WWE Raw 10/13/25: 3 Things We Hated & 3 Things We Loved

It's Monday, shortly after noon, which ordinarily means we'd be gearing up for the evening's wrestling festivities on "WWE Raw." But since WWE Crown Jewel emanated out of Perth, Western Australia, and time zones exist and jet lag is a thing, "Raw" was on a full 12 hours earlier than usual, bright and early at 8 a.m., just like Crown Jewel. Wrestling Inc's team is caffeinated and ready to talk about the latest episode of WWE's flagship show. If you're spoiler-free and want to know what happened, stop reading and head to our October 13 "WWE Raw" results coverage.

This episode started like many others, a victorious Seth Rollins running his mouth on the mic with his Vision stable surrounding him; his night would end very similarly, but with a few key differences. After she and IYO SKY defeated the Kabuki Warriors, Rhea Ripley took on Kairi Sane. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio defended his Intercontinental Championship against Penta, getting the W in the most Dom Mysterio way possible. Having just beaten Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel, Bronson Reed looked to add another member of the Anoa'i family to the list of WWE stars he's defeated. Someone stepped up to Stephanie Vaquer and CM Punk took part in a Triple Threat main event for the No. 1 contendership, facing LA Knight and Jey Uso. Now, the outcome of that match will prove to be consequential, setting up Seth Rollins' next opponent, but the aftermath was just as pivotal, with Rollins set up another way altogether.

Here are three things we hate and three things we loved about "WWE Raw" on October 13, 2025.

Putting the shocking twist of the Vision turning on him at the very end of "WWE Raw" aside, World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins opening up the show on Monday morning felt like so much of the same. "The Visionary" seemingly opens up the red brand every single week, aside from one beautiful recent week where we got Rhea Ripley opening the show. It was so much of the same, that if light wasn't shining through my windows, I would assume it was still a regular 8 pm show.

When I watched Adam Pearce's social media video announcing that Rollins would be opening up the show, I audibly groaned. While of course, it all ended up making a bit of sense, I wondered why we didn't have Ripley and IYO SKY kicking things off, as they're in Ripley's home country. Women's World Champion, and now, Crown Jewel Champion, Stephanie Vaquer also always feels like she gets the short end of things on the show, so getting her to open up "Raw," and establishing Roxanne Perez as her next challenger then instead of later, would have been a nice change of pace.

It was so much of the same that I honestly tuned out Rollins a bit and missed what was possibly a big clue in his opener. He mentioned that he defeated Cody Rhodes with one good arm at Crown Jewel, and there are rumors floating around that he injured his shoulder on Saturday, possibly off the big coast-to-coast diving headbutt spot. I completely missed that, as the line was in and amongst Rollins' usual hyping up of the Vision and Paul Heyman, as well as what I assumed correctly would be his touting of his own accomplishments after winning the gaudy Crown Jewel title.

While I agree the ending of "Raw" was fantastic and a shocker that needed to happen to make things interesting following the premium live event, the opening segment almost put me back to sleep. While Bron Breakker kind of looked unamused by Rollins' ramblings, it didn't give me any indication that something big was going to happen tonight, and overall, the show, up until the very ending, felt like much of the same as a show live from the United States.

Written by Daisy Ruth

After Bronson Reed had beaten Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins had defeated Cody Rhodes for the Crown Jewel Championship, and Bron Breakker continued to exist as Bron Breakker, it was safe to say that the Vision was coming into "WWE Raw" on a proverbial cloud nine. Rollins had broken his duck against the "Grandson of a Plumber" and Reed had become one of the only men who could say they've pinned Reigns in this decade, and again, Breakker continued to be the genetic freak of nature that is Bron Breakker – there isn't much else to say on that front. So where to next? 

For a time, it appeared as though Rollins and CM Punk were going to be running back their forever feud, and chances are that they still will at some stage or another. Punk had won the No. one contendership and had been laid out by Rollins and the Brons; many of us have seen this episode before. But finally, however, a twist in the tale, with Breakker snapping Rollins to the ground with a spear out of nowhere. Reed eventually followed suit and delivered a Tsunami splash, both men ending the segment with their hands raised by Paul Heyman, and Rollins may have been written off for a legitimate injury sustained at Crown Jewel. 

It has been evident from almost the first day they aligned that Heyman felt better suited as an advocate for someone like Breakker, a would-be "Next Big Thing," and Breakker has never been visibly on board with Rollins as his leader; while Reed and Heyman gleamed at their "Visionary," Breakker was always like a son being dragged into yard work with his father – he wanted to be anywhere else, doing anything else, and he was unafraid to show it.

The closing shot saw Breakker holding the World Heavyweight title in the air, and one would imagine if Rollins cannot then Breakker would make an excellent choice to stand opposite Punk for the title. In any case, whether the original intent or not, now feels like the right time to nip the Vision as it was being presented in the bud; if it was truly a device for Breakker and Reed to be established as credible main eventers, much of that task feels like it has been completed. All factions run the risk of running too long and becoming stale, but now the Vision could be remembered as the launch pad for the Hall of Fame-worthy careers of Breakker and Reed, rather than just a footnote in the list of groups that fizzled out. 

Written by Max Everett

The first match on today's "Raw" had Dominik Mysterio defending his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Penta, though evidently Rusev had no interest in seeing the title change hands. He interfered in the match by distracting Penta, giving Mysterio an opportunity to cheat and retain. It now looks as though there's a shot that Rusev could end Mysterio's Intercontinental Championship reign next week after being given another chance at the title.

Sure, it certainly made logical sense for Rusev to interfere in today's title bout after Mysterio cheated to win their match two weeks back. It's just that Rusev vs. Mysterio isn't a feud I'm clamoring to see. Also, on a basic level, it's obnoxious to use interference in a title rematch to set up another title rematch the following week.

I was once a staunch defender of Rusev, believing that he was destined to win a world title wherever he ended up. However, following a lackluster AEW run and months into his disappointing WWE return, I can't say I still feel that way. With Mysterio already having cheated to retain his title against Rusev, it's hard to envision a purpose for the rematch beyond having the title change hands. While it'll be fun to watch Mysterio's downfall, there's more they could do with this title run before bringing it to an end.

Plus, Penta feels like an afterthought in all of this, which is unfortunate. The former AEW star came into the company with a lot of steam, but for some reason, WWE is holding off on reuniting him with his brother. WWE's main roster tag divisions could use a jolt of energy, and it'd be nice to see the Lucha Brothers serve as the team to deliver it.

Written by Nick Miller

One of the best stories in WWE right now is Rhea Ripley being such good friends with IYO SKY that it has driven Asuka to being an absolute menace to society, while Kairi Sane is conflicted over whether she should stand by her Kabuki Warriors teammate, or side with SKY because Asuka has gone too far. Ripley and SKY might have gotten the victory at Crown Jewel with Sane taking a bullet for Asuka in the closing stages, but that seems to have made Asuka even more angry heading into today's episode of Monday Morning/Afternoon/Night Raw.

Outside of CM Punk, Rhea Ripley was the most over person on the show and for good reason. She's the biggest star in the women's division and one of the biggest stars in all of wrestling right now, so giving her the chance to have a singles showcase against someone like Kairi was an excellent move. The two women had a very good match, which might have been a gear or two lower than what they produced with their tag team partners at Crown Jewel, but still very enjoyable and an easy watch. 

However, the portion of this part of the night that I personally enjoyed the most was the aftermath where it was firmly established that this story isn't over, and that Asuka and Kairi are not only on the same page, but they seem to have unlocked a new darker side of each other in recent weeks. Ripley looked to have her sights set on taking Asuka out for good after defeating Kairi by slamming her head on the announce table and getting her set up for the Riptide, but it wasn't to be. Kairi made the save by going to town on Ripley with a kendo stick, leading to Asuka landing a nasty DDT on the announce table and Sane pressing the kendo stick into Ripley's throat as The Kabuki Warriors stood tall.

These four ladies are magic together, especially in the roles that they currently occupy. Asuka being the bully that made her so successful back in her "WWE NXT" days. Kairi being conflicted at first before being just as slimy as Asuka. Ripley being so popular that she can generate sympathy by taking virtually any move at all, and SKY just being the single best wrestler in WWE right now. Moving on from this story right now would be the wrong move right now, and with WarGames on the horizon, having these versions of these four women in the double-ringed cage of hell is something that has me very excited to see what the women's WarGames match will look like given the disappointment that was the 2024 match. I don't know how all of this ends, but I am seated for the remainder of this entertaining journey.

Written by Sam Palmer

We are coming up to one full year of Punk and Rollins going at it, which was something that was genuinely exciting when it first kicked off. Punk and Rollins having legitimate beef from years gone by made the feud feel real and authentic, with Rollins angry that Punk could walk back into a company he tried to tear down for years and just be accepted as if nothing has happened. Of course, the real conclusion to the feud would be Punk finally getting the definitive win over Rollins and becoming the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for a second time, and with no Money in the Bank contract to disrupt anything, that victory would stick and we would finally get that Punk world title run that people have been asking for since he returned in 2023.

That is still very possible thanks to the fact that Punk defeated Jey Uso and LA Knight to become the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but there is just one little problem: there is an infinitely more interesting route to take given what happened at the end of the show.

The Vision seems to be no more, or at least will continue without Rollins as its leader as Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed closed out tonight's show (or today's show depending on where you watched it) by brutally assaulting Rollins, with Paul Heyman siding with Reed and Breakker. One of the closing shots of the night was Breakker holding Rollins' title, and right there, that is the direction. You want to create a new superstar and refresh the main event scene overnight? Give the title, or at least the next shot to Bron Breakker.

Yes, the logical conclusion was to have Punk dethrone Rollins, but come on guys, we've seen that dance before and it is fine at best. However, Bron Breakker dethroning Rollins and making Punk wait a little longer, or even having Punk lose to Breakker has so much more meat on the bone that WWE would be foolish not to explore that option first. You don't want to end up in the same trap of having a great angle ruined by a poor follow-up, just look at the first part of John Cena's heel turn to see how that goes.

Rollins could very well be hurt and the show closing angle is WWE pivoting to something that can carry them through to the end of the year, but it really should have been the option from the jump. Punk and Rollins should have been done and dusted months ago, let's try something different, something fresh, and something a lot more interesting than CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins.

Written by Sam Palmer

I'm in the camp of people who want to see Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio leaning even more into the "lie, cheat, steal" motto of his "father," Eddie Guerrero, and tonight during his championship defense against Penta, we got to see that. During his match with Rusev a few weeks ago, Mysterio pulled the ol' Guerrero trick of laying down, pretending to be injured, while throwing the title belt at his opponent for the referee to see when they turn around, but tonight, his tactics were even slicker.

This time, Mysterio got the ring bell hammer, in addition to the championship belt, and got in the ring. He put the title in the middle of the ring for the referee to find, while he hit Penta with the hammer, then shoved it in his boot to use it once again when he hit the 619. He followed it up with a frog splash for the victory. While I usually hate Penta losing, I really enjoyed this.

It was a very small part of "Raw" tonight, especially when you consider the shocking finish that every fan is going to be talking about for the next week, but it was something I really enjoyed. Mysterio doesn't need his Judgment Day stablemates around him anymore, and it's like he's leaning how to cheat well on his own. Mysterio's championship defenses may not be clean victories, but I rather see him digging into his Guerrero "roots" than relying on Finn Balor and JD McDonagh to run to his aid. 

Honestly, there's no real need for Judgment Day as a faction anymore, but with the recent happenings on the red brand, it seems like they'll hang in there for a little while longer, likely until Liv Morgan returns and she and Mysterio can continue a Bonnie and Clyde kind of act. If Mysterio can keep cheating his way to holding on to the IC gold, as well as the AAA Mega Championship, in the meantime, he'll remain one of the brightest and most interesting points on "Raw."

Written by Daisy Ruth