WWE Raw took place on May 11, 2026 at the Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee and featured a “Thank You Ceremony” with Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu.
In their first show after “Backlash”, The Vision lost by six to Street Profits and Joe Hendry. The Street Profits will now have a shot at the title in this upcoming Saturday night’s Main Event. Je’Von Evans defeated Rusev, while Women’s Tag Team Champions Brie Bella and Paige were attacked by Judgment Day. This is a relatively weak entry since PLE Raw, but there’s some good stuff here.
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Here are the main takeaways from this week’s show:
Asuka said goodbye, IYO SKY staged a carnival
After Asuka lost to IYO SKY at Backlash, speculation about Asuka leaving WWE was rampant. Backstage on Monday, she hugged IYO SKY again and looked relieved to be gone. Asuka said she was waiting for someone to step up and take her place, and she now believes IYO SKY has become that person.
Asuka walks out of the building with a suitcase and then IYO SKY takes on Sol Ruca, easily the best match on the show.
IYO SKY and Ruca had the Tennessee crowd chanting “This is awesome” multiple times. It was a really fun game with bodies flying everywhere. These include a top rope Spanish fly, a top rope cartwheel DDT and other impressive moves including the finish. IYO SKY was able to dodge Sol Snatcher’s counterattack and win with a roll-up pin.
It looks like we’re learning a little bit about Asuka now that she’s saying goodbye. However, considering this happened backstage, it looks like she’ll make a surprise return – but maybe not. She has posted some cryptic messages on social media since Backlash, but as we’ve seen in recent examples, WWE isn’t averse to forcing stories on social media these days.
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Obafemi Open Challenge canceled?
This week’s Oba Femi Open Challenge was canceled by Adam Pearce. Femi is in the ring, calling out for his opponent, but the original GM tells him that no one wants to step up.
Femi rushed to the back to find his men. As soon as Angel and Berto passed the gorilla position, they were dragged to the ring by Femi. After the ref rings the bell, Femi goes to work, throwing them all over the place in a handicap squash match.
It’s no surprise that we get an angle like this, as the Raw roster simply isn’t big enough to support Femi’s weekly squeeze – and he eliminated two Superstars this week. The whole thing was designed to buy Fermi more time until a championship plan made sense. On the one hand, it’s silly for Fermi’s character to seek out corpses to satisfy his destructive desires, but on the other hand, with similar things already happening, the open challenge may soon be dropped.
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Dominic Mysterio defends AAA Super Championship
The only title match on this week’s show is Dominik Mysterio vs. Original El Grande Americano for the AAA Mega Championship. As he prepared to exit, J.D. McDonald, who was walking next to Mysterio, was knocked out by Finn Bálor, leaving Mysterio to defend the title alone.
The match was going well until Los Americanos showed up, distracted the referee and attacked OG Americano. This prompted the arrival of Hermanos Americanos, who fought them off, but another El Grande Americano kept OG busy, allowing Mysterio to attack before hitting a 619 and a frog splash to seal it.
It was a solid match, but of course, there won’t be a title change for this spot, as AAA title changes are supposed to only happen on AAA shows. Oddly, this is the only title to be defended, despite other WWE Championship appearances appearing multiple times throughout the show.
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Jacob Fatu refuses to acknowledge Roman Reigns
The last part of the show was supposed to be Jacob Fatu’s moment to fulfill his contractual obligations, conceding Roman Reigns after his loss at Backlash.
Instead, Fatu attacked. Jey Uso met him in his car and tried to talk him out of attacking Reigns. For this reason, Jay was eliminated from “Gorilla”. Jimmy Uso tried to stop Fatu in the entrance, but he too was dropped. Fatu and Reigns then faced off.
Tables and chairs were broken, the Tongan Death Grip was used multiple times, and in the final attack, Fatu caught Reigns and the Uso brothers through the timekeeper’s barricade.
If you hadn’t guessed, Fatu didn’t respond. It’s hard to pinpoint where things are going as Fatu still seems hell-bent on winning the title. Will they perform again in the clash in Italy? Maybe, but if they did, there would have to be some kind of stipulation attached to it. Can I suggest an “I acknowledge you” match instead of an “I withdraw” match?
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This article originally appeared on Wrestling Fan: WWE Raw Highlights: Jacob Fatu’s Slam on Roman Reigns, The Uso Brothers