The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 03/10/25 Review

It’s WWE Raw featuring a CM Punk-Seth Rollins Steel Cage match, an appearance by WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, and more.

We are on the road to WrestleMania for an MSG edition of Raw tonight. It feels like a big one. Last week’s Raw had a surprising title change when IYO SKY beat Rhea Ripley to become the Women’s World Champion. There were three main event match title changes in WWE last week since NXT had Shawn Spears beat Tony D’Angelo for the NXT North American Title and LA Knight won back the US Title from Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown. There are a lot of titles in WWE, so doing title changes on TV makes sense to me.

This is the Raw Deal for episode #1659 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport, friend me on Facebook, or chat with me on the Bluesky App as well. Let’s get to it.

There was some pre-show walking shown of the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Women’s World Champion IYO SKY with Dakota Kai, Bianca Belair, Seth “Freakin” Rollins and CM Punk. Michael Cole said there were over 19,000 fans in attendance.

Jey Uso was shown making his entrance while the fans were chanting “Yeet” for him and doing the arm swinging entrance. Jey made his way down the stairs while the fans did the arm-swinging “Yeet” motions on Jey’s way down to the ring. Jey will challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 41.

The commentary team was Michael Cole and Pat McAfee. They were doing the “Yeet” hand gestures with Jey as usual. Comedian Andrew Schulz was at ringside. I listen to Andrew’s podcast sometimes. He has a Netflix comedy special that I haven’t seen yet, but I will check it out soon.

Jey Uso vs. Grayson Waller (w/Austin Theory)

Waller hit a shoulder tackle, Jey came back with an elbow and Jey hit a body slam. Waller kicked Jey in the knee followed by punches. Waller sent Jey shoulder-first into the ring post. Jey avoided a charging attack, Jey hit a back splash and a step up enziguri. Jey clotheslined Waller over the top to the floor. Jey hit a suicide dive onto Waller on the floor. Theory grabbed Jey’s leg while the referee was looking at Waller, so Waller kicked Jey to the floor. Waller hit a clothesline while they were on the floor. They went to a break for some fans as the action continued. Waller worked on Jey with elbow strikes to the chest. Waller worked over Jey with punches. Jey tripped up Waller by the turnbuckle and Waller came back with a jumping knee. Waller set up Jey against the turnbuckle leading to a forearm to the back of the neck for two.

The match continued with Waller jumping off the middle turnbuckle with an elbow drop for two. Jey worked over Waller with punches along with a Samoan Drop. Jey hit a running hip attack on Waller against the turnbuckle. Jey jumped off the top after a distraction by Theory, so Waller avoided it. Jey hit a superkick, Waller came back with a neckbreaker into the ropes. Waller dove into the ring and hit a jumping flatliner for two as usual for that move. Waller hit Jey with forearms to the back. Waller nailed Jey with a forearm to the head. Jey came back with a superkick and Jey hit a superkick on Theory on the apron. Jey ran the ropes and hit a Spear for the pinfall win. It went about 9 minutes.

Winner by pinfall:

Analysis: *** A solid match to give Jey a win on the road to WrestleMania. It was obvious who was going to win, but that’s okay because it’s important to have Jey build up momentum. Waller is technically sound, but they don’t really push him consistently with Theory. Sometimes Jey wins with an Uso Splash, but a Spear was enough to win this match.

After the match, Austin Theory attacked Jey with a forearm smash. Theory and Waller beat up Jey with stomps and punches. Jey sent Waller out of the ring with a back body drop over the top to the floor. Jey hit a Spear on Theory. Jey went up top and hit an Uso Splash on Theory.

Gunther, the World Heavyweight Champion, went into the ring behind Jey Uso and Gunther applied the sleeper while wrapping his legs around Jey’s waist as well, so Gunther took Jey down to the mat. Officials went into the ring to break it up while Jey sold it like he was knocked out. Gunther put his foot on Jey’s chest and the fans booed.

Analysis: There’s a cheap attack from Gunther on Jey Uso again We have seen that before, so it was more of the same from Gunther. I think Jey will beat Gunther at WrestleMania.

A video package aired about the Seth Rollins-CM Punk rivalry leading up to the Steel Cage Match on this week’s Raw. Great video as usual.

Ludwig Kaiser was featured in a video talking about how Penta was foolish for saying he had no fear. Kaiser said fear would have protected Penta and made him run away. Kaiser said Penta has chosen his fate so there’s no turning back. Kaiser told Penta nobody will remember his name while Kaiser is the fastest rising star in WWE. Kaiser informed Penta that for the first time in his career, he will know fear.

Penta responded in a video saying he’ll have a No Holds Barred Match with Kaiser next week on Raw in Belgium. Penta said that it would be the final chapter of Kaiser.

Analysis: That should be an awesome match next week. The feud has been built up well and I’m looking forward to the match.

Jey Uso was shown in the trainer’s room where Alpha Academy’s Otis, Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri checked on him. Jey told them he was alright.

Let’s Hear from Logan Paul and AJ Styles

Logan Paul made his entrance to huge boos from the crowd. Cole said there were 20,142 people there. That’s more than what Cole said earlier. A guy was wearing a “I hate Logan Paul” shirt, so Paul ripped the shirt off the guy. That’s a plant obviously.

Paul tried to talk in the ring, but the fans booed him loudly. Paul said that AJ Styles was supposed to call him out. Paul said he wanted to beat him to the punch because he doesn’t associate with guys like Styles. The crowd kept booing. Paul claimed he’s like The Rock and John Cena as guys who transcended sports entertainment while doing whatever it takes to get to the top. Paul trashed Cody Rhodes to turn down The Rock’s offer. Paul said it took John Cena 20 years to realize that nice guys finish last. Paul told The Rock that his soul was for sale and the fans kept booing. Paul said that he’s the celebrity and the talent. Paul mentioned guys like Andrew Schulz were there while claiming that talent recognizes talent. Paul left the ring to talk to Schulz. Schulz said he was there to see the Steel Cage Match. There’s TKO President Mark Shapiro in the front row as well. Schulz told Logan that nobody was there to see him. Schulz said this is not Cleveland, Ohio because this is New York City. Schulz said he wanted to see real wrestlers and he wants to see AJ Styles. Paul grabbed Schulz and lifted him over the barricade. Paul put Schulz into the ring. Paul teased a suplex on Schulz, but here is AJ Styles.

AJ Styles ran down to the ring with the fans cheering for him. Styles nailed Paul with a clothesline. Styles hit the springboard Phenomenal Forearm to knock Paul down in the ring. Paul rolled out of the ring while the fans chanted “AJ Styles” for the Phenomenal One.

Styles told Paul to come back to the ring because Styles wasn’t done with him. Styles told Paul to come fight because this is New York City. Paul kept on walking while Styles raised Schulz’s hands in the ring. AJ’s music played to end it.

Analysis: It was the typical Logan Paul promo being a jackass and getting heat because of it. Using Andrew Schulz in the segment worked in terms of making Paul look like a jerk for putting Schulz in the ring. AJ Styles making the save was an easy way to get cheered. This is likely going to lead to Styles against Paul at WrestleMania, but it’s not official yet.

A video aired showing Iyo Sky’s win over Rhea Ripley last week to capture the Women’s World Title.

The New Day made their entrance for tag team action. They went to a break for some fans as New Day finished their entrance. Kofi Kingston told the fans that they can’t boo them while Kofi took shots at the New York Jets and New York Giants. Xavier Woods said they’d bury the Knicks, but they are already dead. Kofi claimed the Brooklyn Nets were the money franchise in this town. Woods mentioned last week they were on vacation with their families while claiming the fans can never afford those vacations. Kofi said now they have to be in this city while insulting it. Woods wanted the fans to say “Thank God for The New Day.”

Analysis: Cheap heat promo by The New Day before their match.

It was announced that the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on Friday, April 18th at the BleauLive Theater in Las Vegas at 9 p.m. PT. That is a late night show.

Analysis: This was announced earlier on Monday. It’s a 12 a.m. ET start time so I doubt I’m going to see the Hall of Fame ceremony live. It’s disappointing that WWE would put it on so late.

A video aired about TKO Group starting a boxing league with their Saudi Arabian rich guy partners.

The Hall of Fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach was there along with boxer “King” Callum Walsh.

The NXT Champion Oba Femi was at ringside with his title. Oba is defending the NXT Title against TNA X-Division Champion Moose on NXT this Tuesday. That’s also in NYC. If you read my NXT reviews then you know I’m a big fan of Femi.

Tornado Tag Team Match: The New Day – Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. LWO – Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee

A Tornado Tag means that there are no tags. There are no disqualifications and no countouts. The first pinfall or submission wins.

Rey and Lee attacked the New Day guys leading to ten-punch combos against the turnbuckle. Rey and Lee each hit bulldogs. They left the ring where Rey sent Woods face first into the commentary table hood. Rey sent Woods into the ring post. Rey and Lee pulled out a table from under the ring, which the fans liked. Woods sent Rey into the ring post and Kofi sent Lee into the barricade. Woods put the table under the ring, so the fans booed that. Lee gave Kofi a back body drop on the floor. Rey sent Woods into the barricade. Rey hit a senton on Kofi and Lee knocked down Woods on the floor as well. The LWO set up the table on the floor. Woods tripped up Lee on the apron while Kofi sent Rey out of the ring. New Day sent Rey into the steel steps. New Day caught Lee and hit him with a Powerbomb on the floor. The show went to a break as the action continued. Woods sent Rey into the barricade. Kofi sent Fenix into the commentary table hood. Woods put Fenix into the ring while Pat said New Day were “assholes” and it wasn’t bleeped or anything like that. Woods hit a delayed vertical suplex on Lee. The New Day remained in control.

The action continued with Woods sending Rey out of the ring. Kofi tried to superplex Lee, but Rey was back up to trip Kofi on the turnbuckle. Woods was standing on the middle ropes so Rey hit a springboard hurricanrana. Lee hit a double foot stomp off the top onto Kofi, who was holding onto the ropes to stay in position to take that move. Lee gave Woods a hurricanrana off the apron through the table on the floor. Woods didn’t go perfectly through the table, but the table broke. Rey hit a springboard cross body block on Kofi for two. Rey hit a headscissors to send Kofi into the ropes leading to Rey hitting the 619 kick to knock Kofi down. Rey went up top and did a Frog Splash, but Kofi blocked with the knees for two because Lee made the save. Lee superkicked Kofi and Lee clotheslined Kofi out of the ring. Lee hit a somersault dive over the top onto Kofi on the floor. A masked man jumped off the barricade with a hurricanrana and a flying headbutt. The masked guy caught Rey and hit a delayed German Suplex. The masked guy said “Gracias” and Cole said the mask said “American Made” so obviously it was Chad Gable. The masked guy ran to the back to avoid the security guys. Kofi held Rey onto his knee in the ring while Woods went up top and hit a double foot stomp backbreaker. Woods covered Rey for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: The New Day – Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods

Analysis: ***1/4 It was an entertaining match full of action and it was fast-paced since it was a Tornado Tag Team Match. The interference from Chad Gable helped The New Day win even though we didn’t see Gable’s face. The New Day are the kind of heels that will take advantage of something like that, so the LWO guys were screwed out of the win. I’m all for it because I think The New Day should win matches like this. I really like heel New Day and want to see them as World Tag Team Champions soon.

This week on the WWE Raw Recap podcast will feature AJ Styles as a guest.

A video aired about Bron Breakker’s rivalry with Finn Balor picking up last week.

Finn Balor was shown in The Judgment Day’s clubhouse. Balor complained about Bron Breakker to Carlito. Dominik Mysterio, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez walked in to inform Finn that Raquel is against Bayley tonight. Dominik said he spoke to Adam Pearce for Balor to face Bron Breakker next week. Dominik said that Finn had to talk to Pearce to confirm the match. Finn hugged Dom and said thank you. Finn left. Liv wondered why Dom didn’t put himself in the IC Title match and Dom said that Finn has got this.

They showed WWE announcer Peter Rosenberg in the crowd. The rapper Fabolous was shown in the crowd. Macaulay Culkin was shown in the crowd. Huge pop for the Incredible Culk. He’s on the Netflix show Running Point. Culkin is always great on camera.

The Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes made his entrance to a huge pop as usual. Cody was in a suit. They went to a break for some fans, so Cody walked around the ring without saying anything to kill the time during the break for some fans.

Let’s Hear from Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes still had a black eye around his left eye from the attack at Elimination Chamber nine days earlier. At WrestleMania 41, Cody will defend the WWE Title against John Cena.

Cody asked New York City what do you want to talk about? Cody said he was here because this is the home base for WWE, it’s the center of the pro wrestling universe, it’s the Garden. Cody said that his opponent John Cena (huge boos) is not here tonight although he’ll be at WrestleMania 41. Cody said that Cena told his inner circle consisting of Travis and “The Final Boss” The Rock that he wasn’t going to be here, but Cena will be on Raw in Brussels, Belgium next week. Cody said that Cena won the US Title in this building and won the Royal Rumble in MSG, but he can’t be with them tonight. Cody said that it was an easy decision for Cena just like it was an easy decision to kick somebody in the groin while you have backup. Cody said he didn’t begrudge Cena for being part time because that’s better than most people full time. The fans chanted “Let’s Go Cena/Cena Sucks” loudly. Cody told the fans to let Cena hear it. Cody spoke about how Cena went to X saying “Have the discipline to do what needs to be done even if you don’t feel like it.” Cody called Cena a “God Damn moron” while ranting about people telling you what to do.

Cody said here’s a stat that will never be. Cody said that the stat is 17. Cody said that 17 does not happen, but what does happen is that he gets the heartbreaking privilege of beating his hero in his last chance while he finds out what the rest of you already know that Cody is the captain now. Cody said goodnight after that. It was emphasized by Cole that Cena will be on Raw next week.

Analysis: A good promo from Cody Rhodes as usual. The big news was Cody telling us that John Cena would be on Raw next week. We already knew that, but it’s smart to emphasize it.

The Raquel Rodriguez-Bayley match was next so there was some backstage. As Bayley walked backstage, Natalya was taking to Maxxine Dupri again just like last week.

Lyra Valkyria, the Women’s Intercontinental Champion, was interviewed by Jacie Redmond in the upper deck in the arena. This was during a break for some fans. Lyra said that Ivy Nile is a horrible person, but she’s very good. Jackie asked about the Bayley-Raquel match next. Lyra said she wanted to right the wrong because Bayley had beaten her in the past and Lyra would be watching the match. The entrances took place after that.

They showed actress Ali Ahn at ringside. They also showed women from the “Selling the City” show on Netflix. A rapper named Rich the Kid was at ringside too. Boxer Amanda Serrano was at ringside too.

Raquel Rodriguez (w/Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio) vs. Bayley

Raquel is one half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions with Morgan. Raquel was in control early with a shoulder tackle to knock Bayley down. Bayley tried an armdrag, but Raquel blocked it and hit two shoulder tackles. Bayley hit a boot to the head. Bayley hit a deep arm drag off the ropes. Raquel caught Bayley and spun Bayley around the ring. Raquel hit a fallaway slam. Bayle hit a knee to the jaw followed by a splash against the turnbuckle. Raquel was by the apron, so Bayley hit an elbow drop to the back. They went to a break for some fans as I’ll take a break for a few minutes. It was Raquel in control during the break. That’s not a surprise since the heels are usually in control during the break.

There was a leg drop attempt on the apron by Raquel, but Bayley moved so Raquel hit the apron. Bayley hit a neckbreaker followed by a running knee. Bayley jumped off the turnbuckle with a neckbreaker. Bayley hit a sliding clothesline on Raquel for two. Raquel tossed Bayley across the ring. Bayley got a rollup for two along with a running knee to the jaw. Bayley went up top and she hit the top rope elbow drop for two. Bayley sent Raquel face first into the turnbuckle. Bayley hit a belly-to-back suplex for two. Bayley sent Raquel out of the ring. Bayley kicked Raquel to the floor. Raquel hit Bayley with a forearm smash. Bayley sent Raquel face first into the ring post. Dominik went on the apron, the referee admonished him, Liv grabbed Bayley’s leg and Bayley knocked Dom off the apron. Bayley dove onto Raquel, who caught Bayley and Raquel slammed Bayley onto the hood of the commentary table. Bayley managed to get back in the ring before the ten count. Raquel nailed Bayley with a boot. Raquel hit a Texana Bomb for the pinfall win. It went about 11 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Raquel Rodriguez

Analysis: *** It was an even matchup most of the way until Dom and Liv got involved When that happened, Bayley wasn’t able to hit her dive on Raquel on time and Raquel managed to overpower Bayley after that. The crowd wasn’t into it the whole way, but they reacted to the final minutes.

The win means that Raquel Rodriguez will get a shot at the Women’s Intercontinental Title.

Chad Gable was interviewed by Cathy Kelley backstage. Chad claimed he wasn’t the one who attacked the LWO guys. Kelley mentioned Gable is wearing the same thing that the guy was wearing at ringside. Gable said that security should have stopped the guy before he got involved. In the background, they showed security escorting a guy out of the building who was wearing the mask that we saw earlier. Chad said New York security was pathetic.

Analysis: Heels lie. It made me laugh, so that’s good.

Iyo Sky was shown walking backstage for an interview up next. While she walked, Ludwig Kaiser was talking to Dominik Mysterio in the background.

There was a video promo from Bron Breakker talking about how he’s going to fight Finn Balor for Bron’s Intercontinental Title. Bron said that everybody knows Finn and what he’s accomplished. Bron said that now Finn is a threat to Bron, so Finn will have an out of body experience. Bron said he’ll beat Finn Balor bad because the champ in him respects Balor, but the dog in him smells fear and that is a threat. This aired during a break for some fans.

They showed actor William Jackson Harper. There was also a writer named Kris Diaz in the crowd. Actor Josh Segarra was also shown and he was wearing a Steiner Brothers shirt. Rapper Nardo Wick was at ringside. I didn’t know who any of them were. They don’t know me probably, so we’re even.