4 Mistakes WWE made on RAW (May 5, 2025)

Every offering of RAW and SmackDown is usually a mixed bag, and the Backlash go-home edition of RAW was no exception. Both CM Punk and Sheamus returned to the ring while Roxanne Perez put on another great match with one of WWE's top stars, IYO SKY.

Gunther and Pat McAfee met face-to-face, with McAfee doing most of the talking. The comments, however, amped up The Ring General's intensity.

Becky Lynch, Paul Heyman, and Lyra Valkyria all had mic time. The Wiseman and The Man both justified their actions because of how they were treated in the past.

Seth Rollins almost pulled a fast one on Jey Uso by getting him to defend the World Heavyweight Title in the main event. With Backlash days away, we look at four mistakes WWE made on RAW this week.

#4. Having Penta face Dominik again so soon

Dominik Mysterio won the Intercontinental Championship in a Fatal Four-way at WrestleMania 41. He defeated Penta the next night on RAW, albeit with help from a returning JD McDonagh.

Instead of spreading out their matches, especially since Penta could have easily won the title either of those times, a second showdown was added to Backlash during a backstage segment.

While it's good to see the former AEW star consistently featured, he could potentially be the next champion. If he wins at Backlash, that's fine, but then why didn't he win the title at The Show of Shows?

#3. Roxanne Perez loses another high-profile match on RAW

Roxanne Perez may be young, but she's already one of the best workers in wrestling. Her technical skills are among the best in WWE, and she seamlessly blends high-flying moves and counters with submissions.

She was headed to the main roster after losing the NXT Women's title to Giulia, but has split time in NXT and on RAW. However, regardless of brand, The Prodigy has done nothing but lose in 2025.

Perez fell to Giulia, Jordynne Grace, Kelani Jordan, Stephanie Vaquer, and now IYO SKY. There isn't any shame in losing to SKY or Rhea Ripley, but someone with her potential shouldn't have lost her last five matches.

#2. Grayson Waller is on RAW; Rhea Ripley is not

WWE made a big deal over the weekend of having both Rhea Ripley and Grayson Waller in Australia to promote October's Crown Jewel event in Perth. It signals a shift from Saudi Arabia to a different locale for the annual event.

Waller appeared on RAW and was supposed to have a match. He decided not to compete, letting Austin Theory have the opportunity instead. It was a clear tactic that should lead to the split between the tag partners.

The issue, however, was that Michael Cole and Pat McAfee said Ripley wasn't at RAW because she was still in Australia.

It was weird that Waller was able to make it back, but Ripley, a bigger star, was not. Perhaps it was so Perez and Giulia could gang up on SKY without backup.

#1. The booking of Jey Uso and Seth Rollins

After last week's show, it seemed like Jey Uso would be defending the World Heavyweight Title against Logan Paul at Backlash. Jey opened the latest show looking for The Maverick, but was met by Paul Heyman.

The exchange led to an impromptu main event defense against Seth Rollins. The problem was that the pairing is more of a PLE main event as opposed to one for an episode of TV.

The setup was all done so CM Punk could return to make the save. Bookers could have saved the big title showdown and instead had Rollins and Bron Breakker beat Jey up.

The Best in the World could have then made the save instead of booking a confusing path for the world champion.

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