Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show that officially gave us our World Heavyweight Championship match for Clash in Paris! We have more than the usual amount of thoughts about that in this week's column, though we will also discuss IYO SKY vs. Roxanne Perez and Becky Lynch vs. Maxxine Dupri like most Mondays lately, it was a good night for the women's division (except Bayley, though at least Mark Henry is trying to make her feel better) and not the greatest night for anyone else.
At least, that's the general opinion of the WINC staff, and our opinions are what this column is all about! If you just need to know what happened Monday night because you missed the show or something, you should probably check out our "Raw" results page.If you want to know what we thought the show as fans and analysts, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 8/11/25 episode of "WWE Raw."
I hate the fact that something may be going on with Women's World Champion Naomi after she's worked so hard to get where she is now with this amazing heel character. And, I also hate the fact I have to say that somethingmaybe going on with the champion because WWE now has me conditioned to question just about everything, which is exhausting when you're just trying to enjoy a scripted show where you shouldn't have to question whether or not injuries or firings or contracts expiring are real or not. While, yes, I suppose all good TV should be leaving us with questions, WWE has taken things too far in recent memory, and I really hope that's not what is happening here with Naomi.
This afternoon, WWE reported on their X (formerly Twitter) account that tonight's match pitting Naomi against challenger IYO SKY was not able to go on, due to Naomi not being medically cleared to compete. That post on X said to tune in to "Raw" tonight for further developments. Well, we got developments when it came to SKY and her storyline for the night and beyond, but we didn't hear anything about poor Naomi. After being directed to tune in tonight for an update, MichaelCole simply told the audience to stay tuned to social media for further updates regarding Naomi.
While of course Iunderstand that if something is wrong with Naomi, WWE wouldn't want to speculate, there's just something really irksome at how they went about this all tonight. Wording the post to tune in for new developments, then not having them, was just in bad taste. If WWE just announced the match was off because Naomi wasn't cleared, and if Cole made the announcement again on commentary for those who don't have social media, that would have been fine. But, people, myself included, really love Naomi and were expecting an update that we didn't get. And, many of us are questioning a lot with the company right now, especially after Seth Rollins' "injury" and whatever the heck is going on with Karrion Kross and Scarlett.
SKY and Roxanne Perez had an excellent match that I'm assuming they threw together on the fly today, and SKY was also involved in an angle where it looks like Asuka is going to turn on her. If something's up with Naomi, thankfully SKY at least has something else to jump to, and WWE pivoted really well with that tonight. That certainly wasn't the issue, it's just the fact I'm so unsure of what to believe anymore, and I almost feel guilty questioning whether or not someone is injured. I'm hoping for the best for Naomi, and also hoping we find out whatever she wants the public to know very soon.
Written byDaisy Ruth
When IYO SKY challenge for Naomi's WWE Women's World Championship title was canceled, I was a little disappointed. Of course, I am wishing Naomi the best (I am already suffering from caution tape and neon yellow withdrawal), but come on. SKY is one of the best WWE performers on the roster right now, male or female, and Naomi is so effortlessly entertaining. There's no way you couldn't have been disappointed when that match was canceled.
There is, however, some silver lining. Lining feels like we're understating it, though. SKY's replacement, Roxanne Perez, gave her a hell of a fight, and their absolutely electrifying contest brightened up what was otherwise an incredibly dull "WWE Raw."
Full disclosure: I have been a Perez truther, from day one. I loved her when she won the Breakout Tournament in "WWE NXT," I loved her when she was the babyface who dethroned Mandy Rose, I loved her when she feuded with Cora Jade, and I loved her when she became the power-hungry and conniving heel that she is today. Perez is one of my favorite wrestlers, but even during tonight's match, she really stood out to me. I know people harp on her young age, but you cannot deny just how much she has in the tank, even at the age. To stand toe-to-toe, go tit-for-tat, with SKY is no easy feat. To stand out amongst SKY's death-defying Moonsaults, superb selling, and crowd-pleasing demeanor is a whole other accomplishment. Perez did both of those tonight, and if she can just get a compelling character to sink her teeth into, she will be a face-of-the-company, woman-in-the-history-books, bonafide star.
SKY and Perez's match was easily Match of the Night. Their opening back and forth woke up the Quebec crowd, and early feats of athleticism, like SKY's headstand, set the tone for the rest of the match. When I say that Perez went tit-for-tat, mug-for-mug, against SKY, I mean it. That match was deadlocked from the opening bell, which made every strike, every top-rope move, every trip to the outside much more impactful. Perez was the underdog, logically, but she did not fight like one. She was hot on SKY's trail, hot breath trickling down "The Genius of the SKY's" neck, for pretty much the entire match.
I don't love a messy ending, especially in a show that saw so many of them up to (and even past) that point. However, the near-implosion of SKY and the Kabuki Warriors sets up for an interesting storyline for SKY, who is on her way out of the main title picture, and for Asuka and Kairi Sane, who have kind of been stuck in catering. It also gave Perez a much-needed win (even if it was via a fistful of tights), and what a win it was, getting one over the IYO SKY. If this is indicative of a Perez push, I am all for it.
Thoughts and prayers to Naomi, but wow. SKY vs. Perez was a sight to behold.
Written by Angeline Phu
While it may not be the primary focus of very many matches, the time that a match is allotted can be a factor in the interest that fans will take in it. One particular example of a match being given too much time which impacted it in a negative manner is the tag team bout that pitted Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio and El Grande Americano against AJ Styles and Dragon Lee.
On paper, this match makes sense given the converging storylines of the feud between Dominik Mysterio and AJ Styles, as well as the issues that LWO have had with El Grande Americano. However, it was unreasonably long and felt like it dragged on and on and on and on. The action itself was perfectly fine, but it wasn't anything special at all and didn't make things any more interesting to watch play out. While the closing moments were something a little different with Dominik putting the piece of metal in a mask he had instead of Americano and headbutting Styles to score the win for their team, by the time it had come around, it was pretty hard to care about because it was long past time for the match to come to a close. Moreover, SummerSlam felt like the right time to put the storyline between Dominik and Styles to rest. Not only could Lee have easily teamed up with one of his LWO stablemates, but Dominik is in need of a new challenger to bring some renewed interest to his title. On an overall lackluster episode of "Raw", this did nothing to help and if anything, heavily contributed to that feeling on the whole.
Written by Olivia Quinlan
You might think that Becky Lynch's Women's Intercontinental Championship match against Maxxine Dupri was a case of "The Man" doing charity, and I'll be completely honest: I agree with you. However, it is their specific match on Monday's episode of "WWE Raw" that I love, but it is the principle behind their match.
We saw this during Lynch's reign with the "WWE NXT" Women's Championship. In the midst of "Becky Hogan" comparisons, Lynch has used her status as a midcard champion to put some underexposed women on the map. I remember being so excited to finally see figures like Teagan Nox and Xia Li on television after Lynch provided them with their respective "NXT" Women's Championship opportunities, and let's not forget that it was Lynch's name that gave Lyra Valkyria the platform to showcase her incredible wrestling abilities to the wider WWE audience, both in "NXT" and on the main roster. On Monday's episode of "Raw," Lynch continued that practice of putting other women over when she gave Dupri a title opportunity.
Now, I won't say that this match was a particular standout on this admittedly-dull episode of "Raw," nor will I say the Lynch rub works all the time. Nox and Li were ultimately released from their WWE contracts, and while Dupri has the passion to be a decent Superstar, it's kind of clear she doesn't have the in-ring chops to hang out with Lynch (there is only so much you can do when she has had two years two years in the incredibly fast-paced world of wrestling, where the standard continues to be raised every single day to get her in-ring act together). However, I can appreciate that Lynch was doing everything she can to make Dupri look like a hundred bucks. She was playing the perfect, petty, vitriolic antagonist to Dupri's underdog, underrated babyface, all in a effort to get her over, and when Dupri showed flashes of solid in-ring work, Lynch was there to make her look like a hundred bucks.
That is the principle that I Love. While Lynch has definitely had her moments I still think Valkyria should have taken the Women's Intercontinental Title off of Lynch, but I digress I can appreciate how she always makes a concerted effort to put less-used women on television. It's an imperfect system when Lynch ultimately goes over, but in an industry that does everything in its power to minimize women's wrestling, it's the best we have.
I will also be incredibly excited if Lynch's post-match kick on Natalya turns into a full-on program post-Clash in Paris. Natalya is one of the best in-ring workers WWE has to offer, but you don't see her on television at *all.* Again, Lynch would be bringing Natalya back to television through her influence, and while I think Natalya should have been on television to begin with, I'm not going to complain that she is because of Lynch.
Dupri fought hard today, and Lynch gave her the opportunity to do. What a Man.
Written byAngeline Phu
In the main event of this week's show was a tag team match that no one had ever asked for between LA Knight and CM Punk against the Bron-Brons of the Vision, Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. I can appreciate that, for some reason I have yet to understand, Knight is a popular face with the crowd almost entranced by the opportunity to say "YEAH" at any and every moment possible. I am also personally a fan of CM Punk's work, even if understandably he is not the wrestler he was over a decade ago emphasis on the understandably there. But at the same time, neither are exceptionally great in a tag team setting nor are they in any way close to one another in terms of pro wrestling alliances.
They are just two babyfaces looking for the same thing: Seth Rollins and his World Heavyweight Championship. So this was a run-of-the-mill "Can they co-exist" team put against the supposed and hopefully future of the company.
That in itself has no way of moving me, personally, since it strikes me as the weekly TV equivalent of treading water. There is nothing real to be gained from having these opponents face one another, but to offer up a mediocre main event with jacked-up ticket prices. Reed and Breakker spent much of the match on top, which slowed the already really slow action right down. Knight got the hot tag to Punk, which eventually fizzled out, and then when the babyfaces looked set to win, Seth Rollins got involved and prompted a disqualification.
Jey Uso came out to make the save, the Vision took their leave.Adam Pearce then came out to make a fatal four-way for Clash in Paris between Rollins, Uso, Knight, and Punk for the World title, prompting Knight and Punk to bicker and get into a fight; Uso tried to break them up, Knight elbowed him in the face. They all started to fight and then the Vision returned to the ring, beating them down to close the show. It was all really boring, the World title match almost certainly could have been delivered in any other way.
It was yet another Monday night show ended with the Vision stood on top, the exact same way they have been effectively every other time. This is exactly what has become so jarring about the Death Riders in AEW, this idea that they can continuously hit the exact same strokes week in and week out, never really progress their characters or any sense of narrative, and rely on big spots and run-ins when the marquee match actually, finally occurs. It feels empty, easily accessible for the casual viewer tuning in to see what's going on with WWE today, but lacking any reward for actively continuing to watch the product. WWE could and should be putting on excellent main events that leave a hook to watch it the next week, but they don't have to, so they don't want to.
Written by Max Everett
WWE has far too many interferences and matches in disqualifications. This lazy booking leads to it happening multiple times an episode and sometimes in consecutive matches. Tonight was no different. Usually when someone or multiple Superstars interfere in a match or cause a match to end via DQ, they get away with it. They might get scolded by the ref or by the superstars they got involved with, but that's generally it.
By the time Seth Rollins cost CM Punk the match in the main event, Adam Pearce finally had enough. Remembering that he, as a General Manager, could do something about it, he finally did. He had some choice words for the champion, including calling him a liar. Rollins' actions will finally have consequences. For his crime of interfering, he must defend his title in a Fatal 4-Way at Clash in Paris. He will face Punk, LA Knight, and Jey Uso.
While it was nice to see Pearce actually use his authority to make a Superstar face consequences, Rollins and The Vision continued to beat down his Clash opponents after the match was made. I'd like to see this become a precedent in which superstars must reap what they sow when they get involved in other people's matches. GMs have one job, which is to enforce order (okay, two jobs - making matches) and they need to stop being scared to do it. Assert yourself and dole out consequences, you coward.
Written by Samantha Schipman
