AJ Styles is a Main Event Star Again, WWE's Faction Woes Grow and More Raw Fallout

The PSD Bank Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany hosted Raw on Netflix on January 12 where AJ Styles looked to shut up Gunther while new No. 1 contenders were announced.

The Ring General tricked The Phenomenal One with a fake tap-out to steal the win against Styles.

The Judgment Day had a huge night where Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez earned a shot at the Women's Tag Team Championships while Raquel Rodriguez and Finn Bálor made statements against Raw's world champions.

Bron Breakker's anger cost The Vision a tag team match against Dragon Lee and Penta as well as leading to Adam Pearce suspending the former No. 1 contender.

Je'Von Evans competed for the first time as a full-time member of the Raw roster, defeating Bravo Americano.

It was a good night for some of Raw's top names, setting the stage for big title matches on the road to the Royal Rumble.

AJ Styles is a Main Event Act Until Retirement

Few men have delivered more consistently great in-ring work over their entire WWE career than AJ Styles, who still looks as good as ever has.

However, The Phenomenal One has made clear that he does not feel that way and will be retiring at some point in 2026.

While Styles is not as important to John Cena in WWE history, this is still a major upcoming retirement for the company.

To differentiate Styles' run from Cena, this is not a central story for WWE, but The Phenomenal One should still be a vital part of the company's year.

This feud with Gunther is only intensifying, and both men could easily be put into the world title picture sooner than later.

Styles is a two-time WWE champion but has not held the gold since 2018. This is the last chance to put him into that conversation again, maybe even give him one more title reign.

At a time where WWE needs quality, credible names at all levels of the roster, The Phenomenal One is one of the best to rely upon as time ticks down to the end of his career.

Time to End Judgment Day For Good

This week's Raw showed a heavy focus on The Judgment Day with three upcoming title matches for the group on the horizon.

Next week, Finn Bálor challenges CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship, which is a major surprise given his near-absence from television in recent weeks.

Raquel Rodriguez continued to torment Stephanie Vaquer, hopefully setting up a strong stage for their final match instead of another TV match with an obvious result.

Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez earned a shot at Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky, who just took the Women's Tag Team Championships off The Kabuki Warriors.

None of these matches come off as anything more than filler. Anything can happen in professional wrestling, but The Prince or Rodriguez holding a world championship in 2026 feels unlikely.

Morgan is the most relevant member of Judgment Day, but there is no reason to take the gold off Rhiyo any time soon.

The problem at the core of all this booking is WWE's refusal to do something bold with The Judgment Day. Outside of Morgan, no one in this group has lasting relevance near the main event scene.

While it is a repetitive statement with The Judgment Day, it is long past time to shake things up. Pit Morgan and Bálor against each other like The Prince once feuded with Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley.

Nothing else is going to make The Judgment Day matter in 2026, and Raw is spending too much time stuck in this same formula week in, week out.

The Vision's 2026 Went From Bad to Worse

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Bronson Reed and Austin Theory continue to build their chemistry as The Vision's primary tag team.

What is The Vision?

At its start, it was Seth Rollins' goal to reshape WWE in a way that centralized him and a select few young rising stars to battle the old guard like CM Punk and Roman Reigns.

Thanks to an untimely injury suffered by The Visionary, the group turned against its leader and formed a new focus purely under Paul Heyman's guidance.

Since that time, The Vision has won regularly, but the direction is stalling out. "The vision" of The Vision is blurry beyond Bron Breakker wanting Punk's World Heavyweight Championship.

Breakker's loss and the subsequent tantrum on Raw that led to an indefinite suspension served to sell that this is a dangerous man with little qualms about who he hurts.

However, it also delayed the end goal of crowning Breakker, and without a central champion, The Vision looks lost.

Feuding with Rey Mysterio, Penta and Dragon Lee pales in comparison to Punk, Reigns, Jey Uso and even LA Knight.

Something needs to happen to sell why fans should care about The Vision's direction. It needs to be a big moment, particularly for someone other than Breakker, who is already seemingly on track for gold.

Logan Paul seems to be spinning his wheels, but it would not be shocking to see him win gold or even win the 2026 men's Royal Rumble.

Bronson Reed and Austin Theory would make sense not to just contest The Usos but defeat Jey and Jimmy Uso for the World Tag Team Championships.

The group could also use a big name, someone on the roster already with standing and credibility.

The easiest answer would be a returning Brock Lesnar (or Drew McIntyre if the group wants to span both brands), but it would be far more interesting for it to be an unexpected name like Gunther, Jey or even Cody Rhodes himself.

This is the time to take big swings and make changes that rewrite the direction of the show on the road to WrestleMania.

Pick Up the Pace with Je'Von Evans

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Je'Von Evans picked up his second win on Raw against Bravo Americano.

Je'Von Evans is officially a member of the Raw roster, and so far his run with the brand has involved defeating both members of Los Americanos and signing his contract during a commercial break.

Nothing about The Young OG feels important at present while his NXT peers are getting much bigger spotlights from the outset.

Trick Williams has stood up to Sami Zayn and Randy Orton while stating his intention to be world champion.

Oba Femi has aired weekly vignettes to hype his impending arrival, not even losing on his way out of NXT while carrying the brand's top prize.

Jordynne Grace has immediately pushed into the conversation of challengers for Women's world champion Jade Cargill.

In WWE, you only get so many chances to make a first impression to a new audience, and The Young OG's early presentation has left no real impact.

He needs to definitively move past this feud with Los Americanos and sell why he could stand up to the top names on Raw, even if a world title is far out of reach for the near future.

Why hold back? NXT fans loved this man so much he was named NXT Superstar of the Year despite winning no championships in 2025.

A slow start could stunt his popularity and push him into the conversation with guys like Nathan Frazer, Axiom, Johnny Gargano and more as NXT guys that may never fully translate to main roster success.

Germany Sets the Gold Standard for WWE Crowds in 2026

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Gunther was the big star of this week's Raw, feeding off the energy of the German crowd.

Germany was alight for Raw this week, loud and passionate throughout the show, despite WWE delivering only a solid night of action.

The European tours often bring out a different level of energy, but Germany has set the gold standard for 2026 with the enthusiastic response for everything.

Gunther vs. AJ Styles was a great match, but it was especially great because of the atmosphere, selling a big fight feel for the clash.

While the rest of this tour will deliver great responses as well, it will be especially on American crowd to find this same energy once WWE returns to its home country.

This is proof of how much the fans make professional wrestling special and can make familiar action feel new all over again.