WWE Raw Results & Takeaways: Oba Femi Tosses Brock Lesnar, CM Punk Snaps Ahead of WrestleMania 42

Let’s be real for a second: WWE executives absolutely watched the chaotic brilliance of AEW Revolution over the weekend, collectively unbuttoned their collars, and realized they needed to deliver a heavyweight counterpunch on Raw.

And on Monday night in San Antonio, they did exactly that.

With the road to WrestleMania 42 officially hitting top speed, the Frost Bank Center played host to a three-hour marathon that managed to seamlessly blend breathtaking athleticism, nostalgic bad blood, and one genuinely jaw-dropping physical feat that we will be replaying for the next decade.

Here is everything you need to know about the March 16 edition of Monday Night Raw.

Oba Femi Just Made Brock Lesnar Look Human On Raw (And Punched His Ticket to WrestleMania)

You know the drill by now. Seth Rollins marched to the ring on Raw with his army of masked goons, completely unhinged and hell-bent on permanently erasing Paul Heyman’s “Vision.” Rollins cut a venomous promo, which naturally summoned Heyman, looking like a man who hadn’t slept since the Elimination Chamber.

But Heyman didn’t come to negotiate. He essentially hit Rollins with the verbal equivalent of a reverse Uno card, signaling the arrival of Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar did what Lesnar does best: he turned a half-dozen masked henchmen into human lawn darts. But just as the “Beast Incarnate” zeroed in on Rollins, the arena went pitch black. Cue the heavy, ominous theme music. Enter Oba Femi.

We’ve all been fantasy-booking who would answer Lesnar’s open challenge for WrestleMania 42, but nothing prepares you for the sheer visual of a man making Brock Lesnar look small. Femi marched down the ramp, stood face-to-face with the former champion, and the moment Lesnar glanced away, disaster struck. Femi effortlessly scooped Lesnar up and planted him with a devastating Fall From Grace.

Let me emphasize that: he lifted a 280-pound freak of nature like he was tossing a toddler into a swimming pool. Femi placed his boot on Lesnar’s chest and pointed straight at the WrestleMania sign. Box office. Period. This is the ultimate “meat match” we didn’t know we needed.

Workhorse Championships: Penta and AJ Lee Steal the Show

If the opening segment on Raw was about brute strength, the middle of the show was an absolute clinic in work rate. The Intercontinental Championships—both the men’s and women’s variants—are enjoying a renaissance right now, and Monday proved why.

First, AJ Lee defended her Women’s Intercontinental title against Bayley. The nostalgia of seeing these two lock up was great, but the actual in-ring psychology was even better. After surviving a brutal hockey fight from their knees, AJ dodged Bayley’s signature elbow drop and locked in the Black Widow to force the tap. The celebration was cut aggressively short, however, when Becky Lynch arrived to completely dismantle the champion, tossing her up the entrance ramp and using the title belt as a weapon. A steel cage match at WrestleMania between Lee and Lynch feels inevitable—and necessary.

Not to be outdone, Penta laid out an open challenge for his IC strap on Raw, which was quickly answered by Dragon Lee. The next fifteen minutes were pure, unadulterated chaos. Bodies flying into the announcers’ desk, stiff kicks, and a blistering pace. Just when it looked like Dragon Lee had the champion dead to rights, Penta pulled a Mexican Destroyer out of thin air to secure the pinfall.

Side note: Where in the world is Gunther? The man retired Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles, and now he’s MIA. Let’s hope creative figures out a massive spot for him before April rolls around.

CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and the Power of Being Called “Old”

You put two generational talkers in the ring with live microphones, and you just get out of the way. The main event segment featured the much-anticipated face-to-face between World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Roman Reigns.

The personal digs were flying early. Punk refused to call Reigns by his real name (Joe), noting that doing so would be a massive insult to an actual Samoan named Joe whom he highly respects (a beautiful tip of the cap to Samoa Joe). Reigns fired back, targeting Punk’s wife and essentially calling Punk a delusional try-hard.

But the climax of the segment was absolute comedy gold hidden inside high-stakes drama. Punk had previously made veiled threats about putting Reigns in the ground next to his father. How did Reigns finally get under the skin of the notoriously unflappable Chicago native?

He called him “old.”

Yes, the 47-year-old champion completely lost his mind over an ageist jab, clocking Reigns with a right hook before security flooded the ring to separate them. Reigns left the arena laughing, utterly convinced he had finally cracked Punk’s psyche. It was a slightly anticlimactic reason to throw a punch, but the fragile male ego makes for incredible television.

The Undercard: Vaquer Wins, Nattie Gets a Tapout

Rounding out the card, we got a solid singles match between Stephanie Vaquer and Raquel Rodiguez. Despite outside interference from Liv Morgan (and a subsequent save from Iyo Sky), Vaquer managed to counter Raquel Rodriguez’s Tejana Bomb into a slick roll-up for the three-count.

Earlier in the night, Nattie picked up a clean submission victory over Maxxine Dupri via the Sharpshooter in a match that was technically sound, if not a bit unspectacular.

Ultimately, Monday Night Raw did exactly what a flagship show is supposed to do on The Road To Wrestlemania 42. It built undeniable tension, showcased premier wrestling talent, and gave us an unforgettable visual of Oba Femi standing over a conquered beast. This episode of Raw felt like the first road to Wrestlemania 42 episode. WrestleMania 42 can’t get here fast enough.