Wrestlemania XLII Night One
Date: April 18, 2026
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We have arrived. After a less than great build and some questionable choices, it’s time for the biggest weekend of the wrestling year. No matter what happens here, this is a special event and we have Cody Rhodes defending the Smackdown World Title against Randy Orton in the main event. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, as narrated by Lin-Manuel-Miranda, talks about the memories and moments that are made at Wrestlemania. Years from now, our children will ask us where we were when things happened at this show. Heck of an opener here and it still worked even though it aired on Smackdown last night.

Here is John Cena as the host. He seems actually taken aback by the reception and then talks about how the Road To Wrestlemania has been rough this year. As Michael Cole has said, it’s been polarizing, but the important thing is that we’re here now. Cena getting emotional was a great thing to see as you can tell this means a lot to him.

Usos/LA Knight vs. Vision/IShowSpeed

The Usos come through the crowd and Knight comes to the stage in a customized truck. The Vision and Speed have a unique entrance of their own, as they have nine different camera angles shown at once to cover everything. We officially start and the Vision is knocked to the floor, leaving Speed alone with Knight. Speed’s headlock doesn’t work as Knight just stands up and walks around with him, sending Speed running off.

Knight stomps on Paul in the corner and it’s back to the Usos for a double elbow. Theory comes in off a blind tag though and jumps Jimmy so the villains can take over. The stomping has Jimmy in trouble but he fights back on Paul and gets over to Jey. Theory comes in as well and gets punched in the face, followed by the spear. Paul dives in for the save and everything breaks down, with Speed snapping off a headscissors. Speed accidentally knocks Paul down so Theory tells at him, only for Knight to send them into each other. The BFT finishes Theory at 7:07.

Rating: C+. It’s no classic, but it did exactly what it needed to do. They go the celebrity in there and he didn’t embarrass himself, with Knight getting the pin in the end. It’s just a basic match, but I do like the idea of taking something simple and doing it well. Nice enough here and that’s a good way to start the show.

Post match Paul yells at Speed and drops him with the metal fist. Paul loads up the announcers’ table but Jimmy and Knight make the save. Knight helps him up and Speed goes up top for the huge splash through the announcers’ table.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu

Unsanctioned. Fatu comes out with fire dancers while McIntyre knocks down a stone wall and walks through the hole. The entrances take a long time so Fatu dives onto McIntyre to start fast. The weapons are thrown in early on but Fatu is smart enough to knock McIntyre down again. It takes too long to get a toolbox though and McIntyre decks him from behind. A catapult sends Fatu face first into the bottom of the ring and it’s time for a table.

Actually it’s time for McIntyre to continue his tradition of tweeting during a match, which allows Fatu to fight back. A pop up Samoan drop gives Fatu two but McIntyre knocks him down again. The chair is loaded up in the corner but they both avoid going into it. Instead Fatu misses a charge and goes face first into the post, allowing McIntyre to suplex him down. McIntyre gets knocked back down though and Fatu’s triple jump moonsault connects….for two.

McIntyre finds a piece of metal to jab into Fatu’s head and then sends him onto some open chairs for two more. That’s not ok with McIntyre, who grabs the referee’s belt, only to walk into a superkick. Fatu chairs him in the back a few times and now it’s his turn with the belt. The whipping ensues so Fatu goes to grab the toolbox, allowing McIntyre to hit a Claymore for two.

McIntyre screams at the referee some more but loses a slugout with Fatu, who fires off some headbutts. Fatu puts him on a table and hits him with a chair to keep him down. That doesn’t really work either as McIntyre is right back up to hit him with a chair as well. Fatu is shoved off the top and through a table at ringside, which somehow doesn’t do much to slow him down. Back in and Fatu hits him in the head with the toolbox, setting up the triple jump moonsault through the table to finish McIntyre at 14:17.

Rating: B. That’s what this should have been, as Fatu survived everything a former multiple time World Champion threw at him and then finished him off. Some of the no selling and things that were shrugged off were a bit much, but that was how the match needed to go. Fatu gets probably the biggest win of his career and can move on to…whatever is next, just like McIntyre. Good brawl.

We run down the remaining card.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Bella Twins vs. Irresistible Forces vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria

The Forces are defending, there is one from each team in at all times and it’s one fall to a finish. Actually hang on as Nikki Bella says she can’t get medically cleared so she’s called in an old friend. And PAIGE is back, which is great to see after how bad her neck has been over the years. It’s a brawl to start with Jax taking over, only to get knocked outside by Charlotte.

Brie’s chops don’t get her very far as Valkyria hits a dropkick. Back up and Brie kicks away at Valkyria and Charlotte but the tag to Paige is cut off. Legend takes Brie outside for a drop onto the apron, leaving Bayley to middle rope elbow Bliss. Legend is back in to start taking over but she gets pulled out of the corner, allowing Brie to hit a middle rope dropkick. The tag brings in Paige, who strikes away at Jax and cleans house as everything breaks down.

The Paige Turner connects with Bayley making the save. A Lash Extension hits Valkyria so another save is made. Legend is knocked outside so it’s off to Paige vs. Charlotte for a big showdown. Paige wins the slugout and gets two off a small package. Charlotte is sent outside where Nikki beats on her with the crutch. Bliss tries Twisted Bliss but hits raised knees. The Rampaige gives Paige the pin and the titles at 8:29.

Rating: C-. Well that happened. As usual, these matches are kind of all over the place and it’s just a collection of spots that only kind of tie together. The ending was all about the big moment of the Bellas and Paige getting a special win. I’m not big on the Bellas, but it is good to have Paige back. Other than that, this was just kind of a mess with way too much going on to have a coherent match.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee

Lee is defending and comes out with an army of school girls dressed like her and carrying replica belts. On the other hand, Lynch is played to the ring live for a pair of cool entrances. Lynch is ticked off to start and gets sent outside, with Lee’s dive being powerslammed into the barricade. Back in and Lynch puts her down again and goes to take the turnbuckle pad off. The referee (Jessika Carr, who has had issues with Lynch) calls her insane and ties it back up.

Lee uses the delay to fight back for two but the Black Widow is countered. Lee’s standing Sliced bread connects but the Shining Wizard is countered into a powerbomb for two. A quick Black Widow attempt is swung into the corner and the Manhandle Slam gives Lynch two. Lynch gets into it with the referee again and they shove each other, allowing Lee to grab a Manhandle Slam for two of her own.

Lee grabs the Black Widow so Lynch pulls the hair to escape. The referee checks on Lee so Lynch gets the buckle off and pulls the referee over. That’s enough of a distraction for Lee to be sent into the buckle, setting up the Manhandle Slam to give Lynch the title back at 8:18.

Rating: C+. This felt like it should have been a Raw main event more than big time Wrestlemania title match. The stuff with the referee did fit well with the story, but these two just don’t have the best chemistry. Lee can go away for a bit again and come back to do something fresh, as anything she does now is pretty much bonus money. Lynch has a bunch of people who can come after the title, so this is the right result after an ok match.

Gunther vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins’ eyes are blacked out for a cool look. Gunther jumps him from behind before the bell though and hits the dropkick into the powerbomb to send him outside. Rollins goes to the eyes when they get outside and throws some chairs at Gunther as the bell hasn’t rung yet. Rollins flips him off and they get inside, with the bell ringing and Rollins taking over. Gunther gets knocked down again and stomped in the head but knocks Rollins down for a breather.

The pace slows way down and Gunther stands on Rollins’ head before trying a delayed vertical superplex. That’s broken up though and Rollins somehow gets him up for the Buckle Bomb. It’s too early for the Stomp so Rollins hits a clothesline and they’re both down. They kick away at each other until Rollins wins a chop off, only to get powerbombed for two more.

Gunther slowly hammers away but the clothesline is countered into a failed Pedigree attempt. Rollins hits a knee but the Pedigree is blocked again, only for tries it again and connects (though it didn’t look great). A Stomp gives Rollins two but Gunther pulls him into the sleeper. Rollins manages to get out and they trade big shots, with Gunther’s clothesline putting Rollins down.

Gunther takes too long going up though and gets superplexed into a Falcon Arrow for two. Rollins gets his own sleeper to send Gunther to the ropes and then out to the floor. The suicide dive is blocked and Gunther powerbombs him onto the apron and announcers’ table. Rollins shakes that off and counters the powerbomb into a Pedigree on the table. The Stomp drives Gunther into the table…and Bron Breakker is back with a Super Spear to Rollins. Back in and the sleeper finishes Rollins at 15:53.

Rating: B+. This took time to get going but they wound up having a heck of a fight. Gunther winning is fine as Rollins can get back to Breakker, where he belongs. Gunther is probably getting ready to retire Brock Lesnar at Summerslam so he needs all the build he can get. Good match here, despite a slow start.

Post match Breakker glares at Rollins…and runs all the way down the ramp to spear him again. Breakker hugs Paul Heyman as he leaves.

We meet the Hall Of Fame class:

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant (biggest match ever so that fits)
AJ Styles (yep)
Demolition (as overdue as it gets)
Dennis Rodman (someone had to get the celebrity spot)
Sycho Sid (how was he not in already)
Bad News Brown (put him in or he might hurt you)
Stephanie McMahon (yeah she’s probably still talking too)

Raw Women’s Title: Liv Morgan vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Morgan is challenging and basically does the music video to Trouble down the ramp. Vaquer goes after after her to start and Morgan is in early trouble. The Devil’s Kiss is blocked though and Morgan is right back up with a Backstabber. Morgan loads up her own Devil’s Kiss but Vaquer is grabs an SVB for two.

Vaquer hits her own Oblivion for two but here is Roxanne Perez for the distraction, allowing Raquel Rodriguez to knock Vaquer off the top. Oblivion gives Morgan two but Vaquer is back to dive onto Rodriguez and Perez. Morgan is up to send her into the steps though and a middle rope Codebreaker knocks Vaquer silly. Another Oblivion gives Morgan the title back at 6:52.

Rating: C+. Well that was quick. I’m not sure why they were flying through this match so fast but it didn’t feel like they had time to really do anything. At the same time, Vaquer only had so much of a chance in this one as Morgan has been on fire as of late. You could only stretch that out so far, as this was pretty much all about Morgan getting her coronation and it wasn’t a secret.

Here is John Cena for the attendance announcement: 50,816. Last year both nights had over 60,000.

Hold on though as here is Bianca Belair for a surprise. Belair says they need to add one more to that list and opens her rather feathery blue attire to reveal that she’s pregnant. Yeah ok that’s awesome.

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton. They were close back in the day and Rhodes considers him his mentor. Then Orton won the Elimination Chamber to get the title shot and Rhodes wants the old Orton, who listens to those voices. Orton turned evil thanks to someone calling him, who was revealed to be Pat McAfee of all people. This resulted in Orton attacking Rhodes to quite the positive reaction and beating up Jelly Roll. Yeah see why this has been kind of a mess?

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton

Rhodes is defending and his entrance is…a lot. He has basically a museum of his previous ring gear and clips of him in it before rising up through the stage as he does for big matches. Pat McAfee is here with Orton and handles Orton’s entrance. Also of note, not counting the Big Match Intros or the pre-match video, from the time McAfee’s name appeared on the Titantron to the end of Rhodes’ music: 15:18, or 35 seconds shorter than the longest match of the show.

McAfee jumps Rhodes before the bell but Rhodes fights back and sends Orton outside. Cross Rhodes takes McAfee out and here is Jelly Roll to put him through the announcers’ table. McAfee is taken out on a stretcher as Cole talks about Orton possibly having a back injury. As McAfee is wheeled out, he gives a thumbs up in a great moment. The bell actually rings and they fight over a top wristlock, which is quite the way to go for this kind of a feud.

Back up and Orton tries the over the back backbreaker…but he’s hurt. A poke to the eye lets Orton grab a chinlock but Rhodes fights up and puts him down again. That sends Orton out to the floor for a breather so Rhodes sends him back inside for a half crab. With that broken up, Rhodes switches to a waistlock but Orton fights out and…needs some time. Orton takes him up top for a superplex and then hits the powerslam, allowing him to shake his back a bit.

The hanging DDT slows Orton down again but the RKO is blocked. Rhodes sends him outside, where Orton cuts off a suicide dive. Orton drops him onto the announcers’ table for another breather but Rhodes stops him with a posting. Back in and Rhodes starts in with a few stomps (it looks like he’s trying a Garvin Stomp but doesn’t quite know how to do it). The Disaster Kick gets two so Rhodes rubs the blood on his own chest. A hanging DDT gives Rhodes two but Orton is back with a Cross Rhodes for two of his own.

The RKO is countered into a backslide to give Rhodes two, followed by an RKO to Orton for two more. They head outside again with a ticked off Rhodes being dropped onto the announcers’ table. Back in and a quick RKO gives Orton two and they slowly slug it out. Rhodes goes to the eye so Orton RKO’s the referee but the low blow is blocked. Rhodes kicks Orton low but the Cody Cutter is countered into an RKO. Cue Pat McAfee with a referee shirt (and a neck brace) to count two. That means an RKO to McAfee, allowing Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes to retain at 23:40.

Rating: C. Well, it got better near the end (it couldn’t have gotten much worse) and Rhodes seemingly got rid of McAfee for good so we’ll call that a win. I still have no idea what is going on or how this is supposed to make sense, but I don’t think WWE is quite sure either. This felt like “throw a bunch of stuff out there and hope they’re confused enough by the time we’re done”, which is quite the way to go for the main event. It turned into a better match near the end and that was enough to save it (kind of) but wow this was a mess.

The problem is that’s just the insanity that went with it, as you also have the majority of the match being Rhodes working on the back in slow motion. I’d assume there’s a bit of truth to Orton being hurt but nothing terrible, which just leaves me wondering why they went in this direction. It’s not some terrible match overall, but sweet goodness it’s an amazing spectacle of nuttiness.

Post match Rhodes celebrates but Orton takes the title from him. A belt shot drops Rhodes and Orton Punts him before holding the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was ok enough for the most part, but as usual these two night Wrestlemanias just feel incomplete when you watch them this way. It’s a mixture of there being too much for one night but not enough for two and that leaves you with stuff like this, with short matches and some very questionable nuttiness.

Rollins vs. Gunther and Fatu vs. McIntyre were both good, but wow those things were few and far between. It’s not awful, but as usual it leaves you with a “that’s it?” feeling as there is so much left tomorrow. Overall, the good outweighs the bad and….whatever that main event was supposed to be, but just barely.

Results
LA Knight/Usos b. IShowSpeed/Vision – BFT to Theory
Jacob Fatu b. Drew McIntyre – Triple jump moonsault through a table
Brie Bella/Paige b. Irresistible Forces, Bayley/Lyra Valkyria and Charlotte/Alexa Bliss – Rampaige to Bliss
Becky Lynch b. AJ Lee – Manhandle Slam
Gunther b. Seth Rollins – Sleeper
Liv Morgan b. Stephanie Vaquer – Manhandle Slam
Cody Rhodes b. Randy Orton – Cross Rhodes

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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Well, here we go. It’s the biggest weekend of the year and…yeah the build for this one hasn’t been great. There are good parts to it, but a lot of what we’ve been seeing has been a bit less than a success. The ticket sales haven’t been great either, likely due to a variety of reasons. Hopefully they can make the wrestling side of things work and that’s what we’re looking at here. Let’s get to it.

Vision/IShowSpeed vs. Usos/LA Knight

So we’re starting with the celebrity match as Speed is dealing with Danhausen’s curse (assuming there is one) and accidentally got himself into this match as a result. Speed thinks he’s ready despite not being a wrestler, though almost everyone else thinks he’s going to get destroyed. This feels like a way to just get people on the show and I’ll take that over some multiman mess.

In theory (as opposed to Theory), this is one sided on paper and while Speed will get to do a thing or two, I can’t possibly imagine the villains win. I’ll take Knight and the Usos winning here as a way to get the crowd going in the right way. They’re a combination of popular stars against some unliked villains and that should be a simple enough formula. Knight and the Usos win a fun one here.

Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre

For the second year in a row, McIntyre is in a match with a monster which should be incredibly physical. Last year it was a street fight and this year it’s unsanctioned, meaning things should get nuts. That’s where Fatu should thrive and McIntyre can more than hang in a hard hitting match. They hate each other over previous brawls and it’s time for revenge all around.

I’ll go with Fatu here, as he needs the win a lot more than McIntyre, who has had all kinds of moments. Fatu is getting a chance for his first big personal feud match on the major stage and it wouldn’t make a ton of sense to have him lose. These two should beat the fire out of each other until one of them can’t get up anymore and in this case, the one who can’t get up should be McIntyre.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: AJ Lee(c) vs. Becky Lynch

This feud has shown just how good Lynch can be when she goes insane and acts like a raving lunatic, but she has more recently switched into someone who just wants her title back. On the other hand you have Lee, who returned last week and is basically playing with the house’s money. That makes for a good enough story, as this feels like a personal feud where two people want to get at each other, however they choose to do that.

I’m really not sure who wins this one. Lee is doing well in her return and while it makes sense for her to keep it going, I’m not sure I can imagine Lynch losing again. I’ll go with a tentative pick of Lee winning, but this one has me rather confused. It could go either way and while that is usually a good feeling, I’m really not sure how this is going to go. It might wind up being one of the weaker matches, though we’ll say Lee retains either way.

Raw Women’s Title: Stephanie Vaquer(c) vs. Liv Morgan

Morgan won the Royal Rumble (after coming close so many times) and it wasn’t clear which champion she would choose. Eventually she and Vaquer argued enough that Morgan made her choice and it’s turned into a heck of a heated feud, as Morgan seems ready to smash through Vaquer. At the same time Vaquer is just kind of there, feeling like a total afterthought most of the time.

In what might be the easiest pick of the weekend, I’ll take Morgan to win the title here. There is pretty much no reason to believe that Vaquer is going to keep the title. As much as I like Vaquer, Morgan is just that much bigger of a star and it fits so much more to have her win. It’s a good match, but the fans want to cheer Morgan and they’ll get a chance when she wins the title here.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Irresistible Forces(c) vs. Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria vs. Bella Twins

So here we have a question mark, as Nikki Bella is injured and might not be able to work the match. That leaves things a lot more wide open, as the Bellas winning the titles felt like the logical ending. If they can’t go though, it makes things a lot more interesting. It helps that you have three teams who could all conceivably leave as champions and the match has been put together rather well.

I’ll throw in an asterisk here, saying that if the Bellas are in then they win, but if they aren’t then the champions retain. The good thing here is I could easily see any of them leaving with the titles, which is more than you get to say about a lot of matches. Bayley and Valkyria feel like dark horses, but I’ll take the Bellas as the favorites but the Forces as the best alternative option. Somehow, this is one of the best built matches on the card and that’s a nice thing to see.

Seth Rollins vs. Gunther

Gunther jumped Rollins to save Paul Heyman a few weeks back, setting up the proverbial “you owe me a favor”. While that sounds like Gunther vs. Brock Lesnar in the latter’s retirement match this year at Summerslam, there is a bit more to it. Gunther has said that he wants to face Rollins because Rollins was all goofy while Gunther wanted to face the best competition in the world and it offended him. That might sound a bit ridiculous, but it makes complete sense for Gunther.

As for a winner…geez this could go either way. Rollins is fresh off his injury and in theory you would want to see him get the big win, but I’m also not sure how logical it is to have Gunther lose here. I’ll go with Rollins winning, as in theory Gunther will be rebuilt on his way to the match with Lesnar (assuming it happens, which it should) later on this year. This could go either way though and it has a lot of potential to be awesome.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. Randy Orton

We had to get here eventually. This is a match that was going in a weird direction as the fans did not want to boo Orton no matter what. Then Pat McAfee was revealed to be the man influencing Orton and…well they still wouldn’t boo Orton, but they certainly would boo McAfee. I’m not even sure if WWE knows what they’re doing with this story but it’s what we’re getting for a main event. There is also a stipulation that if Orton doesn’t win, McAfee leaves wrestling. Just in case you needed anything to tip this further.

Yeah of course I’m taking Orton here, as there is no reason to suggest that Rhodes retains and gets rid of McAfee. Rhodes has been in something of a holding pattern for a long time as he isn’t doing anything different lately and that needs a shake up. The fans want to see Orton win and while I’m not sure where it goes after that, Orton should win here and move on to whatever he’s doing next.

Overall Thoughts

As risky as it might be to say this, I’m kind of digging this show’s card. They’ve got some interesting stuff here and if these matches deliver, it could be an awesome first half. That being said, the main event has all the signs of being a train wreck and could drag things way down. We’ll call this one cautious optimism though and hope for the best, which has gotten me in trouble before.

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 XLI Night One
Date: April 19, 2025
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Attendance: 58,538
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett, Pat McAfee
God Bless America: Jelly Roll

It’s kind of hard to fathom that we’re a whole year removed from this show but here we are again. The show is in (or near) Las Vegas and as usual it’s a double night spectacle, with the first main event seeing Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk in a rare non-title match. Gunther vs. Jey Uso will handle the title match aspect so let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the influence of Wrestlemania and how many people talk about wrestling. HHH narrates about these legendary stories, but sometimes they’re true.

Here is HHH to welcome us to the show and let us know we are being seen worldwide.

A DJ and some dancers are here.

Raw World Title: Jey Uso vs. Gunther

Uso is challenging after winning the Royal Rumble. We get some people waving YEET flags on the ramp and the Las Vegas Raiderettes as Uso comes into the stadium with tens of thousands of people doing the YEET dance. There is a great shot from just over Uso’s shoulder showing what he’s seeing and my goodness it’s always cool to see this kind of thing happening because of one person.

After they Big Match Intros, they take their time to start until Gunther powers him into the corner. That earns Gunther a heck of a shot to the face to send him outside. Back in and Gunther takes him down with a headlock takeover, which doesn’t last long either. The threat of an enziguri sends Gunther outside again and we slow back down. Gunther gets back in and Uso grabs a slam before going up, where Gunther chops his soul out to the floor.

The slow chopping ensues but Uso hits a quick spear for two. Gunther is back up to try a powerbomb, which is countered into a Samoan drop. Uso goes up again and gets superplexed down, setting up the powerbomb for two. That leaves Gunther more than a bit surprised and Uso spears his way out of trouble again. The Superfly Splash gives Uso two so Gunther teases walking out.

It’s enough of a distraction for Gunther to get in a belt shot and the top rope splash for two. NOW Gunther is getting serious and we hit the sleeper. Somehow Uso makes the rope and Gunther is just mad. Uso is down in the corner so Gunther chops him anyway, which has Uso laughing (must be a family thing).

More chops don’t keep Uso down as he comes back with a headbutt. Uso has to counter a sleeper into a German suplex but Gunther is right back with the big dropkick. Another powerbomb is countered into one from Uso though and he drops Gunther with a spear. Back to back to back Superfly Splashes set up a sleeper and Gunther actually taps (and quickly too) to make Uso champion at 16:20.

Rating: B. This turned into a heck of a match with Uso throwing everything back at Gunther and beating him at his own game. At the same time, I couldn’t believe that Uso actually won the title but that is exactly what happened. They made a new big star with a clean submission in the middle of the ring. Good opener here but an awesome moment which had to happen after the way Uso was built up in the previous weeks.

Post match Jimmy Uso is the first person out to celebrate with Jey and they leave through the crowd.

We recap the War Raiders defending the Raw Tag Team Titles against the New Day. After New Day had some issues, Big E. tried to get them back on the right track but they turned him down, with New Day’s heel turned earning them a full on shunning from the crowd. This included their FAMILIES, as everyone hated them over their actions, down to Kofi Kingston’s mother walking out on him. They got a title shot anyway so here we go.

Raw Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. War Raiders

New Day is challenging and jump the champs tost art fast. Erik doesn’t care for being punched in the face and rams Kingston into Woods. That’s enough to send New Day outside, where Erik slams Ivar onto the two of them. Ivar crushes both of them against the ring video board and it’s back to Erik vs. Woods inside.

A belly to back suplex/top rope splash combination gets two on Woods but he’s able to cut off Erik’s dive. Kingston adds a top rope backsplash to Erik and we settle down to Kingston hammering away. Woods’ top rope double stomp hits Erik in the ropes but Erik fights out of the corner. It’s back to Ivar to clean house, including sitting on Kingston’s chest out of the corner. Kingston comes back with a spinning kick to the head but Ivar runs Kingston over without much trouble.

The Honor Roll connects for Woods and the Daybreak is loaded up. Erik cuts that one off and Erik kicks Kingston in the face. The Doomsault hits Kingston so Woods makes the save with the Limit Break Elbow. Another Honor Roll is broken up though and Erik hits a heck of a running knee. The springboard clothesline/German suplex combination is broken up though and the Daybreak finishes Ivar for the pin (with Kingston holding the leg) and the titles at 9:17.

Rating: B-. This was better than I remembered, though that might be due to not having to watch a dull build up to the match. The tag division was just nothing and unfortunately there wasn’t much of a reason to care. The big heel turn came from the turn on Big E., but that was several months ago. You can only get so far after that much time and it didn’t help that Big E. had no involvement. It’s a rare case where the time has helped a lot and that’s a nice relief.

Post match New Day runs out before they get destroyed again.

We recap Jade Cargill vs. Naomi. Last fall, someone attacked Cargill and put her out of actions for months. She came back at Elimination Chamber and it wound out that it was Naomi. Cargill was ready to wreck Naomi, while Bianca Belair was rather upset by everything Naomi did too. Now, as expected, it’s time for revenge.

Naomi vs. Jade Cargill

We get a celebrity cameo as….a meteorologist from the Weather Channel says we have a perfect storm in Las Vegas. From Muhammad Ali to this people. Cargill powers her into the corner to start and gets in a slam off the top. Naomi gets in a shot to the eyes though and snaps the throat across the ropes. A ram into the steps has Cargill staggered, with Naomi hitting a Blockbuster onto the floor.

Back in and Naomi grabs a chinlock while cranking on the arm as well. Cargill gets up and tosses her into the corner for a splash but charges into a raised boot. Naomi tries another Blockbuster but gets pulled out of the air into a Jackhammer, because that’s something a human can do.

Naomi fights back and goes up again but gets caught again. This time Naomi is able to bulldog Cargill off the top though and a split legged moonsault gives Cargill two. Jaded is reversed into a rollup and Cargill powers out of the Rings Of Saturn. Cargill pulls her into an electric chair and spins it into a powerbomb, followed by Jaded for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: B-. There were some sloppy moments in there, but Cargill looked like an absolute star. The power game she has is off the charts and she looks like a Greek statue come to life. Naomi was in over her head here with the power and athleticism, as the experience wasn’t enough to carry her. Nice stuff here, as Cargill felt like a monster in a great way.

We recap LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu. Knight is the very popular US Champion and Fatu is the new smashing machine. I don’t know Knight’s chances.

US Title: LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu

Fatu is challenging and Knight rides onto the stage in a rather expensive looking card. Knight grabs a neckbreaker for two but Fatu grabs a backbreaker to take over. The pace slows down a lot with Fatu hammering away, only to be knocked outside. Knight’s dropkick through the ropes connects but Fatu suplexes him out of the air for two back inside. The running backsplash hits raised knees though and Knight hits a standing top rope elbow for two.

Fatu runs him right back over and goes up, with Knight breaking up the moonsault. That lets Knight grab a top rope flipping German superplex for the big crash as Fatu is actually reeling. Naturally he shrugs that off and huts the running Umaga Attack in the corner, followed by a Swanton for two more. The triple jump moonsault is loaded up but Knight grabs him out of the air with the BFT (and nailed it) for the rather near fall. Knight is stunned and goes up, only to get Samoan dropped down. A pair of moonsaults makes Fatu champion at 10:40.

Rating: B-. That BFT alone made this one pretty memorable as the timing required to make that work was outstanding. At the same time, it made a lot more sense to have Fatu win here as he’s the kind of monster who had to win something at some point. It came after a good enough match too, with Fatu getting through to the next level, which Knight needs to do again.

We recap El Grande Americano vs. Rey Fenix. Americano is basically mocking the idea of lucha libre and Mysterio doesn’t like it so it’s time to stand up for the sport’s heritage. Chad Gable has been accused of being Americano but insists it is NOT him. Then Mysterio got hurt and he’s replaced by Rey Fenix. This needs more Mike Tenay’s Lucha Libre And The Mexican Luchadors.

El Grande Americano vs. Rey Fenix

Americano gets the sepia tone entrance ala the old newsreels about his career and is played in by a mariachi band. Hold on though as Americano goes outside and gets into it with AAA’s El Hijo de Vikingo, who kicks him in the head. Americano gets back inside for the opening bell and a hurricanrana for two.

They fight over a test of strength and go to the mat for a double bridge up. Fenix’s super hurricanrana sets up a missile dropkick to put Americano on the floor, meaning the big dive can follow. As commentary continues to bicker about whether it’s Americano or Gable, he suplexes Fenix for two but gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Back up and Americano LAUNCHES him into the corner with an overhead belly to belly for the huge crash.

A moonsault backsplash (commentary tries to figure out the degrees) hits Fenix for two more and Americano goes after the mask. That earns him a hurricanrana and the mask is loaded up. Fenix tries a springboard kick and hitsthe metal in the mask to leave him injured. The ankle lock goes on but Fenix rolls his way out. That means a springboard headbutt hits Americano but with Gable getting knocked out. A loaded Swan Dive finishes Fenix at 7:57.

Rating: C+. This was more about getting Americano on the show but it would have made a lot more sense against Mysterio. At the same time, this was about as good of an option as they had as a substitute, with Fenix being able to fly around so well. Americano had to win as he was still a pretty new idea and the goofiness was still working rather well.

Post match Vikingo checks on Fenix.

We look at the WWE Bought AAA announcement from earlier.

Here is Shawn Michaels to announce the attendance: 61,467. The number being written on the card in big numbers is rather amusing.

We see some celebrities, including UFC CEO Dana White for the second time.

We recap Charlotte challenging Tiffany Stratton for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Charlotte won the Royal Rumble and Stratton is rather cocky and believes she deserves everything she has. Charlotte also has her usual “I’m awesome” going and they’ve been rather nasty to each other in recent weeks.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is challenging. Stratton has a rather cool entrance where she appears as three different kinds of Barbies in big pink boxes and walks out of the middle one. Charlotte charges at her to start and they go to the mat to slug it out. The fight goes outside with Charlotte still in control but Stratton gets in a shot to take over.

Back in and the Flair Flip is broken up with a running elbow and a double stomp takes Charlotte out of the corner for two. They head outside with Charlotte dropping her onto the barricade and then the apron as things slow down. Charlotte takes her back inside for what would become the Devi’s Kiss, followed by the rolling figure four neck lock rolling slams. The Liontamer goes on until Stratton reverses into a rollup for two.

Some handspring elbows connect for Stratton in the corner but Charlotte gets in a neck snap across the top rope. Stratton knocks her back down but the moonsault hits knees. Instead Stratton hits a basement dropkick for two and we pause for a double breather. A big boot gives Charlotte two and they chop it out with Stratton winning the exchange of strikes. Stratton misses a charge in the ropes though and Charlotte kicks her down.

Natural Selection is blocked though and Charlotte hits a nice sitout powerbomb for two. Stratton catches her up top and hits a spinebuster for two and they’re both down again. A high crossbody hits Charlotte but she’s able to knee Stratton outside. The moonsault to the floor is broken up though and Charlotte’s recently repaired knee is banged up. Stratton kicks away at the leg so Charlotte kicks away at the head for two.

Charlotte wraps Stratton’s knee around the post and crashes down onto it in the corner. The Figure Four goes on but Stratton gets smart by hammering on the bad knee to escape. Stratton’s Prettiest Moonsault Ever hits raised knees so the banged up Charlotte gets two and they’re both down again. Charlotte goes up and knocks her off the top, setting up a super Natural Selection for two. Another Figure Eight attempt is blocked and Charlotte misses a charge into the corner. An Alabama Slam sends Charlotte into the corner and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever retains the title at 19:12.

Rating: B. They accomplished the big goal here by having Stratton win over the most successful star in women’s wrestling history. Stratton was a star but needed something like this to really make her feel like a bigger name. She’s a big part of the new generation of women’s wrestling and Charlotte put her over, which happened to come after quite the athletic display. They worked well enough together and the result was the right call.

We look at the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.

Here is the class:

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin from Wrestlemania XIII (doesn’t get much better than that)
Natural Disasters (they needed a tag team)
Michelle McCool (you knew it was coming)
HHH (that’s a top level headliner)

That’s about as much of a mixed bag as you can get but I do like the smaller number. Lex Luger was also in the class but apparently suffered a fall the morning of the show and couldn’t be there.

Iyo Sky was on the Goodyear Blimp over Las Vegas.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk. Reigns and Rollins have a long history due to the Shield and subsequent betrayals, while Punk is here because he hates both of them. The match has been made, with the caveat that Punk is FINALLY a Wrestlemania main eventer. As a bonus, Paul Heyman is in Punk’s corner to pay back the favor owed to Punk for being on Reigns’ team at Survivor Series. They also had a big fight at the Royal Rumble and then Reigns cost Punk a cage match against Rollins.

Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns

Rollins has a flamethrower, Reigns has white shoes and Punk has Heyman. Advantage: Reigns. Punk also gets a special video on his career, showing his rise from OVW to ECW to Raw and all the way to the main event. Tonight is his night and his main event. Yeah that’s well deserved after it was such a big deal to him. And of course Punk is played to the ring because we need to stretch this out even longer.

The bell rings and Punk heads outside to chat with Heyman, leaving Reigns to go after Rollins. Punk gets back in and Reigns clotheslines both of them, including one to send Punk outside. Reigns gets posted and suicide dived, with Rollins sending him into the steps. Punk and Rollins go into the crowd with Punk firing off some chair shots to take over. That’s broken up with a metal stand to the ribs and a trashcan to Punk’s head but he suplexes Rollins onto a trashcan.

They head back towards ringside, where Reigns dives over the barricade to take them both out. Reigns loads up the announcers’ table (Heyman is worried) but instead takes Punk back inside for a Samoan drop. Punk fights back and cuts Reigns off, which brings Punk quite the smile. Punk’s running knees in the corner set up a DDT/neckbreaker combination to drop both of them.

The top rope elbow hits Rollins but he’s able to catch Punk on top. Reigns breaks that up and gets Rollins on his shoulder, setting up Punk as Hawk in a Doomsday Device. Reigns and Punk slug it out with Punk getting the Anaconda Vice. Rollins dives in with a suicide dive to make the save and even covers Reigns for two. Back up and Rollins hits a buckle bomb to both of them but Punk tries the GTS.

That’s broken up by Reigns’ spear but Rollins reverses another into a Pedigree (they LOVE that spot). A Stomp connects but Rollins stops to get rid of Punk, allowing Reigns to kick out. Rollins’ phoenix splash misses Reigns so he spears Rollins down. A quick GTS gives Punk two on Reigns as Heyman is looking frustrated. Rollins is back in with a Pedigree for two on Punk, allowing him to yell at Reigns about how useless Reigns is without him. Rollins goes outside and the other announcers’ table is loaded up.

Rollins teases the DoubleBomb but Reigns punches him in the face and powerbombs Punk through the table. Rollins is powerbombed through the other but the spear to Rollins is only good for two. Reigns yells at Heyman about the favor and then grabs a guillotine choke on Punk, even jumping up onto him. That’s reversed into the Anaconda Vice but Rollins is in with a Sharpshooter to Punk. Reigns breaks that up with the guillotine, which is broken up for a GTS to Rollins. Heyman is now sitting on the steps as only Punk can get up.

Another GTS hits Rollins but Reigns spears Punk, only to get Stomped by Rollins to leave everyone down. That’s enough for Heyman to grab a chair, but he isn’t sure if he should give it to Punk or Reigns. He slides it to Punk and gets in the ring (and you can see it coming from here).

The chair shot is loaded up and it’s a low blow to Punk, leaving Reigns smiling (those are some amazingly white teeth). Heyman offers Reigns the chair so he can go after Punk but points Reigns at Rollins. Reigns loads up the chair and of course Heyman hits him low as well, revealing his real allegiance. Rollins gets the chair and blasts Reigns in the back (there’s your call back), setting up a Stomp for the pin at 32:41.

Rating: B+. This went on for a good while but once they started trading finishes, it got rather good. The question became how Heyman would get involved, but at the same time the action they had was rather good. It was a grudge match built around the idea of Heyman making his choice in the end, with everyone hating each other and wanting to beat the living daylights out of each other on the way there. I’m not sure if it’s a classic Wrestlemania main event, but dang it wound up working.

Overall Rating: B. I did like it and it feels like a big show, though I’m not sure if it felt all the way up to a Wrestlemania level show. The main event was rather great and most of the rest of the show worked, though the Americano vs. Fenix match could have probably been dropped. For a first half of the biggest show of the year it’s good enough, but it needed that one great match to put it up to the next level.

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 XXXIX Night Two
Date: April 2, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
Attendance: 67,553
America The Beautiful: Jimmie Allen

After a rather long intermission, we’re ready to wrap up the show and this night has a lot to live up to. The first night was outstanding and now we have the real main event, as Roman Reigns defends the WWE Universal Title against Cody Rhodes. In addition, Gunther defends the Intercontinental Title against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre and we have a Cell match as a bonus. Let’s get to it.

Jimmie Allen sings America The Beautiful.

Kevin Hart gives us the cold open again, this time talking about how the sequel has to be bigger and better. Points for not just redoing the same video from the night before and keeping up with the theme.

Miz and Snoop Dogg welcome us to the show with a quick recap and preview. Snoop is ready to get us going.

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos

The story here is that Lesnar can’t overpower Omos (with MVP). Seriously that’s about it. Lesnar can’t double leg him to start and gets tossed around. Running shoulders don’t do much for Lesnar so Omos hits a headbutt and grabs a slam. Omos throws him around again and hits some forearms to the back. We hit the bearhug, followed by another slam, and another bearhug to keep Lesnar in trouble. Lesnar fights out and is quickly chokeslammed for a near fall. Back up and Lesnar rolls some German suplexes but his back gives out on the F5 attempt. Then Lesnar hits the F5 for the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C-. Well they definitely did the right thing in keeping this short, as the whole thing was about Lesnar doing his power moves but not doing them all that well because Omos is that big. It’s a very basic story and while Omos got in some impressive stuff, it felt more like a way to get Lesnar on the show more than anything else (which granted that’s more or less what it was). Not a great match but the fans liked the big throws so points for that.

Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

It’s the women’s match of the showcase tag match from last night. Baszler and Rousey (the bullies) didn’t have to qualify here and were just thrown into the match. Morgan Backstabbers Sonya to start and a one kneed Codebreaker makes it even worse. Natalya comes in for the sling shot belly to back drop. The basement dropkick puts Morgan down again but she hurricanranas her way to freedom.

Rodriguez comes in and gets to throw Natalya around, leaving Natalya to hand it off to Green. A missile dropkick has no effect so Sonya comes back in, allowing Green to grab some hair. Shotzi comes in so Baszler throws her outside, where Rousey is waiting on her. That leaves Baszler to get caught in a triplebomb, meaning Rousey has to get on the apron…but the three on one is broken up by Green and Sonya.

Shotzi dives onto people in the ring and on the floor, but Green stops to tell us to get our cameras ready. Rather than face Rodriguez, Green dives onto a bunch of people at ringside. With no one else left inside, Rodriguez powerbombs Morgan onto the pile for the big crash. Back in and Rodriguez fall away slams Shotzi, setting up the corkscrew Vader Bomb. Sonya comes in for the save though and some double teaming puts Rodriguez on the floor.

Green and Sonya celebrate until Natalya and Shotzi are back in for an assisted double Sliced Bread. A Hart Attack gets two on Sonya with Green making the save. There’s the double Sharpshooter to Sonya and Green until Morgan dives off the top for the save. Morgan takes Shotzi down but Rousey and Baszler (now with one boot and limping) come back in to break it up. Rousey armbars Shotzi for the win at 8:22.

Rating: C+. I don’t know if Baszler’s injury put she and Rousey on the floor for so long but they were almost not around whatsoever for a good chunk of the match. The match was pretty similar to its male counterpart but two of these teams felt thrown together and it hurt a lot. Rousey and Baszler winning should set them up as the monsters of the division and they would win the Tag Team Titles in about a month and a half…after Rodriguez and Morgan won them first. As usual, those things are a mess.

We look at Bobby Lashley winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on Smackdown.

Lashley comes out and shows off the trophy.

Xavier Woods and UpUpDownDown preview the Intercontinental Title match.

We recap Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther for the latter’s Intercontinental Title. Gunther is a monster champion and his fellow Europeans want to hit him really hard and win the title. Sheamus and McIntyre are friends but both want the title, meaning they’re willing to fight each other. This falls into the “do we need to draw you a picture here” category. It also falls into the “we saw this video (or something really similar to it) last night” category.

Intercontinental Title: Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and Titus O’Neil is on commentary. Sheamus and McIntyre waste no time in knocking the champ to the floor before starting to lay into each other. Sheamus hits a clothesline and takes McIntyre into the corner for some uppercuts. McIntyre is sent to the apron for the forearms but Gunther is back up with chops for both of them. Gunther sends McIntyre into the post for a crash out to the floor, followed by a big boot to Sheamus’ face.

The Boston crab has Sheamus in more trouble until McIntyre comes in to break it up. McIntyre and Gunther chop it out (and they’re loud chops too) but Sheamus is back in with the uppercuts all around. With Gunther getting back up, Sheamus ties him in the ropes for the forearms to the chest, mixed in with chops from McIntyre. That leaves Gunther down so Sheamus ties McIntyre up in the ropes for almost thirty forearms to the chest.

Gunther is back in to break up the Celtic Cross though and a German suplex drops Sheamus again. The big clothesline gives Gunther two but McIntyre is back up to suplex Sheamus into Sheamus in the corner. There’s a Futureshock to Gunther but the Claymore misses. Gunther powerbombs McIntyre down and goes up but Sheamus is right there with a super White Noise. The Celtic Cross sets up the Cloverleaf so Gunther makes the rope, which means nothing because it’s No DQ.

Sheamus lets go and puts the hold back on anyway, only to have McIntyre come in for the break. That doesn’t go well either as Sheamus knees both of them down but McIntyre cuts off the Brogue Kick. McIntyre headbutts him out to the floor and busts out the big flip dive, leaving everyone down on the floor. Cole to O’Neil: “You never did that!” O’Neil: “AND I NEVER WILL!”

Back in and Sheamus Brogue Kicks McIntyre for two, followed by the Claymore to give McIntyre two of his own. Sheamus drops McIntyre again and covers but Gunther dives in with a top rope splash. Gunther’s powerbomb to Sheamus onto McIntyre leaves them both down, followed by another powerbomb to pin McIntyre and retain at 16:35.

Rating: A. It’s rare that I’ll watch a match back on its own but I’ve seen this one more than a few times now as it’s that kind of brutal. These guys beat the fire out of each other and that is exactly how it was advertised. They didn’t stop and for once it felt like three people having a match. There were stretches where it was two in and one out, but it was a brutal and hard hitting enough match to make up for it. Excellent stuff here, as you probably should have expected.

WWE did charity work this week.

We recap Asuka vs. Bianca Belair for the latter’s Raw Women’s Title. Belair won the title last year at Wrestlemania and has become a huge star during her reign. Then Asuka showed up as an evil clown and Belair is all scared, at least somewhat due to Asuka spraying her with the mist over and over. It’s a simple story but it didn’t exactly work and this never felt like a big feud.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka

Asuka is challenging and comes out with a team of masked Asukas, while Belair counters with an all girl kids dance troupe. Eh point to the champ. Belair kicks her down at the bell and hits a dropkick into the corner, setting up the right hands. That’s broken up and Asuka kicks her down, setting up the big missed kick to the head. Asuka puts her on top but Belair flips over her and hits a spinebuster for a fast two.

Something close to a triangle choke has Belair in trouble before Asuka switches to the Asuka Lock. It’s not on quite full though and Belair rolls outside, where she PLANTS Asuka with a sitout powerbomb. Back in and Belair misses a charge into the post, allowing Asuka to pull her into a heel hook. Belair powers out but Asuka grabs an ankle lock, which is rolled away for the break. Asuka is right back up with a missile dropkick for two and things slow down a bit.

They go to the apron where Asuka hits a hard dropkick into the post. Belair sends her into the post to even things up a bit, setting up a deadlift superplex to bring them back inside. Asuka’s kick to the face gets two but a Codebreaker is blocked. A running Blockbuster into a handspring moonsault gives Belair two and frustration is setting in. They go to the corner with Asuka slipping out of a fireman’s carry and hitting a Codebreaker for two of her own. Back up and the mist misses but Asuka slips out of the KOD. The cross armbreaker doesn’t quite work for Asuka though and Belair powers up for the

Rating: B-. This was good but it never hit that next level, save for maybe the final sequence. The story just wasn’t that compelling coming in and it didn’t really feel like a major showdown. Belair retaining the title over a top level challenge is good though as beating Asuka is still an impressive feat.

We look at Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens beating the Usos for the Tag Team Titles in Night One’s main event.

Here are Miz and Snoop Dogg to announce tonight’s attendance of 81,395, giving us a two day total of 161,892. That’s great, but Miz isn’t happy with Snoop for putting him into an impromptu match last night. Dogg: “So you want to do it again?” Of course not, because Miz doesn’t like being humiliated in his town. Snoop says this is the people’s city and introduces….Shane McMahon, because SHANE MUST BE A THING. Shane thanks the fans and sounds like he can barely breathe after his entrance. Time for a match

Shane McMahon vs. Miz

Shane punches him in the corner and yeah they’re as bad as before. Then he drops down, leapfrogs over Miz and….tears his quad on the landing less than thirty seconds in. That brings Snoop in to hit Miz in the face and apparently we have a replacement. Snoop knocks him down again and drops a People’s Elbow for the pin at 2:11. This seems to have been completely impromptu with either the referee telling Snoop to get in there or Snoop coming up with the idea on his own. Either way, major points to Snoop who had no idea what he was doing and gave the fans a very fun moment out of nowhere.

We recap Edge vs. the Demon Finn Balor inside the Cell. Balor threw Edge out of the Judgment Day the night he joined, setting off a feud between the two of them. This led to Judgment Day attacking both Edge and his wife Beth Phoenix, meaning it’s time for the big, violent fight.

The Cell is lowered and we get a voiceover (from Russell Crowe of all people, as part of a movie tie-in) talking about how evil it is as well.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

Inside the Cell and this is Brood Edge (and yes, his Titantron literally says BROOD EDGE), who comes out of the Brood ring of fire with a shiny mask that makes him look like the Terminator while wearing wings, against the Demon. They waste no time in getting the weapons, with Edge grabbing a red chair and Balor grabbing a purple kendo stick (because not only do you need weapons in the Cell, but you need COLOR COORDINATED weapons).

Balor gets the better of things and knocks him to the floor, only to get hammered back inside. Edge knocks him off the apron and grabs a bunch of kendo sticks (two purple, one red), some of which he uses to pin Balor into the corner of the Cell. A dropkick off the apron hits Balor to make it worse, meaning it’s time to set up the table. Balor uses the delay to get out and sends Edge hard into the steps. They get back inside where Edge hits a quick Impaler but the spear is countered with a Sling Blade.

They go outside with Balor being dropkicked through a table, only to come back in with an Unprettier. The Edge-O-Matic gets two more and it’s time to grab a ladder. Edge throws said ladder at Balor’s face and Balor is busted open BAD, meaning we pause for the medic to come inside to check on him (this led to a hilarious reaction from Mick Foley, because apparently YOU CAN PAUSE A CELL MATCH DUE TO AN INJURY).

Edge uses the delay to get a bunch of weapons ready but Balor is back up with 1916. The spear only hits ladder and Balor hits another Slind Blade. Coup de Grace connects for two and Balor climbs the ladder, only to get countered into a super Edgecution for a slightly delayed two.

That takes too long again and Balor is back up with his own weapons shots, including a bunch of chair shots to Edge. Balor climbs up but instead climbs the cage and gets onto the camera platform. This adds a full nine inched above the top rope but the Coup De Grace only hits table. Edge’s spear gets two so he unloads with chair shots to the back. The Conchairto finishes Balor at 18:10.

Rating: B-. This was the modern Cell match and that is not a good thing for the most part. The bell rang and they went straight for the weapons, which didn’t exactly make the Cell itself feel important. It was a violent and hard hitting match but other than one or two spots, I’m not sure how much the Cell was needed. Either use the Cell or don’t, because this was a street fight with the cage blocking the camera view.

We look at the Wrestlemania trailers.

Backlash is coming to Puerto Rico. You should too!

We look at the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.

Here is the class in the stadium:

Stacy Keibler (who has not aged a day)
Andy Kaufman (represented by his family)
Great Muta (that’s a nice addition)
Tim White (Warrior Award, and his brother looks identical to him)
Rey Mysterio (that’s about as perfect of a choice for an active headliner as you could pick)

Mysterio shakes the other inductees’ hands (bowing to Muta).

We look at Set Rollins’ entrance from last night. Feel free to get on with the show at any time.

We recap Roman Reigns defending the WWE Universal Title against Cody Rhodes. The big idea here is Rhodes wants to finish his story, meaning winning the title in his dad’s honor while also completing his long rise to the top of WWE. Reigns has been champion for two and a half years and isn’t going away that fast, so it’s time for the big showdown. It feels like a main event and Cody is almost the last man standing to fight Reigns.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns is defending and has Paul Heyman/Solo Sikoa with him. Rhodes gets his big entrance and goes over to say hi to his family, including giving his weightlifting belt to an unmasked Negative One (the son of the late Brody Lee, who makes occasional AEW appearances). Reigns gets a special entrance of his own, with a team of pianists playing the start of his entrance live. We get an ACKNOWLEDGE ME from Reigns before the bell finally rings.

Rhodes hammerlocks him over to the ropes to start and Reigns isn’t impressed. A headlock takeover and a right hand has Reigns a bit more annoyed so he bails out to the floor. Heyman’s advice is that Reigns isn’t here for Rhodes because Rhodes is here for him. Heyman: “NOW SMASH HIM!” Back in and Reigns elbows him in the face, meaning it’s time to raise up a finger. Rhodes manages a dropkick (Reigns is stunned again) for two, with commentary saying that cover wasn’t about getting a pin but rather sending a message to Reigns. What that message is isn’t clear but I’d guess “Eat At Joe’s”.

The Disaster Kick is pulled out of the air though and Reigns hits a powerbomb for two. Some suplexes have Rhodes in more trouble but he’s back up to send Reigns out to the floor. That goes badly for him as well as Reigns drops him face first onto the apron. A hard slam puts Rhodes down onto the ramp but Rhodes gets in one of his own. Rhodes sends him back inside but Sikoa gets in a chair shot to the ribs, allowing Reigns to come back with the apron boot.

The cravate slows Rhodes down back inside until he fights up, only to have Sikoa interfere again. This time it lets Reigns hit a hard clothesline before whipping Rhodes into the corner to stay on his bad ribs. They go back outside with Reigns loading up the announcers’ table but getting backdropped through the other one for the big hope spot. Back in and Rhodes hits the drop down uppercut into the snap powerslam.

There’s the Cody Cutter for a big near fall so Reigns rolls outside, meaning it’s a suicide dive to hit him again. They try to get back in but Sikoa gets in a weightlifting belt shot….which the referee hears for an ejection. The distraction lets Rhodes hit Cross Rhodes for two (with Heyman looking on in fear for a nice visual). Reigns is back with some shots to the head and a release Rock Bottom gets two.

The Superman Punch is countered into a Pedigree (Heyman even reaches through the ropes this time) for two and it’s time to start the comeback. Said comeback is cut off with a Superman Punch to knock Rhodes out of the air for two more. The spear is countered into a sunset flip for two and Rhodes whips out a Figure Four for a change of pace. Reigns turns it over (while slapping the mat on the way there), with Rhodes getting over to the ropes for the break.

A big spear connects for two and now Reigns is stunned for a change. With nothing else working, Reigns hits him in the face over and over before grabbing the guillotine choke. Rhodes can’t spinebuster his way to freedom but he can slip his head out and hammer away at Reigns for a change. The referee gets bumped though and a double knockdown gives us quite the breather. Cody is back up for the Cross Rhodes but the Usos run in to break it up. The 1D drops Rhodes but here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to take out the Usos.

A Stunner into the Helluva Kick leave Reigns down and the other four brawl out into the crowd. Rhodes gets the big dramatic near fall (and thank goodness that wasn’t the pin as Rhodes winning thanks to Owens and Zayn wouldn’t have worked) and they’re both down again. Back up and the slug it out with both of them being staggered off the shots. The Superman Punch is countered with the Flip Flop And Fly into the Bionic Elbow. Rhodes hits back to back Cross Rhodes….but Sikoa comes in with the Samoan Spike. The spear retains the title at 34:36.

Rating: B+. A year removed from this and my goodness I’m still amazed at the guts it took to not pull the trigger here. This was Cody’s chance to win the whole thing and they kept it on Reigns, which is quite the way to go. They beat the fire out of each other and it had the big match feel, but not pulling the trigger here still feels way off. Heck of a main event, but man they had the fans ready for the moment and just didn’t do it.

Replays and a highlight package wrap us up.

Overall Rating: B. There were some weak parts here and there but the good stuff is more than enough to carry this. Much like Night One, you can’t fault the atmosphere and the look/feel of the show, which made for a heck of a showcase for everyone involved. The main event was very good (ending aside perhaps) and the Intercontinental Title match was great, mixed in with some other strong stuff along the way. I liked this one a lot and the slightly shorter running time helped, but it’s just a few ticks below Night One’s instant classic status.

Overall Overall Rating: A-. Wrestlemania has a complicated history but this was going along with the big, epic show feel and it worked to near perfection. It’s one of the best Wrestlemanias ever and what matters is the show feeling as big as possible. Granted it helped that there was some great action, though that ending is one of those things that is going to stick in a lot of fans’ memories for a very long time. I loved the show overall, and my goodness WWE knows how to make these things work so well.

Ratings Comparison

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos

Original: C+
Redo: C-

Women’s Tag Team Showcase

Original: C
Redo: C+

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Gunther

Original: A-
Redo: A

Asuka vs. Bianca Belair

Original: B
Redo: B-

Shane McMahon vs. Miz

Original: N/A
Redo: N/A

Edge vs. Finn Balor

Original: B
Redo: B-

Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes

Original: B+
Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+
Redo: B

Overall Overall Rating:

Original: A
Redo: A-

At least most of them are in in the ballpark. Either way, excellent show.

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 13, 2026
Location: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s a special show this week with the final Raw before this weekend’s Wrestlemania. That means we are not likely in for much in the way of the wrestling, but we should be getting a lot when it comes to hyping up matches. If nothing else, it should be the last big push between Roman Reigns and CM Punk. Let’s get to it.

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

Roman Reigns joins us to start and talks about how the fans trust him more than CM Punk because he’s real with them. We see some of Punk’s recent actions and what Pat McAfee has said about him. Reigns is giving Punk one more chance to tell the truth tonight. This was approved by Roman Reigns. Odd ending but ok.

We look at the Brock Lesnar/Oba Femi contract signing brawl from last week.

Adam Pearce is in the ring with HHH to open the show and says tonight, Lesnar and Femi will sign their contract separately. This brings out Paul Heyman, who says no one will get close to Lesnar during Wrestlemania fight week. Lesnar comes to the ring and signs, with a tip of his hat to Pearce. Heyman goes to talk about Femi, but Lesnar takes the mic and says no one will know Femi’s name after Wrestlemania. Heyman says there will be a winner and a loser and the winner will be Lesnar.

We look at the setup for the Wrestlemania six man tag.

The Vision is training with IShowSpeed, who is worried due to the whole “I’m not a wrestler” issue. They tell him that it doesn’t matter so he gets in the ring with the vision and what appears to be Dante Chen and Edris Enofe. Speed hits a nice high crossbody and a rather aggressive Boston crab before declaring himself ready.

Charlotte vs. Lyra Valkyria

Their partners are here too. Valkyria takes her down into a headlock to start but Charlotte reverses, only for Valkyria to slip away. Charlotte nips up and Valkyria drops her with a spinwheel kick, much to Bayley’s approval. A whip into the corner sends Charlotte to the apron and Valkyria kicks her to the floor. The dive misses though and Charlotte hits a big boot as we take a break.

We come back with Valkyria hitting a top rope ax kick for two but her moonsault hits knees. Charlotte’s moonsault connects for two but Natural Selection is blocked. Something like a fisherman’s buster gives Valkyria two so Charlotte throws her onto Bayley. Back in and Charlotte tries a rollup but Bayley trips her down to give Valkyria the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C+. This was another basic preview for the four (or maybe three) way at Wrestlemania. That’s not a bad way to go as Valkyria getting a pin on Charlotte is one way to change the titles. These random matches are about all you can do with the match set up and the match was completely acceptable.

Post match we get a staredown but it doesn’t get physical.

LA Knight and the Usos are ready for Wrestlemania but here are Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s to interrupt. Sikoa insults Knight and calls him an embarrassment, so Knight wants a six man tag against any of the MFT’s tonight.

We look at a clip from the Hulk Hogan documentary, focusing on the original NWO turn.

Here is Stephanie Vaquer for a chat…and Liv Morgan pops up from behind to shove her into Cathy Kelly. Agents break them up and Morgan calls her a little b****. Vaquer charges in and the brawl is on again before they’re separated again, leaving Morgan screaming a lot.

Video on Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill, including Iyo Sky being taken out.

Sky is in the back when the Kabuki Warriors come up. Asuka calls Sky Ripley’s sidekick but Sky tries to tell Sane that she doesn’t have to listen to this. That’s cut off and Asuka makes Sky vs. Sane for tonight. Asuka calls Sane a good girl and they leave together.

Usos/LA Knight vs. MFT’s

Jimmy knocks Mateo into the corner to start and it’s off to Jey for a running forearm. Jey clotheslines Mateo to the floor for a big dive and we take a rather early break. We come back with Sikoa knocking Jimmy to the floor but Jey fights his way out of trouble. Knight comes in to clean house and Mateo is sent outside. Knight drops Loa but Mateo makes the save as everything breaks down. Jey low bridges Sikoa to the floor, where Sikoa sends him over the announcers’ table. Cue Tama Tonga (not here earlier) for a staredown with Sikoa, who isn’t pleased with him. During the distraction, Knight gives Loa the BFT for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C+. This was another fine match, though I’m not sure why they needed a break in a match that doesn’t even last seven minutes. The good thing is Knight and the Usos have some momentum heading into Wrestlemania. Yeah it’s just a celebrity match, but at least it’s something a bit unique rather than the same multi team/man stuff we get elsewhere.

We look at Pat McAfee and Cody Rhodes’ segment from Smackdown. This resulted in Randy Orton beating up Jelly Roll.

Here is Gunther for a chat…and never mind as Seth Rollins runs in to knock Gunther outside. Rollins heard Gunther say it was personal between them last week and he wants to know why. He offers Gunther a chance to get in the ring and explain (which makes you wonder why he beat Gunther up in the first place) so Gunther grabs a mic.

Gunther goes face to face with Rollins and says it has ticked him off to hear Rollins talk about how he was the best in the world. When Gunther was World Champion and going for the best competition in the world, Rollins became Paul Heyman’s servant. Gunther says it’s personal to him because he wants to prove he’s the best in the world. The fight is on with Rollins knocking him to the floor but Gunther avoids a Stomp on the steps and bails into the crowd. That is a rather basic explanation from Gunther but it’s something that makes perfect sense for him.

We get a video narrated by John Cena advertising Club WWE (which has been shown in graphics for the last few weeks), which is a way to get fans exclusive access to various things. No word on how much it costs but I’ve heard worse ideas.

We see some smoke with red lights flashing over it and….yeah the Demon is officially back to face Dominik Mysterio.

Dominik Mysterio isn’t happy with Adam Pearce for letting this happen but he didn’t sign to face the Demon so the match has to be canceled. That won’t happen, and Pearce doesn’t care for Dominik talking about his father like he’s a loser. Pearce tells him to go look in the mirror because he’ll get what he deserves.

Iyo Sky vs. Kairi Sane

Sane takes her down and pounds away, followed by a running shoulder in the corner. A nice looking top rope forearm and we hit the chinlock. Sky fights up and flips out of a headscissors before taking Sane outside. The moonsault off the barricade drops Sane again and we take a break.

We come back with Sky’s missile dropkick connecting to send Sane into the corner. Over The Moonsault is broken up so they both go up top, with Sky being knocked into the ropes. Sane is knocked down so cue Asuka to send Sky into the post. This brings out Rhea Ripley (Asuka rolls up her sleeves) for the brawl but Jade Cargill runs in to jump Ripley from behind. Sane dives onto Cargill but Asuka breaks up Over The Moonsault again. Sane’s rollup gets the pin at 9:57.

Rating: B. This wound up being a match with a big angle and I got into what we were seeing. The Asuka vs. Ripley brawl didn’t last long but it made perfect sense for all of the run-ins. That’s a nice way to build up a few stories at once and it happened to come with a rather good match as well.

Video on AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch.

Here are Adam Pearce and HHH for the signing with Oba Femi. Cue Femi, who signs the contract without saying a word. Paul Heyman pops up on stage to say he has never seen someone be perceived as the best around as fast as Femi. Heyman says Femi is the most violent person to come into WWE since Brock Lesnar so the fans chant for OBA.

This annoys Heyman again, but he says that everything comes crashing down for Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Don’t worry though, because Heyman’s door will always be open to him after Wrestlemania. The fans want Femi to beat Heyman up, but Femi says those scars will heal. The emotional beating after he beats Lesnar though? That never goes away. There are twenty five years of history that Lesnar can’t be beaten but Femi has four weeks of evidence that he can. It’s time to end the Beast and everyone can feel it.

Heyman has been Lesnar’s mouthpiece but he has never been an honest one. If Heyman was honest, he would have come out here and said that Lesnar was scared. Femi is the mountain that Lesnar cannot climb and the Beast is being slayed at Wrestlemania. Femi’s delivery isn’t perfect (granted he doesn’t have much experience) but I believed what he was saying and it sounded like he did too, which is a big part.

We get a Liv Morgan music video for a song called Trouble. This is certainly different, but it’s basically just an excuse to have Morgan dancing on TV in various outfits.

Je’Von Evans/Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh/Rusev

McDonagh stomps Lee down in the corner to start and hits a hard clothesline. Evans gets knocked off the apron and it’s off to Rusev to keep Lee in trouble. That’s broken up and it’s off to Evans to make the comeback. Rusev gets low bridged to the floor but McDonagh Asai moonsaults onto Lee. Evans dives onto him but gets fall away slammed onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Lee’s running hurricanrana to send McDonagh into Rusev. McDonagh is able to catch him with a running Spanish fly so Evans is back with a flipping kick to the head. The huge dive over the top takes Rusev out, leaving Lee to roll McDonagh up for two. The Styles Clash puts McDonagh away at 8:13.

Rating: B-. This was a fast paced tag match with Rusev playing a good monster. That’s something the ladder match has been needing, as it has felt very thrown together. Giving it a bit of attention is a good idea and hopefully they can deliver on Sunday. The problem is that it’s still a bit thrown together, but this was the best build it has gotten thus far.

Post match Rusev wrecks the winners, as is his custom. Rey Mysterio runs in for the save attempt but gets taken out. Cue Penta but Rusev clears the ring again, including taking out McDonagh. Rusev grabs the Accolade on Lee and cranks way back.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Danhausen interrupts Adam Pearce and wants to talk to John Cena on the phone. Cena isn’t on the phone, though Danhausen hopes that he can see him at Wrestlemania. And then Danhausen disappears.

Here is Roman Reigns for the big closing segment. Reigns takes his time to set up the catchphrase but here is CM Punk, in the crowd, to cut him off. Punk takes his own sweet time to get to ringside, where he gets on the announcers’ table. Punk talks about watching the cold open and says stop him when he’s telling lies. Reigns says they won’t need these mics but Punk says this he hates Reigns because he envies him.

This is all Punk has ever wanted and he is jealous that it was handed to Reigns. He hates that Reigns was champion for so long, because he knows how hard Reigns worked to do that. Punk says the legacy is about how many and he hates how many times Reigns has main evented Wrestlemania. He hates that he feels this way before shifting over to Sika (Reigns’ father).

The reality is that Sika was a champion and a great man and a Hall Of Famer. Punk respects the old timers and he apologizes for invoking Sika’s name in vain. He hates that there is more than one royal family in wrestling and he hates that he wasn’t born into a dynasty. Punk doesn’t know what it’s like to have that kind of family. He grew up on the streets of Chicago and had to find his family.

Those people were found in barns, bowling alleys, abandoned churches and VFW halls. Punk conquered the indies and then he went to Japan and England and he made wrestling his home and family. Punk hates that he feels this way and he hates that he has to share his first singles Wrestlemania main event with Reigns. Tell him when he’s telling lies. He has gold on his shoes and gold around his waist, and on Sunday night after their fight, the gold will be around his head because he’ll still be Heavyweight Champion of the World. Tell him when he’s telling lies (Reigns has just stared at him during this whole thing).

Reigns says that’s probably the truest stuff he’s ever heard Punk say, except for the ending. The truth is he’s hated Punk for a long time, but that’s because of the relationship Punk has with the fans. He hopes that they chant for him when he leaves. No one can take away the connection he has with the fans and that’s his truth. The reality is that the time is up because on Sunday it’s not “AND STILL”, because it’s “AND NEW”.

The nostalgia act is through and on Sunday we fix this mess that Punk has made. On Sunday, the Tribal Chief takes over again and you, and everyone else, will acknowledge him. The staredown ends the show. Reigns didn’t get to say much but he didn’t really need to. This was a money promo and felt like a Wrestlemania go home speech from Punk, who showed some rare vulnerability. There have been some problems with this Wrestlemania build but this hasn’t been one of them.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t much here but that’s almost always the case with five days to go until Wrestlemania. This show was mainly focused on talking and the stuff we got worked well, with Punk’s speech and Femi’s response to Heyman going strong. I want to see their matches over the weekend as the Raw half of the shows are looking good. They mostly stuck the landing here, though the weekend is what really matters.

Results
Lyra Valkyria b. Charlotte – Rollup
Usos/LA Knight b. MFT’s – BFT to Loa
Kairi Sane b. Iyo Sky – Rollup
Je’Von Evans/Dragon Lee b. JD McDonagh/Rusev – Styles Clash to McDonagh

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: April 6, 2026
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re less than two weeks away from Wrestlemania and that means everything has to come together. The good thing is that the Raw side of things has been the better of the two shows and that means we could be in for a nice night. If nothing else, we might be getting some more things set for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is a ticked off CM Punk to get things going. Punk sits down in the middle of the ring as we get some dueling chants from the fans. Punk talks about this being a wrestling town and he has some history of his own here. This is Paul Boesch territory and Houston Wrestling. He loves to hear about the old timers and you can’t help but compare yourself to them. Sometimes he dreams and asks what Harley Race would do.

The important things happen when we’re awake though (he gets up) and it’s good to be alive on a Monday night in Houston. The thing is, Roman Reigns isn’t here tonight. Punk recaps his issues with Punk over the last two weeks. Punk gets out on the apron and talks about how Reigns hates him. That’s a good thing, because he won’t trade his authenticity for approval. Not vying for the approval of losers is what prevents him from being one of them. The fans chant for Reigns but Punk says he’s the one who is here. Punk: “And I’m an old man!”

Punk takes off his jacket and stands on the announcers’ table and talks about how this company sent Reigns to Jimmy Fallon. Reigns is there because he’s safe and boring and you know he’s not going to lose it. On the other hand, Punk is someone who could say anything. He can film TV shows and movies and never miss a show but Reigns uses it as a crutch to be gone and then Punk gets booed when he shows up. Reigns puffs his chest around in the back like he’s the Rock, a Hollywood superstar. Punk: “I’m sorry. WAS a Hollywood superstar.”

After that gasp is over, Punk talks about how Reigns got a job because his father was a wrestler because he sucked at football. He calls Reigns a nepo baby who ate dog food for a weird old man. That old man treated Punk like a dog for years but Punk had FU money and walked away. That’s why everyone hates him: they can’t control him. You can’t blackball him and he can blow up his own bridge because he knows how to swim.

He’s not done though because PAT MCAFEE thinks he can come here and get in Punk’s business. Call that agent of his that shoehorned him into the show and tell him to LOWER THE TICKET PRICES. McAfee isn’t coming here and telling him to put people in seats. Lower the ticket prices so everyone in Houston (and their families) can come to Las Vegas and see him take Reigns out. This was Punk in his element as he felt like he was venting, with the part about the ticket prices not being something I was expecting to hear.

We recap IShowSpeed’s issues with LA Knight, who showed up on Speed’s stream and beat him up last week.

Speed is in the back and runs into Danhausen, who will remove the curse in exchange for Speed’s mansion. Adam Pearce shows up and Danhausen disappears. Pearce suggests that Speed go home before it gets worse but the Vision show up and have Speed come to the arena with them.

Austin Theory vs. LA Knight

Logan Paul IShowSpeed are here with Theory, who sends Knight into the ropes to start. Back up and Knight knocks him outside for a change but Theory is back with a ram into the buckle. That earns him another trip to the floor, where Knight clotheslines him into the timekeeper’s area as we take a break.

We come back with Knight grabbing a neckbreaker and hammering away, followed by a Russian legsweep. Another neckbreaker gives Knight two but Theory hits a shot to the face into a Blockbuster. Knight shrugs that off and takes him outside for the rams into the announcers’ table. With Theory back inside, Paul shoves Speed into Knight, who gives chase up the aisle. Cue the Usos to cut Speed off so Speed jumps over Knight, who catches him back inside. Paul’s save doesn’t work but Theory rolls Knight up, with trunks, for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C. This was a case where the match was mainly a backdrop for everything else going on, which isn’t the worst thing. At the same time, it’s also a case where a DQ would have made a lot more sense. Knight didn’t need to take a fall like this and there was so much else going on that you could have saved a bit of a headache without the pin.

Post match Knight isn’t overly happy but he has an idea for how to even things up a bit: a six man tag at Wrestlemania. Adam Pearce pops up to say he told Speed to go home because the match is official. Yeah that was obvious and it’s not a bad thing to go with what makes sense.

Commentary introduces a video on Pat McAfee’s actions on Smackdown, with Michael Cole having to calm himself down.

CM Punk talks about his favorite Wrestlemania memory: being an extra at Wrestlemania XXII, which he thinks about every time he comes to work.

Finn Balor vs. JD McDonagh

Hold on though as Dominik Mysterio jumps Balor from behind and even mocks Balor’s pose. Balor fights back and goes after McDonagh but Mysterio gets in a belt shot with the AAA Mega Title. McDonagh brings in a chair and Mysterio beats Balor down so he can do the sign point. No match.

We get a video on AJ Lee, including a lot of her time before her hiatus.

Lee sits down with Michael Cole and says she is nervous about her first Wrestlemania in eleven years…and here is Becky Lynch to interrupt. Lynch calls Cole the worst interviewer and commentator in WWE so Cole leaves, telling Lee good luck. Lynch talks about seeing Lee at Wrestlemania XXXI and getting a fake hug but then Lee left the next day. Lee tells her to keep underestimating what Lee can do and cuts her off when Lynch doesn’t like this

The reality is Lynch is a big star but she walked through the doors that Lee opened. This company called her for ten years and the fans never forgot her. When Lynch goes home and asks her daughter who her favorite wrestler is, her daughter will say it’s AJ Lee. See you at Wrestlemania. Lee leaves and Lynch is livid. Keeping Lynch angry and annoyed is a good thing and Lee getting the chance to back up her words should be fun.

Bayley vs. Lash Legend

Lyra Valkyria and Nia Jax are here too. Bayley is knocked outside to start and can’t make much of a comeback before it happens again. We take a break and come back with Bayley knocking her out of the ropes but seeming to have a bad arm. Legend swings her into a backbreaker for two but misses a boot in the ropes. Bayley’s running dropkick sends Legend into the corner, where a knee to the face connects as well.

The middle rope elbow to the back gives Bayley two but Jax interferes, triggering a brawl with Valkyria. Cue Charlotte and Alexa Bliss, with Charlotte hitting Jax with her jacket for some reason. Bayley dives onto all of them and goes up, where Legend tries a superplex. Valkyria breaks that up though and Bayley falls on top for the pin (with Valkyria holding Legend’s foot) for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C+. Much like the opener, I wouldn’t have had someone get a fall here, but at least it was a challenger pinning a champion, which could be a much bigger deal at Wrestlemania. The interference made sense, though Charlotte’s thing with her jacket was kind of weird. At least the Bellas weren’t involved, which kept things a bit better than they would have been otherwise.

We recap Gunther attacking Seth Rollins last week.

Various celebrities, including Mark Henry, are here.

We look at the trailer for Netflix’s documentary on Hulk Hogan. That could be fascinating or stupid. I’m leaning towards stupid.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. Rollins talks about being gone for six months and he’s so glad to be back so he wants to hear the fans singing his song. He’s BACK and in less than two weeks, he faces Gunther at Wrestlemania. Rollins isn’t sure how we got here because he didn’t think he and Gunther had any issues.

The only option is that Gunther must have entered into some kind of agreement with Paul Heyman. Rollins is back and has two goals: get his title back and kill the Vision. They’ve already got some Samoans to deal with and that won’t end well. He also put Brock Lesnar on a silver platter for Oba Femi and yes, Femi is the future.

As for Gunther, if he wants to be in league with Heyman, it has become personal for Rollins. Cue Gunther to try a sleeper but Rollins reverses into one of his own. Gunther slips out and the fight is on, with Rollins kicking him to the floor for the suicide dive. Gunther tosses him away again but security quickly breaks it up. That lets Gunther get in a cheap shot before he leaves.

In the back, Gunther runs into Heyman, who says he doesn’t know why Gunther did what he did last week. As far as Heyman knows, there’s nothing personal between Gunther and Rollins, so Heyman owes Gunther a big thank you. Gunther says it is personal between Rollins and Heyman, so it is personal to Gunther for some different reasons (which he doesn’t reveal). He shakes Heyman’s hand but pulls him in to say Heyman owes him more than he knows. Intriguing.

We look back at Roxanne Perez saving Liv Morgan from Stephanie Vaquer last week.

Vaquer says Morgan’s hair dye must have gotten to her brain if she thinks middle school insults are going to be enough. Morgan is trying to solve her daddy issues with Dominik Mysterio, who is trying to deal with not being as good as his own dad. Vaquer wants to inspire girls but while Morgan says it’s on sight, the truth is she’ll never see it coming.

Penta/Dragon Lee/Je’Von Evans vs. Los Americanos

Bravo and Lee trade some flips and posing to start before it’s off to Rayo for a running headbutt. The dancing lets Evans come in for a springboard hurricanrana as Kofi Kingston is watching from behind. Americano comes in to counter a headscissors into a kind of reverse powerbomb, allowing all three Americanos to pose. That’s broken up and they’re sent to the floor for a set of dives. Back in and Penta and company do the Penta strut as we take a break.

We come back with Penta hitting a double DDT and bringing in Lee before diving onto Americano. Bravo has to save Rayo from a Styles Clash and everything breaks down with a parade of knockdowns. Lee Styles Clashes Bravo but Americano is in for the save. A bunch of superkicks set up Penta’s Mexican Destroyer on the apron. That leaves Evans to hit the OG Cutter to Bravo for the pin at 7:45.

Rating: B-. It was an entertaining match with a bunch of people flying around and going nuts for a short amount of time, which will always work. The ladder match at Wrestlemania still feels a bit out of nowhere, but if very well could just be a big “let’s all do a bunch of high spots”, which should work out well. Then again Evans might break every bone in his body, as he seems likely to do quite often.

Post match Rey Mysterio is back (and Je’Von Evans is completely starstruck) to praise Penta for everything he has done. The ladder match has the potential to be great…and he’s going to be in it too. Penta shakes his hand and says let’s make history.

We look at Cody Rhodes’ promo from Smackdown.

We look at the Wrestlemania six man tag being set up earlier. IShowSpeed realizing he’s in big trouble is still funny.

Video on Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar.

We get a video from Asuka, who talks about how Iyo Sky abandoned her and tried to steal Kairi Sane away from her too. Asuka was here to pave the way for them and made sacrifices to make everything better. It was all out of love, but she loved Sky too much. Then Sky rebelled, and it’s time for Asuka to get revenge, including one more lesson in the ring.

Iyo Sky/Rhea Ripley vs. Michin/B-Fab

Jade Cargill is here too. Ripley takes B-Fab down to start and brings Michin in for a big boot. Michin is sent outside but B-Fab is up with a pump kick. A spinning DDT gives B-Fab two and we hit the chinlock. Ripley fights out without much trouble and brings Sky back in to clean house. A double missile dropkick hits Michin and B-Fab and Sky’s suicide dive takes them out again. We take a break and come back with Sky in trouble and Ripley being drawn in off a distraction. Cargill sends Ripley into the steps but Sky sends Michin into the post. That leaves B-Fab to get rolled up for the pin at 7:27.

Rating: C+. The ending came out of nowhere but there is little reason to believe that Michin and B-Fab could win here anyway. The two of them exist to be cannon fodder for Cargill and that’s pretty much all they were here. Ripley and Sky were only ever in so much trouble here and the match wasn’t in the biggest doubt.

Post match the big beatdown is on, with Michin getting a kendo stick. Ripley tries to make the save but gets kicked in the face. Michin and B-Fab hold Ripley back in the corner, leaving Cargill to beat up Sky.

Finn Balor says he taught Dominik Mysterio how to play dirty but play time is over. There’s another side of him that he thought he had buried forever, but Mysterio awakened it. But now it’s back and coming for Mysterio at Wrestlemania. Oh dear.

Dominik Mysterio is nervous about what that means but the rest of Judgment Day tries to calm him down. Mysterio has an idea and leaves wit JD McDonagh. Liv Morgan (in a Wrestlemania XV shirt) talks to Roxanne Perez and thanks her for last week. She knows Finn Balor brought Perez onto the team…and here is Stephanie Vaquer to jump Morgan from behind.

Here are HHH and Adam Pearce to oversee the contract signing between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi. Paul Heyman interrupts though and handles Lesnar’s introduction, as only he can. Femi comes out as well and Lesnar jumps him on the way into the ring. Femi is right back to ram Lesnar into the post though and they go through the table, with security running in to break it up. Lesnar throws a chair at Femi and security has a lot of work to do to keep them apart as the show ends.

Overall Rating: B-. We are officially in the “Wrestlemania is pretty much set so we’re not going to do much to shake it up” period and that means we might not be in for much great stuff. They added a bit more to the show though and nothing was overly bad. Raw continues to be light years ahead of Smackdown at the moment and while this show wasn’t must see TV, it advanced enough things on the way to Wrestlemania. That’s all it needed to do and it did so well enough.

Results
Austin Theory b. LA Knight – Rollup
Bayley b. Lash Legend – Top rope splash with Lyra Valkyria holding the foot
Penta/Dragon Lee/Je’Von Evans b. Los Americanos – OG Cutter to Bravo
Iyo Sky/Rhea Ripley b. Michin/B-Fab – Rollup to B-Fab

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: March 2, 2026
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re officially out of big stops before Wrestlemania as we are done with Elimination Chamber and the Wrestlemania title matches are set, at least for now. That leaves us with about six weeks before Wrestlemania and we have a title match to get through here, as Penta challenges Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Elimination Chamber if you need a recap.

Long recap of Elimination Chamber.

Here is the Vision to get things going and Paul Heyman is not happy. Heyman says this is where someone is supposed to welcome us to the show but they are here to talk about Seth Rollins, who returned at Elimination Chamber. Rollins is the single biggest thief…and we pause for the fans to sing.

Heyman talks about how he can’t stand that song before talking about how Rollins keeps stealing the main event of Wrestlemania from people who don’t deserve it. He threatens Rollins before handing it off to Austin Theory, who says Rollins stole the victory from Logan Paul. That leaves Paul to talk about how the last person to eliminate three straight people in the Chamber was Brock Lesnar because that is the kind of company he keeps.

Paul threatens to hold the show hostage until Rollins gets out here but here are Adam Pearce and security to cut him off. Pearce says this can’t happen because Rollins isn’t cleared to compete, but here is a masked man over the barricade. Security gives chase and here’s another masked man to draw out Paul. A third masked man draws Theory away and Heyman suddenly realizes he’s all alone.

Cue another masked man, this one through the entrance, but a fifth pops up from behind and unmasks as Rollins. A Roman Reigns style chair shot to the back puts Heyman down and Rollins hits a Stomp. Cole says that was Heyman getting his a** stomped out but I’m pretty sure it was his head. Rollins leaves through the crowd and medics come in to check on Heyman, who is bleeding from the mouth.

Post break we watch what we saw before the break and Heyman is taken away in an ambulance but Jimmy Uso pops out of a car to jump Austin Theory, apparently believing that the Vision attacked Jey Uso. With Theory down, Jimmy goes to the cab of the ambulance…and LA Knight drives it away.

IMG Credit: WWE

Gunther vs. Dragon Lee

Lee jumps him in the aisle and hits a dropkick through the ropes. Gunther is back with a great looking backdrop into the timekeeper’s area and we take a break. We come back with the match joined in progress with Gunther slowly hammering away, including going after the mask a bit. Some choking on the ropes has Lee in more trouble but he fights back with some kicks and manages to knock him outside. A dropkick connects with Gunther again but Gunther chops the heck out of him and we take a break.

We come back with Lee chopping away and hitting some running clotheslines. Gunther goes for the mask again but gets kicked in the head, allowing Lee to hit the running dropkick in the corner. Operation Dragon is countered into something like an Emerald Flosion for two and we slow back down. The powerbomb plants Lee again but Gunther picks him up at two. They head outside for an apron powerbomb and then another onto the announcers’ table, leaving Lee looking mostly done on the floor.

That’s good for an eight before Gunther tries another powerbomb, which is countered into a Code Red. Lee is back up with a suicide dive to knock Gunther over the table and Operation Dragon gets nine as Gunther beats the count. Back in and Lee actually drops him with a clothesline but Gunther pulls him into the sleeper. Gunther isn’t playing here and rips the mask off (with the camera getting a clear shot of the uncovered face) so Lee immediately taps at 12:22.

Rating: B-. Lee still being alive after those powerbombs might have been a stretch and I’m rather sick of the “rip the luchador’s mask off” finish, but they hit another gear there at one point. If you’ve got me thinking there was a chance for Lee to actually beat Gunther (even by countout), something is going right. I liked this way more than I was expecting and that is nice to see.

Asuka yells at Kairi Sane over not winning the Elimination Chamber but Sane says Asuka complimented her last week. That earns Sane even more yelling before Asuka leaves. AJ Lee comes up to check on Sane, who is almost in a trance (Lee: “Blink twice if you need anything.”) until Asuka shouts for her.

Demolition is going into the Hall Of Fame. That’s about as overdue as you can get.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is AJ Lee for a chat. She’s back to do more than snatch the hair off of Becky Lynch’s big head. She thanks the fans for having her back and remembering her when others wanted her to be forgotten. Now she’s the Women’s Intercontinental Champion after beating Lynch and having the scars to prove it. She’s exactly who she thought she was and Wrestlemania is in front of her. We’re not waiting for then though and she’s going to be a fighting champion. She mentioned a bunch of women she wants to fight so come at her.

Earlier today, Penta ran into the Original El Grande Americano, who wished him bueno suerte. Americano wants the first shot when Penta wins the Intercontinental Title, with Penta saying cero miedo. With Penta gone, Los Americanos came in, with an argument over which of them is the real version. Apparently they’re fighting at Rey de Reyes, but Original wants to fight one of them tonight.

IMG Credit: WWE

Liv Morgan talks about being ready to face Stephanie Vaquer and prove herself again. Morgan lists off her resume and is ready to take the title at Wrestlemania.

Original El Grande Americano vs. Rayo Americano

The other Americanos are here too. Grande goes after the arm to start but Rayo fights back, almost out of desperation. La majistral gives Grande two and a frustrated Rayo bails to the floor. Bravo dances a bit for a distraction but Grande knocks Rayo outside for a flip dive off the apron. Another distraction lets Rayo post Grande though and we take a break.

We come back with Grande hitting a rolling kick to the head, followed by something like a reverse Angle Slam. The ankle lock goes on but Rayo flips him into the corner. Rayo goes up top, where Grande belly to belly superplexes him back down. Grande tries for the mask so Bravo offers a distraction, allowing Americano to hit the (presumably) loaded headbutt. Rayo’s Swan Dive gets two so he goes after Grande’s mask, which has Grande fighting back. Americano’s interference doesn’t work so it’s a rolling Chaos Theory to give Grande the pin at 10:07.

Rating: B-. This whole Americanos thing is some of the goofiest stuff I’ve seen WWE do in a long time but what matters the most is hitting a big blowoff. Doing that at Rey de Reyes has me wondering just how crazy they’re going, because it could be a lot of fun. The wrestling itself is good, but put this in front of the right audience and a mask vs. mask match could be excellent.

Penta is ready to win the Intercontinental Title.

We look at Oba Femi wrecking Miz on Smackdown.

Here is Rusev on the announcers’ table to call out Femi for a fight right now. Cue Femi, who says come in here and make something happen. They go face to face and actually slug it out with Femi getting the better of things to clear Rusev out.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria talk about having a bad run lately but Valkyria wants to make sure Bayley gets to Wrestlemania. Valkyria suggests the Women’s Intercontinental Title but Bayley says she cost Valkyria a title match already so they should both go. They get to Adam Pearce’s office but Iyo Sky is walking out at the same time.

Jimmy Uso vs. Austin Theory

Uso jumps him to start but gets dropped with a spinning right hand. Back up and Uso knocks him to the floor for the suicide dive and it’s time for the announcers’ table. A superkick puts Theory on the table but Uso has to dive on Logan Paul. Theory gets back in and the double teaming is enough for the DQ at 2:40.

Post match Jey Uso is already back to make the save, complete with crutches.

Adam Pearce is on the phone with Nick Aldis but runs into Danhausen. He has some demands, like a Hall Of Fame induction, his face on the trucks, and something about a camera boy. The paper is wet as he dropped it in a toilet so Pearce isn’t pleased. Judgment Day comes in (Pearce is off to drink) and Danhausen doesn’t know JD McDonagh’s name. They don’t like him, with Dominik Mysterio saying that no, he can’t have the Intercontinental Title. That earns Mysterio a CURSE and Mysterio is gone.

Here is Rhea Ripley, with Iyo Sky, for a chat. Ripley talks about how bad things have been for the two of them, but then everything changed on Saturday. She thanks Sky for being everything to her and getting her out of a dark place. Sky is proud of her and says she’ll be ok on Raw, while Ripley can go win the title at Wrestlemania. Ripley looks into the camera and says she’ll be at Smackdown and leaving Wrestlemania as champion.

IMG Credit: WWE

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio

Mysterio, with Judgment Day, is defending. They start fast with an exchange of kicks and Penta sends him to the floor for the early running flip dive. We take a fast break and come back with Penta kicking him in the back of the head for two. Mysterio grabs an Edge-O-Matic (which I believe he has named the Mullet-O-Matic) for two and they go to the apron, where Penta gets planted with a DDT for two. Penta tries to kick back but gets sent to the floor for a big step up dive. A running crossbody sends Penta over the barricade and we take another break.

We come back with Penta kicking away in the corner, including the slingshot dropkick for two. The Backstabber out of the corner gets two more but Penta charges into a Michinoku Driver. The 619 connects but Mysterio dives into the Sacrifice. A Penta Driver gets two more and a ticked off Penta stomps away in the corner.

The charge misses into the post though and Penta has hurt his shoulder. Mysterio tells McDonagh to get the bell hammer but Balor cuts it off, saying Mysterio needs to do it himself. Penta’s big running flip dive takes Judgment Day out and the Mexican Destroyer gives us a new champion at 16:25.

Rating: B-. This was kind of a slow paced match for awhile but Penta getting the big upset win is a great thing. He’s been the kind of guy who has been around the title picture for a long time but hasn’t won anything, so it’s nice to see it actually happen. Mysterio feuding with Balor is a fine way to go, especially if he gets the title back so Balor can get a big win of his own. It’s not like Mysterio is going to lose his heat anytime soon.

We see a clip from after Elimination Chamber, where Nick Aldis had to be held back from Drew McIntyre. As a result, McIntyre is defending against Cody Rhodes this Friday on Smackdown. McIntyre came out to yell and Aldis even took his jacket off before being held back.

Here is Roman Reigns for a chat and after a break, he hits the catchphrase but gets cut off by CM Punk. He does the one finger and points out that he’s acknowledging Roman, which is all Reigns wants. Reigns brings up a tweet he sent out about Punk, who says he isn’t bothered by it because he doesn’t get mad at what people say about him on podcasts and such. Punk says he’s got to put up with Reigns’ bulls*** for seven weeks and the first stop on the Road To Wrestlemania is here in Indianapolis.

This is where the Shield debuted because Punk brought them up. Reigns: “You brought the other two. Not me.” Punk talks about how he’s under Reigns’ skin and it’s translucent because he can see right through Reigns. It’s true that Reigns hates him but what Phil is missing is that if he didn’t have the title, Reigns would be indifferent to him. Punk is back to entertain the 38-40 year old virgins who still live with their parents. Or maybe to sell some t-shirts and draw a house in Chicago. But being champion?

That’s above Punk’s pay grade because he’s a liar. Reigns says Phil has people believing that he’s a locker room leader who has some great time. Every second that Punk is b******* and moaning back there, Reigns’ cousins are telling him about it because Punk is just a punk a** b****. When Reigns wins the title, he’s putting Punk on a John Cena retirement tour. Then Punk can go down to NXT to teach these people how to do what they do and then they’ll come up to the main roster where Reigns smashes them.

Reigns goes to leave but Punk stops him, saying they have to cover some things. Punk wants to know what Reigns means by “we” because Reigns is all alone. There are no more Samoans or even a wise man because Punk took the wise man away. Reigns is the one chasing him because Punk runs things around here.

Yeah he’s hanging out with Reigns’ cousins and the reality is Reigns can’t get it done by himself. Punk doesn’t care if Reigns doesn’t love him but Reigns will respect him. That puts Reigns on the list, because he’s not just getting beaten but he’s getting buried. Then he won’t be all alone anymore, because Punk is going to bury him next to his father. Punk leaves and Reigns is not happy with how personal that just went.

This worked rather well, as it had me wondering how much of this was a story and how much was two people airing some grievances. I want to see where it’s going from here and I have no idea how the Wrestlemania match is going to go, which is one of the best feelings you can have for a match, especially one of the biggest of the year.

Overall Rating: B+. You may like where things are going for Wrestlemania or you may not. What matters is that WWE seems to have a card in mind with a month and a half to go. Right now you have the four main singles title matches and there is a good chance you can pencil in Usos vs. Vision and Rollins vs. possibly Brock Lesnar. This show did some serious work to get us there and I’ve heard worse cards. It would be nice to have Smackdown doing the same, which very well maybe the case this Friday. Raw did well this week, though there is still a long time before Wrestlemania.

Results
Gunther b. Dragon Lee – Sleeper
Original El Grande Americano b. Rayo Americano – Rolling Chaos Theory
Jimmy Uso b. Austin Theory via DQ when Logan Paul interfered
Penta b. Dominik Mysterio – Mexican Destroyer

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: February 23, 2026
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last Raw before Elimination Chamber and that means it’s time for the last round of qualifying matches. There is a spot left for both Chambers, but we have some other things here as well. AJ Lee and Becky Lynch should both be here, plus CM Punk and Finn Balor as well. Let’s get to it.

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

Cole and Graves are in the ring to welcome us to the show, which will feature a tribute to AJ Styles. This brings Gunther out to say this is a disgrace so the two of them can get on commentary and praise him instead. He lists off the people he has retired but here is Adam Pearce, with security, to get rid of him. Gunther says he’ll leave, but he’s going to be here for the disgrace that is a tribute to Styles. Cue Dragon Lee to jump Gunther, which is quickly broken up. Gunther yells at Pearce in the back but Lee jumps him again. That’s broken up again, with Pearce saying it’s not Gunther’s night, but here is Cody Rhodes to walk past them.

Rhodes is in the ring for a chat, but here is the Vision to cut him off before he gets too far. Austin Theory doesn’t like this town and is embarrassed to be from Atlanta. Logan Paul threatens to take over Smackdown and kick Rhodes off of it, with the Vision starting to take over tonight. Bronson Reed is going to qualify for the Elimination Chamber, but Rhodes thinks someone will have something to say about that. Cue Jey Uso for his match.

IMG Credit: WWE

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Original El Grande Americano vs. Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed

American and Uso hammer away on Reed to start, with Uso throwing in a dance as well. A jumping enziguri catches Reed but he cuts off Uso’s dive. Americano moonsaults onto the other two of them and Reed is sent into the barricade as we take a break. We come back with Reed coming back in and fireman’s carrying both of them at once, because that’s a thing that can be done so easily.

With Americano down, Reed grabs a neck crank on Uso, who fights up and drops Reed. One heck of a diving headbutt gets two on Uso with Reed making the save. Americano hits a German suplex on Reed….who comes up touching his arm. We take another break and come back with the medics checking on Reed, who looks devastated.

Uso hits a suicide dive on Americano and the referee is right there to tell them both something (likely that Reed isn’t coming back in). Uso shoves Americano off the top but the Superfly Splash hits raised knees. The ankle lock is broken up though and it’s a spear into the Superfly Splash to give Uso the pin at 15:32.

Rating: B-. This was a weird one, as Reed being eliminated took away a big part of the match. I’m curious if Reed was originally planned to end and they had to call an audible. Either way, the match went fine and Uso winning is a totally acceptable choice as putting a former World Champion in the Chamber is a good thing. Hopefully Reed is ok, but that didn’t look good.

We look at AJ Styles’ debut in 2016.

CM Punk arrives with NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is the still sad looking Liv Morgan, with Dominik Mysterio, to announce her Wrestlemania pick. We look back at last week’s interview with Stephanie Vaquer, now with subtitles, as Vaquer said that Morgan has sacrificed nothing in her time in WWE and has to hide behind a man to have success. She’s nothing without Judgment Day and Vaquer would destroy her (ah that makes more sense, as there was no translation last week).

Back in the arena, Mysterio introduces the potential Wrestlemania opponents, including Vaquer and Jade Cargill. Morgan says she’s made her pick for Wrestlemania, but she wants to address what Vaquer said last week. The things Vaquer said really hurt her and she didn’t know what Vaquer went through to get here. She didn’t know Vaquer’s story but now she needs to focus on her own. With that being said…and Morgan knocks Vaquer out with a microphone, seemingly making her pick. Oblivion drops Vaquer as well.

Je’Von Evans is happy with his win last week but stops to meet someone named Offset. The New Day comes in to say tonight should be a tribute to Xavier Woods and they have invited Offset here for years. Offset thinks New Day sucks and a match between Kofi Kingston and Evans is made for tonight.

We look at AJ Styles winning the World Title in 2017.

The Good Brothers are here for the Styles celebration.

IMG Credit: WWE

Maxxine Dupri vs. Nattie

Dupri starts fast and knees her out to the floor, followed by a kick to the head. A crossbody off the barricade lets Dupri take the straps down but Nattie posts her hard. Nattie hammers on her but gets pulled away and the referee stops it, with Nattie winning, at 1:39.

Raquel Rodriguez is ready to win tonight. JD McDonagh clears the air with Finn Balor, saying he just wants Balor to be the World Champion. Balor says brothers fight and it’s water under the bridge, but he has to do it alone at Elimination Chamber. That seems cool with McDonagh, but Dominik Mysterio says he doesn’t want to do this on his own. Next week, he wants help against Penta. Balor says he’s been focusing on himself lately because he was on his own when the team was hurt. Maybe Mysterio needs to grow up like that.

Video on Oba Femi.

The crate is sent to Raw again with Adam Pearce telling the delivery person to head to Chicago, where the GM’s will open it at Elimination Chamber. Rusev comes up, but Oba Femi interrupts. Rusev says Femi talks too much for a rookie and a match seems ready, but Pearce says another time and place.

Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar for a chat. Heyman says that traditionally at Wrestlemania, there were two main events: the title match, and the Undertaker’s Streak. Lesnar is the man who took one of those away when he conquered the Undertaker, so now the only dead man is the man who faces Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Heyman doesn’t know who it’s going to be, because no one is crazy enough to face Lesnar.

We see a list of the appearances Lesnar is going to make on the Road To Wrestlemania (tonight plus five more shows, all on Raw) and if anyone wants to take a chance, they can make their decision at any of those shows. No one has the guts to do it, but the chance is there. They didn’t tease anyone in particular either so it’s pretty wide open.

Becky Lynch talks about how she has changed the wrestling world and her cover of WWE2K is a lot better than AJ Lee’s husband. Lee isn’t even going to be the best AJ to retire this year.

Je’Von Evans vs. Kofi Kingston

Offset is here to offset Xavier Woods and Grayson Waller. Feeling out process to start with Kingston talking a lot of trash and getting superkicked as a result. Kingston runs away from the threat of Evans but comes back in to send Evans crashing out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Evans striking away.

A springboard spinning kick to the back of the head (ouch) hits Kingston for two so Evans tries a VERY high moonsault, only to hurt his leg on the landing. The SOS gives Kingston two and Evans’ leg is fine enough for a handspring kick. One heck of a no hands dive drops Kingston on the floor but Waller cheap shots Evans. Back in and a Fameasser gives Kingston two and Offset goes after Waller. The OG Cutter gives Evans the pin at 10:22.

Rating: B-. Putting Evans in there against a veteran like Kingston is only going to make him better, as Kingston wrestles a similar enough style and can show him exactly where to go. It’s a case of learning on the job and Evans is going to get something out of this. Nice match too, with Evans getting some momentum on the way to the Chamber.

Various wrestlers praise AJ Styles.

TNA’s Frankie Kazarian is here and runs into Abyss (in full gear). They’ll have a walk together.

A serious Finn Balor talks about how he wants to prove that he’s the best in the world. At Elimination Chamber, he’s going to disrupt the Wrestlemania main event. I have no reason to believe that Balor has a real chance of winning the title, but they’re giving this one heck of a try and I’ll take that.

Here is CM Punk for a chat. He’s here to celebrate AJ Styles so he’s going to try to be brief to give Styles as much time as he can. Punk says it’s great to be alive on a Monday night in Atlanta, but what if he doesn’t get to say that again? Finn Balor wants a title shot and broke up Punk vs. Styles in Toronto. People have been asking Punk what he’s doing and the answer is the best that he can.

He’s following the examples of the legends he’s shared a locker room with and that’s the best he can do. He doesn’t like dealing in what if’s, but what if Roman Reigns was here tonight. Reigns will be here next week, but Punk doesn’t have to deal in what ifs. He doesn’t have to ask what if he’s in the main event of Wrestlemania because that’s what he is, just like being the World Heavyweight Champion.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Iyo Sky vs. Kairi Sane vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Rodriguez kicks Sane down to start and throws Sky into the corner, only for Sane to come back in for a choke. That’s broken up but Sky and Sane get together to double team Rodriguez into the corner. Sky and Sane realize it’s a bit weird that they’re teaming together but send Rodriguez outside.

Rodriguez is back in with a double fall away slam before going outside with Sane. Sky Asai moonsaults onto the two of them and we take a break. We come back with Sky planting Sane and dropkicking Rodriguez through the ropes. Sky springboard missile dropkicks Sane down but gets Pounced by Rodriguez. A clothesline gives Rodriguez two on Sane but Sky breaks up the Tejana Bomb.

Sky’s suicide dive connects with Rodriguez and Sane’s top rope elbow puts Rodriguez down again. Back in and Sane gets two off a backslide to Sky, who gives her a butterfly backbreaker. Over The Moonsault connects but Rodriguez breaks up the cover. Rodriguez comes back in and gets dropkicked into the corner, where the Bullet Train connects. A top rope diving DDT plants Rodriguez but Sane breaks up Over The Moonsault. The Insane Elbow misses though and the Tejana Bomb finishes for Rodriguez at 10:57.

Rating: B-. Another perfectly acceptable match here, though I’m glad we’re done with all of the triple threats. We got another “opponent steals the chance to win” here and that has gotten more than a bit tiresome. That being said, Rodriguez adds a bit of a different style to the Chamber and that’s a good thing to have for the match.

Elimination Chamber rundown.

We get a tribute video to AJ Styles….and it’s set to Higher by Creed. Yep that’s the highlight of the night by about ten miles.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is Styles (who bumps into a piece of equipment on the way through the entrance) for his big celebration. Styles gets to hit his poses and says he was going to wear a suit, but the last time he did that, he beat up Cody Rhodes so no suit. He grew up 45 minutes from here in Gainesville, Georgia and he fell in love with wrestling. He wrestled in Gainesville, he wrestled in the Asylum in Nashville, the Tokyo Dome in Japan and under the bright lights of Wrestlemania.

When he was in Japan, he met some Good Brothers named Gallows and Anderson who taught him how to have fun in wrestling. He’s done just about everything in wrestling but he hasn’t been a full time father. You’ve heard this before, but he’s missed birthdays, anniversaries, games and more. His biggest flex is having the best wife in the world (in the front row). She never held him back and she kept the family together while he watched them grow up on Facetime. He thanks some more people here with her (I’m guessing his kids) before moving on to losing to Gunther at the Royal Rumble.

No it didn’t go the way he wanted it to, but he got to go out ten years after he debuted at the same show. He didn’t leave his gloves in the ring, but at the end of the day, he’s a man of his word and all he has are his words. Styles takes off his jacket and lays them in the ring before saying he wanted to leave his gloves here at home in Atlanta. That’s exactly what he does and here is the locker room, including some Smackdown stars, to applaud.

And then a gong sounds, with Biker Taker coming out. Undertaker says he and Styles have unfinished business (the fans like this and Styles is a bit surprised). And for the big surprise: Styles is going into the Hall Of Fame. Well that’s certainly deserved and Styles looked surprised so well done. And no interference for a nice bonus.

In memory of Kerwin Silfies.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this one well enough, as it feels like they’ve done a good job of setting up the pay per view. That was the point of this show and they did a nice job, with Punk vs. Balor feeling more interesting. The Chambers are filled in as well, meaning we can get away from the qualifying matches. The ending segment was good and felt important, so at least they didn’t do anything too crazy. Nice show here.

Results
Jey Uso b. Original El Grande Americano and Bronson Reed – Superfly Splash to Americano
Nattie b. Maxxine Dupri via referee stoppage
Je’Von Evans b. Kofi Kingston – OG Cutter
Raquel Rodriguez b. Kairi Sane and Iyo Sky – Tejana Bomb to Sane

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: February 16, 2026
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re less than two weeks away from the Elimination Chamber and that means it is time to continue the qualification process. Other than that, CM Punk is having some issues with Finn Balor, who is going to be challenging him for the World Title at Elimination Chamber, which happens to be in Punk’s hometown of Chicago. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are the Usos to get things going but the Vision cut them off. Logan Paul brags about selling the most valuable Pokemon card in the world last night for $16 million. Paul insults the city and Heyman asks for some footage from last week, which saw the masked man attack the team and get chased off. Cue Adam Pearce to say we can go talk about this backstage in his office but Austin Theory yells about how he was supposed to have won his qualifying match last week.

Heyman wants Bronson Reed in the Chamber and Pearce gives him a qualifying match next week but here is LA Knight to interrupt. Knight gets to the point by praying that Reed gets into the Chamber so he can kick Reed over and over. After everything Reed put him through….Paul: “You mean like the car he put you through???” Knight doesn’t want them to leave and if the Usos (oh yeah they’re still in the crowd) are interested, a six man sounds interesting. The match is official for right now.

Usos/LA Knight vs. Vision

We’re joined in progress with Paul in the corner so Knight can stomp away. A kick to the face lets Paul get away for the tag to Theory but Jimmy is right in to start on the arm. The Usos elbow Theory down for two and it’s back to Knight, who gets taken into the wrong corner. Paul drops an elbow for two and the villains take turns beating on Knight, including Reed hitting a running splash.

We take a break and come back with Reed’s backsplash getting two and Jimmy having to make a save. Another backsplash misses though and Jey comes in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Reed drives Knight through the barricade. Paul knocks Jey down for two but Jey is back with a superkick. A double superkick gets two on Paul with Reed making the save. Reed’s big dive to the floor takes out the Usos and it’s the big right hand to Jimmy. The Tsunami finishes for Reed at 12:14.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of thing that you need to do every so often to keep the Vision looking strong. The team is supposed to be a big deal and they need to beat some top names every so often. If nothing else, there is always the chance that we get the Vision going after the Tag Team Titles, which isn’t a bad idea either.

Post match Paul brags about the win but the Masked Man runs in to knock him cold with a Stomp before running through the crowd.

Adam Pearce is shown a crate, which says DELIVER TO WWE, DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 2/28/26. Pearce’s name isn’t on it so he wants it sent to Smackdown. Los Americanos pop up (with the minions listening to the crate) while the main one isn’t happy with the Original Grande Americano getting an Elimination Chamber qualifying match. Grande wants the Intercontinental Title, so Pearce gives him a chance tonight to get a title shot. That works for everyone, including the exasperated Pearce. The crate is certainly intriguing and could go in a lot of directions.

Asuka, Bayley and Nattie are ready for their qualifying match.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Asuka vs. Bayley vs. Nattie

Nattie is sent outside to start and Bayley’s basement clothesline hits Asuka, who is up before the cover. Back in and Nattie strikes away at Asuka, who kicks her in the head. Bayley’s sunset bomb into the corner sends Asuka outside, where Nattie catapults Bayley into the post and we take a break.

We come back with Bayley tying Nattie in the Tree Of Woe for the running elbow. Bayley pulls Asuka off the top for two and the three of them forearm it out from their knees. Nattie is sent outside, leaving Bayley to drop a top rope elbow for two on Asuka. Back in and Nattie powerbombs Asuka for two, setting up the Sharpshooter. Bayley breaks that up with a running knee but gets pulled into the Asuka Lock for the tap at 10:18.

Rating: C+. Asuka winning is fine as Nattie is already feeling like someone who is just kind of here as well. The Chamber is something that can have a bunch of people thrown in and while Asuka doesn’t feel like a real threat to win, she does add some credibility. As for Bayley….I have no idea where she goes from here and that isn’t a good thing.

Post match Maxxine Dupri runs in to beat down Nattie but they’re held apart.

Adam Pearce offers Oba Femi a Raw contract, which has Femi intrigued. He’d like some time to think about it, which is fine with Pearce. As Femi goes to leave, he runs into Rusev and sneering ensues.

IMG Credit: WWE

We get a sitdown interview with Michael Cole talking to Liv Morgan but Dominik Mysterio joins in. Morgan talks about going to Wrestlemania but Stephanie Vaquer comes in as well. Vaquer rants in Spanish and Mysterio replies in Spanish as well. Vaquer seems to say that her belt is the one that matters the most and then leaves. Morgan cries and leaves with Mysterio without saying anything of note. That’s interesting, as Morgan vs. Vaquer seems to be a legitimate option.

Here is CM Punk for a chat. Apparently the office is not happy with him right now because he is jeopardizing the main event of Wrestlemania. Sports franchise can qualify for the postseason but it doesn’t mean they can skip regular season games. A few weeks ago, Finn Balor got a World Title shot and he lost, but now he has earned another shot with the beating that comes with it. Punk wants to be a fighting champion because he is the best in the world…and here is Balor to interrupt.

Cue Dominik Mysterio and the returning JD McDonagh so Punk knows he’s in trouble. Balor says it’s ok though because they’re not here for a fight. Balor talks about training with the best wrestlers around the world to be the best in the world. He showed up on Raw and beat Roman Reigns on his first night so the best in the world is staring at Punk. At Elimination Chamber, he isn’t jeopardizing the main event of Wrestlemania, because he’s making it better. Punk talks about Balor being the best in the world….or how he used to be the best.

There was no Judgment Day around him when he was wrestling around the world because Balor used to mean something. Judgment Day is dragging Balor down to their level. Mysterio has two titles that he never defends and McDongah’s head is so big he needs help getting in the ring. Fans: “BOBBLEHEAD!” Punk: “I’ll allow it.”

Punk says he’s going to do something stupid and turns his back on the team, with Balor holding the other two back. With no violence, Punk says Balor doesn’t need the two of them to prove himself. Punk walks out and throws the mic at Balor, who looks confused. This was hammering the point home pretty clear, and I could go with Balor getting a singles push as a good guy for a change.

Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are both ready for the Elimination Chamber and are ready to keep their Women’s Tag Team Titles on the way. They want Nia Jax and Lash Legend as well. The Kabuki Warriors come in though, with Kairi Sane saying it’s over because Asuka is in the Chamber. They’ll make sure Ripley and Sky (the latter of whom still has to qualify) don’t win, with Asuka yelling about how the two of them aren’t ready for the Chamber.

El Grande Americano vs. ???

Los Americans are here with El Grande and the opponent is…Penta. Yeah that works. Penta blocks a chop to start and they chop it out until a heck of a superkick rocks Grande. A Backstabber puts him down again but they clothesline each other for a double down. We take a break and come back with Grande escaping the Penta Driver and grabbing the modified camel clutch.

That’s broken up and Grande hits a Death Valley Driver for two. Grande goes up but gets pulled into the Penta Driver for a rather near fall. The running headbutt connects for two and Rayo gets up for a distraction, meaning the dancing Bravo can offer the steel plate. Hold on though as someone pulls Bravo underneath the ring and the Original El Grande Americano comes out from underneath the ring to take out Los Americanos. The springboard Canadian Destroyer finishes Grande at 7:57.

Rating: B-. Penta was a good choice for the title shot as he’s had a history of going after the Intercontinental Title so it’s certainly not stretching thing much. On the other hand, the question is where the mask vs. mask match is going to take place between the Americanos. That very well could be a Wrestlemania match, but putting it on Elimination Chamber makes sense as well. Either way, it’s something that could go well, as it’s certainly a big story at the moment.

Post match Penta and the Original show respect. Penta leaves and the Original beats up Grande, including the Rolling Chaos Theory. Original goes for the mask but Los Americanos make the save.

Raquel Rodriguez offers to take Liv Morgan somewhere to calm her down a bit. That leaves JD McDonagh to ask what Finn Balor is doing. Dominik Mysterio is ignored as Balor and McDonagh have an intense debate (not quite an argument) about McDonagh helping, but Balor wants to do it on his own. The two of them leave and Mysterio says he still has a match tonight.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is AJ Lee for a chat. Last week, she became the #1 contender to the Women’s Intercontinental Title. Becky Lynch showed her that this is serious business by smashing Lee’s face into the post. Lee hasn’t had a singles match in over ten years and things looked different back then. There was one pink butterfly title to fight over and Lee made that title matter by fighting for it.

There is a women’s division before her and after her and that is her gift to everyone. She still wants to face the division of today but for now, it’s just Lynch. Lee gave her a ten year head start and Lynch still hasn’t caught up. For now, Lee is ready to move into Wrestlemania with the title. She’s ready to give Lynch a beating right now though so here is Lynch (or Becky Boo Boo as Lee calls her) to interrupt.

Lynch laughs at the idea of Lee winning a title and says it’s more about Lee getting the retirement match that she never deserved. Lee’s real gift was leaving WWE, because Lynch has spent ten years making history while Lee has been making comic books. After Elimination Chamber, Lee can dictate a new comic book (from her full body cast) about their fight and maybe that one will sell. Lee offers her the first swing but Lynch can’t bring herself to do it. She knows the game that Lee is playing and leaves, saying she doesn’t fight in Memphis. Good stuff here, as Lee can bring the intensity when she needs to.

Adam Pearce runs into the Vision, with Austin Theory yelling at Pearce for not dealing with the Masked Man. Paul Heyman wants the Masked Man stopped, but Pearce says the Masked Man is a problem for Pearce too. Bronson Reed says he’s ready to solve the problem for the team. No problem.

Video on AJ Styles…who is getting a special tribute next week. That sounds like a Hall Of Fame announcement.

Gunther, Je’Von Evans and Dominik Mysterio are ready for their qualifying match.

IMG Credit: WWE

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Je’Von Evans vs. Gunther vs. Dominik Mysterio

Non-title. Mysterio takes his time getting in so Evans goes after Gunther, who throws him down without much trouble. Mysterio tries to go after Evans, earning a heck of a glare from Gunther. Evans fires off some dropkicks but gets pulled into a Boston crab. That’s broken up by Mysterio, who gets chopped into next week by Gunther. Evans is back up but gets taken down by a chop, leaving Gunther to send Mysterio hard into the barricade.

That works so well that Gunther does it again but Evans is back up with a heck of a dive to drop Gunther. We take a break and come back with Gunther down and Mysterio putting the ring bell hammer on the steps. The 619 is loaded up but Gunther pulls Mysterio into the sleeper. That’s broken up but Evans punches Mysterio into the corner. Evans plants Mysterio but has to fight out of Gunther’s sleeper.

A hurricanrana gives Evans two so Gunther just drops him with a clothesline. The powerbomb gets two on Evans and Gunther chops Mysterio down again. Evans kicks Mysterio down and drops Gunther with a running knee for two. The sleeper to Evans is broken up but the OG Cutter is countered into said sleeper. Mysterio breaks it up with a frog splash but the 619 is dropped with a hard clothesline.

The hammer is grabbed so Gunther sleepers Mysterio, which is broken up from a sleeper by Evans. That’s broken up and Gunther grabs the hammer, but here is Dragon Lee with a bell shot to put Gunther down. Mysterio hits the 619 to Evans but misses the frog splash. The OG Cutter sends Evans to the Chamber at 14:32.

Rating: B. I liked this one a good bit, though I could have gone without the champion taking a pin. Granted they didn’t have much of another option in this match as Gunther certainly can’t take a pin here. Either way, it’s interesting to see Evans getting this kind of a chance, as he could be quite the spectacle in the Chamber, which is a big start for someone still so new.

Overall Rating: B. This is around the time where things need to get serious and that is working out pretty well. You can see some of the bigger stories coming together with the Chamber next week and Wrestlemania in about two months. This show had good action but the focus was more on the talking to back it up. I had some hope for the future after this show and that is a great thing at the right time. There’s a long way to go before Wrestlemania, but at least they’re off to a nice start from this point.

Results
Vision b. Usos/LA Knight – Tsunami to Jimmy
Asuka b. Bayley and Nattie – Asuka Lock to Bayley
Penta b. El Grande Americano – Springboard Canadian Destroyer
Je’Von Evans b. Gunther and Dominik Mysterio – OG Cutter to Mysterio

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 9, 2026
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

The road to Elimination Chamber continues here as we have some more qualifying matches for the namesake matches. That isn’t going to be enough to fill out the card though and that means we should be getting some more things being set up. The Tag Team Titles are on the line as well so let’s get to it.

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

CM Punk is in the back and AJ Lee happens to be here as well. Becky Lynch sees them and is not pleased.

We start with some less than good news: Bron Breakker has suffered an injury and undergone surgery, which will leave him out of action indefinitely.

Here is a ticked off Becky Lynch for a chat. She’s tired of the disrespect…and here is AJ Lee to interrupt. Lynch doesn’t like Lee being here to support Maxxine Dupri and insults her EYEBROWS before calling her a little chihuahua who keeps barking and ruining Lynch’s life. Lee thinks that’s a tad dramatic before going into a list of the things that she’s done to Lynch, including a bunch of defeats. Lee: “That’s water under the bridge.” Lynch: “THERE IS NO WATER AND THERE IS NO BRIDGE!!!”

Lynch starts to lose it (Lee’s eyes bugging out is hilarious) and issues a challenge for Elimination Chamber where she can spill Lee’s blood. Lee: “BECKY! I knew you liked me!” She thinks that since she beats Lynch, she should be #1 contender but that’s a big NO from Lynch. Lee: “No title, no match.” She teases leaving and Lynch begrudgingly agrees to make this a title shot. Lynch says if Lee thinks she was held down by the man before, she has no idea what this will be like. This was really good, as Lynch sold the heck out of losing it over Lee, who strung her along every step of the way.

IMG Credit: WWE

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Alpha Academy

The Usos are defending and Tozawa knocks Jey down into an early chinlock. That’s broken up and Jey drives him into the corner so Jimmy can come in. Tozawa fights out of the corner and gets in a hurricanrana, followed by a spinning kick to the head for two. Everything breaks down and the Usos are sent to the floor, with Tozawa being thrown onto them as we take a break.

We come back with Tozawa getting in a DDT to spike Jey (who thankfully seems ok), allowing the tag off to Otis. House is quickly cleaned but the Caterpillar is cut off with a superkick. Jimmy comes back in for the double superkick. Otis runs the champs over with a double clothesline. Everything breaks down and Tozawa’s top rope backsplash gets two on Jimmy. Otis is sent shoulder first into the post before missing a charge. A double spear drops Otis and the 1D retains the titles at 10:01.

Rating: B. I was dreading this match coming in because the Academy have been nothing for so long, but at the time, it’s not like there is a better option out there right now. The Raw tag division has been nothing for a long time so having a random tag match wind up being good is a nice surprise. They desperately need some fresh teams, but that could take a long time to get going, especially given WWE’s history.

Post match respect is shown but the Usos are asked what’s next for them. Jimmy wants Jey to qualify for the Elimination Chamber and get the World Title back.

We look back at CM Punk and Roman Reigns’ face to face showdown last week, with their Wrestlemania title match being set up.

Here is Judgment Day for a chat. Liv Morgan has something to say but first, Dominik Mysterio has some flowers for her. Morgan says that’s what should be done for Valentine’s Day and he’ll get his gift from her later. She knows that whomever she faces at Wrestlemania will lose, so here is Stephanie Vaquer to interrupt.

Vaquer says Morgan talks too much and switches to Spanish, with Morgan asking for a translation. Mysterio doesn’t think he should translate but responds in Spanish on Morgan’s behalf. Morgan asks what he said, with Vaquer saying “he said he’s a little b****.” More arguing ensues and Morgan insults her in Spanish, earning Mysterio a slap from Vaquer. Morgan getting all excited over the Spanish was a great touch and this opened the door of Morgan picking Vaquer a bit wider.

Rhea Ripley, Ivy Nile and Lyra Valkyria are ready for their Elimination Chamber qualifying match.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Rhea Ripley vs. Ivy Nile vs. Lyra Valkyria

Ripley sends Nile flying to start so Valkyria is right there to get two off a small package. Back in and Nile German suplexes both of them, with everyone heading outside. Valkyria snaps off a hurricanrana and we take a break. We come back with Nile getting caught in the Tree of Woe while the other two fight on top. Nile sits up and grabs a German suplex for the Tower Of Doom.

Back up and Ripley kicks away at Nile until Valkyria gets a quick two off a rollup. A Steiner Bulldog is loaded up but Ripley drops Valkyria down for a faceplant instead. Nile German suplexes Ripley and covers Valkyria for two more. Valkyria’s DDT to Ripley gives Nile another two as this has been about stealing covers at every possibility. Ripley saves Valkyria from a seated dragon sleeper but gets knocked outside. Nightwing connects, with Ripley making the save, setting up Riptide for the pin on Valkyria at 9:30.

Rating: B. Nile got something of a standout performance here, which has not been the case for a long time. At the same time, it was nice to see Ripley getting back to what made her a star in the first place. Fun match here, with everyone trying to steal a pin and keeping things moving until the finish.

The sore Dominik Mysterio is in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match last week but also has to defend the Intercontinental Title. For now though, Mysterio has to calm Finn Balor down, but Balor wants the World Title. Mysterio thinks Balor’s window might be closed, but Balor says he’s tired of being an afterthought. He thought they were supposed to be family and leaves.

Michael Cole is in the ring to introduce CM Punk but Finn Balor interrupts and grabs the mic. Balor knows that Punk is hurt but everyone is talking about Punk vs. Roman Reigns. Balor had Punk beat and he’s tired of being pushed around. He wants Punk for the title at Elimination Chamber but here is Adam Pearce, who says we’re not doing things like this. Pearce tells Balor that the title is spoken for so forget about this or get out of here.

Cue a ticked off CM Punk, who says Balor is the first thought instead of an afterthought. Punk thinks Balor deserves a beating instead of a title shot so get off the announcers’ table and come get it. Balor wants the title on the line so Punk says let’s do it. Pearce says no, but Punk says give him the match he wants or Punk will spend the rest of the show beating Balor up around the arena. Pearce says the match is on…at Elimination Chamber, taking a lot of the air out of the arena.

With all that out of the way, Punk is ready for the scheduled interview, with Cole asking what Punk is doing by jeopardizing his Wrestlemania main event. Punk says he isn’t jeopardizing anything, because he is trying to build things up. He is trying to get one step better every day and he knows this is a risky way to go.

These people deserve this but he knows it could end anywhere in any city in front of any crowd, but he’s confident enough to know “that s*** ain’t gonna happen.” The only way Wrestlemania ends is with his hand raised and the ring announcer saying AND STILL World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk. Good stuff here from Punk, though that match with Balor is about as dead in the water as you can get. At the same time, Punk got to show what a master of the microphone he is here, as he was basically directing the whole segment with his words.

Adam Pearce makes sure Finn Balor is out of the building but here is the Vision to interrupt him. Paul Heyman underestimated Pearce because he kept pushing Bron Breakker, who injured himself lifting and had to undergo major surgery. Pearce stands up and says he knows Breakker is one of the keys to the future of WWE (Heyman: “Agreed.”).

He wants Breakker back more than anyone but we need to focus on the now, including Austin Theory’s Elimination Chamber qualifying match. Pearce also tells the Vision to stay out of the match, and that’s a threat. Heyman: “There it is.” Logan Paul asks Pearce what he’ll do if the team interferes, but that’s a rhetorical question.

Nattie vs. Maxxine Dupri

Yes it’s officially Nattie and Dupri gets her in the ankle lock in about ten seconds. That’s broken up so Dupri knocks her outside for another ankle lock. Nattie kicks her into the steps for the break and gets in a hard posting as well. Dupri gets dropped onto the announcers’ table and pummeled down for the double countout at 1:35. If this was the big change for Nattie, it’s about exactly what I would have expected from her.

Post match Nattie gets the Sharpshooter on the table. AJ Lee runs out for the save but Becky Lynch is here to post Lee, as a person who is snapping tends to do.

LA Knight is ready to qualify for the Elimination Chamber and wants to take the chance away from Austin Theory.

Los Americanos vs. Je’Von Evans/???

Evans’ mystery partner is…the Original El Grande Americano. Well who else was it going to be? Ron Bass? Rayo jumps Evans to start and gets dropkicked for his early efforts. A springboard hurricanrana takes Bravo down as well but Evans is sent outside. That earns the Americanos a top rope double clothesline from the Original.

We take a break and come back with Original coming in to start firing off suplexes. Rayo headbutts Evans but gets kicked in the face by Original. The regular El Grande Americano shoves the Original off the top so Bravo goes up. A dive (after Original has already moved) is cuttered out of the air and Original’s top rope headbutt gets the pin at 7:45.

Rating: C+. The dive into the cutter was such awesome timing that it makes up for how dump Bravo looked for jumping in the first place, which is rather impressive. The Americano stuff is awesome, especially considering it’s totally different down in AAA. Odds are this is setting up a mask vs. mask match and it could be rather good given how talented these two really are.

Post match both Americanos try to go after the masks but neither get anywhere.

Penta, Austin Theory and LA Knight are ready for the Elimination Chamber.

We look at Gunther’s celebration last week and beatdown of Dragon Lee from last week.

Gunther is annoyed at being told he has an Elimination Chamber qualifying match last week because he already knows that. His road to Wrestlemania should have started when he beat Bill Goldberg but the result will be the same, because he’ll leave Wrestlemania as the new WWE Champion. Of note: Gunther had a very nice looking watch.

IMG Credit: WWE

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Penta vs. Austin Theory vs. LA Knight

Paul Heyman is here with Theory, who is taken into the corner to start for the slingshot dropkick. Knight’s running knee rocks Theory again and a double clothesline puts him on the floor. Penta takes over on Knight and sends him outside, only to get dropkicked by the returning Theory. A ram into the steps has Penta in trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Knight slugging away at Theory, who gives Penta a brainbuster for two. Theory kicks Penta down for two more but Knight is back in with a running clothesline to put Theory on the floor. That means Knight can send both of them into the announcers’ table but Theory is able to trip Knight into the turnbuckle. Penta is back up with the Backstabber out of the corner to Theory, with Knight making the save.

They go up top for a Tower Of Doom to give Theory two on Knight, meaning frustration is setting in. Knight knocks Theory down and hits the top rope elbow but here is the Vision for a distraction. The Tsunami crushes Knight so Adam Pearce runs out with security to get rid of Bronson Reed. Penta gets sent onto the announcers’ table but the masked man is back with a superkick and Stomp to Theory. Back in and the BFT finishes Theory at 13:42.

Rating: B-. I’m rather over seeing triple threat qualifying matches for anything, but at least they had a good match here. Knight getting the revenge on the Vision and moving on to the Chamber is a good way for him to go, as he’s still one of the most popular stars in the company. Go with what the fans want, as Knight getting the title later this year would not be a crazy way to go.

Knight promises more for the Vision and Pearce glares at Heyman to end the show.

The show is dedicated to Jim Shank, a longstanding member of the production team who passed away earlier today.

Overall Rating: B. They had a solid show here as we shift away from the Royal Rumble to the Elimination Chamber. The qualifying matches were both good and you can see a lot of the pieces on this side coming together. I’m not wild on seeing Punk vs. Balor again, especially after how the previous match ended and what is set for Wrestlemania, but at least it should be quality. Nice show this week, and hopefully they can keep up the interest going into the pay per view.

Results
Usos b. Alpha Academy – 1D to Otis
Rhea Ripley b. Ivy Nile and Lyra Valkyria – Riptide to Valkyria
Nattie vs. Maxxine Dupri went to a double countout
Original El Grande Americano/Je’Von Evans b. Los Americanos – Top rope headbutt to Bravo
LA Knight b. Penta and Austin Theory – BFT 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