WWE Raw live results: Clash in Paris go-home show

Date: August 25, 2025
Location: bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, UK 

The Big Takeaway —

LA Knight lost to Bron Breakker in the main event. Jey Uso laid out CM Punk and Knight as the show ended, with Seth Rollins looking on in amusement. Rollins defends the World Championship against Knight, Punk and Jey this Sunday at Clash in Paris. 

There will not be a match for the vacant Women’s World Championship on Sunday, but instead, Becky Lynch will defend the Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Nikki Bella. 

Raw in Paris next week begins at 2 pm ET/11 am PT. 

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Show Recap — 

LA Knight, Rhea Ripley, and Nikki Bella arrived at the building in Birmingham. 

There is only one level of stands in this arena, so the stage is smaller than usual, but the arena is completely packed. 

Roman Reigns opens Raw

The crowd anxiously chanted “OTC” and sang Reigns’ name before he even got to the ring. The singing continued in the same cadence as usual after his music cut. They followed with a different song and more “OTC” chants before Reigns finally spoke 10 minutes into the show. 

Reigns had big plans for tonight, for the rest of this year, and next year. But he had to be honest with himself. The fans acknowledged him, but there was something he had to acknowledge. The fans were loud as always, like old times, but Reigns was not the same guy he used to be. The fans chanted, “Yes, you are.” 

Reigns responded, “Maybe I can be.” Cody Rhodes predicted it a year and a half ago. (There was a smattering of boos upon hearing Rhodes’ name, and Reigns responded, “Interesting.”) Reigns said Seth Rollins and The Vision followed through on everything Rhodes said. They took everything from him. The crowd chanted, “F—k you, Rollins,” and Reigns felt the same way. 

Reigns didn’t have what he used to have. He didn’t have a Bloodline. After the crowd chanted, “Yeet,” Reigns said he was proud of Jey Uso. People complained about Jey being in the title match instead of him, but Jey was the one who scored the pinfall in their match. He deserved to be in the title match (instead of him). 

The Vision took his Bloodline, his wiseman, and his titles. They ran out of things to take, so they had to find something else. He was about to bring up Bronson Reed, but Paul Heyman interrupted with Reed. 

Heyman said it’s been five years since Brock Lesnar’s wiseman joined Reigns. They changed the entire industry together. Reigns was all alone now, but Heyman missed him. Heyman loved him five years ago and loved him now. 

The fans sang Reigns’ name, so Heyman instead sang Reed’s name to the same tune. He tried to lead the fans, but they sang for Reigns’ instead. Heyman said the fans disrespected him, but they weren’t tough enough to live in Manchester or rich enough to live in London. 

Heyman did not want to disrespect Reigns. But what Reigns needed was tough love. Heyman wasn’t man enough to beat the tough love into him, but Reed was. 

Reigns called Heyman a dumbass because Heyman would kiss his ass after he kicked Reed’s ass. 

Reed gave Reigns a history lesson. He said Reigns’ tribe from Samoa is civilized, but Reed’s isn’t. Reed’s tribe was exiled to Australia. Reigns’ tattoos were all paid for, but Reed’s were earned. Reed was the Samoan that Reigns’ dad and uncle warned him about, and he was about to find out why. 

Reigns responded, “Hold up, this guy’s Samoan? That means your ass belongs to me.” The crowd popped for that. Reigns invited him to the ring to return his shoes, apologize to the fans, and acknowledge him. (The fans chanted, “Give his shoes back.”) 

Reed turned him down, so Reigns left the ring. They met at the aisle and brawled into the ring. Security got between them, so Reed broke through and squished everyone in the corner. Reed went up for a Tsunami as officials tried to stop him, but Reigns popped up and gave him a Superman punch. Reigns went after Reed again outside the ring, but they were held back by security as they went to break. 

The show was 27 minutes old by the time the opening segment ended. 

*******

Like last week, Finn Bálor couldn’t find Dominik Mysterio backstage, but at that moment, he bumped into Dom speaking to El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser). Bálor asked him what was up. Dom said not to worry about it and he’d join them later. 

Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh (w/Finn Bálor)

Bálor was tossed from ringside early in the match. The fans seemed disappointed as this was a very rare occasion where the fans actually booed the referee for tossing a heel from ringside. 

McDonagh took control as they went to break 90 seconds into the match, and Dragon Lee made his comeback the moment they returned. Dragon Lee hit a snap German suplex and poisonrana, but McDonagh hit a Spanish fly for two. Lee followed later with a great-looking Liger bomb for a nearfall. 

The Netflix feed lagged, and the action happened in slow motion. It was fixed as they got to the finish. 

Dom tried to interfere, but AJ Styles ran out to attack him and chase him off. (Corey Graves called Styles hater of the year for once again travelling overseas just to attack someone.) Dragon Lee hit Operation Dragon for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Dragon Lee defeated JD McDonagh (8:42) 

Not including NXT, this was Dragon Lee’s first win on TV since April, and his first singles win since November 2024. 

********

LA Knight interview

Jackie Redmond interviewed LA Knight. He wondered if CM Punk maybe put him through the table on purpose last week. Even if it was an accident, Punk shrugged his shoulders and left. Knight agreed with Punk that they should have worked together against Rollins, but Punk created an environment where that could no longer happen. 

Knight knew Punk was hungry, but they were all hungry. Knight would make sure everyone else went to bed hungry because he would win the title in Paris. He found it very convenient that he was the only one from the four-way that had a match tonight. Knight planned on smacking Bron Breakker back to factory settings.

******** 

There was a Rusev video package. 

Judgment Day met backstage. Raquel Rodriguez stopped an argument between Dom and Bálor. Dom said Bálor has known Styles the longest and suggested he deal with him tonight. Bálor got in Dom’s face and said he’d talk to Adam Pearce and deal with Styles. After he left, Rodriguez told Roxanne Perez to be ready for her match tonight. 

Styles vs. Bálor was made official during the next match. 

********

Penta vs. Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods & Grayson Waller)

The New Day continue to wear all-black as they continue to mourn their tag title loss. Woods wore a black neck brace and had a black cane. 

Penta set up for a flip dive early in the match, but Kingston sprinted away up the aisle as they went to break. Kingston took control during the break and gave Penta a back body drop onto the announce table. It took Penta a full nine seconds to make it back to the ring. 

As Penta made his comeback, Michael Cole said it would be embarrassing if New Day lost to him for a second straight week. Graves wondered what he meant, and Cole said it was because New Day talked so much trash. 

They traded moves, which led to Penta going for a Canadian Destroyer, but Kingston countered it with a back body drop. Kingston followed with a fameasser for two. Penta botched a potential rana off the ropes, so he hit a superplex to bring Kingston down instead. 

Penta followed with a Penta driver, but Kingston kicked out. (Graves said this may have been the first time someone kicked out of this move, and reminded us that Kingston was a former world champion.) 

Penta kicked Waller in the face, and his papers went flying, before hitting Kingston and Woods with a flip dive. Penta went to the ropes for a Destroyer attempt, but was distracted by Waller (who didn’t technically do anything). 

Kingston tripped Penta off the ropes and hit Trouble in Paradise for the pinfall win. The crowd groaned at the finish. 

Match result: Kofi Kingston defeated Penta (10:21)

******** 

Iyo Sky approached Rhea Ripley backstage. She thanked her for having her back last week. She respected Ripley, but Asuka and Kairi Sane were her family. They didn’t like that Ripley got in her business, so they should probably keep their distance for a while. 

At this moment, Asuka and Sane appeared in the background and watched the rest of this transpire. Ripley understood Sky’s sentiment. Ripley was about to leave, but Sky pulled her back for a hug. The hug caused Asuka to storm off in the background. 

(I get what they’re doing, but this was overly dramatic.) 

******** 

There was a video package of Naomi’s announcement. 

Pearce informed Stephanie Vaquer that she was still the number one contender, but her match was not happening in Paris. Pearce asked her to give him a week to find her an opponent. Vaquer was disappointed she wouldn’t be wrestling in Paris, but said she’d be ready when Pearce found her opponent. 

******** 

Becky Lynch and Nikki Bella segment

Lynch entered first. Like she did on Smackdown, Lynch played babyface for a brief moment before quickly turning on the crowd. She called Birmingham a dump, just like Nikki Bella. They advertised this as Bella calling out Lynch, but Lynch didn’t plan on getting called out like a dog by anyone. 

Nikki entered. She said if Lynch wasn’t a dog, then she should stop acting like a bitch. Nikki suggested Lynch give her a title shot. 

Lynch said she wasn’t about to give out title shots, especially to broke-neck Barbie. Nikki said she kicked her ass last week. And thanks to her blazing a trail, Lynch had a page to write history on. 

Lynch credited Nikki and her better twin for blazing that trail and bringing in a new audience, but frankly, she just didn’t care. Lynch never wanted to respect Nikki—she wanted to replace her, and she’s done a pretty good job doing so. 

Nikki said Lynch was afraid to face her. Lynch was once Charlotte Flair’s little sidekick. Lynch said she was no one’s shadow. She was the greatest of all time, even Sports Illustrated thought so. Nikki didn’t care what SI thought. She cared what the people thought—the people who made Lynch. Lynch came off as desperate, and everyone could see it. 

The crowd tried chanting “Becky’s desperate,” but she cut them off. Lynch knew the fans were trying to take over. She called it classic British behaviour and wondered if 800 years of oppressing the Irish wasn’t enough for them. 

Nikki wondered if The Man lost her balls. Lynch assured her by saying, “I have balls. I have balls.” Nikki said Lynch was cheap and another c-word—a coward. Lynch thought she meant the other c-word. 

Lynch agreed to a match in Paris because she wouldn’t wrestle in Birmingham. The only good thing to come out of Birmingham died a month ago. At least Ozzy Osbourne had the sense to move to LA first. 

Nikki knew why Lynch was so mad. No matter how hard she tried, her name would never be as big as Bella. Nikki said she would win the title in Paris. 

Lynch went for a cheap shot, but Nikki decked her. Lynch bailed before Nikki could hit her finisher.

(This was one of those segments where the heel was much more entertaining than the babyface, who, in this case, just isn’t that interesting. Nikki accused Lynch of using cheap insults, but Nikki was the one who called her a bitch, insinuated she was a c-word, and accused her of not having balls. It would also be nice if they didn’t feel the need to tell us Nikki blazed a trail every chance they get.) 

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CM Punk interview 

Redmond interviewed CM Punk. He said he didn’t put Knight through the table, but he also didn’t care that Knight fell through a table because he was a clumsy idiot. 

Punk wasn’t just hungry—he was obsessed with holding the title. It was ripped from him by Rollins. Punk warned all three of his opponents that he would cripple them if he had to and walk out of Paris as champion. He finished his promo by saying his name in the same cadence as “L.A. Knight.” 

********

There was a Sheamus video package. He said Rusev’s return was a superstar return that no one wanted or asked for. Rusev lost his love for the game. He was passionless, speaking from a darkened room, and acting like a bully. Rusev was cringe. But Sheamus noticed that Rusev had woken up in their recent battles and won back his respect. Sheamus wanted the old Rusev back, and they would have a banger in Paris. 

********

Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez (w/Raquel Rodriguez) 

The fans sang Ripley’s name in the tune of We Will Rock You. Perez got a lot in this match. A distraction by Rodriguez allowed Perez to take over with a suicide dive. She worked over Ripley’s leg during a break and spiked her with a DDT after the break. 

Another distraction allowed Perez to bring Ripley off the top with a hurricanrana. Perez followed with a double knee drop for two. Ripley followed with a Razor’s Edge and a running kick for two. Ripley knocked down Rodriguez, blocked a Pop Rox, and hit Rip-tide for the pinfall win. 

— Rodriguez attacked Ripley after the match. Ripley fought her off, but an assist by Perez allowed the heels to take her down. 

Sky ran out to make the save and sent Rodriguez out of the ring with a missile dropkick. Ripley hugged Sky as they smiled over the heels. 

Match result: Rhea Ripley defeated Roxanne Perez (10:39) 

********

Seth Rollins psyched up his buddies backstage as the fans sang his song. 

Sky checked on Ripley backstage. As soon as Ripley left, an angry Asuka confronted Sky as Sane held her back. Asuka told Sky to stop talking to Ripley. Asuka left. Sky asked Sane to trust her. A very sad Kairi Sane told Sky she was sorry, and she left. 

(I guess there was no specific reason for Ripley to get involved here, but she would’ve been close by to stand up for Sky when Asuka confronted her, but because she was off-screen, that meant she actually vanished.) 

********

AJ Styles vs. Finn Bálor

This was their fifth-ever singles match. The crowd gave a polite applause as the match began. They wrestled back and forth for a few minutes until Bálor dropkicked Styles off the apron. Styles maintained control through a break. 

Styles blocked a crossbody and hit a backbreaker, followed by a fireman’s carry neckbreaker for two. Bálor responded with a slingblade and dropkick into the corner. Styles avoided a Coup de Grace, and a series of counters led to a Styles Clash for a decisive pinfall win. 

Match result: AJ Styles defeated Finn Bálor (8:05) 

There was nothing wrong with it, but this was as standard a match between these two men as you will ever see. 

******* 

Jey Uso and Roman Reigns segment 

Jey Uso was all wound up as he met with Reigns backstage. Reigns warned him to never trust Punk. Reigns also wondered why Jey was so uptight. He told him to stop helping people. He’s helped enough. He’s helped Reigns, their family, the locker room and the company. It was time for Jey to do it for himself. It wasn’t about being one of the boys or making friends. It was about cashing in on the moments and locking in a legacy. Reigns said that was his perspective—it was up to Jey to be Jey. They shook hands. 

This was good.

********

Bayley video, Judgment Day segment

There was another Bayley video where she could hear her inner voice(s), and we, the audience, can hear it too. It started with the younger, upbeat version of Bayley talking to her, before the heel version interrupted. The two voices argued until the real Bayley told them to stop. 

Backstage, a concerned Lyra Valkyria asked Pearce if they had checked on Bayley or if there was an update on her medical state. He said he has called her, but there’s no official status. He promised an update.  

The male members of Judgment Day confronted Pearce about Styles. Dom wanted things to end with Styles. Pearce agreed, so he put Dom in a match against Styles next week on Raw in Paris for the Intercontinental champion. Dom wasn’t happy, and he referred to Pearce as Charles Xavier. 

Bálor was selling in the background after just wrestling, but he looked up and smiled when Pearce made the announcement. That was funny. 

********

Official card for Clash in Paris: 

  • Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed 
  • Sheamus vs. Rusev – Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook Match (no DQ, no countout) 
  • John Cena vs. Logan Paul 
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs. Nikki Bella for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship 
  • Seth Rollins (c) vs. CM Punk vs. Jey Uso vs. LA Knight for the World Heavyweight Championship 

*******

As Bron Breakker walked through the back, Reigns suddenly shoved him into an equipment box. Reed tried to get involved, so Reigns knocked him down with a Superman punch. Reigns was taken away by security. Pearce told Breakker he still had a match, and Breakker wasn’t pleased.

Knight jumped in next to attack Breakker and dragged him out to the stage. 

LA Knight vs. Bron Breakker (w/Paul Heyman)

Knight continued to beat up Bron before the match began and attacked him around ringside. They entered the ring, and the match started. Despite Knight attacking Bron for a good five minutes (and after Reigns blindsided him earlier), Bron made his own comeback and took control. 

After a break, Bron gave Knight a Frankensteiner. Knight slipped out of a press slam and hit a DDT. Knight made his comeback and hit a neckbreaker. Bron cut him off and went for a running spear or tackle, but Knight booted him. With Bron standing on the top, Knight leaped to the top and brought him down with a superplex. Knight followed with a flying elbow drop. 

Rollins’ music hit, and he ran down to ringside. Knight chased him around ringside like an idiot and ran into a spear by Bron. The crowd chanted for Punk, but he did not show. 

Bron followed with a spear in the ring for the pinfall win. 

— Rollins and Bron attacked Knight, but Jey Uso made the save. Jey hit Rollins with a superkick and turned his attention to Bron, but Rollins grabbed him and hit a Pedigree. 

Punk finally entered to his music. They cut the song, but the fans sang it anyway as Punk posted Bron. Punk attacked Rollins, but Bron pulled Rollins out of the ring to safety. (The crowd chanted, “Seth’s a p—sy,” which was censored.) 

Punk helped Jey to his feet, but Knight confronted Punk. Jey tried to settle them down, but Knight brushed him off. Punk and Knight traded fists until Punk shoved Knight into Jey. 

Punk grabbed Knight for a GTS, but Knight slipped out and stumbled toward Jey, who laid him out with a superkick. Jey stood next to Punk—then laid out Punk with a superkick, too. Rollins was amused by this. 

Rollins looked on confidently as Jey Yeeted with the crowd as the show ended. 

Match result: Bron Breakker defeated LA Knight (13:45)

Knight came across so poorly here. Breakker was blinded by both Reigns and Knight, allowing Knight to have complete control of the match. Breakker came back anyway and basically won clean because Knight was too stupid to focus on the match. I don’t think Breakker should be losing, but beating Knight this close to the title match was not a good idea either, especially in this manner. 

Jey at least got to shine at the end, but I’m not sure any of this would make you feel like Rollins is losing the belt on Sunday.