WWE Raw Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights Before Clash in Paris
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE Raw on August 25.
This is the go-home episode before Clash in Paris on Sunday, so a lot of time would be spent hyping the PLE and tying up loose ends with the storylines that will be featured.
Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Monday's show at BP Pulse in Birmingham, England:
- Nikki Bella speaks
- Kofi Kingston vs. Penta
- Roxanne Perez vs. Rhea Ripley
- Roman Reigns makes an appearance
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's Raw. With WWE in Europe, this week's show had a special start time of 3 p.m. EST on Netflix.
The Tribal Chief Has Arrived in the United Kingdom
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This week's early edition of Raw from England opened with a recap of last week's show and the usual shots of Superstars arriving at the arena. As advertised, Reigns came out to kick things off.
After soaking in the love from the crowd for a couple of minutes with various chants and singing, The OTC finally spoke and said he has big plans for the rest of 2025 and into next year.
Reigns said he is no longer the man he used to be, but can be once again. Reigns talked about how he no longer has the Bloodline backing him up, but he took a moment to say he was proud of Jey Uso.
Paul Heyman and Bronson Reed came out to taunt Reigns. The segment went on for quite some time because the crowd kept chanting different things repeatedly. Reed also gave us a history lesson about his Samoan tribe's history.
They ended up running toward each other and brawling in the aisle after both men talked some trash. They battled into the ring until security tried to break them up unsuccessfully. They fought until the show went to a break.
The first 20 minutes were pretty standard stuff, but the fight between Reigns and Reed helped make the ending more exciting.
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- The big screen on the stage was a little smaller than usual due to the setup in the arena, but it actually made for a cool-looking stage.
- Reigns looked genuinely happy at the reception he was getting from the crowd. He doesn't smile out of character very often, but you could see it in this segment.
- It's nice to hear Reigns finally acknowledge Jey's accomplishments since he was gone for Jey's entire world title reign.
- Calling Reed the Tribal Thief with a Shoelafala is funnier than it should be.
Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh
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The first match of the night saw Dragon Lee take on JD McDonagh from The Judgement Day. Finn Balor accompanied his tag partner to the ring.
They started by trading some chops in the corner. Lee took control and took out McDonagh at the knee. Finn Balor tried to interfere, but the ref saw and tossed him from the ringside area.
We returned from a break to see both men down after McDonagh hit a superplex. Once they got to their feet, they started picking up the pace again.
This was a fun match between two guys who are great at what they do. Even though they have different styles, it felt like they meshed together perfectly. This was a great display of how versatile both of these Superstars are in the ring.
Dominik Mysterio interfered but was quickly dispatched by AJ Styles right after he tripped Lee. This allowed the high-flyer to hit his finisher and score the win.
Result: Lee defeated McDonagh
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- McDonagh has some of the most generic entrance music.
- It was 32 minutes into the show before the bell rang for the first match.
- The dropkick McDonagh hit to knock Lee out of the air looked great.
- The way McDonagh landed from the powerbomb looked nasty.
Penta vs. Kofi Kingston
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After he battled Xavier Woods last week, Penta found himself facing the other half of The New Day this week when he took on Kingston.
Penta took control early with some chops in the corner and he had the former WWE champion retreating for a break after a few more moves.
During the break, Kingston hit a back body drop onto the announce table, but the masked man started making a comeback when we returned.
This bout had a good pace and felt even more competitive than Penta's match with Woods last week. Kingston is more of a high-flyer, so he was able to adapt his style to match the luchador.
With a little help from Grayson Waller, Kingston was able to get the win with Trouble in Paradise.
Result: Kingston defeated Penta
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Penta already has one of the most recognizable entrances and themes in WWE and he hasn't even been in the company that long.
- Woods was wearing a neck brace to sell the injury from last week's match.
- Kingston's in-ring style is so much better suited for a babyface, but he is good at doing the other things he needs to do to look like a villain.
An Old Rivalry Reignited
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Becky Lynch came to the ring for a promo and immediately started talking trash about Birmingham, where the show was taking place, but she was soon interrupted by Nikki Bella.
They traded some trash talk and insults and the segment ended with Lynch retreating after Nikki got the better of her. This was short and uneventful, but it worked as a filler segment before their showdown on Sunday.
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- There was a split-second glitch during the ad break when we saw a clip of Byron Saxton. Then it happened again a minute later, but it was the exact same second of footage.
- Nikki seemed just as comfortable on the mic as she was when she was an active performer.
Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez
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Despite Ripley having a significant size advantage, Perez was the one who came out of the gate with the most aggression. It didn't take long for The Eradicator to gain the upper hand, but she seemed surprised by Perez at first.
The Prodigy kept taking breaks at ringside when she couldn't make any progress. She needed to resort to using Rodriguez as a distraction so she could hit a suicide dive.
After Perez took out Ripley's knee, she was firmly in control for a long time, but Ripley was able to make a comeback and score the win with her finisher.
Rodriguez went after her once the match was over. She and Perez double-teamed her until Iyo Sky made the save and sent them packing. The match was decent and the post-match angle will keep the story going, but nothing surprising happened here.
Result: Ripley defeated Perez
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Raquel Rodriguez needs more to do than worry about everyone else in Judgment Day.
- The way Perez went after Ripley's knee on the apron looked painful.
AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor
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Dom asked Balor to take care of Styles for him tonight, so the two former Bullet Club leaders had a singles match. This time, Balor chose to do things by himself instead of having anyone from Judgment Day at ringside.
These two men know each other well, so it took them no time at all to find their groove and make this a fun match.
The first few minutes were mostly a series of counters from both men. It seemed like an even matchup between the two veterans, but The Phenomenal One ended up getting a much quicker win than expected with the Styles Clash.
There was no interference and no questionable finish. This was just a short, clean win for Styles.
Result: Styles defeated Balor
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Styles is so good at putting a little extra something on his strikes to make them look realistic.
- The dropkick Balor hit was nasty. Styles hit the corner hard.
Bron Breakker vs. LA Knight
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As Breakker was making his way through the back, he was attacked by Reigns. Once The OTC was sent away, Knight attacked Bron and brought him into the arena.
The Megastar was able to continue controlling the pace throughout the break. In fact, Breakker never even had a chance to take off his t-shirt because he had been taking a beating since he was backstage.
Once the powerhouse started building momentum, he ran Knight over with a shoulder tackle to completely turn things around.
It took a while for Knight to hit a DDT to give himself a little time to recover. These two men have worked together enough to know how each other operates, so they were able to put on a good performance that made both men look good.
Seth Rollins showed up and distracted Knight so Breakker could hit a huge Spear at ringside. He rolled him back into the ring for a second Spear to get the win.
Jey Uso and CM Punk both came out to help drive off Rollins and his cronies after they continued attacking Knight. The show ended with Jey taking out Punk and Knight after everyone else had left.
Result: Breakker defeated Knight
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Dom vs. Styles for the IC title was booked for next week during a backstage segment.
- Breakker's Frankensteiner is always impressive, especially when he runs up the ropes to hit it.
The Final Word
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Monday's episode of Raw from England was exactly the kind of show you would expect leading into a PLE.
Just about every match that will be featured on Sunday was addressed in some way, especially with the first and last segments of the night.
As far as the in-ring action was concerned, McDonagh and Lee stole the show with their match, but Kingston and Penta weren't far behind.
The WWE Superstars are capable of putting on great performances when they're allowed to, but the booking often hamstrings them in a lot of ways.
Monday's Raw was largely forgettable, but it wasn't a bad show. It just didn't have anything to make it stand out.
Grade: B-
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