5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (22 July - Results & Review)

2. All-Out War Ends With Man Down

Bron Breakker versus Ilja Dragunov promised to be a vicious, hard-hitting battle between two of the more violent, physical wrestlers on Raw, and they didn’t disappoint.

Both men threw haymakers at each other from the beginning, just punching, kicking, suplexing, chopping and bashing each other as hard as humanly possible nonstop. Their match looked like a war of attrition, that there wouldn’t be a winner, but rather a survivor. That’s the kind of fight you want when there’s a championship match on the line.

A Breakker spear to a diving Dragunov ended Ilja’s night on the floor, unable to continue. While not an entirely satisfying ending, it worked for both men’s characters: Bron battered his opponent until there was nothing left, and Ilja fought until his body gave out. The result also puts Sami Zayn on the defensive, knowing he’s going to be facing a guy who is more focused and dangerous than he was at Money in the Bank.

WWE also avoided the temptation to do a double-countout or DQ that would lead to a triple threat at SummerSlam, so that deserves praise.