Date: March 9, 2026
Location: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA
The Big Takeaway —
Raw concluded with another heated exchange, this time between CM Punk and The Usos.
Also, Judgment Day turned on Finn Bálor and laid him out. Notably, JD McDonagh aligned himself with Dom and the rest of Judgment Day.
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Show Recap —
Penta (wearing no makeup under his mask), Asuka and Kairi Sane (with Iyo Sky looking on from the hallway), Oba Femi, Rusev, and CM Punk were shown arriving at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
There was a long recap video of Seth Rollins attacking Paul Heyman last week.
Adam Pearce was in the ring to start the show. Pearce said he had some unfortunate business to attend to, and he called out Seth Rollins. He figured Rollins was in the building because he knew The Vision was.
At least a dozen masked men appeared ringside (and the crowd chanted, “Holy shit” for some reason). They scampered around the ring to cause confusion and, as Michael Cole stated, played some sort of shell game. This was pointless. They all left the ring to leave one man standing—Seth Rollins, of course. Rollins works there, so I’m not sure why he went through all this trouble. Even Pearce questioned why he did this.
Pearce also questioned Rollins’ recent attacks on the Vision, wondering what would happen once Rollins’ plan didn’t work. Pearce reiterated that Rollins was not cleared, and if the Vision got their hands on him, it would be the end of Seth Rollins.
Logan Paul and Austin Theory, the remaining members of the Vision, interrupted. They wanted to be the ones responsible for Rollins’ end. They hit the apron, but the many masked men entered the ring to guard Rollins. Rollins put his mask back on as the others played their distraction game again, allowing Rollins to escape. (This looked so silly.)
With Rollins gone, LA Knight marched out to attack Theory and Paul. He was overwhelmed, so The Usos ran out to help him out and clear the ring. The three babyfaces posed together as the heels left.
(This was a nonsense segment. I understand Rollins being elusive to escape The Vision at full strength, but they’re down to their two least intimidating members.)
Cole announced there was no timetable for Heyman’s return.
Jackie Redmon caught up to the Usos, who seemed like they were about to leave the arena already. They said they had receipts for the Vision. Jey was red-hot, but Jimmy was more even-keeled. Redmond asked about CM Punk’s comments to Roman Reigns. Jey didn’t want to comment, and he was ready to go, but Jimmy did have something he wanted to say. They made their way back in the direction they came from.
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Women’s Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender’s Gauntlet Match
– Lyra Valkyria vs. IYO SKY
Valkyria dropped Sky off the top rope to take control ahead of a break. Sky hit a flapjack as they returned and continued with strikes, a butterfly backbreaker, and a corner meteora. Valkyria came back with an enziguri, a tornado DDT, and a high-angle fisherman’s suplex for two. Sky countered a Nightwing with a double foot stomp, buzzsaw kick to the head, and a moonsault for the pinfall win.
Match result: IYO SKY eliminated Lyra Valkyria (9:21)
– IYO SKY vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Rodriguez had control from the onset and hit a shoulder tackle, which saw Sky take a great-looking bump. As in the previous match, Sky was worked over throughout the entirety of a commercial break. When they returned, Sky hit a hurricanrana off the top and followed with a missile dropkick.
Sky woke up the crowd by doing her pose. She hit the meteora and went for a moonsault, but Liv Morgan appeared at ringside to distract her, and Rodriguez knocked her off the top.
Stephanie Vaquer ran out to attack Morgan all the way to the back. Sky flew off the top and captured Rodriguez in a small package for the pinfall win.
— Rodriguez was pissed, so she booted Sky out of the ring, lawn-darted her into the ring post, and hit a Tejana Bomb onto the edge of the ring.
Match result: IYO SKY eliminated Raquel Rodriguez (6:18)
– Ivy Nile vs. IYO SKY
Ivy Nile sprinted out and immediately covered Sky for the surprise elimination.
The crowd liked Sky, so the Rodriguez post-match beat-down and this elimination got a lot of heat.
Match result: Ivy Nile eliminated IYO SKY (0:05)
– Ivy Nile vs. Bayley
Bayley made the mistake of checking on Sky as she entered, so Nile attacked her from behind and held control throughout an early commercial break. Bayley fought back when they returned with suplexes and a diving elbow drop for two. Nile responded with a German suplex for two. With Nile seated on the middle turnbuckle, Bayley ran up from behind and hit her own German suplex for two.
Nile followed with an impressive delayed vertical suplex (which got a round of applause) for two. Nile then hit a superplex and a spinning Uranage, but Bayley fell out of the ring. Nile went after her, so Bayley drove her into the ring steps.
Bayley hit an elbow drop on the apron and followed with Bayley-to-belly for the pinfall elimination.
Match result: Bayley eliminated Ivy Nile (9:10)
– Bayley vs. Asuka (w/ Kairi Sane)
This was the final match in the gauntlet.
As Asuka entered with Sane, Bayley immediately nailed her with a suicide dive. (There was a great slow-motion replay of this. Sane was posing for the camera as her friend got wiped out behind her.) Despite the dive, they had to follow their usual pattern. Sane distracted Bayley, and Asuka kicked her in the head to take control ahead of an early break.
Asuka had control through the break, but when they returned, Bayley hit a sunset flip powerbomb into the bottom turnbuckle for two. Asuka applied an ankle lock, but as Bayley got close to the rope, Asuka dropped into a cradle for two. Bayley applied an ankle lock/leg lock of her own, but Asuka got a rope break. Asuka hit an elevated knee, but Bayley fought back with a running knee strike for two. Asuka hit a series of strikes, which led to a two count. They traded counters until Bayley hit a Bayley-to-belly for a nearfall.
Asuka distracted the referee so that Sane could attack Bayley outside the ring, but Valkyria flew in and dropkicked Sane into the side of the ring. Bayley tried a diving elbow, but Asuka countered into an Asuka Lock. Bayley countered into a cover, but Asuka’s shoulders were up, so Bayley picked her up and hit Rose Plant for the pinfall win.
Bayley is now the number one contender for AJ Lee’s IC title. Bayley posed with Valkyria in the ring, while Asuka confronted Sane outside of it.
Match result: Bayley eliminated Asuka to win the gauntlet match (8:48)
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There was a video package of Punk’s encounter with Reigns last week.
Nattie cut a promo on the stage on Maxxine Dupri during a break until she was attacked from behind by Dupri. Officials pulled Dupri away, so Nattie popped up and decked her.
Danhausen approached Original Grande Americano (Chad Gable) backstage. Danhausen was cheered. He tried to take Americano’s mask to try it on, but Americano told him never to touch a luchador’s mask. Americano wanted him to leave so he could focus on his upcoming IC title match. Danhausen didn’t appreciate being shooed away, so he cursed Gable (and the crowd sang along). Gable was unconcerned with being cursed.
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Penta entered with his new IC title belt, and he cut a strong promo. He thanked his family, his friends, the company, and the fans. He thanked anyone who believed in him. He also thanked himself because he believed he could achieve the IC title. The title was not just for him; it was for everyone who did not give up. He represented all of them. He was their new IC champion, ready to make history. He fired up and cut the rest of his promo in Spanish, and the fans were into him.
El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) entered, but of course, he is not Penta’s opponent. Penta was hot over this, but he invited El Grande into the ring anyway.
Cole wasn’t sure what was going on because Penta was supposed to face Gable Americano, but Corey Graves said this could be because of Danhausen’s curse.
Intercontinental Championship: Penta (c) vs. El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser)
This started during a break, and they went to another break minutes later. So the first 9 minutes or so included about 5 minutes of commercials.
I mentioned last week that Dominik Mysterio tied Penta’s mask to the bottom rope, a spot they always seem to do exclusively during commercial breaks. Well, sure enough, Americano did the spot during a break again.
Penta fought back after the break, hitting a flip dive and flying crossbody for two. Americano responded with a spinebuster for two. Penta hit a superkick, but Americano countered a Destroyer attempt into a Finlay roll for two.
Americano came off the middle rope, but Penta caught him with a Codebreaker and followed with a Canadian Destroyer for the decisive pinfall win.
Match result: Penta defeated El Grande Americano to retain the Intercontinental Championship (12:10)
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Stephanie Vaquer cut a pre-taped promo on Liv Morgan (which included subtitles, as she went back and forth between English and Spanish). Vaquer said she knew how good Morgan was and how hard she had trained since being signed at 20. But she hated Morgan’s stupid laugh and that she was too ignorant to use her skills. Morgan hid behind a trashy man and sent her friends to do her dirty work. Morgan claimed Vaquer came from “mud huts,” but she was proud of where she came from.
Vaquer was forged from her experiences. They took different roads to get there, but both had the skill to be there. The difference was that Morgan became lazy. Morgan saw herself as a cheap blonde and always took the easy way to win championships. She would need to bring every trick to WrestleMania because Vaquer would bring blood, sweat, and her experience. Vaquer would continue to make history as world champion.
They cut to Morgan backstage, pissed at Vaquer for saying she hid behind her friends. She was with JD McDonagh and Rodriguez, and she told Rodriguez she would help her get back in the title picture. Dom stormed in and asked if they’d seen Finn Bálor. They said no, but McDonagh went to look for him.
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Danhausen entered during a break. He was universally cheered. (Doing this during a break was likely a test to see how the fans would react.) Danhausen handed out t-shirts and did his catchphrase. (The t-shirts were probably also a backup plan in case he got booed. I think they’re in the clear now.)
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José Valenzuela was in the front row, as were Mike Morris and Ernest Jones of the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks.
Dominik Mysterio and Finn Bálor segment
Dom entered with Morgan and Rodriguez. He was upset about losing the IC title. He wanted a rematch and thought he should still be champion, but he wasn’t because of Finn Bálor. Dom didn’t want to do this in public, but Bálor was making him.
Bálor entered with McDonagh. Dom asked where the hell he’s been. Dom hoped Bálor was there to tell him that he got him an IC title rematch.
Bálor said Dom was right. If it weren’t for him, Dom would still be IC champion. For that, Bálor was sorry. Bálor was just trying to help and teach him a lesson. Judgment Day was a family, and they’d always have Dom’s back.
Bálor knew Dom wanted to be the greatest Mysterio of all-time, but he had to learn to fight his own battles. Bálor has been trying to guide him for two years, but the more he did that, the more he realized Dom’s dad was right. “Maybe you are just a spoiled little prick.” (I think he said “prick” anyway. They censored it. Since when is “prick” a swear?)
Dom shoved Bálor, so Bálor dropped him with a Pelé Kick. Bálor was about to pummel Dom, but McDonagh pulled him off to calm him down. Dom tried to sneak attack, so Bálor hit him with a slingblade.
Bálor set up for a running dropkick, but McDonagh levelled him with a clothesline. (This was meant to be a shocking moment with JD turning on his long-time friend, and the crowd reacted as such, but Cole sure didn’t.)
The entire Judgment Day (Dom, Morgan, Rodriguez and JD) put the boots to Bálor before Dom grabbed the bell hammer. Bálor tried to fight back, but Dom clocked him with the hammer.
McDonagh held Bálor down against the rope allowing Dom to hit a 619, as the crowd told Dom that he sucked. Dom hit a frog splash. McDonagh placed a steel chair on Bálor, and Dom hit another frog splash.
(This was a good, simple angle. Bálor is finally a babyface and finally out of Judgment Day.)
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Backstage, Pearce put over Je’Von Evans’ performance in the Elimination Chamber and saw big things for him in 2026. Evans said he wouldn’t let him down. Pearce told him to enjoy the week, and Evans was pleasantly surprised to hear he had the whole week off.
Evans was approached by Kofi Kingston and Grayson Waller. Waller tried confronting him, but Kingston told Waller to leave.
Kingston told Evans that they got off on the wrong foot. Xavier Woods got injured, and Offset was out of line. Kinston got offended and took it out on Evans. But the truth was, Evans reminded him of himself.
Kingston became WWE Champion and thought Evans could do the same. Evans just needed the right team behind him. Evans was about to turn him down, but Kingston told him to think about it. Kingston offered a handshake. Evans didn’t shake his hand, but did say he’d think about it.
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Redmond interviewed Bayley about her IC title match next week. Bayley thanked Valkyria for having her back earlier. She called AJ Lee a legend, and if it wasn’t for her, a lot of them wouldn’t be there now. The IC title was one she’s wanted to win since it was created. Bayley also offered Valkyria a shot if she won.
Oba Femi vs. Rusev
Femi was in control until Rusev kicked him off the apron, drove him into the ring post, and hit a spinning heel kick that sent Femi into the announce table. Rusev hit a Machka kick in the ring, but Femi exploded out of the corner with an uppercut. Femi followed with a biel and Fall from Grace for the pinfall win.
This was all this needed to be.
Match result: Oba Femi defeated Rusev (3:07)
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Next week on Raw in San Antonio:
- Brock Lesnar appears (presumably without Paul Heyman)
- AJ Lee (c) vs. Bayley for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship
- Original El Grande Americano vs. El Grande Americano
- Roman Reigns appears
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Main event segment with CM Punk and The Usos
Punk entered to a big reaction. He signed autographs and shook hands with fans during a break. He gave a shout-out to the Seahawks.
Punk admitted he wasn’t sure how the fans would react to him. He thought some of them would be mad at him. Some people were upset about things he said last week. One thing in particular was categorized as disrespectful.
He knew Roman Reigns never respected him. But Punk would force him to respect the position he held. Championships were made to find out who the best were. The best go on to defend their championships. This title, in particular, was created because Reigns shunned his championship responsibilities and refused to defend his title.
Punk defended his title because he was proud of it, and the fans deserved a fighting champion. When Punk defended the title, he levelled up the competition. If you faced him, you had to level up physically and verbally. Otherwise, he would leave you dumbfounded and slack-jawed like Reigns was last week. Unfortunately, Punk lowered himself to Reigns’ level, and it’s been on his mind all week.
The Usos entered. Jey was red hot and told Punk to apologize right now. Punk asked why Reigns was still sending his cousins to do his heavy-lifting. Jey said they came out there on their own and told him again to apologize.
Jimmy said this had nothing to do with Reigns and everything to do with respect. Jimmy told “Phil” that he respected him because he spoke from his mind and ran right through his obstacles. Jimmy said Punk called himself the voice of the voiceless, and he could talk trash about Reigns all he wanted, but he disrespected their late uncle, who had no voice. Jimmy told Punk to apologize.
Punk said Jimmy was right. Sika didn’t have a voice. Punk wasn’t spiritual, but he knew the Usos were. He asked if they believed Sika could hear them now. Jimmy said yes. Punk hoped he could hear this.
Punk said he was friends with the Usos, and he went back a long way with their family. He respected Sika, but didn’t know him as well as he knew Afa. When he lived in Philadelphia, he would drive to Allentown, Pennsylvania, to wrestle. He wouldn’t say he wrestled for free. Afa was generous enough to give him gas money, food or a roof over his head if needed. But Punk was really paid in knowledge, sitting under the Wild Samoan’s learning tree. It was a thrill to sit in the back of a pick-up truck with Samu and have him drop knowledge.
Everyone in their family showed him respect—except for that one son of a bitch. If the Usos believed that Sika could hear and see this, then Sika could also see what a lying, conniving, backstabbing, manipulative, gaslighting, egotistical, narcissistic, plastic, politician his son Roman is.
Jey got in Punk’s face and reminded him that this wasn’t about Reigns. He told Punk to apologize. (Some fans chanted, “Say ‘you’re sorry.’”)
Punk shook each of their hands and said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry Roman Reigns treated the two of you and the rest of his family in the Bloodline like garbage for years and never once came out here publicly to apologize for the way he treated his ‘family’ that he loves.”
Punk was sorry that Reigns disrespected one of his mentors, Dusty Rhodes, when he called him irrelevant and was somehow not on the hook for apologizing, but Punk somehow was. He was sorry that Reigns had tricked everyone into thinking that he gave a single damn about any of them or any of this. Because if Reigns did care about them or the people or him or the business, Punk would be talking to him right now instead of his young boys.
Punk shoved the mic into Jey’s chest, so Jey shoved him back. Punk was about to return the favour, but Jimmy dropped him with a right hand. Punk sat up and watched as Jimmy and Jey left the ring.
