WWE Raw live results: Number one contender’s gauntlet
Date: July 14, 2025
Location: Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL
The Big Takeaway —
CM Punk won a gauntlet match to earn a world title match against Gunther at SummerSlam. Bron Breakker ran the full gauntlet—beating Penta, LA Knight and Jey Uso—for 42 minutes before ultimately losing to Punk.
Roman Reigns returned following the main event to take out Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, and it appears he may have a date with Breakker at SummerSlam. It was clear they’ve decided to start pushing Breakker following Seth Rollins’ apparent injury. (There was no update on Rollins tonight.)
A night after Evolution, women dominated Raw up until the gauntlet match. Naomi will defend her world title in a triple-threat match at SummerSlam against Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley. Lyra Valkyria beat Bayley in a 2-out-of-3 falls match and will face Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental title at SummerSlam.
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Show Recap —
A big video package highlighted Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution. Gunther, Jey Uso, CM Punk (wearing a Bret Hart hat), Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman arrived at the arena.
Michael Cole and Corey Graves are tonight’s announcers. (Pat McAfee is at the Home Run Derby, which is on right now.)
Naomi segment
Naomi entered with her new Women’s World Championship belt. The crowd, of course, chanted, “You deserve it.” Naomi cut them off because she didn’t want to hear that now. They weren’t feeling the glow before, but they were feeling her now. They all thought she would cash in on Tiffany Stratton, but she warned them that nobody knew her next move, and that’s why she stood there as the champion. The crowd cheered.
Naomi was done with the foolishness of SmackDown. She didn’t betray Bianca Belair—she outgrew her. She said Belair and Jade Cargill didn’t really want her to succeed. She was their flunky as long as it was convenient for them. She cut off some “What” chants and said she had the upper hand now, bitches.
Cargill got a win at Evolution, but Naomi is the one who made history. Naomi was new on Raw again, but she advised the raggedy women in the back to proceed with caution.
Rhea Ripley interrupted to a big reaction. Ripley informed Naomi that she wasn’t cautious. She was relentless and pissed. She had two goals at Evolution: to finally beat Iyo Sky and regain the title, but because of Naomi, she still had those goals. Now Naomi was on her list.
Iyo Sky interrupted next, also to a good reaction. She told Ripley, with respect, to get in line because she planned on taking her title back.
Naomi, making fun of Sky’s English, responded, “I don’t know what you just said,” and people laughed. Naomi called them entitled and told them to get to the back of the line.
They began arguing until Adam Pearce interrupted. Pearce officially welcomed Naomi to Raw and told her she did deserve to be champion. Pearce understood why Ripley and Sky were pissed. He said their match was magic.
SummerSlam was soon, and he wanted to blow the roof off MetLife Stadium. (There is no roof at that stadium.) He announced a triple-threat match for the title. All three women were content with this, and the fans cheered.
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Judgment Day met backstage. Dominik said he couldn’t relax with AJ Styles stalking him. Finn Bálor said he had nothing to worry about as long as he had his doctor’s note.
Bálor put over Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez for their big win last night. Bálor suggested Dom accompany them to ringside for their match tonight, but Dom wasn’t sure about that. Bálor said Liv Morgan loved those titles, so they should do it for her. Everyone left, and Bálor was pleased.
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They posted some stat claiming that all three events this past weekend drew 277 million views across all social platforms. They could have said 500 million, and it would’ve been just as meaningful.
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Asuka and Kairi Sane entered ahead of a commercial break. Since moving to Netflix, they’ll often cut away during break to a backstage interview or something, but they didn’t do that here, so the two women just danced to their music for two straight minutes.
Non-title match: Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (w/Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio) vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane
Like last night, Asuka and Sane were all over Perez until Rodriguez came in to get the momentum on their side. Asuka made a hot tag after a break, but the crowd seemed more focused on telling Dom that he sucked.
Dom tried to distract the referee, but it made no difference. Asuka posted Rodriguez and hit Perez with a missile dropkick, strikes, and a German suplex.
Dom got on the apron again, so Asuka knocked him off with a back fist. Perez used the distraction to put her in a schoolboy for the pinfall win (Rodriguez used her boot to assist Perez).
Match result: Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez defeated Asuka & Kairi Sane (10:24)
This was pretty much a nothing match. It felt like they just wanted to get the champs a cheap win with Dom’s help, and Asuka and Sane were on the wrong side of it.
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Jackie Redmond asked Heyman for an update on Seth Rollins. Heyman didn’t have that information, but reminded her that Rollins had until next June to cash in his MITB briefcase (which Heyman held). Heyman said it was Bron Breakker’s night to go through everyone in the gauntlet, punch his ticket at SummerSlam, and beat Gunther for the world title.
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Byron Saxton interviewed LA Knight during a break. Knight said he came out of SNME with a win. It was unfortunate Rollins was injured, and Knight wished him a speedy recovery. Knight wanted Rollins to recover because he wanted to hurt him. Rollins hurt himself before he had a chance. Knight wanted Rollins to return so he could hurt him the right way. Knight admitted he wasn’t 100%, but he planned on running the gauntlet with a world title shot on the line.
They aired a clip of George Kittle laying out The Miz (Mike Mizanin, not Jacob Misiorowski) at a celebrity golf event over the weekend.
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Redmond interviewed Lyra Valkyria about her 2-out-of-3 falls match against Bayley tonight (with a title shot on the line). Valkyria didn’t like the question. She didn’t want to talk about Bayley. It was all about her and Becky Lynch. After she won tonight, Redmond could ask her about her title match against Lynch at SummerSlam.
Bayley interrupted. Bayley told Valkyria she needed this more than she did and told her to stay out of her way.
2-out-of-3 falls match: Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria
Valkyria got the better of an early exchange and dismissively patted Bayley on the head. Bayley slapped Valkyria in the face and rolled her up for the first pinfall, just 1 minute and 25 seconds into the match. It was good timing by Bayley because they went to break moments later.
After the break, Valkyria went hard into the turnbuckle, and Bayley noticed she might be hurt. Bayley hesitated for a moment but began targeting her back. Bayley hit a back suplex onto the apron, followed by a spinning back suplex in the ring for two. Bayley tried a la magistral cradle, but Valkyria caught her in a rollup for a pinfall at 9:32. It’s tied at one.
Bayley responded quickly with a running knee strike ahead of another break. Valkyria drove Bayley’s leg against the post and began working over her knee. Bayley fought back after the break after dropping Valkyria over the middle rope. Valkyria fought back and went for a diving leg drop, but Bayley caught her and hit a Bayley-to-belly for a nearfall.
Valkyria suplexed Bayley out of the corner and hit a gutwrench sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. (Cole thought it was Valkyria’s finisher.) Valkyria followed later with a fisherman’s suplex on the apron. They traded cradles as Bayley sold her leg.
They found their way to the outside, and Bayley gave Valkyria a sunset flip powerbomb into the steel steps. Bayley shoved her in the ring and hit a flying elbow drop onto Valkyria’s back for a nearfall.
Bayley immediately applied a crossface. Valkyria crawled to the ropes, but Bayley pushed off. Valkyria used the momentum to get to her feet while hoisting Bayley on her shoulders, and she hit Nightwing for the pinfall win.
— Lynch marched out to the ring and held her belt up high as she faced off with Valkyria.
(Cole made some comment about Bayley’s losing streak continuing. She has now lost two in a row, but isn’t on some significant losing streak.)
Match result: Lyra Valkyria defeated Bayley to earn a Women’s Intercontinental Championship match (19:57)
This was a good match, and the crowd got into it more as it went. It felt like a big win for Valkyria.
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Redmond interviewed Stephanie Vaquer backstage. Vaquer said she came to WWE to be champion, and after Clash in Paris, she will be. Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice interrupted. Green thought she would represent them better in Paris than Vaquer. Vaquer dared her to take a shot. Green hid behind her cronies and said she was busy with Nikki Bella tonight.
There was a pre-taped promo by Karrion Kross and Scarlett. Kross basically accused Sami Zayn of ducking him and didn’t think he was injured. Kross told Zayn to stay home until he was ready to tell the world that Kross told the truth.
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Nikki Bella vs. Chelsea Green (w/Piper Niven & Alba Fyre)
Bella was all over Green, so Green bailed outside and hid behind Niven and Fyre. When they returned to the ring, Bella went to the ropes, but Green kicked her leg out of her leg and hit a backstabber to take over.
There were duelling chants, and this may have been the most definitive example of the men chanting for one wrestler (Green), and the women chanting for the other (Bella).
Nikki came back with clotheslines and a springboard kick for two. Green followed with a neckbreaker for two. Green went for an Unprettier, but Nikki hit a “Bella Buster” (X-factor). Niven distracted the referee while Fyre tried to attack Bella, but Bella posted her.
This led to the finish, which was a struggle. After a lengthy attempt, Bella eventually got Green on her shoulders and hit a “Rack Attack 2.0” (which didn’t look good at all) for the pinfall win.
— Niven and Fyre attacked Bella after the match, but Vaquer ran out to make the save. She cleared the ring and posed with Bella.
Match result: Nikki Bella defeated Chelsea Green (6:23)
This was no good at all.
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(It should be noted that Raw started with a women’s talking segment and three consecutive women’s matches, the night after an all-women’s PPV.)
Backstage, New Day were dressed in all-black, mourning their tag title loss. They had a gift for Pearce, presented by Grayon Waller. He offered Pearce a wig on a silver platter. Kofi Kingston figured this gift was enough to get a title rematch. Pearce said they don’t just “get” a rematch, but they would get a chance to earn one next week. He told them not to flip their wig and flipped the plate over.
Pearce left upon seeing Judgment Day nearby. He didn’t buy Dom’s injury after seeing him get involved earlier. He said he spoke to WWE medical, who would reevaluate Dom next week. If cleared, he would defend the title against AJ Styles at SummerSlam.
Styles was nearby, literally praying to God that Dom get cleared. Dom didn’t like this, so he pleaded with God, too.
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Gunther got in Penta’s face as he walked through the back. Gunther is up next.
Saxton interviewed American Made backstage. He asked about El Grande Americano. They said it was clearly Ludwig Kaiser. Saxton asked about the earlier Chad Gable rumours, but Ivy Nile ignored him. Nile said everyone was on notice.
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Redmond asked Rusev what he planned on doing next after beating Sheamus. Rusev said people called him a God, but maybe he was a saint fending off Irish snakes. Now the world knew what he always knew, that he was better than Sheamus.
Sheamus interrupted. He said he spoke to Pearce, who agreed that Rusev was a dirty, cheating bastard, so he issued a rematch. (This didn’t get much of a reaction.) Rusev said he was here to dominate gold, not gingers. He left.
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Gunther segment
Gunther entered, and he was in a good mood after retiring Goldberg. Some fans chanted for Goldberg. Gunther said the fans weren’t very bright because Goldberg obviously wasn’t there. (The fans chanted, “You tapped out,” instead, and for some reason, they began censoring it, maybe thinking it was something else.)
Gunther said he fulfilled every promise. He bullied, humiliated, blew up, and choked out Goldberg—and ended his myth. There was only one question to ask: “Who’s next?”
He knew the answer would come soon. He would watch from a suite as five of the finest competitors would compete for his amusement—and to identify his SummerSlam challenger. He didn’t care who it was. Before he could finish his thought, Breakker and Heyman interrupted.
Heyman shook Gunther’s hand. He began introducing himself as usual, but Gunther cut him off. Gunther simply wasn’t interested, so he began leaving the ring—until Breakker cut him off. Breakker faced off with Gunther as Heyman cut a promo.
Heyman said Breakker would run the gauntlet and beat Gunther for the title. Heyman knew that was no easy task. He saw how Gunther beat Goldberg. But you haven’t been speared until you’ve been speared by Bron Breakker.
Breakker was “the next big thing” and “the big dog.” This was his “yard,” and he was a Steiner. He would break through the glass ceiling and break Gunther’s ass at SummerSlam. There’s going to be a new World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam, and his name is Bron Breakker.
Bron stepped aside, and Gunther left.
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World Heavyweight Championship number one contender’s gauntlet match
– Bron Breakker vs. Penta
Bron had control for a while (and through a break), and the crowd seemed to be getting restless until Penta made his comeback. Penta tried a springboard move, but Bron speared him out of the air for the pinfall win. That got a good reaction. (This went just under 10 minutes.)
Penta has lost five matches in a row. His last singles win was against Chad Gable in May.
– Bron Breakker vs. LA Knight
Knight was in complete control early on, but they needed to go to another break, so Bron dropped him over the announce table to take over. A double clothesline spot led to a double-down, so the previously quiet crowd chanted, “This is awesome.” They did get into it from here.
Knight fought back with jabs, a neckbreaker, DDT and a step-up flying elbow drop for two. Knight went for a BFT (Cole thought he was going for a neckbreaker), but Bron pushed him off. Bron tried a dropkick, but Knight hit a powerbomb.
Knight tried the BFT again, but Bron raked his eyes and hit a lung blower. Bron followed with a spear for the pinfall win. (This also went about 10 minutes, and it was more entertaining than the previous match.)
– Bron Breakker vs. Jey Uso
Jey immediately wiped out Bron with a suicide dive. They were headed to break, so Jey had them play his music again, and he Yeeted while Bron sold outside the ring.
Jey was in control after the break and hit a running hip attack for two. Bron came back later with a Frankensteiner for two. Jey responded with superkicks and a spear for a nearfall.
Jey went to the top, but Bronson Reed yanked him off the top. Cole said there were no DQs in a gauntlet match. I have no idea why that would be. No DQs meant the match continued, so Bron followed with a spear for the pinfall win. (This only went about 7 minutes.)
– Bron Breakker vs. CM Punk
Knowing Bron was exhausted, Punk immediately attacked him with his jacket still on. Punk sent Bron out of the ring and removed his jacket during a break. Punk held control through a break, but Bron caught him off the ropes and hit an overhead suplex. Bron stood over Punk and mocked his “It’s clobbering time” catchphrase.
After Bron hit a vertical suplex, it sounded like Punk told him to take it easy, but I could be wrong. (Bron’s been in the ring for 35 minutes at this point.)
Bron tried a Frankensteiner, but Punk countered into a cradle for a nearfall. Punk made his usual comeback and fended off some potential Reed interference before hitting a flying elbow drop for two.
Punk applied an Anaconda Vice, so Reed attacked Punk. Again, no DQs. (That feels like such a cheat.) Jey Uso ran back out (to his music) to take out Reed.
Bron went for a spear, but Punk booted him and hit GTS for the pinfall win.
CM Punk will face Gunther at SummerSlam for the title.
(This went about 10 minutes. Bron wrestled the full gauntlet match for about 42 minutes.)
— Reed attacked Punk as he celebrated. Jey tried to make the save, but Bron speared him. Bron speared Punk, too. They stacked up Punk and Jey so Reed could go for a double Tsunami, but Roman Reigns entered to a monster pop.
Reigns hoisted Reed on his shoulders and hit a big Samoan drop. He gave Bron a Superman punch, and he speared Reed.
Reigns helped Jey to his feet. Punk put his hands up for Reigns to help him up, too, likely knowing Reigns would never actually do that. Punk got to his feet, and they gave each other a knowing look before Reigns turned his attention to the heels on the stage.
The crowd loudly chanted “OTC” and sang Roman’s name. Reigns stared at the heels as Punk embraced Jey, and the show ended.
Match result: CM Punk won a gauntlet match to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship (42:18)
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Official for SummerSlam so far:
- John Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship
- Naomi (c) vs. Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship
- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship
- Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship
- Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul
- Gunther (c) vs. CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship