WWE RAW 9/21/2026: 3 Things We Hated & 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show that gave us two new Money In The Bank qualifiers in the form of Roxanne Perez and — somewhat unexpectedly — Penta! The WINC staff has some thoughts about those qualifying matches and their results, as well as some thoughts about Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley, Bron Breakker vs. Je'Von Evans, and more!

As always, if you missed the show, you can catch up on absolutely everything that went down Monday night by going to our "WWE Raw" 9/21/26 results page, which can give you the full rundown with no omissions and zero commentary. Commentary is what this column is for, as the WINC crew provide our opinions on the matches and segments that stood out to us the most, either for positive or negative reasons. Which is just a long way of saying, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 9/21/26 episode of "WWE Raw!"

I have to start out by saying I love Roxanne Perez and she's actually my pick to win the Women's Money in the Bank briefcase, but I can't help but wonder what in the heck WWE is doing with IYO SKY right now. The women's ladder match currently features Perez, Sol Ruca, Jacy Jayne, and Lola Vice, and while "The Prodigy" is basically an in-ring veteran herself at this point, having started in the ring at such a young age, it feels like the match needs a veteran, in terms of time in WWE, with a steady hand.

I thought SKY had this bout against La Catalina and Perez won at multiple points. It was a solid match and I had no problems with it, outside of the finish. Way too many of the MITB qualifiers, both men's and women's, have been won in the same manner, with someone stealing the pin at the end.

SKY not being in a big ladder match like MITB feels disappointing, and I'm hoping that there's some kind of last chance qualifier for the match, though I don't believe WWE has been using that stipulation as much as it has in the past. Even if SKY isn't the plan forward with the MITB briefcase, there's seemingly nothing else for her to do right now, so she might as well be in the match to get some memorable spots in with the rest of the women.

The last big storyline SKY was involved in was her Queen of the Ring victory over Liv Morgan, then her Women's World Championship loss to Morgan at SummerSlam. Since then, she teamed alongside Sol Ruca once on TV, and she's had a few live event matches here and there after a brief hiatus following the "Biggest Party of the Summer," but nothing of substance.

With the Women's World Championship scene set with Morgan, Becky Lynch, and current champion Stephanie Vaquer, it doesn't feel like SKY belongs there right now. SKY could always go after Raquel Rodriguez and the Women's Intercontinental Championship, helping further the prestige of that belt, like Lynch did before her. I could fantasy book quite a few scenarios to get SKY back on WWE programming consistently, but it feels pretty clear that WWE has no plans for her right now, which is a major disappointment, and I hate that she's currently not in the MITB match.

Written by Daisy Ruth

There may have only been one winner in Roxanne Perez during her Women's Money in The Bank triple threat qualifier against La Catalina and IYO SKY from this edition of "Raw," but we were all winners for being able to watch such an awesome match between all three women.

For one thing, it was nice to see three of the women in WWE actually be given a good amount of time to properly tell a story in their match and show the world what they can do. I thought the psychology of having SKY and Catalina be 2-on-1 against Perez for the majority of this match was pretty smart and made sense given that the heel Perez would do whatever she had to do in order to win the match. It created a really interesting dynamic to watch play out throughout the duration of this triple threat, was really compelling for me personally, and worked to give all three women pretty equal time in this match.

I also thought it was a really great return showing for Catalina on "Raw," and found myself really liking how smooth she looked as someone who wasn't familiar with her body of work. At the end of the day, Perez winning was the right call (even though I could've done without her stealing the win since they did it twice on this past Friday's episode of "SmackDown") and she fits perfectly into the field of women who have already qualified for the 2026 Women's Money In The Bank ladder match. All in all, this was easily the highlight of a "Raw" that was otherwise pretty standard fare and one of my favorite triple threat qualifiers that WWE has put on thus far.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

If there's one trope I would like to see disappear from modern day professional wrestling, it's wrestlers costing their stablemates wins in matches inadvertently by getting involved in matters and awarding the opponent the win via disqualification.

Je'Von Evans and Bron Breakker's match against one another was actually quite good right up until the closing stretch when the rest of The Vision involved themselves to attack Evans and give him the win via disqualification. I don't understand why The Vision would want to cost Breakker a win that he could use with how his track record in matches has been as of late. It just didn't work for me at all here, and was disappointing to see it end in this manner.

I know that not everyone will agree, but I've also had enough of Oba Femi and Bron Breakker feuding with one another. Their storyline should've ended at Sunday Night's Main Event earlier this month seeing as it was the perfect stopping point, and it's just gone on a little too long for my taste. Femi should be in a high profile feud or the main event scene given how popular he is instead of killing time by feuding with Breakker, and it's time for him to move onto bigger and brighter things.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

While it initially felt a bit strange to have Lyra Valkyra and Bayley's second match booked on a random episode of "WWE Raw," I ended up loving it. From Valkyria's fantastic prerecorded promo before the match, to Bayley's intensity throughout, I thought everything about this worked, including Valkyria getting the sneaky victory to go up 2-0 in their feud.

I thought this may add to the question of whether or not Bayley has re-signed with WWE, since that still seems to be unclear. I guess it may have in some ways, especially with Valkyria going over, but it certainly feels like these women are headed toward yet another match, as Valkyria got a roll-up victory with a handful of tights after sending Bayley throat-first into the second rope.

Honestly, Valkyria needed to go over Bayley again here, no matter what. Their first match happened back at Saturday Night's Main Event in July, when Valkyria snapped, beating Bayley down and laying her out. It's been far too long since then, to the point Valkyria's second win kind of feels like her first, now that Bayley's consistently back on TV.

The pre-recorded promo did an excellent job of setting this match up for Valkyria's victory. She recalled "beating Bayley within an inch of her life" at Madison Square Garden, and "going to the place you don't come back from," but it was all worth it. Valkyria told Bayley that she was going to wish their last match was her last match, and I suppose that plays into Bayley's contract status, which I don't mind.

Valkyria certainly didn't beat Bayley within an inch of her life again and didn't do much to make her wish it was her final match, but coupled with the sneaky roll-up, I think it only adds to the women's story. Bayley was the more aggressive at points, though it wasn't too much. At one point, she threw Valkyria over the commentary desk and then looked for what appeared to be a piledriver setup on top of it, but Valkyria slipped out of her grasp and got away fast.

While I'm not usually one for longer feuds, this is really working for me now that Bayley is back in the fray. The referee kept her from going after Valkyria after the match, so it feels like we have a few more weeks of this, and I also wouldn't be upset if their third match takes place on "Raw" as well, instead of being overshadowed by the ladder matches at Money in the Bank. While I was surprised to see Valkyria get another win, I'm glad this feud looks like it's going to continue, with even more animosity.

Written by Daisy Ruth

"Raw" was infested with The Judgment Day throughout the episode, from beginning to end. It started with "Dirty Dom" interrupting Penta. That by itself was fine since that appears to be the next thing for Penta to focus on and they'd meet again in the main event, thanks to 946. JD McDonagh had nothing else to do, so he came too and got in a line that could've just been from Mysterio.

Perez stole a win from IYO SKY in a good match. Then came an entire segment featuring Judgment Day where they whined and complained. McDonagh's feelings were still hurt by Joe Hendry's dumb song about his dad being a Funko Pop. Raquel Rodriguez, who is a champion, told him his head wasn't big and called everyone haters. Liv Morgan is still whining about the "Santiago Screwjob." Becky Lynch is still doing her tired gimmick where "everyone is saying it," this time about her referee skills. Stephanie Vaquer came out and offered both women shots at her title. Imagine thinking this segment is the best use of Lynch and Vaquer.

This group is already holding back Perez. She should be solo and tearing up the women's division in both WWE and AAA. I'd like to see Mysterio doing something different than what he's been doing the last couple years. He can still resort to slimy tactics, but try it without using Judgment Day as a crutch. He looked pretty good in the main event, though it helped that he was in the ring with Penta and Dragon Lee. Let him stand on his own two feet for a while, because this stable ran its course long ago.

Written by Samantha Schipman

Following his big match last week on "Raw," there have reportedly been discussions of pushing Penta and making him a main event player. As a long time Lucha Bros. fan, I would love to see this. As someone who has watched WWE for decades, I also know to temper expectations. For the moment, Penta is still riding high. "Raw" was bookended by Penta tonight, which may partially be due to the fact that they were in San Antonio. The show kicked off with an impassioned promo by Penta and the fans ate it up. They heavily booed the self-proclaimed "King of the Luchadors" Dominik Mysterio (JD McDonagh was there too). It seemed to be planting seeds for Penta's next feud and is something that would greatly benefit Mysterio as well.

As fate (or 946) would have it, the two would cross paths again in the main event. Mysterio was scheduled to face Dragon Lee and Solo Sikoa, but 946 abducted Sikoa. Thinking on his feet, Adam Pearce replaced him with Penta, much to the chagrin of "Dirty Dom." The three had a great match with Penta getting the victory and advancing to the MITB ladder match.

I was pleased to see that the show opened with Penta and even if he got in the match in a laughable way, he main evented "Raw" for the second week in a row. The fans have been behind him in a big way the last two weeks and if WWE sustains his push, I believe that will continue. Penta is a great wrestler and is someone who connects with fans.

WWE should put time and effort into building him up as a main event player. It would certainly freshen up the title picture with someone new. It would be great to see someone new and fresh for an extended period, not just a month until they move on to the next Flavor of the Month. Penta is someone who could be that person. I have low expectations for how WWE books him in the long run, but for now I'm happy for Penta and will enjoy seeing him in this position.

Written by Samantha Schipman