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WWE RAW REPORT
MARCH 17, 2025
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM AT FOREST NATIONAL
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX (WORLDWIDE)
REPORT BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reports that 8.078 tickets were distributed headed into the show. The arena was set up for 8.080, so it’s a sellout. The arena has a capacity of 8,400,spectators when configured for boxing/MMA.
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[HOUR ONE]
– The show opened with a video package recapping John Cena turning on Cody Rhodes and siding with The Rock, as well as Cody’s response from last week’s Raw.
– John Cena made his way to the ring to a mostly negative response from the crowd. Cena said that people shouldn’t have to look out of themselves for approval. Cena said that the fans were making this very easy for him. He said that for 25 years he has been the victim of an abusive relationship. Cena said that the fans have only bullied him into being a puppet with a smile on his face. Cena said that he wasn’t a babyface or a heel, but a human being and the fans had been awful to him. He said that the people hated him when he got to WWE, only for Cena to work hard and start winning.
– Cena said that the people didn’t like him winning. Cena said that he tried to get along with the fans one last time, but the fans ruined it for him. He said that it was never enough for the fans and they should be ashamed of themselves. Cena said that the fans only took away from him and now they don’t deserve anything. Cena said that the fans don’t deserve a new look or new music because those are his. He said that the fans only get a look at the mirror for how awful they have been to him.
– Cena said that the people that chant ‘Let’s go Cena’ are just as awful because they haven’t ever done anything for him. Cena said that those people have stolen his moments and his time, calling their ‘invisible’ jokes pathetic. He said that the fans only used him as an excuse for their failures because they have been sitting for 25 years watching him be great. Cena said that he was breaking up with every single person and there was nothing they could do because they knew he was right.
– Cody Rhodes interrupted to tell Cena that everyone was willing to hear him out. Cody said that everyone had also given Cena their best because Cena was special and they thought he could take it. Cena tried to call Cody a kid, but Cody shut him up and reminded him that he was the WWE champion. Cody told Cena that he was excited to come face-to-face with him and instead he got this version. Cody told Cena to go find himself, so that he could wrestle him instead of a whiny bitch before waking away. Cena dropped the mic and walked away to a chorus of boos.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A really strong opening segment to finally give the Cody and Cena build a proper start. Cena finally addressing how the fans’ lifelong negative reaction towards him was really fun and unthinkable to see just a few weeks ago. Cody’s presence and short promo was good, but felt a tiny bit lackluster after what we heard from Cena and as follow-up to what actually happened at Elimination Chamber.)
– Ludwig Kaiser made his way to the ring, ahead of his match against Penta.
[Commercial Break]
(1) PENTA vs. LUDWIG KAISER – No Holds Barred Match
Penta knocked Kaiser down with a chop and clotheslined him out of the ring. Kaiser tossed Penta over the barricade, only for Penta to shut him down with a hurracarrana into the apron. Kaiser introduced a pair of chairs, but Penta immediately knocked him off the apron with a dropkick. Penta crushed Kaiser with a Tope con Hilo and pummeled him with a barrage of chops. Kaiser gouged Penta’s eyes and planted him with a Death Valley Driver on the announce table, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Penta crushed Kaiser with a high crossbody and put him down with an inverted sling blade. Penta dropped Kaiser with a backstabber, but he was able to retaliate with a Death Valley Driver for a two count. Penta blocked a running dropkick with a back body drop onto the announce table. Back in the ring, they exchanged right hands and chops, until Kaiser blocked a headscissors takeover.
Kaiser cracked Penta with a forearm to the back of the head for a nearfall. Kaiser pressed a chair into Penta’s throat, but Penta countered his follow-up move with The Sacrifice. Penta threatened Kaiser with a chair, until Kaiser took away the chair. Penta caught Kaiser off-guard with a thrust kick and drove the chair into his face with another thrust kick. Before Kaiser could react, Penta beat him with a diving Destroyer and the Penta Driver on a chair.
WINNER: Penta at 10:52
– After the match, Cathy Kelley interviewed Penta about his plans for WrestleMania. Penta said that he was coming for the Intercontinental title.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A pretty good match to finally put an end to this feud. I don’t think we needed to see this rivalry last as long as it, but it ended on a strong note and it set up Penta nicely for a future title shot. At the pace that we are going, I expect to see a multi-man match for the IC belt with Penta involved.)
[Commercial Break]
– Backstage, Finn Bálor thanked Dominik Mysterio for getting him a title shot tonight. Dominik said that he had been speaking with some people and had an idea. Dominik suggested that they should add Penta to the Judgment Day. Finn called Dominik out for going behind his back and called him a snake.
(2) DAKOTA KAI vs. IVY NILE (w/Chad Gable, Julius Creed & Brutus Creed)
Nile caught Kai with a clothesline and pummeled her down. Nile dropped Kai with a German suplex, but she kicked out at two. Kai shocked Nile with a forearm strike, a clothesline and a dropkick, followed by a sliding boot through the ropes. Nile evaded a stomp, only for Kai to knock her off the apron. Gable distracted Kai, allowing Nile to put her down with a modified sideslam for a two count. Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee showed up to assault the Creeds before chasing Gable away from the ring. The distraction allowed Kai to blast Nile with a running boot and knock her out with the GTK.
WINNER: Dakota Kai at 2:49
(Pomares’ Analysis: Bit of a nothing match to continue the Chad Gable and LWO story. Nothing to go out of your way to see and I’m assuming will lead to a mixed tag match at Mania that won’t set the world on fire.)
– Iyo Sky made her way to the ring for the Women’s World title contract signing.
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR TWO]
– Adam Pearce introduced Iyo Sky and Bianca Belair for the contract signing. Sky said that Belair or Ripley would disrespect her again because she was the world champion. Belair said that she wouldn’t let Sky put her hands on her again and would win the title again at WrestleMania. Rhea Ripley interrupted to mock Belair for allowing Belair to slap her. Ripley and Belair argued, until Ripley hit Belair with a headbutt and powerbombed Sky on top of her. Ripley grabbed the contract and signed her name on it before walking away with it.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Fine segment that felt somewhat short, but got its point across decently enough. However, I’m really not a fan of wrestling just not knowing how contracts work and still doing angles like this one. Thankfully the crowd is massively into these women and is making up for the story’s failings.)
– Jey Uso and Gunther nearly got into a brawl, as Jey made his way to the ring.
(3) JEY USO vs. AUSTIN THEORY (w/Grayson Waller)
Jey avoided Theory’s clotheslines and shocked him with a Spear for the win.
WINNER: Jey Uso at 0:30
– After the match, Jey Uso took Grayson Waller out with a superkick and crushed him and Theory with a Tope con Hilo. Gunther appeared behind Jey and put him in a sleeper hold, but Jey drove him into the turnbuckle. Jey took Gunther’s belt and low-bridged him before standing tall with the belt.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Nothing we haven’t seen before, but at least Jey beating Theory in seconds contrasts much better with Gunther struggling against Alpha Academy.)
– A video package was shown, recapping the story between Bron Breakker and Finn Bálor.
[Commercial Break]
– A recap of Rhea Ripley assaulting Iyo Sky and Bianca Belair; and signing their contract was shown.
– Backstage, Rhea RIPley demanded Adam Pearce to add her to the match. Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky showed up to beat Ripley down before fighting with each other. Ripley shoved Sky into a door and Belair into a storage case before walking away.
(4) LWO (Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee) vs. CREED BROTHERS (Julius Creed & Brutus Creed)
Julius immediately blasted Lee with a running knee strike, only for Lee to drive him into the corner with a hurracarrana. Lee sent Brutus out of the ring with a thrust kick, setting him up for a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Lee crushed Julius with a high crossbody for a two count. Julius planted Lee with a rolling senton, followed by a sliding clothesline, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Rey got the hot tag to knock Brutus off the apron and take Julius down with a headscissors takeover. Rey pummeled Juliuw with a series of right hands, until the Creeds pulled him down. Julius caught Rey on his shoulder, but Rey shut him down with a Tornado DDT. Lee took care of Brutus with a hurracarrana off the apron while Rey sent Julius into the ropes with a hurracarrana. Rey hit Julius with 619 and beat him with a slingshot splash.
WINNERS: LWO at 5:45
– After the match, the masked luchador attacked Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee from behind. The luchador dropped Lee and Rey with German suplexes before crushing Lee with a diving headbutt and running away.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Fun match while it lasted, but I’m still annoyed that the plan for Mania seems to be more of LWO vs. American Made which feels like it has been done to death at this point.)
– A lengthy recap of Roman Reigns assaulting Seth Rollins and CM Punk last week was shown.
– Seth Rollins made his way to the ring.
[Commercial Break]
– Seth Rollins stood in the middle of the ring to say that Roman Reigns still didn’t have a plan without his architect. Rollins said that Roman didn’t take CM Punk into consideration. Rollins said that had he had a few more seconds inside the cage, he would have put Punk’s career on ice. He said that Roman and Punk would be on this week’s SmackDown, so he would make a little trip to confront them. Rollins led the crowd into chanting his song before the main event.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Okay segment, but it was mostly a plug for this week’s SmackDown instead of an actual follow-up to last week’s angle.)
– It was announced that Lyra Valkyria would face Raquel Rodriguez in a title match; CM Punk would be live; A-Town Down Under would fight Jey Uso and a mystery partner; and Cody Rhodes and John Cena would come face-to-face once again.
– Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed AJ Styles about his issues with Logan Paul. AJ said that Logan didn’t belong on the roster, until Karrion Kross interrupted. Kross said that AJ was mad at himself instead of Logan. AJ said that he knew what Kross was doing and it wouldn’t work, only for Kross to claim that it was.
– Finn Bálor made his way to the ring, ahead of his match against Bron Breakker.
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR THREE]
(5) BRON BREAKKER vs. FINN BÁLOR – WWE Intercontinental Championship
Finn put Breakker in a headlock, only for Breakker to take him down with a shoulder tackle. Finn managed to take Breakker down with a headlock before throwing him out of the ring. Breakker rammed Finn into the corner and attacked him with a bunch of shoulder thrusts, followed by a corner clothesline. Breakker threw Finn out of the ring, but Finn blocked his Spear with a sling blade on the floor, as WWE Raw went to its final commercial break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Finn took Breakker down with a Russian leg sweep, but he kicked out at two. Breakker nailed Finn with a flying back elbow and a Xploder before shutting him down with a mid-air powerslam. Dominik Mysterio and Carlito showed up to distract Breakker, allowing Finn to plant him with an elbow drop. Breakker laid Fin out with a lariat and crushed him with a crossbody over the announce table. Back in the ring, Finn surprised Breakker with a sling blade and shotgun dropkick.
Breakker evaded the Coup de Grace, but missed a Spear and crashed into the turnbuckle. Breakker kicked out of a roll-up and floored Finn with a powerslam for a nearfall. Finn climbed the top turnbuckle, but Breakker immediately stopped him. Carlito distracted the referee while Dominik knocked Breakker off the top turnbuckle and accidentally crotched Finn. Breakker knocked Carlito and Dominik off the apron before finishing Finn off with a Spear.
WINNER: Bron Breakker at 12:33 (Still WWE Intercontinental Champion)
– After the match, Judgment Day assaulted Bron Breakker, until Penta showed up to make the save. Penta sent Dominik out of the ring with a thrust kick while Breakker hit Carlito with a Spear. Penta gave Breakker back his belt and faced him as the show came to an end.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Good main event, but I was hoping for a bit more from these two. Penta making the save is fun and should set up a good TV match, but I doubt this will be a singles match come WrestleMania. Additionally, I fully expect Finn to be kicked out of Judgment Day at WrestleMania with Dominik standing as a pseudo-leader.)
Advertised Matches & Appearances
- Bron Breakker vs. Finn Balor – WWE Intercontinental Championship match
- Jey Uso vs. Austin Theory
- Dakota Kai vs. Ivy Nile
- Penta vs. Ludwig Kaiser – No Holds Barred match
- Cody Rhodes & John Cena under one roof
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