WWE RAW 8/25/2025: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show that we all got to watch early because timezones! This week, we're adding a match to Clash in Paris, losing a match from Clash in Paris, and watching Pacific Islanders punch each other — in other words, the WINC staff has lots of thoughts about Roman Reigns this week, as well as thoughts on his direct family members and his fellow Samoan big men, and we wouldn't be us if we didn't have even more to say about various advancements in the industry's best women's division. Toss in a little Sheamus vs. Rusev opinion and you've got a wrestling column, baby!

As usual, if you missed the show and need to know everything that happened, or if you're allergic to subjectivity for some reason, you can always check out our "Raw" results page for all the details. For our analysis of the parts of the show that stood out to us, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 8/25/25/ episode of "WWE Raw!"

Beyond the mildly entertaining "Shoe-la-fala" bit between Bronson Reed and Roman Reigns, there is very little of note going on with the week-to-week build of their feud. Reed entered the cross hairs of the "OTC" as part of Seth Rollins' Vision, and since Rollins or Bron Breakker vs. Reigns is a WrestleMania-worthy feud and we find ourselves at the end of the Summer, it was their dynamic that was going to be explored heading into Clash in Paris. That dynamic being shoes, Paul Heyman, a multitude of Tsunamis whenever Reigns needed writing off for a spell, and this week just a thinly explored tribal dynamic between them. 

The one time that it looked like something of note could be explored, with Reed going into his own Samoan heritage and the difference in his tribe compared to the well-documented one Reigns belongs to, Reigns just shut it down with, "Oh, you're a Samoan? Well that means I own you," because at some stage between The Bloodline breaking up and today, Reigns was given ownership of all Samoan descendants. Nothing else was really anything we have never heard from two guys feuding in the history of wrestling, Reigns simply dismissed Reed as competition and demanded his shoes back – which is funny to be fair – and prompted Reed to talk about how it was his time now and he will destroy Reigns. 

The shoes, they are the only part of this that has stuck. Reed is a "Tribal Thief," a "Belt Shoe Collector," and Reigns is Roman Reigns. It hardly bodes well for Reed if he loses in Paris, which one would expect him to, and it's hardly putting Reed in a credible position to beat Reigns. Stealing shoes and ducking fights is a Jake Paul thing, not something you would expect from someone branded the "Aus-Zilla." And it's just fundamentally boring.

Written by Max Everett

The fact we aren't getting a Stephanie Vaquer Women's World Championship match at Clash in Paris should be a crime, but, the biggest offense right now in WWE is the fact they haven't rushed to do anything with the title whatsoever since Naomi was first unable to defend against IYO SKY on the August 11 "Raw." While they didn't need to have Naomi vacate immediately two weeks ago when she first found out about her pregnancy or anything, ideas should have started rolling around about what to do with the title at Clash in Paris right when everyone realized something would need to be done.

Obviously, as we saw tonight, that must not have happened. Adam Pearce told Vaquer that the match in Paris "just couldn't happen," and to that, I say, "...why?" Something could have easily been figured out for tonight's show after Naomi vacated the title last week. Rhea Ripley's match against Roxanne Perez could have been for the shot, or WWE could have easily taken that match, as fantastic as it was, and added IYO SKY to it, and maybe another woman to make it a fatal four-way to determine who was going to Clash in Paris to take on Vaquer for the gold.

You'd think it would be a good opportunity for a big match for the fans in Paris to maybe sell some more tickets in these next few days leading up to the event. If Ripley and SKY are tied up in something right now that WWE has something else planned for, throw someone like Perez into the match and get the championship on Vaquer since she's so damn over with the fans. To me, it seems like WWE is overthinking this, when a lot of fans (myself included) just want to see Vaquer belted up.

I understand not wanting it to seem like things are rushed and Naomi is being forgotten about or anything, but this feels even more strange than if they did rush things. Setting something up tonight would have made all the sense in the world, and still would have left some breathing room for Naomi's announcement last week. As a big Vaquer fan, I hate that we're not going to see her on Sunday, and I also don't have much faith that WWE is going to figure out something special enough to have this wait another week, at least.

Written by Daisy Ruth

While I typically expect goofy segments and heels to come out of WWE's main rival, I'm not mad when we see the occasional comical villain on WWE program. Enter: heel Becky Lynch.

Lynch and Nikki Bella engaged in a war of words on Monday's episode of "WWE Raw," and in between Bella's passionate arguments against "The Man," I found myself giggling at Lynch's responses and interjections. Did she ever deviate from heel to full clown? Absolutely not, and that's what kept the promo grounded and enjoyable. However, to be able to have fun as a heel, without losing that villainous persona or that deplorable smirk, is a skill that is so underrated in a business chock-full of heels trying to be horrifically unsettling, overtly violent, or stiff-faced and serious. For Lynch to pull that off so effortlessly, only through small quips and facial expressions that stole the show — it says volumes about Lynch's skill on the mic. "The Man" was built off of promos.

Now, I'd be remiss to not mention Bella's performance. Did she sometimes feel like she was performing slam poetry in free verse? Sure, but I don't necessarily hold that against her. She's been out of WWE for so long, and okay, a professional like her is expected to catch up and catch up quick, but I'm willing to extend her some grace. It's not like she completely bombed the segment, and you can tell she's getting more comfortable appearing in front of WWE cameras again with her overt and coy swearing. It's just that her odd rhythm, especially when faced against a mic professional like Lynch, caused her to be less entertaining than "The Man."

Lynch has been entertaining for the majority of her feud, but she is really showing how much fun she's having with this Europe tour specifically. It must be special, to come back to familiar grounds (despite all of her digs at the Irish and British populations she's preaching to). Lynch is clearly enjoying herself, throwing in moments so out of left field that you just have to laugh — see: her comments about the late Ozzy Osbourne, and how if she had to live in Birmingham, she'd die too. This isn't to say that Lynch's skill isn't confined to long-form jokes, though. No, her one-liners and quick comments were commendable as well (and, in my opinion, what really got me). "Broke Neck Barbie" got a genuine laugh from me, and she cutely pushed the confines of the fourth wall when she off-handedly mentioned her new theme in response to Bella's "coward" allegations. There's probably several other quips I've failed to recall here, but Lynch is just funny. She's funny, and she's having fun. It's a perfect promo combo.

Lynch is a petty heel, but I like this level of pettiness much more than Lynch's shots at Bella's marital status and torrid love life. As a Lynch fan, I will always love her babyface persona more...but Lynch is so good as a heel.

Written by Angeline Phu

I love a good, dramatic angle when it comes to WWE's women's division, and this heel turn for Asuka that's causing issues for IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley's friendship is just excellent. It's nice to have an angle going that isn't centered around a man (especially with Ripley, I still feel like we're in the Liv Morgan feud with "Dirty" Dom sometimes, that all lasted so long) or even a championship right now.

I've really liked everything going on with SKY and Ripley for awhile now, as they've had the best friendly rivalry we've seen in WWE in awhile now, but the addition of Asuka, as well as Kairi Sane, is keeping this all fresh. It's my understanding that the Asuka heel turn may have been expedited a bit due to Naomi having to relinquish the Women's World Championship, but if that's the case, WWE is still going about it at a really good pace. 

Tonight, I especially liked the angle where SKY told Ripley they needed to keep their distances from each other, due to how upset it was making Asuka. However, when Ripley caught a beat down from Judgment Day's Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez (after an excellent match between Ripley and Perez), SKY felt that she had to do something since she "owed" Ripley. In the back, Ripley joked that they just couldn't stay away from each other, which was really cute, but then Asuka and Sane showed up, and "The Empress of Tomorrow" straight up ordered SKY stop talking to Ripley. Poor Sane is also just in the middle of all this, and while she's been following Asuka after confrontations, her acting is so good that it looks like she really has no idea what to do.

The story of SKY having to pick her "family," as she called them, Asuka and Sane, over Ripley, who she is also close friends with, is nothing new that we haven't already seen before when it comes to a story, but Ripley and SKY both are just so darn lovable, it's hard not to enjoy it. And, as much as I like the Kabuki Warriors, it's hard not to root for true love to prevail, when it comes to friendship, at least, and Ripley and SKY team up. I'm not entirely sure where Asuka gets off legitimately ordering SKY around, when it was SKY who was most recently Women's World Champion, but I'm sure that's part of the story to get her heel heat.

This feud likely won't be without a championship, or at least the opportunity for one, for long, however, with what we learned about the title tonight, with General Manager Adam Pearce seemingly choosing an opponent for Stephanie Vaquer next week. It would make a lot of sense for him to pick either Ripley or SKY, but maybe Asuka will somehow work her way into the opportunity instead, which would be really interesting. I'm invested in this story even if there isn't gold involved.

Written by Daisy Ruth

If you are one of the ten people who care about the Rusev and Sheamus feud, I apologize in advance.

No, seriously. I have not met one person who has genuinely cared about whatever Rusev and Sheamus got going on right now. I don't like hating on it, because Rusev must have gone through a lot to leave WWE, rough it out in its main competition only to get thrown to the side, just to return to WWE. I don't like hating on it, because Sheamus is a future Hall of Famer, and I'm sure he believes in what he's performing. I just...I cannot get myself to get behind Rusev versus Sheamus.

Rusev and Sheamus have been feuding for the past month or so, but I genuinely could not tell you any key detail about what they've been arguing about. They hate each other...but they also want to go out there and give people the best match possible? Granted, this is an interesting angle: it toes the line of in-ring animosity to personal vendetta (recall, if you will, the Rhea Ripley/IYO SKY feud heading into Evolution, and where they stand coming out of Evolution). I know this is a wrestling show with wrestlers who want to wrestle, but if this had been given the appropriate amount of promo segments — opportunities to further this storyline with words that can speak to people — this could really be a standout story. We could have been made to feel, to care about this fight. However, Rusev isn't the best in promos, and as good as Sheamus is, you can't have a promo-driven storyline with only one good mic worker. So, this feud was always destined to be built on match after match, beatdown after beatdown, and flexed muscle after flexed muscle. This is a great concept that was handled horribly by WWE.

Like, I don't know how else to say it, but I just don't care. I don't care, and I am more than willing to admit that I might not be the best person to commentate on every pitfall of this feud, simply because I cannot be bothered to pay attention to it. I don't know what happens between Rusev and Sheamus every week: every Beat of the Bodhrán and, I guess, signature from Rusev blends in my mind. However, in my apathy, find the sticking point: think about *why* I can't be bothered to care. It's because everything in this feud feels senseless. I don't mind reading in between the lines to parse hidden meanings in every strike, gear choice, and facial microexpression. However, I have to be bothered to do that: I have to care about the feud I'm watching in order to do that, and I just can't be brought to care. WWE has done nothing to make me care about Rusev and Sheamus, and so they fight again, week after week, with no rhyme or reason.

I don't know why this is on the Clash in Paris card.

Written by Angeline Phu

Wrestling is a chemical business. Serotonin, adrenaline, dopamine, cortisol, endorphins, these are the building blocks of a great "wrestling moment," and the end to Monday's edition of "Raw" was all about pushing the right buttons for the right brain juice.

Firstly, it should be noted that the main event match itself was a solid affair, one buoyed by the fact that it was the first clean finish in a "Raw" main event in I don't even know how long. A well-executed run-in by Seth Rollins kicked off a procession of run-ins, each one getting a white hot reaction from the Birmingham crowd. Each theme song was met with a concussion blast of cheers, from Rollins to Jey Uso to CM Punk. Rather than an incoherent brawl to end things, Punk, Uso, and LA Knight bounced off each other like equal parts pinball balls and ballet, leaving no line uncrossed between the three men, heading into Sunday's Fatal-Four-Way match, while Rollins laughed at the chaos he can exploit in Paris. It's hard to describe, but the unhinged glee with which the Birmingham crowd reacted to the fairly straightforward ending was the kind of thing wrestling is about. It was a symphony of joy, and a reaction like that is the sign of a job well done. Sure, WWE might not have reinvented the wheel by putting all three guys in a position to come to blows, but there's an Occam's Razor precision to the way it went down, that pummelled the crowd's brain with those good chemicals, and therefore the home audience's as well.

Side note, Jey Uso is still insanely over.

Written by Ross Berman