Another good show. The show opening promo and the angle at the end of the show are the only things to go out of your way to see. Nothing was bad, but a lot of it felt like filler as we finish the Road to WrestleMania.
Must-see moments:
Gunther’s promo
This was a different type of promo than we usually see from Gunther. He was angry and trying too hard to convince everyone how confident he was. It may have been the best promo he has done. Instead of smug, we got bitter and vile. Good stuff.
Will Jey end up like Jimmy at #WrestleMania? pic.twitter.com/BBXH69pV7Z
— WWE (@WWE) April 15, 2025
Heyman-Reigns-Rollins-Punk angle
Another great piece of theater. Everyone was great here. Rollins shined by turning Roman on Paul and getting the best of Punk and Roman to close the show. Good angle.
MESSAGE SENT by SETH ROLLINS!#WWERawpic.twitter.com/aFfYb24Ddf
— WWE (@WWE) April 15, 2025
Quick Results:
- Bayley defeated Liv Morgan
- Rey Mysterio defeated Julius Creed
- AJ Styles defeated Karrion Kross
- Finn Balor defeated Penta
Chronological recap:
The final Raw before WrestleMania 41 kicked off with a recap of Gunther and Jey Uso discussing how disappointed Jey was that Gunther beat his brother bloody. He did a good promo, but the concept was ridiculous.
Gunther marched angrily to the ring. Cole said this was scheduled for later in the night, but Gunther was ready now. The Austrian was not in his normal smug mood. Gunther interrupted Cole and said Jey told him he was not afraid of Gunther anymore. The crowd was giving Gunther the Dominik treatment. They nearly drowned him out with their booing. Gunther grab the mic away from Cole and said “screw” everyone who supports Jey. He called himself a gift.
Gunther talked about bathing in Jimmy Uso’s blood and how much he loved it. He told Jey to pray to God. Gunther said he would bathe in Jey’s blood and then call his mom to say how much he loved it.
Liv Morgan vs. Bayley
Bayley came out with Lyra, and they tried slapping five but missed over and over. I am not sure if that was on purpose. Lyra’s extensions were the same color as Bayley’s gear.
A commercial aired for Evolve on Tubi. If you have not seen that show, you are not missing much. Kali Armstrong is a name to know in Evolve, though.
A Bianca pre-taped promo aired with Bianca. She said she has been telling the truth and if some people are hurt by it, so what? She has a point.
Liv slapped Bayley and enticed her to chase her around the outside of the ring. She rolled in first and kicked Bayley in the head as she rolled in. Great heel tactics.
The crowd started dualling chants of “Let’s go Bayley” and “Let’s go Liv.” That is new. Liv has been such a great heel sounds like she is picking up some fans.
Liv did the Three Amigos on the floor. Bayley momentarily reversed the third one but ended up getting suplex off the ring steps to the floor. Good sequence.
Liv dominated most of the match. She hit Bayley with a Codebreaker on the edge of the ring. Then dropkicked Bayley on the floor.
Bayley made a comeback by hitting…something when Morgan was coming off the top rope. It looked weird. Then she hit the Belly to Bayley and Raquel tried to put Liv’s foot on the ropes. Liv realized Raquel missed the rope, so she put her foot on it herself to save the spot. Lyra jumped Raquel but was leveled. Liv went for her finisher, but Lyra held on to Bayley and allowed Bayley to roll up Liv for the win.
Winner: Bayley
A recap aired of last week when Seth Rollins confronted Paul Heyman.
Rey Mysterio vs. Julius Creed
McAfee mentioned Julius is a coach on The Ultimate Fighter. Hopefully when that show starts airing, WWE will show highlights of Julius on the show. It is an opportunity for him.
A Rhea Ripley pre-taped promo aired. She said Bianca just likes to “wind her up” and make her look like a bad guy. Ripley said she cannot wait to be the bad guy at WrestleMania and get her title back.
Julius worked on Rey’s arm early in the match. Rey started his comeback but was foiled by Gable who pulled his leg when Rey was on the top rope. Not to be outdone The LWO did the same to Julius. The ref kicked everyone out.
With the clown car thrown out, Julius continued to dominate. It is a promising idea to have Julius in the ring with a veteran like Rey. If he is going to get better this is how. This was not the most exciting match.
Rey did a baseball slide to the floor. The spot was Rey sliding into Creed and Julius catching him into a suplex, but instead Rey went plop to the floor. Julius tried to recover by walking Rey to the ring apron still in suplex position, but Rey reversed and sent him into the post. The post spot looked great.
The match picked up from there. After Creed missed Rey and fell to the floor, El Gran Americano showed up to interfere. He was foiled and Julius was thrown into him and Rey pinned Creed.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
El Grande Americano attacked Rey with a loaded mask. He left Mysterio lying in the ring. Then everything went…pink. And that irritating song from Travis Scott played. What was that?
The War Raiders ran down their credentials going into their Mania match with The New Day. They said The New Day made this personal by attacking Eric’s neck.
Jackie Redmond caught up with The New Day who were playing a video game. They were whining about how they were treated in the locker room. Xavier said that what they did last week was just a taste of what The War Raiders will get at Mania. They said the fans will have no choice but to thank God for the New Day.
Karrion Kross vs. AJ Styles
You know WWE does not watch quarter ratings anymore when Karrion Kross is at the top of the nine o’clock hour. They gave him back his old entrance, which is good. But man is this guy lost.
Karrion, who has not explained what he wants, screamed at AJ that “it doesn’t have to be this way.” Okay, how can AJ change? Buy you dinner? Brush your hair? What is Karrion’s goal? This is as bad as those Wyatt Sicks promos that went nowhere and were never explained.
Karrion threw AJ into the ring announcer area, which Styles went full force into that wall. Heck of a bump.
After throwing AJ around, Kross inexplicably started grappling. And not good grappling either. They said he has a Jiu Jitsu background, but either that is hype or he does not know how to make it translate into a wrestling match. Whatever he was thinking there, the crowd went silent.
Just when all momentum was lost, Kross decided to fake an injury. No one believed he was hurt and when he used it to attack Styles he made AJ look like an idiot. Thankfully, Styles fired up and got the crowd into the match. Well, until Karrion took over again. Where is the skull emoji when I need it?
Styles hit the Phenomenal Forearm for the win.
Winner: AJ Styles
On cue, Logan Paul came out. He asked the crowd why they are so hostile to him. Paul congratulated AJ on his win. He said the people of Sacramento were not “cool enough to live in Los Angeles or smart enough to live in San Francisco.” He introduced a video package on…himself. Hilarious.
Style invited Logan to the ring. Karrion tried to jump AJ from behind, but Styles just beat him up again. Paul took advantage of the distraction and hit the Paulverizer and left Style lying.
Gable did a promo in the aisle about not getting his WrestleMania moment. He said he was happy for El Grande Americano, though.
Jey Uso entered through the crowd. He is dressed in all black, which is a nice touch in selling the seriousness of his match with Gunther.
He stood on the announce table and soaked in the cheers from the crowd. Then he asked production to play his song again.
Finally, he did his promo on the table. Jey said his mom was in the crowd. He said he was “locked in” going into Mania. Uso claimed Gunther’s promo made him feel like Gunther was scared. Then he asked production to hit his music again. Good promo. They have done everything they could to get this match over. Gunther bloodying Jimmy was a turning point for this feud.
Cathy Kelley tried to interview Bron Breakker, but The Judgement Day jumped him. Cathy screamed for help. You would think that would be the case every time, but she usually just leaves while someone gets beat up.
Penta vs. Finn Balor
Penta dropkicked Balor and hit a dive before the bell sounded. He walked the dog on Finn early in the match.
Finn turned a sunset flip into a basement dropkick for a two count. Balor took control with several stomps. He randomly did the Bullet Club “Too Sweet” gimmick that they stole from the NWO. Fanboys.
The two men went back and forth. Penta hit the Sacrifice arm breaker and then hit a series of kicks on Balor. Just then, Carlito and Dominik showed up at ringside. Penta was distracted and Finn took over.
Just as Balor had momentum, Breakker’s music played, and he came out. Carlito, after taking that spear last week, ran away when he saw Bron. Hilarious. Breakker hit Finn for the DQ.
Winner: Finn Balor
Breakker double speared Finn and Carlito. He set up a spear on Penta, but Penta hit him with a knee and eventually dumped him out of the ring. Bron grabbed his knee at ringside. Not sure if he was just selling or what happened.
Paul Heyman was in the back when CM Punk came up and asked, “Look in my eyes what do you see?” Paul answered, “A cult of personality?” Punk said no and pointed to Paul’s right where Roman Reigns was standing next to his car. Roman just walked away as Paul waddled after him.
Heyman held out the mic for Roman, but Reigns pushed past Paul and took the mic from someone at ringside. Heyman looked hurt by the gesture.
Roman said the fans love him and they would never betray him. Reigns asked who they thought would betray him and they said Paul. A loud “you f— up!” chant started, which Roman encouraged them to not only continue, but to say it louder. The crowd booed Paul throughout.
Reigns said he never asked for anyone’s help. So, he does not owe Punk a favor. He asked Paul why he had to cover Heyman’s “tab.” Then Seth Rollins interrupted.
Rollins said Roman is finally seeing the truth, but it was too late because he still had to take Reigns out at Mania. Seth called the triple threat the biggest triple threat in the history of wrestling, because it decides who will lead the industry into the future. Okay.
Seth said if CM Punk were to win it would be the downfall of the industry. The crowd chanted for Punk and Seth asked them if they wanted to see the industry die. Weird. He called Heyman a scumbag. Seth said that Roman is finally seeing who Paul really is. Rollins said Heyman was choosing Punk over Roman. He has a point.
Roman said Rollins was right. He said Paul made his choice, so now he was making his. Reigns decked Rollins and threw him into the ring post and then to the floor. Heyman thought that meant he was back in Roman’s good graces, but Roman threw Paul to the ground.
Punk came out for the save, clearing the ring of Roman. Punk checked on Paul, which allowed Roman to spear him. Then Rollins hit Roman in the back with a chair, which the announcers said was reminiscent of the Shield breakup. Rollins then hit curb stomps on Punk and Reigns as the show went off the air.
