This Week In WWE Review (5/4/25 – 11/5/25)

Familiar Faces

Jey Uso opens the show by calling out Logan Paul, but he is confronted by Paul Heyman. Heyman unloads on Jey about the situation he was put in and how he was the victim. CM Punk and Roman Reigns both tried to sabotage his relationship with the other.

There are some great lines in here, Heyman takes credit for the success of the Bloodline, turning a lost Big Dog into the Tribal Chief. He says that “we were the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion” which is a great piece of ego-driven heel work. Jey Uso questions what this has to do with him. Heyman says that Seth Rollins will be Heavyweight Champion again, so it is up to Jey when he wants to lose the title. Jey Uso throws out the challenge for tonight.

Paul Heyman dropped one of the best promos we have heard from him in a while. Jey Uso looks like a fighting champion willing to throw out the challenge, but it was all part of the plan. Heyman is a smart heel that played Jey. Great, layered opening segment.

Revenge

The first match of the night saw Penta defeat JD McDonagh, getting a measure of revenge for him getting involved with his Intercontinental Championship match with Dominik Mysterio. This was a good TV match with a hot finish. A little excessive with all of the interference from Judgement Day and also Chad Gable, but the chaos was exciting.

Welcome Back

Grayson Waller put himself over his friend Austin Theory to get a match on Raw, but when he learned who his opponent is, he tricked Theory into taking the match instead. His opponent? The returning Sheamus! Always a joy to see the Celtic Warrior.

Glad to see Sheamus back and I think this was a solid match to reintroduce him. Sheamus looked strong, though I would have liked to have seen Austin Theory get a little more in. He got next to no offence in this match. I did like the story between Theory and Waller. They have teased issues between these two for a little while. Theory constantly reached out for Waller to get involved and help, but he was hesitant and never did. If done correctly, the face turn for Austin in 2025 could be huge for him.

Straight Fire

Holy shit this promo segment between Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria was awesome. Becky is confused why she is being booed when she was cheered for appearing at Wrestlemania. She took out the garbage (Bayley) and did everyone a favour. Her delivery here was so good she got cheers. She calls Lyra recycling who would be nothing with Becky. Lyra calls Becky the queen of recycling because she recycles her act over and over. She says everyone has gotten better here since Becky has been gone. Lyra has made history of her own and has defended her title more times than Becky has shown up for work.

There is just so many great lines here. The one Lyra said about Becky breaking the glass ceiling for women, but leaving the broken glass for the rest of them to walk through, is genius writing. Becky says everyone got better because they weren’t being compared to her. Her job isn’t to help anybody it is to beat everybody and she is great at her job. Valkyria claims Becky is jealous because she has made her own history. After harsh words, Becky tried a cheap shot but Lyra intercepts and wins their brawl.

Lyra Valkyria was getting loud reactions, a testament to how great this segment was. This is how you do a veteran vs rising star feud properly. I’m looking at you Charlotte and Tiffany. This was awesome, Lyra’s stock has risen a lot in a few weeks.

Genius vs Prodigy

Iyo Sky continues her fantastic run with another very good match on Raw, this time in a singles match against Roxanne Perez. Perez was also in great form here too. I liked that this was well contested and Iyo did not win dominantly. They wrestle back and forth and get into a pin exchange, Iyo Sky manages to outmanoeuvre Roxanne and get the win.

After the match, Roxanne extends a handshake which was surprising, but of course it was a ruse. Giulia attacks Iyo from behind and the NXT stars stand tall yet again. Another impressive showing from Raw’s women’s division.

No Contest Done Properly

There have been rising complaints on WWE’s reliance on DQs and No Contests in recent months. I agree that they have been used for too commonly, but I understand that it is a common trope of wrestling dating back to the 60s. However, I think that the Jey Uso vs Seth Rollins main event was the best way to handle it.

This match was awesome. Everyone played their part to a tee, including Paul Heyman who was seen orchestrating and singing Seth’s entrance music. An amazing back and forth between Jey and Seth who have good chemistry together. The spear into the pedigree counter is always awesome to see. Later on Jey landed the spear and it got a great near fall. Even better was a kick out from a Superkick, a spear then a splash by Uso.

Eventually Bron Breakker prepared to get involved but Sami Zayn comes out to even the odds. Bron deals with him and aids Rollins with a low blow. Seth hits the stomp but here comes CM Punk with a chair to take out The Visionary.

The action was great, the storytelling was fantastic and the no contest was done tastefully. CM Punk, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso stand tall to close the show. A hot finish to an overall great Raw.

Mathematician Cannot Add It Up

I don’t see why Paul Heyman had to explain the entire process of manipulation to Bron Breakker. The fact that he tricked Jey Uso into giving him a title shot is not that hard to grasp. This is the same guy who showed his own spin the infamous ‘Steiner Maths’ at the Wrestlemania 41 Kickoff show. This made Bron Breakker look really stupid, which I hope is not what he becomes. A meat head with no thoughts. He already has developed a personality and mic skills. Bron shouldn’t be presented as an idiot.

Lazy

Yeah I think booking Penta vs Dominik again for Backlash is a little lazy. There is very little story development here, probably because they only had 3 weeks to build for this show. Why did they do this title match already? I would understand if they added a stipulation to their rematch or maybe put the Judgement Day in a shark cage or something? But this is just a copy+paste job.

Meh

Rusev vs Otis was not what I was expecting and not what it should have been. To call the match a lowlight is a little harsh because it was serviceable and achieved what it set out to do. However, I think this would have benefited from being short, dominant and one-sided. I don’t see the need for this being evenly contested for near 10 minutes. Otis has zero momentum whilst Rusev has A LOT. This should have been a brutal crushing loss for Otis.

The post match attack was good. Rusev murdered Akira Tozawa and choked out Otis with The Accolade.

Ohhhh…Uh Uh Ohhhhh…

I cannot wait for this feud to be over because Gunther deserves better. This segment was the weakest of the show, a confrontation between Gunther and Pat McAfee. Pat delivered the most painfully generic promo of all time.

McAfee glazes Michael Cole for his long tenure in WWE, fair enough that is relevant to the feud. Then he spends far too long glazing Nebraska and making local references in a desperate attempt to be likable. Pat claims he and Gunther are very similar, they both dreamed of being in the WWE as a kid. Pat claims Gunther has gotten too comfortable and has went soft.

Gunther asks Pat enjoyed his daughters birthday last week. He promises Pat that he will be more focused than ever. Gunther will maul Pat McAfee.

Whilst Gunther was simple, effective and straight to the point, Pat’s promo was unfocused and self-indulgent. Why is Pat trying to reduce Gunther to a man he can be compared to? That is not who Gunther is and it does not match this feud at all. If only Pat could shelf his ego for a little while, there could have been something good here.

Zaria Stands Tall

Although the show got off to a weak start, the second match of the night was the first of 3 bangers. Zaria defeated Kelani Jordan as the roadblock between Jordan wanting a shot at Sol Ruca’s North American Championship. This match was superb, Kelani looked incredibly resilient being able to endure so much punishment from Zaria.

There was a cool moment in this match when Sol Ruca caught Kelani who fell into her, but peacefully stands her up. What was a passive moment ended up being a distraction as Zaria charged in and destroyed Jordan with a spear through the barricade.

Zaria gets a dominant win but Jordan came out of this looking great. It feels like only a matter of time until Zaria turns her attention to getting a title match herself.

UNexpected Returns

A 25 man battle royal for a shot at Oba Femi’s NXT championship is next. There is A LOT to cover but first there were some unexpected faces. We saw some appearances from the stars of Evolve and LFG but there was 2 former NXT stars here too. Timothy Thatcher returns to NXT, someone I thought was released but he has been working for WWE as a trainer and a part time performer. The biggest one though was everyone’s favourite guitar wielding saviour, Elijah.

The formerly known as Elias serenaded the NXT crowd before entering the Battle Royal. It was a joy to see him back in NXT and he had a good performance in the match too.

UNexpected Winner

The Battle Royal got a lot more time than I was expecting but I am glad. It started a bit slow but the action got better as the herd thinned out. I’ll run through some of the highlights. We got an MSK/Rascalz reunion between Wes Lee and Zachary Wentz, the latter representing TNA. Joe Hendry providing a distraction to eliminate Trick Williams, they brawled to the back. Shawn Spears eliminating Elijah and doing his best Hiroshi Tanahashi impression with the air guitar.

Evolve youngster Shawn Legacy was very impressive, specifically with his interactions with Je’Von Evans. We got a mini-match between the final four of the match; Ethan Page, Myles Borne, Shawn Spears and Je’Von Evans. Eventually, it was Myles Borne who won the opportunity.

Surprising but a great choice. This is the opportunity to make a new star but the man needs a mouthpiece, he sounds too goofy to listen to. Hopefully he can stand out as more than just a Randy Orton wannabe.

No D’Angelo Family Drama

What could have been one of NXT’s hottest storylines has very quickly became another midcard nothing throwaway feud. Where was “Stacks” this week? Why did we not get any more developments to this personal feud? Tony D’Angelo was featured for less than a minute, having a heated confrontation with Wes Lee, setting up a match for next week. WHY? They could have done so much with this Mafia Family fallout, but they’re not. This sucks.

Flat Start

The show began with DarkState vs Joe Hendry teaming with Hank & Tank. Damn, there was very little chance of me enjoying this one. To be fair, it was not bad, it was fine, but a weak choice to open the show. The match never really got out of second gear. I continue to be impressed by Osiris Griffin the most from DarkState. Joe Hendry is fun to watch, but he was in poor company. I might be reading into this too much, but even he looked a bit sick of hanging with Hank & Tank.

DarkState won but once again it was not because of their dominance as a unit. It was because Trick Williams came and took out Joe Hendry. Why do they continue to not book them as the unstoppable team they should be?

Again, not bad, but not great.

Imperfect

The Battle Royal was a very entertaining match and easily one of the better battle royals WWE have done. However, it was not without its flaws.

Most obviously, Brooks Jensen attempted a springboard cutter spot but he slipped on the ropes. Jensen tumbled to the outside and I highly doubt that he was supposed to be eliminated right then. I wonder if Shawn Spears only went as far as he did because of that. Also, Yoshiki Inamura accidentally eliminated his partner Josh Briggs, but the spot looked so blatant that it was hard to say it was an accident.

However, the worst part of this for me was the treatment of Brian Pillman Jr. You’re going to just eliminate him in a throwaway spot 20 seconds in, to no reaction? What the hell? This guy was Heritage Cup champion only 2 weeks ago! Pillman should have had a better showing, not eliminated by some nobody.

Another Week, Another Weak

Two weeks in a row now we have been subjected to a weak Karmen Petrovic match. Last week it was a 3 minute flop against Sol Ruca. This week it is a 4 minute snooze against Jaida Parker. Parker gets the win as she should, but the match was uninteresting. Jaida getting her heat back makes sense at least.

Thea Hail also got herself whacked by Jaida for no reason and looked dumb for doing so.

DarkState defeats Joe Hendry, Hank & Tank (C+ Grade)

Zaria defeats Kelani Jordan (B+ Grade)

Battle Royal For Number 1 Contender to NXT Championship (B+ Grade)

Jaida Parker defeats Karmen Petrovic (C- Grade)

Jordynne Grace defeats Giulia for Number 1 Contender for Women’s Championship (A- Grade)

Entertaining yet Overdone

I feel like I have seen LA Knight and Damian Priest vs Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu a million times. It really might not have been all that much, but they have all been mingling with one another for a very long time.

This was a good tag match, I thought Damian Priest was completely unnecessary tagging himself in and causing issues, but I understand it was to build tensions.

Fatu and Solo lose but the US champion gets his heat back afterwards attacking them both, but he does not stand tall at the end. Drew McIntyre drops him with a Claymore and holds up the US title.

Green is Money

A small backstage segment but another showcase of how brilliant Chelsea Green is. She is hosting a “Eu-girl-ogy” in Nick Aldis’ office for her reign as WWE US champion. She and her Secret Hervice are in mourning until they are ousted out of the office. She is so entertaining.

She suffers another defeat later in the show in a solid match against Zelina Vega and the returning Alexa Bliss. It is good to see Alexa again, I am hoping they have plans for her now and she is going to be a permanent feature on Smackdown again.

“You Can Wrestle”

I think fans are too hard on Nia Jax, I think she has made great improvements as a character and as a wrestler. Her match with Jade was a pretty good one. Jade continues to improve and impress in the ring and she looked a lot more comfortable here than ever before. She hit Nia with a Samoan Drop with ease and pulled out a frog splash as part of her ever evolving move set.

Naomi attacks Tiffany Stratton at ringside which causes a distraction, Nia takes out Jade and wins the match, booking her a match with Stratton in the future.

Tag Division Thrives

Smackdown’s tag division continues to impress even after what could have been a peak moment with TLC. The hurting champs Street Profits are confronted by Nathan Frazer and Axiom who want an opportunity. They go on to have a non-title match and it was AWESOME. A quiet crowd got hotter and hotter as these 4 took each other to the limit. Montez Ford broke up a pin with a step-up uppercut to Axiom and it looked so cool.

Fraxiom scored a huge victory over the champs, but the story was great because the Profits were still injured after their TLC match 2 weeks ago. Fraxiom may have won, but the question remains can they beat the champions at 100%.

Lucha Main Event

Another great tag match on this show, featuring exciting lucha libre action. Rey Fenix teamed with Andrade to defeat Legado del Fantasma’s Los Garza, Berto and Angel. This match was an electric showcase of lucha libre which is rapidly gaining popularity thanks to WWE’s purchase of AAA.

Fenix and Andrade showed good chemistry as a team and got the win. Afterwards, Santos Escobar chewed out his associates but Berto refused to be berated, slapping Santos and storming off. It appears Legado Del Fantasma is falling apart.

Cenamania

Before John Cena begins his promo, a fan throws a bottle at him! This has caused a small uproar as people say the fan “assaulted” Cena. That is a little far. I thought it added a lot to Cena’s heel heat if the fans are throwing shit. I don’t necessarily condone it, but I think the image adds a lot.

John Cena says that he will kill our childhood by ending his rivalry with Randy Orton. They have wrestled over 100 times and they share 31 titles total. Backlash will be their final match. He runs through his famous Hustle, Loyalty, Respect catchphrase and how Orton does not fit those parameters, but he does. Cena says the only thing Orton’s father will be remembered for was knocking up Randy’s mom. He drops the most brutal line yet by saying Randy will be just like his 2006 drug test. A failure. Yikes.

It was another good Cena promo. Then he was attacked by a masked man, impersonating Randy Orton but Cena reverses and drops him with an AA. A weird staged attack, was that a reference to Smackdown vs Raw 2009? If so awesome.

The real Randy Orton comes out and RKOs John Cena to end the show. A better WWE Smackdown than last week.

What Was the Purpose?

Charlotte Flair comes out and says she and Tiffany Stratton had the best women’s match of all time. Definitely not true, but I digress. She glazes herself for giving Tiffy her moment and is here to carve out her path back to the world title. She feels disrespected by the fans booing her and she doesn’t understand because she is the greatest of all time. After more booing, she just leaves but walks past Jade Cargill. Jade then says Flair needs to move to the back of the line.

I guess this was just to tease Flair vs Cargill? This felt like a bit of a wasted segment. Charlotte again cuts a bland, boring heel promo that neither builds to anything interesting or accomplishes anything worthwhile. I am struggling to see a place in WWE for Charlotte Flair unless she undergoes some big changes as a character.

LA Knight & Damian Priest defeat Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu (B- Grade)

Alexa Bliss & Zelina Vega defeat Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (C+ Grade)

Charlotte Flair Feels Disrespected (C Grade)

Nia Jax defeats Jade Cargill (B- Grade)

Fraxiom Confront The Street Profits (C Grade)

Fraxiom defeats The Street Profits (A- Grade)

Jacob Fatu (c) defeats LA Knight, Damian Priest & Drew McIntyre, US Championship (B+ Grade)

Lyra Valkyria (c) defeats Becky Lynch, Intercontinental Championship (A- Grade)

Raw

Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley vs Roxanne Perez & Giulia

War Raiders vs American Made

AJ Styles vs Finn Balor

We Hear From John Cena

NXT

Tony D’Angelo vs Wes Lee

Joe Hendry & Trick Williams Contract Signing

Smackdown

???

Confirmed NXT Battleground Card

Joe Hendry (c) vs Trick Williams, TNA World Championship

Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs Jordynne Grace, NXT Women’s Championship

Oba Femi (c) vs Myles Borne, NXT Championship