WWE often uses words like aftermath and fallout to set the stage for the RAW after-show so that fans can expect a follow-up to the big PLE/PPV main event a day or two before the show. Following the ‘Last Time Is Now’ program at this weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, fans have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with Gunther tapping out John Cena in his final in-ring performance, and those live at the GIANT Center in Hershey, PA, for tonight’s show continued the disappointment felt around the WWE Universe©.
With the rest of 2025 existing only to promote the big January 5 show, the direction will be interesting as WWE enjoys the spoils of angry fans willing to hate-watch the product. There will be more eyes on Gunther’s segment than ever before, so the mission will be to make his time in front of the camera count.
GUNTHER COLLECTING LEGENDS, FOLLOWING CENA & GOLDBERG IS AJ STYLES NEXT?
WWE emailed fans and media on Monday (later AM/early PM) promoting Gunther’s appearance on RAW tonight. The email’s subject line was meant to stir up fans’ interest in seeing what the “Wrestling General” would have to say for himself after ruining the childhood of WWE’s more seasoned viewers. Capitalizing on the visceral heat that has now attached itself to Gunther like a newly purchased Cena wristband on your forearm fresh out of the package.
So, it was not surprising to see Gunther kick off RAW to boos as loud as the ones Mr. Levesque garnered in Washington D.C. this weekend when he (along with the rest of the roster, including both company champions: CM Punk and Cody Rhodes) joined Cena ringside following the GOAT’S submission loss.
Gunther, to his credit, was an absolute rockstar from the moment he made his entrance to the backstage segment where superstars Otis, Tazawa, and R-Truth gave Gunther grief as he passed them on his way to the exit—sent by GM Pearce, who did not appreciate the promo.
It was not as much a promo as it was a worked segment where Gunther toyed with the angry crowd, determined to out-boo every word uttered by the uber heel—at one point pretending to leave before returning to call Cena a ‘b***h’ for tapping. The entire segment was as subtle as it was brilliantly effective.
THE VISION IS… FUNNY?
There was an absolute zinger in The Vision’s first segment of the night in the form of some “Steiner math.” Breakker was telling Heyman in the locker room that he is not keen on waiting until January 5 to get his hands on Punk—in the building for tonight’s show. Heyman had to keep his ‘Big Dog’ calm, reminding him that he only must wait 21 days for his title match and that breaking Punk in half could jeopardize his ability to even compete in 3 weeks.
Paul asked whether Breakker understood how long 21 days were, to which Breakker responded, “Yeah, 21 days, 504 hours.” The line would have been funny as a throwaway nod, but Heyman put it over the edge when he suggested the math was ‘a little bit obsessive.’
The charisma between Breakker, Logan Paul, and Reed works on its own level, but adding Paul Heyman as the ‘Boomer’ manager trying to navigate his new youthful faction injects a fresh act that can hit you in the gut with both fists and be funny.
PUNK’S PROMO AN INVITATION TO THE STEINER BROS
During CM Punk’s promo, he called Breakker a “cross-eyed Neanderthal nepo-baby,” after saying that WarGames was not as painful as having to listen to Breakker cut a promo over the past couple of weeks. Punk claimed that if Breakker mentions his wife again, he would ‘p*ss on his single-digit IQ,’ while wearing his wife’s merch.
Punk finished by telling Breakker he’d need ‘The National Guard’ or his mystery masked man before asking him to bring his father and dumber brother Scott. He called out the mystery man, prompting an appearance on January 5, while delivering his own Stiener math, “GTS=1-2-3.”
LOGAN PAUL VS REY MYSTERIO… MYSTERY MAN REVEALED
A replay of the match from two weeks ago was needed following Logan’s attempt to take out Rey with the help of The Vision’s masked guardian angel. That same masked individual (or have they ALL been the same?) helped Logan Paul win and returned to help him defeat Rey this week.
The match was over as CM Punk ran down to aid Rey, and that is when the masked man revealed himself to be Austin Theory. Breakker eventually put Punk down as he lay in the center of the ring, with Paul yelling out commands. The connection between The Vision and Theory is not clear, but it could be the young upstart attempting to get into the good graces of the company’s most powerful faction.
THE USOS VS THE NEW DAY—Tag Team Match
The fiery rivalry was re-fanned last week as The New Day and The USOs found themselves once again at odds with each other over their title aspirations. With Dragon Lee and AJ Styles willing to fight anyone to defend their tag belts, the fairest thing was to at once book a match between these future Hall of Fame tag teams in hopes of producing a worthy challenger.
After 44 matches, The USOS were victorious tonight in their 45th tussle with New Day—though the Woods and Kingston tag team is 0-1 without Big E. The two teams have combined for 20 total reigns as tag champs, 12 for New Day and 8 for USOS, but the four men have gone through so much story that this felt unfamiliar.
OTHER TIDBITS & IN-RING ACTION
- The January 5 RAW on Netflix anniversary show was promoted tonight with Punk-Breakker and The Kabuki Warriors VS RHEO in a double feature of title matches. The four women received a blow-off segment to promote their match, ending in Auska landing the green mist on Rhea as the face team was making their entrance.
- Maxxine Dupri defended her IC title against Ivy Nile in her first real title feud since dethroning Becky Lynch.
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