Reviews

The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 04/07/25 Review

By John Canton • Published 8th April 2025
WWE Raw Deal April 7

It’s WWE Raw featuring War Raiders against The New Day, Bayley faces Lyra Valkyria, Penta battles Dominik Mysterio, and more.

There are fewer than two weeks to go until WrestleMania 41 takes place on April 19 & 20. It was announced earlier today by WWE that a Fatal 4-Way Match for the Intercontinental Title is now official: Bron Breakker vs. Penta vs. Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio. My pick to win that match? Dominik Mysterio. I think it would be funny to see him win it in a cheap way.

This is the Raw Deal for episode #1663 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

There was some backstage walking shown of Gunther, The New Day, War Raiders, The Judgment Day, Penta and Paul Heyman.

The commentary team of Michael Cole and Pat McAfee welcomed us to the show. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer.

A recap aired about the chaotic Women’s World Title match last week on Raw between champion Iyo Sky and challenger Rhea Ripley while Bianca Belair was the referee. After Belair got hit a few times, Belair threw the match out so there was no winner.

Adam Pearce Addresses Women’s World Title Situation

The Raw GM Adam Pearce was in the ring with the Women’s World Title. Pearce said that this situation had to be addressed. The title was on a podium in the ring. The Women’s World Champion Iyo Sky made her entrance. The Women’s Elimination Chamber winner Bianca Belair was next as the champion’s opponent. Rhea Ripley was also introduced with Pearce saying she represented The Judgment Day, which was a mistake. Good job, Pearce. Cole corrected him.

Pearce said he takes responsibility for what happened last week and he said he was wrong. Pearce said he was wrong to make Belair a referee. Pearce said he was wrong to think they could be professionals. Pearce said that he has decided to make it a triple threat match at WrestleMania with Iyo Sky defending the Women’s World Title against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. The fans cheered. Pearce wanted them to sign the contract.

Belair said that a few weeks ago it would have pissed her off. Belair said she earned her spot, yet Rhea can do what she wants and she’s in the match. Belair said now she’s happy to be added to the match. Belair said she watched her two friends fight at Elimination Chamber and she still won it. Belair said she’ll walk out of WrestleMania as Women’s World Champion and she’ll go through Ripley to get it. Belair signed the contract.

Ripley spoke, so Belair shoved the contract at her and told Ripley to sign it because Ripley has whined enough. Ripley signed the contract. Ripley pushed Sky away, so Sky threw her microphone down. Sky went to the apron and Sky hit a springboard dropkick that knocked Ripley and Belair down. Sky signed the contract.

Analysis: It was obvious that this would be a triple threat match at WrestleMania, and now it’s official. They could have announced it weeks ago instead of doing everything they have done since then. Ripley being added to the match could have been set up better, but the fans obviously want her in the match, so it’s the right call. I think Belair might win the title at WrestleMania, but it’s a tough match to predict at this point.

A clip was shown of Finn Balor & Dominik Mysterio beating Penta & Bron Breakker in a tag team match on Raw last week. Those four guys will be in a four-way at WrestleMania.

The Judgment Day was shown talking about the Intercontinental Title situation. Finn Balor said he didn’t know Dominik wanted the IC Title. Liv Morgan said she talked to Pearce about putting Dominik in the match. Balor didn’t seem thrilled about that. Liv said what’s better than one Judgment Day member in the match, but two of them and they all seemed to like it. Balor said that people think that Dom isn’t tough enough, he doesn’t have a killer instinct and he’s a loser. Balor said he’ll prove them wrong when he faces Penta. Balor left. Carlito told Dominik he has his back.

Analysis: It seems like there will be a split soon with Balor breaking away from the group, perhaps on his own. Maybe it’s time for Balor to be a babyface again. I don’t know for sure, but it could happen.

Bayley made her entrance for her Women’s IC Title match. This was during a break for some fans. The Women’s IC Champion Lyra Valkyria also made her entrance. By the time she got to the ring, the show returned for all fans.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley

Lyra has been champion for 84 days and this is her fourth title defense. Lyra and Bayley will be teammates in a Women’s Tag Team Gauntlet Match on Smackdown.

Bayley got a rollup early on for a two count. Lyra tried a rollup, but Bayle countered into a pin attempt for two. Bayley caught a kick attempt and Bayley hit a knee to the face. Lyra countered Bayley into a pin attempt for two. Lyra did a sweep kick followed by a dropkick and a Northern Lights Suplex for two. Lyra hooked Bayley’s legs and applied a submission move while holding the arms. Lyra turned it into a pin attempt for two. Lyra missed a spinning kick because Bayley moved, but Lyra avoided a charge and Bayley went to the floor. Lyra hit a running dropkick on Bayley on the floor. Back in the ring, Lyra hit a cross body block off the top for two. They went to a break for some fans as the action continued. Lyra went up top, Bayley went after her there and Bayley pulled Lyra down. Bayley hit a top rope elbow to the back for two. Bayley worked over Lyra with knees to the back. Bayley hit a cross body block to the back while Lyra was leaning over. Bayley applied a half crab submission.

Lyra kicked Bayley a few times to break free. Bayley and Lyra exchanged forearms. Bayley hit a neckbreaker move into the ropes. Bayley hit a sliding dropkick on the floor. Bayley went for a suicide dive, but Lyra got back into the ring to avoid it. Lyra tried a dropkick attack, Bayley caught her and Bayley hit a Bayley to Belly slam on the floor. Both women got back in the ring before the ten count. Lyra hit an enziguri kick and Lyra hit a sitout Powerbomb for a two count. Bayley hit a running knee to the face for two. They battled by the turnbuckle, Lyra’s back was hurting and Bayley did a sunset flip bomb into the turnbuckle. Lyra hit a Tornado DDT, she rolled through and Lyra hit a Fisherman’s Suplex for two. The fans got into it with a “this is awesome” chant. Lyra jumped off the top with a dropkick attack, Bayley caught her and Bayley applied a Boston Crab submission. Lyra was selling it a lot, but she got her hand on Bayley’s foot. Bayley went for the Roseplant, Lyra got out of it and Lyra flipped out of it and got jackknife pin for the pinfall win. Cole called it an instant classic. It went about 13 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Lyra Valkyria

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a very good match. I don’t know if I’d call it an instant classic, but it was fun to watch and a competitive match. There was a lot of Bayley offense in the match with Lyra doing a nice job of selling the back injury throughout the match. Bayley nearly won with the Boston Crab submission, Lyra managed to get out of that and Lyra got the jackknife pin for the win. It’s good for the IC Title to have competitive matches like that.

After the match, Lyra wanted to shake Bayley’s hand. Bayley pushed the hand away. Bayley thought about it and Bayley shook Lyra’s hand. Bayley raised Lyra’s hand as the winner.

Analysis: Bayley going back to the heel role would be fine with me, but she’s only been in this babyface role for about a year. I think she’ll stay face even though the heel act was teased here.

Comedian Bert Kreischer was about to be interviewed by Cathy Kelley, but there was an interruption by Chad Gable and American Made. Gable said he’s not competing tonight, but the Creeds are in action along with El Grande Americano along with the LWO. Bert said he wasn’t there to see them. That led to Otis and Alpha Academy walking into the screen. Otis and Bert ripped open their shirts, so they bonded. Bert said that was his thing, so Otis said that was their thing.

Analysis: That made me chuckle. I like Bert’s comedy.

Ludwig Kaiser was interviewed by Cathy Kelley in the upper deck in the arena, and it was during the break for some fans. Kelley mentioned Kaiser being in the “WrestleMania conversation in the last week.” Kaiser said that he is still the fastest rising superstar in WWE whether you like it or not. Kaiser said that Adam Pearce favors other people over Kaiser because Kaiser isn’t in a WrestleMania match. Kaiser said there will be serious consequences if he’s not in a match. Kaiser said last week was a threat and tonight was a promise.

Analysis: Ludwig Kaiser did not officially address Charlotte Flair mentioning him last week during her Smackdown exchange with Tiffany Stratton, who is dating Kaiser.

The LWO entered for tag team action. This was during the break for some fans.

It was announced that the Pat McAfee Show will be live at WrestleMania week in Las Vegas on Friday, April 17 and Monday, April 21.

AJ Styles was interviewed by Jackie Redmond, who asked about AJ’s match against Logan Paul at WrestleMania. Styles said he gets to embarrass Paul on the grandest stage of them all because you can’t beat experience. Karrion Kross with Scarlett interrupted. Kross said he wants to help him because we need the Styles that gets the job done. Kross said we can’t let AJ lose because we need AJ to win. Styles said if you want to see that AJ Styles then he’ll go talk to Pearce and see Kross in a match next week. Kross and Scarlett seemed happy about that.

LWO – Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro (w/Rey Mysterio) vs. El Grande Americano, Brutus Creed & Julius Creed (w/Ivy Nile)

Brutus hit a shoulder tackle to knock Cruz down. Wilde and Cruz did a tag team move, leading to Wilde hitting a moonsault. Wilde did a headscissors on Julius. All six guys were in the ring as the three LWO guys hit corner splashes and dropkicks at the same time. The three LWO guys hit dives over the top onto the three heels on the floor. Back in the ring, the LWO guys went up top, but American Made’s trio hit three superplexes. The show went to a break for some fans as I’ll take a break too.

Julius was in control of Lee with a forearm smash. Lee went up top, Julius went after him, Lee tripped him up and Lee hit a double foot stomp to the chest. Cruz tagged in with a cross body block and two hurricanranas. Cruz hit a running kick to the head along with a neckbreaker. Cruz went up top and he hit atop rope somersault and a dive onto another Creed. Grande was legal leading to a rollup for two. Lee tagged in, he held Grande and when Cruz jumped off to he top, Grande countered him with a belly to belly suplex. Amazing move. Lee gave Grande a sitout Powerbomb. Julius hit a Shooting Star Press onto Lee. That move hit Lee in the legs more than the upper body. Wilde jumped off a back and over the top to the floor. Cruz jumped off the top with a corkscrew splash onto one of the Creeds on the floor. Nile handed a piece of metal to Grande, who put it under his mask. Grande headbutted Rey down. Grande was on the top rope, Lee tripped him up, Lee tried to take off the mask and Grande hit a headbutt with the loaded mask. Grande jumped off the top with a headbutt on Lee to the head with a loaded mask. Grande covered Lee for the win. It went about 11 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: El Grande Americano, Brutus Creed & Julius Creed

Analysis: ***1/4 That was an exciting tag team match with some incredible moves by the LWO guys throughout the match. Grande cheating to win with the metal piece in the mask was a clever way to end it. I enjoyed the match. El Grande Americano continues his winning ways. Gracias!

A video package aired about Gunther beating Jimmy Uso. After the match, Gunther used zip ties to tie Jey to the ropes and Gunther beat up Jimmy so much that Jimmy was a bloody mess. Jey was helpless to assist, so Gunther destroyed Jimmy right in front of his brother.

The World Heavyweight Champion Gunther was walking backstage for a promo up next.

Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez, the Women’s Tag Team Champions, were interviewed by Cathy Kelley in the upper part of the arena. This was during the break. Raquel said that whoever they face at WrestleMania will lose to the best women’s tag team champions ever. Jackie mentioned all the teams in the Women’s Gauntlet Match on Smackdown and Liv said all the teams are “great, but not as great as us.” Live said it repeatedly. Liv said they were the greatest Women’s Tag Team Champions of all time.

A video aired about D-Generation X’s history to focus on Triple H’s role in the group. This was done to promote Triple H for the WWE Hall of Fame.

Let’s Hear from GUNTHER…or Jey Uso

The World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER made his entrance wearing a suit and he had the title around his waist. Before Gunther could say a word, Jey Uso’s music hit for the interruption.

Jey Uso made his entrance from the crowd while wearing a black tank top and he had Yeet sunglasses. Jey wasn’t doing the Yeet arm swinging because he was serious on his way to the ring. Gunther was laughing at Jey on his way into the ring. Gunther was about to speak, but Jey slapped the microphone out of his hand.

Jey: “Gunther. Do you have a mother?” Jey asked Gunther if he talked to his mom and he wondered what do they talk about? Family stuff? Jey said does she ask how the wife and grandson are doing while saying it’s regular family stuff. Jey said that he had to tell his mom that her oldest son was laid up in a hospital bed and got 15 stitches across his forehead. She asked Jey: “Why didn’t you protect him, Joshua?” Jey said he never lied to his mom. Jey said he told her that he was afraid of Gunther. Jey said that Gunther is playing chess and Jey is playing checkers. Jey said it’s not enough for Gunther because he had to get the family involved. Jey told Gunther you know how Jey feels about his family, especially Jimmy. Jey said that you left Jimmy a bloody pulp while Jey was tied to the ropes. Jey said that Jimmy’s blood is on Jey’s hands too.

Jey said he never felt so hopeless, helpless, disrespected, mad, angry and damn near scared. Jey said that Gunther made the world stop and violated Jey’s twin in front of him. Jey said in his darkest moment in front of the world, a lightbulb went off for him. Jey said he realized he’s not afraid of Gunther anymore. The fans cheered. Jey said before WrestleMania, he wanted Gunther to hug and kiss his family. Jey said that the night before WrestleMania, he’ll lay his head down, say a prayer for Gunther more so than for Jey, and ask the Lord to forgive Jey for the man he’s about to become. Jey said he’ll get him, he’ll get him for Jimmy and get him for his whole damn family. Jey said he’ll take the World Heavyweight Championship. Jey’s music played to end it.

Analysis: I thought that was great. Jey Uso brought the intensity with that promo and the fans got behind him as he showed confidence toward the end of it. Gunther didn’t say a word because this was all about Jey revealing to Gunther that Jey is ready for WrestleMania and he’s motivated because of what Gunther did to Jimmy last week. I also think Jey Uso is going to win the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania. It makes sense to me.

A video aired recapping the Roman Reigns-Seth Rollins-CM Punk and Paul Heyman segment from Smackdown last week. Punk informed us that the favor Paul Heyman owes him is that Heyman will be in Punk’s corner for the Reigns-Rollins-Punk match at WrestleMania. Punk ended the segment with a GTS on Reigns.

The New Day made their entrance for the World Tag Team Title match. They are going for a record 12th Tag Team Title reign. They went to break for some fans. The War Raiders entered as the World Tag Team Champions.

Natalya was backstage with Maxxine Dupri, talking to Raw GM Adam Pearce. Natalya wasn’t thrilled about teaming with Dupri in a Gauntlet Match, but Pearce said it was WrestleMania season, so he wanted Natalya to do it. Natalya begrudgingly said okay.

Rey Mysterio walked into the room to talk to Adam Pearce. Rey said he wanted to face El Grande Americano at WrestleMania. Pearce said out of respect for Rey, it’s official.

Analysis: There’s another WrestleMania match. The “new” guy El Grande Americano against Rey should be awesome.

World Tag Team Championships: The War Raiders – Erik & Ivar vs. The New Day – Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods

The comedian Tony Hinchcliffe was on commentary for the next match. Tony has a new Netflix show, and he’s hosting the Roast of WrestleMania as well. Tony said he’s been a fan since the Attitude Era. Tony made old jokes about Cole. Tony was supportive of The New Day. I don’t know much about Tony except that he said some stuff a few months back that upset a lot of people, so I’m sure his presence upset a lot of people watching.

Ivar started with Kofi and Ivar hit a shoulder tackle, so Kofi retreated. Woods nailed Erik with a forearm followed by some stomps. Woods and Kofi kept making tags as they stomped on Erik. Erik came back with a double clothesline. Ivar hit a sidewalk slam and a cross body block. Erik was back in with a body slam on Kofi and a body slam on Woods. Ivar with a body slam on Kofi. Erik gave Ivar a body slam onto Kofi. Erik tossed Woods over the top to the floor. Woods grabbed a chair, but Erik stopped that with a punch to the jaw. Ivar sent Kofi into the barricade. Ivar hit a running cross body block onto Woods against the barricade. They went to break as Ivar hit a cross body block onto Kofi. Ivar hit a running splash on Kofi against the turnbuckle. Woods saved Kofi from a splash by Ivar and Ivar hit the turnbuckle. Woods was legal as he jumped off the turnbuckle with an elbow smash on Ivar. Tony had a joke that Cole’s hairline was on the road to WrestleMania. Woods hit a dropkick on Ivar against the ropes. Woods hit a jumping forearm on Ivar.

The match returned from a break for some fans as Woods worked over Ivar with punches. Ivar fought back with a jumping splash to knock Woods down. Erik tagged in with an overhead suplex, a backbreaker and Erik hit a knee to the face. Erik hit an impressive spinebuster on Kofi. Ivar tagged in for a popup powerslam. Ivar hit a double team clothesline into a Suplex for two because Woods made the save. Woods brought a chair into the ring, Ivar took the chair away and Ivar hit Woods in the ribs with the chair. The referee saw it, so he called for the DQ. It went 9 minutes.

Winners by disqualification: The New Day (War Raiders retain the titles)

Analysis: **3/4 A cheap ending to a pretty good match. It should set them up for another match, and I think The New Day will win the titles when that happens. It makes sense to do it at WrestleMania, but I’m not sure if that’s the plan at this point.

After the match, Kofi nailed Ivar in the back with a steel chair. Kofi wedged a steel chair against the turnbuckle. Woods and Kofi sent Erik face first into the steel chair. It was really Erik’s arms hitting the chair first, but it was still a good bump. The New Day sent Ivar over the barricade at ringside. The New Day wanted to do more damage to Erik with the steel chair, but WWE Producers and referees were there to stop them. The Producers and referees helped New Day out of the ring.

Analysis: The New Day guys wanting to do further damage to The War Raiders adds to the intensity of the feud. It was booked well.

On X/Twitter, Kofi claimed that the Raiders got DQ’d on purpose. Heel New Day rocks.

A video package aired about the WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. The video package featured the song “Last of My Kind” by Shaboozey while they showed videos and photos of Cody throughout his career. It also featured some of Cody’s promos in recent weeks about his bond with the fans.

Penta made his entrance to a huge pop from the crowd. That was shown during the break for some fans. The Dominik Mysterio entrance was also shown.

They showed Adi Shankar, who is the creator of Devil May Cry on Netflix. There was also Taylor & Daniel from Love is Blind on Netflix. Comedian Bert Kreischer was also shown at ringside and he got a pop. Bert chugged a beer. I know who Bert is. I don’t know the others.

Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio (w/Carlito)

Dominik and Penta exchanged chops. Dominik stomped on Penta a few times. Dominik hit a running clothesline against the turnbuckle. Dominik worked over Penta with shoulder tackles against the turnbuckle. Pena hit a running hurricanrana, a backbreaker and a Slingblade. Pent went up top and hit a cross body block onto Dominik & Carlito on the floor. They went to break at that point as the action continued. Penta kicked Dominik while Penta was on the apron. Carlito distracted Penta, so Dominik sent Penta into the ring post. Dominik stomped on Penta along with a senton splash for two because Penta got his hand on the bottom rope. Penta and Dominik battled by the turnbuckle.

Penta jumped off the top rope, but Dominik was ready with a kick to the gut. Dominik hit the Three Amigos vertical suplexes for a two count. Dominik hit a dropkick to the left knee. Penta was back up with a superkick. Penta did a handstand kick by the turnbuckle for two. Dominik with a kick followed by a Mexican Destroyer that Penta usually uses. Dominik hit a 619 kick. Dominik went up top with a Frog Splash, but Penta got his knees up to block and Penta got a two count. Penta pulled back on Dominik’s right arm in a move called The Sacrifice. Penta hit the Penta Driver for the pinfall win after about 8 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Penta

Analysis: **3/4 A solid TV match with Dominik getting some offense and nearly winning, but this was about continuing Penta’s push as a singles wrestler. I thought the finish was done well. Since Finn & Dom beat Penta & Bron last week on Raw, it made sense for Penta to win here.

After the match, Carlito and Dominik attacked Penta with kicks. Bron ran down the ring and hit a massive Spear on Carlito on the floor. Bron hit a Spear on Dominik as well. When Penta got back up, Bron nailed him with a Spear too. Finn Balor attacked Bron from behind and Balor hit an elbow drop into a reverse DDT to put Bron down. Balor held up the Intercontinental Title. Bron was back up and he went for a Spear, but Balor left the ring.

Analysis: That Spear by Bron on Carlito was excellent. The rest of it advanced the IC Title four-way story.

Next week on Raw in Sacramento:

* AJ Styles vs. Karrion Kross

* Roman Reigns returns

The American Made group of Chad Gable, The Creed Brothers & Ivy Nile did a promo by the entrance. This was during a break for some fans. Gable said that he’s the best thing to come out of Minnesota. Gable talked about the win by The Creed Brothers and El Grande Americano. Gable said he’s going to watch El Grande Americano beat Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania.

Let’s Hear from Paul Heyman, Seth Rollins and CM Punk

Paul Heyman made his way down to the ring in a suit. That was the end of the commercial for some fans and back to the show. Heyman said he will always be loyal to his “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns. Heyman claimed he would always be loyal to his best friend in the world, CM Punk. Heyman said just because he’s loyal to both of them, it doesn’t mean he’ll be disloyal to either of them. Heyman said that when it comes to WrestleMania, let’s get one thing perfectly clear. Here comes Seth Rollins.

Seth Rollins made his entrance with the fans singing his song as usual. Rollins welcomed us to the show while running down his nicknames as usual. Rollins said tonight is about Paul Heyman. Rollins asked Heyman, whose side are you on? Rollins wondered if Paul would be the very best friend to CM Punk or are you going to be the “Wise Man” to Roman Reigns. Rollins said it sounds like Heyman thinks he can do both at the same time. Reigns told Heyman that Reigns doesn’t care about him. Rollins said that Reigns doesn’t respect Heyman. Rollins said that last year at WrestleMania 40, Reigns loses his WWE Championship and then Reigns disappeared into the ether. Rollins said that Reigns left Heyman in the loving hands of Solo Sikoa and did they treat you well? Rollins said they treated Paul like the scum of the Earth. Rollins asked if Reigns rescued him. Heyman said no. Rollins said that Reigns left Heyman to get massacred in his hometown in front of his children. Rollins said that Heyman’s kids had to watch their father get put through a table since Reigns wasn’t there for him. Rollins said that CM Punk wasn’t there either.

Rollins said that 10 years ago, Punk walked out on this arena and he walked out on Heyman as well. Rollins said Punk didn’t embrace Heyman on his return to WWE. Rollins reminded Heyman that Punk was not the first choice on Team Roman in WarGames because Rollins was. Rollins declined. Rollins said that Punk was the last choice. Rollins said that Punk knew he could use it to get a favor out of Heyman. Rollins said that Punk was not Heyman’s best friend because Punk loves nobody but himself. Rollins suggested that Heyman remove himself from the situation entirely so that Reigns, Rollins and Punk can battle it out. Rollins said he knows that Heyman can’t betray the Tribal Chief or his best friend. Rollins wondered if there was a way to remove Heyman from the situation. Rollins said it would take it as a privilege to remove Heyman from the situation right here, right now. Rollins said a boot to the head and one quick Stomp and it’s all over. Rollins said that Roman Reigns isn’t there to save you while CM Punk isn’t there to make friends, he’s there to make money. Rollins wondered how much is Heyman worth? Rollins shoved Heyman in the chest and Rollins slapped Heyman in the face. Rollins grabbed him, so Heyman said don’t put your damn hands on me again. Rollins pushed Heyman into the turnbuckle.

CM Punk made the save by running down to the ring and going after Rollins. Punk fought with Rollins in the ring and then they went fighting over the commentary table. Punk sent Rollins over the Prime station. Punk sent Rollins into the steel steps. Punk punched Rollins a few times. Punk went for a Stomp on the steps, but Rollins got back in the ring. When Punk got into the ring, Rollins hit Punk with The Stomp in the middle of the ring. Rollins teased doing The Stomp to Heyman, but Rollins stopped himself. Rollins: “Now you owe me a favor.” Seth’s music played again and Seth left the ring while Heyman had a shocked look on his face. That was the end of Raw.

Analysis: I thought Rollins did an excellent job with his promo as he tried to get in Heyman’s head by saying that Reigns and Punk don’t really care about Heyman. Punk showed a lot of fire getting out there and Rollins put him down. I liked the ending with Rollins telling Heyman he owed Rollins a favor now, so we’ll see if that’s something or if it’s just Rollins playing mind games. It may lead to some fans thinking that Heyman will help Rollins win at WrestleMania, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I’m just saying it teases that idea.

This week’s Raw had a runtime of 2:34:40.

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Three Stars of the Show

  1. Jey Uso
  2. Seth Rollins
  3. Lyra Valkyria/Bayley

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The Scoreboard

7.25 out of 10

Last week: 7.75

2025 Average: 7.46

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Final Thoughts on WWE Raw

I thought it was a pretty good show, but not necessarily a great one. I enjoyed the promos from Jey Uso and Seth Rollins in particular. That Spear by Bron Breakker on Carlito was amazing.

The matches were fine for the most part, with Lyra & Bayley doing a great job. I was hoping the Tag Team Title match would be better, but it was more of an angle to set up a future match. The six-man tag was great, and I’m enjoying the El Grande Americano antics.

One more Raw to go before WrestleMania.

The next WWE PLE is WrestleMania 41 on April 19 & April 20 in Las Vegas. Here is the lineup so far.

* Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena

* CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

* WWE Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley

* WWE World Heavyweight Championship: GUNTHER (c) vs. Jey Uso

* WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

* AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul

* United States Championship: LA Knight (c) vs. Jacob Fatu

* Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Penta vs. Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio

* Naomi vs. Jade Cargill

* Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano

There will be more matches added in the weeks ahead.

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Thanks for reading. Please check out my reviews of every WWE PPV ever listed in order. Go Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Maple Leafs. My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter/X @johnreport