WWE Raw results, highlights (Aug. 11): Naomi suffers medical issue, Seth Rollins lands next title defense

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7 days ago

"WWE Raw" went international with a stop in Quebec, Canada, on Monday. All but one of the brand's champions appeared throughout the night to deliver intriguing storyline progression, and even the lone absence provided some ripple effects. Because of that, "Raw" went from a two-title match show to one.
Last-minute changes
Earlier in the day, WWE announced on social media that the Women's World Champion Naomi wasn't medically cleared to wrestle in her title match against Iyo Sky. No reason was given, and there have been no updates on the champion's status. Hopefully, it's nothing serious and Naomi will be back soon.
However, with all the cloudiness surrounding kayfabe in recent months, it's hard not to think that WWE realized late that this was a poor booking choice, and the following result further indicated this.
Let's hope whatever happened wasn't related to this.
WWE pivoted nicely by matching Sky with Roxanne Perez, which saw Sky fall short to the typical Judgment Day antics, including a mix-up with the Kabuki Warriors. Regardless, the match delivered our...
👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑
I'm officially on board. Sky is the best wrestler in WWE. Period.
Every little thing Sky does feels genuine and beyond maximum effort. That's not just about her athleticism in moves, but also how she speaks and her expressions. Everything. She is a magnet that simultaneously ignites the room or ring. She is a perfect performer.
All of that said, Perez also deserves her credit, because she's more than capable of holding her own against talent like Sky and was an awesome dance partner. This match was excellent, and surely the first of many.
As for Sky losing, that's where this gets weird because now she can't challenge Naomi once the champion is back — at least one would think. Perez and Judgment Day additionally remain relevant after losing their tag team titles. So it felt like a way for WWE to book itself out of that corner of having either Naomi and Sky lose a title match at what would have been a very random time.
Ideally, this should lead to Sky and Rhea Ripley teaming up to bolster that tag team division, especially with the new champions Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair. Sky and Ripley can revisit their friendly rivalry whenever, and they very obviously will. But for now, Stephanie Vaquer's time is nearing, depending on the Naomi stuff. Interestingly enough, Vaquer indicated later on that her match with Naomi may also be off at "Clash in Paris."
😲Threat of the Night
The thought of more LA Knight and CM Punk interactions was exciting enough as is, but I may have underestimated how great they could be together. To open "Raw," it was clear they had a blast cutting their promos on each other. Once again, it highlighted how Punk, at his core, is arguably more of a heel — an anti-hero at the very least.
Even before Knight confronted him, Punk proved that by threatening to break Seth Rollins' legs after his false injury.
Punk was rightfully pissed that he held the World Heavyweight title for a handful of minutes at SummerSlam before Rollins took it from him. But Knight was equally justified with his displeasure over how Punk robbed him last week by getting Knight DQ'd in his title shot.
Honestly, Knight should have been angrier, considering he was double-screwed with the fake injury that started in his Rollins match prior. Instead, he was in a much more forgiving face role, and went as far as to offer Punk favors and put the incident behind him.
Regardless, this version of Knight is absolute money. There feels like a slight edge of unpredictability to him that easily creates tension with big stars like Punk. Ultimately, Punk maintained that core heel work by saying Knight should thank him for saving him from a career-ending beating.
If that wasn't enough, Knight promised to give Punk a title shot after he beats Rollins first, and then Paul Heyman and "The Brons" interrupted to set up their tag team match later on.
If those three didn't appear, we wouldn't have gotten the...
🤣Callback of the Night
Steiner math will forever get praise in my book, and it should in yours as well. It's incredible to see Bron Breakker play into these hysterical moments from his uncle Scott's past.
As the segment ended, Breakker tried to get into it with his foes, shouting out that Punk is 47 and Knight is 40 (neither of which is true) — making them 100 years old combined.
That. Was. Hilarious.
Overall, the lengthy opener segment was too good to complain about, and even Breakker's Steiner math followed a hilarious verbal jab from Punk, saying he'll punch both of Heyman's chins — or "The Bron-Brons."
What wasn't good, of course, was the match finish.
🙄DQ(s) of the Night
DQs are predictable every week in their own right with Triple H's WWE, but it's so incredibly sad to see how obviously a match is going to be ruined just because of who is wrestling. There was optimism about this main event because it was a tag team match, but that didn't stop Rollins from ruining the match. DQs in title matches are somehow even lamer than any other.
As always, it's a shame because the match was solid, despite Punk being in a tag team match in 2025, which felt somewhat out of place. Knight just had himself a night, really. He works so well with all these guys, and the early story was him and Punk performing well as a team before Punk failed to get the eventual tag.
Now, we'll briefly segue because that wasn't all for this "Raw" and utter nonsense.
Sami Zayn vs. Rusev felt destined to be great, but as if it would see Rusev win via DQ off a Sheamus attack. WWE booked the weakest swerve attempt ever with a Zayn and Sheamus interaction backstage beforehand. Zayn logically asked Sheamus not to interfere because of how much his road to a world title means to him. Sheamus, being a good friend, agreed — but promised he'd attack Rusev after the bell rang.
Well, that did happen — just not until the stupid, random appearance from Solo Sikoa and his boys. It was laughable to hear Michael Cole act as if the brand split exists.
🫠Missed Opportunity of the Night
"Raw" general manager Adam Pearce is finally starting to show a spine as a character, and that's great, as well as long overdue, especially regarding Rollins and company's antics. He even alluded to the team's never-ending tendency to ruin their matches and things alike. To make up for it, he booked Rollins into a title match at Clash in Paris against Punk, Knight and ... Jey Uso.
Huh?
Brother, I understand you're trying to restore order, but this is one of the silliest and most blatant shoehorns we've seen in a long time. Uso essentially earned a title shot by coming to the aid of Punk and Knight after the match broke down. Oh, and to make this all the sillier, Pearce completely disappeared after the announcement and let Rollins' squad continue their beatdown, which completely devalued any points he made.
The art of making one half of a night's story so good and the other so bad should be studied. WWE has it down to a science. And although it was clear we'd get at least a triple threat with everyone but Uso, which should be moderately fun, the outcome is clear. Breakker and Bronson Reed will interfere to help Rollins win.
WWE doesn't even try to hide it. Yawn.
👍MONDAY NIGHT MONEY👍
1. There was a noticeable amount of Karrion Kross t-shirts worn by fans in the crowd in Quebec. This is some wild support to see, but it's justified, and the man deserved (and deserves) a better shot.
2. Becky Lynch defended her Intercontinental title in a throwaway match against Maxxine Dupri. I'm not entirely sure what purpose this match served, as it went nowhere after the match, but it was admittedly a fun time. Lynch played the ultra-bully champion against her inexperienced handpicked opponent. It was harmless and had some good sequences.
3. Wow. WWE hit us with a massively surprising, emotional Bayley interview video package before the main event. She tapped into all of her genuine frustrations, which she had expressed and touched on briefly before WrestleMania 41, making this feel all the more raw and real, as it practically was — until a strange ending with a silly, evil laugh. So are we getting an evil Bayley turn? I'm not sure, but I think that could be promising. Regardless, that promo was exceptional.
🤷IT HAPPENED🤷
Dominick Mysterio and El Grande "Amerikaiser" defeated AJ Styles and Dragon Lee in their match. All right, listen, this match was pretty damn good, and had a creative finish — but it wasn't creative at the same time. Instead of Kaiser, Mysterio utilized the Americano steel plate mask tactic, headbutting Styles into a Kaiser roll-up. This has just been dragged out for so long with the Americano character that it's past expiration.
Additionally, on a positive note, this match mainly intensified my desire to see Styles do more AAA or Lucha-style matches.
👑 Imagine if WWE stopped booking DQs. I give this show a Crown score of: 7.5/10.👑