WWE and Netflix went all out for the first episode of Raw of 2026. The January 5 show, airing live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, featured a full Stranger Things theme, a unique set, and a presentation that genuinely made the night feel special.
In many ways, it was a welcome break from the monotony that often defines weekly WWE television. For a few hours, Raw felt fresh. Different. Honestly, it felt important.
Unfortunately, the night ended on a painfully familiar note, however. CM Punk defeated Bron Breakker to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, and in doing so, WWE once again revealed its biggest creative flaw.
It's an unwillingness to pull the trigger on the future, even when the moment is staring them in the face. That one fatal booking flaw continues to define the current product, and it's an issue that has persisted for years.
Bron Breakker's loss to CM Punk on Raw is further proof of WWE's inability to create new stars
The loss itself wasn’t necessarily controversial, but it was frustrating. Punk won clean. Yes, chaos ensued late, with The Vision attempting to interfere, only for the trio of Rey Mysterio, Penta, and Dragon Lee to neutralize the situation. Paul Heyman got involved, as expected, but none of it decided the match.
Punk hit a second GTS, covered Breakker, and that was it. One. Two. Three. WWE even protected Breakker’s spear, ensuring he never successfully landed it, but protection doesn’t outweigh reality. A clean loss is still a clean loss.
What makes it so maddening is that WWE clearly views Breakker as the guy. They’ve positioned him as such for months, years even. He’s been given marquee matches, spotlight moments, and roles that scream “future face of the company.”
And yet, when the time comes to actually validate that belief, WWE has consistently opted not to pull the trigger. Breakker wasn’t even included in the tournament to crown a new champion after Seth Rollins was injured late last year.
Punk won the vacant title instead. Breakker challenged weeks later, on a massive stage, in a match designed to feel monumental, and WWE balked again.
This wasn’t the first missed moment either. WWE was forced to accelerate Breakker’s turn when Rollins went down with his injury last fall, making the former NFL fullback the de facto leader of The Vision. The iron was red hot. Their audience was ready. That was the moment to strike and crown Breakker as the present, not just the future.
Instead, WWE opted for safety, defaulting to Punk and kicking the can down the road yet again. At a certain point, there’s a law of diminishing returns. Every delay weakens the eventual payoff.
This has been a company-wide issue for quite some time. WWE hasn’t crowned a World Champion under the age of 30 in nearly a decade. John Cena got the ball at 27. Randy Orton was 24 when he won his first world title. Since then, WWE has mostly clung to established names, even as it loudly (and proudly!) insists it’s building the next era.
Bron Breakker is the rare exception — the only under-30 talent even sniffing this level — and the fans have accepted him. The Brooklyn crowd on Monday night was ready. WWE wasn’t.
The Stranger Things crossover and Netflix presentation succeeded in making Raw feel like an event instead of another episode. Unfortunately, WWE undercut that momentum with a safe, uninspiring ending.
Maybe this still ends with Breakker winning the Royal Rumble. Maybe he takes the title from Punk at WrestleMania. Maybe WWE finally does the obvious thing in a few weeks. But being ready later doesn’t excuse refusing to act now.
Bron Breakker has been ready. WWE knows it. The audience knows it. And nights like this only make it more infuriating that WWE continues to hesitate when a bold creative decision is exactly what the moment demands.
WWE talks endlessly about building new stars, yet repeatedly refuses to hand the ball to them when it matters most. Breakker has become the most recent example of this booking flaw.
Until WWE proves it’s willing to trust its future before it’s already old, nights like this will keep happening, and the company will keep wondering why creating new stars feels harder than it should.