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WWE RAW REPORT
APRIL 7, 2025
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. AT TARGET CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX (WORLDWIDE)
REPORT BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Wade Barrett
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reports that 7,273 tickets were distributed headed into the day. The arena was set up for 8,589. The arena has a capacity of 20,500 spectators when configured for concerts.
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[HOUR ONE]
– A recap of Rhea Ripley assaulting Bianca Belair and Iyo after the main event was shown.
– Adam Pearce introduced Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair to the ring. Pearce said that after what happened last week, he is booking them in a triple threat match at WrestleMania. Belair said that a few weeks ago, she would have been pissed at this decision, but now she wanted her in it. Ripley and Belair signed the contract and pushed Sky out of the way. Sky hit both of them with a springboard dropkick and signed the contract before walking away.
(Pomares’ Analysis: I like the star power in these three-way feud, but it feels like they have done a variation of the same segment throughout the majority of the build to their Mania match. I like what we heard from Bianca Belair and wish we got to hear more from everybody else.)
– A recap of Judgment Day defeating Penta and Bron Breakker last week was shown. It was confirmed that Bron Breakker would defend his title against Dominik Mysterio, Penta and Finn Bálor at WrestleMania.
– Backstage, Liv Morgan said that it wouldn’t matter who won at WrestleMania, as long as it was Finn Bálor or Dominik Mysterio. Finn said that people say that Dominik wasn’t tough enough and was a loser, but tonight he would prove them wrong.
[Commercial Break]
(1) LYRA VALKYRIA vs. BAYLEY – Women’s Intercontinental Championship
Lyra knocked Bayley down with a roll-up before Bayley responded with one of his own. Lyra swept Bayley off her feet, only for Bayley to surprise her with a pinning combination. Bayley clocked Lyra with a rising knee strike, but Lyra countered her sunset flip with a pinfall. Lyra nailed Bayley with a basement dropkick, followed by a Northern Lights suplex for a two count. Lyra trapped Bayley in a Pendulum lock, transitioning into a Seatbelt Clutch for a two count. Bayley avoided a big boot, only for Lyra to low-bridge her and hit her with a dropkick through the ropes. Lyra crushed Bayley with a high crossbody, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Bayley shocked Lyra with a cutter into the ropes, setting her up for a dropkick through the corner. Bayley missed a suicide dive, but was able to counter a dropkick through the ropes with a Bayley-to-Belly on the floor. Lyra blocked a power mover and cracked Bayley with an enzuigiri, setting her up for a Doctor Bomb for a two count. Bayley clobbered Lyra with a sliding knee strike for a close two count. Lyra blocked a superplex, but couldn’t go for a powerbomb due to her hurt back. Bayley immediately drove Lyra into the corner with a sunset flip powerbomb. Lyra hit Bayley with a Tornado DDT and a fisherman suplex, but she kicked out at two. Bayley swept Lyra off her feet and put her in a Boston Crab in the middle of the ring. Lyra evaded the Rose Plant and got the three count with a jackknife pinfall.
WINNER: Lyra Valkyria at 13:25 (Still Women’s Intercontinental Champion)
– After the match, Bayley refused to shake Lyra Valkyria’s hand before hugging her.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Really strong match and probably the best defense of Lyra’s title reign so far. Now that the majority of the Mania card is starting to shape up, I hope Bayley and Lyra don’t get left out. Would be a real shame if Bayley went from a world title match at Mania to missing out on the whole show. The post-match bit was interesting and could be the catalyst for a possible rematch.)
– Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed comedian Bert Kreischer about his upcoming special on Netflix. Chad Gable immediately interrupted to tell him that he would get to see American Made face the LWO. Bert said that he didn’t come to see them and greeted Otis instead.
[Commercial Break]
– Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviewed AJ Styles about his match with Logan Paul. Karrion Kross interrupted to tell AJ that he should bring the old AJ, only for AJ to tell him that he would show him next week.
– A recap of El Grande Americano defeating Dragon Lee was shown.
(2) CREED BROTHERS (Julius Creed & Brutus Creed w/Ivy Nile) & EL GRANDE AMERICANO vs. LWO (Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro w/Rey Mysterio)
Del Toro took Brutus down with an arm drag, only for Brutus to take him down with a clothesline. LWO caught Julius with a tag team splash and a headscissors takeover before putting him in an armbar. LWO attacked the Creeds and Americano with a series of corner clotheslines and dropkicks. They crashed into the Creeds and Americano with stereo Topes con Hilo. The Creeds and Americano planted LWO with stereo superplex, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Del Toro hit Brutus and Julius with hurracarranas, followed by an enzuigiri and a twisting suplex. Del Toro crushed Brutus with a Swantont Bomb and took Julius down with a suicide dive. Americano caught Del Toro with an O’Connor Roll, but Del Toro responded with a slap. Lee and Del Toro took Americano down with a tag team neckbreaker before Lee dropped Americano with a sitout powerbomb. Julius shocked Lee with a Shooting Star Press and Wilde crashed into Brutus with a Tope con Hilo. Del Toro clotheslined Brutus out of the ring and hit him with a top turnbuckle Tornillo. Nile gave Americano a metal pad, so he could put it underneath his mask. Americano hit Rey and Lee with headbutts before finishing Lee with a diving headbutt.
WINNERS: Creed Brothers & El Grande Americano at 10:29
(Pomares’ Analysis: Very fun match to continue the American Made and LWO story going into WrestleMania. Going in, I assumed we would get a multi-man tag team match at Mania, but now that he already gotten it, I think it’s most likely we get a singles match between Rey and Gable.)
– A lengthy recap of Gunther assaulting Jimmy Uso in front of Jey was shown.
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR TWO]
– Gunther made his way to the ring in a full suit. Jey Uso showed up through the crowd in black gear and not celebrating with the fans. Jey said that he talked with his mom about getting Jimmy to the hospital and how he didn’t protect him. He said that Gunther had him and still chose to make this about his family. Jey said that he never felt so hopeless and disrespected, but when he was at his lowest moment he realized that he didn’t fear Gunther anymore. Jey warned Gunther to hug and kiss family and said that he would pray for the lord to forgive for what he would do. He said that at Mania he would beat Gunther for Jimmy and for his family.
(Pomares’ Analysis: After an excellent segment last week, this feud finally feels like a world title program. Jey Uso is at his best when he is serious as seen by the majority of the first year of the Bloodline. Jey has brought the same energy Gunther brought last week and delivered one of his best promos in a long time.)
– A lengthy video package was shown recapping the confrontation between CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns on SmackDown.
– The New Day made their way to the ring, ahead of their match against the War Raiders.
[Commercial Break]
– Backstage, Adam Pearce wished Natalya and Maxxine Dupri luck on SmackDown. Rey Mysterio showed up to ask for a match against El Grande Americano, so he could expose him at WrestleMania.
– Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe joined the commentary table for the next match.
(3) WAR RAIDERS (Erik & Ivar) vs. NEW DAY (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) – World Tag Team Championship
Ivar nailed Kofi with a shoulder tackle, forcing him to roll out of the ring. Woods caught Erik with a clothesline to the back and stomped him down. Erik laid the New Day with a double clothesline, setting them up for a crossbody from Ivar. Erik planted Kofi with a bodyslam and dropped Ivar on top of him. Erik punched Woods before he could use a chair., setting him up for a running crossbody into the barricade, as WWE Raw went to a commercial break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Ivar crushed Kofi with a seated senton, reaching Erik for the hot tag. Erik dropped Kofi with a Xploder and hit Woods with a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster. Erik cracked Woods with a knee strike and floored Kofi with an uranage. The Raiders flattened Woods with a tag team pop up powerslam, followed by the War Machine. Woods broke the pinfall and introduced a chair, but Ivar stopped him and hit him with it.
WINNERS: New Day at 8:02 via DQ
– After the match, Kofi Kingston clobbered Ivar with a chair shot to the neck. New Day smashed Erik’s head into a chair in the corner and tossed Ivar over the barricade. They put a chair on Erik’s neck and tried to crush it, but security guards showed up to separate them.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Fine while it lasted, but the ending was lackluster. Based on the post-match assault, I assume they are building to a stipulation match. If it ends up happening, hopefully they do something like the Viking Rules match they had a few years ago.)
– A lengthy video package was shown, recapping the rivalry between Cody Rhodes and John Cena.
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR THREE]
(4) PENTA vs. DOMINIK MYSTERIO (w/Carlito)
Dominik stomped Penta down and nailed him with a corner clothesline. Penta avoided a clothesline and hit him with a hurracarrana, followed by a headscissors takeover and a sling blade. Penta crashed into Dominik and Carlito wtih a high crossbody, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Dominik caught Penta with a kick to the abdomen, followed by the Three Amigos. Dominik tripped Penta into the ropes, only for Penta to blast him with a thrust kick. Penta swept Dominik off his feet, setting him up for an elevated dropkick in the corner. Dominik shocked Penta with Destroyer, only for Penta to block a Frog Splash with his knees. Penta smashed Dominik’s arm into the mat and snapped his arm with the Sacrifice. Penta immediately dropped Dominik with the Penta Driver for the win.
WINNER: Penta at 9:04
(Pomares’ Analysis: A solid match that oddly gave Dominik Mysterio a lot of offense before his defeat. Oddly gives me the vibe that Dominik could steal the win at Mania and overthrow Finn from the group.)
– After the match, Bron Breakker showed up to take Carlito out with a Spear. Breakker avoided a clothesline from Dominik Mysterio and laid him out with a Spear. Breaker nailed Penta with a third Spear, only for Finn Bálor to take him out with a reverse DDT. Finn rolled out of the ring to barely avoid a Spear from Breakker.
– It was announced that AJ Styles would face Karrion Kross; and Roman Reigns would return next week.
[Commercial Break]
– Paul Heyman stood in the middle of the ring to claim that he would always be loyal to his Tribal Chief and to his best friend CM Punk. Heyman tried to get a point across, but Seth Rollins interrupted. Rollins said that tonight wasn’t about him, but about Heyman instead. Rollins asked Heyman whose side he was going to be on. He said that Heyman wasn’t on anyone’s side and told him that Roman Reigns was only using him and didn’t respect him. Rollins reminded Heyman that after last year’s WrestleMania, Roman left him behind to deal with Solo Sikoa and the rest of the Bloodline. Rollins said that neither Roman nor Punk were there to rescue him when the Bloodline took him out. Rollins reminded Heyman that Punk wasn’t even the first choice to team with Roman at War Games. He said that Punk was the last choice and only accepted to get a favor out of Heyman.
– Rollins said that he was sorry for Heyman who was in a very difficult position. Rollins said that the best thing for him was to stay away and leave them to solve this on their own. He said that Heyman wouldn’t betray Punk or Roman, so he would take it as a privilege to remove him from that situation right now. Rollins asked Heyman how much he was worth and started taking weak slaps at him. Heyman yelled at Rollins to stop putting his hands at him, only for Rollins to corner him. Punk ran down to make the save and brawl with Rollins. Punk sent Rollins over the announce table and drove him into the steel steps. Rollins caught Punk off-guard with a Curb Stomp and nearly hit Heyman with one before telling him that he owed him a favor.
(Pomares’ Analysis: I wasn’t the biggest fan of the reveal of CM Punk’s favor, but at least segments like this make the most out of it. Rollins’ performance was very strong and really made you question which direction they would take come WrestleMania. The brawl with Punk was decent, but the stuff between Rollins and Heyman was the meat of this segment.)
Advertised Matches & Appearances
- Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley – Women’s Intercontinental Championship match
- Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio
- The War Raiders vs. The New Day – World Tag Team Championship match
- C.M. Punk, Seth Rollins, and Paul Heyman will appear
- El Grande Americano returns
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