wrestling / TV Reports
Cook’s WWE Raw Review 2.23.26
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for the latest episode of WWE Raw on Netflix! We’ve got a big night in front of us tonight, as AJ Styles will be tributed in his home market of Atlanta. We’ve also got the last two Elimination Chamber qualifying matches, Liv Morgan announcing who she’ll wrestle at WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk and more than you can shake a stick at! Should be good times indeed!
Don’t forget to subscribe to the 411Mania Wrestling Newsletter! Click here to do so, and then tomorrow (Tuesday) you’ll get some exclusive insight from your humble Chef on everything you need to know about the latest and greatest pro wrestling happenings! I guarantee it’ll be a good time, so make sure you check it out.
Cook’s WWE Raw Review 2.23.26
Then. Now. Forever. Together!
We’re in Atlanta! Michael Cole & Corey Graves are in the ring for the introduction of tonight’s show. Corey talks about how we’ll celebrate the career of one of the greatest before Gunther interrupts him. Gunther walks in through the crowd and tells them to go to the announce desk and talk about how great he is. Cole & Graves leave the ring while Gunther enters. Graves ain’t gonna make the same mistake Pat McAfee did. The fans are not happy to see Gunther here tonight, and he thinks it’s disgraceful that there’s a celebration for a loser. The people like losers like Goldberg, Cena & Styles. Gunther killed their careers. What should happen tonight is a celebration for a truly great wrestler, him!
Adam Pearce shouts him down after that and comes down to the ring with security behind him. They will celebrate the career of AJ Styles, and Gunther will be escorted out by security. Gunther says he’ll leave because he’s disgraced by what is going to happen here tonight. Gunther walks off with Pearce & company. Gunther yells at the crowd, and Dragon Lee attacks! Dragon Lee attacks again while Gunther is yelling at Pearce! Most of security drag Dragon off. Pearce says its not Gunther’s night, and Cody Rhodes appears! He looks at Gunther & Pearce, and heads down to the ring!
WOAH-OH! Cody Rhodes shakes hands and kisses babies on his way to the ring. Cody eggs on the crowd while holding his gut. The fans sing. Cody says we’re here to talk about the Phenomenal AJ Styles. Before Cody can launch into his speech, the Vision theme music hits. Bronson, Logan, Heyman & Theory are on the stage. The crowd cuts Paul off. Theory can’t stand this place. How dare they disrespect him & the Vision! He’s ashamed to be from Atlanta. Logan says that Cody isn’t ashamed to be from Atlanta, just like everyone else from there he’s got zero common sense. When Bronson wins at Elimination Chamber and at WrestleMania, they’ll take over SmackDown and Cody will be the first out the door. It all starts when Bronson has his qualifying match that starts right now! Cody says there’s someone here who would disagree, and the Usos music hits! Jey & Jimmy yeet down to the ring.
Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Bronson Reed vs. Original El Grande Americano vs. Jey Uso: That Original seems like a nice fella, doesn’t he? Jey & Original punch away at Bronson. Bronson runs them both over. Splash in the corner on Americano by Bronson. Jey punches & kicks Bronson outside of the ring, goes for a dive but Bronson runs up and forearms him. Original goes up top, moonsaults Jey & Reed on the floor! Reed gets sent into the post a couple of times. We go to commercial!
Jey punches Americano in the corner as we return. More corner punches, a big one sends Aemricano backwards. Jey places him on top, but Reed gets him & Americano on his back for the Samoan Drop! Yeesh! Reed elbows Jey down and hits an elbowdrop for two. Bronson chokes Jey on the rope and knocks Americano back to the floor. Bronson neck vices Jey. Jey fights back, but Reed hits the World’s Strongest Slam. Original comes in with a flying headbutt to Bronson, then uses him for a move on Jey that gets two. Chaos Theory by Americano on Jey. Americano barely makes contact with Uso on the diving headbutt for two. A bridging German suplex on Reed gets two! Americano going crazy as we go to commercial.
We see moments ago when Reed may have hurt his arm while breaking up a cover Americano had on Jey. He’s out of action right now as Jey hits a dive on Americano and rolls him back in the ring. Jey goes up top but Americano crotches him. Americano goes for a superplex, Jey pushes him off to the mat! Uso splash meets knees, and Americano rolls Jey up for two! Original applies the ankle lock! Jey tries to get out, but Americano holds on for awhile. Finally breaks free, now it’s dueling kicks. Spear by Uso, he goes up top and hits the Splash for three!
Winner: Jey Uso (9:28 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***
Man, I hope Reed isn’t injured. The Vision are running out of people that are viable World Championship contenders. This was pretty good action, I’d like to see Americano do more with either of these guys.
We flash back to the 2016 Royal Rumble, when AJ Styles made his WWE debut!
We see Shinsuke Nakamura discussing matters with Bobby Roode, they’re described by Cole as two of AJ’s top rivals.
Tyler Reddick’s Daytona 500-winning Toyota spins around in the parking lot. Reddick gets out with CM Punk! Champs doing champ things. To be honest, Punk’s probably the last guy on the roster I would have expected to participate in something NASCAR-related. Maybe he got to meet Michael Jordan.
Liv Morgan makes her way to the ring, she’ll make her decision next!
Liv & Dirty Dominik Mysterio stand in the ring while we see clips from last week when Stephanie talked some shit to Liv in Spanish. Shockingly she does a better promo in her native tongue, who would have guessed? Dom says the fans are in the presence of the greatest Intercontinental Champion, AAA Mega Champion & Royal Rumble winner of all time. Now is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, Liv will make her decision. Dom asks the champions to come out. Stephanie Vaquer makes her entrance first. I still don’t like this new music, sorry guys. Corey says there’s no wrestling scene in Chile, which will make some folks mad. Jade Cargill makes her entrance. Liv doesn’t look particularly happy as she grabs the microphone. Liv needs to get something off her chest first. Stephanie’s words caught her by surprise. She’s not used to getting vulnerable, and thought about what Stephanie said. Stephanie was right, she didn’t realize how selfish and privileged she was. She didn’t know about Stephanie’s story, and she apologizes for judging her. She needs to focus on her story, and with that being said…she turns to Jade and smiles before decking Stephanie with the microphone! Liv punches away at Stephanie while Jade leaves. Codebreaker on Stephanie, then Liv hits Oblivion on her. Liv poses with the Women’s World Championship and talks shit to Stephanie before tossing the title down on her.
Byron Saxton is with Je’Von Evans, and before Evans can answer a question they’re joined by Offset, who has the theme song for Elimination Chamber. The New Day arrive, and Xavier & Kofi are mad that Offset never did music for them. Kofi challenges Je’Von, and says that Je’Von can’t lace his boots.
That Turbotax commercial with Penta, Stephanie Vaquer & LA Knight is the bee’s knees.
We go back to 2017, when AJ Styles beat Jinder Mahal to become WWE Champion.
Michin, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa & the Good Brothers hang out backstage.
Maxxine Dupri vs. Nattie: Nattie attacks early, but Maxxine fights back with kicks. Maxxine jumps over the guardrail, kicks Nattie then dives onto her. Nattie is sent into the barricade, but then she kicks Maxxine off the post! Maxxine is down and Nattie punches away! The referee pulls Nattie off, but Nattie keeps attacking. The referee stops the match and declares Nattie the winner.
Winner: Nattie (1:39 via referee stoppage)
I didn’t get a really good look at it, so it was either an injury or an attempt to make Nattie look like a dominant monster.
Nattie is dragged off by referees while Maxxine is out.
Raquel tells Liv & Dom that she has a plan for her match tonight. JD tells Finn he just wants what’s best for him. Finn says it’s water under the bridge, and he will be champion. Dom doesn’t want to do things on his own, and he wants Finn & JD at ringside for his upcoming match with Penta. Finn tells Dom to take some responsibility & grow up. JD is cool with it & tells Dom that he’ll get Finn on their side.
Tyler Reddick is at ringside! 2 Chainz is there, as is Lil Yachty!
We see an Oba Femi video package after Cole emphasizes that Oba is still a free agent.
The Mystery Crate is backstage again after Nick Aldis sent it back to Raw. Pearce tells the loading dock attendant to send it to Chicago for Elimination Chamber. Rusev yells for some competition, and Oba Femi shows up and seems interested. Pearce suggests another time & place since they have to celebrate AJ tonight. Rusev & Oba both agree for AJ.
Broch Lesnar & Paul Heyman make their way to the ring. Paul Heyman introduces himself. Brock whispers something to Paul, and Paul says he’s the advocate for the Beast. Traditionally, WrestleMania had two main events: the WWE Championship match & the Undertaker’s streak. Brock ended that streak, and now the only dead man walking in WWE is someone walking down to fight Brock Lesnar. Paul says that there wasn’t one person he saw backstage that was man enough to step up to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. Heyman introduces a graphic of appearances that Brock will make until WrestleMania, and says that all anyone needs to do to get Brock at WM is to come down and challenge him. Heyman says no one will answer Brock’s open challenge. No one in the locker room has the balls to take that ass kicking at WrestleMania from Brock Lesnar. Brock’s music plays, as Paul seems to be correct.
Becky asks AJ Lee what she ever did. Becky changed the entire game, she was a much better WWE 2K cover athlete than her husband. She’s made the IC Championship the most talked about and represented. AJ doesn’t deserve a title match, but Becky deserves to retire AJ in Chicago. AJ won’t even be the best AJ to retire this year, Becky will prove she’s the greatest of all time at Elimination Chamber.
We see a clip of Royce Keys telling his story to Stephanie McMahon.
Je’Von Evans (w/Offset) vs. Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods & Grayson Waller): Kofi works around Evans early and basically makes him look foolish. Evans goes back to the arm wringer, Kofi ends up smacking Evans. Evans superkicks Kofi down for two. Evans sends Kofi over the top to the floor. Waller distracts on one side of the ring, Kofi runs away from an Evans dive. Kofi runs back in and Evans knees him in the face for two. Grayson & Xavier distract, and Kofi takes advantage. Kofi tosses Je’Von outside and hits a PK. Offset checks on Evans as we go to commercial.
Kofi works Evans over on the ropes as we return. Evans fires back with punches. Evans evades the SOS, Evans kicks Kofi a couple of times, then hits a twisting splash kick for two! Evans goes up top, misses the moonsault and may have jammed his ankle. SOS gets a two count. Evans rolls Kofi up for two, then hits the Red Dot Knee! Evans dives onto Kofi on the floor! Waller punches Evans while the ref checks on Kofi in the ring. Rocker Dropper gets two for Kofi. Grayson chats with Offset, who tosses him over the announce table. Offset & Xavier’s interaction distracts Kofi, Evans hits the OG Cutter for three!
Winner: Je’Von Evans (7:06 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
Kofi putting Je’Von over is a good usage of his talents at this point, and will help Evans further establish himself with the audience. I don’t think Evans has much of a chance in the Chamber, but he’ll get to do something crazy.
Bayley, Rey Mysterio, Nattie, The Miz, Robert Roode, Abyss, Booker T, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura & CM Punk put AJ Styles over via video. Frankie Kazarian appears backstage, and he runs into Abyss! They walk off together.
LIKE MUSSOLINI! CM Punk marches to the ring. He’ll talk when we come back!
Before that, Finn Balor talks about how he needs to prove he can do it on his own. Ten years since he’s been champion, and a lot of what ifs. When he lost to Punk, he learned not to ask what if, but when. There will be no more what ifs, there will be one best in the world.
Dwight Howard is in attendance, as is Jermaine Dupri. Funny Marco has a new belt they’re selling. Bow Wow wearing a Rock t-shirt, and here’s CM Punk! Punk says he’s here to celebrate AJ Styles, and they can chant his name. Punk wants to save as much time as he can tonight, but needs to address a few things, like hitting his catchphrase. What if that was the last time he got to say that? Finn jumped Punk in Toronto and ruined his last match with AJ Styles. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be getting a title shot. Punk’s doing the best he can and giving people the fighting champion they deserve. Race, Funk, Bret, Shawn, Undertaker, HHH & so on paved that road. What if Roman Reigns was here tonight? They’re not booing Punk because he makes all the shows. Reigns will be on Raw next week, and Punk suggests he might punch him in his stupid face. Punk deals in facts and will let Roman & Finn ask what if. He is the champion and the best in the world. He’s the main event of WrestleMania. His name is CM Punk! Play his music!
Petey Williams, Jeremy Borash & Omos chat backstage. See, Omos is much taller than them.
Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: IYO SKY vs. Kairi Sane vs. Raquel Rodriguez: Raquel gets targeted early and kicks Sane down. IYO chop blocks her, goes for the sunset flip but Raquel tosses her into the corner. Sane gets tossed into IYO, but they evade Raquel in the corner. They hit some strikes and High 10 out of instinct. Sane attacks SKY & stomps her down while Raquel is outside. IYO backdrops Kairi. Kairi with a gobehind on IYO, Raquel picks them up and fallaway slams them! Kairi tossed outside, SKY blocks the running powerslam and sends Raquel outside. Raquel catches Kairi on a dive, but IYO dives on both. We go to commercial!
Raquel is down on the floor as we return. Kairi & IYO face off in the ring. IYO kicks Raquel back down, goes up top but Kairi cuts her off. IYO with a springboard missile dropkick and a kipup. Raquel interrupts the Bullet Train, then clotheslines Samne down for two. IYO blocks the Tejana Bomb on Kairi and sends Raquel into the ringpost. IYO dives onto Raquel, then Kairi jumps off the turnbuckle onto Raquel! IYO sends Raquel into the timekeeper’s area, then Kairi backhands her. Back in the ring, Kairi evaded up top but gets a backslide for two. Double underhook backbreaker by IYO, then Over the Moonsault! Raquel breaks the count, dragging Sane out of the ring. Clothesline by Raquel, IYO kicks her into the corner. IYO onto the apron, drops Raquel on the rope, missile dropkick off the top. Double knees in the corner, but Raquel stops the Over the Moonsault! Sky hits a tornado DDT instead, then Kairi knocks her off the top rope! Sane goes for the elbowdrop, Raquel blocks with her feet and hits the Tejana Bomb on Kairi for three!
Winner: Raquel Rodriguez (7:49 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***
I’d say that Raquel would have a very real possibility of winning the Chamber match, but I don’t know how you book her against Jade Cargill. That doesn’t seem like a match that would work. Having a great showing against IYO & Kairi is one thing, I’m not sure Raquel vs. Jade helps anyone involved.
Cole tells us that Bronson Reed has suffered a distal biceps tear and will be out indefinitely. That sucks. Cole & Graves run down the Elimination Chamber card.
Up next: A Tribute to AJ Styles!
We get a super special AJ Styles video to CREED! CAN YOU TAKE ME HIGHER? OK, nothing’s topping this tonight.
AJ Styles makes his way to the ring. He is wearing his blue gloves, so there’s still a chance he’s active! The fans thank AJ. He was going to wear a suit, but he beat Cody up the last time he did. If he gets choked up, it’s not because he’s sad. He’s grateful to be in Atlanta. He grew up in Gainesville and is thankful for this night because people don’t get them often. He fell in love with pro wrestling as a kid. He wrestled in Gainesville, the TNA Asylum, the Tokyo Dome & the bright lights of WrestleMania. He wrestled Daniels, Joe, Kazarian and they made a mark in pro wrestling. He left TNA & went to Japan. He met some Good Brothers. Gallows & Anderson showed him how to have fun in pro wrestling. He’s almost done everything. One thing he hasn’t done is be a full-time father. He’s missed a lot with his family, it’s tough. Most people think his biggest flex is all the championships he’s won, he thinks its having the best wife in the world. She kept pushing him forward and held the family together. AJ thanks the family for being there, one of the kids has the flu and is home. He didn’t want to go out losing to Gunther, but it was kind of poetic. His debut was at the Royal Rumble in 2016, his last match was at the Royal Rumble in 2026. He’s a man of his word, and that’s all we have at the end of the day. AJ takes off his jacket, and says he didn’t take them off at the Royal Rumble because he wanted to take them home & leave them there. AJ throws his gloves on top of the jacket. He would have been nothing without the fans and thanks them for their love. AJ mounts the turnbuckle and acknowledges the fans. The roster starts filing onto the stage and applauds. Triple H is at the front along with the big names. Sami Zayn is there!
Then there’s the dong! The lights go out! The Undertaker rides out on his motorcycle and steps into the ring. He looks at AJ’s gear and asks if he’s just going to leave his stuff here. They’ve got unfinished business! Taker asks AJ if he’s heard the phrase “if you see me coming, I’m already gone”. If you see him coming, that means you’re going. It’s Undertaker’s esteemed honor to inform AJ that he’s the newest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame! AJ hugs Undertaker and the Styles family appears in front of the announce table. They enter the ring and celebrate with AJ as our live event comes to an end in memory of Kerwin Silfies.
If you’d like to chime in with your own thoughts on today’s show, feel free to join your fellow 411 Maniacs down in the comment section! As the legendary Larry Csonka always said: Have fun and don’t be a dick. When I’m not here you can catch me on the social media from time to time.
