WWE RAW RESULTS (11/17): Keller’s report on John Cena’s final Raw at Madison Square Garden, WarGames developments, Last Time Is Now Tournament matches with mystery wrestler
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WWE RAW RESULTS
NOVEMBER 17, 2025
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
STREAMED LIVE ON NETFLIX
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett
Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin
Attendance: WrestleTix reports today that 18,155 tickets were distributed right before showtime; arena set up for 18,170. The arena has a capacity of 21,000 spectators when configured for concerts. It’ll be the highest grossing event WWE has had at MSG.
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by PWTorch contributor Joshua White to review WWE Raw LIVE. Join us and let us know your thoughts on Raw during the show.
Email our post-show at wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Raw. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
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[HOUR ONE]
-They opened with an aerial view of Manhattan and then a street view of Madison Square Garden with fans gathered outside. Then they showed the arrivals of Becky Lynch (pasting her face over a C.M. Punk poster), Cody Rhodes (fist-bumping and taking selfies with fans), The Vision (Paul Heyman, Logan Paul, Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker) who were greeted by Drew McIntyre, Solo Sikoa with Talla Tonga, and Gunther. Joe Tessitore plugged the Last Time Is Now Tournament matches.
-A video package aired on John Cena last week in Boston, Mass. and his Intercontinental Title win over Dominik Mysterio.
-John Cena made his entrance as fans were chanting “Cena! Cena!” A drone flew around the packed MSG. When Cena’s entrance theme concluded, fans continued to loudly cheer and chant “Thank you, Cena!” He said, “Boy, do I welcome that enthusiasm.” (This was 10 minutes into the show at this point.) He said it is New York City that makes careers. He said he fans are visible as far as the eye can see. “Madison Square Garden, the champ is here!” he said. (With the IC Title, he can say that.) He said his last appearance at MSG is “a bittersweet moment for some, but a very important moment for me. I wanna take a second…” at which point Dominik Mysterio’s music interrupted.
As Dom walking out, chomping on gum, Tessitore said, “Come on man, know your place.” Wade Barrett said Dom is the person fans really came to see. Dom entered the ring and said no one wants to hear what Cena has to say. Fans booed loudly as Dom spoke. He told Cena he was handed a title shot last week “just like you were handed everything else.” He said he has fought for everything he has. He ranted at the fans in Spanish. He said he wanted a rematch for his IC Title.
Cena said he thinks he heard over the noise that he wanted a rematch. Cena said he came to the right building. He said he wouldn’t back down in his last MSG appearance. He asked fans how they feel about the situation. He asked if they wanted to see him face Dom for the IC Title. Fans cheered. Cena stepped up to Dom’s face. Dom said, “No. We already did it your way.” He said Cena had management and his hometown on his side. He said they’re going to do it his way. “Shut the f— up!” chanted fans. Cena said, “Keep it on the air. They’re saying, ‘Choko Fun Cup!’”
Dom challenged Cena to a match in San Diego, Calif., his hometown, at Survivor Series. “My way, my home turf.” He said it’s on for Survivor Series live on ESPN (streaming network). He then said he promised a match on Raw. He said for tonight, they could forget about the title and focus on the fans. He said he’ll put his title on the line in San Diego, but Dom should step up and “take a chance on making history.” Before Dom could answer, out came Finn Balor and J.D. McDonaugh.
Dom told Cena he wouldn’t get his final match on Raw, but he would get his ass beaten. They jumped him three-on-one. Sheamus ran out and all three heels bumped for him. Rey Mysterio then came out to his music. “No way!” Tessitore exclaimed. “Daddy on the spot, Dom!” The three babyfaces cleared the ring of the three heels. Cena called for a three-on-three match. “Ring the bell!” he said. The ref entered the ring and called for the bell. They cut to a break.
(Keller’s Analysis: I’m really curious how San Diego reacts. Cena has a built in excuse if he gets booed.) [c]
(1) JOHN CENA & SHEAMUS & REY MYSTERIO vs. FINN BALOR & J.D. MCDONAGH & DOMINIK MYSTERIO
The match was joined in progress after the break 24 minutes into the hour. Rey hot-tagged in at 3:00 and rallied against Balor and McDonaugh. Barrett noted it is Rey’s first match in nearly seven months after getting leg surgery. Dom tripped Rey running the ropes. Rey kicked him. Balor then attacked Rey and threw him under the bottom rope to the floor. They cut to a break at 4:00. [c]
Rey sent Balor head-first into McDonagh’s crotch. Barrett told Tessitore he enjoyed that too much and every guy but Tessitore got tears in their eyes seeing that. Cena hot-tagged in against McDonagh and went into his finishing routine. He went for an Attitude Adjustment, but McDonagh landed on his feet and then headbutted Cena. Chaos broke out with all six. McDonagh landed a top rope moonsault. Balor landed a Coup de Grace. Dom then delivered a top rope frog splash at 10:00. Sheamus and Rey broke up the cover by piling on.
Rey rallied against Dom and set up a 619. McDonagh and Balor pulled Dom to ringside. Sheamus led his teammates to land “10 Beats of the Bodhrán” forearms to their opponents’ chests. The three faces stood over the three heels and did Five Knuckle Shuffles. Rey landed a 619 to both McDonagh and Balor. Sheamus gave Balor a Brogue Kick. Cena delivered an AA on McDonaugh for a three count.
As the babyfaces celebrated, Tessitore said they had everything including a “15 Knuckle Shuffle.”
WINNERS: Cena & Mysterio & Sheamus in 12:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: I was so prepared for Sheamus to attack Cena as they stood next to each other celebrating afterward. Fun crowd-pleasing match that wasn’t asking too much of Rey in his return match or Cena who certainly wants to be conservative about staying injury-free until SNME next month.)
-A clip aired of Drew McIntyre on Smackdown.
-Smackdown G.M. Nick Aldis told Raw G.M. Adam Pearce he should have seen Drew’s actions coming and lamented the “smug look on his face.” Pearce said he’s been dealing with him for years, always gaming the system. Heyman walked in and said he sensed anger from then. “I apologize,” he said. He said they are both in charge of enforcing the rules and regulations, but what he did was within the rules and regulations. He said if they think his fourth pick of Drew pissed them off, wait until you see what I have in store for number five. He handed Pearce a folder and walked away. They took a deep breath. Pearce said, “This is going to be fun.”
-They showed Stephanie Vaquer backstage. [c]
-They showed Eric Andre (From Netflix’s “Little Brother”), Ashely Cook (who sang “God Bless America” before Raw), and some Philadelphia Eagles (who got roundly booed), some New York Giants (including Cam Scattebo), and Andrew Schulz (comedian and podcaster). They showed a clip from during the break of Dom shoving Schulz, followed by the Giants stepping up and getting their faces of The Judgment Day. A scuffle broke out. (Some Giants coaches held their breath there.)
-Jackie Redmond (who can survive outside of the backstage area, apparently) said she was going to interview Vaquer in the ring. She said she had some questions about what happened last week. She threw a video recap of Nikki Bella attacking Vaquer, turning heel. Redmond introduced Vaquer.
As Vaquer made her entrance, Nikki attacked her on the charge. She said, “Thank you for reminding me who I am.” She said she didn’t return to cheer from the sidelines or be anyone’s sidekick. She said she returned to lead the division. She told Vaquer she will give her a match for the World Title “and bow down to the woman who changed this entire industry.”
-They went to Barrett and Tessitore at ringside. They threw to a video package on the drama with the Women’s Tag Team Titles from last week.
-Backstage, Bayley and Valkyria were chatting when they crossed paths with Asuka and Kairi Sane. Asuka pitched Bayley joining their team at WarGames. Bayley said no. Kairi waved her hand in front of Bayley and said, “You can’t see me!” She was very pleased with herself. Valkyria wanted to do a special handshake and Bayley asked if she was five.
-Solo Sikoa headed to the ring with Talla Tonga. [c]
[HOUR TWO]
(2) SOLO SIKOA (w/Talla Tonga) vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER – Last Time Is Now Tournament match
Ziggler made his entrance. “What a blast from the past!” exclaimed Barrett. The bell rang at the top of the second hour. Fans loudly chanted, “Let’s Go, Ziggler!” Solo grabbed the bottom rope to break a crossface and rolled to ringside. Ziggler leaped onto him and then threw him into the announce desk. Ziggler threw Solo into the ring and then leaped off the top rope with an elbowdrop. Solo kicked out at one. [c]
Solo was in control after the break. They showed Talla at ringside. Ziggler scored a dramatic near fall after a Zig Zag at 8:00. The crowd was big time into Ziggler. They chanted “Ref, you suck!” afterward. Ziggler landed a superkick. but then caught Ziggler with a Samoan Spike for the win.
WINNER: Sikoa in 9:00 to advance.
-An introductory vignette aired on Je’Von Evans telling everyone to sit back and enjoy the ride.
-They showed Alexa Bliss backstage. [c]
-They showed Lil Yachty (Rapper & Singer), Aljamain Sterling (UFC fighter), Lil-Manuel Miranda (of “Hamilton” fame), and Stephanie McMahon & Elyse Dudzinski (podcasters) in the front row.
-Bliss stood in the ring and said Charlotte ignored all of her text messages over the last week. She said she saw her Instagram stories of her frolicking around New York City all weekend. She said she’ll have to deliver her message this way. “Really, Charlotte?” she said. “After everything we’ve been through?” She said it’s hard to get back trust, which they built despite people telling her backstage not to trust Charlotte. She said she knows who Charlotte is on the inside and who she could be. “I guess you’ll be the one to prove me wrong,” she said. She said Charlotte left her and then she got her ass kicked just because she didn’t like Rhea Ripley. She said she has had her back, and the second she needed her best friend (“Yeah, I said it”), that’s the time she chose to make a point just because she didn’t like Rhea. She was interrupted by Asuka, Kairi Sane, Nia Jax, and Lash Legend.
Jax said it looked like no one was going to save her and looked like fun. They surrounded Bliss. Barrett said her time to run was about 60 seconds ago. Ripley and Iyo Sky ran out. It turned into a four-on-three brawl. Legend and Jax attacked Bliss. Charlotte then ran out with a kendo stick. She bashed Jax and Lash with the kendo stick until they rolled out of the ring. Bliss and Charlotte stood with arms around each other. They nodded at Sky and Ripley.
-They went to ringside to Barrett and Tessitore. Barrett said it appeared they would team up at WarGames after all. Then they plugged a four-on-four face-off later with the men’s War Games teams so far. Barrett said Vaquer vs. Nikki is confirmed for Survivor Series, as is Cena vs. Dom for the IC Title.
-A clip aired of Tom Rinaldi interviewing Cena. Cena talked about “seeking approval.” He said he has been in front of “what WWE calls polarizing audiences.” He said he is glad he doesn’t think much about it. He said they can get in trouble trying to give a consumer what they want rather than swinging big and being authentic. He said he has to be okay with what he is doing. He said the most troublesome patches in his life have been giving his approval to other folks, but they have been great learning experiences.
-Becky Lynch walked out. Barrett called her “the biggest name in women’s wrestling.” [c]
(3) BECKY LYNCH vs. MAXINNE DUPRI – Intercontinental Title match
Becky tried to get in Dupri’s head during ring introductions, yapping in her face. The bell rang 30 minutes into the hour. Dupri caught Becky with a big boot as soon as the ref called for the bell leading to a two count. They cut to an early break with Becky in control. [c]
Dupri rallied and landed a spinning wheel kick. Next, she gave Becky a snap fisherman’s suplex and then kipped up followed by a legdrop “to the back of Becky’s head” (it missed) leading to a two count. Becky caught a charging Dupri with a back elbow.
Becky powerbombed Dupri out of the corner and scored a two count. Oddly, she gave up the pin and Durpi forgot to raise his shoulder. Becky then shifted into an arm extension. Dupri bridged out of it, but Becky rolled her back into the armbar. Dupri reached the ropes and then landed a sunset flip for a two count. She then applied a standing anklelock mid-ring. She dropped down and held onto the ankle. Becky leveraged Dupri’s shoulders down for a two count.
Becky landed a Manhandle slam near the ropes. Dupri put her leg on the bottom rope. Barrett called it bad positioning, which showed how battered Becky was to make that rookie mistake. Becky poked the ref in the chest. The ref had enough and told her to worry about her opponent. Becky turned and attacked Dupri and then threw her to the floor.
Becky began to untie a turnbuckle pad. A.J. Lee skipped out. Dupri then caught a distracted Becky with a top rope crossbody press for a three count. Tessitore called it “as massive a title change upset as you will see.”
Becky flipped out at ringside at fans in the front row as Lee laughed on the stage next to a celebrating Dupri.
WINNER: Dupri in 10:00 to capture the IC Title.
(Keller’s Analysis: A good pivot for Dupri to be an underdog secondary title holder while Becky shifts to a one-on-one feud with Lee and likely enters WarGames also.) [c]
-They showed Brandon Marshall (former NFL player), Chuck Zito (actor), and Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias in the front row.
(4) GUNTHER vs. JE’VON EVANS – Last Time Is Now tournament
The bell rang 48 minutes into the hour. Gunther played with Evans early. He thwarted a rally by Evans and gave him a big boot and tore off his t-shirt as they cut to an early break. [c]
Gunther had Evans in a sleeper. They cut to another break after Evans leaped at Gunther at ringside, but Gunther caught him and rammed him into the ring apron. [c]
As Evans made a comeback, fans chanted “This is awesome!” at 14:00. Gunther caught a flying Evans with a back elbow and then landed a released German suplex and a powerbomb for a two count. The crowd popped for the kickout. Gunther elbowed Evans and then applied a sleeper. Evans fought for a while and slipped free, but Gunther re-applied it and then Evans tapped out.
Barrett said Gunther expected to destroy Evans handily, but he needed every tool in his arsenal to win and put away “the young O.G.”
WINNER: Gunther in 15:00 to advance.
-Redmond interviewed Dupri and Lee backstage. Dupri said all her hard work paid off. She credit Lee. Lee said Dupri deserved all the credit. Otis and Akira Tozawa joined the celebration. Redmond asked Lee if she was going to stick around. She said she hoped the answer was yes. Lee said when she returned, she wanted to help her husband, but a fire lit up inside her that she forgot she had and she feels things, “so who knows.” Ripley then asked Lee if she had a second to chat. Lee said, “Sure.”
-A vignette aired with C.M. Punk playing poker with Brock Lesnar along with Paul Heyman. Punk said, “In this town, everyone is playing a character except me.” He said he’s been there before. He said he’s not the dealer or the mark. He said he’s the only one at the table who is “the best in the world.”
-Tessitore announced Gunther vs. Carmelo Hayes and Solo Sikoa vs. Finn Balor or Penta in Quarterfinals matches for next week’s Raw. He said there will be a War Games Advantage match next week on Raw, too.
-Heyman, Breakker, Reed, Logan, and Paul made their entrance. [c]
-Heyman introduced himself and his team. Punk then made his ring entrance. He counted three of them and one of him. Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes then made their entrance. They brawled. Drew joined in. Barrett said this was supposed to be a time to talk some smack, but it’s gotten violent. Fans chanted “OTC!” Punk, Cody, and Jey got the better of them. Brock Lesnar then made his entrance. (This was pretty apparent based on Heyman’s words and tone earlier in the show when talking about the final partner.) Tessitore called it “the most dangerous sight of all.” Lesnar gave Punk two big suplexes and kicked him out of the ring. Cody entered and had words for Brock. Barrett said that wasn’t smart. Lesnar gave Cody two high released German suplexes before kicking him out of the ring.
The closing credits on the screen indicated the show was about to end, but then Roman Reigns’s music played. “It doesn’t not get bigger than this,” said Tessitore in a measured tone. Reigns eyed Lesnar as he walked to the ring. Lesnar waited for him. No blinking by either of them. Reigns and Lesnar ended with a staredown. Fans sang, “Roman, Roman Reigns!” Lesnar took a swing at Reigns. Reigns ducked and then hit a spear. Lesnar rolled out of the ring. Security ran into the ring. Bronson Reed attacked security and then went after Reigns with some elbowdrops and then set up a Tsunami. Reigns popped up and landed a Superman Punch. “NYPD” entered the scene. Reigns speared two of them through the ringside barricade as fans chanted “Holy shit!”
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by PWTorch contributor Joshua White to review WWE Raw LIVE. Join us and let us know your thoughts on Raw during the show.
Email our post-show at wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Raw. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
VIDEO CALLER CODE: CLICK HERE
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Click that link during the post-show to enter the waiting room as “live video caller” (or just audio if you turn off your cam, which is fine).
If you can’t join us live on YouTube, stream the show on demand later at YouTube or listen or stream later on a podcast app. Subscribe to all of our free podcasts by searching “wade keller” and “pwtorch” in your podcast app of choice including Spotify and Apple Podcasts and most other iOS and Android apps.
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