On the road to Bad Blood on October 5, WWE Raw rolled into the Toyota Center in Ontario, California, with a main event pitting Jey Uso against Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Championship.

The title match headlined a broadcast that also featured the latest in Sami Zayn's pursuit of the World Heavyweight Championship held by Gunther, Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest's attempted revenge on The Judgment Day, and Drew McIntyre's response to CM Punk's words from a week ago.

What went down, who emerged with momentum on their side and how did each segment grade out?

Find out with this recap, including an analysis of each major match and development from Monday's show.

Match Card

Announced in advance for Monday's episode were:

• Intercontinental Championship: Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker
• Sami Zayn vs. Ludwig Kaiser
• Drew McIntyre promo

Ante Upped for Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan at Bad Blood

Women's world champion Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio kicked off Monday's show with a victory lap to celebrate the former's revenge tour going according to plan.

Rhea Ripley interrupted and had two important announcements to make.

Firstly, she is cleared to compete following a knee injury suffered a few weeks back. Secondly, Mysterio will not be able to interfere on behalf of Morgan at Bad Blood in Atlanta because he will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage.

The Eradicator rocked Morgan with a headbutt, knocking her to the floor and leaving Mysterio to check on her.

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• As Mysterio and Morgan entered the arena, Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed crashed through an oddly placed merch stand, continuing their brawl from a week ago.

• It was nice to see Morgan take center stage and get the individual promo time after fading into the rest of The Judgment Day in recent weeks. She had been too strong a heel not to be featured ahead of SummerSlam and Bash in Berlin.
• "I'm gonna beat you, not because I'm bigger than you, stronger than you; I'm going to beat you because I'm smarter than you," Morgan said. Foreshadowing, thy name is Liv. 
• This was a strong promo to start the show that focused on Ripley and Morgan's unsettled differences after shifting the focus to the overarching war between The Judgment Day and Terror Twins. 

Sami Zayn vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Sami Zayn continued his pursuit of the World Heavyweight Championship in the night's opening contest, besting Ludwig Kaiser in a stellar matchup.

Kaiser cut Zayn off at every turn, putting him on the defensive and exhausting his energy. Every time the babyface attempted a comeback, the right-hand man of the world champ cut him down.

However, the resilient Zayn caught Kaiser with a German suplex and delivered the Helluva Kick for the win.

After the match, Gunther emerged from the locker room, teased awarding his rival a title opportunity and then denied him again, much to Zayn's dismay.

Result

Zayn defeated Kaiser

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Kaiser is one of the most intriguing wrestlers on the WWE roster. He has the presence and in-ring ability to be a top-tier talent, but it feels like he has to break away from Gunther to make that happen eventually.
• Analyst Wade Barrett linked the crowd's reaction to Zayn's ability to fight back from anything. They love him, and he feeds off of it, using their cheers to fuel him. Great stuff from the color commentator.

• The backstage segment featuring Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods and American Alpha, which included Kingston clinging to the past to win his partner over and reinvigorate their team, was great stuff. It's about time The New Day felt important on this show again, and Woods' story has been as good as any. 

Dragon Lee vs. Carlito

Morgan rallied the troops ahead of Carlito's match against Dragon Lee, reminding him, JD McDonagh and Mysterio that the LWO tried to cost The Judgment Day the WWE World Tag Team Championship a week ago.

It worked momentarily, with McDonagh and Mysterio laying out Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde at ringside, providing a momentary distraction that should have given Carlito the advantage against his opponent.

Instead, Rey Mysterio flew from out of nowhere to lay out the heels at ringside while Lee dodged a sneak attack by his opponent.

Lee downed Carlito and scored the pinfall victory seconds later, giving the LWO a key victory in their side program with The Judgment Day.

Result

Lee pinned Carlito

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• There was not much to this one, with most meaningful action taking place around the squared circle. Lee picked up a win, which is always welcome given his immense talent, but LWO feels like a faction that is stuck on a booking treadmill with no real direction, which is more of an indictment on the creative process than anything.

• Karrion Kross continued his attempts to drag the monster out of The Miz, which is intriguing but considering we never really got a payoff to his story with Woods (at least, as of yet), one has to wonder what the endgame here is other than to present the former NXT champion as a master manipulator who never wins. 

The Miz vs. Bronson Reed...Or Not

The match between The Miz and Bronson Reed never got started as Braun Strowman attacked, resuming his ongoing rivalry with the Australian.

They brawled around ringside, leveling security and standing tall to close out the segment while play-by-play commentator Joe Tessitore noted: "Miz is nowhere to be found."

Result

No match

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The Miz being overshadowed and discounted because Strowman and Reed had unfinished business stayed in line with his story. At the same time, Tessitore's noting that he was nowhere to be found suggests there is still a bit of that old cowardly heel Miz running through his veins.
• The Strowman-Reed program has been outstanding. Triple H found a way to take two super-heavyweights here in 2024, in an era where fans prefer faster, quicker and more athletic, and make them as relevant as they have been in years by letting them beat the life out of each other. 

Drew McIntyre Responds to CM Punk

Drew McIntyre hit the ring to respond to CM Punk's words of warning from a week ago.

Like Punk, he spoke clearly and directly, promising to punish his rival unlike he has ever punished anyone before, despite the fact that neither of their families want them to set foot inside Hell in a Cell.

He vowed to break Punk permanently in Atlanta on October 5 to wrap up his promo.

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• "I promise, I am going to make you bleed. A lot," The Scottish Warrior warned Punk.
• "It's appropriate you compared yourself to the devil again last week because this has always been about good vs. evil, hasn't it?" McIntyre was great here, echoing the common theme of his argument against Punk throughout this program: He is bad for the business and the locker room and the Scot wants him out of WWE.
• Backstage, Raw general manager Adam Pearce told interviewer Jackie Redmond that Strowman and Reed will meet next week in a Last Monster Standing match. From there, Pearce interrupted a beatdown by Pete Dunne to Sheamus that concluded with a vicious shot from a cricket bat. 

Damage CTRL vs. Unholy Union

Moments after a backstage confrontation with women's tag team champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, Damage CTRL's Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane inched closer to a title opportunity with a victory over former holders Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre.

A good, lengthy, action-packed match saw the heels isolate Sane and work over the wounded left eye of The Pirate Princess that she injured when she smacked her face off the announce table a few weeks earlier.

Sane fought through the pain and punishment, tagged Sky into the match, and The Genius of the Sky sparked the babyface comeback.

After Sane wiped Fyre out with an In-Sane Elbow on the floor, Sky delivered a picture-perfect Over the Moonsault to Dawn for the victory.

Result

Damage CTRL defeated Unholy Union

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Belair and Cargill were the same confident champions they have always been, but the fans' reaction to Sane and Sky here was overwhelmingly positive, which begs the question: Would the crowd turn on the champions and root for the prospective challengers?
• More importantly, which team works babyface? 
• The work Fyre and Dawn have put in during this run has been underrated. They have been valuable assets to the women's division as central heels for popular babyfaces to combat. Their ring work has been solid, even if the creative has left a lot to be desired.

The New Day vs. American Made

Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were moments away from winning a match against American Made that could have reversed the fortunes of The New Day.

Instead, Woods let his emotions get the best of him and the team dropped yet another contest, this time to Julius and Brutus Creed.

The heels isolated Woods for most of the match until a hot tag to Kingston sparked the comeback. Late, with Brutus down at ringside following a somersault plancha from the former WWE champion, Woods set his sights on finishing Julius with his top-rope elbow drop.

Instead, Chad Gable interjected himself in the match.

Woods unleashed weeks of frustration on the Olympian, bringing him into the ring and unloading on him. Julius recovered, hit a jumping knee and Brutus finished him with a Brutus Ball for the win.

Result

American Made defeated The New Day

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• This was a strong match between two great teams. The chemistry was off the charts and while it was necessary for the story at play, a straightforward match with a clean finish would have enhanced this even more. 
• Tessitore correctly called out Woods for talking about composure earlier in the show, only to lose his cool and the match.
• Backstage, a frustrated Woods disrespected Rey Mysterio and LWO, claiming the Hall of Famer doesn't have time for him because he isn't a former world champion like Finn Bálor. They agreed to Woods vs. Mysterio on next week's show while Kingston tried to talk sense into his partner.

• WWE produced an excellent video package highlighting the Bálor-Damian Priest feud that will culminate in a match at Bad Blood. 

Intercontinental Championship: Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker

The seventh time was the charm for Jey Uso, who erased the disappointment and frustration of his six previous failures to collect singles gold by defeating Bron Breakker and winning the Intercontinental Championship in the main event of Raw.

It was not easy, though.

Uso absorbed tremendous punishment from Breakker, who likely could have ended his opponent's Cinderella story any time he wanted but allowed his arrogance and hubris to cost him.

In the closing moments of the match, he attempted the super spear around the ringside area, only to catch a superkick from Uso.

A near-fall deflated the audience until the challenger Yeeted Breakker with a Spear through the timekeeper guardrail, another back in the squared circle, and one last Uso Splash for the pinfall and the title.

Result

Uso defeated Breakker to win the Intercontinental Championship

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• So much was made of Uso's failure to win singles gold in his previous six matches that it was too obvious he would win here, while also too obvious that they would swerve the audience and rob the fans in Ontario of the title change. Good on WWE for delivering the happy ending.
• "Bron Breakker can do what your favorite heavyweight can do and, simultaneously, he can do what your favorite cruiserweight can do," Wade Barrett said after the champion delivered a top-rope Frankensteiner.
• The crowd erupted for Uso's victory, a testament to everything he has done to establish himself as a singles star beyond The Bloodline.

Overall Grade

So much hype and anticipation went into Uso vs. Breakker that the main event of Monday's show would ultimately decide how the episode was received.

The match started slower but picked up, delivering a flurry late and the outcome fans demanded and deserved. Their support of Uso has been unwavering since he jumped into singles action, and his win over Breakker was the only outcome.

The match felt like a big deal, a premium live event-worthy showdown that WWE properly hyped and sold on commentary by Tessitore and Barrett.

The rest of the show was strong, too. More focused, even.

Triple H and Co. eased off of The Judgment Day, thus preventing overexposure, while shining a spotlight on Woods, Kingston and what looks to be a cracking New Day. The latest in that feud, the strong match between Zayn and Kaiser and denial of a championship opportunity by Gunther, all furthered ongoing stories.

Throw in the latest from Strowman and Reed ahead of next week's Last Monster Standing match, a tease for the returning Viking Raiders and a haunting new QR code from the Wyatt Sicks, and you had a show that maximized its three-hour run time and set the stage for future episodes.

A great effort.

Grade: B+