Monday Night Raw
Date: July 20, 2026
Location: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with Saturday Night’s Main Event, meaning we have less than two weeks to go before Summerslam. The big stories here continue to be Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns, with the latter getting quite the focus on Saturday. We have some more building to do though so let’s get to it.

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

Long Saturday Night’s Main Event recap.

Je’Von Evans/Dragon Lee vs. Vision

Non-title and the rest of the Vision is here too. Lee and Evans hit dives before the bell, with Lee taking over on Theory to officially start. Evans comes in for a great looking slingshot hurricanrana to Theory but Breakker is in for a double faceplant. It’s back to Lee to dropkick Theory off the apron and then superkick Breakker. Lee rolls up Breakker into a DDT for two but Breakker World’s Strongest Slams him out of the air.

We take a break and come back with Lee kicking Theory out to the floor, allowing Evans to come back in. That means the big dive to take Theory out. Evans talks to the camera and avoids a spear from Breakker, who crashes into the timekeeper’s area. Another dive cuts Breakker off and a big springboard clothesline takes Theory down. Lee gets in his top rope double stomp but Maxxine Dupri grabs the leg, allowing Breakker to hit a clothesline. Theory’s brainbuster onto the knee gets two and Breakker’s Super Spear finishes Lee at 9:42.

Rating: B. This was a rather hot opener with Evans and Lee getting to throw everything they could at the Vision but coming up short. There is a lot to be gained out of having a match like this every so often, with the fans getting the chance to enjoy a fast paced match while the champs get to win in the end. Good opener.

Post match the beatdown stays on but the Alpha Academy come in for the save. Dupri slaps Otis in the face (Logan Paul’s jaw drops in a good visual) but Otis wrecks the Vision anyway. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Breakker spears the heck out of Otis. Another Super Spear drops Otis again. Commentary again tries to make Dupri the villainess in all of this and….yeah I’m not minding seeing the Academy getting wrecked again.

We look at Fanatics Fest.

The Judgment Day jumps Danhausen, who want their money back. He has thirty seconds to go find it.

Big Cass is still coming back. Playing up that he was mostly a bust in his previous run is an interesting way to go. Now just have it be him and not Enzo Amore tagging along.

We look at Danhausen’s uncursing parade over the weekend, plus his match with JD McDonagh. This included New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns.

Here is Danhausen, with a briefcase, for a chat. This money is driving him crazy and he’s sick of it but he doesn’t want the Judgment Day to have it, so let’s give it to the Fanhausens. Cue the Judgment Day (with JD McDonagh in an old Scott Hall shirt) to say the fans aren’t getting their money so Danhausen curses them all. Joe Hendry runs in for the save but Judgment Day gets the (still closed) briefcase.

We continue the Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins history with the Wrestlemania Money In The Bank cash-in.

In the back, Joe Hendry and Danhausen yell at Judgment Day, who open the briefcase and find….fake money. JD McDonagh throws the briefcase but accidentally hits Oba Femi. McDonagh knows he screwed up, with Femi saying “you know I should kill you for this.” The match is made for right now. Dominik Mysterio protests and gets a match with Hendry later tonight as a result.

Oba Femi vs. JD McDonagh

Danhausen and Joe Hendry throw Judgment Day inside, with Femi throwing Dominik Mysterio outside. McDonagh chops Femi, earning one of the biggest backdrops I’ve seen in a long time. Some running uppercuts knock McDonagh silly and it’s a toss powerbomb into the Fall From Grace to finish McDonagh at 54 seconds.

We look at Jalen Brunson at Fanatics Fest.

Commentary is interrupted by Solo Sikoa, who says he isn’t supposed to be here but wants to talk to Seth Rollins. This brings out Rollins to welcome him to the show, but Rollins gets in the important question: are they here to talk or to fight? Sikoa says he’s just here to talk and says that Summerslam is going to be Rollins vs. the entire Bloodline. Rollins seems to accept this but Sikoa says it doesn’t have to be that way. Sikoa can have his back at Summerslam, with Rollins saying he’ll think about it.

That doesn’t work for Sikoa, who says he can be for Rollins what Rollins was for Cody Rhodes. That has Rollins thinking but here is Jacob Fatu to interrupt, with Sikoa bailing out into the crowd. Rollins drops Fatu with a superkick and leaves him in the corner. This was the dramatics portion and Rollins seems interested in Sikoa’s help. I’m mostly expecting Sikoa to join the Bloodline at Summerslam, but it’s not a lock.

We look at Chad Gable and Penta having a staredown at the Summerslam Kickoff.

Ethan Page/Rusev vs. Penta/Chad Gable

Rusev jumps Penta to start fast and a double suplex gets two. Everything breaks down and Rusev backdrops Penta onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Penta hitting a high crossbody. That’s enough for Gable to come in and roll some German suplexes on Page. The moonsault misses though and Rusev plants Gable for two, with Penta making the save. Everything breaks down and Gable gets caught in the Accolade, which is reversed into an ankle lock. Penta uses them as a launch pad for a Mexican Destroyer to Page, leaving Rusev to tap at 8:38.

Rating: B-. This was a good back and forth match and Penta getting the win gets him even closer to winning the title at Summerslam. I’m not sold on him doing it while staying completely on the side of good, though that very well may be where it goes. At least they’re making it feel important, which isn’t surprising given how well Gable has gotten over lately.

Video on Seth Rollins beating Roman Reigns at Money In The Bank 2016.

Rollins taunts Jacob Fatu in an effort to get him to break Roman Reigns’ orders. Fatu says what happened earlier tonight won’t happen again and violence is promised for after Summerslam.

Yet even more from Fanatics Fest.

Paul Heyman sits down to talk about being the advocate for Brock Lesnar. He has been asked to not use the word violence but how does he sell the Cell without it? Heyman hypes up Lesnar being undefeated in the Cell and how many people think it’s ending at Summerslam. Femi has had the greatest rookie year in WWE since Lesnar, but it comes to an end at the hands of Lesnar himself.

Then Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns got back together for a bit.

We look at Gunther vs. Nick Aldis being set up at yesterday’s Summerslam Kickoff.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Joe Hendry

Mysterio, with Liv Morgan, isn’t defending his AAA Mega Title here. Hendry gets stomped down in the corner to start but comes right back with a rather delayed vertical suplex. Back up and Mysterio sends him outside, only for Hendry to pull a dive out of the air. That earns Mysterio a quick toss but Morgan posts Hendry. Cue Danhausen to load up the Curse but Morgan hits him in the face.

We take a break and come back with Hendry muscling him up for another suplex. A discus lariat gives Hendry two but Mysterio is back with a springboard tornado DDT. Cue the Danhausenmobile with Iyo Sky, who brawls with Morgan. They go inside and Danhausen gives Mysterio a Triple D to give an appreciative Hendry the pin at 10:21.

Rating: C+. This was quite the messy situation with Danhausen showing up twice, but the good thing is that Hendry actually got a win. He has something going on and that’s more than you could really say about a lot of his time on the main roster thus far. The match wasn’t exactly outstanding, but they were focusing on almost everything but the wrestling anyway.

We look at Cody Rhodes and CM Punk getting into it at the Summerslam Kickoff event and having to be held apart.

We look at Roman Reigns and Jalen Brunson fending off Seth Rollins and Tyrese Haliburton at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio is confirmed for Summerslam.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu

Before the match, Knight isn’t sure how Solo Sikoa can be out here offering to help Seth Rollins because it’s making him sick. The fans chant for Reigns, with Knight saying he can’t even blame them for that because Reigns has begged for acceptance for years. Knight is everything WWE wanted Reigns to be for years. Now though, Sikoa is wanting to help a cross eyed goof like Rollins. The idea should have been destroying the Bloodline for good but Fatu is not going to be able to beat him, even with the Mortal Kombat music and the shaking.

Cue Fatu and we’re ready to go, shockingly with Fatu hammering away in the corner to start. It’s too early for the running Umaga Attack though and Knight wraps the leg around the post. That just earns him a suicide dive but Fatu is sent knees first into the steps. A Samoan drop onto the apron cuts Knight off again, only to have him come back with a dropkick through the ropes. Knight gets in a clothesline off the apron and we take a break. We come back with Knight’s neckbreaker getting two but Fatu catches him up top.

That lets Fatu go up, with Knight running the corner for the top rope superplex. They’re both down so here is Jimmy Uso, with Solo Sikoa showing up to go after him. Fatu hits the suicide dive to cut Sikoa off but he walks into the BFT. Uso distracts the referee but here is Royce Keys to cut him off. Jey Uso runs through the crowd and fires off some superkicks to Keys until Knight is back up with a dive. Back in and Fatu gives Knight a pop up Samoan drop. The triple jump moonsault finishes for Fatu at 11:55.

Rating: B-. This was the rather wild main event to wrap up the show and that’s a good way to build up the Summerslam six man. Knight losing again isn’t the best look but he seems to be in for something a bit bigger at the moment. That being said, Fatu is still a monster and the fact that he has such a good looking moonsault makes it that much better.

Post match Sikoa runs in but gets taken out by the Usos. Keys is back in to slug it out with Fatu, with the USB putting Fatu down. The Usos superkick and 1D Keys but Knight is back up as well. That earns him a Tongan Death Grip from Fatu and a string of running Umaga Attacks. The Bloodline stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The important thing here is that it felt like they were trying, as you could tell the vast majority of the show was built around setting up Summerslam. The two top matches are both pretty much made for Summerslam so this was about almost everything else. I’d call that a success, as you could feel the energy and effort here to make things that much better. Rather good show here, and Summerslam gets a needed push forward.

Results
Vision b. Dragon Lee/Je’Von Evans – Super Spear to Lee
Oba Femi b. JD McDonagh – Fall From Grace
Chad Gable/Penta b. Rusev/Ethan Page – Ankle lock to Rusev
Joe Hendry b. Dominik Mysterio – Triple D
Jacob Fatu b. LA Knight – Triple Jump moonsault

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: July 13, 2026
Location: American Airlines Arena, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re on the way to Saturday Night’s Main Event and that means it is time to finalize the Raw side of the card. The show is only feeling so important with Summerslam coming a few weeks after but that is often an issue with these specials. Hopefully they can put something together here with Brock Lesnar in the house. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar, with a bunch of cops, to get things going. The fans keep chanting for Oba Femi, with Heyman explaining how obsessed Femi is with facing Lesnar. Heyman finds it interesting to see Femi being obsessed because so many people are until they get hit in the face.

This time though, Lesnar is obsessed with Femi and has been looking past hunting trips and training camp to get his hands on Femi in the Cell. Before then though, Heyman has gone to a judge and gotten a restraining order to prevent any violence. Lesnar takes his hat off because he’ll be abiding by the judge’s orders, but here is Femi (in a RUN FROM THE RULER shirt, making me picture him as the nun in the Blues Brothers) to interrupt.

Femi is here to fight so Lesnar and Heyman leave, with Femi beating up the cops. With Lesnar and Heyman on the stage, Femi says he would have gotten his title shot but Lesnar would have cost him anyway. At Summerslam, there is no more running. Not much here, but the match has already been set up.

We get the start of a series on Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, with the formation of the Shield. This is basically “here’s the Shield, they’re awesome”.

Iyo Sky vs. Roxanne Perez

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are here with Perez. It’s a brawl to start with Sky taking her down for some knees to the ribs. Back up and they trade some rollups for two each until Perez kicks her in the ribs. They head outside for the fight over a suplex, with Sky dropping her down to the floor. An Asai moonsault connects but Morgan offers a distraction, allowing Perez to twist the leg as we take a break.

We come back with Perez tying her in the Tree Of Woe and kicking at the knee some more. Sky gets her knees up to block a moonsault and hitting a butterfly backbreaker for another two. There’s the missile dropkick but the running knee only hits buckls. Perez grabs a Haas Of Pain, with Sky reversing into a crossface. That’s broken up as well so Judgment Day offers a distraction, only for Sky to roll through a rollup and pin Perez at 9:35.

Rating: B-. This was one of those basic steps in a long story as Sky is on her way to a title match at Summerslam but they have so long on the road to the title match. Sky beating Morgan’s friends is a good way to go and she outsmarted the Judgment Day to win here. They have a few weeks to go and at least this first part went well.

Post match the beatdown is still on until Sol Ruca runs in for the save. That earns her a swing into the barricade and a powerbomb against the post, followed by a belt shot to leave Sky laying.

We recap the issues with the Bloodline on Smackdown.

Here is the Vision, now with Maxxine Dupri, to brag about getting the Tag Team Titles back. Dupri goes to explain but here is the sad looking Alpha Academy to interrupt. They want an explanation and beg her to come back but she didn’t think it was fair that she had to pick between them. Otis told her that Austin Theory was bad news but she insists that they don’t even know Theory. As Otis seems ready to confess his feelings for Dupri, Theory gets on the apron to laugh the whole thing off.

The fight is on with Tozawa diving at Bron Breakker, who suplexes him clean over the announcers’ table. Back in and the beatdown continues but Otis fights back in the corner. Otis goes to kiss Dupri but Theory gets in a low blow. Breakker hits a huge spear to Tozawa and another drops Otis as well. This is supposed to be some big sad moment but I’m really not that mad about Dupri getting to be happy with the successful team over some comedy losers.

Survivor Series is in Houston.

The people in the gauntlet match for an Intercontinental Title shot want to win the gauntlet match for an Intercontinental Title shot.

Royce Keys vs. Jimmy Uso

This is an impromptu match and we’re joined in progress after a break, as the two got in a fight in the aisle during the commercial. Keys hammers away as we recap how the match was set up. A high crossbody gives Jimmy a breather and he enziguris Keys outside. That earns Uso some rams into various objects on the floor, only to come back with a Samoan drop onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Keys catching him in a powerslam as Jacob Fatu arrives in the back. Fatu comes into the arena and lays Keys out for the DQ at 6:53.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here as so much of the match was spent in the break. At the same time, Keys is the latest name to be pulled into the Bloodline Vortex, which might seem like a good thing but will likely only lead to a bunch of beatdowns. You really couldn’t have him pin Uso here before the big beating?

Post match Fatu wrecks Keys and wraps a chair around his neck in the corner. Solo Sikoa pops up to call Fatu off though, saying blood is thicker than water. That’s why he’s coming home to the family. They do the big pose and Sikoa Spikes Uso but the Bloodline is back up. LA Knight comes in for the real save, though a chair to the back just wakes Fatu up. Knight chairs him to the floor and says that’s not enough because he wants the two of them in this ring. Throw in Jey Uso too and let’s do that six man thing at Summerslam.

Paul Heyman applauds the Vision for their efforts but says that Maxxine Dupri was so great tonight….that they don’t need him anymore. And Heyman walks away. If that’s it for the team, fair enough, as it really wasn’t working and needs a new direction.

Video on the Cell.

Oba Femi comes up to Adam Pearce and threatens a lot of violence in the Cell.

Bayley is in the ring and invites Lyra Valkyria to join her. Valkyria does show up and Bayley asks for an apology, but Valkyria thinks she deserves the apology. If Bayley could realize her own problems, she would realize why so many people turn on her. Valkyria has always lied to Bayley to make her feel good because the reality is Bayley is a doormat. Her face shouldn’t be on the posters and she drags everyone down.

Bayley has always been the worst of the Four Horsewomen but she lists off some of her own accomplishments. She’s going to add beating Valkyria at Madison Square Garden, because their match is set for Saturday Night’s Main Event. Valkyria’s cheap shot is cut off but she beats Bayley up anyway. They were doing it there or at Summerslam so this makes sense.

We look at the Shield splitting up, with the chair shot that ultimately lead to the creation of the Bloodline.

Big Cass is back on August 3. If he’s alone, it’ll be fine. Therefore, it won’t be fine.

Gauntlet Match

Seven entries for an Intercontinental Title shot at Summerslam and it’s Dominik Mysterio in at #1 and Joe Hendry in at #2. Hendry starts fast and takes over, including a slam to put Mysterio down. They go outside with Hendry being whipped hard into the steps and the fans are all over Mysterio. Back in and the slingshot hilo connects but Hendry blocks the Three Amigos. Hendry gets in the fall away slam but JD McDonagh offers a distraction. The 619 into the frog splash gets rid of Hendry at 4:52.

Je’Von Evans is in at #3 and, after a break, is taken down by McDonagh on the floor. Evans sends Mysterio into the announcers’ table though and a spinning enziguri gets two back inside. McDonagh gets caught interfering so Evans hits him in the face, only to get 619ed. Mysterio goes up….and here is Danhausen to CURSE him. The pyro goes off in the wrong corner (Danhausen realizes he messed up) but it’s the OG Cutter to give Evans the pin at 11:10.

Dragon Lee is in at #4 and sends Evans outside for the big running flip dive as we take another break. We come back with Evans winning a slugout and taking it outside. Lee is sent into the timekeeper’s area, where a big dive takes him down again. They get back inside where Lee plants Evans for two, only to get rolled up for the pin at 15:36. Rusev is in at #5 and we take a break.

We come back with Rusev unloading on Evans, at least until he knocks Rusev outside. The big no hands dive gives Evans two back inside but Rusev slams him down. The Accolade goes on, with Evans making the rope. That’s not acceptable for Rusev, who pulls him back in, only to have Evans stand up (!) and drop down for the save. Rusev pulls him right back in though and Evans is out at 27:15.

Chad Gable is in at #6 and the rolling suplexes have Rusev in trouble. Rusev is able to catch him with a release Rock Bottom though and we take a break. We come back with a superplex and Angle Slam being blocked. Instead Rusev superkicks him into the Accolade but Gable slips out for a German suplex into the corner.

A victory roll pins Rusev at 34:26 but Rusev Accolades Gable again. Ethan Page is in at #7 and Page’s running big boot gets two but he’s caught in the ankle lock. That’s reversed into a Confidence Breaker for two, only for Gable to reverse an Egoplex into the Angle Slam for two. The ankle lock gives Gable the win at 38:18.

Rating: B. This worked well as I wasn’t sure who was going to win. Gable going forward is the right way to go, as he is long overdue for some singles success of his own. I’d assume he wins the title, but the question would seem to be how. For right now, he’s having good matches and the fans are behind him so you can only ask for so much more than that. This was rather long but flew by and that’s a nice feeling for the big featured match designed to eat up a bunch of the show’s time.

Post match Penta comes in for the staredown.

We look at the recent Smackdown World Title issues, leading to a tag match at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Roman Reigns arrives.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

It’s time for the contract signing with Roman Reigns coming to the ring (already containing Adam Pearce) first. After the catchphrase, here is Seth Rollins to interrupt and join in. Rollins signs before his music finishes playing and says him beating Reigns is one of those things you can’t avoid. With his feet on the table, Rollins tells Reigns to get on with this but Reigns says he wishes Rollins that last week.

Last week Rollins proved himself to be Reigns’ #1 hater (the fans like that one) and Reigns doesn’t like that because it has people believing they’re on the same level. Reigns will prove the difference between the two of them at Summerslam, where he’ll show Rollins what #1 looks like. That’s enough for Reigns to sign and we’re officially set. Rollins is rather pleased with him for keeping the title warm and he’ll see Reigns the next time he wants to show up for work.

Reigns cuts him off and asks what happens if Rollins does win. Is he going to hold the title for a few months and then get hurt again? It’s what happens every single time because some people just can’t handle the pressure of being the top guy around here. That brings Rollins back inside to tell Reigns to just say something. Reigns says he knows Rollins is #2 because after all of these years, he still needs Money In The Bank and a fake injury to win the title. If there was ever a time to be #1, Rollins’ work daddy HHH is basically running the place!

They gave Rollins all of Reigns’ stuff but he still couldn’t walk in Reigns’ shoes. Reigns will always be #1 and Rollins will always be #2 so just acknowledge it b****. Rollins asks if that’s all he has, and says that they’re not doing the same thing. He’s glad that he isn’t Reigns and the fight is on, with Rollins beating him down. The Stomp is countered with a Superman Punch but Rollins uses a microphone to get out of a powerbomb. Now the Stomp connects and Rollins stares down at him to end the show. This went on for a bit and Reigns basically destroyed him on the mic, as Rollins didn’t have much to respond to him.

Overall Rating: B. They were in a rough spot (again) because they’re trying to build to a few things at once. Saturday Night’s Main Event does feel bigger this time around, but when you already have Summerslam mostly set, the Saturday special only matters so much. The wrestling was a big different here too, with one scheduled match, an impromptu match (that’s not a bad thing) and then a very long six fall match. It worked out fine, but this was definitely something a bit different and I’m not sure how often they could pull it off.

Results
Iyo Sky b. Roxanne Perez – Rollup
Royce Keys b. Jimmy Uso via DQ when Jacob Fatu interfered
Chad Gable won a gauntlet match last eliminating Ethan Page

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

AAA On FOX
Date: July 11, 2026
Location: Arena Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

We’re on to a new taping cycle and the big story coming out of last week was the debut of Damian Priest. That’s quite the big name for AAA and it should be interesting to see what he does in his new surroundings. Dominik Mysterio is supposed to be here as well, but that has been somewhat misleading before. Let’s get to it.

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

Dragon Lee vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Mini Vikingo

For a future Cruiserweight Title shot. Cartwheel is knocked down to start and Vikingo snaps off a running hurricanrana to Lee. Cartwheel dives onto both of them before backflipping into a standoff with Vikingo back inside. Another big dive hits Vikingo on the floor but Lee catches Cartwheel going up. Vikingo breaks up Lee’s double stomp with a super Spanish Fly, leaving Cartwheel to get caught with the running knees in the corner.

Lee is back up to stomp Vikingo but Cartwheel’s slingshot splash gets two. Cartwheel escapes Lee’s Styles Clash attempt and Vikingo cuts off Lee’s dive. Vikingo is sent over the announcers’ table, leaving the other two to brawl. Back in and Cartwheel Spanish Flies Lee for two, only to miss a shooting star press. A sitout powerbomb drops Cartwheel for two but Lee hits the Styles Clash. Vikingo is back in with a 630 to steal the pin on Cartwheel at 8:19.

Rating: B. I’m running out of ways to talk about how much fun these three ways have been. You know exactly what you’re going to get with them but they wind up being all kinds of entertaining anyway. That’s all it needed to be and they seem to be trying something with Mini Vikingo. It’s a good way to start the show and it worked again here.

Post match respect is shown.

Rey Mysterio goes to see El Grande Americano and warns him about Los Perros del Mal. Americano isn’t backing down but he can’t win this alone. Dominik Mysterio comes in to say Los Perros view Americano as weak and they might be right. Rey is glad to have Dominik here again and leaves. Dominik is ready to face Americano at TripleMania but warns him that it won’t happen if Americano is taken out by Los Perros. Don’t worry though, because Dominik will have his back. Americano isn’t quite impressed.

Mini Vikingo stops Dorian Roldan and Omos, saying they bet on the wrong Vikingo.

Here is El Ojo to deal with the fate of the Latin American Title after the injury to El Hijo del Vikingo. Dorian Roldan says he is here for some sad news, as El Hijo del Vikingo is out for weeks after surgery. Once he gets back, they’re going to sue Rey Mysterio (JBL: “Good.”). For now though, there is going to be a new Latin American Champion and it’s…Omos. Well that got more complicated.

This brings out Rey Mysterio to interrupt, saying he knows what Vikingo is going through as he has had a bunch of knee surgeries in his own right. For now though, Omos has one change to hand over the title…and he does just that. The title is officially vacant and he’ll have an announcement about the crowning of a new champion next week. That was a good head fake but just handing the title to an unstoppable monster wasn’t a great idea.

Damian Priest wants in on the Latin American Title.

It’s time for the weekly Rey Mysterio press conference. Verano de Escalando will be a three week event with a main event each week. First up, Mini Vikingo challenges Rey Fenix for the Cruiserweight Title. Also at the show, Lady Shani and La Catalina are challenging Flammer for the Reina de Reinas Title. Finally, we’ll have a #1 contenders match for the Mixed Tag Team Titles, with Faby Apache teaming with Joaquin Wilde against La Hiedra/Laredo Kid, with the title match at Verano de Escalando. More coming next week.

Money Machine vs. Noisy Boy/Epydemius Jr.

Plata and Noisy start things off with Noisy working on an early wristlock. Plata easily sends him down but Noisy backflips away into a quick pose. Oro comes in to headlock Jr., who flips away into a similar pose as the team seems to have a trend. Jr. grabs an armbar to hand it off to Noisy, whose assisted spinning backsplash gets two.

Plata grabs Noisy from the apron though and a suicide dive cuts off Jr. on the floor. A double big boot gets two on Noisy, who rolls underneath a double clothesline and dives over to tag Jr. Noisy’s spinning super hurricanrana brings Plata down so Jr. adds a big running flip dive. Oro gets dropped with a poisonrana but Plata is back in to elbow Jr. Everyone is down…and here are Los Perros del Mal for the double DQ at 8:00.

Rating: B-. This was a weird choice for a main event but AAA can be a weird show at times. There’s nothing wrong with going in a different direction, though it felt like a matter of time until the real story took place. That’s not a bad thing either, as I wasn’t sure where the whole thing was going. At least we got some nice flips and dives in the meantime.

Post match the beatdown is on and Los Perros call out El Grande Americano. Cue Americano with Los Americanos but the three of them are beaten down as well. Dominik Mysterio runs in with a chair for the real save and issues the challenge for a tag match. JBL is stunned as Americano and Mysterio shake hands to end the show. This doesn’t sound logical for Americano but it’s a long way to TripleMania.

Overall Rating: B-. The point of this show was to set up some things for the future, with Verano de Escalando starting to come together. The good thing is that even those special shows aren’t overly long so there is only so much that needs to be done. As usual, this show didn’t wear out its welcome, which makes even the less important shows like this one easy to watch.

Results
Mini Vikingo b. Jack Cartwheel and Dragon Lee – 630 to Cartwheel
Money Machine vs. Noisy Boy/Epydemius Jr. went to a double DQ when Los Perros del Mal 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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 6, 2026
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re ready for a big World Title match, as Cody Rhodes challenges Sami Zayn for the Smackdown World Title. GM Adam Pearce has said that we’re seeing some Smackdown stars over here for something of a super show, which is code for “PLEASE WATCH US INSTEAD OF THE WORLD CUP!”. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Sami Zayn winning the Smackdown World Title at Night Of Champions from Cody Rhodes, with Rhodes winning the #1 contenders match on the following Smackdown. They face off tonight.

Zayn arrives with the title (unlike Roman Reigns, who has the title handed to him) and is greeted by some adoring fans, only to run into Rhodes. Zayn says he’s going to win and here is Gunther to put Rhodes through a table. Referees tell Gunther to get out of here so he tells Zayn, who is just standing by watching this happen, that he’s coming for the title. Gunther slams a door on Rhodes’ head and the main event gets a lot more interesting.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. He hits his catchphrases and says he loves this building, which draws the CM PUNK chants. Rollins tells them to get it out of their systems because he doesn’t care about Punk right now. That’s not his business, because his business is the World Title and beating Roman Reigns at Summerslam. The fans chant for Reigns but Rollins says that Reigns isn’t here tonight because he can get away with anything.

The Shield debuted as a trio but it was clear that Reigns was going to be the guy. He was going to be on the marquee and headlining events, whether or not he could cut a promo or wrestle his way out of a paper bag. Rollins points out a nine year old in the front row and another kid near him. He remembers being that age and wanting to be in the main events himself.

That’s why he broke up the Shield and stole Reigns’ Wrestlemania main event: to stay close to Reigns. He believed that he and Reigns were running the same race and he could keep up with Reigns through hard work and skill but he was wrong. A few years ago, Reigns said something that changed everything for Rollins: Reigns works one tenth of the time for ten times the work and he was so proud of it that it made Rollins sick. Rollins never did this for the money because the work was the reward.

Reigns needs to beat Rollins so Reigns can prove that he isn’t a fraud. At the same time, Rollins needs to win to prove to himself that you can still achieve greatness through hard work…and here is LA Knight to interrupt. Knight isn’t happy with how boring it has been with Reigns and Rollins because all Rollins had to do was talk nice about Reigns and get a title shot. He remembers when you had to win something to get title shots and Knight is sick about hearing about how Reigns and Rollins are best friends and can get matching haircuts.

Knight is never going to have as many title shots as Rollins but he remembers the fans chanting LA KNIGHT until the Bloodline and Rollins cut him off. They tried to bury Knight because they’re great at manipulating people to hold them down. Knight will rise because he must rise. Rollins: “You done?”

Rollins doesn’t like Knight but he respects him, so Knight can be the first person put in the dirt after Rollins wins the title at Summerslam. We’re still not done though as Rollins leaves, but Jimmy Uso shows up to superkick Knight before leaving. This was two big moments in one, with Rollins giving a bit of a shaky reason for the match happening (because Rollins saying he did EVERYTHING to keep up with Reigns is quite the stretch) and Knight still trying to get into the title picture, which he’s been trying to do for months.

Gunther is being escorted out but here is Nick Aldis to yell at him. Adam Pearce yells at Aldis, who blames Pearce for Cody Rhodes getting hurt.

The Vision is on the way to the ring for their shot at the Tag Team Titles but Paul Heyman shows up to yell at them for their recent failings. Either come back with the titles or don’t come back at all.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. The Vision

The Profits are defending and Logan Paul is with the Vision. Theory sends Ford into the corner to start as the fans are distracted by something. Ford flips away from Theory and brings in Dawkins for a running shoulder. A running shoulder drops Theory for two and it’s off to Breakker, who is staggered with a dropkick. Theory offers a distraction though and a very fast running clothesline puts Dawkins down as we take a break.

We come back with Ford getting the tag and hitting some running clotheslines to Ford. A jumping enziguri and a high crossbody gives Ford two but Breakker plants him with a powerslam. That’s shrugged off and Dawkins comes back in for the Doomsday Blockbuster for two on Theory. The double underhook spinning neckbreaker drops Theory again so Paul slips in the brass knuckles. Those are caught so Paul gives Breakker another set, with Ford cutting Breakker off with the big running flip dive. Dawkins loads up the knuckles but here is Maxxine Dupri to hit Dawkins low, giving Theory the pin and the titles at 8:46.

Rating: B-. That’s something of a surprise, though I’m glad that we finally got to the point with the Dupri/Theory thing. They’ve been teasing it for a long time and it’s nice to see them finally pull the trigger. At the same time, if the Vision is going to be sticking around, they absolutely needed the title win to stop their ridiculous bleeding, at least a little bit. I’m just not sure where they go as champions, as we’ve pretty much covered a lot of this already.

Post match Dupri jumps into Theory’s arm to kiss him as Graves says love tops all.

Cody Rhodes is banged up and the doctor says he can’t sign off on him wrestling tonight without more scans.

Paul Heyman meets the Vision again and says that was a first step, but it’s only a first step. At least someone got something accomplished tonight. Austin Theory thanks Heyman, but Heyman was talking to Maxxine Dupri. The team leaves together, with Heyman staying behind. The Alpha Academy comes up and looks crushed.

We look at the Judgment Day beating up Iyo Sky last week.

Judgment Day fires up Raquel Rodriguez before her shot against Sol Ruca.

Next week there is a gauntlet match for the Intercontinental Title shot at Summerslam.

Intercontinental Champion Penta is ready for the gauntlet match, when Ethan Page and Rusev (both in the gauntlet match) come in to interrupt. They mock Rey Mysterio for being hurt again but Dragon Lee and Chad Gable come up to defend lucha’s honor. A tag match is set up for tonight.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sol Ruca

Ruca is defending and gets backed into the corner to start. Rodriguez powers her to the mat and cuts Ruca off for some elbows in the corner. Back up and Ruca sends her to the floor for a missed middle rope moonsault. Instead Ruca cartwheels away on the apron and busts out a springboard corkscrew dive. Back in and Rodriguez absolutely nails a clothesline to take Ruca’s head off as we go to a break.

We come back with Ruca getting in a crossbody and firing off the strikes so Roxanne Perez offers a distraction. Liv Morgan breaks up the Sol Snatcher so Rodriguez grabs the spinning side slam for two. Cue Iyo Sky to moonsault onto the interferers, leaving Ruca to grab the Sol Snatcher and retain at 10:17.

Rating: B-. The good thing is that Ruca didn’t miss a bunch of stuff here and it was one of her better performances on the main roster. The bigger issue though is the women of the Judgment Day, as the team is hardly doing very well. Liv Morgan is pushing things about as far as she can and now we get to see where that goes, though I’m not sure I can picture it ending well around Summerslam.

Video on Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar from last week, setting up their match in the Cell at Summerslam.

Here is Paul Heyman to talk about Lesnar being inspired by Femi. That’s why Lesnar attacked Femi last week because Lesnar is ready to fight. There is no way Femi is coming out of the Cell because Lesnar will destroy him. Cue Femi and Heyman knows this isn’t good. Heyman says that he’s here to prevent people from making mistakes.

Lesnar and Femi have shown that the other is beatable so now it is time to see who goes forward. Femi did not just agree to a cage match, because Lesnar is that much different inside the Cell. Heyman goes over some of the things Lesnar has done in the “Brocktagon” and only Lesnar will walk out of the Cell at Summerslam. Femi says Lesnar finally showed up last week so he knows every single word got to him. He knows Lesnar watches the show and here is Heyman to write checks that Lesnar cannot cash.

All Heyman is today is a mouth, but how can you feed a mouth if you have no head? It’s true that Lesnar has beaten some men in a cage but they aren’t Oba Femi. Heyman is here as damage control and this is the end of Femi vs. Lesnar inside the Cell. Femi will beat Lesnar in front of his friends, family, wife and children. He’ll see Lesnar in Hell and a shaken Heyman bails. Femi is making this sound legitimate and I want to see Femi survive and beat Lesnar in the Cell, as it leaves him with all kinds of options.

Sami Zayn is told that Cody Rhodes cannot wrestle tonight and Zayn thinks it’s terrible. Well I think he does at least as the CM PUNK chants drown him out a bit. Zayn says he was looking forward to facing Rhodes but he never quite understood why he was defending on Raw. Adam Pearce comes in to say there is going to be a title match tonight. No opponent is given. Most interesting indeed and they’re not being subtle about where this is going.

El Grande Americano was at the World Cup match in Mexico last night.

Chad Gable/Dragon Lee vs. Rusev/Ethan Page

The villains jump them to start fast until we settle down to Page stomping Lee down, naturally with some insults thrown in for good measure. Rusev hits a suplex but misses a charge, allowing Gable to come in for the rolling German suplexes. Everything breaks down and Rusev has to save Page, with Gable launching Lee over the top onto both of them as we take a break. We come back with Gable fighting out of trouble, allowing the tag to Lee. A tornado DDT (with Lee’s feet missing the rope) drops Page and everything breaks down. Lee kicks at Rusev but gets pulled into the Accolade for the tap at 9:11.

Rating: C+. It feels like we’re on the way to Gable FINALLY winning the Intercontinental Title at Summerslam and he was getting quite the star reception here. Have him win the gauntlet match next week and everything is fine. At the same time, Rusev and Page have looked like a rather nice team, which is something WWE could use. While I like Page going on his own, why not see if there is any juice to having them together?

Post match Rusev won’t let go so Gable tries for the save, only to get Accoladed as well. Joe Hendry runs in for the save. That earns him the same treatment and the villains pose.

We look at LA Knight’s issues with the Bloodline, both last week and earlier tonight.

Jimmy Uso is going to leave and promises to deal with Solo Sikoa on Smackdown. LA Knight comes up to go after him but Jacob Fatu cuts it off and drops Knight.

An emotional Bayley talks about her history with Lyra Valkyria. She met Valkyria at a signing where Bayley made time to talk about Valkyria’s career, but apparently that means nothing. Bayley was there for her, just like Valkyria was there for Bayley, but they couldn’t have a real talk about what happened. Bayley wants to see her next week, face to face.

Nick Aldis tells Adam Pearce that he has a replacement for Cody Rhodes and he’s in the building. All Pearce has to do is thank him.

Video on Danhausen vs. Judgment Day, with JD McDonagh being ready to face him at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Smackdown World Title: Sami Zayn vs. ???

Zayn is defending against, say it with me, CM Punk, who returns to the hero’s welcome you knew he would receive. After a VERY long entrance from Punk, he gives his shirt to a fan in the front row and then drops Zayn with a running shoulder. An atomic drop out of the corner lets Punk rain down some right hands but Zayn gets in a shot of his own. Punk pulls him to the floor and hits a suicide dive as we take an early break.

We come back with Zayn firing off some crossface shots to the head, followed by a middle rope ax handle for two. The chinlock goes on but Punk is back up with the running knee in the corner and a swinging neckbreaker for two. The GTS and Blue Thunder Bomb are both countered and a big clothesline gives Punk two more. Zayn catches him with a superplex though and they’re both down as we take another break.

We come back again with the two of them on their knees and then on their feet in a slugout. The GTS is countered again so Punk kicks him in the head, setting up another knee in the corner. This time Zayn reverses the bulldog into the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Punk drops him again. A middle rope elbow misses so Punk switches to the Anaconda Vice, with Zayn using his legs to power out.

The same rollup Zayn used to beat Rhodes gets two and they need a double breather. Back up and Zayn hits a GTS of his own for two and Zayn can’t believe the kickout. Punk is able to exploder Zayn into the corner but a Helluva Kick is countered into another GTS. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Zayn two but Punk is back up with a Helluva Kick of his own. The real GTS gives Punk the pin and the title at 20:38.

Rating: B+. Yeah this wound up working very well, with Punk getting the big heroic moment to win the title in front of his hometown fans. They’re pretty clearly going with Punk vs. Rhodes at Summerslam (like it or not) and I’m really not sure where that leaves Zayn. Maybe he gets his rematch on the way to Summerslam, but I can’t picture him being in the title match.

At the same time, there are going to be some issues with Zayn losing the title only nine days after winning it, but I’m not sold on that being a terrible thing. Zayn feels like he’s in the Mick Foley camp, where the big moment of him actually winning the title is what really matters, with the reign being a pure bonus. As Zayn said, he will always be a former champion, and he won the title clean over the reigning champion. While I could have gone with him getting a longer reign, Zayn got his big moment and that’s what is going to matter.

Punk celebrates in the crowd for a good while to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well you can’t call it boring. There was really no hiding what they were setting up for the main event as the fans would have burned the place down if Punk hadn’t shown up given the circumstances. That’s quite the push towards Summerslam, which now seemingly has a triple main event and it should be fun to see how they get played out. The problem is getting everything else set up as there are two nights to cover, though I’m wondering what they have planned for the Smackdown side. Good show here, as it not only felt important but got the huge moment in the end.

Results
The Vision b. Street Profits – Low blow to Dawkins
Sol Ruca b. Raquel Rodriguez – Sol Snatcher
Ethan Page/Rusev b. Chad Gable/Dragon Lee – Accolade to Lee
CM Punk b. Sami Zayn – 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: June 22, 2026
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Michael, Corey Graves

It’s the last Raw before Night Of Champions and the two tournament finals are set. That means we’re going to be seeing something in the way of the last push towards the finals, which could make for some interesting showdowns. We also have some titles on the line and that should make for a hot crowd. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video on the King and Queen Of The Ring and what winning the tournaments mean.

Here is Oba Femi to get things going. He loves hearing the fans chant his name but moves on to destiny having his back for years. Lady destiny has been very kind to him over the years and it will continue to do so this Saturday. But who should he come after? The fans seem more interested in Femi vs. Roman Reigns, which brings out Jey Uso to interrupt. This means the full, and very long entrance as Femi just kind of glares at him.

The fans want him to run it back and Femi says he’s putting an end to that, so of course Uso does it anyway. With that out of the way, Uso talks about how people are saying he can’t win King Of The Ring, but he knows how to overcome mountains. On Saturday, he’s winning the crown and then at Summerslam, he’s taking Cody Rhodes’ title.

Femi tells him that if he shoots, he better not miss because if he does, Femi will destroy him. Femi: “And if you don’t miss, I will still destroy you.” The thing is Uso isn’t the member of the family he is worried about, so give Roman Reigns the bullets. Teasing Femi getting into the main event scene, especially against Reigns, is a big deal but that Brock Lesnar shaped shadow is an even bigger roadblock

We look back at Jacob Fatu attacking Eric Andre last week.

Adam Pearce is on the phone and runs into LA Knight, who thinks Pearce is on the phone with the Bloodline so they can give him orders. Jimmy Uso comes in to complain about Knight hitting him with a chair last week. Pearce tries to break it up but knight tells him to shut up. Pearce makes the match between them tonight. Knight says that’s a terrible idea and suggests…himself vs. Jimmy tonight. Uso: “THAT’S WHAT HE SAID!” Knight doesn’t care because he didn’t listen to Pearce so the match is on. Pearce’s confused face at Knight made this whole thing worth it.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Lyra Valkyria/Bayley vs. Paige/Brie Bella

Valkyria and Bayley are challenging and we hear from them in the back, with Valkyria saying this is the time after all of their losses. Everything breaks down rather quickly and Paige hits the knees to Valkyria on the apron. Bayley’s hanging twisting Stunner drops Bella with Paige having to make a save.

We take an early break and come back with Paige having to save Bella again and firing off the suplexes. Valkyria gets in the Nightwing but Bella makes the save this time. Paige rolls Valkyria up for two but gets planted with a fisherman’s buster. Valkyria tries another instead of covering though and gets reversed into Rampaige to retain at 8:01.

Rating: C. The title reign continues as we get one step further away from the Bellas eventual big crowning moment. I’m still not sure how I’m supposed to believe that Paige and Brie are this good together but these titles have always been a bit weird. Bayley and Valkyria need something else to do, though I’m not sure if that is going to include them being together.

Post match Valkyria is ticked off so Bayley hugs her and get jumped as a result. Valkyria slaps her in the face a few times and sends her throat first into the middle rope. Some agents come in but Valkyria hits Nightwing anyway. Yeah that kind of had to happen.

Post break Valkyria has nothing to say.

Here is Chad Gable for a chat. Gable talks about how everything has been going crazy for him lately with the loss of his mask in Mexico. There are some people he needs to apologize to face to face though so he asks for the Alpha Academy to come out here. All three of them come to the ring, with Gable praising Maxxine Dupri for winning a singles title, which Gable has not done. He apologizes for how he treated her and it is all his fault.

Akira Tozawa is the definition of fighting spirit with the heart of a lion and Tozawa didn’t deserve that either. That leaves Otis and, after a heavy sigh, Gable says Otis was the most loyal friend he could ever have. Gable threw all of that away for a chance at singles gold and after all of that, he owes them all an apology.

We get the formal I’m sorry and Gable extends his hand. Otis isn’t sure what to do but goes to shake Gable’s hand, only for Dupri to get in between them. Dupri says everything Gable has said and done is a lie. She knows Otis and Tozawa have the biggest hearts and want to give him a second chance but she doesn’t.

Dupri goes on a rant about all of the things Gable did to them because it has always been about him. Now they’re going to leave him like he left them: alone. Dupri and Tozawa leave, with Otis eventually joining them. They’re doing a heck of a job with getting the fans behind Gable. If he sticks with this, it could be a huge moment for him. Or if he eventually goes evil again, it could be all the bigger.

Dragon Lee gets some encouragement from Rey Mysterio and Penta before his match tonight.

Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page

Lee starts fast by firing off the kicks, including a hard one to knock Page down in the corner. The running dropkick in the corner gets two but Page turns the mask around and kicks him out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Lee getting two off a tornado DDT. Page gets two off a boot to the face but Lee is back with a hard elbow to the head. Page is knocked outside for a heck of a flip dive onto the announcers’ table and they head back inside. The Styles Clash is broken up with what looked to be an intentional low blow (Graves isn’t convinced) and the Egoplex gives Page the win at 9:58.

Rating: C+. Page continues to get over mainly on attitude and mannerisms, as his in-ring style is still rather basic. That’s not a bad thing though, as there is nothing wrong with a basic style if it is well executed, which his certainly has been. He could be on his way to something around here and I’m interested in where it’s going.

Video on the Vision vs. the Street Profits for the Tag Team Titles tonight.

The Vision are in the back (with only Theory in wrestling gear) and Logan Paul talks about how he is healing faster than any human in history (Bron Breakker pops out of camera, presumably due to laughing too hard). They’re ready to win tonight, with Breakker being ready to crush Seth Rollins on Saturday.

Video on Sol Ruca, who is a thrill seeker.

Here is Iyo Sky for a chat. She is so grateful to have gotten here and she can’t wait to face Liv Morgan for the crown. This brings out Morgan to interrupt, saying she’s going to win on Saturday to crush Sky’s dreams for good. Sky asks if the crown can fit on Morgan’s big head and rants in Japanese. Morgan is cleared out without much trouble. This wasn’t much, but the tournament is screwy anyway.

The Usos are ready in the back when Jacob Fatu interrupts. Jey asks where Fatu has been all night or why he was on Smackdown. Fatu says he doesn’t answer to Jey and the Usos can sit and wait to find out what is happening next. This doesn’t sit well with the twins.

The Judgment Day comes up to see Danhausen, who want their money back after he didn’t curse Oba Femi. He has already spent the $100,000 on experiments, so they threaten violence. That earns JD McDonagh a cruse and he electrocutes himself on some of Danhausen’s equipment, allowing Danhausen to escape. Oh that wacky…whatever Danhausen is.

LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso

They start slugging it out early, with Uso knocking him to the floor for a ram into the steps. Knight is back up with his usual collection of face first plantings into the announcers’ table. Back in and Uso hits a Whisper In The Wind for two and they’re right back to the floor. This time Knight is sent hard into the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with Knight dropping him onto the apron to bang up Uso’s ribs. They head back inside with Knight slowly working on the back, at least until Uso gets in a suplex. Knight’s torture rack neckbreaker is broken up and Uso superkicks him for two. Knight takes Uso up top but here is Solo Sikoa to Samoan Spike…Uso. The confused Knight (who saw what Sikoa did) grabs the BFT for the pin at 12:25.

Rating: B-. This was another instance of the Bloodline doing whatever, as Sikoa is now here from Smackdown to cause issues for Roman Reigns and company. At the same time, Knight getting a win is good to see, as he almost has to get at least a title match at some point in this whole big story. Either way, there is something going on here, though I have no idea where it is leading. Unfortunately I’m not sure how much I care either.

Bayley is getting medical treatment but has nothing to say.

Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez are happy for Liv Morgan but want something of their own to celebrate. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh come in, with McDonagh not recognizing them. Morgan comes in to rant about how unfair that was to her, with Rodriguez having to put her in her place. Morgan tries to calm things down but has nothing for Perez as they take McDonagh to the medical area.

Earlier today, Corey Graves sat down with Seth Rollins, who says things have not been going his way but they would be even worse without the Street Profits having his back. Rollins knows the risks of getting inside a cage with Bron Breakker but he has to prove he can still do this. Then he can get back to regaining the title that he never lost.

Chad Gable talks to Adam Pearce about a possible match with Penta but Judgment Day comes in. Dominik Mysterio says he’s facing Penta first but he also wants his apology from Gable as well. Gable says Mysterio sent him to Mexico in the first place and he doesn’t just hand out apologies. If Mysterio wants an apology, he can try to beat it out of him. Mysterio says Gable can face JD McDonagh next week but Pearce wants the doctor to clear McDonagh first. McDonagh thinks Pearce is the doctor and he’s off to medical.

Night Of Champions rundown.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. The Vision

The Vision, with Logan Paul, is defending and jump the Profits to start fast. Dawkins comes in for a dropkick to Theory and it’s back to Ford for a shoulder. Dawkins suplexes Ford onto Theory for two as the fans are rather mocking of the champion. It’s off to Breakker for the really big running clothesline though and a suplex drops Dawkins.

We take a break and come back with Ford still in trouble. Breakker knocks Ford down again and it’s back to Theory for a chinlock. Ford flips out of a suplex though and it’s off to Dawkins to clean house. A spinning Stinger Splash and enziguri put Breakker down in the corner and the Silencer hits Theory. The Doomsday Blockbuster gets two on Theory, with Paul putting the boot on the rope.

That’s enough for an ejection and the distraction lets Ford bring Dawkins back in. Breakker cuts off another Doomsday Blockbuster and hits the diving clothesline to the announcers’ table as we take a break. We come back again with Breakker cutting of a tag attempt and Theory getting to grab a chinlock.

A wishbone has Dawkins down again and Breakker mocks Ford, with Cole saying Breakker has a screw loose but Cole won’t be explaining that to him. Dawkins strikes back but it’s a double clothesline to leave both of them down. Ford comes back in to clean house, at least until Breakker knocks him down. A powerslam sets up the Steiner Bulldog for two, with Dawkins having to make the save.

Paul tries to come back in with the brass knuckles but here is Joe Hendry to chase him off, sending the fans straight into song in the process. Theory goes to get the knuckles and of course here comes Seth Rollins to use said Knuckles to knock Theory cold. Breakker gives chase (jumping the barricade in a scary impressive display) and Ford hits the frog splash for the pin and the titles at 19:38.

Rating: B. It felt like a pretty safe bet that one of the titles were changing hands this week and this is a good enough way to go. We were pretty much at the breaking point for the Profits, as they had to win or there wasn’t much left for them to do otherwise. At the same time, the champions were a replacement team anyway so it isn’t like this is some big lost opportunity. It’s a good match too, with the Profits hopefully getting to be built up for some fresh set of challengers.

Overall Rating: B. The hot crowd helped as always, with the Femi vs. Uso segment standing out as well. I’ve gotten more interested in Night Of Champions in the last week so at least the final push has been good. This show was up and down at times, but I liked the Valkyria turn and the Profits getting the titles back is a good choice. There were quite a few positives here, with stories advancing and solid action so I’ll call it a pretty strong show.

Results
Brie Bella/Paige b. Lyra Valkyria/Bayley – Rampaige to Valkyria
Ethan Page b. Dragon Lee – Egoplex
LA Knight b. Jimmy Uso – BFT
Street Profits b. The Vision – Frog splash to Theory

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

Hey everyone.  I apologize for this being far later than usual.  I’m on the road for my mom’s birthday for the first half of this week and the drive took a bit out of me yesterday so I was in no way able to do the show.  I’ll be back home Wednesday and I’ll be getting back up to speed as soon as possible.  Tuesday’s shows will be a bit delayed but hopefully not as badly.  I’m sorry again and thank you for your patience.- KB
Monday Night Raw
Date: June 15, 2026
Location: CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Corey Graves

We’re back in America for Raw and the big story this week is the Of The Ring tournaments, with a pair of semifinal matches. The finals are coming up in less than two weeks so the Raw sides will be wrapped up here. In addition, I’m sure that rascally Bloodline will be up to something. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Jey Uso advancing in the King Of The Ring on Smackdown.

The Bloodline arrives and does the walk from their cars into the arena. After hitting the catchphrase, Roman Reigns talks about how there is a lot to be grateful for around here. That starts with Jey Uso making it to the next round of the King Of The Ring. The thing is, Jimmy Uso never gets much credit, but without Jimmy, there would be no Right Hand Man or Tribal Chief so acknowledge him for a change.

That leaves Jacob Fatu, with Jey saying Fatu is the one person who hasn’t acknowledged them. Reigns thinks that sounds like a problem and Fatu makes it clear that he doesn’t listen to the Usos, The only person he listens to is Reigns himself, but Reigns says we don’t need yes men around here. Reigns pulls out another necklace and talks about how everyone is scared of the Bloodline taking over again.

Well, the Bloodline has always been around, from the Wild Samoans today and it will continue to be the same when Fatu’s kids are teaming with Reigns’ kids. Reigns officially welcomes him to the Bloodline and puts the necklace on him. The pose ensues and the team leaves, with Reigns and Jimmy shaking hands with actor Eric Andre.

Jey isn’t interested and Andre slaps Fatu on the back, earning himself a heck of a beating. Reigns has to cut Fatu off from the Superfly Splash…but Fatu does it anyway. This seems to make Reigns happy as he leaves, to the point where he tells Fatu to do it again. The Andre thing helped, as otherwise this was a lot of time spent to not really say much.

Queen Of The Ring Semifinals: Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Sky jumps her to start fast but Rodriguez is back with a crossbody. They head outside with Rodriguez dropping her onto the barricade before taking it back inside. Sky knocks her back outside but a dive is cut off and Sky gets planted as we take a break. We come back with Sky getting two off a rollup and stomping her in the ribs.

Sky dropkicks her into the corner but a sunset bomb to the floor is broken up. A double stomp onto the announcers’ table is broken up as well as Rodriguez trips Sky down. Back in and the spinning Vader Bomb misses, allowing Sky to hit a powerbomb out of the corner. Over The Moonsault finishes Rodriguez at 10:13.

Rating: C+. Sky getting back into the title picture is a smart move as she’s one of the best overall stars in all of WWE. This was a good example of her getting past a monster opponent and looking impressive in the process. Rodriguez will be fine going forward as Sky gets the spot she should have.

We look at Judgment Day’s cheap shot on Oba Femi failing miserably last week.

Liv Morgan tells Roxanne Perez that the focus should be on Morgan and Dominik Mysterio now that they’re the only ones left in the tournaments. Morgan goes in to see Danhausen, revealing a Danhausen shirt (Danhausen: “I hope you paid for that.”). She seems to offer something in exchange for him cursing people but he wants so many “human monies” that she just leaves, with Danhausen calling her Olivia.

We get a look at the trailer for a new Danhausen documentary on his cursing the New York Knicks, sending them onto a losing streak. Then he uncursed them and they went on a huge winning streak and won the NBA Title. Danhausen has become a thing with this and sure why not. WWE would be insane to not milk this for all it’s worth.

Seth Rollins is ready to end things with Bron Breakker for good at Night Of Champions. In a cage.

Adam Pearce has done something for Lyra Valkyria, who can’t wait to tell Bayley. With Valkyria gone, LA Knight comes in and points out that everything on Smackdown went as he said it would. Knight is going to fix things his own way.

We look at Penta beating Rey Mysterio last week, with Rusev attacking Mysterio after the match. Chad Gable made the save.

Gable says he realizes he’s been wrong for a long time in the last year. Tonight he’s going to take care of Rusev but there are some other people he needs to apologize to. As he leaves, he runs into Maxxine Dupri and Austin Theory.

Chad Gable vs. Rusev

Ethan Page is here with Rusev, who throws Gable down to start. Gable is back up with a waistlock and some armdrags, followed by a rather nice belly to belly. A dragon screw legwhip has Rusev down and they’re out on the floor. Rusev sends him into the steps and grabs a suplex, followed by a toss over the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Gable slugging away and rolling some German suplexes. A superplex drops Rusev and sets up the ankle lock, which is broken up rather quickly. Gable can’t get the rolling Chaos Theory but can get the ankle lock again. This time Page offers a distraction though and the Machka Kick gets two. The Accolade is broken up and Gable Angle Slams him into the ankle lock for the win at 10:34.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of stuff Gable needs to do to reestablish himself as a star, as he’s been a goof for so long now. The good thing is that the fans are accepting him and at least for now, he’s just Chad Gable. That’s what he’s needed to be for a long time, though I’m curious about what WWE has next for him, as it could go a lot of different ways.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee making the save.

Roman Reigns tells the Usos that he called an audible with Jacob Fatu because sometimes you need to change the play. Reigns doesn’t like LA Knight either so Jey Uso is ready to deal with him. Jimmy Uso has this though.

Bron Breakker is ready to hurt Seth Rollins. The cage match is set for Night Of Champions.

Here is LA Knight for a chat and he lays down in the ring, saying this is how things ended for him on Smackdown. He could have laid there all night but he had to get to Baltimore. No he isn’t the King Of The Ring or a champion, but what matters is that he is home. He’s used to being against the odds because that’s what he does, just like he’s doing against the Bloodline.

That’s what happened on Friday and here is Jimmy Uso to interrupt. Uso knows Knight has issues with the Bloodline but that was years ago. Knight thinks Solo Sikoa is back with the Bloodline but Uso says that’s not what’s going on. Cue Jey Uso to interrupt, saying that Jimmy is right: Sikoa isn’t part of the Bloodline.

Knight thinks Jey wants him to acknowledge Roman Reigns but the reality is that Jey wants Knight to acknowledge Jey himself. That’s not what Knight expected but he acknowledges Jey…can kiss his a**. The brawl is on with Jimmy trying to play peacekeeper. Jey grabs a chair but Knight takes it away and drops both of them. Cue Jacob Fatu to Tongan Death Grip Knight and leave him laying.

Post break Fatu says that was him doing this his way because the Usos’ ways didn’t work.

We get an NXT Origins video on Alexa Bliss.

Charlotte vs. Roxanne Perez

Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan are here too. Charlotte blocks a knee to start and strikes away, with Perez being knocked outside. Charlotte’s chop hits the post though and Perez goes after it as we take a break. We come back with Perez staying on the arm until Charlotte gives her a sitout powerbomb for the escape. A spinning faceplant gives Perez two and it’s right back to the arm.

Charlotte gets up a boot in the corner though and fires off the fall away slam. The flipping lariat drops Perez again and a big boot gives Charlotte two. Morgan offers a distraction to break up the moonsault though and Perez’s split legged moonsault gives her two of her own. Charlotte fights back and tried the Figure Eight, only for Morgan to offer a distraction. Bliss cuts that off and the Figure Eight makes Perez tap at 10:09.

Rating: C+. There wasn’t much to this one and that’s fine as Charlotte beating anyone makes sense. Perez put up a good fight and Bliss/Morgan were able to cancel each other out. The action was fine and Charlotte gets a win as she’s on a push in the Queen Of The Ring, as she should be.

Here is Je’Von Evans for a chat. He knows Jey Uso has the experience advantage but he’s going to Yeet Uso out of the King Of The Ring. This brings out the returning Logan Paul (with his arm in a big brace) and Austin Theory to interrupt. Paul praises Evans as a huge star and offers him a spot in the Vision. Evans emphatically turns it down but apparently that wasn’t a question. The threat of violence has Evans wanting a referee out here so let’s do this.

Je’Von Evans vs. Austin Theory

We’re joined in progress with Evans snapping off a hurricanrana to send Theory outside. The suicide dive connects and Evans gives him a standing moonsault for two back inside. Evans misses something from the top rope though and Theory hits a rolling clothesline. Theory starts hammering away but Evans is back with some left hands in the corner. A big shot puts Evans on the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Evans hitting a springboard clothesline but Theory plants him with Ataxia. Back up and Evans sends him outside for a run around the ring and a huge dive to knock Theory into the timekeeper’s area. They go back inside with the OG Cutter being loaded up but here is Bron Breakker to spear Evans out of the air for the DQ at 13:15.

Rating: B-. As usual, Evans’ abilities to get into the air are incredibly impressive and some of the best things going on Raw today. I do like Theory avoiding another pinfall loss, as Evans getting a win isn’t a bad thing but Theory has lost enough. Evans vs. Jey Uso should be good as well and that’s a sign that Evans’ career is going well thus far.

Post match the beatdown is on but here are the Street Profits for the save to clear the ring.

We look back to Jacob Fatu attacking Eric Andre earlier tonight.

Fatu tells Roman Reigns that he took care of LA Knight but the Usos weren’t happy. Reigns knew that would be the case and he gets what Fatu while they don’t. He needs Fatu to do one more thing though and whispers it in his ear. Fatu seems to get it.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

King Of The Ring Semifinals: Dominik Mysterio vs. Oba Femi

Mysterio’s AAA Mega Title isn’t on the line and he has JD McDonagh with him. Mysterio immediately bails out to the floor for a good while. Back in and Femi gets caught with a dropkick, only to chase Mysterio outside for a tackle over the announcers’ table. McDonagh’s distraction lets Mysterio load up the hammer into his boot and it’s a low blow to put Femi down. The 619 and frog splash connect….with the kickout sending Mysterio flying. McDonagh comes in but it’s a double chokeslam, with both of them getting nailed with running uppercuts. The Fall From Grace finishes Mysterio at 4:36.

Rating: C+. This was a good way to go as it wasn’t could Femi crush Mysterio but rather how would he get through the nonsense to get his hands on him. Femi feels more and more like a force every single day but he has Brock Lesnar waiting for him at least one more time. For now though, he probably has Jey Uso up next and that should be enough.

Post match Femi says he’s a win away from his crown. He’ll face whomever he has to, including Brock Lesnar. Femi used to look up to Lesnar but now he isn’t even sure if Lesnar is a man. He invites Lesnar to come face him again and hopes Lesnar will man up instead of running again.

Overall Rating: C+. There was only so much good on this show, with the best parts focusing on the tournament semifinals. Those worked as usual, but they only got this show so far. Rollins vs. Breakker in a cage is fine in theory, but I’m really not that interested in seeing it as things have cooled off a bit. This wasn’t a bad show overall, though it’s firmly in the mediocre range.

Results
Iyo Sky b. Raquel Rodriguez – Over The Moonsault
Chad Gable b. Rusev – Ankle lock
Charlotte b. Roxanne Perez – Figure Eight
Je’Von Evans b. Austin Theory via DQ when Bron Breakker interfered
Oba Femi b. Dominik Mysterio – Fall From Grace

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 1, 2026
Location: Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re still in Italy for an afternoon show in the eastern United States. Clash In Italy took place yesterday and Roman Reigns is still the World Champion, albeit now with Jacob Fatu under his thumb. That should help him as he could have an upcoming challenger via the King Of The Ring, which gets started this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Clash In Italy if you need a recap.

Clash In Italy recap.

Roman Reigns and the Usos arrive, minus Jacob Fatu. We pause for the fans to serenade them and yeah that’s a pretty cool moment. Reigns seems impressed as this goes on for at least a few minutes before he gets in the catchphrase. Reigns is happy that it’s acknowledgment daybut there’s no Fatu. Jey: “His first day on the job and he’s already late!”

Cue Fatu, in far more casual than usual clothes, with Reigns and Jey mocking him for taking too long. Fatu glares at Jey and then takes the microphone away, saying he’s taken a lot of losses over his career. Last night was another one and he knows there are consequences. His children saw their father take a loss last night but he’s going to be a man and keep his word. Last night he lost to his Tribal Chief, but he didn’t lose to Jey’s punk a**.

Fatu goes back to Reigns and officially acknowledges him, even taking a knee in front of him. Reigns takes Fatu’s hand and pulls him up, saying that Fatu might not understand this right now, but Reigns loves him. Jimmy says Fatu is with them now and they’re the ones, with the four of them doing the pose. It could take a bit, but this setting up the other three turning on Reigns, which could do well for everyone involved.

Video on King and Queen Of The Ring. The tournaments will be four four ways, with the winners going on to regular four person elimination brackets.

King Of The Ring First Round: Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes

Non-title and the MFT’s are here with Sikoa. Femi clears the ring to start and knocks Sikoa outside with a straight right hand. Femi follows him and dropkicks Hayes into the face. They switch places and Hayes hits the Fadewaway, only to dive into a superkick. Femi and Talla Talla Tonga have the big staredown on the floor and before Femi chokeslams Penta and Hayes.

We take a break and come back with Sikoa cleaning house until Femi drops him with a clothesline. Femi gets hit with the First 48 and is sent into the post, with Sikoa and the MFT’s taking him out on the floor. Penta and Hayes hit a dive each until Sikoa clotheslines Penta back inside. The Penta Driver gets two on Hayes and everyone is down. Femi is back up though and starts cleaning house, including a spinebuster to Penta. Talla Tonga is tossed onto the announcers’ table and the Fall From Grace finishes Sikoa at 8:57.

Rating: B. The ending was OBA SMASH and that’s all it needed to be. Femi needed a dominant win after what happened at Clash In Italy and while I don’t know if he wins the whole tournament, he was treated like a huge deal here. It didn’t feel like Femi got lucky, as much as he just ran through everyone to win.

Post match Femi talks about Brock Lesnar asking if he could take a beating. Well here he is after 7 F5’s and now he’s going to be King Of The Ring. Lesnar needs to remember that they’re 1-1 so they’ll see each other again.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker, which takes place again tonight.

Here is new Women’s Intercontinental Champion Sol Ruca for a chat. Ruca is asked if she believed she would get here and thanks the fans for believing in her. She also thanks Becky Lynch for giving her a chance, but then she proved Lynch wrong. And it’s not just hear saying it either! She’ll be a fighting champion and you shouldn’t underestimate her because she’ll snatch your soul. She even gets some pyro to wrap it up.

After last night’s show, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns had a silent staredown.

Reigns wants the Usos to keep an eye on Rhodes. For now though, he wants Jey Uso to go be King Of The Ring and go on to Summerslam to get the other World Title. Jimmy is staying with Reigns though because Jey has to do this on his own.

Rey Mysterio/Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page/Rusev

Rusev stomps Lee down into the corner to start and it’s off to Page, who gets sent into the corner. Lee’s wrecking ball dropkick hits Lee in the corner, setting up a running dropkick for two. Rusev comes back in and gets rolled up for two before Lee looks over to Mysterio for quite the reaction. Page breaks up the tag though (that was a great evil thing to do) and Lee gets planted as we take a break.

We come back with Page breaking up Lee’s tag attempt. That doesn’t last long though as Lee gets over to Mysterio for the big tag so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and Page sends Mysterio into Lee, allowing him to grab a rollup for two. Page’s Boston crab has to be broken up and Lee suicide dives Rusev. That leaves Mysterio to 619 Page into the slingshot splash for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: B-. This was just a way to get Mysterio in the ring in front of the international crowd and they more than seemed to appreciate it. That was how the match should have gone and while I could have gone with Rusev taking the pin over Page, this was pretty nice stuff. If nothing else, Mysterio can still more than go in the ring and it’s more impressive every week.

Adam Pearce talks to Penta and gives him the Intercontinental Title match against Rey Mysterio. Penta approves and leaves when LA Knight comes in. Knight isn’t happy with how much attention Pearce has been giving to Roman Reigns, so maybe we need to get Pearce his own Honorary Uce shirt.

Maybe Knight can bring Pearce out of retirement so he can put him back in it. Knight thinks Pearce is trying to get the Bloodline back together and even mocks the finger point before storming off. The thing that made this work is how natural Knight sounded. It felt like he was told “here’s why you’re mad at Pearce, get this point over, go talk.” That’s a great way to go and it worked here, as Knight can talk with the best of them.

Commentary talks about the Mask vs. Mask match from last weekend’s AAA show, with the match airing again after Raw on Netflix. Watch it if you haven’t seen it.

We get some highlights of the mask vs. mask match.

Queen Of The Ring First Round: Lash Legend vs. Giulia vs. Iyo Sky vs. Roxanne Perez

Legend catches Giulia to start but gets dropkicked down by Sky. Perez is in to go after Sky but Legend picks up Perez and Sky, with Giulia dropkicking everyone down for a change. We take a break and come back with Legend being pulled out to the floor, leaving Sky to Bullet Train Perez and Giulia in the corner.

Legend is back in with a choke to Sky but Giulia breaks it up with the running knee. Perez takes Giulia and Sky down at the same time, followed by the cartwheel knee to Sky’s head for two. Giulia takes Sky up top but Perez breaks it up, only for Legend to double powerbomb not-Sky. A Lash Extension drops Giulia and Perez but Sky makes the save. Over The Moonsault gives Sky the pin on Giulia at 10:36.

Rating: B-. Sky possibly moving back to the title picture is a good way to go as she feels like a major star. At the same time, Giulia continues to just kind of float around aimlessly and Perez will more than likely be going back to tagging. That leaves Legend, who has turned into a pretty decent power monster. I’m rather impressed with her transformation, as she looked more than capable in there this time.

Maxxine Dupri isn’t happy about not being in the Queen Of The Ring but Adam Pearce says she’s the first choice if a spot opens up. The Alpha Academy warn her about hanging out with Austin Theory, because he’s bad news. She insists she’s got this.

We get a video on Danhausen cursing ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and the New York Knicks, who then went on a losing streak, then uncursed them, and then they went on a 7-0 winning streak and went on to the NBA Finals. This is the definition of “let’s run with this” and it’s working.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria want the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Valkyria goes over to Sol Ruca and praises her for ending the Becky Lynch reign of terror. Valkyria gets a title shot out of this and Bayley isn’t thrilled.

Roxanne Perez rants about her loss when Liv Morgan comes in to brag about how she’s going to win the tournament. Raquel Rodriguez has to help her get the hint and Perez doesn’t seem happy about not getting any help. Morgan says she and Dominik Mysterio are winning the tournaments, seemingly forgetting that Rodriguez and JD McDonagh are entered as well.

Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker

Paul Heyman is here with Breakker. Rollins strikes away to start but gets suplexed down for his efforts. Breakker is sent outside, where’ he’s able to toss Rollins over the barricade as we take an early break. We come back with Breakker continuing to wreck Rollins, including the array of suplexes. They head outside with Breakker sending Rollins into the announcers’ table and clearing both tables off.

Rollins uses the delay to fight up and take over, with a running knee hitting Breakker back inside. Breakker is fine enough to run the corner and snap off a super Frankensteiner for two, leaving the frustration levels high. They go outside again with Rollins going onto the announcers’ table and diving at a diving Breakker for a midair collision.

We take a break and come back again with Breakker hammering Rollins in the corner, only to get reversed into a not great looking powerbomb for two. Rollins superplexes him down but has to reverse Breakker’s suplex into a small package for two more. The spear drops Rollins and they go outside again, with the diving spear being countered into a Pedigree through the announcers’ table.

Back in and cue Austin Theory for a distraction, but Montez Ford runs in to take him out. Another spear gives Breakker another two, as does Rollins’ stomp as Heyman puts the foot on the rope. Rollins goes after Heyman, who accidentally gets speared through the barricade. Breakker knows he screwed up and tries another spear but Rollins has grabbed a title belt, with Breakker knocking himself out. Another Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 22:24.

Rating: B. This got wild near the end and you know it’s a big deal if Heyman takes a bump. That’s likely going to get rid of him for at least a good while and I’m not really sure where that leaves a lot of things. The match was pretty much the traditional post PPV PPV level main event, which caps off the weekend nicely enough. It absolutely could have been on Clash, but then how else would you get in four more ads?

Rollins points at Ford and implies he wants Roman Reigns’ title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was more about setting things up for later, with the opening segment saying “Fatu is with the Bloodline”, the main event being about getting rid of Heyman, and two of the three other matches being starts to tournaments. That’s only so much of a show and while it wasn’t bad, it was a pretty skippable show. Not bad, but you’re better off reading a recap than watching the whole thing.

Results
Oba Femi b. Solo Sikoa, Carmelo Hayes and Penta – Fall From Grace to Sikoa
Rey Mysterio/Dragon Lee b. Rusev/Ethan Page – Slingshot splash to Page
Iyo Sky b. Giulia, Lash Legend and Roxanne Perez – Over The Moonsault to Giulia
Seth Rollins b. Bron Breakker – Stomp

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 25, 2026
Location: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last Raw before Clash In Italy and the show is looking pretty solid. That’s all you need for the most part going into a pay per view and this week is likely going to be about building things up for Sunday. Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar II is officially set and that should be more than enough. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is a serious Paul Heyman to get things going. He gets right to the point and says he is here to hype up the biggest rematch in history but is cut off by an OBA chant. Heyman says Oba Femi is going to be conquered by Brock Lesnar, which sends us to a video from Lesnar, who says he had never been beaten up like that. He isn’t about to let it end like that. We know Lesnar can take a beating, but can Femi? It’s time for Femi to take a beating from a retired Beast.

Back in the arena, Heyman says it’s time for Femi to be destroyed, which brings out Femi. He gets right in Heyman’s face and asks what this has awoken in him. What did four F5’s awaken in Femi himself? As Heyman cowers in fear, Femi says Heyman has to live to tell the tale of what happens when Femi retires Lesnar for the second time. Femi pulls out the contract and signs it on Heyman’s chest. The message for Lesnar is that last time, Femi was fighting to beat him. This time, Femi is fighting to kill him. Yeah this worked, as Femi feels like an absolute monster and the other one is Lesnar. What more do you need?

Saturday Night’s Main Event recap.

Intercontinental Title: Je’Von Evans vs. Penta

Penta is defending and has to block an early OG Cutter attempt. Penta’s hurricanrana is blocked and they show some respect but Evans snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor. The big no hands dive connects to drop Penta again but he’s fine enough to hit a superkick back inside. The slingshot dropkick in the corner gets two, only for Evans to come back with a kick to the head to send Penta outside again. Evans’ dive is sent HARD into the announcers’ table though and we take a break.

We come back with Penta still in trouble but he knocks Evans back, meaning it’s time to chop it out. Penta plants him down for two but the Mexican Destroyer is countered into a superkick. The OG Cutter onto the apron connects, though it’s not quite a clean landing as they both go to the floor. Back in and Penta kicks out but they both need a breather. The Penta Driver gets a close two so Penta goes up, only to dive into a superkick. The OG Cutter connects so Evans goes up again but dives into a Backstabber. That’s enough for the Mexican Destroyer to retain at 12:28.

Rating: B+. This was awesome as they were letting it all hang out in there with two of them beating the living daylights out of each other. Evans continues to feel like he is more than capable of hanging in there at this level and that is great to see. Penta’s reign gets to continue and this was a heck of a fight. I wasn’t sure if Penta was going to retain by the end so they were absolutely doing a lot right.

Post match Penta raises Evans’ hand but a frustrated Evans leaves.

Logan Paul has suffered a torn tricep and is going to be out for months. Uh oh.

Austin Theory tries to hand Paul Heyman his Tag Team Title but Heyman asks why he would do that. The contracts say the Vision are the champions so Theory is now partners with Bron Breakker. Theory gives him a VERY enthusiastic hug and Heyman’s eyes bug out as only they can. Heyman suggests that Theory needs to do something tonight and Theory should know what that means.

Post break Joe Hendry is in the ring to sing about how we need to fire Logan Paul. Cue Austin Theory to beat the fire out of Hendry with a chair.

Seth Rollins comes up to Angelo Dawkins and says he stayed out of the Street Profits’ way and he’s sorry for what happened on Saturday. Rollins saw what happened right out there and Theory has never been like that. They need to unite to take out the Vision but here is Montez Ford to say nothing good happens when Rollins is involved.

Rollins says they don’t have to like each other but they need to work together to get rid of the Vision. He understands what it means to not trust someone and brings up his own successes. Ford says that he’s also never stabbed his brother in the back. The challenge is on for tonight and Ford accepts as Dawkins is annoyed.

Video on El Grande American vs. Original El Grande Americano, with Rey Mysterio hyping up the importance of a mask vs. mask match.

Penta comes up to Je’Von Evans, who immediately apologizes for what happened out there because that was unprofessional. Penta understands and Evans says he’s coming for that title again, which works for Penta as well. Evans leaves in peace and Rey Mysterio comes up to talk to Penta. They chat for a bit and Penta offers to give him a title shot. Works for Mysterio of course.

Judgment Day vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria

Rodriguez and Perez jump them before the bell but Bayley and Valkyria fight back. Valkyria and Perez are in the ring to start, with Perez getting knocked down. Bayley comes in and fires off the shoulders in the corner for some fast tags and alternating shots to the head. A double crossbody gets Rodriguez out of trouble and she elbows Valkyria over and over in the corner.

The referee yells at Rodriguez so Perez gets in a stomp to the arm. Rodriguez’s spinning Vader Bomb connects and we take a break. We come back with Rodriguez being sent out to the floor and Perez getting kicked away. Bayley gets the tag and hits a quick dive to the floor, followed by a middle rope elbow to Rodriguez’s back for two. Liv Morgan trips Valkyria up and gets ejected, as well as decked by Bayley.

Rodriguez runs Bayley over but Bayley is back up top. Dominik Mysterio offers a distraction though and Perez gets Pop Rox, with Valkyria having to make a save. Valkyria hurricanranas Rodriguez out to the floor but seems to hurt her knee on the apron. Mysterio sends the title inside and it’s a tug of war with Bayley and Perez. Bayley lets go and the belt hits Mysterio, allowing Bayley to get a rollup to pin Perez at 10:08.

Rating: B-. This got wild at the end and it’s a good sign that Bayley and Valkyria got a win for a change. At the same time, the Judgment Day’s issues continue, though they’ve had issues since they got together in the first place. Hopefully Valkyria’s knee is ok as that was quite the nasty landing.

We look back at Jacob Fatu vs. Roman Reigns, with Fatu challenging Reigns to Tribal Combat last week and Reigns accepting.

Adam Pearce talks to Reigns, saying Fatu should be fired. Reigns gets it and says he had to accept Tribal Combat because he is the Tribal Chief. He wants guarantees that if he wins, Fatu will serve him or be fired. If Reigns loses, “we’re all screwed”.

Commentary thanks the veterans for Memorial Day and we get the customary video for the holiday. That’s a nice tradition to continue.

Here is LA Knight for a chat. He hasn’t been here in a bit but first of all, he wishes everyone a happy Memorial Day and thanks the military for their service. Now he’s done with the Vision though and he’s ready to do something new. Next week is the start of the King Of The Ring tournament and Knight wants in, because he’s aiming for Roman Reigns. That has him wondering about the Usos, because they’re with the most corrupt World Champion ever

This brings out Jimmy Uso, who says he and Jey did what they had to do with Reigns. He’s completely cool with Knight trying to be King Of The Ring and if Knight wins, he gets a fair title shot at Reigns. Knight is interested in the word “fair” because he’s seen what the Usos have tried to do to Jacob Fatu.

He doesn’t want Jimmy to become Reigns’ errand boy but Jimmy calls him off, saying if Knight keeps this up, his family will become Knight’s business. Jimmy goes to leave but Knight stops him, saying Jimmy is the one of the family he likes. Knight has never cared for Reigns and if things start going badly, he’ll put the family out of business. I can absolutely go for Knight getting into the title picture.

Adam Pearce likes the idea of Rey Mysterio getting the Intercontinental Title shot but Ethan Page comes in to say he doesn’t like this. Page wants his rematch, which Pearce says has to be earned. Page asks how Mysterio earned a rematch, which doesn’t sit well with Mysterio or Pearce. Rusev comes in to ask what is going on, with Page giving his version. Mysterio asks to face Rusev for a title shot tonight. Works for Rusev, who threatens to “bangaranged” Mysterio. That just leaves everyone confused.

Seth Rollins vs. Montez Ford

Ford backs him into the corner to start but Rollins shoves him away. Rollins knocks him to the floor for a suicide dive but they collide back inside. We take a break and come back with Ford going up top, where Rollins superplexes him into a Falcon Arrow for the near fall. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence until Rollins gets the better of an exchange of superkicks.

Ford puts him in a torture rack but Rollins flips to his feet and grabs a Pedigree for two more. Rollins yells at him a lot and hits a pair of buckle bombs but the third is reversed into a hurricanrana to the floor. Ford hits his big running flip dive, only to miss a 450 back inside. The Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 12:36.

Rating: B. These two had a rather good match, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Ford can do anything athletically in the ring and Rollins is right there to match him most of the time. It was cool to see Ford getting the chance to showcase what he can do on his own, and the singles run still doesn’t feel completely out of the question.

Post match Angelo Dawkins is knocked through the entrance and gets chaired down by Austin Theory. This includes a Conchairto, with the camera showing about eight inches between the chair and Dawkins’ head (oh that was terrible). And they actually SHOW IT AGAIN during the post break replay!

Post break Ford is trying to find out about Dawkins when Rollins comes up. Ford says Rollins is right, because he does need someone. They can go after the Vision. Ford goes in to check on Dawkins and Rollins says he wants Bron Breakker soon. Adam Pearce is off to talk to Paul Heyman.

Clash In Italy rundown.

Becky Lynch is very pleased with facing Sol Ruca in a rematch and says that there’s a difference between flips and tricks and greatness. Welcome to the big time.

Rey Mysterio vs. Rusev

For an Intercontinental Title shot and Ethan Page is on commentary. Mysterio avoids a charge to start and sends Rusev outside, which just annoys him. Back in and Rusev shrugs off a right hand so Mysterio runs. The chase almost lets Mysterio set up the 619, which is cut off with an elbow to the face. Rusev gets knocked outside again for a sunset bomb into the barricade. The running hurricanrana from the apron is pulled out of the air though and Rusev swings him into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Mysterio hitting a top rope seated senton. A running headscissors sends Rusev into the corner, where Mysterio hammers away. The running seated senton sets up a Lionsault for two but Rusev pulls a springboard out of the air. The Machka Kick gets two but Mysterio gives him a 619 to the stomach. A regular 619 is countered so Rusev tries the Accolade, which is reversed into a rollup to give Mysterio the pin at 9:31.

Rating: B-. Mysterio is someone who is somehow underrated, as he debuted thirty seven years ago and is still having perfectly good matches. After the amount of knee injuries he has had over the years and how well he can still move, it’s rather remarkable to see. Rusev is little more than a midcard monster to be slayed over and over, but at least he’s getting in the ring rather than sitting at home for months on end.

Post match Rusev jumps Mysterio but Dragon Lee runs in for the save. Page comes in and gets beaten up as well, with Lee giving him a big running flip dive. Mysterio 619s Rusev into Operation Dragon so the luchadors can clear the ring.

Adam Pearce throws Austin Theory out but Theory doesn’t like it. Paul Heyman sucks up to Pearce but they walk away and Heyman rolls his eyes. They pass the Alpha Academy, which makes Maxxine Dupri leave in a hurry. Remember that Theory and Dupri have been seen in the background of various backstage segments for weeks.

Video on Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar.

Adam Pearce is in the ring for the contract signing between Jacob Fatu and Roman Reigns. Fatu comes out first and signs (Anyone else find it weird that a family affair with rules that likely date back a long time requires a formal WWE contract?) before throwing the set around. This brings out Reigns, who signs, and gets a HAPPY BIRTHDAY chant from the fans.

Reigns tells Pearce and company to leave and says it’s fine because Fatu knows he signed a blood oath. With everyone but Fatu gone, Reigns says his catchphrase, which is all Fatu ever had to do. Fatu had to acknowledge him and they could have moved on. Fatu says that would make him like everyone else in here and that isn’t happening. When Reigns talks about honoring and respecting him, it’s about living by the Bloodline’s code. Did Reigns do that at Backlash, or did he bend the rules to win?

Reigns says that if Fatu wins on Sunday, he’s the new Tribal Chief, but if Fatu can’t dog walk him, Reigns is going to domesticate him. If Fatu can’t beat him, Fatu will serve him and in time, Fatu will love his Tribal Chief. Fatu says it looks like a win for him then, because he has a job either way. But when Fatu wins, Reigns and everyone else will learn how to acknowledge him. They shake hands and touch heads to end the show. I’m not sure who is winning this and that’s how a big match should go most of the time.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a rather awesome Raw with the fairly useless Saturday Night’s Main Event out of the way. That allowed them to focus on Clash In Italy, which has two big matches from Raw leading the way. I want to see both of them, even if they’re rematches, as the idea is to have everyone just go nuts on each other. They covered Logan Paul’s injury perfectly well as switching Bron Breakker in is fine given the circumstances so there isn’t much to complain about here. Solid show and one of the better Raw’s in a good bit.

Results
Penta b. Je’Von Evans – Mexican Destroyer
Bayley/Lyra Valkyria b. Judgment Day – Rollup to Perez
Seth Rollins b. Montez Ford – Stomp
Rey Mysterio b. Rusev – Rollup

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

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Wrestlemania XLII Night Two
Date: April 19, 2026
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re back in the stadium and this half of the lineup has some promise we have the main event of Roman Reigns challenging CM Punk for the Raw World Title, plus Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar in a heck of a hoss fight. Other than that, there is the almost traditional Wrestlemania ladder match so let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

The opening video is mostly a sequel to last night, with Lin-Manuel Miranda talking about how the memories and moments are still coming but you haven’t seen anything yet.

Here is host John Cena to get things going. He basically says yesterday was big and tonight will be too so let’s start with something huge.

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

Yeah this qualifies and Paul Heyman is here with Lesnar. They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get anywhere early on, leaving Lesnar a bit unsure about this. Lesnar goes with the amateur stuff by driving Femi into the corner for the shoulders, with Femi easily shoving him away. Lesnar’s clotheslines don’t really work and Femi clotheslines him out to the floor. Heyman gives Lesnar a “WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT” look and Lesnar throws the steps to blow off some steam.

Femi reaches out for him and gets his throat snapped across the middle rope to let Lesnar take over. Femi gets posted a few times, followed by a ram into the steps and they head back inside. The German suplexes start rolling but Femi fires off some elbows in the corner. The F5 connects but Femi pops up for a chokeslam. The Fall From Grace finishes Lesnar at 4:44.

Rating: B+. The wrestling might not have been perfect, but my goodness that is as great of a big stage debut as you could have gotten. Lesnar made Femi look like a million bucks out there, as Femi took everything Lesnar had, got up and finished him with one Fall From Grace. Absolutely excellent here and Femi looked outstanding. Also, points to Heyman, whose facials and mannerisms boosted it up that much more.

Post match Lesnar stays down through the replays and Femi going all the way up the ramp and to the stage. That’s the kind of little thing that makes it that much bigger. Lesnar sits up, looks at the fans for a bit, and takes off his gloves and boots (while crying). Heyman gets in the ring and gives Lesnar a very emotional hug, with Heyman (also crying) raising Lesnar’s hand. The fans give him a big THANK YOU BROCK chant as he poses on the ropes, showing more emotion than he did in his entire career. Assuming this is it, that couldn’t have gone much better.

Intercontinental Title: Rusev vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee vs. Penta vs. JD McDonagh

Penta is defending in a ladder match and gets a special entrance talking about how he’ll beat anyone. Then he puts on a big helmet (apparently Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat). McDonagh jumps Lee before the bell and we start fast with the luchadors (all in red for a nice touch) clearing the ring. Rusev pulls Mysterio to the floor and sends him into the steps, leaving Lee and Penta to dropkick a ladder into Rusev, who doesn’t seem to mind. A ladder is bridged between the apron and the announcers’ table and McDonagh hits Penta with the ladder on the floor.

Evans hits a great looking dive out to the floor, leaving Mysterio to miss the 619 to Lee. Instead Lee hits him with a superkick as Rusev gets back in to clear the ring with the ladder. Penta bulldogs Rusev down and Evans is there to cut McDonagh off atop the ladder. The ladder is turned over and McDonagh lands in the ring as Evans goes flying off screen. Thankfully Evans is back in with a springboard clothesline to cut McDonagh off, leaving Lee to get caught inside a ladder.

That’s fine with Mysterio, who gives the ladder a 619 to clear the ring. The climb is cut off and Mysterio is tied up in the ladder with Lee getting to clear the ring for a change. Rusev is there to cut him off as well and Evans is slammed onto a bridged ladder. Lee throws Mysterio at Rusev to knock him off the apron and through the ladder bridged at ringside. Back in and Mysterio goes up top to cut Lee off, only to have Lee pull him into a Styles Clash.

That lets Lee go up but McDonagh plants him with a Spanish Fly off the ladder. McDonagh climbs but Penta is there with a Mexican Destroyer onto another bridged ladder. Evans is up to go after the title but Rusev is there to cut him off and send him crashing outside. Rusev climbs but Evans dives in with an OG Cutter to bring Rusev off the ladder and everyone is down again. Penta climbs up and retains at 15:10.

Rating: B. That ending was a bit of a letdown as nothing was topping that cutter from Evans. It felt like they were building towards Evans getting the big moment but Penta just won instead. Penta retaining is perfectly fine, but dang they could have had a heck of a great moment with Evans getting the big moment. All that being said, heck of a match here.

We look back at Lesnar’s loss and seeming retirement. Commentary gives Lesnar a big thank you.

We look at the ending of last night’s main event. Are you sure that’s a good idea?

Club WWE ad.

We run down the remaining card.

US Title: Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams

Williams, with Lil Yachty is challenging and the train of his jacket stretches out for almost the entire length of the ramp in a great visual. Zayn starts slugging away and knocks Williams outside, only for Williams to drop him with the spinning kick. The Trick Kick is blocked and Williams gives him a jumping neckbreaker. The Trick Shot is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two and Zayn starts kicking away in the corner.

Zayn posts him and drops him hard onto the floor as they’re just leaning into the double turn (if it hasn’t already happened). A Helluva Kick against the barricade gets a near countout and Zayn is ticked at Williams for surviving. The Helluva Kick is loaded up but Yachty gets in a cheap shot. The Trick Shot gets a VERY close two but a second misses, allowing Zayn to roll him up for two. Zayn suplexes him into the corner, only to charge into the Trick Shot for the pin and the title at 7:03.

Rating: B-. That’s how it should have gone as Williams has looked like the biggest star in the world as of late and Zayn has been a made man for the better part of ever. This was a heck of a way to make Williams feel like a star and he already looks the part. I could have gone with it going a bit longer, but the pieces are there for Williams to be a huge deal.

Post match Williams celebrates with his parents in a nice touch.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor

Street fight, which was added earlier today. Mysterio comes out on a throne, with a bunch of luchadors carrying their king. That’s rather awesome, though Balor is back as the Demon and has a heart on the stage in front of him to make it even better. Balor hammers away to start and knocks Mysterio outside without too much trouble. It’s already time for the weapons but the table takes too long, allowing Mysterio to get in a shot. Mysterio sets up some chairs inside but gets dropped onto them for his efforts.

A superkick drops Balor though and the 619 into the frog splash gets…one, leaving Mysterio shaken up. Balor knocks him down but misses the Coup de grace, allowing Mysterio to hit him with a chair for two. Mysterio takes too much time to load up the table as well but Balor charges into a superkick and gets thrown through it (with the table exploding).

A chair to the back sets up a 619 with the chair around Balor’s neck. The frog splash gets two so Mysterio gets another table, which again takes too long (Cole: “Uh oh, Demon’s up.”). A bunch of chair shots knock Mysterio silly and the Coup de Grace through the table finishes Mysterio at 10:26.

Rating: B-. That’s about all it should have been, even though I did think it would have been amazing to see Mysterio get the huge upset here. At the same time, Mysterio is someone who can take all kinds of losses and bounce back so it isn’t like this is going to hurt him. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Balor win a big match for a change.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill

Ripley, in white for a very big change of pace, is challenging. Cargill slams her down to start but Ripley is right back up to knock her outside. That’s fine with Cargill, who sends her into the barricade to take over again. Back in and Ripley tells her to bring it and smiles a lot, earning herself a chinlock. Ripley pops up with the handstand kick to the head but Cargill knocks her down again.

Ripley reverses Jaded into a victory roll for two but here are Cargill’s lackeys for a distraction. The beatdown is on outside but Iyo Sky runs in to cut them off. Sky Asai moonsaults onto them (avoiding Cargill’s pump kick in the process). The Riptide is escaped but so is Jaded, allowing Riptide to give Ripley the pin and the title at 10:07.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t sure which way this was going to go but if it sets up Sky vs. Ripley in another singles feud, I’m all for it. Ripley has been needing something to do for awhile now and this certainly fits the description. This wasn’t the biggest match coming into it but they had a good power match which went by the book and it worked well enough.

We look at the Brock Lesnar retirement again.

Here is John Cena to announce tonight’s attendance: 55,255, for a two night total of 106,072. Cena says this concludes his hosting duties, but here are Miz and Kit Wilson who want their Wrestlemania moment. This brings out Danhausen, who has a group of mini Hausens and drives down in the Danhausenmobile. Danhausen introduces himself to Cena (he’s a big fanhausen) but Miz cuts them off again.

He still wants his moment but Danhausen sicks one of the minis on Wilson, who punches him low. Danhausen: “DOGPILE!” Miz is knocked to the floor and carried out by the minis, leaving Danhausen to hit a Shuffle. A mini explosion goes off and Danhausen, uh, escapes. Cena cracks up and says retired life is great. With that, it’s on to the main event. This was hilarious as Danhausen is so goofy but it works.

We recap CM Punk defending the Raw World Title against Roman Reigns. Punk has been champion and hates Reigns, who won the Royal Rumble. They have talked quite a bit of trash to each other and now it’s time to fight, with Punk saying he’s jealous of Reigns’ success and Reigns saying Punk is a fake.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns

Punk is defending. Reigns gets played live to the ring with drums, a piano and live single. Punk on the other hand gets a big montage and walks through the back to his old Ring Of Honor theme. He walks onto the stage in silence and does IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME to start Cult Of Personality. As a bonus, Punk has a jacket with names of three WWE employees who passed away recently, plus Larry and a Harley Race crown on the back.

The bell rings and they stare at each other to start for the early trash talking. Punk’s headlock doesn’t get him very far as Reigns is right back with the Samoan drop. They go outside with Punk being sent into various things and Reigns goes inside to break the count. Punk gets thrown over the barricade and sits down, with Reigns going after him and getting punched down. A clothesline off the barricade drops Reigns but he sends Punk into the announcers’ table to cut him off again.

Back in and Reigns tells Punk to call him a b**** again because this ain’t promo day. Reigns punches him down again but Punk gets in a few shots of his own. The high crossbody lets Punk hammer away, followed by the running knee in the corner. It’s way too early for the GTS though and Reigns scores with the Superman Punch for two. The spear is loaded up but Punk cuts it off with a running knee and they head outside with Punk hammering away on the announcers’ table.

The elbow takes forever to load up though and Reigns gets up to cut him off. Punk gets tied in the Tree Of Woe as he’s hanging over the apron. That lets Reigns fire off Superman Punches and hit him with the steps to really bust him open. The announcers’ table is loaded up and Punk gets powerbombed through as he is gushing blood. Back in and the spear is countered into a GTS out of nowhere for two. Another GTS is countered into the spear for a rather near fall and Reigns says it’s time to go to sleep. Punk escapes and hits his own Superman Punch for two…so he grabs the ulafala.

Punk calls for the spear, which is of course countered into a guillotine. Punk swings around for two and grabs the Anaconda Vice, which is reversed into another guillotine. That’s reversed into a failed Sharpshooter attempt, which is reversed back into the guillotine, with Punk flipping over for two. They get up and talk more trash before slugging it out. Punk headbutts Reigns and knocks himself half silly but distracts the referee, followed by a low blow.

Another GTS connects for two so Punk lays him on the announcers’ table. After taking his sweet time, Punk drops the elbow and they’re both mostly dead. Punk takes what’s left of Reigns back inside for another GTS but Reigns bounces off the ropes onto Punk’s shoulders…but Punk collapses. Back up and the spear drops Punk, who bounces back up to his knees. Another spear gives Reigns the pin and the title at 33:43.

Rating: A. This was a near masterpiece as they beat the fire out of each other and I wasn’t sure who was going to win until the finish. That’s a great sign and it turned into a war between two people who were trying to beat the other no matter what. I love the clean finish too, as it looks like Reigns is the better man, which he should be. It’s a case of Punk’s body ultimately giving out on him and Reigns finally beat him. Great stuff and an instant classic.

Overall Rating: A-. I’m not sure what they put in the dinner after last night but this was a polar opposite of what we got on Saturday. This was outstanding stuff and even the worst match on the card was perfectly fine. You don’t get this kind of a show very often and WWE absolutely brought it here, with the main event being an instant classic. I had a blast with this show and it’s one of the better shows I’ve seen in a long time. In addition to the main event, they made some stars with Williams and Femi, so the future even looks bright. Heck of a show.

Overall Overall Rating: B. I’m kind of in awe over how much better Night Two was than Night One, as it might as well have been two different companies. There are good parts to Night One, but the second night just blew it away in ever aspect. Overall it’s rather good, but if you mix the two nights together, it’s an all timer. Sunday saved the weekend for WWE though, as it’s just not even close in quality between the two. Check out the main event for sure, but skip most of the first night.

Results
Oba Femi b. Brock Lesnar – Fall From Grace
Penta b. Je’Von Evans, Rey Mysterio, Rusev, JD McDonagh and Dragon Lee – Penta pulled down the title
Trick Williams b. Sami Zayn – Trick Shot
Finn Balor b. Dominik Mysterio – Coup de Grace through a table
Rhea Ripley b. Jade Cargill – Riptide
Roman Reigns b. CM Punk – Spear

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

Well with that out of the way (because I’m absolutely writing this after Night One wrapped up and certainly not a few days in advance of course), we’re on to Night Two, which has the bigger and better main event, plus a rather interesting battle of the monsters. This show looks a lot better on paper, but that’s not how good wrestling is made. I’m hopeful going in so let’s get to it.

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

We’ll start big here as this is an absolute showdown between a couple of monsters who have been teasing their big fight for about a month now. Lesnar issued and open challenge for Wrestlemania and Femi is trying his luck. That should be more than enough to make things interesting, but Femi has run through him a few times now and it has me wondering what we might be seeing.

At the end of the day, as hard as it might be to believe, I don’t see a reason to have Femi lose here so we’ll say Femi gets the huge win. Lesnar seems to be wrapping up his career (he’s 48 so it isn’t going to be much longer anyway) and having him lose to some up and coming stars like Femi on the way out is a good way to go. Lesnar is more than a made man so a loss isn’t going to hurt him (never has before) so yeah, Femi gets the big win.

Intercontinental Title: Penta(c) vs. Rusev vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. Rey Mysterio

It’s Wrestlemania so of course we’re seeing a big multi person mess of a ladder match. As usual, the best thing to do here is just eliminate a few names who aren’t leaving with the title. Therefore, Rusev, Lee and McDonagh are gone, as there’s pretty much no chance they’re winning here. That leaves us with the other three options and that’s not as easy as it should be.

Of the three remaining options, I think I’ll go with Penta to retain. He’s doing well enough as champion and save for Mysterio getting a title win that he absolutely does not need (a possibility), I don’t see anyone but Evans being a serious threat to win the title. Evans winning is absolutely in the cards, but I think they might wait for a bigger moment. Penta wins, with Evans as a legitimate second option.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Now here we have a match that has my interest, as I’m really not sure where it’s going to go. On one hand you have Ripley as one of the biggest stars women’s wrestling has ever seen, but at the same time you have Cargill, who shouldn’t be losing very often. You also have the Iyo Sky factor, as this whole thing seems primed for her to turn on Ripley and cost her the title. This really could go either way, but it’s only so interesting of a match in the first place.

I’ll go with Cargill to retain, though I’m not sure about Sky turning on her. It’s almost so much of a simple story that I don’t know if I can see it happening. Both Ripley and Cargill need the win, but Ripley can take a loss better than Cargill here. Cargill beating someone on Ripley’s level would help her a bit, as getting to brag doing doing her cocky pin on Ripley would be a big deal. Cargill wins, but it’s probably the least confident I am in anything all weekend.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor

Here we have a straight up grudge match as they were partners in Judgment Day for the better part of ever and then Mysterio turned on Balor who wanted to do things the right way. As a result, Mysterio and company turned on him to set up this match. That’s enough to get going here, but Balor is also bringing back the Demon to make things all the more intense.

As much as it would seem to make sense to have Balor win here, I’ll take Mysterio to win. We’ve seen that one of the best things Mysterio can do is brag about his upset wins and this would be pretty high up on the list. Mysterio is someone who could very well wind up in the World Title picture someday and Balor has way too much of a history of choking in big matches. I’ll go with Mysterio to win in a heck of an upset, though again I’m far from sure about it.

US Title: Sami Zayn(c) vs. Trick Williams

This is another match where I’m not sure what is going to happen as it feels like we’re in for a big turn, or maybe even two of them. Zayn seems to be changing over to the side of evil (or at least the side of the middle) while Williams is already one of the most popular stars on the Smackdown roster. Zayn basically won the title to guarantee he’s on the show, but Williams wants to be a big star going forward.

I want to say that Williams wins the title here and becomes a hero, but there might be something bigger in having Zayn cheat to keep Williams from winning the title here and getting it later. I think that’s what we’ll go with here, as Zayn embraces more of the dark side to keep things going the right way, while Williams eventually becomes the cool hero that the fans want him to be.

Raw World Title: CM Punk(c) vs. Roman Reigns

This is the match that interests me the most and it makes sense that it’s the last match taking place over the whole weekend. Punk is the older champion who is trying to hang on against the former champion who wants the top spot back. That is more than enough to carry the feud but dang their promos have been great throughout. This is a match that feels like a tossup and I’ll absolutely take that in a Wrestlemania main event.

As possible as it seems that Reigns gets the title back here, I really don’t see the point in giving him the win. Therefore, I’ll take Punk to retain, with next to no idea who comes after the title next. The best thing I can say here is that this feels like a Wrestlemania main event, which is a lot more than you can say about some of them over the years. I don’t know where this is going and that’s a good feeling to have for a match of this magnitude.

Overall Thoughts

This is a show where the big parts are looking rather good, but the rest is quite a bit weaker. Hopefully there are a few strong surprises in there, though Lesnar vs. Femi and the main event should be enough to carry things. The potential is certainly there, but it’s going to need more than that to pull it off. That very well may be the case, but it’s no guarantee.

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