Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s live coverage for "WWE Raw" on May 5, 2025, coming to you live from the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska!
Days before they face each other at WWE Backlash on Saturday, GUNTHER and Pat McAfee will be meeting with one another in the ring as "Raw" General Manager Adam Pearce oversees the proceedings. GUNTHER had blindsided McAfee with an attack on the April 21 edition of "Raw" after he had come to the aid of his broadcast partner Michael Cole, prompting Pearce to suspend the former World Heavyweight Champion for his actions. McAfee then called out GUNTHER during last week's edition of "Raw" looking to receive a match against him, which was granted by Pearce's temporary replacement "SmackDown" General Manager Nick Aldis.
After coming up short against Rhea Ripley last week, former NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez will be returning to action tonight as she squares off with Women's World Champion IYO SKY. Perez's newfound ally Giulia interfered in her match against Ripley by delivering a chop block, subsequently causing SKY to come to her longtime rival Ripley's aid in order to even the odds.
Penta looks to score a win as he goes head-to-head with JD McDonagh. Penta cost McDonagh and his Judgment Day stablemate Finn Balor a non-title match against The War Raiders last week when he pushed McDonagh off the top rope and allowed Erik and Ivar to hit their War Machine finishing maneuver on him.
Rusev will be competing in his first match in WWE since a tag team bout on the February 17, 2020 episode of "Raw" as he goes one-on-one with Alpha Academy member Otis. Rusev made his return to WWE on April 21, taking out Otis and his Alpha Academy stablemate Akira Tozawa in quick fashion after the latter two men had found themselves involved in an encounter with New Day.
Additionally, Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Paul Heyman have something on their minds to share after unsuccessfully attempting to get Sami Zayn to take an offer to join the "SmackDown" brand last week before Breakker and Zayn took one another on in a match that ended in referee stoppage later that same night. Becky Lynch will also be appearing on tonight's show as she prepares to challenge Lyra Valkyria for the Women's Intercontinental Championship at Backlash and found herself involved in a verbal confrontation with her last week.
