LA Knight closed RAW from Cleveland by qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match with a big victory over Austin Theory and Penta in the main event.
The Vision interfered, but a masked assailant attacked Theory as Logan Paul and Bronson Reed were leaving. The Usos predictably defeated Otis and Akira Tozawa in their first defense.
Thanks for the submission!
Je’Von Evans and the original El Grande Americano beat Los Americanos. AJ Lee talked Becky Lynch into a title match at the Elimination Chamber PLE, while Finn Balor did the same to CM Punk.
Nattie dominated Maxxine Dupri with a Sharpshooter on top of the announce table. With all focus on the Elimination Chamber, WWE made the next five mistakes on RAW from Cleveland.
#5. Putting current RAW champions in Elimination Chamber qualifiers
Instead of having triple threats, Elimination Chamber qualifiers should simply be one-on-one contests. Stars like Ivy Nile, Zelina Vega, and others haven’t done much lately to warrant being in a match with a potential title shot attached.
Jimmy Uso later said he hoped Jey would win his qualifier and go to WrestleMania. Dominik Mysterio will also have a chance on next week’s RAW. Is the roster so barren that non-champions can’t even get a spot?
#4. Did you hear about Dominik Mysterio?
Dominik Mysterio appeared on RAW for the second straight week. Did he do anything with the Intercontinental Championship? Of course not!
Dirty Dom’s main contribution was to give Liv Morgan flowers and chocolates. He also translated Stephanie Vaquer’s words when she confronted the 2026 Royal Rumble winner.
He did mention in a backstage segment that he had an Elimination Chamber qualifying match instead of a title defense. Why does he have another opportunity after doing nothing with the Intercontinental title for two months?
#3. Michael Cole doesn’t understand why CM Punk wants to fight
Michael Cole was set to interview CM Punk, but Finn Balor interrupted because he wanted another shot at the World Heavyweight title. After some back and forth, they agreed to a fight at the Elimination Chamber PLE.
Once Balor left, Cole then asked Punk why he “would jeopardize the greatest main event in history” by agreeing to a match before WrestleMania. Punk claimed that he is a fighting champion willing to fight anyone at any time.
The fans deserve a fighting Champion. Cole asking why he wanted to wrestle was hilarious, because that’s literally Punk’s job. He shows up most weeks. That must have been a way around saying “we have 10 weeks to kill before WrestleMania.”
#2. Giving another opportunity to a current champion
Ivy Nile, Rhea Ripley, and Lyra Valkyria battled for a spot in the Elimination Chamber match. Since Ripley already holds the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles, it made sense for someone else to get a shot to qualify.
It wasn’t to be as, just like choosing Roman Reigns over every full-time star, Triple H gave Mami the win.
She is one of the most popular stars, but Lyra could have used the win and course of direction. Ripley even pinned Valkyria, and not Nile, further diminishing the work she’s done over the last year.
#1. Roman Reigns takes his first vacation before WrestleMania
The main reason Roman Reigns showed up on last week’s RAW was to make his WrestleMania choice so he could immediately leave again. Liv Morgan has appeared on both episodes of RAW, but she’s a full-timer.
If Roman was going to take the entirety of February off, he could have won the Elimination Chamber instead of the Royal Rumble. He could have missed the month anyway before showing up a week before the next PLE to qualify.
Already having that match made for The Showcase of the Immortals takes away any suspense for Punk vs. Balor at the Elimination Chamber.
Edited by Matthew Serocki
