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WWE RAW REPORT
APRIL 28, 2025
KANSAS CITY, MO. AT T-MOBILE ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX (WORLDWIDE)
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Ring Announcer: Mark Nash
Attendance: WrestleTix reports today that 10,218 tickets were distributed as of earlier this week; arena is set up for nearly 11,000. The arena has a capacity of 19,252 spectators when configured for concerts.
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[HOUR ONE]
-After “Then, Now, Together, Forever,” they showed an aerial shot of the arena and Kansas City skyline as Michael Cole introduced the show. They showed Nick Aldis, with Cole noting he is filling in for Adam Pearce. Then they showed the arrivals of Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez, Chad Gable with The Creeds and Ivy Nile, Stephanie Vaquer, and Logan Paul. Loud cheers for Ripley, loud boos for Logan.
-They went to Cole and Pat McAfee at ringside. Cole talked about Gunther’s attack on him and McAfee last week. He said Adam Pearce suspended Gunther indefinitely as a result of the attack. McAfee said he’ll talk about it later.
-A video package aired on the angle last week with Seth Rollins with Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, and C.M. Punk leading to Bron Breakker joining Seth and Heyman.
-Seth’s music played live in the arena as Seth, Heyman, and Breakker walked out. Breakker and Heyman were in suits while Seth was in his usually unusual garb of the week. Cole said a lot of questions need answering, “but on paper, what a group.” McAfee said you get a super-genius, a visionary, and a monster. Fans barked and sang Seth’s song. He said, in his usual tone, that he is a visionary and revolutionary. Fans yelled, “Seth Freakin’ Rollins.” He said he won the main event of WrestleMania (Night 1). He said it must be difficult for some who still want to cheer for C.M. Punk. Boos rang out. Seth smiled. Then a “C.M. Punk!” started, but pretty soft. Seth said, “I knew there were still a few of you out there.” When he brought up Reigns, a brief “OTC!” chant rang out.
Seth said those standing in the ring represent the future of the industry. He said the future runs through one man. “The future of the industry with Paul Heyman to my left and Bron Breakker to my right, the future of the industry runs through Seth Freakin’ Rollins,” he said. Sami Zayn’s music then played. Seth seemed to be trying to calm down Bron, who was upset by the interruption. Cole called it “interesting.” He brought up Sami interacting with Jey Uso last week.
Sami entered the ring. Seth said, “Ladies and gentlemen, Sami Zayn! It is great to see you back on Monday Night Raw.” He said he assumed he caught WrestleMania. Sami said he did see the main event (of Night 1) of WrestleMania. He said they’ve known each other a long time. He said he wanted to tell him to his face that “this is a load of crap, man.” Seth asked what he meant. Sami asked how much time he spent talking about Roman and Punk, and the one thing those two share in common is staring over his shoulder now. “How are you any different?” Sami asked. Seth asked if he was really comparing himself to Roman and Punk. He said this is different.
Sami said he’s thinking all along that Seth was just jealous and he wanted to be in the position they were in. Seth said this is the future of the industry. He told Sami they used to talk about that all the time. Sami cut him off and said how convenient it is that the future revolves around him. Seth said he is the best man for the job. Sami said it’s hypocritical. Some murmurs of disapproval from the crowd. Seth said this is nothing like the Bloodline. Sami said he’s got his Wiseman and “your little dog over there.” He threatened to kick in Breakker’s face if he kept looking at him that way.
Seth asked Sami what was going on. He said if he came out there to be honest with him, he wanted to be honest with him. He said they are the vision of the future, “and you are either with us or you become a target.” He said that’s not a threat because he doesn’t want him to become a target. He said if he stands in his way, he becomes a target. “I don’t want that for you, honestly,” Seth said. He suggested they find a solution to get him out of harm’s way. He said the Wiseman can pull some strings and get him moved off of Raw. He said he is clearly not going to buy in to what they’re selling, so maybe they can cash him out. “It’s not a threat,” he said. “It’s a favor.” He told him to think about it, “but we’re going to need an answer by the end of the night.”
(Keller’s Analysis: I’m disappointed we didn’t hear from Heyman or Breakker. The same-as-before Seth talking to Sami with Heyman and Breakker standing behind him doesn’t feel new. They established a hook to watch the show if you are care about Sami’s decision. The crowd reaction continues to be an problem as fans are detaching themselves more and more from anything linked to the stories WWE is telling with specific characters.)
-They went to Cole and McAfee at ringside who pivoted to the Iyo Sky vs. Vaquer clip from last week’s show.
(1) RHEA RIPLEY vs. ROXANNE PEREZ
The bell rang 24 minutes into the hour. Perez focused on Ripley’s leg and yanked it into the ringpost. Ripley caught Perez mid-air and suplexed her. They cut to a break at 3:00. [c]
Back from the break, Perez was in control and in the midst of a cover for a two count. She continued to focus on Ripley’s leg. Ripley delivered a Razor’s Edge and a running knee strike for a two count. Cole said Ripley couldn’t plant her leg during the cover which took away some of her leverage. Guilia walked out to ringside. Perez nearly scored a three count on a distracted Ripley. She followed with a kneedrop to the back of her neck for a two count. When Ripley made a comeback and set up Riptide, Giulia interfered.
WINNER: Ripley via DQ in 11:00.
-As Giulia and Perez attacked Ripley, Iyo Sky entered. Giulia inadvertently hit Perez. Iyo was soon overwhelmed by both Perez and Giulia. Ripley recovered enough to make the save.
-J.D. McDonagh was all smiles with Carlito, Dominik Mysterio, and Liv Morgan. Finn Balor walked in and asked why he didn’t tell him. McDonagh said he told Dom and he assumed he’d inform him. Liv asked them why they weren’t getting ready for their match. “What match?” asked Balor. McDonagh said Liv thought it’d be a good idea for them to go after the tag titles. McDonagh said he thought it was great and he asked for a no. 1 contendership match and got it. He told Liv she was supposed to tell him. Liv said he thought he’d be happy. Balor said he was but asked to be kept in the loop in the future. Liv apologized. Carlito put his arms around Balor and McDonagh and said they all should be champions.
-They showed Logan Paul walking backstage. [c]
-A graphic touted that all 50 states and 68 countries were represented at WrestleMania last weekend.
-Logan was mid-ring. When fans booed him, he asked if they remembered that he beat Styles last weekend at WrestleMania, yet they still aren’t satisfied. He told Kansas City they don’t know greatness when it is standing right in front of them. He said they are so stupid, they don’t know what a true legend looks like. He said a true champion doesn’t look like Jey Uso. He said he has done everything there is to do in the industry except win a World Title. He told him his days are numbered because he has something he wants. Jey’s music played and Jey came out through the entrance aisle, not the crowd. He gave his sunglasses to a kid in the front row who was holding a sign that said, “Yeet to Cancer.” McAfee stood on his chair as Jey entered the ring and played to the crowd.
Jey said it took him 15 years to achieve winning the World Title so he’s not going to let some “punk ass YouTuber” take it from him. He said he watched Gunther beat his twin to a bloody pulp, and it lit a fire in him that wasn’t going out. He said the title isn’t given, it’s earned. He told him if he wants it, come take it. “Four letters, one word – Yeet!” he said. Logan rolled his eyes and said Yeet is so stupid. He said he’s done more in four years in WWE than Jey has in 15. He said he’s going to take the title from him and Jey is going to do what he does best, which is crash out and screw up and lose the World Title in less time than he held the Intercontinental Title. Jey superkicked Logan as he told him to enjoy the title while he can. Jey’s music played again and fans went back to the Yeet dance. Jey hugged the kid at ringside again who was thrilled, as was his dad.
(Keller’s Analysis: Basic, effective 101 stuff there, and the fans actually are cheering the babyface and booing the heel.)
-They showed the War Raiders in the back. Then they showed Balor & McDonagh with Carlito excitedly hoping behind them. [c]
(2) THE WAR RAIDERS (Ivar & Erik) vs. J.D. MCDONAGH & FINN BALOR – WWE Tag Team Title Contendership match
The New Day were at ringside on commentary. The bell rang 54 minutes into the hour. They cut to an early break. [c]
[HOUR TWO]
Ivar climbed to the top rope at 7:00 and went for a moonsault, but Balor moved. Balor hot-tagged in McDonagh and he stopped Ivar from tagging in Erik. McDonagh then landed a leaping moonsault onto the Raiders at ringside. McDonagh landed a top rope moonsault on Ivar, but Erik. made the save. Ivar elbowed both Balor and McDonagh rebounding off the ropes.
At ringside, Erik and Ivar rammed Balor and McDonagh into each other. New Day yapped obnoxious instructions at them. Ivar threw Balor into New Day and then Ivar dove onto them. In the ring, Ivar fended off Carlito on the ring apron. McDonagh hit Erik with a jaw-breaker. Penta showed up and shoved McDonagh off the top rope as Carlito was yelling at the ref. Cole said Carlito’s plan backfired. The Raiders then finished McDonagh with the War Machine.
Penta strutted on the announce desk afterward as the Raiders yelled at New Day as they retreated up the aisle.
WINNERS: War Raiders in 10:00.
-Otis was chatting with Sami backstage when Heyman sat next to Sami. Heyman asked Otis for a moment. Otis got up and left. Heyman said he was thinking about what Sami said about The Bloodline earlier. He said they are OG Bloodline. Sami said he just blew up whatever was left of The Bloodline at WrestleMania. Heyman said he respected Sami’s reasons for leaving the Bloodline and maybe some day Sami will respect that he did what he had to do. Heyman said Seth views himself as the vanguard of the industry and Breakker sees himself as the dog at the gate. He said whether they are or aren’t, that’s how they view themselves.
Heyman said Breakker wants a match against Sami. He said Breakker is the key to their plans, but Seth wants to give him a pass. He said if Sami agrees to a transfer to Smackdown, Seth will do him a favor and everyone wins. He said he will face the winner of John Cena vs. Randy Orton if he goes to Smackdown. Sami jerked his head to Heyman. “That’s how much Seth thinks of you,” Heyman said. Heyman told Sami to think of his and his family’s future. Heyman told Sami he can live in the future or die in the past. He patted him on the shoulder and told him to think about it. Heyman got up and walked past Breakker who was in the doorway smiling.
-They showed Becky heading toward the entrance stage. Cole said she has some explaining to do. [c]
-They showed ESPN’s Jeff Passan and NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney, who is in the Netflix documentary series “Full Speed” in the crowd.
-As Becky made her entrance, Cole said it’s understandable why she’s receiving the reaction from the fans after last week’s actions. McAfee said Lyra Valkyria has quickly become loved by the WWE fans. Becky said The Man is back in business. She said Bayley was “tragically taken out of her WrestleMania match.” She said she has examined the evidence and found the culprit. “It was me,” she said. “I did it!” She told fans not to act like she’s the bad guy. “That woman has attacked me non-stop since 2019 and not once did she ever apologize to me, but we’re all supposed to forget about that?” She said the reverse of “an enemy of my enemy is my friend” is “a friend of my enemy is my enemy.”
Becky said she had high hopes for Lyra, but when she was gone, she was cozying up to the woman she was fight for the last six years. She said she tried to save her and get her to “ditch that bitch.” She was interrupted by Lyra’s music.
Lyra asked if she knows how many women in the locker room warned her about her, including Bayley. She said she didn’t buy it because she was so caught up in the dream of winning at WrestleMania as Irish tag champions. She said she knows what she is now and the illusion of Becky Lynch is dead. She entered the ring and said she’s going to make her pay. Becky bailed out to ringside.
Lyra asked if she’s thinking about the last time they went one-on-one when she beat her for the NXT Title. Becky said she won’t fight her in Kansas City. Lyra said she’ll face her at Backlash and she is willing to put the title on the line. Becky said, “You’re on, and I’ll make that matter the way I made you matter.” Lyra said she is no longer interested in being the next Becky Lynch. She said she’ll be a better person than her and she’s already a better wrestler than her. Becky was fuming. Lyra attacked her at ringside. Cole said he’s never seen Lyra so fired up. Becky fled. Cole said he hopes Pearce makes the match official for Backlash.
When Lyra made her way to the entrance area and held up her belt, Becky attacked her from behind.
(Keller’s Analysis: To this point, no hints of the new Heyman faction expanding to include Sami or Becky or anyone else, for that matter, as people have been speculating about. This was more solid 101 booking. They kept it simple and Lyra was solid in her role.)
-Aldis approached Penta backstage and said he knows he wanted payback, so he won’t fine him, but he doesn’t want to see him act that way again. He booked him against McDonagh next week. Penta thanked him. Gable walked up to Penta and rubbed in that he lost at WrestleMania. He said his favorite moment of WrestleMania wasn’t watching Penta lose, but rather seeing his “useless brother” Rey Fenix lose to El Grande Americano. Penta kicked Gable and said that was for his brother.
-They showed Vaquer walking backstage. Cole said she’s spectacular. [c]
-A video aired on WWE wrestlers visiting Make-a-Wish kids.
-A vignette aired with Rusev who said that once upon a time he had it all, but then he lost himself. He said he left WWE and went to Bulgaria where he fell into the abyss. He said he healed himself and fixed himself. He said he had an epiphany. He said he will use his hands and jacked body for good. He said he will hunt frauds and arrogant people and those who waste their talents. He said through pain, he will perfect them all for good. He said their lack of suffering will end.
(Keller’s Analysis: This feels true to Rusev’s past presentation, with moments of introspection masking or justifying bad intentions. But maybe he’ll actually go after bad guys.)
(3) IVY NILE (w/Chad Gable) vs. STEPHANIE VAQUER
Vaquer put her knees around Nile’s head from behind and rammed her into the mat over and as they cut to an early break. [c]
Cole called Vaquer “feisty” as she superplexed Nile for a two count at 8:00. Fans chanted, “This is awesome!” After Nile scored a two count, Cole touted her performance in the match, so start the countdown clock to Nile losing within 30 seconds. Sure enough, Vaquer made a comeback and landed her SVB for the win.
WINNER: Vaquer in 9:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Cole has to stop complimenting the performance of the underdog 30 seconds before the planned finish. The outcome was not in doubt here, as this was a bit of a Tony Khan TV match specialty in that way, but the pattern with Cole could spoil a match with a less inevitable outcome too.)
-Aldis told Styles backstage that he knows things didn’t go his way at WrestleMania because Logan pulled out his bag of tricks. He said if he wants to bounce back, they have a long list of potential opponents. Styles said he has ideas too. Liv interrupted along with Dom and Raquel Rodriguez. Liv said she needs time off to film a big Hollywood movie. Aldis said all the paperwork looks good and he congratulated her. Dom said he wants time off first. Aldis asked why. Dom said because he’s champion and he does what he wants. Aldis said his work doubles as a champion. Dom asked Styles if he’s looking for a retirement home. Dom left. Styles said he has an idea for his next opponent. Aldis said he knows what he means.
-Karrion Kross said Sami has a big decision to make tonight “and hopefully you make the correct one.” He then walked away. [c]
-They went to Cole and McAfee who threw to a replay of Gunther’s attack on them last week.
-Back live, McAfee stood on the announce desk. He said he is still that kid who was born to a truck driver who was going from paycheck to paycheck. He said he is a man who wasn’t handed a lot in life, but he’s lucky to be blessed with great friends. He said he went from an irrelevant bum to a man “basically known in every city in this country.” He said he isn’t better looking than most folks, but he hopes when he dies that people will say he was an incredibly hard worker who did what he could for his friends, family, and community. He said whenever he received a lot, he gave back a lot and gave millions back to his community, children’s hospitals, military foundations, homeless shelters, LGBTQ communities, and public school foundations. He said he hopes when he’s dead, they’ll say he was a loyal mother f—er.
He said you’re either with him or against him, and there’s one man who has been with him since the day he met him, and that’s Michael Cole. Fans chanted, “Michael Cole! Michael Cole!” He said he will be loyal to Cole until he’s in the soil. He called Gunther an Australian asshole, so when Gunther went after Cole, he had no choice but to protect his boy. He said when people told him he was crazy go after Gunther like that, he said, “F— that!” (He was bleeped, of course.) Fans popped. “If I die, I die,” he said. “You got a problem with Cole, you got a problem with me, Gunther.” He called for Aldis, “Smackdown’s version of Adam Pearce,” to come out there.
Aldis stepped out and said he understands Pearce tends to let chaos go on, but he operates differently. He asked him to keep it professional. McAfee said he knows he has the power to make things happen even though he’s middle-management. McAfee asked him to cancel Gunther’s suspension and let him fight him ASAP. Aldis said he already discussed this with Pearce since he anticipated this. He said his answer is no. He said they are both too valuable of assets to WWE. He offered an alternative. He said they can lift a suspension on Gunther and he can get his hands on him in a sanctioned contest in a WWE ring. He proposed McAfee vs. Gunther at Backlash.
(Keller’s Analysis: Great spirited promo from McAfee. Who couldn’t like that guy, right? I love the tradition of a heel being suspended and the babyface asking for the suspension to be lifted. McAfee framed his chances of winning appropriately, but seemed like he’d be fighting for something that would empower him to overachieve.)
-A video package aired on the history of John Cena and Randy Orton.
-Jey approached Sami backstage and said he has big decisions to make. Jey said he should do what is best for him and he said he loves him. They hugged. Sami said that’s what he needed to hear. The camera lingered on Jey for an oddly long amount of time, so you knew something was about to happen. Logan jumped him and then said, “That’s karma!” [c]
-Cole announced Penta vs. McDonagh and Rusev vs. Otis for next week’s Raw.
-Seth Rollins called out Sami to address their offer. Sami made his way to the ring. Seth said he knows Sami is in a tough spot. He said they go way back. He said he knows Sami doesn’t like or trust Heyman or Breakker, but it’s just them. He made his case for aligning with Heyman and Breakker, but said he doesn’t have to understand or agree with it. He told him he is one of his true friends. He said taking his advice could save his life. He told him to take Heyman’s offer or else bad things will happen to him. He begged him to take the offer or bad things will happen.
Sami said if he hurt his feelings, as a friend he is sorry. He said everything he was saying is true. He said their kids play together. He said inside the ring, he thinks he’s playing games. He said he knows because of how close they are, he knows what nags at him more than anything, which is not winning a world championship in WWE. “And now you’re dangling that in front of me,” he said. He said as long as he’s known him, has he ever known him as someone to run away. He said Seth is threatening him that if he doesn’t submit to his threats, he’ll become a target. “I can live with being a target, but I cannot live with being blackmailed, blacklisted, blackballed, strong-armed. I will not be threatened!” He vowed emphatically that he will become world champion, not as a result of a favor, but because he did it his way and the right way. He said as a friend, he loves him, but he is telling him to go to hell. Seth closed his eyes.
Breakker’s music played. He walked out with Heyman behind him. Cole said Sami is about to look in the eyes of a bad man. [c]
(4) BRON BREAKKER (w/Paul Heyman) vs. SAMI ZAYN
The bell rang 15 minutes into the hour. Breakker dominated Sami. Cole talked about all that Heyman has done for so many wrestlers, including a mention of Brock Lesnar. Breakker leaped off the ring apron and knocked Sami into and over the announce desk. They cut to a break at 4:00. [c]
Sami was attempting a comeback after the break. He sunset-bombed Breakker off the top rope for a two count. Breakker caught Sami on the top rope two minutes later. Sami raked his eyes, but Breaker leaped back to the corner and took Sami down with a Frankensteiner. The crowd barked as Breakker celebrated. Breakker got red-faced and charged with a spear attempt, but Sami kicked him and then landed an Exploder into the corner. Sami signaled for a Helluva kick, but Breakker speared him instead. More barks. They showed Heyman looking relieved at ringside.
Sami rolled to the ring apron. Seth leaned in and said: “It doesn’t have to be this way. Take the out, there’s still time. Take the deal Heyman has set up for you. You can still get out. Take it!” Sami said, “Go to hell!” Breakker then speared Sami again. The ref checked on Sami and called for EMTs. Breakker ran around the ring and speared Sami. Jamie Noble backed away. A stupid “One more time!” chant broke out. Breakker rolled Sami back into the ring. “Come on, Paul!” pleaded Cole. The ref covered Sami and called off the match and called for the bell.
WINNER: Breakker in 12:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Since when does someone not get counted out when they’re down at ringside? Or pinned when they’ve been legally battered to the point they can’t stand? Isn’t that the very core purpose for every move in a wrestling match – to incapacitate an opponent to the point of pinning or submitting them? It’s not like a broken bone was sticking out of his ankle.)
-Seth told Breakker that Sami made his bed. Seth then turned and gave Sami a Stomp. Cole said no one is safe and the Raw scene has changed once again thanks to Heyman. Fans sang Seth’s song as he stood next to Heyman and Breaker as a medic, ref, and officials tended to Sami on the mat below them.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS…
PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by PWTorch’s Chris Adams to review WWE Raw LIVE tonight right after the show ends. Join us and let us know your thoughts on Raw during the show.
Email our post-show at wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Raw. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
If you can’t join us live on YouTube, stream the show on demand later at YouTube or listen or stream later on a podcast app. Subscribe to all of our free podcasts by searching “wade keller” and “pwtorch” in your podcast app of choice including Spotify and Apple Podcasts and most other iOS and Android apps.
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