WWE Monday Night Raw Review – 08.18.25

It’s another warm Monday night in August, so it must be time for Monday Night Raw on Netflix! This week, Naomi addresses the Women’s Title scene plus it’s another exciting (?) week of The Vision and Roman and friends battling. Let’s get into it!

The last week in WWE, presented by the Blog of Doom: Raw / NXT / EVOLVE / SmackDown / LFG

Then, Now, Forever, TOGETHER.

This is Philadelphia, the birthplace of ECW and tonight, for the 29th time, the home of Raw. We’re at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. Let’s take a look at last week, with Seth Rollins interrupting the Punk/Knight vs Breakker/Reed match, followed by Jey Uso coming for the rescue and Adam Pearce telling Rollins he’s defending his belt at Clash in Paris against Uso, Knight, and Punk.

Superstars arrive! Jey Uso has a camo hat and a match against Bron Breakker tonight. Naomi has a customized belt and is discussing the state of the title! We’re live on Netflix and presented by Snickers.

BURN IT DOWN. That’s right, we’re starting the show with The Vision – Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman. Is this what it felt like reviewing Raw with a Triple H segment opening every week? Seth has a nice flowery jacket this week as the great Alicia Taylor introduces them. The crowd sings along with the theme, as they tend to do. Ladies and gentlemen, his name is Paul Heyman and so on and so forth. Paul tells us he is God in this city. He introduces the crew one-by-one and we eventually get to Seth Rollins.

Before Seth can speak, Main Event Jey Uso is now in your city. He comes through the crowd, the drone flying by as the crowd yeets. The kids adore this man. After a yeet chant and Jey letting several children “yeet” into the microphone, Jey tells Seth he’s tired of hearing him talk, he’s tired of hearing Paul talk, and he’s tired of all of them threatening his family. He says he’s got next but tells us to look at puppy dog Bron, who is about to stay on the porch tonight because he’s messing with the real one. Seth tells Bron that Jey thinks his family is better than Bron’s family. This riles up Bron who tries to head out but is stopped by Bronson.

Paul gets the mic and says that back in the day, men would settle this in no DQ/no countout matches and reminisces on The Sandman, New Jack, Rob Van Dam, Sabu and the late, great Tommy Dreamer – “yeah I know he’s not dead yet, but he should be” (Bron: “He’s still alive?”). Jey says the only rules he needs tonight are Extreme Rules and accepts the challenge. Well, at least it isn’t ending in a disqualification tonight.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves greet us from the announce table. Cole drives us into a look at last week’s drama with Iyo Sky and the Kabuki Warriors.

Iyo Sky warms up backstage and is met by Asuka and Kairi Sane. Asuka apologizes for last week. Iyo tells her it’s fine. Kairi tells Iyo they have her back, but Iyo says she needs to do this on her own.

Iyo Sky vs Raquel Rodriguez (with Roxanne Perez)

Cole talks us through NXT history, with Raquel once beating Iyo for the Women’s Title. The crowd chants for Iyo as Raquel tosses Iyo around. After some domination, Iyo is able to rana Raquel and flip over her, shaking a finger at her. Kairi drops Raquel with a hard kick and runs for a suicide dive, but has her leg pulled by Roxanne Perez. This gives Raquel the chance to come in and take Iyo down with a gigantic boot as we take a commercial break in the US.

Raquel misses a corkscrew elbow, allowing Iyo a chance to knock her down to her knees and dropkick the top of her head. Iyo leaps to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick on Raquel, the crowd just all into her. She goes for the Bullet Train in the corner but Raquel catches her, lifting her into a drop and hitting the corkscrew for a two. Iyo rolls Raquel into a stomp and goes up again, missing the Over the Moonsault. Raquel clotheslines the soul out of Iyo but for a two count. Sky jumps from the top again with a beautiful tornado DDT, and Raquel rolls out. Iyo does a suicide dive but on Perez, then sprints back in and lands in Raquel’s arms, who powers her up into the ring post. Iyo’s able to sneak through and land the Bullet Train and moonsault, getting a three count.

Iyo Sky pins Raquel Rodriguez. You know what? This was great, and a lot of that is because of Raquel. Raquel has really come into her own and this was one of her best performances in a long time.

The ladies double-team Iyo after the match as Corey mentions Iyo probably wishes she had the Kabuki Warriors now. “Demon in Your Dreams” and the screams of every woman in the arena lead Rhea RIpley out, who boots Raquel over the top.. Iyo gives her a hug.

Jackie Redmond has caught up with L.A. Knight. CM Punk immediately interrupts, asking Jackie to give them a second. Knight tells her no, stick around. Punk tells him they need to be on the same page, and Knight tells him it’s the fact that Punk has stuck his nose in both his championship opportunities. In two weeks, they’ll be trying to win the World Title.

Let’s take a look back at AAA Triplemania with the usual flattering headlines from outlets like Variety and Sports Illustrated. Omos! Microman! La Parka! Demonito! I’ve been catching up on it and it WAS a lot of fun to watch.

WWE Fact of the Night: Triplemania was the most viewed Triplemania in history with over 4.3 million viewers in the first 24 hours!

Rhea Ripley and her new chest tattoo apologize to Iyo for getting involved. Kairi and Asuka come up from behind to ask if Iyo is okay and Asuka rages because Rhea can help but she can’t. Iyo tells them to stop fighting and has a meltdown, leaving screaming. Fair. Asuka tells Rhea to stay out of their business and leaves, Kairi stays behind looking adorable and sighs, looking at Rhea.

Xavier Woods (with Kofi Kingston and Grayson Waller) vs Penta

We do one of the cool camera shots where the camera goes from Rhea backstage, out into the arena, through the crowd and into the ring. Waller is wearing his mourning overalls, notes Corey. Cole thinks that Woods’ hat last week only cost $50, showing Cole has never bought a good hat in his life. Corey renames himself “Corey Grieves.” Oh, the match. Woods bites Penta’s fingers as he taunts, backing Penta into a corner. Penta leaps up but jumps into a hard boot on the apron from Woods, who drops Penta spine-first onto the apron and yells, “GIVE ME MY MONEY!” as we go to break.

Woods is beating Penta down as we come, still telling Penta he wants his money for his hat. Penta slingblades Woods and drops him, Woods rolling out. Penta stands on top of the ring post and leaps off into Waller, Woods and almost the cameraperson. Back in, Penta is able to hit a Penta Driver but isn’t able to immediately cover. When he does, Kofi puts Xavier’s boot on the rope to break the pin. That sends Penta springing off the back of Woods into Kofi and poor Waller again. Penta spikes Woods with a Mexican Destroyer and that’s all it takes for a three count.

Penta pins Xavier Woods. Very good match with fun commentary. More Woods singles matches!

We flash back to last week, with El Grande Americano pinning AJ Styles thanks to an assist from Dominik Mysterio. Then we go to Triplemania, where AJ attacks Dominik.

At Worlds Collide, El Hijo Del Vikingo defends his AAA Mega Championship against Dirty Dom. Will this be Dom’s night?

Next Monday, Raw has a special start time from Birmingham, England. It’ll be at 3 pm EST. I can’t promise I’ll have the update up that early, but it’ll probably be up before its usual 10:45 pm time!

Finn Balor & JD McDonough (with Dominik Mysterio) vs Mr.Iguana and Dragon Lee (with Yesca)

My god, I get to review a Mr. Iguana match. Some of the Philadelphia Eagles are ringside. Judgment Day work over Lee early because yes, of course we need the Mr. Iguana hot tag. The fans chant for “Iguana” and we get that tag, Iguana coming in and running into a Finn Balor clothesline. Michael Cole already does not get Iguana, but Corey makes up for it because he’s all in. The crowd sings for Dirty Dom as Iguana springs Judgment Day out. Dragon Lee flies onto them and Iguana follows, giving us the perfect thing to replay for a commercial.

JD and Dragon are in as we come back. JD takes Lee down with a crazy poisonrana, Lee is able to hit right back with a Wonder Bomb. Wild spot. Iguana is waving Yesca around wanting the hot tag and he gets it, as does Finn. Iguana whips Finn with Yesca, then Yesca bites Finn. Lee tags in as Iguana leaps onto JD outside. Finn counters Lee into a two count and Iguana saves. JD springboards onto Iguana, Lee rolls Finn up for a two count. Finn is able to Slingblade Lee and runs right into a boot. Dom grabs Lee’s boot and Balor takes advantage, taking Lee down and landing the stomp for a three.

Finn Balor and JD McDonough defeat Dragon Lee and Mr. Iguana. Judgment Day are always going to give us a good tag match, and this was a great introduction for those that hadn’t met Mr. Iguana.

After the match, Dom stomps down Iguana and Finn tells Dom to remove the lid of the announce table. El Hijo Del Vikingo appears and dropkicks Dom down, then springs onto the steps to take down Finn. He wrecks JD with a kick in the ring and a running Meteora, but Dom attacks with Vikingo’s belt. Dom frog splashes Vikingo.

Jackie is with Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch. Becky tells Jackie that Natalya attacked her so she simply defended herself. She says Natalya is bitter and doesn’t belong in the ring with her, which she will prove tonight.

Natalya, Maxxine Dupri and Tozawa are walking. Next, the Intercontinental Title!

Cole and Graves talk about Bayley. This takes us to another confessional-style video package for her as she hears voices, telling her she hasn’t been making since for a long time and telling her to stop being a loser. The voice reminds her that she doesn’t need friends and laughs at her for missing WrestleMania. The voice promises to steer her on the right path, idiot – “LISTEN TO ME!” Okay, I like this a lot. Perhaps she needs to talk to Randy Orton about hearing voices. I’ve heard they talk to him.

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title: Becky Lynch vs Natalya (with Maxxine Dupri and Tozawa)

We’re getting Normal Natalya and not Lowkey Legend Nattie, which is a shame. Cole does mention it though, so maybe we’ll get there. Natalya tries for a Sharpshooter, Becky counters out. Natalya lands a German suplex and kicks Becky out, then throws her in .Becky slings Nattie hard into the ring post and is favoring her shoulder as we go to a break.

Back from that break, Becky dodges Natalya as we’re still going. Becky hooks the Disarmher, Nattie powers out but is favoring the arm. Nat goes for the Sharpshooter and Becky hits the arm again. Nattie takes Becky down with a big discus clothesline. Becky boots Maxxine down outside and goes back to wipe Tozawa with a baseball slide, letting Nat roll her up for two. Becky hooks the Disarmher and Nattie has no choice but to tap. Becky attacks Maxxine after and hooks the Disarmher on her, which brings us to Nikki Bella running out for the save. She hits the Rack Attack 2.0 and stands tall over Becky.

Becky Lynch makes Natalya submit to retain the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title. This wasn’t great. I hope they let Nattie do a little character change.

Jackie has caught Sheamus backstage and asks what is causing the chaos with Rusev, saying it is getting out of hand. I agree, especially since it always happens on Raw. Rusev comes in yelling and they brawl again but are broken up by Raw GM Adam Pearce and friends. Adam says they get one last chance at Clash in Paris and he swears to God its the last time. Well, have fun reviewing that instead of me Scott!

Tonight, Jey Uso vs Bron Breakker – Extreme Rules!

Cole and Graves set us up to talk about Naomi but says there is a special edition of Stephanie McMahon’’s podcast, with a new episode dropping immediately after this show with Naomi and Big Jim with some unexpected news. I’m sure we’re about to discuss that!

Jey Uso is backstage and joined by CM Punk. Punk tells Uso they have to work together, and Jey can count on him. Jey tells him that when they get to Paris, it’s every man for himself and he doesn’t want to owe Punk any favors.

Raw General Manager Adam Pearce welcomes WWE Women’s World Champion Naomi to the ring. He tells her that the floor is hers. Lord, I’m nervous for her. She’s already tearing up. The fans chant for her. “This is hard to say guys, but take a look at the Tron for me please.” We go to the Stephanie podcast and see the rest of the clip, with Big Jim telling us to proceed with caution because there is a baby on board.

The fans are cheering and she’s crying. Those of us who know the issues she has had know just how cool this is for her and no, her career isn’t ruined you dummies. Adam tells her congratulations and her look turns, telling him it isn’t her first time relinquishing the title. “This time I ain’t handing you SHIT! Yeah, my hormones are jumping like a disco, this ain’t the time or place so I advise you to get the HELL out of my face.” And he does. The crowd sings goodbye and she tells him she hopes he slips in those church shoes.

She thanks the crowd and says all the women should be thanking one person, Big Jim. “I was about to walk y’all like a dog all year long.” She says Big Jim likes to Netflix and chill, and she can’t help but smile as the crowd chants “you deserve it.” “On the bright side, I guess the Bloodline continues baby!” She lays her title down as the crowd chants for “Baby Uso.” “I’m gonna leave my title here and I’m going to give you heifers nine months and some change to do whatever you want to do with my title. And even if I’ve gotta come back breastfeeding with my baby in my arms, I’m coming back to pick up where I left off and whoever has that title when I do, I strongly advise you to proceed with caution.”

I loved this. I’m happy for her of course, because she’s wanted this for a long time and battled fertility issues. And what a way to announce it. Hell of a year for her!

Next week in Birmingham, Rhea Ripley vs Roxanne Perez and Kofi Kingston vs Penta. 3 pm EST! But first, SmackDown is in Dublin, Ireland with John Cena. Next, we go extreme.

Judgment Day walk up on Dominik Mysterio talking to El Grande Americano. Dom tells them to not worry about it, as he’s just making sure they stay on top. Finn gives him a look.

Extreme Rules: Jey Uso vs Bron Breakker (with Paul Heyman)

Jey rolls out with a grocery cart full of plundah. After brawling, Jey clotheslines Bron over the top rope and onto the shopping card which looks like it hurt like hell, Bron landing knees first on the cart. The crowd chants for tables and Jey obliges, pulling out the Slim Jim Table. Jey meets Bron in the ring and we go to commercial, coming back to Bron smacking Jey with a chair. Bron has a trash can lid and smashes it across Jey’s back, then sets up a chair in the corner as the fans chant for ECW. Breakker nails Uso with a Steinerline and sets up two more chairs in the ring, scooping Jey up and dropping him across their backs. Poor Jey is never going to heal those ribs. Going outside, Bron tosses Jey onto the announce table and goes up, grabbing a trash can and leaping off the apron and onto him and the table. Commercial!

Breakker leaps up for a Frankensteiner and a two count. Jey hits a spear, grabs a chair and goes to town with it before hitting a second spear. He goes up top and lands the Uso Splash, covering for a two before the referee is pulled out by Bronson Reed, who then tosses a shoe at the ref. Reed does a DVD on Jey Uso before L.A. Knight comes for the save to a huge cheer. Knight smashes Bronson into the stairs before Seth Rollins appears to assault him. Bron’s bleeding from his back as Rollins hits a Pedigree on Uso and calls Bron in and helps referee Chad Patton back in. “Cult of Personality” brings out CM Punk who brawls with Rollins.

Knight attacks Rollins from behind, then he and Punk trade punches on Rollins. Punk calls for a GTS but Seth weasels out, shoving Punk into Knight, who falls through the Slim Jim Table. I can’t believe the Slim Jim spokesman had to go through his own table. Punk clotheslines Rollins into the timekeeprrs area and chases him through the crowd. Meanwhile, Bron has found another Slim Jim Table and sets it up in the ring. The crowd chants for OTC as Jey superkicks Bron onto the Slim Jim Table. Bronson shoves Uso off the top rope. A smile crosses Brons face as he sneaks out and gerts ready to spear, but the OTC’s music hits. Roman Reigns gets the god pop but doesn’t come out, so Bron runs for the spear… right into a Roman spear. The OTC tosses Bron in and Jey superkicks him onto the table, this time hitting the Uso Splash through the table for a three count.

Jey Uso pins Bron Breakker. A really good match that has our usual main event formula of The Vision and its enemies attacking each other but ending with them being successfully countered for once. And it is hard to deny just how big Roman is. Bronson yells to Roman that he’s going to take him to Paris, which Michael Cole successfully links to being Clash in Paris.

Another good show this week, which is the norm for Raw as the A-show. While we got our usual Seth opening and Vision closing match, there were some kinks thrown into it all this time. The Naomi segment was really well done and every match except for maybe Becky/Natalya was a hoot.

Next Monday, Raw at 3 pm EST! I’ll have the recap up early(ish)!