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WWE Raw on July 13, 2026, took place at American Airlines Center in Dallas, and featured a contract signing with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
With Saturday Night's Main Event and SummerSlam rapidly approaching, there were matches set for both events. There was only one match with stakes on the show: a No. 1 contender match for the men's Intercontinental Championship. IYO SKY picked up a win over Roxanne Perez and a rough-looking Lyra Valkyria now has a match against Bayley at SNME. A six-man tag between The Usos and Jacob Fatu is set for SummerSlam against Royce Keys, LA Knight, and Solo Sikoa. There was also a teaser for the return of Big Cass.
Here are the top takeaways from this week's show:
Before we get into the takeaways of what went down in the ring, an observation about this show must be stated.
The commercial breaks are ridiculous. They are poorly timed, and the frequency is too high. Multiple entrances were skimped this week in favor of commercials. For example, a commercial ran right as Je'Von Evans entered the gauntlet match. On the return, he was already hurt, outside of the ring.
This isn't a new thing for the TKO regime, but it seems to be getting worse, making the show unbearable to watch live. Do better, WWE.
Kicking off the show was Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman marching to the ring with a few of Dallas' finest. Heyman got on the mic and ripped Femi, accusing him of stalker behavior for turning down a guaranteed title shot to gett his hands on Lesnar. Heyman went as far as to get a restraining order on Femi, and one for Lesnar.
Femi entered, and the police moved into the ring, in front of Lesnar and Heyman. Femi wanted to know what the police presence was all about, and Heyman told him that he just violated his restraining order, and told the cops to do their job. Yeah, that didn't happen. Femi tossed the cops around like rag dolls, and then grabbed a mic. Femi tore into Lesnar for running away at every turn, but said he won't get that chance at SummerSlam.
It's funny how Femi tossing police around didn't have any follow-up repercussions during the show. Something should have happened to keep the kayfabe alive, but nope. Femi's work on the mic here was stellar. The intensity could be felt through the screen, and Lesnar watching on, laughing from the entrance, was an interesting contrast. Femi is right, though. It's not like Lesnar's character to run away and hide behind police. I guess that's a way to acknowledge Femi's threat level, but it still feels off.
The Vision with newly added member, Maxxine Dupri, took the ring for a promo. They were quickly joined by Alpha Academy, who wanted to talk to Dupri alone. Dupri obliged, and asked her Vision boys to exit the ring.
Tozawa wanted to know why Dupri would turn her back on them, which didn't receive an answer. Then Otis wanted to get something off his chest, which was a profession of love for Dupri. However, before he could get it out, Austin Theory cut him off, making fun of him for thinking that was possible. Otis snapped and things got physical.
Dupri caught his attention and came in close for a kiss, but Theory hit Otis with a low blow. Dupri then mushed Otis to the ground, yelling that he never had a chance.
This was an alright segment, but the bigger takeaway here is how The Vision has essentially been handed off by Paul Heyman since he's now back with Brock Lesnar. The addition of Dupri is good for her, but the group as a whole seems pretty weak, even though Theory and Bron Breakker are the tag champions. Breakker was just on a world title trajectory a couple of months ago, and has since been cooled off. The Vision is in a strange place.
Penta needed an opponent to face at SummerSlam, and a good ol’ gauntlet match was set to determine a No. 1 contender. Here’s how the gauntlet match, which started with Dominik Mysterio vs. Joe Hendry unfolded:
After the final matchup, Penta entered the ring for a respectful faceoff with Gable. They’ll have a match at SummerSlam for the IC title.
There were a couple of names who could have won this, but capitalizing on Gable’s momentum following the El Grande Americano saga feels like the right play. No complaints about the outcome here. Gable should take the title from Penta and have a nice run of banger matches.
The final segment of this week's show was a contract signing for the title match between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. A contract signing is a contract signing, but this one had some solid exchanges on the mic before things eventually got physical.
As far as who won this segment on the mic, it was easily Reigns. He took shots at Rollins' promo from last week, which he said put people to sleep. Rollins attempted to leave and said he would see Roman next time he decided to show up for work.
That's when Reigns really went in, asking what he was going to do if he wins the title – carry it for a couple of months and then get hurt again? Reigns then said Rollins still needs a Money in the Bank briefcase after all of these years, and had to fake an injury to use it. He said Rollins would always be the No. 2 to his No. 1, and he should just "acknowledge it, bitch."
From that point on, Rollins got active with his hands and feet. There was some back and forth, but a Rollins stomp connected, and he stood over Reigns as the show faded to black.
Now we have this rivalry heating up properly. Last week, LA Knight was the one who cooked the "brotherly" Rollins-Reigns promo, and this week it was Reigns' turn to take his shots. Rollins may be losing the mic battle, but he has the one-up when it comes to getting physical. This contract signing was much better than anticipated. If we're being completely honest, having an interesting contract signing segment period is a hard thing to pull off, and they did so very well here.
This article originally appeared on Wrestling Junkie: WWE Raw takeaways: Gable wins gauntlet, Rollins stomps out Reigns
Continue reading...
With Saturday Night's Main Event and SummerSlam rapidly approaching, there were matches set for both events. There was only one match with stakes on the show: a No. 1 contender match for the men's Intercontinental Championship. IYO SKY picked up a win over Roxanne Perez and a rough-looking Lyra Valkyria now has a match against Bayley at SNME. A six-man tag between The Usos and Jacob Fatu is set for SummerSlam against Royce Keys, LA Knight, and Solo Sikoa. There was also a teaser for the return of Big Cass.
Here are the top takeaways from this week's show:
Commercial timing is atrocious
Before we get into the takeaways of what went down in the ring, an observation about this show must be stated.
The commercial breaks are ridiculous. They are poorly timed, and the frequency is too high. Multiple entrances were skimped this week in favor of commercials. For example, a commercial ran right as Je'Von Evans entered the gauntlet match. On the return, he was already hurt, outside of the ring.
This isn't a new thing for the TKO regime, but it seems to be getting worse, making the show unbearable to watch live. Do better, WWE.
Brock Lesnar hides from Oba Femi behind cops
Kicking off the show was Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman marching to the ring with a few of Dallas' finest. Heyman got on the mic and ripped Femi, accusing him of stalker behavior for turning down a guaranteed title shot to gett his hands on Lesnar. Heyman went as far as to get a restraining order on Femi, and one for Lesnar.
Femi entered, and the police moved into the ring, in front of Lesnar and Heyman. Femi wanted to know what the police presence was all about, and Heyman told him that he just violated his restraining order, and told the cops to do their job. Yeah, that didn't happen. Femi tossed the cops around like rag dolls, and then grabbed a mic. Femi tore into Lesnar for running away at every turn, but said he won't get that chance at SummerSlam.
It's funny how Femi tossing police around didn't have any follow-up repercussions during the show. Something should have happened to keep the kayfabe alive, but nope. Femi's work on the mic here was stellar. The intensity could be felt through the screen, and Lesnar watching on, laughing from the entrance, was an interesting contrast. Femi is right, though. It's not like Lesnar's character to run away and hide behind police. I guess that's a way to acknowledge Femi's threat level, but it still feels off.
Maxxine Dupri, The Vision take out Alpha Academy
The Vision with newly added member, Maxxine Dupri, took the ring for a promo. They were quickly joined by Alpha Academy, who wanted to talk to Dupri alone. Dupri obliged, and asked her Vision boys to exit the ring.
Tozawa wanted to know why Dupri would turn her back on them, which didn't receive an answer. Then Otis wanted to get something off his chest, which was a profession of love for Dupri. However, before he could get it out, Austin Theory cut him off, making fun of him for thinking that was possible. Otis snapped and things got physical.
Dupri caught his attention and came in close for a kiss, but Theory hit Otis with a low blow. Dupri then mushed Otis to the ground, yelling that he never had a chance.
This was an alright segment, but the bigger takeaway here is how The Vision has essentially been handed off by Paul Heyman since he's now back with Brock Lesnar. The addition of Dupri is good for her, but the group as a whole seems pretty weak, even though Theory and Bron Breakker are the tag champions. Breakker was just on a world title trajectory a couple of months ago, and has since been cooled off. The Vision is in a strange place.
Gauntlet match finds IC title No. 1 contender
Penta needed an opponent to face at SummerSlam, and a good ol’ gauntlet match was set to determine a No. 1 contender. Here’s how the gauntlet match, which started with Dominik Mysterio vs. Joe Hendry unfolded:
- Dominik Mysterio def. Joe Hendry
- Je’Von Evans def. Mysterio
- Evans def. Dragon Lee
- Rusev def. Evans
- Chad Gable def. Rusev
- Gable def. Ethan Page
After the final matchup, Penta entered the ring for a respectful faceoff with Gable. They’ll have a match at SummerSlam for the IC title.
There were a couple of names who could have won this, but capitalizing on Gable’s momentum following the El Grande Americano saga feels like the right play. No complaints about the outcome here. Gable should take the title from Penta and have a nice run of banger matches.
Seth Rollins stomps out Roman Reigns
The final segment of this week's show was a contract signing for the title match between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. A contract signing is a contract signing, but this one had some solid exchanges on the mic before things eventually got physical.
As far as who won this segment on the mic, it was easily Reigns. He took shots at Rollins' promo from last week, which he said put people to sleep. Rollins attempted to leave and said he would see Roman next time he decided to show up for work.
That's when Reigns really went in, asking what he was going to do if he wins the title – carry it for a couple of months and then get hurt again? Reigns then said Rollins still needs a Money in the Bank briefcase after all of these years, and had to fake an injury to use it. He said Rollins would always be the No. 2 to his No. 1, and he should just "acknowledge it, bitch."
From that point on, Rollins got active with his hands and feet. There was some back and forth, but a Rollins stomp connected, and he stood over Reigns as the show faded to black.
Now we have this rivalry heating up properly. Last week, LA Knight was the one who cooked the "brotherly" Rollins-Reigns promo, and this week it was Reigns' turn to take his shots. Rollins may be losing the mic battle, but he has the one-up when it comes to getting physical. This contract signing was much better than anticipated. If we're being completely honest, having an interesting contract signing segment period is a hard thing to pull off, and they did so very well here.
This article originally appeared on Wrestling Junkie: WWE Raw takeaways: Gable wins gauntlet, Rollins stomps out Reigns
Continue reading...
