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WWE RAW REPORT
APRIL 21, 2025
LAS VEGAS, NEV. AT T-MOBILE ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX (WORLDWIDE)
REPORT BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reports today that 16,777 tickets were distributed as of earlier this week; arena set up for 17,831. The arena has a capacity of 20,000 spectators when configured for concerts.
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[HOUR ONE]
– The show opened with a video package with numerous highlights from WrestleMania 41.
– John Cena made his way to the ring and gave the ring announcer a paper with a lengthier introduction. Cena said that winners write history and that the fans were not worthy. Cena said that just because the fans cheered, they still owed him an apology. The fans changed that they were sorry, only for Cena to tell them that they were truly sorry people. Cena told the fans that their noise meant nothing to him. Cena pointed at the screen to reveal that he had 27 dates left before the end of his career.
– He said that he knew that there would be a new champion once he was gone, but he would be the last real WWE champion. Cena said that he had already done the hard part and the rest would be a cakewalk. Cena said that Cody Rhodes was their best chance and had already been destroyed and outwrestled. He said that there was no one backstage with the ruthless aggression to stop him. Cena told the fans to take a picture of him for one last time, only for Randy Orton to show up and hit him with an RKO before standing tall with the belt.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A decent start to Cena’s final title reign, but after how last night turned out, I’m not nearly as excited to see it play out as I was earlier in the year. Randy Orton is an opponent that makes sense for Cena, however, this matchup historically has a very mixed output. Hopefully, a hot St. Louis crowd is able to help this one.)
– A recap of Bayley being found hurt backstage and Becky Lynch taking her spot to win the women’s tag titles at WrestleMania was shown.
– Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez made their way to the ring, ahead of their title rematch.
[Commercial Break]
– Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley were shown watching the match from the crowd.
(1) BECKY LYNCH & LYRA VALKYRIA vs. JUDGMENT DAY (Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez) – Women’s Tag Team Championship
Liv immediately stomped Lynch down and clocked her with a jumping knee, followed by a basement dropkick for a two count. They exchanged forearm strikes, until Lynch and Lyra dropped Liv with a double hip toss. Lyra Irish-whipped Liv into the corner and attacked her with a barrage of strikes before crushing her with a springboard crossbody. Lyra kicked Raquel out of the ring, setting her and Liv up for stereo sliding dropkicks, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Lyra cracked Raquel with an enzuigiri, reaching Lynch for the hot tag. Lynch knocke Liv down with a series of clotheslines and a leg drop, followed by a pair of elevated kicks on her and Raquel. Lynch planted Liv with a Bexploder, but she kicked out at two. Liv countered the Manhandle Slam with a roll-through and nailed her with a Codbreaker. Lynch countered Oblivion with the Manhandle Slam, only for Raquel to break the pinfall. Raquel knocked Lynch down with a big boot and sat her atop the turnbuckle. Liv shut Lynch down with a sunset flip powerbomb while Raquel flattened Lyra with an avalanche powerbomb for a nearfall.
Lyra kicked Raquel away and spiked her with a diving Tornado DDT. Lyra floored Raquel wtih the Nightwing, but Liv put her boot on the ropes. Lynch knocked Liv down with a Bthesz Press before Liv shoved her into the ring post. Lyra hit Liv with a dropkick through the ropes, only for Raquel to clobber her with a big boot for a nearfall. Raquel powerbombed Liv into Lyra, but Lyra lifted her knees. Lyra sent Raquel out of the ring and blocked Oblivion before blasting Liv with an enzuigiri. Lyra knocked Raquel into Lynch, allowing Liv to beat her with Oblivion.
WINNERS: Judgment Day at 11:56 (New Women’s Tag Team Champions)
– After the match, Becky Lynch helped Lyra Valkyria to her feet before laying her out with a clothesline. Lynch beat Lyra down ad dropped her with a series of Manhandle Slams.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A fun match with some really good nearfalls that surpassed its WrestleMania counterpart. However, I’m not the biggest fan of the decision to book a title change and immediately reverse it to justify a heel turn. Hopefully, Becky is able to make this run work, as the crowd seemed very eager to cheer for her as she beat Lyra down.)
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR TWO]
– The New Day made their way to the ring to celebrate their title win and said that there was no better team than them. Alpha Academy and Maxxine Dupri interrupted to remind the New Day that the last time they faced, New Day lost in a matter of seconds. Dupri dared the New Day to face them and put the titles on the line. The New Day agreed to have a match and brought out a referee, only for the lights to turn off. A returning Rusev made his way to the ring to scare the New Day away and assault Otis and Akira Tozawa. Rusev dropped Tozawa with a Fallaway Slam and put Otis down with a pair of Machka Kicks, setting him up for The Accolade.
(Pomares’ Analysis: It’s cool to see Rusev back, but I really hate WWE booking monsters strong by making the tag division look second rate. Hopefully, we see some of what made his run as the Redeemer in AEW so special in this new WWE run.)
– Backstage, Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio celebrated that they both had gold. Finn Bálor interrupted and seemingly was on good terms with Dominik.
– Iyo Sky made her way to the ring in her ring gear to address her title retention at WrestleMania.
[Commercial Break]
– Iyo Sky said that last night was the greatest night of her career and that she was the best. Sky celebrated while speaking in Japanese before being interrupted by Stephanie Vaquer. Vaquer congratulated Sky on her title win, introduced herself and showed her respect. Vaquer said that she was the best and wanted to fight the best of the best. Sky agreed to face Vaquer, only for Adam Pearce to immediately interrupt. Pearce brought out a referee and made the match official.
(2) IYO SKY vs. STEPHANIE VAQUER
They traded wrist locks and waist locks, until Sky sent Vaquer out of the ring with a dropkick. Sky crushed Vaquer with a suicide dive into a crossbody. Vaquer took Sky down with a crossbody from the barricade, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Sky knocked Vaquer off the top turnbuckle with an avalanche arm drag. Sky nailed Vaquer with a forearm strike and knocked her away with a missile dropkick. Sky crushed Vaquer with a running double knee strike, but she kicked out at two. Vaquer avoided a moonsault and took Sky down with a dragon screw into the ropes, setting her up for a double knee strike into the corner. Sky caught Vaquer with a roll-through into a double stomp for a two count.
Vaquer caught Sky with a jawbreaker, following it with a thrust kick and a back suplex. Vaquer smashed Sky’s head into the mat with a headscissors lock for a close two count. Sky tried to go for a sunset flip, only for Vaquyer to get a two count with a roll-up. Sky dropped Vaquer with a double underhook backbreaker before they exchanged forearm strikes. They hit each other with German suplexes, leaving both knocked down on the mat. Sky dropped Vaquer with a Spanish Fly, only for Roxanne Perez to enter the ring and assault her.
WINNER: Iyo Sky at 14:00 via DQ
– After the match, Giulia showed up to take Stephanie Vaquer down with a big boot. Giulia and Roxanne Perez attacked Vaquer and Iyo Sky, until Rhea Ripley showed up to make the save. Giulia walked away while Ripley gave Sky the women’s world title.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Really strong match despite the non-finish. Ever since NXT got Stephanie Vaquer, Giulia and eventually Jordynne Grace, they’ve had a noticeably stronger women’s division than main roster WWE. Now that it seems like two of those women are moving up, alongside Roxanne Perez who has already proven that she is main roster ready, I hope to see the women’s division get the same amount of respect and strong booking it got on NXT.)
[Commercial Break]
– A lengthy video package was shown, recapping Jey Uso’s life and career up to his title win at WrestleMania.
– Jey Uso had a lengthy entrance through the crowd to celebrate his title win. Jey said that he gave it all to beat Gunther and he made him tap. Sami Zayn interrupted to give Jey a hug and said that he had to come to Las Vegas to tell him how proud he was of him. Sami said that Jey earned this and led the crowd into celebrating his title win. Jimmy Uso showed up to join the celebration and do his special salute with Jey and Sami.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Good for Jey Uso, but I don’t think this segment needed to go anywhere near as long as it did.)
– Last Night, Logan Paul said that he would wrestle anyone willing to face him.
– Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviewed AJ Styles about his loss to Logan Paul. AJ said that he would move on and that being phenomenal meant being able to bounce back. Karrion Kross interrupted to tell AJ that he was the best of them and he legitimized Logan. AJ said that if he used the brass knuckles it wouldn’t mean anything and that he doesn’t want to go back to what he was last year. AJ told Kross to go solve this problem on his own before walking away.
– An ad for WWE: Unreal was shown, featuring clips of WWE’s writer room and backstage production.
(Pomares’ Analysis: I know wrestling being scripted is no secret, but I’m really not a fan of WWE constantly putting a spotlight on that fact over the last couple of years.)
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR THREE]
– Gunther stood in front of the announce table to argue with Michael Cole and Pat McAfee. Gunther shoved Pat and tried to put Cole in a sleeper hold, until Pat broke it. Numerous agents and security guards showed up to stop a brawl, only for Gunther to trap Pat in a sleeper hold. Adam Pearce and the guards forced Gunther to break the hold and leave.
(Pomares’ Analysis: As long as this doesn’t lead to a match, I’m all for Gunther killing Pat McAfee. A very strong follow-up to Gunther’s title loss and a new start after a disappointing title reign.)
– An ad for WWE: Unreal was shown, featuring clips of WWE’s writer room and backstage production.
[Commercial Break]
– A recap of Gunther assault Pat McAfee and Michael Cole was shown, as it was revealed that Joe Tessitore had taken their spot on the commentary table.
– Backstage, Adam Pearce brought Pat McAfee to the trainer’s room while Michael Cole refused to take the night off and returned to the commentary table.
(3) DOMINIK MYSTERIO (w/Finn Bálor & Carlito) vs. PENTA – WWE Intercontinental Championship
Penta caught Dominik with a kick to the chest, only for Dominik to stomp him down. Penta sent Dominik out of the ring with a hurracarrana, but Dominik took him down with a dropkick. Dominik tried to go for a suicide dive, only for Penta to block it with an enzuigiri. Penta hit Dominik with a high crossbody and a Tope con Hilo, as WWE Raw went to a commercial break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Penta took Dominik down with an inverted sling blade, an enzuigiri and an elevated corner dropkick. Dominik planted Penta with a Michinoku Driver, but he kicked out at two. Dominik spiked Penta with a Tornado DDT, only for Penta to stop him atop the turnbuckle with an enzuigiri. Penta blasted Dominik with a chop and launched him away with a headscissors takeover. Penta hit Dominik with a Destroyer, but Dominik managed to roll out of the ring. Penta knocked Finn down with a hurracarrana, making him crash into Dominik. JD McDonagh showed up to shove Penta off the top turnbuckle behind the referee’s back, allowing Dominik to take the win with a 619 and a Frog Splash.
WINNER: Dominik Mysterio at 8:02 (Still Intercontinental Champion)
(Pomares’ Analysis: Decent match while it lasted, but JD McDonagh’s return felt somewhat lackluster compared to the rest of big moments on this show. It still feels like we are building to a Dominik vs. Finn match at some point, but I get the feeling that WWE will drag this all the way to SummerSlam.)
[Commercial Break]
– Seth Rollins made his way to the ring alongside Paul Heyman. Rollins said that he stole CM Punk’s best friend and Roman Reigns’ wiseman. Rollins said that he was the winner of the main event of WrestleMania, only for CM Punk to interrupt. Punk and Rollins immediately got into a brawl, until Punk stomped Rollins down. Punk cornered Heyman, until Rollins gouged his eyes and hit him with a Curb Stomp. Heyman said that they would conclude the weekend of WrestleMania by propelling the news that there was a new undisputed top star in the industry and it was Seth Rollins.
– Roman Reigns’ music started playing and Rollins threw Punk’s body out of the ring. Roman nailed Rollins with a Spear and hit Heyman with a Superman Punch before preparing to go for a Spear. Bron Breakker showed up to Roman out with a Spear of his own and stopped Punk from interfering with a Spear. Rollins celebrated alongside Breakker before ordering him to finish Roman. Roman caught Breakker with an uppercut, only for Breakker to put him through the barricade with a Spear. Rollins hit Punk and Roman with a pair of Curb Stomps to stand tall alongside Breakker and Heyman.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A very strong closing angle to move this story forward and introduce some much needed fresh talent into the top of the card. Bron Breakker has been one of WWE’s top prospects from the moment he stepped foot on NXT and now that he has entered his first main event program, seems destined to win a world title within the next couple of years.)
Advertised Matches & Appearances
- John Cena to appear
- Jey Uso to appear
- Gunther to appear
- Rhea Ripley to appear
- Lyra Valkyria to appear
- Liv Morgan to appear