Date: February 23, 2026
Location: State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA
The Big Takeaway —
The highlight of Raw, by far, was the tribute to AJ Styles. He will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2026.
See more below.
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Show Recap —
Instead of the usual start to Raw with everyone arriving at the arena, Michael Cole and Corey Graves stood in the ring to welcome us to the show in Atlanta (as everyone sat calmly in their seats).
They were about to speak about AJ Styles, but they were interrupted by Gunther, who entered through the crowd. He sent Cole and Graves back to the announce desk as he entered the ring.
Gunther called it disgraceful that they were honouring a loser. The fans liked the losers. Losers like Bill Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles. Gunther ended their careers, so tonight should be a celebration of him. (It really sounded like they were piping in fake booing.)
Adam Pearce interrupted. Pearce claimed he knew Gunther would pull this, so he brought out security to escort him out of the building. (If he knew this would happen, perhaps he should have addressed it earlier.)
Gunther said he would leave under his own accord because what was happening tonight was disgraceful. As Gunther was escorted up the ramp by security, he turned around to boast to the crowd when he was suddenly attacked from behind by Dragon Lee. They were quickly separated, but Dragon attacked him again backstage.
After Dragon Lee was taken away by security, Cody Rhodes appeared and gave Gunther a look before making his way to the ring.
Rhodes entered to a big reaction and his hometown fans sang his name. He was about to talk about Styles, but like the announcers earlier, was interrupted, this time by The Vision.
Austin Theory said he was ashamed to be from Atlanta. Logan Paul knew Rhodes wasn’t ashamed to be from Atlanta because he lacked common sense, and he was insane for showing up to Raw. Paul said Bronson Reed would win the Elimination Chamber and win the title at WrestleMania, meaning The Vision would take over SmackDown, too, and Rhodes would be the first one out the door.
Rhodes wasn’t sure about that and knew someone here who would disagree with them. That brought out Jey Uso (and Jimmy Uso) for their Chamber qualifying match.
They went to break after The Usos entered, and the entire break was Jey doing his entrance and Yeeting with the crowd.
(This was a typical opening segment. Except it was actually two opening segments in one. They cleared the ring after the first one and did another.)
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Cole called tonight a sell-out with over 12,000 fans.
Triple threat Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Bronson Reed vs. Jey Uso vs. The Original El Grande Americano
The opening match began at 8:20 pm, and they went to commercial two minutes later.
Gable (El Grande) wiped out both guys with an Orihara moonsault ahead of the break. Jey and Gable did their best to keep Reed out of the ring through the break, but Reed re-entered, stacked up both guys on his shoulders and hit an impressive double Samoan drop.
After Reed gave Jey a World’s Strongest slam, he tried dumping Gable onto Jey, but Gable countered by giving Reed a bulldog while simultaneously leg-dropping Jey. Gable gave Jey a Chaos Theory and went to the top.
Gable went for a flying headbutt, but Jey was all the way on the other side of the ring, so he missed and landed face-first on the mat. Gable sold it like he hit the move because he made a cover, but Reed broke it up. (I’m guessing this will end up on Jey’s lowlight reel for being out of position. But he was lying stationary when Gable took off, so I don’t know how this got messed up. Graves tried to cover for it on commentary.)
Gable gave Reed a great-looking German suplex ahead of another break. After a break, Jey and Gable continued wrestling while medical staff checked on Reed outside the ring. (Reed never got back in, so he may have been hurt.)
During the break, Graves acknowledged that Original El Grande was detested in AAA, while El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) was a hero.
Jey went for an Uso splash, but Gable got his knees up and applied an ankle lock. Jey fought out of it, and they traded kicks until Jey hit a spear and an Uso splash for the pinfall win.
(They likely had to adjust the finishing sequence with Reed injured. During the next break, Cole said he hoped to get an update on Reed.)
Match result: Jey Uso defeated The Original El Grande Americano and Bronson Reed to qualify for the Men’s Elimination Chamber (15:32)
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They showed AJ Styles’ debut at Royal Rumble 2016. Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura were shown talking backstage.
CM Punk entered the arena in the passenger seat of a Toyota Camry NASCAR driven by Tyler Reddick (owned by Michael Jordan’s team). Reddick sped in and did donuts around the lot. When Punk exited the car, he looked like he just got off a roller coaster.
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Liv Morgan’s WrestleMania decision
Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio entered. There was a replay of Stephanie Vaquer accosting Morgan during her interview last week. Morgan looked distressed in the ring upon seeing the replay, but she cheered up when Dominik Mysterio introduced her as the greatest Rumble winner ever.
Dom said Morgan was ready to make her decision, so he called out Vaquer and Jade Cargill (whose name he mispronounced), and they each entered.
Morgan wanted to get something off her chest before announcing her decision. She told Vaquer that her words caught her by surprise last week. She wasn’t used to being so vulnerable, and she thought about what Vaquer said all week.
Morgan said Vaquer was right. She didn’t realize how selfish she’d been or how privileged she really was. She had ten years of the best coaches and facilities, and still thought that she was struggling. She didn’t know much about Vaquer’s story, that she had to scratch and claw for ten years just to get to WWE.
Morgan apologized for judging her and knew Vaquer was the champion that she was because of what she had to go through. But now it was time to focus on her own story.
Morgan turned her attention to Cargill, but it was a swerve. She turned around and smoked Vaquer on the head with the microphone. Cargill smiled and left the ring. Morgan hammered away at Vaquer, hit a Codebreaker, and an Oblivion. Morgan dumped the world title belt onto Vaquer before leaving with Dom.
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Byron Saxton was about to interview Je’Von Evans backstage, but he was quickly greeted by rapper Offset. New Day and Grayson Waller interrupted. Xavier Woods was offended that they weren’t honouring him tonight in his town. New Day also wondered why Offset showed up tonight, given that they had repeatedly invited him in the past. Offset said because New Day sucks. Evans challenged them to a fight. Woods (arm in a sling) reminded him that he was injured, and Kofi Kingston accepted the match instead.
During a break, they showed quick clips of wrestlers talking about how much Styles meant to them (Rhodes, Charlotte Flair, Sami Zayn, Kurt Angle, Finn Bálor, R-Truth, Tyson Kidd, Xavier Woods, and Roman Reigns).
Michin, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa greeted Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows backstage.
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Nattie vs. Maxxine Dupri
They fought outside the ring until Nattie booted Dupri into the post. It was the same post spot you see in every match, but Dupri sold it like she was dead. Nattie attacked her wildly as the ref tried checking on her. The ref eventually got Nattie to stop and called off the match. Nattie was announced the winner.
Match result: Nattie defeated Maxxine Dupri via referee stoppage (1:38)
I guess this was meant to show how dangerous Nattie is, but the damage was done by a simple post spot, not because of anything she did in the ring.
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Backstage, JD McDonagh apologized to Finn Bálor (wearing a suit) for being a hot head last week. All he wanted was to see Bálor become champion. Bálor accepted his apology. He said brothers fought, but they always made up. He planned on becoming champion, but he had to do it alone.
Dom was upset that they left him on his own last week. He knew Bálor wanted to do things on his own, but he didn’t. He wanted their help when he defended the IC title against Penta next week.
McDonagh had his back, but Bálor quickly cut in. He said nobody had his back when they (Dom and JD) were hurt. He didn’t blame them, and he held his own while they were gone. It was time for Dom to do the same. Take some responsibility and grow up.
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Cathy Kelley interviewed Trick Williams on the stage during a break. He planned on winning the Chamber on Saturday. (The crowd seemed into him, but this crowd isn’t that hot for anything so far tonight except for Rhodes’ entrance.)
Tyler Reddick, 2 Chainz, and Lil Yachty were in the crowd.
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Adam Pearce told an unfortunate delivery person to load up the wooden crate and ship it to Chicago so he and Nick Aldis could open it together on Saturday.
Rusev approached Pearce before Rusev was confronted by Oba Femi. Pearce told them to save it for another day because tonight was about Styles.
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Brock Lesnar segment
Brock Lesnar entered with Paul Heyman. Heyman said, traditionally, there were always two main events at WrestleMania. The world title match and the Undertaker’s streak. That was until Lesnar ended his streak. Now, the only dead man walking in WWE was the one who would walk down the aisle to face Lesnar.
Heyman rambled on and on, but long story short, the question was now who would face Lesnar at WrestleMania. Heyman pointed at the screen and showed a list of dates (five dates after tonight) of Lesnar’s upcoming appearances “on the road to WrestleMania” and invited somebody to make the challenge so they could get their ass kicked.
This felt like a pretty lazy setup for a Lesnar Mania match. But they got the dates out there so people could buy tickets.
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There was a pre-taped Becky Lynch promo. She reminded AJ Lee how much she’s accomplished and wondered what Lee ever did besides hold a butterfly belt.
There was a clip of Royce Keys (Powerhouse Hobbs) on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast. He spoke about his brother, who sacrificed his life for him.
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Je’Von Evans (w/ Offset) vs. Kofi Kinston (w/ Xavier Woods & Grayson Waller)
Kingston tried using a distraction to catch Evans off guard, but Evans didn’t fall for it and clocked him with a running knee strike for a nearfall early in the match. Kingston used a separate distraction moments later to hit a PK and take control. Offset checked on Evans as they went to break.
Kingston held control through a break until Evans made a comeback and attempted a moonsault. Kingston dodged the moonsault, and Evans landed on his feet, but sold it like he hurt his leg on the landing. Kingston followed with an SOS for two.
Evans sent Kingston out of the ring and hit a leaping dive while selling the leg. Waller punched Evans with the ref distracted, and Kingston hit a Fameasser for two. Offset chucked Waller over the announce table and backed off Woods.
Kingston yelled at Offset for getting involved, so Evans flew in with an OG Cutter for the pinfall win.
Match result: Je’Von Evans defeated Kofi Kingston (10:14)
This match was ok. They played it up as a big win coming against an all-time great, and a big win headed into the Chamber.
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They aired more messages for AJ Styles from different wrestlers, this time from Bayley, Rey Mysterio, Nattie, The Miz, Robert Roode, Abyss, Booker T, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and Shinsuke Nakamura (who said, “I miss him already.”)
Frankie Kazarian walked backstage and stopped upon seeing the boiler room. He opened the door to find Abyss (who doesn’t look quite so imposing anymore). They walked off together.
There was a highlight video of AJ Styles beating John Cena at SummerSlam 2016. Earlier, they showed Styles beating Jinder Mahal for the WWE title on SmackDown.
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Finn Bálor pre-taped promo
Bálor said CM Punk wasn’t the only one with people mad at him. He had people mad at him, too. But they needed to understand why he needed to do this. He needed to prove to the doubters, the critics, and Judgment Day that he can be the champion. It’s been ten years of “What ifs.”
You can learn a lot from a win, but you can learn a lot more from a defeat. When he lost to Punk, he learned to stop asking “What if?” He learned to tell himself “When.” When you beat Punk, when you become World Champion, and when you go on to main event WrestleMania, there would be no more “What ifs,” because everyone would know there was a new best in the world.
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Dwight Howard, Jermaine Dupri, Funny Marco, and Bow Wow were in the crowd.
CM Punk promo
Punk entered to a big reaction. The fans chanted his name, but he wanted the fans to chant for Styles instead.
There were a few things he wanted to address before they head to Chicago. Punk had his own “What ifs” for Bálor. What if Bálor didn’t jump him in Toronto? What if Bálor didn’t interrupt his last match against Styles? Well, Bálor wouldn’t be getting a title match.
People wondered what Punk was doing, but he was doing the best he could. He was giving the fans the fighting champion they deserved, following in the footsteps of Terry Funk, Harley Race, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Triple H, and the list went on. Punk didn’t like dealing in What ifs.
Punk asked, “What if Roman Reigns was here tonight?” The fans chanted for Reigns, but Punk said this was why he didn’t like dealing in What ifs because they weren’t rooted in reality, and Reigns wasn’t there. The fans booed, but Punk said they couldn’t be booing him because he was there. Boots on the ground every Monday night, making every town on every tour.
Punk asked, What if Bálor beat him? Well, no risk and no reward. Reigns would be on Raw next week. What if Punk didn’t wait until Mania and punched Reigns in the face next Monday?
He didn’t deal in What ifs—he dealt in facts. He didn’t have to ask “What if he was the champion” like Bálor did, because he was the champion. He was the best in the world. He was the main event of WrestleMania. He was CM Punk.
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Omos greeted Petey Williams and Jeremy Borash backstage.
Triple threat Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Tag Team Champion IYO SKY vs. Kairi Sane vs. Raquel Rodriguez
As in the earlier triple threat match, the two smaller wrestlers tried working together against the bigger wrestler, but that only lasted so long. Rodriguez caught both women and nailed a double fallaway slam. Also, like in the earlier match, one wrestler wiped out the others with a moonsault ahead of a break (this time an Asai moonsault by Sky).
Sky hit Sane with a missile dropkick, and the crowd got behind her until she was levelled by Rodriguez. Sky saved Sane from a Tejana Bomb moments later, and they drove her into the ring post. Sky hit Rodriguez with a suicide dive, and Sane followed with an Insane elbow on Rodriguez to the outside. Sky dropkicked Rodriguez into the timekeeper’s area before Sane hit Sky with a spinning backfist.
Sky avoided an Insane elbow in the ring and hit a moonsault. She had it won, but Rodriguez broke up the cover by yanking Sane out of the ring. Sky hit Rodriguez with a missile dropkick and meteora. Rodriguez tried fighting her off, but Sky nailed a tornado DDT. She set up for a moonsault, but Sane shoved her out of the ring.
Sane went for an Insane elbow, but she missed. Cole said Rodriguez got her knees up, but that’s not what happened. Rodriguez was already rolling out of the way as Sane was coming down. Anyway, Rodriguez followed with a Tejana Bomb for the pinfall win.
Match result: Raquel Rodriguez defeated Kairi Sane and IYO SKY to qualify for the Women’s Elimination Chamber (10:53)
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Next week on Raw in Indianapolis:
- Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Penta for the Intercontinental Championship
- Gunther vs. Dragon Lee
- Roman Reigns “returns”
Kelley interviewed Jade Cargill during a break, but she was cut off mid-sentence as they returned from break.
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AJ Styles tribute
They started with a terrific AJ Styles video package set to “Higher” by Creed (quite the throwback). Steve Austin called him the best wrestler on two feet, Kurt Angle called him the most talented wrestler been in the ring with, and Undertaker said he couldn’t think of a better person to have his last match with. There were also kind words from Bayley, Miz, Orton, and his wife, Wendy. This was all set to footage of Styles wrestling in TNA and WWE.
AJ Styles entered. (I guess he’s a little rusty, because he actually bumped into some staging equipment on the way out.) Styles took a deep breath in the ring as the fans and announcers gave him a standing ovation. Fans chanted, “Thank you, AJ.”
Styles joked that he thought about wearing a suit tonight, but the last time he did, he beat the piss out of Cody Rhodes, so he thought the better of it. Styles thought this would be easier, but if he got choked up, he wanted the fans to know it wasn’t because he was sad.
Styles was so grateful to be in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up 45 minutes down the road in Gainesville. People usually didn’t get to have a moment like this when they retired, so he was grateful. But at his core, he was still that kid from Gainesville who fell in love with professional wrestling.
He wrestled in Gainesville, in the TNA Asylum in Nashville, in the Tokyo Dome in Japan, and under the bright lights at WrestleMania. He wrestled some OGs in TNA — (Christopher) Daniel, (Samoa) Joe, and Frankie Kazarian. They made a mark on pro wrestling.
He went to Japan and met some good brothers. Gallows and Anderson showed him how to have fun in pro wrestling. It didn’t have to be serious all the time. If he was having fun, so were the fans.
He’s done almost everything. Almost. The one thing he hadn’t done was be a full-time father. (He pointed at his family in the front row.) He missed birthdays, anniversaries, and games. He missed it all, and that was tough.
His flex should be that he won all those world championships. But his biggest flex was having the best wife in the world. She never slowed him down or told him to stop. She kept pushing him forward. She held the family together even though he had to watch them grow on FaceTime. She was the one. He told her, “I love you,” and he thanked his kids for being there tonight.
He said things didn’t go the way the fans wanted to against Gunther at Royal Rumble. It wasn’t the way he thought it should go either. But it was poetic. Not many people got to go out where they started. He debuted in WWE at the Rumble in 2016, and his last match was the Rumble in 2026.
He didn’t leave his gloves in the ring that night, but he was a man of his word. He removed his leather vest and placed it on the ring. He said he didn’t remove his gloves because he wanted to take them with him, bring them to Atlanta, and leave them here at home.
He removed his gloves and placed them down on his vest in the ring.
He told the fans, “From the bottom of my heart, I would have been nothing without you. Thank you for your love, and I love you right back. Thank you.”
(The closing trademark graphic aired at this point, but the segment continued.)
Wrestlers and personnel filled the stage, and they all gave Styles a standing ovation as the fans chanted, “Thank you, AJ.”
The lights went out, and Undertaker’s music hit. Taker entered on his motorcycle (and to his Kid Rock theme song). Taker entered the ring with a microphone and looked down at Styles’ gloves. Taker remarked, “You’re just gonna leave your stuff here and leave?”
Taker said they had unfinished business. Styles looked surprised. Taker told him there was a saying, “If you see me coming, you’re already gone.” Well, Taker wanted to change it. Taker stated, “If you see me coming, that means you’re going.” The fans figured out what was coming, and so did Styles.
Taker announced that AJ Styles was the newest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. (This actually got the biggest pop of the night.)
Styles had a huge smile on his face as he appeared to be learning this for the first time. Styles’ family, now at ringside, all hugged as the fans chanted, “You deserve it.” Styles hugged Taker.
Styles’ family entered the ring, and they all embraced. Styles was pumped up as his music played and the show ended.
[The show was dedicated to the memory of Kerwin Silfies.]
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(As mentioned above, the Styles tribute was the highlight of the show. This was another dull show outside of that, but that won’t matter much this week. It is notable that this was another big city crowd that was quiet all night, as Toronto and Philadelphia were too.)
