WWE Raw emanated from Norfolk, Virginia, as the road toward WWE’s upcoming return to Mexico continued, and the tournament to determine Roman Reigns‘ next World Heavyweight Championship challenger got underway.
Penta and Laredo Kid met in the first tournament match of the night, while tensions between Oba Femi and Bron Breakker continued to escalate. Stephanie Vaquer also returned to the ring with the Women’s World Championship firmly in her sights, while Solo Sikoa and Jey Uso reignited their family rivalry.
Michael Cole and Corey Graves welcomed viewers to the show, but they did not get far before Solo Sikoa made his way through the crowd.
Solo Sikoa Comes Face-To-Face With Jey Uso
Sikoa immediately took aim at The Usos, mocking them as he addressed the Norfolk crowd. However, Jey Uso’s music quickly interrupted him as the former World Heavyweight Champion made his way out.
Jey asked Sikoa whether he really wanted to go down this road before telling him that he needed to fall back in line with The Bloodline.
Sikoa fired back by asking how falling in line had worked out for Jey. He pointed towards Jey’s previous accomplishments, including becoming World Heavyweight Champion, winning the Men’s Royal Rumble and defeating Gunther at WrestleMania, before claiming that his older brother had since fallen off.
Sikoa made it clear he had no intention of returning to the family and said the people of Virginia loved where he was now.
Jey told Sikoa to be quiet and reminded him who he was speaking to. He said that he had helped raise and feed Sikoa, adding that Solo was where he was today because of both himself and Jimmy Uso.
Jey then challenged his brother to a match before firing a warning shot in Sikoa’s direction.
Sikoa ducked and jokingly checked whether the fans behind him were okay. He accepted Jey’s challenge on the condition that when he won, The Bloodline would leave him alone. Solo then responded with a warning shot of his own.
With the match set for later in the night, Penta made his entrance for the first World Heavyweight Championship number one contendership tournament match. Laredo Kid followed.
WWE World Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Tournament First Round Match: Penta vs. Laredo Kid
Penta offered his hand to Laredo Kid as the bell rang, but his opponent declined. Penta responded by grabbing a side headlock before connecting with a kick to the chest.
Laredo Kid quickly picked up the pace, catching Penta with an enzuigiri from the apron before delivering a dropkick from the top rope. Penta prevented him from following with a dive to the outside, catching him with a kick to the head before connecting with a top-rope crossbody and a hurricanrana.
Laredo Kid pulled Penta underneath the bottom rope and sent him face-first into the apron. He then climbed to the top rope and delivered a moonsault to Penta on the floor.
After returning to the ring, Laredo Kid continued to push the pace and came close to securing the victory.
Following the commercial break, Penta regained momentum with a Sling Blade, only for Laredo Kid to answer with a reverse hurricanrana. Penta caught his opponent charging into the corner with a superkick before following with a backstabber for a two-count.
Laredo Kid connected with an open palm strike, but Penta responded with a thrust kick and launched himself over the top rope with a tope con hilo.
Back inside the ring, Penta hit the Penta Driver, but Laredo Kid kicked out. Laredo Kid headed to the top rope looking for a Tornillo, but Penta rolled clear and immediately capitalised with a Mexican Destroyer to secure the victory.
Winner: Penta
The victory sent Penta through to the next round of the tournament to determine Roman Reigns’ next World Heavyweight Championship challenger.
The Vision then headed to the ring ahead of Austin Theory‘s match against Akira Tozawa, who Alpha Academy accompanied.
Austin Theory (w/ The Vision) vs. Akira Tozawa
Tozawa immediately took the fight to Theory when the bell rang. Theory initially overpowered him, but Tozawa responded with a hurricanrana before being flattened by a clothesline.
Theory took control with a series of right hands and a stomp to Tozawa’s spine before driving his boot into the back of his opponent’s neck.
After the break, Tozawa briefly caught Theory with a pinning attempt before ripping off his shirt and unloading with a series of kicks to the chest.
His comeback did not last long, with Theory catching Tozawa with a forearm strike to secure the victory.
Winner: Austin Theory
Theory was not finished after the bell. He rained down right hands on Tozawa and repeatedly bounced his face off the mat.
Maxxine Dupri handed Theory a steel chair as Bron Breakker prepared to join the attack, but Oba Femi’s music brought proceedings to an immediate halt.
Femi marched towards the ring and caught Theory with a boot at the bottom of the entrance ramp when he attempted to charge him.
The 2026 King of the Ring then turned his attention towards Breakker. The two stared each other down before officials flooded the ring to prevent the situation from escalating.
Stephanie Vaquer then made her way to the ring.
Stephanie Vaquer Addresses The Judgment Day
Vaquer said she was happy to be back in the ring and admitted she had missed being there.
La Primera quickly turned her attention towards The Judgment Day, saying she enjoyed watching Liv Morgan and the rest of the group become scared whenever they saw her coming.
Vaquer promised to take them out one by one. She said she had beaten up Raquel Rodriguez countless times and would happily do it again before declaring Roxanne Perez a “dead woman.”
The former Women’s World Champion then delivered a direct message to Morgan, insisting that the Women’s World Championship belonged to her.
Before Vaquer could continue, Becky Lynch‘s music hit.
Lynch declared that “The Man” had come around to Norfolk, prompting Vaquer to immediately ask what she wanted.
Lynch said she wanted plenty, but suggested she and Vaquer probably had one thing in common: wanting to beat down Liv Morgan.
The Man called Vaquer an enigma and acknowledged that what she had accomplished during her relatively short time on Raw had been impressive. However, Lynch also took a shot at Vaquer for spending more time away from the show than appearing on it.
Lynch said she did not consider herself particularly lucky, but knew she was good.
Vaquer responded by promising to show Lynch exactly what La Primera was all about.
Before their confrontation could go any further, Morgan blindsided Lynch and unloaded with right hands.
Lynch quickly recovered and caught the Women’s World Champion with a Bexploder. Morgan was sent from the immediate confrontation, leaving Lynch and Vaquer staring each other down.
The tension between the two potential challengers quickly boiled over as Lynch and Vaquer began arguing in the centre of the ring.
Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee
Dominik Mysterio and Dragon Lee renewed their rivalry in the next match of the night, with Lee wasting little time taking the fight to his opponent.
Lee unloaded with stomps in the corner before Dominik answered with an overhand chop and took him off his feet. The Judgment Day member sent Lee onto the apron before launching himself over the top rope with a crossbody to the outside.
Following the commercial break, Lee built momentum with a pair of strikes and a Tornado DDT. After Dominik kicked out, Lee launched himself over the top rope with a tope con hilo.
Dominik sent Lee back into the ring, but his opponent responded with a German suplex and superkick. Dominik fired back with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall before positioning Lee on the top rope.
Lee turned the situation around and delivered a double stomp to Dominik’s chest while he was hanging from the top rope by his knees.
With Dominik vulnerable, Lee connected with Operation Dragon to secure the victory.
Winner: Dragon Lee
Lee’s celebration was quickly cut short when Big Cass appeared behind him and connected with a big boot.
Cass followed with East River Crossing, prompting Je’Von Evans to rush to the ring and attempt to make the save. However, Cass was ready for him and quickly shut down Evans with another big boot.
The Judgment Day then made their entrance for tag team action. Sol Ruca followed before revealing IYO SKY as her mystery partner.
Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sol Ruca and IYO SKY
Ruca and Rodriguez started the match, locking up before Perez entered and was launched into the corner by her partner to connect with an uppercut.
Perez went after Ruca with stomps before raking her eyes and tagging Rodriguez back into the contest.
Rodriguez attempted to drag SKY into the ring from the apron, but Ruca and SKY responded with simultaneous shotgun dropkicks to their opponents.
SKY then attempted to dive through the ropes onto Rodriguez, only to be caught in mid-air. Ruca came to her partner’s aid with a moonsault from the middle rope, but Perez answered by delivering a double crossbody from the apron to take out both opponents.
After the commercial break, Ruca sent Rodriguez crashing into the mat and tagged in SKY as Perez entered for The Judgment Day.
SKY picked up the pace with a pair of arm drags and an uppercut. Rodriguez attempted to catch SKY with a big boot, but SKY avoided it and instead wiped out Perez.
SKY followed with a Bullet Train to Rodriguez on the apron before coming off the top rope with a missile dropkick to Perez.
A backbreaker earned SKY a two-count before Perez sent her face-first into the top turnbuckle. SKY responded with a Tornado DDT to Rodriguez, while Ruca later took Perez down with a Shining Wizard.
Perez pulled Ruca out of the ring with her legs as the action continued to break down. Rodriguez then caught SKY with an inverted vertical suplex before Ruca clotheslined her out of the ring.
Perez took care of Ruca and prepared to hit SKY with a Shining Wizard, but SKY saw it coming and connected with a German suplex. She followed with a Bullet Train in the corner before making the tag.
Ruca entered and delivered another German suplex to Perez before connecting with the Sol Snatcher to pick up the victory for her team.
Winners: Sol Ruca and IYO SKY
Bron Breakker Questions Paul Heyman About Oba Femi
Backstage, tensions continued to rise within The Vision following Oba Femi’s confrontation with Bron Breakker earlier in the night.
Breakker asked Paul Heyman directly whether he believed Femi was the future of WWE.
Heyman said he would answer honestly, explaining that he respected Femi as much as he loved Breakker.
That answer did not satisfy Breakker, who asked the question again.
This time, Heyman turned the issue back on him. He told Breakker that he believed Breakker himself thought Femi was the future of WWE.
Heyman added that he intended to continue respecting Femi until Breakker gave him a reason to believe the 2026 King of the Ring was no longer worthy of that respect.
Chad Gable Approaches Rey Mysterio
Elsewhere backstage, Chad Gable approached AAA General Manager Rey Mysterio and offered him a match for the Intercontinental Championship.
The show then returned to the arena as Solo Sikoa made his entrance for the main event. Jey Uso followed as the two members of the Anoa’i family prepared to settle their differences in the ring.
Jey Uso vs. Solo Sikoa
Jey and Sikoa locked up when the bell rang, with Jey once again reminding his younger family member that he would not be where he was without him.
Sikoa responded physically, sending Jey to the mat with a shoulder tackle.
Jey caught Sikoa with an enzuigiri from the apron, but Sikoa quickly regained control and dumped him out of the ring.
Following the commercial break, Sikoa turned Jey inside out with a clothesline before unloading with right hands. He followed with a Samoan Drop as he continued to control the match.
Jey looked to change the momentum by setting up for a spear, but Sikoa intercepted him with a spinning heel kick. Solo then connected with Spinning Solo and covered Jey, but the former World Heavyweight Champion kicked out.
Jimmy Uso then appeared at ringside and climbed onto the apron.
The distraction gave Jey an opportunity to connect with a spear, but it was not enough to put Sikoa away.
Jimmy continued to distract Solo from the apron, giving his brother another opening. Jey headed to the top rope and delivered the Uso Splash to secure the victory.
Winner: Jey Uso
The result meant Sikoa would now be forced to return to Roman Reigns and The Bloodline following the stipulation established earlier in the night.
Jey had entered the evening demanding that his younger family member fall back in line. With some assistance from Jimmy, he ultimately got exactly what he wanted as Raw came to an end.
