WWE Raw results, recap, grades: CM Punk earns SummerSlam title shot, gets saved by returning Roman Reigns

Punk will face Gunther for the world heavyweight championship at SummerSlam

With Seth Rollins sidelined due to a knee injury, WWE had to lay a new path for SummerSlam on Aug. 2 and 3. Those adjusted plans started with a gauntlet match to crown a new No. 1 contender to world heavyweight champion Gunther during Raw on Monday night.

Rollins suffered a knee injury at Saturday Night's Main Event, the same event where Gunther successfully defended his title against Goldberg.

With SummerSlam drawing near, Gunther needed a new challenger and he got just that, with CM Punk winning the gauntlet match after eliminating Bron Breakker, the Rollins disciple who'd taken out three men before Punk got the win -- and then a save from Roman Reigns.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

CM Punk earns SummerSlam title shot, gets saved by returning Roman Reigns

Paul Heyman was interviewed backstage early in the show and said it's too early to report on Seth Rollins' injury status. What matters, Heyman said, is that Rollins has until next June to cash in his Money in the Bank contract, which makes his current status irrelevant. What was relevant, according to Heyman, was that Bron Breakker was set to run the gauntlet and punch his ticket to a SummerSlam match with Gunther, where Breakker would become world heavyweight champion.

CM Punk won a gauntlet match to face Gunther for the world heavyweight championship at SummerSlam.

• Bron Breakker def. Penta via pinfall after a spear.
• Bron Breakker def. LA Knight via pinfall after a spear.
• Bron Breakker def. Jey Uso via pinfall after a spear. Bronson Reed ran in to assist Breakker with the finish.
• CM Punk def. Bron Breakker via pinfall after a Go To Sleep. Reed interfered before Uso ran in to make the save, allowing Punk to score the win and advance to face Gunther at SummerSlam.

After the match, Reed again attacked Punk before Uso ran in for the save. Breaker speared Uso as the numbers game set in before Roman Reigns' music hit and the "Original Tribal Chief" came to the ring to lay out Breakker with a Superman punch and Reed with a spear. Reigns helped Uso to his feet before standing in the ring with Uso and Punk to close the show.

With Rollins and the threat of a Money in the Bank cash-in sidelined for the time being, WWE needed to create an intriguing situation for Gunther at SummerSlam. They got exactly that with a CM Punk win. Breakker may be the future face of WWE, but jumping from Rollins' lackey to a title challenger at the second biggest show of the year was probably a jump too far for the moment. In Punk, you have a compelling challenger and Reigns' return adds extra juice to a combustable situation. Grade: B+

What else happened on WWE Raw?

• Adam Pearce made Naomi vs. Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley official for SummerSlam. Naomi opened the show with a promo, only to be cut off by Ripley and then Sky, who took issue with Naomi's cash-in to win the women's world championship at Evolution. Pearce interrupted to announce the SummerSlam match.
• Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez def. Asuka & Kairi Sane via pinfall with a Perez schoolboy pin on Asuka. Before the match, Rodriguez and Perez gave each other credit for retaining the titles at Evolution and Dominik Mysterio was tasked with being ringside for the match. Mysterio interfered several times before the final pin, which saw Rodriguez illegally assist on the pin.
• Lyra Valkyria def. Bayley in a two-out-of-three falls match. Bayley took the first fall with a quick roll-up. Valkyria evened things up with her own counter into a pinning combination. After a competitive third fall, Valkyria picked up the win with Nightwing to punch her ticket to a SummerSlam match with women's intercontinental champion Becky Lynch.
• Nikki Bella def. Chelsea Green via pinfall with the Rack Attack 2.0. After the match, The Secret Hervice attacked Bella. Stephanie Vaquer ran in to make the save before embracing Bella.
• Adam Pearce confronted Dominik Mysterio, telling Myserio he would be medically reevaluated next week, and if he is cleared, would be booked to defend the intercontinental championship against AJ Styles at SummerSlam.