Roman Reigns & CM Punk Set WrestleMania Stakes; Stephanie Vaquer & Oba Femi Dominate WWE Raw

The night balanced main roster stars with developmental talent, gave LA Knight continued momentum against the Vision faction, and featured a hard-hitting Women's World Championship street fight. When the smoke cleared, WWE had accomplished its primary goal: making fans care about what happens next on the road to WrestleMania.

Bron Breakker Opens Raw With Intensity

Nice cold open with an upset Bron Breakker destroying the announcer's table, grabbing a mic and going off on Adam Pearce for being responsible for the attack he suffered at the Royal Rumble. A masked man attacked Breakker before he could even enter the ring on Saturday. Heyman going off was great. He can do no wrong on the mic.

Adam Pearce is no slouch either. I've had a chance to watch his in-ring career and was never bored. Go look up some old Adam Pearce footage from his wrestling days. He may not have been with WCW or WWE, but in Ring of Honor and on the indies, this dude could really talk.

Speaking of talkers, LA Knight came out to distribute chair shots on Logan Paul and Austin Theory. This was the type of opening to the Raw after the Rumble that we needed to see.

Je'Von Evans vs. El Grande Americano

Recent NXT call-up Je'Von Evans faced El Grande Americano in his latest main roster showcase. El Grande Americano used his size and technical ability to keep the bouncy one grounded. Too many open-hand chops by both guys in this match.

Evans hit a unique corkscrew tornado kick, using the second turnbuckle to catapult himself toward his opponent. Americano attempted a cobra clutch that was countered into a throw by Evans. Didn't expect to see an old-school move like that.

Just when it looked like Americano was going to win thanks to interference from Rayo, the original El Grande Americano came out. That afforded Evans enough time to get to the top rope and hit his finisher, the OG Cutter.

Gunther Segment

AJ Styles' music hit, and it was none other than Gunther. Talk about a guy being a heat magnet. Instead of the Ring General, it looks like he's being called the Career Killer.

You know a heel has done his job well because before Gunther could utter one despicable word, the fans met him with chants you can't say on television and "you tapped out" chants. Now, that's heat for you. Before he got his promo going, none other than AJ Styles' former tag-team championship partner, Dragon Lee, interrupted. Lee was getting the best of Gunther momentarily, but after getting clobbered with the ring bell and locked in the sleeper hold, that was over.

We didn't get to hear a full promo from the Career Killer. WWE trademarked the name a couple of weeks ago, so they're going to get their money's worth, at least for filing the paperwork.

The War Raiders vs. Oba Femi – Handicap Match

NXT powerhouse Oba Femi made a statement on Raw. After his dominant Rumble performance, Femi came out and destroyed the War Raiders. This wasn't a match, this was a showcase. Both of the War Raiders are over 300 pounds.

Femi hit pop-up powerbombs and his finisher, Fall From Grace. You don't see many squashes on Raw, and this was a good opportunity for Femi. Not only is he over – he is big-time over.

Strap the rocket to his back and push him to the moon.

The Bella Twins Return to WWE

The Bella Twins made their way down to the ring with a noisy and raucous ovation. Nikki's been a heel since returning to WWE late last year, and she played into Philadelphia Eagles player Cooper DeJean making the Pro Bowl. The Royal Rumble marked Brie's return to the company, and now the twins announced they're going after the Women's Tag Team Championship currently held by Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky.

Overall, the fans seemed pretty happy to see Twin Magic for one more run. WWE's actually trying to make the women's tag division matter again, and now the Bellas are joining that chase.

Penta vs. Bronson Reed

This was actually an exciting match. Reed controlled stretches, but Penta kept the match alive with his high-flying offense. Things got interesting when Austin Theory jumped on the apron to interfere, only to be met with a superkick. After that, it was Logan Paul's turn to get more of the same.

Reed landed a Death Valley Driver and a Tsunami on Penta, but the ref took a bump during the sequence and was laid out. Why are these refs so brittle? Normally, those moves would end things, but with the ref down, Reed grabbed a chair to really do Penta in.

That's when LA Knight (who Adam Pearce ordered to leave the building earlier, but obviously didn't listen) attacked Reed from behind and delivered the BFT onto the same chair Reed had grabbed. The ref came back to life as if he were Lazarus and counted out Reed, who couldn't make it back in the ring to beat the 10 count.

Penta def. Bronson Reed via count out.

Dominik Mysterio Returns With Liv Morgan

Dominik Mysterio made his first appearance on Raw since being injured at a Dec. 20 AAA show. After running down the Philadelphia crowd, he announced Liv Morgan to come down to the ring. After that, Raquel Rodriguez came down and addressed the elephant in the room – Liv eliminating her at the Rumble.

Good mic work by Rodriguez, who convincingly asked Liv to stay in the back for her title match against Stephanie Vaquer. The promos were fine, but after the talking was done, Stephanie Vaquer's music began to play, signaling that the Philadelphia Street Fight was about to start.

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE Women's World Championship

Rodriguez attacked Vaquer weeks ago, and the feud has been building ever since. The best way to settle things? A no-DQ Philadelphia Street Fight.

Rodriguez used her power early to overwhelm champion Vaquer at the outset of the match, but once the wrestlers were outside, that's when the furniture came into play. If you're not familiar with WWE math, here's a quick lesson: Vaquer grabbed a table and set it up outside. Most of the time, the person who gets the table is the one that's going through the table, and that's what happened here yet again.

Rodriguez attempted to set up a chair in the corner, but that looked like a botch, and the announcers were definitely surprised by the blown spot. Here's a funny spot – Rodriguez threw a chair toward the ring and it hit the ropes and came back to strike Rodriguez in the face. She shouldn't be allowed to go anywhere near a chair from now on.

Towards the end of the match, Liv Morgan came out to hand Rodriguez the title to use on the champion, but that was countered by Vaquer knocking Liv off the apron. Judgment Day stablemate Roxanne Perez ran down to interfere with the champion, who was perched on the top rope. After Vaquer dealt with Perez, Rodriguez went for a top rope powerbomb that got countered into a hurricanrana, followed by a corkscrew splash for the pin.

The match was pretty good and entertaining. Normally, botches can ruin a match, but with the trouble that Raquel Rodriguez had with chairs, it seemed to add to the quality of the match instead of subtracting from it.

Stephanie Vaquer retained via pinfall.

After the match, Morgan attacked Vaquer. She still hasn't announced her WrestleMania decision, but it's clear she's facing Vaquer for the title.

Roman Reigns and CM Punk Delivered Epic Promo Battle

Roman Reigns came out to the ring to a massive pop. I mean, this crowd was LOUD. Roman went into his history in Philadelphia – winning a title here, losing a title here. Reigns worked the crowd, asking them who they wanted him to face at WrestleMania, and none other than WWE World Champion CM Punk came down to the ring.

These are two of the best talkers in the business, and the back-and-forth they had tonight was nothing short of epic. Past conflicts always build the best feuds, and these two delivered pipe bombs against one another. When the lines of reality and a work are blurred, fans are the true winners.

Punk mentioned Roman learned from the best. Reigns pulled the curtain back and said he had to sign off on Punk returning to the company. There'll be a separate follow-up on tonight's promo battle – it was just that important.

Final Thoughts

The show had decent action, but way too many commercials. All of these ads are a problem. It's a distraction. I know WWE has to get ads in, but the sheer number of advertisements for a two-and-a-half-hour show is getting ridiculous.

The Vaquer vs. Rodriguez match went long and carried the in-ring load, while the ending segment featuring the promo battle between Punk and Reigns was enough to make any show great. Epic promos, LA Knight wreaking havoc against the Vision (Austin Theory, Logan Paul, Bronson Reed, and Bron Breakker), Oba Femi's power display – this was a good show.

The action could have been better, but the standout moments delivered exactly what the road to WrestleMania demands. Punk vs. Reigns is clearly the main event direction, while Liv Morgan's inevitable challenge to Stephanie Vaquer takes shape. Gunther's Career Killer persona continues building heat, and Oba Femi looks like a future main eventer after that dominant showing.

Raw set the table for the next two months, and Philadelphia ate it up.