WWE Raw takeaways: Royce Keys turns, Lucha Brothers set for finals

Matthew Wells, Wrestling JunkieTue, August 25, 2026 at 12:03 PM UTC

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WWE Raw on Aug. 24, 2026, took place at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and featured

This week’s show was about finding the finalist for the luchador’s No. 1 contender tournament to face Roman Reigns, and continue the road to Sunday Night’s Main Event.

Here’s the top takeaways from this week’s show:

Stephanie Vaquer earns title shot

The opening match of this week’s show was between Stephanie Vaquer and Roxanne Perez, and it was a banger.

Perez had her Judgment Day mates Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez at ringside, watching closely as the match went through its paces. It was a very entertaining match with some fun technical sequences. Morgan and Rodriguez got involved when Vaquer went to the top rope for her finisher, but that that prompted Becky Lynch to come lend her helping hand. A moment later, Vaquer scored the pin.

Later in the show, it was announced by Jackie Redmond that Vaquer will get a title shot against Morgan on Raw in two weeks.

This was a fantastic showing for both Vaquer and Perez – and that’s not really anything new, because they both consistently kill it in the ring. Whether or not WWE decides to put the belt on Vaquer in a couple of weeks remains to be seen, but given the recent creative trends, Morgan most likely won’t drop the title unless it’s on a PLE. It’s more likely that Lynch will be the reason Vaquer doesn’t get it done.

Brothers set to battle for No. 1 contender

The luchador’s No. 1 contender tournament to face Roman Reigns in Mexico City completed the semifinal round on this episode.

First up was Rey Fenix vs. Dragon Lee.

This match was incredible. The action was fast-paced throughout, and featured a few wild spots. Lee had a ridiculous middle-rope cannonball-like dive onto Fenix, who was perched on the commentary desk.

Lee also pulled off a slick counter into a Styles Clash, but just to get hit wit ha rolling stunner from Fenix a second later. The crowd didn’t want this one to end, but a Mexican Muscle Buster from Fenix got the pin.

Next was Penta vs. La Parka.

This match was decent, but it was clearly outdone by Fenix-Lee. Penta mostly dominated the match, and got the pin with a springboard Mexican Destroyer from the middle rope.

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So we officially have the finals matchup that everyone expected when the bracket was revealed. It will be the Lucha Bros. taking on each other for the right to face Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship. That match should be dope, but everyone knows the winner will not be beating Reigns.

Oba Femi, Bron Breakker contract signing

The Futures of WWE (unofficial trademark name), Bron Breakker and Oba Femi sat across from each other in the ring for a contract signing with Paul Heyman and Adam Pearce overseeing.

The topic? You guessed it, the future. Breakker questioned what Femi had done to earn the label of the future face of the company. That didn’t sit right with him because before he got injured, he was that guy. Femi responded, calling him "an angry orange man," and took a subtle dig at Roman Reigns while saying Breakker would be the guy in a different era.

Breakker signed the contract, and then took shots at Heyman and Femi’s relationship. "You gonna sign it or is your daddy gonna do it for ya?" Heyman didn’t want Breakker to go down that road, but Breakker used that moment to take a cheap shot at Femi.

That sparked a brawl, and the arrival of Austin Theory to help out Breakker. Femi took control of the situation, and tossed Theory through the table.

Listen, these two are undoubtedly the future of the company. Though the question is, how long will they have to wait before capturing the top titles in WWE? SNME’s match could be special, but it also feels like there won’t be a winner. Between the two, Breakker needs to win it more given his recent regression, but we’ll see how it goes.

Royce Keys brings backup to ruin main event

LA Knight and Solo Sikoa got jokes off in the opening segment with The Usos. Jey Uso sent a warning shot at both of them, but Sikoa hilariously dodged it like Neo in the Matrix. This all led to the main event tag match.

We fast-forward to the final match of the show, and we were treated to classic Usos tag team work. They naturally worked better together, but Knight and Sikoa had their hot moments as well. But then, out of nowhere, Royce Keys attacked with some backup in the form of Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, aka OTM, from NXT.

The trio cleaned house. Nobody was safe as Keys put steel steps to heads. He then grabbed Jey by the face, and made him watch OTM send Jimmy Uso through the commentary desk. "You see what I can do to your family?" Keys said.

OK, now. This was an unexpected turn.

Keys has been wrapped in The Bloodline story since he arrived and was recently left in a bloody heap by Jacob Fatu. He also has not really caught fire with the fans, so we get this heel turn and a pair of NXT call-ups for a new trios group to turn things around. It could work. Hopefully it does. This moment felt like it should, because they came off as a ruthless, answer-to-no-one type of group.

War Games is approaching, so this is likely a seed planted for that PLE as well. Keys was stuck in neutral, and this certainly has him in gear. Let’s see where he takes us now.

Full match results -

Stephanie Vaquer def. Roxanne Perez via pinfall

Rey Fenix def. Dragon Lee via pinfall - Roman Reigns tournament semifinal

Big Cass def. Je’Von Evans via pinfall

LA Knight, Solo Sikoa vs. The Usos ends in DQ

This article originally appeared on Wrestling Junkie: WWE Raw takeaways: Royce Keys turns, Lucha Brothers set for finals

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Source: “AOL Sports”