Wrestlemania XXXVI Night 1
Date: April 4, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton
Host: Rob Gronkowski

A year has passed since this show and it still does not seem real. Aside from the main event, this show has almost been erased from history as it is barely ever discussed whatsoever. The Coronavirus wiped everything out and the show was moved to the Performance Center, making it feel like a show that they had just to say they had it. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Cesaro vs. Drew Gulak

Their respective friends (Shinsuke Nakamura/Sami Zayn and Daniel Bryan) are feuding so these two are having a match as well. Yeah it’s weak but what else are they supposed to do? Cole is calling this one on his own and it sounds so strange. Gulak goes for the arm to start but a short armscissors is countered into a powerbomb. They head outside with Cesaro getting in another shot but the arm is banged up.

An armdrag on the bad arm sets up a whip into the steps but Cesaro uppercuts him out of the air for two. A Fujiwara armbar is broken up so Gulak settles for two off a sunset flip. Cesaro boots him in the face and loads up a torture rack airplane spin (with no hands at one point for a crazy visual) before just dropping Gulak for the pin at 4:27.

Rating: C. The match was fine but EGADS this is bizarre. It’s like we’re watching a training session that was recorded and they slapped a Wrestlemania logo on the thing. It was watchable enough and would have been acceptable as a warmup but I can’t believe that this is Wrestlemania. Of course it isn’t on WWE given the circumstances but my goodness this is weird and that isn’t likely to change over the course of the show.

Stephanie McMahon welcomes us to the show and says that while this is going to be the most different Wrestlemania ever (due to the current circumstances, with no mention of the virus, which was a weird WWE thing for a LONG time).

Rather than someone singing America the Beautiful live, we get a montage of previous performances. Fair enough and actually a pretty cool idea.

The opening video continues the pirate theme but someone doing a pretty bad Jack Sparrow impression cuts it off, saying it sounds like they are starting at the end. He says the video isn’t trying and calls for the “classic movie trailer voice”. The trailer voice is cut off by the Sparrow impression (which is how he refers to it) but the video still doesn’t work, so he says go to the shots of our heroes looking all serious. These people are larger than life and are marred by the work of hundreds of days and nights.

This is their quest for gold, glory and immortality. Tonight, forget EVERYTHING you know because fate leads the way, and fate can surprise us. History waits for no one and tonight, their chance to shape history begins right now. The traditional montage takes over from here. I love pirate movies and while this was pretty much a parody of the idea, it makes me wonder how good the real thing would have been with the WWE budget behind a pirate themed show.

Host Rob Gronkowski (erg) welcomes us to the show and does some fine script reading as he talks about how this is a two night event. He talks about being able to start a party on a Saturday night, even if that might be a little difficult in a mostly empty building. Mojo Rawley joins him because you need the hype here. Gronk gives him some pretty lame chops and we’re off to the first match.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Kabuki Warriors

The Warriors (Asuka/Kairi Sane) are defending and commentary points out that they took the titles from Bliss/Cross back in October. This is their first title defense since DECEMBER, because the titles really don’t mean much in WWE. Asuka and Bliss get things going with a lot of laughing but it’s off to Sane without any contact. Sane shoves Bliss around a bit, drawing Bliss back up to knock Sane down. That sets up the double knees to the ribs and a tag off to Cross, who is taken into the champs’ corner.

Some forearms stagger Asuka though and Bliss tags herself in. That means a baseball slide can knock Sane outside, followed by a flip dive from the apron. Back in and Asuka punches Cross in the face, allowing the tag back to Sane. Everything breaks down again with the Warriors taking over on the floor. Back in again and a bulldog into a basement dropkick rocks Cross but Sane gets a bit cocky.

That means Cross can kick her away, allowing the tag back to Bliss. House doesn’t have time to be cleaned though as Asuka offers a distraction, allowing Sane to catch Bliss in the ropes. The Alberto double stomp gets two and Bliss is in trouble, despite Cross trying to get….well no one here to clap. The referee yells at Asuka, allowing Sane to snap Bliss’ neck across the ropes.

Bliss forearms Asuka in the face so Asuka kicks her head off. Another shot from Bliss allows the hot tag to Cross, meaning it’s a lot of screaming as she forearms and bulldogs Sane. A high crossbody gives Cross two but Sane gets in a cheap shot from the apron. The Reckoning gets two on Asuka with Sane breaking it up off a top rope elbow (and possibly with a camera edit because that count looked ready to go down before Sane appeared).

Asuka tries the Asuka Lock on Cross but Bliss breaks it up with Twisted Bliss. Back up and Asuka hits a Codebreaker on Cross but the Insane Elbow is broken up. Instead it’s a powerbomb/top rope forearm to knock Cross silly….for two. Nikki avoids a charge to send Asuka into the post. The Reckoning sets up another Twisted Bliss for the pin and the titles at 15:11.

Rating: C. That was a lot longer than I would have bet on but the title change was the right way to start. If nothing else, just so Bliss can do her pose with a title again. You can only have the Warriors hold the title so long before it stops meaning anything due to a lack of defenses. I can’t imagine this makes a huge difference, but it was the right move here.

Sami Zayn brags about taking the Intercontinental Title from Braun Strowman, even though people thought it was inevitable that Strowman would destroy him. Tonight, people think it is inevitable that Daniel Bryan will take the title from him, but we’ll see about that.

King Corbin vs. Elias

This is fallout from Corbin knocking Elias off a platform here in the arena. That should have, you know, broken most of his bones, but instead it put him out for eight days. Corbin insists that Elias isn’t here but the comeback is here before the referee can even start to count. Corbin goes outside to start the fight in the aisle so Elias blasts him in the back with the guitar.

Elias sends him into various things and they head inside for the opening bell. An elbow to the face gives Elias two and it’s time to choke near the ropes. Corbin tosses him over the top and wants the countout but settles for right hands to the ribs back inside. The slide underneath the rope in the corner clothesline gets two on Elias and it’s time to hammer on Elias’ bad shoulder (because he has a bad shoulder after crashing off the balcony last week).

Said bad shoulder goes into the post for two and Corbin yells at the referee, which you can hear a lot more of in the empty arena. Back up and Elias sends him shoulder first into the post to even things up a bit. A kick out of the corner sends Corbin into another corner and Elias hammers away. Elias has to roll through the top rope elbow and charges into Deep Six for two. Back up and Elias nails a jumping knee to the face but gets sent throat first into the ropes. A rollup with feet on the ropes gives Corbin two but the referee catches the cheating and yells a lot. Instead Elias grabs a rollup and tights for the pin at 8:52.

Rating: C-. That’s one of the least interesting matches I can remember in a long time, but what were you expecting given who was in there? It’s bad enough that Elias’ big revenge was a rollup pin after getting beaten down for a few minutes, but the fact that it came over Corbin made things even worse. Just not an interesting match and it would have felt a lot better as the nothing Kickoff Show match instead.

We recap Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Title. Becky Lynch has been champion for about a year and is out of people to face. Baszler showed up from NXT and….bit Becky’s neck for some reason, drawing a bunch of blood. Then Baszler demolished the Elimination Chamber match to become #1 contender (in other words she beat up a bunch of losers and Asuka), setting up Lynch’s biggest challenge in a long time. Lynch reminding Baszler that she beat Ronda Rousey to get the title was a great response and this was a heck of a build.

Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler

Lynch is defending and drives to the arena in a semi truck because…something about the Man I guess? They go straight to the slugout to start and the threat of the Kirifuda Clutch sends Becky bailing out to the floor. Baszler is sent into the steps to put her in trouble, followed by a missile dropkick back inside. Lynch comes up favoring her back but hammers away in the corner anyway.

A hard knee rocks Lynch but she slips out of the Kirifuda Clutch to grab a rollup instead. Baszler grabs a cutter for two but can’t hit a running knee. They fight to the apron with Lynch talking trash as they forearm it out. Lynch Rock Bottoms her onto the apron for two and the champ looks a bit surprised.

Baszler slams her off the top and grabs a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Instead Baszler puts on her own Disarm Her but Lynch is out in a hurry. This time Lynch grabs the Disarm Her on the ropes, only to have Baszler knock her off the rope for a big crash. Baszler picks her up for a hard swing into the announcers’ table (geez that always looks rough) before throwing it back inside. The Kirifuda Clutch goes on but Lynch backflips over for the pin to retain at 8:32.

Rating: C. Yeah I’m not sure I get this one, as Lynch was ready to lose the title and Baszler seemed primed to take the thing from her. Throw in the Lynch was about to go on maternity leave (fair enough that she didn’t know it at this point) and there was no reason to not switch the title here. It seemed that they were setting up a submission rematch, but at some point you need to just change the title and be done with it, which should have been the case here.

Intercontinental Title: Sami Zayn vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan, with Drew Gulak, is challenging and Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura are here with Zayn. Rob Gronkowski and Mojo Rawley do the YES chant from the balcony, which just looks sad with two people in there. Sami bails straight to the floor and then does it again to get in Bryan’s head. Back in and the third exit ensues, which finally causes Bryan to go after him, only to have Cesaro and Nakamura get in the way.

Gulak dives onto the two of them and hammers away, meaning Gulak and Zayn get to have their own staredown. Bryan finally gets his hands on Zayn thanks to a suicide dive and it’s time to crank on the leg. Zayn is sent outside again for another suicide dive, followed by a missile dropkick back inside. Bryan slaps him in the face and shouts that Zayn is the loser because he hasn’t beaten anyone.

The running dropkick in the corner might have Zayn crying (JBL: “You shouldn’t be crying at Wrestlemania.”) but he cuts Bryan’s charge off with a shot of his own. Back up and Bryan hits the running clothesline, followed by the rapid fire strikes. Hold on though as Bryan needs to go after Cesaro and Nakamura, only to dive into the Helluva Kick to retain Zayn’s title at 9:18.

Rating: C. Another rather disappointing match here but again, it’s kind of hard to complain about much on this show. The biggest problem continues to be the lack of time, as you can only make a match feel so big in just over nine minutes. It’s also another situation where the title should have changed hands, as Zayn went home because of the virus (fair) and had to vacate the title without wrestling again in nearly six months.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: John Morrison vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jimmy Uso

Morrison is defending for Miz and John Morrison and this is a ladder match. Injuries and virus concerns took away enough of the partners that this is as good as we can get here. Everyone misses a kick to start and Morrison and Kingston both stick the landings on a monkey flip attempt, meaning it’s an early standoff.

Everyone goes out to grab a ladder (Morrison gets the only regular sized one) and they all climb up, with Jimmy being knocked down and coming up clutching his knee (always a good sign). He’s fine enough to get to his feet but Kofi dives off the ladder to take him down. Morrison is right there to go after Kofi but they both miss kicks and takedowns. Kofi knocks Jimmy off the ladder but Morrison takes him down as well, meaning Jimmy has to make a save of his own.

A springboard lets Kofi dropkick both of them through the ladder (cool), only to have Morrison clear the ring again. Morrison stabs Jimmy in the knee with the ladder but Jimmy sends him face first into the ladder in the corner. That’s fine with Morrison, who knocks him onto the ladder and hits a corkscrew flip to crush Jimmy again. Kofi is back up with a springboard hurricanrana to pull Morrison off of the ladder, because of course he can do that.

After knocking Jimmy outside, Kofi hits a big dive over the top to take Morrison down again. Jimmy tries to run the barricade so Kofi throws the ladder at him for another knockdown. It’s time to bridge the ladder between the ring and the apron, which never winds up going well. Jimmy is laid on said ladder but Morrison walks the rope to get from one corner to another and Spanish Fly Kofi off the top.

That leaves Morrison down so Jimmy can hit a Superfly Splash to crush him all over again. Kofi and Jimmy climb the same ladder (with Kofi climbing from inside because he’s a bit unique) and Jimmy gets knocked off in a heap. Morrison gets knocked down as well and Kofi comes off with the jumping double stomp to make it worse. Back up and Jimmy bridges the ladder between the rope and the standing ladder (uh oh) and then sends Kofi face first into the bridged one.

Morrison gets superkicked out of the air so Jimmy goes up another ladder, only to be shoved down. It must have been quite the fall as he went down with his feet facing the entrance and landed with his head facing the entrance. Or maybe WWE just needs better editors. Morrison throws a ladder out and goes up, only to have Kofi climb the same ladder. Jimmy is back in to climb another ladder and they all get a hand on the titles. A double headbutt knocks Morrison down….and he comes up with the titles for the win at 18:33.

Rating: B. This was the big spotfest match that you knew was coming here at one point or another on the show and there is nothing wrong with that. They did their thing all over the place here with one crazy spot after another. That’s how a match like this is supposed to be and it was as fun as you could have imagined a triple threat match for the Tag Team Titles would be. Granted there is one thing wrong with the match, which would be the horrible knee injury that Jimmy suffered, which would keep him out of action for over a year.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens. Rollins is doing his evil messiah deal and Owens doesn’t want to hear it, nor does he want to deal with the beatdowns Rollins and company have given him. Grudge match time.

Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins

Dig that KO Mania IV shirt with the Andre the Giant/Hulk Hogan style as Owens continues an awesome tradition. After a quick bit of hiding in the ropes, Rollins starts the slugout and it goes about as badly as you would go. Owens hammers him down, shrugs off a kick to the face, and hits a hard clothesline. There’s a backsplash to crush Rollins but it’s too early for the Cannonball.

Some chops have Rollins in trouble on the floor but he manages a backdrop on the apron to avoid a rather painful powerbomb. A Falcon Arrow on the apron plants Owens again as Rollins is already focusing on the back. Rollins hits a hard suicide dive to knock him into the barricade and he does it again for a bonus. Back in and Rollins keeps the trash talk up but misses a pair of Stomps. Owens doesn’t miss a DDT though and a superkick lets him hit the Cannonball.

The Stunner is countered and Rollins nails an enziguri, only to have Owens nail a rebound lariat for another knockdown. A superplex is loaded up but Rollins blocks it, setting up the buckle bomb. Some superkicks rock Owens, who is still fine enough to hit a pop up sitout powerbomb for a close two. They go outside and Rollins blasts him in the head with the ring bell for the DQ at 10:09.

And no this isn’t what we’re doing because Owens says let’s keep it going with no countout or DQ. That’s fine with Rollins and the bell rings, allowing him to hit a jumping knee to the face. Rollins takes it outside again and sends him into various things, followed by a steps shot to the face.

A bunch of chair shots have Owens in big trouble but he comes up with a HARD bell shot to the head. With Rollins mostly done, Owens climbs onto the big WRESTLEMANIA sign and dives off, though he is nice enough to ask if Rollins thinks this is a Wrestlemania moment. Back in and Rollins tries to talk his way out of trouble, earning himself a Stunner for the pin at 17:15.

Rating: B-. I didn’t remember liking this one all that much but they beat each other up rather well and it was entertaining enough. The bell to the head sounded great and the violence was good, once you got part the pretty worthless pause in between the falls. Owens can brawl with the best of them, but unfortunately he got hurt here too and would miss time of his own, because this show is cursed.

R-Truth comes up to Mojo Rawley and Rob Gronkowski and complains about being 24/7. I think you know what happens here and Rawley celebrates with the title.

Paul Heyman scares the heck out of Charly Caruso and talks about how great how sure he is that Drew McIntyre is losing. Brock Lesnar is going to destroy McIntyre and leave him a broken man because Lesnar is the most awesome fighter ever. He gets the message across with a bit more emotion as you might guess.

We run down the night two card.

Smackdown World Title: Braun Strowman vs. Goldberg

Goldberg is defending and there is no recap because there is no story. Goldberg won the title in Saudi Arabia so he could lose to Roman Reigns here, but then Reigns pulled out due to the Coronavirus concerns (again, fair). After about twenty seconds of staring each other down, Goldberg kicks him in the ribs and hits an early spear.

Strowman is back up so Goldberg hits two more spears for a near fall. Make it four, but the Jackhammer is countered into a powerslam. We’ll make that two powerslams and the third sets up a fourth to make Strowman champion at 2:11. The entire match was three moves and one of them was a kick to the ribs.

Wrestlemania XXXVII is in Los Angeles. Just like it was in the Memorial Coliseum in 1991.

We recap AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker. Styles didn’t like Undertaker being a broken shell of himself so he insulted Undertaker the man, including Undertaker’s wife. This did not wind up going well and for the first time, it seems that this is Mark Calaway fighting instead of Styles, which should make things all the more interesting. Oh and they’re in boneyard to make things a little spicier/more cinematic.

Undertaker vs. AJ Styles

The hearse rides into the boneyard and the druids pull out the casket, which of course has Styles in it for a chuckle worthy moment. In a bit cooler moment, we get Biker Taker again, riding to the boneyard to Now That We’re Dead by Metallica. AJ wastes no time in talking trash, asking if Michelle McCool knows Undertaker is out this late. Undertaker knocks a brick out of his hands and the fight is on, with Undertaker dragging him around. He even calls AJ Alan to make it more freaky.

AJ is sent into the closed casket but Undertaker’s punch goes through the hearse window (cue the Goldberg flashbacks). He is fine enough to throw him through the windshield and they fight on top of the hearse, with Undertaker still getting the better of things. Undertaker hammers away while yelling at AJ to not talk about his wife and then quotes Clubber Lang by saying he has a lotta more. AJ gets smart by throwing dirt in the eyes and then trying to punch Undertaker into a grave.

It turns out that standing in front of someone who can’t see and talking a lot makes you easy to punch so Undertaker drills him in the jaw. That’s enough to knock Undertaker into the grave but the Good Brothers show up, complete with imitation western music. Undertaker goes after them….and we’ve got druids for some reason. They don’t really do much good though, as they stand there while Undertaker goes in a circle punching them. Now Undertaker can beat up Gallows and Anderson in peace, including beating on them with the handle of a shovel.

AJ is back with a tombstone (the stone, not the move) though and shatters it over Undertaker’s back. That means trash talk from AJ and weird sounds from Undertaker….and they are both knocked through the wall of a shed. Undertaker wheezes and backs away, allowing AJ to break a shove over his back to knock him into a grave. With Undertaker down, AJ jumps in the dump truck (or whatever you call it)….and Undertaker appears behind him in a big ball of light. Eh it’s not that insane really.

AJ runs off (as you should) and climbs onto the roof of the barn so Undertaker shoots fire out of the roof foo. Cue Gallows and Anderson so Undertaker beats them up again and throws Gallows into the abyss. A Tombstone onto the roof drops Anderson and Undertaker says it’s just him and AJ. For some reason AJ swings at him and gets chokeslammed off the roof and through a big piece of wood. Undertaker climbs down and asks AJ what his wife’s name is. Or maybe AJ can tell Undertaker how old he is.

AJ is out on his feet as Undertaker picks him up and talks about how AJ is tougher than he gave him credit for. It’s time to go to the grave and AJ says he’s sorry. Undertaker wants to know what for and then picks AJ up by the throat. AJ begs him not to bury him and Undertaker hugs him while saying AJ put up a great fight. Then Undertaker boots him into the grave and fills it in with the dirt. The gong sounds and we’ll say that’s the match at about 19:12 (your individual times may vary).

Rating: A. Yeah this is still great and is the pinnacle of the cinematic stuff. It doesn’t get too goofy (I mean, Undertaker stuff is weird by definition) and it felt like two guys having a fight. AJ being all cocky and sure of himself until he finally realized what he was up against is a classic Undertaker story and it worked well here. Above all else, this felt like Undertaker having one last brush with greatness before hanging it up and I can see why he was ok with this being the big ending. Go out doing something different and special, which is what he did here. I loved this when I watched it and still do here, so well done.

AJ’s gloves hand sticks out of the grave as Undertaker gets on his bike, throws up the fist to make the fire go off again. Undertaker’s symbol goes up on the barn wall and he rides away to end the show. And to end Undertaker’s career it seems, as he has not wrestled since and announced his retirement at Survivor Series about seven months later.

Overall Rating: B-. Like I said at the beginning, this show has kind of been forgotten and it is easy to see why. I’m not sure how you could expect anything else here, as the show was cobbled together from whomever was left and they did what they could to still have a Wrestlemania. It’s a Wrestlemania in name only for the most part, but it isn’t like they had any control over the thing. What we got was good enough, but don’t expect this to be anything more than an historical curiosity, because it doesn’t feel like Wrestlemania.

Ratings Comparison

Drew Gulak vs. Cesaro

Original: C

2021 Redo: C

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Kabuki Warriors

Original: C

2021 Redo: C

Elias vs. King Corbin

Original: D

2021 Redo: C-

Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch

Original: B-

2021 Redo: C

Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn

Original: C+

2021 Redo: C

Jimmy Uso vs. John Morrison vs. Kofi Kingston

Original: B

2021 Redo: B

Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins

Original: C

2021 Redo: B-

Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman

Original: N/A

2021 Redo: N/A

Undertaker vs. AJ Styles

Original: A+

2021 Redo: A

Overall Rating

Original: C

2021 Redo: B-

Mostly in the ballpark, but it’s not like this is a show that is going to feel the same after a year.

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

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2020/04/04/wrestlemania-xxxvi-night-one-broken-undertaker/

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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 30, 2026
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s back to the home place for WWE and that means they’re going to make things even bigger than usual. That’s not a bad thing either as this year’s Wrestlemania build has been a bit hit and miss. Hopefully something other than Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk and Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi gets to take off this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. He hits the catchphrase but here is Stephanie McMahon of all people to cut him off. She talks about how she wants to talk about Randy Orton because they’re all third generation people in the wrestling business. We’re coming up on Wrestlemania and she sees Orton being all crazy. This version of Rhodes can’t beat this version of Orton and so far, Cody isn’t as good as his father.

Rhodes says he doesn’t know who Orton is because he knows everything about Orton. The reality is that Orton has done some great things and some things that are so violent that we can’t even show them around here anymore. At one point Rhodes was having to babysit Orton by making sure he was still breathing when Orton passed out in the car. With all due respect, no he isn’t his father, but Stephanie isn’t her father either.

That gets one heck of a gasp from the audience and one heck of a slap from Stephanie to Rhodes. She’s out here because she cares about him because Rhodes needs to become more like Orton if he wants to keep the title. Orton is listening to the voices in his head and someone else on top of that. Rhodes says he has two words for her, which are THANK YOU, and he leaves as Stephanie smiles. The message was good, but this felt like a way to get Stephanie on the show whether it fit or not.

IShowSpeed is in the back and demands to see Danhausen. Cue Danhausen, with Speed wanting the curse to be reversed because Speed’s week has been terrible. Danhausen will do it for ten million dollars and the rights to Speed’s streaming service, but Speed can’t do that. Instead, Adam Pearce gives Speed front row seats and introduces him to LA Knight, who will be a guest commentator for the Tag Team Title match. Danhausen doesn’t disappear because Pearce is watching.

Tag Team Titles: The Vision vs. Usos

The Usos are defending in a street fight and LA Knight is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start and the Usos send them outside to start, setting up Jey’s big dive to take them out as we take a break. We come back with the Vision in control and a bunch of weapons in the ring. Some running trashcan shots miss though and the Usos get to fight back, with a trashcan being put on Paul’s head. Stereo superkicks knock him outside and Theory is put in the trashcan for a beating with the kendo stick.

The table is loaded up and Theory gets double superplexed through it for the big crash. Paul goes over to the barricade where his mom gives him some brass knuckles. Knight goes over to go after Paul (Mr.) but IShowSpeed is pulled over with him. Speed picks up the knuckles and accidentally knocks Knight down. That sends Speed bailing as he knows he’s in trouble. Paul misses the knuckles shot and gets superkicked, with Theory getting the same. Jey spears Theory but Paul uses the knuckles to knock Jimmy out. Jey dives on Paul but Theory gets the pin and the titles at 8:53.

Rating: B-. That feels like a way to set up a six man tag for Wrestlemania and….eh I’d take it over seeing these teams fight again. The title change is a good way to go as the Vision desperately needed something good to happen and it’s not like the Usos need the titles. Nice enough match here, with the street fight aspect helping a bit.

Speed realizes he’s in trouble but stays with the Vision, who know Knight and the Usos are going to want to kill him. That would be quite the six man at Wrestlemania.

We look back at the end of last week’s show, with CM Punk getting under Roman Reigns’ skin and laughing when Reigns hurt him.

We look at CM Punk winning the WWE Title in this building at Survivor Series 2011.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is Liv Morgan for a chat. She gets right to the point by saying that Stephanie Vaquer is done at Wrestlemania. Vaquer attacked her family, including Dirty Dom, but she doesn’t have any family of her own here. Morgan is ready to fight on sight so here is Vaquer to interrupt. Vaquer kicks her down and grabs a chair but Roxanne Perez is back to jump Vaquer from behind. Oblivion onto a chair leaves Vaquer down and Morgan is rather pleased. Morgan is all but guaranteed to win the title so she doesn’t need the help, but it’s good to have Perez back.

We look back at Paul Heyman getting attacked by Seth Rollins last week, resulting in Rollins being arrested.

IShowSpeed tries to explain that he didn’t mean to help the Vision and it was an accident. Heyman comes in and says Speed is in good hands so the three of them should go to dinner. With the three of them gone, Heyman says the Usos are going to kill Speed. Adam Pearce comes in to say he needs to talk to Heyman, who didn’t get his email. Heyman leaves without finding out the message. That’s dumb for Heyman.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Lyra Valkyria/Bayley vs. Irresistible Forces

The Forces are defending. Legend throws Valkyria around to start and it’s off to Jax to crush her in the corner. Legend comes back in so Valkyria flips over her and brings Bayley in for a change. Legend knocks both of them down and it’s back to Jax to take over on Valkyria. Bayley sends Jax outside for a dive and we take a break.

We come back with Valkyria trying to get over for a tag but Jax knocks Bayley off the apron. Valkyria manages a DDT to Legend though and it’s back to Bayley for the middle rope elbow. A kick to the face cuts Bayley off though and Jax drops the big leg for two. Bayley actually breaks up the Annihilator though and hits a powerbomb, with Valkyria adding a moonsault.

Legend makes the save and everything breaks down, leaving all four of them down. Cue the Bella Twins, followed by Charlotte and Alexa Bliss, who show up to argue with them. Valkyria yells at them all so Jax shoves Valkyria into Bliss and Charlotte. Legend jumps the Bellas and drives Bayley into the apron. Back in and Jax headbutts Valkyria but Bliss comes in to jump Jax for the DQ at 10:42.

Rating: C. This has pretty clearly been building towards a multi-team match of some kind for the titles and that ending almost guarantees one is getting set up. It’s nice to have this many viable teams coming for the titles and it lets us get the Bellas title match, which absolutely has to happen. Either way, the match wasn’t great, but it served it purpose.

Post match the six non-champions knock the Forces out to the floor.

We look back at Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar in recent weeks.

Danhausen announces the Saturday Night’s Main Event will be back in the Garden on July 18. Having him be this weird backstage guy who makes the occasional announcement is the best use of Danhausen.

Here is Brock Lesnar, in fighting gear and with Paul Heyman, for a chat. Heyman says he’s here to talk about Oba Femi, with the fans seemingly being on Femi’s side. What Femi needs to learn is that a ticked off Lesnar is a different kind of beast and various people have taken some beatings over the years. Lesnar grabs the mic and calls Femi out but instead it’s Adam Pearce, with security.

Pearce says this isn’t happening tonight…and here is Femi to interrupt. Femi wrecks security, and Pearce, and takes his time walking around the ring. The fans are WAY into this as Femi gets inside for the staredown but HHH himself comes out to get between them. Lesnar goes to the floor and grabs the steps (Femi tells him to bring it) but Lesnar throws them down and leaves instead. Lesnar gives a security guard an F5 to blow off some steam. I want to see these two fight and that’s a good sign.

IMG Credit: WWE

Finn Balor talks about how he wasn’t happy with some of the things he did in the Judgment Day. Dominik Mysterio turned on him because Mysterio is a coward and a villain. He created Mysterio and now it’s time to destroy him at Wrestlemania.

IMG Credit: WWE

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Kofi Kingston

Penta is defending and Grayson Waller is here with Kingston. They start fast with Kingston sending him into the corner. That’s broken up and Penta strikes away but Kingston is able to get up top. Kingston dives into a Codebreaker though and the slingshot dropkick in the corner gives Penta two. They fight out to the apron with Kingston getting in a shot to take over but calling Waller off as we take a break.

We come back with Penta fighting out of trouble and hitting a reverse Sling Blade. The SOS gives Kingston two, followed by a jumping Fameasser to send Penta outside. Waller picks Penta up but Kingston says he wants to do this on his own. Kingston’s dive over the top is cut off though and Waller drops him onto the announcers’ table. Waller leans over to mock Kingston and gets taken down by a Mexican Destroyer. Back in and Penta dives into Trouble In Paradise, leaving Kingston’s eyes bugging out. Penta is right back up with the Mexican Destroyer to retain at 10:02.

Rating: B-. These two working well together isn’t exactly a surprise and it’s a good idea to have a veteran like Kingston out there to give Penta another nice title defense. Penta is getting some momentum going as champion but I’m not sure what he’s supposed to do at Wrestlemania. He doesn’t have a big challenger right now and they’re running out of time to set one up.

Post match Penta is asked what he’s going to do with the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania. Penta says it’s pain for himself and anyone who dares because it’s going to be….a ladder match. Well of course it will be.

Paul Heyman is discussing a sandwich when Adam Pearce comes in. Pearce asks about Brock Lesnar, who has left the arena. That’s fine with Pearce, who asks if Heyman checked his email yet. Heyman says he hasn’t and there’s nothing overly interesting, so he’s got something to say in the ring.

Here is Heyman, who mocks the lighting guy as possibly being from New Jersey (the fans approve of the mocking) before praising the Vision for winning. He tries to give something back to the fans, like Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar, but here is Pearce to interrupt. Apparently the email said that all charges against Seth Rollins have been dropped, which Heyman seems to lie about knowing in advance.

Heyman isn’t worried because he’s the last manager standing from the 1980s and the last promoter standing from the 1990s. Pearce gets to the second part of the email: Rollins is medically cleared to compete (how this really changes much for Heyman isn’t clear). Cue Rollins from behind with a chair to knock Heyman down. The Stomp is loaded up…but Gunther pops up to choke Rollins out. Gunther even points at the sign (and got his eye cut up somewhere in there). That’s an interesting way to go and it’s certainly a big match for Gunther at Wrestlemania.

Post break we look at what we saw pre-break.

IMG Credit: WWE

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Iyo Sky

Neither get an entrance. Sky is sent into the corner to start but comes back with a quickly broken octopus. A dropkick to the knee sends Rodriguez outside but she cuts off a dive and hits a hard clothesline. Back in and Sky can’t get very far on an armbar so Rodriguez kicks her in the face. A hurricanrana sends Rodriguez into the corner though and Sky hits an Asai moonsault as we take a break.

We come back with Sky hitting a springboard missile dropkick into the running knees in the corner. Over The Moonsault hits raised knees though and Rodriguez Pounces her for two. Cue the Kabuki Warriors as Sky fights up and hits a top rope diving DDT. The running knees connect in the corner again as Asuka yells at Kairi Sane. Sky dives onto Asuka (and lands on her head for a scary crash), which she says she did for Sane. Back in and the Tejana Bomb finishes for Rodriguez at 10:28.

Rating: C+. This was another match that felt a bit tacked on to get us to something at Wrestlemania. Sky doing something against Asuka, possibly for Sane’s freedom, could be interesting, though I’m not sure where that leaves Rodriguez. The match was fine, though it never really got going.

Wrestlemania rundown, with Rey Fenix, Je’Von Evans, Rusev and JD McDonagh now in the ladder match. Also added: Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio and a four way tag for the Women’s Tag Team Titles, featuring the four teams from earlier tonight.

Oh and John Cena is hosting Wrestlemania.

Adam Pearce makes Seth Rollins vs. Gunther for Wrestlemania.

Here is Roman Reigns for a chat. He soaks in some dueling chants and hits his catchphrase…but here is a ticked off CM Punk, who marches to the ring and starts the fight fast. Reigns gets the better of things by knocking Punk outside, where Adam Pearce and security are here again. Reigns loads up the powerbomb but Punk gets out and tries a GTS.

Reigns manages to spear Petey Williams but walks into the GTS. Punk teases leaving and then comes back to powerbomb Reigns through the announcers’ table. Punk sits down next to him and does the crazy laugh before mocking the Roman Reigns chants. Celebrating/posing ends the show. This was a hot angle and it’s nice to see Punk fired up, as this feud is ready to go for Wrestlemania.

Overall Rating: B-. There wasn’t much in the way of great action this week but there was more than enough build to Wrestlemania. You had a few title matches added, plus Gunther vs. Seth Rollins, which should be quit the undercard match. The Reigns vs. Punk stuff is still good and I want to see where it goes at Wrestlemania, which is a good feeling. This wasn’t a great show , though it did get some important things accomplished, which is the bigger deal.

Results
The Vision b. Usos – Brass knuckles punch to Jimmy
Irresistible Forces b. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria via DQ when Alexa Bliss interfered
Penta b. Kofi Kingston – Mexican Destroyer
Raquel Rodriguez b. Iyo Sky – Tejana Bomb

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 23, 2026
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re closing in on Wrestlemania and Roman Reigns is now under CM Punk’s skin. That’s likely going to create an issue on the way to their title match, but there are other things going on as well. Otherwise we have Oba Femi coming after Brock Lesnar, which has all of the hoss fight potential. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Brock Lesnar returning to confront Seth Rollins but getting laid out by Oba Femi instead. That’s a big move, but it’s asking a lot for someone so new to the main roster.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is Lesnar, with Paul Heyman, to get things going. Heyman lists off Lesnar’s various accomplishments but the fans chant for Oba Femi. Heyman warns the fans about getting on Lesnar’s nerves and blames last week’s attack on Femi taking advantage of a distracted Lesnar. Femi is the latest man who is supposed to take Lesnar out, just like Goldberg, Dean Ambrose (!), Bobby Lashley and John Cena, but Femi will be victimized just everyone else. Cue Femi and Lesnar tries the F5, only for Femi to escape and clothesline him to the floor.

Dominik Mysterio is ready to get his Intercontinental Title back tonight.

IMG Credit: WWE

Usos vs. Vision

Non-title and it’s Austin Theory/Logan Paul for the Vision. Before the match, we look at Logan Paul getting into it with Tom Brady at a flag football game. Sounds Wrestlemaniaish. Theory grabs a headlock on Jey to start but it’s off to Jimmy for a double elbow. Jimmy is sent outside and Paul clotheslines him into the timekeeper’s area as we take an early break. We come back with Cole paying tribute to Dennis Condrey of the Midnight Express, who passed away last week. That’s a rather touching moment, especially as Condrey never wrestled for WWE.

Jimmy enziguris his way out of trouble and brings Jey in to clean house. Theory gets sent into the corner and the turnbuckle pad is pulled off. Jey tries a suplex but Theory seems to reverse it into a neckbreaker for two. The spear drops Theory but Paul breaks up the Superfly Splash. The brass knuckles are loaded up so here is LA Knight to take them away. Jey gets the knuckles and knocks Theory cold for the DQ at 7:13.

Rating: C. This was fine while it lasted but the result was about setting up a likely rematch, which is fine enough. The Vision is in a weird place right now but at least they seem to have something of a direction for the Tag Team Titles. Knight being involved makes things a bit more interesting, though I’m not sure how he’ll tie in at Wrestlemania.

We look back at Roman Reigns and CM Punk going face to face last week, with Reigns getting under Punk’s skin.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat. Lynch understands what it means to take some time off, because she took ten months off, unlike AJ Lee’s ten years off. She’s ticked off about the lack of respect after losing the Intercontinental Title because she is proud of what she made that title.

When she took some time off to be with her family, her daughter was dancing around to Lee’s music and flipping her hair like that twerp from New Jersey. She didn’t realize that her mother was the greatest of all time (and apparently she’s not the only one saying it). Lee mastered the Divas division but Lynch murdered it.

Cue Lee to chase Lynch off and say that maybe she has to beat her one more time to get rid of her. Say on the biggest stage of them all? She’ll show Lynch why she’s the best wrestler of this generation and apparently Lynch’s daughter’s favorite wrestler and yes the match is on for Wrestlemania. Lynch brings up Lee’s last Wrestlemania match, when she left the day after and we didn’t hear from her for about ten years. Don’t worry because this year Lynch will end her and we’ll never hear from her again. This got personal and it boosted the match up a bit, which is a good thing.

Jimmy Uso thanks LA Knight for the help but Jey still isn’t happy about the whole thing. They calm down a bit, with Jimmy suggesting that Knight watch his words when talking about the family.

Je’Von Evans vs. Grayson Waller

Kofi Kingston is here with Waller. Evans starts fast and sends him to the floor for the big running dive. Back in and a high crossbody gives Evans two but Waller sends him outside as well. Evans switches places with him and hits another dive as we take a break. We come back with Evans hitting another crossbody but Waller slugs him down.

Evans tries a springboard but slips, only to spin back around for a German suplex (nice save). A running knee knocks Waller down again but he pulls Evans off the top. The flipping Unprettier drops Evans again and he gets sent into the post. Evans catches him with a top rope hurricanrana though and the OG Cutter finishes Waller at 8:58.

Rating: C+. They had some slip ups in there but the good thing is they were able to recover in a hurry and the match wound up going fine. That’s a good sign for Evans, as it shows what kind of a head he has on his shoulders. Hopefully that continues, as WWE certainly sees something in him.

Post match Kingston tries to explain why he didn’t help but Waller isn’t convinced.

Paul Heyman comes up to Adam Pearce, who says Heyman is having a heck of a night. Heyman wants a street fight for the Tag Team Titles next week in Madison Square Garden. The match seems to be on, but Pearce tells Heyman to go to the ring now, as he requested. Heyman isn’t happy but goes anyway.

Dennis Rodman is going into the Hall Of Fame. Ok then.

Here is Paul Heyman in the ring to say he’s having a really bad night and not just because after a 40 year Hall Of Fame career he’s making a contractually obligated appearance here in Boston. There is no one for him to hide behind at the moment because all of his men are either gone or injured. At the same time though, he has a stalker who will not leave him alone.

That man is Seth Rollins, and no that isn’t a challenge for a match, because we know how that would go. Instead, maybe Rollins should just come put him out of his misery. The masked man pops up on the announcers’ table (Heyman doesn’t see him) so Heyman keeps calling him out, only to realize who is waiting on him. Some cops show up to get between them and take Rollins away for violating the restraining order (which is apparently a thing).

As Rollins is leaving, Heyman goes on a rant about how Rollins is going to jail and Becky Lynch will marry half of the locker room and his daughter will be adopted by Heyman. Rollins charges away from the cops (Heyman throws the mic at him) and gets in a forearm as Rollins is handcuffed, leaving Heyman looking maniacal.

Post break here what’s you saw pre-break.

IMG Credit: WWE

Kabuki Warriors vs. Lyra Valkyria/Bayley

It’s a brawl to start and Valkyria gets beaten down on the floor. Back in and the Warriors kick away at Bayley, with a basement dropkick taking her down. We take a break and come back with Bayley diving over for the tag to Valkyria. The comeback is quickly on, including a sitout powerbomb for two on Sane.

A delayed vertical suplex is countered by Sane and Asuka is back in to take over. Valkyria kicks her into the corner and a fisherman’s buster sets up Bayley’s middle rope elbow for two. Bayley takes Asuka outside for the Bayley To Belly onto the announcers’ table but Sane saves her from another elbow. Back in and Nightwing finishes Sane at 8:58.

Rating: C+. Well at least they didn’t lose again. I could go with seeing Bayley and Valkyria getting a chance to do something as a team. They work well together and they would fit in well with the Irresistible Forces as some challengers. It still feels like we’re gearing up for a big multi team match for the titles (the Warriors could be in there too), so maybe they’re on the way to setting this up.

Post match Bayley says they aren’t feeling pressure and Valkyria wants the Women’s Tag Team Titles. The challenge is on for next week, with Bayley having to win the crowd back after calling MSG the World’s Most Famous Arena.

We look at Tiffany Stratton’s start in NXT, with Stratton praising what she learned in NXT to bring her here.

IShowSpeed comes in to see Penta, who teaches him the strut. Dragon Lee comes in and Speed is excited to see him. Speed leaves and Penta and Lee seem cool.

Post break, IShowSpeed meets Adam Pearce and is happy that he’s here. Danhausen comes in and suggests they have a show together and split the profits. That’s a no, so Danhausen suggests the show is called “YOU ARE CURSED!” Speed freaks out as Danhausen vanishes, with Pearce wishing Speed luck. Danhausen popping up in the back every week for some wacky shenanigans is the best way to use him, as he certainly shouldn’t be having any serious matches.

Video on Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton’s issues on Smackdown, with Orton saying he’s back to his evil ways because he needs to beat Rhodes. Orton then feigned an apology and took out Matt Cardona, including Pillmanizing his arm.

Asuka yells at Kairi Sane and says she needs to make up the loss. Iyo Sky comes in to say Sane deserves better but Asuka summons Sane away. Raquel Rodriguez comes in to get on Sky for interfering in her match last week and they’re set for next week.

Intercontinental Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta

Mysterio is challenging (and not defending his AAA Mega Title) but here is Stephanie Vaquer to jump Liv Morgan during the entrance. They brawl into the back and we take a break with the two of them having to be separated. Mysterio (with JD McDonagh rather than Morgan) jumps him during the Big Match Intros but Penta is back to knock him into the corner. The slingshot dropkick connects but Mysterio knocks him out to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Penta sending him tot he floor for a flip dive. Back in and a suplex gives Penta two, followed by the Penta Driver for the same. Mysterio is right back with a Michinoku Driver for two of his own but the 619 is broken up. McDonagh offers a distraction though and now the 619 can connect. The frog splash is loaded up but cue Finn Balor for a distraction. Balor takes out McDonagh so Mysterio tries the frog splash, which is reversed into a small package to retain the title at 7:41.

Rating: B-. This was more about having Balor show up in the end to cost Mysterio and that isn’t a bad way to go. Balor vs. Mysterio is all but guaranteed for a big showdown at Wrestlemania and that should be a good way to go. Penta is going to need something to do at Wrestlemania and this should clear him out of the Judgment Day stuff.

Post match Balor runs in to take out Mysterio and hits a flip dive onto McDonagh and Mysterio. As Mysterio runs, Balor gives McDonagh the Coup de Grace.

We look at Oba Femi clearing out Brock Lesnar earlier tonight.

Here’s a Tale Of The Tape of the two of them.

CM Punk is in the Gorilla Position where he meets Jimmy Uso. The audio isn’t great but they both smile at each other after speaking.

Here is Punk for a chat. He says he’s not sure if we could hear what Jimmy said to him, but apparently it was another “watch what you say about the family”. Punk says that’s proof that Reigns can’t do anything without his cousins. Last week Reigns threatened to send the entire family after him but Punk hasn’t seen a single Samoan coming after him. We’re in a s*** talking business in an effort to set up the big fight and that’s what Punk does for a living.

Last week, Reigns was doing the same thing but he said one thing that got to him. Reigns called him old, and the problem was the young boy saying it. So is he old? The fans hit the YES chant and yeah of course he’s old. He’s not ashamed of it though and is even proud of it. If he was worried, he’s be covering up those gray whiskers, just like Reigns does. He’s middle aged and crazy just like Terry Funk. Gordie Howe, better known as Mr. Hockey, was playing until he was 52, so Punk is Mr. Game 7. Age is just a number so ask him how he feels.

Last week this old man dropped Reigns with one punch and at Wrestlemania, he’ll tie Reigns in knots. Gunther didn’t under estimate him but couldn’t get the job done, just like Jey Uso. Cue Uso (Punk: “Is he gonna yeet me to death?”) to say Punk is still running his mouth about the family. Punk says Jey is owed a rematch for the title and they’re ready to go but cue Jimmy Uso to say hang on.

Jimmy says Jey is always getting in trouble because he goes too nuts. He got them disqualified earlier tonight but Jey says he doesn’t care about the Tag Team Titles. Jey is ready to fight…and here is Reigns (Punk does the spooky fingers). After the long entrance, Reigns says the last time he checked, the Usos had a tag match, but it’s over. With all due respect, Jimmy needs to get his brother and leave his ring.

Punk says they should stay because Reigns needs the help. Jey goes after Punk and Jimmy tries to break it up, with Reigns hitting Punk with the Superman Punch. Adam Pearce and company come out and get rid of the Uso, but Jey tells Reigns to get him. The Spear drops Punk and Reigns kicks him to the floor.

Reigns hits the powerbomb to put Punk through the announcers’ table and then screams at him. As Reigns goes to leave, Punk laughs a lot and says he isn’t the one who needs help to end the show. This was some rather interesting stuff as Jey is basically a psycho and Punk is playing them all off of each other. I want to see where this is going and that’s a great feeling going into Wrestlemania.

Overall Rating: B. The Punk vs. Reigns stuff has me wondering where a lot of this stuff is going and hopefully that continues for the remaining weeks before Wrestlemania. Other than that, you have Femi feeling like a real threat to Lesnar and the women’s stuff getting interesting. This was a stronger episode of build towards Wrestlemania and it gave me some needed hope. They still need to set some more things up, which will likely take place next week in MSG. Good show here, with the ending segment having me rather interested.

Results
Vision b. Usos via DQ when Jey used brass knuckles
Je’Von Evans b. Grayson Waller – OG Cutter
Bayley/Lyra Valkyria b. Kairi Sane – Nightwing to Sane
Penta b. Dominik Mysterio – Small package

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 16, 2026
Location: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s Steve Austin Day and odds are that isn’t going to mean much for this show. We’re about a month away from Wrestlemania and the show is needing a shot in the arm. We might get some of that this week as Brock Lesnar is here to hopefully address his Wrestlemania challenge. Let’s get to it.

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

The masked men storm ringside to start things off and Seth Rollins is in the ring. Rollins gets right to the point: he created the Vision and he will be the one to destroy it. He doesn’t care which member you are, but if you stand next to Paul Heyman, you are marked for death. Rollins is the one who attacked Paul Heyman and….here is Heyman, looking like he just fell out of a bus. Rollins is ready to destroy Heyman, who says he wouldn’t miss this for the world. Everyone knows that the rule is FAFO. Heyman: “FAFO. FAFO. FAF….5.”

And here is Brock Lesnar, which has Rollins’ goons surrounding him. Lesnar takes off his hat and wrecks the masked men until he’s alone with Rollins….and here is Oba Femi. Even Lesnar isn’t sure about this one and Femi stares him down. The Fall From Grace immediately plants Lesnar (Cole: “HOLY S***!”) and Femi steps on Lesnar’s chest while pointing to the Wrestlemania sign. Well that works, but DANG Femi better be ready.

We look at last week’s CM Punk showdown with the Usos, who are not happy with how Punk has been talking about Roman Reigns. Punk didn’t back down and got hit in the face for his efforts.

We look at El Grande Americano winning the AAA Rey de Reyes tournament over the weekend. You should check out AAA if you haven’t (it airs on WWE’s Youtube page) as it’s one of the better weekly series going today.

Original El Grande Americano vs. El Grande Americano

Los Americanos are here with Americano. Original hits a quick rolling Liger Kick and crabs an armbar over the top rope. The lackeys get involved for a distraction, allowing Americano to send Original into the post. Original is able to reverse a slingshot into a northern lights suplex for two and they chop it out. A suplex sends Americano over the top onto the other two and we take a break.

We come back with Original grabbing a backdrop but needing a breather. Original’s rolling kick to the head sets up some rolling German suplexes but Americano sends him to the apron. That lets Original take out Rayo and then Bravo, only for Americano to grab his weird Death Valley Driver variant for two. A big kick to the chest rocks Original again and Death Valley Driver gets two more.

Original manages a suplex into the corner and the ankle lock goes on, with Americano making the rope. The rolling Chaos Theory suplex drops Original but the referee is with Rayo. Original Cactus Clotheslines him outside, allowing Bravo to load up Americano’s mask. Original’s Swan Dive knocks himself out and Americano gets the pin at 9:55.

Rating: C+. This was a fine enough match, but dang they need to have the inevitable mask vs. mask match down in Mexico. The fans there are eating up everything these two are doing and it would be great to see them get the chance to show off on the big stage. If nothing else, it’s nice to have them getting something else rather than fall down the ladder by being themselves.

Roman Reigns arrives and runs into the Usos. Reigns says there are consequences for what you say and he grabs the camera, saying his fans should be offended by what CM Punk said. Over Wrestlemania Weekend, Punk belongs to him. He’ll catch up with the Usos later.

We look back at Judgment Day turning on Finn Balor last week.

Liv Morgan says this has been her plan since the day she joined Judgment Day. She only put up with Balor for his relationship with Dominik Mysterio and it has been a pleasure watching Balor fall from grace. It made her sick to call him family every week so they took something out of his playbook. The team is on to bigger and better things, like her beating Stephanie Vaquer for the title at Wrestlemania.

We look at Dominik Mysterio retaining the AAA Mega Title on Saturday, though he isn’t medically cleared for tonight.

The Usos talk to Roman Reigns about how he should deal with CM Punk. He’s heard the part time thing all the time but he doesn’t care because it’s about his wife and children. Reigns will get his apology later tonight.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: AJ Lee vs. Bayley

Lee is defending and gets powered into the corner to start. Some quick rollups give Lee two each but Bayley trips her down. Lee kicks her out to the floor and lets Bayley come back in, where Lee grabs a flipping armbar. Bayley gets out and sends her outside for a change as we take a break.

We come back with Lee reversing a suplex into a crossbody before also reversing the Bayley To Belly. A spinwheel kick gives Lee two and a Standing Sliced Bread drops Bayley again. The Shining Wizard is countered into a half crab but Lee gets out, only to be kneed in the face for some near falls. The Rose Plant is blocked so Bayley goes with the Bayley To Belly for two instead. They slap it out from their knees until the Shining Wizard rocks Bayley. The Black Widow is countered into a side slam but Bayley misses the top rope. Now the Black Widow goes on and Bayley taps at 10:32.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of win that does a lot of good for Lee. She isn’t likely to be around here, champion or not, for very long but she can still beat some of this generation one on one. That’s what Lee did here with a clean win over a big modern name. Bayley is absolutely set and can lose something like this without being hurt so it’s not like there is much of a downside.

JD McDonagh isn’t happy that Dominik Mysterio isn’t getting his Intercontinental Title shot but Mysterio isn’t cleared. Penta comes up and thanks Adam Pearce, who argues with McDonagh some more.

Back from a break and Becky Lynch is attacking AJ Lee in the aisle. Referees try to break it up but Lynch drops Lee with a belt shot to the head.

We look at Randy Orton turning on Cody Rhodes on Smackdown and laying him out on Smackdown.

Here is Penta for a chat before his Intercontinental Title defense. He wants to be a fighting champion because this title is for everyone. And we have a challenger.

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Dragon Lee

Penta is defending and we’re joined in progress with the two of them going to the mat. Lee gets up and does Penta’s strut and then dropkicks him into the corner. Penta is back with a chop of his own, followed by the slingshot dropkick to send Lee outside. Lee is able to get back up for a running flip dive, only for Penta to come back with one of his own. Back in and Penta’s high crossbody gets two and we take a break.

We come back with the two of them slugging it out until Lee manages a Styles Clash for two. A quick Penta Driver gives Penta two more but Lee kicks him out to the floor. One heck of a running flip dive knocks Penta over the announcers’ table and the fans are way into this. Back in and Operation Dragon gives Lee a very close two but Penta is right back up with the Mexican Destroyer for the pin at 11:48.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked as they did the fast paced, non-stop action match that you would want them to do. It worked very well, with that flip dive from Lee looking outstanding. This was about Penta getting in the ring and getting a nice win, with Lee getting to do his thing as well. Very entertaining match.

Post match respect is shown.

The Vision tells Paul Heyman that they’re coming for Seth Rollins but an anxious Heyman says that’s a bad idea. They need power to do what they want and that means getting the Tag Team Titles. Go do something to get the Usos’ attention. Austin Theory is off to do just that, with Logan Paul saying consider it done.

Maxxine Dupri vs. Nattie

Nattie wrestles her down with ease to start and it’s time for some choking in the ropes. Dupri gets tied in the Tree Of Woe for more choking and Nattie grabs a rear naked choke. That’s reversed into the ankle lock, followed by a kick to put Nattie down. A fisherman’s suplex lets Dupri take the straps down for a step up legdrop and a near fall. Nattie is right back with a knockdown of her own though and the Sharpshooter makes Dupri tap at 4:20.

Rating: C. This was about what you would expect from these two, as Dupri showed off her athleticism and spammed the heck out of the ankle lock. Nattie’s whole point is about proving that Dupri isn’t ready and she got so show some of that tonight. Odds are this feud isn’t over yet, which is quite the shame at the moment.

Post match Nattie says the Dungeon is alive.

Randy Orton is on the phone with someone about what he did on Friday, saying he’ll see you soon. Orton stops for an interview with Michael Cole…but he’s changed his mind and isn’t doing it. He will say this though: he had a conversation with someone who has a brain and they made him understand who and what he is. The reality is Orton is a killer and wrestling has more than one royal family.

Je’Von Evans comes up to Dragon Lee, who is banged up from his match. Kofi Kingston pops in to tell Evans to hang out with the right people. Kingston insults Lee and that’s enough for Evans to give him a no. Grayson Waller says he doesn’t get what they see in Evans, but Kingston says that’s how people feel about Waller. Cue Danhausen to say he should join the New Day because they can have curse cereal. He does the New Day Dance but gets a no, so YOU ARE CURSED, with Kingston and Waller arguing over which one got it.

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Non-title and Liv Morgan is here with Rodriguez. Vaquer gets shouldered down to start so she grabs a rolling cradle for two. A big clothesline hits Vaquer and we’re already in the chinlock. That’s broken up just as fast and Vaquer escapes a powerbomb attempt. Vaquer’s running dropkick sends Rodriguez outside, where she launches Vaquer face first into the post. That leave Vaquer’s eyes bugging out as we take a break.

We come back with Vaquer being knocked to the apron, where she gets up top for a high crossbody. Vaquer starts in on the leg and hits the running knees in the corner. Rodriguez is able to block the Devil’s Kiss and a suplex cutter puts Vaquer down. The Vader Bomb elbow misses though and now the Devil’s Kiss works.

Morgan gets up for a distraction but here is Iyo Sky to go after her. Rodriguez is up with a shoulder to put Sky over the announcers’ table but Vaquer superkicks Rodriguez and throws Morgan into the timekeeper’s area. Back in and Vaquer tries a high crossbody, which is reversed into a powerslam. The Tejana Bomb is loaded up but Vaquer reverses into a rollup for the pin at 10:06.

Rating: B-. The interference got a bit messy at the end but Vaquer gets to look solid in a win on the way to Wrestlemania. It is hard to imagine Vaquer retaining the title at Wrestlemania but she needed a chance to get back in the fans’ mind. Sky wanting to destroy Morgan is an interesting side story and I like where this is going.

Lyra Valkyria tries to talk to Bayley about her Wrestlemania prospects but Bayley cuts her off. The idea is for them to do it together but the Kabuki Warriors come in, with Asuka blaming them for her recent loss. Revenge is teased. Of note: the Vision was shown in the background, talking to a woman I believe was Maxxine Dupri.

We look back at Oba Femi laying out Brock Lesnar and their Wrestlemania match is set.

The Usos run into LA Knight, who wants to take out the Vision as well. As for Roman Reigns, it’s Family business and Knight needs to mind his own business. Knight respects the idea but he doesn’t want the Bloodline coming back.

Here is Roman Reigns for a chat. Reigns hits the catchphrase and says the fans know who closes this show. The thing is Phil gets a little confused because this is Monday and this is Reigns’ show so come on out here. Punk comes out and takes his sweet time circling the ring until Reigns welcomes him to his show. Punk says Reigns keeps calling him Phil when it’s supposed to be an insult.

That’s a friends and family thing and he should call Reigns “Titi Tiaki” or whatever his real name is. Punk certainly isn’t going to call him Joe because that’s insulting to a real Samoan named Joe that he loves very much. Reigns hasn’t sent any Samoans after Punk but he has told them to do whatever they need to do. Punk shows the proof that this is his show by asking how good it feels to be alive in San Antonio.

Punk knows he has already won because he is in Reigns’ head, though the fans chanting for Reigns cuts him off a bit. Reigns says the fans are calling Punk out, with Punk saying that he called Reigns out last week because he wasn’t here. Reigns says that he’s heard the part timer thing for years and if Punk wants to know what the top stars do, go ask his wife. That’s enough for Reigns to leave, but Punk cuts him off, saying Punk decides when he leaves on this show.

Punk promises him a GTS at Wrestlemania so Reigns says he didn’t want to go here. Everyone knows Punk is great on the mic but he can’t phase Reigns, who is the most successful star Punk has ever faced. At the end of the day, the truth is Punk isn’t stronger, faster or anything than Reigns. He isn’t even as good looking as Reigns. Punk is a try hard because he’s….old.

That’s enough for Punk to hit him with a right hand so agents come out to stop him, with Reigns laughing. With a ticked off Punk being escorted out, Reigns looks into the camera and talks about making Punk snap with one word. This feud is working for the simple reason (one of many) that you can believe these two do not like each other at all. It’s making these exchanges feel genuine and it comes off like a Wrestlemania main event, which is a job well done.

The show is dedicated to Davey Coates, the international tour manager who passed away last week.

Overall Rating: C+. This show illustrated the same thing as the last few weeks of Smackdown: outside of a few things, this company doesn’t feel like it’s in Wrestlemania mode. The main event segment was great and Femi vs. Lesnar could be awesome, but a good bit of the rest of the stuff is just kind of there. Some of it is good and could be worth your time in Las Vegas, but it isn’t making me hyped for the show. They need more of a feeling that this is what matters more than anything else and I’m not sure they can make that feel effective with about a month to go.

Results
El Grande Americano b. Original El Grande Americano – Swan Dive
AJ Lee b. Bayley – Black Widow
Penta b. Dragon Lee – Mexican Destroyer
Nattie b. Maxxine Dupri – Sharpshooter
Stephanie Vaquer b. Raquel Rodriguez – Rollup

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 9, 2026
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re just over a month away from Wrestlemania and that means it’s time to start setting the stage for the biggest show of the year. The main title matches are set but there are quite a few spots to go. One of those spots might be filled tonight as we have a gauntlet match to crown a new #1 contender for the Women’s Intercontinental Title, plus the Intercontinental Title is on the line. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Seth Rollins laying out the Vision last week.

Here is Adam Pearce in the ring to get things going. Unfortunately it is time to have a conversation with someone he knows is in the building tonight, so Seth Rollins needs to get out here. About twenty masked men jump the barricade, with one of them standing on the announcers’ table. A bunch of them get in the ring and run around until only one is left. He unmasks as Rollins and Pearce says that these people deserve something better.

Rollins is only five months removed from surgery and these run-ins will only work for so long. Cue the Vision to say they’re here to take out Rollins’ goons. Rollins raises his hands and a bunch of the masked men jump in. Rollins remasks and they run around in circles to confuse things and then escape. That’s a unique idea and it worked well. Cue LA Knight to go after the Vision but the numbers get the better of things. The Usos run in for the save. That’s a really clever idea for Rollins and I’m curious about what he’ll be doing at Wrestlemania, though Brock Lesnar still feels like a real option.

Post match the Usos say they don’t care about Seth Rollins because they have receipts to give out to the Vision. And no, Jey has nothing to say to CM Punk after what Punk said to Roman Reigns…but Jimmy thinks they might.

Gauntlet Match

For a future Women’s Intercontinental Title match. Lyra Valkyria is in at #1 and Iyo Sky is in at #2 with Sky working on the arm. That’s reversed and Sky spins up for a standoff. Valkyria’s spinwheel kick gets two but Sky is back up with a dropkick to the floor. The suicide dive connects but Valkyria gets back in for a dropkick through the ropes. We take a break and come back with Sky hitting the Bullet Train Attack. Valkyria comes right back with a fisherman’s suplex for two but Sky knocks her down again. Over The Moonsault finishes Valkyria at 9:21.

Raquel Rodriguez is in at #3 and gets dropkicked through the ropes before she even gets inside. The Tejana Bomb is broken up so Rodriguez goes with something of a Pounce to send Sky flying. We take a break and come back with Sky hitting the Bullet Train Attack. Cue Liv Morgan for a distraction so here is Stephanie Vaquer to brawl with Morgan up the aisle. Sky goes up top for a super small package of all things to pin Rodriguez at 16:08. Rodriguez is ticked and posts Sky, followed by a Tejana Bomb on the apron. Ivy Nile is in at #4 (looking a bit like a mini Beth Phoenix) and easily pins Sky at 17:25.

Bayley is in at #5 and gets jumped on the floor as we take another break. We come back with Sky grabbing a chinlock but Bayley fights up in a hurry. Bayley’s running knee against the ropes has Nile in trouble and a middle rope elbow to the back of the head gets two. The Bayley To Belly is countered so Bayley sends her into the corner for two off a sunset bomb. Nile is back up with a rather delayed vertical suplex and hammers away on the ropes. They head outside with Bayley getting the better of things. Bayley knocks her back inside and hits the Bayley To Belly and gets the pin at 28:05.

Asuka is in at #6 to complete the field and is immediately forearmed on the floor. Asuka is right back with a shot of her own and we take a break. We come back with Asuka grabbing an ankle lock, which is reversed into a kneebar. That’s broken up so they fall out to the floor, only for Asuka to hit a quick knee back inside. Bayley is back with a running knee of her own for two, with Asuka’s kicks to the head getting the same. A Bayley To Belly gets two more but Kairi Sane interferes. Cue Valkyria to take out Sane, leaving Bayley to escape the Asuka Lock. The Rose Plant finishes Asuka at 37:15.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time but didn’t feel that long, which made for a good result. Bayley moving on to get the shot against AJ Lee is a good choice, as she’s someone who can be a threat to win the title but could also be a nice victory for Lee. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Bayley get a rare win over Asuka.

We look back at last week’s Roman Reigns/CM Punk showdown.

We look at Maxxine Dupri attacking Nattie.

Danhausen meets the Original El Grande Americano and wants to try on his mask. Americano likes Danhausen’s ideas but he has no tiempo for this. That earns Americano a curse and Danhausen disappears. Americano isn’t convinced as some men follow him.

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Original El Grande Americano

Penta is defending and thanks the fans for believing in him, just like he believes in himself. He’s ready to defend this title every single day and make history as the new Intercontinental Champion. He’ll fight anyone…and we have an odd replacement.

IMG Credit: WWE

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. El Grande Americano

As in not the original (presumably dealing with curse related issues) and he is challenging. Americano starts fast but gets kicked down, meaning Penta can strut. Back up and Americano elbows him in the head, followed by the right hands in the corner. Penta is knocked to the floor and taken out, leaving Americano to pose near the title.

We take a break and come back with Penta snapping off the Sling Blade and adding the slingshot dropkick in the corner. Americano cuts him off in another corner though and hits a Death Valley Driver for two. Penta pops back up to pull him out of the air a middle rope Codebreaker, followed by the Mexican Destroyer to retain at 10:37.

Rating: B-. Penta getting a win is a good thing to see, as he won the title after slipping so many times. Now he needs to show that he can keep the momentum going and a win like this helps. I’m not sure how long he’ll be keeping the title, but he’s off to a good start. We’re also gearing up for Americano vs. Americano, and that could be a blast if they have things go in the right way. Like say in Mexico, where it’s a much hotter feud.

We get a video from Stephanie Vaquer, who talks about how Liv Morgan hides behind a variety of people. Vaquer grew up with nothing but it made her become what she is today. Morgan worked hard to get here but while Vaquer sees her as a fighter, Morgan sees her as someone talented. Morgan better bring everything at Wrestlemania.

Liv Morgan is mad about the video but Dominik Mysterio comes in, saying he needs to talk to Finn Balor. He’s heading to the ring and asks the ladies to come with him.

Post break here is Mysterio, with Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. He gets right to the point by saying he wants Finn Balor and JD McDonagh out here right now. They come out and Mysterio yells at Balor, who asks if he got it all out. Balor says it was his fault that Mysterio lost last week and he is sorry. He was just trying to help, but sometimes Mysterio has to fight his own battles if he wants to be the best Mysterio ever.

The more Balor tries to help, the more he realizes that Rey was right: Dominik is just a spoiled little CENSORED. Dominik shove him and gets dropped with a Pele Kick. A Sling Blade takes Dominik down again but McDonagh cuts him off. The team beats Balor down, with Dominik hitting him with the bell hammer. The hammer is loaded into the shoe for a 619, followed by the frog splash. Another frog splash onto a chair onto Balor leaves him laying. That had to happen sooner or later and it’s good that everyone turned on Balor rather than some splintering.

Adam Pearce gives Je’Von Evans the week off but Kofi Kingston and Grayson Waller come in. Kingston asks Waller for a minute and says he and Evans got off on the wrong food. Kingston apologizes because he sees a lot of himself in Evans. Back in the day, Kingston was the new kid with a lot of moves and he became WWE Champion. Evans just needs the right team behind him, so think about it. That doesn’t seem to work for Evans, but he doesn’t give a flat out no.

Bayley is happy with her win but thanks Lyra Valkyria for helping her out. The title is coming next week and Valkyria can have the first shot.

IMG Credit: WWE

Oba Femi vs. Rusev

They stare each other down and trade clotheslines into right hands. Rusev’s running splash in the corner doesn’t work as a big boot puts him down. Femi clotheslines him to the floor, where Rusev gets in a shot of his own. Rusev knocks him off the apron and hits a running spinwheel kick onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Rusev strikes away, including the Machka Kick. Femi pops back up and sends him flying with a toss though, setting up the Fall From Grace for the pin at 3:08.

Rating: B-. This was exactly as advertised with Femi looking like a killer. Some of the power stuff he was doing was rather impressive, just as it was for him to shrug off Rusev’s hard shots. If Rusev isn’t going to do anything important, this was about as good of a use as he has. Solid hoss fight here, with the absolutely right result.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here is CM Punk for a chat to a rather positive reaction. He wasn’t sure how that would go but hits his catchphrase and brings up the Seattle Seahawks. There are some people who aren’t happy about what he said to Roman Reigns but Reigns has never respected him. The fans chant for Reigns so Punk says hold your breath and he might show up. Reigns may never respect him, but Punk will make Reigns respect the position Punk holds.

The fans deserve a fighting champion and he levels this place up. Cue the Usos, with Jey demanding Punk apologize right now but Punk asks why Reigns is sending his cousins to do his dirty work. Jimmy says this is about respect and Punk is the voice of the voiceless. He wants Punk to apologize as well, so Punk says Jimmy is right. If Reigns can hear him, he hopes Reigns and the Usos are listening.

They go back a long way, because Punk respected Sika and worked under Afa (Sika’s brother, Reigns’ uncle) for things like gas money or advice. The family has respected him for years, except for that one son of a b****. Punk sees Reigns as a fake, lying narcissistic person but Jey says this isn’t about Reigns. Jey says they need Punk to apologize, with the fans agreeing. Punk thinks about it and does say he’s sorry…that Reigns treated the rest of the family like garbage.

Reigns never apologized for how he treated the Bloodline and for insulting Dusty Rhodes. Reigns isn’t on the hook for that but Punk has to apologize? If Reigns cared at all, he’d be in the ring right now instead of his young boys. Jey shoves Punk and Jimmy drops Punk with a right hand. The Usos leave and Punk is ticked to end the show. They’re trying to blur the lines with the respect stuff here, but I’m not sure the fans want to boo either of these guys.

Overall Rating: B. The good thing here is that you can see where a lot of these stories are going, or at worst we’re getting closer to those things taking place. There is still a long way to go before Wrestlemania but they have enough of a card set that it’s a mixture of setting up new things and advancing what is already set. The pace needs to pick up and some of that seems to be coming in just the next few weeks. Keep doing that and we could be in for a heck of a Wrestlemania build, though that is far from guaranteed.

Results
Bayley won a gauntlet match last eliminating Asuka
Penta b. El Grande Americano – Mexican Destroyer
Oba Femi b. Rusev – Fall From Grace

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

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 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

Smackdown
Date: February 6, 2026
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

It’s the first Smackdown after the Royal Rumble and since Raw had both Royal Rumble winners, so Smackdown needs to get its Wrestlemania matches in order. In this case, we have the first few Elimination Chamber qualifying matches and all of the fallout from Saturday. Let’s get to it.

Here is the Royal Rumble if you need a recap.

Long Royal Rumble recap.

Here is Drew McIntyre to get things going but an irate Cody Rhodes jumps him on the way to the ring. Security breaks it up and Rhodes jumps into the ring, saying things will never be the same. For the first time in history, Rhodes can’t fairly point to that sign. When people talk about Wrestlemania, Rhodes is the first name they say because they know what it means to him. He was born in this city with pizza boxes everywhere and Arn Anderson and Manny Fernandez fighting in the waiting room. McIntyre was jealous that Rhodes got the title instead of him and now McIntyre isn’t going to be champion all the way to Wrestlemania.

Giulia and Kiana James are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Nick Aldis tells Cody Rhodes to cool it or he’s out of his Elimination Chamber qualifying match next week. Rhodes leaves but isn’t happy.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Iyo Sky/Rhea Ripley vs. Giulia/Kiana James

Sky and Ripley are defending. Ripley and James start things off with a lockup before it’s Giulia forearming Sky in the face. Giulia mocks Sky’s dance and James gets in a cheap shot from the apron. James beats on Sky outside and we take a break. We come back with James hitting a running shoulder to the ribs in the corner but another charge misses.

The tag brings in Ripley to clean house, including a nice kick to James’ head. An electric chair faceplant gets two but James knocks Ripley down. A powerbomb sends Sky onto Ripley and the 401k gets two, with Ripley making the save. James gets knocked outside though and it’s the Riptide into Over The Moonsault to retain the titles at 11:04.

Rating: B. This was an action packed match and the last few minutes made it that much better. Sky and Ripley have turned into a rather good team and I would really hope that they aren’t being built up as the team who gets to lose the titles to the Bellas in some “historic” moment. James and Giulia weren’t the best challengers, but they worked well here.

Miz and Ilja Dragunov argue over who should get the US Title shot against Carmelo Hayes. Cue Hayes, who says Dragunov gets the title shot at some point, but tonight, Miz is getting a beating.

The Miz vs. Carmelo Hayes

Non-title and Miz jumps him to start fast but Hayes fights back up against the ropes. A springboard is cut off though and Miz mocks the basketball pose as we take a break. We come back with Hayes fighting out of trouble, including La Mistica getting two. Miz heads outside and gets taken down by a dive but a frog splash hits raised knees back inside. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered into a superkick for two but Miz’s slingshot sitout powerbomb gets the same. Another Skull Crushing Finale is loaded up but Hayes reverses into the First 48 for the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C+. I was worried they were going to give this one to Miz to set up a triple threat with Dragunov but thankfully this was more about Hayes getting to put Miz behind him. There’s no other reason to have the story continue so Hayes won here to wrap it up. Now just let us have a title match somewhere, likely against Dragunov, instead of another open challenge.

Tiffany Stratton is back and ready but Chelsea Green interrupts, saying she’s the news around here. Stratton says Green will only be in the obituary section after she gets done with her. You know you can just pin her rather than kill her right?

Uncle Howdy is not ok with Solo Sikoa stealing the lantern and is going to take it back.

IMG Credit: WWE

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Lash Legend vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Chelsea Green

Nia Jax and Alba Fyre are here too. Green gets beaten up between the two of them and it’s a legend between Stratton and Legend. Stratton gets the better of things and Green steals the cover for two, earning herself another beating. Green goes up and dives onto Stratton and Jax but gets kicked down by Legend as we take a break.

We come back with Stratton and Green accidentally working together to send Legend into the corner. Legend is knocked outside, leaving Stratton to fight out of the Unprettier. A superplex gets two on Green, with Stratton making the save. The Lash Extension is broken up and Green actually goes Coast To Coast for two. Legend is knocked outside though and Stratton knocks Green down, setting up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pin at 10:29.

Rating: B-. Stratton getting the win over one of the designated jobbers of the division isn’t a bad thing, as Green is someone who isn’t really hurt by losses. At the same time, I could go for Legend getting a bigger story sooner than later, as she needs something better than “she’s in this match too” after such a Rumble performance. Finally, it’s not great to have the second women’s match in about seventy minutes ending with another moonsault. Mix that up a bit.

Randy Orton talks about how he’s going to win tonight and move on to his tenth Elimination Chamber, which gives him the most experience. Aleister Black isn’t convinced. Maybe because Orton has been in nine in nine of them and only won once?

We look at NXT stars, past and present, in the Royal Rumbles. They must be proud of this as it’s aired on all three shows this week.

Here is Kit Wilson for a chat and I don’t like his odds. He was disgusted by the sweating and grunting at the Royal Rumble as the toxic masculinity was awful. They can’t handle a man who moisturizes and listens or who can move his hips like this. Anyone who is in the Rumble can come out here and yes indeed it’s Oba Femi time.

Oba Femi vs. Kit Wilson

Wilson declares Femi toxic and the Fall From Grace finishes Wilson at 48 seconds. It was obvious that it was going to be Femi from the second Wilson started talking and that’s not a bad thing.

R-Truth is impressed with Femi but Damian Priest doesn’t want to hear it (mainly because Femi eliminated him). Drew McIntyre comes in but walks away from Priest instead of getting into anything.

Here is McIntyre for a chat…but this time Jacob Fatu jumps him from behind and McIntyre is knocked over the barricade to run away.

Post break, Nick Aldis tells Fatu to qualify for the Chamber next week but for tonight, get out. Works for Fatu.

IMG Credit: WWE

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tama Tonga

The MFTs are here with Tonga. Nakamura strikes away in the corner to start fast but they head outside, where Tonga takes over. Tonga knocks him onto the announcers’ table and hits an elbow as we take a break. We come back with Nakamura kicking away and hitting a middle rope knee to the steps for two.

Tonga grabs a lifting sitout Pedigree for two but Nakamura flips out of a dragon sleeper. A jumping DDT drops Nakamura, who pops right back up with a knockdown of his own. They trade forearms until Nakamura hits a spinning kick to the face. The Landslide gets two but Tonga Loa grabs the foot to break up the Kinshasa. The Cutthroat finishes Nakamura at 10:35.

Rating: C+. This was about what Nakamura does most of the time (save for the outstanding Styles match) as he looked fine but was ultimately there to put someone over. Tonga has been teasing a singles run for awhile now and I don’t see why not. It wasn’t some star making performance but it did what it needed to do.

Fraxiom and the Motor City Machine Guns run into Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano, who is laying face down on a crate (labeled NXT). The Guns won’t talk to him because they don’t like being lied to.

Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are ready to keep the titles and get ready for the Chamber. Nia Jax and Lash Legend come in to talk some trash and tease a challenge. Judgment Day comes in to get between the teams and head to the ring.

Kit Wilson runs into Matt Cardona and blames him for bringing back the toxic masculinity. Cardona is ready to fight anytime but Wilson needs a warm bath. Apollo Crews (who is here too, in a rare cameo) finds this funny.

IMG Credit: WWE

Nick Aldis brings in Liv Morgan, with Raquel Rodriguez, for a chat. Morgan brags about being really great at the Royal Rumble as well as the hottest, smartest, funniest, most charismatic, most talented and most iconic woman in WWE history. Anyway, Morgan has a decision to make between Jade Cargill and Stephanie Vaquer.

Cue Cargill to interrupt, saying she’ll beat up Morgan if given the chance. Cargill doesn’t like Rodriguez looking at her but Morgan threatens to have Rodriguez take the title from her. Cue Jordynne Grace, who says she might take the title as well. That has Morgan laughing but Cargill and Grace both cut her off. Aldis says if Morgan is here to talk, she can fight, so the tag match is made.

Jade Cargill/Jordynne Grace vs. Judgment Day

It’s a brawl to start with Judgment Day getting cleared out as we take an early break. We come back with Rodriguez powerslamming Grace and hitting some forearms to the chest. Morgan comes in and tries Three Amigos, with the third being blocked. A Michinoku Driver looks to set up Beast Mode but Morgan escapes with a Codebreaker. Cargill comes in and, ahem, accidentally kicks Grace down. Rodriguez kicks Morgan down as well and we get the Rodriguez vs. Cargill showdown. That doesn’t last long as Grace is back in to knock Cargill down and steal a rollup pin on Rodriguez at 8:18.

Rating: C+. This was pretty simple, as they kept the Rodriguez vs. Cargill showdown until the end, with both sides teasing issues. That could result in either, or perhaps both of them, getting into a Wrestlemania match down the road. The match wasn’t exactly great, but it did what it needed to do.

We look at Drew McIntyre beating Sami Zayn to retain the World Title at the Royal Rumble.

A depressed Sami Zayn runs into Dragon Lee, who calls him a big inspiration. Trick Williams comes in to mock Zayn but Lee tells him to shut up or get his teeth knocked out.

Jordynne Grace and Jade Cargill are arguing in the back so Nick Aldis makes their title match for next week.

We look at the Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk segment from Raw, setting up their title match at Wrestlemania. Yeah I’d want to show something that awesome again too.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a third time and he manages to get onto the announcers’ table. He has something to say and he’s going to say it. First of all, Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu should be banned from the Elimination Chamber qualifying matches after attacking him. As for Sami Zayn, he got crushed, just like everyone who is going to come after him for the title.

As for what he heard on Raw between Reigns and Punk, he was just disappointed. It came off as two people being insecure, as one of them would mock him but the other would defend him. The Smackdown roster should see that as a declaration of war. McIntyre didn’t walk away when the world shut down and he made this title, just like Austin, Hogan, not Dusty Rhodes, HHH, Michaels and more.

McIntyre gets why Reigns picks Punk, because it was either facing a Scottish warrior or a tattooed freak who is one loss away from losing it. That leaves the entire roster fighting to get to his title shot. The music ends and it sounds like he wasn’t quite done. Cue Trick Williams to say he’s going to watch the main event and get ready to take the title from McIntyre at Wrestlemania. McIntyre doesn’t seem impressed.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Solo Sikoa is ready to win but can’t find the MFTs.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Solo Sikoa vs. Randy Orton vs. Aleister Black

Zelina is here with Black. They all miss big shots to start until Sikoa is sent outside. Orton gets tripped down so Black knocks Sikoa off the apron, setting up a middle rope moonsault. We take a break and come back with Black working on Sikoa’s leg but Orton is back in for a save. Black is sent outside and Sikoa punches Orton down, followed by a pop up Samoan drop for two on Black as we take a break.

We come back with Orton superplexing Black but getting Superfly Splashed to give Sikoa two. Orton takes Sikoa outside and drops him onto the announcers’ table, with Black getting the same treatment. The hanging DDT drops Sikoa but Black kicks Orton in the face. Black is knocked outside and the RKO finishes Sikoa at 16:37.

Rating: C+. This was WAY too long and could have been cut in half to a better result. Orton going on is fine, and it was more a question of whether he would pin Sikoa clean or if the Wyatts were going to interfere to cost Sikoa the match. Orton moving on is fine and I’m glad Black didn’t take the pin, but this felt like it went on forever despite some good action.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was one of the annoying kind, as it was more about setting up a bunch of stuff for the next few weeks. That went well enough, but triple threat qualifying matches lost their luster a long time ago. It feels like they do these for every big match anymore and it gets tiring. Other than that, they did some stuff to set up the next week or so, but this was one of those shows where there wasn’t much worth seeing, as it was more about getting ready for the future than anything else.

Results
Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky b. Kiana James/Giulia – Over The Moonsault to Giulia
Carmelo Hayes b. The Miz – First 48
Tiffany Stratton b. Lash Legend and Chelsea Green – Prettiest Moonsault Ever to Green
Oba Femi b. Kit Wilson – Fall From Grace
Tama Tonga b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Cutthroat
Jade Cargill/Jordynne Grace b. Judgment Day – Rollup to Rodriguez
Randy Orton b. Solo Sikoa and Aleister Black – RKO to Sikoa

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 2, 2026
Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with the Royal Rumble and Monday Night Raw has both of the winners (I think?). Liv Morgan and Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumbles on Saturday and are guaranteed spots at Wrestlemania. Other than that, we have less than a month to go before the Elimination Chamber, where everything else will be decided. Let’s get to it.

Here is the Royal Rumble if you need a recap.

We open with a ticked off Bron Breakker saying he’s going to wreck the entire show in exchange for Adam Pearce wrecking his Royal Rumble. The Vision comes out to calm things down, with Paul Heyman taking the microphone (the fans approve) to complain about Pearce. How could Pearce not know who the masked man is when he approves the visas?

Breakker wants Pearce out here right now so here is Pearce, who points out that the last masked man around here was Austin Theory. Pearce says Breakker can keep his job but here is LA Knight from behind to chair Logan Paul and Austin Theory down, escaping through the crowd before he gets mauled.

Long Royal Rumble recap.

Je’Von Evans vs. El Grande Americano

Rayo and Bravo are here too. Evans knocks him into the corner to start and snaps off some very high dropkicks. They head outside with Evans getting sent into the barricade and they’re right back inside. One heck of a no hands dive drops Americano again but Rayo offers a distraction, allowing Grande to send Evans arm first into the post.

We take a break and come back with Evans striking away but getting cut off with some chops. A spinning kick to the back and another to the mask drop Americano but Evans can’t follow up. Evans gets to the corner and springboards into something like a camel clutch. That’s escaped as well and a springboard flip dive gives Evans two. Rayo offers a distraction so Bravo can shove Evans off the top, meaning it’s time to load up the mask. Cue the Original Grande Americano for a distraction though, meaning the OG Cutter can finish for Evans at 12:03.

Rating: B. There was no way this was going to be anything but the other El Grande Americano getting involved and that’s not a bad thing. They’ve got at least a little something interesting here, with Evans getting the win at the same time. This is the kind of totally goofy, ridiculous wrestling angle which can be a lot of fun, as was the case here.

We look at some recent NXT names (and Royce Keys) in the Royal Rumble.

Here is AJ Styles……’ music, with Gunther doing Styles’ intro (including the little bounce that Styles did to make this even better) before switching to his own music. The fans are not pleased, as Gunther has to wait a bit before saying that AJ Styles found out what happens when you step into the ring with the career killer. Cue Dragon Lee with an enziguri and one heck of a suicide dive. Gunther gets posted and dropkicked over the barricade, but picks up the ring bell to cut off a dive. The sleeper goes on but officials break it up, only for Gunther to put it on again and hang Lee off the apron.

We recap the Vision taking out LA Knight two months ago.

Paul Heyman comes up to Adam Pearce and requests/demands LA Knight vs. Bron Breakker tonight, but Pearce says he can’t do it because “he” was just walked out of the building for disrupting the show. If Heyman knows what’s good for him, he’ll have Breakker do the same. Heyman reminds Pearce that this is Philadelphia but Pearce takes off his glasses and says FAFO.

Post break, Bron Breakker storms out, much to the worry of Paul Heyman.

The War Raiders are in the ring for a match…and here is Oba Femi instead. Femi wrecks both of them with no trouble and leaves them laying in seconds. Yeah I’d say that worked.

Video on Finn Balor, who talks about his respect never being returned around here and always being taken for granted. That was the case during his time in Belfast, but then he didn’t get a chance to be in the Royal Rumble. He still wants the World Title.

Here are the Bellas. They’re glad to be back, as this is their first time on Raw in seven years. Brie is back in the ring and they want the Women’s Tag Team Titles. That’s it. They just leave.

The Alpha Academy meet comedian Bert Kreischer and Maxxine Dupri comes in. Next week, she’s going to make Natalya tap out. The men take their shirts off, as is Kreischer’s custom.

Bronson Reed vs. Penta

Reed runs him over to start and yells a lot. Penta gets sent into the corner for more yelling but he comes back with a dropkick. The springboard is pulled out of the air but Penta gets out of the powerslam. A dropkick sends Reed outside and there’s the big no hands flip dive. We take a break and come back with Penta in trouble again, allowing Reed to stand on his chest. Penta avoids a splash though and is back up with a springboard tornado DDT for two.

Reed is right back with a powerbomb into a powerslam for two but Penta Backstabs him down. Austin Theory gets up on the apron so Penta takes him out, with the referee getting bumped in the process. Penta hits a big dive to the floor, only to charge into the Jagged Edge. The Tsunami connects….but there is no referee. Reed grabs a chair but here is LA Knight with a BFT onto a chair. The Vision gives chase and Reed can’t beat the count at 12:54.

Rating: B-. I liked this, as they kept Penta looking strong enough that this wasn’t quite a slip on a banana peel win. Penta had to deal with the Vision so that Reed could hit the Tsunami and then interference from Knight gave him the win. No one but Knight really comes off looking great, but at least neither of them took a pin when they didn’t need to. As usual, Knight is great at causing chaos and it worked again here, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

We recap Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the former’s Women’s Title.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is Women’s Royal Rumble winner Dominik Mysterio to announce that he is in fact, back. He introduces Liv Morgan, who jumps into his arms to kiss him. The fans tell Morgan that she deserves it and yeah she knows. You are now in the presence of the greatest Royal Rumble winner of all time and she’s not sure who she’s facing at Wrestlemania. She’ll even be at Smackdown to find out for sure. The one thing she does know is that we’re getting a new Women’s Champion tonight, so here is the heavily praised Raquel Rodriguez.

After the big entrance, we get the important question: why did Morgan eliminate her? Morgan backtracks and says that a win for the Judgment Day is a win for all. Rodriguez can buy that, but wants Morgan in the back for the title match so she can win the title on her own. Works for Morgan, who leaves with Mysterio.

IMG Credit: WWE

Raw Women’s Title: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Rodriguez is challenging in a street fight and unloads with shots to the face in the corner. A big clothesline sets up a slingshot suplex for two on Vaquer as the champ is in trouble early. Vaquer is back with a kick to the head, followed by a knee to the chest. The big dive to the floor drops Rodriguez again and it’s time for a table. That takes too long though and Rodriguez gets to put up the table, followed by a powerbomb to send Vaquer through as we take a break.

We come back with Rodriguez missing a chair shot and getting kendo sticked down. Rodriguez staggers around but grabs the top of the announcers’ table to hit her in the face. The Tejana Bomb is countered so Rodriguez settles for ramming her into the post instead. The chair is wedged in the corner but of course Vaquer reverses…and the chair falls out before the collision anyway.

Some kendo stick shots look to set up the Devil’s Kiss but Rodriguez powers up. A superkick gives Vaquer two, only for Rodriguez to knock her down again. That means it’s time to throw in a bunch of chairs, with Vaquer getting tossed onto them. The corkscrew Vader Bomb misses though and the Devil’s Kiss onto the chairs have Rodriguez staggered. They go outside where another’ Devil’s Kiss onto the steps puts Rodriguez down and sends us to another break.

We come back again with Vaquer putting a trashcan over Rodriguez’s head, setting up the running knees for two. Rodriguez kicks her back down for two more and it’s time for another table. The Tejana Bomb is escaped so Rodriguez runs her over. Cue Liv Morgan to try and hand Rodriguez the title but Vaquer sends Rodriguez into the chair in the corner.

Vaquer kicks her onto the table and here is Roxanne Perez, who is knocked through a table at ringside. Rodriguez catches Vaquer on top, where a super Tejana Bomb is countered into a super hurricanrana through the table for a not so great crash (as the table barely broke). The corkscrew moonsault retains the title at 21:34.

Rating: B-. It was a violent match and some of the spots were good, but I was rather sick of what they were doing by the end. It also felt like they were just repeating a bunch of the same weapons over and over, which dragged it down a bit. This needed to be shorter, though Vaquer winning should further the issues between Morgan and Rodriguez.

We look at Finn Balor’s path through NXT in a clip which aired last week on NXT.

Roman Reigns arrives over two hours into the show and here he is in person. The fans are certainly happy with him and he talks about the various things he’s done in this city over the years. This includes the first Royal Rumble he won, and the fans didn’t exactly like him then. So now that he’s won it again, the question is who he should go after. He’d like the fans’ input, and they are pretty firmly in the CM Punk camp.

This brings out Punk (to an absolute roar) and Reigns takes his jacket off. First though, Punk looks into the camera to threaten Finn Balor, which doesn’t sit well with Reigns. Punk gets down to business and while he could listen to Drew McIntyre get booed all day, he thinks the fans have made their point clear. At the same time, he thinks Reigns has made his mind up with the easy pick of McIntyre.

Reigns calls him Phil and says McIntyre is a big guy who had Punk crying over a plastic bracelet. Punk talks about the beating he gave McIntyre in the Cell, with Reigns saying he beat McIntyre for three years straight. Punk asks how many of Reigns’ cousins it took to beat him, but Reigns says his family is the reason Punk had a place to come back to in the first place. That doesn’t work for Punk, who brings up Reigns manipulating a bunch of people, including saying that his vacations are just letting people get a chance.

No one is trying to follow in his footsteps. A long time ago, Punk was champion for 434 days with Paul Heyman by his side. It was Reigns who followed in Punk’s footsteps and just because Reigns did it longer doesn’t mean he did it better. Punk chooses to go to so many different countries, just like he chose to bring the Shield to the main roster. Reigns is choosing right because he knows he can beat McIntyre but he can’t beat Punk on his best day. Maybe Reigns wants to take the easy way, but he can also take door #2 and climb Mt. Everest on his own.

Reigns says Punk is making all these towns because he took a ten year vacation. The idea that Reigns learned from Punk is laughable, because the only thing he learned from Phil is what not to do. When Punk wanted to come back, who do you think they came to? He got signed back because Reigns signed off on him, but then Punk went on his best friend’s podcast and ran his mouth to make everything harder on him.

Then Punk came back, stole his wise man and tried to make him look like a young boy at WarGames. He’s picking Punk because he hates him, and at Wrestlemania Punk will acknowledge him. Outstanding stuff here, with Cole having to say “that was a pipe bomb” because nothing is allowed to be its own thing these days. That being said, these two just sold me on seeing them fight and I don’t want to wait two and a half months for it to happen.

Overall Rating: B+. This wasn’t an overly wrestling heavy show but that wasn’t the point this time. Instead, this was about starting the Road To Wrestlemania and the main event segment was an absolute home run. The wrestling was good enough, but for the most part, it wasn’t the focus here. That’s ok for a show like this, as there was more than enough to carry the rest. Couple the main event segment with the Vision’s issues and Oba Femi looking like an absolute beast and they’ve got something cooking here. The big question is can they sustain that for two and a half months, but at least they’re starting well.

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