WWE RAW 12/29/2025: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show where WWE saw AEW crown a new world champion at Worlds End and thought "You know what? We can also end 2025 with a big title change!" Yes, Jimmy and Jey Uso became your new World Tag Team Champions on the final Monday of the year on a show that also featured a Stephanie Vaquer title defense, a match between GUNTHER and R-Truth, more developments in the women's tag team division, and the return of Penta!

We actually don't have much to say about that last one here in this column, nor did the WINC staff have any strong opinions on the CM Punk/Vision promo that opened the show. You can read all about those on our "Raw" results page, which is particularly helpful if you didn't watch. However, we do have some opinions on all that other stuff we mentioned, and we're prepared to deliver them to you right here and now. In other words, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the final "WWE Raw" of 2025!

Next Monday is the one year anniversary of "Raw's" debut on Netflix. While it's shaping up to be a big card, it could've been even bigger if the two title matches from this week were saved for next week. The opening match on tonight's episode was a triple threat for the Women's World Championship with Stephanie Vaquer defending her title against Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodrgiuez. The biggest women's title should've been defended on one of the biggest episodes of "Raw" of the year.

The main event not only saw a title match, but a title change. Dragon Lee and AJ Styles lost their tag titles to The Usos. This is the ninth tag title win for Jimmy Uso and tenth for Jey (he has one with Cody Rhodes). The Usos are one of the best tag teams in WWE history and although they've won the titles multiple times, they deserved to win the titles again on a big show.

The Women's IC title is being defended next week. Kabuki Warriors will defend their tag titles against Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY. It's important that women's titles are being defended on big shows, but there's no reason that all three titles couldn't be defended on the same show. CM Punk is defending his World Championship against Bron Breakker too. The one year anniversary show should be full of title matches. Make it a bigger deal than it already is, especially if a certain "Ayatollah of Rock & Rolla" is making his return.

Written by Samantha Schipman

I think I will be forever confused by WWE's handling of Women's World Champion Stephanie Vaquer. She's treated like she's a huge star everywhere, but when it comes to her booking, it doesn't make much sense, and it happens more often than not. Tonight was a good example of that. If you were confused last week when matches were announced for next week's Netflix anniversary episode of "Raw," you weren't alone, but WWE did indeed make it known that Vaquer would be taking on Raquel Rodriguez and WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella tonight, rather than on the special episode that WWE is hyping up to be a big deal.

I also can't remember the last time a Women's World Championship match was the main event of "Raw." I initially thought it would be Austin Theory and Rey Mysterio taking the main event spot of the show, so I can't complain on that end too much. I'd much rather the WWE Tag Team Championships get the main event over Theory, who I just can't get on board with yet. And it of course makes sense with the Uso's big win. So, if it doesn't main event tonight, with good reason, then put it anywhere on next week's show!

Even if you don't think Vaquer is a big deal, the storyline with Rodriguez, Roxanne Perez, and the recently-returned Liv Morgan is another women's storyline that has the potential to be a good one if it was given just a little more time every week. Rodriguez told the other women to stay in the back, but it would have been more interesting if at least Morgan somehow tried to get involved and cost her friend the match. Or, if Morgan came out, and Perez followed only to drag her back, causing more tension there. Furthering that storyline, despite what Rodriguez told her stablemates initially, would have made this match tonight a little more interesting. The match would have also felt like it meant a little more, as it really just felt like another win for Vaquer that she didn't necessarily need on a show that didn't mean much overall outside of the main event.

Despite Bella losing clean when Vaquer stole the pin on her after a chokeslam from Rodriguez, I would guess she asks for yet another rematch, which I really don't want to see. It's the end of the year, so everything feels like it is in some sort of weird holding pattern before things get underway ahead of the Royal Rumble, and there wasn't much about tonight's show to get me excited. I'm glad Vaquer held on to the championship, but the match was nothing to write home about.

Written by Daisy Ruth

When Gunther tapped John Cena out in his final match earlier this month, it made him the premier heel in all of the company. Fans followed the man out of the venue for ruining the fairy tale ending many had envisioned for the "Greatest of All Time." 

Much had been said about the aftermath of that and what it could mean for Gunther going forward, with there being a real sense of striking while the iron was hot as dawning of a new year marks the beginning of the road to WrestleMania. He had spent the past couple of weeks stirring up the crowd, declaring loudly and proudly that he made Cena tap out "like a little b****" and smiling as the crowd threw their best verbal jibes at him. AJ Styles, who has been very open with the fact that he too is hanging up the boots after 2026, has since been confronting Gunther backstage, indicating that he will inherit the task of putting the "Ring General" down. 

This week, Gunther had his first match since tapping Cena out. Who was the valiant hero stepping up to Gunther on this night? Well, of course, it was R-Truth. Because seriously, who else would you have facing him at this stage in time? It's not like there's an entire roster of capable and credible babyfaces with ties to Cena. It's not as though anyone else has been as active as R-Truth, having last wrestled against Aleister Black on "WWE SmackDown" in July. Maybe just ignore the fact that Gunther was just the second opponent Truth had faced on a broadcasted show since he fought to a DQ with Cena when he was a heel in June. 

Gunther obviously won, because WWE is thankfully not that creatively bankrupt, after roughly three and a half minutes of playing with his proverbial prey. But it didn't really do anything. No one really cared. It was just an opportunity to do something a little different than what had been happening, while also not really doing anything different. Truth lost, as he does. Gunther won, as he does. There wasn't any new opponents or directions established, just a continuation of Truth's tired gimmick of being a Cena fanboy. 

The issue with striking while the iron is hot is that requires striking true, half-hearted strikes like these only serve to cool it down in the wrong shape. It just... doesn't seem like anyone else on the roster really cares that the supposed "GOAT" was retired and has since had his legacy trampled on.

Written by Max Everett

"Raw" may be a two and a half hour show filled with a variety of segments, but sometimes, it's the shorter segments that end up being the best ones on the show. That proved to be the case during the brawl between The Kabuki Warriors and Rhiyo.

This may have been a very small and brief part of the show on the whole, but it still did some really good storytelling in terms of building on the relationship between Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY. Yes, Asuka and Kairi Sane's promo that preceded the brawl was essentially just a very standard heel promo meant to garner heat for the two women but the real magic came during the brawl itself. Having Ripley immediately check on SKY after Sane had sent her crashing into the announce desk really emphasized the idea that SKY is Ripley's one real weakness for someone who is all around a powerhouse feared by the entire "Raw" women's division. It may have opened the door for Asuka and Sane to momentarily gain the upperhand, but the second SKY recovered and got into the ring to save Ripley, their partnership in the ring was too much for Asuka and Sane to handle.

Considering that a vast amount of storytelling in WWE feels very paint by the numbers on the whole, it was a refreshing change of pace to see actual thought be put into the subtext of the brawl. It felt like it was well rounded, and shows that storytelling isn't just about the overt actions and dialogue that is taking place before the audience. Sometimes, it's just the nuanced details that take a minute to soak in.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Women's tag team wrestling is so back.

Again, maybe WWE is feeling pressure from the main competition's blossoming women's tag division, or maybe Triple H is still reveling in the Christmas spirit. Either way, the WWE women's tag team division gets deeper and deeper, complex and complex, with every passing week. For a division that was thoroughly ignored, banished to the Shadow Realm known as catering, until it was time to stick a match on a premium live event preshow, the variety within the division has blossomed. We've been seeing it on both shows with the teams of RHIYO, The Kabuki Warriors, and Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. We've been seeing it on "WWE SmackDown" with Lash Legend and Nia Jax. Now, we're seeing it on "WWE Raw," with the team of Bayley and Lyra Valkyria.

WWE took a gamble by putting all of their top stars in a infamously overlooked and cast-aside division, and it's working. Bayley and Valkyria made a brief appearance in Adam Pearce's office during a backstage segment of "Raw," where Valkyria demanded a title shot at whoever walked out of The Kabuki Warriors' upcoming title defense. We're making active plans for the future of this division, and considering just how inconsistent and unstable the division used to be, I'm glad for the clear roadmap. It gives a wrestling fan hope that this huge push for women's tag team wrestling in WWE isn't just a flash in the pan, but rather, is a sustained effort over multiple weeks, months, within WWE creative. WWE is investing big into women's tag team wrestling right now, and if the opinions expressed in this column and the columns of weeks past are any indication, it is working.

WWE is making active plans for the future of its women's tag division, and is doing so with top stars. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria have become an extremely underrated act within the "Raw" landscape, but even when they're overshadowed by acts like RHIYO and The Judgement Day, they still manage to be entertaining and crowd-pleasers. I pop whenever Valkyria smacks Bayley into her "Ding-dong, hello?!" gimmick, and I root for Bayley whenever she's fighting an uphill battle against Roxanne Perez, Raquel Rodriguez, or any other heel "Raw" has to offer. It's good to see them have direction. It's good to see them have a clear goal in the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. Again, we are making active plans for their future, for this division's future.

Do I think Bayley and Valkyria will be the new champs any time soon? No. We're still shaking the table, however. We're still putting matches on the cards. We're still making investments for the future.

Written by Angeline Phu

It felt like it was coming from the moment that Jey and Jimmy Uso banded back together, but the Usos became nine-time WWE Tag Team Champions in this week's main event, dethroning AJ Styles and Dragon Lee to become World Tag Team Champions on the last main roster show of the year. 

Prior to the match, Jey was shown backstage full of doubt for himself and whether he can win a title after so many defeats of late. Jimmy reminded him that he was "Main Event" Jey Uso, Royal Rumble winner, former World Heavyweight Champion, and eight-time Tag Team Champion (nine if you count his single reign with Cody Rhodes). Jimmy said it was him that needed Jey by his side to get back on the right path. 

Thus, they entered together with a new resolve – though admittedly entering to "It's just me, Uce!" when it actually isn't is a little bit silly – and appeared to be back at their best, in kayfabe if not actually at their best match, as they ran thire greatest hits against Lee and Styles. The match itself wasn't anything to scream about; it was almost 19 minutes of a match that promised throughout to shift into that next gear, while ultimately never doing so as the victors were decided. 

But it accomplished what it set out to do when all was said and done. The Usos are now Tag Team Champions once again heading into the road to WrestleMania, taking control of a division that has sorely needed an injection of star power for some time. AJ Styles is free to, presumably, begin a program with GUNTHER in the aftermath of making John Cena tap out in his last match and disrespecting his retired opponent every chance he gets. 

It also marks another chapter in the tale that has been Jey's doubts over his championship pedigree, winning a title that will surely only exacerbate the pressure on him when the celebration is over. One can expect it to be a catalyst for a major change, perhaps a heel turn, in the coming weeks; that gives the titles a little more importance than being defended on TV with no seeming plan in store.

Written by Max Everett