For weeks, the promo machine of Netflix and WWE had been working overtime to promote the first Monday Night RAW on Netflix of 2026 into this massive event, and the anticipation level couldn’t be higher with rumors of guest appearances increasing by the minute. All that was left was for the show to deliver, and in all reality, it fell flat and short of the expectations it had built heading into Monday night.
The Intro
With the monster success that the Netflix show Stranger Things continues to see day after day, it made sense to pair it with WWE so they can get “the rub” from it and potentially turn those Stranger Things content consumers into WWE viewers. The intent was great, but the execution fell short.
The setup was nice, and the props near the ring entrance were cool, but when Michael Cole and Corey Graves came out of the car to intro the show, it felt awkward and out of place. So much so that the crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, gave no reaction at all. The expectation was that Triple H or someone at that level would come out first to get the crowd going as they have done with events like this in the past, but that did not happen. Instead, they went straight into a tag team title match between the teams of Rhea Ripley & IYO Sky against The Kabuki Warriors. The match was cool, and the face team of Rhea and IYO won, which gave the crowd something to cheer about early on.
RAW Before the Main Event
The programming before the main event was okay and not mind-blowing. Gunther and AJ Styles cut a promo, and it didn’t really get their future match over, but I guess there is still time to do that. Becky Lynch winning the title seemed like a logical thing coming from the TKO-driven WWE. Lynch has been all over the headlines and made a serious accusation from a few weeks ago into this media run, where she is somewhat of an outlaw that is being denied opportunities by the kayfabe executives. With all of the social traction and Google trends in favor of Lynch, it made all the sense in the world to put a title on her, especially if there is going to be a new story that will develop with AJ Lee in the future.
Then you had the USOs cut a promo. I’m still confused, as is likely everyone if there are a face or heel tag team. Then Stephanie Vaquer was attacked by Raquel Rodriguez, which can only mean a Nikki Bella title run is happening soon. Again, makes sense as she has been all over the headlines for her rumored relationship with Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean. Liv Morgan defeated Lyra Valkyria in a solid match, but it was more about getting Liv back in action after being out of the ring for so long.
Up to this point, the reaction on social media was that the main event needed to deliver in a big way, because the show had been mid at best.
CM Punk Retaining Was Not The Move
The vibe heading into the main event was that Bron Breakker was going to win the title and set WWE on a new, fresh, younger path. All of the camera angles during the ringwalk suggested that the WWE was prepping the audience for the next guy to take the torch, and that was Breakker. Even with Punk coming out with a “CM” varsity jacket to troll Breakker’s father, Scott Steiner, who famously wore a varsity jacket as one half of the Steiner Brothers, wasn’t enough to take away from the fact that everyone was anticipating Breakker winning the title.
The match was good, and you had the outside interference from The Vision, with the referee being knocked out, and it felt like Breakker’s time was coming until it didn’t. Punk was able to get the pin and retain his title. Although Punk did well, Breakker was trying too hard to wrestle at Punk’s level at this stage of his career, and it just didn’t land as well as it could have. I get that the WWE likely owed Punk a title run, but it’s time for them to put the title on Breakker sooner rather than later.
Is It Becoming A Trend?
A trend that the WWE has been on recently is that the crowd has been leaving the arena disappointed one way or the other. Now, from the WWE’s standpoint, they may look at it as they are so much in the green that it doesn’t matter to them, but in the long run, the product could suffer, and recovery could be a long process. With ticket sales for live events continuously increasing, the WWE creative team needs to start getting creative before they start seeing their bottom line affected.
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