WWE Monday Night Raw Review – 08.25.25

Welcome to another exciting edition of WWE Monday Night Raw. It’s… Monday afternoon? What do you MEAN Raw starts at 3 p.m. EST?

We’re in the Netflix era now which means shows air live when they happen in different time zones, and this week we’re in Birmingham, England. This is a treat for me, the person who used to be able to take their sleep meds at 9 p.m. on Mondays and be asleep an hour later after doom scrolling.

We’re set for an even earlier time next week, kicking off at 2 p.m. EST in France. I’m not sure I’ll be as early with the review next week as I tend to not be home from work on Monday afternoons and kind of lucked into it this week, but I’ll have a recap up earlier than the usual 10:45 p.m. at least.

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

Then, Now, Forever, TOGETHER. Dun dun dun.

Last Monday: Philadelphia! Jey Uso battles Bron Breakker in an Extreme Rules match. It breaks down as usual in the last segment with the usual people. I wrote a whole review of it.

This is Birmingham, England. L.A. Knight has arrived and is very busy on his cell phone, but tonight he’ll face Bron Breakker. Rhea Ripley is all smiles and is set to battle Roxanne Perez. WWE Hall of Famer is strutting in and plans to call out Becky Lynch. The drone zooms over the sold-out BP Post Arena, live on Netflix and presented by Snickers.

Our Tribal Chief Roman Reigns is here to kick us off. There are many, many fingers raised in the air as the great Alicia Taylor introduces him. The fans sing “Roman, Roman Reigns” which is indeed his name. They follow it with an “OTC” chant and then sing “If you love Roman stand up.” We don’t have all afternoon, people. I have spaghetti to get cooking. Roman asks the crowd to acknowledge them, which I think we just spent ten minutes doing but sure, here’s another “OTC” chant. He says it feels like old times and the crowd still sounds the same, loud as hell. He has big plans but he wants to be honest with himself – they acknowledge him, but he has to acknowledge something himself. “You sound like old times, but it’s not old times any more. I’m not the same guy as I used to be.” The crowd chants “yes you are” and they’d be terrible therapists. “Maybe I can be, but Cody predicted it a year and a half ago” – crowd boos – “and then Seth and what’s their name, the Vision, followed through on the things Cody said. They took everything from me.”

Netflix bleeps some vulgar chanting towards Seth Rollins and Roman says he’s felt that way for a long time. He no longer has a Bloodline (crowd “yeets”), they have the title, and they have to find things to take from him – this brings him to Bronson Reed. Ladies and gentleman, his name is Paul Heyman and he’s out with Big Bronson Reed and his “Tribal Thief” tee. Heyman remembers that five years ago today he became Roman’s advocate. Paul says he misses his Tribal Chief and he loves him, but he came out tonight to disrespect him as we get another Roman song. Heyman sings his own for Bronson and asks the crowd to sing along, but the fans decide to stick with the Roman lyrics. Heyman tells Roman he needs rough love. Roman tells Heyman he’s whooping Bronson’s ass on Sunday.

Bronson himself has some words, telling Roman that it isn’t about receipts but it is about disrespect. Bronson tells us that Roman’s tribe was civilized, while his wasn’t. Roman’s tattoos were paid for, while his were earned. He’s the Samoan that Roman’s dad and uncle warned him about, and at Clash in Paris he’ll see why. Roman questions if Bronson is Samoan and that means his ass belongs to him. He says Reed has one more shot to “bring your big ol’ ass down here and return my shoes, apologize to my people for wasting our time, acknowledge me and don’t ever disrespect my way again.” Reed puts the shoes on Heyman and tells Roman he doesn’t want that, because he’ll force him to acknowledge his Tribal Thief. Roman agrees that he won’t have to come up here, because he’s going down there. They brawl in the aisle and in the ring, with Bronson attacking security guards. He goes to steal another pair of shoes, but Roman kicks out of it. Bronson attacks more security and heads up for a Tsunami, but Roman punches him down. Roman leaps onto Reed and another batch of security and now we’re brawling down the ramp as the crowd sings for Roman and we go to a commercial.

Michael Cole lets us know that the brawl has been separated. Judgment Day is walking backstage and comes across Dominik Mysterio, again talking to El Grande Americano.

Dragon Lee vs WWE World Tag Team Champion JD McDonough (with Finn Balor)

I don’t know if it’s JD’s theme or Judgment Day’s, but it is another in a line of Def Rebel songs that get no reaction despite Judgment Day being beloved. McDonough works the knee hard at first, which he shows to referee Jessika Carr. As she checks on JD, he sneaks onto the apron and she catches him, tossing him out. As McDonough questions it outside, Lee leaps out onto him and then jumps right into a beautiful dropkick to send us to another three minutes of ads.

We look at a superplex we missed over the American commercial break. The men trade chops and then right hands. They have a beautiful sequence ending in a standing Spanish Fly by JD. Dragon absolutely spikes JD onto his head and shoulders with a Liger Bomb that almost turned into a piledriver. Shit. McDonough chases Lee up top but Lee stomps right on him for a two count. Dominik Mysterio comes out and AJ Styles follows quickly, brawling into the crowd with him. JD runs into a flying elbow and the Operation Dragon for a three count.

Dragon Lee pins JD McDonough. Beautiful match with more than one spot that could have been scary. Watch this one back.

Jackie Redmond is backstage in a bar with LA Knight. He thinks about CM Punk last week and wonders if it was on purpose. LA agrees that they should work together, but Punk has made it a place where they can’t do that now.

Rusev gets a vignette. He says he was brought into the world to crush a super athlete. He’ll hurt anyone he wants, and there’s nothing more he’d love to do than hurt Sheamus at Clash of Paris. It’ll be the choice of Sheamus as far as match type. Wooo. Cole tells us it’s a Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook Match, also known as a no DQ/no countout match.

Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez are talking and interrupted by Dom and Finn Balor. Dom tells Finn he’s known AJ the longest and to handle him tonight. Raquel tells Rox to lock in for her big match tonight.

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

Woods has a top hat, cane and neck brace. Corey Graves is signing a petition to have the Mexican Destroyer banned as presented by Waller, Cole declines. Kofi and Penta themselves battle right up to a commercial break, most notably with Kofi dropping a set of knees onto Penta.

Kofi has control when we come back. We take a look at Kofi backdropping Penta onto the announce table during the break. Man, everything cool is happening during the breaks tonight. Makes you want to use a VPN if you’re in the United States! Penta lands a corner stomp on Kofi for a two count. An on-screen graphic alerts us that AJ vs Finn is official for tonight. The crowd chants for Penta as Kofi hits the Boom Drop. Kofi spins into a big boot and a Backstabber for a two. Penta fails to headscissors Kofi in, suplexing him instead. He crunches Kofi down with a Penta Driver for another two count and again, these moves are looking scary tonight. Kofi rolls out, Penta picks Grayson and sends the petition flying comedically. Penta springboards over onto Kofi and Woods. Woods screams in agony, holding his neck, as Penta brings Kofi back in. As Grayson distracts Penta, Kofi lands Trouble in Paradise for a three count.

Kofi Kingston pins Penta. Another good match, but of course it is with these two. Waller carries poor Woods in his arms.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves greet us properly on camera, hyping up the Clash in Paris countdown show. Cole recommends watching WWE Unreal and I recommend reading my reviews on it. We watch a clip of Cody Rhodes in the show.

We switch gears and look at the drama between Iyo Sky, the Kabuki Warriors, and Rhea Ripley. This takes us to Rhea Ripley stretching backstage and Iyo Sky dropping in. Iyo thanks Mami for having her back last week. She tells Rhea that Kairi and Asuka are her family and aren’t happy about her getting involved in their business, telling Rhea that they should keep their distance. We see Asuka and Kairi Sane lurking in the background as Rhea tells Iyo she gets it. They hug and Asuka motions in anger in the back.

Then we have a NINE MINUTE COMMERCIAL BREAK and Netflix breaks, showing the same ads several times.

WWE is an ESPN thing now, and it starts with WrestlePalooza. Tickets available!

We play some sappy music and look at Naomi and Big Jim announcing her pregnancy last week. The Bloodline continues, baby!

Raw GM Adam Pearce meets with Stephanie Vaquer. He says she is #1 contender, but the match in Paris can’t happen. He needs a week to finalize details and he will give her the title shot she has earned.

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch comes out with her Wonder Years theme and the drone flying towards her. She gets a large amount of boos and tells the crowd that this place was a big part of her journey. Thirteen years ago, she had her WWE tryout in Birmingham. “It was a dump then and it is a dump now! Speaking of dumps, Nikki Bella thinks she can call me out in my ring.” She says she doesn’t just respond to things like a little dog, which brings us WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella. “Hey Becky, if you’re not a dog why are you acting like a little bitch?”

Becky tells Nikki she doesn’t call the shots and isn’t giving a title shot to “Broke-Neck Barbie.” Nikki reminds her that she beat her ass last week and paved the way for her. Becky tells her that she doesn’t care about Nikki’s history and never respected her, she wanted to replace her and has done a good job. Nikki tells Becky that she used to be Charlotte’s little scared sidekick (fans “wooo”) and Becky says she is no one’s shadow, as it says in her song. Nikki tells her that she cares what the people say and they made Becky relevant and now she’s just desperate. “You might be a champion but you’re another C-word… a coward.” Becky: “That is WAY WORSE than the other C-word I thought you were going to say!” Becky gives her the match at Clash in Paris because she is NOT wrestling in Birmingham. “The only good thing that came out of here died a month ago, but in fairness to Ozzy Osbourne he had the sense to move to LA, a proper city. If I lived in Birmingham, I’d die too.” Nikki snatches the belt and tells Lynch she’ll be introduced as new champion, then they brawl. Becky dodges a Rack Attack 2.0 and leaves her belt behind. I liked this!

Jackie has caught up with CM Punk, wanting his reaction to LA Knight’s thoughts. He tells us he’s not trying to be friends here, but he was trying to get people on the same page. He says he’s obsessed with the World Heavyweight Title and at Clash in Paris, the Best in the World is coming back to be champion again.

Rhea Ripley vs Roxanne Perez (with Raquel Rodriguez)

As always, the screams for Rhea are LOUD and very high-pitched. One thing they’ll never do is put a Rhea intro behind a commercial break. Cole gushes over the rookie year of Perez, calling it one of the best ever. After a quick attack from Rox, she’s able to duck out of a Riptide attempt to the outside. “Let’s go Rhea” chants as Rox dives right into Rhea’s hands but isn’t able to follow through. Rhea has some words for Raquel, and Rox uses that as a time to dive onto Rhea. Rox works Rhea’s knee on the apron, but Rhea pulls her right into that big ol’ ring post. Rhea tries to lift Rox up with one arm on the apron and can’t, then Rox drops her hard on that knee as the fans chant “Rhea, Rhea Ripley” to the tune of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”

After a break, Raquel stops Rhea from a Razor’s Edge. As Rhea is distracted, Rox nails a beautiful rana and a knee for a two count. Raquel has done a cool thing lately on social media by showing her vantage point via some Rayban glasses, so perhaps we’ll see some from her vantage point of all this. Rox runs into a headbutt and this time a complete Razor’s Edge, but kicks out at a two count. Rox rolls out and Rhea continues favoring her knee. “Let’s go Mami” chants as Rox dodges a kick but Raquel feels it. Rox dropkicks the knees and misses PopRox. Rhea catches Rox with another headbutt and Riptide, straddling her for the win.

Rhea Ripley pins Roxanne Perez. Raquel attacks afterwards of course. Rhea fights out but the double team is too much, the crowd chanting for “Iyo.” They get what they want and she sprints out to help Rhea. This was a fine match too.

Big Bronson Reed, Paul Heyman and World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins meet up backstage. Seth knows what Bronson is capable of because he’s felt it firsthand. He tells Reed that Paris is his time and he’s going to destroy Roman. We pan over to Bron Breakker, and Seth tells him to make sure LA Knight doesn’t make it to Paris. “This is the Vision boys, it is everything we dreamed of,” and promises it will grow.

Famous people love Raw! Georgie Farmer from “Wednesday” season two part two is here! How specific. Celebrities, they love this stuff – especially celebrities that happen to have shows on Netflix!

Iyo and Rhea meet backstage, Rhea giving Iyo a touch on the chin before leaving. Asuka and Kairi Sane come up angry and Asuka tells Iyo to stop talking to Rhea. Kairi stays behind and Iyo tells her to please trust her. Kairi: “I’m sorry.”

AJ Styles vs WWE World Tag Team Champion Finn Balor

This is a pretty big matchup to be having on a random Monday afternoon. Cole covers AJ’s TNA history and congratulates new TNA Knocksouts Champion Ash by Elegance. They start tentatively early, going back and forth across the ring. Balor dropkicks Styles to the ringside mat and we head to another break.

Back from those ads, Styles catches Finn with a brutal drop onto his knee. They trade near-moves but AJ is able to land a Pele Kick and the sliding forearm, then a knee for a two. They trade a few counters and Styles tries to roll into a calf-crusher, but we keep on rolling to a Styles Clash for a three. A big, surprising win for AJ.

AJ Styles pins Finn Balor. I know this description makes it sound like there wasn’t much to the match and… there kinda wasn’t. What we got was good, but it was an abbreviated match. I figured we’d get some Grande stuff but nope. It wasn’t BAD, but it was just kind of a thing that happened for a few minutes. No real storyline progression in the segment.

Jey Uso is talking backstage and just wants to be champ, you feel him Uce? We pan over to said Uce, Roman Reigns. Roman tells Jey to stop worrying about help and tells him to do it for himself. He even gives him a yeet before walking off.

Cole reminds us of the special start time next week – 2 pm EST/11 am PT. We’ll be in Paris! He also reminds us that Raw is brought to you by Snickers, a snack they also enjoy in England! Do the Snickers have veins there too?

Bayley joins us for another vignette. The voices are talking to her again, but this time it’s the friendly, Hugger Bayley voice. It tells her they are successful because they believe in themselves. Ding Dong Bayley voice tells her that they’re better off without her. The voices battle each other and compare accomplishments. Bayley tells them to stop, yelling at them. I continue to like this, but I know it’s not for everyone.

Adam Pearce has found Lyra Valkyria, who is concerned about Bayley. Adam says he hasn’t heard anything official. Lyra suggests checking in on her. Dominik and friends walk up and ask Pearce to take care of the “AJ situation.” Adam offers AJ vs Dom next week in Paris for the Intercontinental Title. It is official. Dom calls Adam “Charles Xavier” as he walks off, telling him this does not work for him.

Michael and Corey run through the Clash in Paris card. It’ll happen this Sunday at 2 pm EST/11 am PST and I imagine our buddy Scott Keith will have a review of it up.

Bron Breakker is walking and Roman attacks, taking Bronson down with a Superman Punch as well. Maybe we’ll get a shorter main event! I mean good story development! I’m still tired at the end of the show and it’s 5:12 p.m. LA Knight attacks Bron and bounces him off some equipment cases and they brawl through Gorilla and down the ramp. This doesn’t seem fair at all to Bron.

Knight whips Bron very gingerly into the entrance tron. Bron into the Tron! They battle into the crowd and back on down the ramp. It’s a good time for a commercial break!

L.A. Knight vs Bron Breakker (with Paul Heyman)

We come back to the match happening, with Knight whooping up on Bron. He’s been in control the entire break, we’re told. Breakker finally fights back, still in his t-shirt. He’s able to change the complexion of the with a simple clothesline. The fans chant and bark for Bron as he works over Knight on the ropes. Bron gets control for an extended session, and the fans want tables, as they always do in every country. Brawling outside, Bron slings Knight into the stairs, and we take our final commercial break. If we’re going to do anything on Raw, it’s having a three-segment main event whether we need it to be that long or not. (It does not this week.)

They’re still battling as we come back. Breakker dodges a neckbreaker and signals for the spear. Knight dodges with a kick but runs right into a press-slam, though Knight falls through for a DDT. We get our first “this is awesome” chant of the night as they crowd have been busy chanting and singing every other thing instead. Knight and Breakker trade blows, Knight getting the advantage with a running clothesline. He hits that neckbreaker. Knight leaps over Breakker, who clotheslines his way out of a BFT attempt. Bron drops the straps and speeds up again, again running into a boot. Knight leaps up top for a superplex and heads right back up for a nice elbow. Cue Seth Rollins and his theme. Seth doesn’t jump in, but Knight runs after him and right into a spear. The crowd chants “CM Punk” and this time, Breakker nails the spear in-ring for a three count.

Bron Breakker pins L.A. Knight. Seth immediately attacks after and you know what happens now, because it happens every single week on Raw. Main Event Jey Uso is now in your city and slowly comes out to make the save, tossing Bron out and attacking Seth. He superkicks Rollins and Breakker jumps in, giving Rollins the chance to pedigree Jey. “Cult of Personality” brings out CM Punk, who meets up with Bron in the aisle. As the crowd sings the theme, Punk works through Bron and heads in for a showdown with Rollins. They brawl and Bron is able to pull Seth out of the ring. As Rollins taunts from the aisle, the fans chant “Seth’s a pussy.” Rude of them. Punk helps Uso up, Knight spins Punk around and the argument is on. Uso tries to stop it and is shoved too, so we end up with all three men brawling. Jey superkicks Knight and hits one on Punk too, ending the show standing alone in the ring. It was a good match with the expected result. I wish the expected result wasn’t so expected in the main event of Raw nowadays.

A solid show and we’re done before 6 p.m. on the east coast. I’m not mad at it!