WWE crowns new champions on Raw. Willow Nightingale dethrones “The CEO” Mercedes Mone. Mercedes Martinez prepares for her final run in the ring.
New Champions Crowned On WWE Raw
The WWE women’s division kicked off 2026 in epic fashion, with not one, but two title changes on WWE Raw.
Just days before Raw, Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY emerged victorious over Asuka and Kairi Sane, the reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, in an eight-woman tag match on WWE SmackDown. On WWE’s red brand, Ripley and SKY continued their momentum by defeating the duo, known as The Kabuki Warriors, yet again, this time with the tag titles on the line.
The victory came moments after SKY blasted Asuka with a pair of knees, then a meteora. From there, Ripley laid out “The Empress of Tomorrow” with a Riptide, after which SKY delivered an Over The Moonsault as well. With Asuka now in position for Ripley to pin, SKY wiped out Sane with a dive through the ropes, rendering her unable to save Asuka from the three count fall that followed.
For Ripley, this win marks the beginning of her second reign as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion. Meanwhile, SKY enters her third. Both, however, now have Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, another former pair of champions, hot on their tails.
Elsewhere on Raw, Maxxine Dupri marked her second televised WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship defense, and her first against Becky Lynch. In the months preceding, Dupri racked up three victories over Lynch, the final of which resulted in her unseating Lynch for the respective title in Madison Square Garden. With a relentless fire burning inside her, though, Lynch managed to finally defeat Dupri, courtesy of a bridging pin and illegal rope leverage. As such, Lynch is now the first-ever two-time Women’s Intercontinental Champion in WWE history.
WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer also appeared on Raw this week, revealing that she had sustained an ankle injury. Still, she intends to be a defending champion.
RELATED: WWE Raw Results: Review, Grades, Card For Jan 5
Willow Nightingale Dethrones ‘The CEO’
For over 580 days, Mercedes Moné danced around as the AEW TBS Champion. Unfortunately for her, the music eventually stopped just before the turn of the year.
On the AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash special, Mone put her TBS Championship on the line against Willow Nightingale, whom “The CEO” had beaten to claim the title back at AEW Double or Nothing 2024. 19 months later, Nightingale avenged her loss by pinning Mone in an AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship match at AEW Worlds End. Alongside it, Nightingale earned an opportunity to then reclaim the TBS Championship on Dynamite.
Across their 15-minute rematch, Nightingale and Mone brought out all the stops, including a suplex on the commentary table that left Nightingale barely able to beat the referee’s count of ten to return to the ring. Still, she managed to surprise Mone moments later when she rolled through a jackknife pin and laid her out with the Babe with the Powerbomb for the win and the TBS Championship.
Much to Mone’s dismay, Nightingale’s celebration on this week’s episode of Dynamite, complemented with Harley Cameron, Kris Statlander, and a cake. And while tasty, the cake itself also proved to be deadly for Mone as Nightingale drove her into it with another powerbomb.
RELATED: AEW Dynamite: Review, Grades, Card For Jan 7
Mercedes Martinez Prepares For Her Final Run In The Ring
Following her recent departure from AEW, Mercedes Martinez is officially a free agent. In bittersweet news, this year will also be Martinez’s last one as a full-time in-ring performer.
The industry veteran confirmed the news last week in a statement on Twitter/X, writing:
“Different mindset. Different fire. This is my last year as a full-time ACTIVE professional wrestler. No contracts, no agents, no creative. Just me – and everything I’ve earned over 25 damn years in this business. Wrestling gave me everything. It broke me. Built me. Tested me. And somehow still made me fall in love with it again. 2025 wasn’t about being showcased. It was about going back to the indies, back to the grind, back to the reason I started -and remembering exactly who the hell I am.
“Giving back. Teaching. Helping the next generation. Passing on what was given to me the hard way. That part means everything,” she continued. “So 2026 gets one more year of my body, my heart, and my fight. One more year of scars, sweat, pain, and pride. One more year of showing up and giving everything I’ve got because that’s the only way I’ve ever done this.”
Under the AEW-ROH banner, Martinez, now 45, enjoyed one reign as Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion, with her last ROH appearance coming in a six-woman tag match aired in May 2024. Since then, she has remained active on the independent wrestling scene through promotions such as SHINE, New Horizon Pro Wrestling, and Femmes Fatales.
INTERVIEWS
Former Women’s Intercontinental Champion Maxxine Dupri appeared on Casual Conversations with The Classic to discuss her journey up the ranks in the WWE, winning the IC Title, her families reaction, the support from her old teams from her time as a cheerleader, Becky Lynch, learning from Chad Gable and Akira Tozawa, overcoming fan criticism, teaming with her soon husband and more.
AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green chatted with TMZ’s Inside the Ring about losing the WWE Women’s United States Championship on SmackDown, her brutal match with Giulia, WWE Unreal Season 2 on Netflix, her husband Matt Cardona (formerly Zack Ryder) making his long-awaited return to WWE, working together as a married couple, John Cena’s final WWE match, his praise for both of them on social media, and more.
House of Glory Women’s Champion Shotzi chatted with MuscleManMalcolm about her history with Allie Katch, matching her green hair to the women’s title, taking out Indi Hartwell, competitors she’d like to defend her title against, her return to the independent wrestling scene, her feud with Matt Cardona, and more.
WWE Hall of Famers Nikki Bella and Brie Bella spoke with Adrian Hernandez on Unlikely about the booming success of their wine, Bonita Bonita, wine suggestions for beginners, what Nikki’s return to WWE has meant to her, Brie’s parenting advice, the impact they’ve had in professional wrestling and more.
Former WWE star Shayna Baszler sat down with Chris Van Vliet to discuss her WWE release, still doing some work for the company as a coach, if a return as a wrestler is still possible, her dominant main roster call-up and feud with Becky Lynch, being Ronda Rousey’s final WWE opponent and a possible Rousey return, her love of WarHammer 40K, and more.
