Last night’s WWE Monday Night RAW was a strange Backlash fallout show because it had all the pieces to feel important, but for most of the night, it felt like the company was stretching one major story over three hours instead of letting the entire roster breathe. WWE is less than three weeks away from Clash In Italy, one week away from Saturday Night’s Main Event, and somehow RAW still felt more like a holding pattern than a true sprint toward two major shows. The ending with Jacob Fatu destroying Roman Reigns and The Usos was the one part of the episode that actually felt dangerous, dramatic and worth the wait, but getting there exposed a lot of WWE’s current creative issues: the tag division still feels underbuilt, fresh NXT call-ups are being cooled off too quickly, Dominik Mysterio has lost the aura that made him one of WWE’s best heels, and The Bloodline once again swallowed up the room while too many talented wrestlers remain stuck on the sidelines.
Here are the full results
- The Street Profits & Joe Hendry def. The Vision
- Je’Von Evans def. Rusev
- IYO SKY def. Sol Ruca
- Oba Femi def. Los Garza
- Dominik Mysterio def. “Original” El Grande Americano (AAA Mega Championship)
Breakdowns & Reactions
Last night’s show opened with Roman Reigns still furious over Jacob Fatu’s actions at Backlash. Adam Pearce did not want Fatu in the building after what happened with officials and staff, but Roman made it clear that Jacob was his problem. That set the tone for the entire episode. RAW was built around the idea that Fatu had to acknowledge Roman, and while that gave the show a strong hook, it also made everything else feel secondary. That has become the danger with The Bloodline. When it hits, it hits bigger than almost anything else WWE does. When it dominates the whole show, it makes the rest of RAW feel like background noise.
Paul Heyman and The Vision opened the in-ring portion of the show with Austin Theory, Logan Paul and Bron Breakker trying to present themselves as the new power structure. The Street Profits interrupted, Joe Hendry got involved, and the six-man tag gave RAW its first real match. The work was solid, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins brought energy, and Hendry continues to be used as a crowd-friendly disruption piece. The finish, with Seth Rollins causing enough chaos for the babyfaces to win, gave The Profits a pin over the tag champions heading into Saturday Night’s Main Event. That part worked.
What also worked was the tension after the match. Rollins avoided Bron Breakker’s Spear, Dawkins ate it instead, and Montez immediately got in Seth’s face. That was the kind of detail WWE needed because it showed that The Profits are not stupid. They want the World Tag Team Titles, but they do not need Seth Rollins playing puppet master to get there. The WWE NOW: RAW Recap Podcast framed the episode around Oba Femi’s destruction and Roman demanding acknowledgement, but the tag title story quietly needed just as much attention because WWE’s tag division has been treated like a lost art for too long. If The Street Profits win the World Tag Team Titles at Saturday Night’s Main Event, it cannot just be a title change. It has to be the beginning of a real rebuild.
The problem is WWE has damaged its tag division so much that one title change will not fix it overnight. The Street Profits are credible, charismatic and overdue for a serious run, but the division around them needs structure. Los Garza came to RAW looking for opportunities, and instead of being reintroduced as a serious team, they were fed to Oba Femi. That is where the booking becomes frustrating. Angel and Berto have been cold since the Santos Escobar situation started last year, they barely get meaningful TV time, and WWE did nothing substantial with their AAA World Tag Title run. For them to show up on RAW and get crushed in a handicap match makes Oba look strong, but it does nothing for the tag division WWE badly needs to rebuild.
Oba Femi’s open challenge needs to end soon. Oba is a monster. Everyone gets it. He retired Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, so going backward into squash matches does not make much sense anymore. Squashing random opponents is one thing. Squashing an actual tag team that needed TV time is another. Oba should already be in a meaningful upper-card feud with stakes attached. If WWE wants him to be one of the next major main-event players, then book him like it. Do not keep him in weekly destruction segments that make everyone around him look disposable.
The Intercontinental Championship scene had Penta, Ethan Page, Rusev and Je’Von Evans involved, and this was one of the better midcard pieces of the show. Ethan Page wanting Penta at Saturday Night’s Main Event makes sense after pinning him last week. Rusev being annoyed also makes sense. Je’Von Evans stepping in and then beating Rusev gave RAW a good young-star moment. Je’Von has the explosiveness, charisma and crowd connection WWE needs to trust more often. This is where the company has to start taking bigger swings. A lot of the top stars are pushing 40, already part-time, taking breaks, or closer to the end than the beginning. WWE cannot keep circling the same four to six names in the midcard forever. At some point, people like Je’Von Evans, The Creed Brothers, Ivy Nile, Grayson Waller and others need real stories, real wins and real placement.
The IYO SKY and Sol Ruca match was good in-ring, but the booking is where the conversation gets complicated. IYO is coming off a major win over Asuka at Backlash, and she should absolutely feel protected. She is one of the best wrestlers in the world, and WWE treated her like someone who just survived a deeply emotional, career-shifting match. The issue is Sol Ruca just arrived on RAW with momentum. She debuted, made a statement in the Rumble, signed her RAW contract, and laid out Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch with a Sol Snatcher last week. Then last night, she lost clean to IYO.
The match itself protected Sol’s athletic ability, but it did not protect her momentum enough. WWE had IYO avoid the Sol Snatcher and turn it into a crucifix pin, which was smart from a wrestling standpoint, but clean losses for fresh call-ups are becoming a pattern. Ricky Saints had to bounce back with a lower-card win over Matt Cardona after taking early losses, and now Sol Ruca is already taking a clean loss right as she is supposed to be entering a program with Becky Lynch. That is a risky way to introduce someone WWE clearly wants fans to see as a big deal. If Sol is supposed to stand across from “The Man,” then the company has to make sure she does not feel like the next call-up who gets tested, humbled and cooled off before the feud even starts.
The emotional backstage moment between IYO SKY and Asuka was one of the strongest parts of the entire night. It was quiet, simple and powerful. Asuka telling IYO she was proud of her and that she had been waiting for someone to take her place felt like a true passing of the torch. IYO saying they would always be family gave the segment weight without forcing it. WWE did not need a long promo. They did not need a dramatic in-ring farewell. The suitcase, the hug and the goodbye said enough. Whether Asuka is stepping away for good or just leaving the door cracked open, last night treated her like a legend. That mattered.
The Judgment Day segment with Brie Bella and Paige, however, was rough. The idea was clear: set up Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez as threats to the Women’s Tag Team Champions. The execution felt flat, awkward and messy. It looked like a segment fighting itself in real time. Brie and Paige being current champions already feels odd in 2026, and the promo rhythm between them and The Judgment Day never fully clicked. The beatdown at least gave Liv, Raquel and Roxanne the visual of standing tall with the titles, but the segment felt more like a car crash than a hot angle.
At this point, WWE may need to seriously consider letting Liv, Raquel and Roxanne become The Judgment Day by themselves. Dom and JD do not feel like essential pieces anymore. Liv, Raquel and Roxanne as a ruthless women’s trio could actually freshen the division up and give RAW a defined women’s faction with real control. WWE went back to showing Maxxine Dupri around The Vision, including her being in the car with them as they left, but that also feels like another loose thread that needs clarity. RAW has a lot of moving parts, but not enough of them feel fully committed.
Dominik Mysterio defending the AAA Mega Championship on RAW was historic because it was the first time that title was defended on WWE television. That does matter. The match with “Original” El Grande Americano had good movement, interference, lucha flavor and a title-retention finish for Dom. But the whole thing still felt unnecessary. WWE tried to frame it like the mask vs. mask story between the two Grandes could now have a title attached to it, but that risks making the rivalry messy. The feud in Mexico already speaks for itself. Bringing it to RAW without the same context does not translate cleanly. A story that works inside AAA does not automatically work in front of a RAW audience that has not been given enough reason to care.
Dom is another issue. This is the same Dominik Mysterio who once had monster boos so loud he could barely speak. He had aura. He had heat. He had a major WrestleMania moment winning the Intercontinental Championship last year. Now he feels like a side character who drifts in and out of TV. Defending the AAA Mega Championship should have felt like a major moment for him. Instead, it felt like WWE was using the title more as a cross-promotional prop than as a way to restore Dom’s star power.
The Bloodline closing segment saved the show from being completely forgettable. Roman Reigns came out for the Acknowledgment Ceremony, Jey Uso tried to talk sense into Jacob Fatu backstage, and Fatu answered with headbutts instead of words. That was the first moment all night where the show truly snapped awake. Jacob saying Roman would have to beat the acknowledgement out of him was perfect for his character. He did not come off like a man who needed to be reasoned with. He came off like a man who felt betrayed, disrespected and done being controlled.
Once Fatu got to ringside, he destroyed Jimmy, fought Roman, absorbed chair shots, locked in the Tongan Death Grip, and put Roman through the commentary desk. Then WWE nearly had the perfect ending with Jacob holding the World Heavyweight Championship while officials surrounded him. That image should have faded to black. No credits. No extra camera cuts. Just Jacob standing there like a monster who had finally broken the entire family. Instead, WWE extended the moment with Fatu running back and wiping out Roman and The Usos through the barricade. It was still a strong visual, but the cleaner ending would have been colder and more memorable.
The Late Night Crew Wrestling livestream reaction matched the feeling of the night: a lot of frustration with the overall show, but real energy for the closing angle. That is the honest read. Last night’s RAW was not a strong three-hour episode. It had some good wrestling, one excellent emotional segment, a hot closing angle and a lot of creative choices that made the roster feel smaller than it should. Online fan reaction and wrestling coverage were split in the same way. Jacob Fatu’s destruction was widely treated as the strongest part of the show, IYO and Sol got credit for the in-ring work, and the Asuka/IYO moment hit emotionally. But the broader reaction also lined up with the bigger concern: WWE is relying too much on the same core stories while fresh talent, tag teams and underused acts fight for scraps.
The uncomfortable truth is WWE/TKO sometimes feels like it is pushing away older fans and catering to the newer audience because the machine is hot enough that people will watch anyway. That does not mean the product is bad. It means the product is too comfortable. WWE has two PLEs and a Saturday Night’s Main Event in the same month, and that kind of schedule can make weekly TV feel less special instead of more important. When everything is a major event, nothing gets time to breathe. RAW last night felt like a company promoting the next thing, and the next thing after that, while not always making the current episode feel complete.
Best match and segment of the show
Best match goes to IYO SKY vs. Sol Ruca. The booking can be questioned, but the match itself delivered. Sol looked athletic, explosive and ready for the stage, while IYO wrestled like the veteran star who could survive danger with timing, ring IQ and one clean counter. The finish was clever, even if the result was debatable for Sol’s long-term presentation.
Best segment goes to Jacob Fatu destroying Roman Reigns and The Usos. Nothing else came close in terms of energy, danger or visual impact. The Asuka and IYO backstage goodbye was the most emotional segment of the night and deserves real praise, but the final angle was the only thing on RAW that felt like it could carry the road to Clash In Italy.
What was announced for next week’s show?
- Brie Bella & Paige (c) vs The Judgement Day (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship) match
- Oba Femi’s Open Challenge
Final thoughts
Last night’s RAW was subpar for most of the episode and strong only when it finally reached the ending. Jacob Fatu looked like a monster. Roman Reigns looked vulnerable. The Usos got caught in the wreckage. That part worked. IYO and Asuka delivered a beautiful goodbye, and IYO vs. Sol was the best match on the show. But WWE has bigger problems it cannot keep hiding behind Bloodline drama.
The tag division needs a full rebuild. Younger stars need more than stop-start booking. NXT call-ups should not be brought up just to lose before the audience has fully accepted them. Oba Femi needs a real feud, not more squashes. Dominik Mysterio needs his aura back. RAW needs more people in meaningful spots, not the same small rotation every week. WWE is still hot, still loaded with talent and still capable of producing huge moments, but last night was a reminder that a great ending does not automatically make a great show.
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I’m the quiet one until the bell rings then I’ve got takes. I live for WWE NXT and TNA, I want every promotion to succeed, and I will absolutely roast the bad decisions on sight (because someone has to). Anime taught me to respect long-term storytelling; wrestling taught me that sometimes the plan is “we panicked” and called it “unpredictable.” The Miz got me into all of this, so yeah I appreciate confidence, commitment, and the art of talking like you’re already the main event. Now I bring that same energy to the page as the main writer for Late Night Crew Wrestling because if you’re not here to be must-see and tell the truth, why are you here?!