Reviews

The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 04/21/25 Review

By John Canton • Published 21st April 2025
WWE Raw Deal April 21

It’s WWE Raw featuring John Cena as the new WWE Champion, Jey Uso as the new World Heavyweight Champion, and more on the Raw After WrestleMania.

This is Raw After WrestleMania, which has a history of producing some great shows and memorable moments, but sometimes fans have high expectations for it, so it’s tough to live up to the hype. I enjoyed WrestleMania 41 for the most part, but some things upset some fans, such as how John Cena won the WWE Title over Cody Rhodes. It wasn’t a good match, and it was a controversial finish featuring a non-wrestler like rapper Travis Scott helping Cena, so fans are angry. I theorized that WWE wanted to do it in a very cheap way to get even more heat on Cena as a heel champion.

Congratulations to John Cena on a record-breaking 17th WWE World Title reign and to Jey Uso for his World Title win over Gunther. Dominik Mysterio also won the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania, Jacob Fatu won the US Title, and the returning Becky Lynch won the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Lyra Valkyria. A lot of title changes set the stage for tonight’s Raw as we head toward Backlash on May 10th. It’s my fifth live review over the last four days, so I guess you can say I’ve been a busy man.

This is the Raw Deal for episode #1665 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada Follow me on Twitter/X@johnreport. Let’s get to it.

A video package aired recapping WrestleMania 41 weekend.

There were some arrivals shown of Seth Rollins arriving with Paul Heyman, the Women’s Tag Team Champions Becky Lynch & Lyra Valkyria, The Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio with friends and the World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso.

It’s Michael Cole and Pat McAfee on commentary as usual for Raw. The ring announcer was Mark Nash since Alicia Taylor was off tonight.

Let’s Hear from John Cena

The new Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena made his entrance wearing the WWE Title around his waist backward. Cena went into the ring, held up the WWE Title over his head and there was an impressive pyro display by the entrance. Cena had a serious look on his face.

Cena called for Nash to come into the ring and Cena handed a paper to read. Nash read a paper saying that he was informed that his announcement was deemed disrespectful. Nash introduced Cena as the “Greatest of All Time,” while mentioning 17 World Titles, saying he is gracing Las Vegas for the last time and is “The Last World Champion,” John Cena.

Analysis: Good job by Mark Nash. It adds more to Cena’s presentation to be a jerk like that too.

Cena said that winners write history. Cena told the fans that they are not worthy. Cena spoke about how on Friday they bullied him, now he’s in the ring with gold around his waist and he’s supposed to forgive them? Cena said that’s not how a functional replacement works. Cena said that just because you show up in a good mood, you can still go straight to hell. Cena said that you owe him an apology, but you don’t have the courage to do it. Cena discussed how this has always been the show where you hijack and take control of Raw. Cena told the fans that they’ve gone soft while fans chanted “We Aren’t Sorry” at Cena, who told the fans that’s what they were saying. Cena called them sorry lowlifes and told them they are sorry. Cena told the fans they don’t mean anything to him, so there were “Asshole” chants for him. Cena said he may be an anus, but they’re a group of idiots. Cena spoke about how that he’s always gotten back up from their chants and Cena dared them to be the crowd that cracks him. Cena said their noise means nothing to him.

Cena pointed at the screen by the entrance saying he told us 36 dates and he’s gone. Cena counted down the dates while the fans chanted “WHAT” and now there are 27 dates left. Cena said that’s not matches, that’s appearances. Cena said you can’t wrestle, he said he doesn’t have to because he just has to do this. Cena said that when it hits 0, the pro wrestling timeline goes cold. Cena said that when he’s done, this title comes home with him, and Cena stated that he is the last undisputed champion of WWE. Cena referenced legends like Bruno Sammartino, Roman Reigns, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Steve Austin, all of whom held that title.

Cena said that the best chance to save yourselves was Cody Rhodes. The fans booed that. Cena said that the man they put on their shoulders last year was booed by you, and that’s what’s wrong with this. Cena said that Cody was outclassed and outwrestled at WrestleMania. Cena spoke about how there is nobody in WWE without the strength, speed and ruthless aggression of John Cena. John said unlike him, he has a heart and would like to do something nice for the fans right now. Cena told the fans to get out their cameras. Cena told the fans to get a great picture because the Last Real Champ is here.

Randy Orton showed up in the ring and dropped Cena with an RKO. The fans popped huge for that. Orton held up the WWE Title over a fallen Cena. As Orton posed, the fans sang Orton’s song for him. Cena remained out in the ring.

Analysis: That was cool. I think we can pencil in Randy Orton against John Cena at Backlash in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis on May 10th. That was well timed since it came after Cena did a cocky heel promo for 15 minutes with the fans booing Cena throughout the promo. We knew that at some point Cena against Orton was going to happen, so I think doing it in Orton’s home city of St. Louis makes a lot of sense.

A clip was shown of Becky Lynch & Lyra Valkyria winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania was shown. There’s a rematch on Raw. Liv and Raquel did a promo during the break for some fans about how they were going to win back their titles. Raquel spoke in Spanish just to draw boos from the fans.

A commercial aired promoting WWE Worlds Collide and WWE Money in the Bank with both shows taking place on June 7th. Those shows are in Los Angeles.

The comedian Gabriel Iglesias was at ringside, actor Rana Daggubati was at ringside also and they showed Pat’s friends from The Pat McAfee Show. I guess they ran out of actual celebrities from the weekend.

They showed NXT’s Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley at ringside since they face the winners on NXT this Tuesday, which is also in Las Vegas.

Women’s Tag Team Championships: Becky Lynch & Lyra Valkyria vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez

This is Lynch’s first match on Raw since last May, so it’s been nearly one year.

Liv got some strikes early, Lynch came back with kicks of her own. Lyra and Lynch hit a double team armdrag on Liv. Lyra sent Liv hard into the turnbuckle. Raquel tried a move slamming Lyra, but Lyra landed on Liv instead. Lyra kicked Raquel, so Raquel bailed to the floor. Lynch and Lyra hit baseball slide dropkicks to knock their opponents down. They went to break for some fans as the action continued. Lyra went for a running attack in the ring, Liv moved and Lyra hit the ropes. Raquel overpowered Lyra into the turnbuckle. Liv tagged in with a spinning facebuster off the turnbuckle. Raquel was back in with a boot to the face. Lyra hit a jawbreaker, but Raquel hit a clothesline. Raquel held Lyra on her back for a submission attempt that wasn’t going to end the match.

Lyra broke free and Lynch got the tag against Liv. Lynch hit two clotheslines, a jumping side kick and a running forearm. Lynch kicked both opponents by the turnbuckle followed by Lynch hitting Liv with a Bexploder for two. Liv and Lynch exchanged pin attempts, Liv hit a Codebreaker, but Lynch blocked an Oblivion. Lynch hit a Manhandle Slam on Liv for two because Raquel made the save. Lynch hit a jawbreaker. Raquel hit a big boot to knock Lynch down. Lynch and Lyra set up Raquel by the turnbuckle, but Liv was back up to give Lynch a Powerbomb off the ropes. Lyra went for a hurricanrana, but Raquel held on and Raquel gave Lyra Powerbomb off the turnbuckle for a two count because Lyra got her left shoulder up. Lyra came back with a jumping DDT off the middle turnbuckle. Lyra hit her Nightwing finishing move on Raquel. Liv saved Raquel during the pin attempt because Liv put Raquel’s foot on the ropes. Liv shoved Lynch into the ring post. Lyra tried to jump on Raquel, who moved and Raquel hit a boot to the face for two. Good nearfall. Lyra got her feet up to block Raquel giving Liv a Powerbomb onto Lyra. Liv went for Oblivion, Lyra avoided it and Lyra hit an enziguri kick. Lyra went for Nightwing on Liv, but Raquel saved her partner. Lyra punched Raquel off the apron onto Lynch on the floor. Liv hit Oblivion on Lyra for the pinfall win after about 13 minutes.

Winners by pinfall AND NEW Women’s Tag Team Champions: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez

That win means Liv & Raquel are four-time Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Analysis: ***1/2 That was a great match that got more time than their WrestleMania match and it was more exciting. I liked the nearfalls throughout the match with Raquel coming close to winning a few times, Lyra nearly won a few times and then Lyra knocked Raquel off the apron, which took down Lynch on the floor. It was only a one day title reign between Lynch and Lyra, so that was brief. It made sense based on what happened right after.

After the match, Lynch hugged Lyra and then Lynch clotheslined Lyra. Lynch yelled at Lyra, so the fans booed Lynch. Lynch went after Lyra again with some more yelling and Lynch rammed Lyra’s head into the mat a few times. The fans booed Lynch, who was about to leave, but then Lynch went back into the ring. Lynch gave Lyra the Manhandle Slam twice. The fans booed Lynch while some fans chanted “one more time.” Lynch picked up Lyra and hit another Manhandle Slam.

Analysis: There’s a heel turn for Lynch just like her husband Seth Rollins, so perhaps they’ll be aligned on camera too. Lynch has been successful as a heel in the past and I like her in that role even though the fans like her a lot. They can also say that Lynch was the one who attacked Bayley so that Lynch could take her spot too.

A video package aired showing the end of the WrestleMania 31 Saturday when Paul Heyman helped Seth Rollins beat CM Punk and Roman Reigns. Heyman hit low blows on Punk and Reigns before Rollins got the win.

The New Day was shown backstage with their World Tag Team Titles. They saw Karrion Kross backstage and Kross smiled at them.

Chad Gable and his American Made group appeared by the entrance. This was during a break. Gable credited El Grande Americano for a heroic performance. Gable said that Grande persevered against Rey Fenix since Rey Mysterio was injured. Gable claimed that Grande was on his victory tour, but he’ll be back soon to entertain all of you.

A graphic was shown on screen saying that WrestleMania 41 generated 1.1 billion social views across all social platforms.

Let’s Hear from The New Day

The New Day’s Kofi Kingston (in a ridiculous heavy fur coat) and Xavier Woods were in the ring. Kofi said that they are the new WWE World Tag Team Champions. Woods wanted the fans to shout out in unison: “Thank God for The New Day!” The fans booed. Kofi said there is no tag team alive or dead that is better than your boys, The New Day. Woods said that you said that you couldn’t beat The War Raiders…and Kofi said that they did.

Alpha Academy’s Otis, Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri showed up to interrupt. Dupri reminded that Otis & Tozawa beat New Day in 60 seconds the last time they faced New Day. Dupri thinks we would love to see New Day defend the titles against Alpha Academy right now. Woods said no to that. Dupri asked if the Minute Men were scared. That was enough trash talk because Kofi said to get an official out here right now. It looked like the match was about to start, but the lights went out. It was the return of Rusev.

Analysis: I didn’t expect a match since The New Day were not in wrestling gear, but they can do that tag team match in the future.

Rusev made his entrance and he looked intense on his way to the ring. It is Rusev’s WWE return after five years. Rusev had a new song, instead of his old WWE song. Rusev went into the ring, so The New Day ran away. Rusev nailed Otis with a clothesline. Tozawa tried to jump on Rusev, who hit a clothesline. Tozawa jumped off the top, Rusev caught him and Rusev sent Tozawa across the ring. Rusev hit Otis with a kick to the head. Rusev hit a jumping superkick. Rusev stomped on Otis’ back and Rusev applied the Accolade submission on Otis. The fans chanted “Rusev Day” for Rusev. Rusev held his arms up in the air to end it and he posed for the fans.

Analysis: Welcome back to Rusev. It was reported that he was coming back to WWE after not being used by AEW for a long time, so I’m glad Rusev is back in WWE. Rusev is in great shape, the fans were hot for him and he looks ready to go. The “Rusev Day” chant was strong as well. I think WWE should embrace that if he’s going to be a face and try to push it moving forward.

The Judgment Day was shown with Liv & Raquel celebrating their title win with Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio. Carlito was there celebrating with them too. Finn Balor walked up to Dominik and stared at him. Finn said what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Balor congratulated Dominik on the win. Carlito said they don’t have titles, but they feel like champions. Balor looked back at Dom’s title.

The Women’s World Champion Iyo Sky made her entrance. They showed highlights of the Women’s World Title match at WrestleMania during the break for some fans. Awesome match.

A commercial aired announcing that WWE is heading to Petco Park in San Diego for Survivor Series on November 29th. That’s the home of the MLB’s San Diego Padres. That’s cool. It’s always warm there.

Let’s Hear from IYO SKY

Iyo Sky did a promo saying that WrestleMania was the best night of her career. Iyo Sky did a promo saying that she beat the best there is, so she is the best. Sky said that Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair tried to forget her, but now all of you will never forget her. Sky said that she is the genius of the sky, she is Iyo Sky and the Women’s World Champion.

The NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer made her entrance and the fans popped for her. Vaquer walked down to the ring. Vaquer congratulated Sky on her big win. Vaquer said she’s the NXT Women’s Champion, “La Primera” Stephanie Vaquer. There was a “La Primera” chant as Vaquer said she was there to show her respect. Vaquer said that Sky is the best and Vaquer said she wanted to fight with the best of the best. Sky said if Vaquer wants to face her then Sky accepts. Sky said right here, right now. The fans popped for that.

Raw General Manager Adam Pearce interrupted and the fans booed him. Pearce asked Las Vegas if they want the match, the fans cheered and Pearce said it starts right now.

Analysis: That’s a match I didn’t expect between the Japanese Women’s World Champion and Chilean NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer. English isn’t their first language, but they got through it just fine and it’s a match that we all want to see.

Iyo Sky vs. Stephanie Vaquer

It’s a first-time-ever matchup, and there is no title on the line.

Vaquer did a headscissors, but Sky did a cartwheel to land on her feet. Vaquer ran Sky into the ropes going for a move and Sky held onto the ropes. Sky did a backflip to avoid Vaquer, which led to Sky hitting a dropkick that knocked Vaquer out of the ring. Sky hit a suicide dive cross body block on Vaquer on the floor. Vaquer hit a sliding kick by the apron. Vaquer jumped off the barricade and hit a cross body block on Sky on the floor. They went to break for some fans as the action continued. Vaquer had Sky grounded for a submission. They did a double cross body block to knock eachother down. Vaquer hit a suplex.

Vaquer was on the top rope, Sky went after her and Sky hit an armdrag off the top rope. Sky hit a dropkick. Sky went to the apron, she knocked Vaquer backward and Sky hit a missile dropkick to send Vaquer into the turnbuckle. Sky hit a running double knee attack for two. Sky went for Over The Moonsault, Vaquer avoided that and Vaquer hit a dragon screw leg whip. Vaquer hit the running double knee attack against the turnbuckle for two. Sky countered Vaquer with a roll through and Sky hit a double foot stomp on Vaquer’s stomach for a two count. Vaquer hit a jawbreaker, a superkick and a belly-to-back suplex. Vaquer hit a her double knee smash into the mat ten times and the fans popped for it while Cole mentioned Booker T would have heart attack. The fans chanted “one more time” for Vaquer. Sky and Vaquer exchanged holds leading to Vaquer getting a rollup for two. Sky hit a double underhook backbreaker on the knee for two. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for them. Each woman hit a running elbow smash. Sky hit a German Suplex. Vaquer stopped Sky and Vaquer hit her own German Suplex. Vaquer and Sky went up top, which led to Sky hitting a Spanish Fly slam off the top. The fans were cheering the great action. Roxanne Perez ran into the ring and hit Sky with a forearm smash. That was the end of the match after 13 minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Iyo Sky

Analysis: ***3/4 That was a lot of fun, but it was a match with no finish because I think WWE was reluctant to have either woman lose the match. At least we can thank Perez for waiting long enough so we could see Vaquer do her repeated knee smash move. Vaquer and Sky are awesome in-ring performers who are thriving in WWE, so it was nice to see them have a match like that. The DQ ending sucks, but I get it because it protects both women without getting pinned.

Giulia from NXT went into the ring and she kicked Vaquer to knock her down. Giulia punched Sky while Perez punched Vaquer. Rhea Ripley ran down to the ring for the save. Ripley headbutted Perez off the apron to the floor. Ripley had a black eye around her left eye. Perez and Giulia left.

Rhea Ripley picked up the Women’s World Title and handed it to Iyo Sky. Ripley said she was coming for that. Ripley left while Sky remained in the ring.

Analysis: I wasn’t sure if Giulia was officially a heel in NXT, but it looks like that is the case. Good to see Ripley make the save and hand the title to Sky as a sign of respect.

CM Punk was shown walking backstage and he was looking angry.

Pat McAfee di d a promo talking to the fans to fill two minutes during the break for some fans. Pat thanked the fans for the support during WrestleMania weekend.

A video aired about Jey Uso showing his career journey in WWE. It took a few minutes and it showed his WWE World Title win. That was a great video.

Let’s Hear from Jey Uso

The new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso made his entrance from the back part of the arena. Jey’s shirt said “World Heavy-YEET Champion” as did some Yeeting with the fans. Jey made his way down to the ring to greet the announcers and Jey went into the ring for a promo. The celebration continued with a lot of arm swinging by Jey and the fans. The fans chanted “you deserve it” for Jey before he could speak. The fans chanted “one more time” for Jey, so Jey put the microphone down. That led to Jey’s music playing and Jey did some more Yeeting with the fans.

Jey: “The World Heavyweight Champion is now in your city…Yeet.” Jey said he’s wanted it since he was a kid and he’s here now. Jey said it’s been a long, hard road. Jey said that at WrestleMania, he gave it all he had to beat Gunther and Jey made him tap. The fans chanted “He tapped out” after that. Jey said he’s very grateful and happy that he finally got this on his shoulder. Jey said he’ll put the work in like he always has. Jey said he wanted to hear the fans say “Yeet” so the fans shouted out “Yeet” for him.

Analysis: A simple speech from Jey Uso there. The introduction and the celebration took a long time, but that’s not a major surprise.

Sami Zayn made his entrance to a big pop. I believe it’s the first time we’ve seen him since Elimination Chamber on March 1st. Zayn lost to Kevin Owens on that night in a grueling match that I thought was a Match of the Year contender.

Zayn looked at his friend Jey and Zayn hugged Jey in the ring. The fans chanted “Ucey” and “Sami Uso” for Sami. Zayn said he doesn’t know where to begin. Zayn said that not being here the last eight weeks while Jey was going through everything with Gunther, it was hard on Zayn. Zayn said that missing WrestleMania was hard on him too. Zayn said he almost didn’t come to Las Vegas at all, but he had to because he had to make sure that he was the first one to stand this ring across from Jey, look him in the eye man to man and tell Jey how proud Sami is of him. Zayn said you’re my brother, my dog, my Uce, Sami loves him and Jey deserves that. Zayn said they all know it that Jey deserves it. The fans chanted “You deserve it” again. Zayn said that they are there to celebrate, so hit Jey’s music. Zayn and Jey celebrated on the turnbuckles. There was more Yeeting going on. While Jey was on the turnbuckle, Zayn went to the center of the ring and Zayn hugged Jey.

Jimmy Uso made his way down to the ring and at least he ran into the ring. Jimmy hugged Zayn and Jey in the ring. Zayn did his creative handshake with Zayn. Jimmy and Zayn held Jey’s hands in the air to celebrate. There was more Yeeting by Jey, Sami, Jimmy and the fans.

Analysis: There have been several heel turns over the last few days, so there were likely some people watching this thinking that Zayn was going to turn on Jey. Zayn’s promo was strong by telling Jey that deserved it and the fans agreed with that. I think there might come a time when Zayn turns on Jey, but it didn’t happen yet. I thought we might get a Roman Reigns appearance to celebrate with Jey, but there was no sign of the Tribal Chief there. I’m sure there was a behind the scenes celebration with Jey, Roman and the family.

They showed rapper Metro Boomin at ringside along wit Chelsea Gray & Kiah Stokes of the Las Vegas. They are WNBA players. There was also NASCAR driver Chase Briscoe at ringside.

Logan Paul was interviewed by Cathy Kelley backstage. Cathy asked if Logan could have done it without his friend and Karrion Kross at ringside. Paul said that he won, so that’s what matters. Paul said he’ll wrestle anybody at any time while claiming that anybody against him will be a victim.

AJ Styles was interviewed by Jackie Redmond backstage. Styles said that loss was a hard thing to swallow. Styles said that he’s taking that L, but he’ll move on and be okay. Karrion Kross and Scarlett interrupted. Kross said Styles can’t bounce back after losing to Logan Paul because he legitimized Paul. Styles said that he hated being the person he was a year ago and he’s never going back. Styles said if he hit Paul with the brass knucks and pinned him, it would have solved nothing. Styles said if Kross wants to be angry at the world, don’t take Styles down with him and Styles told Kross to solve the problem herself. Kross said “maybe I will” to end it.

Analysis: I’m not sure what’s next for Styles, but I like him so I hope it’s something meaningful. I want to see Karrion Kross featured more in the coming weeks.

A clip was shown on WWE’s new Netflix show called “WWE: Unreal” that is a behind the scenes show and it is coming soon.

The Dominik Mysterio-Penta match for the Intercontinental Title was next.

There was a break for some fans so Austin Theory and Grayson Waller did a promo. Waller said welcome home to Rusev. Waller claimed they were number one contenders for the Tag Team Titles. Theory said they deserve the titles. The War Raiders arrived for the interruption, so Waller and Theory left. Ivar said that they are still breathing. Erik said that the world saw The New Day won when they stole the titles from The War Raiders. The Raiders said “Raw Is War” to end it.

Analysis: The tag team division on Raw is weak right now. Good luck to those teams.

Gunther Is Here And He’s Angry

Gunther showed up at ringside in all black and it’s weird seeing him without a title. Gunther was greeted by “You Tapped Out” chants. Gunther was yelling at Cole at ringside and Cole wondered why Gunther was mad at them. Cole said he was doing his job. Gunther took Cole’s headset off, McAfee tried to save Cole and Gunther grabbed Cole in a sleeper. McAfee went after Gunther and McAfee punched Gunther. Adam Pearce, WWE Officials and security guys went down to ringside. Gunther grabbed McAfee and Gunther gave Pat a sleeper on the floor. Pat’s friends sitting at ringside tried to help, but they were stopped. Gunther held onto Pat on the floor for about two minutes. The fans were chanting “F**k You Gunther” and the swear word was muted. The WWE Officials made Gunther leave at that point. The fans shouted “You Tapped Out” as Gunther went to the back. McAfee was selling the attack by coughing while Cole and others tried helping Pat go to the back. Pat slowly made his way toward the back while coughing to sell the attack. The show went to a break for some fans.

Pat McAfee was getting helped to the back. Pat had trouble walking and was selling the attack before he got to the backstage area.

Analysis: It’s rare to see McAfee get physical because it’s been a few years since he wrestled, but Pat is in good shape and it’s possible this could lead to an angle that sets up a match. Pat also deserves credit for helping Cole when Cole needed it, so it puts over Pat as a good friend. That’s also a way to get heat on Gunther as an angry heel who was mad about losing his World Title. It will be interesting to see how Gunther bounces back after losing the title.

A commercial aired about WWE’s October shows in Perth, Australia with Smackdown, a PLE event and Raw. John Cena will be there for his last time in Australia as a wrestler.

There was a replay shown of Gunther’s attack on Pat McAfee and Michael Cole. Joe Tessitore, the Smackdown announcer, took over on commentary trying to recap what happened.

Pat McAfee was walking backstage and coughing a lot to sell the attack. Pat was put into the WWE Trainers Room and Pat’s friends joined him there. Adam Pearce talked to Michael Cole and told him to take the night off. Cole said how can we not give our opinions on commentary. Cole said Gunther may have broken his nose. Cole said he’s going back to commentary since he’s not going to let a bully stop him from doing his job. Cole made his way down to the ring and the fans cheered for him. There was even a “Michael, Michael Cole” chant from the crowd. Cole and Joe Tessitore continued as the commentary team.

Analysis: The fans respect Michael Cole a lot in this era and they should. I like to see that. Cole deserves it.

The New Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio made his entrance and he was joined by Finn Balor & Carlito. Dominik barely had any singles match wins over the last year, yet here he is holding the prestigious IC Title. The fans chanted “Dirty, Dirty Dom” for the new champion.

Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (w/Carlito & Finn Balor) vs. Penta

Penta hit a running hurricanrana that sent Dom out of the ring. Penta ran the ropes and Dom kicked Penta out of the ring. Dom tried a dive, but Penta kicked him in the ring. Penta jumped off the top with a cross body block. Penta hit a somersault dive over the top onto Dom on the floor. The show went to break for some fans. I’m going to take a break too.

The match continued with Penta hitting a Slingblade and a jumping kick. Penta did his handstand kick, followed by a dropkick to Dom’s chest for two. Dominik countered Penta into a powerslam. Penta kicked Dom in the ribs. Dom blocked a Destroyer attempt and Dom hit a DDT for two. Dom went up top, Penta kicked him and Penta hit a hurricanrana off the top. Penta connected with a Mexican Destroyer, but Dom rolled out of the ring to avoid being pinned. Balor checked on Dominik, so Penta gave Balor a hurricanrana into Dom on the floor. Penta went up top, JD McDonagh was back to shove Penta off the top while Carlito was distracting the referee and Dom hit a 619 kick. Dominik went up top and hit a Frog Splash for the pinfall win after about 9 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Dominik Mysterio

Analysis: *** Welcome back to JD after missing a few months of action. That was a good way to bring him back by using JD to help Dominik retain the title. It also gives Penta an out because he lost due to JD’s interference. I assume most of Dom’s title defenses will be like that where he gets help from his friends to keep the title.

Dominik Mysterio celebrated with The Judgment Day while Finn Balor reacted as if he didn’t know his buddy JD McDonagh was coming back.

A video aired about El Grande Americano’s victory over Rey Fenix at WrestleMania 41.

Seth Rollins was shown walking backstage with Paul Heyman for a main event promo up next.

The commentary team of Joe Tessitore and Michael Cole recapped the segment with Gunther attacked Pat McAfee. It was replayed again. This was during the break for some fans.