Last week on WWE Raw, all eyes were on AJ Styles and the celebration of his remarkable career. The night ended with the emotional announcement that Styles would join Stephanie McMahon in the WWE Hall of Fame. WWE pulled out all of the stops to honor Styles’ groundbreaking wrestling legacy, but on WWE Raw tonight, attention turns to the present, specifically, the ever-winding Road to WrestleMania.
When: WWE Raw tonight airs at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
How to Watch: WWE Raw tonight airs live on Netflix
The WWE Championship Pictures
Let’s start by looking at the Raw championship picture as we enter March.
- WWE World Heavyweight Champion: CM Punk
- WWE World Women’s Champion: Stephanie Vaquer
- WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion (NEW!): AJ Lee
- WWE Intercontinental Champion: Dominik Mysterio
- WWE World Tag Team Champions: Usos
Now, let’s look at the most recent title defense each of these champions has made. Punk successfully defended his world title at Elimination Chamber against Finn Balor, the same event that saw Lee defeat Becky Lynch to win the women’s IC title, her first singles championship in 11 years. Stephanie Vaquer’s last title defense came a month ago against Raquel Rodriguez, the best friend of Liv Morgan, the woman Vaquer will face at WrestleMania. Dominik Mysterio will defend his championship tonight on Raw against rival Penta. The Usos’ last televised defense came on February 9 and it’s unclear who they’ll face at WrestleMania 42, if the titles are defended there.
It’s worth noting that Lee seems poised to defend her title against Lynch with a build that could start as early as WWE Raw tonight during AJ Lee’s Women’s Intercontinental Championship celebration. So let’s start there.
What to Expect on WWE Raw Tonight (3/2/26)?
AJ Lee’s Championship Celebration
For the first time in over a decade, AJ Lee is a singles champion in WWE. On Monday, she’ll have a chance to celebrate that title win as she begins her own Road to WrestleMania. Though that celebration may be short-lived if Becky Lynch has her way. Following her championship loss, Lynch continued her feud with WWE referee Jessika Carr, demanding her suspension. As Lynch sees it, Carr has screwed her over one time too many, first against Maxxine Dupri and now, more egregiously, against her rival Lee. Raw GM Adam Pearce stated that he reviewed the Elimination Chamber footage and found Carr did nothing wrong. There is no doubt Lynch is fuming right now, and she’s already threatened a boycott. Her best revenge wouldn’t be staying away but rather crashing Lee’s celebration to demand a rematch at WrestleMania. So when it comes to what to expect on WWE Raw tonight, expect Lynch in one form or another.
Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (C) vs Penta
The Judgment Day’s cracks are becoming hard to ignore, and things may reach a breaking point on WWE Raw tonight. Last week, Mysterio all but demanded that Finn Balor and JD McDonagh corner him for his Intercontinental Championship defense. Balor was frustrated that Mysterio was only thinking about himself. He pointed out he had one of the most important matches of his career to focus on and suggested Mysterio grow up. Mysterio told Balor that while he may want to do things on his own, Mysterio doesn’t. He has no problem using Judgment Day to help him keep the belt. The question now, though, is whether they will. Balor is coming off his Elimination Chamber loss, and it’s unclear where his head is at. Meanwhile, McDonagh is a man stuck in the middle. He promised Mysterio he’d have his back and alluded that Balor would too. That seems even less certain now, though, following Balor’s unsuccessful attempt to claim the world title from Punk.
On the other side of things, there is Penta, a man who is on the verge of capturing his first singles championship since joining WWE a little over a year ago. He’s had his chances, but perhaps none better than on WWE Raw tonight. It could all be dependent on what happens with Balor. If he chooses to aid Mysterio, Penta will likely get screwed. However, if Balor stays back, or even costs Mysterio instead, there could be a second Intercontinental Championship celebration on the horizon.
CM Punk and Roman Reigns Come Face-to-Face
To paraphrase a meme of yesteryear, Roman Reigns was not impressed. Following Punk’s victory over Balor and likely at least in part a response to Punk calling him out on last week’s Raw, Reigns tweeted that Punk should enjoy his final month of relevancy. It was previously announced that the OTC will be in Indianapolis this week to come face-to-face with his WrestleMania 42 opponent. After the last time these two met in the ring, the war of words was electric, but it seems clear neither man has said all that needs to be said. Punk and Reigns have wrestled just one match in their history, and it was a decade ago. Their history, however, spans nearly 15 years. And it all started in the very building the two will share on Monday. On WWE Raw tonight, the memory of the Shield will certainly be present as Reigns and Punk prepare for a verbal battle. The Road to WrestleMania has arrived for these two, and it’s only just getting started.
Adam Pearce to Address the Masked Visionary
It should come as no surprise that Seth Rollins, under a cloud of both kayfabe and real-life injury speculation, returned to WWE to cost Logan Paul his chance in the Elimination Chamber. Rollins, once again under the mask, entered an open chamber to stomp Paul, allowing Cody Rhodes to eliminate him. That’s when Rollins unmasked, putting an end to one of WWE’s most obvious storylines of late. Rollins was always the man under the mask, even if he wasn’t always the man under the mask. It was rumored that WWE was using stand-ins for Rollins until he was medically clear to return, all of whom moved and had similar body types to the man himself. One of those men was unmasked on SmackDown as Rollins’ trainee, Don Furio. However, if the Vision thought they could sleep easily after the unmasking, they were one step behind Rollins. Lulling his opponents into a false sense of security was brilliant. On WWE Raw tonight, Pearce will address Rollins’ actions and likely injury status. It remains to be seen if the Visionary will be in the house, but it seems more likely than not that he will be.
