Posted on 1/27/126 by Bob Magee
Show Recap —
There were shots of the stadium being built in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia, ahead of Saturday’s Royal Rumble, followed by a shot
of fans lined up outside Scotiabank Arena in my hometown of
snowy Toronto for Raw.
Stephanie Vaquer, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods (getting
their hair done), The Vision (including Bron Breakker) were
shown at the arena earlier today.
Michael Cole claimed Scotiabank Arena was sold out with an
attendance of 17,853.
AJ Styles kicks off Raw in Toronto
Styles entered to a big ovation. He said Gunther claimed he
would end his career at the Rumble. That was Gunther’s plan,
but Styles didn’t plan on going anywhere. (There was a
light, “F—k you, Gunther,” chant.)
Styles acknowledged that 2026 would be the year that he
retired. He wasn’t saying that to upset anyone—he was saying
it so they could enjoy it together. John Cena showed him how
he could say goodbye. 2025 was Cena’s year, and there was no
reason 2026 couldn’t be his.
There were men in locker rooms all over the world that he
would love to wrestle one more time. (Interesting phrasing.)
He also wanted to be world champion one more time.
CM Punk entered to a big reaction. Punk said he’s known
Styles for more than 20 years. They’ve been friends and
enemies, but there was nothing but respect between them now.
(Styles agreed.)
Punk didn’t understand what he was doing by putting his
career on the line against Gunther. Guys like them still had
a lot left in the tank, and the stakes on Saturday were too
high. Styles accused Punk of thinking that he couldn’t beat
Gunther.
Punk wasn’t saying that. He knew Styles could beat Gunther,
but the last time they wrestled, Styles did not get his hand
raised. And if Styles did retire, that meant the two of them
never got to wrestle one-on-one in WWE. (They wrestled in a
three-way with Chad Gable last year.)
Styles knew what Punk meant (about facing Gunther), but
thought he was being disrespectful. Styles had an idea, and
the crowd chanted, “Fight tonight.” Styles told Punk, “I
know I can beat Gunther, and I know I can beat you.” Punk
said Styles can’t prove that if he loses on Saturday. They
both looked around at the crowd.
Styles said if they did fight tonight, and he won, he should
be number one contender for the title after he beats
Gunther. Punk said if they were going to wrestle tonight in
Toronto, it would be for the belt. Everyone cheered. Punk
made the match, and they shook hands.
(Punk vs. Styles for the title was made official during the
next match.)
********
There was a video package recapping Saturday Night’s Main
Event.
Six-woman tag team match: Women’s World Champion Stephanie
Vaquer & Women’s Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY
vs. Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan & Roxanne Perez
The Judgment Day women all wore matching black-and-red gear.
Ripley came out to a huge pop, and the crowd sang Iyo Sky’s
name as the match began.
Vaquer entered to a modest applause and went to work on
Morgan, but her Devil’s Kiss attempt was broken up by
Rodriguez, which upset the fans. Morgan had actually tagged
out to Rodriguez moments earlier, but Vaquer didn’t see it
because she was distracted by Perez. The referee did see it,
but made no attempt to get Morgan out of the ring besides
yelling vaguely at her. She remained in the ring for well
over 10 seconds before Rodriguez got in.
Judgment Day maintained control over Vaquer throughout a
break. Morgan yanked Sky off the apron, while Rodriguez
attacked Ripley from behind. The referee was ok with all of
this.
Vaquer finally did make a hot tag to Sky, who hit Perez with
uppercuts, a flying dropkick, and a corner meteora. Morgan
saved Perez from a moonsault, but Sky followed with a
butterfly backbreaker. Morgan distracted the ref by messing
up the ring skirt while Perez raked Sky’s eyes. Perez and
Morgan hit a combo Russian leg sweep/Codebreaker for two.
Sky made the next hot tag to Ripley, who gave Morgan a
Razor’s Edge into Rodriguez. Ripley blocked a Pop Rox and
clobbered Perez with a clothesline. Ripley followed with a
missile dropkick to Rodriguez (who was in the ring a long
time despite not being legal, but this referee obviously
does not care).
Morgan fought back with a tornado DDT on Ripley, but Sky
broke up the cover. Everyone traded moves until Vaquel wiped
out Rodriguez with a diving splash to the outside.
Morgan went for Oblivion, but Ripley blocked it. Perez had
made a blind tag, and they tried their combo move again, but
Sky wiped out Morgan with a flying dropkick. Ripley finished
off Perez with a Rip-tide for the pinfall win.
The three winners celebrated. (Corey Graves noted that
Vaquer was limping by the end of the match, which was the
same injury she’s been selling the past several weeks.)
Match result: Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY & Stephanie Vaquer
defeated Roxanne Perez, Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
(12:54)
A fun TV match despite the dumb referee. Ripley was the most
over person in the match, and she got another win ahead of
the Rumble, where she’ll be one of the favourites.
********
There was a dramatic recap of Punk successfully defending
his title over Finn Bálor last week in Belfast.
Bálor approached Punk backstage. Bálor initially seemed in a
bad mood after coming up short last week, but said Punk was
part of the most memorable night of his career. Punk picked
him up after the match and gave him his flowers, but Bálor
didn’t return the favour, so he will now. Bálor thanked him.
Punk thanked him, too. Punk said he couldn’t be the best in
the world unless he beat the best. Punk considered Bálor one
of the greats, and he earned the shot. Cena was gone, and
there weren’t a lot of guys like them left. Punk advised him
that he might want to ditch Judgment Day if he really wanted
to be champion. Punk told him to win the Rumble, and maybe
he’d see him again. Punk left, and Bálor nodded.
********
There’s a commercial specifically for the special Triple H
edition of WWE 2K26. I’m not even sure they’ve advertised
the actual game yet.
Bron Breakker and Adam Pearce face-to-face
The Vision entered. Paul Heyman did his usual bit, called
Toronto a second-rate city, and introduced each member of
The Vision. Logan Paul got a lot of heat, of course. Heyman
gave special attention to Bron Breakker.
Heyman noted that Breakker was there because Adam Pearce
wanted a face-to-face, but Heyman wanted to examine why this
was happening first. Heyman showed a replay of Pearce
putting his hands on Breakker first (before Breakker tried
to kill him). Heyman said that was not appropriate behaviour
for the Raw general manager. Heyman also showed a replay of
Rey Mysterio pinning Austin Theory last week, thanks to
Pearce planting the brass knuckles on the apron.
Pearce entered. He admitted that things got out of hand, and
he put his hands on Breakker first. He apologized. Breakker
laughed. Pearce pledged to them all that it would not happen
again. Pearce knew what Heyman was going to say next, and he
already made it official: Breakker’s suspension was over,
and he was in the Royal Rumble match.
Heyman was happy and asked for a handshake. Pearce called
Heyman a master negotiator, so he willingly entered Logan
Paul, Bronson Reed and Austin Theory into the Rumble. Heyman
was caught off guard by this. Pearce also knew that Theory
felt cheated after last week, so he put him in a match
against Rey Mysterio—tonight.
When the segment was over, all members of The Vision were
happy, while Heyman was confused. Cole did not know what to
make of Pearce’s decision.
Austin Theory (w/ The Vision) vs. Rey Mysterio (w/ Penta &
Dragon Lee)
Theory held control with a chin lock and tried to get some
heat by going for Rey’s mask, but the crowd didn’t bite. The
fight spilled to the outside, and Rey sent Theory flying
into the ring post. As the outside parties argued, Rey hit
Theory with a seated senton off the barricade. Rey smacked
Reed’s head before heading back into the ring.
This led to a second commercial break (the match started
during a break), so about 5 of the first 8 and a half
minutes of the match happened during commercials.
Rey went after Theory outside the ring, but Theory dumped
him onto the ring steps and placed him in another rest hold
in the ring, just long enough to bring us back from break.
Rey tried a springboard crossbody, but Theory nailed him
with a mid-air forearm and an Ataxia (flatliner variation)
for two.
Dragon Lee checked on Rey outside the ring, so Logan shoved
him. Penta superkicked Logan. Dragon Lee tried to take out
Reed, but Reed caught him and drove him into the barricade
before Logan yanked Penta off the apron.
Rey kicked Logan, but the distraction allowed Theory to hit
the ring with a curb stomp for the pinfall win.
— Breakker attacked Penta and Dragon Lee after the match,
and The Vision laid out the two men. Paul gave Dragon Lee a
frog splash, while Breakker speared Penta, and Reed finished
off Penta with a Tsunami.
(Notably, it seemed like they were trying to set up Rey for
a spear, but the referee frantically got between them and
got Rey out of the ring. So perhaps after taking the curb
stomp, they wanted to be safe with Rey.)
Match result: Logan Paul defeated Rey Mysterio (11:23)
This was a nothing match just to get Theory a win, finally.
It turns out Rey may have gotten injured, so hopefully it
isn’t serious. He seemed fine all match until they got him
out of the ring for the post-match angle.
*******
There was a Natalya video promo. She said she made Maxxine
Dupri, but Dupri failed. Dupri didn’t fail herself, she
failed Natalya. Rolling with a legend didn’t mean she could
roll like a legend. There was a whole new Natalya, and when
she was done with Dupri, was coming for it all (the IC
title). “Because Natalya elevates, but Nattie decimates.”
Rodriguez marched around backstage, loudly screaming for
Vaquer. Bayley was nearby and called her an idiot because
she (Bayley) was on the phone. Lyra Valkyria got between
them, so Rodriguez continued on her way until she was
attacked by Vaquer. Officials quickly separated them.
Byron Saxton interviewed Je’Von Evans during a break. Evans
made the mistake of wearing a Boston Red Sox toque, so he
was greeted with a “Let’s go Blue Jays” chant. Evans’ goal
was to main event WrestleMania, which first meant winning
the Rumble. He declared himself for the match.
********
Gunther sit-down interview
Cole interviewed Gunther in the Toronto Raptors locker room.
Gunther said he agreed to Saturday’s match because he had
something to gain by ending Styles’ career. He was sick of
the old-timers overstaying their welcome, chasing one moment
after another. Those moments belonged to him.
Goldberg chased after a moment, but Gunther took it away.
Cena chased moments for a full year, but all anyone would
talk about now was that he gave up to him in his last match.
Now, Styles had this idea of a long, emotional farewell
tour, but Gunther wasn’t interested.
Gunther noted that Cole was an old-timer, too. He asked Cole
how long he planned on sticking around chasing a moment. He
could kick the chair out and end Cole’s career right now,
but he told Cole not to worry. Gunther wanted Cole at
ringside on Saturday so he could say the career of the
Phenomenal AJ Styles was over.
This was really good.
********
Bálor approached Pearce to declare himself for the Rumble.
Pearce said Bálor already had his shot at the title last
week, so he filled Bálor’s Rumble spot with someone else. He
said the Rumble was full. Bálor said the Rumble couldn’t be
full without him. Pearce reiterated that the match was full.
Bálor left while contemplating what to do next.
Morgan confronted Bálor. She accused Punk of giving him a
participation trophy, and Bálor thanked him for it. She
heard Punk say he should leave Judgment Day, but Punk didn’t
really want him to be champion, while his family in Judgment
Day did. Bálor said this wasn’t as straightforward as she
thought. He said he would take care of it.
********
Jey Uso entered ahead of a break to watch the next match.
(No Jimmy again. They are in Canada, after all. Cole said he
was dealing with personal issues.) Jey tried to run back his
entrance music, but was cut off by American Made.
Scottie Barnes was shown in the crowd, and he got a nice
ovation.
Fatal four-way to determine tag team title number one
contenders: The New Day (w/ Grayson Waller) vs. Alpha
Academy vs. American Made (w/ Ivy Nile) vs. Los Americanos
It doesn’t say much about the tag division (or more
specifically, having two sets of tag titles) that this was
the field to determine number one contenders.
During a break, Xavier Woods confronted Cole at the desk and
loudly told him, “I am Xavier, and that’s Kofi. Get it right
from here on out!” Cole responded, “What was that all
about?”
The crowd didn’t react to anything until Otis got in, and
then they were into it. (Amazing Otis can have this effect
after all this time of being a background character.) Otis
hit a Caterpillar elbow, but the cover was broken up.
Everyone attacked Otis, so Akira Tozawa made the stave and
hit Bravo Americano with a German suplex. Tozawa then wiped
out all three teams with suicide dives.
Tozawa set up Kingston for a diving senton, but Woods
distracted the referee, so Waller tripped Tozawa. The
referee admonished Waller until Jey superkicked Waller over
the barricade.
Otis beat up the other teams single-handedly and slammed
Julius onto Brutus. Tozawa followed with a diving senton on
Julius for the pinfall win.
Alpha Academy will face The Usos for the tag titles. Jey
bumped fists with Otis and Tozawa post-match.
Match result: Akira Tozawa & Otis defeated American Made,
Los Americanos & The New Day (10:53)
********
Jackie Redmond, wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jacket,
interviewed Becky Lynch. Lynch called her win last week
monumental, but Redmond wouldn’t know anything about
monumental wins wearing a jacket like that.
Lynch noted Natalya went after the match. Lynch understood,
because Natalya trained Dupri from nothing, and she remained
nothing. She compared it to training loser Lyra. Now Natalya
was coming after her title, but Natalya would have to win
the Rumble first, and that was laughable.
Lynch said she was entering the Rumble match. Kairi Sane and
Asuka interrupted. Sane said Lynch would not win the Rumble
because Asuka would, and Lynch was not ready. Lynch said she
was ready because she’s already beaten Asuka. Sane tried to
explain this to Asuka, who was standing right there. Asuka
cut her off and told Lynch she would see her in the Rumble.
*******
Je’Von Evans approached Styles as he warmed up. Evans hoped
to see him after Saturday. Styles shook his hand. (Evans
turned his hat around to hide the Red Sox logo.)
Elsewhere, Vaquer told Pearce she didn’t want a match
against Rodriguez—she wanted a fight. Pearce made a street
fight for the title next week in Philadelphia.
********
Royal Rumble card (start time 2 pm ET/11 am PT):
AJ Styles vs. Gunther with Styles’ career on the line
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Championship
30 Woman Royal Rumble match
30 Man Royal Rumble match
********
The Vision met backstage to discuss what their plan was now
that they were all in the Rumble. Logan got up and said they
should go into the match with one goal and one vision. He
said they should ensure a victory for one man: Bron
Breakker. Reed and Theory were both in full agreement.
(Breakker had no discernible reaction to this.)
********
There was an Oba Femi video package. He will be in the
Rumble.
World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. AJ Styles
There were modest duelling chants as they got started, and
each man went for their finishers early on, but a series of
counters led to Styles applying a cradle for two. Punk got
the better of their next exchange and hit Styles with an
elbow and chop to the upper back. Styles came back with a
dropkick. Punk fell outside, and Styles nailed a sliding
knee.
Styles was in control through a break until Punk whipped him
hard into the corner after the break. The crowd chanted for
tables. Punk followed with a neckbreaker, a lifting knee
strike, a bulldog, and a shining wizard for two. Styles came
back with a series of strikes, a running forearm, and a
corner splash, but Punk fired right back with a clothesline
for two.
Styles blocked a GTS and followed with a fireman’s carry
neckbreaker for two. Punk knocked Styles off the middle
turnbuckle and hit a flying elbow drop for two. Punk
immediately applied an Anaconda Vice until Styles countered
out of it. Styles tried setting up for a Styles Clash, but
Punk drove him into the turnbuckles.
Punk tried a shining wizard again, but Styles caught him and
set up a Styles Clash. Punk avoided it again, so Styles
dumped him from the ring. Punk blocked a sliding knee and
hit a GTS (outside the ring). Punk initially tried getting
Styles into the ring, but it was taking too long, so Punk
slipped back into the ring at an eight count, while Styles
got in at nine.
Styles was down selling, and Punk wasn’t sure what to do
next, so Styles suddenly caught him in a Styles Clash for a
nearfall. Styles went for a Phenomenal Forearm, but Punk
knocked him off the top rope. They exchanged strikes until
Styles hit a Pelé Kick.
Styles tried setting up the Clash again before Punk got him
on his shoulders to try a GTS. Styles held the top rope, and
as the two men struggled for position, Finn Bálor suddenly
popped in the ring and dropkicked Punk into the corner
(knocking Styles out of the ring) for the DQ.
Bálor dropkicked Punk into the barricade and gave him a Coup
de Grace in the ring. Punk rolled to his side, so Bálor hit
the Coup de Grace again, this time on his ribs. Bálor hit
the move one more time and stood tall as the show ended.
Match result: CM Punk vs. AJ Styles ended in a
disqualification — Punk retains the World Heavyweight
Championship (18:11)