Date: May 5th, 2025
Location: CHI Health Center in Omaha, NE
The Big Takeaway —
Jey Uso had an impromptu world title defence against Seth Rollins. Both men got close nearfalls, and Rollins finally seemed to have it won thanks to Bron Breakker, but they were foiled by CM Punk.
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Show Recap —
Following a recap of last week’s show-long storyline, Iyo Sky, Roxanne Perez, Alpha Academy, Rusev, and Gunther were shown arriving at the arena in Omaha.
Jey Uso and Paul Heyman segment
Jey Uso entered through the crowd to kick off Raw. Pat McAfee got on the table to Yeet, and Cole told him that’s what got them in trouble with Gunther in the first place.
Cole spoke about Jey, who told him that he’s busier than he’s ever been but is loving every moment. After Jey hit the ring, the crowd wanted an encore, so as is the new pattern, Jey started his music again and Yeeted some more.
Jey immediately called out Logan Paul, but he got Paul Heyman instead. Heyman said he wasn’t there to disrespect Jey Uso, but he dragged himself to Omaha because he had something to say to the world champion.
Jey told him he had a lot of balls to come out here after doing what he just did to his family. Jey said he warned Roman Reigns and CM Punk about Heyman. Heyman said somebody should’ve warned him about Punk. Nobody lived through what Heyman has lived through. (The crowd loudly chanted for Punk.)
Heyman said Punk put him in a position guaranteed to sabotage his relationship with Reigns. (The crowd chanted, “OTC” next.) Heyman knew Punk way back when Reigns was still playing football, but Reigns should have known he wouldn’t tell Punk any of his secrets. Heyman stood by Reigns’ side for years, even after he got beat by Cody Rhodes after getting distracted by Seth Rollins.
Reigns disappeared to lick his wounds and left him alone with the new Bloodline, who put him through a table. Reigns only returned to get his Ula Fala, not to avenge him. All Heyman wanted to do was help his friend main event WrestleMania. Heyman went on a crazy rant, saying people always blamed him, but he was right. The crowd called Heyman an asshole.
Jey quipped, “Are you ok?” and the crowd laughed. Jey wanted to know what any of this had to do with him.
Heyman said Jey won the title, and the title was all about power and control. Jey didn’t know how to yield that power and control. The title wasn’t about putting on his best performance every night. While Jey might want to be champion, Rollins had to be champion. Rollins had to have the power and control. Bron Breakker was stage one of their plan, and stage two was the title.
Heyman wanted to allow Jey to sign his own death warrant and pick the night he lost the title because Rollins was officially challenging him to a title match. Rollins deserved to be the number one contender after beating Punk and Reigns. Rollins could beat Jey any time, any place.
Jey fired up and made the match for tonight as the crowd popped.
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Heyman approached Rollins and Breakker in the back. Heyman said Jey fell for it. (Heyman acted frightened in the ring when Jey made the match, but he was delighted here.) Rollins was happy and said, “I told you so.”
After Rollins left, Heyman asked Breakker if he understood the significance of tonight’s match, to which he responded, “I think so.” Heyman explained it to the meathead.
Heyman put over how dangerous Jey was when he was prepared. He made Gunther tap out, but was now focused on Logan Paul. Rollins was a sniper who had Jey in his sights. The keys would be in their kingdom when the referee handed the world title belt to Rollins.
The match was made official for tonight: Jey defends the world title against Rollins. (The first men’s world title match on Raw in seven months.)
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Penta vs. JD McDonagh (w/Finn Bálor & Carlito)
Penta won despite tons of interference.
They went to break after McDonagh gave Penta a DVD onto the ring apron. Penta fought back after the break and hit a slingblade for two, and a backbreaker for two.
Bálor distracted the referee while Carlito tried to interfere, but Penta shoved him off and sent McDonagh to the outside before wiping out both men with a diving crossbody. Bálor attacked Penta himself, but the ref saw it and tossed him and Carlito from ringside. Bálor tried to apologize, to no avail.
Chad Gable interfered next while the referee was still distracted, but Penta wiped him out with a flip dive. McDonagh used the distraction to hit a jawbreaker, but Penta avoided a moonsault and hit a Canadian Destroyer for the pinfall win. (I’m glad he won with the Destroyer.) The crowd popped for the win.
Match result: Penta defeated JD McDonagh (10:55)
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Last week, Grayson Waller was excited to announce he was requesting a singles match this week. However, he complained to Adam Pearce backstage after learning who his opponent was.
Austin Theory showed up, and Waller acted like he never wanted a singles match in the first place. Waller told Pearce that Theory should do the match instead. Theory was happy to do it, so Pearce accepted. Theory asked Waller who his opponent was, but Waller said it was a surprise.
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Cathy Kelley interviewed Karrion Kross (with Scarlett) during a break. There wasn’t much to it. Kross got a decent reaction and made a reference to his “killer” nickname.
Anthony Smith was shown ringside.
Sheamus vs. Austin Theory (w/Grayson Waller)
Theory was not happy with Waller after learning his opponent was the returning Sheamus. The crowd was happy to see him.
Sheamus was in control until Theory took over during the break after hitting a draping neckbreaker off the apron. Theory avoided ten beats of the Bodhrán and slingshotted back into the ring, but right into a Sheamus knee strike.
Theory hit a rolling blockbuster, but Sheamus responded with an avalanche White Noise. Sheamus hit ten fourteen beats of the Bodhrán as the crowd loudly chanted along, followed by a Brogue Kick for the pinfall win.
Match result: Sheamus defeated Austin Theory (9:39)
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A new match was announced for Backlash: Dominik Mysterio defends the Intercontinental Championship against Penta.
McDonagh approached Judgment Day backstage. He was pissed and wondered why Gable got involved earlier.
AJ Styles, who just lost to Logan Paul, entered and said he was coming for the Intercontinental title after Backlash. (Styles misspoke when trying to say, “Intercontinental,” so he had to redo the line.) Styles left.
Dom wasn’t happy with this and asked Bálor to talk to Styles since they had a history. Bálor acted annoyed that he had to clean up Dom’s mess again, but he was just screwing with Dom. Bálor smiled and said he would take care of it.
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The New Day approached Gable backstage. Kofi Kingston said it was awful what just happened to Gable. Xavier Woods said American Made should start seeing more opportunities (instead of the War Raiders). They were all on the same page.
Becky Lynch barged through them and made her way to the stage.
Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria segment
Lynch entered. She was confused over why the fans treated her like the bad guy, because she was the victim. When she returned at WrestleMania, everyone lost their minds. A woman in the crowd cried tears of joy. Nobody cared where Bayley was because she was garbage.
Lynch took out the garbage, and now everyone was mad that she did. That’s not how you react when someone takes out the garbage; you thank them for it. She also took out the recycling (referring to Lyra Valkyria). Valkyria was less offensive than regular garbage, but she was still garbage. What was garbage about Valkyria was her attitude. She didn’t have a dream or a title if not for Lynch. She wouldn’t even have her fiancé if not for her.
Valkyria interrupted. She called Lynch the queen of recycling because she’s been recycling the same moves and tired old act for years. Valkyria didn’t care about that. She had a problem with Lynch claiming any credit for her success.
Valkyria said Lynch went on holiday, and everyone else got better. Valkyria made history. Not only that, she’s already defended the belt more times than Lynch has shown up for work this year. Valkyria said Lynch had no intention of taking anyone else to the top with her.
Lynch said Valkyria was right that everyone had the best year of their career while she was gone, but that was because she wasn’t around to compare themselves to. It wasn’t Lynch’s job to help anybody. It was her job to beat everybody, and she was the greatest to ever do it. That wasn’t just her talking—Sports Illustrated called her the best to ever do it.
Valkyria said Lynch must hate it that she was the first-ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion. Valkyria said Lynch better enjoy second place.
Lynch tried a cheap shot, but Valkyria saw it coming and tackled her. They brawled until officials pulled Valkyria away, but she broke through and laid out Lynch with Nightwing.
(Lynch was good here, and this was a decent enough exchange. However, Valkyria’s promo sounded like something that could have been written for anybody to say.)
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Perez cut a very generic heel promo during a break.
Non-title match: Women’s World Champion IYO SKY vs. Roxanne Perez
Sky went for a dive, but Perez slipped back into the ring and kicked her leg out of her leg. Perez followed with a dive of her own. Perez took too much time looking around, so Sky wiped her out with a suicide dive. Sky set up for a springboard move, but Perez knocked her down and targeted her leg again.
Perez targeted Sky’s leg through a break, but Sky hit an arm drag off the second rope as they returned from break. Sky fired up the crowd after hitting a missile dropkick, but she couldn’t follow up because of her knee. Perez tried to take advantage, but Sky hit a double foot stomp. Sky hit a German suplex and rolled through for another, but Perez countered with a back suplex. Sky responded with a backbreaker.
Perez avoided a moonsault, and Sky sold her injured leg upon landing. Perez followed with a double knee drop for two. They traded cradles for a series of two counts until Sky captured her in one final cradle for the pinfall win.
— Perez shook Sky’s hand after the match, but it was a swerve. Giulia decked Sky from behind, and Perez joined the assault. They double-teamed her as the crowd chanted for Rhea Ripley, but as the announcers noted, Ripley is in Australia. Giulia and Perez stood tall.
Match result: IYO SKY defeated Roxanne Perez (10:08)
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Pearce met with the War Raiders backstage during a break, which led to an argument involving the Raiders, Gable and The New Day. Pearce put the War Raiders in a match with the Creed Brothers, with the winner getting the next shot at New Day.
Everyone left, and as Gable was about to leave, Pearce said, “Hey, Americano.” Gable turned around to acknowledge him, but immediately realized his mistake. They both chuckled. Pearce wished Gable a happy Cinco de Mayo, and Gable said, “Gracious.”
The crowd got a kick out of this. It’s too bad this was during a break.
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Rusev vs. Otis (w/Maxxine Dupri & Akira Tozawa)
Rusev hit a spinning heel kick ahead of an early break. Otis had some offence during the break, but Rusev sent him out of the ring with a dropkick as they returned. Rusev went after Otis, but Otis easily suplexed him over the announce desk.
Rusev ducked a strike by Otis, causing Otis to slam his arm against the ring post. Otis ducked a kick, causing Rusev to kick the ring post. They found their way back in the ring, and Otis went for a corner charge, but Rusev hit a superkick. Rusev responded with an Accolade, and Otis tapped out.
— Rusev wouldn’t let go of the hold after the match, but did once Tozawa hit the ring. Tozawa challenged him to a fight right now, but Rusev couldn’t be bothered, so he left. Of course, as Tozawa checked on Otis, Rusev ran back down to attack them.
Rusev powerbombed Tozawa onto Otis before putting Otis in the Accolade again until officials broke it up. (Natalya ran down to check on Dupri.)
Rusev looked good in the post-match.
Match result: Rusev defeated Otis (6:27)
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Pat McAfee and Gunther segment
Pearce called McAfee and Gunther to the ring and told them to keep it professional until Saturday.
Gunther informed McAfee he wouldn’t do anything to him tonight because he didn’t want to spoil Saturday. And, unlike McAfee and Cole, he was a professional. The crowd chanted, “You tapped out,” so Gunther told them to shut up.
McAfee called Cole a GOAT. People cheered and chanted for Cole. (This is still so weird to me.) McAfee said Cole has dedicated his time to this company for 28 years straight, minus just three days. Cole earned the right to have an opinion, yet it bothered Gunher so much that it caused him to attack a 60-year-old man.
McAfee said it was appropriate that they were in Omaha, Nebraska. Being in Nebraska made him think of the Cornhuskers. It made him think of steak, because nobody beats this town’s meat. It made him think of the annual College Baseball World Series held in this town. This city was a symbol of dreams coming true.
McAfee thought he and Gunther had things in common, despite being from different places. They grew up with the same dream, wanting to be in this industry. They spent hours watching wrestling in front of the television, knowing this was what they were meant to do.
Gunther has been in the business for 20 years. He was a champion for 80% of his time here. But he’s become jaded. It was just a job to him now. But McAfee was jacked up every time he stepped into an arena. McAfee thought about 11-year-old him, dreaming about getting in the ring to let assholes like Gunther know that he doesn’t like what they’re about.
McAfee thought about Gunther at this current stage, as opposed to his Waltering around stage, and he’s become too comfortable. He didn’t want it anymore. It happened with Sami Zayn and with Jey Uso. McAfee would show everyone that Gunther has gone soft.
Gunther asked if McAfee enjoyed his daughter’s 2nd birthday last week. It must have been special. Saturday was a special day for Gunther, and McAfee just got him in the mood for it.
It was Gunther’s first match since Mania, and he would show up sharper and more focused than ever. Gunther would beat him up and maul him. He would drive McAfee’s head into the mat and choke him out. Only the grace of God would be able to lift his arms off McAfee’s throat.
Gunther threw down the mic and marched to the back.
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There was a video for John Cena vs. Randy Orton. They let us know that their last singles match was back in 2017.
Next week on Raw:
- Finn Bálor vs. AJ Styles
- The War Raiders vs. The Creed Brothers
- IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez & Giulia
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World Heavyweight Championship: Jey Uso vs. Seth Rollins (w/Paul Heyman & Bron Breakker)
Jey wrestled in black pants and white sneakers. He switched to black after Gunther attacked Jimmy, but I think he’s safe to go back to more colourful attire. Black is more serious, but also looks too generic.
Jey hit with a suicide dive early on. Rollins fell over the announce table and came up bleeding from the back of his head. Jey was in control during a break until Rollins dropped him face-first into the middle turnbuckle.
They knocked each other down with a duel crossbody attempts, before Jey fired back with strikes, a Samoan Drop, and a running hip attack for two. Rollins followed with a suicide dive, but Jey caught him with a mid-air superkick moments later for a nearfall. Both guys were down, so the crowd chanted, “This is awesome.”
Rollins hit a buckle bomb but missed a frog splash. Jey went for a spear, but Rollins countered that into a Pedigree for two. (A clever spot, since we know Rollins has done this to Reigns before.) Jey avoided a stomp and applied a sleeper. (The crowd was into the sleeper since that’s how he beat Gunther.) Rollins slipped out of it, but Jey hit a spear for a very close nearfall.
Jey knocked Rollins off the top, and Rollins accidentally-on-purpose bumped into the referee. Breakker tried to interfere with the ref distracted, but Jey kicked him off. With Jey recuperating, Rollins hit a superplex into a falcon arrow, followed by a curb stomp for a nearfall.
As Rollins spoke with Breakker, Sami Zayn entered to his music to take out Breakker.
Jey superkicked Rollins, hit a spear and an Uso splash. Everyone thought that was it, but Rollins kicked out.
Zayn rallied the crowd and fired up Jey, but Breakker speared Zayn. As Jey checked on Zayn, Breakker speared him too (Heyman distracted the ref).
Rollins hit a curb stomp and seemed to have the title won, but CM Punk entered to his music, and the crowd exploded. Punk attacked Breakker and Rollins with a chair. (The referee didn’t officially call an end to the match. He just waved his arms in frustration and left the ring, like in WWF Raw the video game.)
— Punk attacked Rollins repeatedly with the chair until he escaped. The show ended with Punk standing tall as Zayn checked on Jey.
(This was a fun match and the final moments were really well laid out, with some convincing nearfalls on both sides. Jey’s two best singles matches have now been against Seth Rollins. The other was back at the end of 2023 when Rollins was world champion.)
Match result: Jey Uso vs. Seth Rollins ended in a no contest or disqualification (approx. 19:20)
