WWE's Monday Night Raw Live Blog April 28, 2025: I'm Reacting To Seth Rollins And Bron Breakker's Alliance With Paul Heyman, Rusev's Big Return, And More

I'll be honest, I feel a little let down. I'm not exactly sure what Seth Rollins' motivation is in the WWE, but I still like his partnership with Paul Heyman and Bron Breakker. Obviously, we have an entire year for this to build, so we can just be happy with what we got this week and tune in for the next Monday Night Raw!

Just to air a personal grievance, I feel like the WWE gave Bronson Reed the heel move of pulling off his finisher multiple times, and the minute he got injured it's been given to every heel in the business trying to make a point. I'm hoping when Reed finally returns it returns to just being a thing that he does. Seth Rollins ends the night with a curb stomp.

I would love to hear from a WWE wrestler how painful it is to take a spear from Bron Breakker. It doesn't look like he holds anything back when he goes for it.

Bron Breakker and Sami Zayn are closing out the night. I have to say, for as monsterous as Bron Breakker is, I guess I was unfamiliar with just how jacked Sami Zayn is as well. They practically look evenly matched in the ring in terms of physique despite my mind telling me Breakker in the bigger one of the two.

Sami Zayn rejects the offer, I don't think anyone who watches Monday Night Raw is surprised by this. I'm guessing he's about to get a horrific beatdown here soon.

I'm not sure what the angle is here with Seth Rollins after this partnership with Paul Heyman. His tone with Sami Zayn was a little more earnest than the Seth we've seen the past year in the WWE. Maybe it's all a work and he's still as slimy as ever.

Seth Rollins called Sami Zayn out to the ring to get his answer on what he's going to do. Will he choose to move to SmackDown and get a title shot after Backlash, or will he face Bron Breakker one-on-one?

Sami Zayn linked up with Jey Uso backstage, who was aware of the offer that Paul Heyman made him. That really has me wondering, why did Heyman ask Otis to leave the room when he made the offer if everyone was going to see the conversation air on live television? OH SNAP! Logan Paul just sucker punched Jey Uso! Didn't see that coming.

Pat McAfee wouldn't be one of the most in-demand people in the sports commentary business if he wasn't good at cutting promos. Pat did what he does best and had the crowd hype. I can't say it was enough to make me excited to see McAfee potentially take on Gunther in a match. Nick Aldis interrupted and told him to cool it. Long story short, we're getting Pat McAfee and Gunther at Backlash.

After seeing AJ Styles and Karrion Kross speak backstage, we're now to Pat McAfee's segment where he addresses the Gunther situation. Will share my comments after.

Stephanie Vaquer made relatively short work of Ivy Nile. I didn't necessarily expect anything different, and think she's going to get a big push in the WWE.

Rusev received a sick promo video, though I have to wonder what the plan for him is. Is he going straight for a title, or just going to squash some people? We don't get much time to discuss that because it's time for Stephanie Vaquer vs. Ivy Nile!

Penta and Chad Gable exchange some words backstage. Penta kicks him in the chest after Gable insults Fenix. I'm excited about this feud happening!

Lyra Valkyria showed up to call out Becky. She's doing good on the mic but the crowd is hitting her with the "what" chants. Lyra has gotten the crowd back on her side by challenging Becky to a match, and talking about how she defeated her in NXT. Becky also finally managed to get booed by taking a cheap shot at Kansas City. They're going to square off at Backlash

Becky somewhat buries the Jade/Naomi angle by saying there won't be a "weeks long mystery" wondering who attacked Bayley, and that it was her. I feel like Becky is really trying for some heat with this promo, but the crowd doesn't know how to do anything else but cheer at this point. In fairness, I'm not sure Lyra Valkyria or even Bayley is as over with the audience as Becky.

Pat McAfee just said "What's the crack" as Becky Lynch made her entrance. I learned from my Irish friend Séan Ferrick over at our sister site TrekCulture that is the equivalent of saying "What's good?" in Ireland.

Paul Heyman finds Sami Zayn in the locker room and reminds him that he was once in The Bloodline. He told Zayn he has two options. He can stay on Monday Night Raw and face Bron Breakker in the ring, or he can agree to be traded to SmackDown and Rollins and Heyman have arranged for him to get a guaranteed title shot at the Undisputed Championship after the Backlash PLE. Which will he choose? I would go for the title shot, if I were him, but I don't think he'll bite.

Penta showed up and blinsided J.D. McDonagh. The War Raiders win and will now get a chance at the tag titles. Penta is doing his little freak walk on the commentary table as the match ends.

Kofi and Xavier making themselves crack up making jokes about Ivar. Great set up for Ivar dropping the champs.

The New Day is ringside watching The War Raiders and Judgement Day compete for a shot at the tag team titles? I guess I misheard earlier what was going to happen. I wouldn't mind seeing the War Raiders get another shot, but I think Judgement Day is going to face New Day at Backlash.

Logan had a lot to say, but Jey was only hearing a bit of it. He delivered a super kick to Paul to shut him up and made his way out of the ring. I'm down for this feud, though I do worry about Logan Paul becoming a world champion in the WWE. Even if you feel Jey Uso isn't a worthy champion, surely his tenure in WWE has earned him more respect than losing the title to Paul.

Oh, I guess Jey Uso's first title defense is going to be against Logan Paul? I wasn't expecting that, but it's not the worst match up.

Logan Paul is in the ring, and I'll be honest, I'm surprised to see him doing another angle so soon after beating AJ Styles. I'll be curious to see who his next feud is lined up against.

J.D. is squarely back in Judgement Day, and Finn is upset he was left out of the news of his surprise return. Liv is seemingly calling the shots, and has booked Finn and J.D. for the tag titles match against The New Day. No chance they beat them, right?

Giulia's interference in the match leads to a DQ victory for Rhea Ripley. The NXT women attempt a beat down but Iyo Sky arrives to help. It seems like a tag-team match for these four is going to be set for Backlash.

I gotta say, this match is going how I expected it so far. Roxanne Perez is hitting her spots, and doing some impressive stuff, but it'll take a lot to get the crowd to turn on Rhea Ripley for even a second. She's just too over for Roxanne to get a solid pop thus far.

Roxanne Perez has already gotten to dip her toes in the bright lights of the main roster after her performance in the 2025 Royal Rumble. Here's hoping she wins over the crowd here on Monday Night Raw tonight. Taking on Rhea Ripley in one of your first matches is a tough challenge in terms of winning over the crowd.

Rhea Ripley is making her way out to the ring for her match with Roxanne Perez. She's rocking her classic purple and black vest and makeup. The crowd still loves Mami!

Rollins offers Sami Zayn the chance to be moved to SmackDown, since he's clearly not on board with his future vision for Monday Night Raw. Interesting promo. I think it feels like a fictionalized version of Seth playing politics behind the scenes and suggesting he has the power to influence what happens on the brand.

Sami calls Seth's new faction a "load of crap," because Rollins is effectively just another Paul Heyman guy like Roman Reigns and CM Punk. I'm not super invested in this promo, but I do find it interesting that Rollins is trying to justify he's not creating another super faction managed by Heyman. Rollins warns Zayn to cool off, lest he become a target.

Seth apologizes to people who want to cheer for Roman Reigns and CM Punk. Seth Rollins says the future of the wrestling industry runs through him, especially now that he has Bron Breakker and Paul Heyman at his side. He's interrupted by Sami Zayn, of all people? Not sure where this is headed.

Seth is rocking the most insane sunglasses. Look at this:

The show kicks off with Seth Rollins coming to the ring. with Bron Breakker and Paul Heyman not far behind. Rollins is wearing his classic outlandish outfit. Breakker is rocking a suit.

Nick Aldis is filling in for Adam Pearce tonight. We'll see if he can manage the chaos of Monday Night Raw any better than his colleague.

We're less than thirty minutes out from tonight's episode, and WWE has promoted some of the things we're going to see tonight. Here's a breakdown:

• Becky Lynch explains why she betrayed Lyra Valkyria
• Logan Paul addresses the Monday Night Raw Crowd
• NXT Champion Stephanie Vaquer and Ivy Nile will square off
• Roxanne Perez and Rhea Ripley will have a match
• Pat McAfee will address the Gunther situation
• Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker, and Seth Rollins will address the crowd

As I reported earlier today, John Cena will not return until a day before Backlash, so I apologize to anyone who was hoping to see more of him and Randy Orton. Even so, it should be a good night!