wrestling / TV Reports
Cook’s WWE Raw Review 3.3.25
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hey kids! I’m Steve Cook, and I’m here with you for another edition of Raw on Netflix. We’re fresh off an Elimination Chamber show that shocked the world. John Cena is not announced to be on Raw tonight, but I’m sure we’ll see & hear reaction to his betrayal of Cody Rhodes, the WWE Universe & Make-A-Wish kids across the globe. We’ve got three championship matches tonight, and we’ll hear from the likes of Gunther, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker & others. Let’s go!
And now, a word from Tony Acero!
Hey y’all, Tony Acero here! I hope y’all are treatin Steve like the dignified gentleman he is! Miss you guys! So I’m not sure if anyone is interested, but my friends and I have an extra ticket for Mania that we need to sell! Here’s the info:
Section 206, Row 1, Seats 13-15
Aisle Seat
$1675 for the ticket!
If you or someone you know is interested, please have them e mail me at [email protected]
Thanks Tony!
Cook’s WWE Raw Review 3.3.25
Then! Now! Forever! Together!
We’re 47 days away from WrestleMania 41, and we’re in Buffalo, New York. Home of tennis star Jessica Pegula, Bills Mafia and the late, great Big Mike Watters. We see a video package on last Saturday’s Elimination Chamber show. I saw the last two matches after the Louisville men’s basketball game ended, it was a good time.
Michael Cole & Pat McAfee are at ringside, and Cole still isn’t sure how to process what happened. We’ll take a deeper look later tonight! Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY & Dakota Kai are all WALKING. Bianca Belair is on the phone. We see footage of American Made training in the ring earlier in the day.
CM Punk emerges from an automobile, and he doesn’t appear to be in a good mood. He makes his way down to the ring to tell us about it. Punk rips the lid off the announce table, throws some Prime energy drinks and mounts the table to speak. Some people think that Punk has exhausted all of his opportunities to main event WrestleMania. He has a list of enemies he needs to address tonight and asks the fans who they want to hear about first. The fans suggest The Rock, so Punk calls Dwayne a bald fraud. Rock is dealing with the best in the world, middle aged & crazy, he’s done it all to try & main event WrestleMania while Rock shows up when he feels like it. He’d like to say it to Rock’s face, but Rock hasn’t been around in months. He has never been this desperate and never proclaimed himself the People’s Champion because he earned it. He’s never been so desperate as to sell his soul. We can all see through John Cena now. Cena stole something from Punk on Saturday night. Punk gave him the benefit of the doubt before, not again. Cena’s been selling all these people & kids bullshit for 20 years. You’ll never see Punk give up on his dreams, Cena gave up on himself, the people and all the kids. He’ll get his hands on both the bald frauds, and they’ll make a wish that he never did. Now, the man who currently has his undivided attention, Seth Rollins. Becky Lynch better come get her man because he’s gonna put Seth in a wheelchair if she doesn’t.
BURN IT DOWN hits, and Punk runs to the entranceway to attack Seth Rollins. They engage in some fisticuffs before the officials and referees try & break it up. It takes a number of attempts for them to do so. Even more security comes down, but Punk & Rollins manage to brawl into the ring. Now they brawl into the crowd! They brawl around the announce table! McAfee exclaims about fecal matter and the fans say this is awesome! Rollins finally gets moved towards the entranceway, and Punk stews by the announce table as we go to commercial.
We return to a video package showing fans, You Tubers & Shannon Sharpe reacting to John Cena’s Saturday night. A couple of minutes ago, CM Punk & Seth Rollins brawled around ringside. Cole & McAfee then show us clips from last Monday night, where Judgment Day won the Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Finn Balor chills on the couch while the rest of Judgment Day talks about last week. Liv Morgan thinks it’s time for Raquel Rodriguez to go after the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, and Raquel says she’ll keep an eye on tonight’s title match. Dominick tries to pitch the idea of another member again, and Finn still isn’t having it. He says he’ll deal with Bron Breakker tonight. Liv’s staying out of the whole Jade Cargill thing because she had nothing to do with it.
Otis (w/Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri) vs. Gunther: Before Gunther embarrasses Otis, he explains some things to him. He knows Otis is strong as an ox and some call him a freak of nature. Gunther says Otis is just a freak. He belongs to the same category as Jey Uso, a people pleaser obsessed with the fans that doesn’t belong in Gunther’s ring. The fans cheer Otis because they pity him. Otis doesn’t like how he looks in the mirror, he can’t find a belt that fits. Otis could be great if he had a little bit of self-respect. Gunther will teach him about respect now. Gunther boots Otis and the bell rings. Otis fires back with some punches before Gunther kicks him in the chest. Shoulderblock by Gunther goes nowhere. He does another, then hits two big boots to knock Otis outside. Gunther paintbrushes the back of Otis’s head, but Gunther gets grabbed and fallaway slammed on the floor! Gunther is wiped out as we go to commercial.
We return and Gunther is working a crossface on Otis. Gunther releases and knees Otis in the side. Otis gets tired of getting slapped, but gets booted down and covered for two. Gunther goes for a choke but Otis reverses with a back suplex. Otis powers up and gets chopped, but Otis asks for more. After 4, Otis tears his shirt off and we get a chopfest. Otis hits a headbutt, sends Gunther down. Splash in the corner, then a bodyslam by Otis. Another splash in the corner, Gunther gets elbowed down, then slammed down. Caterpillar elbow drop gets a two count! Vader Bomb misses for Otis, Gunther hits a dropkick. Otis with a backdrop. Gunther with some forearms, then another big boot. Clothesline gets two for Gunther. Gunther hits a powerbomb, and that gets the three count.
Winner: Gunther (7:09 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
Decent enough extended squash here. I thought Otis got about the right amount of offense and this took about as long as it should. Sometimes these types of matches end up going long and make the winner look kinda weak taking so long to beat an underneath guy, that wasn’t the case here.
Gunther locks in a sleeperhold afterward, but Tozawa breaks that up. Gunther responds by powerbombing Tozawa on top of Otis. Gunther sets up for another powerbomb on Otis, but Jey Uso’s music plays! Jey runs down and he & Gunther start clobbering. Jey hits a spear and Gunther ends up outside. DAY ONE! JUST ME, UCE! The crowd almost gets to yeet, but Grayson Waller & Austin Theory attack Jey from behind! Their upper hand doesn’t last long, as some miscommunication leads to A-Town Down Under’s downfall. Gunther attacks Jey from behind and locks in a sleeperhold! Jey gets choked out and Gunther poses with his championship while a foot is on Jey’s back.
We see a video package for tonight’s match between Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY for the Women’s World Championship.
Ivy Nile & Lyra Valkyria are WALKING! They’ll face off next.
UFC Hall of Famer Clay Guida is here, I wonder if they made him pay for that title belt.
Cathy Kelly is with AJ Styles, and asks him what he thought about the ending of Elimination Chamber. AJ says he didn’t see it coming. Karrion Kross appears and says he should have seen it coming. He tries to sell AJ on the young guys not respecting him, but AJ isn’t buying it. Next Monday in Madison Square Garden, he’ll call out Logan Paul. Kross seems to have accomplished his goal here.
Women’s Intercontinental Championship Match: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Ivy Nile: Lyra hits a dropkick right away. Lyra hits a knee, whip reversed, a hip toss takedown gets a one count on Ivy. Ivy clotheslines Lyra and punches her on the mat. Lyra evades Ivy in the corner, hits a Northern Lights suplex for a brief count. Lyra dropkicks Ivy through the ropes, gets her back in the ring and goes up top. Ivy dragonscrews Lyra off the top, then targets the left knee as we go to commercial.
Ivy has Lyra in a half crab when we return, and rams Lyra’s knee into the mat. Lyra with a quick rollup for two, then a backslide for two. Digging Lyra’s selling here. Crossbody is rolled through by Ivy, but Lyra hits a sitout Doctor Bomb. She can’t cover with the knee issues though. Lyra with some clotheslines, then a step up enziguri. Ivy works Lyra into a vertical suplex for two. Lyra rolls Ivy up for two, then hits a spinning neckbreaker. Lyra lifts Ivy, but the knee gives out. Ivy with a kneebreaker, then a sitout powerbomb gets two. Ivy lost her balance but the move ended well anyway. Ivy with an ankle lock, she bends Lyra’s knee at an odd angle before Lyra reaches the ropes. Another nearfall for Lyra, Ivy with a German suplex. Ivy misses the boot in the corner, Lyra hits a backbreaker, then the Night Wing ends it!
Winner: Lyra Valkyria (6:58 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **3/4
I enjoyed this mostly for Lyra’s selling of her knee. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a limb sold to that extent. Two straight weeks of good outings for her should mean good things for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
Earlier tonight, CM Punk & Seth Rollins had a fight. Jackie Redmond is with Seth and tries to get a comment as he heads out, but Rollins spots Punk and it’s on sight! Adam Pearce and officials break things up while Punk screams about killing the man.
Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins is in the house with his Bills title belt.
Adam Pearce & Seth Rollins have some words. Rollins says it’s the easiest job of Pearce’s life to do something about Punk. Rollins wants to finish this rivalry, and Pearce says they’ll do it next week at MSG in a steel cage! Rollins goes inside a bus, and the security guards stand there to make sure Rollins stays there.
Last Monday, Ludwig Kaiser got the win in the triple threat match. This week he’s in the ring with a microphone. Kaiser demands all of the fans’ gratitude, they don’t seem to be giving it. Last week, Ludwig took back the attention that Penta had the last couple of weeks, and that he has deserved all this time. Kaiser says he’s a future World Champion whether we like it or not. Penta might want to reconsider this unfinished business, what John Cena did to Cody Rhodes is nothing compared to what Kaiser plans to do to him. Penta will know exactly what fear feels like.
Penta enters the arena with pyro & ballyhoo. He hits a rana on Kaiser, then a superkick. Kaiser evades the Penta Driver, but returns to the ring to get beat up some more. Sling blade by Penta, then he head scissors Kaiser out to the floor. Springboard clothesline, then a dive onto Kaiser on the floor! Not sure why Penta is dressed like Michael Jackson in Thriller, but it seems to work for him.
Cathy is with Bianca Belair, who doesn’t want to talk about the Jade/Naomi issue until she talks to them about it. She’s proud of what she accomplished in the Chamber and wants to see who she’ll be facing at WrestleMania, which you can’t spell without E-S-T. Well that’s true. Maxxine Dupri was in the background talking to a blonde I couldn’t recognize, seems like that could be something to keep an eye on.
The Creed Brothers are WALKING, as are The War Raiders! They’ll face off next.
We get WWE announcers in different languages talking during John Cena’s heinous act.
Chad Gable is in Mexico learning about the art of lucha libre. He shows a picture to various people, they don’t seem to recognize him. A mysterious figure was waiting for Chad, and tells him that he can’t fight what he doesn’t understand. Chad must become lucha. He hands Chad a box after some payment, and Chad gawks at whatever is in the box.
World Tag Team Championship Match: War Raiders (c) vs. Brutus & Julius Creed: Erik & Julius start things off. They struggle in the corner, Julius with a shove, then a takedown. Brutus tags in and pounds away on Erik. Frequent tags by the Creeds as they work over Erik in the corner. Erik with a slam on Brutus, and a tag to Ivar. A distraction leads to the Creeds going back on offense, but the double clothesline doesn’t work. Ivar’s handspring elbow does. Erik tags in and the double team starts. Erik slams Ivar on Brutus. Ivar walks into a Julius knee, but hits a shot in the corner. Ivar climbs to the middle rope, but Julius dropkicks him to the floor! Ivar gets sent into the steps, and Julius talks some junk as we go to commercial.
The Creeds hit a stalling double vertical suplex for two on Ivar as we return. Ivar fights back and hits a sitdown splash on Brutus. Julius can’t stop the tag and Erik comes in. Overhead throw on Julius, urinaki for Brutus. Dropkick on Julius, and Erik leads the war chant. Tag to Ivar, a double team leading to a big slam gets two. Erik back in, Julius evades the powerbomb, Ivar hits the ringpost and Erik gets suplexed. Brutus tags in, a Julius Angle Slam is followed by a Brutus 450 splash for two! Erik with an elbow for Julius in the corner. Erik goes up top, but gets superplexed by Julius! Brutus misses a moonsault. Ivar goes up top and misses a moonsault of his own. Julius hits a shooting star press, and that gets two! We’re using all of the top rope moves in this match! Erik tags in, but Julius slams him down. Brutus tags, they set up a double team but Erik gets out of it. Ivar crossbodies Julius against the side of the ring. Brutus gets hit with the War Machine for the three count!
Winners: War Raiders (8:39 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***
The Creeds will win some gold one of these days, probably before the end of this year if I had to guess. Tonight wasn’t their night, but they sure looked impressive. It’ll be interesting to see who the next challengers are.
A video package chronicles the Unsanctioned match between Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber. Those two are pretty crazy, but we knew that already. Speaking of crazy, Randy Orton returned at the end of the match. Cole tells us that Sami is out indefinitely.
The LWO says that the New Day can’t take their hearts, spirits or fire. They didn’t get the job done, and now the LWO is stronger than ever. Next week, Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee will face Xavier & Kofi in a tornado tag team match. Rey is proud of his crew, his Latinos, and New Day sucks.
Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY prepare for their title match!
We return and Finn Balor is in the ring while Bron Breakker is standing in the crowd with Jackie. The reason he’s still IC Champ is that he’s a dog. Last week, Bron embarrassed all of the Judgment Day. Finn chews up people like Bron for breakfast, he’s untouchable in this ring and can take that title any time he likes. Bron’s up there hiding behind Jackie because when they get in the ring Finn will put him down. Bron decides to head towards the ring. Carlito tries to attack at ringside, but accomplishes nothing. Dominick gets suplexed on the floor. Bron hits the ring and Finn hits a sling blade. Finn gets the upper hand for a few seconds before Bron military presses him into a powerslam. Bron sets up for a spear, but Dom pulls Finn out of the ring. Bron decides to spear Carlito on the floor instead. Play Bron’s music!
Cody Rhodes didn’t sell his soul to the Rock on Saturday night, so John Cena did instead! Funny seeing Cole freak out while Wade Barrett’s just sitting there with a grin like “told ya so”. Cody will address this Friday night on SmackDown.
Next Week at MSG: Jey Uso vs. Grayson Waller! Dragon Lee & Rey Mysterio vs. The New Day in a tornado tag team match! AJ Styles calls out Logan Paul! CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins in a steel cage!
Jey Uso & the Alpha Academy exchange pleasantries. Cathy walks up to Jey, and after my Internet kicks back on Jey tells us about his back being against the wall and how he’s going to keep getting up. He’ll walk through these ten weeks of hell, and at WrestleMania he’ll crash out. Four letters, one word: Yeet! I think Gordon Solie said that once. Cathy notes Jey heading out into the Buffalo night without a shirt on.
Bianca Belair heads down to ringside so she can get a close look at our main event. It’s next!
Women’s World Championship Match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. IYO SKY: Feels like it’s been way too long since we had a Rhea match on this show, but I’d be saying that if she wrestled last week. It’s so cute how Rhea gets excited during her introduction by Alicia Taylor! Tieup, Rhea takes Iyo down, Iyo with a headlock, off the ropes, a shoulderblock and dropkick by Rhea gets two. Near-fall for Iyo, Rhea with a big punch. Another near-fall for Iyo, Rhea blocks the rana, but Iyo gets a victory roll for two. Iyo with a kick. Rhea swings Iyo into the apron a couple of times, then hits a vertical suplex on the floor. We go to commercial!
When we return, Rhea covers Iyo for two after a missile dropkick. Is “FDM” still enough of a thing for a fan sign? I don’t think Bruce has podcasted for months. Iyo with a big palm strike. Iyo out to the apron, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick of her own. Rhea fights back, hits some clotheslines, a kick, and tries a suplex but Iyo rolls through and stomps Rhea for two. Rhea & Iyo exchange strikes. Rhea misses a kick and Iyo goes for an arm submission, Iyo tries another rollup but Rhea just throws her down to the mat for two. Rhea goes for the Prism Lock, but Iyo avoids it and kicks her to the apron. Both women there now, Rhea goes for a suplex but Iyo gets an arm wringer and drops Rhea on the apron. Iyo tries to springboard, but ends up running into a big boot for two. Iyo counters the Riptide with a DDT! Iyo with a Dakota Kai running boot in the corner, she goes up top and hits a Kairi Sane elbowdrop for two! Now it’s the Asuka Lock! Iyo using all the Damage CTRL moves, but Rhea gets out of the Asuka Lock. Double knees in the corner by Iyo, and she goes back up top. Rhea crotches Iyo there and follows her up. Back suplex off the middle rope gets two for Rhea! Rhea locks in the Prism Lock, but Iyo breaks it and sends Rhea into the ringpost. Rhea is on the apron, so Iyo vaults over her and hits a sunset flip powerbomb into the barricade! She sends Rhea back into the ring and hits the moonsault for two! Rhea’s foot was on the rope. Those legs come in handy sometimes. Iyo with a crossbody to the floor on Rhea! Rhea drops Iyo on the apron and then the announce table! Bianca claps, she seems to be cheering on both competitors but a little more for Iyo. Rhea takes offense to Bianca’s cheering, and shoves her down! The referee tells Rhea to get back into the ring after Bianca shoves her back. Rhea is still distracted as she sets Iyo up for a top rope Riptide, Iyo counters with a rana! Moonsault! It gets the three count! HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE IN BUFFALO!
Winner: Iyo Sky (15:38 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/2
I was totally not expecting this result, as Rhea has been pretty much unbeatable as long as I can remember. Iyo does have her number though; Rhea still doesn’t hold a victory over the Genius of the Sky. I have a feeling the Road to WrestleMania will contain some twists & turns as far as this situation goes, we might not be seeing Iyo vs. Bianca in a singles title match. Just some unfounded speculation on my part.
Another WWE event ends in a way I didn’t expect! Iyo points at the sign, she’ll be going to WrestleMania! Rhea is unhappy at ringside while Iyo celebrates and we go off the air for this week.
Thanks for reading! If you’ve got any thoughts, questions or concerns for me, hit me up at [email protected] or on the social media. So long and good night!
