7 Ups & 5 Downs For WWE Raw (14 July - Results & Review)

by Scott Carlson

1. Bron’s Breakthrough

WWE Raw Bron Breakker
WWE

Although he didn’t win, Bron Breakker was the star of Monday night’s gauntlet match, entering first and lasting until the very end, when a much fresher CM Punk vanquished him.

Breakker defeated Penta, LA Knight, and Jey Uso, needing some help from Bronson Reed to stop Jey. The gauntlet – which was a vehicle that helped put Seth Rollins over with fans during WWE’s darker times – served Bron well, allowing him to showcase his talent and prove that he could survive in a longer match.

That doesn’t mean Breakker is ready for a 30-minute WrestleMania main event next year, but this was a good test of his ability to still be convincing in the ring as he hit the 40-minute mark. Bron looked sharp throughout, although he needed a breather a couple of times and some water between matches.

That didn’t stop Bron from vaulting to the top rope to attempt a Breakkensteiner on Punk more than 35 minutes into the gauntlet.

It’s clear WWE is planting the seeds of a main-event run in fans’ minds, but it remains to be seen how it pans out long term. Monday was a good dry run, though.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.