Thoughts on WWE’s first week of 2026 including Drew McIntyre’s victory

Before I get started, I just want to say how sad I am to see what’s going on in real life in the United States. I feel deeply for the family of the woman who was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, and my condolences go out to her son and her entire family. What I’m seeing right now is scary—not just for your country, but for mine as well—and it makes me worry about the future.

Now, on a happier note, let’s talk about the first week of newsworthy programming that WWE produced, which all started last Friday night.

SmackDown – January 2nd, 2026

1. The return of Matt Cardona

Yeah, not Zack Ryder—Matt Cardona. While I’m glad that Matt was able to return to WWE under his own name instead of the Zack Ryder character, I also don’t see him as a main-event-level guy. I think he’s probably going to get stuck in the midcard and maybe win the United States Championship at some point, but he’s likely going to put more people over than actually win big matches.

2. Trick Williams getting called up to the main roster

I like that he’s getting a chance on SmackDown, but he’s going to have to prove that he belongs and can hang with the top guys on the main roster. At the end of the day, the main roster is a completely different animal than being the top guy in NXT or TNA.

3. Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black – Ambulance Match

I just want to say: what an awesome match. I loved how the entire thing played out, and it felt like the proper end to the feud with the right man winning. I don’t know what’s next for either guy, but I’m really interested to see where both go from here.

4. Giulia winning the U.S. Title back

Personally, I thought it was stupid to take the belt off her in the first place, but I understood why they did it. They wanted Chelsea Green and Ethan Page to be double champions after winning the AAA mixed tag match. Now it was time for Chelsea to lose the belt and for WWE to fully commit to a real title run for Giulia.

RAW – Last Monday

Overall, I thought this was a really strong show, even though I didn’t have huge expectations like some fans did.

1. Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles

I’m happy for them. This was a good way to end the feud between the two teams, and the babyfaces finally got their revenge. It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for the women’s tag division.

2. Becky Lynch winning back the Women’s Intercontinental Title

This match was honestly hard to sit through and exposed how green Maxxine Dupri still is. That said, I was secretly hoping Maxxine would retain the title because it helped establish her in the division, and it was nice to see someone different holding a championship.

Let’s be real, though—she was given a short title run as a reward for the hard work she put in to improve. Now the belt is back on Becky, and I feel like this is so they can continue Becky vs. AJ Lee with a championship on the line.

3. Je’Von Evans getting called up to the main roster

I’m happy for him, but the way WWE handled it makes me think they don’t really have a plan. Having him sign his contract during a commercial break is not a great sign, and it makes me think he’ll mostly be featured on Main Event and AAA shows.

4. CM Punk retaining against Bron Breakker

A lot of fans were disappointed that Bron didn’t win the title, but personally, it didn’t bother me based on how the match was built. It felt like this feud isn’t over, and Punk only won because he capitalized on Bron’s mistake.

Bron came out of this looking like a bigger star in defeat and proved he’s ready to be a top guy, which is a very good sign.

NXT: New Year’s Evil

Overall, this was a pretty strong show, with a few things worth talking about.

1. The NXT Women’s North American Title situation

At first, it felt like this was going to be a normal match where Blake Monroe would simply win back the title she never should have lost. Instead, she attacked Thea Hail before the match, and the match never even started.

This made me think that the botched title change gave WWE an opportunity to change direction and possibly call Blake Monroe up to the main roster.

Then we had Izzi Dame vs. Tatum Paxley, which was a really fun match. Tatum winning made sense, especially considering what happened next.

Thea wanted to defend the title even though she was injured and issued an open challenge. We thought Tatum would answer it, but Izzi was quicker, got the shot, and won the title.

Now we have a new champion, and Tatum is set up as Izzi’s first challenger, which makes perfect sense.

2. Oba Femi retaining the NXT Title—then relinquishing it

This was a great way to end the show. The match with Leon Slater was excellent and showed why Leon is the future of the industry.

The most shocking moment came afterward, when Oba relinquished the championship. We already knew he was getting called up since WWE aired a video package on RAW, but it was still an interesting way to end the show. Now I’m really curious to see what happens with the title.

SmackDown

1. Trick Williams’ debut match

I loved how WWE handled his debut. First, having him go one-on-one with Randy Orton on the mic showed he could hang with one of the all-time greats. Then his match with Rey Fénix made him look like a star.

2. Jordynne Grace’s debut

I’m very happy to see Jordynne Grace finally called up to the main roster. She honestly should have been called up months ago. Now it looks like she’s being set up to feud with Jade Cargill, which I’m all for. Hopefully, they give her the belt.

3. Drew McIntyre winning the WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes

What an awesome match. Drew winning the first fall by cheating was the perfect way to start. The second fall was as violent as it needed to be, and it was predictable that Cody would win it.

The third fall—the cage match—was incredible. The entire thing was done in a way that made it feel like neither man wanted to lose. Then, just when it looked like Drew was going to win, Jacob Fatu returned and attacked him.

That made you think Cody would use the opportunity to retain the title, which would have been the smart move—but instead, he did what all dumb babyfaces do and confronted Jacob. That gave Drew the opening he needed to escape the cage and win the championship.

This genuinely surprised me. While I was hoping Drew would win so Sami Zayn could eventually take the title from a heel, I didn’t expect it to happen this way. The finish was smart and opened the door to so many different scenarios involving everyone in the match.

Conclusion

In the end, this was a great way for WWE to start the year. Even though we didn’t get Chris Jericho’s return yet, I still predict he’ll come back at the Royal Rumble.

This week gave fans a strong starting point for what should be an interesting road to WrestleMania. I fully expect Sami Zayn to be Drew McIntyre’s first challenger, especially since the mini-tournament final is in Montreal and the title match is at the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia—two markets where Zayn is incredibly over.

I wouldn’t be surprised if one of two things happens: either Drew’s reign is short and he drops the title in Saudi Arabia, or this is just the beginning of a longer feud between McIntyre and Zayn.

Either way, I truly believe Sami Zayn will be world champion within the next few months.