Raw Deal - Raw recap for August 25, 2025

Roman Reigns heads to the ring to start tonight's show. Roman Reigns says he has big plans for this year and next year, yet he has to be honest to himself, as while the fans acknowledged him, he must acknowledge something to move forward. He says that the fans acknowledged him like it was old times, but it is not "old times" like it used to be. The fans chant "Yes! you are!" Roman then says that maybe he can be, but "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes predicted this a year-and-a-half ago and The Vision (Seth "Freakin"" Rollins, Bron Breakker, "Big" Bronson Reed, Paul Heyman) followed through and took everything from him. When the fans chant "Fuck you, Rollins!", Roman says he has felt like that for a long time, then says he does not have what he used to have for a long time, such as a Bloodline, and while he is proud of who was it, especially "Main Event" Jey Uso, who he says should be fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship. He says his time will come. He then says The Vision took everything from him again to the point that they had to find more to take away, which brings him to Bronson Reed. Suddenly, Paul Heyman and Bronson Reed show up, and Heyman brings up that five years ago today was the day that "Brock Lesnar's advocate" became "Roman Reigns' wiseman" and owned everything in WWE as well as the entire industry together. He then mentions that Roman is standing all alone in the ring, by himself. Heyman admits he misses Roman Reigns, as he loved him five years ago and he loves him now, which is why he came out to disrespect him. Heyman tries to counter the "Daddy Cool" Roman Reigns chants with "Bronson Reed," but the fans are having none of it. Heyman says he did not come to disrespect Roman out of malice, but the tough love that a wiseman or oracle can give a Tribal Chief he was going to talk about before he was interrupted by the fans who are not "tough enough to live in Manchester or rich enough to live in London." He admits he is not man enough to give Roman that tough love, but Bronson Reed is. Roman calls Heyman a dumbass, then says Heyman will kiss his ass when he whips Bronson's ass. Bronson Reed says that at Clash in Paris, it is about disrespect, not receipts, and that he will kick Roman's ass. He knows that Roman is an educated man, but his tribe from Samoa is civilized while his tribe is not, as they were exiled and sent to Australia. He says that his tattoos are paid for while Roman's are paid for, and says that he is the Samoan that his dad and uncle warned him about, and he will find out why at Clash in Paris. Roman, just now realizing Bronson is Samoan, says Bronson belongs to him, then decides to give Bronson one more shot since they are family and demands that he return his shoes, apologize to his people for wasting his time, acknowledge him and never disrespect his ways again. This leads to the fans chanting "Give his shoes back!" Bronson hands his stolen shoes to Heyman and tells Roman he does not want him in the ring, as he will make him "acknowledge [his] Tribal Thief." Roman then decides to meet Bronson at the stage, and this leads to Roman and Bronson brawling at the entryway before taking it into the ring. Security gets involved, but they get laid out. Bronson then tries to steal Roman's shoes again, but Roman fights back. Bronson goes for a Tsunami, but security and officials stop him just long enough for Roman to hit Bronson with a Superman punch before laying out just about everyone on the outside and continuing their brawl, which makes its way to the back while the fans do the "Daddy Cool" Roman Reigns chants.

Backstage, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh notice "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio meeting with El Grande Americano. Dominik says everything is under control, then JD and Finn head to the ring.

Dragon Lee beats JD McDonagh after "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles shows up and attacks "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio on the outside and chases him through the crowd.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews LA Knight. He says he has been thinking about what CM Punk did last week and wants to know if it was on accident or on purpose. He agrees with Punk's sentiment to work together against Seth "Freakin'" Rollins, but says Punk has made it a place where that cannot happen because he is "a hungry man." He says it is "feast or famine" at Clash in Paris and rations are limited and that people will go hungry when he wins the World Heavyweight Championship. As for tonight, he has a match with Bron Breakker, who he will smack back to factory settings as he shows everyone whose game it is.

We hear from Rusev, who says that he was brought into the world trained, conditioned and programmed to crush, and that he is what happens when perfection is sought but malice is found, trained by monsters and then let go. He says that he will no longer listen to anyone when it comes to who to hurt, and that he will hurt who he chooses to hurt. Rusev says there is nothing more that he would love to do than hurt Sheamus in a match of his choice in front of people like him: cowards. He says his conscience is clear when it comes to what he has to do, as he is impossible to be good when he is destined to great.

The Judgment Day meet backstage. As Finn and Dominik argue, Raquel says Liv Morgan would not want this. Dominik asks Finn to deal with "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles, as he has known him the longest. Finn says he will meet with General Manager Adam Pearce regarding a match, then says he will deal with AJ himself.

Kofi Kingston beats Penta following the distraction by Grayson Waller after Penta takes Grayson out on the outside.

Backstage, Rhea Ripley is stretching when she is met by Iyo Sky. Iyo thanks Rhea for having her back last week, and while she respects her, The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) are family and they are not happy with her getting involved in their business and that they should keep their distance for a while. The Kabuki Warriors watch from a distance as Rhea says that she respects Iyo and that if she has to do this, then she gets it. Iyo thanks Rhea for understanding, and the two of them hug. Asuka then gets angry.

Backstage, Stephanie Vaquer meets with General Manager Adam Pearce. Pearce says that Stephanie Vaquer is still #1 contender for the Women's World Championship, but the match she is expecting cannot happen in Paris, France. He says that she will have her title match and that he needs a week to finalize some details. Vaquer says she understands and shakes Pearce's hand.

Becky Lynch heads to the ring. Becky talks about how Birmingham, England was a big part of her WWE journey, as it was where she had her WWE tryout. She then says Birmingham was a dump then and is still a dump now, then addresses Nikki Bella calling her out, saying she is not some loser "like Aston Villa or Birmingham City" or some dog who will respond to a whistle. Nikki Bella soon shows up and asks why Becky is acting like a little bitch if she is not a dog, and says that there should not be any problem with Becky defending her title. Becky says she calls the shot and that she does not give away title shots, especially to "Broke Neck Barbie," but Nikki says that this "Broke Neck Barbie" kicked her ass last week and paved the way for her to have a page to write history on. Becky says Brie is the better twin as she admits that Nikki paved the way, yet she did not care, as she never wanted to respect her and only wanted to replace her, which she feels she has done a good job of doing. Nikki says Becky wants to replace her because she is scared to face her, especially when she was "the scared little girl in the corner" and "Charlotte Flair's sidekick." Becky says she is not anyone shadow or sidekick, because it is in her theme song, and says that she is the best of all time because Sports Illustrated said so. Nikki says she cares about what the same fans that Becky craps on week after week say, not Sports Illustrated, as the fans made her relevant. Nikki then says Becky reeks so much of desperation and thinks that Becky has lost her balls. Becky says she has balls, but Nikki says Becky has no class. She also says that Becky cheats and is cheap, then says [she] is another C-word: coward. Becky gives Nikki her match at Clash in Paris, as she is not wrestling in Birmingham, as the only good thing that came out of the city died a month ago and that Ozzy Osbourne had the sense to move to "a proper city" in Los Angeles, and says that if she lived in Birmingham, she would die, too. Nikki says Becky is so mad because as hard as she tries, her name will never be as big as hers, then takes the Women's Intercontinental Championship and raises it up as she proclaims she will be the new champion. Becky goes for a cheap shot, but Nikki sees it coming and fights back, nearly hitting Becky with the Rack Attack 2.0 before Becky slips out and escapes.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews CM Punk. Punk says he is not trying to be anyone's friend and that he understands what is at stake, and that he just wanted everyone on the same page. He says that LA Knight does not want to cooperate, that "Main Event' Jey Uso wants to do it his way, and that Seth "Freakin'" Rollins is the problem and that he has the numbers, and that he wanted to make sure everyone got there so they could take care of him. He says that his actions towards Knight were not malicious, but at the same time, he does not care if Knight went through a table becuase he was "a clumsy idiot." Punk says he is beyond hungry; he is obsessed with holding the World Heavyweight Championship that he held briefly before it was ripped away from him. He says it is every man for himself and that if he has to cripple everyone in the match and paint his masterpiece with their blood, he will do it.

We hear from Sheamus, who welcomes Rusev back to WWE. He admits that he cringed when Rusev returns, as nobody asked for Rusev to come back, especially him, as Rusev lost his love for the game and was passionless to the point that he was speaking to himself in a dark room and craving attention, which he calls "cringe." Sheamus says that something has changed in the last couple of week and have awoken the fighter inside of him, and that everyone now knows who the real Rusev is. Sheamus says Rusev has won back his respect, but he is the one to drag it out of him, and demands Rusev to bring his A-game and his aggression, as he made him relevant again and brought the old Rusev back.

Rhea Ripley beats Roxanne Perez after taking out Raquel Rodriguez on the outside before countering a side Russian leg sweep with a headbutt followed by Riptide. After the match, Raquel attacks Rhea, but when Rhea gets the upper hand and goes for Riptide, Roxanne grabs Rhea by the leg, allowing Raquel to get the better of Rhea. Iyo Sky runs out to the ring despite their vow earlier to keep their distance and makes the save for Rhea.

Backstage, Seth "Freakin'" Rollins is pleased that "Big" Bronson Reed is furious and says that he knows what Bronson is capable of. He says Paris, France is Bronson's time and that he will destroy Roman Reigns, and that tonight, Bron Breakker will make sure LA Knight will not even make it to Paris. He says that this is the vision and eveyrthing that they have dreamed of, and that they are on the verge of becoming so much more.

Actress Georgie Farmer is seen in the crowd.

Backstage, Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky meet, with Iyo saying she owed Rhea for last week. Rhea thanks Iyo and leaves, then The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) show up. Asuka is angry at Iyo for putting her friendship with Rhea Ripley over her friendship with them, and Kairi Sane is once again caught in the middle. After Asuka leaves, Iyo asks Kairi to trust her, but Kairi says "I'm sorry" before catching up with Asuka.

"The Phenomenal" AJ Styles beats Finn Balor.

Backstage, "Main Event" Jey Uso says his mind is everywhere as he has to keep his eye on The Vision every single week, that he does not know who to trust between CM Punk and LA Knight, and that he is trying to be World Heavyweight Champion again. We then find out he is talking to Roman Reigns, who tells Jey that trusting CM Punk is the last thing he should be doing. He also wants to know why Jey Uso is uptight when he has helped so many people including his own family, and tells him to do this for himself, smash them all and take this to his house. He says it is about capturing moments and locking in a legacy, but that is his perspective.

We hear from Bayley. This time, she is haunted by her "Hugger" persona from before she became "The Role Model." Suddenly, "The Role Model" takes over, and both of these sides of her start arguing with each other. Bayley has to yell at both sides to stop.

It is announced that next week's show will have a 2 PM Eastern start time due to the show airing live from Paris, France.

Backstage, Lyra Valkyria meets with General Manager Adam Pearce regarding Bayley. Pearce says she has heard nothing about Bayley, but he will let her know if he does hear anything. Valkyria leaves, and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh and Finn Balor show up, and Dominik says things need to end between himself and "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles. Pearce announces that next week, AJ Styles and Dominik will go one-on-one for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, much to Dominik's chagrin.

Backstage, Bron Breakker and "Big" Bronson Reed are attacked by Roman Reigns. Security and officials swiftly move in, with Roman Reigns being ejected. As General Manager Adam Pearce tells Breakker that he has a match and to take things to the ring, LA Knight attacks Bron Breakker and takes it to the ring.

Bron Breakker beats LA Knight. During the match, Seth "Freakin'" Rollins runs towards the ring, and LA Knight chases after him only to run right into a Bron Breakker Spear on the outside. Breakker then hits another Spear in the middle of the ring for the win. After the match, Rollins attacks Knight, with Breakker joining in. "Main Event" Jey Uso runs into the ring and fights off Rollins after tossing Brakker out of the ring, and when Breakker gets back in the ring, Rollins hits Jey with a Pedigree. CM Punk shows up afterwards and fights off Breakker on the outside before brawling with Rollins in the ring. Breakker rescues Rollins as Rollins is being kicked by Punk at the ring apron, which leads to "Seth's a pussy!" chants. Punk helps Jey up, but Knight takes offense to Punk being in the ring and both of them argue. When Jey stands between them, Knight shoves Jey to the side before Punk and Knight argue and then brawl. Knight goes for a BFT on Punk, who shoves Knight into Punk. Jey then hits Knight with a Superkick before doing the same to Punk. All the while, Rollins celebrates the fact that all of his Clash in Paris opponents are turning on each other.

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