Monday Night Raw Review - February 9, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch Agreed to Defend Against AJ Lee at Elimination Chamber

The reaction to this segment online has been a bit polarizing from what I've seen with there being some criticism of Lynch and Lee's mic skills, but I had no problem with either promo, personally. Lee played her role well and Lynch acted unhinged without going too over-the-top with it. I like that they're having their first match at Elimination Chamber because I have no idea what you'd do for the next two months if they saved it for WrestleMania 42, which is where the rematch should take place.

World Tag Team Champions The Usos def. Alpha Academy (Otis and Akira Tozawa)

You know Raw's tag team division is depleted when Alpha Academy are challenging for the World Tag Team Championship. I couldn't even tell you the last title shot they got as a team, but it's something different, so I can't complain, especially since they're over with the audience and the crowd was into this bout. The outcome was never in doubt, but it was a good title defense for The Usos, nonetheless.

Stephanie Vaquer Confronted The Judgment Day

Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio were out in the ring without Raquel Rodriguez. This was a fairly standard segment to plant more seeds for Morgan vs. Vaquer at WrestleMania. The mic work wasn't stellar by any means, but Vaquer's English will only improve the more promos she's allowed to cut and Morgan came off as obnoxious as always. Meanwhile, because Mysterio was out injured, he hasn't defended his Intercontinental Championship since winning it back at Survivor Series, so he's due for a defense soon. 

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Rhea Ripley def. Lyra Valkyria and Ivy Nile in a Triple Threat Match to Qualify for the Women's Elimination Chamber Match

People will whine that this was too predictable, and then people will whine when we get a qualifier the one on SmackDown this Friday with Cody Rhodes, Jacob Fatu and Sami Zayn that only one person can win. Whatever. I actually enjoyed the match and Ripley advancing made the most sense. I was surprised Nile didn't eat the loss despite shining while on offense, but her being protected in defeat won't matter if WWE doesn't follow up on it.

Adam Pearce Made World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk vs. Finn Balor Official for Elimination Chamber

This segment did an effective job of shifting the focus from Punk vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania to Punk vs. Balor at Elimination Chamber. Sure, no one honestly expects Balor to take the title from Punk, but it's a logical rematch to run with after what Balor did to Punk two weeks ago. Both men cut strong promos and Balor acknowledging his own history with Reigns from five years ago was a nice touch.

Nattie vs. Maxxine Dupri Ended in a Double Count-Out

The match barely got underway when they brawled to ringside and got themselves counted out. It's their first match against each other, so it was fine to have it end in a non-finish with Nattie getting the better of Dupri in a Sharpshooter on the commentary table. Lee has been established as an ally of Dupri and, in storyline, that's the only reason she was at this show in the first place, so I get her coming to Dupri's aid, but I don't have much interest in this leading to a Fatal 4-Way at WrestleMania.

Je'Von Evans and "Original" El Grande Americano def. Los Americanos (Bravo and Rayo Americano)

Chad Gable's Americano being Evans' mystery partner was, in fact, no mystery. Evans beat Ludwig Kaiser's Americano last week with an assist from Gable's Americano, so I understand why they did this match, but Evans needs to move on from feuding with them. I also don't want to see the storyline with the Americanos dragged out until 'Mania. On the bright side, this was fun and that mid-air cutter from Evans looked incredible.

LA Knight def. Austin Theory and Penta in a Triple Threat Match to Qualify for the Men's Elimination Chamber Match

Don't get too excited. Knight absolutely isn't winning the Chamber, but I'm glad he'll be a part of it. This was an entertaining Triple Threat that benefited from The Vision's interference because it did make me question whether Knight was winning down the stretch. The masked man made another appearance and took out Theory at ringside. I assume Seth Rollins will still be revealed as being under the mask even though Bron Breakker's status for WrestleMania is now questionable.

Overall Show

Similar to what I said about SmackDown last Friday, the Chamber qualifiers will make some of these matches more meaningful over the next few weeks. Two new matches were also made official for the event, so this was a solid show on the whole as far as building toward it. Many matches remain unclear for 'Mania, but we should be getting a better idea of what the card will consist of as the event draws closer.

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