The traditional first-anniversary gift is paper — and that’s exactly what WWE handed fans while celebrating Raw’s one-year anniversary on Netflix.
In the main event for the World Heavyweight Championship, CM Punk, 47, retained the title by defeating paper tiger Bron Breakker, 28, capping off a largely lifeless night marked by endless commercial breaks and a Brooklyn crowd that still seemed to be nursing a bad New Year’s hangover.
Punk’s victory comes following repeated criticism by WWE Hall of Famer
Kevin Nash for wrestling in a T-shirt (sometimes two), and by Breakker, who for months had run down Punk, as well as LA Knight, two superstars past their 40s.
In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI released Monday, Breakker discussed the chance to become the first WWE world champion under 30 in nearly a decade, calling the drought shameful and that it’s his destiny to end it.
“It’s embarrassing,” Breakker said. “I’m a young guy and we got 80-year-olds… It makes me want to take them all out. Make sure they never come back here, because they’ve already had 20 years to get their point across and they still haven’t gotten it across. I’ll beat the hell out of all of them.”
But if having an “80-year-old” champion is such an embarrassment, what does it say about Breakker, who lost to a topless octogenarian Monday night despite having every possible advantage?
The match itself was pedestrian and short on heat, interrupted twice by commercial breaks. Momentum finally picked up in Breakker’s favor after The Vision arrived, and Austin Theory flattened the champion with a curb stomp. Yet, it wasn’t enough to put Punk down.
Still, Breakker remained in control even after Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, and Penta ran off his allies. However, Paul Heyman lingered, providing a timely distraction for the challenger.
With Punk’s attention elsewhere, the son of Rick Steiner charged in for a spear — only to go crashing to the floor as Punk just got out of the way. Even then, Breakker stayed dominant, seemingly knocking Punk out when the champion dove through the ropes and landed hard on the arena floor.
Unable to defend himself, Punk was placed on a table as Breakker climbed to the top rope and came crashing down on him before throwing him back in the ring to put the final nail in the coffin.
Instead, Punk, nearly 20 years Breakker’s senior, caught him charging in with a knee to the face, followed by a quick Go To Sleep and an emphatic 1-2-3.
Outside interference, high-impact blows, and a brutal table spot still weren’t enough to put down the man Breakker had all but labeled washed. With every physical and numerical advantage imaginable, he fell in two moves — and so did the narrative he and WWE spent months trying to sell.
Was Breakker “buried” by the finish? Not quite. But it wasn’t a good look. After heavy promotion as the future of the company — and unnecessary jabs at Punk’s age — he lost decisively, without an out.
That WWE didn’t protect Breakker in the finish is stunning. Instead, he returns to The Vision with plenty of egg on his face — enough to stain the entire group.
Where Breakker goes next will determine whether this was a temporary stumble or a defining misstep. For now, his loss — specifically how he lost — served as a wet blanket on what was supposed to be a celebration.
On the bright side, perhaps Breakker learned, as everyone else bombarded by ads during Raw, that he can order comfort food from just about any retailer through DoorDash to lift his spirits.
