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As the first Raw of 2026, this week’s show was stacked with championship matches. Of all the ones on this show, there was none bigger than the match for the World Heavyweight Championship. In his first official defense of that title, C.M. Punk went one on one with Bron Breakker in the show’s main event. With Breakker getting the better of him over the last few weeks, Punk was facing a challenge unlike any he’s faced before. On top of that, he also had to deal with the shenanigans of Paul Heyman at ringside as well as Breakker’s stablemates in The Vision.
With all those odds against him, it was going to take a lot for Punk to find a way to retain. In addition to that, we had Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky challenge Asuka & Kairi Sane for the Women’s Tag Team Titles, a confrontation between Gunther and AJ Styles, and Becky Lynch looking to regain the Women’s Intercontinental Title from Maxxine Dupri.
Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky
Latest developments:
After Rhea Ripley defeated Asuka on the September 22 Raw, Asuka sprayed mist into her eyes as she along with Kairi Sane attacked Rhea. Despite Iyo Sky coming to Rhea’s rescue and pleading with Asuka & Kairi to stop, she was also attacked by them. On the November 10 Raw, Asuka & Kari defeated Charlotte & Alexa Bliss to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles. On the December 15 Raw, it was announced that Asuka & Kairi would defend the titles against Rhea & Iyo on the January 5 Raw. Asuka & Kairi sneak attacked Rhea & Iyo later that night, which included Iyo receiving a devastating Insane Elbow from Kairi on her lower back as she sacrificed herself for Rhea.
This week, both teams faced each other for the titles in a match where Asuka threw Rhea into Iyo as she stood on the top rope. Asuka maintained the advantage for her team as she trapped Rhea in the Ankle Lock and followed that with a German Suplex. Despite Kairi hitting the Insane Elbow onto Rhea as Asuka held her up, Iyo interrupted the count at the last minute. Rhea later recovered and hit Asuka with the Riptide and Iyo followed that with the Over the Moonsault. Iyo then took out Kairi with a Suicide Dive as Rhea pinned Asuka to win the titles for her & Iyo.
Analysis:
To no surprise, this was a fun match to get the show started. While the outcome in a way was predictable, it didn’t take away from how good the action was from start to finish. It almost looked like there were going to be issues between Rhea & Iyo when Asuka pushed Rhea into Iyo, perhaps making Iyo think that Rhea bumped into her on purpose. That ended up not happening as Rhea & Iyo winning the titles together for the first time made for a strong start to the show. While how long their reign will last is questionable, putting the titles on them was the right move considering how popular they’ve been as a team.
Now that Asuka & Kairi are no longer champions, their tension from a few months ago could brew up again. Since Kairi wasn’t able to save Asuka from being pinned, Asuka could end up blaming her for the fact that they lost the titles. Much like when they initially turned on Iyo, Asuka may start bullying Kairi again until she eventually reaches her breaking point. With WrestleMania still three months away, there’s a strong story they can tell between now and then with Asuka abusing Kairi. With all those factors in place, this has all the ingredients for a compelling WrestleMania match.
Grade: B
Gunther vs. A.J. Styles
Latest developments:
At Saturday Night’s Main Event, Gunther retired John Cena as he forced him to tap out to the Sleeper. The following Monday on Raw, Gunther came out to a hoard of boos from the audience. Gloating about what he did to Cena, he went on to say that he made him tap like a little b*tch. As Gunther was leaving the arena, AJ Styles was standing in front of his car. Before he drove away, Gunther mocked Styles with the “you can’t see me” gesture.
This week, Gunther came out once again to gloat about how he made Cena tap like a little b*tch before he was interrupted by Styles. Each time Styles attempted to talk, Gunther cut him off. After cutting him off again, Gunther said once again that he made Cena tap like a little b*tch. Gunther then taunted Styles with the “you can’t see me” gesture as he asked what he was going to do about it, and Styles responded with a slap to the face. After a brief stare down, Styles said that’s what I thought and then walked away. As the two of them got into another confrontation backstage moments later, Adam Pearce announced that the two of them will face each other for the first time next week.
Analysis:
As Gunther has constantly been coming out every week to gloat about retiring Cena, this segment at least gave us something different. The way Styles stepped up to Gunther and slapped him was well played. Although it felt like we weren’t getting this match until possibly WrestleMania, it was confirmed here that we’re actually getting it way sooner than that. As the match is set to happen next week, it gives everyone something big to be excited about for next week’s show. Since the match is happening so soon, it’s likely going to be just the first match of a series.
Considering the backstory behind this and the fact that this is going to be their first one on one match, there’s no way that this feud is going to just end after next week. With Styles set to retire sometime this year, that should eventually be added into this storyline. Perhaps they have a few matches over the next few months, and Styles puts his career on the line in the blow off match. With Gunther retiring Cena combined with the relationship Cena has with Styles, this is the perfect feud for both of them. As Gunther is now turning into the new legend killer, it’s not hard to predict how this feud is going to end.
Grade: B
Maxxine Dupri vs. Becky Lynch
Latest developments:
After failing to defeat her in their two previous matches, Becky Lynch defended her Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Maxxine Dupri on the November 16 Raw. As Becky attempted to take the turnbuckle pad off while the referee was distracted, A.J. Lee came out to distract Becky. Maxxine took advantage of the distraction and defeated Becky for the title in a shocking upset. Becky sucker punched and attacked Maxxine during a confrontation on the December 22 Raw, but Maxxine recovered and forced her to tap after trapping her in the Ankle Lock. It was announced later that night that Maxxine would defend her title against Becky this week.
As the match progressed, Becky hit Maxxine with a Superplex followed by a DDT for a near fall. Becky then tried to put Maxxine in an Ankle Lock, but Maxxine escaped and followed that with a German Suplex. Maxxine continued to build momentum with a Cross Body from the top rope, but it still wasn’t enough to put Becky away. Maxxine later escaped a Powerbomb attempt and trapped Becky in the Ankle Lock. As Maxxine had her in the hold close to the ropes, Becky pulled herself on top of Maxxine as she held onto the ropes for the pin to regain her title.
Analysis:
Unfortunately, this turned out to be the weakest of all the matches these two have had together. The chemistry between them just wasn’t the same in this go around, and the lack of reaction from the crowd didn’t help. The dynamic was different in their other matches with Becky being the champion and Maxxine being the underdog. With Maxxine being the champion in this match, the underdog aspect wasn’t there in this match and was perhaps the reason why it didn’t click. Although Becky winning the title back was predictable, the way she won it out of nowhere by putting her hand on the rope felt anticlimactic.
While Maxxine getting married recently and likely going on her honeymoon might have been a reason why she dropped the title here, it just never felt like she was meant to have a long title reign. Despite losing, she’s still in a much better position on the show than she was before this feud started. Although we could end up with another match between these two, it’s probably best for them to move on from this. Now that Becky’s the champion again, it feels like her feud with AJ is going to spark up again as we head into WrestleMania season. If that ends up happening, then having the title be a part of that feud makes the most sense.
Grade: C
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Latest developments:
On the December 8 Raw, Raquel Rodriguez attacked Nikki Bella and then challenged Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer for her title. The following week, Vaquer defended her title against Raquel in a match that ended on a disqualification following interference from Nikki. Last week, Vaquer defended her title against both Raquel and Nikki in a Triple Threat match. At one point in the match, Raquel lifted both women up simultaneously as she then dropped Nikki with the Tejana Bomb. Vaquer then knocked Raquel out of the ring and took advantage of the damage she did as she pinned Nikki to retain.
This week, Vaquer came out for an interview with Jackie Redmond wearing a walking boot. Vaquer announced that she was injured but despite the injury, that wouldn’t stop her from defending her title. As she ended the promo and held up the title, she was attacked from behind by Raquel.Raquel repeatedly slammed Vaquer’s injured ankle onto the mat and then laid her out with a Tejana Bomb. Raquel then grabbed a chair and attempted to put it on Vaquer’s ankle to stomp on it before Adam Pearce and several officials stopped her.
Analysis:
As mentioned in last week’s review, Raquel had a case for deserving another title shot since she didn’t take the losing fall in last week’s Triple Threat. After what happened here, Raquel made it known that she’s still coming for that title. She really came off looking like a monster heel in this segment like she’s never looked like one before. This all served as another prime example of how much she’s improved over the last year and why she belongs in the title picture.
The way this whole beat down played out made it seem like despite being injured, Vaquer isn’t forfeiting the title. Although it was easy to tell that she was sad by the expression on her face, the fact that she didn’t relinquish the title and was attacked the way she was after made it seem like it’s not an injury that’s going to keep her out for long. Raquel giving her the beating that she did seemed like a way for Vaquer to be written off TV for a few weeks. In many ways, this feud and the adversity Vaquer is now dealing with is what her title reign has been missing. Depending on how long Vaquer is out for, this match between her and Raquel will likely happen either at or around Royal Rumble time.
Grade: B
C.M. Punk vs. Bron Breakker
Latest developments:
On the October 13 Raw, Bron Breakker along with Bronson Reed turned on World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins as they brutally attacked him. As Rollins was forced to vacate the title due to injuries he suffered from the attack, C.M. Punk defeated Jey Uso to win the vacated title on the November 1 Saturday Night’s Main Event. At Survivor Series, Breakker won WarGames for his team after he pinned Punk with a Spear. The following Monday, it was announced that Punk would defend his title against Breakker on the January 5 Raw. After being on the receiving end of fiery promos and Spears from Breakker in the weeks since, Punk told Breakker last week as they stood face to face that he will eventually lose the title, but it won’t be to him.
Despite interference from Reed, Logan Paul, & Austin Theory at one point in the match, Rey Mysterio, Penta, & Dragon Lee came out to fight them off. Paul Heyman later got on the apron to distract Punk as he had Breakker in the STF, but Punk hit him with a right hand and moved out of the way as Breakker tried to run into him. After knocking Punk down as he went for a Suicide Dive, Breakker clotheslined Punk from the top rope through the announce table. Breakker then went for a Spear in the ring to finish off Punk, but Punk hit him with a knee in mid-air. Punk then hit the GTS onto Breakker to get the win and retain the title.
Analysis:
Although we didn’t get a title change or any kind of shocking swerve, this match turned out to be a strong main event. As the promos were the biggest thing that sold this match, the story that came out of it in the ring more than lived up to the hype. Considering that this was Punk’s first title defense, it was the right move to have him retain here. Even though he’s getting older, he’s still a strong champion that deserves to have a lengthly run. After this win, him holding the title until WrestleMania feels like a real possibility.
While Breakker winning the title would’ve made for a big moment that would perhaps set the tone for the new year, there’s no real rush to put the title on him. The performance he had here showed that he belongs in the main event scene and that he’s more than living up to everyone’s expectations. Although Breakker lost here, it’s obvious that this feud with Punk is far from over. This loss should lead to him going on an angry rampage over the next few weeks that leads into the Royal Rumble. Whether it’s at the Rumble or WrestleMania, Breakker’s next title shot will be the one where he wins it.
Grade: B+
Liv Morgan vs. Lyra Valkyria
Latest developments:
In her first televised match since her return at Survivor Series, Liv Morgan went one on one with Lyra Valkyria this week. Lyra hit a Tornado DDT and followed that with a Fisherman’s Suplex for a near fall. Lyra later attempted the Nightwing, but Liv countered it with knees to Lyra’s face for a near fall. Roxanne Perez pulled the ropes to cause Lyra to fall out of the ring, which led to Bayley chasing Perez to the back with a steel chair. As Lyra was distracted by this as she re entered the ring, Liv took her down with the ObLIVion to get the win.
Analysis:
This was a decent match that accomplished everything that it needed to. With it being Liv first match on TV since her return, there was no way that she was going to lose here. While the action was good throughout it, the way Liv won at the end with the ObLIVion is what stood out most. The way all of this played out is clearly leading to Liv & Perez facing Bayley & Lyra as soon as next week. With the momentum Liv and the rest of Judgment Day have right now, that match will likely have a similar outcome to this one.
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