WWE Raw live results: Gunther speaks ahead of John Cena’s final match

Date: December 8, 2025
Location: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO 

The Big Takeaway —

Gunther wants to make John Cena give up, The Usos are back in the tag division (and have a date with The New Day next week), and Raquel Rodriguez is next in line for Stephanie Vaquer’s world title. 

Logan Paul beat LA Knight with help from the masked man before The Vision seemingly wrote Knight off television. Bron Breakker had another message for CM Punk. 

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Show Recap — 

Raw started with a video package highlighting the John Cena tournament, culminating with Gunther beating LA Knight in the finals on Friday. 

Gunther kicks off Monday Night Raw

Gunther entered wearing all black and was roundly booed. The boos turned into chants for John Cena as Gunther egged them on. 

Gunther said he would be the final opponent for the greatest sports entertainer of all time, but Cena would be facing the greatest professional wrestler of all time. 

Gunther called Cena the man who never gave up. But beating Cena wasn’t enough. He would break Cena’s spirit, bully him, drop him on his head, wrap his arms around his neck, and squeeze until the last bits of hustle, loyalty, and respect left his body. 

There was only one way out, and Cena would do the one thing he said he never would: give up. 

Gunther dropped the mic and left. 

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Rey Mysterio, Lyra Valkyria & Bayley, AJ Styles & Dragon Lee, Stephanie Vaquer, and Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley were shown arriving earlier today. 

Oba Femi was shown in the front row with his NXT Championship belt, and they plugged his (non-title) match against Cody Rhodes on Saturday Night’s Main Event. 

Iyo Sky (w/ Rhea Ripley) vs. Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka)

Sky was about to go for a dive, but Asuka leaped on the apron to block it (as Sane distracted the referee). Sky went after Asuka, but Asuka dropped the rope, and Sky spilled out of the ring. Ripley confronted Asuka, and Sane used the distraction to knock down Sky with a leaping forearm off the apron. (There was another distraction spot during the break, and Ripley decided not to do anything about it this time.) 

Sky fought back when they returned from break and hit a springboard missile dropkick and corner meteroa for two. Sky set up for a moonsault, but Sane quickly went up to block it and followed with a double foot stomp for two (as Sky held herself upside down in the corner).  

Sane tried a back drop on the apron, but Sky landed on her feet. Sane didn’t notice, so Sky gave her a German suplex on the apron. Sky followed with an Asai moonsault. 

Sky set up for her moonsault in the ring again, but yet another Sane distraction allowed Asuka to interfere again, this time by knocking Sky off the top rope. Ripley had enough and dumped Asuka into the timekeeper’s area. 

Sane failed to take advantage of the distraction, and Sky hit a moonsault for the pinfall win. Sane leaped into Ripley’s arms to celebrate. 

Match result: Iyo Sky defeated Kairi Sane (11:34) 

A perfectly good TV match, and the crowd was into Sky (and Ripley).

******** 

Logan Paul approached the rest of the Vision backstage. He asked if they didn’t see Rey Mysterio smack him in the face last week. Bronson Reed said he didn’t like it. Bron Breakker seemed unperturbed. Logan wanted something to be done about it. The Brons stood up and said they would handle it tonight. Logan was glad. 

Logan pulled Paul Heyman aside and said he wanted the situation handled tonight. Heyman assured him that, for the first time in his life, he had backup. Logan was cool with that, but wanted them to know he was their backup if needed. Heyman was happy to hear that, but handed him brass knuckles, just in case. 

(Normally, it’s stupid when these stablemates seemingly don’t speak to each other when they’re not on the show, but it’s believable that the Brons don’t talk to Logan in their free time.) 

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Mysterio walked through the back and walked by Adam Pearce, who was off to the side, arguing with The New Day. 

There was a Cena video package about the ‘you can’t see me’ hand gesture. 

There was a War Raiders video package. 

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Rey Mysterio / Logan Paul / LA Knight segment 

Mysterio made his way to the ring (presumably to face Finn Bálor) but was decked from behind by Logan Paul. Mysterio fought him off and set up for 619, but was attacked from behind by the masked man. The man superkicked Mysterio and hit a curb stomp before being chased away through the crowd by security. 

Mysterio slowly got to his feet, but Logan knocked him out with the brass knuckles. 

LA Knight ran out to his music, and Logan bailed. Knight said he would have an aneurysm if the masked man really was Seth Rollins. Knight wanted to stomp his head in. Knight said he thought the Vision couldn’t suck anymore, but then Logan joined them. 

Knight was pissed off, and it didn’t help watching Logan attack a legend like Mysterio. Knight said Logan would pay, not on Friday or Saturday, but tonight in KC. Knight said “Yeah” over and over as the fans sang along. 

The crowd was really into Knight here. Knight vs. Paul was made official after a break. 

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The announcers congratulated Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on being nominated for a Golden Globe for best male actor. 

Je’Von Evan was shown in the crowd. Evans and Leon Slater will face AJ Styles and Dragon Lee on SNME. 

World Tag Team Championships: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. The War Raiders

Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Grayson Waller watched the match at ringside. 

Erik and Ivar blocked early dive attempts by Styles and Dragon Lee. Erik drove Dragon into the barricade, and Ivar squished Styles into the side of the ring ahead of a break. 

They worked over Styles until Dragon Lee got a hot tag and ran wild after a break. With Erik hanging upside down in the ropes (holding himself up), Dragon Lee hit a double foot stomp—a spot we saw in the opening match. (It’s ok to repeat spots, but not that one.) 

There was an ill-advised spot where Dragon Lee hoisted Ivar up on his shoulders for something, but he collapsed. The crowd cheered as Lee hoisted Ivar up again on his shoulders. He stumbled again, and Ivar tried to make up for it by pretending to counter. Dragon Lee tried it a third time and hit an accidental DVD that didn’t look like much. (The crowd was very forgiving.) 

Lee continued to fight off both men on his own until Ivar powerslammed him outside the ring. Ivar followed with a moonsault, but Styles just barely broke up the cover. Erik got a two count on Styles with a knee strike. 

Moments later, Styles used a hurricanrana to bring Ivar off the top rope, and Ivar collided with Erik on the way down. Dragon Lee wiped out Erik with a dive, and Styles hit Ivar with a Phenomenal Forearm for the pinfall win. 

(This wasn’t the smoothest match you’ll ever see. It certainly wasn’t boring.) 

Match result: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee defeated The War Raiders to retain the World Tag Team Championships (11:22)

The New Day and Waller approached Styles and Lee in the ring when Jey Uso’s music hit. The Usos entered together, and they ran the music back as the other men in the ring patiently waited. 

Jimmy Uso had a big announcement: The Usos were back in the tag division. They’ve been getting hit hard the past few months. They lost at WarGames and Wrestlepalooza. Jey lost his world title and lost in the Cena tournament. Jimmy saw his brother crashing out and knew he had to do something. He called Jey in the middle of the night and asked him what they would do about it. 

Jey said they would get back to us. They would block the noise, body them all, and put the tag team on notice. The best damn tag team was now in your city. “We need gold. We need gold, Uce.” 

The Usos meant no disrespect to the current champs, but said Styles and Lee didn’t know the Usos. But the New Day did. The Usos got in the faces of Kingston and Woods and compared their rivalry to Ali vs. Frazier and The Rock vs. Stone Cold. (This confrontation might’ve meant more if New Day weren’t ice cold.) 

The Usos turned their attention to Styles and Lee until New Day tried to attack them from behind. The Usos decked Kingston and Woods. (Waller bailed.) 

The Usos faced off with Styles and Lee as the segment ended. 

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There was a Cena video package on his feud with The Rock. 

SNME card (start time 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT): 

  • John Cena vs. Gunther — Cena’s retirement match 
  • Bayley vs. Sol Ruca 
  • World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater (non-title) 
  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. NXT Champion Oba Femi (non-title) 

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Stephanie Vaquer segment 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Stephanie Vaquer in the ring, although Vaquer quickly took the mic to speak on her own. Vaquer said she wanted to face everyone. She didn’t talk much, but she spoke with her actions. She was the best—and not because of Devil’s Kiss. 

Vaquer said Nikki Bella was a legend, but the women’s division was different than what it was 15 years ago. They had Ripley, Bayley, Natalya, Iyo Sky, and they were all amazing. Vaquer asked Bella if she knew who was on top. 

Bella interrupted. Bella called herself a legend, a Hall of Famer and a celebrity, and she was not done with Vaquer. Bella demanded a rematch. 

Raquel Rodriguez suddenly hopped the apron, effortlessly yanked Bella off the apron, and lawn darted her into the ring post. (That was a great spot, but Rodriguez didn’t get much of a reaction.) 

Rodriguez confronted Vaquer. She told her to name the time and place so she could kick her ass and take the title. 

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Byron Saxton interviewed Ivy Nile during a break, and she appeared with the Creed Brothers. Nile has an IC title shot against Maxxine Dupri next week. Nile didn’t care that Natayla, her old friend, was training Dupri. She said Dupri would drop the ball just like the KC Chiefs did yesterday (the crowd booed). 

(Nile hasn’t wrestled on Raw since June, and her last televised win was over a year ago.) 

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The Judgment Day met backstage. Bálor was happy he had an easy night after Mysterio got laid out. 

Morgan was surprised that Rodriguez didn’t run her plan by her. Rodriguez said she didn’t realize she needed to. Morgan played it down and said it was cool. She wanted to see Rodriguez become world champion. Rodriguez was content and left to talk with Pearce. 

Morgan turned her attention to Roxanne Perez and said they could be the next tag team champions. 

********

Sol Ruca was shown in the crowd. It’s been almost 30 minutes since the previous match ended.

Lyra Valkyria (w/ Bayley) vs. Roxanne Perez (w/ Liv Morgan)

Morgan distracted the referee so Perez could rake Valkyria’s eyes as she set up for her finisher. Bayley knocked Morgan down, so Perez kicked Bayley down. 

Perez countered a roll-up attempt and shoved Valkyria into the ropes. Morgan was still down on the apron, but alert enough to kick Valkyria in the face (and the ref just simply wasn’t watching). 

Perez took advantage of the interference and hit Pop Rox for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Roxanne Perez defeated Lyra Valkyria (10:15) 

They were having a nice match until the finishing interference sequence, which looked pretty bad. We also saw tons of interference in the first match, but the heel happened to win this time. 

********

Kingston and Woods cut a promo during commercials. Kingston mocked Jey for losing his smile, and Woods said they would bury the Usos under their own penitentiary next week. 

There were clips from a John Cena interview. He spoke about the ‘you can’t wrestle’ chants. They were spawned from him winning matches with the same five moves every night. He seemed to take it to heart and decided to do more stuff. Over time, he worked with the likes of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and AJ Styles to teach him stuff and do better. He didn’t resist the audience’s chants; he used them to get better. (Full interview is on WWE.com.) 

They aired the Dupri/Natalya training video again. Or maybe it was a new one. Joe Tessitore said he was impressed with Dupri’s level of training based on this dimly lit video. 

******** 

LA Knight vs. Logan Paul (w/ Paul Heyman)

Logan gave Knight a cheap shot as he entered the ring, and the ref decided this was a good time to start the match. Knight fought back anyway and cleared the announce table before bouncing Logan’s head off of it repeatedly. Knight was in control until Logan hit a Zig-Zag for two. 

Logan maintained control through a break and hit an alley-oop facebuster when they returned. Knight fought back with a leaping clothesline, Russian leg sweep, and neckbreaker for two. 

Breakker and Reed marched out as Knight set up on the top rope. Logan used the distraction to knock Knight off the top and hit a clunky-looking flying crossbody for two. Knight countered a gut-wrench slam and hit a reverse DDT, followed by a flying elbow drop. 

Knight knocked Breakker off the apron, but was knocked down instead by Reed. The referee eventually figured out what happened and ejected the Brons from ringside, but they didn’t immediately leave. 

Knight attacked Logan by the announce desk as the referee tried getting rid of the Brons. The distraction allowed the masked man to fly in and give Knight a curb stomp on the announce desk. 

Logan followed with a frog splash in the ring for the pinfall win. 

— The Brons attacked Knight after the match. Breakker speared Knight, and Reed hit consecutive Tsunamis. 

Match result: Logan Paul defeated LA Knight (12:44) 

Officials and medical staff rolled Knight out of the ring as the Vision stood tall. 

Heyman grabbed a mic and started his promo as they went to a commercial break. (Heyman told a stagehand that he would still be talking when they returned, and he was.) 

Heyman put over his guys before stating that Bron Breakker would beat CM Punk for the world title on the anniversary of Raw’s debut on Netflix. The crowd chanted for Punk. 

Breakker grabbed the mic. He wondered where Punk was. He wasn’t wondering where Punk was physically—he wondered where the CM Punk was. He didn’t buy this new, nice guy CM Punk. All of a sudden, Punk returned and was the nicest guy ever. He followed the rules and took pictures with the young talent just to post them on social media for people to see what a nice guy he was. 

Breakker repeated a joke we’ve heard before, saying Punk preached about being straight edge, but still looked like the biggest crackhead anyone has ever seen. 

Breakker didn’t want to face the nice guy because he could beat that guy easily. He wanted the old Punk. The guy from 2011-2013. The guy who walked the halls as a feared man. The guy who beat The Rock. (Punk never beat The Rock.) The guy who held the world title for over 400 days. The guy who was one of the greatest wrestlers to lace up a pair of boots. 

Breakker was on his hands and knees, begging for the old Punk. He wanted to beat the greatest superstar ever to lace up a pair of boots. Otherwise, he would destroy Punk and send him to the hospital. He would break Punk, take his championship, and while he was at it, take his wife, too. 

Breakker wanted to keep it simple for Punk: it would be spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. 

A camera showed Knight in the back getting to his feet, so Logan and Reed ran back to deal with him. Knight fought them off and punched a security guard, too. It was all too much for Knight, so Reed slammed him through a table. 

Reed and Logan were about to leave, but Knight wouldn’t stay down. They slammed Knight into a car and placed him on the roof. Reed climbed atop some stacked-up equipment boxes and gave him a Tsunami onto the roof of the car. Pearce appeared with officials and screamed for medics as the show ended.

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Steve Khan
Steve Khan

WWE Raw and PLE recapper/reviewer. Contributed to WrestlingObserver.com as the SmackDown reviewer in the 2000s before turning to WONF4W in 2015.