Reviews

The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 09/08/25 Review

By John Canton • Published Sep 08, 2025 22:30 EDT

It’s WWE Raw featuring The Usos reunited, AJ Lee back on Raw, AJ Styles facing El Grande Americano, and more.

AJ Lee returned to WWE after 10 years away on SmackDown. She helped her husband, CM Punk, by beating up Becky Lynch, and Seth Rollins took his wife, Lynch, away. That will lead to a mixed tag team match at Wrestlepalooza.

The next WWE PLE is Wrestlepalooza, scheduled for September 20th in Indianapolis, so there are fewer than two weeks until that show takes place.

This is the Raw Deal for episode #1685 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

A video aired recapping the CM Punk-Seth Rollins story that now includes Seth’s wife, Becky Lynch, and Punk’s wife, AJ Lee. The fans loved seeing AJ’s return to WWE, and she looked very happy to be there. Welcome back, AJ Lee. Light it up.

The commentary team is Joe Tessitore and Corey Graves. Joe used to be on SmackDown, but he does ESPN College Football games on Saturday, so it makes sense to put him on Raw in terms of his schedule. Wade Barrett tweeted that he’s on a break for a few weeks, so Graves is on Raw and SmackDown for now. Joe said that Wade is on vacation. Graves said he was happy to be here. Joe said they get a couple of Raw episodes together.

Let’s Hear from The Usos

Jey Uso made his entrance in the crowd, where he was greeted by fans, and Jey did a lot of “Yeeting” on his way to the ring. Jimmy Uso joined his brother, so The Usos did the Yeeting entrance together. A replay aired from last week when Jimmy Uso came to Jey Uso’s aid against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed.

The crowd wanted the Yeeting encore, so Jey went to the turnbuckle and did some more Yeeting with the crowd. Jey spoke about how Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker have screwed up, so that led to an interruption.

The Vision’s Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed interrupted the promo. Bron has a new shirt that says “Woof” five times on the back to promote his barking gimmick. Bron told The Usos that The Vision runs Raw, and questioned if Jimmy Uso was lost. Bron was angry about what their family (Roman Reigns) did to Paul Heyman. Reed calmed Bron down and held him back. Reed said tonight, all he wants from Roman’s family is to acknowledge the Tribal Thief, referring to himself. Reed told Jimmy he’s here on Raw…and fans chanted “Roman, Roman Reigns” at them. Reed said they had already dealt with them. Reed told them to look at Roman sitting in the hospital.

Jimmy Uso told them to shut their mouth when talking about the OTC. Jimmy said he knows where he is at on Raw. Jimmy wondered if this was J&J Security, but maybe this was PB&J Security. Jimmy said they are the ones. Jimmy and Jey did a routine trashing Paul Heyman while making a fat joke, while Roman Reigns calls Heyman a dumbass.

Jimmy said they went to Raw GM Adam Pearce, so at Wrestlepalooza, it’s The Usos against Breakker & Reed. Jey said they don’t have to wait because they can get jiggy right now.

Analysis: I expected that tag team match at Wrestlepalooza. We’ve seen Jey & Roman Reigns beat Bron & Reed already, so now we get to see if The Usos can do it too. I like the match.

Reed said they can wait. LA Knight showed up and attacked Reed and Breakker in the aisle. Knight threw Reed into the barricade, but Bron tackled Knight. Reed shoved Knight into the apron. The Usos hit suicide dives on the heels. Knight and Jey sent Reed into the ring, so they exchanged punches. Breakker went into the ring, but Jimmy was ready with a superkick for him. Reed splashed Jey when he was going for Knight, but Jimmy was there to superkick Reed out of the ring. The Usos and Knight argued in the ring, so Knight tried to explain himself.

Analysis: The three babyfaces getting the advantage against the two heels made sense due to the numbers game. A lot of times, the heels overpower the faces, but not this time. Knight getting involved made sense based on the story.

The announcers mentioned Raw has a special start time next week at 7 p.m. ET on Netlfix. They are moving it to 7 p.m. ET for at least the next three weeks to try to counter NFL Monday Night Football on ESPN.

A replay was shown of El Grande Americano costing AJ Styles in his IC Title match against Dominik Mysterio. Dom got the cheap win.

AJ Styles made his entrance for singles action. They went on a break for some fans as AJ did a promo. Styles complained about Americano costing him the match. Styles said he has nobody watching his back since Gallows & Anderson aren’t here and Michin is on SmackDown. Styles said that it’s like somebody orchestrated for him not to have help, and you can make your own conclusions. Styles claimed that somebody doesn’t want him here. Styles said he’ll beat Grande Americano so that the person who doesn’t want him here can feel his pain, and AJ’s also.

Analysis: Interesting promo from AJ Styles. I hope it’s the start of some good angle for him. He needs a good storyline.

LA Knight was backstage arguing with Raw GM Adam Pearce, who left. Byron Saxton walked up to Knight for an interview. Knight said if Jey Uso has a problem with him, then they can settle it. Knight said he wants to face Bron, whether it’s Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker, LeBron James, Little Bronny, or even Charles Bronson; he wants to face a Bron tonight.

Analysis: I like LA Knight promos. He knows how to make it his own, and it’s entertaining.

AJ Styles vs. El Grande Americano

Grande has a song that says “Ole” a bunch of times. It’s Ludwig Kaiser under the mask. Styles hit a sliding kick on Grande and sent him into the barricade. Styles sent Grande into the ring post. Styles sent Grande into the barricade again. Styles sent Grande in the ring, and the referee started the match after Styles hit a Pele Kick. Styles sent Grande out of the ring, and the referee called for the bell at that point. Styles hit a slingshot dive over the top onto Grande on the floor. There was another masked guy at ringside, and he held AJ’s foot, so Grande kicked Styles. Grande sent Styles into the steel steps, so AJ bumped over the steps onto the floor. They went to a break for some fans as the action continued, and I’ll take a break with Grande in full control.

The match continued with Grande applying an armbar. Styles blocked a DDT attempt, and he suplexed Grande into the turnbuckle. Styles clotheslined Grande and hit him with a clothesline. Styles hit a forearm. Styles hit a spinning Rack Bomb off the shoulders for a two count. Grande got a hold of Styles and sent him into the turnbuckle. Grande did rope walk into a neckbreaker for a two count. Styles got out of a move and hit a jumping kick to the head. The masked Americano was on the apron, so Dragon Lee attacked him and hit a hurricanrana on the floor. Grande got a rollup for two. Styles rolled through and Styles hit a Styles Clash for the pinfall win after about 9 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: AJ Styles

Analysis: *** That was an incredible counter by AJ Styles, going from the pin attempt into the Styles Clash for the win. Styles is so smooth technically in the ring, and Grande matched up well with him. Good job of using Dragon Lee to take care of the second Americano at ringside and help AJ get the win. I enjoyed it.

There was a plug for WWE-AAA Worlds Collide on Saturday in Las Vegas. It’s on YouTube.

The Raw GM, Adam Pearce, was talking to Iyo Sky about how he’s canceling the contract signing for tonight because Stephanie Vaquer isn’t there. Nikki Bella walked up to talk to Sky. Pearce said that they will still have their match. Asuka walked up to them with Kairi Sane. Asuka told Nikki to stay away from Sky, but Nikki didn’t like that. Nikki and Asuka argued about respect, Asuka issued a challenge for tonight, and Nikki accepted. Sane tried to talk to Sky, but Asuka called for Sane to leave.

Analysis: The story of Asuka being a jerk to other women continues.

Lyra Valkyria made her entrance for singles action. The entrance of Raquel Rodriguez was shown during the break.

A graphic was shown saying 178 million social views for AJ Lee’s WWE return was the most viewed SmackDown video on X and Instagram.

There was a video package about AJ Lee showing highlights of her first WWE run when she became a Divas Champion, who was the top female in WWE during the peak of her run.

Raquel Rodriguez (w/Roxanne Perez) vs. Lyra Valkyria

The powerful Raquel sent Lyra into the turnbuckle and hit a forearm to the head. Lyra elbowed Raquel a few times. Raquel went for a slam, but Lyra countered and tried a choke submission. Lyra slipped out of a suplex attempt, Raquel caught her, and Lyra hit an armdrag. Lyra hit an enziguri kick to knock Raquel out of the ring. Lyra hit a running dropkick to knock Raquel down on the floor. Lyra went for a cross body block off the top, but Raquel caught her and hit a fallaway slam across the ring. Raquel pulled on Lyra’s hair and legs against the ring post. Raquel hit a twisting corkscrew splash on Lyra’s back for a two count. They went to a break for some fans as Raquel took control for the next three minutes.

Lyra countered Raquel into a rollup for two, but Raquel applied a submission move by pulling on the legs. Lyra pulled back on Raquel’s head to get out of it. Lyra kicked Raquel to knock her down. Lyra hit a spinning kick to knock Raquel down. Lyra hit a bulldog-style move. Lyra went to the middle rope and planted Raquel with a DDT for two. Raquel hit a slingshot Jackhammer-style move. Raquel slammed Lyra into the turnbuckle and set her up on the top turnbuckle. Lyra jumped over Raquel and hit an impressive sunset flip Powerbomb for two. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” for them. Perez got on the apron to distract, so Lyra kicked Perez to knock her down on the floor. Lyra managed to get a takedown and put her legs on top for a two count. Lyra hit a running kick to Raquel’s head. Lyra went to the top turnbuckle for a move, but Raquel grabbed her and hit a Tejana Bomb for the pinfall win after about 13 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Raquel Rodriguez

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a pretty good match with Lyra selling the back injury through the match, Raquel was using her power, and it was Raquel’s power that led to the win. I think there might be a singles push coming for Raquel because the announcers put her over huge. It’s about time for Raquel to get that kind of push.

Penta was shown backstage, where The War Raiders said they have his back if he needs them. Penta talked to Raw GM Adam Pearce, wondering why he didn’t love Penta, but Penta said he’s a big fan of his. Penta said that he wanted a title shot at the Intercontinental Title. Rusev walked in to brag about how he’s a champion and he should become champion. Rusev got in Penta’s face. Pearce said if you have something to prove, let’s do it in the ring: Penta vs. Rusev tonight in Milwaukee. The fans cheered.

Analysis: They set up most of this week’s card of matches by doing backstage segments. An easy way to build the show.

The New Day was with Grayson Waller for an interview with Vic Joseph. This was during a break for some fans. Kofi Kingston said they wanted Vic to sign a petition to ban Penta’s Mexican Destroyer. Waller tried to get some fans to sign it. Xavier Woods said to sign the petition so that his sacrifice isn’t in vain. They insulted Milwaukee as well. Woods did the usual, “Thank God For The New Day” bit at the end.

AJ Styles was backstage with Dragon Lee, thanking him for watching his back. Styles said he didn’t think anybody was there for him. Jimmy Uso walked in to see Styles and Lee, asking if he saw Jey Uso. Jimmy walked up to Jey, saying that The Vision is their problem. Jey said he didn’t care about LA Knight against Bronson Reed. Jey said that helping Knight won’t get them to Wrestlepalooza. Jey said they’ll make sure that they will acknowledge The Usos. Jimmy said Jey wasn’t sounding like himself because he was sounding like Roman. Jey said maybe sounding like himself ain’t working, so Jey looked like he left the building.

Let’s Hear from AJ Lee

AJ Lee made her entrance with the Women’s Intercontinental Title, which belongs to Becky Lynch. Lee was in her classic attire. She’s 38 years old now, so she’s around the same age many other women in the company. She is in awesome shape. The fans chanted, “Welcome back,” so Lee paused to soak in the cheers. Lee thanked the fans.

AJ Lee said that for those of you who weren’t here ten years ago and were confused why your Millennial parents were excited last Friday, let her introduce herself. Lee spoke into the camera, saying that she is your favorite wrestler’s favorite wrestler, and there were “AJ Lee” chants. Lee said ten years ago she retired. Lee said she felt like she had accomplished all of her dreams in wrestling, she was content and hung up her Chuck Taylors. Lee said that she thought she’d never step back in the ring again, wearing jean shorts that were two sizes too small. Lee said she accomplished her other dreams in life, and she did it.

Lee said she went on a mental health journey because she wasn’t healthy, she had to take care of herself and get right. Lee said she went to therapy (the fans cheered, so Lee laughed at that) and there was a “Therapy” chant. Lee said she found a way to turn the mental chaos into her superpower. Lee said that every day is a fight, but that fight is worth it and you are worth it. Lee said she was doing really well for a long time, and then she watched Raw. Lee talked about seeing her husband against Drew McIntyre or John Cena, but then she saw him in the ring with Becky Lynch. Lee mentioned being a New York Times best-selling author, and Lee responded to a fan saying she did it first. Lee said that she could have been friends, but then Lynch went on to motorboat her husband, and she defamed him…here comes Lynch.

Analysis: I thought AJ Lee did well with that promo. You don’t hear “Therapy” chants in pro wrestling, but the crowd was so hot for Lee that they would chant anything to support her.

Becky Lynch said that this has nothing to do with your stank-ass husband. Lynch trashed the fans for being stupid because they live in Milwaukee. Lynch complained about Lee wearing her title. Lee said they are nothing alike. Lynch yelled at a fan before doing her bit about being the greatest female wrestler of all time. Lynch said she might go to therapy after this, so the fans chanted “Therapy” at her again.

Lee said that she forgot she was wearing the Women’s IC Title, and she wore it all weekend. Lee claimed she wore it to sleep. When Lynch took her sunglasses off, Lee said that Lynch had a shiner. Lee said sorry because she didn’t realize she did it. Lee said that since Lynch is the greatest of all time, Lee wanted Lynch to come and get the title. Lynch was hesitant, so there was a “chicken” chant.

Lynch called Lee a jersey trashbag weirdo. Lynch told Lee to keep her hands off Lynch’s title. Lynch claimed she bathed in bleach after touching Lee’s husband. Lynch asked where is her husband, so there was a “CM Punk” chant. Lynch said that this had everything to do with her and her husband with Punk. Lynch said Lee didn’t need to get involved here. Lynch called for her hot husband to come out here.

The World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, made his entrance with the fans singing his song as usual. Rollins joined his wife in the aisle for a promo.

Seth Rollins said that you can make this super easy. Rollins told Lee to give the Women’s IC Title back so that they could all leave this dump of a city.

Lee said that we could do that, and then she said that Lynch could try to take the title, but Lee could give her another black eye. Lee said she’ll give Lynch the title back if they agree to a tag team match – AJ Lee & CM Punk against Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins. The fans cheered.

Seth Rollins said that this is his show and these are his people. Rollins said he’ll go into the ring, take the title, and give it back to his wife. When Rollins got in the ring, Lee got in his face to stop him from grabbing the title. Rollins told Lee that the title doesn’t belong to her.

CM Punk showed up without his music playing. Punk walked behind Lynch, and Punk went into the ring. Punk went for the GTS, but Rollins slipped out of it. There were “CM Punk” chants. Rollins told them if they want a match, then they’ve got a match. Rollins said that at Wrestlepalooza, they are done for. The fans cheered that. Lee tossed her title over the top at Lynch. Punk and Lee were happy in the ring.

Analysis: This dragged on for a long time since it went about 20 minutes, but they got the point across by making the tag team match official at Wrestlepalooza. We all knew it was coming weeks ago, so it’s official now. It was the smart way to book it like that since the babyfaces were successful in egging on the heels. I’m a bit surprised that it didn’t get physical, but it was still an effective segment. Perhaps it was a bit long, although I understand wanting to give AJ time to talk.

A commercial aired promoting the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight on Netflix this Saturday, September 13th.

Penta made his entrance to a big ovation. They went to break for some fans, and Rusev made his entrance as well.

Bayley was featured in a video saying she doesn’t know what the next step is. Bayley said that the last person she wanted to hurt was Lyra. Bayley laughed bout how she hurt a lot of people in the past, but they deserved it. Bayley claimed they forgave her because she is a good person. Bayley said she’s not sure how Lyra can forgive her when Bayley can forgive herself. The voices in Bayley’s head spoke to her and it was heel Bayley telling her to move on. Babyface Bayley said you know what’s in your heart. Bayley said, “I’ll make it right” twice to end it.

Analysis: The Bayley struggles continue. I think she looks great, and I hope she’s a heel. End the babyface stuff. She has thrived as a heel, and I think she can do it again.

Penta vs. Rusev

The powerhouse Rusev hit some strikes and clotheslines to knock Penta down. Penta hit a hurricanrana. Rusev missed a splash, so Penta hit the Backstabber for two. They left the ring and Rusev sent Penta into the commentary table. Rusev went for a shoulder tackle, Penta moved and Rusev went into the steel steps. They went to a break for some fans.

The match continued with Penta hitting a running bulldog. Penta hit a jumping kick, along with the handstand kick. The New Day showed up with Grayson Waller, so Penta was distracted. Rusev tried a suplex, Penta landed on his feet and Penta hit a dive onto The New Day guys. Rusev was sent out of the ring and Rusev punched Penta. Back in the ring, Penta hit the Code Red that wasn’t the same as Mexican Destroyer, as Graves pointed out, and that got a two count. Woods was on the apron, so Penta kicked him. Jumped off the top and Rusev hit the Machka Kick for the pinfall win after about 7 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Rusev

Analysis: **1/2 A shorter match to give Rusev a win to continue his positive momentum. I’d like to see Rey Fenix join Penta if they aren’t going to give Penta some meaningful wins.

Bronson Reed was shown getting ready for his match, and Bron Breakker was with Reed.

Dominik Mysterio, the Intercontinental Champion, was interviewed by Vic Joseph during a break for some fans. Dominik claimed he didn’t need help because he’s so great. Dominik said he’s not worried about El Grande Vikingo in the Grand Championship match at WWE-AAA Worlds Collide. The fans chanted “Dirty, Dirty Dom,” so Dom just ended it quickly.

A video package aired about Brock Lesnar attacking Cody Rhodes on SmackDown. They are having a match at Wrestlepalooza.

This Friday on SmackDown: Brock Lesnar will be there.

LA Knight was getting ready for his match. Jimmy Uso went into the room and suggested that he could help LA out there for his match. LA refused and told Jimmy he didn’t want his help.

Nikki Bella made her entrance for singles action.

Nikki Bella made her entrance for singles action. Asuka’s entrance was shown during the break.

Asuka (w/Kairi Sane) vs. Nikki Bella

There was some arguing early on. Nikki hit a dropkick to knock Asuka down. Nikki hit a kick to the face, but Asuka came back with a knee to the nose. Asuka kicked Nikki in the back, and Asuka pulled on Nikki’s arm against the ropes. Nikki smashed Asuka with an elbow drop and a spinebuster for two. Asuka bailed to the floor, Nikki shoved Sane out of the wa,y and Asuka hit a roundhouse kick to the head to knock Nikki down. They went to a break as the more heelish Asuka was in control for the next three minutes.

Asuka remained in control with a German Suplex. Asuka went to the middle turnbuckle, jumped off with a dropkick, and Nikki moved out of the way, so Asuka hit the mat. Nikki was back up with a clothesline and a dropkick. Nikki clotheslined Asuka, and Nikki jumped off the turnbuckle with a kick on Asuka for a two count. Asuka countered Nikki with a sunset flip, and then Asuka kicked Nikki in the head. Asuka hit another kick to the head. Asuka went for an Asuka Lock, Nikki got out of it, and Asuka hit a roundhouse kick. Nikki countered Asuka and sat on top for two. Nikki hit an Alabama Slam for two. Nikki went for a strike, Asuka ducked it and hit a spin kick. Asuka hit a running spin kick. Asuka applied the Asuka Lock submission, and Nikki tapped out. It went about 11 minutes.

Winner by submission: Asuka

Analysis: **3/4 The match was okay. They had some moments where it looked like they were off to a certain degree, but they got through it. Asuka winning clean gives her momentum for when she really does turn heel on Iyo Sky. I’m not sure what the plan is for Nikki Bella since she lost again, just like she lost to Becky Lynch. Maybe it’s a losing streak gimmick where she doesn’t know if she can succeed in this era.

A recap was shown of the CM Punk-AJ Lee vs. Seth Rollins-Becky Lynch match

Next Monday on Raw with a 7 p.m. ET start time:

* Face to Face: CM Punk & AJ Lee with Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch

* Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez

* John Cena will be there

Analysis: I’m all for the 7 p.m. start time from September to December. It allows us NFL fans to watch the second half of the NFL game after Raw is over. I like that. I know there are some 7 p.m. ET Monday games too, and there is one next week, so we’ll see how it holds up in the future.

The Judgment Day was shown backstage, with Finn Balor congratulating Raquel Rodriguez on her win, and said Roxanne Perez can beat Lyra next week. Dominik Mysterio walked in, saying he’s been preparing for his AAA Grand Champion match. Dom tried to explain that El Grande Americano helping him is a lucha thing, and those guys wouldn’t understand. Dominik said he wouldn’t have needed Grande if J-Day hadn’t been banned last week, so Dominik left angrily. Roxanne Perez said she should go talk to him, so she followed Dom.

LA Knight entered for the main event. They went on a break. Bronson Reed was next, joined by Bron Breakker.

Asuka and Nikki Bella were backstage arguing. Nikki shoved Asuka aside. Rhea Ripley stood behind Nikki and asked if they had a problem here. The fans were going crazy when they saw Ripley. Asuka said that they are both problems. Asuka said she’s the top woman in WWE. Ripley reminded Asuka that her friend Iyo Sky is going after the Women’s World Title. Asuka ranted in Japanese and left.

LA Knight vs. Bronson Reed (w/ Bron Breakker)

Reed sent Knight into the turnbuckle, and then he tossed Knight out of the ring. I believe that Knight wanted to bump over the top, but didn’t get up there. Anyway, back in the ring, Knight ran the ropes and hit some clotheslines, but Reed knocked Knight down. Reed remained in control with shoulder tackles. Knight tried to hit some punches, but Reed knocked him down again. Knight managed to send Reed out of the ring and Knight dropkicked Balor right into the commentary table. Knight argued with Bron. Reed tried to attack, but Knight sent Reed into the steel steps two times in a row. The action continued during the break. Reed cleared off the commentary table and teased slamming Knight, but Knight avoided that. Reed sent Knight’s face into the ring post. Reed remained in control in the ring. Reed grabbed a chinlock.

The match kept going with Reed going for a charging attack, but Knight avoided it and Reed hit the turnbuckle. Knight stomped on Reed repeatedly. Knight worked over Reed with punches. Reed came back with a back body drop for a two count. They left the ring where Knight jumped off a barricade to jump onto Reed on the floor. Back in the ring, Reed missed the elbow drop, so Knight went up top and hit a top rope elbow drop for two. Knight was going for a BFT, Bron provided a distraction on the apron and Knight punched him. Reed was back up and hit a running Jagged Edge slam off the shoulders for the pinfall win after about 9 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Bronson Reed

Analysis: **3/4 A solid match, even though I wouldn’t call it a strong main event. It made sense for Reed to win since he’s in the tag team match at Wrestlepalooza, while Knight has no role at Wrestlepalooza at this point, so giving Reed some momentum was the right result.

After the match, Bron and Reed beat up Knight. Bron hit a back body drop on Knight. Jimmy Uso made the save and he hit three superkicks, but Bron hit him with a Spear. Reed headbutted Jimmy, but it was really just Reed headbutting his hand. Reed hit a senton splash on Jimmy.

Jey Uso made his entrance and Jey went into the ring with a superkick on Reed. Jey hit Bron with punches, Jey hit a superkick on Reed and then Bron got back up with a Spear on Jey. Bron stacked The Usos and wanted Reed to do his top rope Tsunami move, but LA Knight was there with a steel chair. Knight hit Reed with a chair, Knight threw a chair at Bron’s head and Bron retreated. Knight checked on Jey to see if they were good, and Knight picked up Jimmy. They were good as they shook hands. When Knight turned around, Jey Uso hit Knight with a Spear. Jey told Knight: “We good now!” Jimmy wondered why Jey did that while Jey did a “Yeet” at Knight. The Usos stood tall over Knight to end the show.

Analysis: Even though they are babyfaces, it doesn’t mean that Jey and Knight are on the same page. The conflict should, and most likely will, continue.

This week’s Raw had a runtime of 2 hours and 31 minutes on Netflix.

===

Three Stars of the Show

AJ Lee – Welcome back. Light it up.
AJ Styles
Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez

===

The Scoreboard

7 out of 10

Last week: 7.75

2025 Average: 7.51

===

Final Thoughts on WWE Raw

This episode felt like a bit of a step back from previous weeks. Still good, but nothing that special about it. There just weren’t that many big moments or matches this week. I get that the AJ Lee/CM Punk and Becky Lynch/Seth Rollins thing is a big story, but it’s not like it was some epic segment. It was more like a segment that dragged on too long. AJ did well with her promo, so good job by her on that.

The card was okay, but not great this week. Match quality on Raw is usually stronger. I understand that WWE thinks that LA Knight against Bronson Reed is a main event for Raw, but is it that exciting to the average fan? I don’t think so. What I liked most might have been AJ Styles’ promo before his match that aired for us without commercials, and it looks like the start of some angle for him, where he says people in this company don’t like me. I hope that leads to something good for him.

It was funny when AJ Lee was doing her promo about her overcoming mental health issues, and when she mentioned therapy, the crowd did a “therapy” chant after. Good job, Milwaukee. That was a unique chant.

The next WWE PLE is Wrestlepalooza on September 20th. Here’s the lineup so far.