WWE RAW REPORT
FEBRUARY 24, 2025
CINCINNATI, OHIO AT HERITAGE BANK CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX (WORLDWIDE)
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reports that 12,267 tickets were distributed right before showtime. The arena has a capacity of 17,556 spectators. Over 2,000 tickets have moved for tonight’s show in the last 2 days (The last time in this venue on Apr. 26, 2024 they drew 13,110.)
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[HOUR ONE]
-They opened with an aerial view of the arena as Michael Cole introduced the show. Then they showed wrestlers arriving at the arena and walking backstage as Cole talked about key matches and segments starting with Bianca Belair & Naomi, Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez, Gunther, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky, Lyra Valkyria, and Cody Rhodes. Gunther was shown shaking his head in disgust at Otis, Tozawa, and Maxinne Dupri dancing. Cole said regarding the offer made to Cody by The Rock that Rock made an offer “Cody may not be able to refuse.” He said they might find out his thoughts tonight.
-Logan Paul’s ring entrance began and fans broke out in boos. He talked about arriving in “dreary, grey, depressing Cincinnati.” He said the fans are a product of that. He said he wanted to turn around and go home, but then he changed his mind and said he’d go to Cincinnati and perform in front of the peasants “because I’m just that humble.” He went into some local sports insults and then talked about how he’ll defeated “three door knobs and John Cena” at Elimination Chamber. He said he’ll then go on to face Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania and win the WWE Title and become the face of WWE. He was interrupted by C.M. Punk.
Punk made his entrance to a loud “C.M. Punk!” chant. Cole noted it’s Punk’s first Chamber since 2012. Logan asked Punk what his problem is with him. He said he must be jealous because he succeeds at everything he tries while Punk fails at everything he tries. “Is that why you don’t like me?” he asked. Punk said he doesn’t know him well enough to have an opinion, but he seems to be a “dime a dozen loud-mouth kid says and who does incredibly stupid and ignorant things for a reaction and the shock of it.” He said he doesn’t have character or substance. He said the fans deserve better.
Logan mocked Punk, then said when Punk came back, it was one of the biggest returns in history. He said then Punk cracked under pressure and tore his tricep. He said he couldn’t handle the pressure. Logan said Punk is familiar to the people like “Stone Cold, John Cena.” He said the inevitable fact is that name changes. He said now that’s he a full-timer, it’s only a matter of time before they’re chanting his name. Punk told Logan he won’t be around long enough to make history or for the fans to remember who he is. He said in this business, he is Satan and Logan is nobody. They had a face-to-face staredown. Logan acted like he was about to back away, but then he slapped Punk and bailed out quickly. “Oopsie, are you okay?” he asked while chuckling. Punk told him to run while he can and his legs still work. He said when he gets his hands on him, he’ll understand why they chant his name. Punk revealed his mouth was bleeding from the slap as he stuck his bloody tongue out.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good back and forth between two good talkers. Fun to see them go at it to build up anticipation for them crossing paths inside the Chamber.)
-They went to Cole and Pat McAfee at ringside. They commented on clips of Penta’s issues with Ludwig Kaiser and Pete Dunne.
-Kaiser made his entrance. [c]
(1) PENTA vs. LUDWIG KAISER vs. PETE DUNNE
Penta’s entrance took place after the break. The bell rang 23 minutes into the hour. Penta dove onto Kaiser and Dunne at ringside a minute in and they cut to a break. [c]
Back from the break, Penta was in control. He played to the crowd and then did a hand stand in the corner into a kick to Kaiser’s chest. He then went after Dunne, but Dunne had time to recover during his playing to the crowd and took over. Penta, though, leg scissored Dunne into Kaiser, sending them both to the floor. He then played to the crowd quickly and went after Kaiser and the flip dove onto Dunne.
Dunne gave Penta his Bitter End. Kaiser broke up the cover. Kaiser set up a Russian leg sweep but Dunn snapped his fingers to break the grip. Penta then delivered a Mexican Destroyer to Dunne after leaping over Kaiser. He kicked Kaiser, then finished Dunne with The Sacrifice arm snap. He set up a Penta Driver, but Kaiser broke it up and pinned Dunne after a DDT. Cole said this could be the year of Kaiser after he closed 2024 strong.
WINNER: Kaiser in 9:00.
-A video package aired on John Cena entering the Chamber.
-Jackie Redmond interviewed Rhea Ripley from the upper deck with fans and the ring and entrance stage in the background. She asked how she is managing to prepare for the title defense with the Chamber looming. Ripley said after Saturday, Sky’s name will be added to the names on the list of fallen opponents from the last five years. Sky walked up to them and said she’ll beat her on Saturday and go to WrestleMania as the Women’s World Champion.
-Cole and McAfee threw to a clip of Road Dogg on “LFG.”
-The New Day made their ring entrance. Cole said he has stopped giving New Day the benefit of the doubt after the last two weeks. [c]
(2) THE NEW DAY (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. CRUZ DEL TORO & JOAQUIN WILDE
The bell rang 45 minutes into the hour. Wilde took it to Kofi early. Del Toro and Wilde continued on the attack on Xavier. Cole said The Hardys would be on NXT tomorrow night. Kofi pulled the top rope down as Del Toro ran the ropes, so Del Toro crashed to ringside. New Day gloated. Cole lamented New Day acting like jerks on their way to maybe wrapping up their careers in a few years.
Del Toro and Wilde set up a double-team move on Kofi, but Kofi shoved Wilde after an eye rake and knocked Del Toro off balance. Kofi and Xavier then quickly finished Del Toro with a top rope double-team stomp.
WINNERS: New Day in 6:00.
-Dragon Lee ran out afterward to stop a post-match attack, but he was outnumbered and powerbombed mid-ring.
-Finn Balor told Dominic Mysterio that last week he embarrassed The Judgment Day by losing to A.J. Styles and getting speared by Bron Breakker. Dom said he got him a qualifying match for the Chamber, but he lost to Seth Rollins. He suggested a new member again. Balor said no way and that he’d fix things. Liv Morgan told them to stop fighting because she has big things coming up. She said things will look up when they bring gold back to the group. Balor said they should be worried about Bianca Belair and Naomi after “the stunt they pulled” on Jade. Liv said they weren’t involved in that. Liv told Balor to focus on Dom’s match against Bron Breakker later. Dom kissed Liv on the head and walked off.
-Cole lamented not getting a cut of the proceeds from the Punk card that was auctioned off that he unwrapped last week. They showed wrestlers excitedly unwrapping WWE trading cards.
-Cole talked about Cody addressing Rock’s offer.
-They showed Gunther heading to the ring wearing his ring-gear, apparently ready to wrestle. [c]
[HOUR TWO]
-They showed an aerial view of Cincinnati again. Then they showed players from the University of Cincinnati Bearcats at ringside. then they showed Adam “Pacman” Jones with a WWE replica belt. Cole said Pacman would be at WrestleMania.
-Gunther made his way to the ring. He told fans he understands that they can’t contain their excitement because he’ll be in action tonight. He said he was angry at first when Jey Uso picked him, but now he’s warming up to it because he can “embarrass the clown on the grandest stage of them all and end the Yeet Circus once and for good.” He said he offered G.M. Adam Pearce a chance to see him in action tonight, “and of course he couldn’t say no to that.” He introduced his hand-picked opponent, Akira Tozawa, whom he was giving a “chance of a lifetime.” Tozawa came out with Otis and Maxxine. Gunther said he chose him because he was irritated by his TikTok dance he was practicing earlier. McAfee said anything can happen.
(3) GUNTHER vs. AKIRA TOZAWA (w/Otis, Maxxine)
Gunther methodically dominated Tozawa earlier. Tozawa got in one hope spot with a kick, but a second later, Gunther landed a dropkick. Tozawa countered a powerbomb into a sunset flip for a near fall. He climbed to the top rope, but Gunther caught him mid-air and applied a Boston Crab. Tozawa reached the bottom rope, which the crowd popped for. Cole said Gunther wasn’t necessarily expecting this much of a fight from Tozawa tonight. Gunther had Tozawa pinned after a powerbomb, but lifted his shoulders. He then applied a sleeper and the ref called for the bell.
WINNER: Gunther in 3:00.
-When Otis entered to check on Tozawa, Gunther attacked him and put him in a sleeper. Jey made the save. Gunther retreated. They showed McAfee and Cole doing the Yeet dance. Cole said he just finished his workout goal on his watch. Fans chanted “Yeet!” to Jey’s music.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good chance for Gunther to be a bully, but also show a little vulnerability. as brief as it was, to give fans a taste of what the match with Jey Uso could be like. His promo before hand was good.)
-A clip aired of Michael Cole on Logan’s podcast talking about why he and Pat get along so well. McAfee then made fun of Cole’s shirt nearly busting buttons. McAfee drew attention to it and said those three buttons on his gut were fighting for their lives. He then said he is jacked and circled his pecs. Cole stood and said he has been working out.
-They showed Kai getting encouragement from Sky backstage. Then they showed Valkyria. [c]
(3) LYRA VALKYRIA vs. DAKOTA KAI – Intercontinental Title match
Kai tripped over a camera cable at ringside after a cannonball dive at ringside. they cut to a break. [c]
Valyria superplex Kai and both sold the impact as fans chanted “Holy shit!” They exchanged a series leverage two counts mid-ring. Valkyria scored a two count after a powerbomb. Cole said, “This has been as 50/50 as it gets.” After a series of big spots and back and forth near falls, Valkyria eventually landed a Night Wing for the win.
WINNER: Valkyria in 8:00 to retain the IC Title.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good action. They were determined to do the bridge spot that Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat so often did no matter how many tries it took. The crowd got into it as it progressed.)
-Ivy Nile attacked Kai on the entrance stage and then went after a celebrating Valkyria aggressively. Cole said it can’t get any clearer that Nile wants the IC Title as Nile held the IC belt in the air.
-They went to Cole and McAfee at ringside again. Cole threw to a video package on the recent history between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.
-Redmond conducted a sit-down interview with Sami. She asked for his response to Owens filming outside his home and spying on them. Sami said in response, he went to Owen’s house. He said Owens wasn’t home, but his mom was and they caught up. He said after that, though, he was ashamed of himself because he didn’t recognize the version of himself that would go to KO’s house. He said his neck isn’t where it needs to be yet, but it will be a war nonetheless on Saturday. He said it’ll be insane and worse than anything they’ve done to each other before.
-They showed Dominik with Carlito and Balor backstage. Then they showed Breakker. [c]
(4) BRON BREAKKER vs. DOMINIK MYSTERIO (w/Carlito, Finn Balor)
The bell rang 45 minutes into the hour. Dom flexed in front of Breakker. Breakker shoved him hard and knocked him to the floor. In the ring, Breakker ran quickly and knocked Dom down. Dom retreated to ringside. Cole asked Dom if he knows where he is and then told Dom there are no timeouts in WWE. Breakker chased Dom back into the ring. Dom stomped away at Breakker. Carlito tripped Breakker running the ropes seconds later as Balor distracted the ref. Dom leaped onto Breakker at ringside and then landed a slingshot flip senton for a one count. Breakker stood and grabbed Dom by his throat and pressed him. Carlito distracted Breakker from the ring apron. Dom dropkicked Breakker into the ropes and hit a 619. He climbed to the top rope, but Breakker stood and knocked him off balance. He followed with a Frankensteiner and then played to the crowd. Carlito and Balor yanked Breakker to ringside and threw him into the ringside steps. The ref called for the bell.
WINNER: Breakker via DQ in 3:00.
-Breakker speared Carlito in the ring and then turned to face Balor while they were both on all fours. Balor slinked out of the ring. Cole called it a smart move.
(Keller’s Analysis: Breakker continues to be a tweener. I’m not surprised they didn’t book Breakker to actually pin Dom, so the DQ wasn’t unexpected.)
-They went to Cole and McAfee who threw to a clip of The Rock on Smackdown.
-They showed Cody backstage. Cole wondered aloud whether Rock made him an offer he can’t refuse. [c]
-Cathy Kelley interviewed Ivy Nile who vowed to beat Lyra every week until she gets her title match. The War Raiders then attacked the Creeds. Cole said the Creeds would get a tag title match next week.
-Cody made his ring entrance, taking a selfie with a kid at ringside.
[HOUR THREE]
-Cody stood mid-ring and said he’s pretty sure what they want him to talk about. He asked what it means when someone asks for one’s soul. He said he can read between the lines and understand what The Rock is offering him. He said it’s “Good Guy 101” to tell the fans the truth. He said he wants them to know that he is a blessed man and he is not a team of one. He said his decision doesn’t affect him alone. He said he has his wife Brandi and the rest of his family including nephews breaking into the game and a mom to take care of and a memory of his father. He said Dusty worked into his 60s to make ends meet, so this offer boils down to everything the fans knew he would fight and scratch and claw to get. He said The Rock is saying he can have it without all of that. Seth Rollins’s music interrupted.
Seth said it’s been a long time since they’ve shared a ring. He said he could extend his hand and congratulate him on his last year as champion and how he can’t wait to face him in the main event of WrestleMania after he wins the Chamber. He said he’d love to do that, but he’s not there for that. He said instead he wants to ask him what the hell he is thinking. He took off his sunglasses and said they stood side-by-side in the ring against The Bloodline and Roman Reigns and The Rock. He asked how he could consider selling his soul to The Rock. He said the fact that Cody didn’t slap Rock in the face was a slap to his face. He said he shouldn’t make him regret everything he did to win that WWE Championship. He asked if he’s tempted by a bit part in his movies or more social media followers or a lighter schedule. He said that decision wouldn’t be difficult for him.
Cody said Seth sounds awfully judgmental. He said Rock didn’t ask Seth for his soul because his might already be compromised. He said Seth shook his hand as he was turning to go get surgery and he hit him with a sledgehammer, so he knows who he is. He talked about his history with The Authority, saying they drove people like him away from WWE. He said he was also his partner and brother and shield at WrestleMania 40 and he helped him become WWE Champion. He said he was the MVP of WrestleMania.
Seth said he isn’t out there to judge him. He said he’s out there to prevent him from making the mistakes he has made, mistakes that eat him up and make him hate himself. He said he can make his own decisions, but the Cody he wants to face at WrestleMania is the man who came back to the company and beat him at WrestleMania and beat him with one arm in Hell in a Cell. “You are going to do what you want,” he said. “That’s what I want.” He said he’s not coming for his soul, but he is coming for his title. He dropped the mic.
(Keller’s Analysis: I really liked Seth’s stance there, saying he didn’t want Cody to make the mistakes he made, so he wasn’t there in judgment. They found a creative way for Cody to avoid fully addressing the offer, but boy is there risk in making it seem like Cody is contemplating the offer. This idea that he’s at risk of being broke like his dad in his 60s would require fans to think he’s going to blow through his recent riches irresponsibly.)
-A vignette aired with Logan Paul saying he came to WWE not to get rich because he already was, but rather to compete.
-Cole plugged the Elimination Chamber. [c]
-A video package aired on the Jade Cargill mystery attacker angle.
-Liv and Raquel made their ring entrance. [c]
-Jey Uso consoled Tozawa and offered him an ice pack. As he left, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory gave him a hard time in the hallway. Theory said whoever is friends with Jey apparently needs an ice bag. Waller told Jey that he thinks he’s great because he has a word in the dictionary, but fans like him only because of that word. He told Jey to look him in the eye and asked if he thinks he’s a joke. He said “all the boys in the back” know Gunther is going to roll through him and he’ll get embarrassed on the biggest stage of them all. Jey said half the world is doubting him. He said he will beat Gunther at WrestleMania. Theory did a Yeet with Jey. Waller chewed him out for that. Jey kicked Waller on the chin. Jey did a final Yeet.
-Cole plugged Raw in Buffalo next week. He hyped Ripley vs. Sky and War Raiders vs. Creeds in title matches.
(5) BIANCA BELAIR & NAOMI vs. LIV MORGAN & RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ
Belair and Naomi made their ring entrance. After formal ring introductions, the bell rang 26 minutes into the hour. Raquel and Liv got in some early offense and they cut to an early break. [c]
Naomi took control after the break. Liv made a comeback with a Code Breaker for a near fall. When Naomi took over, Dom ran to ringside and created a distraction so Rodriguez could interfere. When Liv gave Naomi a Code Breakker, Belair broke up the cover with force. Belair then speared Rodriguez. Everyone was down and slow to get up. Fans chanted, “This is awesome!”
Liv scored a two count with a small package and then another with a schoolboy. Belair then gave Liv a KOD, but Raquel broke it up with force. Naomi gave Rodriguez a modified Pedigree on the ring apron. Belair and Naomi gave Liv a double KOD. Dom put Liv’s boot on the bottom rope to stop the count. Fans booed as Dom gloated and held up two fingers at ringside at 10:00.
Belair lifted Liv at ringside, but Raquel countered and tossed her onto the announce desk. Liv set up an Oblivion on Naomi, but Naomi blocked it. Liv, though, countered with a roll-up for a near fall. When Naomi set up a split-legged moonsault, Dom distracted the ref as Raquel knocked her off balance and rammed her head into the ringpost. Liv covered her and scored a three count. “What a year it’s been for Liv Morgan!” exclaimed Cole. Dom lifted Liv into his arms to celebrate as pyro blasted in the arena.
WINNERS: Liv & Raquel in 12:00 to capture the Women’s Tag Team Titles.
JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS…
PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by PWTorch’s Brandon LeClair 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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