Time flies when you’re a wrestling fan. Somehow, it’s been a year since WWE and Netflix inked a deal to air “Raw” exclusively on the streamer. To celebrate the milestone and promote the final season of the service’s most popular show, WWE and Netflix put on a “Stranger Things”-themed extravaganza for the first Raw of the year, with plenty of spooky set dressing from the Upside Down and a highly anticipated world heavyweight bout between two of the company’s top stars. CFX was in attendance to watch all the action unfold. 

While Stranger Things Night on Raw didn’t feature any of the show’s stars making an appearance in the ring or audience, we did get plenty of fun easter eggs, including gross tendrils from the show’s nightmare realm slithering onto the fog-covered stage as well as appearances by a pair of very hungry demogorgons on the jumbotron inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The show even opened with longtime WWE commentator Michael Cole stepping out of a WSQK truck (the radio station featured in Season 5) to introduce the matchups. Fans also got the chance to buy exclusive Stranger Things x WWE merch, including Vecna T-shirts and a themed championship belt wrapped in Upside Down tentacles.

To top it off, WWE booked excellent title matches befitting the big occasion, including the World Heavyweight title fight that saw fan-favorite brawler CM Punk defend his belt against promising young villain Bron Breakker. Superstar of the women’s division Rhea Ripley teamed up with the high-flying Iyo Sky to win the Women’s Tag Team Championship, while the scheming Becky Lynch cheated her way to becoming a two-time Women’s Intercontinental champ. Funnily enough, Becky was decked out in an outfit reminiscent of a Starfleet uniform to promote her own upcoming role in “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.” She brought the belt she won “fair and square” to the show’s premiere last week.

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