Cook’s WWE Raw Review 9.22.25

Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for the latest edition of WWE Raw on Netflix! Wrestlepalooza took place this past Saturday, and we’ll hear from the new Women’s World Champion, Stephanie Vaquer! Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will also be there, and Bayley will compete on Raw for the first time in two months when she takes on Roxanne Perez. Sounds like a good time to me!

Cook’s WWE Raw Review 9.22.25

New video package for Then. Now. Forever. Together!

We see some of the highlights of Wrestlepalooza. In case you’re wondering what I thought, I loved Vaquer/SKY and the mixed tag. Rest was just kinda there.

The Vision is WALKING! Stephanie Vaquer and her father are WALKING! The New Day & Grayson Waller WALK WITH KENDO STICKS! Bayley is CHECKING HER PHONE! LA Knight WALKS BY DIRTY DOM & RUSEV!

WRESTLING HAS MORE THAN ONE ROYAL FAMILY! Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring. Lilian Garcia is doing the ring announcing tonight, Joe Tessitore is joined on commentary by Wade Barrett. Cody asks Evansville what they want to talk about. They could talk about the Crown Jewel Championship Ring on his finger, he’d like to add one more at this year’s Crown Jewel, where he’ll take on-

BURN IT DOWN! Seth Rollins walks down to the ring with his Oracle & the Brons. He tells them to stay in the entranceway while he faces Cody inside the ring. The crowd sings, then woofs as Bron Breakker is seen pacing. Seth has had Crown Jewel circled on the calendar. Champion vs. Champion! Two of the best in the world in their prime one on one! May the best man win! It should be that simple, but it’s not because it’s deeper & bigger than that. Seth is good at reading people, he knows what everyone there thinks of him, the lockerroom, Internet, everyone watching on Netflix think, and he doesn’t care. These people don’t know what’s good for them and they don’t have the right to make decisions. The crowd chants for CM Punk, but this has nothing to do with that moron. He wants to know what Cody thinks of him. Cody says it’s complicated, and it shouldn’t be. Seth has made some questionable choices, one of which being Mr. Heyman. Seth changed his life. Cody’s return match was with him, his broken pec was against him, and he was Cody’s shield when he won the Undisputed Championship from Roman. It’s Wrestling 101 for him to run Seth down and exchange barbs, but he thinks Seth could be the absolute best if he wasn’t hiding behind three goons. Cody’s not going to sling mud, what can he do for Seth right now? Seth wants to talk about his watch. Cody gave him that watch at WrestleMania 40. He hasn’t worn it a single time since then until tonight. Was it a real gift or a token gesture? Cody is fantastic at saying all the right things about Seth when it suits him. In his next breath he undermines everything Seth stands for. Cody thinks he’s the right person to lead this industry into the future. If Cody believes he’s QB1, what does that say about Seth? Either he doesn’t think Seth is good enough, or Seth isn’t as good as Cody. The Vision aren’t goons, they’re an idea of what the future of this industry looks like, and it runs through Seth. Cody can be the quarterback, but he’ll be Seth’s quarterback. At Crown Jewel the truth will come out by any means necessary. Seth says it isn’t a two man show, he’s the alpha. Cody has two questions. The three matches they’ve had were one on one, will that be the case at Crown Jewel? And of those three matches, how many has Seth won?

Cody exits the ring and walks towards the Vision. Bron & Bronson step aside while Paul motions towards him to exit. Cody raises his title and his music plays.

Joe & Wade talk about how the Brons beat the Usos. Jey & Jimmy talk backstage. Jimmy says he knows they can beat the Brons, and he went to Adam Pearce to get the rematch made, but Jey got his own match made with LA Knight. Is that a good idea? Jey thinks they would have won if Knight wasn’t the referee, and he thinks the Vision would have taken care of Knight if Jimmy didn’t tag with him. Jimmy asks if Jey is trying to blame him, Jey just says they have a lot to handle, and they’ll do it after he bodies LA Knight. Not a lot of yeet from Jey there.

No Disqualification Six-Man Tag Team Match: Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods & Grayson Waller vs. Erik, Ivar & Penta: Last Monday, Penta defeated Kofi but got attacked backstage by the whole group. It’s a donnybrook right away, New Day & Waller get tossed to the floor but run away from the dives. They trip up two of them, Ivar doesn’t trip and he drags Woods into the ring. Woods with a poke to the eye, but Ivar sits on him. Kofi with a spin kick to Ivar. Kofi rolls through an Erik move, but Erik knees him in the face. Waller, whacks Erik with a kendo stick, then gets the same treatment from Penta. Waller knees Penta down, then runs into a punch from Erik. Kofi & Xavier clubber on Erik and roll him into the ring. Ivar clotheslines them down. CERO MIEDO, Penta uses Erik’s back as a launchpad and dives onto the three. We go to commercial!

We return and there’s a table set up outside and one in the corner while Penta gets beat down. Penta backdrops Waller over the top, ranas Kofi, but gets tripped by Woods on the apron. Xavier puts Penta on the table and Kofi goes up top. He hits a legdrop through the table that we actually got to see on the replay. Woods kinda wiped out the camera man there. Erik & Ivar try to finish off Waller but Xavier & Kofi attack. Erik headbutts Waller and powerbombs both Xavier & Kofi out of the corner. Ivar tries a moonsault on the New Day but misses! Senton to Ivar on the apron, Waller goes for a rana to the floor, but Ivar blocks and sitout powerbombs him on the apron! Yeesh! Erik with a spinebuster to Xavier on the apron, Kofi with a crossbody to Erik’s back. Penta suplexes Kofi through the table in the corner! Waller hits Penta with the kendo stick and follows him up top. Penta blocks a Spanish fly and hits an avalanche Mexican Destroyer! That’ll get the three count.

Winners: Erik, Ivar & Penta (7:17 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
Some stupid fun garbage stuff, nothing too off the wall.

Penta & the War Raiders celebrate.

Dominik Mysterio complains to Finn Balor about Rusev coming after him. They need to stick together! Finn suggests asking El Grande Americano, but he’s in Mexico tonight. Finn is too busy playing video games to help. JD McDonagh is next in line, and Roxanne Perez says he needs to help him. JD agrees to do it for the Judgment Day. Turns out that Dom already got the match made between JD & Rusev. Roxanne & Raquel run off as JD realizes that he got got.

Lyra Valkyria & Bayley talk about how awesome last week was. Bayley doesn’t seem to remember yelling at Lyra last week and asks her to be in her corner tonight. Lyra is reticent and remembers that they were supposed to keep their distance. Bayley says she wants to impress Lyra and she wants her out there. No takebacks, so Lyra will be out there! Bayley runs off, Lyra exchanges a nod of acknowledgement with Stephanie Vaquer, who is heading to the ring next!

Adam Pearce is in the ring to introduce the new Women’s World Champion, La Primera, the Chilean Hotness, Stephanie Vaquer! The fans say that she deserves it. Adam agrees and congratulates her. This is the dream of her life, it might have felt impossible but she sacrificed for it and made it. She beat one of the best on the planet, IYO SKY. She learned to be strong and never give up from her hero, her dad. Dad Vaquer is at ringside. She speaks in Spanish to thank her fans for their support, and she thanks everyone in English as well. Her fire will keep making history, and nobody can stop her. Pearce says that the winner of Friday’s Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women’s Championship will face Stephanie at Crown Jewel. Stephanie says she’ll be there. Pyro goes off and Stephanie raises her title to cheers from the fans. Obviously Stephanie’s English isn’t the best, but she’s trying and the fans realize that too. Anhybody that tries to “What” Stephanie will hear about it from the rest of us.

Joe & Wade talk about Brock Lesnar beating John Cena in 8:50, and we see a video package almost long enough to contain the full match.

Stephanie is congratulated by Nikki Bella & Rhea Ripley. Rhea says that she’ll still be coming for the title, and Stephanie is looking forward to it. Asuka says that Stephanie doesn’t deserve to be champion, and Stephanie says she’ll prove it to Asuka anytime. Rhea says she’s sick of Asuka’s attitude. Asuka says Rhea should stay away from IYO, and that Rhea isn’t ready for Asuka. Rhea says she is ready, and she’ll face Asuka tonight! Kairi Sane tries to apologize, but Asuka yells for her to come.

Bayley (w/Lyra Valkyria) vs. Roxanne Perez (w/Raquel Rodriguez): I wonder if the video package from last week reminded Bayley of anything. Bayley with a headlock takeover as Asuka vs. Ripley is made official and Joe & Wade lose their stuff. Roxanne goes for a leg sweep, Bayley blocks and trips her up. Bayley with some sliding clotheslines. Roxanne goes outside and Bayley follows her. Roxanne blocks a kick and sends Bayley into the barrier. Back in the ring, Roxanne gets out of the corner and trips Bayley on the ropes while Lyra & Raquel argue. Roxanne stands on Bayley’s knee on the rope and stomps it. Bayley favors her left knee as we go to commercial.

Bayley front suplexes Roxanne as we return. Second rope elbow to a bent over Roxanne gets two. Bayley back up top, gets crotched by Roxanne. Roxanne gets a rana on Bayley, then a cartwheel into a kneedrop gets two. Roxanne with a kick, Bayley evades Pop Rox, but Roxanne gets a rollup for two. Bayley with a strike, she goes to the middle rope but Roxanne follows her and hits a leg sweep. Bayley rolls outside right in front of Raquel, who obviously does nothing. Roxanne runs into a punch, kicks Bayley and hits Pop Rox on the floor! The referee gets to nine. Raquel pulls Bayley outside and kicks her! Lyra evades a powerslam and sends Raquel into the post. Roxanne dives onto Lyra and lands some punches. Bayley looks pretty mad about it, and she drags Roxanne back in by her hair. Bayley to Belly, a big knee and a Rose Plant end the match in favor of Bayley.

Winner: Bayley (7:44 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
It’s going to be interesting to see how Bayley’s new persona translates to her matches, and so far it seems like it’ll be fun. Roxanne’s win/loss record hasn’t been great but she keeps performing and proving that she belongs on whatever stage is available.

Bayley rolls Roxanne out of the ring, and Lyra celebrates! Lyra tries to hug Bayley, but Bayley shoves her down! Do you know who she is? She tells Lyra to stay out of it and leaves.

Cody runs into Jimmy Uso, who congratulates him on still being champion. Cody asks about Jey, and Jimmy says Jey is all in his head right now. Jimmy says maybe he’ll listen to Cody, and Cody agrees to talk to him.

Cody & Jey have a chat. Jey insists he’s good. Cody says he’s been there, he’s had plenty of ups & downs too. Cody reminds Jey that he has his family & friends, and says that we believe in Jey. Jey thanks him and says not to worry, he’ll be back on top.

JD McDonagh (w/Dominik Mysterio) vs. Rusev: Rusev with some strikes early on, he punches JD down in the corner. JD fights back briefly before getting vertical suplexed. Another one as Rusev trash talks Dom & stares at him. Rusev chokes JD on the ropes. JD fights back with a chop, Rusev seems confused, and he chases JD around. Baaack body drop by Rusev. JD gets tossed outside, Dom runs away after checking on JD, and JD gets dropped on the barricade. JD dropkicks the steps into Rusev, then kicks Rusev in the back. Rusev gets sent into the ring post. Asai moonsault by JD! We go to commercial!

JD is stuck on the top turnbuckle as we return. Chinbuster by JD, Rusev misses in the corner. JD trips him up and hits a corkscrew splash over the ropes. Busiaku knee by JD gets a 1 count, take that, Bryan! (No I don’t know why we’re taking shots at Bryan) JD with a tornado DDT, then a big headbutt. Moonsault gets two. JD with some forearms, he tries to clothesline Rusev down, but Rusev hits him with a twisting uranage. Matchka kick by Rusev, and it’s Game Over! Rusev locks in the Accolade, Dom considers interfering but remains on the apron. JD must submit.

Winner: Rusev (7:33 shown via submission)
Match Rating: **1/2
Rusev seems to be reacclimating to WWE better than some folks that have gone back and forth between WWE & AEW have. JD got some stuff in so he didn’t look to bad, and the issue between the Judgment Day members continues.

Finn Balor emerges from the back and sends Rusev over the top rope after breaking the hold! Finn & Dom argue over Dom’s effectiveness at helping JD as they retreat from the ring.

IYO tells Asuka that she doesn’t need to do this. Asuka wants to teach Rhea respect and won’t take advice from IYO. Kairi tells IYO that Asuka is why they are here, and they must listen to…Asuka yells KAIRI and Kairi staggers off.

JACKIE REDMOND is backstage with LA Knight. She wonders if his unique refereeing style had a negative effect on this issue. LA calls her wordy and thinks Jey should be worrying about his health. LA was worried about Jey’s health on Saturday, and doesn’t want to hurt him tonight, but he will if he has to. YEAH.

Jey Uso vs. LA Knight: The fans get to yeet and then yeah, everybody wins! I didn’t think LA was a terrible official on Saturday, but he’s getting a lot of crap from Joe here. I’d like to hear him say some of this stuff during his college football assignments. Jey hits some Yeet punches right away. LA with some Yeah punches. Yeet elbow from Jey, then some mounted punches and a stomp. LA sent into the corner, Jey misses and LA hits the neckbreaker. LA removes his jacket finally, Jey gets sent over the top rope. LA follows him, but misses a kick and gets clotheslined on the floor as we go to commercial.

Jey remains on the offensive as we return. LA follows Jey up top, but gets knocked off before jumping up top again and hitting the superplex. Yeet & Yeah punches exchanged. BFT blocked, LA with a burning hammer! It only gets two. LA misses a kick, Jey grabs the tights on a rollup for two. Jey blocks a neckbreaker, LA goes outside and Jey dives onto him. Superkick by Jey gets two. Jey tries a spear, runs into a boot and LA hits a DDT. Leaping elbow drop by LA! Here come the Brons! LA tries to fight them off, which leaves him open for a spear by Jey. The Uso splash wins it for Jey.

Winner: Jey Uso (6:05 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **3/4
Fan favorite matches can be tough, but people liked chanting along with both guys and were into the match. Some interesting developments with Jey lately, one wonders what his future might hold.

Wade points out that the Vision didn’t exactly go after Jey. Jimmy comes out to the stage and tells Jey they need to do something about the Brons. Jey walks off, so Jimmy runs down to the ring with a chair. Paul Heyman eventually prevents Bron from attacking and says they’ll do it on their time. Paul & Bronson mock Jimmy with the ones to the sky.

Becky Lynch talks trash about Cody & the Usos while Seth sits and ponders.. She’s the greatest of all time, the fans are thieves and they’re trying to steal everything they’ve done. Becky says she’s going to make an example and heads off.

IYO comes up to Rhea and wants her to call off the match. Rhea is sick of Asuka being disrespectful. She suggests that Asuka & her can beat respect into each other like they did. Rhea tells IYO to be careful around Asuka and suggests that Asuka can’t be trusted. IYO gets mad and says she wouldn’t be here if not for Asuka. She wonders if she can trust Rhea and walks off. Rhea is dismayed as IYO leaves.

Stephanie McMahon will be the first inductee into the 2026 Hall of Fame class. Seems a little bit early to start with this, but I’m sure there’s a reason for it.

Joe & Wade congratulate Stephanie and talk about her impact on young women. Raw will start at 7 PM Eastern again next week. Dirty Dom will defend the IC title against Rusev! Bayley will take on Raquel Rodriguez! The Usos & Brons will face off in a Tornado Tag Team Match!

We get a video package for Los Americanos. Many believed they were gone forever, but they have become stronger than ever! The dynasty grows in power and takes its rightful place on top of WWE.

Maxxine Dupri begs Adam Pearce for a match, Pearce suggests she keep doing what she’s doing and he’ll find a spot for her. AJ Styles & Dragon Lee come in to complain about the Americanos. AJ is petty as hell and Dragon is insulted by their presence. Adam will make the match, and AJ suggests not signing any more Americanos.

Asuka (w/Kairi Sane) vs. Rhea Ripley: I like how the announcers are hyping this up as a PLE main event level match. It’s been awhile since I remember them doing it, it’s not like when Tony Schiavone did it every week on Nitro. They last met one on one in December 2022, and now we finally run it back. Asuka gets caught in the corner, Asuka rolls through for a nearfall. Rhea with a German suplex, misses a boot and gets knocked off the apron by Asuka. We go to commercial!

Asuka gets her whip reversed, Rhea sent onto the apron, ends up getting dragon screwed through the ropes. Asuka targeting the right knee of Rhea. Rhea with a slap, she wants some. Rhea kicks Asuka down, then hits a faceplant suplex before dropkicking Asuka. Northern Lights suplex gets two. Rhea gets Asuka up, Asuka slips out and kicks the keg. Running kick to the head gets two for Asuka. Rhea struggling to get up, Asuka delivers kicks to the leg. Standing switches, Rhea blocks the roll and boots Asuka down. Asuka gets sent outside and Rhea hits a dive as we go to commercial.

Ankle lock by Asuka, Rhea fights out. Asuka’s head bounces off the top turnbuckle and Rhea delivers a chop. Asuka placed up top and Rhea goes for a superplex, hits it! Not a great landing for Rhea there. They exchange strikes and get back on their feet. Asuka with the backslide for two. Rhea elbows Asuka in the back of the head, delivers a superkick and hits a Razor’s Edge! Shining Wizard gets two for Rhea. Asuka evades the Riptide and locks in a cross armbreaker. Rhea gets out, misses in the corner and hits her shoulder. Asuka with a big kick for a two count. The fans chant for Mami. Asuka with some kicks to Rhea’s head. Rhea catches the leg, but Asuka with more strikes. Rhea rolls outside after a kick to the head. Kairi Sane is thinking about attacking but can’t seem to. Asuka sends Rhea into the announce table, rolls her back into the ring and yells at Kairi. Rhea fights back with a forearm, but Asuka goes back to the leg. Another ankle lock, then a German suplex by Asuka. Asuka comes off the middle rope, but Rhea hits a dropkick! Kairi sneaks over to Rhea’s side of the ring, goes for a backfist but Rhea catches it! Asuka tries to run into Rhea, but Rhea moves and Kairi gets wiped out! Rhea wins with a small package!

Winner: Rhea Ripley (11:41 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***
I would definitely go higher with the rating if I was able to see it all. Two of the best out there going at it, hopefully it’ll happen again pretty soon.

Asuka mists Rhea! Now Kairi has been convinced to attack, and they both beat on Rhea until Rhea’s music hits! IYO begs Asuka to stop, and Asuka tears up before they hug. BACKFIST TO IYO! Asuka tells Kairi to attack IYO, and she does! What the hell? Asuka kicks IYO to the mat and Kairi goes up top. The blinded Rhea gets kicked down by Asuka, and Kairi cries but still hits the Insane Elbow on IYO while Asuka holds her. The live event ends with this disturbing display by the Kabuki Warriors.

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.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

The obvious highlight was Asuka vs. Rhea, which led to Asuka finally turning against IYO for good and taking Kairi along for the ride. It's been an interesting story so far, and I can't wait to see where it goes. Most of the show was dedicated to starting the storylines for Crown Jewel, which looks to be an interesting card on paper with the Champion vs. Champion matches and other shenanigans. The show successfully turned the page while finding other issues for fans to dig into.