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WWE RAW REPORT
AUGUST 18, 2025
PHILADELPHIA, PA. AT XFINITY MOBILE ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX (WORLDWIDE)
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reports today that 11,890 tickets were distributed so far; arena set up for 12,208. The arena has a capacity of 21,000 spectators when configured for basketball.
-Michael Cole introduced Raw live in Philadelphia, Penn.
-Highlights aired from Raw last week, where Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker’s onslaught of CM Punk and LA Knight ensued, when Punk began to bring it back. Seth Rollins then interfered, which forced the disqualification. “Main Event” Jey Uso’s music hit and he jumped into the mix, followed by the GM’s announcement for a Fatal Four-way Championship match at Clash in Paris. This match was set to include Seth Rollins, facing off against Knight, Punk, and “Main Event” Jey Uso.
-Jey Uso was seen backstage headed toward the arena, with Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker announced as the main event.
-Naomi was set to address the state of her title later in the night.
-The evening began with Seth Rollins’ music, as Seth Rollins, Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed made their way down to the ring. The crowd roared with woah’s from his theme.
Paul Heyman started the introductions, where he proclaimed himself (Paul Heyman) as God in Philadelphia and deserved a statue in this city. Paul then proceeded to hype every member of Rollins’ group, with Bron Breakker first. He labeled Breakker as HIM, the big dog, and that this is HIS yard. Then, Paul went on to introduce the owner of the ‘shoelafala’ and the man who put Roman Reigns down.
“I give to you, the Tribal Thief: Big Bronson Reed,” he announced. The crowd was enraged due to the Roman Reigns hatred, but Paul Heyman claimed they were chanting Paul-E, which quickly defused the heat. His last introduction was for the visionary, the revolutionary, the man who has defeated Roman Reigns twice in the main event of WrestleMania: the reigning, defending, undisputed, heavyweight champion of the world, SETH FREAKIN’ ROLLINS. As Rollins took a long pause before he was about to speak over the microphone, Jey Uso’s music hit.
Jey entered from the stands as usual, where he yeeted his way down, a look of disgust written all over Rollins’ face. Uso held a mic to a young boy, who shouted a yeet into it.
“I’m tired of hearing you talk,” he said to Rollins and Paul Heyman. He then called Bron Breakker a puppy dog, which received a wide reception from the audience. Rollins tried to ignite the fire in Breakker. He gave Breakker the impression that Jey believed he is better than him (Breakker).
“He thinks your dad is a loser, he thinks your uncle is a moron, he has no respect for you—” Rollins spouted, which prompted Breakker to flip out, but Rollins and Bronson Reed held him back before he could charge out of the ring.
Paul Heyman declared there is a way that men settle things in the ring, then gave a shoutout to Sandman, RVD, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, the Dudley Boyz…
“Woah, woah, woah, I said woah… The only rules I need tonight are EXTREME RULES!” Jey shouted. The main event match of Raw was now set to be Extreme Rules.
-Recap of last Monday where Asuka and Kairi Sane interfered in the Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez match, which inadvertently cost Iyo Sky the match.
-The Kabuki Warriors were seen backstage and apologized to Sky. They spoke Japanese with one another and high-five after a brief exchange.
-Sky’s music hit and she left the Kabuki Warriors to head out for her match. She grooved down the ramp on her way to the ring. [c]
(1) IYO SKY vs. RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ (w/Roxanne Perez)
Sky rushed in for an armlock, but Rodriguez countered into a bodyslam. The boo’s for Rodriguez were intense. Rodriguez picked Sky up, then ragdolled her towards the turnbuckle. After a series of whips, Sky went for a crucifix, though it resulted in a sideslam by Rodriguez. Rodriguez displayed her sheer power for a good few moments, then taunted the crowd. Sky managed to slip in a rana, to no effect, then dove over Rodriguez. Roxanne yanked Sky’s leg, distracting her, as well as the referee, only for Sky to turn around into a big boot. Rodriguez looked dominant before break. [c]
After break, Rodriguez was up on the turnbuckle, where she leaped over and landed flat on her tailbone. This was Sky’s opening to shift the momentum. Sky delivered a brutal kick to the neck, then executed a clean dropkick from the top turnbuckle. Rodriguez ended up down by the turnbuckle, a perfect set-up for Bullet Train. Sky lunged towards Rodriguez for the Bullet Train, but Rodriguez countered with a drop and pin. One, two… but Sky kicked out. Sky regained her energy fairly quick, but missed an Over-The-Moonsault as Rodriguez rolled away in time, then Rodriguez rebounded off the rope into a wicked clothesline. She went for another pinfall, but Sky kicked out at two again. Sky performed a tornado DDT from the turnbuckle, then took out Perez with a suicide dive. She proceeded to do another suicide dive to Rodriguez from the other end of the outer ring, but Rodriguez caught her. Back in the ring, Sky countered Rodriguez’s powerbomb with a rana, followed by Bullet Train into an Over-The-Moonsault and pin: one, two… three.
WINNER: Iyo Sky is victorious in 11:00.
-After the match, Perez and Rodriguez jumped Iyo Sky, until Rhea Ripley’s music hit. Ripley rushed down the ramp and together, they overpowered the Judgement Day duo.
Grade: B-
(Chuck’s Analysis: Raquel Rodriguez is all brute force and not much technical wrestling, so in my opinion, Iyo Sky carried it heavy. The final minute is why I gave this match as high a score as I did.)
-Jackie Redmond introduced LA Knight backstage in regards to his upcoming title match at Clash in Paris. CM Punk randomly intrudes on the interview and LA Knight felt disrespected. Punk claimed they need to watch each other’s backs. Knight retorted saying Punk put his hands on him first. “When we get to Paris, there’s going to be one person holding that title up.”
-Main event is reannounced, Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker in an Extreme Rules match.
-THE NEW DAY’s music hit. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, accompanied by Grayson Waller made their way down to the ring. Xavier was set to go one-on-one with Penta. [c]
-Michael Cole talked about the AAA TripleMania event, which broke several records apparently. The highlight montage aired, that featured Omos, who stood off against a three-foot tall wrestler, Finn Balor was seen with a ventriloquist puppet, and A.J. Styles executed a Styles Clash on Dominik Mysterio. The infographic states it was the #1 trend in both USA and Mexico, the most viewed TripleMania in history, with 4.3 million viewers in the first 24 hours.
-Ripley and Sky were talking backstage regarding her assistance, when the Kabuki Warriors aggressively stepped up to Rhea. “I only helped because you were nowhere to be seen,” Ripley said to Asuka. An argument broke out between them, and Sky went berserk, then raged off into the night. “Stay out of our business,” Asuka said harshly to Rhea, before the Kabuki Warriors walked away.
-The camera returned to the ring where THE NEW DAY is still awaiting Penta’s arrival. Penta’s music hits, and he made his way down to the ring.
(2) PENTA vs. XAVIER WOODS (w/Kofi Kingston, Grayson Waller)
Xavier began the match with a doink to Penta in the chest. Penta responded by shoving Xavier heavily. Xavier shoved back and bit Penta’s hand, then led him towards the turnbuckle, where he continued with a few punches. Penta countered into a few kicks, then leaped from the top turnbuckle to the apron, but Xavier executed a solid kick in response, which knocked a loogie clean out of Penta.
“GIVE ME MY MONEY!” Xavier yelled into the camera, hilariously, regarding the expensive hat Penta had destroyed. [c]
Xavier imitated the Ric Flair walk over a downed Penta, then took off from the turnbuckle. He delivered a strong kick to knock Penta down once more. Xavier whipped Penta against the ropes, but bent down ridiculously as if he were going to flip him, but Penta countered, obviously. Penta launched himself from the top turnbuckle, then performed a crossbody to Xavier outside of the ring. He brought Xavier back into the ring to execute a temple kick by the turnbuckle. Penta went for the Pentadriver, but Xavier countered, then went for a pin. One, two… Penta broke out in a close count. Xavier landed an uppercut to Penta, followed by a kick and a chop. Xavier went for a crossbody on the turnbuckle-ridden Penta, but Penta slid out of harm’s way and countered with a Pentadriver into a pin. One, two… but Kofi slid Xavier’s leg on the rope to break the count. After a brief exchange, Penta perfectly executed a Mexican Destroyer into a clean pin. One, two… three.
WINNER: Penta is victorious in 9:47.
Grade: A-
(Chuck’s Analysis: Both wrestlers are extremely talented, so it was an absolute delight to see these two go at it. The chemistry was off the hook, for real.)
-Highlights aired from Raw last week, where Grande Americano defeated A.J. Styles with the help of a masked Dominik Mysterio. Then, at AAA TripleMania XXXIII, A.J. was able to claim revenge. He delivered a massive Styles Clash to Dom, which was partly shown earlier from the previous recap. Later that same night, Dirty Dom declared himself the best Mysterio during a brief altercation with his father, Rey Mysterio.
-El Hijo Del Vikingo (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio for the AAA Mega Championship was announced for Worlds Collide.
The Judgement Day’s music hit for a tag-team match. [c]
(3) FINN BALOR & J.D. MCDONAUGH (w/Dominik Mysterio) vs. DRAGON LEE & MR. IGUANA
Dragon Lee started things off with McDonaugh, where the two engaged in a power struggle, but McDonaugh overpowered him. Both men exchanged a series of chops in the turnbuckle, but Dragon Lee executed a Dragon Screw, which punished McDonaugh’s knee. Lee went for a clothesline on the apron, but McDonaugh ducked it. McDonaugh tagged in Balor, who quickly lost their momentum, being teamed on by both LWO members as Iguana was tagged in. Balor sprung back into action and delivered a rapid suplex to Iguana. He dropped Iguana once more with a bodyslam, but Iguana began monkeyflipping Balor around several times, where Balor eventually went out of the ring, entrance-side. Iguana and Lee faced one another in agreement, before they rebounded off the ropes and flew outside, clashing into McDonaugh and Balor in sloppy unison. [c]
McDonaugh flipped Lee over his back, but Lee landed on his feet, then delivered a Poisonrana. Iguana and Balor were tagged in, with Iguana dominating the latter. He tossed a stuffed iguana to McDonaugh and dropped him with relative ease. Lee spun around Balor’s body with surreal movement, but Balor countered. After an exchange of attacks from both parties, Balor delivered a Sling Blade on Lee, but Lee reversed it. Dom pulled Lee’s leg, which distracted him for the split-second Balor needed to reclaim the upper hand. Balor knocked Lee down, then dropped a Coup De Grace to secure the pinfall.
Winner: Balor & McDonaugh in 9:00.
-After the match, Balor and McDonaugh assaulted Lee and Iguana. Meanwhile, Dirty Dom cleared out the announcers’ table, but Vikingo appeared and dropped Dom with a dropkick. He then hit a rana on Balor, and a Meteora on McDonaugh, but Dom came from behind and attacked him, which helped them regain control of the situation. Dom delivered a clean frog splash to assert the Judgement Day’s dominance.
Grade: B
(Chuck’s Analysis: A great match, actually. Ever since McDonaugh’s injury, I’ve held the utmost respect for him as a performer, and the rest of them are talented as well. Judgement Day always puts on a show in tag-team matches.)
-Michael Cole rehashed Becky Lynch, who stood strong against Maxxine Dupri after a Disarmer to claim victory in her title defense last week.
-Becky claimed to Redmond that she didn’t attack Natalya, Natalya attacked her. She coined her Nasty Natalya, and that Natalya does not belong in the ring with her. “Welcome back to the Big Time,” she said.
-Natalya was seen backstage with Maxxine and Akira Tozawa en route to the ring. [c]
-A bizarre promo aired, which featured Bailey and voices in her head.
“We were the longest reigning Smackdown Women’s Champion of all time!”
“We don’t need friends!”
“If you just listen to me, I promise I will steer you on the right path. Listen to me, listen to me, listen to me!!”
“How about a hug?”
(Chuck’s Analysis: I believe this is supposed to be Bailey’s inner-conscience attempting to redirect her. It would be great to see Bailey step back into the championship scene, so let’s hope this promo has more depth.)
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Raw: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
(4) BECKY LYNCH (c) vs. NATALYA (w/Maxxine Dupri, Akira Tozawa) – IC Title Match
Natalya’s music hit and she made her entrance, accompanied by Maxxine and Tozawa.
Becky Lynch’s new theme hit (The Man Has Come Around) and she confidently marched down to the ring.
Alicia Taylor refreshingly introduced the combatants: the challenger, Natalya first, then the champion, the man, Becky Lynch.
Becky and Natalya circle around each other once before Natalya took Becky down. Natalya attempted a roll-up pin to no avail. Becky retaliated with a kick, but Natalya dropped her face first to the mat. Natalya went for a discus, missed, but shot back with a German suplex. Becky escaped to the outside and Natalya slid out in pursuit, however, Becky took the upper hand here during Natalya’s travel. [c]
Natalya apparently suffered a shoulder injury, so Becky dominated the match post-commercial break. Becky locked in an armbar, putting Natalya in a critical situation. Natalya flipped over, going for a quick pin. One, two… but Becky lifted her shoulder. Natalya powered up, then picked Becky up amidst the armbar in a bomb. After a brief exchange of blows, Natalya landed a boot to knock Becky down. Becky got up quickly but fell flat into a discus clothesline, courtesy of Natalya.
Becky decided to randomly eliminate Maxxine Dupri and Tozawa, where she basically oneshotted both of them. She really made them look like fodder here, but I have no complaints.
Becky pressed her boot down on Natalya from the apron and executed the Disarmer in ring for the victory.
Winner: Becky Lynch is victorious by submission in 13:39.
-After the match, Maxxine assisted Natalya to walk, but Becky disrespectfully dropped both of them in one attack, then caught Maxxine in a Disarmer. Nikki Bella’s music hit and she ran down the ramp. She unloaded elbows on Becky, though Becky fought back, her swings did not connect in the slightest. Nikki landed a Rack Attack to defuse the hostile Becky.
Grade: C+
(Chuck’s Analysis: I’m a huge Becky fan, always will be, but I did not find much chemistry between them in this match. The sHoULdeR iNJurY kind of ruined it from being a fair fight and it was short-lived. The only things I found entertaining was when Becky straight up randomly attacked Maxxine and Tozawa, and the hype for a potential Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella match.)
-Sheamus was interviewed about Rusev, but not even ten seconds later, Rusev spawned from around the corner and a fight broke out. A half dozen randoms were able to pull them apart, when the GM also appeared from thin air to announce a match between the two, at Clash in Paris.
-Jey Uso was anxiously awaiting his match backstage in the locker-room. C.M. Punk entered and declared he has Jey’s back.
“You can count on me,” Punk said.
“I didn’t ask for your help,” Jey retorted.
“I’m just trying to make sure you get to Clash in Paris, I’m just letting you know I’m here.”
Jey was sort of hostile, but he calmed down and they shook hands, a classic create-a-superstar storyline.
-GM Pearce welcomed Naomi, and her music hit. She came down to the ring, with the championship held high over her head.
“Champ, the floor is yours,” Pearce said, to a somewhat melancholy Naomi.
“This is hard to say, guys…”
-Rehash to Stephanie’s podcast, where Jimmy Uso announced there is a baby on the way.
NAOMI IS PREGNANT!
“I bet you are happy for me, but this ain’t my first time relinquishing my title. I handed it to you the first time, but this time I ain’t handing you shit!” she screamed at Pearce. OMG SHE WENT OFF “NA NA NA NA, HEY HEY HEY, GOODBYE!” She’s a lunatic. “I hope you trip in them church shoes too!”
She then claimed she was going to put all the women’s locker-room in the ground, but thanks to Big Jim, because he likes to Netflix and chill… “On the bright side, I guess the bloodline continues! I’m going to lay my title down right here, my custom title.”
“Baby Uso” chants began, lol…
“I’m gonna leave my title right here, and I’m gonna give you nine months and some change to do whatever with my title, and even if I come back with my baby, breastfeeding in my arms, I’m gonna be back. Whoever has my title when I come back, I strongly advise you to proceed with caution.”
-Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez and Penta vs. Kofi Kingston announced for next week, special start time Raw 3pm. John Cena confirmed to be on Smackdown this week.
-Bron Breakker was backstage, who made his way towards the ring, ominously. [c]
-The Judgement Day (Finn Balor & JD McDonaugh & Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez) were backstage. They see Dom speaking to Grande Americano about an unknown topic, then asked what he was talking about. Dom said he’s making sure The Judgement Day stay on top.
(5) JEY USO vs. BRON BREAKKER (w/Paul Heyman) – Extreme Rules match
Jey’s music hit, and he entered down the ramp with a wheelbarrow full of assorted weapons. Bron Breakker’s Breakk and Destroy theme hit, and he was accompanied by the oracle, Paul Heyman.
Both men stood at each end of a turnbuckle, awaiting the other’s first move. Breakker said he would bury Jey, before he threw a fist at Jey, but Jey blocked, then countered into a series of punches. Breakker turned the tide for a moment, until Jey clotheslined Breakker over the top rope, literally dropping him straight into the wheelbarrow! Hilarious. While Breakker seemed injured from the fall, Jey located a table from beneath the ring and set it up at the side of the ring. Jey dove to the outside, for a second there, it seemed as if Breakker was going to catch him, but he toppled over. Jey in control before break. [c]
During the break, Jey went for another dive, however, Breakker had countered with a chair shot to the head. Breakker flipped the momentum with a vicious beatdown from every conceivable weapon possible to pummel Jey. Afterwards, he set up a chair between the turnbuckle in a trap. When he whipped Jey toward the chair trap, Jey countered the whip, which clashed Breakker’s head flat into the chair. Breakker stood to his feet after a brief moment, followed by a yeet movement combination deluxe, then out of nowhere, Breakker exploded with a massive clothesline, which forced Jey’s body into a 360 flip, chaotic. Breakker picked Jey up on his shoulders, then straight up dropped him on top of a set-up chair, which looked quite painful. He proceeded to haul Jey out of the ring and to the announcers’ table, then grabbed a trash can and drove it into Jey’s face. The force of impact propelled him across the table. Breakker in control now. [c]
Breakker dominated Jey, post-break. He executed a Breakensteiner from the top turnbuckle on Jey, then went for the pin. One, two… but Jey kicked out. The referee counted the pin on top of a chair, something I haven’t seen in a long time. Jey came alive with momentum from nowhere and delivered, I swear, one of the best spears I’ve ever seen, it was practically a headbutt. Then, he delivered ANOTHER spear, followed by an Uso Splash and a pin. One, two… the referee was suddenly yanked from the ring. Bronson Reed was the man responsible and proceeded to drop Jey.
L.A. Knight’s music hit and he dashed down to the ring to assault Bronson. He put serious work on the big guy, until Rollins appeared and began thrashing Knight about. Rollins slid into the ring and unloaded a top-tier Pedigree on Jey, then went out to retrieve the referee, but Punk’s music hit! Rollins escaped to the ring for higher ground, but Knight attacked Rollins from behind at the ideal moment. Punk entered and they both pummeled him with blows. Punk lifted Rollins for a GTS but slipped back into Knight on the apron, who fell directly through the table Jey had set up earlier! As Rollins and Punk fought through the crowd, headed to the back, Breakker reentered the ring and set up a table by the turnbuckle. Jey came alive with a kick, then climbed up the turnbuckle, only to be dropped once more by Bronson Reed. Then… ROMAN REIGNS MUSIC HIT!
Roman came from out of nowhere and speared the hell out of Breakker, ducked a heavy Bronson Reed clothesline and superman punched him. Roman tossed Breakker back into the ring, who fell flat into an Uso Kick, which placed him clean onto the table. Jey then successfully climbed the turnbuckle and dropped an Uso Splash onto Breakker through the table! One, two… THREE.
WINNER: Jey Uso is victorious in 20:25.
-Roman and Jey celebrate after the match, with Paul Heyman holding back a furious Bronson Reed, who said “I’ll see you in Paris.”
Grade: A
(Chuck’s Analysis: This was a classic, from start to finish. It was built to the extent that as a watcher, you had no idea who was going to end up victorious, while it also delivered heat between Punk and Knight for the Clash in Paris Fatal Four-way. Somehow, the match basically evolved into a Bloodline Rules match, but I enjoyed it so much. Jey himself put on a hell of a show.)
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