WWE RAW after Night Champions - Best and Worst - New Judgment Day member; absurd gimmick changed

WWE Monday Night RAW aired this evening. This was a special edition of the red brand, as it aired two hours sooner than usual. The show also featured the fallout from Night of Champions and built toward upcoming major events.

All in all, RAW had four matches, and each one was a banger. The show also had multiple major segments, and several stories progressed. Really, it was one of the strongest episodes of the red brand in 2025 thus far.

With that being said, RAW wasn't quite perfect. While most of the show was great, there was one major mark on the program. Additionally, the crowd was somewhat lackluster despite 13,000-14,000 fans being in attendance. The energy just wasn't there.

Outside of the crowd's lack of energy, what were the best parts of the show, and what was the one mark against it? This article will highlight the best & worst parts of WWE Monday Night RAW this week.

Worst: Ludwig Kaiser becomes a joke

El Grande Americano's future has been a question in many fans' minds following news regarding Chad Gable's health. It came out that the WWE star suffered a shoulder injury. On RAW last week, Chad was effectively written out of action by an attack from Penta.

Obviously, if Chad is injured and receiving surgery, he can't be under the mask as El Grande Americano. Yet, the masked man appeared anyway. Under the hood wasn't Gable, however. Instead, it was Ludwig Kaiser.

On paper, this could be seen as harmless fun. Unfortunately, it also makes Ludwig a joke. The German star has all of the tools to be a top guy in WWE, yet now he'll be doing a comedy schtick instead. In what was a strong episode of RAW, this decision stood out as the worst.

Best: Evolution and Saturday Night's Main Event got massive boosts

One of the best parts about WWE RAW was what was set up for the future. Saturday Night's Main Event and Evolution are just two weeks away, and both events got a lot of build and hype on the red brand tonight.

For Saturday Night's Main Event, a new match has been booked. Seth Rollins is set to clash with LA Knight. This is in addition to Goldberg vs. Gunther, which was built up nicely on WWE RAW with a fantastic rock-based video package for Da Man and a vicious promo from The Ring General.

Evolution had multiple matches teased and confirmed. While unofficial, it looks like Becky Lynch will defend her gold against both Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. Additionally, there will be a Fatal Four-way Tag Team Match. Most notably, the main event of the show appears to be the confirmed bout of IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley. Needless to say, that match will be incredibly exciting.

Best: The Judgment Day rules WWE again

With Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan's respective injuries, some feared the WWE stable would lose all of their gold. Not only did that not happen, but The Judgment Day is stronger than ever.

Dominik Mysterio, although not yet recovered, remains Intercontinental Champion. Finn Balor and JD McDonagh shockingly won the World Tag Team Championship. Additionally, Roxanne Perez was named Raquel Rodriguez's partner and new WWE Women's Tag Team Champion.

Not only that, but Roxanne is officially a new member of the WWE stable. Every active, or in Dom's case, semi-active member of The Judgment Day is a champion, and the group is as strong, if not stronger, than ever.

Best: CM Punk has multiple feuds set up

CM Punk is one of the biggest stars in the world, and WWE is certainly treating him as such. In fact, there were multiple feuds and blockbuster matches teased for The Second City Saint on Monday Night RAW.

For starters, a third blockbuster match with Seth Rollins was teased. That's not a big surprise, but it's certainly exciting. In the same segment, Gunther and CM Punk had an interaction that even saw the World Heavyweight Champion shoved onto his b*tt. As if that wasn't enough, he also went face-to-face with LA Knight backstage.

One of the best aspects of RAW was seeing Punk interact with both a hated rival and two of the hottest stars in wrestling. Knowing CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins III and dream matches with Gunther and LA Knight are on the horizon is extremely exciting.

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