Mami was back and things became 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 has happened since she was put on the sidelines by Morgan the night after WrestleMania XL.

What went down, what did the former women's world champ have to say when she took center stage on USA Network?

Find out with this recap of a show that continued the road to SummerSlam and featured the latest face-to-face showdown between world heavyweight champion Damian Priest and Gunther.

Match Card

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 address to the WWE Universe
  
• Priest vs. Braun Strowman

Rhea Ripley Kicked Off Raw

Rhea Ripley kicked off the night's show by making her way to the squared circle amid an enormous pop and almost immediately found herself interrupted by Dominik Mysterio.

Before the meek and timid villain could plead his case for forgiveness from his Mami, women's world champion Liv Morgan appeared on the video screen.

Doing her best to taunt Ripley, all Morgan did was further infuriate her, leading to Ripley issuing a challenge for a match at SummerSlam.

Morgan surprisingly accepted, admitting she wasn't going to run.

The segment ended with Ripley vowing to end Morgan's career before thwarting any attempt by Mysterio to smooth things over.

This was a great start to the show that highlighted the top storyline on Monday nights, put Ripley front and center, and continued to build tension between Mami and Dom Dom as questions about their relationship ran wild.

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Michael Cole revealed on commentary that Ripley's return last week garnered 50 million views across social media.
• Mysterio, looking like a young Eddie Guerrero, paid homage to one of his idols by calling Ripley "Mamacita" on 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.

Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed

The product of a backstage confrontation last week, and an ensuing brawl, Sheamus squared off with "Big" Bronson Reed to kick off the in-ring portion of this evening's broadcast.

A hard-hitting, physical war between The Celtic Warrior and the Aussie concluded with Sheamus blasting Reed with a knee strike for the pinfall victory.

It did not end there, though. After the match, Pete Dunne launched himself from out of nowhere to thwart a Reed sneak attack. Following a brief, tense encounter with his former Brawling Brutes teammate, The Bruiserweight attacked Sheamus from behind.

Reed took advantage and stood tall to close things out.

The match was strong, as should be expected from Sheamus and Reed at this point, and there is considerable intrigue in the story the former and Dunne are telling right now. A second, consecutive strong segment.

Result

Sheamus defeated Reed

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Sheamus debuted a new entrance song, an odd choice given the fan enthusiasm 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 stupendous!" Pat McAfee said on commentary.
• Will Reed ever win one of these matches against top-level talent? It feels like we have seen this story play out way too often, with no upward momentum to speak of for the big man.
• Backstage, Ripley thanked Damian Priest for holding things down with Judgment Day in her absence and, when Mysterio asked for a moment, caught another verbal beatdown from Mami.

Zelina Vega vs. Sonya Deville

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

A short-lived contest saw Deville overwhelm Vega and score the win with her new finisher, Deville's Advocate.

After the match, the victor and new associates Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler teased a beatdown before Kayden Carter and Katana Chance made the save, kicking off another random trios feud involving the former tag team champions.

This was an unnecessary squash loss for Vega, who was undoubtedly the most over performer in this ordeal. Beating her felt counterproductive when literally anyone else could have been put in this position.

Result

Deville defeated Vega

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, intercontinental champion Sami Zayn told Ila Dragunov that he has a title shot tonight because he earned it, not because he stood up for him against Bron Breakker.
• Gunther was the subject of a great promo video in which he told his story and hyped his upcoming world title match against Priest.

Damian Priest and Gunther Go Face-to-Face

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

Monday's face-to-face between world heavyweight champion Damian Priest and King of the Ring Gunther introduced the idea of The Ring General as the privileged competitor while painting The Archer of Infamy as someone who fought from the streets to the top of professional wrestling.

It is a story that can be incredibly effective in the right scenario but feels as though it was shoehorned into this program unnecessarily. The crowd ate it up and gave the first indication that fans are willing to accept Priest as a babyface and maybe, that alone will prove it was the right direction to take.

Until that is the case, this still feels like an unneeded addition to a story that told itself based on what we had already seen to this point.

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, Chad Gable told general manager Adam Pearce he will call out Bo Dallas later tonight.
• "Your reign has been nothing. No prestige. No contributions," Gunther criticized Priest's run as champion.
• "I want to lift that weight off your shoulders, spare you that embarrassment at SummerSlam. Just hand me the title," Gunther suggested.
• "For someone who claims to have so much clarity, it amazes me that you can't see what's going to come right at you," Priest said.

Braun Strowman vs. Damian Priest

The rivalry between Braun Strowman and The Judgment Day wrote its latest chapter Monday as The Monster Among Men squared off with world champion Priest.

El Campeon weathered the early storm that is Strowman's furious onslaught, capitalized on an injured knee, and drove him to the mat with South of Heaven for the clean victory.

Strowman is perpetually over with audiences so to hear the fans in Dayton erupt for Priest's win is a promising development for the world champion as he prepares for one of the more 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 feels like a positive first step and one both he and the creative team can build on.

Result

Priest pinned Strowman

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Strowman hit the barricade before the break and sold a knee injury, setting up the second half of the contest.
• Priest pinning Strowman clean was essential to the success of this segment. He proved he can win by himself, something he has struggled to prove he could do since capturing the world title.

Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler

Less than an hour after Chance and Carter came to the aid of Vega following her loss to Deville, the fun-loving duo battled 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 sparked a babyface comeback for the former tag champions.

Deville attempted a distraction but Lyra Valkyria pulled her off the apron, only to eat a big boot to the face from Stark.

Action broke down and the heels scored the victory as the newly formed trio continued to build momentum.

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

Result

Stark and Baszler defeated Chance and Carter

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, Chad Gable unsuccessfully attempted to get his former Alpha Academy teammates back on his side, all while the Rambling Rabbit puppet watched from the background. 
• Also backstage, Mysterio told Ripley that he had gotten a match made against Jey Uso after a confrontation between them earlier in the show. He further dug himself a hole, though, as Ripley continued to brush him off.

Adam Pearce and Drew McIntyre's Heart to Heart; Latest from Wyatt Sicks

All Drew McIntyre had to do to have his suspension revoked by Raw general manager Adam Pearce was apologize for hurting two WWE referees.

Instead, he refused and the suspension remained intact.

An infuriated Scottish Warrior shoved the same two referees, then threatened Pearce before Seth "Freakin" Rollins made the save, clearing McIntyre out of the ring and standing tall before joining the commentary team for a little post-save celebration.

This felt like a placeholder segment in that it did not progress anything in any meaningful way. Things stood exactly as they were before it and one would assume that next week will see the suspension officially lifted and the match between Punk and McIntyre officially announced.

That is unless Punk is not medically cleared and Rollins gets that spot instead.

Next, we saw the latest from The Wyatt Sicks in the form of another VHS, this time featuring Erick Rowan.

The big man expressed raw emotion as he discussed the loss of brothers Brodie Lee and Bray Wyatt, without naming them, and promised that the Wyatt Sicks would use their broken hearts to create "beautiful art."

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Cole noted that McIntyre was all smiles, something he would not have guessed entering the night.
• Chants of "say you're sorry" rained down from the stands in McIntyre's direction. That's a new one.
• McIntyre made a great point about referees and officials putting their hands on him and trying to restrain him while Punk has been allowed to sit on top of tables and taunt him.

Jey Uso vs. Dominik Mysterio

Earlier in the night, Jey Uso asked if Ripley was single because he wanted to shoot his shot. Instead, he incurred the wrath of Dominik Mysterio, who got this match made.

Dom Dom was as focused and intent as ever, looking to send a clear message to Ripley. As Uso fought back and rolled late, he scaled the ropes for the Uso Splash, only for Morgan to appear and pull Mysterio out of harm's way.

Hijinx ensued, with Mysterio and Morgan ending up on top of each other until Ripley made her presence felt for the second time tonight. Morgan scurried, Mysterio returned to the ring, and Uso put him away to secure the win to the dismay of the unhappy couple.

It is both wild and refreshing to see two women involved at the heart of the most prominent storyline on Raw. Like the story or not, it is damn refreshing to see Riley and Morgan's stars shining bright on the flagship show and more importantly, on the grand stage that is SummerSlam.

Result

Uso pinned Mysterio

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Morgan mouthing "oh s**t" as Ripley made her way to the ring is not only a great visual, but it also puts over the threat of Mami's wrath.
• The Guerrero-Chyna vibes of this Mysterio-Ripley story at this point are real.
• What awaits Uso at SummerSlam? Surely he will not be left off the card when he is so clearly one of the most popular guys in the company. It still feels like he is weeks away from being reintroduced to the Bloodline story.

Chad Gable Calls Out Bo Dallas

Having deduced that Bo Dallas is, in fact, Uncle Howdy, Chad Gable took to the squared circle to call out the third-generation Superstar.

Dallas obliged and immediately fell prey to a sneak attack by The Creed Brothers, who joined Gable in a three-on-one assault. Dallas laughed it off and eventually, the arena darkened and The Wyatt Sicks made their way to the ring.

The heels bailed as the masked followers surrounded their maniacally laughing leader.

The signs appear to be pointing at a six-man tag for SummerSlam, with some trio of Wyatt Sicks competitors battling Gable and the Creeds. There is an argument to be made against sacrificing the heels to the masked newcomers, but they will lose nothing in defeat against a seemingly unbeatable force.

More importantly, Gable and The Creeds give the Wyatts the most likely chance of a quality match in their first outing, something that is essential to the success of the faction.

This was a quality segment otherwise that reintroduced Dallas and gave fans a glimpse of just how difficult it will be to drive the fight out of him.

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Gable believing he is somehow a super sleuth who figured out who Uncle Howdy is, as if we have not watched three weeks of video tapes revealing as much, was hilarious.

Intercontinental Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov

Intercontinental champion Sami Zayn and Ilja Dragunov were well on their way to a potentially classic main event when Bron Breakker struck, bringing their physical battle to an unsatisfactory disqualification conclusion before standing tall to close out the show.

Breakker had claimed he would take out both men and he did that. In the process, he created a scenario where Zayn may ultimately be forced into defending his IC title against both men at SummerSlam.

If that is the case, there are far worse ways to work all three guys onto the card and beyond that, the match would be damn good, too. Especially if this one was any indication.

Zayn and Dragunov beat the hell out of each other and really earned a better finish but given the story at play, this was the one that made the most sense and gets the story to where it appears it is going.

Result

Dragunov def. Zayn via disqualification

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Dragunov is one of the most physical wrestlers on TV right now, regardless of the company. His matches are almost always the hardest-hitting of any on the show and this was no different. 
• "Where does he get this energy from?" McAfee wondered aloud as Draguno mounted continued his relentless battle.
• Zayn delivered a Helluva Kick but Dragunov fell to the floor, preventing a pin. 

Overall Grade: B

The push to SummerSlam on August 3 is in full blast, with Triple H and the WWE creative team putting the pieces in place for that show's top matches and rivalries.

Ripley's return brought with it a huge focus on her rivalry with Morgan and their impending match at the PLE and her relationship with Mysterio. That will appeal to many and irritate some, but it is clearly the creative focus of the show right now.

We had the intensification of Priest and Gunther's feud, what looked like it may be a creative pivot into Rollins vs. McIntyre, and a spotlight on the IC title program.

There is a clear focus, which makes these three-hour episodes of Raw much easier to ist through than they were as late as two years ago.

Not everything was perfect, and there are still occasionally pacing issues, but this flagship show is so much more enjoyable to watch than it was under the previous regime.