WWE Raw results, grades (Aug. 3): Roman Reigns, LA Knight beef on night of big returns after SummerSlam

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Is the "Raw after SummerSlam" a thing? We all know WWE makes a big deal out of the first "Raw after ‘Mania," usually setting up a few surprises to mark the occasion. For this year’s post-SummerSlam show, they'd already promised at least one big return (quite literally). But wouldn’t you know it, there wound up being a few other twists along the road as the show rolled through Des Moines, Iowa.

Here's what went down on this week’s installment of pro-wrestling’s longest-running show.

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Tonight's show kicked off with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion making his way to the ring to bask in the glory of Sunday night's superb victory over Seth Rollins. Is it me or did Roman Reigns sound a little husky at first? (Which is perhaps unsurprising after that slobberknocker of a match from last night.)

Of course, the smart folks in Iowa knew the drill: when a victorious champion turns up to gloat, you just know he or she is going to get interrupted by his next challenger before long. But how many of them expected LA Knight to be the man to shoot his shot? Judging by the massive pop that accompanied the start of his theme music, not many.

"The Megastar" was also riding high on his successes from the weekend, having pinned Jey Uso to win the Babyfaces vs. Bloodline match. He worked his usual magic on the mic and even got a chuckle out of Reigns with his impression of The Shield’s entrance music. The fact that Knight was wearing his trademark shades brought back instant memories of the last time these two collided, back at Crown Jewel in 2022.

LA Knight made clear he's as keen as anyone to see a rematch. But will "The Tribal Chief" accept his challenge? We should find out before long.

Just why did WWE choose to tee up the return of Big Cass with video packages ahead of time? Surely it would’ve been better to send the seven-footer (at least in kayfabe) out to lay waste a helpless Je'Von Evans without telling us that the former AEW man had re-signed well beforehand?

"We knew that Cass was returning," yelled Michael Cole, proudly leaning into this apparently masterful storyline telling technique. "We'd heard about it for weeks!" Even so, the news had evidently gone over the heads of the Iowa crowd, who looked utterly baffled by the run-in … though I think I spotted a few of them reading up on Big Cass on his way out. That's the only reason they'd be looking at their phones, right?

If anything, this felt even flatter than Baron Corbin's re-emergence on "SmackDown" a few weeks ago.

Jeez, what did they put in the water at SummerSlam? After Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins buried the hatchet with a fist-bump for the ages, we now have Oba Femi passing on his thanks to Brock Lesnar ("for all those nice things he said about me") after a backstage handshake with Paul Heyman.

Of course, it’s no surprise to hear Femi will be moving on from feuding with Brock Lesnar. But what will "The Next Big Thing" have to say about his plans for the future? We were left in the dark on that front, as Femi cut a triumphant promo clad in his church-robes. There was plenty of gesturing and grandstanding about the future of WWE, but no indication as to who might be the next man to step into the ring with “The Ruler.”

Then, just as Femi was making his exit, his music was interrupted by The Vision making their way to the ring, leading to a prolonged moment of tension between Femi and Bron Breakker.

I don't doubt that Femi and Breakker will be the biggest names in the company by the end of the decade (if not sooner). But do we really want them feuding at this point?

Breakker needs a chance to build up his aura again — and an inevitable defeat at the hands of Oba Femi isn't going to do that.

Say goodbye to those rumors of visa issues. Chilean star Stephanie Vaquer was back in the house for tonight’s "Raw” after SummerSlam, making her first appearance since WrestleMania.

We know WWE thinks highly of Vaquer (rightly so). In fact, they've practically kept the "Raw" women's division on ice for her during her absence. Liv Morgan went 105 days without a single title defense after defeating "La Primera" back at ‘Mania in Las Vegas, with WWE seemingly taking a "rematch or bust" attitude to the whole Morgan-Vaquer title feud.

Before Vaquer could make her return, though, there was one more surprise to come, as Morgan was interrupted by another former champion with a few scores to settle … Becky Lynch! In a suitably sizzling promo, "The Man" made it clear that her eyes are firmly on Liv Morgan's title — rather than the Intercontinental belt held by Raquel Rodriguez — before making one hell of a spicy remark about Dom Mysterio.

At that moment, the flames shot from the entranceway and a returning Vaquer ran down the ramp to deliver a speedy beatdown to Morgan — before embarking on a staredown with Lynch. That's a tantalizing triple-threat match if ever I saw one.

With Jacob Fatu and Royce Keys booked for a street fight in the main event, I expected the customary bumps and bruises with chairs, stairs and all the rest of it. What I didn't expect, though, was we’d get a stirring explanation from Corey Graves on the commentary desk about how Keys and Fatu had come up together through various West Coast independent promotions. It was another reminder of how Graves loves this game.

It was great for Keys too. WWE has invested heavily in building up the former AEW man’s backstory and the image of him spending his formative years hurling Jacob Fatu around various church halls and community centers was a fun contrast to the more showbizzy side of pro-wrestling.

With SummerSlam done and dusted, what's next on the WWE calendar? Officially, the next special event in the diary is Saturday Night's Main Event in early October. But not only is that not a real PLE — assuming WWE follows the usual SNME template — it's also nearly two months away. Is there no Wrestlepalooza or Crown Jewel in the meantime?

WWE PLEs are usually announced by corporate press release, rather than on the weekly shows. But we did get one intriguing tease right at the end of tonight’s “Raw,” as Reigns bumped into Rey Mysterio, who suggested he wanted to “run something by” the champion in his capacity as AAA general manager.

Given the hulking great gap in the PLE schedule, could there be plans afoot to turn part of the upcoming two-night AAA Triplemanía show (which just got moved to a larger venue in Las Vegas) in September into a de-facto WWE PLE? That’d sound like the sort of solution that might benefit everyone in this situation. Given that it takes place the same weekend as Zuffa Boxing's big fight in Sin City, you imagine they'd love to have "The Tribal Chief" in town.

I give tonight’s “WWE Raw” after SummerSlam a Crown Score of: 👑 8/10 👑

  • Jacob Fatu def. Royce Keys by referee stoppage — Crown score: 👑 3/5 👑

  • Chad Gable & Penta def. The Judgment Day — Crown score: 👑 4/5 👑

  • Bron Breakker def. Joe Hendry — Crown score: 👑 2/5 👑

  • Sol Ruca def. Roxanne Perez by disqualification — Crown score: 👑 2/5 👑

  • Je’Von Evans def. “All Ego” Ethan Page — Crown score: 👑 4/5 👑

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