Spoiler: Opening Segment for February 23 WWE RAW Revealed

WWE’s February 23, 2026 episode of Monday Night Raw just got even more interesting — and now we know how the show is expected to begin.

Cory Hays of BodySlam.net reports that an early internal rundown lists The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes as kicking off tonight’s episode of Raw on Netflix from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The report states:

“Early rundown lists The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes as kicking off tonight’s episode of #WWERAW”

If that holds, Rhodes opening the show is a major positioning choice, especially on the go-home episode before Elimination Chamber. With CM Punk advertised, Brock Lesnar returning, Liv Morgan set to choose her WrestleMania 42 opponent, and AJ Styles’ tribute reportedly slated to close the night, having Rhodes open signals that WWE wants to set the tone immediately.

Rhodes has been central to the main event picture and has unfinished business in the WrestleMania landscape. An opening segment could mean a promo addressing recent developments, a confrontation, or even setting up late-breaking angles heading into Chamber weekend. As previously reported, the lineup for tonight includes:

• Cody Rhodes opening segment (per early rundown)
• CM Punk appearance
• AJ Styles tribute segment (expected to close the show)
• Brock Lesnar return
• Liv Morgan to choose her WrestleMania 42 opponent
• Elimination Chamber Qualifying Matches
• Maxxine Dupri vs. Nattie

Raw airs live at 8 PM ET on Netflix from Atlanta.  Ringside News will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this week’s show over in our WWE Monday Night RAW coverage hub. 

Do you think Cody Rhodes opening Raw means a major angle is coming, or will this be a tone-setting promo before Elimination Chamber? Drop your thoughts below.