Why is WWE RAW 2 hours early tonight?

The WWE RAW episode, followed by the 2025 Night of Champions, aired at 6:00 PM ET/ 3:00 PM PT. This is two hours earlier than the usual airing time of the Monday Night Show. Here’s why the red-branded show’s broadcast got preponed despite an overseas premium live event just a day ago.

This week’s episode of SmackDown will fall on the 4th of July, 2025. This coincides with the celebrations of Independence Day in the United States of America. As a result, the Stamford-based promotion will tape the episode of the Friday Night Show ahead of time. Notably, the taping will begin almost immediately after the end of tonight’s RAW episode. Although SmackDown will be pre-taped, the episode will still air at its usual time on Friday.

Kicking off tonight’s RAW in Pittsburgh, Rhea Ripley addressed the WWE Universe after her Street Fight match win against Raquel Rodriguez at Night of Champions. Mami was discussing her involvement in the upcoming Evolution 2 PLE, which prompted IYO SKY to interrupt her segment.

The Genius of the Sky disagreed with The Eradicator’s statement that she was “on top” of the women’s division. She said that she was the woman at the top of the division, having been the Women’s World Champion. After the exchange of a few friendly words, IYO offered a title shot to Rhea Ripley, and she accepted it.

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What would the match card of WWE Evolution 2025 look like?

WWE Evolution 2025 will be the revival of the all-women’s PLE after seven years since its launch back in 2018. With the segment between Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY, the match for the Women’s World Championship has made it to the card of the July 13 event.

Aside from this, the NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne will be defending her title against Jordynne Grace. Interestingly, Nikki Bella is most likely to be a part of the PLE and was building a feud with Liv Morgan. However, The Miracle Kid will be out with a shoulder injury for several months.

It also remains to be seen if Raquel Rodriguez will be asked to vacate the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship or not. If she chooses to let Roxanne Perez fill in for Morgan, The Judgment Day will be able to keep the doubles gold and defend it at Evolution.

Lastly, Bayley and Lyra Valkyria will be fighting for the number one contender’s spot for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship on WWE RAW tonight. The winner would face Becky Lynch, and the title match could likely happen at Evolution. It would be interesting to see what the final match card of the PLE would look like.

Edited by Angana Roy