Tag: Raw

Nick Hogan, Eric Bischoff attend second Hulk Hogan tribute on WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A second Hulk Hogan tribute was held on WWE Raw.

The open to Monday’s show was a second tribute to Hogan, who passed away on Thursday following cardiac arrest. Eric Bischoff, Nick Hogan, Hulk Hogan’s manager, and representatives from Real American Beer were seen on stage as Triple H said a few words about Hogan’s legacy. After that, a ten bell salute took place.

A new video then aired highlighting Hogan’s career, this time with the song ‘Ordinary’ by Alex Warren playing. 

For international viewers, the commercial break that took place after consisted of some of Hogan’s biggest moments, including his match against Randy Savage at WrestleMania V, the heel turn at Bash at the Beach 1996, and his match with The Rock at WrestleMania X8.

On SmackDown, a similar tribute took place, with notable WWE stars of the past such as Jimmy Hart, Sgt. Slaughter, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan attending. After their ten bell salute, a video narrated by Triple H aired highlighting Hogan’s accomplishments. 

AEW Collision the following day had its own televised tribute, with Tony Schiavone taking time to talk about Hogan’s family and his legacy on TNT.

WWE Raw live results: SummerSlam go-home show

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: July 28, 2025
Location: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI 

The Big Takeaway —

Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed laid out Roman Reigns and Jey Uso in the final segment. 

**********

Show Recap — 

Raw started as SmackDown did, with a tribute to Hulk Hogan. Wrestlers and others were on the stage as the fans cheered for Hogan. Nick Hogan and Eric Bischoff were among those on stage. Paul “Triple H” Levesque said a few words, and they aired a Hogan video package after a ten-bell salute.

Oddly, Triple H was not actually there. More strange than that, they just re-aired what he said on SmackDown as a voiceover as everyone else stood on stage. 

Fans cheered the video. Only a few wrestlers applauded along with them. 

********

Hulk Hogan career highlights aired during a commercial break. 

Opening segment 

Jey Uso entered to his customary reaction. He was about to run it back and play his music again, but Paul Heyman interrupted. 

Heyman said he was not out there to disrespect “Main Event” Jey Uso, who was, in fact, in tonight’s main event. Heyman wanted to talk about family. Heyman was about to enter the ring, but after seeing the look on Jey’s face, he scampered back to the aisle. 

Heyman couldn’t believe Jey accepted Roman Reigns’ invite to be his partner against Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. Heyman knew Jey loved his family, but he told him that family would always let him down and get him in trouble. That wasn’t a prediction, that was a prophecy. (The crowd chanted, “OTC.”) 

Heyman informed Jey that Santa Claus wasn’t the one who left presents. His mother lied. The crowd booed, so Heyman said their mothers all lied, too—except for the Jewish ones. (“My tribe knows better,” he said.) 

Rikishi may have told Jey that he wanted him to be more iconic than him. But his father lied, too. When Reigns named the next in line for Tribal Chief, he picked Solo Sikoa, not Jey Uso. That didn’t work out so well. Now, Reigns might tell Jey he wants Jey to be as big as him, but Reigns was lying too. 

Heyman was simply telling this to Jey because he loved him. He loved Jey just like family. Heyman yelled, “Yeet,” and dropped the mic. 

Jey responded: family was the reason he was out there. Jey would pull up for his family every single time. The bloodline still ran deep in his veins. Heyman was being disrespectful by talking about the things Jey could do without Reigns. Jey already did those things. He went out on his own and won the world title to prove to himself that he could. Jey wondered where Heyman’s family even was. 

Jey said Heyman screwed Reigns at WrestleMania, while his boys screwed him out of a world title shot. Whatever happened to them at SummerSlam was on Heyman’s ass.

Since he wasn’t able to earlier, Jey had them play his music again so the crowd could Yeet.

(It was good to give Jey his own talking segment here with Heyman so he doesn’t feel so secondary to Reigns in this program.) 

******** 

Six-person mixed tag team match: AJ Styles, Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez & Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio 

The babyfaces were in control until Dom pulled Perez to safety, causing Sane to collide with the bottom turnbuckle, in full view of the referee. The ref turned her attention to a pissed-off Styles, and that distraction allowed Rodriguez to boot Sane while outside the ring. (This happened in the ref’s peripheral vision.) 

There were duelling chants of “AJ Styles” and “Dirty Dom” during a break. Sane speared Perez, but she couldn’t make a tag because Rodriguez yanked Asuka off the apron. (It was meant to be a surprise, but you could see Rodriguez run over.) Sane couldn’t tag Styles either, because Dom blatantly entered the ring and decked Styles. This all happened in front of the ref. 

Styles finally got the hot tag, and he ran wild on Dom to the crowd’s delight. Styles set up for a Phenomenal forearm, but Perez stepped in front of Dom to stop it. Asuka and Sane assisted in taking out Perez. Styles assisted Sane in hitting a big dive to wipe out Rodriguez. 

Styles finished off Dom with a Phenomenal forearm for the pinfall win. 

Match result: AJ Styles, Asuka & Kairi Sane defeated Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio and Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (10:42)

This match was really all about the last minute or so. The crowd was into Styles, so it came across well enough despite not being much of a match. 

********

Jackie Redmond congratulated Sheamus on his win over Rusev. He quoted Big E by saying it was an example of big, meaty men slapping meat. That got a laugh out of the crowd. Speaking of Big E, Sheamus’ interview was interrupted by Grayson Waller, flanked by The New Day. 

Waller talked tough and said the greatest tag team of all-time had his back. An argument between the two led to a match being made. Waller turned around to realize that New Day had vanished and suddenly did not have his back. 

********

Detroit Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs and UFC fighter Jamahal Hill were in the crowd. 

Sheamus vs. Grayson Waller

Sheamus had it won and set up for a Brogue Kick, but had to stop upon seeing Rusev hit the apron. Sheamus knocked him down, but Waller caught him in a schoolboy for two. Sheamus popped up and hit a Brogue Kick for the easy win. 

— Rusev attacked Sheamus with a shillelagh and applied an Accolade as some fans chanted, “We want Lana.” Rusev held the submission for a while until officials finally got him to let go. 

Match result: Sheamus defeated Grayson Waller (4:09) 

*******

Redmond interviewed Naomi about her upcoming title defence against Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky. Naomi said she could bring the brutality like Ripley, and fly like Iyo Sky. Everyone in the division was passive-aggressive, but she was aggressive-aggressive, and tonight’s tag match would be a cautionary tale. She did her goofy evil laugh and warned everyone to proceed with caution. 

Byron Saxton interviewed New Day during a break. 

******** 

They aired some words on Hulk Hogan from Logan Paul, AJ Styles, Jim Duggan, Jimmy Hart, Natalya, Jey Uso, The Miz, and Cody Rhodes. Rhodes said Hogan was the first ‘superstar,’ and the wrestling business no longer has its Babe Ruth. 

Michael Cole announced that net proceeds from Hogan’s merchandise sales would be donated to his family. 

********

Heyman told Bronson Reed that Jey Uso thinks they’re just a group without a leader. Bron Breakker stepped in and said they have a leader now. Breakker told Reed to take out Jey with a Tsunami, and they could take control of WWE starting tonight. Reed was on board. After Reed left, Breakker told Heyman that he had a plan. 

Lyra Valkyria segment

Valkyria entered. She did a little twirl to show off her shoes, which she called “Becky stompers.” This got no reaction. She then misspoke and said she would be standing there in two weeks—then corrected herself to say one week—as Women’s Intercontinental Champion. 

She acknowledged that maybe she would fail and wouldn’t be standing there at all, because Lynch would have to beat her into the ground to walk out as champion. Valkyria knew Lynch didn’t like to play by the rules, which was the reason she won the title in the first place. 

Valkyria was happy to play it Lynch’s way. Valkyria was not playing into Lynch’s hand, because she knew exactly what Lynch was capable of. But Lynch didn’t know what Valkyria was capable of. Valkyria was prepared to go to a place she had never gone before. 

Lynch’s music hit, and Valkyria turned her attention to the stage. Nobody entered, so Valkyria quickly realized what was going on (Lynch was behind her, outside the ring). Valkyria ran and hit a baseball slide to Lynch. Lynch had a kendo stick, but Valkyria fought her off with it until Lynch bailed.

******** 

Sami Zayn and Karrion Kross segment 

Sami Zayn did a sit-down interview with Corey Graves. Zayn wanted to be done with Karrion Kross. Kross was getting in the way of achieving his goal, which was to be the world champion. 

Kross and Scarlett interrupted, and Kross took Graves’ seat. Kross said he had every intention of attacking Zayn with a steel rod, but he realized Zayn wouldn’t make it to SummerSlam if he did. Everybody Kross has dealt with so far has wound up showing their true colours, except for Zayn, and that was starting to piss him off. When Kross beat him at SummerSlam, he wanted to hear Zayn say, “Kross told the truth.” Then they could go their separate ways. Kross said Zayn was no better than him. 

Zayn said he wasn’t sure what Kross wanted. If Kross did win, Zayn was willing to say whatever he wanted. But Zayn wanted Kross to know he was wrong about him—and maybe Kross was wrong about himself. Zayn said he would beat Kross at SummerSlam, and wanted to hear Kross say he was wrong. 

********

Bayley interview

Redmond interviewed a downtrodden Bayley. She said she lost her chance at the IC title and tag titles, did not wrestle at WrestleMania, and wouldn’t have a match at SummerSlam. She was at a loss for words. She left. 

******** 

SummerSlam will begin each day at 6 pm ET/3 pm ET. The countdown show is 3 hours long. 

Cole announced a sold-out crowd tonight of 14,703. 

Eight-woman tag team match: Women’s World Champion Naomi, Chelsea Green, Piper Niven & Alba Fyre vs. Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Stephanie Vaquer & Nikki Bella 

It’s been 30 minutes since the Sheamus match ended, and that match went 4 minutes. 

Nikki was in control until Fyre made a blind tag and hit her with a superkick. This led to a break and, of course, Nikki made a hot tag to Sky moments after they returned. 

Sky was cut off after a distraction from Naomi, and the heels took over again. Niven and Green took turns hitting moves on Sky, so Vaquer and Nikki broke up a pinfall attempt. Ripley tried to get involved, but Naomi shoved her into the steel steps. 

Vaquer got a hot tag, and she laid out all four opponents. With all four laid out against each turnbuckle, Vaquer handed out running knee strikes to everyone except Naomi. Naomi managed to block it, but Vaquer caught her with a dragon screw instead. The crowd got louder when Vaquer hit Green with Devil’s Kiss. 

Nikki gave Fyre a Bella Buster. She stared down Naomi, who was about to enter the ring. Naomi had enough, so she grabbed her belt and began leaving, but Sky intercepted her and chucked her in the ring. Nikki and Sky laid out Naomi. Nikki and Sky did Sky’s pose. Niven laid out Nikki and Sky with a double clothesline, and did Sky’s pose too. That got a pop. 

Ripley gave Niven a Rip-tide. Green slapped Ripley, so Ripley got in her face until Green backed into Vaquer, who hit an SVB for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Stephanie Vaquer, Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY & Nikki Bella defeated Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, Alba Fyre & Women’s World Champion Naomi (14:36)

This was ok. Ripley did give Niven her finisher, but she otherwise did surprisingly little in the match. Perhaps saving her for the weekend. 

********

Judgment Day were not in a good mood backstage after the earlier loss, but Finn Bálor cheered them up by pointing out all their gold despite Liv Morgan not being there. Dom asked him if he wanted them at ringside, but Bálor told them to chill backstage. 

Perez handed Dom a new Nintendo Switch and suggested he play WWE 2K25 (they already have it playing on the big TV and PS5 behind them). Rodriguez was annoyed and reminded Dom that Morgan also liked to play that game. 

******** 

Backstage, Sky told Ripley that she has never beaten her and never will. Ripley said, ‘we’ll see.’ 

World Tag Team Championship match: Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh vs. Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro

Wilde hit a big dive before a break, but Judgment Day took control during the break. Del Toro made a lukewarm tag and woke up the crowd by hitting McDonagh with an impressive coast-to-coast missile dropkick. Wilde and Del Toro followed with suicide dives.

Wilde hit Bálor with a moonsault, and Del Toro followed with a Phoenix splash, but McDonagh broke up the cover. 

El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) ran out and hit the apron to distract Del Toro, but Dragon Lee ran out and they brawled to the back. Bálor used the distraction to put Del Toro in a small package for two. Del Toro superkicked Bálor and kicked McDonagh off the apron. Wilde took out McDonagh with a crazy flip dive off the top. 

Del Toro went to the top, but was tripped by a different masked man (dressed like Chad Gable). I have no idea how the ref didn’t see this. 

The masked man ran off, and Bálor hit Del Toro with a Coup de Grâce for the pinfall win. Judgment Day retain. 

Match result: Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh defeated Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro to retain the World Tag Team Championships (10:55)

Credit to LWO for getting the crowd into this even though nobody would’ve thought they could win. The fans were also into the shenanigans at the end. 

********

Gunther and CM Punk segment 

Gunther entered wearing an all-black suit, black t-shirt and his gold title belt. The crowd chanted for Punk. 

Gunther called last week a clean victory for him because he went toe-to-toe on the microphone with supposedly the best talker in the world, CM Punk. Gunther told him to his face what would happen at SummerSlam and left the ‘voice of the voiceless’ speechless. He made Punk understand that he does not deserve to call himself the best in the world and will never be a world champion. Most of all, he made Punk shut the hell up. 

Punk entered to a big reaction. Punk said he wasn’t speechless last week, he was dumbfounded. Not by what Gunther said, however. While standing across the ring from someone as great as Gunther, it dawned on him that he doesn’t want to be World Heavyweight Champion: “I need to be World Heavyweight Champion.” 

Punk fired up and said he needed to be champion like he needed air in his lungs, and like he needed a heart to pump blood through his veins. He needed to be a champion like the Red Wings needed a 12th Stanley Cup. 

He didn’t smoke or drink or do drugs, but he understood addiction. This place was his addition. He needed to raise the title over his head as a ‘thank you’ to the fans who chanted his name for over ten years (while he was gone). 

Punk said he doesn’t ‘deserve’ to call himself the best in the world; he earned that right. He also earned the right to be arrogant about it. Gunther was as arrogant as him, but he couldn’t back it up. Punk left a pile of bodies behind him, including Hall of Famers and legends that Gunther could only dream of. 

Gunther tried to tell him to shut up, but Punk cut him off. Punk responded, “There’s levels to this, kid.” Punk would teach him at SummerSlam that he was not on his level. Punk planned on leaving Saturday as the champion. At least Gunther would know what it was like to share the ring with the one and only, best in the world, CM Punk.

(It was a little cliché, but this was a strong promo by Punk.) 

******* 

The announcers ran down the SummerSlam card. Sunday is overloaded with gimmick matches: a cage match, a TLC match, a street fight and a no-DQ match. (Plus a triple threat, which is technically no-DQ.)

Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed (w/Paul Heyman) 

Reed fended off some early offence and had complete control. Literally the moment they returned from a break, Jey avoided a senton and came back with right hands, a superkick, and a suicide dive. 

Bron Breakker sprinted out down the aisle and speared Jey for the DQ. The crowd chanted, “OTC.” 

— The heels attacked Jey until Roman Reigns entered to his music. Reigns knocked Breakker out of the ring but couldn’t get Reed up for a Samoan drop. Reigns avoided his charge, and Reed went shoulder-first into the ring post. Reigns helped Jey to his feet. Jey superkicked Breakker off the apron, and Reigns gave Reed a Superman punch. 

Reigns and Jey stepped out of the ring and went for running spears, but Breakker cut Reigns down with a spear while Reed knocked down Jey with a body block. (Because both things were happening simultaneously, it was easy to miss Breakker cutting down Reigns with a spear.) 

Breakker speared Jey in the ring, and Reed followed with a Tsunami. Breakker noticed Reigns getting to his feet, so he flew off the apron and clotheslined Reigns over the announce desk. Breakker tossed Reigns into the ring, and Reed hit him with a Tsunami. 

Breakker stood above a fallen Reigns and told him everything around here was his now. The ring, the ropes, the cameraman, the fatasses in the arena—they were all his. 

Reigns and Jey found themselves near the part of the barricade that always breaks, so Breakker ran around the ring and speared them both through it. (This was followed by a funny bit where Reed removed Reigns’ sneakers and happily announced, “These belong to me now!”) 

Breakker and Reed (holding Reigns’ shoes) stood tall with Heyman in the ring as the show ended. 

Match result: Jey Uso defeated Bronson Reed via disqualification (7:09)

The match was an obvious waste of time, but the go-home angle was what they needed to do with this team, with the emphasis on Bron Breakker. 

WWE Raw live results: Roman Reigns addresses Paul Heyman

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: July 21, 2025
Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX 

The Big Takeaway —

Roman Reigns addressed Paul Heyman in the main event segment with a long promo where he did not say much of note. Reigns wanted everyone to know that it was Heyman who ruined the Bloodline. The focus shifted to Bron Breakker, who had enough of Reigns. A brawl ended with Jey Uso saving Reigns, and the two men standing tall.

**********

Show Recap — 

There was a video package of last week’s gauntlet, focusing on Bron Breakker’s lengthy run, CM Punk’s win, and Roman Reigns’ return. 

Sami Zayn (still being referred to by Michael Cole as the ‘underdog of the underground’), Becky Lynch, and Judgment Day were shown arriving. 

Dominik handed the keys to their SUV to a valet—who happened to be AJ Styles (in full valet attire). Styles hoped Dom got cleared today. Dom left, and Styles chucked the car keys away. 

CM Punk and Gunther segment 

Punk entered, and the crowd chanted his name as he stood atop the Slim Jim logo in the ring. Punk told Houston he had two goals when he returned: main event WrestleMania and become world champion. He was still working on the latter because he kept getting sidetracked by people who took things a little personally. 

Punk looked forward to facing Gunther, whom he called one of the best wrestlers in the world. He couldn’t promise a win, but with the help of the fans, he could promise that he would give everything he had. 

Gunther was the Intercontinental champion for 666 days and was now on his second run with the world title. Punk only had two weeks to train for this “beast.” But Punk remembered he’s been training for this his whole life. Punk wasn’t just any challenger—he was the best in the world. 

Gunther interrupted. Punk got in his face, but Gunther stepped back. The crowd chanted, “You tapped out,” and chanted for Punk. Gunther stalled for a while before addressing Punk. 

Gunther said he did not want to create any drama. He said they were both there for the same reasons. Not to make friends, but to make money and win championships. 

They each considered themselves the best in the world. They both had massive egos. But Gunther’s ego was justified, unlike Punk’s. Punk’s ego was based on what the fans thought. Gunther’s ego was based on his accolades. The best was the one who held the world title. 

Gunther only focused on what happened in the ring, and when the bell rang at SummerSlam, he would make Punk regret that he ever stepped in a wrestling ring. 

Gunther would drop him like a wet towel, and Punk would realize he was right: Punk would never be champion and would never be best in the world. The only thing Punk would have was the degenerate fans chanting his name for the rest of his life. 

Gunther’s music played, and he left as Punk watched. (I guess the production team knew Punk wouldn’t have a response to this.) 

********

Byron Saxton tried interviewing Stephanie Vaquer, but they were interrupted by Naomi. They had never met, so Naomi introduced herself as the world champion. Vaquer knew who she was. 

Naomi said they would see each other at Clash in Paris, but Vaquer said that would only happen if she survived at SummerSlam. Naomi was offended by the comment and was confident she would see her in Paris. She did her evil laugh and left. 

******** 

Sheamus vs. Rusev

Cole yelled, “It’s fight night, baby!” in the most annoying manner during Sheamus’  entrance, but you were lucky enough to miss it if you aren’t able to watch the show during commercials. 

A few minutes in, Sheamus went to the top for a dive to the outside, but he lost his balance and returned to the ring. Rusev had to pretend he was still hurt and went back to a knee as Sheamus simply returned to the top. The fans got behind Sheamus as he hit the flying clothesline to the outside. 

It didn’t matter because Rusev grabbed him seconds later and hit a fallaway slam over the announce table to take over during a break. 

Sheamus came back as soon as they returned, but when he went for the Brogue, Rusev caught him and hit a powerbomb for two. Rusev went for a thrust kick, but Sheamus nailed him with a great-looking knee strike for a nearfall. Sheamus came off the top, but Rusev hit him with a thrust kick (which didn’t look great) for a nearfall. 

Rusev applied the Accolade, but Sheamus got a rope break. As in their previous match, Rusev booted Sheamus while Sheamus asked for more. Rusev ripped the padding of the metal turnbuckle rod, but Sheamus bounced Rusev off it instead. 

As the referee fixed the padding (which seems low-priority), Rusev grabbed Sheamus’ shillelagh. Before he was able to use it, Sheamus nailed him with the Brogue Kick for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Sheamus defeated Rusev (14:50) 

I thought for sure Rusev would kick out, because the ref was still distracted when Sheamus made the cover. Rusev was down for 3-4 seconds already before the ref ran over to count the fall. 

They’re 1-1 now, and I suppose Rusev can demand a rematch after Sheamus technically cheated. 

********

Saxton interviewed El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser). Kaiser spoke a few words in Spanish before being interrupted by Dragon Lee. Dragon Lee called him a fake who didn’t have the fire. Kaiser pie-faced him, so they brawled until officials quickly broke it up. 

They aired a “sneak peek” of WWE Unreal. It was just a backstage clip of IShowSpeed being rushed out to replace Akira Tozawa in the Royal Rumble. The footage provided no insight whatsoever. It was the same sort of clip they would have aired on the next Raw show.

Lyra Valkyria confronted Bayley about getting Adam Pearce to put them in a tag title match. Valkyria was bewildered, but Bayley said they were finally getting the match they were supposed to at WrestleMania. Valkyria said she beat Bayley’s ass last week and was focused on SummerSlam. Valkyria wondered what game she was playing. Bayley acted like everything was cool and said she would see her in the ring. 

******** 

Triple threat tag team number one contender’s match: The New Day vs. Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro (w/Dragon Lee) vs. The Creed Brothers (w/Ivy Nile)

New Day had control during a break. Wilde made a hot tag after the break, and the crowd barely reacted, but they got into his offence. However, Ivy Nile knocked him off the top rope. Dragon Lee tried to help by going after the Creeds, but he was attacked by El Grande Americano. The Creeds got in Kaiser’s face until Del Toro wiped them all out with a great-looking corkscrew plancha. 

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods set up Wilde for their finisher, but Wilde chucked Woods out of the ring and caught Kingston in a schoolboy for the pinfall win. 

The crowd popped for the win. LWO are now the number one contenders for Judgment Day’s tag titles. 

Match result:  Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro defeated The New Day and The Creed Brothers (9:19) 

********

After a replay aired of the Kabuki Warriors losing last week, Iyo Sky told them that they would soon be tag champs. Kairi Sane said Sky would soon be world champion again, and Asuka wished her luck at SummerSlam. 

Vaquer confronted Sky. Sky recalled that she had Vaquer beat the last time they wrestled (until it was interrupted). Sky challenged her to a match tonight, and Vaquer accepted. The crowd popped big for that. 

********

Vic Joseph interviewed TNA Champion Trick Williams during a break. He was booed. This was meant to plug Undertaker’s appearance on tomorrow’s NXT (also in Houston). Williams said he didn’t have a problem with Taker, but they could talk if he wanted. Taker acted like his knees didn’t have an expiration date, and Williams needed to knock him out and knock his eyes to the back of his head. 

********

Pearce tried convincing Dom to go get checked out by medical (and said it only takes five minutes). Dom kept making excuses, but Pearce told him to go get it done. Dom bumped into Styles, now acting as a custodian. Dom ran off. 

New Day were baffled by the sight of Styles working as a custodian (he was mopping the floors). They complained about recent events on Raw and said they needed something to restore things to normal. 

Grayon Waller popped in to inform them that Austin Theory was injured and was finally off his back, because A-Town Down Under was no more. Waller offered them his services. New Day were confused by this, but did not dismiss him. Waller left to get their car. 

So after all this time, Theory and Waller are done, and it happened in a backstage New Day segment without Theory. 

********

Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria segment 

Lynch entered. She wanted the fans to show her some appreciation. She shouldn’t even be here. She should be on the red carpet plugging her new movie, Happy Gilmore 2. Instead, she was in Houston. She did things she didn’t want to do because that’s what leaders did. She put over her slick victory at Evolution. 

People accused her of keeping others down, but Valkyria was the one bogarting everyone else’s opportunities. Valkyria was already getting an IC title shot, and now was getting a tag title shot. She wondered who would even need two belts. She said it was different when she was Becky Two Belts, because Valkyria was just being selfish. 

Lynch called out Valkyria, and she entered. Lynch said she made Valkyria a star, but that free ride ended at SummerSlam. Lynch said that if Valkyria lost at SummerSlam, she could never challenge for the belt again. 

Valkyria said she learned that whenever she thought she had dealt with a problem, it came back to haunt her. Maybe she didn’t take things far enough. She accepted Lynch’s terms but had terms of her own: no countouts and no disqualifications. 

Lynch accepted. Lynch said this was the most important match involving this title because it would dictate the future of the title. 

Lynch wanted to be the bigger person and told Valkyria to shake her hand. Valkyria went to shake her hand, and Lynch tried a cheap shot, but Valkyria saw it coming and laid her out with a Man-handle slam.

******** 

Women’s Tag Team Championships: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (c) (w/Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio) vs. Lyra Valkyria & Bayley

Valkyria became distracted by Bayley as she urged the crowd to “woo” (as they do during Valkyria’s entrance). Rodriguez necked Valkyria over the top rope and distracted the referee so Perez could hit a cheap shot. 

Bayley made a hot tag after a break, and the crowd booed her offence. Even though they weren’t getting along early, Bayley and Valkyria started working together. Valkyria hit Perez with a sit-out powerbomb, but instead of making the cover, she tagged in Bayley to hit her flying elbow drop on Perez. She did, but Rodriguez broke up the cover. 

Valkyria confronted Dom outside the ring. Rodriguez tried to boot Valkyria, but she ducked, so Rodriguez booted Dom by mistake. Rodriguez called for medical to check on Dom. The medic was Styles, who aggressively gave Dom chest compressions until Dom managed to escape. 

This distraction allowed Lynch to chuck Valkyria into the ring steps. Perez used that distraction to roll up Bayley, but Bayley kicked out and applied a cradle for two. Rodriguez made a blind tag, which Bayley didn’t see. 

Bayley hit Perez with a Bayley-to-belly, but Rodriguez planted Bayley with a Tejana Bomb for the pinfall win. 

Rodriguez and Perez will defend the tag titles at SummerSlam against Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. 

Match result: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defeated Bayley & Lyra Valkyria to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships (15:18) 

********

Jackie Redmond interviewed Sami Zayn, who she thought was out indefinitely. Zayn admitted he wasn’t 100% and should probably take more time off, but he was sick of Karrion Kross. Kross was the reason he wasn’t on Raw last week, and if he was on the show, he would’ve won the gauntlet. Zayn didn’t want to wait any longer to get his hands on Kross. 

******** 

Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh met with Dom. A pissed-off Pearce told Dom to go to medical now and threatened to take the IC title. Dom was upset, and he left. Bálor looked concerned, but asked Dom to get them some lollipops. 

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross (w/Scarlett)

Zayn wrestled with his ribs taped. There were duelling chants early in the match, and Kross stopped his mounted punches so he could hear the fans chanting for him. 

Zayn hit an Arabian press, but Scarlett kicked Zayn in his injured ribs as the referee checked on Kross. Kross had control through a break, and Zayn made his comeback after the break. 

Zayn gave Kross an exploder in the corner. (They were really close to the ropes, and Kross landed awkwardly. I think his face hit the rope or buckle, because his nose was bleeding after this.) Scarlett handed Kross a pipe.

Zayn set up for a Helluva Kick, but Scarlett grabbed his leg. The ref argued with Scarlett instead of sending her to the back or calling for a DQ. As she distracted the ref, Kross hit Zayn in the ribs with the pipe for the pinfall win. 

(After the match, Kross rubbed the blood from his nose over his face for effect. He then kissed Scarlett, who wound up with blood on her face, and she used her finger to make a streak of blood down her cheek. I’m guessing they’ll be told not to play up blood again like this again.) 

Match result: Karrion Kross defeated Sami Zayn (10:04)

This was a very dull match, and the crowd was appropriately quiet throughout. 

********

Pearce and Styles met the medic, who said he needed more time to finish his paperwork (before he could clear Dom). Pearce and Styles were eager for the results. Dom suddenly decked Styles from behind and confidently accepted the match at SummerSlam. 

(This was a weak payoff. Dom avoided accepting the match all this time just so he could push Styles down from behind? It’s not like Styles is actually hurt. SummerSlam is less than two weeks away, so I guess they had to make it official.) 

********

Cole announced a sold-out crowd of over 13,000. 

Texas rapper That Mexican OT and Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale were shown in the crowd. Some fans chanted for Mattress Mack. (He runs a furniture store.) 

IYO SKY vs. Stephanie Vaquer

As they did a few weeks ago, they had a very good match until the finish. 

They had an excellent back-and-forth exchange, but Vaquer got the better of Sky during a break. At one point, the crowd cheered because they thought she was going for Devil’s Kiss, but she wasn’t. 

Sky applied a crossface, but Vaquer got a rope break. Vaquer rolled outside, so Sky hit an Asai moonsault, followed by a missile dropkick and double footstomp. Vaquer responded with a German suplex, but Sky hit one, too. 

Sky tried to kill Vaquer with a sunset flip powerbomb to the outside, but Vaquer blocked it. Vaquer instead hit a knee drop across Sky’s chest while on the apron. Vaquer followed with Devil’s Kiss on the apron and in the ring, to the delight of the crowd. 

Vaquer went for SVB, but Sky countered it into a similar move (double underhook backbreaker) for two. The crowd chanted, “This is awesome.” Sky went up for a moonsault, but Vaquer hit an avalanche reverse vertical suplex (off the middle rope), which looked awesome.  

The Secret Hervice marched out to ruin the match. Vaquer knocked Piper Niven and Alba Fyre off the apron, but Chelsea Green decked Vaquer from behind for the DQ. 

— The heels beat up Vaquer until Sky wiped out Green with a missile dropkick. Vaquer and Sky double dropkicked Niven out of the ring. 

Sky and Vaquer stood tall together until Naomi decked Sky from behind (knocking Vaquer out of the ring). Niven and Fyre put the boots to Vaquer while Naomi attacked Sky. 

Rhea Ripley ran out to an absolutely monster pop. She laid out Niven, Fyre, and Naomi. Sky and Vaquer attacked Green, and Ripley laid her out with Rip-tide. The three babyfaces stood tall. 

Match result: IYO SKY defeated Stephanie Vaquer via disqualification (15:04)

******** 

The announcers ran down the SummerSlam card. 

Roman Reigns segment

Paul Heyman entered first, with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. Heyman had a lot to say, but was quickly interrupted. 

Reigns entered to a huge pop and “OTC” chants. (Heyman stopped speaking, but he probably could have said everything he needed in the time it took Reigns to get to the ring.)

Heyman told Reigns that Seth Rollins would be out of action for a long time. That opened up a leadership opportunity. That meant they could fix this. They could get back together because Reigns knew they were better together than opposing each other. Heyman told Reigns, “I love you, my Tribal Chief,” as the crowd chanted, “You sold out.” 

Reigns told H-Town to acknowledge him. They did. (Breakker was visibly bored by this.) Heyman raised his finger in the air. 

Reigns said Heyman wasn’t a Wise Man anymore, he was just a dumbass. Breakker was pissed by this comment, and was held back by Heyman and Reed. Reigns called him “junior” and told him to settle down. 

Reigns advised Breakker to sit under the learning tree and listen, because Heyman would do the same thing to Breakker as he did to him. When Breakker was the man on top in a few years, Heyman would take all the credit. 

Reigns has heard a lot of people trying to take credit for creating the Tribal Chief. He could say firmly it wasn’t because of Heyman. He was still the Tribal Chief because the fans still acknowledged him. 

Reigns was the greatest champion to step foot in this ring, and he admitted Heyman had a part in that. But Heyman didn’t help him keep that title. The Usos did. Solo Sikoa did. (The crowd Yeeted.) Even Sami Zayn helped out. 

Reigns finally lost the title after four years. He didn’t tuck his tail and go home. He went home and raised the future Bloodline. Bloodline was family. The dumbass Heyman thought they were just another faction or wrestling group. But you couldn’t create the Bloodline—that was God’s work. (They held back Breakker again, and Reigns again told him to back down.) 

Reigns said Heyman was always a friend and business partner to the Bloodline, but Reigns was the one who accepted him in. Heyman threw it all away for his “best friend,” whom he hadn’t even talked to in ten years. Reigns didn’t ever want to hear anyone say he ruined the Bloodline. Heyman ruined the Bloodline. 

Breakker stepped in front of Heyman. He told Reigns nobody wanted him here anymore. Reigns was yesterday’s news. His prime was five years ago, and now he was taking up Bron’s time in the ring. Heyman wouldn’t stab him in the back because he had value, while Reigns was worthless. He was the top dog now. He told Reigns to leave. 

Reigns acted like he didn’t hear Breakker, so he offered him his microphone instead. As Reigns chucked his mic to Breakker, Reigns gave him a Superman punch. He attacked Reed, but turned around and was speared by Breakker. 

Breakker held down Reigns as Reed set up for a Tsunami, but Jey Uso ran out to make the save. Jey speared Breakker while Reigns simultaneously speared Reed. 

Jey helped Reigns to his feet. Jey’s music played as the two men stood tall.

(The fans love Reigns, so it doesn’t really matter what he said, but there was a lot of revisionist history here. There was also a line where he said Heyman killed the Bloodline because of his best friend, whom he hadn’t spoken to in ten years. I assume he meant Punk. Heyman did accompany Punk to the ring at WrestleMania, but he turned on both of them to join Rollins. Reigns didn’t address Rollins at all. Perhaps Reigns missed a line because he was too busy telling Bron to settle down.) 

John Cena’s final WWE Chicago appearance set

Posted on by Joseph Currier

John Cena is heading to Chicago this September for his final WWE appearance in the city.

WWE announced a slate of new Raw and SmackDown dates today, confirming a couple of stops Cena will be making on his retirement tour. Cena will appear on the September 5 episode of SmackDown at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois and the Monday, September 15 episode of Raw at Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The Rosemont date is being advertised as Cena’s final appearance in Chicago. It’s expected that Cena will be back in Massachusetts this December when his final match takes place in Boston, but details of that have not been confirmed by WWE yet.

“Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena will make his final appearance in Chicago when SmackDown returns to Allstate Arena on Friday, September 5, followed by a return to his home state of Massachusetts when Raw takes place at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield on Monday, September 15,” WWE wrote.

Whether Cena will still be Undisputed WWE Champion when these shows happen remains to be seen. He has a title defense against Cody Rhodes set for SummerSlam in August.

The full list of new Raw and SmackDown dates is available below. As of now, Cena is only advertised for the Rosemont and Springfield shows. The ticket on-sale date for each event is Friday, July 25 at 10 a.m. local time.

New WWE event dates —

  • September 5: SmackDown at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois (John Cena advertised)
  • September 8: Raw at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • September 12: Smackdown at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia
  • September 15: Raw at Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts (John Cena advertised)
  • September 29: Raw at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina
  • October 3: SmackDown at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
  • October 6: Raw at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
  • October 17: SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, California
  • October 20: Raw at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California
  • October 24: SmackDown at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona
  • November 24: Raw at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Roman Reigns advertised for next two WWE Raw episodes

Posted on by Joseph Currier

It looks like Roman Reigns will be appearing on both remaining episodes of WWE Raw leading into SummerSlam.

After making his return to WWE programming earlier this week, Reigns is now advertised for the July 21 and July 28 editions of Raw. Those respective shows are being held in Houston and Detroit at the Toyota Center and Little Caesars Arena.

Reigns had been away from WWE TV since the fallout of WrestleMania 41, where Paul Heyman betrayed him and joined up with Seth Rollins instead. The Rollins-Heyman faction now also includes Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. Reigns’ SummerSlam plans figure to include at least one of Breakker or Reed now that Rollins is potentially facing an extended absence from the ring due to injury.

The show-closing angle of Raw this Monday was Reigns returning and saving CM Punk and Jey Uso from an attack by Breakker and Reed. In the main event of the show, Punk prevailed over Breakker in a gauntlet match to earn a World Heavyweight Championship shot against Gunther at SummerSlam.

This year’s SummerSlam is the first time the PLE has been a two-night event. It’s taking place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Saturday, August 2 and Sunday, August 3.

Reigns has booked a role in an upcoming live-action “Street Fighter” movie that begins production in Australia this August. Cody Rhodes is also reportedly set for an appearance in that film.

WWE Raw notes: Naomi, Stephanie Vaquer, Seth Rollins

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Notes from tonight’s WWE Raw.

Naomi opened the show following her cash-in at Evolution, pinning IYO SKY to win the Women’s World Championship. After SKY and Rhea Ripley came out and argued about who should face Naomi next, Adam Pearce appeared and congratulated Naomi on officially joining the Raw brand. A triple threat match was then made for next month’s SummerSlam.

At Evolution, Naomi seemingly finished her feud with Jade Cargill, who picked up the win over Naomi in a no holds barred match with Bianca Belair as special guest referee.

During an interview with Stephanie Vaquer, it was announced that Vaquer would challenge for the Women’s World Championship at Clash in Paris on August 31. After Nikki Bella was attacked by the Secret Hervice after picking up a win over Chelsea Green, Vaquer came down to the ring for the save.

No specific update was given regarding Seth Rollins’ injury status on Raw. Paul Heyman noted that it was too soon to know how injured he is. Heyman also pointed out that Rollins has until June to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase, and until that deadline nears, Rollins’ health is not a relevant subject.

WWE Raw live results: Number one contender’s gauntlet

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: July 14, 2025
Location: Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL 

The Big Takeaway —

CM Punk won a gauntlet match to earn a world title match against Gunther at SummerSlam. Bron Breakker ran the full gauntlet—beating Penta, LA Knight and Jey Uso—for 42 minutes before ultimately losing to Punk. 

Roman Reigns returned following the main event to take out Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, and it appears he may have a date with Breakker at SummerSlam. It was clear they’ve decided to start pushing Breakker following Seth Rollins’ apparent injury. (There was no update on Rollins tonight.) 

A night after Evolution, women dominated Raw up until the gauntlet match. Naomi will defend her world title in a triple-threat match at SummerSlam against Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley. Lyra Valkyria beat Bayley in a 2-out-of-3 falls match and will face Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental title at SummerSlam. 

**********

Show Recap — 

A big video package highlighted Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution. Gunther, Jey Uso, CM Punk (wearing a Bret Hart hat), Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman arrived at the arena. 

Michael Cole and Corey Graves are tonight’s announcers. (Pat McAfee is at the Home Run Derby, which is on right now.)

Naomi segment

Naomi entered with her new Women’s World Championship belt. The crowd, of course, chanted, “You deserve it.” Naomi cut them off because she didn’t want to hear that now. They weren’t feeling the glow before, but they were feeling her now. They all thought she would cash in on Tiffany Stratton, but she warned them that nobody knew her next move, and that’s why she stood there as the champion. The crowd cheered. 

Naomi was done with the foolishness of SmackDown. She didn’t betray Bianca Belair—she outgrew her. She said Belair and Jade Cargill didn’t really want her to succeed. She was their flunky as long as it was convenient for them. She cut off some “What” chants and said she had the upper hand now, bitches. 

Cargill got a win at Evolution, but Naomi is the one who made history. Naomi was new on Raw again, but she advised the raggedy women in the back to proceed with caution. 

Rhea Ripley interrupted to a big reaction. Ripley informed Naomi that she wasn’t cautious. She was relentless and pissed. She had two goals at Evolution: to finally beat Iyo Sky and regain the title, but because of Naomi, she still had those goals. Now Naomi was on her list. 

Iyo Sky interrupted next, also to a good reaction. She told Ripley, with respect, to get in line because she planned on taking her title back. 

Naomi, making fun of Sky’s English, responded, “I don’t know what you just said,” and people laughed. Naomi called them entitled and told them to get to the back of the line. 

They began arguing until Adam Pearce interrupted. Pearce officially welcomed Naomi to Raw and told her she did deserve to be champion. Pearce understood why Ripley and Sky were pissed. He said their match was magic. 

SummerSlam was soon, and he wanted to blow the roof off MetLife Stadium. (There is no roof at that stadium.) He announced a triple-threat match for the title. All three women were content with this, and the fans cheered. 

********

Judgment Day met backstage. Dominik said he couldn’t relax with AJ Styles stalking him. Finn Bálor said he had nothing to worry about as long as he had his doctor’s note. 

Bálor put over Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez for their big win last night. Bálor suggested Dom accompany them to ringside for their match tonight, but Dom wasn’t sure about that. Bálor said Liv Morgan loved those titles, so they should do it for her. Everyone left, and Bálor was pleased. 

********

They posted some stat claiming that all three events this past weekend drew 277 million views across all social platforms. They could have said 500 million, and it would’ve been just as meaningful. 

******** 

Asuka and Kairi Sane entered ahead of a commercial break. Since moving to Netflix, they’ll often cut away during break to a backstage interview or something, but they didn’t do that here, so the two women just danced to their music for two straight minutes. 

Non-title match: Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (w/Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio) vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane 

Like last night, Asuka and Sane were all over Perez until Rodriguez came in to get the momentum on their side. Asuka made a hot tag after a break, but the crowd seemed more focused on telling Dom that he sucked. 

Dom tried to distract the referee, but it made no difference. Asuka posted Rodriguez and hit Perez with a missile dropkick, strikes, and a German suplex. 

Dom got on the apron again, so Asuka knocked him off with a back fist. Perez used the distraction to put her in a schoolboy for the pinfall win (Rodriguez used her boot to assist Perez). 

Match result: Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez defeated Asuka & Kairi Sane (10:24)

This was pretty much a nothing match. It felt like they just wanted to get the champs a cheap win with Dom’s help, and Asuka and Sane were on the wrong side of it. 

********

Jackie Redmond asked Heyman for an update on Seth Rollins. Heyman didn’t have that information, but reminded her that Rollins had until next June to cash in his MITB briefcase (which Heyman held). Heyman said it was Bron Breakker’s night to go through everyone in the gauntlet, punch his ticket at SummerSlam, and beat Gunther for the world title. 

********

Byron Saxton interviewed LA Knight during a break. Knight said he came out of SNME with a win. It was unfortunate Rollins was injured, and Knight wished him a speedy recovery. Knight wanted Rollins to recover because he wanted to hurt him. Rollins hurt himself before he had a chance. Knight wanted Rollins to return so he could hurt him the right way. Knight admitted he wasn’t 100%, but he planned on running the gauntlet with a world title shot on the line. 

They aired a clip of George Kittle laying out The Miz (Mike Mizanin, not Jacob Misiorowski) at a celebrity golf event over the weekend. 

********

Redmond interviewed Lyra Valkyria about her 2-out-of-3 falls match against Bayley tonight (with a title shot on the line). Valkyria didn’t like the question. She didn’t want to talk about Bayley. It was all about her and Becky Lynch. After she won tonight, Redmond could ask her about her title match against Lynch at SummerSlam. 

Bayley interrupted. Bayley told Valkyria she needed this more than she did and told her to stay out of her way. 

2-out-of-3 falls match: Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria

Valkyria got the better of an early exchange and dismissively patted Bayley on the head. Bayley slapped Valkyria in the face and rolled her up for the first pinfall, just 1 minute and 25 seconds into the match. It was good timing by Bayley because they went to break moments later. 

After the break, Valkyria went hard into the turnbuckle, and Bayley noticed she might be hurt. Bayley hesitated for a moment but began targeting her back. Bayley hit a back suplex onto the apron, followed by a spinning back suplex in the ring for two. Bayley tried a la magistral cradle, but Valkyria caught her in a rollup for a pinfall at 9:32. It’s tied at one. 

Bayley responded quickly with a running knee strike ahead of another break. Valkyria drove Bayley’s leg against the post and began working over her knee. Bayley fought back after the break after dropping Valkyria over the middle rope. Valkyria fought back and went for a diving leg drop, but Bayley caught her and hit a Bayley-to-belly for a nearfall. 

Valkyria suplexed Bayley out of the corner and hit a gutwrench sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. (Cole thought it was Valkyria’s finisher.) Valkyria followed later with a fisherman’s suplex on the apron. They traded cradles as Bayley sold her leg. 

They found their way to the outside, and Bayley gave Valkyria a sunset flip powerbomb into the steel steps. Bayley shoved her in the ring and hit a flying elbow drop onto Valkyria’s back for a nearfall. 

Bayley immediately applied a crossface. Valkyria crawled to the ropes, but Bayley pushed off. Valkyria used the momentum to get to her feet while hoisting Bayley on her shoulders, and she hit Nightwing for the pinfall win. 

— Lynch marched out to the ring and held her belt up high as she faced off with Valkyria. 

(Cole made some comment about Bayley’s losing streak continuing. She has now lost two in a row, but isn’t on some significant losing streak.) 

Match result: Lyra Valkyria defeated Bayley to earn a Women’s Intercontinental Championship match (19:57) 

This was a good match, and the crowd got into it more as it went. It felt like a big win for Valkyria. 

********

Redmond interviewed Stephanie Vaquer backstage. Vaquer said she came to WWE to be champion, and after Clash in Paris, she will be. Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice interrupted. Green thought she would represent them better in Paris than Vaquer. Vaquer dared her to take a shot. Green hid behind her cronies and said she was busy with Nikki Bella tonight. 

There was a pre-taped promo by Karrion Kross and Scarlett. Kross basically accused Sami Zayn of ducking him and didn’t think he was injured. Kross told Zayn to stay home until he was ready to tell the world that Kross told the truth. 

******** 

Nikki Bella vs. Chelsea Green (w/Piper Niven & Alba Fyre)

Bella was all over Green, so Green bailed outside and hid behind Niven and Fyre. When they returned to the ring, Bella went to the ropes, but Green kicked her leg out of her leg and hit a backstabber to take over. 

There were duelling chants, and this may have been the most definitive example of the men chanting for one wrestler (Green), and the women chanting for the other (Bella). 

Nikki came back with clotheslines and a springboard kick for two. Green followed with a neckbreaker for two. Green went for an Unprettier, but Nikki hit a “Bella Buster” (X-factor). Niven distracted the referee while Fyre tried to attack Bella, but Bella posted her. 

This led to the finish, which was a struggle. After a lengthy attempt, Bella eventually got Green on her shoulders and hit a “Rack Attack 2.0” (which didn’t look good at all) for the pinfall win. 

— Niven and Fyre attacked Bella after the match, but Vaquer ran out to make the save. She cleared the ring and posed with Bella. 

Match result: Nikki Bella defeated Chelsea Green (6:23) 

This was no good at all. 

********

(It should be noted that Raw started with a women’s talking segment and three consecutive women’s matches, the night after an all-women’s PPV.) 

Backstage, New Day were dressed in all-black, mourning their tag title loss. They had a gift for Pearce, presented by Grayon Waller. He offered Pearce a wig on a silver platter. Kofi Kingston figured this gift was enough to get a title rematch. Pearce said they don’t just “get” a rematch, but they would get a chance to earn one next week. He told them not to flip their wig and flipped the plate over. 

Pearce left upon seeing Judgment Day nearby. He didn’t buy Dom’s injury after seeing him get involved earlier. He said he spoke to WWE medical, who would reevaluate Dom next week. If cleared, he would defend the title against AJ Styles at SummerSlam. 

Styles was nearby, literally praying to God that Dom get cleared. Dom didn’t like this, so he pleaded with God, too. 

********

Gunther got in Penta’s face as he walked through the back. Gunther is up next. 

Saxton interviewed American Made backstage. He asked about El Grande Americano. They said it was clearly Ludwig Kaiser. Saxton asked about the earlier Chad Gable rumours, but Ivy Nile ignored him. Nile said everyone was on notice. 

********

Redmond asked Rusev what he planned on doing next after beating Sheamus. Rusev said people called him a God, but maybe he was a saint fending off Irish snakes. Now the world knew what he always knew, that he was better than Sheamus. 

Sheamus interrupted. He said he spoke to Pearce, who agreed that Rusev was a dirty, cheating bastard, so he issued a rematch. (This didn’t get much of a reaction.) Rusev said he was here to dominate gold, not gingers. He left. 

********

Gunther segment 

Gunther entered, and he was in a good mood after retiring Goldberg. Some fans chanted for Goldberg. Gunther said the fans weren’t very bright because Goldberg obviously wasn’t there. (The fans chanted, “You tapped out,” instead, and for some reason, they began censoring it, maybe thinking it was something else.) 

Gunther said he fulfilled every promise. He bullied, humiliated, blew up, and choked out Goldberg—and ended his myth. There was only one question to ask: “Who’s next?” 

He knew the answer would come soon. He would watch from a suite as five of the finest competitors would compete for his amusement—and to identify his SummerSlam challenger. He didn’t care who it was. Before he could finish his thought, Breakker and Heyman interrupted. 

Heyman shook Gunther’s hand. He began introducing himself as usual, but Gunther cut him off. Gunther simply wasn’t interested, so he began leaving the ring—until Breakker cut him off. Breakker faced off with Gunther as Heyman cut a promo. 

Heyman said Breakker would run the gauntlet and beat Gunther for the title. Heyman knew that was no easy task. He saw how Gunther beat Goldberg. But you haven’t been speared until you’ve been speared by Bron Breakker. 

Breakker was “the next big thing” and “the big dog.” This was his “yard,” and he was a Steiner. He would break through the glass ceiling and break Gunther’s ass at SummerSlam. There’s going to be a new World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam, and his name is Bron Breakker. 

Bron stepped aside, and Gunther left.

******** 

World Heavyweight Championship number one contender’s gauntlet match

– Bron Breakker vs. Penta 

Bron had control for a while (and through a break), and the crowd seemed to be getting restless until Penta made his comeback. Penta tried a springboard move, but Bron speared him out of the air for the pinfall win. That got a good reaction. (This went just under 10 minutes.) 

Penta has lost five matches in a row. His last singles win was against Chad Gable in May.

– Bron Breakker vs. LA Knight

Knight was in complete control early on, but they needed to go to another break, so Bron dropped him over the announce table to take over. A double clothesline spot led to a double-down, so the previously quiet crowd chanted, “This is awesome.” They did get into it from here. 

Knight fought back with jabs, a neckbreaker, DDT and a step-up flying elbow drop for two. Knight went for a BFT (Cole thought he was going for a neckbreaker), but Bron pushed him off. Bron tried a dropkick, but Knight hit a powerbomb. 

Knight tried the BFT again, but Bron raked his eyes and hit a lung blower. Bron followed with a spear for the pinfall win. (This also went about 10 minutes, and it was more entertaining than the previous match.) 

– Bron Breakker vs. Jey Uso

Jey immediately wiped out Bron with a suicide dive. They were headed to break, so Jey had them play his music again, and he Yeeted while Bron sold outside the ring. 

Jey was in control after the break and hit a running hip attack for two. Bron came back later with a Frankensteiner for two. Jey responded with superkicks and a spear for a nearfall. 

Jey went to the top, but Bronson Reed yanked him off the top. Cole said there were no DQs in a gauntlet match. I have no idea why that would be. No DQs meant the match continued, so Bron followed with a spear for the pinfall win. (This only went about 7 minutes.) 

– Bron Breakker vs. CM Punk 

Knowing Bron was exhausted, Punk immediately attacked him with his jacket still on. Punk sent Bron out of the ring and removed his jacket during a break. Punk held control through a break, but Bron caught him off the ropes and hit an overhead suplex. Bron stood over Punk and mocked his “It’s clobbering time” catchphrase. 

After Bron hit a vertical suplex, it sounded like Punk told him to take it easy, but I could be wrong. (Bron’s been in the ring for 35 minutes at this point.) 

Bron tried a Frankensteiner, but Punk countered into a cradle for a nearfall. Punk made his usual comeback and fended off some potential Reed interference before hitting a flying elbow drop for two. 

Punk applied an Anaconda Vice, so Reed attacked Punk. Again, no DQs. (That feels like such a cheat.) Jey Uso ran back out (to his music) to take out Reed. 

Bron went for a spear, but Punk booted him and hit GTS for the pinfall win. 

CM Punk will face Gunther at SummerSlam for the title. 

(This went about 10 minutes. Bron wrestled the full gauntlet match for about 42 minutes.)

— Reed attacked Punk as he celebrated. Jey tried to make the save, but Bron speared him. Bron speared Punk, too. They stacked up Punk and Jey so Reed could go for a double Tsunami, but Roman Reigns entered to a monster pop. 

Reigns hoisted Reed on his shoulders and hit a big Samoan drop. He gave Bron a Superman punch, and he speared Reed. 

Reigns helped Jey to his feet. Punk put his hands up for Reigns to help him up, too, likely knowing Reigns would never actually do that. Punk got to his feet, and they gave each other a knowing look before Reigns turned his attention to the heels on the stage. 

The crowd loudly chanted “OTC” and sang Roman’s name. Reigns stared at the heels as Punk embraced Jey, and the show ended. 

Match result: CM Punk won a gauntlet match to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship (42:18)

**********

Official for SummerSlam so far: 

  • John Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship 
  • Naomi (c) vs. Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship 
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship 
  • Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship 
  • Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul 
  • Gunther (c) vs. CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship

Sami Zayn out ‘indefinitely’ following WWE Raw angle

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Sami Zayn has been written out.

Prior to his match against Bron Breakker on Monday, Zayn was attacked by Karrion Kross. Zayn insisted the match go on as scheduled. During the match Breakker speared Zayn once on the outside, then again as they were in the ring, scoring the pinfall. In a backstage segment that aired later in the show, Paul Heyman announced that Zayn was out of action “indefinitely” as a result of both Kross’ attack and the match with Breakker.

On last week’s show, Zayn was attacked with a metal pipe by Kross, who wasn’t done with Zayn despite his loss at Night of Champions. Zayn came out before Monday’s match with his ribs taped up. After the first spear, Michael Cole on commentary begged the referee to stop the match, pushing hard that Zayn was in no condition to continue.

The attack was part of Rollins’ plan for Monday’s Raw, with Bronson Reed also taking out Jey Uso after he ended their match by disqualification by throwing a chair at Uso and giving him two tsunami splashes. After Rollins defeated Penta in the main event, Paul Heyman ordered Penta be taken out next but LA Knight came in through the crowd instead, laying out Rollins with the BFT before Breakker and Reed could make the save.

El Grande Americano to compete on WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though Chad Gable is out of action with an injury, El Grande Americano is still set to compete on WWE Raw tonight.

WWE has announced that Americano will wrestle on Raw against an unnamed opponent. Last week, Ludwig Kaiser briefly portrayed the character in a backstage segment — so it looks like that could continue on tonight’s show.

Gable underwent surgery last week to repair a shoulder injury. A timeline for his return to the ring has not been established, but Gable wrote that he’ll be back ““quicker than you can say GRACIAS!”

Americano is the current WWE Speed Champion. The character continuing despite Gable’s injury would appear to indicate that the Speed title will not be vacated.

Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island is the venue for Raw tonight. Here is everything that’s been announced:

WWE Raw (Monday, July 7) —

  • Seth Rollins vs. Penta
  • Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch appears
  • Roxanne Perez vs. Kairi Sane
  • Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker
  • Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed
  • El Grande Americano in action

FREE WOL! Huge week, TV highlights, mid-year Filthy Awards!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including a huge week upcoming, what you should watch on Smackdown and Collision this week, Alexa Bliss’ Royal Rumble return, THE MID-YEAR FILTHY AWARDS, and tons more! This show is FREE, and you should sign up through whatever means you are listening to this (Spotify, main site, Apple Podcasts), because a monthly subscription will get you full coverage of both All In and SummerSlam weekend, plus 84 additional podcasts! You won’t regret it, sign up today and don’t miss out!

Right Click Save As

WOR: Raw recap, SmackDown spoilers, Hogan/Funk story, WWE Evolution card

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Image: WWE

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including updates on Ben Askren and Ric Flair, the Terry Funk/Hulk Hogan story, Evolution and what’s up with Saraya and Brie Bella, Goto vs. Sabre details, ratings, Kevin Iole, plus the WWE Raw report and SmackDown spoilers.

A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Ben Askren gets double lung transplant, Ric Flair update
2:14: Terry Funk’s birthday, story of his match with Hulk Hogan
10:09: Current WWE Evolution lineup (contains SmackDown spoilers), Saraya hasn’t been contacted for the show, other notes
13:11: Zack Sabre Jr. wins IWGP World title, more from Tanahashi Jam
20:57: Lineups for the week
25:50: Ratings
29:27: Kevin Iole retires
39:30: Arena Mexico notes
45:25: WWE Raw recap
1:02:23: WWE SmackDown spoilers

Right Click Save As

WWE Raw live results: Night of Champions fallout

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: June 30, 2025
Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA 

The Big Takeaway —

WWE began announcing matches for Evolution, but it wasn’t exactly a hard push, as they also plugged matches for Saturday Night’s Main Event, in addition to plugging event details for SummerSlam and Clash in Paris. 

At Evolution, Iyo Sky will defend her title against Rhea Ripley, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez will defend the tag titles against teams from Raw, SmackDown and NXT in a four-way, and there will be a battle royal to determine a new number one contender for either brand’s belt. Perez is officially one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions and officially a member of Judgment Day. 

Judgment Day is now also in possession of the World Tag Team titles after Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh beat New Day. 

CM Punk attacked Seth Rollins but will have to wait to get his hands on him in the ring, as Rollins will first fight LA Knight at SNME. 

Rusev beat Sheamus, and Ludwig Kaiser may be the new El Grande Americano. 

Read more below. 

**********

Show Recap — 

There was a recap of Night of Champions from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It began with them talking about how great the city and the country are. The recap included ‘headlines’ from various news/sports outlets, one of which claimed that Sam Zayn pulled off a “miracle win” over Karrion Kross. That was from CBS, where someone just repeated what Michael Cole said in the commentary. 

Sami Zayn (impressed by a picture of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin hoisting the Stanley Cup), Penta, New Day, and Sheamus were shown arriving at the arena in Pittsburgh. 

Corey Graves is once again on commentary with Cole, in place of Pat McAfee. 

Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY segment 

Ripley entered to a big reaction and welcomed us to “Monday Night Mami.” (Must everyone do this?) Ripley said Judgment Day was finally behind her, and she wanted to get her priorities straight ahead of Evolution. 

Iyo Sky quickly interrupted. Sky said you could not have Evolution without her, but Ripley was wrong about one thing. Ripley was not on top—not without the title. Adam Pearce told Sky that she could defend her title against the opponent of her choice at Evolution. Sky wanted to defend against the best, and that meant defending against Ripley. 

Ripley said she had nothing but respect for Sky, but warned her that she would stop at nothing to get the title back. Ripley accepted the match at Evolution.

******** 

Backstage, Dominik Mysterio wished luck to Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh in their title match. After they left, Dom was confronted by AJ Styles. 

Dom presented a doctor’s note proving he was not medically cleared. Dom wondered if Styles needed glasses to read the note. Styles, in fact, put glasses on to read the note—and the note said Dom was a punk ass. That got a good laugh from the crowd. Styles warned Dom he would do a lot worse to him once he got his hands on him. 

******** 

This is only the second time Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have wrestled since winning the tag titles at WrestleMania over two months ago.

World Tag Team Championships: The New Day vs. Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh 

The match started with Kingston offering Bálor a piece of bread so he could have some carbs, but Bálor pushed it away. 

New Day worked over McDonagh throughout a commercial break. Bálor made a hot tag, which got a nice pop, and he ran wild on New Day. Bálor hit a slingblade and went for a dropkick, but Kingston cut him off with a leaping double foot stomp. 

They tagged out, and McDonagh hit Woods with an Asai moonsault, but Woods got his boots up on a moonsault in the ring. Bálor made a blind tag and went for a Coup de Grâce on Woods, but Woods moved, and Bálor hit McDonagh by mistake. 

Woods rolled up Bálor for a nearfall. New Day hit Bálor with Midnight Hour next for a close nearfall.  Each team took turns cheating behind the referee’s back, leading to Woods hitting Bálor with a title belt from behind, but Bálor kicked out yet again. McDonagh got back in and hit Woods with an avalanche Spanish Fly, but Kingston broke up the cover. 

Bálor gave Kingston a slingblade outside the ring, McDonagh hit Woods with a moonsault, and Bálor hit Woods with a Coup de Grâce for the pinfall win. Judgment Day are the new tag champs.

Dom joined Bálor and McDonagh in the aisle to celebrate as fireworks went off. 

The notoriously quiet Pittsburgh crowd was really into this, and they popped huge for Judgment Day winning.

Match result: Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh defeated The New Day to win the World Tag Team Championships (12:24)

This was really good on all fronts. The match was fun, and the crowd was into the heel team that happened to be playing babyfaces tonight. 

It may be premature to take the titles off New Day, but they’ve done next to nothing since turning heel, and even less since winning the titles. That’s not all their fault, but that’s where we are. 

********

Jackie Redmond interviewed Bayley. Bayley said she should be the current IC champion, but Lyra Valkyria got in her way. Bayley’s goal has not changed. 

Valkyria interrupted. Valkyria was offended because Bayley wouldn’t return her messages, but would talk about her behind her back. They had a heated argument, basically over who hated Becky Lynch more. 

They screamed at each other until Pearce interrupted and screamed even louder for them to stop. He made a match between the two tonight, and the winner would face Lynch for the title. 

********

Maxxine Dupri, Natalya, and Akira Tozawa greeted Sheamus as he warmed up backstage. 

There was a Grayson Waller interview during a break. He was inspired by New Day cutting the dead weight and turning on Big E, and thought he could learn something. (That was seven months ago.) 

There was a Goldberg video package set to “Dominate” by Three Days Grace. 

********

Chad Gable spoke to American Made backstage. Pearce joined to say he was sorry to hear about Gable’s injury and wished him luck. Gable said he made his own luck. Pearce figured we wouldn’t be seeing El Grande Americano for a while. Gable said he was a busy man, “but you never know.” 

After Pearce left, Gable gave his teammates their marching orders. Brutus Creed said they would be lost without him. Gable told them to listen to Ivy Nile. Gable left. (Ludwig Kaiser was eavesdropping in the background.) 

********

Bálor and McDonagh approached Pearce and Nick Aldis backstage. Bálor said Raquel Rodriguez has worked very hard to be the tag champ, and it would be mean to strip her of the titles (because of Liv Morgan’s injury). Bálor suggested they give her a new partner: Roxanne Perez. 

Pearce and Aldis huddled over the idea and agreed to it. However, they wanted Rodriguez and Perez to prove themselves as a team, so they would have to defend the belts at Evolution against a team from Raw, SmackDown and NXT. Bálor and McDonagh were initially caught off guard by this but agreed. 

******** 

Rusev entered and waited in the ring for almost ten minutes before the match began (thanks to a break and the above segment). 

Cole screeched, “It’s fight niiiight, baby!” as Sheamus entered. He should not do that again. 

Rusev vs. Sheamus 

They’ve been in multi-man matches since, but this was their first singles match since 2014. 

They clobbered each other until Sheamus brought Rusev off the apron with a powerslam to the outside. Rusev took over during a break after Sheamus went shoulder-first into the ring post. 

Sheamus began no-selling Rusev’s kicks and kept inviting him to do more. Sheamus got to his feet and fired up. He hit a backbreaker, followed by a diving knee drop, but Rusev kicked out at one. Rusev came back with a spinning heel kick for two, and a fallaway slam for two. Rusev hit a superplex ahead of another break. 

Rusev held control during the break, and not much happened until Sheamus hit a White Noise right on time for them to return from break. They took turns clobbering each other some more until Sheamus hit a powerslam. Sheamus hit ten fifteen beats of the Bodhrán and went for a Brogue, but Rusev ducked it (sort of). Sheamus fought him off again and hit consecutive running knee strikes for a nearfall. 

Rusev responded with a uranage and a jumping kick. He applied the Accolade, but Sheamus managed to get to his feet while hoisting Rusev on his back. They spilled out of the ring, and Sheamus hit Rusev with a Brogue Kick, and Rusev just barely avoided a count-out. 

They battled on the apron until Rusev thumbed Sheamus in the eye. He exposed the inanimate metal rod (off the top turnbuckle) and rammed Sheamus into it. Both of these things happened right in front of the referee. Rusev followed with a  Machka Kick for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Rusev defeated Sheamus (20:22)

This was pretty good until the finish. However, it did drag at times, particularly during the commercials, and the finish was stupid. Graves tried to claim that the referee didn’t see Rusev poke Sheamus in the eye, but you could hear the ref screaming at him for doing that. 

********

Pearce and Aldis announced a battle royal at Evolution, and the winner would earn a title match at Clash in Paris. (This was not the most inspiring announcement.) 

Redmond interviewed American Made. Nile spoke about the battle royal until El Grande Americano suddenly appeared. He nodded at them and left. (It was Ludwig Kaiser.) Redmond asked them for comment. An excited Brutus was about to say something, but Nile cut him off. They left. 

Redmond was about to interview Sami Zayn nearby, but he was attacked by Karrion Kross. Kross attacked Zayn with a pipe until officials broke it up.

********

Byron Saxton interviewed Stephanie Vaquer during a break. Vaquer was excited for the battle royal. (It sounds like whoever wins will get to pick which champion they face.) She didn’t come to Raw to be second place, and if she won the battle royal. She planned on facing the Raw champion. Vaquer has traveled the world and would not stop until she was the world champion. 

(Perhaps she’ll win, but a battle royal doesn’t seem to be the best use of Vaquer on an all-women PPV.) 

********

Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers, including Cam Heyward, were shown at ringside. 

Gunther segment (Seth Rollins, CM Punk, LA Knight get involved) 

Gunther spoke about the impressive Goldberg video package. Goldberg was violent, brutal and destructive. But just like his matches, all of his highlights were summed up in three minutes. 

Gunther was not afraid of what was left of Goldberg. He was a 58-year-old man, riding out his career at Gunther’s expense. That was not going to happen because Goldberg was not capable of taking the title from him. Gunther knew he could beat Goldberg in three minutes, but that was not his goal. 

Gunther would take his time, blow him up, and embarrass him in front of everyone who loved him. Goldberg said he didn’t like bullies, “but too bad you bumped into the biggest bully around here.” Gunther planned on bullying him and treating him like trash, and there was nothing he could do about it. 

Goldberg wanted to prove he still had it, but Gunther would prove he never had it. Once it was over, it would be Gunther’s turn to ask, “Who’s next?” 

Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman entered. Gunther made fun of Rollins for travelling very far (NOC) to accomplish nothing. Rollins laughed at the statement. Rollins informed him they did not go to NOC to cash in on John Cena. 

Rollins made it clear that as long as he was alive, CM Punk would not be a champion in WWE. They flew across the world to stand on that business. (Fans chanted for Punk.) Rollins told Gunther that winning MITB meant an all-out assault on both championships. 

Punk’s music hit, and he sprinted to the ring to attack Rollins. Rollins bailed through the crowd as Punk called him a coward. (The crowd chanted for Punk again.) 

Punk was about to leave until Gunther grabbed him by the arm. Punk shoved Gunther, and Gunther actually fell to the mat. (Gunther looked nonplussed about being shoved down by Punk.) A pissed-off Punk marched to the back. 

Rollins was amused as he stood in the stands, but was attacked from behind by LA Knight. They fought into the concourse (which was conveniently blocked off from the fans). Rollins tossed a drink in Knight’s face and ran away. 

********

Judgment Day celebrated backstage. Perez happily held her new tag title belt. Rodriguez was upset that they were replacing Morgan so quickly and said she’s been rehabbing hard. Bálor knew from experience how hard it was to come back from a shoulder injury, and he just wanted to see Rodriguez stay champion. Rodriguez reluctantly agreed. 

Bálor called for a vote to declare Perez an official member of Judgment Day. They all voted ‘yes’ (Dom and Rodriguez were reluctant). Bálor was very happy. 

******** 

There was a Kairi Sane video package.

Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria

Bayley targeted Valkyria’s back and applied a Boston Crab until Valkyria got a rope break. They collided with a dueling crossbody attempts ahead of a break. Valkyria took over, but you would’ve missed all her offence because it happened entirely within a commercial break. 

Bayley fought back when they returned and hit a superplex. They tried dueling cradles, but both kicked out. Valkyria spilled out of the ring after a Bayley back suplex, and Bayley followed with a leaping elbow drop off the steps. Valkyria responded with a swinging neckbreaker, but Bayley hit a sunset flip powerbomb into the corner for two. Valkyria hit a gutwrench sit-out powerbomb for two. 

They traded cradles, which led to a double pinfall spot with both women’s shoulders down. The referee called the match a draw. 

You knew we would get a finish like this as soon as the match was announced. (Or a DQ.) The match itself was pretty good until the flat finish. 

— Bayley grabbed Valkyria, but Valkyria turned around and hit a clothesline. They wound up brawling into the crowd until officials broke it up. 

Match result: Bayley and Lyra Valkyria wrestled to a draw (10:19) 

********

Seth Rollins will face LA Knight at SNME. 

Redmond caught up to Punk backstage. Punk said he had receipts for Rollins, Heyman, Bron-Bron, Gunther and anyone else who got in his way. 

Punk confronted Knight nearby. He told Knight that Rollins belonged to him and to get to the back of the line. Knight said he has Rollins at SNME, so he was the line. Knight yelled, “Yeah!” in Punk’s face and left. 

********

Penta checked with Zayn to see if he still wanted to wrestle. Zayn, who was tapped up, was ready to go. 

******** 

Heyman was on the phone with Rollins, and Bronson Reed asked him, “Where’s the Visionary?” (A normal question.) Heyman said Rollins was already on a jet, perfecting plan B. Reed wanted to know what that was. Before Heyman could answer, Bron Breakker interrupted and said the plan was for him to smash whoever got in their way. Heyman wasn’t sure that was the plan, but Breakker didn’t care and told some guy to hit his music. (I liked this bit from Bron.) 

Sami Zayn & Penta vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed (w/Paul Heyman)

Penta and Zayn did Penta’s little walk before wiping out their opponents with dives. It didn’t matter because Reed caught Penta out of mid-air during a break and hit a World’s Strongest Slam. 

Penta made a comeback following the break and tagged in Zayn, who wiped out both guys with an Arabian Press. A battle in the corner led to Zayn hitting Reed with a sunset flip powerbomb for two. Reed came right back with a DVD for two. Bron knocked Zayn over the announce table with a leaping clothesline ahead of another break. The heels took over again. 

As you know, there’s a timer in the corner letting people know when the commercial break is over. Well, it’s also telling you when the babyface will make their comeback. Zayn fought back the moment they returned from break and made a hot tag to Penta. 

Penta hit Bron with a flying crossbody, kicked his leg out of his leg, and hit a slingblade. Penta hit a dropkick in the corner and snapped Bron’s arm. Arm snapping appears to do nothing, because Bron got him up next in a military press, but Penta countered into a DDT. 

Heyman distracted the ref, which allowed Reed to knock Penta down on the top rope. Bron followed with a Frankensteiner, and Reed hit a sit-out powerbomb, but Zayn broke up the cover. 

Penta avoided a Tsunami and tagged in Zayn, who hit Bron with an exploder in the corner. Zayn went for a Helluva Kick, but Bron clotheslined him. Bron went for a spear, but Zayn booted him (Cole completely undersold that spot), and Reed broke up the cover. 

Zayn tried a vertical suplex on Reed but couldn’t get him up. Penta attacked Reed from the apron, and Zayn managed to hit Reed with the suplex. The crowd popped, but it didn’t matter because Reed wasn’t the legal man. Bron speared Zayn for the pinfall win. 

— Penta checked on Zayn after the match, but Bron speared him. Reed went up for a Tsunami, but Jey Uso entered with a steel chair. Jey beat up Bron and Bronson with the chair and stood tall with Zayn and Penta. 

Match result: Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed defeated Sami Zayn & Penta (18:24)

WOR: WWE Night of Champions update & Raw report, NJPW G1 news

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including RAW from Monday night, Night of Champions on as scheduled, the New Japan G-1 update, AARON WOLF the next huge NJPW star, Arena Mexico, ratings, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: The latest on Night of Champions, Dominik Mysterio off the show
3:38: More on NJPW signing Aaron Wolf, G1 Climax tournament update
16:58: Buddy Murphy injury update, Arena Mexico notes
19:52: Dave’s thoughts on Syuri vs. Sareee
22:40: Ratings, Sedriques Dumas & UFC this weekend
31:56: WWE Raw recap
59:43: There is one person announced for AEW Dynamite

Right Click Save As

WWE Raw live results: King & Queen of the Ring semifinals

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: June 23, 2025
Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio 

The Big Takeaway —

Cody Rhodes beat Jey Uso to advance in King of the Ring, while Jade Cargill beat Roxanne Perez to advance in Queen of the Ring. The finals will take place on Saturday at Night of Champions. Rhodes faces Randy Orton, and Cargill faces Asuka. 

As the show went on tonight, they repeatedly plugged Night of Champions (and SmackDown) as happening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (It seemed like they avoided mentioning the location when the show began, but it was business as usual as the show continued.) 

Next week’s Raw in Pittsburgh starts at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT. 

**********

Show Recap — 

Jey Uso, Cody Rhodes, Roxanne Perez and Finn Bálor, Jade Cargill, Becky Lynch, and Bayley were shown arriving as Michael Cole ran down tonight’s show. 

Corey Graves is filling in for Pat McAfee once again. 

They announced that LA Knight is out indefinitely due to a bruised sternum and separated rib cartilage, thanks to Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. 

Seth Rollins segment

Rollins entered with Reed, Breakker, and Paul Heyman. He waited as the crowd sang his song (not loudly) and did his usual spiel. He asked what the crowd wanted because he was receiving mixed messages. They chanted for CM Punk. 

Rollins said they chanted for Punk, for Roman Reigns, for him, and they barked for Breakker. They didn’t know what they wanted, so he didn’t care. They needed people like him to tell them what was good for them. 

Even the things they thought they wanted were because of him. Reigns existed because of him. Punk claimed he was back for the fans, but it was really because the company could cash in on how much he hated Punk. There was no second coming of Cody Rhodes without Rollins to put him back on the map. 

Rollins was the first world champion and NXT Champion, and he built those things in his image. He was the prime mover. He was the past, present, and future. He and Heyman knew a thing or two about revolutions. Every revolution had opposition, but he would deal with them. 

Reed dealt with LA Knight, and Breakker was about to deal with Penta. There were a lot of people who thought they could exist at the very top: John Cena, Gunther, Punk, Goldberg, Uso, Rhodes, Randy Orton. But they all failed to understand that they were running a race for second place. He was the end game and always would be. 

Rollins was finally done speaking, so Penta entered for his match. (Rollins and Reed went to the back.) 

Bron Breakker (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Penta

The match began during a break, but Breakker left the ring to stall so the action could start once they returned. 

Graves claimed that Breakker was still effectively a rookie, which isn’t even close to being true. 

Breakker was in control until Penta hit a dive ahead of a break. Breakker regained control after dropping Penta on top of the ring post and a flying clothesline off the apron over the announce table. They messed up a spot but recovered well enough, and Penta hit a vertical suplex into a pin for two. Breakker recovered and hit a Frankensteiner for two. Penta responded with a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall. 

Penta went for a springboard move, but Breakker obliterated him with a mid-air spear for the pinfall win. The crowd popped big for that. 

Match result: Bron Breakker defeated Penta (15:00) 

This wasn’t exactly a smooth wrestling match, but the last few minutes were entertaining. 

— After the match, Rollins warned Penta to stay out of his way. 

********

There was a replay of Liv Morgan’s injury. Backstage, Adam Pearce informed AJ Styles that Dominik Mysterio was also injured. Styles didn’t believe it and asked if Dom strained his mustache. Pearce said it was legitimate, so their IC title match at Night of Champions was off. Pearce said Styles will get the match as soon as Dom is ready. 

New Day and Grayson Waller entered Pearce’s office after Styles left. Pearce put New Day in a tag title match against Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh next week. New Day were pissed. As they left, Kofi Kingston yelled, “You’re so bald!” at Pearce. Waller didn’t appreciate this treatment of his new friends. 

******** 

So far, they’re advertising Night of Champions as happening on Saturday, but they’re not mentioning the location. Last week, the graphics included the event’s location, but tonight, they don’t. 

Update: A few minutes later, Cole mentioned Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the special start time.

*******

Goldberg interview 

Cole sat down earlier today with Goldberg. He asked Goldberg why he targeted Gunther. Goldberg said nobody should be surprised. Gunther embarrassed him in front of his wife, his son, his fans, and in his adopted hometown of Atlanta. Goldberg didn’t know when, but knew he would go after Gunther. 

Goldberg was already thinking about his retirement match, so it was serendipitous that Gunther put himself in this position. As long as Goldberg was breathing, he was going to make Gunther pay. 

Goldberg ended with: “Michael, I am going to beat the f—k out of Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event.” 

When they returned from break, Cole confirmed that this would be Goldberg’s final match. 

********

Judgment Day met in the back. They were not in a good mood (because of Morgan’s injury), so Bálor tried to fire everybody up. He gave them all encouraging words, but Raquel Rodriguez was still worried about the status of the tag titles. 

Bálor muttered something under his breath, which pissed off Rodriguez. Bálor was glad to see her pissed off. They wanted Rodriguez to be the enforcer, and she should make Rhea Ripley pay for what she did to her last week. Rodriguez agreed. 

Dom said he missed Morgan (so they don’t speak outside of Raw). Bálor reminded him that Perez had a match, so Dom dismissively wished her luck. 

********

Lyra Valkyria met with Bayley backstage. Valkyria was trying to be friendly, but Bayley seemed offended. Bayley realized she overreacted and settled down, explaining that she’s been focused only on Lynch and the title all week. Bayley told Valkyria she would be first in line if she won tonight. (Lynch could be seen lurking in the background.) 

Queen of the Ring semi-final match: Jade Cargill vs. Roxanne Perez 

Cargill was in control and showed off by doing push-ups. Perez managed to trap Cargill’s leg between the steel steps and the ring. Perez dropkicked the steps and worked over her leg during a break. 

Cargill tried fighting back after the break, but Perez chop-blocked her. The crowd was really quiet until Cargill effortlessly caught Perez out of mid-air as she attempted a crossbody. Cargill hit a spinebuster and chokeslam for two. Perez countered a Jaded and applied a cradle for two, followed by a double knee drop for two. 

Cargill avoided Pop Rox and hit (missed) a pump kick. Cargill hit a powerbomb and, I think, tried deadlifting her up. She couldn’t do it, so she just put Perez down before picking her back up to hit Jaded for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Jade Cargill defeated Roxanne Perez to advance in Queen of the Ring (11:47)

This wasn’t particularly good. Perez did her best, but Cargill was out of place a lot toward the end, and she didn’t come across like someone who should be winning this tournament. 

— After the match, Asuka entered to face off with Cargill on the stage. 

********

They announced that Raw in Pittsburgh next week starts at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT. 

There was a video package for Jey Uso/Cody Rhodes.

******** 

There was a clip of Goldberg’s debut on WCW Nitro (with Tony Schiavone on commentary). 

Cole reiterated that this would be Goldberg’s last match at SNME, but then added, “we’ll see” what happens if he were to win the world title. 

*******

Cole announced SmackDown’s start time in Riyadh on Friday, “the night before Night of Champions. Who knows what’s going to happen on that show?” 

Jackie Redmond tried interviewing Dom during a break, but the fans kept booing. Redmond cut him off because they ran out of time. 

******* 

Sheamus again told Natalya and Maxxine Dupri that they could be tag champs one day. (It’s like they’ve been standing backstage having this same conversation for a week.) Natalya and Dupri were upset he didn’t win last week. Sheamus said he at least put Rusev in his place for a moment. 

Rusev confronted Sheamus. He said this place was full of people like Sheamus: providing smiles to the face, and knives to the back. Sheamus called Rusev the most embarrassing and most egotistical member of the League of Nations. Sheamus was tired of talking and wanted to fight. Rusev smiled and said he would make Sheamus remember this. 

********

Gunther segment 

Gunther entered. He was pissed about Goldberg interrupting what should have been his championship celebration last week. He called Goldberg the most destructive man of his generation, but it wasn’t 1999 anymore. (Some fans cheered.) It was 2025, and Gunther was the guy. He was the best professional wrestler in the company, and the title around his waist proved it. 

Gunther heard Goldberg’s intense comments, but that wouldn’t change Gunther’s perception of him. Goldberg was a 58-year-old one-trick pony who couldn’t lace his boots. Gunther apologized to Goldberg’s wife and son for everything he’s about to do. Gunther would embarrass Goldberg at SNME. 

“It’s my personal responsibility to make sure that the legacy and the myth of Bill Goldberg forever dies.” 

This was a great promo. 

********

Redmond tried interviewing Lynch backstage, but she was flustered after having just seen Valkyria and Bayley conspiring against her. She left. 

Redmond saw Sami Zayn nearby and tried interviewing him, but they were interrupted by Karrion Kross and Scarlett. (Kross did get a good pop this week.) Kross enjoyed Zayn’s fiery speech last week, but he lost to Orton anyway. Kross said Zayn would never be champion. 

Zayn calmly stepped back before knocking him to the ground with a great-looking right hand. Zayn told Kross he already spoke to Pearce and their match was official. Zayn left. Scarlett and Kross laughed. 

********

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bayley for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship

Bayley was in control until Lynch yanked her by the arm over the top rope. Lynch targeted the arm through the break, but Bayley mounted her comeback following the break. Lynch cut her off with a back suplex, but Bayley responded with a Bayley-to-belly for a nearfall. Bayley slammed Lynch into the corner and hit a sunset flip powerbomb into the turnbuckles for two. 

Lynch hit a superplex, and they traded counters until Bayley applied a single-leg Boston crab, but Lynch got a rope break. Bayley blocked a Man-handle Slam and hit one of her own, but Lynch rolled out of the ring. 

Bayley went after Lynch, but Lynch chucked her over the announce table. Lynch buried Bayley under a bunch of chairs in an attempt to take a count-out win, but Valkyria showed up right on time to pull the chairs off. 

Lynch hit Valkyria and invited Valkyria to hit her back (to cause a DQ), but Valkyria wouldn’t do it. Lynch tried a baseball slide on Bayley, but nailed Valkyria by mistake. 

Bayley shoved Lynch into the ring post and the barricade. Bayley went to the top, but Valkyria attacked Lynch for the DQ. 

— Bayley argued with Valkyria, who somehow tried to defend herself. Lynch smirked as she backed away up the aisle with her belt. 

Match result: Becky Lynch defeated Bayley via disqualification (13:30)

This was a good match until the finish. It never felt like this would have a conclusive winner when they announced it, but the finishing sequence with Valkyria was still very annoying. She has to be turning heel at this point, because she’s becoming increasingly unlikable. 

*******

Chad Gable told Ivy Nile that she was her favourite student (and didn’t want her to tell that to the Creed Brothers). However, she should have won MITB and QOTR. Stephanie Vaquer got in her way, but she should wipe her out completely like he did to Alpha Academy and others. 

Gable saw Penta nearby and took great pleasure in seeing him lose to Bron. Penta tried being reasonable, but Gable kept yapping and threatened to take his mask off. Penta superkicked Gable and snapped his arm. Officials chased Penta away as the Creeds checked on Gable. 

(Ludwig Kaiser was randomly watching nearby.)

********

Raquel Rodriguez and Rhea Ripley segment 

A pissed-off Rodriguez was in the ring, and she called out Ripley. Ripley stormed out, and they brawled. Ripley was about to give Rodriguez a Rip-tide through a table, but Perez ran out to make the save. Ripley got rid of Perez, but Rodriguez laid out Ripley with a Tejana Bomb through the table. Rodriguez embraced Perez. 

This was a good little segment to get some heat behind Rodriguez (and align her with Perez). 

********

There were photos of the Florida Panthers celebrating with their custom WWE title belt. 

Cathy Kelley interviewed Asuka during a break. Iyo Sky joined and was excited for Asuka, because they may finally get to meet in the ring like they talked about in Damage CTRL. Asuka said they weren’t in Damage CTRL anymore, and she would see her at SummerSlam. Sky said she would be ready. 

Ripley barged into Pearce’s office. He offered a street fight against Rodriguez, and she accepted. (It was hard to hear, but it sounded like he said it would be at Night of Champions.) 

******** 

There was a big-time video package for John Cena vs. CM Punk. They’ve added the location of Night of Champions back on the graphics, and they showed exterior shots of the city as the announcers ran down the card for Saturday. 

********

King of the Ring semi-final match: Jey Uso vs. Cody Rhodes 

They both got big reactions and faced off for about 30 seconds before shaking hands. This was a first-ever singles match, and it felt like a big deal given the stakes. 

Jey blocked a Cross Rhodes just three minutes into the match and went for a superkick, but Rhodes avoided it. Jey missed a running hip attack during a break, and Rhodes applied a figure four until Jey got a rope break. They exchanged strikes until Jey hit a Samoan drop for two. 

Jey hit a running hip attack and went for an Uso Splash. Rhodes got his knees up and caught Jey in a version of the kimura lock. Jey slipped out and applied a sleeper. Rhodes began fading but got to his feet and dumped Jey over the top rope. Jey blocked Rhodes’ suicide dive and went to the top, but Rhodes scaled the ropes and hit a superplex. This led to a second commercial break. 

Jey tossed Rhodes shoulder-first into the ring post, and followed with a flying crossbody for two. They exchanged strikes as we returned from break. Rhodes hit jabs, but Jey avoided a bionic elbow. Rhodes fired up, but Jey hit a Randy Orton-esque powerslam. 

Jey set up for Cross Rhodes, but Rhodes blocked it and hit a Cody Cutter for two. Jey ducked a Disaster Kick and hit a spear for two. Rhodes hit a super Cody Cutter for two. 

Jey countered a Cross Rhodes and hit one of his own for a nearfall. People were on their feet for that. Jey superkicked Rhodes repeatedly, pulled him to his feet, and hit a spear. 

Instead of going for a cover, Jey went up for a splash. Rhodes scaled the ropes again and hit a super cutter/RKO. Rhodes followed with Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win. Rhodes advances to the KOTR finals against Orton. 

Rhodes and Jey embraced after the match. 

Match result: Cody Rhodes defeated Jey Uso to advance in King of the Ring (20:05) 

This was a very enjoyable Raw main event, and it helped that there were real stakes on the line.

Liv Morgan dislocates shoulder during WWE Raw match

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Liv Morgan’s match on Raw had to be stopped following an injury.

Morgan was wrestling Kairi Sane on Monday’s show when Kairi grabbed Morgan’s leg for a takedown. Morgan fell to the floor but upon impact, immediately rolled out of the ring and held on to her arm. The show went into commercial where it was announced that Morgan would be unable to continue the match, giving the win to Kairi. Morgan was helped to the back by medical officials.

Michael Cole soon after announced that Morgan had suffered a dislocated shoulder.

The injury comes just one week after Morgan started a feud with Nikki Bella, attacking the Hall of Famer following her return to Raw. Morgan confronted IYO SKY at the start of Monday’s show, demanding a title match. SKY refused, saying Morgan had to earn a title match.

Last month, another injury took place on Raw when Zoey Stark blew out her knee in a triple threat qualifying match between Rhea Ripley and Kairi. She’s expected to be out for a long period of time following surgery to her ACL, MCL, and meniscus.