WWE Monday Night Raw 2/23/2026

WWE Monday Night Raw 2/23/2026

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/wwe-monday-night-raw-2162026.html

We are in Atlanta, GA.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves are in the ring and they say we will pay tribute to AJ Styles tonight. 

Gunther comes out and interrupts the announcers as they talk about AJ. Gunther tells them to get out of the ring. Gun says it's disgraceful that there is a a celebration tonight for a loser. He says the people like losers like Goldberg, Cena and AJ. He says what they have in common is that he killed all their careers. He says it's a celebration for a truly great wrestler - him.

Adam Pearce interrupts. Adam says we aren't going to do this and says we will celebrate AJ's career. He says his guards will escort Gunther out. He says he will leave because he is disgraced by what will happen tonight. Gunther is then escorted up the aisle. Dragon Lee then attacks Gunther. Security breaks it up then Lee goes for him again backstage. Cody Rhodes then goes up to Adam and Gunther and taps Adam on the shoulder. Cody then heads out to the ring.

Cody talks. He says he knows we are all here and want to talk about AJ Styles. The Vision then interrupt. Theory says he can't stand this place. He says he's ashamed of being from Atlanta. Logan says Cody isn't ashamed because he has 0 common sense like the fans. He says when Reed wins tonight, at The Chamber and at Mania, they will take over SD too. He says it starts now when Reed wins his qualifier. Cody says there's someone here who would disagree with that. The Uso's then come out.

Elimination Chamber Qualifier - Jey Uso vs Original El Grande Americano vs Bronson Reed

Reed takes shots from both to start. Reed double lariats them both down. Jey superkicks, uppercuts and spinning enzugiri's Reed. Jey goes for a tope and Reed forearms him. Grande top rope moonsaults both opponents outside. Reed is sent into the post.

We go to break and return. Jey goes up and over then uppercuts him. Jey hits mounted corner punches. Reed puts both guys on his shoulders and does a double samoan drop. Reed back elbows Jey then elbow drops him for 2. Reed twists Jey's head. Jey hits punches. Reed hits a world's strongest slam. Grande flying headbutts Reed then Reed drops Grande into a legdrop on Jey for 2.

Grande hits a chaos theory on Jey. Grande tries a far diving headbutt but mostly misses and faceplants into the mat. Grande germans Reed for 2. We go to break and return. Reed went down holding his arm outside during the break. Jey topes Grande.

Jey and Grande fight up top. Jey headbutts him down. Jey goes for a splash and Grande gets his knees up. Grande ankle locks him. Jey superkicks Grande and Grande koppo kicks him. Jey spears him then top rope splashes him for the win.

Thoughts: Reed got injured here and they definitely weren't sure what to do for a bit. That brought this down. This also had 2 breaks during it which made it a bit hard to get into. I'm surprised they didn't have Grande II cost Grande the match here. If Reed is injured, The Vision is truly cursed.

We see Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura talking in the back.

We see a Nascar car drive in do a donut. CM Punk is riding in it and comes out with the Nascar driver.

Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio come out. Dom says we are in the presence of the greatest IC champ, AAA Mega champ and Royal Rumble winner of all time. Dom asks Steph Vaquer to come out so Liv can make her decision face to face. Steph comes out. Dom then calls for Jade Cargill to come out. Jade comes out.

Liv said she has decided who she will challenge. She says Steph's words caught her by surprise last week and she thought about what she said. She said Steph is right. She says she didn't realize how selfish and privileged she was. She says she didn't know much about Steph's story. She says she's sorry she judged her but needs to focus on her own story. She then drops Steph with a microphone shot to the head. Liv then hits mounted shots on Steph. Liv then hits oblivion on her. Liv then spikes the title on Steph.

Je'Von Evans is interviewed. He talks to someone named Offset. The New Day and Grayson Waller interrupt. Woods says this show should be about him and says Offset should be putting him over and not Evans. Offset says New Day sucks. Evans says if they want to throw hands, they can do it tonight. Kofi tells Evans he could never lace his boots.  

We gets clips of AJ Styles' career.

The Good Brothers hug Tama Loa, Tama Tonga and Michin in the back.

Maxxine Dupri vs Nattie

Nat rams Max in the corner. Max dropkicks her then spinning roundhouse kicks her. Max pump kicks her out. Max high kicks Nat then crossbodies her off the apron. Nat is sent into the rails. Nat pushes Max into the post. Max is down and not moving. Nat pounds on her. The ref tries to break it up and calls the match off.

Thoughts: We didn't get much here before the finish. This isn't over. 

The Judgment Day are in their hangout. Raquel says tonight will be a cakewalk. JD apologizes to Finn for being a hothead last week. He says he's like his brother and wants him to be champ. Finn says brothers fight but they always make up. Finn says he will see him become champ but he's gotta do this alone at The Chamber. Dom says Finn and JD left him hanging, causing him to lose. Dom says he doesn't want to do this on his own and asks if he can count on them next week. Finn says he held his own when they were out. He says maybe Dom should do that, take responsibility and grow up.

We get a video on Oba Femi.

Adam Pearce asks why the mystery box is there. Adam is told Nick Aldis sent it here. Adam says to send it to Chicago and him and Nick can open it together at The Chamber.

Rusev says he needs to talk to Adam but Adam says not right now. Rusev asks if someone here is important than him. Oba Femi comes in and says yes. Rusev says Oba talks too much for a rookie. Oba tells him to shut him up. Adam says tonight is for AJ and this isn't the time or place.

Brock Lesnar comes out with Paul Heyman. Paul says he's the advocate for Brock. Paul said Mania used to have 2 main event's - the title match and Undertaker's streak. Paul says Brock conquered the streak and said the main event spot went to Brock. He says the only dead man walking in WWE is the one who comes down the aisle to face Brock. Paul says he knows we are wondering who will face Brock at Mania. Paul says when they walked through the locker room, there is no one who was man enough to step up.

Paul shows Brock's schedule until Mania on the tron. He says all someone has to do is come down the aisle and get in the face of Brock. He says he doesn't think anyone will answer Brock's open challenge. He says the real main event of Mania is whoever gets their @ss kicked by Brock Lesnar. He says no one has the balls to take that @ss kicking at Mania from Brock.

Becky Lynch does a video. She asks what AJ Lee ever did? She said she held one butterfly belt while she changed the game. She says she was better than AJ's moron of a husband. She says AJ doesn't deserve to hold the title but she deserves to retire her in front of her friends and family in Chicago. She says she's been saying things about AJ and will prove it at The Chamber.

Je'Von Evans vs Kofi Kingston

Offset comes out with Evans. Kofi has Waller and Woods with him.

Kofi side headlocks him and slaps him in the back of the head. Kofi headflips out of a wristlock and reverses it. Evans cartwheels and headflips out of a wristlock. Kofi slaps him. Evans superkicks Kofi then lariats him over the top. Waller distracts Evans. Evans goes for a dive and Kofi runs up the aisle. 

Evans flying knees Kofi when he comes back in for 2. Kofi offers a fist bump and tries to boot him. Evans is thrown out. Kofi PK's him from the apron. We go to break and return.

Kofi hits punches and chokes him on the ropes. They trade punches. Evans superkicks him. Evans springboard corkscrew kicks him in the back off the ropes. Evans misses a top rope moonsault and holds his leg. Kofi hits a ranhei for 2. Evans rolls him up for 2 and corkscrew kicks him off the ropes. Evans then suicide dives him outside.

Waller punches Evans from behind. Kofi legdrops Evans on the back of the neck for 2. Off set throws Woods over the commentary table. Kofi yells at Offset. Evans double jump springboard cutters Kofi and pins him.

Thoughts: I don't think Evans was supposed to hold his leg here and I worry he got injured again. What we got was okay of this but I didn't think it was as good as it could have been. 

We get a video on wrestlers talking about AJ Styles. 

Frankie Kazarian of TNA opens a door in the back and finds Abyss. 

CM Punk comes out. We go to break and return. 

Fnn Balor says he has people mad at him too like Punk. He says he has to prove to others that he can be champ. He says it's been 10 years of what if's? He says you can learn a lot from a win but more from a defeat. He says he learned to start telling himself, "when?" when he lost to Punk. He says there will be no more what if's when beats Punk and goes to Mania. He says everyone will know who the real best in the world is.

We go back to CM Punk. He says not to chant his name but to chant AJ's name. He starts talking about what if's like Finn. Punk says people ask what he's doing and he's doing the best he can in following people like Funk, Race, Shawn and Taker.

He says he doesn't like dealing with what if's and says what is Roman Reigns was here tonight? Punk says it's not reality as Roman isn't here tonight but Punk is. Punk says Roman will be here next week and if what if he punches him next Monday? Punk says he doesn't have to ask what if as he is the champ, the best in the world and the main event of Wrestlemania.

We see Petey Williams, Jeremy Borash and Omos talking in the back.

Elimination Chamber Qualifier - Iyo Sky vs Kairi Sane vs Raquel Rodriguez

Sane lariats RR and is facekicked down. Iyo sweeps RR. RR blocks her sunset flip. Sane gets on RR's back and is thrown down. RR misses a corner splash and takes shots from Iyo and Sane in the corner. Iyo and Sane double boot RR. Sane pulls Iy down by the ahir and does her pose on her. 

Sane headscissors Iyo off the ropes. Iyo sweeps her. Iyo back body drops Sane. RR fallaway slams both opponents at once. RR is pulled over the top. Sane is caught off the apron by RR. Iyo asai moonsaults both down. We go to break and return.

Iyo hits shotei's on Sane then flapjacks her. Iyo dropkicks RR through the ropes. Iyo springboard dropkicks Sane. RR pounces Iyo then lariats Sane down for 2. RR is sent into the buckles. Iyo tope crossbodies her outside. Sane top rope diving elbow drops RR outside. Iyo dropkicks RR over the rail. Sane uraken's Iyo.

Iyo backslides Sane for 2. Iyo double underhook backbreakers her. Iyo top rope moonsaults Sane for 2 when RR pulls Sane out. Iyo dropkicks RR in the corner. Iyo top rope dropkicks RR. Iyo meteora's RR in the corner. Iyo is caught up top. Iyo top rope diving ddt's RR. Sane pushes Iyo off the top. Sane's top rope elbow drop is blocked by RR when RR gets her knees up. RR one arm powerbombs her and wins.

Thoughts: It was an okay match here with Iyo and Sane doing a lot of flying and RR doing more heavyweight offense against them. This worked out well and they played up the Sane/Iyo issues some.

Bronson Reed has torn his bicep and is out indefinitely.

Thoughts: Well, that's the end of The Vision. It's one of the most cursed stables ever and there's just no point in it going on from now on. They are down to two active wrestlers and with Heyman also being paired with Brock, it's hard to see what role they really serve. It's nobody's fault, it's just bad luck.

We get an AJ Styles tribute video.

AJ Styles comes out. He says he beat the crap out of Cody Rhodes the last time he wore a suit so he's not wearing one. He said he grew up 45 minutes away from here and is thankful for this night as this doesn't happen often. He said he wrestled in Georgia, in TNA, in the Tokyo Dome and at Wrestlemania. He says he Daniels, Joe and Kazarian made a mark in wrestling. He said he left TNA and went to Japan and met The Good Brothers there. He said they showed him what it was like to have fun in wrestling.

AJ says he has done almost everything. He says the one thing he hasn't done is be a full-time father. He says he has missed it all and it sucked. He says his biggest flex is having the best wife in the world. He puts his wife over.

He says he knows things didn't go the way they wanted it to at The Rumble vs Gunther. He says it was poetic and says not many people get to go out where he started. He said he debuted at The Rumble in 2016 and his last match was at The Rumble in 2026. He says he didn't leave his gloves in the ring. He says he's a man of his word and all he has is his word. He said he wanted to take his gloves to the house and leave his gloves at home in Atlanta. He takes his gloves off. He says he would have been nothing without the fans, thanks them for the love and says he loves them back.

The roster comes out and claps for AJ as we get a "Thank You, AJ" chant. The Undertaker's gong hits. Taker comes out on a motorcycle with his American Bad@ss theme. Taker asks if he's going to leave his stuff here and leave. He says they've got unfinished business. Taker asks if he heard the phrase of, "if you see me coming, you've already gone". He says if you've seen me coming, that means you're going. Taker says it's his esteemed honor to tell him he is the newest inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame.

AJ's family comes in the ring to hug AJ. 

Thoughts on AJ Styles Retirement: I've been watching AJ since 2003. I've seen him work just about everywhere and anywhere. I'd argue ROH probably got the best out of him and it's a shame TNA took him from ROH. He didn't get booked well in TNA even though he's most known for it. He got booked a lot better in Japan and WWE. I've probably seen him hundreds of times and I saw very few bad AJ matches while I've seen him in tons of good bouts. AJ's one of the few guys that I don't think anyone hated in the ring. I do wish he would have gotten a better final run and while I don't think he ever really got his true due as a worker, at least he got this. I do wish he could have gotten a final TNA match and another Daniels, Homicide or Joe bout to really cap off his career.

We then get a  Kerwin Silfies tribute graphic to close the show.

Overall thoughts: It was an average night in-ring wise with Iyo/Raquel/Sane being the best match of the night. There wasn't a ton of wrestling on this show and the most notable things were Reed's injury and AJ's farewell. Reed's injury should probably be the end of The Vision. They are cursed. They never really got to do their thing and they are down to two active wrestlers now. It's over. Raw is seriously lacking star power on the road to Mania and I don't know what they can really do about it with 7 weeks or so to fill. AJ's farewell was very nice and I'll definitely miss seeing AJ. I wouldn't really recommend this show and it was a weak Raw. I'd give it a 5 out of 10 total.