Monday Night Raw
Date: January 26, 2026
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re coming up on the Royal Rumble this weekend, though you might not have noticed it as the build for the show has only been so strong. Maybe it was due to this past weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, but the show hasn’t felt overly important and is lacking some focus. Hopefully they fix that up tonight as they’re out of time. Let’s get to it.

Here is Saturday Night’s Main Event if you need a recap.

Here is AJ Styles to welcome us to the show. There is a man backstage who says that is the last time he’ll get to say that and his name is Gunther. That isn’t how Styles sees it going though, because while this is going to be the year that he retires, there is a lot that he still wants to do. He wants to wrestle some people one more time and he wants to be World Champion one more time.

Gunther might be good, but he isn’t phenomenal and here is CM Punk to interrupt. Punk talks about how they have known each other for twenty years and have been everywhere from friends to rivals, but now they have respect between each other. Punk isn’t sure about Styles putting everything on the line in WWE, which Styles thinks means Punk doesn’t think he can win.

That’s not what Punk meant, but it’s a huge gamble and if it goes badly, they can never face each other in a WWE ring. Styles knows Punk isn’t trying to be disrespectful but that’s how it’s coming off, especially since Styles knows he can beat him. The challenge is thrown out for tonight, with Punk thinking they should just have it be for the title. It seems to be on.

Saturday Night’s Main Event recap.

Stephanie Vaquer/Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky vs. Liv Morgan/Roxanne Perez/Raquel Rodriguez

That’s a stacked lineup. Perez and Sky start things off with Sky getting taken into the corner for some stomping from Morgan. Rodriguez adds a string of elbows but it’s off to Vaquer to fight back. A legdrop gets two on Morgan but it’s too early for the SVB. The Devil’s Kiss doesn’t get very far as Rodriguez makes the save and we take an early break.

We come back with Perez’s double springboard moonsault getting two on Vaquer. Back up and a shot to the face cuts Perez off, only for Morgan to pull Ripley off the apron. The distracted Ripley gets sent into the steps but Vaquer backbreakers her way out of trouble. Sky comes in (as a woman can be heard saying “excuse me”) and house is cleaned, including a hard kick to Perez. The Bullet Train sets up a butterfly backbreaker to put Perez down but Morgan is back in for a double Russian legsweep on Sky.

Oblivion doesn’t work and Sky kicks her way over to Ripley for the big tag. A Razor’s Edge sends Morgan into Perez but Riptide is broken up. Morgan hits a springboard tornado DDT to drop Ripley as everything breaks down. Vaquer escapes the Tejana Bomb and hits a big dive onto Rodriguez on the floor. That leaves Ripley to block Oblivion but Perez tags herself in. Sky missile dropkicks Perez and Riptide finishes Perez at 12:55.

Rating: B. They had a pretty action packed match here with most of the big stars in the women’s division in one match. That’s a nice way to go, with Ripley getting the win to pop the crowd. I’m not sure where it goes from here, though at least Ripley and Sky already have challengers set and Vaquer vs. Rodriguez is all but set.

We look back at Finn Balor vs. CM Punk from last week.

Balor comes up to Punk in the back and says Punk was part of the most memorable night of his career. He thanks Punk for last week, but Punk says it takes two to tango. Punk isn’t the best in the world unless he beats the best in the world and there aren’t many people left like them in WWE. Balor should think about what he wants his legacy to be. If he wants to be champion again, maybe he should ditch Judgment Day, because hanging around Dominik Mysterio isn’t helping things. If Balor wants another shot, win the Rumble and come see him in Vegas. Balor is thinking about things.

There’s a HHH version of WWE2K26.

Here is the Vision for a chat. After overcoming the booing fans, Paul Heyman says they are here to boost the star power on this show, even in this second class city. Heyman introduces everyone on the team and we go through some of the issues the Vision has been having with Adam Pearce as of late. Cue Pearce, with Heyman asking the crowd to boo him and flip him off.

Pearce apologizes and Bron Breakker’s suspension is officially lifted and he’s in the Rumble. Pearce: “What else do you need?” Heyman offers a handshake and Pearce praises him before putting the rest of the Vision in the Rumble as well (Heyman is VERY confused). As for Austin Theory, he might have won last week if not for brass knuckles so tonight, he gets to face Rey Mysterio one on one. And we’ll do that right now.

Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory

Penta and Dragon Lee are here with Mysterio. We’re joined in progress after a break with Theory running him over with a hard elbow to the mask. Theory knocks him down again and we hit the chinlock, with Mysterio getting up rather quickly. Mysterio fights up and sends him to the floor, where Penta and Lee have to be chased away. That lets Mysterio drop Theory again and we take a break.

We come back with Mysterio in trouble but he avoids a charge in the corner. Theory punches a springboard out of the air and Ataxia gets two. Mysterio gets in a knockdown of his own and it’s time for the seconds to get in a fight on the floor. That’s broken up but Theory gets in a Stomp for the pin at 9:12. I’m not sure but it looked like Mysterio was banged up there at the end.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t bad and I do like Theory getting some wins. If they want to get rid of his negative reputation, this is the kind of thing that he needs to do. They need to keep it up though and that’s always the tricky part. For now though, they’re at least going in the right direction. Now hopefully Mysterio isn’t actually hurt.

Post match the Vision wrecks everyone, including a big spear to Penta.

IMG Credit: WWE

Natalya explains that she’s crushing Maxxine Dupri and implies she wants Becky Lynch’s title. I’d settle for just not having to listen to Natalya talk.

Raquel Rodriguez is screaming for Stephanie Vaquer but Bayley and Lyra Valkyria get annoyed at her for being loud. Vaquer comes in for the brawl.

Roman Reigns is back at the Royal Rumble.

Earlier today, Michael Cole had a sitdown interview with Gunther, who says there is nothing for him to gain with just beating Styles again. Now he has something to gain, as he can end Styles’ career. Styles wanted one more moment, but now the moment he’s going to give the fans is seeing him give up in his final match. He’s getting rid of all these old timers….and just how long is Cole going to keep chasing one more moment? Gunther could end him right now but he wants Cole there at the Royal Rumble to announce the end of Styles’ career. Gunther as the half charming/half menacing villain is a good way to go.

Video on CM Punk vs. AJ Styles.

Adam Pearce is happy about a phone call when Finn Balor comes in to declare for the Royal Rumble. Pearce says the Rumble is full but Balor says this isn’t over. Balor leaves and runs into Liv Morgan, who wants to know what is up with Balor and CM Punk. Last week Punk treated Balor like a participation trophy and the Judgment Day is his real family. Balor says this isn’t so straightforward.

IMG Credit: WWE

Alpha Academy vs. Los Americanos vs. Creed Brothers vs. New Day

For a future Tag Team Title shot so Jey Uso is here while Grayson Waller is here with New Day. Bravo takes over on Kingston’s arm to start and Rayo comes in for a double shoulder. Tozawa comes in to fight back but Brutus’ Brutus Ball wipes out the pile. Otis is sent into the steps and we take an early break. We come back with Woods sending Tozawa into the corner and dropping Kingston onto him for two.

Cole can’t remember which Americano is which so Graves tells him “Rayo Red, Bravo Blue. I’m the Miss Rachel of luchadors out here.” Bravo comes in for the spinning torture rack and Cole thinks that reminds him of someone. Otis comes in to clean house, including the Caterpillar for two on Brutus. Tozawa adds a double DDT and a German suplex as the fans are starting to get pleased with this. Waller crotches Tozawa on top but Otis is back up to wreck people. Tozawa’s top rope backsplash finishes Julius at 10:42.

Rating: C. Well, we couldn’t get a top level team winning so we’ll go with the comedy goofs instead. The tag division has been flaming death for months now and this is the best they can do? The match was another mess with so many people out there that you can only get so much out of any of them. It’s an ok enough match, but my goodness how is this the best possible result?

Becky Lynch mocks Jackie Redmond’s Toronto Maple Leafs jacket and talks about Natalya attacking Mid Maxxine. The same thing happened to her with Loser Lyra but now Lynch is in the Royal Rumble so she’s going on to win. The Kabuki Warriors come in and say they’re in the Rumble, but Lynch blames Asuka for the loss at WarGames. They’ll see each other in the Rumble.

Je’Von Evans comes up to AJ Styles and says he’d love to see him on the retirement tour. Styles likes that idea but Evans doesn’t seem certain it’s happening. At least Evans seems ok after last week.

Stephanie Vaquer requests a fight with Raquel Rodriguez so Adam Pearce grants it for next week.

Royal Rumble rundown.

The Vision plans for the Royal Rumble and talk about how one of them should be their focus. Logan Paul thinks it should be Bron Breakker and the team agrees. Good talk.

Oba Femi is official for the Royal Ruble. Well that makes sense.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. AJ Styles

Punk is defending. Feeling out process to start and Styles has to escape a GTS attempt, with Punk having to get out of a Calf Crusher as well. Punk bails away before resetting things a bit, only to get knocked outside in a hurry. A sliding knee connects for Styles and we take a break.

We come back with Punk hitting the running knee in the corner, setting up the running bulldog. A Shining Wizard gives Punk two and he strikes away but the GTS is countered into the fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Styles takes him up top but the superplex is broken up. Punk gets the Anaconda Vice but it’s broken up pretty quickly.

Another Shining Wizard is countered into a failed Styles Clash attempt and they head outside. Punk grabs a GTS on the floor and they both make it back inside at nine. The Styles Clash connects for two and they need a breather. Back up and they strike it out until Styles hits a Pele Kick. Another Styles Clash is countered into a GTS attempt…and Finn Balor runs in to dropkick Punk for the DQ at 18:10.

Rating: B+. It was rather good and they did a nice job with the surprise ending as I was expecting Gunther instead. They had to do something like this with the ending as a title change seemed unlikely, though Styles losing here didn’t make sense either. Odds are this sets up Balor vs. Punk at the Rumble, which is a good enough match, if you ignore Punk beating him last week. Either way, very good match here, which was somehow their first singles match in over twenty years.

Balor beats Punk up with some running dropkicks against the barricade and a pair of Coup de Graces to end the show. The fans don’t care much, and that’s not overly surprising as we’ve already seen Punk vs. Balor. This wasn’t much of a reason to see it again.

Overall Rating: C. The more I think about the ending to the main event, the less I like it. The whole thing feels rushed together, which is pretty much how the whole Rumble build has felt. Maybe it was due to having two big shows in eight days or maybe it’s due to the Rumbles feeling wide open, but this Saturday’s show doesn’t feel huge. This week’s show was designed to make it feel better and while that worked to an extent, it really wasn’t a strong episode. It’s not bad and the main event is good, but dang the Rumble needed more than this.

Results
Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky/Stephanie Vaquer b. Liv Morgan/Roxanne Perez/Raquel Rodriguez – Riptide to Perez
Austin Theory b. Rey Mysterio – Stomp
Alpha Academy b. Los Americanos, New Day and Creed Brothers – Top rope backsplash to Julius
CM Punk b. AJ Styles via DQ when Finn Balor interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Royal Rumble 2013
Date: January 27, 2013
Location: US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 13,00
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

This show was only a year ago and I can barely remember anything about it. Aside from the Rumble the big matches are the Rock challenging CM Punk for the WWE Title in the most obvious ending ever and Alberto Del Rio defending his newly won World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show in a last man standing match. Other than that we’ve only got HELL NO vs. the Rhodes Scholars to complete the card. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: US Title: The Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro is defending. This is just after Flair passed the Figure Four to Miz, starting the worst period of his career. Miz grabs a headlock to start and gets two off an elbow to the jaw. The headlock takes Cesaro down to the mat but he fights up and grabs one of his own. Back up and Miz tries a leapfrog but gets caught in midair with a tikt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. The champion takes over and cranks on both of Miz’s arms before getting two off a Michinoku Driver.

A hard European uppercut sets up the gutwrench suplex for two and it’s back to the double arm. Back up again and Miz slips out of a slam and hooks the Reality Check for two. There’s the running clothesline in the corner and Miz goes up but hurts his knee on the top rope ax handle. Cesaro gets caught with his feet on the ropes, allowing Miz to get two off a rollup. Antonio misses a running knee in the corner but is still able to roll away from the Figure Four. Cesar takes him to the floor and rams Miz into the metal underneath the ring. Miz is out cold so Cesaro Neutralizes him for the pin to retain.

Rating: D+. Miz just doesn’t work in a lot of these matches and the Figure Four doesn’t work in the slightest. Thankfully he wouldn’t be featured very prominently for awhile as there was just nothing to him for the most part. Cesaro still needs to get a push as he’s more talented and marketable than half the roster but instead we get people like Miz.

The opening video is about time passing and how no one has enough. This ties into Punk’s time as champion with Rock saying the reign ends tonight.

Smackdown World Title: Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio

Last man standing match, which is a rematch with the same stipulations from when Alberto won the title a few weeks ago. Del Rio turned the announce table on top of Big Show so Big Show turned it on top of him a few weeks later. Alberto is shown in the back and he runs into Bret Hart for no apparent reason whatsoever. Bret says Alberto reminds him of a Mexican version of himself. Alberto calls Bret a Canadian Del Rio and Ricardo gushes, earning him Bret’s sunglasses. What a bizarre cameo.

Some hard chops have Del Rio in early trouble and a slam gets a five count. Alberto chops away but jumps off the middle rope right into a chop to change control right back. The champion dropkicks the giant’s knee out but the low superkick actually knocks Big Show up from his knees to his feet. A hurricanrana and a seated senton put Big Show down and Alberto gets a breather. It’s amazing how much more intersting Del Rio is by doing this lucha stuff instead of his arm work. The arm stuff is good but this is such a nice change of pace.

Big Show blocks the armbreaker with one arm and slams Del Rio down, sending him outside. Del Rio gets back in as Big Show gets a chair but the champion dropkicks him in the ribs to knock it out of his hands. A series of chair shots (crowd: “SI! SI! SI!”) has Big Show down but Alberto dives into a chokeslam for an eight count. We head outside again with Del Rio getting chopped to the floor with ease. This is a very slow paced match so far.

A pair of low blows puts Big Show down in the aisle but he’s up at nine. Show hits something resembling a DDT on the floor before sending Del Rio into the set. He rips a piece of the set, resembling a light tube, and blasts Del Rio over the back. Since this is WWE there’s a table readily available and Big Show takes the champion on top of the set for a chokeslam through the table. The bump looked awesome but he’s again on his feet at nine.

The beating takes Del Rio back to the ring and Show loads up the WMD. Alberto sees it coming and rolls outside, only to have Big Show throw Ricardo around for fun. Big Show misses a charge through the barricade (clearly heavily padded) for five but a long series of chair shots has him down again. Del Rio crushes the arm between the steps and a chair, but Alberto follows up with a fire extinguisher blast to the face for no apparent reason. Back in and the armbreaker goes on, but Ricardo ups the ante by duct taping Big Show’s legs to the ropes. The giant can’t get up and Alberto retains the title.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t the worst match in the world but it was very slowly paced and the ending made Del Rio look more clever than tough. It also doesn’t help that the match was the same gimmick they did less than a month ago. Face Alberto was a nice guy but they cut the cord just six months after this. Not bad, but Del Rio winning the title here would have been much better.

Send Slim Jims to the military!

Ziggler isn’t worried about being in the Rumble and AJ threatens Matt Striker with Big E. Langston for implying Ziggler can’t win. Langston does one of the most mind blowing imitations of an annoying reporter while asking Ziggler for his thoughts on the main event. Dolph has little of note to say but no one was hearing him after Big E.’s bit anyway.

Cesaro says he’ll continue the streak of non-Americans winning the Rumble.

The Prime Time Players……WE’RE GETTING RUMBLE PROMOS!!!! Anyway they say anyone that thinks they’ll eliminate either of them is getting a penalty flag.

Orton says he’s perfect for the Rumble because it’s every man for himself.

Cena is ready for the Rumble because it means he can be champion again.

Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett says he’ll restore credability to the Rumble.

Sheamus says he won the Rumble last year and he’ll do it again tonight.

Ryback isn’t any catchphrase and he doesn’t eat Fruity Pebbles, but he’ll see food every 90 seconds. Feed him more.

We recap Miz vs. Cesaro on the pre-show.

Tag Titles: HELL NO vs. Rhodes Scholars

The Scholars are challenging. Cody kicks Bryan in the ribs as Cole references Queen lyrics. Bryan spins out of a wristlock and the fans chant for Cody’s mustache. Cody’s leapfrog is countered into a surfboard and it’s off to Kane for a low dropkick and a two count. Rhodes scores with a dropkick of his own and drives Kane into the corner for the tag off to Sandow. Kane easily powers Sandow into the corner because, you know, he’s Damien Sandow and it’s off to Bryan for the YES Kicks.

JBL rants about Cole and Lawler hugging as Kane kicks Sandow in the face, knocking him out to the floor. The FLYING GOAT takes out the challengers but Cody low bridges Bryan to the floor to take over. Back in and a half crab has Daniel in trouble but he reverses into a small package to escape. Damien comes in again and drops an elbow for two before dropping the Wind-Up Elbow.

After some knees to the back it’s Cody in again but he charges into a boot in the corner. Sandow breaks up a hot tag attempt and Cody puts Bryan in an over the shoulder backbreaker. Daniel slides down to escape and makes the tag to Kane. Sandow is tossed around like a rag doll but a Cody distraction prevents the top rope clothesline. Kane grabs both guys by the throat and Bryan tags himself in. The Scholars double suplex Kane but Bryan shoves Cody into a chokeslam and Daniel YES Locks Sandow to retain.

Rating: C. Nothing you wouldn’t see on Raw around this time which means it was fine. The Scholars were a nice idea for a team but it was clear that they had no chance at this point given how low their individual stocks were. Kane and Bryan gelled perfectly well as a team and Bryan would get far bigger very soon.

Rumble By The Numbers which I’ve typed many times already.

HELL NO celebrates in the back when Vickie Guerrero comes up and gives them their Rumble numbers. Daniel shows Kane his but Kane won’t show Bryan.

We look at the Royal Rumble Fan Fest which is another name for Axxess. This included a tournament of NXT wrestlers for a spot in the Rumble, won by Bo Dallas.

Royal Rumble

Ziggler is #1 which he picked (the other option was #2) after winning a Beat the Clock Challenge on Raw. Dolph says he’ll win and doesn’t care who he faces first, bringing out a returning Chris Jericho at #2. This was a complete shock and the roof is blown off the building. Also remember that Ziggler beat Jericho to send him out of the company to give us some history. The clock is at 90 seconds between entrants this year.

Jericho is quickly sent to the apron but comes back with a top rope ax handle. Now it’s Dolph on the apron as the fans tell Jericho he still has it. When did Jericho ever come close to losing it? A superplex brings Ziggler back into the ring and Cody Rhodes is in at #3. Jericho hammers away on him but Ziggler gets in a cheap shot as the double teaming begins. Chris knocks Ziggler down and puts Cody in the Walls but Dolph makes the save.

Dolph catapults Jericho throat first into the bottom rope as Kofi Kingston is in at #4. Kofi immediately speeds things up and pounds away on Cody but can’t hit Ziggy with Trouble in Paradise. Ziggler is thrown to the apron and all four guys try to eliminate each other at the same time in the same spot. Santino Marella is #5 and he sends all four to the apron before loading up the Cobra. Everybody is back in and even though Santino takes Kofi down with the sock, it’s Cody backdropping Marella out.

Drew McIntyre of 3MB is #6 and gets to fight Kofi as everyone else takes a breather. Back up and it’s time to lay on the ropes while trying to eliminate people. Jericho is sent over the ropes but he keeps his feet off the ground and gets back in. Titus O’Neil is in at #7 to add some power, including taking Cody and Kofi down with a double clothesline. Cole finally tells us that the bark is a shout out to his fraternity from Florida. Thank you for explaining that to us after two years.

Jericho throws out McIntyre but can’t do the same to Ziggler as Goldust is #8. Cody gets ready for the showdown and the fans are WAY into this. They trade the kneeling uppercuts and Goldie stomps on Cody for a bit. The fans chant for Goldust and it’s David Otunga (remember him?) is in at #9. The announcers ignore the match to talk about the commentators being in the Rumble last year as people start to pair off.

Nothing much happens until Heath Slater is in at #10. That gives us Ziggler, Jericho, Rhodes, Kingston, O’Neil, Goldust, Otunga and Slater at the moment. Slater fires off right hands to Kofi as Jericho calls spots to Ziggler. Dolph gets stuck on the apron again and Sheamus is #11 to clear out some bodies. He destroys everyone with his usual stuff before sending Titus to the apron for the ten forearms. Otunga is thrown onto Titus to get rid of O’Neil before ten forearms and a Brogue Kick get rid of the lawyer. Tensai, still the Japanese lunkhead, is #12.

Everybody goes after Tensai to make a big cluster in the corner. That goes nowhere at all so Brodus Clay comes in at #13. We get a Tons of Funk preview before Goldust backdrops Cody to the apron, only to get pulled to the apron as well. Cody gets back in and sends Goldust into the post for the elimination and a lot of booing. Rey Mysterio is #14 to make the crowd happy again. Ziggler and Jericho get quick 619s and the top rope splash crushes Jericho. Things slow down a bit until we reach the halfway point with Darren Young at #15.

A bunch of guys join forces to dump Brodus and Kofi puts out Tensai a few seconds later. Now we get to the part that everybody was waiting on as Kofi is knocked off the apron, only to land on Tensai’s back. He jumps onto the announcers’ table as he tries to figure this out. Why he doesn’t just jump two feet to get onto the steps is beyond me. Bo Dallas is #16 as this is going on. Instead of the steps, Kofi gets JBL’s office chair and pogos his way back to the ring. Kingston pulls Darren out of the ring but gets caught with the Disaster Kick for the elimination before he can get back inside.

Godfather gives us the nostalgia pop at #17 and is dropkicked out by Ziggler four seconds later. He seems ok with that and leaves with his women. The whole point was the entrance anyway so I have no issue with that. Wade Barrett is in at #18 as the ring is getting too full. Everything slows down again and John Cena is #19 to clear out some tired people. Everybody gets ready for him so Cena comes a charging. John fights them all off and throws out Slater and Cody but can’t dump Jericho.

Damien Sandow is #20, giving us Ziggler, Jericho, Sheamus, Mysterio, Dallas, Barrett, Cena and Sandow. Mysteiro and Barrett fight to the apron and a big forearm puts Rey out. Sheamus goes right after Wade as Jericho tries to put Cena in the Walls. Daniel Bryan is #21 and fires off kicks to Sandow. Now it’s Barrett getting the kicks as everyone else is down. Sheamus and Bryan try to put Jericho out but he slides back in under the ropes.

Antonio Cesaro is in at #22 and gets in a fight with Sheamus as the fans start the dueling Cena chants. Everybody is back up now and Great Khali is #23. It’s chops all around until things calm a bit. Kane comes in at #24 to fire things up again (get it?) but the ring is too full. It gets even worse with Zach Ryder coming in at #25 but HELL NO dumps Khali. Bryan dumps Kane but Cesaro dumps Bryan into Kane’s arms. Daniel: YES! Kane shouts no and drops Bryan for the elimination in a funny bit.

Randy Orton is #26 and it’s powerslams all around. Ziggler and Dallas get a double Elevated DDT and it’s an RKO for Ryder, followed by the elimination. Jinder Mahal gets lucky #27 as Cesaro lifts Cena up, only to be eliminated himself. Ziggler gets launched to the ropes but slides back in as Miz is #28. He gets in a fight with Cesaro in the aisle and limps into the ring to sell the ankle injury from earlier. Sheamus dumps Mahal and Sin Cara is #29.

Cara tries an enziguri on Ziggler which misses by four inches but Ziggler sells it anyway. Bo Dallas pulls Barrett out in an elimination that should have led further than it did. Miz sends Jericho to the apron as Barrett pulls Dallas out from the floor. Ryback is #30 to give us a final grouping of Ryback, Ziggler, Jericho, Sheamus, Cena, Sandow, Orton, Miz and Sin Cara. Damien is out first and Sin Cara quickly follows. Miz tries to power Ryback out and is tossed as well to get us down to six. Jericho is somehow still alive and hits a Lionsault on Cena but the springboard dropkick doesn’t eliminate Sheamus.

Ziggler backdrops Jericho to the apron and superkicks him out (missed as well but he’s spent at this point) but walks into an RKO. There’s one for Cena as well and Sheamus gets the third. That leaves Ryback to fight Orton but the monster gets taken down with an Elevated DDT. Ryback fights off the RKO and clotheslines Randy out to get us down to four. Ziggler DDTs Cena down but a Brogue Kick puts Dolph on the floor.

It’s Sheamus, Ryback and Cena with Ryback getting double suplexed down. Cena and Sheamus make things serious by LOOKING AT THE SIGN. John takes over but Ryback runs him over with a clothesline. Sheamus escapes the Shell Shock, looks at the sign, and hits White Noise on Ryback. The Brogue Kick is countered with a backdrop to eliminate Sheamus and we’re down to two.

They LOOK AT THE SIGN and do their signature taunts before Ryback spinebusters Cena down. The Meathook is countered into the STF and Ryback passes out, leaving him as dead weight. Ryback fights out of the corner and Cena’s head into the mat. He loads up a powerslam but Cena slips out the back and shoves Ryback out for the win and title shot at Wrestlemania.

Rating: B. It’s a good but not great Rumble. That being said, there was almost no other option to win here, even though it set up the rematch that no one wanted to see. There’s certainly some good stuff in it and there were no down spots, but you would expect more big moments than we got here.

Coming Home ad for Wrestlemania. That still should have been Wrestlemania XXX.

We recap CM Punk vs. The Rock. It’s a basic story: Punk has been champion for 434 days and Rock is getting a title shot because he’s the Rock, which was kind of a lame reason, especially when the shot was announced six months ago. That began a countdown that made everything Punk did meaningless, because there was no way it would be anyone but Rock taking the belt from him here. Yeah Punk got in some shots on Rock before the match, but this was as much of a layup as you could get. Also if Shield or anyone interferes, Punk is stripped of the title.

Rock, after waiting for them to chant his name, says he isn’t worried about Shield, even though they busted up his lung recently. He goes on a rant about how many hard things he’s been through, but redeems himself a bit by talking about his mom getting cancer but beating it to be here tonight. Punk has said that the people don’t count but Rock says every single one of them count to him. He reaches his hand out to everyone that believes in the Rock so he can get their power, if you smell what he’s cooking.

Raw World Title: The Rock vs. CM Punk

Punk of course has Heyman with him. He charges right into the brawl and actually pounds Rock down into the corner. A quick Rock Bottom is countered but Punk is sent outside. Rock follows him outside and sends the champion into the barricade before loading up the announce table. Punk comes back with a shot to the ribs and puts the table back together in a great bit. Back in and Rock scores with more right hands to knock Punk to the floor again.

Punk is whipped into the barricade one more time but he gets a boot up to stop a charging Bull. He finishes fixing the announce table instead of following up on Rock before dropping Rock ribs first on the barricade. They head inside again for a body vice from CM followed by a knee to the ribs for two. Off to a freaky looking hold where Punk pins Rock’s shoulders down but pulls back on his head to crank on the shoulders and back.

More choking follows and a knee to the back has Rock on the apron, followed by a springboard dropkick to send him outside. Punk tries a top rope ax handle to take Rock down but injures his knee in the process. Rock scores with some kicks to the knee but the champion easily sends him out to the floor to stop the comeback. Back in and Punk misses the springboard clothesline and reinjures the knee, giving Rock his opening.

A DDT gets one on Punk but he fights out of the Rock Bottom. The GTS is countered into a Sharpshooter attempt but Punk counters into the Anaconda Vice in a nice sequence. Rock rolls over into a cradle, forcing Punk to let go of the hold. Back up and tries the Rock Bottom but Punk counters into a rollup for two, only to be countered into a low seated Sharpshooter. Punk is next to the rope so naturally he takes thirty seconds to get the break.

Rock takes him to the floor and loads up the announce table again. They fight on top but Rock counters a GTS attempt into what was supposed to be a Rock Bottom but was really more like the table collapsing with Rock’s arm around Punk’s chest. Rock comes up holding his knee and both guys make it back in at an eight count. Punk scores with a high kick but both guys are down.

Back up and Rock wins a slugout before scoring with the spinebuster. He loads up the People’s Elbow and there go the lights. Cole can see Shield pulling Rock to the floor and powerbombing him through the table. The lights come back up and Rock is laid out as the referee has no idea what’s going on. The announcers try to tell Mike Chioda what happened and Punk feigns innocence.

He throws Rock back in for the pin and celebrates but here’s Vince to say Punk is stripped of the title for the interference. Rock says no and to restart the match. The bell rings again and Punk stomps away as JBL threatens to put Cole through a table for playing cheerleader. The Macho Elbow gets two but the GTS is countered into a spinebuster, setting up the People’s Elbow to end Punk’s reign.

Rating: B. It’s another good match but it felt like they were dancing around for twenty three minutes before we got to the obvious ending. The Shield stuff was a decent fake out but it really didn’t need to be there. Rock winning was obvious though and that really put a ceiling on how high this was going to get.

Rock celebrates for about three minutes to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Yeah it’s a good show overall, but the major problem is obvious: there was no other possibly ending other than Rock vs. Cena at Wrestlemania 29 and almost everyone knew it. The show is definitely entetaining and actually really good at times, but it was so telegraphed up and down the card that it offers almost no excitement at all, even on the initial viewing. Still though, worth checking out if you have nothing else to do.

Ratings Comparison

Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show

Original: B

Redo: C-

HELL NO vs. Rhodes Scholars

Original: C

Redo: C

Royal Rumble

Original: C+

Redo: B

The Rock vs. CM Punk

Original: B

Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: A-

Redo: B

That original overall rating is too high for what I gave everything else. Also I think the original last man standing match rating is closer to the accurate one. It just didn’t hold up as well on a second viewing, but it was good.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/01/27/royal-rumble-2013-by-the-book-and-still-awesome/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $4 at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: January 19, 2026
Location: SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s another afternoon show as we wrap up the European tour. That’s a big deal as we are less than two weeks away from the Royal Rumble. As a result, it is time to start getting ready for the show’s namesake matches, as only Cody Rhodes has announced himself for the Rumble. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is Gunther to get things going. The fans are NOT pleased with him and tell him that he tapped out. Gunther says AJ Styles made a mistake last week because he forgot who he was facing. We hear Gunther’s accomplishments and he is officially in the Royal Rumble. Cue Styles, who gets right to the point: he wants a rematch with Gunther at the Royal Rumble.

Gunther doesn’t want to wrestle twice that night so it’s a no, but Styles calls him a little b****, which actually isn’t enough for a yes. As Gunther goes to leave, he says hang on as there is one way he’ll do it. The fans at Gunther, who eventually says he’ll do it if Styles puts his career on the line. Gunther tells Styles he has until the end of the night to decide.

Maxxine Dupri runs into Natalya, who is here to support her against Becky Lynch.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Maxxine Dupri vs. Becky Lynch

Dupri is defending and has Natalya with her. Dupri wrestles her down to start but it’s too early for the ankle lock. A dropkick puts Lynch on the floor instead but she’s back with a hard forearm as we take a break. We come back with Dupri hitting a step up legdrop to the back of the head for two but she misses a kick and gets caught in the Disarm-Her. That’s reversed into the ankle lock, which is broken up as well.

Dupri gets crotched on top and superplexed back down, with Lynch rolling into a DDT for two. Lynch pulls the turnbuckle pad off but almost gets sent into it, allowing Dupri to hit a high crossbody. That’s rolled through for two and Dupri gets the ankle lock again. Lynch gets out again so Dupri kicks her in the head…and Natalya puts Lynch’s foot on the rope. Dupri is stunned and walks into the Manhandle Slam to retain the title at 11:33.

Rating: B-. This might as well have had a countdown until Natalya turned on Dupri, as they weren’t even hiding what was going on. That being said, it was a good way to get out of the match while protecting Dupri. This really needs to be it for Dupri vs. Lynch, as Dupri needs to get revenge on Natalya while Lynch just needs a fresh opponent. Dupri has come a very long way in this feud though so well done indeed.

Post match Natalya jumps Dupri and lays her out, including the Sharpshooter. It’s broken up but Natalya does it again.

We recap Adam Pearce suspending Bron Breakker last week but also putting his hands on him, which Paul Heyman didn’t like.

Pearce asks AJ Styles what he’s doing about Gunther and Styles says he’s going to call his wife. With Styles gone, Paul Heyman comes in to ask how Pearce’s week went. Pearce said it was good and Heyman is surprised, but Pearce says they’re in Belfast. Heyman: “Couldn’t find an arena in London?” Pearce: “What do you want?” Heyman: “A lot.” Anyway, the Vision has a six man tag tonight and they’ll both be ringside.

Video on CM Punk vs. Finn Balor.

Raquel Rodriguez says Stephanie Vaquer is still out of action but she’s ready to win the Women’s Title when she gets the chance. Liv Morgan says this is going to be the Judgment Day’s year because they’ll all win titles.

Here is Jey Uso to announce that he’s in the Royal Ru

IMG Credit: WWE

mble as well. And that’s that.

New Day and Grayson Waller want their Tag Team Title shot, with Adam Pearce agreeing. But that’s if they win a four way next week. Ranting ensues.

Vision vs. Rey Mysterio/Penta/Dragon Lee

Paul Heyman and Adam Pearce are both here too. Lee takes over on Theory to start and it’s quickly off to Paul vs. Penta for a strut off. Penta takes him down by is quickly dropped by Paul, meaning it’s off to Mysterio vs. Reed. Mysterio is knocked down with the power but manages a kick to the head. It’s back to Penta to take over and the three good guys hit big stereo dives (that looked great) to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Lee not being able to lift up Reed but avoiding the sitdown splash. A powerslam gives Reed two but he misses the running backsplash. It’s back to Mysterio to pick up the pace and hammer away at Theory in the corner. Penta comes in for a scary Penta Driver to Theory as everything breaks down. Paul is sent outside and Lee’s big flip dive hits Reed.

Back in and Theory brainbusters Penta onto the knee for two and it’s time for Heyman and Pearce to get on the apron. Paul tries to slide Theory the knuckles but Pearce breaks it up, earning some yelling from Heyman. Pearce yells at him, allowing Mysterio to pick up the knuckles and knock Theory silly. The Destroyer finishes for Penta at 15:03.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a match with a bunch of stuff going on but it stayed coherent. The stuff with Heyman and Pearce is interesting and I’m curious to see where it goes. At the same time, Mysterio using the knuckles was a bit of a surprise but it still worked. Pretty awesome stuff here.

Post match the winners celebrate as Heyman has his phone out.

CM Punk’s plan to beat Finn Balor: be the best in the world.

Paul Heyman yells at Adam Pearce and suggests he’ll be fired. He suggests that Pearce answer a phone call, which Pearce does, though we don’t hear who it’s from.

Here are Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky for a chat. They’re ready for their title defense at Saturday Night’s Main Event, but then they’re both in the Royal Rumble. Cue Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez to interrupt, with Morgan saying Ripley will turn on Sky, as she always does. Perez says the two of them, and Raquel Rodriguez are going into the Rumble as well, which has Ripley mockingly laughing. Cue Rodriguez and the fight is on, with Perez chop blocking Sky. Oblivion leaves Ripley laying.

Lyra Valkyria talks to Bayley, saying it’s hard to be positive when she has let her best friend down. Bayley can’t believe that idea because Valkyria can’t let her down. Now one of them is going to win the Royal Rumble! A hard hug ensues.

IMG Credit: WWE

Je’Von Evans vs. El Grande Americano

Los Americanos are here too. Evans gets an early rollup for two and flips around a bit before they head outside. A jump onto the steps lets Evans knock him down again and we take an early break. We come back with….the match ending at 6:21 as Evans was injured during the break. He seems to be favoring his shoulder or pectoral muscle. Not enough shown to rate but dang that’s discouraging. Hopefully it’s not too bad.

Finn Balor is ready to win the World Title.

Preview of Unreal season 2.

Video on Oba Femi.

Adam Pearce talks to the Vision, saying that he won’t be lifting Bron Breakker’s suspension but he wants Breakker here next week to talk things over. Heyman says Pearce better be on his best behavior. With the Vision gone, AJ Styles comes in and he’s in for the match with Gunther, so it’s official.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

The Kabuki Warriors aren’t happy, with Asuka blaming Kairi Sane for their recent losses. Sane says she’ll help Asuka win the Royal Rumble, which seems to soothe things over.

IMG Credit: WWE

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Finn Balor

Punk is defending and Balor has the old theme song for a great entrance. Feeling out process to start with a takedown going nowhere so they trade posing. Balor loads up the Sling Blade but instead grabs a jumping chinlock for a bit of a weird spot. That’s broken up and Balor is sent outside for a suicide dive as we take a break.

We come back with Balor fighting out of a chinlock and the two trading shots to the head. Balor strikes him into the corner but he seems to come up favoring his leg. The Coup de Grace takes too long and Punk catches him on top for the superplex. Their legs lock for two so Punk drops him with a running clothesline.

Back up and Balor hits the Sling Blade, followed by a running clothesline out to the floor. The big running flip dive connects but the Coup de Grace misses back inside. Punk hits a quick GTS for two but another attempt is escaped. The shotgun dropkick sends Punk into the corner and Balor does it again, setting up the Coup de Grace for a VERY close two. Punk manages to get back up and another GTS retains the title at 16:12.

Rating: B. Yeah this was good, with Balor feeling like enough of a threat to make the match work. It was interesting to see Balor as the clear good guy in the match, though Punk was basically neutral rather than being a heel. That’s not something you see very often but it made for an interesting dynamic here. Good main event, and now Punk can move on to something a bit bigger for the Rumble.

Post match respect is shown and they’re cool with each other.

Overall Rating: B+. This was the wrestling heavy show, with a pretty awesome main event, an outstanding six man tag and enough stuff being set up for the Royal Rumble to make the show feel more important. I had a great time with this one, as the crowd made it even better. Heck of a show here as the European run comes to a close.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Maxxine Dupri – Manhandle Slam
Rey Mysterio/Dragon Lee/Penta b. The Vision – Canadian Destroyer to Theory
El Grande Americano b. Je’Von Evans via injury stoppage
CM Punk b. Finn Balor – GTS

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Royal Rumble 2012
Date: January 29, 2012
Location: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 18,121
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T

This is a show that I remember liking at the time but aside from the ending to the Rumble itself, almost nothing springs to mind about the show. I’m curious to see what that means as this was kind of a weaker time for the company. Hopefully they can make this work, as the Rumble can be all over the place. Let’s get to it.

The opening video features a bunch of people saying they want to win the Royal Rumble and a voiceover asking who is going to Wrestlemania.

Smackdown World Title: Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry vs. Big Show

Bryan is defending in a cage and Cole cannot stand him. Also Bryan is mad at Show for running over his girlfriend AJ Lee, though it isn’t clear if it was a setup. Bryan gets sent into the corner to start, leaving Show to splash Henry against the cage. For some reason Bryan tries to kick at Show, who throws him against the cage for his efforts. The WMD hits cage, with Bryan dropkicking the leg out to take over.

Bryan kicks away at Henry as well but it’s way too early to escape the cage. Henry: “CLOSE THAT DOOR!” Bryan gets slingshotted into the cage but Show is back up with a superkick. That leaves Show to go after Bryan, with the big slow shots in the corner keeping Bryan down. Henry is back up to go after both of them as commentary discusses Bryan and AJ’s relationship.

Henry misses a charge into the cage and gets speared by Show to give Bryan two. Bryan’s tornado DDT plants Show (which has Lawler far too impressed) and the LeBell Lock goes on. Henry breaks that up but gets caught with the WMD. Bryan tries to escape and gets over, but Show grabs his hand. Show basically does some curls with Bryan, who eventually falls down to retain the title at 9:08.

Rating: C+. This was a nice story with Bryan having to escape from the two monsters who were basically playing with him. Bryan was still trying to get everything together at this point, as he certainly had the skill but he was making his transition into being a main event star. That took some time, mainly due to winning the title via the Money In The Bank briefcase, but that has been an issue with the concept for a long time. The match was entertaining though, even with Bryan almost retaining by accident.

Video on John Cena, who won’t change who he is, even as we hear from some fans who are on either side. We also see a bunch of his promotional work for WWE and my goodness the build to his match vs. Rock was outstanding. It makes me want to watch it again, so they’re doing something right.

Beth Phoenix/Bella Twins/Natalya vs. Kelly Kelly/Eve Torres/Alicia Fox/Tamina

Natalya headlocks Tamina down to start but it’s off to Eve for a dancing moonsault. Phoenix comes in and gets clotheslined down so Brie can come in for a chinlock. This lets commentary compare Twitter followers until Eve gets up for the tag off to Fox. The chinlock goes on again but Eve fights out and hands it off to Kelly. The screaming headscissors ensues and everything breaks down. Kelly gets beaten down on the floor and everyone joins in, allowing Kelly to get up top for a big dive onto the pile. Back in and Brie kicks Kelly in the face, allowing the Glam Slam to finish Kelly at 5:28.

Rating: D+. It’s a bad sign that the best thing you can say about a match is “at least it was short” but that’s about all this one had. The women’s division was not in a good place at this point, with Phoenix being one of the few bright spot. There were talented people in this match, but it doesn’t matter if they don’t get to do anything.

We recap Kane vs. John Cena, which has seen Kane being the unstoppable monster and wrecking Zack Ryder, who has come off like a total loser in the whole thing. Kane has left him in a wheelchair as well as the US Title, likely because Ryder got over on his own.

Ryder, in a wheelchair and a neck brace, arrives with girlfriend Eve Torres joining him. Johnny Ace is here too and mocks both of them a bit, with neither being impressed.

Kane vs. John Cena

Kane fires off the uppercuts to start but Cena is back up with a running clothesline. That’s enough to send them outside, with Cena whipping him knees first into the steps. Kane slugs him right back down inside and sends him into the corner, setting up a chinlock. The comeback is cut off with another uppercut and a bulldog attempt is casually shoved away.

A neck snap across the top rope doesn’t get Cena very far either, as Kane drops him again. The smother hold is countered into an STF, which is countered into a side slam to drop Cena again. The top rope clothesline connects and a big boot gives Kane two, meaning it’s frustration time. Kane’s superplex is broken up and it’s a super Five Knuckle Shuffle but the AA is broken up as well. They fight outside and that’s enough for a rather lame double countout at 10:57.

Rating: C-. This was a bad time for Cena, as he had the biggest match of his career coming up in a few months, but that didn’t leave him with much to do on the way there. That was on full display here, as this feud with Kane went on for a long time and never felt important in any way. Throw in the ending being about setting up a rematch and it was even worse.

Post match they brawl into the back with Kane being sent into various things. Kane comes back with a chair and breaks into Zack Ryder’s private room, knocks Ryder out, and kidnaps him. They go into the arena, where Kane Tombstones him, even with Eve Torres watching. Cue Cena for the save but Kane gives him a chokeslam and leaves everyone laying.

Video on The Rock, who is one of the world’s biggest movie stars. And he’s handsome. And charismatic. And did I mention a star?

Brodus Clay vs. Drew McIntyre

Clay dances to start, gets clotheslined in the corner, suplexes McIntyre and What The Funk finishes at 1:04. Sweet goodness him getting away from WWE was the absolute best thing he could have gone.

We recap CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler for the former’s Raw World Title. This is more about Punk vs. Johnny Ace, who Punk can’t stand for being such a miserable failure at everything. Ace caused Ziggler to pin Punk to earn the title shot and made himself guest referee. He’s guaranteed that he’s going to screw Punk over, which has officially put him UNDER REVIEW, which has him backpedaling. Oh and Ziggler is here too. The last part of the video features Ziggler saying not to forget him. It’s not a great look but here we are.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler, with Vickie Guerrero, is challenging and Johnny Ace is guest referee. Hold on though as Ace says he’ll be the outside referee with a regular referee in the ring. Actually hold on again as Ace tosses Vickie, which follows a previously established stipulation. The threat of a GTS has Ziggler worried to start so Punk knocks him into the corner. Punk grabs an abdominal stretch and hammers on the ribs before sending him outside.

The dive misses though and Ziggler takes over back inside, including the jumping elbows. The sleeper goes on for a bit before the running Fameasser is countered into a sitout powerbomb. Punk hits a running neckbreaker but Ziggler reverses a high crossbody into a rollup for two. The top rope elbow gets two more but the referee gets bumped, which you knew was coming.

Punk grabs the Anaconda Vice for the tap, though Ace is checking on the referee. A rollup gets the same treatment so Punk goes after Ace, only for Ziggler to knock Punk into Ace. The GTS connects but Ace still won’t count, saying Punk jumped him on purpose. Another GTS is countered into a Fameasser (that was great) for two and they’re both down. Back up and Punk hits a second GTS for the pin, with both referees counting the three at 14:32.

Rating: B-. These two worked well together, though Ace being boring and unfair was quite the negative. The whole feud was built around the idea that Ace wasn’t interesting and they made that quite clear here. It was a good match, which shouldn’t be a surprise, but just drop the Ace stuff already.

Rumble by the Numbers:

30 Superstars
1 winner
31 Hall of Famers in the Rumble
21 main events those Hall of Famers have been in at Wrestlemania
695 entrants who have been eliminated
39 entrants eliminated by Michaels, a record (Kane is second at 35)
13 consecutive Rumbles for Kane
11 eliminations for Kane in 2001
194,107lbs that have been in the Rumble, or over 97 tons, or 430 Big Show
421,883 people who have attended the Rumble
62:12 Rey Mysterio spent in the Rumble in 2006, a record
3 wins for Austin
1 second that Santino lasted in 2009
2 women who have competed in the Rumble
1, the entrant that has produced the same amount of winners as #30 at two each
27, the entrant with more winners than any other at four
55 percent of winners that have won the title at Wrestlemania

Royal Rumble

Two minute intervals. Miz is in at #1 and Alex Riley (Miz’s former goon) is in at #2. They stare at each other to start and Riley goes after him but misses a charge. Miz stomps him down to start and gets the pretty easy elimination. R-Truth is in at #3 and hammers away, including a kind of powerslam. That’s enough to throw Miz to the apron but not out as Cody Rhodes is in at #4.

A Beautiful Disaster hits R-Truth and the double teaming is on, with R-Truth getting knocked down into the corner. Justin Gabriel is in at #5 and goes after Rhodes as the four of them pair off. We get a pair of brawls in the corner until Primo is in at #6 to continue a not so star studded start. R-Truth hits the running forearm on Rhodes but gets tossed by Miz, who goes to the floor (under the bottom rope) to go after him. That means a Little Jimmy to drop Miz on the floor while the other three are still inside. Mick Foley is in at #7 and tosses Primo before continuing the brawling.

Ricardo Rodriguez is in at #8, complete with Alberto Del Rio’s music, gear, and…that’s about it, as he drives out in a banged up car (bad paint, ugly seat covers, trash bag for a window) and isn’t in the best condition. Naturally the fans love him, even as Foley drops him with a right hand. Foley and Rodriguez actually get together to eliminate Gabriel and it’s Santino Marella in #9. Marella starts in with his usual and gets rid of Rodriguez. That leaves Marella vs. Foley so yes we do indeed get the Cobra vs. Mr. Socko showdown, with the expected reaction of the crowd going bananas.

Epico is in at #10 and is quickly tossed, leaving us with Miz, Rhodes, Foley and Marella. Rhodes gets up to toss Marella so it’s Socko to Miz, only for Rhodes to toss Foley as well. Kofi Kingston is in at #11, giving us quite the talented three way. Kingston takes over and hits a double Boom Drop but the numbers catch up with him in a hurry. Jerry Lawler is in at #12 (Booker is shocked and Cole is stunned) and ducks Miz’s left hand, which hits Rhodes by mistake. Lawler gets in his usual offense and goes up, only for Rhodes to knock him out.

Ezekiel Jackson is in at #13 as Booker praises Lawler, who has returned to commentary. Jackson gets to clean house and it’s Jinder Mahal in at #14. The entrance takes forever as Mahal has to get out of his gear before going after Jackson. Great Khali is in at #15 and gets rid of Jackson and Mahal without much trouble. Hunico (with Camacho and the gold bicycle) is in at #16 and does about as much as you would expect.

Booker T. is in at #17 and Cole absolutely loses it (You know where this is going, though neither Cole nor Lawler noticed that Booker wasn’t wearing pants?) as the fans go nuts. Miz throws Kingston over the top but Kingston skins the cat to stay alive. Kingston gets shoved out anyway….but LANDS ON HIS HANDS AND WALKS BACKWARDS TO THE STEPS in one of the most ridiculously awesome saved you’ll ever see. Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) is in at #18 as things start to slow down a bit.

Jim Duggan is in at #19 and the fans are rather happy to see him. As you might expect, Duggan certainly brings the energy as he throws those big right hands, only to get knocked out by Rhodes. Ziggler and Rhodes get rid of Booker and Khali at the same time and it’s Michael Cole in at #20 (you knew it was coming and the fan behind him freaking out makes it even better). His entrance takes forever and it’s the returning Kharma (Awesome Kong) in at #21 to immediately drop Cole (Booker and Lawler love it).

That’s enough to send Cole out to the apron, where Booker and Lawler pull him out for good. Kharma goes after Ziggler with a lifting Pedigree but has to stop for some yelling at Vickie. Hunico goes after Kharma but gets tossed, only for Ziggler to dump Kharma out. Sheamus is in at #22 as we have Sheamus, Miz, Rhodes, Kingston and Ziggler. Sheamus dumps Kingston and fires off the forearms to Miz and Rhodes.

Road Dogg is in at #23 and the fans go nuts all over again (even Cole is happy). Dogg gets in his usual dancing punches until things slow down and it’s Jey Uso in at #24. That means some dancing punches of his own until US Champion Jack Swagger is in at #25. The brawling continues on the ropes and it’s Wade Barrett in at #26. Barrett dumps Dogg to clear the ring a bit and it’s David Otunga in at #27 to clutter it right back up.

Randy Orton (hometown star) is in at #28 and goes right after Barrett, who put him on the shelf for a month. Uso is out and Rhodes and Ziggler get taken down with a double hanging DDT, followed by an RKO to Barrett for the elimination. Chris Jericho is in at #29 and tosses Otunga before things slow down a bit. Big Show is in at #30, giving us a final group of Miz, Rhodes, Ziggler, Sheamus, Swagger, Orton, Jericho and Show (not too shabby). Swagger is out before Show even gets in and gets WMD’d to make it even worse.

Show gets inside and tosses Miz, Rhodes and Ziggler in short order to get us down to four in a hurry. Jericho gets knocked down and it’s an RKO to Show, which doesn’t seem overly bright. Show gets up and Orton tosses him on his own, only to get dumped by Jericho to leave us with Jericho vs. Sheamus (quite the odd pairing). Jericho’s bulldog is countered but he’s right back with a dropkick.

Sheamus is sent out to the apron but hooks his leg around the ropes to survive. He’s able to get back inside, where Jericho catches him in a quick Walls. That’s broken up as well and Jericho gets sent to the apron, where he manages to get back inside as well. They both almost wind up crashing to the floor before getting inside just in time. A Codebreaker drops Sheamus, who is right back with a missed Brogue Kick. Jericho can’t hit the Codebreaker though and gets sent to the apron, where a Brogue Kick gives Sheamus the win at 55:25.

Rating: B. The ending alone here was rather good, with the drama of Jericho and Sheamus being worth a look. At the same time, this Rumble was heavy on the comedy, with the commentary entrances, plus Socko vs. the Cobra. It did have some good moments in between though and I had a good time watching this one back. I remembered liking it well enough back in the day and it was nice to see it live up to the hype.

Pyro and sign pointing take us out.

Overall Rating: B-. The Raw World Title and Rumble are the only things worth seeing here, unless you want to see Bryan in way over his head against some monsters. The problem here is the same as it always was around this time: with John Cena vs. the Rock looming at Wrestlemania, nothing else felt important. They do get some credit for trying something new with Sheamus though, as even though he was a former World Champion, winning the Rumble was a different level. Good enough show, but the Rumble carried the thing.

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Royal Rumble 2011
Date: January 30, 2011
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 15,113
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker

It’s an interesting choice for the annual redo as 2011 is kind of a forgotten time. This was something closer to a transitional period for the company as they were trying some different people in the World Title scene, hence why the Miz is defending here. Other than that we need a card for Wrestlemania and things will start here, with the only edition of the Royal Rumble with FORTY entrants. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at how winning the Royal Rumble can send you on the Road to Wrestlemania. The big draw is the forty man Rumble, which sounds more long than thrilling.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler

Edge (in a rare face role) is defending while Ziggler has Edge’s ex-wife (and his current girlfriend, as well as acting GM of Smackdown) in his corner. Since Vickie is rather evil, Edge loses the title if he uses a spear. They trade some shots to the ribs to start with Ziggler hammering him down in the corner, only to get whipped hard into the other corner. The announcers proceed to talk about Vickie, with Striker bragging about getting along with Lawler for a change.

Ziggler gets sent to the apron and Edge slips through the legs to send him face first onto said apron. Back in and a neckbreaker gives Ziggler two as neither is exactly pulling away so far. A boot to the face and a hanging neckbreaker keep Edge down and we’re already on the chinlock. That’s broken up and it’s a catapult to send Ziggler into the buckle, only for him to grab another neckbreaker for two more.

The chinlock goes on again as the neck work continues. At least he’s sticking with something. Ziggler sends him outside, rams him into the barricade, and grabs another chinlock. Edge finally gets up and hits a double crossbody to put them both down. The missed Stinger Splash makes it even worse for Ziggler and a flapjack puts him down again. I love a good flapjack so points for that. A jawbreaker gets Ziggler out of trouble but the running Fameasser is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two more.

Edge heads up top, shrugs off a superplex attempt, and hits a high crossbody with Ziggler rolling through for two. Striker gets WAY too excited over a not very near fall, but that’s Striker for you. Ziggler dropkicks him for two more but Edge is right back with the Edgecator (it’s been awhile on that one), sending Ziggler straight to the ropes. Back up and Ziggler hits the Fameasser for two and the fans are getting into things for the first time.

A big boot puts Ziggler down but Edge has to stop himself form using the spear, instead going with the Edgecution for two, with Vickie pulling the referee out. Vickie gets on the apron to slap the already annoyed Edge, drawing out Edge’s friend Kelly Kelly for the catfight. The distraction lets Ziggler hit a Zig Zag for two in a rather hot near fall.

The sleeper goes on but the referee gets bumped just before Edge jawbreaks his way to freedom. There’s no referee and no Vickie and there’s the spear to cut Ziggler down. Cole: “COME ON REF YOU FOOL!” The referee gets up and it’s an Unprettier to retain Edge’s title at 20:44.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but the drama was there near the end. That being said, I’m not big on the idea being Edge can’t use the spear and then “oh well he used it anyway”. In this case there would actually be some fallout though so points for that for a change. It was a great example of the Royal Rumble World Title match: not an epic, but a good solid match that had some drama before the hero retained in the end.

We recap the Miz vs. Randy Orton for the Raw World Title. Miz cashed in Money in the Bank on Orton to win the title back in November and then beat him again to retain at TLC in a tables match. Tonight it’s just a singles match, because WWE didn’t know how to build to a gimmick match back then either. The idea here is that Miz is in WAY over his head but he’s ready to prove himself on the big stage.

Miz talks about how unfair his title reign has been because everyone says he shouldn’t be here. Riley promises Miz will win.

Raw World Title: The Miz vs. Randy Orton

Orton is challenging and Miz has Alex Riley (sweet goodness what could have been) in his corner. I had forgotten how annoying/stupid Cole as the Miz superfan really was. It’s also weird to not hear the “QUIET ON THE SET” intro to Miz’s music. Orton unloads on him in the corner to start as Cole wants Lawler to call this one down the middle. They head outside with Miz being rammed into the apron for two and Orton starts kicking at the ribs.

A catapult sends Miz throat first into the bottom rope as Cole talks about Miz being able to brawl if you want him do. Striker: “Who comes up to someone and says ‘I want to brawl with you.’?” And that’s why Striker is a pest. Orton stomps away but Riley, who went to Boston College, snaps Orton’s neck across the ropes to a big pop. A missed charge in the corner lets Miz stomp away and there’s the running corner clothesline for two. Miz chokes away as Cole compares the basketball games that Miz and Lawler are invited to.

Riley cheats again so Cole high fives him as Miz grabs a chinlock. A knee to the ribs and another to the face get two apiece and it’s back to the chinlock. That lets Cole compare Miz to Lou Thesz, Bob Backlund, Steve Austin and DX rolled into one. Ok he can be annoying but when he turns it up that high, it can be a little funny. Orton fights out but walks into a big boot for two. Miz gets crotched on top though and a superplex brings Miz down for two more.

The backbreaker sets up the hanging DDT but Miz backdrops his way out of trouble. Back in and a top rope ax handle gives Miz two more and he hammers away. Now it’s a reverse chinlock to really mix things up a bit. They head outside again with Orton bouncing off the post for a nine count, allowing him to come back in with a Thesz press and right hands. The powerslam sets up the Garvin Stomp and a big knee drop gets two.

Neither finisher can hit so Orton goes with an Angle Slam of all things. Miz tries to bail so Orton clotheslines him down and throws him back inside for two more. Now the hanging DDT connects and the RKO is loaded up, but here’s the New Nexus for a distraction. Riley tries to come in so Orton throws him at the team, leaving Miz to take the RKO. Cue CM Punk, the leader of the New Nexus, with a GTS to Orton so Miz can retain at 19:50. Cole is literally jumping up and down in celebration.

Rating: C-. I’m a big Miz fan but some of these main event level matches just do not hold up all that well. What we got here wasn’t terrible but it also hit a firm ceiling and needed to be at least five minutes shorter. The ending set up something for the future and Orton vs. Punk should be good, but Miz still feels like he’s in over his head. That can make for a good heel, but the matches aren’t often the best.

Miz is stunned that he survived.

Cody Rhodes is too devastated by his recent facial injury at Rey Mysterio’s legs that he won’t be appearing tonight. It was his time to shine but now he will wait in the shadows. That’s the start of what could have been an incredibly awesome character. We wound up getting just an awesome one, so I’ll take what I can get.

Fans pick their Rumble winners. Some of them even gets them right.

Divas Title: Laycool vs. Natalya

Laycool is challenging after Natalya beat them in a handicap match at Survivor Series. Striker doesn’t think much of Natalya, again showing that Striker doesn’t need to exist. Hold on though as we have a message from the Anonymous Raw GM. There are a few changes to the match.

Divas Title: Layla vs. Michelle McCool vs. Eve Torres vs. Natalya

Natalya is defending and it is one fall to a finish. Laycool jumps them to start and takes over early on with Layla feeding Eve in for a clothesline from Michelle. A double Stroke plants Eve again as Striker asks Lawler to politely assess the Divas assets. Natalya gets back up and Striker tries to analyze things in that annoying way that only he can do so. Laycool clears the ring and that means it’s time for the awkward staredown.

That’s broken up as Natalya trips Layla and Eve rolls Michelle up for two. Natalya sweeps Eve’s legs but has to stack Layla on top of her for the double Sharpshooter. That’s broken up in a hurry as Lawler calls the hold a great photo op. Layla’s Layout puts Eve on the floor but Natalya is back up to take Laycool down. Michelle kicks Layla by mistake but Eve sends Natalya and Michelle outside. Eve’s moonsault finishes Layla at 5:12, even as Michelle has Natalya pinned at the same time.

Rating: C. This was a weird time for the women as they were far better in the ring than they were before but no one cared about this and the division was used as nothing more than filler. The wrestling wasn’t bad and there was a story, but you could see how unimportant all of this was in the grand scheme of things. I do miss Laycool though.

United States Champion Daniel Bryan, with girlfriend Gail Kim (oh yeah that was a thing), is ready to go from NXT rookie to World Champion, when the Bellas come in to apologize for trying to steal Bryan last week. The fight breaks out because they suggest they’re better than Gail, with referees not being able to break it up.

And now, the always popular (with me at least) Rumble By The Numbers:

40 entrants

1 winner

24 winners

656 losing entrants

39 eliminations by Shawn, a record

26 WWE Hall of Famers who have competed

183,932lbs that has competed in the Rumble, or 92 tons or 492 Big Shows

2 women who have competed in the Rumble

11 eliminations by Kane in 2001, a record

13 straight Rumbles for Kane, also a record

62:12 Mysterio lasted in the 2006 Rumble

1 second, the record for shortest time in the Rumble, held by Santino Marella

3 wins by Austin

2, the number of wins that spot #1 has produced, the same as #30

70% of winners have gone on to win the title at Wrestlemania

Royal Rumble

Forty entrants, ninety second intervals and CM Punk is in at #1 but here’s the Corre, as in all four of them, to surround the ring and jump him. The rest of the New Nexus comes in and the brawl is on but the GM emails in to say everyone but Punk needs to get out or be disqualified. Can you be disqualified from the Rumble? Anyway, Daniel Bryan is in at #2 for the geek out start. Punk shoulders him down to start and shouts as Striker talks about the internet loving this match.

Bryan grabs a fireman’s carry but can’t get Punk out as the CM PUNK chants start up in a hurry. A missile dropkick puts Punk down and it’s Justin Gabriel (of the Corre) in at #3. That means Punk gets beaten down in the corner but Gabriel misses the 450, allowing Bryan to toss him without much trouble. Zack Ryder, now a cocky heel with some song about a radio, is in at #4 and goes after Punk as well. Bryan breaks that up as well but tosses Ryder at Punk for an assisted Rough Ryder. Not that it matters as Bryan throws Ryder out a few seconds later.

William Regal is in at #5 and Striker is very pleased. Regal and Bryan uppercut it out and the internet smiles even more. Ted DiBiase Jr., with girlfriend Maryse is in at #6 and I’m having so many weird flashbacks to this forgotten era. Bryan kicks at Regal as DiBiase can’t get rid of Punk in a tag match I don’t really need to see. With that going nowhere, John Morrison is in at #7 and of course slingshots in to kick Regal in the head.

Morrison is sent outside in a hurry but he hangs onto the barricade like Spider-Man, crawls to the side, gets to his feet on the barricade, and dives to the steps for the save, inspiring a Jamaican named Kofi Kingston for years to come. As he defies….well something, Regal is dumped and it’s Yoshi Tatsu (with his AWESOME theme song) in at #8. We get some near eliminations with neither going anywhere so Husky Harris (New Nexus member) in in at #9. Striker: “If this kid looks like this at 23, what’s he going to look like at 30?” Eh bigger beard, carrying a lantern, kind of cultish. Maybe answers to the name Bray.

Harris cleans a bit of house and we rush to the next entry, with commentary pointing out how fast it is between Harris’ entry and Chavo Guerrero (the second Smackdown name, after Gabriel) coming in at #10. That gives us Punk, Bryan, DiBiase, Morrison, Tatsu, Harris, Henry and Chavo. Guerrero goes with Three Amigos to everyone he can find, with probably a dozen or so total. Striker: “Chavo Guerrero with a Royal Rumble moment!” Stop, please. Like, please. Mark Henry is in at #11 and this should clear the ring out a bit. Chavo is out in a hurry and Tatsu follows him until JTG is in at #12.

Everyone punches a lot and it’s Michael McGillicutty (Curtis Axel, also of the New Nexus) in at #13. JTG is dropkicked out in a hurry and the rest of the entrants start realizing that the New Nexus is getting too strong. DiBiase is backdropped out and it’s Chris Masters (HE STILL HAD A JOB???) in at #14. The Masterlock (not the Masterpiece Cole) has Punk in trouble but McGillicutty makes the save. David Otunga (ALSO New Nexus) is in at #15 and Punk gets rid of Bryan.

Masters follows him and the team dumps Morrison. That leaves New Nexus vs. Henry and it goes as well as you would expect for Mark, with the team clearing the ring. Tyler Reks (I barely remember him) is in at #16 and goes out as fast as you would expect. Vladimir Kozlov is in at #17 and gets the exact same treatment. R-Truth is in at #18 and manages to last a full minute (including Punk hitting a running knee in the corner and shouting “WHAT’S UP”) before getting tossed out.

Great Khali comes in at #19 for the hope spot and Punk hides behind Otunga in a smart move. Otunga goes at Khali, who isn’t smart enough to pull him out because he’s rather shove him away. Harris gets eliminated though but Mason Ryan (a musclehead from Wales and the final member of the New Nexus in the greatest luck of Rumble draws ever) is in at #20. That gives us Punk, McGillicutty, Otunga, Ryan and Khali but Ryan puts Khali out in a hurry. Booker T. returns in a huge surprise (and the kind that you need in the Royal Rumble) at #21 and Punk drops to his knees in panic.

Booker kicks everyone he can and gets in a Spinarooni but Punk and Ryan get him out. Punk smiles a lot (“WE’RE GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA!”)….and John Cena is in at #22. Cena counts all four of them and charges into the ring anyway with Ryan, Otunga and McGillicutty being knocked out in seconds, leaving Punk all alone. The eyes are bugging out and this is one heck of an underrated showdown. They knock each other down in a hurry and it’s Hornswoggle in at #23, playing Barbarian to Cena and Punk’s Hogan and Warrior.

Punk gets up and kicks Hornswoggle in the head, only to walk into an AA for the elimination. Tyson Kidd is in at #24 and gets double teamed, including a headscissors from Hornswoggle and an AA from Cena. Hornswoggle even gets in his own AA and Kidd is gone in a hurry. Heath Slater (Corre) is in at #25, takes a beating, and is out in less than a minute. Kofi Kingston comes in at #26 in a showdown that would be way more interesting nine years later (Daily trivia: Cena and Kofi have never had a singles match. You would think it would have happened in a one off at some point).

Kofi and Cena knock each other down and it’s Jack Swagger in at #27 to not do much, meaning it’s King Sheamus in at #28. Hornswoggle kicks him in the leg and gets Brogue Kicked out so Sheamus and Swagger can beat up the heroes. Rey Mysterio is in at #29 to pick up the pace and knock down everyone not named Sheamus, who blasts him with a clothesline. Trouble in Paradise puts Sheamus down instead and a 619 eliminates Swagger. Wade Barrett (the Corre’s leader) is in at #30, giving us Cena, Kingston, Sheamus, Mysterio and Barrett for a nice talent pool.

Kofi stomps Barrett down in the corner and it’s a banged up Dolph Ziggler in at #31. Mysterio saves Cena from being eliminated (with commentary talking about how smart he is to know you need friends in a match like this)….and DIESEL is in at #32 to a huge pop, which wound up wrecking a major storyline later in the year (Who would have called that?). Diesel cleans house to a big pop and it’s Drew McIntyre (almost unrecognizable compared to how he looks today) to hammer away, even as the LET’S GO DIESEL chants keep going.

Alex Riley is in at #34 and Miz joins him as Diesel is tossed out. Miz joins commentary and it’s Big Show in at #35. Sheamus and McIntyre are waiting on him as Striker and Cole talk over each other so much that I actually can’t understand either of them. I know Cole is a character at this point but he’s lead commentator. In other words, again, shut up Striker. Show dumps McIntyre and it’s Ezekiel Jackson (a big musclehead, also of the Corre) in at #36 to dump Show in a hurry.

Santino Marella is in at #37 and gets knocked to the floor (not out) almost immediately. Alberto Del Rio (still brand new here) is in at #38 with Ricardo Rodriguez handling his intro. Riley is eliminated during his entrance and Mysterio spends too much time staring at Del Rio, allowing Sheamus to hit him from behind. Del Rio’s entrance takes so long that it’s Randy Orton in at #39 for the parade of RKOs.

Kofi and Sheamus are both out and it’s Kane in at #40, giving us a final grouping of Cena, Mysterio, Barrett, Jackson, Marella, Del Rio, Orton and Kane (not too bad). Cena and Orton stare at him but he knocks both of them down without much trouble. Jackson can’t slam Kane and gets low bridged out (Striker: “That’s huge!” That’s the third time he’s used those same words to describe an elimination.).

Mysterio gets rid of Kane but Barrett dumps him as well, leaving us with Orton, Cena, Barrett, Del Rio and Marella (still on the floor). Cena and Orton have a showdown with nowhere near the heat of Punk vs. Cena from earlier but Barrett suplexes Cena to break that up.

There’s an AA to Del Rio but Riley comes back down for a distraction, allowing Miz to dump Cena. Rock would be back in two weeks so I think Cena will be fine. Orton gets rid of Barrett but Del Rio throws him out….as Santino crawls back in. Santino crosses himself and hits the Cobra (as taught to him by Jon Lovitz). The Trombone pose takes too long though and Del Rio throws him out for the win at 1:09:51. I lost my mind when Santino snuck back in watching this live and bought it completely, so they had a great idea with this one. He was already a Tag Team Champion so pushing him wasn’t out of the question.

Rating: B. This is a weird one as you could say cut out the extra ten people and it’s a classic but if you cut out the ten people, you probably don’t have the awesome New Nexus deal, which set them up as a threat and made Cena’s entrance that much better (seriously that was awesome). There are a lot of great moments here, but it goes a bit longer than the sweet spot. The winner was WIDE open this year though and that does a lot of good for the match. Oddly enough this should have been about thirty five people, which isn’t something you would often see. Good Rumble though and worth your time.

Rodriguez loses it to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The best word to describe this show is forgettable, as other than the Santino spot at the end. The Rumble is rather good and makes the show work, but there are so many people and angles that I can’t remember at all around here and it shows badly. There’s a reason that this era is so forgotten, and Rock coming back to take over things for a few months made it even worse. Punk would rise soon enough, but my goodness this is a completely lost era in a lot of ways. Check out the Rumble, but find something else otherwise.

Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler

Original: A-
2013 Redo: A-

2020 Redo: B

Miz vs. Randy Orton

Original: B
2013 Redo: B

2020 Redo: C-

Eve Torres vs. Natalya vs. Layla vs. Michelle McCool

Original: D
2013 Redo: D+

2020 Redo: C

Royal Rumble

Original: A
2013 Redo: A

2020 Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: A
2013 Redo: A

2020 Redo: B-

Dang was I in a really bad mood here?

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/01/30/royal-rumble-2011-his-name-is-alberto-del-rio/

And the 2013 Redo:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2020/01/20/royal-rumble-count-up-2011-2013-redo-they-had-me/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also -available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author- page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 12, 2026
Location: PSD Bank Dome, Dusseldorf, Germany
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re live overseas this week and in this case that means it’s time for a big showdown. This week features Gunther vs. AJ Styles, who is not happy with how Gunther has been acting since defeating John Cena last month. Other than that, the Royal Rumble is rapidly approaching and that could make for some interesting situations. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Here are Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky to celebrate their title win last week. They’re thrilled to be champions and are ready for anyone so here are Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez to interrupt. Morgan talks about how she never lost her title and wants it back but here are Bayley and Lyra Valkyria to interrupt. Bayley wants a title shot as well, but we do pause for the fans to sing to her. Sky seems ready to face them both but here are the Kabuki Warriors to start the big brawl. The champs clean house.

AJ Styles is ready for Gunther and is rather serious.

Finn Balor is in the back playing video games but Liv Morgan comes in and yells at him for not being serious enough. Roxanne Perez agrees.

Je’Von Evans vs. Bravo Americano

Bravo slaps him to start but misses a charge and gets slapped right back. A running hurricanrana takes Bravo down but Bravo drops him rather quickly. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Evans is back up with a kick to the face. Bravo is right back with the spinning torture rack, even with no hands, as Cole can’t quite place who Bravo reminds him of from history. Bravo goes up and is super Spanish Flied right back down, setting up the OG Cutter (top rope cutter) for the pin at 6:17.

Rating: C+. This was all about Evans getting his feet wet and that worked out fine. He’s quite the athlete and it should be interesting to see what he can do on the main roster. Being able to do that kind of stuff in the ring will get him far enough, though I could go with a halt on all the top and middle rope cutters from everyone for a long time.

Post match the Americanos go after Evans, who jumps over the announcers’ table and escapes.

Adam Pearce tells Paul Heyman to inform Bron Breakker to go home if he’s going to have bad intentions. Heyman doesn’t care to be a messenger boy but seems to agree.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is CM Punk for a chat. Punk talks about how he’s going to be champion for a long time and the people here make him believe he can do anything. After surviving against Bron Breakker, he’s looking forward to finding out his next challenger. Cue Finn Balor to interrupt, saying he’s not waiting for the Royal Rumble or the Elimination Chamber. He heard Punk say he wanted to face Balor so now he wants a title shot.

Punk likes that idea because he’s a Balor fan. He’s a fighting champion today so he’ll get his boots on for a match tonight. Balor says no because they’ll do it next week in Belfast. Punk is fine with that, but apologizes to the fans in Belfast for what is going to happen to Balor next week.

Video on Gunther vs. AJ Styles.

Lyra Valkyria/Bayley vs. Kabuki Warriors vs. Liv Morgan/Roxanne Perez

The winners get a title shot at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Bayley rolls Morgan up to start but misses the charge into the corner. Asuka takes both of them down and it’s off to the other three. Perez gets two off a rollup but Valkyria knocks her away, with Sane taking both of them down. Everything breaks down and Sane hits the big elbow off the top to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Valkyria cleaning house but Asuka cuts her off on top. That sets up the Tower Of Doom to bring everyone down before it’s Sane getting caught in a backbreaker. A middle rope elbow gives Bayley two and Perez’s Pop Rox gets the same. Back up and Morgan hits a quick Oblivion to pin Sane at 13:20.

Rating: C+. They had a bunch of stuff going on here but it’s hard to argue with the result. Morgan and Perez are the most logical choices for the title shot and it should be a good title match. At the same time, Valkyria and Bayley are kind of floating around and that might not bode well for their futures.

Becky Lynch recaps her issues with Maxxine Dupri before they face off again next week in Belfast.

Preview of Unreal season two.

Maxxine Dupri is ready to beat Becky Lynch again. After telling Otis and Akira Tozawa that they can be as successful as she is, Dupri promises to make Lynch tap out next week.

Here is Raquel Rodriguez for a chat with Michael Cole. Rodriguez isn’t sorry for attacking Stephanie Vaquer last week and hurting her ankle. Cue Vaquer to chase Rodriguez off, but as Vaquer yells at the camera, here is Rodriguez to jump her again and go after the ankle.

Otis and Akira Tozawa want a Tag Team Title shot at the Usos. Jey says he’ll talk to Jimmy, but be careful what you ask for.

Penta/Dragon Lee vs. Vision

Penta kicks away at Theory to start but it’s quickly off to Reed to crush him in the corner. That’s broken up and it’s off to Lee for the kicks to the chest, only for Reed to run him over. Reed sends him hard to the floor and we take a break with the villains in control. We come back with Theory going after Lee, including a snap suplex for two. Lee manages to reverse a powerbomb into a quick DDT, which is enough for the tag to Penta. House is cleaned but cue Bron Breakker to spear Lee for the DQ at 9:26.

Rating: C. I wasn’t exactly feeling this one, but the ending spear was almost worth the extra time as Breakker got some serious impact. The Vision continues to be up and down, but a ticked off Breakker gunning for the World Title should be great. As for the other side…just give us the Lucha Bros already.

Post match Adam Pearce comes out to yell at Breakker, leaving Reed to wreck people. Pearce goes to yell at Reed, allowing Breakker to hit another spear. Breakker even grabs Pearce, with the Vision having to make the save. Even Paul Heyman seems to realize that was too far.

Post break Je’Von Evans checks on Rey Fenix and Dragon Lee, saying he’s there if they need him.

Adam Pearce yells at Bron Breakker, even suspending him indefinitely. Paul Heyman comes up to say that was a mistake. From Heyman’s vantage point, Pearce put his hands on Breakker first. Uh oh.

We get a video of various celebrities wanting to be involved with Wrestlemania. HHH, watching the video, says it’s going to be a long Road To Wrestlemania. And yes, he does sit at his desk in the leather jacket.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Video on Oba Femi, who has vacated the NXT Title.

Gunther laughs at the idea of AJ Styles beating him.

AJ Styles vs. Gunther

Gunther grabs a waistlock to start so Styles kicks him in the head, sending Gunther outside. A headlock takeover doesn’t work for Gunther either as Styles is up with a dropkick to the floor. There’s the slingshot forearm over the top but Gunther is back in with the big chop. We take a break and come back with Gunther chopping him down again.

Styles gets smart by grabbing a dragon screw legwhip and putting on the Calf Crusher, with the leg being in big trouble. Gunther makes the rope so Styles goes to the ropes, where a big of a slip allows Gunther to chop him down. Another twist of the leg around the rope puts Gunther down, with a springboard flipping legdrop (cool) hitting the leg for two. The Phenomenal forearm is countered into a sleeper, but Styles backflips into a rollup for two more.

The big clothesline into the powerbomb gets two and they both need a breather. Back up and they strike it out until the Calf Crusher goes on again, sending Gunther back to the rope. Styles puts it on again and rolls into the middle, with Gunther possibly tapping on Styles’ leg. That’s enough for Styles to let go, but the referee says the match continues. Gunther hits him low and the powerbomb finishes Styles at 17:47.

Rating: B. I’m not sure on that finish, but it seems like we’re setting up a rematch, possibly at the Royal Rumble. Gunther cheating to win is acceptable enough, and it should be interesting to see what is next for Styles. He only has so much time left in the ring and this very well could be one of his bigger remaining stories.

Styles is upset and Gunther smiles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This really wasn’t the most wrestling heavy show, with the second match starting just a few minutes before the second hour. It also didn’t help that the main focus seemed to be setting up next week’s Raw, though after last week’s stacked card, that kind of hard to be the case. The Rumble has still barely been mentioned and while there is still time before the show, there isn’t that much time. Maybe get on that sooner than later?

Results
Je’Von Evans b. Bravo Americano – OG Cutter
Liv Morgan/Roxanne Perez b. Kabuki Warriors and Bayley/Lyra Valkyria – Oblivion to Sane
Penta/Dragon Lee b. Vision via DQ when Bron Breakker interfered
Gunther b. AJ Styles – Powerbomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 5, 2026
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s a new year and we have a special show here, as this is a crossover with Stranger Things. That’s going to be a huge night, as we have three title matches, including CM Punk defending against Bron Breakker. There’s also that whole Royal Rumble thing in less than a month so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The Stranger Things vibe is strong here, as the screen turns Upside Down and commentary gets out of a radio van from the Stranger Things radio station. And no, I’m not going to list off every Stranger Things reference, as it could make for a very long night.

IMG Credit: WWE

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky vs. Kabuki Warriors

The Warriors are defending and we start fast with the champions being sent outside for the running flip dive from Ripley. We take a break and come back with Ripley missing a second flip dive off the apron, allowing the Warriors to kick her down inside. Ripley throws her way out of trouble though and it’s off to Sky to Sling Blade Asuka. Sky gets draped over the top though and a top rope knee to the back gives Sane two.

We take another break and come back again with Sky getting bent around in a Liontamer. Sky gets twisted too far though and kicks Sane in the ribs, allowing the tag back to Ripley. House is quickly cleaned with Ripley hitting a Razor’s Edge into a missile dropkick. Ripley gets kicked by Asuka and the ankle lock goes on. She gets up but Asuka traps the leg for a German suplex (Ripley: “OH S***!”) and the Warriors fire off the kicks. The assisted Insane Elbow gets two, with Sky making the save. Sky kicks Asuka into the Riptide from Ripley, setting up Over The Moonsault for the pin and the titles at 16:29.

Rating: B. This is the right call as they set the match up as a big deal and then paid it off with the title change. Ripley and Sky have been needing to get another big win sooner or later and this is about as big as you can get. Sky continues to establish herself as one of the top stars in the division and Ripley gets back to some success, which she’s been needing for a good while.

Video on CM Punk.

Adam Pearce congratulates the new champions on their win. With the two of them gone, Gunther comes in but Pearce tells him that a lot of people are watching. He asks that Gunther show some respect out there, with Gunther not sounding impressed.

Here is Gunther for a chat. Gunther has been asked to show respect, but what about respect for him? He brings up making John Cena tap out but here is AJ Styles to interrupt. Gunther immediately cuts him off though, saying Styles is punching above his weight. He’s the man who made Cena tap out like a little B****, so what is little AJ going to do about it? Gunther gives him a You Can’t See Me so Styles slaps him in the face. They get in each others’ faces and Styles says that’s what he thought.

Video on Maxxine Dupri vs. Becky Lynch.

Ivy Nile tells Adam Pearce she is not going to the back of the line. Gunther and AJ Styles storm in, saying they want to fight. The match is set for next week.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Becky Lynch vs. Maxxine Dupri

Dupri is defending and we get a Stranger Things intro, saying this is Chapter Three: It’s Not Just Her Saying It. They take turns backing each other into the corner and Lynch knocks her into the corner to take over. A Thesz press lets Dupri hammer away and we take an early break. We come back with Dupri fighting out of trouble and hitting a running knee to the head. Dupri loads up a backslide but then drops down, leaving commentary unsure what that was supposed to be.

A high crossbody misses for Dupri and the threat of an ankle lock sends Lynch over to the ropes. Lynch misses a middle rope legdrop in the ropes though and gets caught in the ankle lock. The Disarm-Her is reversed into the ankle lock, which Lynch reverses into a DDT for two. Lynch’s ankle lock is broken up and Dupri suplexes her into a high crossbody for two. Lynch catches her on top but Dupri rolls into another ankle lock. This time though Lynch stacks her up and grabs the rope to get the title back at 10:35.

Rating: B-. It had to happen sooner or later and that’s ok. What matters the most here is that Dupri has gone from pretty much a joke to someone who looks like she can hang in there with bigger names. There is zero shame in losing to Lynch, who is simply on a higher level than Dupri. I’m not sure what is next for either of them, but this would be a fine enough way to close the story.

Video on Oba Femi.

Long preview of Unreal Season 2.

Here are the Usos for a chat in the crowd. They’re glad to be back as tag team royalty and they’re ready to face any team anytime. Jey calls this a warning shot.

Here is Stephanie Vaquer, in a walking boot, for an in-ring chat. She’s happy with everything that happened in 2025, but her biggest dream come true was winning the title on her shoulder. She wants to face everyone because she is the best in the world…and here is Raquel Rodriguez to jump her from behind. Rodriguez works on the leg and hits a Tejana Bomb but Adam Pearce prevents the Pillmanization.

Post break we see what happened pre-break….and Rodriguez jumps Vaquer again.

We look back at Penta saving Rey Mysterio from the Vision.

Dragon Lee and Mysterio reaffirm their friendship. Penta comes in and says he isn’t going to let the Vision do that to Mysterio. They respect lucha libre and have cero miedo.

Lyra Valkyria vs. Liv Morgan

Bayley and Roxanne Perez are here too. Morgan knocks her down to start and smiles a lot but Valkyria is back up with a takedown. A bridging northern lights suplex gives Valkyria two and she kicks Morgan out to the floor. Valkyria gets kicked into the floor just as fast though and we take a break.

We come back with stereo clotheslines connecting for a double down. Back up and they trade forearms until Valkyria gets in a tornado DDT. A crucifix gives Morgan two but Valkyria rolls her up for the same. Nightwing is loaded up but Morgan reverses into a Codebreaker. Perez gets in a cheap shot and then goes after Bayley, who chases her to the back. The distraction lets Morgan grab Oblivion for the pin at 8:55.

Rating: B-. It’s good to have Morgan back in the ring and it seems like she hasn’t missed a step. There were some nice shenanigans in this match to kill some time and let Morgan keep her breath and such. The ending isn’t likely going to go well for Bayley and Valkyria but this was more about Morgan than anything else.

CM Punk isn’t worried about the spear because if he’s the underdog, Bron Breakker will underestimate him.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker, with Paul Heyman, is defending. Punk grabs a headlock to start and cranks on the arm, including a takedown. Breakker catches him with a powerslam though and we take an early break. We come back with Breakker slamming him down again and hammering away with right hands. Another throw drops Punk again and he is looking rather rocked.

Some trash talk wakes Punk up though and he strikes away but the GTS is escaped. Breakker’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but the running spear around the ring is cut off with a clothesline. We take a break and come back with Breakker not being able to hit the super Frankensteiner and crashing backwards. Punk’s top rope elbow gets two so he goes back up, where a super Frankensteiner brings him back down for two.

The gorilla press is countered into a DDT for two and they slug it out. Punk knocks him down but goes after a distraction Heyman. Cue the Vision for a distraction, allowing Theory to hit a Stomp. Cue Dragon Lee, Penta and Rey Mysterio to brawl with the Vision, leaving Breakker’s spear to hit the post. The GTS gets two and dang they had me on that one. Punk hits a piledriver for two so he tries the GTS, which is reversed into a Fujiwara armbar.

That’s reversed into the Anaconda Vice but Breakker powers up and hits a hard clothesline for two. Breakker tries a GTS but Punk reverses into the STF. Heyman gets on the apron for a distraction though and gets punched in the face, only for Breakker’s spear to miss. Punk tries a suicide dive, which is punched out of the air for a nasty landing. Breakker knocks him onto the announcers’ table for the big elbow from the top, through said table in a nasty crash. Back in and the spear is kneed away and the GTS gives Punk the pin at 26:45.

Rating: A-. There were multiple times in there when I wasn’t sure who was going to win and there is no better feeling to have in a match. They did a great job of having Breakker look like a monster with Punk just barely surviving, including NOT having Breakker hit the spear, which can be saved for later. Awesome match here as Punk still has it and Breakker’s time will come one day.

Punk celebrates to end the show, including dropping the title in a funny bit, to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The main event is more than enough to carry the show, but the opener worked well too and the other matches were more than fine. They also set some things up for the future, with Styles vs. Gunther being quite the main event for next week. This felt like a huge show and they paid it off with a pair of title changes and an outstanding main event. The build to the Royal Rumble can really start next week, as they had to get this big one out of the way. As luck would have it, they did that very well.

Results
Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky b. Kabuki Warriors – Over The Moonsault to Asuka
Becky Lynch b. Maxxine Dupri – Rollup while holding rope
Liv Morgan b. Lyra Valkyria – Oblivion
CM Punk b. Bron Breakker – GTS

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 29, 2025
Location: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re wrapping up the year right here with the show before we get to the big show next week. That could mean a few different things but hopefully this one can end the year on a high note. If nothing else we’re live again and now we get to see where things go on the still long road to the Royal Rumble. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at Austin Theory seemingly having a successful audition with the Vision last week.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is the Vision to get things going. After some CM PUNK chants, Paul Heyman talks about how you’re looking at the future Wrestlemania main eventers right in front of you. We get some OTC chants, with Heyman thanking the fans for their irrelevant opinions. That brings Heyman to Austin Theory, who says he has a lot to talk about, starting with Bron Breakker.

Heyman explains that the goal of the team is bigger than that of any member, but here is Punk to interrupt. Punk says Theory is already drinking gallons of the Kool-Aid but he’s here to talk to Breakker. The title match is already set for next week and yeah he could come down there and get beaten up, but then there’s no title match next week. Punk comes to the ring and actually gets inside, where he asks Bron (“Kid”) what he has.

Breakker is ready to take Punk out because he’s tired of being called the future because he is the now. Everyone is waiting for Breakker to fall apart but go find someone like him. Go find someone with so little experience who has taken wrestling over and is as much of a dog. Yeah he came from a wrestling family but it just put more pressure on him. While Punk was on the indies, Breakker was on the field with the Baltimore Ravens. Next week, Breakker is going to put Punk in the ground and take the title.

Punk says Breakker is more ready than anyone back there, but Punk isn’t ready. If Breakker wants the title, which Punk lays on the mat, pick it up, because it’s heavier than Breakker believes. He’s not ready to let it go and stop coming into these sold out arenas and say how great it is to be alive on a Monday night in Orlando, Florida. They aren’t the same and that’s because one of them is CM Punk. One day someone is going to beat him for this but it won’t be Breakker on January 5. Punk was bringing the fire here and as usual, it’s where he shines.

Raquel Rodriguez promises no tricks in tonight’s title match. Liv Morgan comes in and says Judgment Day needs the win tonight, especially with Dominik Mysterio out for a bit. Roxanne Perez comes in and agrees they want Rodriguez to win the title, though Rodriguez doesn’t need luck.

IMG Credit: WWE

Women’s Title: Nikki Bella vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Vaquer is defending and rolls Rodriguez up for an early two. Bella breaks up an early Devil’s Kiss attempt and Vaquer is knocked outside. A running dropkick on the floor has Vaquer in more trouble and we take a break. We come back with Rodriguez pulling Bella’s high crossbody out of the air, setting up a fall away slam. A Gory Stretch goes on and Rodriguez leans her forward for two. Bella is back in and Rodriguez has to break up the Devil’s Kiss so Bella snaps Rodriguez’s leg on the rope.

A high crossbody hits Rodriguez but Bella sends Vaquer into the post. Bella puts Rodriguez in an STF (Fans: “THANK YOU CENA!”) but Rodriguez twists it into a leglock, with Vaquer adding a double Devil’s Kiss. Vaquer twists Rodriguez’s knee out of the corner but Rodriguez is able to knock both of them down again.

We take another break and come back with Bella sunset bombing the other two down for two each. Vaquer’s double underhook faceplant into a Codebreaker gets two on Bella with Rodriguez making the save. Rodriguez counters a tornado DDT but gets small packaged for two instead. Back up and Rodriguez tries a double Tejana Bomb but Vaquer slips out and sends Rodriguez outside. That’s enough for Vaquer to steal the pin on Bella and retain at 17:05.

Rating: B. I liked the match well enough, but this needs to be it for Bella getting title shots. She did well enough with two others out there, but it’s just over by this point. Vaquer has beaten her multiple times now and while I could go for more of Vaquer facing Rodriguez, it needs to be without Bella. There is a place for Bella in modern WWE, but it shouldn’t be such a prominent one.

Gunther reminds us that he made John Cena tap out but R-Truth comes in to say the disrespect has to stop. Saying it over and over again makes him a piece of…and R-Truth whispers something in Gunther’s ear, which Gunther doesn’t like. Gunther takes this as a challenge and the match is set.

Here are the Kabuki Warriors to brag about beating Rhea Ripley last week. Iyo Sky never should have attacked Kairi Sane, but Asuka cuts Sane off. Cue Ripley and Sky for the brawl, with Sky being sent into the announcers’ table. She’s back up to save Ripley from the assisted Insane Elbow though and Sane has to escape Riptide. Instead the Warriors both get kicked outside to send them running.

Rey Mysterio runs into CM Punk and says he has some backup for tonight. Punk approves.

Gunther vs. R-Truth

R-Truth jumps him to start but gets dropped with a quick chop. The pace slows way down and Gunther chops him again, only to take too long doing You Can’t See Me. Some shoulders stagger Gunther but he kicks R-Truth in the face. The powerbomb gets two as he picks R-Truth up so the sleeper can get the tap at 3:29.

Rating: C. That’s exactly what it should have been as Gunther barely broke a sweat here. They’re setting up the idea that someone is going to have to step up to Gunther sooner than later and that’s going to be the next bit feud. R-Truth is the kind of person who can get beaten up and get some heat on Gunther in the process and it worked well here.

Jey Uso isn’t sure about this but Jimmy Uso gives him a pep talk.

Video on Oba Femi.

Je’Von Evans runs into AJ Styles and Dragon Lee, who praise him for the match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Wherever Evans winds up, let them know so they can run it back. Evans appreciates this but runs into Los Americanos. El Grande Americano speaks a lot of Spanish, though Evans doesn’t understand.

Paul Heyman officially welcomes Austin Theory to the Vision, and they officially have each others’ backs. Heyman even sends Logan Paul to the ring with Theory for some quality time together.

IMG Credit: WWE

Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory

Logan Paul is here with Theory, who powers Mysterio into the corner to start. A backbreaker just wakes Mysterio up a bit and the middle rope hurricanrana drops Theory. That’s fine with Theory, who elbows Mysterio in the face to cut him off. Theory sends him hard into the post and we take a break. We come back with Mysterio hitting a top rope seated senton into the running headscissors. Theory tries something like a torture rack but gets spun into a DDT for two. The 619 is loaded up but Paul jumps Mysterio for the DQ at 7:30.

Rating: C+. Well, at least he didn’t get pinned, though this was hardly the best sign for Theory’s future. It plays off the idea of the Vision having Theory’s back and he dominated a good chunk of the match, though that’s only so encouraging. Hopefully there is something more for Theory than being the team’s whipping boy, as he has more potential than that.

Post match the beatdown is on but Penta returns for the ring clearing save.

Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles next week.

Here is Maxxine Dupri for a chat. She thanks the fans for helping her get this far and brags about making Becky Lynch tap out last week. Now she’s ready to defend her title next week but here is Lynch to interrupt. The ONLY thing she tapped out on was living in Orlando, but the fans should cheer for having her.

Dupri threatens to make her tap out again but Lynch says she isn’t here to start a fight. She’s here to give Dupri cr…cred…..CREDIT, for working so hard. Dupri has gotten a tiny bit better but that’s not going to be enough. Dupri laughs it off and says next week, everyone, maybe even Sports Illustrated, is going to be saying Lynch tapped out. That’s WAY too far for Lynch, who talks about how people and publications say she’s so great. Next week, it’s time to find out what Dupri is, because Lynch already knows. Dupri’s upward mobility over the last few months deserves some kind of an award.

Trick Williams meets with Adam Pearce, who seems interested in having Williams around. Williams leaves him his card when Bayley and Lyra Valkyria come in to say they want the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Pearce mentions Judgment Day getting the title shot and Bayley snaps, calling Pearce a bald idiot. Valkyria seems to think they have a deal but Pearce wants a drink. Pearce continues to be outstanding in this role.

Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles/Dragon Lee vs. Usos

The Usos are challenging. Styles knocks Jey into the corner to start and hits him in the face a few times. The champs send Jey outside and Jimmy is tossed out to join him as we take a break. We come back with Jey getting a cheap shot to Styles but not looking happy about it. Lee comes in and grabs a hurricanrana on Jimmy, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two on Jey.

Back up and Lee is knocked outside, with Jimmy loading up the announcers’ table. Styles is knocked onto said table and we take another break. We come back with Lee in trouble but managing to knock Jimmy into the Tree Of Woe. The top rope double stomp drops Jimmy and it’s back to Styles to clean house. A backbreaker drops Jey but he powers out of the Styles Clash.

The superkick hits Lee and a spear drops Styles, setting up Jimmy’s Superfly Splash for two. Everything breaks down and Jey misses a charge and hits the post. Lee hits the big running flip dive to knock Jimmy onto the announcers’ table (that looked good), leaving Styles to Pele Jey. The Styles Clash gets two so Styles loads up another, only for Jimmy to make the save. Styles loads up the Phenomenal Forearm but gets superkicked out of the air. 1D hits Lee for the pin and the titles at 18:43.

Rating: B+. Good stuff here, as the Usos get back to the top while Styles and Lee, who were never going to be a long term team, get to end their reign with a nice match. I’m not sure how long the Usos are going to be champions, but at least they got a win to boost them back up. It helps that the Usos can still more than go in the ring and Styles/Lee had chemistry together. I liked this and they did the right thing.

Overall Rating: B. One of the good things about modern WWE is they have made the non-World Titles feel a lot more important. No the Raw Tag Team Titles aren’t on the top of the list, but the main event did at least come off as something that mattered. It made for a better show and things were set up for the future as well. I wasn’t expecting much coming into this show and it wound up working, which is always a nice surprise.

Results
Stephanie Vaquer b. Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez – Tejana Bomb to Bella
Gunther b. R-Truth – Sleeper
Rey Mysterio b. Austin Theory via DQ when Logan Paul interfered
Usos b. AJ Styles/Dragon Lee – 1D to Lee

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

WWE Vault Grab Bag II
Commentators: Dean Hill, Kenny Bolin, Lenny Leonard, Bryce Remsburg, Chris Cruise, Mike Tenay, Jim Cornette

So this is one of my favorite things to do, as the WWE Vault releases a bunch of matches on a regular basis. In this case, there are enough that I can do a few collections, as I’m basically making my own playlists. There is no running theme for these matches and they’re just whatever I happen to pick. Let’s get to it.

From August 22, 2008, a dark match before Smackdown/ECW.

Takeshi Morishima vs. Jamie Noble

Tony Atlas is here to introduce Morishima, who is a power guy and former Ring Of Honor World Champion. Morishima runs him over to start and knocks Noble into the corner. Noble tries to fight back with a few shots to the head, including an enziguri to stagger Morishima. That just earns Noble a Boss Man Slam into a neck crank, followed by a big leg for two. Morishima picks him up at two and adds a big Saito suplex for the pin at 3:03 (with the announcer naming him “Orishimo”).

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite a squash for Morishima but it was close enough, as he looked dominant. You don’t get to see someone with his size and athleticism very often and it makes sense that WWE would be interested. Morishima looked good out there and it would be nice to see more of him in WWE, if nothing else due to him using the old Orient Express theme. Because of course.

From August 18, 2008, a dark match before Raw (I have no idea why they went out of order).

Takeshi Morishima vs. Charlie Haas

Haas yells at the fans to start and gets sent face first into the buckle for his efforts. The big leg connects but Haas manages to snap his arm over the top rope. That doesn’t seem to matter as it’s a Boss Man Slam to drop Haas, followed by a missile dropkick for the pin at 2:36.

From July 29, 1995, a dark match at a Superstars taping.

Bret Hart vs. Hakushi

In a cage. Hakushi jumps him to start fast and strikes away, only to get knocked back down. Hart goes for the climb out but gets pulled back down rather quickly. That lets Hakushi go up but Hart pulls him down and climbs as well. Hakushi cuts that off just as fast and strikes away on the top. They get back down and Hart whips him into the corner, followed by a bulldog.

It’s too early for Hart to get through the door though and Hakushi starts in on his leg. A ram into the cage lets Hakushi make a rather slow climb, which Hart cuts off with a DDT. Hart still can’t get out and Hakushi goes for the leg again, only to get pulled back inside as well. That lets Hart climb up a lot faster than before but Hakushi grabs him by the hair for a rather painful looking stop.

A backbreaker drops Hakushi but the middle rope elbow misses (you don’t see that very often). Hakushi’s top rope headbutt misses just as well so Hart turns him inside out with a clothesline. They take turns pulling the other down again and there’s a hard whip to send Hart chest first into the buckle. He’s right back up though and it’s a superplex off the cage for the big crash, leaving them both down. With Hakushi barely able to move, Hart manages to escape for the win at 12:31.

Rating: B-. For a dark match, this turned into something pretty good and the superplex was a nice surprise. They started slowly but eventually it picked up with more intensity and hard hitting. These two always had good chemistry together and it was on display again, which is cool for a less than readily available match.

From OVW TV, June 23, 2007.

CM Punk/Cody Runnels vs. Shawn Spears/Jay Bradley

Runnels (Rhodes of course) is distracted by Spears to start and gets hiptossed by Bradley. That’s broken up and Runnels goes after Spears again, only to kick Bradley in the face. A fall away slam sends Runnels flying into the corner for the tag to Punk, meaning trash can be talked. Punk strikes away to knock him into the corner and Spears realizes the tag means he’s in trouble.

Runnels gets the tag as well and Spears runs straight to the floor (apparently they kind of hate each other). Spears crawls back inside and hands it off to Bradley, who sends Punk into the corner. Now Spears is willing to come in and gets knocked down, allowing Runnels to come in and chase Spears to the floor. Punk cuts that off but Bradley comes in to jump Runnels from behind.

We take a break and come back with Bradley hammering on Runnels, which is enough for Spears to come in and stomp away. Runnels fights up so it’s immediately back to Bradley for a chinlock. Spears comes back in and goes after Punk, drawing him in so Runnels can be double teamed in a perfectly logical cheating sequence. The drop down shot to the face allows the tag off to Punk, who is in to clean house.

The running knees in the corner set up a bulldog/clothesline combination, followed by the springboard clothesline for two on Bradley. Cue Michael W. Kruel to pull the referee out, allowing Spears to get in a cheap shot on Punk. Runnels is back in with a strap to Spears’ back (before their strap match in a few days) so here are Spears’ goons to be dispatched. Runnels straps Spears to the back, leaving Punk to Anaconda Vice Bradley for the tap at 11:26 (earning Punk a shot at Bradley’s OVW Title in the process).

Rating: B-. Perfectly nice match here, with the all star team overcoming the odds to get some revenge and a title shot at the same time. That’s a case where simple storytelling works out well and I liked what we got here. Punk was red hot in OVW but he was already up on the main roster at this point, so he was pretty much just visiting here. The results worked out though as he and Rhodes always work well together.

From Evolve 17.

Sami Zayn gives us a quick introduction, as he got to pick the match. This just happens to involve someone he has been compared to a lot over the years.

El Generico vs. Samuray del Sol

Sol is better known as Kalisto. They fight over arm control to start and go to the mat, meaning it’s time to exchange flip ups. Generico grabs a headlock into a chinlock before working on the arm. A wristdrag takes Sol down but he flips out of a hurricanrana and Generico isn’t sure what to do. Generico’s running shoulder drops So and he springboards over Sol into some more armdrags.

Some chops in the corner seem to wake Sol up as he walks on his hands into a headscissors. A slingshot 450 gives Sol two and he bends Generico over his back for quite the painful visual. That’s broken up and Generico hits a clothesline but Sol is back with another headscissors. A rather springboardy wristdrag sends Generico outside and there’s the step up corkscrew dive to drop him again.

Back in and Generico exploders him into the corner, where the Helluva Kick is cut off. What would become known as the Salida del Sol gives Sol two but Generico is back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more. Generico’s Michinoku Driver gets two more so Sol steps onto his back for a Code Red. The Rising Sun (poisonrana) gives Sol two but a super version is countered with a facebuster onto the turnbuckle. The Helluva Kick into the turnbuckle brainbuster gives Generico the pin at 14:08.

Rating: B+. I can see why Zayn picked this, as Generico and Sol were both working rather hard out there and put on a heck of a match. That’s the point of something like this as it was not only the show’s main event but also a rubber match. It made things feel that much bigger and they lived up to the hype. Pretty awesome match here and a sign of what they would be able to do on the big stage.

From AAA When Worlds Collide.

Fuerza Guerrera/Madonna’s Boyfriend/Psicosis vs. Rey Mysterio/Heavy Metal/Latin Lover

Mysterio is only 19 here and this is described as his Breakout Match. Guerrera and company (the rudos here) clear the ring to start before we can even get the introductions. Guerrera and Metal start things off with an exchange of armdrags before Psicosis comes in to clothesline Mysterio. The top rope hurricanrana sends Psicosis bailing up the aisle and it’s Boyfriend (Louie Spicolli, who towers over Mysterio) comes in and picks Mysterio up.

That doesn’t last long and it’s off to Lover for an exchange of running shoulders. A superkick drops Boyfriend and it’s back to Psicosis for a clothesline to Metal. They grab stereo faceplants for a double down and Mysterio comes in, only to get hit in the face by Guerrera. Mysterio sends Guerrera outside for a dive, leaving Lover to send Psicosis into the corner.

Back in and Guerrera hits Lover low, only for Metal to come in with a low blow of his own. That doesn’t work for Boyfriend, who gorilla presses Mysterio over the barricade for a crash into the crowd. The villains get to double team Lover but Mysterio comes back in to give Psicosis a faceplant. Guerrera gets powerbombed out of the corner but Lover misses a top rope splash. Everything breaks down and we get a parade of dropkicks to the floor but Metal misses a Swanton to Guerrera. A seated armbar makes Metal tap at 13:40.

Rating: B. It’s much more in the lucha libre style, which wasn’t a thing in America at this point. That was the entire point of this show and it absolutely worked, as they were displaying something that had fans rather impressed. I can definitely see why Mysterio’s performance was so well received, as he looked like a star in the making, which is absolutely what he would be in just a few more years.

From May 13, 2003, a dark match before Smackdown/Velocity.

CM Punk introduces this one, talking about how he had wrestled a dark match the previous night and been unofficially banned from WWE for being unsafe. He showed up anyway and was asked if he wanted to face the Road Warriors. Apparently that was quite the affirmative.

CM Punk/Doug Delicious vs. Legion Of Doom

We’re joined in progress with Hawk throwing Delicious around and handing it off to Punk, who jumps Animal for some reason. This goes as well as expected, with Animal hitting a hard clothesline and a powerslam. Hawk misses a running charge into the post though, allowing Punk to get two off a snap suplex. We’re clipped (in a dark match) to Hawk hitting a double clothesline as everything breaks down. The Doomsday Device finishes Delicious at 2:44 shown (possibly out of 4:14 total). Actually not a squash and LOD looked decent enough.

From OVW TV, January 19, 2002.

Prototype vs. Randy Orton

As you probably know, the Prototype (with Kenny Bolin) is an early (and evil) John Cena. Orton sends him into the corner to start and gets two off a crossbody. A powerslam gives Orton two more as Cornette gives the hard sell for the Last Dance later this month. Prototype sends him hard into the corner for two and a sidewalk slam gets two more.

A pair of snap suplexes give Prototype two but Orton catches him on top. The ensuing superplex gives Orton two so Bolin gets on the apron. Some powder only hits the referee though so here is Rico Constantino to jump Orton as well. Bobby Eaton of all people comes in to go after Constantino and then jumps Prototype for the DQ at 6:32.

Rating: C. The match was pretty much just there, but it’s more of an historical curiosity than anything else. Cena and Orton have one of the most legendary rivalries in WWE history and seeing them both at such a young age is rather odd to see. They would get a lot better, but this was hardly a bad match, especially for developmental television.

From Dragon Gate USA Open The Ultimate Gate 2013 (the Wrestlemania XXIX weekend show).

Johnny Gargano introduces this one and it’s a bit different.

Open The Freedom Gate Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Shingo

Gargano is defending. They stare each other down to start as the fans want Shingo (better known as Shingo Takagi) to do bad things to Gargano. A battle of arm control takes them to the mat with Shingo working on the leg to limited avail. Gargano goes to the arm so Shingo gets to the ropes, allowing him to start another arm control battle. Gargano’s chops don’t work but Shingo’s certainly does, allowing Shingo to grab a headlock. A suplex puts Gargano down and it’s a backsplash for two, setting up a neck crank.

Back up and they slug it out, with Gargano not being able to get the Gargano Escape. Shingo sends him into the corner but gets caught with a quick hurricanrana. Gargano grabs a double arm crank and leans back onto the arm for a rather painful visual. A neckbreaker gives Gargano two and he actually wins a strike exchange by elbowing Shingo down in the corner. It’s back to working on the arm to keep Shingo in trouble, with a cradle even getting two.

The Gargano Escape is broken up with pure power and a clothesline sends Gargano outside. Shingo strikes away against the barricade and boots Gargano into the crowd, which is never a good idea. A superkick gets Gargano out of trouble and he runs back inside for quite the suicide dive. It works so well that Gargano does it again, only to charge into a Death Valley Driver on the floor (which probably won’t have the effect that it should).

Naturally Gargano beats the count back in, where a neckbreaker and sliding lariat give Shingo two. A slingshot DDT plants Shingo for two more and the fans are a lot more split. One heck of a clothesline puts Gargano down again and another pop up Death Valley Driver gives us a double breather. More clotheslines don’t even put Gargano down so he pulls on the Gargano Escape.

That’s broken up again and they go up top, where Shingo’s superbomb is countered into a super hurricanrana for two. The lawn dart gives Gargano another near fall and he can’t believe the kickout. They slug it out from their knees and then their feet until Shingo hits a Saito suplex and a hard clothesline for another double down. Shingo is up first with a super Death Valley Driver for two but Made In Japan is countered into the Hurts Donut (spinning full nelson faceplant).

The Gargano Escape sends Shingo over to the rope as we get a PLEASE DON’T STOP chant. Shouldn’t it be PLEASE DON’T GET PINNED OR SUBMIT TO CAUSE THE MATCH TO END? Made In Japan gives Shingo two more and the hue running clothesline gets an even nearer fall. Another Death Valley Driver gets another two and the referee gets bumped. That means it’s a low blow to drop Shingo and Gargano whips out a rope to choke him into the Gargano Escape to retain at 33:27.

Rating: B+. It’s an excellent back and forth match, but dang I was having some trouble buying that Gargano was surviving all of this. That’s been an issue of his for longer than I can remember and it was certainly true again here. Shingo definitely had the skill to back up his reputation and he felt like a big get for a show of this magnitude.

From February 7, 1993 at a WCW house show. This isn’t a complete match but it’s certainly some awesome sounding footage.

Dustin Rhodes/Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas vs. Steve Austin/Brian Pillman/Barry Windham

This is an elimination match and we’re joined in progress with Austin working on Steamboat. A suplex gives Austin one and he drops Steamboat with a clothesline to cut off a comeback attempt. Austin hits a side slam as I don’t see any partners anywhere around. Some slams stay on the back and Austin grabs a bearhug, which isn’t something you see him do very often.

With that broken up, Austin makes the mistake of spitting on Steamboat, which triggers the comeback you’re probably expecting. A top rope superplex sends Austin crashing down hard for a rather delayed two but he reverses a Tombstone into one of his own for two more. Austin goes up (this can’t end well) and Steamboat rolls through a high crossbody for the pin at 4:37 shown. Not enough shown to rate as the whole match is about 25 minutes, but these two always worked well together.

Post match Pillman runs in for the beatdown, with Windham making the save. The big brawl goes outside, with Douglas coming back in to drop Pillman onto the barricade. More wrestlers (including 2 Cold Scorpio in a Ribera shirt) can’t break it up either and the brawl continues. Johnny B. Badd and I think William (Lord Steven at the time) Regal are in there but can’t get very far either. Things finally settle down but Pillman chop blocks Douglas in the aisle and the pain is real to end things. Good match, very hot post match brawl.

From December 15, 1996, a dark match after In Your House: It’s Time.

Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind

We’re a few months after their famous match at Mind Games and Paul Bearer is here with Mankind. Michaels jumps Mankind to start on the floor and then takes him inside to hammer away. The discus lariat puts Michaels down and some right hands drop him in the corner. Michaels is sent into the steps and choked on the ropes as Mankind gets in the creepy “COME ON SEXY BOY!”.

The Mandible Claw is blocked and Michaels manages a belly to back suplex. The flying forearm lets Michaels nip up…and go right into the Mandible Claw. Well that didn’t work. They crash out to the floor, where a nasty ram into the steps is enough to get Michaels free. Mankind’s hand is sent into the steps and the top rope elbow connects inside. Bearer’s distraction lets Mankind get the urn but Michaels superkicks him down for the win at 6:56.

Rating: C+. It’s a dark match so you’re only going to get so much out of it, but it could have been far worse. These two could have a good match in their sleep and while this wasn’t quite that, it was hardly some great match that tore the house down. It doesn’t help that they had such a classic the previous time so the expectations were probably high, even though it wound up being the Cliffnotes version.

From May 5, 1993, a dark match at a Wrestling Challenge taping.

Harlem Knights vs. Tony DeVito/Mike Bell

The Knights are better known as Men On A Mission and this is their tryout match. They’re already doing the wave as Bobby (Mo) backs DeVito into the corner to start. That means more waving and an armdrag before it’s off to Nelson (Mabel), who trades hammerlocks with DeVito. Thankfully Nelson finally wakes up and realizes HE’S A GIANT AND SHOULDN’T BE DOING HAMMERLOCKS and grabs a chokebomb.

Bobby comes back in for a double elbow and we’re clipped ahead about six seconds (I’m guessing something a fan said/did) to Bell kicking Nelson low to escape another hammerlock. Nelson no sells some forearms and hits a World’s Strongest Slam, setting up the double splash for the pin at 4:49.

Rating: D. How in the world did this get them hired? Bobby barely did anything other than the waving deal and Nelson was trading hammerlocks with and selling punches from someone half his size. I could see how the team could be fun, but they completely missed the point…and then got signed anyway. Of course they did.

Overall Rating: B-. This is exactly the kind of thing I love doing with the WWE Vault, as you never know what kind of awesome stuff you might find. I just picked a bunch of matches here and watched them mostly straight through in a kind of do it yourself playlist. It’s by no means a regular playlist or anything close, but there is some stuff in there that is worth a look. I’ll definitely be doing this again, as just seeing what they had next was more than worth the time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 22, 2025
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re on a taped show this week for the sake of the holidays, which hopefully doesn’t make much of a difference. It’s one of the last shows of the year and we are building towards CM Punk defending the World Title against Bron Breakker on the first January show. That should be enough to carry us for a few weeks so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the end of last week’s Raw, with Austin Theory being revealed as the masked man and Bron Breakker spearing CM Punk to wrap things up.

Theory comes up to Paul Heyman in the back to explain why he was wearing the mask last week. He made a lot of bad decisions but then he saw the Vision taking what they wanted. That’s what Theory does now and he’d love to take the opportunity and help out. Heyman: “Interesting. Very interesting.” And he walks off.

Rhea Ripley apologizes to Iyo Sky for her getting hurt last week and asks Sky to stay in the back for this. Sky isn’t happy but agrees after a hug.

IMG Credit: WWE

Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka

Kairi Sane is here with Asuka. Ripley jumps her to start fast and sends Asuka flying before unloading with right hands. It’s too early for Riptide as Asuka bails out to the floor. That’s fine with Ripley, who sends her into the barricade but a Sane distraction cuts Ripley off, allowing Asuka to take over.

We take a break and come back with Asuka kneeing her in the face for one before firing off the kicks. A backslide gives Ripley two and she elbows Asuka down. Asuka distracts the referee though and kicks away at the chest, only for Ripley to grab a belly to back faceplant. They trade kicks to the head and they’re both down for a breather. We take another break and come back again with the Prism Trap being reversed, allowing Asuka to kick her in the head for two.

Ripley slips out of a superplex attempt and hits a Cheeky Nandos kick into an electric chair faceplant for two. They head out to the apron where Asuka gets in a German suplex but Ripley superkicks her out of the air. The Cannonball off the apron connects so Ripley goes up, only to have Sane pull her down. Cue Iyo Sky to chase her off, allowing Asuka to grab a rollup with trunks for the pin at 17:55.

Rating: B. They had a physical fight here, which isn’t a surprise in the slightest. There might be something interesting to the idea of Sky not listening to Ripley. They’ve got an actual feud going here and that should make for a big title match, likely on the first Raw of the year. While I could go for less of Ripley losing, at least she got cheated here.

The Vision isn’t sure about Austin Theory but Paul Heyman talks about how far they have come in a year. The two of them don’t have much of an argument with that, so Heyman switches out Bron Breakker for Theory in the main event.

We look back at Gunther’s big speech last week, as he reminded the fans that he made John Cena give up.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is…well it was supposed to be Maxxine Dupri but instead it’s Becky Lynch for a chat. She talks about how she’s had issues with Maxxine Dupri and thinks someone is against her. Lynch went to the heads of Netflix and they told her to go to Miserable Michigan. She hasn’t seen a single rapid in Grand Rapids, which is very misleading.

We hear about the Sports Illustrated ranking but here is Maxxine Dupri to interrupt. Dupri beat Lynch more than once and she’s willing to do it again because she is the Intercontinental Champion. Lynch is too busy complaining about everything though and it doesn’t make her look like the greatest of all time. It makes her look like someone whose best years are behind her, and that’s enough for Lynch to drop Dupri. That’s reversed into an ankle lock and Lynch taps.

We look back at Nikki Bella interrupting the Women’s Title match last week.

Adam Pearce talks to Je’Von Evans, saying they can talk about his future after Evans’ match. Stephanie Vaquer comes in to request and receive a triple threat title defense against Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez next week.

The Usos are fired up about being back in the tag division and get a Tag Team Title shot next week.

IMG Credit: WWE

Je’Von Evans vs. Rayo Americano

The other Americanos are here with Rayo. Evans flips away from him to start and hips up into a dropkick to take over. Rayo gets in a shot of his own though and starts on the arm, which earns him a hurricanrana out to the floor. Naturally that means a heck of a big dive for Evans and we take a break.

We come back with Rayo grabbing a chinlock as Graves says Rayo trained with Mil Mascaras. Evans gets up and hits a knee to the face, followed by the springboard clothesline for two. Bravo cheap shots Evans from the floor though and a Michinoku Driver gives Rayo two of his own. A slap to the face just wakes Evans up though and he comes back with a spinning kick to the head. The OG Cutter (top rope cutter) finishes Rayo at 9:53.

Rating: B-. This was a way for Evans to get out there and show what he can do on the bigger stage. There’s no real secret to the fact that he is either going to be the next big thing in NXT or just move up to the main roster. Letting him have a win like this helps move him in the right direction and he looked good in the process.

Post match Evans runs away from a beating.

AJ Styles and Dragon Lee are used to facing the best so they’re ready for the Usos next week.

Bron Breakker is ready for CM Punk and wants the real version to show up. Either way, Breakker wins the title on January 5. If Punk is just here to make money, Breakker hopes he cashed his checks, because after January 5, Punk will be broke.

Here is Nikki Bella for a chat. She is the most famous person in the arena, as she’s a Hall Of Famer and a former champion. But what would Michigan know about champions? Maybe if they were Ohio State, they would know better. She’s ready to win the title back next week because she is a big deal everywhere.

IMG Credit: WWE

Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez

Lyra Valkyria and Liv Morgan are here too. Perez rolls away from her to start to increase the frustration before shoving Bayley up against the ropes. A Bayley To Belly out of nowhere gets two and Perez sends her outside. Bayley’s dive is cut off but Perez slips out of a fireman’s carry and takes out Bayley’s knee. The knee is wrapped around the post a few times and we take a break.

We come back with Bayley still in trouble and Perez working on the leg. Bayley kicks her away but bangs up the leg a bit more in the process. The Thesz press lets Bayley hammer away as Raquel Rodriguez is out here to watch as well. Valkyria and Rodriguez get into it on the floor as Perez gets two off a spinning faceplant.

Morgan offers a distraction so Perez can send Bayley into an exposed buckle but Rodriguez gets on the apron for some reason. Morgan pulls her down for an argument and Valkyria dives onto both of them. That’s not enough as Valkyria slaps Bayley in the face to trigger the real comeback, including double knees in the corner. The top rope elbow finishes Perez at 10:40.

Rating: B-. Bayley getting more fired up and aggressive isn’t a bad thing to see as she has been needing something of a spark in recent weeks. Other than that, we have the issues among the Judgment Day, which could lead to quite the interesting development. If nothing else, it’s nice to see a non-title story where the women are allowed to develop a bit and it’s working here.

Here’s what’s coming on January 5.

Bronson Reed tells Austin Theory to follow his lead. Theory has the same idea, but in reverse.

The Judgment Day women argue, with Raquel Rodriguez saying she has to prepare for her title match.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is Gunther for a chat. The fans are all over him, though Gunther doesn’t seem to mind laughing about it. Before he says anything, he goes outside and poses on the announcers’ table. Back inside and the fans get on him again, with Gunther saying they shouldn’t be mad at him. They should be mad at the one who tapped out like a little…and here is CM Punk to get in Gunther’s face. Gunther goes to leave, but does stop for a You Can’t See Me. Rey Mysterio comes out to glare at Gunther as well.

Post break, Gunther runs into AJ Styles, who says Gunther doesn’t know when to shut up. Gunther: “Guess I don’t.”

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Austin Theory/Bronson Reed vs. CM Punk/Rey Mysterio

Paul Heyman is here too. Theory sends Mysterio into the corner to start but Punk comes in off a blind tag. Punk knocks him into the corner but Theory is right back up with a running elbow to the face. The rolling dropkick puts Punk down and we take an early break. We come back with Theory stomping on Punk’s hand before slapping on the chinlock. It’s off to Reed for a neck crank of his own, followed by a headbutt to keep Punk in trouble.

The running backsplash misses though and it’s Mysterio coming in, much to the crowd’s delight. The pace picks up, including a running seated senton off the apron as we take a break. We come back with Reed knocking Mysterio down again and dropping the backsplash for two. Theory comes back in to stomp away and a snap suplex gets two more. The sitout bulldog gets Mysterio out of trouble and it’s Punk coming in to go after Theory.

Punk strikes away, including the springboard clothesline for two, followed by the running knee in the corner. Mysterio loads up the 619 but Theory is there to cut off the 619. Mysterio connects with one to Theory instead and the slingshot splash gets two. Everything breaks down and Mysterio kicks Theory down, only to get crotched on top. The Stomp gives Theory the pin at 18:17.

Rating: B. Pretty solid and by the book main event tag match here as Theory gets to solidify himself as someone to take a bit more seriously. I have no reason to believe that’s going to last, but at least they started off by doing the right thing. Punk already has his own thing going with Bron Breakker so Mysterio was a fine choice to help make Theory look good.

Post match Bron Breakker runs in with the spear to cut Punk down and end the show.

Overall Rating: B. There was a good bit of solid wrestling this week, though it didn’t feel like a lot really happened. It was more a show that just kept things in their current place, which is acceptable, though not exactly must see content. That’s kind of perfect for a show taking place over the holiday week, as we have the big show coming up in two weeks and this was mainly designed to help set up the next two weeks. Good enough show here, but you really didn’t need to see it.

Results
Asuka b. Rhea Ripley – Rollup with trunks
Je’Von Evans b. Rayo Americano – OG Cutter
Bayley b. Roxanne Perez – Top rope elbow
Austin Theory/Bronson Reed b. CM Punk/Rey Mysterio – Stomp to Mysterio

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6