1-Year Raw Anniversary on Netflix Caps off in a Chaotic World Title Showdown Between CM Punk and Bron Breakker

Bron Breakker failed to capture the World Heavyweight Championship in a high-octane clash with CM Punk on Raw.

1-Year Raw Anniversary on Netflix Caps off in a Chaotic World Title Showdown Between CM Punk and Bron Breakker

CM Punk retained the world title on Raw [via- WWE]

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This first Raw of 2026, tangled with a Stranger Things crossover, saw CM Punk narrowly edging out Bron Breakker in a car crash of a main event for the World Heavyweight Championship. It was Punk’s first title defense since winning the title back at Saturday Night’s Main Event on November 1. The result went in the veteran wrestler’s favor.

However, it wasn’t pretty for the champ by any means. ‘The Best in the World’ came out to a University of Michigan varsity jacket, which was a playful ode to Breakker’s father and uncle, viz., Rick and Scott, respectively, with the jacket being an integral part of their wrestling attire in their heyday.

Once that bell rang, Punk got rendered ineffective early in the match by ‘The Unpredictable Badass’, who had Paul Heyman backing him up at ringside. Speaking of Heyman, he engaged the referee with himself by talking trash to CM Punk, allowing the other Vision members to make their way out. Breakker pushed Punk into the referee, Chad Patton, who temporarily halted his officiating duties, thanks to that push.

Austin Theory, in the meantime, stomped ‘The Second City Saint’ for Breakker for a near fall on Punk. At ringside, as soon as Bronson Reed cleared the commentary table to cause further mayhem, Dragon Lee, Penta, and Rey Mysterio arrived at Punk’s aid to handle the Vision for him.

Lee then sent Theory face-first into the steel post off a Hurricanrana; Penta pounced on Logan Paul, and it took a couple of those luchadores to tame Reed.

Once the shenanigans were out of the way, Bron Breakker smelled blood and lined up a gingerly walking Punk for a spear. The latter, however, got out of harm’s way and eventually hit a GTS on the Steiner descendant for a two-count. In a major highlight from their mugging of each other, Breakker launched himself onto Punk from the top rope through the reinforced commentary table.

The former NXT Champion thought that was it, and he quickly rolled Punk back in the ring to do the rest. Breakker, though, ran into an unexpected knee strike from Punk, who ultimately got the pinfall victory on the 28-year-old after landing a second GTS. And just like that, the first anniversary of Raw on Netflix came to a close.

Chris Jericho didn’t turn up on Raw amid heavy rumors of his WWE return

Even after CM Punk dispatched Bron Breakker on Raw to remain the World Heavyweight Champion, there were a number of fans in that building last night waiting for a certain ‘Y2J’ to show up. However, the hope eroded with show credits appearing on the screen and the broadcast fading to black. As things stand, Chris Jericho didn’t appear on this week’s Raw despite a rampant spree of rumors leaning toward that.

Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho didn’t appear on Raw this week [via- Cageside Seats]

PWInsider is now reporting that Jericho was never supposed to be at Raw in Brooklyn. He’s instead in Los Angeles this week. Moreover, when it comes to Raw GM Adam Pearce mentioning about “breaking the walls down” in his precap of this week’s show, the outlet has said that it was intended for the Stranger Things crossover, the elements of which were a big chunk of Raw’s production.

In fact, Sean Ross Sapp reported prior to Raw that Jericho has yet to be taken off the AEW roster page, which isn’t usual, as previous AEW departures were reflected in its internal memo. John McCarthy had previously reported that ‘The Demo God’ will be a free agent ringing in the new year, with his AEW contract expiring at midnight on December 31.

Even if it has, the 55-year-old is still, as of writing, listed in the company’s official men’s roster column. Former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman noted a day or two ago that he didn’t have his sources indicating Jericho would be on the show this Monday, and ‘The Coach’ hit a bullseye with it.

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