Raw stormed into Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Monday night, riding the shockwaves of WWE’s historic two-night SummerSlam. The show opened with a highlight reel of the wild weekend, including the thunderous crowd reaction to Brock Lesnar’s shocking return.
But the biggest moment? Seth Rollins’ “Ruse of the Century” — a brilliantly staged deception that ended with him cashing in Money in the Bank and stealing the World Heavyweight Title from CM Punk. And on Raw, Rollins didn’t waste time basking in the aftermath,
leading his entourage to the ring to gloat over his latest heist.
The Seth Rollins era has begun
Seth Rollins received a warm welcome — until the crowd turned on him with chants for CM Punk. Paul Heyman spoke first, declared himself the GOAT, and mocked Roman Reigns and CM Punk for their title failures.
Rollins then chastised the fans for turning on him after WrestleMania and called out the locker room for trying to stop him from cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. He revealed that he always has a “Plan B,” and the only people who were aware of his latest plot were his wife, Becky Lynch, and Heyman. And now that he has the World title, he holds absolute power.
Not so fast, said LA Knight, who made a surprise return. He accused Rollins of faking his knee injury at Saturday Night’s Main Event to get out of their match — not to execute some master plan. Knight reminded Rollins that he beat him that night and promised to do it again, this time for the title. He challenged Rollins on the spot, but Rollins refused and walked off with his crew.
But before he got far, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce intervened. Furious over Rollins lying to him about his injury, Pearce said that while he doesn’t usually book title matches without promotion, this was an exception. He made Rollins vs. Knight official with the title on the line. As an added punishment, he barred Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed from ringside.
In what was a physical match, Rollins tried to cripple Knight by curb-stomping his head on the concrete floor. Before he could do so, CM Punk made the save. But in the process, he got Knight disqualified.
As Punk rained down fists on Rollins, Knight momentarily confronted him before the two babyfaces were taken out by Breakker and Reed, who came storming down the aisle to make a save. After a pair of curb stomps to Knight and Punk, Raw looked like it was about to go off the air with a celebratory Rollins beaming from ear to ear.
REIGNS ✅
— WWE (@WWE) August 5, 2025
KNIGHT ✅
PUNK ✅ pic.twitter.com/fXV9HZ9SR1
Roman Reigns made a dramatic appearance, taking down the Bron-Brons before turning his attention to Rollins. For a moment, it appeared they were going to face off, but Rollins retreated. Then, as Reigns turned his attention to Breakker and Reed, Rollins struck from behind with a curb stomp to the Tribal Chief.
Breakker followed suit with a spear, and Reed hit Reigns with a series of Tsunamis before stealing his kicks for a second week in a row.
Yes, I’d like a triple Grande Americano, por favor
With a four-way match looming at Triplemanía for the AAA Mega Championship — also featuring champion Hijo del Vikingo and El Grande Americano — Dominik Mysterio defeated Dragon Lee. But the story wasn’t who he beat, but who lifted him to victory.
Near the closing moments, Americano rushed the ring. A second Americano arrived, completely distracting everyone. A THIRD Americano appeared, taking out Lee and leaving him easy prey for “Dirty” Dom.
That's gotta be a TRENTA by now... pic.twitter.com/Snm0KKegYV
— WWE (@WWE) August 5, 2025
After the match, AJ Styles, who reluctantly gave Mysterio props for beating him at SummerSlam, made a post-match save, chasing Mysterio off. Styles made it clear he’s far from done and that he’ll be the one to beat Dom for the gold.
But with tres Americanos running around, no title is safe — AAA, WWE, or otherwise.
¡Y para eso estoy aquí!
Best of the rest:
- Michael Cole revealed that he spoke with WWE’s Nick Khan and Paul Levesque about Brock Lesnar’s shocking return. They told him the deal was finalized weeks ago, and that it was time for Lesnar “to come home.” John Cena will burn one of his final dates on his retirement tour to address the situation this Friday on SmackDown.
- Cole also provided an update on Gunther, saying he suffered a septal hematoma and orbital blowout fracture at SummerSlam and will be out of action indefinitely.
- Sheamus and Rusev’s rubber match ended in a double countout after Sheamus lost his temper and unloaded on Rusev with the 10 Beats of the Bodhrán outside the ring. They continued to brawl throughout the arena and during the show, with Sami Zayn getting caught in the crossfire. A fourth match seems inevitable — likely with no rules. But before that, Rusev will face Zayn next week on Raw, a result of punching Zayn during his brawl with Sheamus.
- The New Day continued to mourn the state of the tag division, while Grayson Waller sought their acceptance. After Waller confronted Adam Pearce about a title shot for the duo, he was booked in a match against Penta, which he lost. Though New Day was at ringside, they offered no help. After the match, they confronted Penta, only to be taken out by a Penta dive over the ropes. While Waller may not be an official member of New Day, Penta might need backup going forward.
- Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss retained the Women’s Tag Team Titles in a SummerSlam rematch against Judgment Day’s Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez. The crowd was hot, with growing support for Flair clearly on display. A highlight came when Flair landed a moonsault on both opponents. Later, after Bliss made a blind tag, Perez went for a dive. But Bliss caught her mid-stride and finished her off with a crisp Sister Abigail. A fun, fast-paced match worth watching.
- Rhea Ripley may be headed for a heel turn. Backstage, she interrupted Iyo Sky and the Kabuki Warriors, confronting Iyo for requesting a title shot against Naomi. Iyo coolly reminded her, “I wasn’t the one pinned at SummerSlam.” Ripley fired back with a challenge — a one-on-one match to determine Naomi’s next challenger. Iyo shut her down, pointing out Ripley’s winless streak against her: “You’re never going to beat me.”
- Naomi confirmed she’ll defend the Women’s World Title against Sky next week. She also promised to deal with Stephanie Vaquer at Clash in Paris, saying she’d shove Vaquer’s horns somewhere very specific.
- A “Holy Shit” chant broke out during a heated war of words between Nikki Bella and Becky Lynch. Bella challenged Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Title and called Lynch and her husband, Seth Rollins, “a pair of liars.” Lynch fired back, saying they are wrestling’s greatest couple — a title that could’ve gone to Bella and John Cena. Instead, Lynch said, “You can’t see him anymore.” The crowd exploded. Lynch ended the segment with a sucker punch. Later, Natalya and Alpha Academy confronted Lynch. Lynch sidestepped Nattie’s challenge and instead called out Maxxine Dupri.
Final bell
After a SummerSlam that came with mixed reviews, WWE followed up with a powerful edition of Raw. We had a fiery promo segment, a wild brawl, the introduction of a third Americano, and an entertaining women’s tag team match.
In each of those segments, WWE did a good job of creating interest for future matches while laying the groundwork for what should be Seth Rollins’ reign of terror. LA Knight and CM Punk will most likely be Rollins’ challengers in the not-too-distant future. The closing moments with Reigns seemed to serve as a preview for a bigger match down the line, possibly at WrestleMania, culminating in the final chapter in the war between the former Shield brothers.
As for Reigns, Reed’s assault not only seemed to serve as a way of writing Reigns off as he prepares to head to Hollywood, but it also set the stage for a bigger match later this fall. Clearly, Punk and Knight will have to join forces, and Reigns will likely be their third member.
But with WarGames at Survivor Series looming, each side will need two extra men, and that could mean more men coming to Rollins’ crew.
The plot, as they say, thickens.
Well done.
Grade: A
Your turn, Cagesiders. What did you make of this week’s episode of Raw?
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