WARNING: The following piece has SPOILERS for WWE Monday Night Raw from June 09, 2025. Reader beware - don’t say we didn’t warn you!

WWERawis finally back stateside this week aftera weeks-long European tour, emanating from the Target Center in Minneapolis. Three matches have been officially announced - a Women’s Intercontinental Championship match betweenLyra ValkyriaandBayleyand a World Tag Team Championship bout betweenThe War RaidersandThe New Day. Elsewhere on the show,Pentawill take onThe Judgement Day’sDominik Mysterio.

As for theWrestleMania 41build,Adam Pearcewill address the controversy surrounding the Women’s World Championship (likely setting up a triple threat betweenIyo Sky, Bianca BelairandRhea Ripley) andPaul Heymanwill appear to address bothCM Punk(who is demanding Heyman be in his corner at WrestleMania) andSeth Rollins.

Here are your key moments from tonight’sMonday Night Rawfor August 09, 2025:

Paul Heyman’s “Favor” Saga Takes A Twist

Could Heyman Wind Up With Seth Rollins?

Through no real fault of his own, Seth Rollins feels like the third wheel in his storyline with CM Punk and Roman Reigns. What started as a years-long grudge between himself and Punk has evolved into the latter two men fighting over Heyman heading intoWrestleMania 41. The closing moments of Raw managed to add an extra layer to the equation, presenting the possibility of Rollins forcing Heyman to be in his corner in Las Vegas.

Will this prove to be the deciding factor in the Reigns/Punk/Rollins triple threat match? Probably not. But Rollins does have a history of swooping in and stealing victories from Reigns on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.” And the fact that we’re even talking about it makes the Night 1 main event just a bit more interesting.

Jey Uso Finally Nails It

He Delivered When It Mattered Most

There was a lot riding on Jey Uso’s promo this week. After over a month of lackluster storytelling between Gunther and him, “The Ring General” kicked things into high gear last week with that brutal mauling of Jimmy Uso. If Jey wasn’t able to respond with that same intensity this week, this program would be dead on arrival in Las Vegas.

Thankfully, Uso played his part perfectly. He didn’t walk out with his usual entrance, he didn’t stumble over the lines of the promo, and he was able to bring the same intensity that propelled him to become a fan-favorite during his program with Roman Reigns years ago. It’s still far from the best match on the WrestleMania card, but “Main Event Jey” is finally living up to the hype as a Royal Rumble match winner.

The WrestleMania 41 Midcard Takes Shape

More Matches Were Confirmed On Raw

We got two WrestleMania matches confirmed on Monday night - a four-way for Bron Breakker’s Intercontinental Championship and Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano. Breakker looked like an absolute monster during his brief appearance on the show and you could easily sell me on a one-on-one match between him and Penta. But the addition of two Judgement Day members all but guarantees some shenanigans that could result in Dominik Mysterio becoming champion (which, admittedly, would be fun). As for Mysterio/Americano, it feels like a waste to not include the LWO and American Made in some sort of multi-man tag match, but we’ll still get something fun out of Chad Gable’s masked persona.

As for the rest of the card, it’s hard to say if WWE will have anything for Lyra Valkyria to do after she retained her title against Bayley. And the finish to that tag title match means we’ll get something between The War Raiders and New Day with a weapons-based stipulation - though that’s yet to be confirmed.

Our Take On Last Night WWE Raw

There Was A Lot To Like

I’ll admit I haven’t been a fan of Raw’s pacing ever since the “Netflix Era” began. I thoroguhly appreciate that the show no longer goes three hours (take notes, SmackDown…), but oftentimes it feels like there’s not enough planned for the show to even fill two hours. Tonight was no exception given there were only four matches, but Valkyria vs. Bayley blew my expectations out of the water, the Uso/Gunther segment delivered and the show-closing promo ended things on a high note.

Was it a step back from the last few weeks with Cody Rhodes and John Cena both being absent? Sure. But it was the exact kind of episode WWE needed to deliver this close to WrestleMania. I call that a win