Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw!" This week's episode was the first go-home show of the week for Backlash; knowing he had to addsomething to such an underwhelming card, Paul Levesque took a big swing and ... announced Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta for the IC title.Uh, okay then! We're actually going to go ahead and not cover the Penta vs. Judgment Day stuff from this episode not because it's painfully obvious that Dominik is retaining the title by interference, leading to Penta realizing he's outnumbered and having to team up with his brother ReyFenix again, coincidentally just in time for Worlds Collide and AAA TripleMania, but because it didn't move us, so we don't want to. This column is only for our strongest opinions, both positive and negative.
If you prefer your wrestling coverage more objective and less opinionated, please feel free to learn about the pure facts of the show via our "Raw" results page. To learn what the WINC staff thought of everything that went down, from PaulHeyman berating Jey Uso to CM Punk costing Seth Rollins the world title, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 5/5/25 episode of "WWE Raw."
Bron Breakker is obviously the brawn (no pun intended) of Seth Rollins' little stable alongside Paul Heyman, but there's really no reason to make him out to look like a big dummy, which is kind of what Heyman did backstage tonight. He had to explicitly explain to Breakker why Rollins was a genius for playing World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso tonight to get a title match. Heyman explained that Uso was more focused on everything else, but Rollins was lasered in on the championship, so it didn't seem likely that the WrestleMania 41 night one main event winner would lose his shot. Breakker just kind of had a look on his face like, "Oh, yeah!" like a lightbulb went on over his head and the entire thing seemed pretty silly. Don't act like we as viewers are dumb, too, WWE, we've heard Breakker speak enough to know he's not just some kind of meathead. I'm really hoping that's not where he's going in this stable, especially if Rollins adds more people. Sure, he's no match for Rollins on the mic, but just keep him quiet and don't make him seem dumb.
Heyman had no place to make Breakker look stupid tonight, either, with just how nuts he looks opening up the show confronting Uso. He ranted and raved about turning heel onRoman Reigns and CM Punk and just why he had to do it, and the fact he was Punk's best friend while Reigns was still playing college football, and that it wasn't his fault that Reigns lost to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, but Reigns then went away and left Heyman with Solo Sikoa and the New Bloodline. Heyman went on and on, and while it made a bit of sense for him to justify himself to Uso, as not just the champion, but a Bloodline family member, it was just really strange to me. Heyman should have done all this on the "Raw" after WrestleMania or something, and certainly not to Uso, who has much bigger things on his plate right now.
Uso thankfully quieted Heyman down and seemingly got him back on track, but not before it took up a lot of unnecessary time. It wasn't a bad promo, by any means, it was just so strangely placed, it made the beginning of the show feel odd. Thankfully "Raw" got back on track after this in-ring segment and then Heyman explaining the story to Breakker and all of us here at home, but "Raw" didn't come out of the gate hot tonight, and now, I'm a bit concerned about Breakker's character in this whole thing. If you want him to be the muscle, just let him be the muscle, and don't treat him like he's a big ol' meathead.
Written by DaisyRuth
(Just as an aside, welcome back, Sheamus!)
If you had asked me three weeks ago how excited I would be to watch a Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria feud that centered around mic work, I would have been ... cautiously optimistic, at best? Lynch is my answer to "which of the Four Horsewomen is best on the mic," but that's less because she's so great at it and more because Bayley, Charlotte Flair, and Mercedes Mone are worse. Valkyria's mic work has always been perfectly serviceable, but I figured the strengths of this build were going to be the brawls Lynch has thrived in action-oriented street fight scenarios in recent years, and Valkyria's physicality lends itself well to them too, particularly when working with someone she trusts. Don't get me wrong, the brawl that ended their segment Monday night was predictably excellent, but Lynch and Valkyria shined on the mic last week, and before throwing hands this week, they made it two-for-two when it came to talking.
The basic format was the same as last week, which makes sense because both promos started with Lynch coming out to talk down Bayley (subtly undercutting her own words about how little anyone cares about Bayley; Lynch certainly does) only for Valkyria to arrive and focus Lynch's attention back on her. Lynch is fantastic as a delusional heel here I popped unreasonably hard for her metaphor about taking out the garbage but there's enough truth lingering in the history between Lynch and Bayley, and the backstage rumors of what happened at WrestleMania, to keep things interesting despite Bayley's continued absence. Valkyria, meanwhile, continues to outperform expectations as the feud's white meat babyface, putting herself over as a workhorse and really presenting herself as Lynch's equal, which is something a lot of newer faces struggle with when working with more established heels. I think my favorite thing she did, though, is work hard to put over the women's IC title. Placing her inaugural title win right up there beside Lynch's laundry list of accomplishments makes it seem like this championship matters, and that is something women's wrestling fans really needed after WWE cut names like Dakota Kai and Shayna Baszler last week.
Lynch vs. Valkyria is the one bright spot on a Backlash card that continues to be thoroughly uninspiring five days ahead of the PLE. It's not a lot, but it's damn good while it's happening.
Written by Miles Schneiderman
Considering that Rusev has only been back in WWE for no more than a couple of weeks and he competed in his first match in the company for the first time since 2020, the intention to keep him looking strong makes sense. Having him obliterate an opponent makes perfect sense, and it absolutely feels like the right move to position him as a force to be reckoned with. That being said, Otis and Akira Tozawa don't necessarily feel like the right people for Rusev to leave laid out and destroy inside the ring.
Alpha Academy has a rather low position on the card, and haven't really done very much as of late. It's always nice to see them get television time, but at least 85 to 90% of the current "Raw" roster could easily beat Otis or Tozawa in a singles or tag team match with relative ease. They're meant to be more of a comedy act above anything else which has its own time and place, but that time and place isn't necessarily for building up a dominant returning WWE Superstar. Had Rusev faced someone more established like AJ Styles and continued to beat them down post-match, it would've had more of a lasting impact by showing both fans and the rest of the "Raw" roster that they should be afraid of what he can do with such little effort. On top of that, Styles isn't involved in any storyline at the moment and has been searching for something to do since his WrestleMania 41 match against Logan Paul giving all the more reason to have had him be the one to go against Rusev instead of Otis. It felt like a missed opportunity, and made what should've been a moment that stayed in the minds of fans long after "Raw" went off the air feel like yet another standard pull apart beat down that didn't really stand out in any kind of way.
Written by Olivia Quinlan
It's no secret how much I love "WWE NXT," and Roxanne Perez and Giulia are two of my top favorites. Seeing them on "Raw" the last few weeks has been great, especially with both of them being slotted in against some of "Raw's" top talent like IYO SKY tonight and Rhea Ripley in recent weeks. I'm hopeful this all means that both of them are officially called up. I guess we'll know a bit better about Giulia's status tomorrow, since she's in a number one contender's match for the NXT Women's Championship against Jordynne Grace. Thinking about that and seeing Giulia's team-up with Perez on the main roster, I think it's pretty safe to say that Grace is winning that match tomorrow.
But "NXT" implications aside, Perez absolutely cooked tonight against SKY. Their tag team match where SKY teamed with Grace to take on Perez and Giulia was excellent on last Tuesday's episode of "NXT," but those who missed it thankfully got to experience how great the in-ring chemistry is between "The Genius of the Sky" and "The Prodigy." Perez also sold me a ticket after the match, going in for a handshake and a bow to SKY. I thought maybe Triple H was pivoting hard and turning Perez babyface once again because maybe he didn't think she'd work well as a heel on the main roster. I was wrong, however, and I'm really not upset about that.
Perez working heel alongside Giulia is excellent. Not that Giulia really needs any help or anything, but Perez helping guide her a bit on the main roster can only be a good thing. The angle of the bad girls from "NXT" invading is a simple, yet effective way to get them up rubbing elbows with the best of them on the red brand and thankfully, WWE has gone right to that. If NXT Women's Champion Stephanie Vaquer is getting called up soon as well, as we've seen her against SKY already, having Perez and Giulia waiting for her on the main roster is also only a good thing as main roster fans will get to see some amazing matches between these women.
It was revealed tonight that SKY and Ripley will be teaming up next week to take onGiulia and Perez in another tag team match, but this time, on the main roster with Ripley as added star power. It's also great because the dynamic between SKY and Ripley has been interesting since their WrestleMania triple threat, on top of all the love the women from "NXT" are getting. I love this all, and that match already has me looking forward to next week's "Raw," which honestly doesn't happen to often anymore. It was a good play by WWE to announce that early, and I'm sure one of us here at WINC will be writing about how amazing that match was when it happens.
Written byDaisy Ruth
Two weeks ago, GUNTHER choked out Pat McAfee after the kept the former champion from choking Michael Cole. McAfee will square off against "The Ring General" at Backlash. GUNTHER was back from a suspension just in time to come face-to-face with the former football kicker. Last week, McAfee spent his promo talking about how great he is. Interesting tactic considering he's facing a potential lawsuit for sharing a false story on "The Pat McAfee Show," when he was warned not to discuss the story on air. The promo and match reek of PR spin, which WWE loves to do for part-time wrestlers (see: Paul, Logan).
Prior to their mic battle, they were warned to keep it professional. McAfee began by putting over his colleague and good friend, Cole. He is essentially defending Cole's honor by facing GUNTHER. Then, McAfee made the choice to pander to the crowd in Omaha. He made reference to various places and teams in the city, getting constant applause. It's like being told to keep it professional made him pull things out of thin air to get repeated pops because that's all he's got. Let's be real here, Pat McAfee has no business having a match against GUNTHER, who is a multi-time champion. He had the audacity to say that he of all people will show fans that GUNTHER is soft.
The fact that this match is even happening is laughable, but this promo really drove that point home. GUNTHER should squash him on Saturday and find an actual opponent worthy of being in the ring with him.
Written by Samantha Schipman
Tonight's main event reeked of non-finish the moment it was announced, with Jey Uso's first challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship established as former champion and top villain Seth Rollins in a TV main event. We could get into the very credible complaints about setting something up that will ultimately deprive the fans of a true outcome, as that is a part of the formulaic weekly booking in both of the top companies which should be dialed back almost completely. But, as bland and outright annoying as it is to know shenanigans will come into play at some stage because World title changes on TV are like unicorns at the very least it was a fun journey to get there.
The match itself was fun and did well to put Uso in the same ballpark as Rollins, arguably the biggest name working on Monday nights, and further establish his credibility as champion. Rollins couldn't legitimately keep Uso down but at the same time would not be denied, matching everything Uso threw at him in kind and then calling plays with Bron Breakker to run interference. Again, we knew Breakker was going to factor in some way, and it's not the fact he did get involved that added to the match. But it did convey that Rollins at least believed he could not beat Uso, and Breakker himself is so good at what he does that it came off organically. Then came the Sami Zayn return, which got an easy pop out of me even if it was a bit soon after had been decimated by Breakker and Rollins, and this is where it got messy in a fun way.
With Zayn coming to meet Breakker, Uso got a close near-fall on Rollins, only for Breakker to get back into the mix with a spear to Zayn on the outside; he then leapt over the steel steps and hid, Uso came to check on his friend, and then Breakker took him out as well. It was flush and it was smooth, not taking too long so it becomes clear the referee is following the script, and fed into the final moments perfectly. Rollins looked to have the match won, but then "Cult of Personality" hit and CM Punk made his return to give us the non-finish that had been inferred all along. Was it perfect? No. Could it have been better? Absolutely. But it was a fun match that did what it had to do.
Written byMax Everett
