Monday Night Raw Review - September 8, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Usos and LA Knight Attacked The Vision

I thought The Usos might come out to their tag team theme, but apparently not. This didn't feel as special as you think it would, but maybe because they've already reunited a few other times in the last year. This turned out to be a pretty simple segment with them exchanging verbal jabs with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed and LA Knight's attack on Breakker and Reed set up Knight vs. Reed for later on in the main event.

AJ Styles def. El Grande Americano

It feels like Styles has been stuck in a time loop with Americano and The Judgment Day. I'd love for Styles to finally move on after winning here, but I get the feeling we might see him make his presence felt in Dominik Mysterio's AAA Mega Championship match with Vikingo at Worlds Collide on Friday night. Nonetheless, this was a fun match, but I'm ready for Americano to move on to something more interesting (if not abandon the gimmick entirely).

Raquel Rodriguez def. Lyra Valkyria

Believe it or not, this actually marked Valkyria's first match since she lost to Becky Lynch at SummerSlam over a month ago. Otherwise, she's exclusively been relegated to backstage segments. I assumed this would be a throwaway matchup where Bayley would cost Valkyria the win in some form or fashion, but I was happy to be wrong on both fronts. This was really good stuff from them and Valkyria was protected in defeat with Roxanne Perez interfering.

World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch Agreed to Face CM Punk and AJ Lee at Wrestlepalooza

Lee's promo felt like it was straight from the heart and the crowd ate it up. She successfully established who she is (for those unfamiliar) and why she's back while also managing to get the crowd to chant "therapy" at one point. She's definitely a quirky character, and she'll have to add more depth to her promos and character work eventually, but this worked for her first promo back. The mixed tag team match is official for Wrestlepalooza and I'm looking forward to it.

Rusev def. Penta

Penta is coming off a string of wins over Grayson Waller and The New Day while Rusev just beat Penta in a Good Ol' Fashioned Donnybrook match at Clash in Paris, so this felt like a number one contender's match of sorts, ideally for the Intercontinental Championship. It's crazy to think these guys never had a one-on-one encounter for as long as they were in AEW together, but they had a solid match here. It looks like Waller and New Day aren't done with Penta and that's disappointing. As for Rusev, hopefully a shot at the Intercontinental title is in his immediate future.

Asuka def. Nikki Bella

I appreciated that it was acknowledged on commentary that Asuka eliminated Bella to win the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match back in 2018. Bella didn't have the strongest showing at Clash in Paris (though I didn't have a major issue with it, personally), so it was nice she was able to rebound here with a better bout. This gave Asuka a credible victory before she heads into her anticipated program with IYO SKY.

Bronson Reed def. LA Knight

Although this was a quality contest, WWE has to be careful about continuing to feature The Vision in almost every Raw main event. It's already gotten old for many viewers, and while I'm glad Reed finally on his own, Knight losing so often doesn't do him any favors. On top of that, Jey Uso laid him out afterward like an asshole. I don't see how this benefits Knight at all seeing as how it's The Usos against Breakker and Reed at Wrestlepalooza and Knight isn't on the card. And no, Knight turning heel isn't the answer, either.

Overall Show

All in all, this was an average edition of Raw, the first to be held domestically in three weeks. Lee's segment was the highlight of the night, but it was more of the same with The Vision and whatever's going on with Jey feels forced. The enjoyable action contributed to it being a slightly-thumbs-up episode. The build for Wrestlepalooza has been rushed, but the card on paper sells itself.

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