Date: March 2, 2026
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN
The Big Takeaway —
CM Punk and Roman Reigns had their latest war of words. Reigns got the last word in their first encounter, while Punk got it here. After Reigns threatened to retire Punk, Punk threatened to bury Reigns next to his father.
Also, Penta won the Intercontinental Championship.
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Show Recap —
There was a full recap video of all four matches at Elimination Chamber, plus the debut of Danhausen (no crowd reaction included, of course).
CM Punk and AJ Lee, Judgment Day (minus Finn Bálor), and Gunther arrived at the arena.
They abruptly cut to Paul Heyman as he led Logan Paul and Austin Theory to the ring. Heyman wasn’t interested in starting the show the same way as always. So he gave us a talking segment. Heyman said, “I hate to piss on everyone’s parade, but excuse me while I whip this out. We are here to talk about Seth freakin’ Rollins.”
Heyman hated Rollins and his song. He said Rollins stole the credit for co-founding the Vision. He stole the credit for co-founding the Shield. He didn’t deserve credit for the Shield, but that wasn’t Heyman’s problem. Rollins stole the Elimination Chamber and the WrestleMania main event from Logan Paul.
Heyman said Rollins thieved oxygen from every human being on the planet that was worthy of living, and Mr. Lynch (Rollins) was not one of them. They planned on stomping Rollins’ ass the next time he stepped into a ring. That wasn’t a spoiler—that was a personal guarantee from the Vision.
Theory grabbed the mic to cut a useless promo. Fans drowned him out with “You suck” chants, and he responded, “Rollins ain’t in the ring right now, so you can’t chant that,” which is not a good comeback. Paul was pissed because he had eliminated three people in the Chamber, and the last person to do that was Brock Lesnar.
Paul called out Rollins, but he got Adam Pearce, who was not interested in hearing them complain. Pearce also accused them of taking out Jey Uso last week. Heyman didn’t appreciate that. Heyman remarked about Rollins, but Pearce said he would deal with Rollins personally because he wasn’t cleared to compete.
If you thought they were done with the masked men, you were wrong. Three different masked men appeared in the crowd, and they were chased away by the two idiots, Theory and Paul, as well as Pearce’s security.
That left Heyman alone in the ring. A fourth masked man appeared in the aisle, now abandoned by Pearce, who also fell for Rollins’ trick. Heyman pleaded with him as a fifth masked man appeared behind Heyman.
Rollins unmasked and hit Heyman in the back with a steel chair (like he did to Roman Reigns). Rollins curb stomped Heyman as the crowd went wild. Rollins left through the crowd as medical staff checked on Heyman.
Heyman was dragged away during a break, and his face was covered in fake blood. After the break, Theory and Paul ran to check on Heyman as he was being loaded into an ambulance. Paul left to get their car while Theory remained.
Theory wanted the ambulance to leave, but it didn’t. Theory checked on an SUV that pulled up, thinking it was Paul, but it was actually Jimmy Uso. Jimmy punched Theory and tossed him into some equipment boxes. Jimmy checked on the ambulance driver, who was LA Knight. Knight said he’d take great care of Heyman, and he drove off.
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Gunther vs. Dragon Lee
Dragon Lee attacked Gunther from behind during his entrance. He blindsided Gunther a few weeks ago, got beaten up, and it happened again here. Gunther fought him off and gave him a back body drop into the timekeeper’s area.
The match started during a break, and Gunther dominated throughout the break, when they came back from break, and through a second break. (Dragon got a brief flash of offence, but Gunther blocked his dive attempt and cut him down with a chop.)
Dragon fired back in time from them to return from break. He hit an enziguri and a low dropkick, but Gunther cut him off with a powerslam and hit two consecutive powerbombs. Gunther covered Lee and had it won, but lifted him up at the two count.
Gunther rolled Lee outside the ring before powerbombing him into the edge of the ring and onto the announce table. Gunther could have taken a count-out win, but he left the ring to try another powerbomb, but Lee countered into a sunset flip. Lee followed with a suicide dive and Operation Dragon.
Lee almost won by count-out, but Gunther slipped back in at nine. Lee managed to drop Gunther with a clothesline (after trying unsuccessfully a few times earlier).
Lee fired up and went for Operation Dragon again, but Gunther caught him in a sleeper. As they started going down to the mat, Gunther ripped Lee’s mask off (and you could see his face for a split second). Lee immediately tapped out as a result.
Match result: Gunther defeated Dragon Lee (14:19)
This was pretty fun by the end. Dragon Lee firing back after getting powerbombed on the apron and the table was a bit much, though. The crowd was into this, and it already seems like a much better crowd than they’ve had the past few weeks.
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Asuka admonished Kairi Sane backstage until Sane was stunned into silence. AJ Lee walked by and checked on Sane, who was frozen and staring out into space until Asuka called her away. AJ made her way to the ring.
AJ Lee segment
Lee said she wasn’t sure how they got here. She returned to snatch the pretty hair off Becky Lynch’s big-ass head, but she wound up snatching her title. There was a modest, “You deserve it” chant.
She said the fans thought she could still go. They believed in her and had her back for a decade. They remembered her when some people wished that they would forget. They made her believe that she could still fight the very best.
That’s exactly what Lynch was. She was the best of the best, but Lee beat her. Lynch gave her the fight of her life—and she had the scars to prove it—but she proved to herself she could still be championship material. She was still who she thought she was. But now that “Becky boo-boo” was behind her, WrestleMania was ahead of her.
She wanted to be a fighting champion. It’s been 12 years since she won a title, and she wouldn’t waste any time. She called on anyone who wanted a shot because she planned on defending the Intercontinental Championship the next time she stepped into the ring.
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The Original El Grande Americano (Chad Gable) wished Penta luck on his IC title match, but said he’d be first in line for a title match if he won. Penta was cool with this.
El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) and the other two confronted the Original after Penta left. Kaiser referenced their upcoming match on the next AAA show on March 14th. Gable wanted to fight tonight, but would gladly face Bravo or Rayo instead.
Liv Morgan promo
Liv Morgan cut a pre-taped promo on Stephanie Vaquer. She said Vaquer didn’t know anything about her or her struggles. But Vaquer was right about her being privileged. She got signed to WWE when she was 20 years old, while Vaquer was rejected in her first tryout. She had the best of the best, while Vaquer grew up with mud hut wrestling in flea-infested rings. That all happened because Morgan was a star.
Morgan didn’t dwell on her past as Vaquer did. Despite everything that’s happened, she sees some of herself in Vaquer. She was hard-working, talented, and a great champion. So Morgan would give her something at WrestleMania—the privilege of facing the Liv Morgan.
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Original El Grande Americano vs. Rayo Americano (w/ El Grande Americano & Bravo Americano)
Gable Americano had control until a Kaiser Americano distraction allowed Rayo to hit a dive and take control through a break. Gable fought back in time for them to return from break. Gable tried ripping off the masks of Bravo and Rayo, but the distractions allowed Kaiser to hit a headbutt. Rayo followed with a running headbutt and a diving headbutt for a nearfall.
More distractions and more interference led to a schoolboy and nearfall for Bravo. Gable came back with a Chaos Theory suplex for the pinfall win.
Match result: Original El Grande Americano defeated Rayo Americano (10:10)
It’s about time they move on from this gimmick for Gable. I know Kaiser has a good thing going in AAA, but the American crowds aren’t into this anymore, and Gable in particular feels miscast. Not to mention the other two guys.
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Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez played darts backstage. Morgan suggested that Rodriguez challenge AJ Lee for the IC title, win the belt, and go into Mania as champion. Rodriguez liked that idea (and acted like she never thought of this).
Dominik Mysterio was stressed out about his title defence. JD McDonagh said they had his back. Finn Bálor entered the room. He wasn’t happy about the result on Saturday, but he was at peace with it.
Dom said they could now focus on his title match. Bálor said this was something he had to do on his own, like he said last week. Dom simply meant that he wanted to celebrate with them post-match. Bálor said they could count on him to celebrate together.
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Rusev and Oba Femi segment
After a clip of Oba Femi beating The Miz on SmackDown, Rusev marched out through the crowd and stood on the announce desk. Rusev was tired of hearing about Femi and called him out for a fight right now.
Femi entered the ring and told Rusev to join him. They traded right hands, and Femi got the better of it, but Rusev avoided a chokeslam and hit consecutive kicks. Femi dropped him with a chokeslam anyway and clotheslined him out of the ring.
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Bayley and Lyra Valkyria spoke backstage. They had one of those conversations that makes you wonder if they ever talk outside of the show. Bayley was frustrated that they both missed out on the Chamber, and she felt stuck.
Valkyria didn’t want to see Bayley miss Mania again. She suggested that Bayley go after AJ Lee and her title. Like Rodriguez earlier, Bayley somehow never thought of this idea. Valkyria told Bayley to go talk to Pearce and get a title match. Bayley was about to leave, but she recalled costing Valkyria her IC shot with Lynch, so she invited Valkyria to join her.
Bayley and Valkyria walked to Pearce’s office, which happened to be around the corner. Iyo Sky left his office the moment they arrived, and she was not in a good mood.
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Jimmy Uso vs. Austin Theory
This ended quickly by DQ. Jimmy set up Theory for a splash through the table, but turned his attention to Paul, who slipped into the ring. Jimmy attacked Paul as the referee watched. Theory tried to save Paul but was tackled by Jimmy, and the referee finally called for a DQ when Paul attacked Jimmy from behind.
— The Vision hammered away on Jimmy until Jey Uso’s music hit. Jey appeared from behind (like Rollins earlier) and slid a crutch to Jimmy. They attacked Paul and Theory with crutches and laid out Theory with a 1D.
Match result: Jimmy Uso defeated Austin Theory via disqualification (2:41)
They don’t want Theory to lose, but they’re afraid to have him beat anybody.
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Danhausen approached Pearce backstage. (He only received a modest pop, but at least he wasn’t booed.) Danhausen said he debuted to thunderous applause, so he had a list of demands written on a napkin. He wanted a blimp, his face on all the trucks, a Hall of Fame induction this year, a personal assistant, and a Triple H pointing photo. Pearce asked why the napkin was soggy. Danhausen said it fell in the toilet.
Judgment Day walked by, and Pearce took the opportunity to bail so they could deal with Danhausen instead. Danhausan was happy to see them, but didn’t know McDonagh’s name. Danhausen also liked the look of Dom’s IC title belt.
Danhausen cursed Dom, and they laughed him off. But when they turned their attention back to Danhausen, he was gone.
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Rhea Ripley interview
Jackie Redmond interviewed Rhea Ripley, accompanied by Iyo Sky, on the stage. Ripley said it’s been a whirlwind couple of days. Losing the tag titles on SmackDown sucked. It especially sucked because Sky meant a lot to her, including being her best friend. Ripley thanked her for always being there for her and pulling her out of a dark situation.
Sky said Ripley did the same for her. Sky said Ripley won the Chamber and showed everyone why Mami was always on top. Sky told Ripley she would be fine on Raw and told Ripley to go handle her business and win the title at WrestleMania. They hugged. (In fact, they held each other the entire segment until the end.) Ripley said she would win the title for Sky.
Ripley told Sky to hold down Raw because she was headed to SmackDown on Friday to see Jade Cargill face-to-face, and at WrestleMania, she would leave as champion. Sky leaped into Ripley’s arms.
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Next week on Raw in Seattle:
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender’s Gauntlet Match: IYO SKY, Lyra Valkyria, Bayley, Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka and Ivy Nile
- Oba Femi vs. Rusev
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Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (c) (w/ Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh) vs. Penta
Penta hit a flip dive, and they went to break one minute into the match. (I wish I kept track of how many times that’s happened in a Penta match.) Bálor and McDonagh watched peacefully while seated at ringside. Penta took too much time staring them down, which allowed Dom to take over. Even Michael Cole noted this was Penta’s own fault.
Dom cut off Penta’s comeback attempt after a break and hit an Edge-o-matic. (Cole had a new name for it, but I’m not sure what he said.) Dom went for three amigos, but Penta countered the last suplex into one of his own. Dom cut him off again, this time with a DDT onto the apron. After Dom used a dive to take out Penta outside the ring, Dom also hit a running crossbody, sending them both over the barricade and into the timekeeper’s area. (Cole said Penta was once again staring over at Bálor and JD as this happened.)
During a break, Dom tied Penta’s mask to the bottom rope and stomped away at him. (For whatever reason, they always seem to do this spot to Penta, and sometimes Dargon Lee, only during commercial breaks. It’s happened multiple times.)
Penta fought back in time for them to return from break (again). Penta hit a superkick with Dom trapped upside down in the corner, followed by a backstabber for two. Penta went for a Destroyer, but Dom countered into a Michinoku Driver for two.
Dom went for a frog splash, but Penta blocked it and snapped his arm, followed by a Penta Driver for a close nearfall. A frustrated Penta repeatedly booted Dom in the corner until the referee made him stop. Penta tried driving Dom into the corner, but Dom ducked, and Penta went shoulder-first into the post.
Penta sold like he was hurt, so the ref checked on him as Dom told McDonagh to grab the ring bell hammer. McDonagh grabbed it, but Bálor stopped him, and the fans cheered. As McDonagh and Bálor argued, Penta wiped them out with a dive.
Back in the ring, Penta set up a Destroyer, but Dom tripped him onto the middle rope. However, Penta ducked a 619 and hit a Canadian Destroyer for the pinfall win. Penta is the new champion. The crowd was happy.
— Penta posed with his new belt as fireworks went off.
Match result: Penta defeated Dominik Mysterio (16:24)
This was the right call here. Penta was long overdue for a win like this, and frankly, Dom isn’t much of a champion.
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Roman Reigns and CM Punk main event segment
Roman Reigns entered. He told Indianapolis to acknowledge him. They did. Before he could say anything else, CM Punk entered. They both got big reactions.
Punk asked why Reigns why he was mean-mugging him. Punk was just feeding his ego and acknowledging him. Punk hoped Reigns would say more than “acknowledge me” because they pay a lot of money for one of Reigns’ dates, and that could’ve been a tweet.
Reigns asked “Phil” if his tweet (following Elimination Chamber) hurt his feelings because, for a champion, Punk had thin skin.
Punk said the tweet didn’t hurt his feelings. He didn’t care what people tweeted. He didn’t hold grudges about what people said about him on podcasts (like Reigns did). Reigns’ tweet was accurate, though, because Punk was tired. It was a good thing Punk had bags under his eyes because he had to carry Reigns’ bullshit all the way to WrestleMania.
Punk said they had history here in Indianapolis. This was where the Shield debuted and where Punk brought him to the dance. Reigns corrected him because Punk only brought in the other two, not him.
Punk said they remembered things differently. But if Punk didn’t pick him, Reigns certainly picked Punk for the main event of WrestleMania. If you ask the fans, they’d tell you he (Punk) already won. The last time they were face-to-face, Reigns told him that he hated him. Now, Punk said, “I got you right where I want you. I made you this emotional lady.” (An odd thing to say, but not the first time Punk’s had a line like that.) Punk said he was in Reigns’ head—as empty as it was.
Reigns reiterated that he hated Phil. But if he didn’t have the title, Phil wouldn’t even be on his radar. Reigns said we brought Phil back to entertain the 30- to 40-year-old virgins who lived with their parents. To sell a few t-shirts and maybe draw a house in Chicago. But not to be the champion. That was too much responsibility and power for Punk. It was above his paygrade.
Reigns said we can’t trust Phil because he is a liar. He lied to the people. He has them thinking that he was having a good time, that he was a leader, that he was smiling as he made every town, hanging out with his cousins (the Usos). But we knew the truth. His cousins told him all about Phil’s bitching and moaning. He wasn’t CM Punk—he was just a punk-ass bitch.
Reigns would end Punk’s backup plan (his WWE return) at WrestleMania. After taking his title, Reigns would put him on a John Cena retirement tour. They would make as much money off Punk as they could until they sent him to NXT, where Punk would teach the next generation until they sent them to the main roster so the Tribal Chief could snatch everyone of them.
Reigns was about to leave, but Punk pulled him back. Punk said they weren’t done. Punk wondered who Reigns meant when he kept saying “we” because he was all alone. Alone on his bus, alone in his room. His cousins weren’t with him. The Shield couldn’t help him. The wiseman was gone because Punk took him away. This all illustrated Reigns’ entire career: “You chasing me.”
Punk was the champion, and Reigns was in the main event because Punk was in the main event. This was Punk’s show. He was in the locker room and hanging out with the Usos while Reigns was alone. Reigns could hate him all he wanted, but Reigns would not disrespect him.
Punk took particular offence to Reigns saying he would retire him. Because now, Punk said, he wouldn’t just beat Reigns at Mania, he’d bury him. “And then you won’t be all alone anymore because I’m going to bury you next to your father.”
Punk slammed the mic down and left as Reigns was left speechless.
