Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s live coverage for “WWE Raw” on March 9, 2026, coming to you live from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington!

Fresh off dethroning Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship at WWE Elimination Chamber on February 28, AJ Lee will be finding out who will be challenging her for her title at WWE WrestleMania 42 as IYO SKY, Bayley, Ivy Nile, Raquel Rodriguez of Judgment Day, Lyra Valkyria, and Asuka of The Kabuki Warriors collide with one another in a Women’s Intercontinental Championship WrestleMania 42 Number One Contenders Gauntlet Match. Lee welcomed any and all women in the back who wanted a shot at her Women’s Intercontinental Championship during last Monday’s episode of “Raw”.

Penta will be putting his newly won Intercontinental Championship on the line tonight as he defends against OG El Grande Americano. As OG El Grande Americano has continued to cross paths with El Grande Americano, Rayo Americano, and Bravo Americano, Penta dethroned Dominik Mysterio as Intercontinental Champion last Monday thanks to some failed interference from Dominik’s Judgment Day stablemate Finn Balor and JD McDonagh.

While Oba Femi has racked up quick wins against the likes of Kit Wilson, The Miz, and Johnny Gargano over the past few weeks on “WWE SmackDown”, he will be competing in his first ever match on “Raw” as he goes head-to-head with Rusev. Rusev called Femi out to the ring last Monday, leading to a brief verbal confrontation and a brawl between the two men that ended with Femi leaving Rusev laid out with a clothesline.

Jon Jones has asked for his release from UFC while addressing comments made by Dana White on Saturday. 

Jones had said he was in negotiations for a fight on the White House card on June 14, only for White to dismiss that as “bulls***” as he said he had never considered Jones for the event. Jones responded rather emotionally immediately on social media, but soon enough had deleted those posts ahead of his long-form post on Monday addressing the comments. 

“I wanted to address Dana White’s comments from this past weekend,” Jones wrote via X. “Dana, you were heated about why I’m not on the White House card, but let’s clear something up. My team and I were actually negotiating with the UFC for that fight. Real negotiations. I even came down from my original number, and what was I offered in return? I was lowballed.”

Jones admitted he had arthritis in his hip and it is painful, but said that doesn’t mean he could not fight. “Let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense,” he added. 

The post continues to state that Jones had received stem cell treatment to prepare for the card, and was due to start training camp on Monday. 

“I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right. After everything I’ve given to the UFC, the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m “done” is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on the White House card for a much lower number.”

Jones concluded his post to ask for his release if the UFC truly believes he is done, thanking fans for their support and looking for a clean break with “No more spins, no more games.”

The last few months have been a coming out party for TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater, as he’s continued to defend the championship while also making notable appearances for “WWE NXT” and the WWE main roster. But one thing Slater hasn’t been doing in 2026 is hitting the independent scene, a stark contrast from 2025 when the 21 year old wrestled the bulk of his matches outside of the WWE/TNA umbrella.

It appears to be something fans will get used to throughout the rest of the year. While not fully confirmed, Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan reports that the “overwhelming belief” among promoters is that Slater will be taking less indie dates in order to protect himself as his TNA contract begins to wind down. Slater’s deal with TNA is expected to be up by the end of 2026, and it’s believed he will draw heavy interest from outside the promotion, including WWE.

Some did not close the door on Slater working for select promotions, however, though its believed he would largely stick to those in his home country of England. This includes Revolution Pro Wrestling, where Slater worked the most in 2025 aside from TNA and WWE, or NORTH Wrestling, Slater’s home promotion, where he previously reigned as NORTH Champion for over two years.

One place fans shouldn’t expect to see Slater in again is wXw, the promotion Slater pulled out of in December in order to compete at WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event special where John Cena retired. Sources close to the situation claim there has been no contact between Slater and wXw, who were said to be annoyed with Slater pulling out of the show so late, since that time.

Dana White poured cold water on Jon Jones’ claims that he was in negotiations for the UFC White House event, only for Jones to react in a now-deleted tirade of social media posts. 

The White House card was announced on Saturday, including two title fights between Alex Pereira against Ciryl Gane for the Interim Heavyweight Championship and Ilia Topuria against Justin Gaethje for the Undisputed Lightweight Championship. 

Jones had said he was in negotiations for the event, so when news broke that a fight had fallen through for the event, there were those wondering whether it had been down to Jones. 

“Never ever, ever, ever, which I told you guys over a 100,000 times, was Jon Jones even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White said during the UFC 326 press conference. “He’s got arthritis in his hips, doctors say he should have a hip replacement. That on top of all the other reasons. The Jon Jones thing is bulls***.” 

When asked if it was fair to say Jones was retired, White said yes. Jones responded in now-deleted posts on social media. “I’m released from the UFC?!! … Let’s go”

In another post he questioned, “So all of this negotiating was complete bulls***, is that what you want me to agree to publicly?”

He described the situation as “painful” repeatedly, and said he was laying in bed trying to wrap his head around it.