Monday Night Raw Review - May 19, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Logan Paul Was Confronted by Gunther and Attacked by World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso

Gunther established last week that he'll be challenging the winner of Paul vs. Jey Uso at Saturday Night's Main Event for the World Heavyweight Championship on the June 9th edition of Raw, so it made sense to tease the possibility of him facing Paul. We know that's not happening, but they had a good verbal exchange, nonetheless. Meanwhile, Uso laying out Paul was basic. In fact, the build to their bout has been very basic because they've barely interacted. Yes, they interacted again at the end of the episode, but it was the exact same thing with the roles reversed.

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonagh) def. Penta and AJ Styles

For a tag team match without anything at stake, the crowd was super hot for this. Styles and Penta in particular were very over. This was a great match with very entertaining action. I was not a fan of Penta getting pinned, though. It feels like he's been eating a lot of losses lately, more than necessary. Balor never wins, so he needed this more, but I'm curious if he can capitalize on it and not go right back to losing.

Roxanne Perez def. Natalya and Becky Lynch in a Triple Threat Match to Qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I was honestly surprised the crowd was as quiet as they were for the first half of this given the talent involved. Then again, it didn't feel like the women were on the same page at a few different points, so that could have been a possible factor. Thankfully, it got better as it progressed and the final stretch was fun. Perez winning while Lyra Valkyria returned to resume her rivalry with Lynch was the right call.

Sheamus def. Grayson Waller

It's almost impossible to give a shit about A-Town Down Under continuing to tease tension because it's been going on for well over a year now. I wish they'd just get it over with at this point instead of wasting our time. On the bright side, this was a quality contest from these two, even if the outcome was never in doubt. Sheamus belongs in one of the men's Money in the Bank qualifiers and I wouldn't complain about him being in the match itself.

Rhea Ripley def. Kairi Sane and Zoey Stark in a Triple Threat Match to Qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Sane hadn't wrestled on Raw since December, I believe due to injury. I'm glad she's back, but it sucks she immediately had to lose. To be fair, she probably wasn't supposed to be pinned here, but Stark legitimately got hurt early on and it turned into a singles match after that. Here's wishing her the best because that injury looked brutal. Ripley and Sane made the most of the situation and had a solid match. Fans will roll their eyes at the idea of Ripley in Money in the Bank. I totally understand the fatigue, but I'm okay with her being in it provided she doesn't win.

World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso def. Bron Breakker by Disqualification (Non-Title)

I appreciate that the commentators acknowledged how this was their rubber match after they traded the Intercontinental Championship back and forth in the fall. They've proven they work well together and thus was an enjoyable main event that the crowd was into. The non-finish was logical to protect both men and the post-match brawl was really well done. The crowd sure loved singing CM Punk's entrance song.

Overall Show

There was also a pre-taped interview that aired with Michael Cole and Pat McAfee talking to NBA star Tyrese Haliburton earlier in the day about Jalen Brunson and being included in an upcoming WWE 2K25 DLC pack. It was fine and it actually made sense with how much he's been in the news lately along with Brunson for being in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, but I can't imagine a majority of viewers cared. At any rate, WWE is simultaneously building toward Saturday Night's Main Event and Money in the Bank and I thought they did a nice job of hyping both events. All in all, this was a thumbs-up edition of Raw between the emphasis on the wrestling and the Money in the Bank qualifiers giving some matches more stakes.

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