Monday Night Raw
Date: March 2, 2026
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

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

Here is Elimination Chamber if you need a recap.

Long recap of Elimination Chamber.

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Gunther vs. Dragon Lee

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

Original El Grande Americano vs. Rayo Americano

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

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

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

Penta is ready to win the Intercontinental Title.

We look at Oba Femi wrecking Miz on Smackdown.

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

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

Jimmy Uso vs. Austin Theory

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

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

We look at AJ Styles’ debut in 2016.

CM Punk arrives with NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick.

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

The Good Brothers are here for the Styles celebration.

IMG Credit: WWE

Maxxine Dupri vs. Nattie

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

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

Video on Oba Femi.

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

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

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

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

Je’Von Evans vs. Kofi Kingston

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

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

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

Various wrestlers praise AJ Styles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elimination Chamber rundown.

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

In memory of Kerwin Silfies.

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

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

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

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

Royal Rumble 2024
Date: January 27, 2024
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Attendance: 48,044
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s time for the look back at last year’s show which set up one of the biggest WWE events of all time. This show is designed to set up the main events of WrestleMania LX and that means it is time for Roman Reigns to get a new challenger. Speaking of Reigns, he is defending the title in a four way match. Let’s get to it.

Today, various people scheduled for the show did in fact come to the show.

Hulk Hogan narrates a video about how important this area is to wrestling. You have to be RUMBLE READY because it is time to start the Road To Wrestlemania.

Earlier today: even more people came to work.

Pat McAfee comes out for commentary, with Corey Graves going on a hilarious rant about how much he hates this happening two years in a row.

Women’s Royal Rumble

90 second intervals, Natalya is in at #1 and Naomi (in a surprise return) is in at #2. We get a handshake to start before Natalya takes her down, only to have the step over dropkick cut off. They hit stereo crossbodies and Bayley is in at #3. The Rear View puts Natalya down and Naomi drops Bayley, only to have them sit there so Natalya can hit a double basement dropkick (that looked awful). Candice LeRae is in at #4 and gets in a few shots to leave everyone down.

TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace is in at #5 and doesn’t get much of a reaction but she looks like a star. Grace cleans house and you can tell McAfee is impressed. We get a hug between Naomi and Grace (who beat Naomi to win the title) and the brawl is on. That doesn’t mean any eliminations yet though as Indi Hartwell is in at #6. LeRae and Hartwell team up as Cole says that we’ve never had two winners in a Royal Rumble, save for that time when we did.

Asuka is in at #7 and teams up with Bayley, who looks rather nervous. Hartwell and Asuka go to the apron with Bayley getting rid of Hartwell for the first elimination. Ivy Nile is in at #8 and impresses McAfee with her rather impressive strength. Katana Chance is in at #9 and anklescissors LeRae. Nile and Grace have a delayed suplex off before Nile hits a loud enziguri.

Bianca Belair is in at #10 and the place is rather impressed. We have Natalya, Naomi, Bayley, LeRae, Grace, Asuka, Nile, Chance and Belair, with the latter getting to clean some house, including a double Blockbuster to Bayley and Asuka. As usual, Belair gets to show off for a bit until Kairi Sane is in at #11 to give us three members of Damage CTRL. The three of them get to beat up various people but not actually toss anyone as the ring is getting way too full. LeRae sends Asuka and Sane to the apron, only to have Bayley make the save and toss LeRae in a big crash.

Tegan Nox is in at #12 and wrecks some people but Grace cuts her off. Natalya makes the save and gives Grace a discus lariat. Natalya goes to throw Nox out but gets tossed instead, with Bayley getting rid of Nox as well, leaving them both stunned on the floor. Katana Chance is in at #13 and is so distraught at losing the Women’s Tag Team Titles last night that she stops to dance.

Sane is sent over the top and one of her feet touches and she tries to hang on to the apron, only to fall down for the elimination (I’m not sure if that was the plan). Asuka is kicked out a few seconds later and Bayley yells at the rest of the team for being eliminated. Chelsea Green is in at #14 and is immediately sent to the apron twice in a row before hitting a Zig Zag on Belair. We get the Grace vs. Belair slugout and they go to the apron, where Belair hits a KOD for the elimination.

Piper Niven is in at #15 and catches Green as we get a set of nifty time counters for various entrants. A bunch of people get together to beat on Niven and it’s Xia Li in at #16. Li racks Green, who kicks at Niven by mistake for a not so great result. Zelina Vega is in at #17 and has what must be some weird cosplay deal. Vega gives Niven a tornado DDT as there are far too many people in there and the pace has slowed down a lot. Maxxine Dupri is in at #18 and does her SHOOSH before dropping to the mat to hide from Niven.

Vega and Belair team up for a Code Red to put Niven down. A bunch of people can’t get rid of Niven, who eliminates Carter. Nia Jax is in at #19 so Li goes after her, only to get knocked out in a hurry. Nile is out as well and Niven accidentally splashes Green. Jax does it in purpose and then gets rammed into Green in the corner for a funny bit. A bunch of people go after Jax, who then charges at Niven, with Green getting crushed between them. Naomi hits a springboard enziguri to Jax who, say it with me, falls onto Green as well.

Shotzi is in at #20, giving us Naomi, Bayley, Belair, Chance, Green, Niven, Vega, Dupri, Jax and Shotzi as the ring is WAY too full again. A bunch of people get together to go after Jax, who shrugs them off. Bayley gets rid of Dupri and Jax tosses Green and Niven. Chance is tossed out onto the pile as well and it’s Becky Lynch in at #21.

Lynch goes right after Jax and DDT’s Vega and Shotzi at the same time. She throws Jax into Bayley as Green is back in, apparently not being thrown out. Lynch knocks her out without much trouble so that was nothing, especially after her hilarious bit earlier. Alba Fyre is in at #22 and hits a double Gory Bomb on Shotzi and Vega. Ignore that Vega didn’t actually hit anything on the way down. With no one else out, Shayna Baszler is in at #23 to start going after arms.

Valhalla is in at #24….and here is R-Truth to take her place and enter the match by mistake. Jax throws him out anyway as Adam Pearce is here to say Valhalla is in and R-Truth is out. Then Jax throws Valhalla out without much trouble. Michin is in at #25 and goes after Fyre before Rock Bottoming Bayley onto Baszler. Naomi is up with a hanging Pedigree to get rid of Fyre as things slow down again.

Zoey Stark is in at #26 with a missile dropkick on Michin. The brawling continues, with Baszler blocking a hurricanrana fr Vega, who is kicked out in a heap. NXT’s Roxanne Perez is in at #27 and snaps off a headscissors on Stark. Bayley jumps Perez but can’t get rid of her as Jax throws out Baszler and Michin. Shotzi is tossed out and Jax is the only one left standing…..but Jade Cargill is in at #28. She gets one heck of a reaction and slugs it out with Jax, whom she picks up for a one armed Widowmaker. Cargill throws Jax out and even Lynch realizes that was awesome.

Cargill’s charge hits the post though and everyone is down as Tiffany Stratton is in at #29. She immediately flip dives onto a bunch of people and hits an Alabama Slam on Perez. The returning Liv Morgan is in at #30, giving us a final grouping of Naomi, Bayley, Belair, Vega, Lynch, Stark, Perez, Cargill, Stratton and Morgan. The pace is picked up until Stark kicks Morgan in the face, only to get knocked out without much trouble.

Stratton kicks Perez out so everyone surrounds her, only to split off and start the brawls. Cargill and Belair have stereo gorilla presses and then drop Morgan and Lynch for the mega showdown (the fans approve). Naomi gets spinebustered by Cargill, who tosses Lynch and Naomi in quite the moment.

Morgan and Belair are sent to the apron, with Stratton being pulled out with them. A Codebreaker staggers Stratton but she grabs Belair’s hair for the save. Bayley kicks both of them out, leaving us with Bayley, Cargill and Morgan. They all wind up on the apron and Morgan eliminates Cargill, only to get kicked out by Bayley for the win at 1:04:57.

Rating: C+. This was only so interesting as there isn’t quite enough depth to get all the way to thirty entrants in this kind of thing. The top spots were good with Bayley getting a long awaited win, but other than that there were some long stretches which were needing something better. Get rid of some of the dead spots in the middle and it’s better, but this only got so far.

Come to St. Petersburg!

We recap the four way for the Smackdown World Title. Roman Reigns pinned LA Knight about two years ago so now Knight, Randy Orton and AJ Styles want the title.

Smackdown World Title: Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns, with Paul Heyman, is defending. We get a long staredown to start before all of the challengers go after Reigns in a smart move. Styles and Knight get in a fight of their own though, leaving Orton and Reigns to brawl out to the floor. Knight and Styles join them, with Knight sending Styles face first into the announcers’ table. Orton drops Reigns onto the same table and then goes after Knight as it’s time to switch off.

Knight gets the better of things, only to miss a charge and get dropped onto the table for a big crash. Orton takes Reigns back inside for the circle stomp before stopping to powerslam Styles. Knight is back in to stomp Orton down though as the back and forth start continues. Orton and Styles go outside, leaving Reigns to clothesline Knight in the corner. Reigns drops Styles as well and the fans certainly seem to approve.

It’s Knight getting back up with a DDT to Reigns and a slam to Orton, setting up a middle rope bulldog. The jumping superplex brings Styles back down and there’s the BFT to Reigns to get the crowd up again, only for Styles to make the save. Styles fights up and strikes away with the Styles Clash hitting Reigns for two and Knight making the save this time. Back up and Reigns tries the Superman Punch but Orton RKOs him out of the air in a sweet counter for another near fall, with Solo Sikoa pulling the referee out.

Sikoa isn’t done as he Samoan Spikes Orton and Knight before stacking Knight onto Orton (which doesn’t seem overly bright). The running Umaga Attack against the barricade misses Styles though and Sikoa is down. Styles comes back in with a Phenomenal Forearm to knock Reigns onto the other two before getting a triple cover for two, even though that normally means the first person getting a cover (Knight in this case) wins.

Styles grabs a chair and beats on Reigns, then does the same to Knight. Orton breaks that up with a low blow but gets speared out to the floor. Knight goes after Reigns but the BFT is broken up, which breaks up the Styles Clash as well. With Knight down, the spear to Styles retains the title at 19:24.

Rating: B. Rather nice stuff here with everyone going in there and trying hard, with the time flying by. Reigns winning wasn’t exactly in doubt with a milestone Wrestlemania on the horizon, but at least he had to put in the work to get there. If nothing else, it’s nice to see the other three getting a chance, as it has been awhile for most of them.

We recap Logan Paul defending the US Title against Kevin Owens. Paul is the rather braggadocios US Champion while Owens is here o shut him up. They’ve taken turns attacking each other and Paul has injured Owens’ hands.

United States Title: Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul

Paul is defending and offers a handshake but Owens chops him down instead. They’re quickly on the floor and Owens sends him hard into the barricade. Back in and a rather big chop sets up a release German suplex, meaning it’s time to go back outside. Owens drops a backsplash but Paul gets smart by going after the bad hand. Back in again and a high crossbody takes Owens down.

An armbar goes on but Owens elbows his way out of an Octopus. With nothing else working, Paul goes simple by punching Owens’ bad hand. Paul misses a 619 though, allowing Owens to hit a hard clothesline. Another backsplash hits raised knees though, as I continue to love watching someone learn during a match. Back up and Owens stomps away in the corner, setting up a pair of Cannonballs. The frog splash connects but a Swanton hits Paul’s raised knees.

Paul misses a Swanton of his own though, only to hit a Buckshot Lariat. A frog splash gives Paul two but he tries a superplex, which you just do not do to Owens. The swinging superplex gives Owens two but the Stunner is blocked. Paul’s big right hand drops Owens for a near fall and now it’s Paul’s turn to be shocked.

One of Paul’s goons tries to bring in some brass knuckles but the referee cuts it off and has said goon ejected. Cue A-Town Down Under for a distraction though and Paul gets the brass knuckles…which Owens takes away and uses to knock Paul out. The referee sees said knuckles though (McAfee: Oh NOW the referee has 20/20!”) and that’s a DQ at 14:01.

Rating: B. It was a good fight and there is something to be said about a bit of a twist ending rather than Paul just getting the pin. If nothing else, Owens is at his best when he’s upset about something and the ending should fit in well. Paul gets to keep bragging about being champion too and that is good for just about everyone. Well mainly Paul but you get the idea.

Post match Owens puts Paul through the announcers’ table. Then he takes a cough drop.

Hulk Hogan really wants you to come to St. Petersburg.

Elimination Chamber is in Australia.

Wrestlemania is in 70 days.

The attendance is 48,044, a new stadium record. Uh, yay.

Rumble By The Numbers!

30 entrants
1,310 entrants
34 winners
2.6% have won
20 have gone on to win the title at Wrestlemania
1 woman to enter at #1 and win
20 eliminations for Ripley all time, a record
1:01:08, Ripley’s record time in the Rumble
1:11:40, Gunther’s record time in the Rumble
60% of the winners have come from the last ten entrants
#30 has produced the most winners (5)
3 who have won consecutive Royal Rumbles
3 wins for Steve Austin, a record
3rd time Tampa will host the Royal Rumble (1995/2021)
8 eliminations for Shayna Baszler, the most in a single women’s match
9 two time winners
13 eliminations in one men’s Rumble by Brock Lesnar
Natalya is one of four women to compete in all women’s Rumbles
45 eliminations by Kane over 18 Rumbles, both records
3,653 days since CM Punk has been in a Royal Rumble
34,000,000 social media engagements for the Logan Paul vs. Ricochet clip from last year
9 people have won their first World Title off a Royal Rumble win
60% of winners from the last five years have won the World Title at Wrestlemania

Men’s Royal Rumble

90 second intervals and Jey Uso is in at #1 and Jimmy Uso is in at #2. They stare each other down to start until Jimmy is punched out to the apron. That’s not enough for an elimination as Jimmy is back in to strike away, but the jumping enziguri misses. Jey superkicks Jimmy down but the Superfly Splash hits raised knees to leave them both needing a breather. Grayson Waller is in at #3 and naturally he runs his mouth about how awesome he is. Jey knocks him of the apron before he can get in, only to come in and team up with Jimmy for some double teaming.

Andrade returns at #4 and cleans house (or as much as you can with two heels in the ring) but can’t get rid of anyone. Carmelo Hayes is in at #5 and we get a three way staredown with Hayes, Andrade and Jey. That’s broken up and Hayes gets rid of Waller without much effort. Shinsuke Nakamura is in at #6 and the fans sing his song. Jimmy seems to approve and gets kicked in the head as a result. The freshly heel Santos Escobar is in at #7 and we get straight to a showdown with Andrade. They hug and pose but Andrade isn’t interested in a Legado del Fantasma pose.

Karrion Kross is in at #8 and everyone goes to the general brawling. With that not going anywhere, Dominik Mysterio is in at #9 and the fans are not happy. It takes a good while for him to get in and he is quickly taken into a corner for some not so near eliminations. Carlito is in at #10, giving us Jey, Jimmy, Andrade, Hayes, Nakamura, Escobar, Kross, Mysterio and Carlito at the one third mark. Carlito goes after Escobar who bails to the floor, leaving Carlito to load up the apple. Escobar gets it in the face and is then tossed out to clear some of the ring.

Bobby Lashley is in at #11 and starts throwing some not great looking spears. One of them is enough to get rid of Kross so here are the AOP for a distraction, allowing Kross to pull Lashley out for the elimination. The big bawl is on with the Street Profits running out to even things up. They all go up the aisle and brawl to the back as Ludwig Kaiser is in at #12. He goes after Dominik for a bit of a weird one and everyone pairs off until Austin Theory is in at #13. The flipping Downward Spiral plants Jey and more brawling ensues as we need someone to clear the ring a bit.

Finn Balor is in at #14 and Hayes is tossed in a hurry. Cody Rhodes is in at #15 and this should pick things up a bit. The Cody Cutter gets rid of Theory but Balor takes Rhodes down and they slug it out. Bronson Reed is in at #16 and gets rid of Andrade. Nakamura and Rhodes slug it out with Nakamura hitting a spinning kick to the face as Kofi Kingston is in at #17. A Disaster Kick and Cross Rhodes get rid of Nakamura and Kaiser is out shortly thereafter.

Gunther is in at #18 and chopping ensues, setting up the staredown with Gunther. That’s broken up and Kingston gets Gunther out to the apron, earning Kingston an elimination (no special save this time). Ivar is in a #19 and hits a powerslam, setting up the slugout with Reed. NXT’s Bron Breakker is in at #20, giving us Jey, Jimmy, Mysterio, Balor, Rhodes, Reed, Gunther, Ivar and Breakker.

A spear immediately hits Jimmy and a running clothesline gets rid of him. Another spear gets rid of Balor and it’s time for Gunther vs. Breakker, which has the fans’ interest. Gunther slips out of the gorilla press but Breakker gives him the spear to quite the reaction. Omos is in at #21 and takes his sweet time getting to the ring. House is quickly cleaned and Reed is knocked out with a big boot. Breakker spears a springboarding Ivar out of the air and gets rid of him before staring up at Omos.

Pat McAfee is in at #22 and looks more than a bit surprised at the news. He sees Omos and Breakker waiting on him and eliminates himself in a funny moment. McAfee has claimed that he didn’t know this was coming and I’d believe it. McAfee: “HOW BIG IS THAT THING IN THERE????” Breakker dumps Omos and Mysterio knocks Breakker out (after a star making performance), with Cole and Graves making up trash talk that Breakker said about Omos.

JD McDonagh is in at #23 and gets speared by Breakker on the floor before he can get in. Cody and Gunther fight some more as R-Truth is in at #24 (the same number he entered the women’s match in for a nice touch). He throws McDonagh in so McDonagh can be properly eliminated, only to stand on the apron or a tag to Mysterio. Naturally Mysterio tags him in (because) and he goes after Omos to little avail.

Miz is in at #25 for an Awesome Truth reunion but Truth saves Mysterio. Gunther breaks that up and Mysterio gives Miz a 619 as Damian Priest is in at #26. Truth is out in a hurry and Priest cleans house, including South Of Heaven to Gunther. CM Punk is in at #27 and gets to do a bunch of running knees in the corner. Mysterio is tossed but Priest decks Punk with a discus forearm.

Ricochet is in at #28 and gets to fly around a bit as Gunther tosses Miz. Drew McIntyre is in at #29 to make things a bit bigger. A bit of house is cleaned, including a heck of an overhead belly to belly to Ricochet. Jey superkicks Gunther almost to the apron but gets pulled out himself to end a rather long run. Sami Zayn is in at #30, giving us a final grouping of Rhodes, Gunther, Priest, Punk, Ricochet, McIntyre and Zayn. The pace picks up as Zayn goes after McIntyre, who recently beat him up pretty badly.

Priest avoids being tossed out but Ricochet can’t do the same as we’re down to six. A variety of suplexes and kicks ensue until Sami gets rid of Priest, only to be dumped by McIntyre. We’re down to Rhodes, Punk, Gunther and McIntyre and everyone needs a breather as Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns watch from a sky box. Gunther and Rhodes pair off as McIntyre chops away at Punk in the corner.

The Cody Cutter seems to wake Gunther up as he hits a hard clothesline to Rhodes. We get the McIntyre vs. Gunther staredown but they go back to what they were doing instead of fighting. A neckbreaker puts Punk down but the Claymore misses. The GTS is blocked and it’s the Glasgow Kiss to drop Punk again. Gunther sleepers Rhodes but gets Claymored by McIntyre. Another Claymore hits Rhodes and McIntyre is the only one standing.

There’s a Claymore to Punk to complete the set but McIntyre would rather yell at Punk than get him out. That’s enough for Punk to toss McIntyre, who looks absolutely crushed. Gunther dropkicks Punk and gives him a powerbomb before sending Rhodes to the apron. Rhodes pulls Gunther to the apron as well though and Gunther is out, leaving us with two. They slug it out and then slug it out some more with Punk getting the better of things.

Rhodes gets in a powerslam but the Cody Cutter is countered into some rolling German suplexes. That’s broken up but so is Cross Rhodes, allowing Punk to put him on the apron. Back in and Cross Rhodes connects, only for Punk to get in a desperation GTS. Punk gets him out to the apron but Rhodes is right back in, meaning it’s a Pedigree to take him down again. Another GTS is blocked though and Rhodes throws him out for the win at 1:08:16.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a Rumble with some entertaining spots throughout and a bunch of good stuff. The last bit felt epic and, despite Punk’s big injury (as he tore his tricep while fighting McIntyre), the final two had a heck of a showdown. Cody winning is the right call as he is on the way to his destiny in Philadelphia and he had to get there from here. I liked this one a lot as they kept things moving and I wasn’t bored at all.

Rhodes celebrates for a good while and points at Roman Reigns in the sky box (yeah don’t bother teasing that Rollins stuff as there is zero point in this case). Reigns holds up the title and looks a bit nervous.

The big highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B+. The Women’s Royal Rumble was the only thing close to a weak spot and even then it was good enough. The rest of the show was one hit after another as we are starting to get exactly what we need out of WWE. I liked this a good bit and you can feel the energy around here, which is rather nice to see. Heck of a show here, with Wrestlemania on the horizon as the really big prize.

Ratings Comparison

Women’s Royal Rumble

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Randy Orton

Original: B-
Redo: B

Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul

Original: B
Redo: B

Men’s Royal Rumble

Original: B-
Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B-
Redo: B+

I totally shortchanged the Men’s Royal Rumble the first time around as it’s way better than that.

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Royal Rumble 2022
Date: January 29, 2022
Location: The Dome At America’s Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 44,390
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

Somehow this show was a year ago and that might be better for everyone involved. This show was absolutely not well received and I am almost scared to see just how badly this falls down. Hopefully time has been a bit kinder to it, but you never can tell. In addition to the Royal Rumbles, we have Seth Rollins challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Title and Brock Lesnar defending the WWE Title against Bobby Lashley. Let’s get to it.

I was in the stadium for this show, sitting in the upper deck with the Titantron on my right.

The opening video looks at how the Road To Wrestlemania begins here. As usual we get the Royal Rumble highlight reel and dang there have been some great moments over the years. The rest of the matches, which don’t mean nearly as much (as usual), get some attention as well.

Smackdown World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

Reigns is defending and is currently by himself, as Paul Heyman has jumped back to Brock Lesnar and the Usos are barred from ringside. In the name of mind games, Rollins comes to the ring to the old Shield music, complete with the through the crowd entrance and gear (Of note: McAfee talks about the Shield days and says it was “Mox”, Seth and Roman”.).

Rollins goes with the grappling to start and Reigns is frustrated early. The corner clotheslines miss for Reigns and Rollins clotheslines him to the floor. Back to back suicide dives don’t do Rollins much good as Reigns knocks him out of the air back inside. They fight to the floor again though and Rollins is fine enough to hit a quick powerbomb through the announcers’ table.

Back in and the frog splash gets two but Rollins misses the Phoenix splash. Reigns’ spear is cut off by a boot to the face though and a buckle bomb into the Stomp gets a close two. Another Stomp is loaded up but Reigns blasts him with a clothesline to cut that off. Reigns’ powerbomb gets two so Rollins laughs at him, earning the big forearms to the face. The laughter is enough to let Rollins pull him into a triangle choke, which is broken up with another hard powerbomb.

They head back outside with Rollins being sent into various things, followed by a Superman Punch for two back inside. They head outside again and the spear cuts Rollins in half. Back in and another spear is countered into the Pedigree (how Rollins beat him for the title in 2016) for a rather close two.

Rollins has to elbow his way out of a Rock Bottom attempt and kicks Reigns in the face. Another spear cuts Rollins down again….but he’s still laughing at Reigns. Rollins holds out the Shield fist so Reigns pulls him into the guillotine. The referee checks the arm, with the hand falling onto the rope for the break. Well in theory at least, as Reigns doesn’t let go and it’s a DQ at 14:23.

Rating: B. This was a good match and that shouldn’t be a shock given who was in there. Any combination of the Shield guys are going to work well together and that was on display here. They tied the history of the team in well and Rollins broke Reigns down mentally, which should set up a huge rematch down the line. Granted it didn’t and this was a one off match, but it should have set something up.

Post match Reigns is all upset and slowly grabs a chair. The big beatdown leaves Rollins laying.

Women’s Royal Rumble

90 second intervals and Sasha Banks (in Sailor Moon gear) is in at #1 and Melina is in at #2. They pose at each other to start before Banks dumps her in less than a minute. That leaves Banks do to Melina’s splits pose until Tamina is in at #3. Banks dropkicks her through the ropes before Tamina can get inside, setting up the Meteora from the apron. Tamina saves herself back inside but gets caught with a quick Rey Mysterio bulldog. Running knees have Tamina in trouble in the corner but she headbutts her way to freedom.

Kelly Kelly is in at #4 and it’s strange to see her as anything but the blonde. Kelly comes in for the short form screaming headscissors but stops to dance, allowing Tamina to run her over. For some reason Kelly tries the triangle choke over the ropes on Banks and gets dumped for not thinking that through. Aliyah is in at #5 and hits a weird looking standing Thesz press to hammer on Banks. Tamina slaps Aliyah and they grapple against the ropes as Liv Morgan is in at #6.

Morgan knocks everyone down and stops for a bow, allowing Banks to hit Three Amigos. Queen Zelina is in at #7 and kicks Banks out in a pretty big upset. Tamina can’t eliminate Aliyah as Bianca Belair is in at #8. A kick to the head rocks Tamina and Belair muscles Vega up for a suplex. Belair’s handspring kick to the face can’t get rid of Morgan but she does hit Vega with a moonsault. Dana Brooke, with Reggie, is in at #9 but she does say she’ll go in on her own. Tamina saves Zelina for some reason so Brooke gives Belair a handspring elbow in the corner.

Michelle McCool is in at #10, giving us Tamina, Aliyah, Morgan, Zelina, Belair, Brooke and McCool. House is cleaned and McCool knocks Brooke….right into Reggie’s arms. The Faithbreaker hits Vega and Brooke gets tossed for good this time. Sonya Deville is in at #11 and goes over to join commentary rather than getting inside. The slow elimination attempts continue until Natalya is in at #12.

Morgan goes right at Natalya, who puts her on the apron without much trouble. It’s not quite enough for an elimination so Natalya dumps Tamina instead. More teased eliminations continue until Cameron is in at #13. Cameron cleans some of the house as Deville gets up and slides in, where she takes out Cameron without much trouble. Natalya and Deville are the only ones left standing until Naomi, who hates Deville, is in at #14.

A springboard spinning kick to the face rocks Deville and Naomi kicks her out. Carmella is in at #15 and Corey Graves certainly approves. Carmella walks around the ring as a good chunk of the other women bunched up on one side of the ring for some reason. Rhea Ripley is in at #16 and throws Carmella inside, only to get triple teamed down. Ripley shrugs that off and knocks out Carmella and Vega without much trouble.

Charlotte is in at #17 as a bunch of people go after Natalya. Aliyah is tossed out after about 23 minutes, followed by Naomi being kicked to the floor. She hangs on by her feet….but Sonya Deville is still here to pull Naomi out for the elimination anyway. Ivory, as part of the Right To Censor, is in at #18 and says nothing has changed since she was last here. It is hard for her to look at these girls and, as she gets in the ring, she says she sees a lot of wayward, lost little girls. As she is talking, Ripley picks her up and, as she is still talking, Ripley tosses her out. Ivory: “HOW DARE YOU???”

With that rather funny bit out of the way, Brie Bella is in at #19 and starts the YES chant but can’t get rid of Natalya. Ripley and Belair can’t get rid of Charlotte as Mickie James, reigning Impact Wrestling Knockouts (or Women’s, as the graphic says) Champion is in at #20. That gives us Morgan, Belair, McCool, Natalya, Ripley, Charlotte, Brie Bella and James, the latter of whom goes right after McCool. A headscissors gets rid of McCool and it’s Alicia Fox (with the brown hair instead of the blonde hair) in at #21.

Fox gets to clean some house and the referee checks on Natalya. Nikki Ash is in at #22 and we pause for her to sneak up on Ripley but, of course, she can’t eliminate her. Everyone pairs off until WWE Legend Summer Rae (AND HER SONG THAT IS SO FREAKING CATCHY) is in at #23. A slap off with Natalya goes to Rae, but Charlotte runs her over before anything can get interesting. Natalya dumps Rae and it’s Nikki Bella in at #24. House is cleaned again and the Bellas get to reunite, with Nikki knocking out Fox. Sarah Logan returns at #25, gets in a few shots, and is tossed by the Bellas.

They toss Liv as well, after a pretty ridiculous 37 minutes without an elimination. Liv and Logan get their reunion on the floor as Lita is in at #26. Mickie goes after Lita and gets DDTed, allowing Lita to get the easy elimination. Charlotte and Lita slug it out until Mighty Molly is in at #27…and gets jumped by Ash on the floor. Molly is tossed in and then eliminated by Ash, who gets in a rather long pose and stare. Ronda Rousey makes her big return at #28 and yeah this feels like a huge deal, especially with almost everyone in the ring stopping to look at her.

Ash is out fast and Nikki Bella is sent to the apron…where Brie punches her out. Shotzi is in at #29 as Rousey gets rid of Brie. Rousey goes after Belair and Natalya powerbombs Charlotte as Shayna Baszler completes the field at #30. That gives us a final grouping of Belair, Natalya, Ripley, Charlotte, Lita, Rousey, Shotzi and Baszler. Rousey and Baszler start wrecking people before squaring off instead. Charlotte interrupts that as well so Rousey kicks out Shotzi.

Belair gets rid of Natalya but Natalya comes back in, only to be tossed by Rousey as well. Lita cleans house, including a middle rope hurricanrana on Ripley. The Litasault is loaded up but Ripley breaks it up and, say it with me, Charlotte gets rid of Lita. Ripley and Rousey fight to the apron and Charlotte kicks Ripley out. Belair kicks Charlotte on the apron and spinebusters Baszler but Baszler catches her in the Kirifuda Clutch. That’s reversed into a KOD attempt but Charlotte dumps both of them. We’re down to Rousey vs. Charlotte and they square off, until Charlotte missed a boot in the corner and gets dumped at 59:45.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t exactly great and showed just how little depth there was to the women’s division at this point. Of the thirty women involved, HALF of them were legends or returning names. I know why there is a Women’s Royal Rumble, but if you need to import half of the lineup, it might be time to put it on the shelf. With six of the entrants not even making it a minute each, this was a bunch of nothing until Rousey came in and won, because part timers and returning stars rule.

Titus O’Neil and company did their local charity stuff.

Raw Women’s Title: Doudrop vs. Becky Lynch

Doudrop is challenging and attacked Lynch leading up to the title match. After the Big Match Intros, Doudrop goes with the power to send Becky outside for a breather. Back in and Becky has to bail from a Vader Bomb, leaving Doudrop to get Cannonball the steps by mistake. Becky kicks away but what looks to be a tornado DDT is blocked. The sleeper puts Doudrop down to one knee but she powers out without much effort. Doudrop’s charge goes into the post and Becky hits the missile dropkick for two.

Becky gets run over again though and a backsplash connects for two. The triangle choke has Becky in some trouble but the sitout powerbomb breaks that up fast. The Cannonball gets two but Becky is back up with a Molly Go Round for two of her own. Doudrop’s throat is snapped across the top and a top rope Fameasser gets two more. Back up and Doudrop plants her for two more, only to have another Vader Bomb countered into a super Manhandle Slam to retain the title at 12:55.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t so much bad as much as it was a lot of standing around waiting on the finish. Doudrop wasn’t about to dethrone the biggest women’s star ever, even if this is a downgraded Becky. This was Becky being given a mountain to climb and I can absolutely give them points for running a fresh challenger out there. That’s a good thing, but you need to have an entertaining match to back it up and that wasn’t the case here. When the most exciting thing in a match is the Wrestlemania sign catching on fire, you’re in big trouble.

The announced attendance is 44,390.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley. They’re very similar, they’re monsters, they were amateur wrestlers, the were mixed martial artists, now they’re having a title match.

Raw World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley

Lesnar is defending and has Paul Heyman with him while Lashley has MVP. They fight over a lockup to start until Lesnar snaps off a German suplex. Lashley is right back with one of his own but Lesnar hits two in a row. The F5 is countered though and Lashley hits a pair of spears to send Lesnar outside. Another spear sends Lashley through the barricade in the required big crash and Lesnar is rather smiley.

Lashley is back up to post Lesnar and they head back inside. Back in and Lesnar grabs more German suplexes but Lashley slaps on a quick Hurt Lock. Lesnar rams him into the corner for the break and the F5 hits Lashley, only to bump the referee at the same time. Cue Roman Reigns to spear Lesnar down before telling Heyman to hand over the title. Heyman does just that and a belt shot knocks Lesnar silly. Lashley gets the cover and the title at 10:14.

Rating: C+. That’s by far the match of the night so far as it felt like something actually happened. Lesnar vs. Lashley is a genuine dream match and something different for Lesnar, though he wrestled it similar to how he wrestles everything else. The Heyman twist was a good way to go and it’s nice to see Lashley get his title back, but this could have been something special and instead it was just ok. Granted Lashley injured his shoulder during the match so take it with a grain of salt.

Heyman leaves with Reigns as Lashley celebrates.

We recap Edge/Beth Phoenix vs. Maryse/Miz. Edge came back, Miz didn’t like it, the wives got involved, mixed tag.

Edge/Beth Phoenix vs. Miz/Maryse

Miz is knocked outside to start and Maryse is sent on top of him, allowing Edge to forearm Miz back inside. A cheap shot lets Miz take over on Edge and cannonball down onto his back. Maryse chokes a bit from the floor so Beth goes a stalking, for some reason thinking she needs a chair. Edge manages a quick implant DDT and Maryse can’t cut off the tag.

Beth comes in to beat up Maryse, including a spinning side slam for two. Miz goes after Beth and gets hammered down in the corner for his efforts. Maryse gets in a cheap shot with the loaded purse for two, setting up a camel clutch of all things. That’s broken up and Beth hits a clothesline for the double knockdown.

It’s back to Edge for the Edge-O-Matic on Miz, with Beth adding a powerbomb. Edge’s top rope elbow gets two but he spears the corner for the mishap. Maryse snaps off a top rope hurricanrana (that’s a new one for her) and there’s the French Kiss for Beth. The Skull Crushing Finale gets two on Edge and Miz gives us a shocked face. Beth is back up though and a double spear cuts Miz down. Mostly stereo Glam Slams give Edge the pin at 12:28.

Rating: C. Here is another match where it could have used some chicanery with Miz and Maryse cheating as much as they could have to win the thing and instead they played it pretty straight. The idea of battling couples works, but Edge and Beth aren’t going to lose to Miz and Maryse without all kinds of cheating and everyone knew it. Not an awful match, but another boring one on a show full of them.

A recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor is here so we hear his story.

Men’s Royal Rumble

90 second intervals with AJ Styles in at #1 (and strikes a Shawn Michaels pose for some reason) and Shinsuke Nakamura (Intercontinental Champion) in at #2, meaning Pat McAfee gets to dance on the announcers’ table. A strike off goes to Nakamura, who hits the spinwheel kick to the head but can’t exploder Styles out. Styles knocks him into the corner and it’s Austin Theory in at #3. The rolling dropkick hits Styles to start but Nakamura goes for Theory.

Robert Roode is in at #4 and hits some spinebusters but Styles cuts him off. Styles reverses a whip and sends Roode outside for the quick elimination. Ridge Holland, with face guard, is in at #5 to run some people over. Styles gets rid of Nakamura and goes after Theory as Montez Ford is in at #6. Ford throws Theory to the apron but can’t get rid of him. Instead Ford kicks away at Holland to little effect and US Champion Damien Priest is in at #7.

A bunch of stomping ensues until Sami Zayn is in at #8. More nothing ensues and it’s Johnny Knoxville in at #9. Knoxville takes Sami down and hammers away before going after Styles. The Phenomenal Blitz drops Knoxville fast and Ford adds the frog splash. Sami Helluva Kicks Knoxville out but Styles dumps Zayn for a bonus. Angelo Dawkins is in at #10, giving us Styles, Theory, Holland, Ford, Priest, and Dawkins. Omos is in at #11 and he should get to clear some of the ring. There goes Dawkins and Ford follows him rather quickly.

Ricochet is in at #12 and get chopped by Omos as NOTHING continues to happen. Chad Gable is in at #13 and rallies the troops to go after Omos, which means sending Priest after him alone. With Priest gone, the rest of the group, plus Dominik Mysterio in at #14, gets rid of Omos. Happy Corbin is in at #15 and dumps Ricochet pretty fast. Dolph Ziggler is in at #16 as this is reaching some incredible levels of boring. Deep Six plants Dominik and Corbin gets rid of him, followed by Styles getting rid of Theory.

Sheamus is in at #17, with Holland being tossed before Sheamus can get inside. Rick Boogs is in at #18 and McAfee is excited, as compared to the eerily still crowd. Boogs tosses Gable and Madcap Moss is in at #19. Corbin tosses Styles, ending a nearly thirty minute run with….nothing (that’s the story of the match so far: nothing happens, and we’re just sitting around waiting as more people come in and go out).

It’s Riddle in at #20, giving us Corbin, Ziggler, Sheamus, Boogs, Moss and Riddle as this drones on. Corbin and Moss get rid of Boogs and Drew McIntyre returns from injury at #21. McIntyre wastes no time in getting rid of Moss and Corbin, which would somehow carry on through Wrestlemania. That’s not enough though as Drew follows them outside and unloads on them with steps to the head. Kevin Owens is in at #22 and Pop Up Powerbombs McIntyre.

Rey Mysterio is in at #23 and the fans are barely reacting to a string of big, popular names. Kofi Kingston is in at #24 and gets tossed to the apron fast. Owens breaks up a springboard attempt and Kofi lands on the barricade….but his feet hit the floor as Kofi finally botches his big save spot. It’s Otis in at #25 and hits some elbows as the mindless brawling continues.

Big E. is in at #26 and oh yeah, he’s a former WWE Champion. Belly to belly suplexes abound and the Warrior Splash hits Owens. Bad Bunny gets lucky #27 and gets to clean house, including a high crossbody, followed by a Canadian Destroyer to Riddle. Bunny ducks the Brogue Kick and ducks Sheamus before teaming up with Rey to get rid of Ziggler. Mysterio turns his back on Bunny and almost gets tossed, leaving Owens to Stun Bunny instead. Otis dumps Mysterio and Shane McMahon is in at #28.

Shane wastes no time in getting rid of Owens before slugging it out with McIntyre. Randy Orton, the hometown boy, is in at #29 and the RKO gets rid of Big E. Another RKO hits Otis and Riddle hits a running RKO to McIntyre. Otis is out….and Brock Lesnar is in at #30, meaning everyone knows exactly where this is going. Lesnar gets to clean house, including a bunch of suplexes before dumping Orton and Bunny. Riddle is tossed, Shane follows him, and it’s down to Lesnar vs. McIntyre. Some right hands look to set up the Claymore but Lesnar reversed into the F5 to win at 51:11.

Rating: D-. This was HORRIBLE and is absolutely in the running for worst Royal Rumble of all time. There was no drama until the end, but the bigger problem is there was nothing set up throughout the match. This is the third time I’ve seen this match and I still have no idea what is supposed to be interesting until the end. People come in, they brawl, they get eliminated, more people come in. It’s about 50 minutes of absolute nothing and then “oh well, here’s Brock to get ANOTHER Wrestlemania title match after two minutes of work”. This felt like they didn’t try and just said “Lesnar wins, move on”. Absolutely horrendous.

Overall Rating: D-. I’ve heard this show called the lowest of the low for WWE creative in this era and that very well may be true. The ONLY decent thing on the entire show was Rollins vs. Reigns, and that ended in a screwy finish. You also have Lesnar vs. Lashley and that doesn’t even require creative to work. Instead, we had two terrible Rumbles, one of which is an all time miss, plus some nothing midcard matches. The Rumbles are always going to define these shows though and these were all time terrible. Horrific show and it gets worse every time I watch it.

Ratings Comparison

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B-
Redo: B

Women’s Royal Rumble:

Original: C-
Redo: D+.

Becky Lynch vs. Doudrop

Original: D+
Redo: C-

Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley

Original: B-
Redo: C+

Edge/Beth Phoenix vs. Miz/Maryse

Original: C
Redo: C

Men’s Royal Rumble

Original: C+
Redo: D-

Overall Rating

Original: C-
Redo: D-

WOW I have no idea what I was thinking on that Men’s Royal Rumble. That has to be up there on my all time list of stupid ratings.

Here is the original review if you need a recap.

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2022/01/30/royal-rumble-2022-at-least-something-caught-fire/

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday Night’s Main Event recap.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There’s a HHH version of WWE2K26.

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

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

Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

Roman Reigns is back at the Royal Rumble.

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

Video on CM Punk vs. AJ Styles.

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Royal Rumble rundown.

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

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

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. AJ Styles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Royal Rumble 2014
Date: January 26, 2014
Location: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 15,715
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

This is one of the Rumble I wanted to look at this year as it is one o the most influential of all time while also being one of the most infamous. There are some other matches on the card, but this is all about the Rumble itself, or at least someone who isn’t taking part this year. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Tag Team Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Goldust/Cody Rhodes

Rhodes and Goldust are defending in a match that is almost bizarre to see today. Cody takes Dogg down to start as commentary immediately ignores the match to hype up the Royal Rumble. Gunn comes in and gets clotheslined outside, setting up a dive from Cody as we take a break.

Back with the referee checking on Goldust as JBL notes that this is NOT a classic match but rather fresh content. I’m not sure that sounds as good as he thinks. Goldust fights out of the corner and hits a sunset bomb as commentary says Gunn never ages. A clothesline takes Gunn down and it’s Cody coming in to clean house. Cody scores with a springboard double missile dropkick (JBL: “Great move by Dusty’s other son!”) and Cross Rhodes gets two, with Gunn making the save. Gunn comes in off a blind tag and hits a Fameasser for the pin and the titles at 6:31

Rating: C. This was nothing of note from an in-ring perspective but they did something big here by having the titles change hands. The Outlaws winning again is a a big surprise and while it’s little more than nostalgia, it still felt kind of cool. Then again, it’s a shame to see the brothers lose, as they certainly had some potential to be a bigger deal down the line. Not much of a match, but the moment made up for it.

The opening video looks at how this night means everything, with the Royal Rumble being about becoming the one. Tonight, the Road To Wrestlemania begins.

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt

Bryan is the hottest thing in the world right now but recently joined/turned on the Wyatt Family. That wasn’t cool with Bray (who has Erick Rowan and Luke Harper with him) so let’s have some revenge. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan are here with Wyatt. The bell rings and Wyatt yells about Bryan trying to make a fool out of him. The fans aren’t quite in sync with their YES/DANIEL BRYAN chants as Bryan hammers away to start.

Wyatt runs him over with an elbow to the face as they’re going physical early. Bryan goes for the leg but the other Wyatts offer a distraction to break it up. That earns Harper a big dive so Rowan goes over but the referees eject the Wyatts first. Wyatt tells them that he doesn’t need them to fight this war…which lets Bryan dive onto Wyatt for the big crash. Wyatt dumps him outside but a charge hits the steps to bang up the leg even more.

Back in and Bryan ties up the leg for a stomp as we’re in Vicious Bryan mode here. They fight to the apron where Wyatt twists him down by the arm as commentary talks about how bizarre Wyatt really is. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed another toss to send Bryan right back out to the floor.

Wyatt puts the head against the post and slugs away, with commentary pointing out Bryan’s recent concussion worries. The backsplash crushes Bryan, with Wyatt asking why the fans didn’t help Bryan. Back in and the chinlock goes on again, with looking bored yet eerie at the same time. Wyatt busts out the spider walk, leaving commentary cracking up about the Exorcist as they completely miss the point of a spot like that. The chinlock goes on again but Wyatt misses an elbow.

Bryan fires off the kicks and sends a charging Wyatt face first into the middle buckle. The super hurricanrana gives Bryan two and he moonsaults over Wyatt, who cuts him off hard with the running body block. Bryan manages to knock him back to the floor and there’s a heck of a diving tornado DDT. A running dropkick against the barricade sets up the YES Kicks back inside as Wyatt is in trouble.

Some running dropkicks in the corner connect but Wyatt has to go for one more, allowing Bray to hit one of the biggest clotheslines I’ve seen in a long time. The YES Lock goes but Wyatt is too close to the ropes. Instead Bryan kicks him out to to the floor, where Wyatt pulls the suicide dive out of the air. Sister Abigail to the barricade and another in the ring finish Bryan off at 21:34.

Rating: A-. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it was a heck of a match as a result. What matters is Wyatt getting the win, which was quite the rarity of him at this point. Bryan lost clean with the Family being sent out early, which gives Wyatt one of the biggest wins of his career. This was about two guys having a fight because they can’t stand each other and it made for a great one.

Paul Heyman wants Brock Lesnar to challenge the winner of Randy Orton vs. John Cena for the World Title, but Big Show is standing in his way. Not that it matters of course though, because Lesnar is going to conquer.

We go to the Kickoff Show panel (Ric Flair, Jim Duggan and Shawn Michaels), with Shawn saying Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan are the future of WWE. Shawn is putting his chips on Bryan in any match and when it turns, it’s turning big time. Flair on the other hand will pick Brock Lesnar over Roman Reigns any day. Duggan is just kind of there.

Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar

They got in a fight a few weeks ago and Show tossed Lesnar around, setting this up. Then they did it a few more times to really prove the point. Lesnar jumps him before the bell and takes Show down, followed by a bunch of chair shots. As Lawler seems to remember Show giving Lesnar his first defeat at the 2002 Royal Rumble (about two and a half months before Lesnar debuted), Lesnar kicks Show down again and gets in another loud chair shot. Lesnar finally fires the chair up the aisle…so Heyman hands him another one.

Show gets up so we ring the bell, with Show managing a KO Punch to send Lesnar outside. Some more shots knock Lesnar around at ringside before they get back inside, where Show drops him with a shot to the ribs. The KO Punch misses though and Lesnar muscles him up (almost dropping him but roaring until he gets it) for the F5 and the pin at 2:02. This was more of an angle than a match but screaming Lesnar is a terrifying human being.

Post match Lesnar unloads on Show with the chair for a rather good while. The chair actually breaks so Heyman tosses in another to keep up the beating.

Shield is ready to win the Royal Rumble but they won’t tell each other their numbers.

Randy Orton is ready to beat John Cena one more time and send him to the back of the line. Renee Young brings up the list of people who want the title but Orton shrugs all of it off.

We recap John Cena vs. Randy Orton. They unified the two World Titles last month at TLC with Orton taking them both, mainly due to a variety of weapons. Now Cena gets a clean rematch, so Orton attacked Cena’s dad to make it personal, because THESE TWO need a reason to fight.

WWE World Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton

Cena is challenging and takes him down into a quickly broken headscissors. Orton grabs a headlock into a suplex, followed by some headbutts to keep Cena down. Another headlock is reversed into a Liontamer attempt of all things but Orton kicks him outside without much trouble. The chinlock goes on again and we hit the BORING chant about five minutes in. They go outside with Orton sending him into the barricade, followed by some posing back inside.

Orton takes too long posing though and it’s an electric chair off the top to cut him down. Cena initiates the finishing sequence but the AA is countered. Instead Cena grabs a nice neckbreaker and the top rope Fameasser, but the AA is countered again. This time Orton takes him outside for the hanging DDT onto the floor, which of course doesn’t finish a thing (as it’s just a DDT onto the floor).

Back in and Orton….eventually loads up the RKO but Cena pulls him into the ST. The rope is quickly grabbed so Cena tries the AA again, but this time the referee gets bumped. Cena gets the STF again and this time Orton taps, with no referee around. The delay lets Orton get in a belt shot and the delayed cover gets two. Orton again spends WAY too much time posing, allowing Cena to grab the AA for two more.

A quick RKO gives Orton two of his own as they’re firmly in the trading finishers portion. The fans chant what sounds like WE WANT DIVAS but Orton mixes it up with his own STF. Cena slips out and grabs a crossface, which is reversed into an AA from Orton for two more. As you might guess, Cena’s ensuing RKO gets two so he puts Orton up top. The super AA is blocked so Cena grabs a tornado DDT into the STF. Orton is in trouble….and we’ve got Wyatts. Cena fights them off and that’s enough of a distraction for Orton to grab the RKO for the pin at 20:55.

Rating: B. This feels like a match that is much better if you’re away from the feud. Orton and Cena feuded for so long that it stopped having any kind of interest and the fans were pretty clearly sick of them. I can’t say I blame them either, as Orton vs. Cena was done to death for a very long time. The worst part is they had a good match with the trading finishers being something different from them. The Wyatts’ interference was certainly a surprise, and you can pretty clearly see a Wrestlemania showdown coming from here. Good match though, even if the fans weren’t interested.

Post match the Wyatts wreck Cena again to lave him laying. The Wyatts leave, with a bewildered Cena following.

Mae Young tribute video and you better believe Stephanie McMahon is narrating.

The New Age Outlaws show Renee Young how to do their introduction. They have two words for her: new champs.

Miz is going to win the Royal Rumble because he’ll do whatever it takes.

The Usos are ready to go on to main event Wrestlemania.

Big E. Langston (when he had a last name) is winning because that’s where it’s at.

Fandango says his name rather breathily.

Batista: “Exactly.”

Damien Sandow isn’t going to make mistakes.

Ryback is a human wrecking ball in a match full of superstars.

Rey Mysterio is going to win the Royal Rumble again.

The pre-show panel give their picks:

Jim Duggan: Dolph Ziggler

Shawn Michaels: the Shield or CM Punk

Ric Flair: Batista

Royal Rumble

90 second intervals, CM Punk is in at #1 and Seth Rollins is in at #2. Punk slugs away to start and strikes away but they trade running shots in the corner. They’re both down and it’s Damien Sandow in at #3. Punk fights out of a double team with a DDT/neckbreaker combination but can’t get Rollins out. Cody Rhodes is in at #4 and goes right at it with Sandow (they don’t like each other), including Cross Rhodes. Punk tosses Sandow (who is shocked) and Kane (now corporate) is in at #5.

Rollins grabs Punk’s leg so Kane can get in a cheap shot…but Punk escapes a chokeslam and tosses Kane. Alexander Rusev (still from NXT) is in at #6 and spinwheel kicks Rollins down. Rhodes manages to hang on as Sandow is still sitting at ringside. Rusev can’t get rid of anyone and it’s Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter, holding an “every 90 seconds, another illegal sneaks across the border” sign) in at #7.

Swagger and Rusev have the big showdown until a bunch of people go after the latter. Kofi Kingston is in at #8 and goes after Punk, who is down on the apron. With no one getting anywhere, Jimmy Uso is in at #9. Uso headbutts and strikes away but can’t toss anyone either. Goldust is in at #10, giving us Punk, Rollins, Rhodes, Rusev, Swagger, Kingston, Uso and Goldust at the one third mark.

A bunch of people get together to toss Rusev, who pulls Kofi back out (not eliminated). Kofi is laid on the barricade….which he walks down and then dives onto the apron to get back in with a heck of a leaping save. With the collective gasp over, Dean Ambrose is in at #11. That doesn’t exactly go anywhere so it’s Dolph Ziggler in at #12 with a missile dropkick to Ambrose. The ring is getting full and R-Truth is in at #13 to make it even worse.

Ambrose wastes no time in getting rid of Truth and Uso is out as well to clear the ring a bit. Kofi is sent to the apron but hangs on by his feet, even pulling off Swagger’s boot in the process. A boot to the head lets Kofi pull himself back in and it’s Kevin Nash (oh dear) in at #14. Nash knocks Swagger out before going after the Shield, who gets even stronger with Roman Reigns in at #15.

The apron dropkick hits Rhodes and a spear takes him down as well. Reigns headbutts Nash in the chest and dumps Kofi, only to get DDTed by Ziggler. That earns Ziggler a spear and he’s out rather quickly. Reigns low bridges Nash out and it’s Great Khali in at #16. The Shield wastes no time in getting rid of Khali, followed by Reigns tossing Rhodes and Goldust back to back. The TripleBomb is loaded up on Punk but the returning Sheamus is in at #17.

The ten forearms to the chest have Ambrose in trouble and the Irish Curse hits Rollins. There’s the Brogue Kick to Reigns as Sheamus is the only one let standing. The numbers have Sheamus in trouble though and it’s Miz in at #18. That doesn’t go anywhere (much like Punk, who is down in the corner holding his head with a referee talking to him) and it’s Fandango in at #19. El Torito is in at #20, giving us Punk, Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Sheamus, Miz, Fandango and Torito at the 2/3 mark.

Torito goes after the once again standing Punk, wh grabs him by the head but gets headscissored. A springboard missile dropkick actually eliminates Fandango but Reigns throws Torito out without much trouble. Antonio Cesaro is in at #21 (with Zeb Colter, whose sign says “you could time it yourself but they stole your watch) and starts with the Swinging. Rollins gets the big extended version and it’s Luke Harper in at #22. Rollins survives an elimination attempt and Reigns spears Cesaro. Rollins and Cesaro slug it out until Jey Uso is in at #23.

Everyone brawls near the roles and it’s JBL in at #24, with Cole getting in the cringe worthy line of “the JBL character has never entered the Royal Rumble”. JBL tells Cole to come take his coat and is quickly tossed by Reigns. Erick Rowan is in at #25 as the fans are a bit quiet here. Harper gets rid of Miz and Uso quickly follows suit. We get the big Shield vs. Wyatts showdown as Ryback is in at #26.

The GOLDBERG chants begin as Sheamus and Cesaro trade forearms. JBL: “That wasn’t a move. That was I’M GOING TO THROW MY FIST INTO YOUR FACE!” Alberto del Rio is in at #27 and no one goes anywhere. Batista (there’s the reaction, albeit not the most positive) is in at #28 and gets rid of Rowan, setting up a showdown with Ryback. A charge into the corner goes badly for Ryback, who gets backdropped out.

Del Rio kicks Batista in the face and is eliminated or his efforts. Big E. Langston is in at #29 for a bunch of backbreakers to Sheamus, who manages to hang on. The brawling on the ropes continues until Rey Mysterio is in at #30. That gives us Punk, Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Sheamus, Cesaro, Harper, Batista, Langston and Mysterio.

Now this bring us to the important part of the match: Rey Mysterio is not Daniel Bryan. The fans were doing the YES pose before Mysterio came out, and then it just fell apart. You could see fans looking around, wondering why this was anyone but Bryan as it is clear that this is NOT the right spot. Mysterio is an all time legend, but the fans do not want to see him here right now and the DANIEL BRYAN chants are on.

Mysterio and Punk both have to hang on to get back in as the booing continues. Sheamus gets rid of Big E., leaving Harper and Cesaro to strike it out. The 619 hits Rollins and the fans are just openly booing now. Rollins is back up with an enziguri to get rid of Mysterio and for one of the only times ever, the fans are happy to see Mysterio eliminated. The fans are chanting for Bryan as Reigns Superman Punches Harper out….but Ambrose tries to toss Reigns.

That lets Cesaro almost eliminate Rollins and Ambrose but Reigns tosses all three of them at once in a pretty awesome visual. That ties the single match elimination record for Reigns, while leaving us with Reigns, Punk, Sheamus and Batista. Cue Kane to eliminate Punk though and unload on him next to the barricade. The beating is on and Kane chokeslams Punk through the announcers’ table, giving us what would wind up being Punk’s last appearance for almost ten years.

The fans are still chanting for Bryan as the other three pull themselves up. Batista powerslams Reigns and the fans chant NO as they know where this is going. Sheamus gives Batista a Regal Roll but misses the Brogue Kick as Batista falls down, with the ans booing even more. Batista backdrops Sheamus to the apron and Reigns gets the record as we’re one on one. The fans are suddenly WAY behind Reigns but Batista cuts him off with a spear. Batista tosses Reigns for the win at 55:08.

Rating: C+. Where do you start with this one? The match certainly has its moments and there is star power throughout, with Reigns feeling like the biggest monster in the world. While some of those eliminations might have felt a little cheap, Reigns did set the record and it was quite the impressive feat. Other than that, you had the Shield vs. the Wyatts and it was a good enough Rumble.

Except for that one big thing. I have never heard a crowd turn on a match like that and it was a fascinating thing to see. At the end of the day, this was the fans outright rejecting what WWE was presenting them and there is no way around it. The fans wanted Bryan and rejected everything else when they didn’t get him. It also doesn’t help that Batista was slotted into the spot no matter what the people wanted and this was the result. It would only get worse, leading to an all time Wrestlemania. At the time though, it was one of the most tone deaf moments WWE could have had and brought a pretty good Rumble WAY down.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a VERY weird show as the main event outweighs everything else, even though the rest of the show was rather good. The World Title match was better than average and the opener was a smash, with Lesnar wrecking Big Show stuck in the middle. Then there’s the Rumble, which is overshadowed by the last five or ten minutes. It’s a show, and main event, unlike any other and that is why I wanted to see it again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on CM Punk vs. Finn Balor.

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

mble as well. And that’s that.

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

Vision vs. Rey Mysterio/Penta/Dragon Lee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Je’Von Evans vs. El Grande Americano

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

Finn Balor is ready to win the World Title.

Preview of Unreal season 2.

Video on Oba Femi.

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

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Finn Balor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Best Of Mike Awesome
Commentators: Joey Styles, Shane Douglas, Cyrus, Joel Gertner, Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden, Scott Hudson, Mick Foley

It’s another Best Of from the WWE Vault and that has me curious. This isn’t someone you often think of as having a long career, mainly because he didn’t, but he certainly did live up to his name. You can probably figure out some of the matches from here, but I’m wondering what they’re going to use to fill in all of the time. Let’s get to it.

Quick opening video, as usual.

From ECW Heatwave 1998.

Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka

Joey Styles is right there to explain the history between these two, which is a nice way to spend entrances. Awesome runs him over to start and swears a bit before pulling Tanaka out of the air. An overhead belly to belly sends Tanaka flying and a slingshot shoulder puts him down again. Tanaka is sent outside and dropped with a big dive as the fans already want tables.

Back in and a nice looking top rope clothesline drops Tanaka but he pops back up with a suplex. It’s time for a chair (of course), which Tanaka takes down the ramp for a running start and a big shot to Awesome’s head. Awesome is right back up and they head outside for a chair duel (which looks cool despite being rather dumb).

Tanaka is knocked over the barricade so of course Awesome goes up and dives over the barricade to take him down again (that’s just not normal). Back in and the Awesome Bomb gets two, followed by a heck of an Alabama slam into the Awesome Splash. Some absolutely sickening unprotected chair shots to the head knock Tanaka silly and it’s time to set up a table on the floor.

Even Shane Douglas on commentary knows this is stupid so Awesome goes back inside with a top rope chair shot to the head (geez). Some Awesome Bombs through the table are blocked though and Tanaka instead powerbombs him over the top and through the table for a terrifying landing. Somehow that only gets two, as does the Roaring Elbow, leaving commentary stunned. A tornado DDT onto some chairs finishes Awesome at 11:51.

Rating: B. This is going to be a collection where you instantly get the idea of the featured star. Awesome could do things in and out of (and above) a ring that almost no one else could even approach and it looked great. That’s what we saw here and my goodness it was impressive to see. Some of those chair shots were terrifying, but that’s 90s ECW for you.

From Anarchy Rulz 1999.

ECW World Title: Taz vs. Masato Tanaka

Taz is defending and you might notice something missing here. We get the Big Match Intros and Taz, who is set to leave for the WWF, is told that he sold out. Hold on though as here is Mike Awesome in the crowd (with Judge Jeff Jones) and Taz says let him through. Paul Heyman comes in to break it up but Taz wants him in, so Heyman makes it a three way dance.

ECW World Title: Mike Awesome vs. Taz vs. Masato Tanaka

Taz is defending and Tanaka dives through the ropes to take Awesome out before he can even get inside. The two of them fight on the floor while Taz chills in the corner, which is rather funny for some reason. They get inside, where Taz clotheslines Tanaka, who is tossed with a Razor’s Edge. Awesome gets caught on top with a superplex but Tanaka Roaring Elbows Taz. That and an Awesome Splash pins Taz at 2:02, guaranteeing a new champion and rather popping the crowd.

This brings out Paul Heyman with the locker room for a big farewell to Taz as the fans realize what’s going on (though Taz would be around for about another month and a half). So we’re down to one on one with Awesome sending him to the floor for the big dive. The top rope clothesline and sitout Awesome Bomb get two each but Tanaka slips out of another powerbomb. A triangle clothesline sends Awesome outside again and the running chair shot knocks him silly.

Tanaka adds a tornado DDT to send him off the ramp, followed by another onto a chair back inside for two. A tiger bomb gets the same but Awesome is back with an Awesome Bomb over the top through the table at ringside. An Alabama slam into an Awesome Splash gives Awesome two so he cracks Tanaka in the head with a chair over and over. Awesome can’t believe it and charges into a boot in the corner.

Diamond Dust (flipping Stunner out of the corner, which always looks great) gets two on Awesome, who is right back with a spear for two. A table is thrown in and Awesome caves Tanaka’s head in with another chair shot. The table is set up and they head up top, where Awesome hits a super Awesome Bomb for the pin and the title at 13:49.

Rating: B-. This was a bit of a weird one as you had a mini match at first, which was all about getting rid of Taz. Then it broke down into something very similar to the first match, which was kind of the point. Awesome winning the title is a huge moment for him of course as he hadn’t been around ECW for a long time, but now he’s on top as Taz is leaving. That’s pretty awe…cool.

Post match Taz gives Awesome the belt to really put him over.

From ECW On TNN, October 22, 1999.

ECW World Title: Mike Awesome vs. New Jack

Awesome is defending and Joel Gertner does the introduction before bailing out of absolute fear. Well to be fair, he is a rather well educated man. Jack starts fast with an oar to the head and tries to choke with a rope. Awesome slugs back and gets bitten in the face for his efforts. A missed charge in the corner has Awesome in more trouble and they go outside, which can’t go well. The running chair shot from the apron only hits the barricade, followed by a top rope clothesline inside.

As you might expect, Jack comes back with some staple gun shots to the head, followed by a guitar to the same head. Jack goes up top but dives into a chair to the head, allowing Awesome to send him through the table at ringside. The Awesome Splash retains the title at 6:20.

Rating: C+. When you get the fun version of New Jack (work with me here), he’s kind of a blast to watch. There’s something great about having the some playing throughout and the various weapons he’ll use at any time. I don’t think there was much in the way of drama about the title changing, but Awesome having to get through him was good.

From ECW On TNN, December 10, 1999.

ECW World Title: Mike Awesome vs. 2 Cold Scorpio

Awesome is defending and shoulders Scorpio down to start. A superkick gets Scorpio out of trouble and they go outside, with Awesome hitting an ax handle off the apron. Awesome’s big diving clothesline over the barricade drops Scorpio again, followed by a big shoulder back inside. Scorpio gets in a kick to the head for a breather though, setting up a top rope splash for two.

A moonsault gets the same but Awesome launches him with a German suplex. Jazz tries to come in to help Scorpio, who has to save her with a crossbody. Another superkick drops Awesome and a table is set up in the ring. The moonsault takes too long though and the super Awesome Bomb sends Scorpio through the table (in a GREAT visual) to retain the title at 9:26.

Rating: B-. The ending alone boosted this one up, but it’s always fun to see Scorpio out there. He’s a good example of a guy who just worked every time he was in the ring and some of his best work came in ECW. Getting to see him with this kind of a special chance was nice, even though he was little more than a means to make Awesome look better.

From ECW On TNN, December 24, 1999. This is an impromptu match, but I believe it was advertised in advance due to the taping schedule. I was at my aunt’s house and wanted to watch it, but my cousin threw me out of her room for watching that “stupid wrestling”. Instead I went into their attic and sat for two hours without anyone noticing I was gone. Anyway.

ECW World Title: Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka

Awesome is defending in an impromptu match, with Tanaka in workout pants as he takes Awesome outside for the running chair shot. Awesome fights back as he is known to do and runs him over to take it back inside. The sitout Awesome Bomb gets two and Awesome drops him again as we take a break.

We come back with the Awesome Splash getting two and a table being set up in the corner. That takes too long of course and Tanaka suplexes him through the table, followed by the tornado DDT onto the chairs for two. A top rope chair shot gives Tanaka two and some chairs to the head just make him mad.

One of the scariest chair shots to the head I’ve ever seen puts him down, followed by the Awesome Bomb for two. We take another break and come back again with Awesome catching him on top. That’s reversed into a tornado DDT through the table, which allows Tanaka to hit the Roaring Elbow for the pin and the title at 17:02.

Rating: B. These guys fought a lot (as you can tell) and unfortunately it’s not a rivalry that holds up well when you see it over and over. You’re seeing a lot of the same spots here, though at least Tanaka won with his finisher for a change. Tanaka getting the title is quite the step for him, as beating Awesome was a pretty rare accomplishment.

Post match respect is shown. Awesome would get the title back the next week.

ECW World Title: Mike Awesome vs. Little Spike Dudley

Awesome is defending and the idea is that Spike keeps beating giants. Before the bell, Spike loads up a bunch of tables at ringside, even getting a production worker to help him. Spike grabs the mic and calls out Awesome for putting people through tables, including women. And it’s time to fight, which is going to be painful. Spike jumps him to start and gets sent through some tables at ringside, then does it again for a bonus.

They go outside, with Awesome throwing him over the barricade for the big flying shoulder. A slingshot splash gives Awesome two back inside but Spike manages to send him outside. The dive off the apron connects but Awesome throws him around, banging up Spike’s knee in the process. The crowd chants something that warrants an edit to the audio, leaving Awesome to go after the knee again.

Back in and Spike gets in a hurricanrana, only to have Awesome BLAST HIM with a clothesline. Spike knocks him right back down though and it’s a top rope double stomp to crush Awesome again. Awesome fights up with a chair shot and sends him over the barricade, setting up the big springboard dive. The landing sees Awesome slip a bit though and he seems to bang up his (awesome) elbow.

Another table is set up at ringside, with Spike managing a quick Acid Drop to send him through the table. A top rope chair to the head knocks Awesome silly again but he’s fine enough to send Spike over the top and through another table (which Spike barely hits). Awesome sets up another table inside but Spike catches him on top. That doesn’t last long though as it’s the super Awesome Bomb through the table to retain the title at 14:11.

Rating: B. This is not exactly a match designed for everyone, but rather a match where it’s all about seeing Awesome absolute wreck Spike. While Spike got in a few shots, it was hard to imagine him actually winning the title. That doesn’t make it any less entertaining though, as Spike’s pain was quite the sight to behold. Fun match, though the physicality and destruction might be a bit much to take.

From ECW On TNN, March 10, 2000.

Tag Team Titles: Mike Awesome/Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer/Masato Tanaka

Dreamer and Tanaka are defending and Dreamer Russian legsweeps Awesome to start. Raven mocks Dreamer though and it’s a belly to back suplex to put Dreamer down. Raven comes in to hammer away and then run, allowing Dreamer to bring in Tanaka. Awesome runs him over with a clothesline but Tanaka gets in a drop toehold into the corner. The tornado DDT is countered though and it’s back to Raven to slug away in a weird combination.

A running chair shot doesn’t do much to Tanaka, who is back up to bring in Dreamer. Everything breaks down and Dreamer puts Raven in the Tree Of Woe, only to get taken out by Awesome again. The middle rope elbow gives Awesome two and Raven grabs the mic to mock Dreamer (and hit him too). It takes too long and Dreamer gets in a shot of his own, only to have Awesome come back in for some rather physical violence. A table is brought in but Dreamer avoids the Awesome Splash.

The crash is enough for the tag back to Tanaka, meaning a bunch of elbows. Everything breaks down and more tables are brought in, with Dreamer giving Raven a neckbreaker. Back up and Raven pulls Dreamer off the top for a drop toehold through the corner of the table (even the ECW fans know that was rough). The Awesome Splash gets two and the Awesome Bomb through the table gets two, with Tanaka making the save. The Roaring Elbow drops Raven and Dreamer’s DDT gets two, with Awesome making a save of his own. A running Awesome Bomb sends Dreamer through a table for the pin and the titles at 12:11.

Rating: C+. Ok, we get it with Awesome vs. Tanaka. I get that this was a big deal for Awesome to become a double champion, but this is a lot to take in such short order. The match was good enough and it was nice to see some actual tag wrestling before the wildness got going. Things weren’t exactly going well for ECW at this point and Awesome would be gone in about a month.

From WCW Starrcade 2000.

Mike Awesome vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Ambulance match and Awesome is now That 70s Guy. They start brawling as you would expect, with Bigelow clotheslining him out to the floor. Awesome fights back though and gets in a ring bell shot. Some chair shots to the back put Awesome down and they fight up the aisle with Bigelow chairing him in the ribs a few times. They go up to the ambulance, with Bigelow slamming the door onto him over and over.

Bigelow punches through a window by mistake but he’s fine enough to hit Awesome with the chair again. They go back to ringside with Awesome slugging away but the running…something is countered with a backdrop through a table. They go back up to the ambulance and fight with the lights from the top. A big shot knocks Bigelow through the roof for the win at 7:56.

Rating: C. WCW was obsessed with Awesome having ambulance matches, as he had something like seven of them in about as many months. There was no explanation of a story here, which says a lot for this kind of a gimmick match on a major show. Then again, that’s part of the reason why you don’t see WCW around anymore. See also Awesome getting to WCW in April and apparently doing nothing of note for eight months.

From One Night Stand 2005.

Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka

They chop it out to start and Styles goes on a crazed rant against Awesome for leaving for WCW and more money. You know, because ECW was known for its financial stability. Awesome comes back with a slingshot shoulder and a big dive over the top to the floor (Styles was hoping Awesome would have cracked his head open). Tanaka fights back with a running chair shot but gets powerbombed HARD through a table to knock him silly.

The Awesome Splash connects for two, followed by an even more sickening chair to the head. Tanaka is back with the tornado DDT onto a chair and something like a Conchairto. The top rope rope chair shot drives the chair onto Awesome’s face for two more so Awesome grabs the chair. That means a top rope chair shot to Tanaka and it’s time for yet another table.

Awesome takes too long loading him up though and a tornado DDT sends Awesome through the table for two more. Tanaka goes up but gets Awesome Bombed onto what’s left of the table…for two. Another Awesome Bomb through the table on the floor, followed by a slingshot Awesome Splash, gives Awesome the pin (on the floor, which is apparently legal) at 9:57.

Rating: B. These guys knew how to beat each other up, but seeing some version of it five times in less than two hours was a lot to take. At the same time, Joey Styles was REALLY annoying here, spending so much time complaining about Awesome leaving ECW. There have been reports that Awesome wasn’t being paid on time (which certainly wouldn’t be unique for ECW) but apparently he should have just stuck around. Anyway, another hard hitting fight here in what would wind up being Awesome’s last match.

Overall Rating: B-. Awesome is a VERY interesting case as there was pretty much no one like him at the time, but he never did much of anything outside of ECW. There have been reports that the bigger stars in WCW wouldn’t work with him and his physical style, though that doesn’t exactly excuse the That 70s Guy and the untouched Fat Chick Thriller. The fact that his time in WWE was basically ignored saved for the ECW reunion show is rather telling as well. Awesome was a force while he was around, but he just wasn’t around for that long.

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

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

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

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

Opening recap.

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

AJ Styles is ready for Gunther and is rather serious.

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

Je’Von Evans vs. Bravo Americano

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

Video on Gunther vs. AJ Styles.

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

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

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

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

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

Preview of Unreal season two.

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

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

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

Penta/Dragon Lee vs. Vision

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming next week.

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

Gunther laughs at the idea of AJ Styles beating him.

AJ Styles vs. Gunther

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

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

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

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

Styles is upset and Gunther smiles to end the show.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Je’Von Evans vs. Rayo Americano

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

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

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

Post match Evans runs away from a beating.

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming on January 5.

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

Here’s what’s coming next week.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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