Stranger Things
Raw was strange this week. No pun intended. “How strange was it?” I hear you asking. Strange enough that they paid off weeks of story revolving around Je’Von Evans coming to Raw during a commercial break. Yes, the wrestling show on Netflix, which reportedly gives them ample time to run their live show, announced one of WWE’s “hottest free agents” picked a destination during a Cricket Wireless ad.
Thankfully, the
main event was immune from that strangeness. Outside of Bron Breakker taking a very nasty spill once CM Punk blocked his top rope Frankensteiner, it was smooth sailing. Breakker dominated early while Punk looked for an opening. It was the story of the old cowboy battling the young gunslinger that harkened back to Punk’s declaration that someone will defeat him for that championship one day. He knows his days are numbered but he did everything in his power to make sure the person doing the numbering wasn’t Bron. Props to Punk for rocking the letterman jacket in University of Michigan colors. Petty Punk is my favorite Punk.
The main event also incorporated Dragon Lee, Penta, & Rey Mysterio. They intervened when the rest of the Vision showed up for shenanigans, which included Austin Theory hitting a stomp on Punk.
My only request is that a match between those six men is more than just a standard tag match. Put them in a cage or in something without disqualifications. I want carnage, thank you very much.
Once the match came down to Punk vs. Breakker again, we got plenty of near falls. My favorite came when Bron somehow kicked out of a GTS and Paul E. Heyman shouted to the heavens with praise. Paul is a national treasure.
That brings me to my next point: What’s next for Paul’s Vision? Bron lost this match fair and square in the middle of the ring. I’m guessing he enters the Royal Rumble, wins it, then gets his rematch. But we’ve got an entire month before the Rumble; what happens between now and then?
It was an awesome match at the end of a very meh episode. WWE hardly took advantage of the Stranger Things crossover, outside of a very cool looking set, nor did the show feel worthy of all their hype. It was an anniversary show that felt no different than any recent Raw.
On the first Monday of 2026, that wasn’t good enough.
Other Strange Things
- I’m a Stranger Things fan so thank you for indulging me.
- Raw dicing up segments into chapters like Stranger Things was a nice touch. “Chapter Three: It’s Not Just Her Who Says It” made me cackle.
- Speaking of “her,” Becky Lynch regained the Intercontinental Championship! This wasn’t my favorite match between Becky and Maxxine Dupri but I appreciate that all of their matches take different complexions. Maxxine and Becky grow in each match, along with changing their character’s perspective. This one was all about Becky scrapping a bit harder and Maxxine showing her toughness while exhibiting her newfound confidence. Becky’s scrappiness reeked of desperation, which certainly led to the way she became a 2x champ. The Ankle Lock featured prominently in this match, because duh; it’s a Maxxine Dupri grappling session. Becky escaped the first attempt while Maxxine escaped Becky’s turnabout is fair play rebuttal. It was on Maxxine’s second attempt where everything shifted…upside down. Becky worked her way to the ropes seemingly to break the hold but with Maxxine locked in so hard on the submission that she was on her back for leverage, Becky decided to use that momentum against her opponent. She bent back into a pin and grabbed a handful of rope while the ref counted three. That played on Maxxine’s relative inexperience compared to the ocean’s worth of knowledge Becky contains. She wasn’t better than Maxxine just smarter than her. This obviously isn’t over but I’m curious how Maxxine responds to being outplayed.
- From a match where I didn’t expect a title change to one where I did. Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY are your new Tag Team Champions! These four opened Raw with a very dope tag team match built on the Kabuki Warriors doing their best to isolate their opponents. Thematically, that felt so right. Asuka & Kairi Sane’s whole beef here is IYO “choosing” Rhea over them. Dividing and conquering, but specifically punishing IYO and stopping her from getting help whenever possible reinforced that while also making Rhea the hottest tag in Brooklyn. Working in tandem, along with IYO truly putting down her former friends, led to the W. IYO hit Asuka with the Over the Moonsault on Asuka after Rhea nailed her with a Riptide. IYO then dove out the ring headfirst into Kairi to make sure she didn’t break up the eventual three count. Great tag team match that sets the stage for new champs to run the division. I’m sure a rematch is first on the agenda though.
- Liv Morgan won her first match on Raw in months. She got a lot of help from Roxanne Perez but hey, a win over Lyra Valkyria is still a win over Lyra Valkyria. This is setting up a tag match with Lyra & Bayley in one corner and Roxanne & Liv in the other. The crowd chanting for Chris Jericho during the match wasn’t ideal apparently they weren’t entertained. It’s almost as if Becky’s words from a few months ago meant nothing to them!
- AJ Styles slapped GUNTHER, which necessitated the big man going to Adam Pearce in a huff. He demanded a match with AJ next week in Germany. And, well, it’s official.
- Anyone else find it weird the Usos still enter to Jey’s music? Their team music is the same song just with both of them. It’s odd for a tag team to show up to an ode to Jey’s then-burgeoning solo career.
- Raquel Rodriguez turned up the violence. Stephanie Vaquer showed up in a walking boot, cut a promo about said boot not stopping her, only for Raquel to do just that. Big Mami Cool beat down Stephanie in the ring, then continued beating her in the locker room area. Will Adam Pearce sanction the match La Primera will no doubt demand?
- Sorry, Ayatollah of Rock ‘N Rolla fans. Jericho was a no show. The real tragedy is no one broke down the walls as GM Pearce demanded.
- One las thing: Shoutout to Lloyd Banks for having a song perfect for this recap.
Raw started hot and ended on a high note. But everything in the middle lacked energy, nor did it feel special. Raw isn’t off to the best start this year but we’re only five days in so they have time to turn it around.
What say you, Cagesiders? Does Bron Breakker get his rematch at WrestleMania? Was the Chris Jericho talk real or all imagination?
