Let’s get into the results:

The Vision def. The Usos and LA Knight

Elimination Chamber qualifier: Asuka def. Bayley and Natalya

Intercontinental title number one contender match: Penta def. El Grande Americano

Elimination Chamber qualifier: Je’Von Evans def. Gunther and Rey Mysterio

Notes:

The show started with The Usos coming out, but The Vision interrupted them before they even got down the stairs. Paul Heyman started to talk, but an interesting wrinkle saw Logan Paul take over. Eventually, Adam Pearce revealed that Bronson Reed is in a Elimination Chamber qualifier next week.

LA Knight then came out and after some barbs, Adam Pearce made a six-man tag.

After The Vision won, Logan Paul was cutting a promo on the commentator’s headset when he became the latest Vision memeber to suffer a Stomp from the mystery man.

Adam Pearce receieved a big crate that said “do not open until 28th of February”. The GM was puzzled, so he told the courier to send it to SmackDown.

Maxxine Dupri attacks Nattie after her loss.

Oba Femi is presented with a contract for RAW. As he leaves to think it over, he shares an intense staredown with a returning Rusev.

Liv Morgan does a sit down interview with Michael Cole but is promptly interrupted by Stephanie Vaquer who dresses her down in Spanish so bad – with Dirty Dom translating – that Morgan ends the segment crying.

Finn Balor interrupted CM Punk’s textbook babyface promo in the ring and was joined by Dirty Dom and the returning JD McDonagh in a show of strength for the Judgment Day.

The Original El Grande Americano costs El Grande Americano the IC number one contenders match.

AJ Lee and Becky Lynch have another promo together. AJ Lee talks up her legacy, Becky reminds her that she was making history in the 10 years Lee was selling comic books. Lee tries to goad Lynch into fighting, but Lynch shows some restraint to decline.

Dragon Lee costs Gunther his Elimination Chamber spot.

Analysis:

Rumours that Logan Paul will face Bad Bunny and more rumours that his brother Jake may end up being involved down the line does make one wonder if The Maverick is going to be in The Vision long. Lest we forget, he spoke for the group when saying Bron Breakker should win the Rumble, only for a ‘masked man’ to cost the Steiner descendent.

Could the ultimate reveal by Jake has been doing Logan’s bidding and sabotaging the group? Maybe WWE are just planting some seeds that won’t ultimately grow, but Paul’s uptick in presence/activity on the show has not gone unnoticed.

Receiving a Stomp could be his way to throw people off the scene. Or maybe it is Seth Rollins… eventually.

Decent promo from Balor weaving in plenty of truth opposite Punk. Balor talks about all of his accomplishments and how he’s the real best in the world. Punk’s rebuttal was the kind of Punk many longstanding fans like myself want to see. He replies that Balor ‘was’ great. He did all those things before the Judgement Day.

Balor has less than zero chance of winning. Punk vs Reigns is WWE’s marquee match. But, this will likely lead to him wanting to ditch the Judgement Day and possibly clash with Mysterio at WrestleMania.

The crowd isn’t that into the battle of the El Grande Americanos. Assuming the end goal is a mask vs mask match at WrestleMania or around that time, WWE should be concerned.

It made sense for Gunther to lose the qualifier if he’s not going to be in a title match at WrestleMania. All signs point to him facing another legend with their career on the line and given that it was Dragon Lee that cost him tonight, one has to think Rey Mysterio eventually sticks up for him and there’s your WrestleMania match.

A good option would have been to put Gunther in the Chamber and then he and Randy Orton start a feud. Career killer vs Legend killer has a nice ring. I also think Dominik should be the one to retire Rey and take his mask, so lots of mixed feelings on this one at the moment.

Overall, a pretty progressive RAW that laid some good roads to ‘Mania and a really enjoyable main event.

Just six days before the Royal Rumble, let’s get into the results:

Six woman tag: Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY and Stephanie Vaquer def. Judgement Day (Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez)

Theory def. Rey Mysterio

WWE Tag Team titles number one contenders match: Alpha Academy (Otis and Tozawa) def. Los Americanos, American Made and The New Day

WWE World Heavyweight title: AJ Styles def. CM Punk (C) via DQ

Notes:

AJ Styles opens the show to talk about his match with Gunther, but CM Punk comes out, full fo respect we should add, to say he doesn’t like the matchup because it means he might not ever get the chance to wrestle AJ in a WWE ring. Styles takes that as a sign that Punk doesn’t believe he can beat Gunther and finds it disrespectful.

The outcome? Styles and Punk agree to fight for the title right here tonight.

Balor catches Punk backstage. Balor thanks Punk for the most memorable night of his career. Punk tells Balor that he needs to leave the Judgement Day and ‘garbage’ like Dom Mysterio if he wants to be champion again…

The Vision arrive in full force for a promo. They are here to have a face-to-face with GM Adam Pearce. Heyman shows footage that Pearce put his hands on Breakker first and he took brass knuckles from Heyman that Rey Mysterio then used to beat Theory.

Pearce gives a seemingly heartfelt, but confident apology. He lifts Breakker’s suspension, puts all Vision members in the Royal Rumble and then gives Theory and rematch agaisnt Mysterio.

Theory won, but there was carnage everywhere with Dragon Lee, Penta and The Vision all got into it at ringside. After the match, The Vision destroyed the luchadors. You give The Vision an inch, they take a mile.

Natalya gives her first promo since turning in a vignette backstage. “Natalya elevates. But Nattie decimates,” is her main line. Seems the Bloodsport Nattie has arrived.

Gunther does a sit down interview and Michael Cole questions why he wants to rob the fans of AJ Styles having a retirement year. Gunther says he’s sick of old timers clinging on for one more moment. Those are his moments.

Finn Balor tries to declare himself for the Royal Rumble but Adam Pearce tells him it’s full. Liv Morgan then catches the Irishman outside and scolds him for thanking Punk and considering leaving the Judgement Day. Balor says “It’s not as simple as it seems” and walks away.

Becky Lynch gives a promo backstage (very entertaining again) and she is interrupted by the Kabuki Warriors who says Becky is not ready for Asuka, Becky says she is… then they say “we’ll see you in the Rumble.”

Je’Von Evans catches AJ Styles backstage to wish him well and hopes he faces him on the retirement tour.

Oba Femi is announced for the Rumble.

The Vision discuss their Rumble plans backstage and Logan Paul proposes they work together to ensure Breakker wins it.

In the main event, after both Punk and Styles had given all they had, Balor attacked Punk, seemingly heeding Morgan’s words. A few shotgun dropkicks into the barricade and then three coup de grace.

Analysis

Interesting direction for Balor just as fans thought they might be getting the babyface version we have all missed. The thing with WWE at this time of year is, they line up world champions with challengers unlikely to beat them.

Yes, Drew McIntyre was the exception to that rule with Cody, but if you look at the Royal Rumble in years gone by, the champion hardly ever drops the title. The last time a world title changed hands on this PPV was four years ago and that was just so Brock Lesnar could then go into the Rumble and win.

So Balor finds himself in that position. It seems like Roman Reigns may well be on course to face CM Punk and Balor will most likely have a story with the Judgement Day, more specifically, Dom Mysterio.

Otis and Tozawa becoming the number one contenders – see my point above.

Something about Logan Paul suggesting Breakker has to win the Rumble immediately makes me suspicious. The group shouldn’t fracture at this point, but if Breakker doesn’t win this will be a moment to recall. Have to doubt Paul is this selfless all of a sudden.

If AJ Styles is not retiring on Saturday, then WWE are doing a good job fooling me. He’s been doing the rounds on all their shows and has snuck in a couple of dream matches before facing Gunther. They either know this makes it look like he’s retiring and are playing into it, or he really is going. I sense the latter – Styles has been begging to retire for a while.

A strong RAW by all accounts heading into the Rumble. Finn Balor was a good thread running through the show, some good developments with The Vision and a stellar, star-studded main event. Very good.

With one week until the Royal Rumble and one day until Saturday Night’s Main Event, let’s get into the results:

WWE United States title open challenge: Carmelo Hayes (c) def. Ilja Dragunov

Jade Cargill def. Chelsea Green

WWE Tag Team title match: The MFTs (Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga) def. The Wyatt Sicks (c) (Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis)

Nathan Frazer def. Johnny Gargano

WWE Womens Tag Team title number one contender match: Giulia and Kiana James def. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax & Lash Legand

Trick Williams def. Damien Priest via DQ (Sami Zayn interferes)

Notes:

Montreal’s favourite son, Sami Zayn, opens the show. Mid-promo, he’s interrupted by Trick Williams to the dismay of the hometown crowd. Williams turns down fighting Zayn because he has Damien Priest in the main event. Of course, Priest comes out.

Priest says Williams is scared of him. Williams: “You think I’m scared? Watch this.” He proceeds to hit Zayn with the mic. He then attempts to hit Priest, but the former world champ gets the better of him and sends him scurrying.

Cody Rhodes has a backstage sitdown interview with Michael Cole. Jacob Fatu storms in and replaces Cole within minutes. Cody makes a jab about Fatu being in prison once upon a time. A lot of arguing over Fatu costing Rhodes the title, but Fatu has the last word insisting he’s not a loose cannon and he’s very in control.

Roman Reigns declared for the Royal Rumble (well, an advert said he did).

Jordynne Grace tries to goad Jade Cargill into a match, the champ declines having already won a match.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss have another pleasant backstage interaction alluding to both of them being in the Royal Rumble.

WWE announces ‘Attitude Era edition’ WWE 2K26. Available to preorder on January 30.

Kit Wilson and Matt Cardona have more words backstage. Cardona tells Wilson to take his problem with him into the ring sometime.

MFTs win the tag team titles after using the Wyatt’s lantern against them.

Nick Aldis brings AJ Styles to SmackDown. It turns out it’s for a chat with Shinsuke Nakamura. He challenges him to a match at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Drew McIntyre promo. Main takeaway – he denies attacking Jacob Fatu.

Sami Zayn has a tense exchange with Damien Priest backstage as the latter warns the former not to get involved in his match. Zayn then sees Drew McIntyre and gives the champ a stiff slap for his promo where he ran down all four men vying to be number one contender.

Drew did say “Your son has been disappointed in your since he opened his eyes and realised you’re his father,” to be fair.

Cody Rhodes wishes AJ Styles well backstage before heading to his bus and finding a signed picture from McIntyre on the door of it.

Trick Williams was standing tall to close SmackDown – that was until Randy Orton turned up to RKO him. He also RKO’d Zayn for good measure. Montreal could barely be mad about it.

Analysis:

Seems like the last minute addition of AJ Styles for Saturday Night’s Main Event against Shinsuke Nakamura is meant to cram in some more AJ matches before he calls it a day after facing Gunther next week.

Or, it’s meant to make us think that, at the very least.

Jacob Fatu said during his staredown with Cody Rhodes that it was Drew McIntyre who kicked his teeth down his throat. The WWE champion then denied that accusation, and quite convincingly. That story has more layers to go.

Babyface Charlotte Flair is still a nice change of pace. Have to wonder how far her tag team with Alexa Bliss can go with WrestleMania season in full swing, but the very last thing they should do is turn Flair again if they do break up. They’re a little stuck actually; I’m not sure it’s a great idea to turn Bliss either.

Kiana James showed out during the number one contenders tag team match tonight. She’s far, far more than just a manager. The bar is so damn high for women coming out of NXT these days that we should expect can’t miss talents every time they get called up. Good for her and Giulia getting the win.

The missle dropkick from the top rope, which Giulia did tonight, looks like it sucks so bad to deliver. You’d rather be on the receiving end of that move.

The Usos and The MFTs are now tag team champions. Hmmm. Do I smell a champ vs champ encounter at WrestleMania?

Roman Reigns being announced for the Rumble is no surprise. One has to think he is primed to win it given his path is very unclear at present. I did think it was Bron Breakker and Bianca Belair, but with all the changes Triple H has apparently orchestrated recently, I would imagine he’s switched his Rumble plans too.

It really does seem like WWE are loading the bases up for Sami Zayn to get his moment. He could win tomorrow night in Montreal. He could equally win the Rumble in Saudi Arabia given his connection to that area. WWE are leaning into the story of his odessy to the WWE title very hard, and I’m here for it.

Finally, this wasn’t a bad show, but I do miss it being a two-hour format.

Let’s get into the results:

Women’s Intercontinental title: Becky Lynch (c) def. Maxxine Dupri

Penta, Dragon Lee and Rey Mysterio def. The Vision (Bronson Reed, Logan Paul and Austin Theory)

El Grande Americano def. Je’Von Evans via doctor’s stoppage

WWE World Heavyweight title: CM Punk (c) def. Finn Balor

Notes:

AJ Styles will put his career on the line against Gunther at the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.

Natalya turned heel on Maxxine Dupri, costing her the match against Becky Lynch.

Jey Uso delcared himself for the Rumble.

Je’Von Evans appeared to suffer a concussion during his match and the referee promptly stopped it.

Analysis:

Finn Balor reminded everyone just what a valuable top singles stat he is for WWE. His Judgement Day sabbatical has been valuable on many levels and the heel turn was probably overdue in some regards. But now? People are ready to have that main event talent back in the mix and tonight proved it.

Interesting heel turn from Natalya. I mean, it’s not interesting in the sense it was immediately telegraphed when she turned up and the fact that she has flip-flopped quite reguarly in recent years. But, if she morphs into the character we saw her portray in Bloodsport, then we are in for a treat.

PWInsider is reporting that Je’Von Evans is OK and that’s awesome news. Would have sucked for him to go down so soon after his call-up and in WrestleMania season.

Austin Theory ate the pin for The Vision tonight. Just saying.

AJ Styles risking his career against Gunther is semi-painful for this writer. Every spidey sense tells me Gunther is going to beat him and we only have a few weeks of AJ left. This Royal Rumble will mark 10 years almost to the day in the company for the TNA legend.

Also, Gunther has retired Goldberg and Cena in the past year, no way do WWE relent that gimmick now, especially since Styles has been begging to retire for so long.

A very good RAW – the best in a while – that has suitably set-up the Royal Rumble well.

Apologies for the delay – I attended the show with my family do was unable to report!

Let’s get into the results:

Randy Orton def. The Miz

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss def. Giulia and Kiana James

Trick Williams def. Matt Cardona

Damien Priest def. Solo Sikoa

Unites States title open challenge: Carmelo Hayes def. Leon Slater

Jordynne Grace def. Chelsea Green

Sami Zayn def. Ilja Dragunov

Analysis:

The chants inside Wembley Arena were crazy for Trick Williams. He has some of the most obvious star quality I’ve seen in a long time. He has the look, presentation, massive charisma and he can go. WWE would be wise to factor him to their WrestleMania plans and fast.

The fatal-four-way to decide Drew McIntyre’s opponent for the Royal Rumble will be Randy Orton vs Williams vs Sami Zayn vs Damien Priest – that’s a pretty tantalising match.

Kit Wilson came out for a talking segment and worked the crowd fantastically. Also, during his entrance, he paused his music just to beat up Matt Cardona, just to then resume his entrance like nothing had happened with the music too. Excellent stuff.

Hayes and Slater put on WWE’s best TV match of the year so far and while it’s super early, they set a very, very high bar.

Drew McIntyre had the best of both worlds with his promo. He enjoyed the warm embrace of the UK and his title win before switching on them like his character would – perfect execution.

Cody Rhodes, the victim of some boos to kick off his segment, also did well to turn the crowd around with the help of a “London deserves a WrestleMania” quip.

This was a great SmackDown. The only problem is, we don’t seem to have made any progress or any real acknoledgment of who attacked Jacob Fatu.

It was implied it was either McIntyre or Rhodes and Fatu continued to have problems with both of them on Friday night, but nothing was said about the attack that put him on the sidelines.

Let’s get into the results:

Je’Von Evans def. Bravo Americano

Number one contenders match for Women’s Tag Team titles: Liv Morgan and Roxanne def. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria and The Kabuki Warriors

Dragon Lee and Penta def. Austin Theory and Bronson Reed via DQ

Gunther def. AJ Styles

Notes:

The show starts with IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley walking to the ring holding their freshly won Women’s Tag Team titles. Their celebration promo is interrupted by Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez. They obviously want the titles. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria followed suit and had the same problem.

The Kabuki Warriors turn up and drag the champions out the ring before all the challengers end up scrapping in the ring. Gee, I wonder where this is going… The champions clear the ring to close the segment.

Liv Morgan tears into Finn Balor backstage about not doing enough. Roxanne backs her up. Balor says “Just you watch, girls. Just you watch.”

Adam Pearce warns Paul Heyman that Bron Breakker should stay away tonight.

CM Punk hits the ring for a promo. He says he looks forward to finding out who his next challenger will be, which brings out Balor. The match is made for next week in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Yes, the triple threat number one contenders match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team title did get made.

Becky Lynch vignette airs where The Man reveals she is being made to face Maxxine Dupri in a rematch for the Women’s IC title next week in Belfast. Really rolling the Irish stars out (even if they’re not Northern Irish). Dupri is interviewed shortly after and says she is going to break Lynch’s ankle. Moderrn day Ken Shamrock!

Raquel Rodriguez appears for an interview to explain why she attacked Stephanie Vaquer. The champ then turns up in a moon boot. Vaquer begins to talk to the camera as it appears that Rodriguez has left, but the Judgement Day star of course returns and beats her up.

Otis and Tozawa approach Jey Uso to ask for a title shot. Uso greets them warmly and thinks they’re joking at first, but changes his tune when Otis lets him know he’s serious.

Bron Breakker arrived to spear the luchadors out of their boots. Adam Pearce then showed up to confront Breakker. The Vision and Breakker did not care one bit and continued dismantling Lee and Penta.

Pearce got in Breakker’s face and said he’s not taking it anymore. Breakker grabbed the GM and manhandled him into the corner with rage in his eyes. The Vision stopped him before he made a costly error.

By the way, Breakker’s Spear on Lee saw him run the length of the ramp to hit it on the outside. It’s phenomental to watch.

Je’Von Evans offers his help to Penta and Lee backstage, seemingly targeting The Vision.

Pearce confronts Breakker again, suspending the young star indefintely for putting his hands on him. As Breakker leaves, Heyman makes the point to Pearce that he put his hands on Breakker first…

A very entertaining 20 minute main event between Styles and Gunter ends with Gunther low-blowing Styles after the Phenomenal One belived the Austrian had tapped out. A powerbomb followed for Gunther’s win.

Replays showed that Gunther did indeed tap on Styles’ leg, on the ref’s blindside.

Analysis:

A solid episode of RAW that did more to set up next week in Belfast than anything else.

WWE were talking about Lynch and Balor competing in Belfast like that’s their hometown and country – it is not. It’s the same island, thats about it. It has been that way for about 105 years.

Bron Breakker not being able to control his rage is a fun version to watch and superstars need that edge, it’s what made Brock Lesnar so appealing for so many years. One has to think he is still going to be annointed at WrestleMania, it’s just how do we get there?

It seems like a straight shoot out between Roman Reigns and Breakker for the Royal Rumble. Will Drew McIntyre still have the title by WrestleMania 42? If we are getting Rhodes vs Reigns III, will it be for a title?

We should all enjoy seeing Balor with a renewed vigour and purpose. It is good for main event stars to take a break from competing for titles from time to time; it makes fans miss them and new opponents tend to rise.

Balor hasn’t been a true solo star in a while and he really should be.

Interesting to have Liv Morgan and Roxanne challenge for Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY next. I can’t help but think the majority of that match are destined for world title contention by the time Mania rolls around.

Not a bad start to the European tour for RAW, not amazing.

Let’s get into the results:

Trick Williams def. Rey Fenix

Women’s United States title: Guilia (c) def. Alexa Bliss

MFTs def. The Wyatt Sicks

Jordynne Grace def. Alba Fyre

United States title open challenge: Carmelo Hayes (c) def. Shinsuke Nakamura

WWE Undisputed title, Three Stages of Hell match: Drew McIntyre def. Cody Rhodes (c)

Notes:

Randy Orton opens the show but before he can get going, Trick Williams interrupts him. Standard back and forth stuff to help introduce Williams to people. Orton says he looks a star but he has a long way to go. Trick slaps the mic out of his hand and Orton proceeds to floor the NXT export with a draping DDT.

The Miz appears and attacks Orton, but he eats an RKO so the legend can stand tall, glaring at Williams on the outside. Rey Fenix arrives to face Williams in a match that was made last week.

Damien Priest gives a backstage interview moving on from Aleister Black. He’s interrupted by Drew McIntyre and after a tense face off, Priest leaves and McIntyre reveals he has the rolex that his late father Dusty had to pawn, yet further enraging the champion.

Charlotte Flair is not flanking Alexa Bliss tonight because she is sick. Wade Barrett doubts that she is…

Nia Jax and Lash Legend decimate Bliss after her loss.

Jordynne Grace officially signs with SmackDown and Alba Fyre becomes her first opponent.

Matt Cardona gives a backstage interview on his return, then runs into his old friend Cody Rhodes and, very nicely and politely, warns him that he will be coming for his title.

Carmelo Hayes and The Miz clash backstage with the latter saying he can’t challenge for the title this week because of the Randy Orton attack. Ilja Dragunov also declines, revealing he’s talking to Nick Aldis about ‘something… different’.

Jordynne Grace dominates Alba Fyre on her debut. Jade Cargill catches her walking up the ramp and fires a warning.

Sami Zayn talks to Byron Saxton backstage.

Aldis reveals there will be four qualification matches for a fatal-four-way to determine the next world title number one contender, starting in London next week. The winner will face the champion at the Royal Rumble.

Randy Orton v The Miz. Matt Cardona v Trick Williams. Damien Priest v Solo Sikoa. Sami Zayn v Ilja Dragunov.

In the main event, Drew McIntyre won the first fall after unhooking the turnbuckle which distracted the ref and opened the door for a low blow from the Scot and then a Claymore.

That was a straight wrestling match. Then it turned into falls count anywhere. A great splash from the top of a concourse should have been the second fall in Rhodes’ favour, but McIntyre kicked out.

Rhodes won the second fall by nailing a CrossRhodes through the announce table. The cage match ensued; a superplex from the top of the cage wasn’t enough for McIntyre to put Rhodes away.

With McIntyre about to escape the cage, Jacob Fatu appeared and attacked the Scot. Their battle spilled into the cage and when Rhodes and Fatu ended up getting into it, McIntyre took the chance to escape and win the WWE Undisputed title.

Analysis:

Wow, WWE title change oversees on a regular TV! Not every day you see that, but McIntyre had to win a title match at this point. Nearly two years after his last title reign and several title feuds in the rearview mirror, his credibility as a top act in the company was at stake. And it shouldn’t be; he has everything WWE could ever want in a main event talent and he always delivers in his big feuds.

The question is, where does this take us now? Is Drew McIntyre the champion head into WrestleMania? Does Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns III need a belt? A lot of questions that do not have obvious answers right now.

If we have Bron Breakker destined for the main event on one side, he probably has to win the Royal Rumble to rematch CM Punk. And Seth Rollins might even be involved in that in some way.

Elsewhere tonight, Jordynne Grace is an instant injection into the roster and having her immediately rub shoulders with Jade Cargill is perfect. Next to Bianca Belair (who I assume is Cargill’s WM42 opponent), she is someone who can plausibly physically match the champion.

Another nice rub for Trick Williams, too, as he opens the show with Randy Orton and then collects a win over Rey Fenix. SmackDown all of a sudden has this replenished feel and enough star power to create a ton of narratives. Even at three hours, this show did not drag, just like that week didn’t.

Ryan Ward’s early tenure as lead writer has started emphatically well.

Let’s get into the results:

WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles: Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY def. Kabuki Warriors (c)

WWE Women’s Intercontinental title: Becky Lynch def. Maxxine Dupri (c)

Liv Morgan def. Lyra Valkyria

WWE World Heavyweight title: CM Punk (c) def. Bron Breakker

Notes: 

Corey Graves and Michael Cole emerge from The Squawk van to kickoff the Stranger Things collab with Netflix. WWE doing their best to make it work, I’ll give them that!

Adam Pearce tells Gunther to speak with some respect in front of the crowd tonight. The man who defeated John Cena was booed heavily when he stepped on screen, not so much when he first came out into the arena.

Just before Gunther can get his shtick off and say he made John Cena tap like a b****, AJ Styles interrupts him. Gunther keeps cutting him off when he is about to talk. “What is little AJ going to do about it?”

Styles proceeds to slap Gunther and the pair go nose to nose before Styles says “that’s what I thought: You’ll do nothing.” Very Conor McGregor-esque. Styles then slaps the mic into Gunther’s chest and leaves.

Becky Lynch vs Maxxine Dupri is next. Ivy Nile is backstage telling Pearce she wants the winner.

Gunther complains to Pearce he wants AJ Styles. Styles meets him there. “You gonna complain, or are you going to stand here like a little b****?” Pearce makes it official for next week.

Lynch defeated Dupri for the IC strap by leaning back and pinning the champion while using the rope as leverage, all while Dupri had the ankle lock synched in. Pretty creative.

During the break, Pearce announces that Je’Von Evans has signed with RAW.

The Usos make an appearane and cut a promo from the aisle with the fans. “2026, this is the year of The Usos.” They spent a minute or two laying out a vague challenge to no one in particular. Just something to get them on screen and have the entrance, really. Which is fine! When the entrance is that good.

Stephanie Vaquer hits the ring for a promo in a moon boot. She says the injury will not stop her, but Raquel Rodriguez appears and savagely attacks the injured foot. She hit a Tejana Bomb so hard Vaquer’s ear ring came out. Adam Pearce and some producers come out and stop her before she can take a chair to the injured ankle.

Rodriguez finds her backstage and whoops her again. Then Pearce throws her out of the building.

Rey Mysterio was talking backstage with Dragon Lee after his tag title loss. Then Penta, who saved Rey last week, turns up and chats with the lucha legend. They agree to unite against The Vision. Penta says whenever Rey needs him, he will be there.

Logan Paul and Austin Theory do an interview with Byron Saxton during the commercial break. Gotta say, Paul is abolsutely full of charisma. Very hard to Theory to stand out next to that.

The Vision were heavily involved in the main event after 20 minutes of action. Punk kicked out of a curb stomp from Theory.

Then Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee and Penta took care of The Vision at ringside. Punk then hit Breakker with a GTS in the ring and somehow, Breakker kicked out. Everyone in the arena bought it.

Punk retained the world title after Breakker went for the Spear and met the champion’s knee. A GTS followed and 1-2-3.

Analysis:

Smart call to start the show with the women’s tag title match. Not just because of all the talent in the ring, but having Rhea Ripley music be the first of the night, given how insanely over she is, just makes good sense. She’s as over as anyone else on the roster, man or woman.

Giving Rhea and IYO the belts is a nice way to start the show to keep the crowd hot. It;s hard to imagine having Rhea in the tag title picture come WrestleMania, so what programme is this reign getting us to?

Becky Lynch has done a lot to make Maxxine Dupri relevant and just grow her stature within WWE. It’s very commendable. It’ll take more time for the crowd to invest in Dupri as a big babyface, but at least her character has some substance to work with now.

The main event was a good slog between Punk and Breakker. In the weeks leading up to the bout, it seemed like Breakker was primed for his breakout moment on landmark show, but as this match went deeper it became clear that wasn’t going to be the case.

Should he have won? I think there’s a good argument for that. On the other hand, winning the Royal Rumble and winning it the ‘right’ way at WrestleMania, even for a heel, is quite a compelling idea.

But I didn’t like how Jey Uso lost on the way to WrestleMania last year and then won the title, and I’m no fan of Breakker losing any more than he has to, either. He has real aura and that fresh energy the show will always search for – you can’t waste it.

And finally, no Chris Jericho! The show was choc-full of references to him, but it seems the Royal Rumble, as many suspected all along, will be the more likely destination for his return.

Overall, this was an average RAW. Maybe expectations are just naturally higher when the show is billed as a major event, an anniversary. Two title changes is fun to see on TV, but the show did feel lacking in a certain magic, sadly.

Let’s get into the results:

IYO SKY, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss def. Kabuki Warriors, Nia Jax and Lash Legend

Matt Cardona def. Kit Wilson

United States Open Challenge: Carmelo Hayes (c) def. Johnny Gargano

Women’s United States title: Giulia def. Chelsea Green (c)

Ambulance match: Damien Priest def. Aleister Black

Notes:

The Miz kicks off the show getting his grievances of 2025 off his chest. Moans about not getting a proper moment on the John Cena retirement tour. Moans about how offering guidance to Carmelo Hayes wasn’t appreciated. Moans about being passed over for Marty Supreme. Moans about Joe Hendry. Moans about the “tiny balls” nickname. Claims he is the face of the company now Cena is gone.

Then Randy Orton showed up.

He faked to RKO Miz which drew a great pop from the crowd. Of course, Miz backtracked his previous claims and then Orton RKO’d him anyway. Twice.

Orton runs into Cody Rhodes backstage. He tells him, out of respect, that once Cody beats Drew McIntyre, Orton is coming for his title. A very cordial warning.

Nick Aldis is seen making an offer to Jordynne Grace to join SmackDown. The NXT star says she will think about it. Chelsea Green rudely interrupts and Grace says “some people are going to make this decision a lot easier.”

Matt Cardona emerges as Kit Wilson’s surprise opponent. Great pop from his hometown  New York crowd; Zack Ryder popped up on the titantron with his original music before Matt Cardona was platered across the screens and his music changed. Very nice way to re-introduce him.

Damien Priest assures everyone his feud with Aleister Black will end tonight with their ambulance match. He looks like he really wants that to be true.

The Wyatt Syicks cut another cryptic promo. They say they are going to cut down Solo Sikoa’s family tree at the root.

Sami Zayn arrives for a promo. He talks about how watching Cena’s last match from ringside, his child asked why Cena was called the ‘never seen 17″. Zayn told him because he had won the title 17 times. His son asked him “how many times have you won it?” to which Zayn had to tell him – none. Very clear what his next goal is.

Trick Williams interrupts. He declares he has arrived on SmackDown and he too wants the world title. But he’s not going to wait 20 years like Zayn has. Zayn leaves after saying Williams’ problem is he has never been humbled and Zayn would be happy to do that for him.

Backstage, Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes have a very respectful encounter where it’s suggested they will run it back for the US title soon. Most notably, Hayes confirms he will keep the US title Open Challenge going.

Williams carries on his rude streak by interrupting Aldis talking to Rey Fenix. A match is made between the two for next week.

Shinsuke Nakamura approaches Tama Tonga for a chat backstage. They both speak Japanese before Nakamura departs. Solo Sikoa asks Tonga is everything is fine and the former NJPW star says “that’s another chapter”.

Sikoa says they will have a four-on-four with the Wyatt Sicks next week before getting a tag team title shot. As the segment ends, Tonga curiously looks back in the direction Nakamura left.

Jade Cargill takes credit for Michin’s legit injury. Grace turns up again to a look at the champ and have a hostile verbal exchange.

Drew McIntyre reveals the Three Stages of Hell. A regular wrestling match, then falls count anywhere, then a steel cage match. During his promo, he also reveals he went onto Cody’s bus and got a picture of his father. He proceeded to smash that photo and then burn it, all in an attempt to get Cody to punch him and lose his WWE title.

A chokeslam from the top of the ambulance through a series of tables was the best part of Priest versus Black. The former also mananged to shoot a fireball into the latter’s face, properly exacting revenge. Priest also nailed a Razor’s Edge through the ambulance windscreen – Black took a hell of a lot.

Analysis:

Ryder scored his first WWE win in six-and-a-half years. Didn’t realise he had been gone that long but yeah, actually that makes sense. He looked as good as he could during a cold singles match like that, he’ll be an interesting addition to the roster and I suspect many fans, like I, eagerly await his eventual partnership with Chelsea Green.

On the strength of that, there are plenty of things you can do with Trick Williams, too. Eventually, either teaming with or facing Carmelo Hayes is money. Also, his partner Lash Legend is on the show.

All of these NXT free agents – Williams, Grace, Oba Femi, Je’Von Evans – they are all serious, serious injections onto the roster. There are so many programmes that await them and just a fresh energy that both RAW and SmackDown could do with. Very exciting.

Nice to see Garghano in action again. You forget what a supreme in-ring talent WWE just have sitting there for the most part. He should be doing more and if he can’t do that under Triple H, hard to see what better chance he would have elsewhere.

The babyfaces got the win in the ladies tag match. That tag scene is interesting becuase of the star power involved, but it does feel like the last couple of weeks they’ve dragged this out a bit.

Drew McIntyre might be the king of making feuds interesting that we know he’s not going to win. Obviously I’ll shut up if he does end up winning this but I highly doubt it heading into WrestleMania season.

Giulia winning the United States title back just seemed a tiny bit flat to me. She’s a mega talent, but should she be lurking around the mid-card titles? That title did more for Green, in my opinion. After she had a reign with the title, I thought it might serve to move Giulia on to bigger and better things.

Priest and Black worked hard in the main event. Both men are currently in that bracket below the world title but no one can deny they are great workers that could serve as good foils for the tippy-top guys. Black needed an outing like this, especially. The closing stages of this match felt like a pretty conclusive end to that feud.

That was a good return to the three-hour format for SmackDown. Undeniable effort was made to make the shoew feel fresh and fluid. The in-ring action was worth the time, too. Now the task is to maintain this kind of energy every week.

Let’s get into the results:

Nia Jax and Lash Legend def. Kabuki Warriors (non-title)

Giulia def. Alba Fyre

Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes def. DIY

Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis) vs MFTs (Tonga Loa and JC Mateo) – no contest.

Notes:

Damien Priest opened the show. After a little tribute to John Cena, he stated that after the Terror Twins (he and Rhea Ripley) defeated Aleister Black and Zelina Vega, that business was handled. Time to look forward to 2026.

Of course, Vega then interupts him and then Black attacks him. The segment ended with Black crashing Priest through a table.

Backstage, Lash Legend and Nia Jax, dressed in matching Christmas gear, told Byron Saxton they’re heading towards the tag team titles.

Just as Priest was being tended to, Black beat the brakes off him again backstage. This time he hit him with a shovel (bit of a retro weapon) and then hit Black Mass on him next to a cargo door. Talk about getting your heat back.

Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair ran down to the ring to attack Lash Legend and Nia Jax after they beat the Kabuki Warriors.

Nick Aldis meets with Drew McIntyre to discuss coming back to WWE. Aldis offers him a title match with Cody Rhodes for the title if he gives the referee he Claymored an apology and pays a fine.

McIntyre says no. He says he’ll only come back if he picks the match he wants with Cody and Rhodes cannot lay a finger on him prior to that match, or he’s stripped of the title.

Aldis agrees, but Rhodes turns up outside McIntyre’s house. Despite security, Rhodes gets at McIntyre a couple of times shouting “he asked for it” and “Merry Christmas, a**hole”.

The Miz demanded a match next week with Joe Hendry (though he was careful not to say his name out loud. Aldis granted him his wish before some comedic comments from R-Truth.

Another seemingly nothing promo from the Wyatt Sicks taunting The MFTs.

Rhodes comes out to cut one of his textbook fired-up promos. Aldis comes down to meet him and explains how Rhodes has made things hard for him.

Once Aldis told him “you’re not above the law,” Rhodes switched gears. “I think you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to. Say my name. I’m the one who sent the tweet that changed the game. I won not one, but two Royal Rumbles. I unseated the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. I defeated the GOAT, John Cena for this title. I’m QB1, dammit. And here you are saying I’m not above the law. I am the law!”

He finished by saying he works for the fans, but Aldis works for him. The tension written on Aldis’ face was beautiful stuff. Memories of their NWA title feud came flooding back…

Michin attacked Jade Cargill with a kendo stick backstage. The champ actually stayed down.

The main event ends with both factions – Wyatt Sicks and MFTs – just brawling all around ringside in chaos.

Analysis:

First off, I hate having champions lose non-title matchups. That’s the most illogical booking ever. If you’re the champion, unless it’s a special multi-team/person matchup, you should defend the belt. Teams should never earn a shot at the champion by… beating the champion. God I hate that.

Secondly, Rhodes was exceptional in the promo segment. It’s difficult when we all know McIntyre isn’t going to take the title off him. There’s a fractional chance he takes it and then drops it back to him in time for WrestleMania, but that’s it. So to get investment from the crowd takes more than anything, top-drawer work.

Rhodes did that with this promo. I don’t doubt the match itself with McIntyre will be good, but we’re at that stage where we’re waiting for WrestleMania season to kick-off in earnest.

I’m not overly excited about the MFTs and Wyatt Sicks programme, but I will say I think Solo Sikoa is shining. His promo before the tag team main event as he walked backstage was well done. Considering he was a mute performer to begin with, his talking skills have grown very quickly. He’s got too much charisma to not excel