Monday Night Raw - September 07, 2026
Preshow
I want to start with last week - honestly, nothing largely stuck out for me. But I was also watching it half asleep after a big roll-out at work had me working late Sunday, grab 4 hours of sleep, then back online 6a Monday morning and working until shortly after 6. We had some Royce and Friends beatdowns which had to be censored because blood is too graphic for Netflix. Sure glad they don’t show anything scary on that service. Jacob also had a censored “Motherfuckers”. Which they wouldn’t let him get away with even if the show was live, so I get that. Either way - if anything major happened it doesn’t really stick out in my brain.
Last night was a Sunday Night’s Main Event. And while I didn’t watch it (I’m not currently subscribed to Peacock because I’m not interested in the content on there outside of WWE and not paying yet another subscription to do so), I did review the results and watch the highlights.
As it pertains to Raw; Bronson is back, and I couldn’t be happier, I’m a fan. Dude has a ton of charisma, is a great worker, and the Tsunami may be my favorite current finisher. Something about the way he just walks off the turnbuckle to deliver this massive splash. HOWEVER; this leads to the entire conundrum I mentioned several times now. All this showed was the Bron is not up to snuff to take on Oba. What is the point? Heels do heel things, I know, but there has to be a point to the story. The entire build-up was Bron being incredulous at the fact that he was skipped over and wanted to prove he could take on Oba and win. And.. he didn’t win because of Bronson’s return. And the story is pretty clear that Bron was happy to partake in a beatdown with Bronson, so unless shoddy storytelling wins out, they can’t go the angle of Bron being upset that he lost now because of Bronson intervening. And… that’s it for SNME. It was otherwise really a SmackDown show which I don’t watch so much because no USA network.
I will say though, a friend yesterday asked why Corbin had a fuzzy belt. I explained he won it and said he was going to remove the fuzz immediately after SummerSlam, and the fact that never happened lead me to believe that Corbin was going to lose the belt back to Trick. And low and behold..
Announced for tonight is qualifying matches for Money in the Bank.
On the mens side we’ll get Rey Mysterio v Ethan Page v Bron Breakker. I except Ethan to win this one after Oba comes out and destroys Bron for last night.
On the women’s side we’ll see Sol Ruca v Lyra Valkyria v Maxxine Dupre. This one is a bit of a tough one. I can see them wanting to push Sol as the crowd is already behind her solidly. I still expect Bayley back so I’ll just repeat my last prediction of Bayley will interrupt to cost Lyra the match. One of these days it has to be right, I guess.
To round out what’s been announced, we’re also getting Stephanie Vaquer v Liv Morgan tonight for the Women’s Championship. This one is difficult. I can really see Liv losing as a story to finally break up the Judgement Day. Roxanne was announced for a women’s title match at AAA’s Triplemania. I’d love to see Liv lose tonight and Roxanne win that so Liv ends up jealous over her being the one without the gold for once. They’re also really leaning into Stephanie and Becky facing off for the belt.
Main Card
Segment 1 - In-ring: Bron Breakker and the Vision
We’re kicking off this week with Bron claiming himself victorious. Which is factually incorrect. You lost the match. You proved you can’t beat Oba - which was the entire build to the match, you beating him to prove you’re the future, not him.
Within Bronson back, the Vision now claims themselves complete. Which is also factually incorrect since Logan is still injured. I’m not sure that these guys are really paying attention to the show.
Maxxine says she’s finally with a real man (Kam Hendrix punching the air), which brings Tozawa out. Theory challenges him and Tozawa accepts - on behalf of a returning Otis!
They really say a lot of nothing for about 10 minutes. That promo could have been an email.
Match 1: Austin Theory versus Otis
We’re starting off with an impromptu match. And we get a short match with Bronson taking out Otis as soon as we come back from a commercial for a DQ. The Vision beats down Otis, then Tozawa, and nothing has changed in a couple months since these two teams started this program. Oba comes out and clears house. I’m absolutely shocked - SHOCKED - that Oba came out. Bron to the second takes out Oba and Bronson delivers three more Tsunami’s - Wade calls none of them.
Winner: Otis by DQ after Bronson attacks him
Pre-recorded Segment: Royce talk about.. whatever their crews name is.. their beat down from last week. Nothing happens
Backstage Segment: The Uso’s approach Jacob in the back and tell him they’re out for blood. Jacob isn’t. They wonder what changed. Jacob knows they’re trouble because they used to roll together. Jacob tells the brothers Uce to regroup and plan out the next play instead of running in. But why did Jey ask Jacob what the play is when it was shown just a few weeks ago that Jey and Jimmy were Roman’s trusted soldiers? They’ve been showing so much animosity between the two and now Jey is trusting him?
Segment 2?
Matt Matthews, some comedian from ‘Bama? He’s talking. Miz and Kit Wilson come out. Hopefully they’re on Raw now. I’m a long time Miz guy. And admittedly I couldn’t stand him for the longest time - going back to his time on Real World. Miz hits a SCF on Matt. The crowd doesn’t react at all.
With Miz seemingly now on Raw, I hope he moves into the IC title picture. He’s 1-win away from tying Jericho most IC title reigns at 9. Miz very much deserves it too.
Match 2: Bron Breakker versus Ethan Page versus Rey Mysterio - Money in the Bank qualifying match
Bron is an equal opportunity hater, killing Miz, Kit, and Matt Matthews all during the commercial break. Honestly, the best place for him - as long as it’s away from The Vision.
Bron’s speed will never cease to amaze me.
We come back to a picture-in-picture of the match. Like.. the match is in both boxes. Action so nice you can watch it twice!
In a completely adequate match, Bron wins with a spear on Rey.
Winner: Bron Breakker via pinfall after a spear on Rey
Backstage Segment: LA Knight is telling Adam Pearce he’s going after whoever wins the championship match in Mexico City. AKA, Roman. Solo pops up and tells Knight they need to take the fight to Royce and Friends. Knight says to just wait it out, let the Uso’s deal with it, and they can pick up the pieces. Solo says he can’t wait. Interesting. While Knight wants to focus on the championship, his new BFF wants to focus on something else. Wonder if this means Solo will find someone else to have his back.
Promo Package: Penta speaks about Roman. They’ll fight for the World Heavyweight Championship next week on Raw in Mexico City.
Match 3: Sol Ruca versus Lyra Valkyria v Maxxine Dupre - Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
The amount of commercials is awful. We legitimately went from a full commercial break, to a single promo package, a quick recap of Sol and Raquel, to another commercial break. This is worse than awful.
Does Sol have “Your soul is mine” on her back pocket? That’s weird. I mean like - they love puns, why not just put “your sol” instead? Is she a female, blonde, surfer Undertaker?
The crowd is completely dead. And it’s hurting the match. No matter how good the match is, a lack of interest from the crowd, no reactions to anything, hurts. I don’t blame the women either, the crowd has been quiet all night.
And as Lyra looks like she’s about to get the win.. IT’S BAYLEY! Told you I’d get it right eventually. Sol wins after hitting a Sol Snatcher on a distracted Lyra.
Winner: Sol Ruca via pinfall after a Sol Snatcher
The crowd is alive now as Bayley beats down on Lyra, including trying to put her through the announce table. It sounds like Bayley might have some new music. Guess we’ll need to see when she makes her next entrance if we still get the three intros first.
Backstage Segment: Royce and Friends are “now in your city” in the parking lot. Jacob pleads the Usos to trust him and not bring the fight to them, even if they’re not on the same page right now.
Pre-taped Segment: Joe Hendry tells us - no, sings us a song - that JD’s mom shagged a Funko-pop. A Funko pop is JD’s daddy. That’s a line I never expected to type. But here we are.
Match 4: JD McDonagh versus Joe Hendry
The pre-tape worked - the crowd is actually alive and chanting “FUNKO POP” at JD. Maybe they were just waiting to expend their energy for the back half of the show? And now Je’Von comes out wearing the Funko pop head and takes out Dom with a headbutt. Hendry wins with his sit-out one armed spine buster. Did Joe call it the Sound Effect? I thought it’s the Standing Ovation. Well, this happened.
Winner: Joe Hendry via pinfall after the Sound Effect?
Backstage Segment: We get a pre-taped for Liv and Stephanie. This leads into Becky leaving the arena with Liv running into her and talking her down. Becky is speechless in a first for her.
Match 5: Stephanie Vaquer versus Liv Morgan - Women’s World Championship
As we head into our main event match - does the constant flashing lights during entrances give anyone else a headache? Sincerely - they obviously don’t care about people who are epileptic. I’m thankful I’m not. But even still I have to cover my eyes for many entrances these days.
Backstage Segment: During the entrances, we see Heyman in the back hugging and welcoming back Bronson, telling him he made quite the impression. He then chastises Bron because while he thinks he sealed his spot at the top of WWE, Paul reminds him that Oba is still breathing. Heyman walks away. The entire drama with Heyman and The Vision is confusing. He left them to their own, welcomed back Bronson - what is with them still being tangibly connected?
Hearing the crowd counting for the Devil’s Kiss still feels super wrong. Where’s Book to remind them what the call is?
This match is certainly better than their last match. Although that’s not a very high bar to clear.
The crowds reactions are so weird. I know the match isn’t going to end on a power bomb from the corner. We all know it. But normally that would at least get a decent pop from the kick-out. Stephanie kicked out of it and the crowd was silent. This crowd has no idea what they should be reacting to.
As expected, Raquel and Roxanne come out to help Liv and Becky comes out to even the odds. Surprisingly - Liv still gets the win after hitting Stephanie with the belt.
Winner: Liv Morgan via pinfall after Oblivion
Pre-taped Promo: Cass is tall. He wants a title.
Announced for next week..
Kelani Jordan v Raquel Rodriguez v Lola Vice - Money in the Bank qualifier
Chad Gable v Dragon Lee - Intercontinental Championship
Je’Von v Big Cass v Austin Theory - Money in the Bank qualifier
Roman Reigns v Penta - World Heavyweight Championship
Segment3 - In-Ring
Brothers Uce make their way to the ring. They said they listened to Jacob all night and are done listening. There’s no way this can possibly go poorly. They call out Royce and Friends. We see OTM in the parking lot. They destroy the Uso’s truck. I’ve always loved a good car mauling. They set the truck on fire. OTM and Keys stare into the flames like a bunch of moths. Pyro randomly goes off from the burning truck. The Uso’s do not get their revenge but get to take an Uber back to the hotel for their troubles.
Final Thoughts
It legitimately feels like they’re trying to show more wrestling on their weekly show. Lately there hasn’t been as many in-ring segments. I mean, it’s a wrestling show, so it makes sense. I do feel like it’s slightly hurting the storytelling though.
Overall, another completely fine Raw. Nothing special. I was surprised that Liv retained. They’ve been building to a triple threat for months now, I understand that - but I expected Stephanie to win here and Liv to lose in the triple threat, pulling her out of the program and into something more substantial with the the other Judgement Day girls.
Bayley returning and Sol winning was a no-brainer for me. The Lyra and Bayley story wasn’t wrapped up since they kept talking about it on commentary. And I’m sure they’ll want Sol to do something insane off the ladders.
I said it earlier but again - I do not understand what they’re doing with Heyman and The Vision. He already told them he’s done with them, but they’re still stalking him looking for his approval. And he gave it to Bronson. They really need to do something with this group - preferably split them. And hell, they really don’t want to do anything with those tag titles, do they? I guess maybe we’ll get Otis and Tozawa versus Bron and Theory again?
The end segment was a big nothing. We had this build up all night between Solo wanting Royce and Friends, Jimmy and Jey wanting them - and all we get is Keys and OTM burning the Uso’s rental and walking away. The segment was what, 5 minutes to wrap up the show?
It would be nice if US viewers could actually get the things that drive the story. Apparently something happened early in the night with Raquel and Roxanne. No idea what. And also I guess international viewers got something for Gable and Dragon Lee? They’re just randomly facing off for - reasons? In reality - wouldn’t it make sense for Gable to be facing Fenix since he was the runner up in the tournament? Instead a guy who didn’t make the finals gets an IC title match? This is what I mean about the storytelling hurting.
I hope we get Dom in one of these MitB qualifying matches - and preferably with a win. They need to get him back on track. A year ago he beat John Cena. This year he’s done absolutely nothing.
Overall I’m honestly a bit tepid about the product. And every week that goes by, my feelings don’t change - they don’t do anything that makes me say “Yeah I was wrong” outside of a segment here or there. If nothing else, next week is sure to be insanely hot due to the Mexican crowd, that energy is sure to make the show better on its own.