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WWE RAW REPORT
JULY 28, 2025
DETROIT, MICH. AT LITTLE CAESARS ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX (WORLDWIDE)
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reported as of earlier today that 12,271 tickets were distributed so far; arena set up for 13,138. The arena has a capacity of 22,000 spectators when configured for concerts.
JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS…
PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by PWTorch.com contributor Paul Weigle 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.
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[HOUR ONE]
-As on WWE Smackdown last Friday, the show opened with a wide shot of the arena with the “In Memory of Hulk Hogan” graphic on the scoreboard. Paul Levesque said they wouldn’t be standing there together if not for him. (Well, that’s true.) Levesque asked everyone to stand for a ten bell salute. He referred to him as both Terry Bollea and “The Immortal Hulk Hogan.” The bell rang and the camera zoomed in on C.M. Punk, and Jey Uso in the front row. Eric Bischoff was also in the front row. A “Hogan! Hogan!” chant rang out. A five minute video package then aired on Hogan’s career.
-Michael Cole introduced the show as footage aired of Met Life Stadium getting set up for Summerslam. A drone camera then flew into the arena lobby, concourse, and main bowl. He said fans were gathered “to celebrate the life and career of” Hulk Hogan.
-Jey Uso made his entrance. Then Paul Heyman made his entrance. Heyman said Jey is in the main event against Bronson Reed. He said he was there to speak with him from the heart, one Bloodline member to another. A loud “OTC!” chant rang out. Heyman backed away from the ring when he said he noticed “that look in your eye.” He said he couldn’t believe Jey agreed to team with Reigns at Summerslam “all in the name of family.” He said family will always let you down. “That’s not a prediction, that’s a prophesy,” he said.
Heyman asked Jey if his mother told him Santa Claus left gifts under his tree. He said that if so, his mother lied to him. He said all of their mothers lied to them too, pointing at the audience. “Except for the Jewish ones, because my tribe knows better,” he said. He said his father, Rikishi, lied when he said he wanted him to be more iconic than he was. He said when Roman Reigns named a next-in-line for Tribal Chief, he picked Solo, not him. He asked how that worked out for his family. He asked if Reigns tells him that he would have been a better choice. He said if Reigns told that to him, Reigns lied to him, too. He said he wasn’t saying that out of anger or malice. “I’m saying it, Jey Uso, because I love you,” he said, sounding a bit like Brother Love. He added, “I love you just like family. Yeet!” He dropped the mic and smiled from a safe distance up the aisle. Fans chanted, “Bullshit!
Jey said family is why he is in the ring. He told him to keep running his mouth about his family because he knows he doesn’t “play about his.” He said the Bloodline still runs deep in his veins. He said he won the World Championship to prove it to himself. He asked where Heyman’s family is. He said Heyman screwed his cousin at WrestleMania and his boys screwed him out of his World Championship. He said whatever happens tonight and at Summerslam is on his ass. He then asked for his theme to play again and danced with the crowd;
(Keller’s Analysis: Jey was a bit mumble-mouthed due to his enthusiasm in responding to Heyman, who was his usual really good self on the mic.)
-They went to Cole and Corey Graves at ringside who hyped the Raw line-up.
-A.J. Styles made his entrance. [c]
(1) A.J. STYLES & THE KABUKI WARRIORS (Asuka & Kairi Sane ) vs. DOMINIK MYSTERIO & ROXANNE PEREZ & RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ
The bell rang 31 minutes into the hour. Cole noted that Chad Gable touted his first singles win in Minnesota during an interview at a Minnesota Twins game, and he pointed out that Gable basically admitted he was El Grande Americano there since Gable didn’t win that match, El Grande did. They cut to a break at 2:00 [c]
After Styles was frustrated when a previous tag was disallowed, Styles got a hot-tag and rallied at 9:00. The crowd popped for Styles. Styles launched Kairi over the top rope onto Raquel at ringside. Styles then landed a Phenomenal Forearm on Dom for the win.
WINNERS: Styles & Warriors in 11:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: A nice little match that helped fill some TV time by featuring wrestlers facing off in separate matches at Summerslam.)
-A clip aired of Sheamus pinning Rusev last week.
-Jackie Redmond congratulated Sheamus earlier for his win last week. Sheamus said it was an old school banger. Grayson Waller and New Day approached him. Waller said New Day now has his back. Sheamus asked if he’s lurking around like a bad infection no one wants. Sheamus challenged him to a fight. Waller, somewhat hesitantly, agreed to the fight.
-Sheamus made his ring entrance. [c]
-They showed Jamahal Hill from MAGA-FC at ringside.
(2) SHEAMUS vs. GRAYSON WALLER
The bell rang 50 minutes into the hour. Sheamus dominated early. Waller slapped Sheamus and then ran away to ringside. Sheamus took control quickly and battered Waller with his forearm blows to the chest over the top rope. Sheamus signaled for the Brogue kick, but then Rusev showed up on the ring apron. Sheamus turned to bash him. Sheamus then turned and landed the Brogue on Waller for the win.
WINNER: Sheamus in 5:00.
-Rusev attacked Sheamus afterward with his shillelagh, then stood over him as officials ran into the ring to check on Sheamus.
(Keller’s Analysis: Basic stuff. Babyface beats an annoying lower level heel decisively and then is attacked by the rival heel whom he beat last week to help forward the feud.)
-Jackie interviewed Naomi backstage about her match at Summerslam. She asked how she feels now that they’ll feel prepared for her this time. Naomi said Rhea Ripley won’t be the only one bringing the brutality. She said she’ll be aggressive later in the eight-man tag. She said it’ll be a cautionary tale and then cackled. She said everyone should proceed with caution.
(Keller’s Analysis: Naomi’s over-the-top demeanor on promos tilts one promo to the next from a good over-the-top to a not good over-the-top. I think this leaned onto the good side of things.)
-They showed Lyra Valkyria backstage.
-Cole and Graves threw to a clip of “WWE Unreal,” which debuts tomorrow. It showed John Cena and Paul Levesque backstage at the start of his retirement tour signing photos.
(Keller’s Analysis: If WWE’s goal the last two weeks was to kill off any interest in this series, they might have succeeded. Once thought to be a show that’d take viewers deep into a booking meetings and the writers’ room, revealing how angles were devised, it comes across now as a show filled with wrestlers chatting about basic stuff and signing things.) [c]
-A video aired on Hogan with friends of his talking about him including Jimmy Hart and Hacksaw Duggan, along with Logan Paul, Natalya, Jey Uso, The Miz, and Cody Rhodes. “Our Babe Ruth isn’t with us anymore,” Cody said. Cole said all proceeds of the Hulk Hogan Legacy Collection are going to his family.
(Keller’s Analysis: Hogan, a beneficiary of a huge eight-figure settlement not that many years ago, likely left his family with a ton of money. The idea that proceeds from the last surge of Hulkamania merch should go to his family instead of a charity that could help do some good for a cause that he undercut with his racist and anti-gay comments is pretty tone-deaf.)
-Backstage, Paul Heyman said with Seth Rollins out for an undetermined amount of time, it’s up to them. He gave Bronson Reed a pep talk. Bron Breakker joined in and said Bronson Reed going to destroy Jey Uso and restore ultimate power and control over WWE. Reed left. Heyman told Breakker, “That worked.” Breakker said, “I have a plan.”
(Keller’s Analysis: I’m not sure what they were going for here in terms of the dynamic with everyone. What does “it worked” even mean? Does Reed need pep talks to get motivated to beat his opponents?)
-Lyra Valkyria made her entrance. She said her shoes are her Becky Stompers. She did a dance step and spun around. The crowd fell silent, awkwardly. She said in two weeks, then corrected herself and said in one week, she will have regained the IC Title or she will have failed and never will be able to challenge for the title again as long as Becky Lynch is champion. She said Becky has to beat her into the ground if she wants to walk out of Summerslam with that title. She said she is prepared to go to a place she has never gone before. Becky Lynch’s music interrupted. Becky showed up at ringside behind Valkyria. Valkyrka saw her and wrecking ball kicked her. She took the kendo stick from Becky and bashed her over and over. Becky fled.
(Keller’s Analysis: Uh, that didn’t go well. At least the first minute. It was awkward and I was almost expecting Lyra, if she was self-aware, to just run from the ring and grab her stuff and never return. The closing minute was stronger, but a bit generic with some promo tropes too many wrestlers use. We still don’t have a sense of who Lyra is other than seemingly nice, somewhat socially awkward person striving to succeed in WWE.)
-Backstage, in a sit-down interview with Graves, Sami talked about needing to get past Karrion Kross at Summerslam so he can pursue a World Title win. Kross and Scarlett entered. Graves left. Kross said he was tempted to blast Sami across his stomach with a steel rod again, but he decided that wouldn’t work for him. He said he has made everyone show their true colors except for Sami “and that’s starting to piss me off.” He said after he beats him at Summerslam, he’ll make Sami say, “Kross told the truth.” He said then he can go on to win the World Title. Sami told Kross, “You think you’re so smart and you have everyone figured out.” He asked what he wants. He said if he beats him at Summerslam, he’ll say whatever it is he wants him to say. He told Kross that maybe he’s wrong about everything, though, including himself. He vowed to beat him at Summerslam. He said if he does beat him, then Kross has to look him in the eyes and tell him that he was wrong.
(Keller’s Analysis: These two have a fun chemistry together, with Kross delighting in hi devilish mind-games, where he seems not to have Sami’s interests in mind but just gets satisfaction out of the sport of messing with people. Sami seems smart enough to see that, but that doesn’t mean Kross isn’t saying things that sting and maybe even resonate with him, so he’s motivated to prove him wrong but also leaving open the possibility, reluctantly, that Kross is right.) [c]
-Redmond interviewed Bayley backstage. Redmond said she’s not slated to appear at Summerslam this weekend after her loss. Bayley said she missed WrestleMania and now she’ll miss Summerslam. “For the first time in my career, I’m at a loss for words,” she said. She walked away.
-Ring entrances aired for Stephanie Vaquer and her teammates. [c]
(3) RHEA RIPLEY & STEPHANIE VAQUER & NIKKI BELLA & IYO SKY vs. CHELSEA GREEN & PIPER NIVEN & ALBA FYRE & NAOMI
Vaquer eventually got a hot-tag and rallied against the heels. Fans popped as she gave Chelsea the Devil’s Kiss. She fended off interference and then delivered the SVB for the win.
WINNERS: Vaquer & Ripley & Nikki & Sky in 15:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: An AEW Collision 8-Person All-Star Tag match makes it way to Raw! There are enough talented wrestlers and fun character here to keep this fun both athletically and personality-wise with the novel mix of interactions.)
-Finn Balor gave a pep talk to the rest of The Judgment Day. He said factions come and go, but they are stronger than ever. Dom offered assistance in their match, but Balor said he can stay back and play video games. Roxanne asked Dom if he wanted to play WWE 2K25. Raquel said Liv also likes to play that.
-Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro made their ring entrance. [c]
-Backstage, Ripley, Iyo, Vaquer, and Nikki celebrated their win backstage. Ripley told Sky that she would finally beat her at Summerslam. Sky said she has never defeated her and never will.
(4) FINN BALOR & J.D. MCDONAGH vs. CRUZ DEL TORO & JOAQUIN WILDE – World Tag Team Title match
Wilde landed a dive at ringside early and they cut to a break. [c]
Late in the match, El Grande Americano showed up and climbed onto the ring apron. Dragon Lee came out and brawled with him to the back. Another masked wrestler came out a few minutes later who was shorter than Americano. He tripped Del Toro leading to Balor landing a Coup de Grace for the win.
WINNERS: Balor & McDonagh in 11:00 to retain the World Tag Team Titles.
(Keller’s Analysis: The hope fans of the LWO had that this was an actual push for Wilde & Del Toro was extinguished here, as it seemed they got this title match mostly to fill TV time and be a backdrop for the next chapter in the El Grande Americano saga. The action, of course, was good as these are four talented wrestlers.)
-They showed Jey warming up backstage. [c]
-Gunther made his entrance. Fans pelted him with a “C.M. Punk!” chant. Gunther said last week he made Punk understand that he doesn’t deserve to call himself the Best in the World and he will never call himself World Heavyweight Champion. He said he also made him “shut the hell up.” Punk’s music interrupted. Punk walked out, mic in hand, as his music played.
Punk entered the ring and another chant. broke out. He said last week, he wasn’t speechless, but rather dumbfounded. He said it dawned on him, standing across from him, that he doesn’t actually want to be World Heavyweight Champion. He then revealed to a crowd curious what he was getting at that he “needs” the World Title. He made some analogies and then said wrestling is his addiction. He said he needs to be champion so he can raise the belt above his head as a thank you to the fans who have been chanting his name and supporting him for years. He yelled that it means something to the fans.
He told Gunther that for all of his great accomplishments, he dared to say he doesn’t deserve to call himself the Best in the World. Punk said that’s true. He said he earned the right to say it. He said Gunther is being “as arrogant as me, but I can back it up.” He said Gunther has had a great career, but it doesn’t compare to his career and the list of great opponents he has faced. Gunther lost his cool and was going to tell Punk to shut up, but Punk put his hand over his mic.
Punk said “there are levels to this” and Gunther isn’t as great as he is. He got wide-eyed and said he’s leaving as champion. He said Gunther can share the ring with him and finally know what it’s like to go one-on-one with the Best in the World. He dropped the mic, smiled, and left.
(Keller’s Analysis: That’s more like it from Punk. He got his fans fired up, I suspect, unlike last week’s promo. The strength of the promo was Punk saying Gunther’s run has been impressive, but he’s not intimidated because he’s face much bigger names over the years. The downside is it could be seen as framing the talent depth in the last few years as less than Punk’s peak run a dozen years ago. I also wish Punk went into Gunther’s personality a little more and made it seem there’s extra motivation to take Gunther down because of who Gunther is, not just win the title for himself and his fans. Overall, a good, spirited, fired-up promo which helped offset the laid back, passive Punk of last week.)
-Cole hyped the full Summerslam line-up and noted the start time of 6 ET/5 CT. [c]
(5) BRONSON REED (w/Paul Heyman) vs. JEY USO
Reed took control early and landed a powerslam. They cut to a break. [c]
Jey made a comeback and dove through the ropes and tackled Reed. Breakker then charged down the aisle and speared Jey. The ref called for the DQ.
WINNER: Jey in 7:00 via DQ.
(Keller’s Analysis: Another WWE TV main event without a satisfying finish, but at least they got it right that if someone interferes on someone’s behalf who’s in the match, it’s a DQ rather than “the match is thrown out.” The reason these matches are booked and ostensibly of interest to fans is to see who the better wrestler is, so when the action so often just leads to a DQ interference finish, the notion that the matches serve a purpose other than seeing some moves is diminished. Trying to trigger fan outrage over heels interfering in a match feels quaint enough to avoid in this era and instead book clean finishes. In a meta-sense, fans will appreciate the booker for brave booking an actual finish, and the casual fan will feel their investment in the action paid off with an outcome. WWE’s booking is like if the NFL had games that went 58 minutes and then the scoreboard was reset by the owner of the losing team and everyone just said, “Okay, the game is called off, too bad we’ll never know who the better team is.”)
-Roman Reigns made his entrance to his music to save Jey from a further beating. Reigns side-stepped Reed and sent him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Reigns helped Jey up as fans chanted “OTC! OTC!” Jey mustered energy to superkick Breakker off the ring apron. Reigns gave Reed a Superman Punch when he stood. Cole said Summerslam Saturday can’t come soon enough. Reigns and Jey celebrated at ringside. They ran after Reed and Breakker on the other side of the ring, but Breakker speared Reigns and then Reed tackled Uso to the mat hard. Reed held up Jey inside the ring and then Breakker speared him. Graves said, “This had to be the plan!” Cole wondered how Jey could not have broken ribs. Breakker held Jey on the mat as Reed leaped off the top rope with a Tsunami. Breakker smiled and looked down at Reigns and then leaped of the ring apron and knocked him onto and over the announce desk. Breakker stood on the desk and let out a barbaric yell.
Reed then gave Reigns a Tsunami. Breakker yelled that he runs the place now and everyone around ringside works for him now. Breakker slid out of the ring and eyed Reigns and Jey at ringside trying to stand. Breakker then sprinted and speared them through the ringside time keeper’s area. Fans chanted, “Holy shit!” Reed took off Reigns’s shoes. “These belong to me now,” he said. Reed and Breakker rejoined Heyman in the ring to pose as credits rolled. Graves said, “It’s not about revenge, it’s about a reckoning.”
(Keller’s Analysis: The booking psychology here is pretty clear. End the main event after just seven minutes with a lame run-in leading to a DQ, but “make up for it” with an unadvertised appearance of Reigns to leave the crowd buzzing. To a degree it works, but it’s so transparent that when the high of seeing Reigns wears off, WWE is still a company that uses advertised TV main events as time filler conduits to run angles, and that weakens a valuable booking tool to draw viewers and invest them in the world WWE creates. The beatdown of Reigns and Jey either serves to create a sense of jeopardy that they won’t be 100 percent on Saturday or telegraphs that they’ll be winning since the heels got one-up on them here and thus the fans will take extra satisfaction in the babyfaces serving up revenge.)
JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS…
PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by PWTorch.com contributor Paul Weigle 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.
VIP MEMBER EXCLUSIVE VIDEO CALLER CODE: CLICK HERE
https://streamyard.com/b55merysn9
Click that link during the post-show to enter the waiting room as “live video caller” (or just audio if you turn off your cam, which is fine). This is a private link, so don’t share. It’s just for VIP members at this time.
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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