WWE Monday Night Raw Review – 03.23.26

Tonight, the Road to WrestleMania continues! We have a lot of stuff announced and it all sounds like stuff I’ve reviewed before. CM Punk and Roman Reigns have things to say again! Dominik Mysterio vs Penta, a match we’ve seen in singles form five times in the last year! The Vision against The Usos, something that has been going on in endless variations since I started reviewing this show! Bayley and Lyra Valkyria against the Kabuki Warriors! Well, at least I have Danhausen to be excited about.

The week in WWE: Raw / NXT / Evolve / Impact / SmackDown / Rey de Reyes Week Two

Might I also interest you in joining the 1999 timeline and the SmackDown Rewind with me?

Then, Now, Forever, Together

This is the capital of Massachusetts, Boston, and this is the TD Garden, live on Netflix and presented by DoorDash.

Arrivals! Dominik Mysterio and Judgment Day are in an elevator! Lyra Valkyria and Bayley chat on a storage box! The Usos yeeting at the Cricket advertisement! Je’Von Evans who comes across IShowSpeed! Celebrities, they love Raw! No, it’s too early for that. Plus, CM Punk and Roman Reigns. WrestleMania is a mere 26 nights of treading water away.

Here’s a look back at Oba Femi taking down Brock Lesnar last week.

Brock Lesnar and WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman enter to a chorus of boos, Brock with his new “FAF5” shirt and Paul having found his razor and eye medication since last week. The fans chant for Oba Femi as Paul runs his normal lines. Paul talks about Brock destroying twenty or so masked men and calls Oba so overhyped that it makes him gag. Of course, Paul would never hang with people overhyped (he manages Austin Theory right now). Paul questions how many times we’ve heard the WWE hype machine call the next Brock opponent the next next big thing, naming names that haven’t conquered Brock like Goldberg, Strowman, Ambrose (the fans react), Lashley, Styles, and Cena.

The lights drop and the drums hit, bringing out Oba Femi to all the chanting and grunting he gets now. Brock attacks and tries for a F5, Oba dips out and clotheslines Brock to the floor. Brock looks on in shock as the fans very loudly chant for Oba. Paul begs Brock to not go back in and Brock yells, “you ain’t that lucky, boy!” before backing up the ramp smiling. I’m assuming we see Brock one more time before Mania where he gets the advantage over Oba.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves greet us from ringside before sending us to a video package on Dominik Mysterio, who thinks he would still be Intercontinental Champion if it wasn’t for Finn Balor.

WWE World Tag Team Champions The Usos (Main Event Jey Uso and Big Jim Uso) vs The Vision (Austin Theory and Logan Paul)

The Usos yeet through the crowd and with children as Cole yeets on the announce table. This is non-title and Heyman is not out with his Vision boys tonight. You know what we’ve never seen on Raw before? THE USOS VS THE VISION. Thank goodness they’re finally interacting. Heavy sarcasm. Here’s a clip of Logan getting into it with Tom Brady at a flag football game. The Usos will be a part of MLB Opening Night on Netflix.

Jey and Austin start it out and tussle a little bit with no real excitement to send us to a commercial break. As we return, Cole sends out a bit of love to the family of Dennis Condrey. Jey hits Theory with some right hands and rolls him into the corner, Theory coming back with the turnbuckle pad and tossing it at Jey’s head for a distraction. Jey hits the big spear and heads up top, Logan knocking him down and tossing Big Jim into the ring post as well. Logan gets the brass knuckles out and L.A. Knight joins us, appearing behind Logan and tossing him into the stairs. Knight tosses the knucks to Jey, who puts them on and smacks Theory, knocking him out and getting disqualified. Well, that’s a way to end it. Jey runs in after the ring announcement and decks Logan as well.

Jey Uso is disqualified, The Vision defeat The Usos. An abbreviated tag match that felt like it lost a lot to the ad break, but the ending felt very flat. I’m sure these gentlemen are not done with each other. Ever. They’ll never stop The Usos & L.A. Knight vs The Vision much like they’ll never stop The Simpsons.

Here’s a look at Reigns/Punk from last week. They’re here tonight and might just interact.

Becky Lynch joins us in the arena to share some thoughts. She questions why the fans boo her but cheer a woman who abandoned them for a decade, which is a fair point. “I took ten months off, not ten years, but I did it because you people got sick of seeing me succeed and win World Titles.” When she came back she went for the Intercontinental Title and says she made it the most important women’s title in all of wrestling and she’s damn proud of the title and what it represents. When she went home after losing it, her daughter was singing AJ’s theme and skipping and perhaps her daughter doesn’t realize she is the greatest of all time (they’re all saying it). “I murdered the divas era, I put a stake through its heart, its butterfly belted wings and ripped them off.”

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion AJ Lee runs out, no skipping tonight, and runs for Becky who retreats into the timekeeper’s area and through the crowd. AJ climbs the announce table and tells Becky that she knows she likes to fight dirty and Becky doesn’t want to get embarrassed. AJ thinks maybe if she embarrasses Becky one more time on the biggest stage, she’ll get her out of her life. AJ says she’ll give Becky what she wants, an Intercontinental Title shot at WrestleMania (Points To Sign) and Becky calls her a dope, telling her she skipped into her trap. Becky calls WrestleMania her domain and remembers the last time AJ competed at Mania and what happened the day after. She’ll end AJ at Mania. Well, at least that’s finally official. A good promo from both women here.

The Usos and Knight walk backstage, Jey thanking Knight for the help. Knight tells Jey he sounds like Roman again and Jey spouts up on him. This is framed, by the way, with the gigantic head of The Rock giving the eyebrow behind them on a production truck.

Celebrities! They love Raw! Here’s Derrick White and Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics are at ringside and very popular. Cole gives us a “go Knicks.”

Je’Von Evans vs Grayson Waller (with Kofi Kingston)

Grayson last competed on Raw in October in the #1 contender’s battle royal; he had singles action last week on Main Event against Shiloh Hill. He was cursed last week by Danhausen. Je’Von leaps onto Waller on the outside and with a huge crossbody for a two count. Waller tosses Evans outside and follows, choosing to argue with Kofi for help and Je’Von jumping on him to send us to an ad break.

We’re still going, coming back to Waller running into a super kick. Je’Von springboards onto Waller again and hits the Red Dot, Waller kicking out at two. Je’Von slips but still suplexes Waller, Waller taking a run outside and rolling back into a set of knees. Waller is able to knock Je’Von off the ropes and drops him for a quick two count, tossing him into the ring post as Je’Von holds his ear. Waller is hit with a super kick and Je’Von leaps up, taking him down with a top rope rana and springing up for the OG Cutter, getting the easy three count.

Je’Von Evans pins Grayson Waller. Another impressive performance for Je’Von and Waller looked good in there too. They should do more with Grayson. It’s also fun to listen to Corey geek out at the cool things that Je’Von does.

Raw General Manager Adam Pearce is outside of the trainer’s room, joined by Heyman. Heyman requests a match at Madison Square Garden next week with The Usos defending their belts against The Vision in a street fight. They’ll never stop. Pearce says he’ll consider it and tells Heyman to head to the ring because he requested time to address Seth Rollins. One would wonder why Paul didn’t manage his earlier mic time better to address everything he wanted to address, but it sounds like he really doesn’t want to talk about this.

Dennis Rodman was announced as a Hall of Fame inductee on Twitter and here’s some headlines from our favorite news sites that we work closely with.

Paul Heyman is back in the ring to take up some more television time. Prepare the masked men! Heyman tells us that he’s having a bad night because he’s relegated to a contractual appearance in Boston and because there is no one left for him to hide behind. Bronson is out, Bron is out, Brock has left, Logan and Theory are half-conscious. He thinks WWE isn’t big enough for both him and Seth, so maybe Seth should come down and “put me out of my own damn misery. Maybe it’s time that we do this right here, right now.”

Now don’t be shocked, but a masked man walks through the crowd. Paul doesn’t seem to see him. Masked Man hops on the announce table and Paul says he’s waiting for Seth Rollins, who pulls off not one but two masks. The police appear to tell Seth to get off the table and walk Seth back through the crowd, Paul telling him that he’s filed a restraining order and Seth is going to prison and his wife will divorce him because he’s a felon and CPS will come for his daughter, who Paul will adopt. Seth runs up the ramp and slugs Heyman, the officers following and cuffing Rollins. Adam Pearce, late as always, is out to scream at Seth. I wonder what important things Adam is doing to always miss the big things. The fans chant for Seth as they lead him out. “What an odd situation,” Cole notes when we return from break. Yes, that’s one way to describe it all.

Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane)

Neither team has a clearly defined path to WrestleMania, says Corey. Maybe they should challenge Gunther, who also doesn’t seem to have a path. I think Asuka could take down Gunther. Quick tags to start, leading us to a break before the match begins to mean things. Lyra tags in and leaps on the Warriors, kicking down Asuka and clotheslining Kairi. Lyra muscles Kairi up for a powerbomb and pin attempt. Sane gets a tag to Asuka as does Bayley, who elbows Asuka for a two count. Bayley grabs Asuka outside with a big Bayley-to-Belly which causes the monitor to almost take out Corey. The Warriors move and Bayley drops an elbow through the table, leaving Lyra on her own. Lyra hits Nightwing and gets the pin so that doesn’t matter.

Lyra Valkyria pins Kairi Sane, Bayley & Valkyria defeat the Kabuki Warriors. A good match, a bit disjointed at the end. Perhaps this will pave a path for these women to WrestleMania.

Jackie Redmond joins Bayley and Lyra in the ring, congratulating them on their victory and asking them if they are feeling pressure to find a way to WrestleMania. Jackie has not been watching the program. Lyra grabs the mic and challenges Lash Legend and Nia Jax, Bayley snatching it and getting booed when she calls MSG the most famous arena in the world (oops, sorry Boston). She challenges them to meet them next week. She should have just solved her entire problem by challenging them for a Mania match.

NXT Origins: Here’s a look at Tiffany Stratton in NXT. Tiffany was pretty great in NXT. Cole plugs Stand & Deliver, happening next Saturday (April 4) on YouTube in the U.S. and Netflix elsewhere. I imagine the great Niz will have a review of it here, continuing his line of excellent NXT reviews.

IShowSpeed meets up with Penta. They do the Penta walk. Dragon Lee comes in and Speed asks if he is a dragon. Speed leaves and Penta tells Lee he has a rematch when he wants it. See, if Lee was smart he’d challenge for WrestleMania right now. Why aren’t these people just challenging for WrestleMania matches?

Would you like to buy a seat on the WrestleMania stage? Would you like your name printed on the ring canvas? These are opportunities available!

Pearce meets up with Speed, who is interrupted by Danhausen. “Hi, WWE Legend Danhausen, nice to meet you, very nice, very evil.” Danhausen suggests that Speed gives him his password, they change the name to IShowSpeedhausen and they share the profits. Speed refuses and is cursed. “CURSED?”

Here’s a look at the situation from Friday’s SmackDown with Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.

The WWE Fact of the Night: In 26 days, Randy Orton will challenge Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. We’re really stretching for fact ideas now. Still better than the old days though, when it would be about a WWE DVD being the #1 sports DVD for the week or Raw getting more reviewers than completely random TV shows.

Asuka is telling Kairi to make things up to her. Iyo Sky appears as Asuka leaves and tells Kairi she doesn’t deserve to be treated like Asuka is treating her. “KAAAAIRIIIII.” Iyo turns around into Raquel Rodriguez and Iyo looks three apples tall next to her. Raquel challenges her next week.

As Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan enter for Dom’s title match, WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer attacks Liv (and Dom). Liv and Stephanie fight back into the gorilla position and have to be pulled apart. Okay, they needed this. More of this.

WWE Intercontinental Championship: WWE Intercontinental Champion Penta vs AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio (with JD McDonough)

Cole calls Dom a sicko. I knew Dom was a big Collision fan. The great Alicia Taylor tries to give the championship introductions but Dom attacks, sending her running. Poor Alicia. Penta drops his corner boots on Dom and runs into a dropkick from Dom. Dom suicide dives onto Penta on the outside and longtime Raw viewers know that a suicide dive early in a match means we’re taking a commercial.

After break, Penta leaps onto Dom again as Corey tells Cole he should come hang out at AAA with him because JBL is there. Cole: “John’s there?” Back in, Penta suplexes Dom for a two count. Penta tries for the Penta Driver, Dom ducks over and reverses before Dom reverses back into the Driver for a two. Penta runs into a nice Michinoku Driver from Dom but kicks out of the pinfall attempt. Dom tries for a 619 but runs into a super kick. JD distracts Penta and gives Dom a chance to hit a second 619 attempt, going up for the frog splash before the music of a certain Balor Club leader hits.

Finn Balor walks the ramp and JD runs for him, being tossed into the video wall and into the sound tech arera. Dom tries for the frog splash but is rolled into a pin by Penta.

Penta pins Dominik Mysterio to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship. As usual, a good match for the two men here though mostly dressing for the Balor stuff.

Dom runs in after and catches Dom, beating him down and catching him with a Slingblade. JD saves Dom from further injury, or so he thinks until Finn leaps outside onto both of them. Finn tosses Dom back in and McDonough follows, taking a Slingblade as Dom runs into the crowd. JD takes a Coup de Grâce and celebrates with Dom looking on.

Thanks to Nickelback for the official theme song of WrestleMania, “Bones For The Crows.” Sorry, Aerosmith song that we ran with for half a year before changing creative direction a month before the show.

As CM Punk prepares to head for the ring, Big Jim Uso tells him to be careful out there and that his brother is on a warpath. “Thanks, Big Jim.”

WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk heads out to “Cult of Personality” and the mandatory singalong. He says he isn’t watching what he says despite Jim’s warning and he didn’t know the cousins couldn’t do anything without Roman. “Nobody in that entire family can do things by themselves.” He says no one in the family can hold the World Heavyweight Title, though one might remember Jey Uso holding the title. We knows they say awful things to each other to sell the big title fight but they’re all words and he’s tired of talking. He did say Roman said one thing that pissed him off, and fans yell “old.” Punk tells us he was upset because Roman was the one who said it and his “youngboy” doesn’t get to disrespect him. He asks Boston if he’s old and they give him the Daniel Bryan “yes” chant. “Am I old? Yeah, I’m old. Am I ashamed of it? Hell no. I’m proud of it.” He says he’d cover his greys with Just For Men like Roman does if he was ashamed of it. “I’m middle aged and crazy like Terry Funk. I’m the same age Nolan Ryan was when he beat Robin Ventura’s ass on the mound. Gordie Howe played professional hockey until he was 52 years old.” Punk says a lot and talks about Gunther not underestimating him and still not being able to get the job done and Jey doing the same thing.

As you’d expect, that brings us Main Event Jey Uso. Punk: “What’s he going to do, yeet me to death?” Jey is in serious mode. The fans chant for OTC. “Your ass is old, Punk. You got hit in your head too many times just like me.” Jey says they can run it back right now and Punk does remind Jey that he didn’t get his rematch. Jey says he’s down and the voice of Big Jim hits, joining the party and asking Jey what he’s doing out here. He tells Jey they don’t have anything to do with them. Jey: “Where’s Roman at? He’s not even out here!” That’s the cue for OTC1 Roman Reigns to come join the argument very slowly after being acknowledged and waiting out an “OTC” chant and the “Roman, Roman Reigns” singalong..

Roman gives Jey a sideways look. Roman tells Jey that he already had a tag match. “I’m going to say this as respectfully as I can. Get your brother and leave my ring.” Punk suggests they stay because Roman needs the help and Jey runs towards Punk. Reigns hits Punk with the Superman punch and here’s Adam Pearce and gang, late as always, to diffuse the situation. Jey yells to Roman, “Get him Uce, you know what to do! Man, GET HIM!” And Roman does, spearing Punk. “Jey Uso called the shot,” calls Corey. “GET HIM! YEET!” yells Jey and Roman continues to do so, tossing Punk into the ring post and powerbombing him through the announce table. Roman gives Punk an extra punch and paces, finally back awake and mad as the fans chant “one more time.” The credits roll as Roman sneers and leaves and Punk laughs, “I’m not the one that needs help,” as the squad checks on him.

Alright, so Punk talking for the 90th time in a row was kind of dull but the Usos/Roman stuff DID pick things up. I do appreciate that Jey always wears his emotions on his sleeve and that Roman picked up on that and acted on it. Frankly it’s nice to see some FIRE in this after a lot of talking. I liked it. Not sure I liked the part with Punk laughing in pain at the end, but that’s probably not the part they’re going to replay for 26 more days. I also LOVE that we’re building on the very slow burn of Jey that has been happening for months.

A good show overall that laid more bricks on the Road to WrestleMania, giving us the AJ/Becky announcement and setting up Finn/Dom and I assume something with the Usos and/or L.A. Knight and The Vision, who are destined to fight forever. There wasn’t a bad match, but there weren’t any crazy standouts either like Penta/Lee last week. You can catch the best of this one through YouTube highlights.