WWE Raw Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Before Elimination Chamber 2026

On the road to the Elimination Chamber, WWE Raw on Netflix was headlined by a tribute to the recently retired AJ Styles.

What went down when WWE tipped its hat to The Phenomenal One and which Superstars cashed their ticket to Saturday's premium live event with victories in the Elimination Chamber qualifying matches?

Find out in this recap of the February 23 show at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Lineup

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Announced in advance of Monday's show were:

A tribute to AJ Styles

Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Liv Morgan appearances

Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Jey Uso vs. The Original El Grande Americano vs. Bronson Reed

Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Iyo Sky vs. Kairi Sane vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Maxxine Dupri vs. Nattie

Gunther Interrupts Opening, Dragon Lee Attacks, and Cody Rhodes Appears

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Gunther interrupted Corey Graves and Michael Cole at the top of the show, taking exception to a tribute to AJ Styles.

Raw general manager Adam Pearce ordered him out of the arena, and The Ring General left under protest, only for Dragon Lee to attack him for the second time in as many weeks.

After they were separated backstage, former undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes appeared and made his way to the squared circle for the scheduled opening segment. The Vision, led by Paul Heyman, interrupted before he could speak.

The heel faction cut a generic promo, leading to the arrival of Jey Uso and the night's opening match.

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Grade

C

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Top Takeaways

Gunther is one of the last real heels on TV. He is unafraid of getting heat, even basking in it. He is a throwback to a bygone era when heels were fearless in their attempts to infuriate the audience.

Do not be surprised if he is back on this show by night's end.

What a mild promo from The Vision and a total waste of Rhodes. Sure, it is Atlanta, so WWE understandably wanted The American Nightmare in front of his home crowd, but this was a total dud of a segment that accomplished next to nothing.

Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Jey Uso vs. Original El Grande Americano vs. Bronson Reed

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Last Time in Action: Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, and LA Knight lost to Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, and Austin Theory (Raw, February 16); El Grande Americano and Je'Von Evans defeated Los Americanos (Raw, February 9)

Jey Uso is headed to the Elimination Chamber on Saturday, for a shot at headlining WrestleMania in a world title match for the second consecutive year.

The reigning world tag team champion with his brother, Jimmy, defeated Original El Grande Americano and "Big" Bronson Reed in a Triple Threat match, overcoming the technical skill of the masked man and the raw power and fury of Reed.

At one point, Reed appeared to suffer a wrist or forearm injury that would take him out of the contest and require medical attention at ringside.

With the battle down to Uso and Americano, the former uncorked a spear and delivered an Uso Splash to pick up the win and cash his ticket to Chicago.

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Result

Uso defeated Americano and Reed

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Grade

B

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Top Takeaways

Reed is awesome, which is great because the way WWE failed to follow up that win over Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel last October would have destroyed a lesser-talented individual. Thankfully, he at least gets TV time and main event spotlight every week with The Vision.

With that said, if he did suffer an injury, that is not only a blow to his momentum but also to that of The Vision, which appears to be snakebit at this point when it comes to injuries derailing its momentum.

The delayed German suplex from Americano to Reed was awesome. Let him roll as Chad Gable and utilize his luchador alter ego to feud with the imposter elsewhere.

Uso is the biggest star here and the most obvious choice to go over.

Update: It was later revealed in the show that Reed suffered a torn biceps.

Liv Morgan Makes Her Decision

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Women's Royal Rumble winner Liv Morgan, flanked by beau Dominik Mysterio, took to the ring to reveal which champion she will challenge at WrestleMania 42.

After Mysterio called out both women's world champion Stephanie Vaquer and WWE women's champion Jade Cargill, Morgan apologized to La Primera and claimed that at WrestleMania 42, it is about telling her story.

She blasted Vaquer with the microphone, beat her down, and left her lying following an ObLIVion.

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Grade

B

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Top Takeaways

Feigned vulnerability before a sneak attack is classic heel booking. It would have worked better had it not been obvious who Morgan was going to choose, but it was still an effective bit of business that adds more heat to the feud with Vaquer.

Without the slightest hint of issues between Morgan and Cargill, this was a quick and easy appearance for the SmackDown brand champion.

Maxxine Dupri vs. Nattie

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Last Time in Action: Nattie and Maxxine Dupri fought to a double count-out (Raw, February 9)

Nattie attacked Maxxine Dupri from the opening bell.

The Queen of Harts beat her former protege down, before taking the match to the floor. There, she sent the former women's intercontinental champion face-first into the ring post, seemingly knocking her unconscious.

The relentless heel unloaded on Dupri until the referee called for the bell.

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Result

Nattie defeated Dupri via referee stoppage

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Grade

C

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Top Takeaways

Unlike the first match, this felt like a cop-out. Instead of delivering the match, WWE Creative booked a finish that prevented either woman from losing straight-up and kept the feud alive.

With that said, Nattie was unstoppable in her quest to punish Dupri. She has upped her level of badass, and the result has been a fresh presentation and renewed interest. Of course, retaining that interest will be more difficult when she does not get a TV entrance.

Brock Lesnar Returns

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For the first time since his unceremonious elimination from the men's Royal Rumble match, Brock Lesnar stalked to the ring and stood alongside his advocate, Paul Heyman, for an in-ring promo segment.

Heyman claimed WrestleMania has three main events, with one of them previously being The Undertaker's unbeaten streak. Now, it belongs to the man who ended The Deadman's historic run: The Beast Incarnate.

The loudmouthed heel introduced Brock Lesnar's WrestleMania Open Challenge, but said no one would dare to accept it, so he had no spoiler or prediction to give before tossing the mic to the ground and exiting with the former world champion.

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Grade

A

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Top Takeaways

With that, there is tremendous intrigue for Lesnar's role at WrestleMania. This was incredibly effective and proved Heyman right. The open challenge gimmick suddenly means as much, if not more than, at least one of the title matches at the biggest show of the year.

Je'Von Evans vs. Kofi Kingston

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Last Time in Action: Je'Von Evans defeated Gunther and Dominik Mysterio (Raw, February 16); Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods lost to Alpha Academy in a Fatal 4-Way Match also including American Made and Los Americanos (Raw, January 26)

Fresh off the biggest win of his career, Je'Von Evans battled Kofi Kingston in a match born in a backstage vignette earlier in the show.

Kingston delivered a poke to the eye to slow his opponent's early momentum and worked over him throughout.

Resilient, Evans fought his way back into the match and benefited from rap superstar Offset neutralizing Grayson Waller and Xavier Woods on the floor, to deliver the OG Cutter for the win.

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Result

Evans defeated Kingston

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Grade

C+

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Top Takeaways

Evans came down hard on his feet/legs during a moonsault attempt and appeared to tweak his knee. He continued to heavily favor it despite no attention paid to it by his opponent. Hopefully, it is not serious and he is merely banged up.

The Young OG got the rub from being on TV with rapper Offset, a big moment for Evans and further proof of management's trust in him.

CM Punk Promo

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World heavyweight champion CM Punk made his way to the ring to address recent events and his upcoming opponents, Finn Balor and Roman Reigns.

The Best in the World cut a promo with the theme of "what if," echoing Balor's earlier promo while admitting he does not deal in "what ifs," because they are not rooted in reality.

He teased punching Reigns in the face next week in Indianapolis when The OTC is on Raw, reiterated that he is the best, and ended his promo with an emphatic mic throw.

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Grade

B

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Top Takeaways

Punk's excellence on the mic was on display here as he took an otherwise mundane promo and tied it together with the "what if" theme. That is something less talented talkers would not even attempt.

The champion criticizing Reigns for not showing up, only for fans to cheer him anyway, suggests the reaction at WrestleMania when Reigns and Punk take to the ring may be very interesting.

Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Iyo Sky vs. Kairi Sane vs. Raquel Rodriguez

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Last Time in Action: Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley fought Lash Legend and Nia Jax to a No-Contest (SmackDown, February 13); Kairi Sane was eliminated in the women's Royal Rumble match (Royal Rumble, January 31); Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan lost to Jade Cargill and Jordynne Grace (SmackDown, February 6)

The final spot in the women's Elimination Chamber match was up for grabs as Iyo Sky battled Raquel Rodriguez and Kairi Sane in a Triple Threat.

Sky wrestled the match like the best in the world that she is, outwrestling her opponents and using her aerial arsenal to keep them off guard. Rodriguez answered with her unbridled strength, bowling over Sky and Sane more than once.

Sane delivered some high-flying offense of her own, but it was Sky who delivered an underhook backbreaker and added her Over the Moonsault.

Rodriguez broke up the pin and the match continued, ultimately ending with Big Mami Cool planting Sane with the Tejana Bomb for the win.

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Result

Rodriguez defeated Sky and Sane

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Grade

B

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Top Takeaways

This looked like Sky's match to win, but it makes sense for WWE Creative to avoid that outcome. After all, why put Sky and Rhea Ripley in a position to fight each other if unnecessary. Ditto Sane and Asuka, who are on course for a one-on-one match. Going with Rodriguez allows an unstoppable force into the match, one who can bump the babyfaces around.

Sky is so good that she does not need a win like this to keep fans engaged. That happens naturally when she enters the squared circle and the bell rings.

Tribute to AJ Styles

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Moments after a tribute package set to Creed's "Higher," AJ Styles took to the squared circle to address the WWE Universe one last time.

He recalled his time in TNA with Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Frankie Kazarian and the rest of the revolutionary roster. He recalled meeting Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the number of legendary competitors he shared the ring with in WWE.

The Phenomenal One thanked his wife and children at ringside and then revealed the reason he did not leave his gloves in the ring at the Royal Rumble was because he wanted to bring them back to Atlanta and leave them at home.

As he took his final bow, the roster spilled onto the stage, applauding the former WWE champion. The lights dimmed, and The Undertaker made his way to the ring, coming face-to-face with his WrestleMania 36 opponent.

The Deadman introduced Styles as the latest inductee in the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame and The Phenomenal One celebrated with his family to close out the broadcast.

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Grade

A

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Top Takeaways

That should just about quell any discussion about Styles heading to All Elite Wrestling in the immediate future.

Styles is an excellent addition into the Hall of Fame. His retirement is fresh, the love fans have for him is undeniable, and his speech here was just short enough to justify a longer one over WrestleMania weekend.

Undertaker as the David Baker of the WWE, informing stars of their induction into the Hall of Fame, is a great role for the elder statesman.

Overall Grade

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The majority of this show centered around the tribute to AJ Styles and that was handled as well and classy as possible, with a big announcement at the end. In that regard, this show was a big success.

Elsewhere, though, this felt like a flat episode. The crowd was not as into the action as one would hope, the in-ring work was not as strong as in recent weeks, and there was a lack of urgency considering the Elimination Chamber PLE is Saturday.

Finn Balor not even appearing in front of the live audience was a big misstep, too.

A lackluster show, for sure.

Grade: C