Veteran NFL writer and Pat McAfee Show contributor Mark Kaboly breaks down Monday Night Raw on Netflix and recaps SmackDown with 10 takeaways.

03:01

The match between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens at WWE Elimination Chamber receives a special stipulation from Raw General Manager Adam Pearce. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Endless possibilities: What's intriguing about a match that features two Superstars – Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn -- who have faced each other nearly 60 times during their time in WWE and many more before that? How about a stipulation that has rarely been used – an Unsanctioned Match. Owens and Zayn will battle in their home country at WWE Elimination Chamber where Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made it clear that the company will not be responsible for what happens to Zayn and the neck injured by Owens. The stipulation sets up endless possibilities of what could go down at the March 1 PLE besides the forgone conclusion of it being a brutal match. Owens has been on the top of his game, which has only been enhanced by his skill of the mic, but Zayn’s performance on Raw could have been his best from his passion to his facial expression to his hatred of his former friend.

03:02

Moments after AJ Styles defeated “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio, Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker fails to take out Styles in a post-match attack. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Bron found an opponent: If it has felt like Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker has been meandering ever since reclaiming his title four months ago, you aren’t alone. It's funny what a missed Spear could create. Breakker’s whiff on AJ Styles, ultimately caught by "Dirty" Dom Mysterio, has put Breakker in a position to have a top-level rivalry against one of the more talented performers in WWE. It's also funny how an impromptu moment like Styles snagging Breakker’s shirt he threw at him and the crowd’s reaction added a little more depth to the confrontation.

03:00

Bedlam ensues when World Heavyweight Champion Gunther mocks “Main Event” Jey Uso and questions his challenger’s ability to beat him at WrestleMania. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Good stuff, but now what: You have to respect the way Gunther continues to troll Jey Uso. Coming through the crowd in Charlotte was the latest way to get under the skin of the Royal Rumble winner he will face at WrestleMania. It was yet another virtuoso performance on the mic for Gunther, but it is also a little concerning. There are nine more Raws until WrestleMania, and there is only so far you can go with the "you don’t belong" strategy. Don’t get me wrong; it was a very good and made sense, especially when it looked like The Ring General was going to take out the ultimate ‘YEETer’ Pat McAfee after saying he thinks Uso can beat Gunther. But now what? I guess that’s why we watch. 

03:07

The Visionary will battle inside the Elimination Chamber for an opportunity to challenge Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Lost but really won: Let’s face it: It would’ve been a colossal upset if Finn Bálor beat Seth "Freakin" Rollins to advance to the Elimination Chamber. As expected, Bálor lost to Rollins during the main event of Raw on Monday, but he sure wasn’t a loser. While the focus of the match will be on Rollins having a opportunity to advance to WrestleMania if he survives a stacked Elimination Chamber on March 1 in Toronto, you cannot discount what Bálor did in the ring. It was one of the better matches of the year, and it made me believe that Bálor did have a chance. WWE should capitalize on how these two work so well together, but if not, Bálor reintroduced himself as more than the guy out front of The Judgment Day.  

03:00

Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde and Dragon Lee take the fight to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods as retribution for the attack on Rey Mysterio. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Thank you, New Day: The New Day explained their actions of attacking Rey Mysterio as Raw went off the air with quite a condescending tone that included telling the fans they needed to thank them for doing what they did. Kofi Kingston made some strong points concerning Mysterio’s apparent self-appointment of being the locker room leader including that he himself has been with the company for damn near 19 years and he never left. With The LWO coming to their Mysterio’s defense that should carry The New Day into WrestleMania. Even though The New Day has created and sustained heat ever since turning on Big E, it seems like until Big E returns in some capacity, we (me) won’t be satisfied.

01:43

Solo Sikoa makes it clear to Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga that they are equal members of the family. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #SmackDown

Family trouble: It’s become clear over the past couple of weeks that Jacob Fatu isn’t overly thrilled with how Solo Sikoa turned his back on the family following Tribal Combat against Roman Reigns on the Raw on Netflix debut in early January. The Samoan Werewolf has been out in front of it ever since, and he sure the hell isn’t going to step aside for Sikoa at this point, nor should he. Nuggets of Sikoa parking his vehicle next to the trailer with Fatu’s photo on it, him wearing all white for the first time in maybe forever, him saying, “I love you Jacob” and him coming to the aid of his guys last week with a Samoan Spike to Cody Rhodes has been some top-notch way to reigniting his Bloodline regime. It should happen but without Fatu. Fatu is fast-tracking it to being a regular main-eventer (he was involved in four segments in the show), and having Sikoa regaining control of the group with Tama Tonga and whenever Tonga Loa returns it is appointment television.

03:00

The Queen emerges to inform a beat down WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton that she is coming for her title at The Showcase of the Immortals. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more.

Flipping the script: I do believe that Tiffany Stratton is the WWE Women’s Champion and that Charlotte Flair is the one who hasn’t participated in a single match in more than 14 months now. You wouldn’t, however, be able to tell that from Friday. Flair watched Stratton and Nia Jax’s championship match from backstage and then nonchalantly sat in front of Stratton on a steel chair after Jax annihilated her in the ring and mocked Stratton. The dismissive tone by Flair made you believe that it was her who was the titleholder and Stratton was the challenger. I guess that’s why she’s The Queen. I would be remiss to leave out that Jax and Stratton had a solid match, and it once again showed that Tiffy could stand in there with the stalwarts.
 

03:00

Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin take down Angel and Berto. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more.

Tag Team Heaven: Quietly, SmackDown has turned into the place where the tag team division reigns supreme. The Motor City Machine Guns and Los Garza put on a top-level match on Friday night, and those two tandems don’t even have the title. #DIY are the champs, and Pretty Deady have been solid as well. With the return of The Street Profits on the horizon with a strong moment from an angry Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford shown – who just might have the most talent of the entire classification should bring some interesting moments and high-level in-ring action.

02:59

LA Knight and The Miz both stake their claim to a United States Championship opportunity against Shinsuke Nakamura. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #SmackDown

Gift of gab: LA Knight defeated The Miz to be on the fast track to meet Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship Title… I think. No offense to the The Megastar or The A-Lister and what they did in their match, but the five-minute back-and-forth between the two was something that needed to be clipped and shown to every up-and-coming Superstar What made it so good is that both The Miz and LA Knight are virtually the same person – talented yet underrated that are oftentimes used to make others look good. Their moment had the feel that it was totally natural and in the moment. It made me forget the entire reason for the two being in the ring – to find a "true warrior" to put his title up again.

02:59

Penta takes advantage when Ludwig Kaiser interferes in his match against Pete Dunne. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Odds and ends: With the Men’s Elimination Chamber set with John Cena, CM Punk, Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul and Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Cena makes the most sense to win and take on Rhodes at WrestleMania. … On the women’s side, Roxanne Perez, Bianca Belair, Alexis Bliss, Bayley, Naomi and Liv Morgan have punched their tickets. Good luck trying to handicap that one. Right now, Liv might be the slight favorite. Or maybe a wildcard…  To open Raw with a package of the animosity between Owens and Zayn before Zayn came to the ring was a nice little changeup. … Penta has had a red-hot start to his WWE career and has had good matches against Pete Dunne and Ludwig Kaiser. Penta beat Dunne again on Raw and a likely Triple Threat Match is shortly. But after that, where does Penta go to enhance his stature? To me, Kofi would make plenty of sense. … I don’t believe that Liv and Raquel were responsible for taking out Jade Cargill. No way … Karrion Kross’s impromptu interview backstage makes me want to see him in the ring more.