Cook’s WWE Raw Review 9.29.25

Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for another edition of WWE Raw on Netflix! We’ve got a bunch of feuds to keep track of tonight, along with an Intercontinental Championship Match, Tornado Tag Team Match, and a heck of a good time!

Speaking of good times, shoutout to the Cincinnati Reds for making the playoffs for the first time in 12 years! (I don’t count anything that took place in 2020, and neither should anybody else.) The Reds are going in as obvious underdogs against the historic Dodger Dynasty, but all you gotta do is win two out of three. The Reds won the majority of their three game series this season, and with the top studs of the rotation ready to go, the Dodgers might have more of a fight on their hands than one may think. I’m not sayin the Reds are winning it, but I’m not not sayin the Reds are winning it, if you get my drift.

Cook’s WWE Raw Review 9.29.25

Then. Now. Forever. Together!

Raleigh, North Carolina hosts tonight’s episode of Raw. The Usos are WALKING! Judgment Day are WALKING while Los Americanos are also WALKING. Rusev is WALKING! Joe Tessitore & Wade Barrett are ANNOUNCING. We go back to last week, when the Kabuki Warriors took out Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY.

THIS IS MY BRUTALITY! Rhea Ripley is here and we all lose our minds! Oh damn Rhea. Ripley always knew it would come to this. A little part of her hoped they could settle it in the ring like the warriors she thought they were. What they did to IYO crossed the line. She was their family. They will settle things in this ring, she invites the Kabuki Warriors to come and get her!

IYO SKY’s music hits instead! IYO walks down still looking sad about last week’s events. It breaks IYO’s heart to say it, but Rhea was right about Asuka & Kairi. They’re still her family and she still loves them. On the Tron, Asuka talks about how she taught IYO all she knew, and now she acts like Asuka’s lessons never mattered. Asuka will accept IYO’s apology. They can both still be her students and be a family again. For Rhea, it’s too late. Rhea tells Asuka to go to hell. Rhea begs IYO to trust her. Rhea’s been burned before by family, IYO can’t go back after what they’ve done. IYO’s sorry, but she needs more time.

IYO leaves the ring, and when that happens we see Asuka & Kairi attack Rhea! IYO eventually comes back down to help Rhea. Asuka mists IYO! Rhea mounts Asuka, Kaiiri gets her off, Rhea goes for Riptide but Asuka kicks her in the back of the head. Rhea gets posted in two corners. Asukalock with an Insane Elbow, and Rhea is out. Referees and officials finally show up to break things up. We go to commercial!

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio (w/Finn Balor & JD McDonagh) vs. Rusev: Well, Dom did have some friends with him, but they went back to the locker room anyway! Dom didn’t look sure of that decision. Dom gets tossed off and rolls outside. Rusev chases Dom around, Dom with some stomps in the ring. Running forearm met with a strike from Rusev, a fallaway slam and a vertical suplex. Another one. Rusev punches Dom down, but misses a charge and flies outside. Rusev catches Dom on a dive and fallaway slams him on the announce table! We go to commercial!

Dom fights out of an armbar, chinbusts Rusev, hits a rana off the ropes! Splash in the corner, Rusev misses a charge, Dom hits the Eddie hilo for two. Dom wants to try the Three Amigoes, Rusev blocks that, then blocks a 619 attempt by Dom. Dom rolls outside when Rusev starts his pre Accolade routine. Back in the ring, 619 by Dom on two sides of the ring! Dom up top for the frog splash…Rusev moves! Machka kick by Rusev…only gets two! Dom wiggles out of the Accolade and goes outside. Dom takes his belts and tries to leave, but Rusev rolls him in the ring. Dom hits Rusev with the title! Rusev no sells it! Dom goes down and tries to make the ref think Rusev hit him, the ref doesn’t see it, then he doesn’t see Rusev getting low blowed and makes the three count!

Winner: Dominik Mysterio (5:54 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **3/4
I thought the ending stretch was pretty clever and I probably did a horrible job of trying to articulate for you what was going on. Dom’s fun though.

Adam Pearce & LA Knight have a discussion about tonight. The New Day join the conversation and have demands for Pearce. Kofi & Knight get into a verbal confrontation, and Pearce makes the match for tonight!

Joe & Wade lead us into a video package of the history between Seth Rollins & Cody Rhodes. We go back to when Cody left WWE. Seth talks about how he put the company on his back after Cody left. Cody talks about his return match with Seth and how it set him on a path to the top. Their continued issue led to Hell in a Cell, where Cody competed with a torn pec. They found respect for each other. Seth says that Cody will always be one of his premier rivals. MORE NEXT WEEK!

Last Monday, Bayley got Lyra Valkyria to accompany her for her match with Roxanne Perez. Bayley got the win, then snapped at Lyra afterward! Bayley wears Lyra’s t-shirt as she tries to get Lyra to accompany her again this week. Lyra doesn’t want to be shoved on her ass again. Bayley doesn’t think she can do this match without Lyra. Lyra says that she can’t give Bayley any more second chances, and she’s on her own. Note to Self: Wearing Lyra’s t-shirt when you ask her out isn’t the best of ideas.

Bayley vs. Raquel Rodriguez (w/Roxanne Perez): Bayley tries to pump herself up as she makes her way to the ring. Headlock by Bayley, Raquel catches Bayley, Bayley up and over, Raquel with a big shoulderblock. Bayley tossed into the corner, Raquel misses, Bayley mounts her for the ten punches, Raquel tries a powerbomb, Bayley blocks, Raquel tosses her to the mat. Raquel with some shoulderblocks in the corner. Bayley headfirst into the top turnbuckle. Bayley hard into the corner. Back elbows in the corner by Raquel, Bayley fights out, drops Raquel neck first on the ropes then hits a tope suicida. Raquel blocks the rana and spins Bayley into the barrier. We go to commercial!

Both women go outside. Bayley hits a reverse DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, Bayley drops the elbow! Swanton Bomb! That’ll get two. Shoulderblock in the corner by Bayley. Raquel catches Bayley in mid air and hits a fallaway slam. Vaderbomb elbow gets two. Bayley runs into a clothesline and gets counted for two. Bayley locks in the Figure 4! Raquel reverses, Bayley back on top. Roxanne distracts the referee, then rakes Bayley’s eyes! Big boot by Raquel and the Tejana Bomb ends it.

Winner: Raquel Rodriguez (7:23 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
I thought this was fun. Wade was talking up Raquel for Most Improved Wrestler during the match, and I think she’d be a good choice there. Definitely holds her own in the ring now and doesn’t need to be carried by anybody.

Roxanne punches Bayley some before Lyra Valkyria’s music hits! Lyra runs down and clotheslines Roxanne, kicks Stephanie. Raquel hits a punch to Lyra, then Roxanne hits the cartwheel into the double knees. Bayley is enraged once she sees it and she attacks Roxanne & Raquel! Bayley drives Raquel & Roxanne from the ring. Bayley wants to celebrate, telling Lyra that she got them! Lyra is confused.

Last Monday, Jey Uso beat LA Knight thanks to the Vision! Jimmy doesn’t get why Jey wouldn’t help him & LA last week. Jey says that LA got in their way, and wants to know why Jimmy needs him. Jey did what he had to do last week, and if he did more of that he might be champion again. That’s something Jimmy doesn’t get. Jey says to forget about LA Knight and they’ll handle business tonight.

IYO is being treated by medical. Kairi Sane wants to talk to IYO, they can still be a family. Asuka will forgive her. IYO tells Kairi to leave her alone. Kairi leaves, passing IYO a picture of their family from back in the day.

LA Knight vs. Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods): I gotta say it, the New Day theme is a bop. Took awhile for it to grow on me, but now I love it. LA powers Kofi into the corner, Kofi goes for a punch and gets punched instead. Kofi flips out of the suplex attempt, LA with a neckbreaker out of a vertical suplex attempt. Kofi turns the tide with a knee to the gut. Cover gets two. LA with some Yeah arm wringers, then a Yeah clothesline. Knight gets dropped on the Yeah rope. Knight tosses Kofi to the Yeah floor. Some Yeah bangs to the barricade. LA gets kicked to the floor after getting distracted by Xavier. Kofi sends Knight into the ring post, then splashes him to the floor. We go to commercial!

We return to Kofi mocking LA and hitting a headbutt. Knight with some Yeah punches, Kofi trips him up and Xavier is pleased. Tomahawk chop by Kofi gets two. Xavier with a cheap shot to LA. Cover gets two. Knight with some Yeah punches. Kofi goes outside, Knight follows him and sends him into the barricade. Slingshot shoulder tackle by Knight. Front bump into the neckbreaker by Knight. Xavier splits up the flying elbow theatrics, Kofi rolls LA up for two. Kofi up top, misses, a series of reversals leads to the BFT and the 1-2-3.

Winner: LA Knight (7:21 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
I like the fact that they finally brought up Kofi’s former champion status, and now he can get back in the mix there, or at least the level below the mix. LA keeps doing his thing that’s working.

Last Friday on SmackDown, Randy Orton came to the rescue of Cody Rhodes, who was dealing with the Brons.

Akira Tozawa is proud of Maxxine Dupri. Becky Lynch thinks that she’s a loser. Maxxine mentions AJ Lee, Tozawa laughs and gets punched down by Lynch! Maxxine tells her not to do it, but Becky attacks her from behind. Becky takes her out, then walks up to Seth Rollins. Becky says she feels a little better now. Seth needs to go out there on his own tonight. That’ll be next!

Bengals up 3-0 on the Broncos. STOP THE COUNT!

BURN IT DOWN! Seth Rollins makes his way to the ring. The crowd sings. Then they chant CM Punk’s name. Those crazy Caroliners! Is that what you call people from there? Sure. Then some people sing for Cody Rhodes. Maybe Seth would have talked earlier if they had chanted for Cody first. Cody has three wins, Seth has three losses. They think it bothers him, but it doesn’t matter. Those matches were in the past. Those were men trying to reach the top, what matters is Crown Jewel since they’re both at the very top. The winner of this match might decide the next ten to twenty years of this business. What Seth doesn’t understand is why some of us actually want Cody Rhodes to win that match and should lead this company into the future. They believe he’s actually the quarterback. Seth asks if we’ve lost our minds. What’s wrong with us? Seth is the one to lead this industry into the future. He’s done everything right. He stayed when times were tough, took the company into the Golden Age, and has taken Reed & Breaker under his wing and given them the knowledge needed to get to the top. He’s tried to rid this place of cancers like Reigns & Punk, and still the people chant for Cody.

WRESTLING HAS MORE THAN ONE ROYAL FAMILY! Cody Rhodes appears! No pyro for the entrances tonight, which is most noticeable during Cody’s entrance. Man, if I had Cody’s money I’d probably spend as much on suits as he does. Cody’s a bit messy & dramatic, but wonders what the hell he’s talking about. The future of the industry seems a bit much. They don’t have control over the future of the industry, the people do. Cody talks about Bron & Bronson and how they appeared on SmackDown last week. Cody wonders who’s in control of Seth’s group. Seth says every decision goes through him, and he sent them to SD to send the message. Cody wonders if Seth was the one that allowed Paul Heyman to announce Brock Lesnar. Seth says that every decision runs through him. The crowd disagrees. Seth says he’s the reason we’re here. Cody says we’re all here to have fun, and strip it down to what it’s all about, their match at Crown Jewel. He wonders where he & Seth will be in twenty years. Will they be together remembering their future matches? He still remembers Seth doing what had to be done at WrestleMania 40. He thought that they were friends. Seth says he was never Cody’s friend. WrestleMania 40 was one night, and Cody was the lesser of two evils. Seth will never shake hands or call him the better man, Seth will cleanse the timeline, at Crown Jewel everything in their past is dead. After Crown Jewel, he will start a new story and create a new vision.

Rhea walks up to IYO and asks if she’s ok. IYO says Rhea was right about Asuka, and at Crown Jewel they’ll take on the Kabuki Warriors. Rhea wants to be sure that IYO is up for it, and that she can trust her. IYO says she can’t go back to them. Rhea’s in, and they hug. Rhea goes to get IYO some water.

AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Los Americanos: Dragon Lee introduces himself. To share the ring with AJ Styles, as a team they are unstoppable. He became #1 contender for the AAA Mega Championship, which means that Dominik Mysterio is being come for. AJ agrees that they should get some championships, and wishes him luck with Dom. AJ mentions he has a match at Crown Jewel with John Cena thanks to the fans. He gets to do something he loves to do, beat up John Cena! Tonight they kick Los Americanos’s ass! Joe Tess tells us that Bravo is in the blue & Rayo is in the red. I’ll get it eventually, but don’t expect anything from me tonight. Bravo & Lee go at it. Lee with a double stomp to Bravo. Bravo & Rayo trip Lee up and split his legs on the ringpost. We go to commercial!

Lee gets slammed down and the Americanos pose. Lee with a german suplex on Rayo, but Bravo got the tag. Bravo sets up for a rana off the top, Lee blocks, puts Bravo in position for the double stomp and kinda hits it. Styles with the tag! Running elbow strikes to both Americanos. Styles onto the apron, sets up for the forearm, but Grande tosses him into the ring! Lee with a knee to Rayo, Bravo with some kicks to lee, Styles with a Pele to Bravo, then a dive onto Grande! Now he’ll hit the Phenomenal Forearm! Lee vaults Bravo into Styles Clash position, dives onto Rayo while Styles hits the Clash for the three count.

Winner: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee (4:02 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
This was ok from what I saw, I’m sure it was much better for those that saw the whole thing. Styles & Dragon is an interesting combination. I like the Americanos better as stooges than as actual in-ring competitors.

CM Punk will be on next Monday’s episode of Raw! Maxxine Dupri will take on Becky Lynch! Lyra Valkyria will face Roxanne Perez!

We get a video package hyping up Crown Jewel.

JACKIE REDMOND is with Stephanie Vaquer! Jackie asks where Stephanie’s confidence level is at. Stephanie says La Primera is ready for anyone. Tiffany Stratton insists that she respects Stephanie, but Stephanie needs to respect her. Tiffany & Stephanie disagree over whether or not Tiffy Time is coming to an end.

Tornado Tag Team Match: Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed (w/Paul Heyman): Time to yeet! Post-Yeet, Seth Rollins tells the Vision that he has to beat him. Paul Heyman reassures Seth that he will. Seth just says he has to beat him, and the Vision walk out for their match. The new ring jackets for the Brons are a very nice touch. Jey dives onto them and the match begins. Bronson sent into the ringpost. Bron drives his shoulder into Jimmy in the corner. Superkick by Jimmy, forearm in the corner by Jey. Yeet punches on Bronson. Running hip attacks in the corner. Bron clotheslined outside, Bronson trips them up on the dive attempt. Bron takes Jey down in the ring while Jimmy gets worked over by Bronson outside. Jey breaks up Bron’s dive, and Bron gets sent into the barricade. Jey dives into a right hand by Bronson and is tossed into the steps. Bronson clears the table for Jimmy’s body, sets up for a Jagged Edge, but Jimmy superkicks Bronson off! That leads to Bron spearing Big Jim through the table! Joe Tess loses his mind as we go to commercial.

Jey gets double teamed in the ring while Jimmy lies under the announce table. Jey’s shirt gets ripped off and Bronson hits an elbow drop. World’s Strongest Slam by Bronson on Jey. Really fast clothesline by Breakker. The Brons hit the electric chair bulldog that the Steiners utilized back in the day. Bronson goes up for a Tsunami, but Jimmy is back up and goes after them! Pop up Samoan Drop on Bron! Bronson grabs Jimmy and hits the Jagged Edge! Bron spears Jey! The Usos are stacked for a Tsunami…ROMAN REIGNS’ MUSIC HITS! The OTC is here, and walks down to the ring with a chair! Bron tossed over the ropes! Chair to Reed’s gut & back! Roman chairs Bronson into the crowd, Bron attacks and gets some of the same treatment from Roman. Jimmy & Jey back up, superkick by Jimmy, spear by Jey! Double Uso Splash gets the win for Jimmy & Jey!

Winner: Jimmy & Jey Uso (10:05 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
Some decent action here, but the story was obviously the return of the Tribal Chief, and the fans were certainly happy to see him. Roman being around obviously makes a difference with the WWE audience, and they could even generate some interest during football season.

Roman hits Bron in the gut several times with the chair before Bron vacates the ring. Roman & Jey embrace, Roman tells Jey that he’s got his back and gives him a pep talk. Our live event has ended!

If you’d like to chime in with your own thoughts on tonight’s show, feel free to join your fellow 411 Maniacs down in the comment section! As the legendary Larry Csonka always said: Have fun and don’t be a dick. When I’m not here you can catch me on the social media from time to time.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

Raw continued the road to Crown Jewel in a safe fashion tonight. Roman Reigns made his big return, Cody & Seth got a little more personal, and we will finally get to see Rhea & IYO team against Asuka & Kairi. Should be fun! So long and good night!