Monday Night Raw – December 1, 2025: The Next Big Thing
Monday Night Raw
Date: December 1, 2025
Location: Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Joe Tessitore
We’re done with Survivor Series, which was a good night for the villains. While the good group of women won WarGames, the Vision took the main event and Dominik Mysterio regained the Intercontinental Title from John Cena. This week’s show is going to be focused on the Last Time Is Now Tournament semifinals so let’s get to it.
Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.
Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett are in the crowd to open the show and throw us to a long recap of Survivor Series.
Various people arrive, including Solo Sikoa, who isn’t pleased with Jacob Fatu’s picture being on a truck.
Here are Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky to get things going. They won at WarGames, but now they want revenge. Sky calls out Asuka but gets Charlotte and Alexa Bliss instead. Bliss says she heard them wanting the Women’s Tag Team Titles and they’re going to need Ripley and Sky to take a step back. They’re cool with Ripley and Sky but yeah not yet. Ripley says they need to go to the back of the line, but a match is set up for later tonight.
Adam Pearce is in the back and makes the women’s tag official, only to be interrupted by Ivy Nile. She wants to face Maxxine Dupri, with Pearce suggesting that it will happen eventually. Paul Heyman and Bron Breakker show up and Pearce isn’t happy. Heyman doesn’t like being accused of sending in the masked man at WarGames (he’s guilty of everything else, but not that). Now though, he wants to talk about Breakker pinning CM Punk, which Pearce is willing to talk about in his office.
We look at John Cena vs. CM Punk, with Punk saying he knows he was Cena’s greatest rival. He’s certainly in the running.
Last Time Is Now Tournament Semifinals: Jey Uso vs. LA Knight
Uso misses a charge to start and they stare at each other. Knight gets knocked into the corner, where he avoids the running Umaga Attack as commentary says the women’s tag is official. Were they just not paying attention when that was confirmed five minutes ago? Anyway, Knight misses a Razor Ramon’s discus punch and gets sent outside for the big suicide dive.
We take a break and come back with the two of them on the top and crashing out to the floor. Uso is back up with a kick to the head but Knight grabs a Burning Hammer for two. The spear gives Uso two and they’re both down again. Uso goes up and gets superplexed down, only to hit a quick superkick. The Superfly Splash connects but Knight reverses into a rollup for the pin at 9:42.
Rating: B. This got going near the end and I was surprised by the result, as I was all but sure this was going to be Uso winning to face Gunther. At the same time, it’s great to see Knight getting a clean pin, which is the kind of thing that can boost him up a long way. Solid match here and I could have gone with more of it.
Post match Knight leaves and a distraught Uso breaks stuff. Uh oh.
Bayley and Lyra Valkyria want a Tag team Title shot but Adam Pearce says we’ll figure that out after the main event. The Kabuki Warriors come up, with Asuka mocking Bayley for not getting what she wants while Charlotte does. Sane wraps the green chain around Bayley, who isn’t happy.
Here is Judgment Day for a chat, with Dominik Mysterio showing off the John Cena side plates on the Intercontinental Title. Mysterio brags about beating the greatest of all time, so he’s the Greatest Mysterio of all time. It makes him the greatest luchador of all time and the King of the luchadores. He thanks Judgment Day for their help, including Liv Morgan, who gets her own entrance (you can see the fans stand up, as it’s a big deal to have her back).
She says the people didn’t see her coming back but neither did John Cena. Mysterio talks about how they played the one ace up their sleeve and got his title and Morgan back. Morgan says Judgment Day runs Monday Night Raw, slaps Mysterio again, and jumps into his arms.
We get a rather intense video of Maxxine Dupri training in Natalya’s dungeon. Natalya makes her tap a few times and tells her to get out of the ring but Dupri wants to keep going. Natalya approves.
Adam Pearce talks to a referee about the masked man at Survivor Series. Pearce knows it can’t be Seth Rollins so he wants the referee to see if he can find anything out and report back.
Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles/Dragon Lee vs. New Day
New Day, with Grayson Waller, is challenging. Styles gets jumped to start fast, with Woods sending him into the corner for a beating from Kingston. A monkey flip sends Styles flying but he knocks Kingston into the corner. The slingshot dropkick connects for Lee, who follows it up with a big dive to the floor. We take a break and come back with Woods and Styles both getting tags.
Styles strikes away, including the basement forearm, but Kingston is back in for a wheelbarrow faceplant Fameasser combination for two (that was cool). A quick Calf Crusher is broken up by Woods and a sitout powerbomb gives Lee two. Operation Dragon is blocked though and Woods comes back in to strike away. A hiptoss puts Lee in the Tree Of Woe, leaving Woods to dive on Styles. Back in and Lee kicks Kingston into the Styles Clash and dives onto everyone else, leaving Styles to get the retaining pin at 9:04.
Rating: B. What has happened to New Day? They were one of the most successful teams of all time but now they are coming off as the most “well they’re here too” things I’ve seen in a long time. The heel turn has absolutely not worked but I’m not sure how well a simple turn back would work. They absolutely need something though, because this is somehow getting worse every week.
We look at Stephanie Vaquer retaining the Women’s Title against Nikki Bella.
Vaquer says she’s ready for her next challenger so here is Liv Morgan to says he’s back. Yeah they have to go there sooner than later.
Here is the Vision for a chat. Paul Heyman gives a shoutout to Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre before moving on to the three people still in the ring. Bronson Reed Tsunamied everyone on the other side. Logan Paul is the biggest mainstream star on the face of the earth (Paul’s eyes going side to side during this is great). And shoutout to WWE executives, who have made CM Punk vs. Bron Breakker for the January 5 Raw in Brooklyn.
The fans chant for Punk but Breakker says he’s upset tonight. It’s not because of where he is or because of the masked man, but rather how easy it was to pin Punk at Survivor Series. He thought he was going to have to dig deeper than ever and go to a level he’s never reached before. Then he found out that Punk is just a soft a** b****. Punk is no different than any veteran who has lived off of past greatness, just like Seth Rollins.
The reality is Punk isn’t even the biggest star in his own house, and we pause for a Punk chant. Breakker is ready for a fight in Brooklyn because Punk tried to break his neck at Survivor Series. He’s coming for everything in January and wants to take every great memory he’s ever had.
Last year at Wrestlemania, Punk came up to him and said let’s see if you can cut a promo with the big dogs. Well consider the promo cut because he’s going to leave Punk looking up at the lights and realizing that he’s not as good as Bron Breakker, the real best in the world. Well. That worked. I’m not sure what else there is to say there. Breakker just cut the promo of his life and it feels like Punk is about to get crushed in every possible way.
Jey Uso doesn’t have anything to say and says people in his head need to get out. The only person he has to blame is the one looking back in the mirror. Roman Reigns said it best: those titles look the best on Reigns’ shoulders, not Jey’s.
Last Time Is Now Tournament Semifinals: Gunther vs. Solo Sikoa
Talla Tonga is here with Sikoa. Gunther grabs a lockup to start but gets backed up against the ropes. The threat of a chop has Sikoa ducking so Gunther slaps on a headlock instead. An exchange of shoulders goes to Sikoa but Gunther knocks him hard out to the floor, leaving Sikoa looking rocked as we take a break.
We come back with Sikoa hammering on the back but not being able to slam him. Gunther tries a slam of his own, with Sikoa falling on him for two. Sikoa goes up and gets caught with a chop, meaning it’s a superplex to leave both of them down. They collide again and then chop it out, followed by an exchange of kicks to the face. Sikoa gets in a Samoan Spike and they’re both down again as we take a second break.
We come back with Sikoa hitting the running Umaga Attack in the corner but Gunther drops him with a clothesline. Another big clothesline gets two but Gunther has to block the Samoan Spike. Instead Sikoa grabs the Samoan Spike for two so Gunther stuns him with some chops. Spinning Solo cuts the comeback off and a Superfly Splash gets two, with the fans being impressed by the kickout. Gunther reverses the Samoan Spike into a sleeper and then a German suplex, with Sikoa pulling the turnbuckle pad off.
Tonga gets knocked off the apron but Gunther goes after him and gets kicked in the face. The referee sees Tonga holding Gunther, who kicks Tonga low and slams Sikoa’s thumb into the apron. Back in and a low blow stops Sikoa, setting up a powerbomb to give Gunther the pin at 17:52.
Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it was great to see. Sikoa can wrestle a physical style when he’s given the chance and they had a heck of a fight. Gunther is at his best when he activates his version of Beast Mode and gets to a point where he isn’t going to be stopped. That’s what we got here and Sikoa was hanging in there with him for a very long time. Awesome match here and a heck of a lot better than I was expecting.
Post match LA Knight gets in the ring to talk some trash. The finals are set for Smackdown.
We get the women’s version of the Wrestlemania promo, with the women at a bar in a casino.
The referee doesn’t have any information on the masked man. Adam Pearce says keep him posted but AJ Styles and Dragon Lee come up to say they want another title defense next week. Maybe against the War Raiders. Pearce makes the match.
Here’s what’s coming next week, including Rey Mysterio vs. Finn Balor.
Mysterio is sick of Dominik and he’s ready to go through Judgment Day one at a time. There’s a chance he might even come after the Intercontinental Title. Logan Paul comes in to say that sounds crazy, with Mysterio saying that Paul might be the only person worse than Dominik. Paul mocks Mysterio’s height and says the Intercontinental Title belongs to the Vision, so step down. Mysterio asks who is going to stop him, with Paul issuing some threats. That earns him a slap to the face so here is security to break it up. I’ve heard worse ideas.
Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky
Sky rolls Charlotte up to start fast and gives her a double stomp as we take an early break. We come back with Bliss forearming away at Ripley, who snatches her up into the Prism Trap. That’s reversed with a ramp into Charlotte, with Ripley holding up her arms in an “oh well”. Sky comes back in with a 619 to the back and Ripley’s running knee gets two.
The Bullet Train missed in the corner and Bliss gets in a knockdown, allowing the big tags off to Charlotte and Ripley. They fight over some waistlocks before trading the shots to the face. Charlotte gets in the Downward Spiral into the corner but Ripley pops up with an enziguri (that looked awesome) and we take a break. We come back with Sky hitting some running knees to Charlotte, allowing Ripley to come back in.
What looks like a powerbomb doesn’t work as Ripley falls down, with the second attempt resulting in a Razor’s Edge to Charlotte. Sky adds a missile dropkick but Riptide is countered into a DDT. Charlotte superkicks her into a DDT from Bliss but Twisted Bliss hits raised knees. Sky comes back in but charges into a boot to the face.
Natural Selection and the Sister Abigail DDT plant Sky, with Ripley making a save. Bliss slips out of another Razor’s Edge so Ripley headbutts her into Riptide. Over The Moonsault connects but Charlotte drives Ripley into the cover for the save. Everyone is down and cue the Kabuki Warriors to jump both of them for the double DQ at 14:32.
Rating: B. Sweet goodness I cannot stand that finish. How can villains be so stupid to never get that this won’t work? It’s something that plagues all kinds of villains around the wrestling world and here we are again. That’s a shame too as it came at the end of a pretty strong match, with the Ripley vs. Charlotte showdowns feeling huge. Both teams worked well together and I liked what we were getting until the lame ending.
Post match the beatdown is on but Lyra Valkyria and Bayley run in for the save. The big brawl is on and here is Liv Morgan, along with Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez to wreck everyone. Perez and Rodriguez pose with the titles and Morgan says she’s back to end the show. That was a bit better than I was expecting, though hopefully this doesn’t result in some messy group match.
Overall Rating: A-. Give the main event a better main event and the show would have been one of the best Raw’s in a long time. They moved stories forward, the wrestling was rather good throughout, and the Breakker promo was outstanding to cap it off. Awesome show here, and hopefully they can keep up the momentum as they’re wrapping up the year.
Results
LA Knight b. Jey Uso – Crucifix
AJ Styles/Dragon Lee b. New Day – Styles Clash to Kingston
Gunther b. Solo Sikoa – Powerbomb
Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky vs. Charlotte/Alexa Bliss went to a double DQ when the Kabuki Warriors interfered
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“Overall Rating: A-. Give the main event a better main event and the show would have been one of the best Raw’s in a long time. They moved stories forward, the wrestling was rather good throughout, and the Breakker promo was outstanding to cap it off. Awesome show here, and hopefully they can keep up the momentum as they’re wrapping up the year.”
It was extremely disappointing, they didn’t even show who the masked man was which was the entire point of those post sur ser Raw. Walter/Solo was fine, I thought it was good but didn’t pay too much attention to it and Bron’s promo seemed good but it was like he was over hyping it while it was happening which was weird. And who cares about the main? Again the only reason to watch this was to figure out who the masked man was and we got a womens tag match no one cares about with like 2-3 commercials. I’m not even saying the women are bad but I don’t find them particularly interesting rn either.
They’re likely saving that for something like Saturday Night’s Main Event, which isn’t a bad idea.