WWE Raw takeaways: Seth Rollins, Penta qualify for Money in the Bank

USA Today

27-05-2025

WWE Raw takeaways: Seth Rollins, Penta qualify for Money in the Bank
WWE Monday Night Raw on May 26 took place at Yuengling Center in Tampa, Fla., and featured a Money in the Bank qualifier between Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn and Finn Balor.
This week's episode saw a couple of solid promos with Jey Uso and Gunther, and then Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch. Sheamus looks to be setting up a feud with Rusev after coming to Akira Tozawa's aid.
Check out the top takeaways from this episode:
Paul Heyman, Seth Rollins put over new faction
Kicking off the show was the new-look faction led by Seth Rollins. Along with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, Paul Heyman took the mic to put the group over as only Heyman could. He predicted – no, spoiled - that Breakker would headline multiple WrestleMania events in the future, and gave credit to Reed for taking out CM Punk. After giving the hard sell, Heyman demanded acknowledgment of Rollins before passing over the mic.
As Rollins began speaking, the Tampa crowd chanted, "You sold out." Rollins was confused, asking who did he sell out to other than himself? The next chant prompted censors. "F*ck you, Rollins," filled the arena. Once again, Rollins questioned the crowd, reminding them just a minute ago they were all singing his song during walk to the ring.
Rollins vowed to not only qualify for Money in the Bank, but win it, in order to hold "total power" over the champions until he decides to eventually cash in to secure the future of the industry.
I was hoping we would get a name for the new faction here, but that wasn't the case. Rollins did refer to the group as "the vision," which would actually make for a dope name. Run with it, WWE. I'm sure Marvel won't come knocking on legal's door. All-in-all, this was a solid opening segment – no run-ins, got right to the point, and that was it.
Penta qualifies for Money in the Bank
The first match of the show was a triple threat MITB qualifier between Penta, Chad Gable and Dragon Lee.
Since Gable has made it his current mission to dispatch of all luchadors, Penta and Lee made a temporary alliance to take out Gable. The alliance was very temporary, and then things started to heat up as bodies started flying everywhere.
Penta caught both Lee and Gable in a ridiculous two-for-one move that looked nasty for Gable. A few moments later after regaining momentum, Gable decided to take a swipe at Vikingo, who was sitting in the crowd by the commentary desk. This would come back to haunt him later, as Vikingo jumped the barrier to knock Gable off the top turnbuckle.
The finishing sequence was amazing as Penta hit a Mexican destroyer on Lee, followed by a Penta bomb on Gable to qualify for MITB.
This match was fantastic. With Worlds Collide right around the corner, and the match between Vikingo and Gable already set, their interactions here just made sense. The right man won, making the men's MITB field even stronger.
New Day retain tag titles in triple threat
The New Day's tag team titles were on the line in a triple threat match against War Raiders and American Made's Creed Brothers.
With seeds of an alliance planted in prior weeks, this match largely came down to War Raiders against the champs and the Creeds. It was a fun watch, but in the end, the team-up ceased when the New Day was ready to finish the match.
Out of nowhere, Xavier Woods rolled up Julius Creed after he launched himself into Ivar, who was perched on the top turnbuckle. The Creeds were stunned that they were betrayed by the heel champs.
It's triple threat season, apparently. While it was nice to see these teams get some work in, it didn't feel like a spot where the New Day would drop the titles – and they didn't.
Liv Morgan returns, loses to Kairi Sane
Just as Roxanne Perez attempted to put another twinkle in Dominik Mysterio's eye with a platter of chicken nuggets and a shoulder rub, things abruptly stopped when Mysterio caught a glimpse of Liv Morgan walking in. Morgan went away for a few weeks to film a movie, and another girl attempted to make a move on Mysterio. Whether he asked for it or not, Mysterio finds himself in the dog house with Morgan.
Later backstage, Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez crossed paths with IYO SKY and Kairi Sane. Morgan had a few digs to issue out, prompting a response from Sane, who challenged her to a match.
Morgan and Sane went at it in the ring later in the show. The match started off with a few stiff shots from both, but Morgan gained the upper hand early. Morgan even bombed Sane to the floor from the ring apron. Things weren't looking great for Sane, but she got back on track.
Sane went to the top rope to attempt her finishing elbow, but while the referee was distracted, she was pushed off by Roxanne Perez, who ran in from the crowd. Even though she helped Morgan, Rodriguez didn't appreciate Perez's actions. While the two argued, Morgan attempted her finisher, but was reversed and rolled up for the pin.
SOUND THE ALARM! Kairi Sane won a singles match on TV! It's been literal years since that happened. Her social media post after the match said it all:
It wouldn't be Judgment Day without internal problems, and Finn Balor is sure loving the girls drama he created by welcoming in Perez.
Seth Rollins qualifies for Money in the Bank
The main event of this week's episode was a MITB qualifier between Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn and Finn Balor – easily the most stacked qualifier on paper for this year's PLE.
"This is awesome" chants poured in after Zayn hit a superplex on Balor, which was immediately followed by a Rollins frog splash to Zayn. Rollins then attempted to start a team-up with Balor to take out Zayn, but Zayn was quick to counter their effort.
Balor gained finishing momentum by looking for a Coup de Grace to Zayn, but missed it. Rollins immediately hit him with a stomp, but Zayn nailed Rollins with a Helluva Kick. The pin was there, but then Bron Breakker appeared to pull Zayn off. Bronson Reed attacked too. Jey Uso appeared from the crowd, and a melee on the outside ensued.
Dominik Mysterio appeared too, and slid a chair to Balor in the ring, but Rollins stomped him into it. Three count for Rollins to qualify for MITB. After the match, CM Punk's music hit. Breakker and Reed went toward the entrance to cut off Punk, but he ran in from the crowd to blindside Rollins with a GTS and scampered away.
Rollins winning was always the right play here, especially with the formation of the new faction. This also means that Breakker and Reed will find a way to assist in the MITB match, adding more faces to what will already be a wild match. This main event didn't need all of the interference, but it also somewhat helped to protect Zayn and Balor in their loss.