By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw (Episode 1,705)
Toronto, Ontario, at Scotiabank Arena
Streamed live January 26, 2026, on Netflix
[Hour One] Michael Cole opened the show and explained that WWE built the stadium that will host Saturday’s Royal Rumble event, and footage of the venue was shown. Cole narrated backstage clips of Stephanie Vaquer, New Day, and The Vision… Cole announced that the venue was sold out and listed the attendance as 17,863…
Powell’s POV: WrestleTix listed the venue as being set up for 15,756 with only 146 tickets available roughly an hour before showtime.
AJ Styles made his entrance. Once in the ring, he welcomed viewers to Raw. Styles spoke about how Gunther believes he will retire him on Saturday, but Styles said he’s not going anywhere. He said there’s no reason that this can’t be his year. He said there are locker rooms filled with wrestlers around the world that he wants to face one more time, and he wants to be a world champion one more time. Styles said Gunther is good, but he is not Phenomenal.
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk made his entrance in non-wrestling attire and joined Styles inside the ring. The fans sang another line from Punk’s entrance theme after it stopped playing. They cheered and then chanted Punk’s name. Styles asked if the fans figured out why he was there. He said they’d get to that.
Punk asked Styles what he was doing. Punk said he thinks that he and Styles have gas left in the tank. He questioned why Styles was putting his career on the line against Gunther. Styles asked if Punk felt he couldn’t beat Gunther. Punk asked if that’s what he said. Punk said that if Styles loses, then they won’t ever get to meet in a WWE ring. Styles said he could beat Gunther, and he can beat Punk.
Punk said that if Styles doesn’t win on Saturday, then he’ll never get to prove that he can defeat him. Punk looked to the crowd and said he didn’t know what to do. Styles said if he faces Punk tonight and beats him, and then he beats Gunther, that should make him the number one contender.
Punk recalled saying he would be a fighting champion when he won the title on November 1. Punk said that if he and Styles were going to have the match tonight, it would be for the belt. The fans cheered. Punk looked into the camera and hyped that it would be him vs. Styles for the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk and Styles shook on it.
“Hell yeah,” Cole said before asking Raw General Manager Adam Pearce to make the match official. Cole and Corey Graves were shown at the broadcast table. Cole set up footage from Saturday Night’s Main Event…
Liv Morgan, Roxanne Perez, and Raquel Rodriguez made their entrance heading into a commercial break… [C]
Powell’s POV: I’ve grumbled many times about some companies having too many non-title matches when you can do exactly what Punk did by coming off like a fighting champion by simply volunteering to put his title on the line. I’m not saying there’s never a time for non-title matches, but even though I don’t expect to see a title change, the title being on the line makes tonight’s main event more interesting. Right or wrong, cramming in another big Styles match increases suspicion that Styles will work his final match on Saturday.
Cole said they would be flying to Saudi Arabia after Raw for Saturday’s Royal Rumble. He listed the start times for the Royal Rumble event (1CT/2ET), the kickoff show, and the countdown special…
Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky made their entrances while being introduced by ring announcer Lilian Garcia…
Powell’s POV: For those who missed it, Lilian Garcia is filling in for Alicia Taylor, who was unable to travel to the show due to flights to Canada being canceled at her airport due to the extreme weather conditions. I’m not sure if anyone else was unable to travel to Canada, but it will be interesting to see if she (and potentially others) travels separately to Saudi Arabia or if she will miss the show since the crew is leaving after Raw.
1. Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky vs. Liv Morgan, Roxanne Perez, and Raquel Rodriguez. Cole said Vaquer is the only person in the match who would not compete in the women’s Royal Rumble match. Cole said the Punk vs. Styles match was made official by Adam Pearce. They cut to an early break. [C]
Cole said the Judgment Day trio dominated the action during the break. Ripley tossed Morgan with a Razor’s Edge at Rodriguez, which put them both down. Ripley stuffed Perez’s attempt to perform Pop Rox. Ripley hit a missile dropkick on Rodriguez, which sent her to the floor.
Ripley went for her finisher on Morgan, but she avoided it and then hit a tornado DDT. Morgan had Ripoley pinned, but Sky broke it up. Rodrigues returned and set up Vaquer for her finisher, but Vaquer slipped away and sent Rodriguez to ringside. Vaquer went up top and hit a crossbody block on Rodriguez on the floor.
Ripley blocked Morgan’s Oblivion attempt, but Perez made a blind tag. Perez held Ripley while Morgan went for her finisher again, but Ripley remained on her feet. Sky took out Morgan with a missile dropkick, and then Ripley hit Perez with a Riptide and got the three count…
Stephanie Vaquer, Rhea Ripley, and Iyo Sky defeated Liv Morgan, Roxanne Perez, and Raquel Rodriguez in 13:00.
Powell’s POV: An entertaining opener. Vaquer sold her previously injured ankle after the crossbody block to the floor, so it looks like they are using that to make her seem a little vulnerable. On a side note, the back of Perez’s jacket has her name on a star. It looks just like the names of bands and musicians on stars on the outer wall of the First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis (where Purple Rain was filmed).
The broadcast team spoke about CM Punk being a fighting champion, and then footage aired of his win over Finn Balor on last week’s Raw…
CM Punk was walking backstage when Finn Balor caught up with him. Balor said he’d been thinking about what happened last week. He said he wanted to be champion. Balor said even though he didn’t win, Punk was still part of the most memorable night of his career.
Balor recalled Punk picking him up and giving him his flowers. He said with all of the emotion flowing, he didn’t return the favor, but he would now. Balor thanked Punk, who thanked him. Punk said he’s not the best in the world unless he beats the best in the world. Punk said he’s not handing out title shots to people who deserve them; he’s handing them to people who have earned them.
Punk told Balor to think about what he wants his legacy to be. He told Balor that he can’t be champ hanging around “garbage like Dom Mysterio.” Punk told Balor that if he wants another shot, he should win the Rumble, and then he’d see him in Vegas. Balor nodded after Punk walked away…
“The Vision” Bron Breakker. Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and Paul Heyman made their entrance… [C] An ad aired with Paul Heyman following Paul Levesque around and trying to sell him on putting one of his men on WWE 2K26. They arrived in the lobby of WWE Headquarters. “How did you pull this off?” Levesque asked. Heyman said it was time to play the game. They showed a giant image of Triple H on the cover of a special “King of Kings Deluxe Edition”…
The Vision members stood in the ring. Heyman said they were increasing the star power of Raw on Netflix.
Is Punk on stilts?.He looks so much taller than Styles!
Lol