Monday Night Raw Review - February 16, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

World Tag Team Champions The Usos, The Vision and LA Knight Interrupted Each Other; The Vision (Bronson Reed, Austin Theory and Logan Paul) def. The Usos and Knight

All of the talking to start the show was fairly standard stuff, but at least Knight's promo was entertaining. Paul did all the talking for The Vision, so it feels like he's being positioned as the new leader in Bron Breakker's absence. The subsequent six-man tag team match was solid and The Vision winning was needed following their recent setbacks. It will be interesting to see if this leads to them getting a shot at the World Tag Team Championship.

Asuka def. Bayley and Nattie in a Triple Threat Match to Qualify for the Women's Elimination Chamber Match

For a match with such star power, I'm surprised the crowd was as quiet as they were. Then again, it's not like it was anything overly exciting despite being well worked. Asuka was probably the best choice to advance since Nattie is involved in the Women's Intercontinental Championship picture and the women's Chamber needs heels. She won't win, mind you, but she's a great addition, nonetheless.

The Judgment Day Confronted World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk

Punk continues to be consistently strong on the mic and this was another excellent promo from him, hyping up his upcoming championship clash with Balor at Elimination Chamber. Balor also played his role well and the fact he came out to his original entrance music again was interesting. That babyface turn has to be imminent, right? Judgment Day didn't interfere in Balor's last match with Punk, but it's possible they factor into the finish this time and that leads to Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42.

Penta def. El Grande Americano in an Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

Penta being a mystery opponent for Americano was odd because it's not like he was away or anything. Regardless, Penta winning was absolutely the right outcome, provided he actually beats Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental title. Otherwise, what's the point of having them face each other again? This was a nice match and it made sense for Chad Gable's Americano cost Ludvig Kaiser's Americano the win, but that rivalry is already wearing thin with me.

Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch Confronted AJ Lee

Much like last week, this received flack from fans online and I can understand why, but once again, I personally didn't have an issue with it. Lee cut a good promo about what this match with Lynch at Elimination Chamber means to her while Lynch's rebuttal was well done. The biggest issue with this segment was that the crowd was completely quiet. I didn't think there was anything wrong with what they said or the delivery, so I have no idea why they were so silent.

Je'Von Evans def. Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio and Gunther in a Triple Threat Match to Qualify for the Men's Elimination Chamber Match

This suffered from the same issue as the previous segment: The crowd strangely sat on their hands for almost all of it. It wasn't the most thrilling Triple Threat I've ever seen, but it's not like it was boring, either. Hell, Je'Von Evans was in there! It was an enjoyable main event and I love that Evans qualified for the men's Chamber. Gunther can battle Dragon Lee at the event, but I assume they'll run it on Raw instead.

Overall Show

Michael Cole also hosted a pre-taped, sit-down interview with Liv Morgan where she didn't make her WrestleMania decision and Stephanie Vaquer interrupted. It was too inconsequential to devote a paragraph to, but I figured I'd mention it, anyway, especially since Morgan broke down crying. The rest of the show was perfectly fine. It wasn't an outstanding effort by any means, but there was plenty of progression throughout. Unfortunately, the Memphis crowd sucked.

SEE MORE: Raw Reviews