WWE Raw results, recap, grades: CM Punk springs a surprise attack on Drew McIntyre; Bron Breakker retains

Punk faked travel issues to surprise McIntyre with a beating

With CM Punk having travel issues and not in the arena for Monday's episode of Raw, Drew McIntyre felt free to put his focus on the perceived injustice of SmackDown's Randy Orton getting a shot at Gunther and the world heavyweight championship at Bash in Berlin. Unfortunately for McIntyre, Punk's travel issues were just a ploy to get the Scot's guard down.

Punk was in attendance and he delivered a lashing to McIntyre, using his foe's own belt to do so. Things are continuing to heat up as the two are destined for another confrontation after McIntyre got the better of things at SummerSlam.

The night was capped off with a fantastic match between Sami Zayn and Bron Breakker for Breakker's intercontinental championship.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

CM Punk springs an attack on Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre came to see Adam Pearce. The general manager said that CM Punk was having travel issues and wasn't there, so he wasn't sure what he could do for McIntyre. The Scot said he wasn't there about Punk, he wanted to know why Randy Orton from SmackDown was getting a shot at Gunther and Raw's top title.

Orton and Gunther came face-to-face later when Gunther interrupted Orton's promo. Gunther said that Orton is a legend and everyone should remember his face because they won't be seeing it anymore. Orton delivered a reminder that he's one of the most violent and controversial wrestlers in WWE history and who is about to be a 15-time world champion. Gunther then insulted Orton's father and grandfather before McIntyre's music hit. The distraction was enough to allow Orton to hit an RKO on Gunther.

McIntyre was also distracted, allowing Punk to jump in from the crowd and attack, eventually taking McIntyre's belt and whipping him with it until McIntyre was forced to run away. Interviewed backstage, Punk admitted to lying about his travel issues because he knew if he was in the building, McIntyre wouldn't be. Punk also talked about the bracelet McIntyre stole from him. But, he said, the belt he used to whip McIntyre gave him an idea that will make everyone happy.

It seems clear we're heading toward Punk and McIntyre meeting in a strap match. If that provides a bit more of a true "grudge match" feel than their SummerSlam meeting, that's great. The confrontation between Gunther and Orton was probably more interesting overall, with Orton reminding Gunther how dangerous he could be. Grade: B

What else happened on WWE Raw?

• Damian Priest def. Carlito via pinfall after South of Heaven. The match started after Rhea Ripley opened the show with an in-ring promo. As expected, she was interrupted by Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan up high in the arena. Ripley said it was all a ruse to suss out their location and Priest attacked Mysterio. After a brawl, dominated by Priest and Ripley, the match with Carlito happened, with Priest dominating. Judgment Day attacked after the match but were run off by Ripley and Priest again. A mixed tag team match with Priest and Ripley taking on Mysterio and Morgan was later announced for Bash in Berlin.
• Odyssey Jones def. Vincent Winey via pinfall. New Day was with Jones for the match but Xavier Woods was clearly not thrilled with Kofi Kingson continuing to support Jones. After the match, Karrion Kross and Final Testament came out to tell Woods that Kingston wasn't trying to replace Big E's role in New Day, Kingston was using Jones to fill Woods' role. This led to a challenge for a six-man tag next week.
• American Made def. Alpha Academy via pinfall. Ivy Nile appealed to Maxxine Dupri to join American Made earlier in the show, which Dupri refused saying she couldn't leave her family. During the match, Nile attacked Dupri, causing a distraction that led to the finish.
• Pete Dunne was interviewed and claimed his issues with Sheamus stem from people thinking he was under Sheamus' wing during the Fight Night days when he is, in fact, his own man. Dunne would attack Sheamus later in the show.
• Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark def. Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane via disqualification after Unholy Union interfered. The match was to name a No. 1 contender but ended when the champs ran in.
• Bronson Reed def. The Miz via pinfall after a Tsunami. Reed told Adam Pearce that his attack on Seth Rollins was a result of not being given an opportunity, so he took out everyone's favorite wrestler. Reed then demanded he be given an opponent or he would go looking for another victim. R-Truth told Miz that he got him a match for the intercontinental championship against "Bron," which turned out to be Reed. After the match, Reed hit a series of Tsunamis on Truth despite being screamed at by Pearce.
• Intercontinental Championship – Bron Breakker (c) def. Sami Zayn in a two-out-of-three falls match. Zayn picked up the first fall with a Helluva Kick. Breakker mostly dominated the action while growing increasingly frustrated before finally evening things at one fall apiece up after a pair of spears. The ending of the match saw a flurry of near finishes, including Zayn countering a spear into a Helluva Kick, but Zayn went to the top rope and Breakker caught him with a mid-air spear to retain the title.