Monday Night Raw Review - December 22, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Asuka def. Rhea Ripley

Amazingly, this marked the first time Asuka has ever beaten Ripley one-on-one. I still say that their Raw match from a few months ago is their best bout together, but this was an enjoyable opener as well. The Kabuki Warriors desperately needed this victory coming off their recent string of losses in singles and tag team matches. Now they have at least some momentum heading into the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship matchup on the first Raw of 2026.

Women's Intercontinental Champion Maxxine Dupri Attacked Becky Lynch

This was the first time we've seen Lynch on WWE TV since Survivor Series. I was hoping for some progression in her program with AJ Lee (which I have to assume isn't over), but it looks like she'll be setting her sights back on the Women's Intercontinental Championship for now. I guess it makes sense, but are they really waiting to do Lynch vs. Lee one-on-one? Nonetheless, this was a nice segment to set up the eventual rematch and I thought Dupri did a strong job on the mic.

Je'Von Evans def. Rayo Americano

The commentators referenced Evans being a "free agent," so expect him to be officially main roster bound sooner rather than later. I hope he wins the NXT Championship before leaving NXT, but it's not looking likely. At any rate, this was a fun, well-wrestled match while it lasted and it successfully served as a showcase for Evans. Pete Dunne can obviously go, but the stupid mask/gimmick does him no favors.

Nikki Bella Addressed Women's World Champion Stephanie Vaquer and Raquel Rodriguez

Bella's mic work has been much better the last two weeks than it was prior to Survivor Series. It feels like she's finding her footing as a heel again, so that's encouraging. No one interrupted here, but it actually worked better that way, especially as she stood on the commentary table and drew good heat from the crowd. We found out later on it will be Vaquer vs. Bella vs. Rodriguez in a Triple Threat for the Women's World Championship on next week's Raw.

Bayley def. Roxanne Perez

I've been waiting for this match since these two first feuded earlier this year. I'm glad we finally got it, though it didn't live up to my lofty expectations. Don't get me wrong, it was solid, but it felt like they weren't completely on the same page, nor did they have a ton of time. Lyra Valkyria slapping Bayley to get her to be more aggressive and snap back into her heel persona was a welcome development for the Bayley character.

Gunther Addressed the Audience

It's impressive that Gunther was able to generate as much heel heat as he did considering this was a taped show. He barely got talking when CM Punk's entrance music cut him off. He also crossed paths with Rey Mysterio while walking to the back. He's faced both men before, but I wouldn't complain about Gunther working with either of them soon since Gunther will need an important opponent to hold him over until whatever he does at WrestleMania 42.

Austin Theory and Bronson Reed def. Rey Mysterio and World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk

I don't believe Theory is a confirmed member of The Vision, but this was basically a tryout for him. Seeing as how he picked up the win for his team, I'd assume he passed the test. This was a very average television main event, but Punk and Mysterio teaming up was cool and Theory pinning Mysterio was the right result. Theory came off as generic to me here, so hopefully he can continue to evolve in the weeks ahead.

Overall Show

I loved that, since this show was pre-taped a few days ago, Netflix put up the entire episode commercial-free at the time it'd usually air live, allowing me to get through it in almost half the time. An early Christmas miracle! In all seriousness, I thought this was a thumbs-up episode. Not overwhelmingly exciting or anything like that, but they filled the time effectively and moved some stuff along.

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