WWE Monday Night Raw Review – 11.17.25

It is being billed as the final Raw appearance ever for John Cena. That’s all the intro this review needs.

The last week in WWE via the Blog of Doom team: Raw / NXT / Impact / Turning Point / SmackDown

Then, Now, Forever, Together.

New York City. It’s Madison Square Garden, a land of history and the place where we celebrate John Cena. We’re live on Netflix and presented by DoorDash.

Arrivals! WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch is here and tapes a picture of herself over CM Punk’s picture. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes takes pictures with fans. The Vision and Logan Paul are here as a unified team… with Drew McIntyre. Drew hands Paul Heyman a contract. Solo Sikoa pulls up – he’ll battle a mystery opponent. Big Gunther walks into cheers for the first time since SummerSlam. It’s a big night.

Here’s a look at last week. You may recall that John Cena completed the Grand Slam by defeating Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship.

After a very loud “Cena” chant, WWE Intercontinental Champion John Cena starts off Monday Night Raw one last time. We have the abbreviated set tonight as we often do at the Garden. The fans sing along with his theme. The great Alicia Taylor introduces him as the new Intercontinental Champion. A “Cena” chant turns into a sustained “thank you Cena” chant and back into a “Cena” chant. This crowd is LOUD. Cena gives the point to Alicia who gives him the extended introduction. Here’s another “Cena” chant and another “thank you Cena.”

Cena thanks the fans in New York City. “Madison Square Garden, the champ is here!” He tells us that this will be the last time we can talk together in MSG and on Raw. That brings us to the music of AAA Mega Champion “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio and boy, he’s not going to be popular tonight. The boos are plentiful and drowning out Dom. “Last week you were handed a title shot just like you’ve been handed everything else. I have fought for everything that I have so I want a rematch for MY Intercontinental Championship.” John says Dom came to the right building and he’s not backing down on his last Raw. He has to do one thing first though and ask New York City how they feel. They are into it.

“No,” replies Dom. We’ve already done it Cena’s way and now we’re doing it Dom’s way (the fans chant “shut the fuck up”). Dom calls out Survivor Series on his home turf. Cena says it is done and throws in the ESPN plug. Cena says he does have a problem though in that he told the world he’d had a match tonight and he sees an opponent. He thinks we should forget about the title tonight and focus on the crowd.

Judgment Day’s theme plays and out comes Finn Balor and JD McDonough. I’m not sure I could name Judgment Day’s theme if you played it for me and I’ve watched them wrestle every Raw since I started recapping this show. Dom tells Cena he isn’t getting his final match but is going to get his ass beat. Judgment Day attack and here comes Sheamus. Sheamus can’t beat the odds either, but I imagine he’s not the last. WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio jogs out and now we have an even fight. They clear the ring and friends, Cena says he has a team and he’d love a fight right now.

WWE Intercontinental Champion John Cena, Sheamus and WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio vs The Judgment Day (AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor and JD McDonough)

The match started during the break so we’re joining in with Finn and JD double teaming Sheamus. Cena clotheslines his way out and tags Rey who springs up on JD and ranas Finn. Wade Barrett reminds us that this is Rey’s first match in seven months. Rey sets up the 619, Dom trips him and takes a boot to the face. Finn tosses Rey to the floor and we take another break.

As we return, Finn gets a two on Rey. Rey tries to fight out of the Judgment Day corner and gets the hot tag to Cena. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle on JD who leaps out of the Attitude Adjustment. Sheamus and Rey try for the save, letting JD drop a moonsault, Finn drop the boot and Dom land the frog splash. They try to all cover Cena but Sheamus and Rey come for the save. Hot spot there. “This is awesome” chant. The boys save Dom from a 619 but all three good guys pull the Judgment Day up and offer ten beats a piece to their opponents chests. Cena, Sheamus and Rey all offer up a Five Knuckle Shuffle, Sheamus moving Cena to the middle. Rey hits a 619 on both Finn and JD, Finn stumbles into a Brogue Kick and JD into the Attitude Adjustment. One, two, three.

John Cena, Sheamus and Rey Mysterio defeat Judgment Day when Cena pins McDonough. Hot match and especially hot finish. Sometimes you just want to see the good guys get the win and it worked perfectly here. We need “feel good” moments sometimes. Cena thanks the fans through the camera one last time.

Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett greet us from ringside and take a look back at SmackDown.

Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis are complaining about Drew McIntyre. Paul Beyman wanders in and says what he did on SmackDown was in WWE regulations. He says that if his fourth pick of Drew pissed him off, wait until they see what he has in store for them. Uh oh. They open it and give us “uh oh.”

WWE World Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer is walking. She’s next.

Celebrities! They love Raw! Eric Andre of “Little Brother” on Netflix is here. Ashley Cooke, who sang “God Bless America,” is here. The Philadelphia Eagles are here and the fans don’t like it. The New York Giants are here as well, including Cam Skattebo. Cam Skettebo is a NXT Generator name. Andrew Schulz is here too, I guess.

During the break, Dom slaps the Schultz fella, and the Giants come to his rescue. They actually throw hands.

Jackie Redmond is in-ring and says she’ll have an exclusive interview but first gives us a look at Nikki Bella turning last week. WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer joins us to a good response. WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella is here to attack, throwing Vaquer into the tron. Nikki grabs Stephanie’s hair and says she didn’t come back to cheer on the sidelines, she came back to take back what is hers – this division. “Mamacita, thank you for reminding me who the hell I am.” She says Stephanie will give her a title shot and will bow down to her. This is a good role for Nikki.

The Highlight of the Night is presented by Little Caesars. We look at Charlotte deciding she didn’t want to be a part of Rhea Ripley’s WarGames team on SmackDown.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria are walking and come across the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Kabuki Warriors. Asuka tells Bayley she can forget the past if Bayley joins her team. Bayley laughs and goes through all they’ve done to her, telling her no. Kairi gives Bayley a “you can’t see me” as Asuka calls her away.

The Last Time is Now Tournament First Round: Solo Sikoa (with Talia Tonga) vs Dolph Ziggler

Can we get Solo on Raw more often? Big Dolph has returned. Good for him. He gets quite the pop which is nice. We last saw Dolph on Raw in 2023, going to a double count out in one minute against JD McDonough. The fans give Dolph a big “welcome back” chant and follow it up with a “let’s go Ziggler” chant. Ziggler splashes Solo in the corner and drops an elbow. The chants keep going as he hits a beautiful top rope elbow drop but only gets a one count. We replay that to take a break.

Solo is working over Ziggler when we return. Dolph dodges the hip attack and spikes Solo with a DDT then hits the Blonde Ambition for a two count. Solo catches a running Dolph and turns him inside out with a Solo Slam for a two count, Dolph selling like crazy of course. Solo calls for the spike and Dolph rolls him up for two. Dolph hits the Zig Zag and Solo kicks out at about 2.8, the fans buying the near fall. Ziggler calls for the superkick, Solo catches him and still gets kicked. Dolph can’t get a second Zig Zag but Solo can nail the spike, getting the three.

Solo Sikoa pins Dolph Ziggler to advance to the second round of the Last Time is Now Tournament. I expected Solo but it was a good moment for Ziggler and, as always, he made his opponent look great. Good to see you, Dolph.

The Highlight of the Night is presented by Google. Well, the second Highlight of the Night. It’s a Ve’Von Evans highlight reel.

Alexa Bliss is walking, and it looks like we’ll be talking to her next.

Celebrities! Lil’ Yachty is here and shows off SmackDown vs Raw 2006 on his phone. UFC Featherweight Aljamain Sterling is here. My man Lin-Manuel Miranda is present alongside Stephanie McMahon and Elyse Dudzinski (the other host of her podcast). I hope Lin-Manuel appreciates how many times I’ve listened to Hamilton.

Alexa Bliss is here. She sends Charlotte a message because Charlotte has avoided her all weekend. “What the hell, Charlotte.” WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Kabuki Warriors alongside Lash Legend and Nia Jax come out for the interruption. Nia tells Alexa she looks like a loser all alone in her sparkly pants and as her former best friend, she understands why Charlotte has left her. They line up for a four-on-one attack and here’s Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky for the save, though we’re still down a woman. Team Asuka gets the numbers advantage and Lash gives Alexa the knockout punch that looks phenomenal.

Charlotte Flair’s music hits and she runs out with a kendo stick, smacking Nia and Lash. Flair offers a hand to Bliss and helps her up, checking on her. Rhea appears and gives Iyo a hug because they’re always doing that now as the two tag teams look at each other.

Joe and Wade run over our new Survivor Series matches – Cena vs Dominik and Vaquer vs Bella.

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title: WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch vs Maxxine Dupri

Maxxine has defeated Becky in their last two matches. Alicia gives us the championship introductions. Becky gets in Maxxine’s face during the intros, and this gives us a chance to see that Jessika Carr is the referee for the third time in this series. As Becky argues with Jessika, Maxxine dropkicks Becky for a two count. Becky presses Maxxine off the top and splashes her in the corner, dropping her down with stomps and getting back into Carr’s face and we take a break.

Maxxine is rallying. She hits a fisherman’s suplex and kips up, dropping the strap and dropping a leg in the general area of Becky’s head. Becky elbows and tries to work Dupri’s arm. Dupri goes for corner punches and Lynch powerbombs her down for a two. Becky hooks the armbar and Dupri gymnastically bridges out, Becky rolling her back into it. Maxxine rolls it into a two and slides into a pin attempt. Maxxine locks on the ankle lock and leaps onto the mat to fully lock it in. Becky rolls it into a pin and kicks the injured arm again, this time hitting the Manhandle Slam but close enough to the ropes where Maxxine can put her boot on the bottom rope.

Becky takes time to yell at Jessika again, putting her finger on her chest. Jessika shoves her hand down, Becky simmers and goes back to Maxxine. As Carr counts the countout, Becky tries to remove the ringpost cover and here is AJ Lee. Becky turns around into a crossbody and friends, Maxxine Dupri is your new WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion.

Maxxine Dupri pins Becky Lynch to win the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title. A lot of people aren’t going to like this, but they’ll be okay. I’m very interested to see where they go with the belt here, but it also provides an exit ramp for Becky to not be in the division for a while. It was a pretty good match. Becky is yelling at Eric Andre after the match as Maxxine celebrates with AJ.

Celebrities are still here! Brandon Marshall, the NFL Christmas Day analyst, is here with the new LJN figures. Chuck Zito is here! Of course, Gabriel Iglesias is here. He’s practically a part of the ringside setup.

The Last Time is Now Tournament First Round: Gunther vs Je’Von Evans

Je’Von is already in the ring. Gunther has a robe now and has regained his classic theme. I don’t like Je’Von’s chances but I’m looking forward to this. Je’Von flips out of an armbar, and Gunther places his gently on the apron, patting him on the head. The fans chant for Goldberg. Evans charges back in and chops Gunther which probably wasn’t smart. D’Von ducks and chops again before Gunther boots him and we take a break.

Je’Von is on another comeback when we return but it doesn’t last long as Gunther locks a Boston crab on him. The fans chant for “Y2J.” Don’t encourage that man! Je’Von gerts a kick and leaps up with a springboard rana but Gunther catches him and tries for a powerbomb, Je’Von rolling in for a two. Gunther locks the sleeper and Evans bounces out again, nailing Gunther with the spin kick. Je’Von suicide dives onto Gunther who catches him and tosses him back into the apron video screen, giving us another scene for a replay and an ad break.

Je’Von is on the comeback yet again. He trades punches with Gunther but Gunther stops throwing in those chops. Je’Von springboards into a boot Je’Von spins out of a suplex, knocking Gunther to ringside. This time he lands the suicide dive. Evans goes up top and nails a crossbody, going to the other side and going up again. Frog Splash and Gunther kicks out at two. The fans chant about the match being awesome despite being asses a few minutes ago and chanting for multiple people not in the match. Gunther powerbombs Je’Von and Evans kicks out, so Gunther locks in the sleeper and Je’Von almost escapes, Gunther rolling it and Evans fading.

Gunther defeats Je’Von Evans by submission to advance to round two of the Last Time is Now Tournament. Of course, Gunther is winning his return match. Je’Von got some good spots despite the rude crowd, but this was Gunther’s to win. I’m not sure if they turned the crowd around or the crowd ran through their list and decided to pay attention.

Maxxine and AJ are celebrating backstage when Jackie walks up with congrats. Maxxine says she feels like she belongs here. Tozawa and Otis walk up to celebrate with Maxxine while Jackie stays behind with AJ. Jackie asks AJ if she’ll stick around this time. AJ says Becky makes her feel things, so who knows. She turns around into Rhea Ripley who wants a second to chat. Yeah, do this!

Next week, the tournament continues. Gunther battles either Carmelo Hayes or Big Bronson Reed and Solo takes on either Finn Balor or Penta. We’ll also have the Men’s War Games advantage match.

The Vision (Bron Breakker, Big Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman) walk out with Logan Paul. Drew McIntyre joins them during the break. We have a man left for each tearm and I bet we’re about to figure out the Vision’s partner. Paul introduces himself and then each member of his team to various reactions. Paul calls it the greatest assemblance of talent in WarGames history which is erasing the Dungeon of Doom but okay, sure.

CM Punk and “Cult of Personality” have some thoughts after the MSG crowd sings for him. Main Event Jey Uso and Big Jim Uso yeet through the MSG crowd which would probably give the Vision boys a good chance to attack Punk but they don’t. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes completes the slow entrances of the good guys one-by-one.

We have our big four-on-four brawl and the faces get a pretty big lead as the fans chant for “OTC.” We’re brawling all over as the fans sing for Roman. I’m afraid I have some bad news. Punk goes for GTS and the music of Brock Lesnar hits, cowboying out. Brock suplexes Punk around for a bit as the reception is a bit mixed after the initial pop. Cody takes a suplex. We’ve evolved into a full-on boo and chants for “OTC” as the credits roll.

Stay tuned though, here’s OTC1 Roman Reigns to the usual god pop. They stare down as the fans chant “holy shit” and then sing for Roman. Roman hits a Superman Punch and knocks Brock out of the ring, security here to stop the madness. Bronson jumps Roman and takes down a few security guards, heading up and trying for a Tsunami only for Roman to pop up and Superman Punch him down. Wade calls for the NYYD who are here to break up the brawl, they are ineffective and Roman spears Bronson and two officers as we fade to black.

It was a big show. A lot of enjoyable stuff happened. Cena’s segment was a lot of fun as expected and the Maxxine suprise is a great wrinkle. The Brock surprise was less of a surprise. As with most Raws, I’d say hit YouTube or FF on Netflix for the opener, the Women’s Intercontinental Title match and maybe Gunther and Je’Von.

Next week, we enter a post-Cena reality.