WWE Raw live results: King & Queen of the Ring semifinals
Date: June 23, 2025
Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio
The Big Takeaway —
Cody Rhodes beat Jey Uso to advance in King of the Ring, while Jade Cargill beat Roxanne Perez to advance in Queen of the Ring. The finals will take place on Saturday at Night of Champions. Rhodes faces Randy Orton, and Cargill faces Asuka.
As the show went on tonight, they repeatedly plugged Night of Champions (and SmackDown) as happening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (It seemed like they avoided mentioning the location when the show began, but it was business as usual as the show continued.)
Next week’s Raw in Pittsburgh starts at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT.
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Show Recap —
Jey Uso, Cody Rhodes, Roxanne Perez and Finn Bálor, Jade Cargill, Becky Lynch, and Bayley were shown arriving as Michael Cole ran down tonight’s show.
Corey Graves is filling in for Pat McAfee once again.
They announced that LA Knight is out indefinitely due to a bruised sternum and separated rib cartilage, thanks to Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker.
Seth Rollins segment
Rollins entered with Reed, Breakker, and Paul Heyman. He waited as the crowd sang his song (not loudly) and did his usual spiel. He asked what the crowd wanted because he was receiving mixed messages. They chanted for CM Punk.
Rollins said they chanted for Punk, for Roman Reigns, for him, and they barked for Breakker. They didn’t know what they wanted, so he didn’t care. They needed people like him to tell them what was good for them.
Even the things they thought they wanted were because of him. Reigns existed because of him. Punk claimed he was back for the fans, but it was really because the company could cash in on how much he hated Punk. There was no second coming of Cody Rhodes without Rollins to put him back on the map.
Rollins was the first world champion and NXT Champion, and he built those things in his image. He was the prime mover. He was the past, present, and future. He and Heyman knew a thing or two about revolutions. Every revolution had opposition, but he would deal with them.
Reed dealt with LA Knight, and Breakker was about to deal with Penta. There were a lot of people who thought they could exist at the very top: John Cena, Gunther, Punk, Goldberg, Uso, Rhodes, Randy Orton. But they all failed to understand that they were running a race for second place. He was the end game and always would be.
Rollins was finally done speaking, so Penta entered for his match. (Rollins and Reed went to the back.)
Bron Breakker (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Penta
The match began during a break, but Breakker left the ring to stall so the action could start once they returned.
Graves claimed that Breakker was still effectively a rookie, which isn’t even close to being true.
Breakker was in control until Penta hit a dive ahead of a break. Breakker regained control after dropping Penta on top of the ring post and a flying clothesline off the apron over the announce table. They messed up a spot but recovered well enough, and Penta hit a vertical suplex into a pin for two. Breakker recovered and hit a Frankensteiner for two. Penta responded with a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall.
Penta went for a springboard move, but Breakker obliterated him with a mid-air spear for the pinfall win. The crowd popped big for that.
Match result: Bron Breakker defeated Penta (15:00)
This wasn’t exactly a smooth wrestling match, but the last few minutes were entertaining.
— After the match, Rollins warned Penta to stay out of his way.
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There was a replay of Liv Morgan’s injury. Backstage, Adam Pearce informed AJ Styles that Dominik Mysterio was also injured. Styles didn’t believe it and asked if Dom strained his mustache. Pearce said it was legitimate, so their IC title match at Night of Champions was off. Pearce said Styles will get the match as soon as Dom is ready.
New Day and Grayson Waller entered Pearce’s office after Styles left. Pearce put New Day in a tag title match against Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh next week. New Day were pissed. As they left, Kofi Kingston yelled, “You’re so bald!” at Pearce. Waller didn’t appreciate this treatment of his new friends.
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So far, they’re advertising Night of Champions as happening on Saturday, but they’re not mentioning the location. Last week, the graphics included the event’s location, but tonight, they don’t.
Update: A few minutes later, Cole mentioned Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the special start time.
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Goldberg interview
Cole sat down earlier today with Goldberg. He asked Goldberg why he targeted Gunther. Goldberg said nobody should be surprised. Gunther embarrassed him in front of his wife, his son, his fans, and in his adopted hometown of Atlanta. Goldberg didn’t know when, but knew he would go after Gunther.
Goldberg was already thinking about his retirement match, so it was serendipitous that Gunther put himself in this position. As long as Goldberg was breathing, he was going to make Gunther pay.
Goldberg ended with: “Michael, I am going to beat the f—k out of Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event.”
When they returned from break, Cole confirmed that this would be Goldberg’s final match.
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Judgment Day met in the back. They were not in a good mood (because of Morgan’s injury), so Bálor tried to fire everybody up. He gave them all encouraging words, but Raquel Rodriguez was still worried about the status of the tag titles.
Bálor muttered something under his breath, which pissed off Rodriguez. Bálor was glad to see her pissed off. They wanted Rodriguez to be the enforcer, and she should make Rhea Ripley pay for what she did to her last week. Rodriguez agreed.
Dom said he missed Morgan (so they don’t speak outside of Raw). Bálor reminded him that Perez had a match, so Dom dismissively wished her luck.
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Lyra Valkyria met with Bayley backstage. Valkyria was trying to be friendly, but Bayley seemed offended. Bayley realized she overreacted and settled down, explaining that she’s been focused only on Lynch and the title all week. Bayley told Valkyria she would be first in line if she won tonight. (Lynch could be seen lurking in the background.)
Queen of the Ring semi-final match: Jade Cargill vs. Roxanne Perez
Cargill was in control and showed off by doing push-ups. Perez managed to trap Cargill’s leg between the steel steps and the ring. Perez dropkicked the steps and worked over her leg during a break.
Cargill tried fighting back after the break, but Perez chop-blocked her. The crowd was really quiet until Cargill effortlessly caught Perez out of mid-air as she attempted a crossbody. Cargill hit a spinebuster and chokeslam for two. Perez countered a Jaded and applied a cradle for two, followed by a double knee drop for two.
Cargill avoided Pop Rox and hit (missed) a pump kick. Cargill hit a powerbomb and, I think, tried deadlifting her up. She couldn’t do it, so she just put Perez down before picking her back up to hit Jaded for the pinfall win.
Match result: Jade Cargill defeated Roxanne Perez to advance in Queen of the Ring (11:47)
This wasn’t particularly good. Perez did her best, but Cargill was out of place a lot toward the end, and she didn’t come across like someone who should be winning this tournament.
— After the match, Asuka entered to face off with Cargill on the stage.
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They announced that Raw in Pittsburgh next week starts at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT.
There was a video package for Jey Uso/Cody Rhodes.
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There was a clip of Goldberg’s debut on WCW Nitro (with Tony Schiavone on commentary).
Cole reiterated that this would be Goldberg’s last match at SNME, but then added, “we’ll see” what happens if he were to win the world title.
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Cole announced SmackDown’s start time in Riyadh on Friday, “the night before Night of Champions. Who knows what’s going to happen on that show?”
Jackie Redmond tried interviewing Dom during a break, but the fans kept booing. Redmond cut him off because they ran out of time.
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Sheamus again told Natalya and Maxxine Dupri that they could be tag champs one day. (It’s like they’ve been standing backstage having this same conversation for a week.) Natalya and Dupri were upset he didn’t win last week. Sheamus said he at least put Rusev in his place for a moment.
Rusev confronted Sheamus. He said this place was full of people like Sheamus: providing smiles to the face, and knives to the back. Sheamus called Rusev the most embarrassing and most egotistical member of the League of Nations. Sheamus was tired of talking and wanted to fight. Rusev smiled and said he would make Sheamus remember this.
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Gunther segment
Gunther entered. He was pissed about Goldberg interrupting what should have been his championship celebration last week. He called Goldberg the most destructive man of his generation, but it wasn’t 1999 anymore. (Some fans cheered.) It was 2025, and Gunther was the guy. He was the best professional wrestler in the company, and the title around his waist proved it.
Gunther heard Goldberg’s intense comments, but that wouldn’t change Gunther’s perception of him. Goldberg was a 58-year-old one-trick pony who couldn’t lace his boots. Gunther apologized to Goldberg’s wife and son for everything he’s about to do. Gunther would embarrass Goldberg at SNME.
“It’s my personal responsibility to make sure that the legacy and the myth of Bill Goldberg forever dies.”
This was a great promo.
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Redmond tried interviewing Lynch backstage, but she was flustered after having just seen Valkyria and Bayley conspiring against her. She left.
Redmond saw Sami Zayn nearby and tried interviewing him, but they were interrupted by Karrion Kross and Scarlett. (Kross did get a good pop this week.) Kross enjoyed Zayn’s fiery speech last week, but he lost to Orton anyway. Kross said Zayn would never be champion.
Zayn calmly stepped back before knocking him to the ground with a great-looking right hand. Zayn told Kross he already spoke to Pearce and their match was official. Zayn left. Scarlett and Kross laughed.
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Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bayley for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship
Bayley was in control until Lynch yanked her by the arm over the top rope. Lynch targeted the arm through the break, but Bayley mounted her comeback following the break. Lynch cut her off with a back suplex, but Bayley responded with a Bayley-to-belly for a nearfall. Bayley slammed Lynch into the corner and hit a sunset flip powerbomb into the turnbuckles for two.
Lynch hit a superplex, and they traded counters until Bayley applied a single-leg Boston crab, but Lynch got a rope break. Bayley blocked a Man-handle Slam and hit one of her own, but Lynch rolled out of the ring.
Bayley went after Lynch, but Lynch chucked her over the announce table. Lynch buried Bayley under a bunch of chairs in an attempt to take a count-out win, but Valkyria showed up right on time to pull the chairs off.
Lynch hit Valkyria and invited Valkyria to hit her back (to cause a DQ), but Valkyria wouldn’t do it. Lynch tried a baseball slide on Bayley, but nailed Valkyria by mistake.
Bayley shoved Lynch into the ring post and the barricade. Bayley went to the top, but Valkyria attacked Lynch for the DQ.
— Bayley argued with Valkyria, who somehow tried to defend herself. Lynch smirked as she backed away up the aisle with her belt.
Match result: Becky Lynch defeated Bayley via disqualification (13:30)
This was a good match until the finish. It never felt like this would have a conclusive winner when they announced it, but the finishing sequence with Valkyria was still very annoying. She has to be turning heel at this point, because she’s becoming increasingly unlikable.
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Chad Gable told Ivy Nile that she was her favourite student (and didn’t want her to tell that to the Creed Brothers). However, she should have won MITB and QOTR. Stephanie Vaquer got in her way, but she should wipe her out completely like he did to Alpha Academy and others.
Gable saw Penta nearby and took great pleasure in seeing him lose to Bron. Penta tried being reasonable, but Gable kept yapping and threatened to take his mask off. Penta superkicked Gable and snapped his arm. Officials chased Penta away as the Creeds checked on Gable.
(Ludwig Kaiser was randomly watching nearby.)
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Raquel Rodriguez and Rhea Ripley segment
A pissed-off Rodriguez was in the ring, and she called out Ripley. Ripley stormed out, and they brawled. Ripley was about to give Rodriguez a Rip-tide through a table, but Perez ran out to make the save. Ripley got rid of Perez, but Rodriguez laid out Ripley with a Tejana Bomb through the table. Rodriguez embraced Perez.
This was a good little segment to get some heat behind Rodriguez (and align her with Perez).
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There were photos of the Florida Panthers celebrating with their custom WWE title belt.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Asuka during a break. Iyo Sky joined and was excited for Asuka, because they may finally get to meet in the ring like they talked about in Damage CTRL. Asuka said they weren’t in Damage CTRL anymore, and she would see her at SummerSlam. Sky said she would be ready.
Ripley barged into Pearce’s office. He offered a street fight against Rodriguez, and she accepted. (It was hard to hear, but it sounded like he said it would be at Night of Champions.)
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There was a big-time video package for John Cena vs. CM Punk. They’ve added the location of Night of Champions back on the graphics, and they showed exterior shots of the city as the announcers ran down the card for Saturday.
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King of the Ring semi-final match: Jey Uso vs. Cody Rhodes
They both got big reactions and faced off for about 30 seconds before shaking hands. This was a first-ever singles match, and it felt like a big deal given the stakes.
Jey blocked a Cross Rhodes just three minutes into the match and went for a superkick, but Rhodes avoided it. Jey missed a running hip attack during a break, and Rhodes applied a figure four until Jey got a rope break. They exchanged strikes until Jey hit a Samoan drop for two.
Jey hit a running hip attack and went for an Uso Splash. Rhodes got his knees up and caught Jey in a version of the kimura lock. Jey slipped out and applied a sleeper. Rhodes began fading but got to his feet and dumped Jey over the top rope. Jey blocked Rhodes’ suicide dive and went to the top, but Rhodes scaled the ropes and hit a superplex. This led to a second commercial break.
Jey tossed Rhodes shoulder-first into the ring post, and followed with a flying crossbody for two. They exchanged strikes as we returned from break. Rhodes hit jabs, but Jey avoided a bionic elbow. Rhodes fired up, but Jey hit a Randy Orton-esque powerslam.
Jey set up for Cross Rhodes, but Rhodes blocked it and hit a Cody Cutter for two. Jey ducked a Disaster Kick and hit a spear for two. Rhodes hit a super Cody Cutter for two.
Jey countered a Cross Rhodes and hit one of his own for a nearfall. People were on their feet for that. Jey superkicked Rhodes repeatedly, pulled him to his feet, and hit a spear.
Instead of going for a cover, Jey went up for a splash. Rhodes scaled the ropes again and hit a super cutter/RKO. Rhodes followed with Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win. Rhodes advances to the KOTR finals against Orton.
Rhodes and Jey embraced after the match.
Match result: Cody Rhodes defeated Jey Uso to advance in King of the Ring (20:05)
This was a very enjoyable Raw main event, and it helped that there were real stakes on the line.