WWE RAW Live Coverage - July 21st, 2025
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Roman Reigns will address Paul Heyman after making a shocking return
After Roman Reigns made an explosive return on Raw last Monday, The OTC is set to address his one-time Special Council Paul Heyman.
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The show kicks off with a video recapping the closing moments of last Monday's episode of "Raw".
Michael Cole and Corey Graves then greet audiences at home as CM Punk makes his way to the ring.
Punk says it's great to be alive on a Monday night in Houston, then says he's happy to be there and says he had a couple of goals when he came back to WWE: main event WrestleMania and become World Heavyweight Champion. He says he's accomplished one of those goals, and with everything else on the backburner, he can now focus on achieving the second one. He says as the fans keep cheering him on both live and at home, he promises to leave it all in the ring and give them everything he has.
Punk says he sees one of the best wrestlers in the world when looking at GUNTHER, then says he's been training for his World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam for his whole life despite only having two weeks before the match takes place. He then reminds fans that he's "The Best In The World".
GUNTHER's music hits, and he makes his way out. He stares down Punk and says he didn't come to the ring to insult Punk, but points out that neither of them are in WWE to make friends. He says they both want to make money and win titles, then says they both have massive egos. He says his ego is justified because it's based on results, while Punk's is not because his is based on what the fans think. He says he only focuses on what happens after the bell rings, and says he will make Punk regret that he ever stepped foot into a wrestling ring. He says that Punk will always have the "degenerate" fans chanting for him and heads to the back.
Stephanie Vaquer is backstage with Byron Saxton. She talks about Chelsea Green and her Green Regime. Naomi comes up and tells Vaquer she's coming after her.
Rusev then makes his way to the ring. Sheamus follows.
Rusev vs. Sheamus
The bell rings and Sheamus looks to land the Brogue Kick on Rusev. Rusev slides out of the ring, but Sheamus meets him there and fires off right hands on him. Rusev sends Sheamus crashing into one of the barricades spine first, but Sheamus responds by sending Rusev crashing into the barricade near the timekeeper's area.
The two men return to the ring, and Rusev lands a suplex on Sheamus. Sheamus gets Rusev up on his shoulders and sends Rusev crashing into the mat with a Fireman's Carry Roll Through, then lands a knee on him. Rusev delivers a back suplex to Sheamus, but Sheamus dumps Rusev out of the ring and sets up for The Ten Beats Of The Bodhran. Rusev escapes by landing a jawbreaker on Sheamus, but Sheamus sends Rusev crashing onto the floor before he ascends to the top rope and lands a clothesline on Rusev on the outside. Rusev responds with a Fallaway Slam to Sheamus over the announce desk.
The two men return to the ring once again, and Rusev fires off stomps on Sheamus in the corner. He wears him down with a submission hold, then sends him crashing into the mat with a back elbow and uses the middle rope to continue to wear him down. Sheamus levers Rusev with a pair of clotheslines and lands another one on him in the corner, then charges at him. Rusev catches Sheamus with a boot and follows it up with a bodyslam, but Sheamus delivers The Ten Beats Of The Bodhran to Rusev.
Sheamus charges at Rusev, but Rusev sees him coming and connects with a powerbomb on him. Sheamus catches Rusev with a knee strike and goes for a pin, but Rusev kicks out. Sheamus then looks to fly off the top rope, but Rusev catches him with the Machka Kick and cinches in The Accolade on him. Sheamus manages to grab the bottom rope to break the hold, but Rusev looks to send Sheamus crashing into the top turnbuckle. As the referee attached part of the turnbuckle that Rusev had attempted to take off, Rusev grabs Sheamus' shillelagh. Sheamus sees Rusev do so and catches him with a Brogue Kick for the win.
Winner: Sheamus
Byron Saxton is backstage with El Grande Americano. Dragon Lee comes by and calls Americano a fake and they start to fight backstage.
Bayley is backstage and Lyra Valkyria comes up to her pissed that she asked Adam Pearce to team them together for a tag title match.
New Day then make their way to the ring. LWO and American Made follow.
WWE World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Match: New Day vs. LWO (w/ Dragon Lee) vs. The Creed Brothers (w/ Ivy Nile)
Kofi Kingston, Joaquin Wilde, and Brutus Creed begin the action. The bell rings and Brutus clocks Kingston. Wilde clotheslines him out of the ring, but Brutus surprises him with a German suplex and tags in Julius Creed. Julius delivers a delayed vertical suplex to Wilde and delivers a double suplex on both Kingston and Xavier Woods. Cruz Del Toro tags in and sends Wilde crashing into Julius using the ropes, then lands a springboard moonsault on Julius. Kingston levels Del Toro with a knee and goes for a pin, but Del Toro kicks out.
Woods tags in and rains down elbows on Del Toro's head as Kingston fires off right hands and left hands on his midsection. Kingston and Woods deliver the Unicorn Stampede to Julius in the corner, but Woods whips Kingston into Julius in the corner.
Kingston looks to fly off the top rope, but Del Toro intercepts him with a dropkick. Julius lands a double ax handle on Wilde's spine, then whips him into the corner and tags in Brutus.
Julius sends Brutus crashing into Del Toro, and Brutus sends Del Toro crashing into the mat face first before delivering the Brutus Smash to him. Kingston pushes Brutus out of the way and fires off stomps on Del Toro, but Brutus returns the favor.
Wilde tags in and lands a Tornado DDT on Julius, then lands a DDT-neckbreaker combination on him with Woods. Wilde then ascends to the top rope, but Nile pushes him off. Julius shoves Lee as he checks on Wilde, but Lee levels Julius with a kick and lands another kick on Brutus' chest. He looks to fly, but El Grande Americano appears and trips Lee before he rains down right hands on him.
Back in the ring, Kingston tags in and Woods lands a backbreaker on Wilde. Kingston looks to fly, but Wilde moves out of the way and rolls up Kingston for the win.
Winners and NEW Number One Contenders: LWO
Iyo Sky is backstage with Asuka & Kairi Sane. They give each other some support, Asuka and Sane leave and Stephanie Vaquer comes in and says when Sky wins at SummerSlam it'll be her vs Sky in Paris. Sky says why wait and not have a match tonight. Vaquer agrees.
Adam Pearce is backstage with Dominik Mysterio. He's forcing Mysterio to go to medical and see the doctor. AJ Styles is mopping the floor stalking Mysterio waiting for Mysterio being cleared. Xavior Woods and Kofi Kingston talk backstage and they say they need something fresh. Grayson Waller comes by and says Austin Theory is injured so he's finally free and tells The New Day he wants to join them.
Becky Lynch makes her way to the ring.
Lynch says she shouldn't be in the ring tonight, but in New York at the premiere of her new movie "Happy Gilmore 2". She says leaders do what they have to rather than what they want to, then says she had the slickest victory of all time when she won and held everyone down. She says she was honestly unlike lyra Valkyria, who's spent months crying about not getting opportunities but is now messing up the opportunities that she has. She questions who needs two titles and calls Valkyria to the ring.
Valkyria's music hits and she makes her way to the ring. She says she's brought out the best in Valkyria and made her a star, but the trilogy ends at SummerSlam. She says similar to their last rematch, she has a stipulation for their SummerSlam bout: if Valkyria unsuccessfully challenges Lynch for her Women's Intercontinental Championship. Valkyria accepts, but on the condition that Lynch agree to a match with no disqualifications or count outs. Lynch says Valkyria has done nothing but disrespect her for months, then says this is the most important match for the Women's Intercontinental Championship because it will determine the fate of the title. She extends her hand to Valkyria and demands that she shakes it, and Valkyria looks to do so. Lynch looks to blindside Valkyria, but Valkyria sees Lynch coming and delivers a Man Handle Slam to her.
Bayley makes her way to the ring. Roxanne Perez, Raquel Rodriguez, and Dominik Mysterio follow.
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WWE World Tag Team Championship Match: Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez (w/ Dominik Mysterio) (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria and Bayley
Bayley and Perez begin the action. The bell rings and the two lock up. Perez shoves Bayley, but Bayley returns the favor. Perez lands an open palm strike on Bayley, but Bayley sends her crashing into the corner spine first and tags in Rodriguez.
Valkyria encourages Bayley to stay in the ring, and Rodriguez locks up with Bayley. She sends her crashing into the mat, then lands a double suplex on Bayley and Valkyria before sending her crashing into the top turnbuckle face first and tagging in Perez. Perez and Rodriguez then double team on Bayley, but Rodriguez tags back in and Bayley rocks Rodriguez with a boot to the side of her face.
Valkyria tags in and rocks Rodriguez with an enzuigiri, but Perez sends Valkyria's arm bouncing off the top rope. Rodriguez tags in and rains down Hammer and Anvil elbows on Valkyria, but Perez tags back in and double teams on Valkyria with Rodriguez. She wrenches back on her arm and continues wearing her down, then tags Rodriguez back in.
Rodriguez runs over Valkyria with a shoulder tackle, then sends Valkyria bouncing off the top rope. Having tagged in, Perez flies off the middle rope with a moonsault to Valkyria, but Bayley tags in and drapes Perez across the middle rope. She lands a pair of double knees on her midsection and delivers a Code Red to her in the corner, then goes for a pin but Perez kicks out.
Perez lands a moonsault on Bayley off the middle rope, but Valkyria tags in and delivers a leg drop to Perez off the middle rope. Valkyria pins Perez, but Perez kicks out as Bayley and Rodriguez brawl on the outside. Bayley sends Rodriguez crashing into the ring post as Perez sits Valkyria on the top rope. Rodriguez slips out and powerbombs Perez into the mat, then tags in Bayley. Bayley lands an elbow drop on Perez and pins her, but Rodriguez breaks the fall. Bayley then assists Valkyria in delivering a springboard crossbody to Perez, but Dominik hops up on the apron. Perez looks to roll up Bayley, but Bayley kicks out.
Valkyria gets in Dominik's face on the outside, but Rodriguez looks to surprise her with a big boot. She ends up hitting Dominik, opening the door for Valkyria to land a dropkick on her through the middle rope. Bayley and Perez level one another with Bulldog's abc in the ring as Dominik is checked on by a medical official. A second one comes over and reveals himself to be AJ Styles, who chases Dominik as the referee tries to stop him.
Becky Lynch sneaks up behind Valkyria on the other side of the ring and trips her. She hides back under the ring where she was before as Perez rolls up Bayley. Bayley reverses the fall, but Perez kicks out. Rodriguez then sneaks up behind Bayley and delivers the Texana Bomb to her for the win.
Winners and STILL WWE Women's Tag Team Champions: The Judgement Day
Jackie Redmond talks to Sami Zayn backstage before his match. Zayn says enough is enough and Kross has been getting in his business too much and he's now going to deal with Kross for good.
Dominik Mysterio walks backstage looking for AJ Styles. JD McDonagh and Finn Balor tell Mysterio to not worry his friends are here. Adam Pearce tells Mysterio to meet him in medical or give him his title.
Sami Zayn makes his way to the ring. Karrion Kross and Scarlett follow.
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett)
The bell rings and the two lock up. They go back and forth with one another, but Zayn lands an Asai Moonsault on Kross off the top rope on the outside and dumps him back in the ring. Scarlett delivers a kick to Zayn's taped up midsection while the referee has his back turned, and Kross sends Zayn crashing into the ring steps. He dumps Zayn back into the ring and cinches in a Triangle on him, but Zayn rains down right hands and left hands on Kross to escape the hold.
Kross gets Zayn up on his shoulders and delivers a Death Valley Driver to him, then whips him into the corner and lands a clothesline on him. Zayn levels Kross with a Tornado DDT out of the corner, but Kross fires off shoulders on Zayn's midsection in the corner and sits him on the top rope. He joins him up there, but Zayn delivers a Code Red to him.
Zayn lands an Exploder on Kross in the corner, but Scarlett hands Kross a pipe as the referee has his back turned. Scarlett grabs Zayn's ankle and distracts the referee, opening the door for Kross to hit Zayn with the pipe on his injured midsection and pins him for the win.
Winner: Karrion Kross
We then head backstage, where a medical official emerges from the trainer's room. Adam Pearce and AJ Styles await the news from the doctor as to whether or not Dominik Mysterio has been cleared for competition, with Pearce having made it cleared to Dominik that he'll be stripped of the Intercontinental Championship if he didn't undergo a medical evaluation earlier in the night. Dominik blindsides Styles from behind and declares that he's been cleared for competition.
Back at ringside, IYO SKY makes her way out. Stephanie Vaquer follows.
IYO SKY vs. Stephanie Vaquer
The bell rings and the two lock up. They go back and forth taking turns locking one another into submission holds, but SKY lands a Money Flip on Vaquer. Vaquer responds with an elevated DDT to SKY, but SKY lands a tope suicida on Vaquer through the middle rope. She looks to land a springboard moonsault on Vaquer on the outside, but Vaquer sees SKY coming and lands a crossbody on her off the top rope.
Vaquer lands a boot on SKY's chest back in the ring and sends her face bouncing off the top turnbuckle repeatedly, but SKY ascends to the top rope and looks to fly. Vaquer moves out of the way, then sends SKY's face bouncing off her knees and fires off right hands on her. SKY cinches in a crossface on Vaquer, but Vaquer crawls over to the bottom rope to break the hold.
SKY lands a missile dropkick off the top rope on Vaquer, then rolls her through and lands a boot on her midsection. Vaquer responds with the Devil's Kiss to SKY, then follows it up with a Meteora and sets up for the Package Backbreaker. SKY ascends and delivers a Butterfly Backbreaker to Vaquer, but Vaquer rocks SKY with a headbutt. SKY fires off right hands on Vaquer and lands a Meteora of her own on her, then steps over her and sets up for Over The Moonsault. Vaquer intercepts SKY and delivers a variation of a superplex to her, but Alba Fyre and Piper Niven storm down to the ring. Vaquer levels both of them, but Chelsea Green clocks Vaquer from behind to cause the disqualification.
Winner: N/A
After the match Sky helps out Vaquer and hits a missile drop kick on Green. Fyre is then tossed out of the ring, and then Vaquer and Sky drop kick Niven out of the ring. As Sky and Vaquer celebrate, Naomi runs out and attacks Sky and Vaquer. Rhea Ripley comes out to even the odds. She takes out The Secret Hervice and then slams down Naomi. Green is still in the ring and she gets beaten up by Sky and Vaquer. Ripley hits Riptide on Green and Ripley, Vaquer and Sky celebrate in the ring.
Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed then make their way to the ring.
Heyman introduces himself, Breakker, and Reed, but before he can continue, Reigns' music hits and he makes his way out.
Reigns tells Houston to acknowledge him, then says he never wanted to be disrespectful or rude. He says Seth Rollins won't be in action for a long time, then says Reigns knows deep in his heart that he's far better with Heyman. He says he loves Reigns.
Reigns tells Houston to acknowledge him, then tells Heyman that he's not a "Wise Man" anymore but rather a dumbass. He tells Breakker and Reed that Heyman will eventually betray him and take the credit when they become mega stars in a few years, then says while a lot of people try taking responsibility for creating the "Tribal Chief", it wasn't because of Heyman. He says the fans keep the "Tribal Chief" alive, then says The Usos and Solo Sikoa were the ones who helped him hold the Undisputed WWE Championship rather than Heyman. He says while factions can be created, The Bloodline could not be. He says what really bothers him and gets under his skin is that Heyman used to be a friend and business to his family. Reigns tells Heyman that he made him part of his family and he gave him responsibility, but he threw it all away for Rollins. He says he didn't ruin The Bloodline, but Heyman did.
Heyman gives Breakker a microphone, and Breakker tells Reigns that they don't want him in WWE anymore. He says Reigns is yesterday's news and was relevant five years ago, then says he's now the future of WWE and the man in the company now.
Reigns tells Breakker he didn't hear any of the trash that he said, then blindsides him with a Superman Punch and fires off right hands on Reed in the corner. Breakker blindsides Reigns with a spear and beats him down with Reed, but Jey Uso's music hits and he makes his way out. He goes after Reed and Breakker, then lands a spear on Breakker as Reigns lands one of his own on Reed. Jey helps Reigns up, and the two stand tall in the ring as the show goes off the air.
