4 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (5 January - Results & Review)
1. Rhea, Iyo Capture Gold
Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky really need a better duo name than “Rhiyo” – or at least a good tag team name to accompany the portmanteau – because they’re the real deal as a tandem.
The two former Women’s World Champions captured tag team gold in Raw’s first match of 2026, defeating the Kabuki Warriors in a 16-minute match. The heels targeted Iyo’s damaged back, with Kairi Sane hitting a diving stomp on Sky while she was draped over the top rope and later locking in her Anchor submission hold.
Ripley naturally ran through Kairi and Asuka off a hot tag, folding Sane in half with a Razor’s Edge, but Asuka saved the match by shoving Rhea into Sky as she was setting up for a moonsault. The Empress’ usual blitz of strikes (which really gets glossed over but always looks impressive) put Ripley on the defensive, but Iyo came to the rescue.
In what could best be described as a role reversal, it was Sky who took charge in the waning moments, hitting a Bullet Train Attack on Asuka and calling the shots to a still-woozy Rhea to hit a Riptide so Iyo could nail the moonsault and take out Kairi with a dive while Rhea got the pin.
Solid, almost all action with four class wrestlers and a popular act winning gold. This match checked all the boxes and kicked the show off strong. Too bad nothing approached it again until the final moments of the main event.