Monday Night Raw 6/17/2025

Gunther (holding the world title belt and wearing a smile), Bayley, Stephanie Vaquer, and Jey Uso were shown arriving earlier today. 

Corey Graves is filling in for Pat McAfee alongside Michael Cole on commentary. Graves said he couldn’t be more excited to be on Raw.

Liv Morgan and Iyo Sky segment 

Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio entered holding their respective belts. Liv welcomed us to Monday Night Morgan and wanted to hear some noise for the most gorgeous man in WWE, Dominik Mysterio. The fans booed, but they didn’t boo over his promo like they used to. Dom said tonight wasn’t about him and turned things back over to Morgan. 

Morgan said Nikki Bella learned the hard way that this division was about her, and now Nikki was sitting hurt at home. Morgan mocked Iyo Sky’s comment that Bella paved the way for them. Morgan said nobody paved the way for her. She was a four-time tag team champion and the greatest women’s tag champion ever. Now, she demanded the rematch she never got for the world title. 

Just as Morgan was about to call her out, Sky interrupted. The crowd chanted for Iyo. She told Morgan to do everyone a favour and shut her mouth. She said Morgan disrespected her and disrespected Nikki. Sky was ready to fight her, but Morgan only wanted to do it for the title. 

Morgan accused Sky of being scared and invited her to just hand over the belt. Sky told Morgan she had to earn a shot. Morgan couldn’t just steal it the way she stole Dirty Dom. Dom said Sky should give Morgan whatever she wanted, just like he did. 

They again suggested that Sky hand over the belt, so she did, but then dropkicked Morgan out of the ring. She also kicked Dom, and he left with Morgan. 

Stephanie Vaquer entered ahead of a commercial break. Chad Gable cut a promo on Ivy Nile’s behalf during a break (while also taking a shot at the Green Bay Packers). He returned to the back for the match. 

Backstage, Morgan told Rodriguez to win her match, then they would take care of Sky and Kairi Sane. (It was difficult to hear Morgan, but the closed caption helped.)

Queen of the Ring first round fatal four-way: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Asuka vs. Ivy Nile vs. Women’s Tag Team Champion Raquel Rodriguez

***

Thumbs Up

Asuka entered to her singles theme. She had full face paint and wore mostly black gear along with a knee brace. The crowd chanted, “Welcome back.” 

Asuka and Vaquer had a very brief exchange that was interrupted by the heels. Rodriguez powerbombed Asuka into Vaquer and Nile, which led to break 80 seconds into the match. (Nothing else has happened since the previous commercial break.) 

The crowd was quiet through the break until they returned and Vaquer did Devil’s Kiss to Nile. Rodriguez blocked a Devil’s Kiss, but Vaquer managed to do it to her on the apron. (The crowd counted along instead of yelling like Booker T.) 

Vaquer blocked an Asuka lock, and Nile kicked her in the face. Nile gave Asuka a German suplex for two. This led to the match’s second commercial break—just eight minutes into it. 

As they returned from break, Rodriguez hoisted both Nile and Vaquer on her shoulders, which was impressive, and Asuka knocked everyone down with a flying dropkick. Asuka handed out kicks, but her pinfall attempt on Nile was interrupted by Vaquer. 

Vaquer invited Asuka to her feet so they could go at it again. Asuka no-sold Vaquer’s strikes, so Vaquer responded with repeated headbutts and a vertical suplex. Vaquer hit a facebuster, but Nile broke up the cover. Nile gave Asuka a uranage, but Vaquer broke up her cover. 

Rodriguez booted Vaquer and gave her a Tejana Bomb. You could tell she was about to get yanked out of the ring because of how she made the cover. Rhea Ripley pulled Rodriguez out and gave her a Rip-tide on the floor. 

Asuka followed with a running hip attack on Rodriguez for the pinfall win. 

Asuka faces Alexa Bliss on SmackDown in the semi-finals. (Cole reminded us that Asuka and Bliss were once tag champions.) The crowd was up and down during the match, but popped big for the closing sequence. 

(I thought Vaquer might’ve won this one, but they probably don’t want to pin her in the tournament, so Asuka advances. Also, Asuka pinning Rodriguez can set up a future tag title match with Sane.) 

After the match, Asuka told Cathy Kelley that she would become Queen of the Ring. 

There was a Gunther/Jey Uso video package. Gunther is up next. 

New Day cut a normal heel promo during the break.

Morgan approached Rodriguez in the Judgment Day locker room and wanted them to go somewhere. I’m not sure what she actually said, but Rodriguez wasn’t up for whatever it was because she wasn’t cleared by medical after just wrestling. Morgan left to deal with it alone. 

There was another disagreement between Dom and Finn Bálor, where Bálor brushed it off. The crowd repeatedly yelled, “What?” throughout the segment because it was hard to hear. Bálor told Rodriguez not to worry about Morgan, and he left with Roxanne Perez. 

Gunther and Goldberg segment 

Gunther entered and received a big fireworks display as he held up the World title. 

Gunther said he was man enough to admit that Jey Uso was the better man at WrestleMania. Jey was better than him—for one night. But on every other night, Gunther was untouchable. (The crowd booed as he spoke.) 

Gunther heard the rumours about what was next for him. Some fans chanted for Goldberg. Gunther said it wasn’t Goldberg, because he already cussed out Goldberg in front of his family. 

Gunther spoke about Seth Rollins. He heard Rollins say the champion would be a target, so he told Rollins he was right there. 

Goldberg entered. He wore a “Goldberg’s Last Ride” t-shirt. The fans chanted for him, and he thanked them. 

Goldberg told Gunther not to worry because tonight was his night. Goldberg congratulated him on winning the title. 

Goldberg got in his face and recalled what happened between them last time. Gunther started something with him and his family in Atlanta, so Goldberg wanted to end it in Atlanta. At Saturday Night’s Main event on July 12th, “You’re mine because you’re next!” 

Gunther was perturbed and left the ring.

(Goldberg was good enough here, but this title match isn’t the most exciting direction.) 

This title match was made official after a break. 

AJ Styles vs. JD McDonagh (w/ Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio) 

***

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This match was sponsored by an app. 

Dom helped McDonagh get a rope break as Styles held a calf crusher, so Styles chased Dom around the ring. When Styles got to the timekeeper’s area, McDonagh flew over the barricade to wipe him out. It was a cool-looking spot and got a good reaction. 

Styles fought back after a break, but McDonagh cut him off with a headbutt and brainbuster for two. Styles knocked McDonagh off the ropes but was distracted by Dom, who hopped onto the apron in front of the referee. 

McDonagh tried to use the distraction, but Styles hit him with a Styles Clash anyway for the pinfall win. 

Dom tried attacking Styles after the match, but Styles fought him off until Bálor pulled him to safety. Styles held up Dom’s IC title belt. Judgment Day tried swarming Styles, but Styles bailed with the belt. 

Maxxine Dupri and Natalya gave Sheamus words of encouragement backstage. They want him to take care of Rusev. Akira Tozawa fired up and told Sheamus to kick his ass.

Bayley and Becky Lynch segment 

Bayley entered. She missed the fans and was happy to be back. She waited as she heard some fans trying to sing, but it didn’t pick up. The fans instead chanted, “Let’s go, Bayley.” 

Bayley revelled in every opportunity she had to perform for the fans because it’s what she was born for. She put her heart and soul into it every single night. Two months ago, she was stripped and robbed of a WrestleMania match and an opportunity to go after the tag titles. That division was near and dear to her heart. 

She didn’t just perform for WrestleMania, though. She would do it any night and would do it on nights like this one. If Becky Lynch thought she broke her by costing her WrestleMania, she was wrong. It healed her and made her stronger. 

Bayley said Lynch was always two steps ahead of her on the ladder, and she admitted that it did eat at her. But Bayley planned on climbing the ladder, knocking Lynch down and taking everything from her. 

Lynch entered wearing Chicago Bears gear. (A rival team of the Packers, and Seth Rollins’ favourite team.) The fans chanted, “Bears still suck.” 

Lynch said she and Bayley were the same. They were never meant to be on top of the division. But Bayley accepted playing second fiddle, while Lynch didn’t. Bayley would much rather have friends over her legacy. Lynch would rather have her legacy over some fake-ass friends. 

Bayley said she’s built her own legacy and is a future Hall of Famer, that’s why she didn’t mind bringing others in the locker room along with her. Lynch said she used to fight for the people, but they stopped fighting for her, so she stopped fighting for them. 

Lynch said the fans also stopped fighting for Bayley. Nobody gave a damn about Bayley when Lynch repaced her at Mania. 

Bayley called her an insecure idiot. Lynch was so worried about how the fans would react to her return that she took out Bayley so her return could be a big surprise. She followed that by taking out Lyra Valkyria as well. (Lynch noted the fans cheered that, too.) 

Bayley wondered if Lynch forgot what it was like to fight for opportunities, or if her head was too far up her ass. Lynch smiled and said she didn’t remember what that was like. She wondered if Bayley remembered what gold felt like. 

Bayley challenged her to a match. Lynch was ok with that—but not in Green Bay and not for the title. Lynch said, “See you in Columbus.” Lynch tried a cheap shot, but Bayley avoided it and knocked Lynch down. Lynch bailed with her title. 

Kelley interviewed Jey Uso backstage. Jey had his eyes set on a rematch with Gunther, and he was fine going through King of the Ring to get it. Yeet. 

Styles returned the Intercontinental title to Nick Aldis. (Aldis was filling in for the vacationing Adam Pearce, which they did not explain.) Aldis informed Styles he was getting an IC title match against Dom at Night of Champions. 

Bayley approached Aldis next, and he put her in an IC title match against Lynch next week. Bayley was happy. (I guess Aldis has full control.) 

Valkyria approached Bayley. Bayley apologized for not returning her texts and calls over the past few months. Valkyria was annoyed but understood that Bayley was simply doing what was best for her. Valkyria said she would do what was best for her, too. 

Kairi Sane vs. Women’s Tag Team Champion Liv Morgan 

DUD

The match was stopped due to an injury. The first spot of the match was Sane going for a takedown, and Morgan came up injured. She rolled out of the ring, and officials checked on her as she grabbed her arm/shoulder. 

They showed a bunch of replays, and it wouldn’t have looked like much if you didn’t know Morgan was hurt. She appeared to land hard on her right arm/elbow, and the reaction on her face said it all. 

During a break, they announced Morgan couldn’t continue, and Sane was declared the winner. Sane celebrated. 

Cole announced that Morgan suffered a dislocated shoulder.

There was a John Cena/CM Punk video package. They didn’t shy away from Cena’s hypocrite line. 

King of the Ring first round fatal four-way: Jey Uso vs. Rusev vs. Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed (w/ Paul Heyman) 

They went to break 90 seconds in after Jey hit Rusev with a suicide dive. Jey’s ribs were taped, and Reed targeted his midsection during the break. Jey handed out superkicks to everyone after the break. Rusev didn’t go down, so Jey tried another, but Rusev clotheslined him. 

Reed tossed Sheamus over the barricade, but Sheamus emerged to give him ten (or twenty) beats of the Bodhrán. Jey superkicked Sheamus and went for a running hip attack on Reed, but Rusev knocked down Jey again. 

Rusev and Sheamus finally went at it in the ring. They each hit big moves before exchanging right hands until Reed squished them in the corner. Reed also gave Jey a world’s strongest slam ahead of another break. 

Jey and Sheamus went back and forth until Sheamus hit a backbreaker. The crowd cheered as Sheamus got big Bronson on his shoulders to hit a White Noise, but Rusev broke up the cover. Rusev slammed Sheamus onto Reed. 

Jey handed out superkicks again, but Rusev blocked a superkick and applied the Accolade. Sheamus flew in with a knee strike, but Reed broke up the cover with a senton. Reed followed with a Tsunami on Sheamus, but Jey broke up the cover. 

Jey speared Reed, but surprise, surprise: there was interference. Bron Breakkershoved Jey off the top rope, so Sami Zayn ran in and posted Breakker. Zayn went for a Helluva Kick, but Breakker grabbed him by the throat and tossed him over the announce table. Penta flew in and wiped out Breakker with a dive. 

Reed hit Jey with a DVD, but there was more interference. This time, LA Knightshoved Reed off the top. Jey speared Reed again and consecutive Uso splashes for the pinfall win. 

Jey Uso advances to face Cody Rhodes on Raw next week. 

Seth Rollins marched down to go after Jey, but he stopped as Cody Rhodes’ music hit. Rhodes entered to a huge reaction to face off with Rollins. They stared each other down until Rollins left the ring. 

Rhodes and Jey faced off before shaking hands. 

(This was a fun match, but with tons of interference. You’ll often wonder where the hell all the good guys are when the heel group is running roughshod, so at least we got a satisfying ending here.) 

Overall: Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Up