The Problem With Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk, Gunther's WrestleMania 42 Feud, More WWE Raw Fallout

On the heels of a dramatic Royal Rumble, the February 2 edition of WWE Raw on Netflix from the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia featured a world title match and a WrestleMania 42 main event announcement.

The men's Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns officially called out CM Punk, confirming he would challenge The Best in the World for the World Heavyweight Championship at The Show of Shows.

Stephanie Vaquer successfully defended the Women's World Championship against Raquel Rodriguez, leaving her in wait to see who Liv Morgan will challenge with her women's Rumble title shot.

Bron Breakker continued to cause mayhem out of frustration. Dragon Lee attacked Gunther for mocking AJ Styles after retiring him. Oba Femi made his Raw debut by taking out both of The War Raiders.

It was a packed night for Raw that tried to set WWE in motion on the road to WrestleMania 42.

Right Match, Wrong Time for Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk

On paper, Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk is one of the biggest matches WWE could possibly book for WrestleMania.

However, it is already clear this was not the plan based on the past year of build.

Reigns and Punk's animosity was seemingly put aside in the pursuit of The Vision in 2025, yet they hate each other again in 2026.

This is likely because both other match plans of Reigns vs. Seth Rollins and Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes have been postponed unexpectedly.

While both men know each other well and have plenty of history, proved by their focused shots in the show-closing back-and-forth, they need to build a new story from scratch for this to be the 'Mania main event.

It would have been better for WWE to pivot to Reigns vs. Bron Breakker, especially since time is running out to capitalize on the build of The Vision over the past year.

WWE is Cooling Off Bron Breakker

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Bron Breakker flipped the announce table in frustration over his quick Royal Rumble elimination.

No one is working with more urgency right now than Bron Breakker, but WWE is not working with the same urgency to push him to the top.

After losing to CM Punk and getting cheated out of his chance in the men's Rumble match despite going in as the favorite, The Badass could be left without a strong story until Seth Rollins is cleared for action again.

Even when The Visionary is ready to return, WWE has some catch-up to do since Breakker did not capitalize on taking out Rollins by capturing his title.

Many stars have passed Breakker by and left The Vision as a secondary act in the meantime.

If Rollins cannot return by WrestleMania, the second-generation star needs a heated rivalry to pick up with LA Knight to keep him relevant in the meantime.

Ideally, Breakker would be teasing his involvement in the world title scene, but with Finn Bálor likely to be the only challenge for Punk before Roman Reigns, he will likely be stuck in the background on Raw.

Gunther Needs Randy Orton Feud for WrestleMania 42

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Gunther mocked AJ Styles after ending his career at Royal Rumble 2026.

Gunther ended the career of AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, and The Phenomenal One made no appearance on Raw, indicating WWE fans may never see him again.

This leaves The Ring General with limited story options going into WrestleMania 42.

Dragon Lee stepped up, only to get choked out, indicating this is not a story that will last until The Show of Shows on April 18-19.

More likely, Gunther needs to challenge another veteran, and who better to fit that role than former Legend Killer, Randy Orton?

The Ring General has ended the career of two of Orton's friends, John Cena and AJ Styles, in the past two months.

The Viper has been working on SmackDown lately, but the brand split is more a suggestion than a rule in the modern WWE.

Everything is aligning for Orton to contest Gunther, facing someone following his own old path.

While The Viper is unlikely to retire, the tease going into WrestleMania can give this rivalry major stakes and allow someone to give The Ring General some comeuppance.

No Half-Measures Needed with Oba Femi Super-Push

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Oba Femi ran all over Erik and Ivar on Raw.

Oba Femi has the highest upside of anyone WWE has recently brought up to the main roster, and there is no reason to hold back.

The Ruler needs to go undefeated for a while, including dominating known names across the Raw roster.

Based on the Royal Rumble tease, the road to WrestleMania can lead to Femi colliding with Brock Lesnar.

The 27-year-old should defeat The Beast Incarnate, taking his place as the most dominant force on the main roster.

From there, Femi can win the Intercontinental Championship and run with it for the rest of 2026.

There is no reason for anyone to get in the way of a super-push for The Ruler in his first year on the main roster.

Raquel Rodriguez Losing to Stephanie Vaquer is a Missed Opportunity

When Stephanie Vaquer won the Women's World Championship on September 20 at Wrestlepalooza, all signs pointed to her carrying the gold all the way to WrestleMania 42.

However, a strong build for Raquel Rodriguez and a Royal Rumble win for Liv Morgan set the stage for a better world title story.

This was the opportunity for Rodriguez to capture her first world title and set herself on a collision course with Judgment Day teammate Morgan at 'Mania.

While Rodriguez has not yet shown she can run with WWE's top prize, she and Vaquer sold why Big Mami Cool could end her reign.

The two had brawled as heated rivals into 2026, and Rodriguez has never looked better in the ring or on the mic.

Morgan and Rodriguez have worked together for years, setting the stage for a dramatic angle of friends turning into rivals.

The 2026 women's Rumble winner is a proven champion who could help carry Big Mami Cool at least to 'Mania.

Instead, Morgan and Vaquer need to build a rivalry mostly from scratch that can match years of history from the alternative.