Rhodes earned his championship opportunity by defeating Jey Uso in a No. 1 Contender's Match on Friday's SmackDown. The current champion, Sami Zayn, won the WWE Championship at Night of Champions.

The American Nightmare is No. 1 Contender! 🇺🇸@codyrhodes will battle @samizayn for the Undisputed WWE Title on Monday Night Raw! pic.twitter.com/md5gtiIMwi

Championship Monday Matches

Raw General Manager Adam Pearce has designated tonight's episode as "Championship Monday," featuring two additional title defenses.

• The Street Profits
• Intercontinental Championship

Other Segments Announced

Seth Rollins is scheduled to kick off the broadcast tonight live on Netflix. Additionally, 2026 King of the Ring winner Oba Femi is set to appear on the show. Femi, who opted out of a guaranteed world title shot to face Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam, will address his decision.

The WWE Championship has not been defended on an episode of Monday Night Raw since Big E successfully put his title on the line against Austin Theory on November 22, 2021. That match took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but tonight's contest is set to emanate from inside the Allstate Arena in the Second City of Chicago, Illinois. A little over a week after he shocked the world at Night of Champions, Sami Zayn will put the WWE Title on the line against Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare earned his rematch by defeating Jey Uso in a No. 1 Contender's Match this past Friday night on SmackDown. Will Zayn prove that his win in Saudi Arabia was anything but a fluke, or will Cody Rhodes leave Chicago as a 4-time WWE Champion?

The American Nightmare is No. 1 Contender! 🇺🇸@codyrhodes will battle @samizayn for the Undisputed WWE Title on Monday Night Raw! pic.twitter.com/md5gtiIMwi. WWE (@WWE) July 4, 2026

There are two other title matches taking place during what Raw General Manager Adam Pearce has dubbed "Championship Monday." Sol Ruca will put her Women's Intercontinental Championship on the line against Raquel Rodriguez, and The Street Profits will defend the World Tag Team Titles against the aforementioned Austin Theory and Bron Breakker. After talking his way into a World Heavyweight Championship opportunity at SummerSlam this past week, Seth Rollins will kick off the broadcast tonight live on Netflix. Oba Femi will also appear on the show. The 2026 King of the Ring winner made the bold choice to pass up his guaranteed world title shot in order to face Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell. He'll address that decision later this evening.

Here's everything we currently know about tonight's episode of WWE Raw. Check back for updates as more matches and segments could be announced in the coming hours. After winning the WWE Championship at Night of Champions, Sami Zayn had his sights set on defending the title at SummerSlam. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce had other thoughts when he filled in for the suspended Nick Aldis on Friday night on SmackDown. He booked a No. 1 Contender's Match and ordered Zayn to put his gold on the line tonight in Chicago against the winner, who turned out to be the former champion, Cody Rhodes.

Women's Intercontinental Championship Match

Between IYO SKY and the cursing powers of Danhausen, The Judgment Day has more than enough business that they need to handle. That's not going to stop Raquel Rodriguez from chasing the first singles title of her main roster career. After dismantling Maxxine Dupri last Monday night, Big Sexy was granted a Women's Intercontinental Championship opportunity against Sol Ruca tonight inside the Allstate Arena.

World Tag Team Championship Match

More than they've ever been before, The Vision are broken, battered and scattered. Paul Heyman seemingly wanted nothing to do with Austin Theory last week, but he has the opportunity to get back into the good graces of The Wiseman when he teams up with Bron Breakker to challenge for the World Tag Team Titles. The Vision dropped the gold to The Street Profits just two weeks ago, and tonight may be their last chance to build any real momentum as a group.

Featured names

• Austin Theory
• Barclays Center
• Allstate Arena
• The American Nightmare
• Saudi Arabia
• Manager Adam
• Championship Monday
• Intercontinental Championship
• Raquel Rodriguez
• The Street Profits
• Bron Breakker
• World Heavyweight
• Seth Rollins
• Brock Lesnar
• The Judgment Day
• Maxxine Dupri
• Team Championship
• Rick Ucchino
• Assistant Editor
• Content Coordinator
• The Takedown
• Cincinnati Bengals
• Bleav Podcast
• Traina Thoughts
• Broadcaster Questions
• Defeats Cody
• Finally Capture
• Match Between
• Illinois Loading