WWE Raw Results & Booking Grades (10/26/26): Liv Morgan Defends the Title, John Cena Set to Return

This week's episode of WWE Raw opened with some huge news from Adam Pearce. Earlier in the day, WWE announced that Pearce would address medical questions surrounding Stephanie Vaquer. The show began in the ring with Pearce, who revealed that Vaquer was not medically cleared.

Instead of the number one contender match that was previously scheduled between Vaquer and Lynch, Lynch would challenge Liv Morgan for the WWE Women's World Championship.

Right after the announcement, Sami Zayn walked to the ring. He complained about not being on the show and not getting the time he deserved as world champion. He kicked Adam Pearce out of the ring and then began to rant about being the best.

He said everyone needed to acknowledge him and that too many people were trying to line up for title shots. He talked about beating Roman Reigns and mentioned that unqualified people like Je'Von Evans were angling for matches with him. Zayn said that unless people were talking about Eddie Guerrero or Kurt Angle, nobody was in his league.

Evans walked out after his name was uttered. He went back at Zayn and tried to goad him into a title match. Zayn said he didn't deserve it and left the ring. He was stopped by Pearce, who announced that Evans would get a title match right then.

Sami Zayn defeated Je'Von Evans to retain the WWE Championship. Evans had his moments and nearly won the match when Penta made his way to the ring to seemingly cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Before he could, Bron Breakker ran down and stopped him.

Evans tried to help Penta and that distracted him, which led to Zayn hitting a Helluva Kick for the win. After the match, Breakker and The Vision destroyed both Evans and Penta.

Booking Grade: 8/10

• The Sami Zayn promo was well done and very much in line with the character. It got the heat it needed and set up the appearance of Evans. As for Evans, he also spoke well and was less silly than usual. That resonated nicely given the huge stakes in the match.

• Zayn winning was obvious. The question was how he was going to do it. Penta teasing a cash-in did the trick.

Bayley defeats Lyra Valkyria in wild no disqualification match

A series of backstage segments occurred after the opening match. Liv Morgan complained to her Judgment Day members about having to defend her title on short notice. Also, Penta and Je'Von Evans were shown in the trainer's room. They said that they wanted The Vision in a tag team match for the tag team titles. Adam Pearce made it official for Crown Jewel.

Bayley defeated Lyra Valkyria in a no disqualification match. The match was insane. Tables, chairs, kendo sticks, trash cans, and much more. In the end, Bayley hit an elbow drop on Valkyria through a table. She then locked in a crossface submission, but used the kendo stick for leverage. Valkyria instantly tapped out.

Booking Grade: 9/10

• This was really good. No disqualification in WWE can mean a lot of things, but this match gave that stipulation some justice. Both women were on one tonight and seemed determined to deliver a memorable blowoff match to their feud.

Iyo Sky defeated Raquel Rodriguez in a non-title match. Sky won the match with a roll-up, but then immediately got crushed by Judgment Day.

Booking Grade: 8/10

• Iyo Sky is such a great pro wrestler. The perfect WWE babyface. This win puts her at the front of the line for a title shot against Rodriguez. Crown Jewel?

Ethan Page gets momentum in quest for an Intercontinental Championship match

Ethan Page and Big Cass defeated Chad Gable and Dragon Lee in a tag team match. Cass got a ton of offense in the match and looked dominant over both Gable and Lee. The hot tag was made to Lee and he hit a flurry of fast offense.

In the end, Cass's power was unable to top. Page defeated Lee with an Egoplex.

Booking Grade: 8/10

• It was nice to see Big Cass get some of his mojo back after eating a boatload of pins since returning to WWE. He was dominant. Because Cass was locked in, both Gable and Lee played off of that the entire match. Big time sympathy and audience investment. You have to figure that IC title match for Ethan Page is happening sooner rather than later now.

Tiffany Stratton nearly cashes in Money in the Bank

Prior to the main event, WWE announced that John Cena would be on Raw next week in Brooklyn.

In the main event, Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch for the WWE Women's World Championship ended in a no-contest after Judgment Day interfered in the match. Lynch was able to overcome some of the interference at first, but the referee called for the bell when they directly interfered with a pin attempt.

The match was strong overall and included a massive announce table spot. Lynch smashed Morgan into the table with the Man Handle Slam.

After the match ended, Judgment Day continued to beat up Lynch, but both Iyo Sky and Chelsea Green made the save. They were all run off and Morgan was in the ring all alone. Tiffany Stratton's music then hit and she ran to the ring with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Stratton hit Morgan with the PME and tried to cash in, but Dominik Mysterio pulled Morgan out of the ring and ran off.

Booking Grade: 7/10

• A pretty good match, but with a finish that was entirely too obvious.

• The Stratton cash-in tease was one of the better ones WWE has done recently.

WWE Raw Results

• Sami Zayn defeated Je'Von Evans to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship

• Bayley defeated Lyra Valkyria in a no-disqualification match

• Iyo Sky defeated Raquel Rodriguez

• Ethan Page and Big Cass defeated Dragon Lee and Chad Gable

• Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch for the WWE Women's World Championship ended in a no-contest