAT conversation, right alongside Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Bryan Danielson, Terry Funk and Eddie Guerrero.

Bron Breakker Interrupts Sami Zayn Promo

Sami Zayn will defend the Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker at Money in the Bank.

But before he faced the toughest challenge of his reign to date, The Underdog from the Underground found himself face-to-face with the most unstoppable force in WWE today.

After suggesting Breakker has not done his homework if he does not know Zayn and what he has accomplished, the IC champion found himself on the receiving end of a brutal Spear.

As Breakker sprinted around the squared circle for another attempt, Zayn leapfrogged him and he crashed into the steel steps.

The explosive heel rebounded and ended Zayn's night with a second Spear before standing tall to close out the segment.

This was short but highlighted the threat Zayn faces in Toronto. Breakker is a force, has made fools of anyone who dares step to him and will do the same to the IC champ if necessary.

Grade

A

Top Takeaways

• The speed with which Breakker hit those steel steps was astonishing. There is no way it did not hurt badly. Thankfully, he has shoulder muscles on top of shoulder muscles, so he absorbed it in a way others would not have.

Money in the Bank Qualifier: Sheamus vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Drew McIntyre

From the moment it was announced that Sheamus, Drew McIntyre and Ilja Dragunov would battle for the right to fill the final spot in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, we knew we were in store for a physical war of attrition between three of the hardest hitters in WWE.

They did not disappoint.

The three competitors beat the life out of each other, testing both their will to win and desire to advance to a potentially career-altering opportunity.

The match progressed nicely until McIntyre dropped Dragunov to the floor, then teed off with Sheamus. Stunned by a jumping knee, he still managed to shake it off and flatten The Celtic Warrior with a Claymore for the pinfall victory.

McIntyre now heads to Money in the Bank, where he vows to win the titular match and leave as world champion.

Whether he does, and if CM Punk makes his presence felt, remains to be seen.

Result

McIntyre defeated Sheamus and Dragunov

Grade

A

Top Takeaways

• It would be great if cable and broadcast TV networks would stop censoring everything, all the time. The result is an almost impossible-to-watch show, with audio dropping out or screens going black momentarily. Case in point, the "holy s--t" chants from the crowd in Boston.
• Dragunov continues to have these opportunities to share the ring with top-tier stars such as Jey Uso, Sheamus and McIntyre. It says a ton about management's views on him and where they see him going one day. He was well protected in defeat here.

Final Grade

This was another strong episode of Raw, featuring the continuation to top stories, high-stakes Triple Threat matches, a banger of a main event and the captivating latest from The Wyatt Sicks.

With a premium live event up next up on Saturday at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Triple H never sacrificed what he has going on across the brand in the name of hyping the show. He stayed the course and told the stories, and the result was quality broadcast.

How this weekend's PLE affects the red brand moving forward remains to be seen, but Raw is low-key developing back into a strong entry in WWE's television portfolio after years of being a bloated, overly long show.

Grade: B+