Monday Night Raw Review - February 24, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Logan Paul Slapped CM Punk

I thought all three of the Raw Superstars competing in the Elimination Chamber would be involved in the same segment on this show, but we ended up getting just Punk and Paul. I was totally fine with that since I was looking forward to them ripping into each other, but this was a fairly basic exchange. They're definitely capable of better, but hopefully we won't get that feud at WrestleMania 41. Paul slapping Punk does make viewers want to see Punk get his hands on Paul inside the Chamber, though.

Ludwig Kaiser def. Pete Dunne and Penta in a Triple Threat Match

I know these three have been intertwined as of late, but why not make it a number contender's match for the Intercontinental Championship to give it some stakes? Nonetheless, this was a nice, well-wrestled Triple Threat while it lasted. Kaiser winning was genuinely surprising, but Penta didn't eat the loss, so he was in protected in defeat. Perhaps that was done to set up another matchup between Penta and Kaiser?

IYO SKY Interrupted Jackie Redmond's Interview with Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley

Is it just me or has Ripley felt completely cold since regaining the Women's World Championship last month? I've liked the mini feud she's been having with IYO SKY, but that should've been the WrestleMania match. Neither of them said anything out of the ordinary here, but it was a simple segment to build toward their championship clash next week. Hopefully Ripley will have something she can sink her teeth into after that.

The New Day def. The LWO (Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro)

Obviously, Wilde and Del Toro never stood a chance, but this was a logical match to do after they got the better of New Day last week. What we got was decent, but there was no reason for it to go any longer than it did before New Day picked up the decisive victory. Dragon Lee attempted to make the save afterward but was also laid out. I'm sure we'll get Lee against either Kofi Kingston or Xavier Woods (or both) in the coming weeks before the obvious tag team match at 'Mania.

World Heavyweight Champion Gunther def. Akira Tozawa (Non-Title)

Gunther explained that he chose Tozawa as his opponent because Tozawa reminded him of fellow underdog Jey Uso, leading to Tozawa having to fight from underneath and even scoring some hope spots before inevitably losing. This was really well done and Tozawa was the perfect person for the spot. Uso and Gunther brawled again afterward, but we're going to need more from them than that in the next two months.

Women's Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria def. Dakota Kai

The only reason I was okay with Kai beating Ivy Nile in last week's number one contender's match was because I figured they'd get more time than they did for their first encounter last month. Shockingly, this may have been shorter. They once again maximized their minutes, but that's still egregious. Nile went on to attack Valkyria anyway, so what was the point? The booking with this division has been baffling.

Jackie Redmond Conducted a Sit-Down Interview with Sami Zayn

Zayn and Kevin Owens have done a phenomenal job of building toward their last match at Elimination Chamber with their promos, social media posts and now this sit-down interview. Zayn was terrific playing up the danger of the Unsanctioned stipulation and talking about how he visited Owens' home while Redmond also played her role extremely well. I'm fully expecting Owens and Zayn to go all out.

Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker def. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio by Disqualification (Non-Title)

Although the heel vs. heel dynamic was weird, Breakker's been more of a tweener in recent months, so it didn't really matter much. What we got was good, but Finn Balor and Carlito interfered within minutes and the non-finish was lame. The tease for Breakker vs. Balor was interesting, but we've seen Breakker tease a lot of different matches since before the Royal Rumble, so it's possible they're headed for a multi-man matchup for the Intercontinental Championship. As I've said before, I'd much prefer a one-on-one scenario.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins Confronted Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes

Rhodes' SmackDown segment with The Rock last Friday was a mess and I'm not optimistic WWE and Rock know what they hell they're doing or where this is going, but the follow-up here was actually excellent. I loved how they acknowledged Rollins' history betraying The Shield and joining The Authority, so Rhodes said Rollins' isn't completely trustworthy, either. I don't think we're getting Rhodes vs. Rollins again at WrestleMania, but they did leave me looking forward to the eventual rematch.

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez def. Naomi and Bianca Belair to Win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship​

I couldn't tell you the last WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match that stole the show, but this one definitely did. I figured we were in for some sort of significant development since it was slotted as the main event, but I didn't think this would be as strong of a bout as it was. All four women killed it and the crowd was hot for all of the suspenseful spots down the stretch. Morgan and Rodriguez taking the titles was the right call, especially if Jade Cargill's return is imminent (and it should be).

Overall Show

I didn't enjoy this show as much as most, but it was still solid on the whole, largely thanks to the great third hour. I'm no more excited for Elimination Chamber than I already was, but the final hype on the Raw side was effective. I'm just ready to get a better idea of what the WrestleMania card is going to consist of so some storylines can start up and more people have direction, so hopefully that happens next week once the event is over with.

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