WWE Monday Night Raw 1/26/2026

WWE Monday Night Raw 1/26/2026

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/wwe-monday-night-raw-1192026.html

We are in Toronto, Canada. Michael Cole and Corey Graves are on commentary.

We see Stephanie Vaquer arrive and see Waller help The New Day with haircuts. We see The Vision arrive.

AJ Styles comes out. AJ says welcome to Raw and says there's a man in the back who says this will be the last time he says it. He says Gunther plans to end his career. He says he will retire in 2026. He says 2025 was the year of Cena and says there's no reason 2026 can't be the year of AJ Styles. AJ says he wants to be world champ one more time.

AJ says his back is against the wall but says Gunther is not phenomenal. CM Punk comes out. Punk says they have known each other for 20 years and says there's nothing but respect between them. Punk asks what he's doing by putting his career against Gunther. Punk says they both have a lot of gas in their tanks. Punk says the stakes are too high Saturday.

AJ asks if he's saying he can't beat Gunther. Punk says he knows he can beat Gunther but he saw AJ lose against him. He says they won't get to go 1v1 in a WWE ring if AJ loses. AJ says it sounds disrespectful but Punk says he's being selfish if anything. AJ says he knows he can beat Gunther and Punk. Punk says if it doesn't go his way on Saturday, he doesn't get to prove it. 

AJ says, let's say we fight tonight and he beats him. He says he would be the #1 contender after he beats Gunther. Punk says if they are going to do this tonight, it's gonna be for the title. Punk then says it sounds like we got a main event. They then shake hands on it.

Thoughts: Hey, I'm up for that. I'm sure it is 100% better than what we would have gotten otherwise. 

We see clips from SNME.

The Judgment Day (Liv Morgan, Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez) vs Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky and Stephanie Vaquer

Rox rolls out of a lock up with Iyo. Iyo cartwheels and backflips off the ropes. Iyo slaps her. Rox hits mounted shots on Iyo. Rox boots Iyo in the corner then Liv does the same. Raq hits back elbows on Iyo in the corner.

SV dropkicks and lariats Liv. SV legdrops her for 2. SV backdrops Liv. SV does the devil's kiss but Raq breaks it up. We go to break and return. Rox asai moonsaults SV for 2. SV boots Rox out of the corner. SV goes for the tag but Liv crawls under the ring and pulls Iyo off the apron. Rox elbow drops SV. Rhea yells at Liv outside then Raq pushes Rhea into the steps from behind. 

Rox hits mounted shots on SV. SV tilt-a-whirl backbreakers Liv. Iyo comes in. She shotei's Rox and flapjacks her. Iyo dropkicks Raq. Iyo top rope dropkicks RP. Iyo corner meteora's Rox. Iyo double underhook backbreakers Rox. Rox holds onto the ring skirt then Rox eye rakes Iyo.

Iyo takes a codebreaker into a russian legsweep for 2. Rox then dives off the apron onto SV. Rhea comes in and hits short arm lariats on Liv. She fallaway slams her. Rhea headbutts Raq then razor's edge's Liv into Raq.

Rhea hits a big lariat on Rox then superkicks Raq. Rhea top rope dropkicks Raq out. Rhea forearms Liv and back elbows her. Liv boots Rhea out of the corner and 2nd rope diving tornado ddt's her for 2. SV hits a soul foot on Rox then takes a facekick from Raq. Raq is pulled over the top by SV. SV top rope plancha's her outside.

Rhea blocks Liv's oblivion. Rox clips Rhea. Rhea and Iyo block a Liv codebreaker. Rhea headbutts and riptide's Rox to win.

Thoughts: It was an alright tag here. I liked the spot with the heels going under the ring and popping back out to stop the tag.  We had a bit of flying here and some double teams.

Finn Balor talks to CM Punk in the back. He says he didn't win last week and wanted to be champ. He says Punk was part of the most memorable night of his career. Finn says Punk gave him his flowers after the match. Finn says he didn't return them but says he will now. He thanks him and Punk thanks him back. He says he's not the best in the world unless he beats one of the best of the world. He says there's not a lot of guys like him and Finn left. He tells him to think about his legacy. He says if he wants to be champ, he may need to ditch Judgment Day. he says he can't be champ with garbage like Dom. He tells him to win The Rumble if he wants another shot and he'll see him in Vegas.

The Vision come out. We go to break and return. Paul complains about being booed. He says they are here to up the star power on Netflix. Paul talks about his crew. He says Bron is here for a meeting with Adam Pearce. He shows clips of Pearce putting his hands on Bron 2 weeks and says it's not executive level conduct in WWE. He then says Pearce planted brass knucks for Rey Mysterio in a tag match.

Adam Pearce is brought out. Paul tells the fans to boo him and give him the finger. The crowd boos him. Adam says things got out of hand because he put his hands on him first. He says he apologizes and it won't happen again. Adam lifts Bron's suspension and puts him in The Rumble. Paul offers a handshake and Adam wags his finger at him.

Adam says Paul is a tremendous negotiator. He says the rest of The Vision is in The Rumble. He says Theory needs a chance at redemption against Rey Mysterio due to the brass knuckles. He says they will fight tonight. Rey Mysterio then comes out with Penta and Dragon Lee.

Thoughts: Well this was an unusual segment. I was waiting for the catch but it never came.

Rey Mysterio vs Austin Theory

We join this in progress. Rey hits forearms and springboard headscissors him. AT hidden blade's him. AT hits mounted punches on Rey. Rey dropkicks him in the knee and kicks him in the leg. AT drops Rey's chest into his knees. AT pulls Rey down by the mask. AT hits punches to the head and pulls at the mask.

Rey superkicks him in the gut then running boots him. Rey's la silla off the apron is caught and he hurricanrana's AT into the post. the Vision check on AT then Penta and Lee get behind them. Rey la silla's AT off the rails. The Vision and Lee/Penta try to get in. We go to break and return.

AT fallaway slams Rey. Rey spinning headscissors AT then hits mounted corner punches. Rey springboards and is forearmed down. AT hits ataxia for 2. Rey rolls AT over the top but AT stays on his feet. Rey then headscissors him into the apron. Lee tries to help out Rey. Lee/Penta and The Vision fight outside. Lee is slammed into the rails. Rey dropkicks Logan through the ropes and AT curbstomps Rey over the bottom rope to win.

Thoughts: It was an okay midcard style match with a decent bit of shenanigans. It ended before it could be anything great.

The Vision beat up the faces after and Bron spears Lee. Logan top rope splashes Lee. Bron spears Penta. Reed top rope splashes Lee. The ref tries to protect Rey. Penta is held for a Bron spear.

Natalya does a promo. She says she made Maxxine Dupri and she failed her. She says Max is like the rest of them and thinks because she rolled with the legends that she can roll like a legend. She says that won't happen again. Nat says this is a whole new her and she is coming for it all when she's done with her. She says Natalya elevates but Natty decimates.

Raquel is screaming for Vaquer in the back. Bayley says she's on the phone and tells her to shut up. Lyra then comes to Bayley's side. Vaquer attacks Raq. Officals then come in and break it up.  

Michael Cole does an interview with Gunther. Gunther says he now has something to gain vs AJ. Gun says he's sick and tired of old timer overstay their welcome and changing their moments. He says Cena's and Goldberg's moment belong to him. He says they will now talk about him. He says he won't let AJ take away the moment that belongs to him. He says Cole is an old-timer and asks how long he plans to stick around here and chase another moment. Gun says he could end his career right now. He says he wants him to say the career of AJ Styles is over at The Rumble. 

Adam Pearce is on the phone in the back. Finn Balor comes up to him. Finn says he's declaring for The Rumble. Adam says The Rumble is full and he doesn't have a free spot. Finn says no Rumble is full without him. Adam says all he can do is apologize. Finn says it's not over.

Fin and Liv Morgan talk. Liv says Punk raised Finn's arm like a participation trophy. Liv says Punk doesn't want him to become champ, Judgment Day does. Liv says Judgment Day is his family. Finn says to let him figure it out. 

#1 Contender's Match - Alpha Academy (Otis and Akira Tozawa) vs Los Americanos (Bravo and Rayo) vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs American Made (Julius and Brutus Creed)

Bravo and Kofi go at it. Bravo monkey flips him but Kofi lands on his feet. Kofi monkey flips him but Bravo rolls out of it. Kfo hits Bravo from behind. Kofi is hit with a double cross chop. Akira hits a springboard headscissors. JC flips Akira with a lariat. The Creed's hit stereo suplexes. JC flying knees Otis in the corner then BC hits a top rope brutusball outside. Otis is sent into the steps. 

We go to break and return. Akira is lifted for a Kofi legdrop. Woods flips Kofi onto Akira but Akira gets his feet up. Rayo stomps on Akira. Rayo is sent into Bravo in the corner off a hurricanrana. JC knocks Otis off the apron. Bravo spinning torture racks BC and Akira does something off the top to knock them over.

Otis is tagged in. He cleans house on the heels. Otis back body drops the heels. Otis corner splashes Woods and Bravo in the corner then Bravo falls onto Woods' crotch. Otis caterpillar elbow drops JC for 2. JC is group stomped on. Akira clubs on everyone. Akira hits a double ddt.

Akira germans Rayo. Akira hits topes outside on everyone. Grayson Waller crotches Akira up top. Otis knocks Waller off the apron. Jey Uso superkicks Waller over the rail outside. Oits drops The New Day then is double dropkicked by Rayo and Bravo. Rayo and Bravo are back body dropped over the top. Otis slams JC onto BC.

Akira top rope sentons JC for the win.

Thoughts: It was an entertaining tag as expected with a fast pace and a lot of flying. It was nice to see Alpha Academy win. They are a good team and haven't gotten to do anything of note for a while

Jey holds his title at Alpha Academy after and they pound fists with him.

Becky Lynch is interviewed. She says she understands Natalya turning on Max and says the same thing happened with her and Lyra. She says Natalya isn't getting a title shot unless she wins The Rumble, but she says she is also entering The Rumble. The Kabuki Warriors come in. Sane says she won't win The Rumble as no one is ready for Asuka. Becky says she beat Asuka before. Becky tells her to tell Asuka and Asuka says she heard her. Asuka says she will see her in The Rumble. 

Je'Von Evans talks to AJ Styles in the back. He says he wants to see him on the farewell tour. AJ says let's do it. Evans then gets awkward and leaves. 

Vaquer talks to Adam Pearce. She says she wants a fight with Raquel. Adam signs a street fight for them with the title on the line next week.

The Vision talk in the back. Logan says they should have one visit that extends to Mania. Logan says they are a well-oiled unit. He says they should let Bron Breakker be the winner of The Rumble. Logan says that's The Vision.

We get an Oba Femi video.

World Heavyweight Title - CM Punk (c) vs AJ Styles

They lock up. AJ wristlocks him. AJ hammerlocks him and Punk waistlocks him. Punk rolls out of a wristlock and trips him. Punk bends over and is kicked. Punk rolls out of a calf crusher. AJ crucifixes him for 2. 

Punk side headlocks him. AJ drops down and is elbow dropped. Punk chest kicks him and knee drops him for 1. Punk chinlocks him. Punk lariats him. AJ dropkicks him. AJ sliding knees him on the apron. We go to break and return. 

AJ flying corner lariats him. They trade shots. AJ is sent chest first into the buckles. Punk hits punches on AJ then leg lariats him. Punk neckbreakers him. Punk step up knees him in the corner and bulldogs him. Punk hits a shining wizard for 2. 

AJ hits a strike combo on Punk then sliding forearms him. AJ flying corner lariats him. Punk hits a pepsi twist for 2. Punk hits mounted punches. AJ ushigoroshi's him for 2. Punk 2nd rope gordbusters him and top rope elbow drops him for 2.  Punk puts him in the anaconda vice.

Punk hits corner spears. Punk hits a GTS outside. AJ rolls him up for 2 and hits a styles clash for 2. Punk trips AJ on his springboard. They trade shots. AJ pele kicks him. Finn Balor then comes in and shotgun dropkicks Punk for the DQ.

Thoughts: They had a longer and slower paced match. I have a feeling the commercial breaks probably helped this more than it hurt it. I liked what we got but it's a shame there was no finish here. It was nice to see them do battle, potentially for the last time.

Finn beats up on Punk after and throws him out. Finn shotgun dropkicks Punk into the rails twice.
Finn top rope double stomps him three times.

Thoughts: I'm not the biggest Finn fan, but they are short on main event talent and it's nice to see someone different maybe get a run in. I'm interested to see where this goes.

Overall thoughts: I didn't have a ton of expectations for this as it was between SNME and The Rumble, but I liked it. It was nice to see Punk/AJ. I like the women's trios match, the men's 4-way and the stuff with Finn is intriguing. I don't think they've done that good of a job for The Rumble, but it's The Rumble, a lot may go down and it may not matter. I'd give this Raw a higher 6 out of 10. I did think it was a bit of a longer and slower show though.