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WWE Raw results, highlights (Aug. 25): Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed set for Clash in Paris

Birmingham, England hosted the "WWE Raw" go-home show before Clash in Paris and delivered the typically excellent European atmosphere. The show progressed and finalized some feuds to build toward what should be a red-hot show in France, including Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed.

A weekly slow burn

I've started to notice a problem that isn't necessarily new in the Netflix era, but it has become more noticeable in recent months. "WWE Raw" has been starting with 20-plus-minute-long promo segments that are given too much time. They're very, very slow to get to the point, if there even is one.

In Birmingham, this instance came in the form of Reigns letting the crowd cheer its collective heart out before spouting one particular bit of nonsense.

First of all, regarding the crowd, they were excellent as always and delivered a unique "If you love Roman, stand up" chant. This whole show opener was designed to make Reigns' match against Reed official for Clash in Paris on Saturday. That was all fine and dandy; however, before that, he made the case for Jey Uso's involvement in the Fatal 4-Way World Heavyweight title match at Clash in Paris, which was hysterical.

Reigns mentioned Uso's absurd, overbooked victory over Bron Breakker from last week, but then, his title match rematch clause. Oh! So, those are just suddenly back again, Triple H? Even though it's not against Gunther, the man who dethroned him.

This is an insanely wild, lazy, inexcusably vintage wrestling "just because we want to" trope. Bring back that rule that was abolished and never mention it was back before it was utilized. (With a new variation of utilization.) It only indicated that the company knows there isn't a good reason to have shoehorned Uso into the match.

What wasn't slow was the first match of the night, which easily became our...

👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑

Dragon Lee and JD McDonagh absolutely tore the house down in their singles match. It felt like they were trying to prove something, and they certainly did. This was as good as it gets for weekly WWE TV, and despite some inevitable shenanigans, it held up and resulted in a clean loss for McDonagh.

The win was huge for Lee, who felt like he hadn't won in quite some time. These two have great chemistry and shine brightly, no matter the circumstances. But I must highlight the sit-down Liger Bomb, which appeared to have nearly broken McDonagh in half. This guy really puts his body on the line for our entertainment, and he's gained my respect after I was not too interested in him for a long time. Now, he's a must-see in-ring performer.

Lessons being learned?

To circle back to the world title angle for the Breakker vs. LA Knight main event, maybe Triple H is listening to the DQ complaints after all because "Raw" delivered a clean slate of results. At least regarding official DQs, as Michael Cole hilariously pointed out on commentary when Breakker won with a pair of spears.

Breakker's win, sadly, still came as a result of a Rollins' distraction, which admittedly put a damper on what was otherwise a stellar match. Breakker and Knight are money together. The crowd was into this one, and rightfully so after it started with Reigns taking out Reed backstage and Knight brawling with Breakker to the ring.

As the go-home "Raw" for Clash in Paris, there had to be some bigger tease for the title match overall, which happened after the match.

Uso, stupidly, saved his opponent at Clash in Paris, Knight, from The Vision's beatdown, only to get overwhelmed before their opponent CM Punk did the same. It led to Uso standing tall by super kicking each man after they went at it, but logically, they shouldn't want to help each other whatsoever.

I must note that Punk's attack on Rollins' fake-injury knee was a nice, subtle touch throughout the skirmish. With Reigns going against Reed on the night, it will be interesting to see how WWE books the Fatal-4-Way, as another intricacy throughout the night was Breakker starting to appear more annoyed by being treated as a lackey. Remember, he was glad to take over when Rollins was "injured." Maybe, in-story, Breakker didn't know that was the plan. There's something there.

😵‍💫 Fumble of the Night

Regardless of Naomi's announced pregnancy and relinquishing of the Women's World title last week, WWE has dropped the ball on Stephanie Vaquer. Thankfully, she's over enough that the momentum stall shouldn't affect her whatsoever, but limiting her TV time en route to her title shot is ludicrous. Additionally, taking her off of Clash in Paris because a replacement opponent hasn't yet been decided is such a fumble, assuming there's no impending swerve.

I understand options might be limited right now, at least on "Raw," but come up with something. Anything. As I mentioned last week, Bayley feels like the best option purely based on name value, because she hasn't earned the opportunity and is going through a gimmick evolution. In that same line of thinking, there's Lyra Valkyria, who has suddenly vanished.

The match would be awesome, and I'm here for either. There's just not much justification that can be done — outside of needing a body to lose to Vaquer.

👍 MONDAY NIGHT MONEY 👍

1. Kofi Kingston pulled off a win with a Trouble In Paradise (via distraction) on Penta.

So, the Penta aura has officially faded. He's been nerfed into his WWE reality. Ultimately, this was a great match though, and would have been a dream match years ago. More than anything, Penta's rivalry with The New Day only makes me want to see The Lucha Bros reunite to take them on.

2. Becky Lynch keeps on killing it on the mic. She's just roasting Europe no matter where she is on the continent, and did so again in Birmingham. Her segment was in place to make her Nikki Bella Intercontinental title defense at Clash in Paris official. Bella and her trailblazer narrative are not quite for me, but this was good purely because of how great Lynch continues to be in every situation.

Also, Becky has balls.

3. Sheamus absolutely buried Rusev in a vignette, channeling all the realities of Rusev over the years. That was brutal to see, but this was a great vignette, and we have to accept what Rusev is at this point. Unless something drastic changes, he'll never escape the mid-card.

4. Rhea Ripley defeated Roxanne Perez clean with a Riptide. This match was great because, of course, it was.

Ultimately, Ripley kept accidentally hitting Raquel Rodriguez throughout the match, which forced Rodriguez to attack post-match, drawing out Iyo Sky and continuing this beautiful build to "Rhiyo" as a team. Earlier in the night, the jealousy angle was established by having The Kabuki Warriors upset about the respectful rivals' growing camaraderie.

5. AJ Styles beat Finn Balor with the Styles Clash. (Clean!) There were stunningly zero shenanigans in this one compared to the other Judgment Day match above. And like Ripley vs. Perez, it was great because that's just what happens when you put these two together.

Afterward, "Raw" general manager announced Styles' rematch for the Intercontinental title against the champion Dominick Mysterio next week.