RAW In A Nutshell: Let’s See How Big E’s Called Shot Goes

It’s another RAW In A Nutshell, and the focus this week is clear: let’s see how Big E’s called shot goes.

Or, by the time you read this…how that called shot went.

In case you missed the post on social media earlier Monday, Big E was quite specific.

Last week, on SmackDown, he teased being on RAW. Ahead of this RAW In A Nutshell, he confirmed his intentions.

Let’s let that cat out of the bag…I intend on cashing in my Money in the Bank contract tonight and cashing in to become WWE Champion.

— Ettore “Big E” Ewen (@WWEBigE) September 13, 2021

I mean, that is the focus of this RAW in a Nutshell…to put it in a nutshell.

Like, you have a called shot, it’s the focus of every fan tuning in…for three hours, will anything else matter?

That answer, of course, is yes. Extreme Rules is just a couple weeks away, so there’s work to be done.

Granted, part of what prompted that called shot? The expected title match between Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton got bumped to this RAW.

Now, there’s plenty of time to complain about iffy booking, but I’d argue that Vince does what he wants, when he wants…and he must not want Orton and Lashley at Extreme Rules.

Of course, we still have to see how things play out…that’s one reason to consume this RAW In a Nutshell.

We can expect more fun between Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, while those two move toward their Extreme Rules tilt.

There will be other fun, too. I mean, it’s a three hour show…but there’s only one thing anyone wants to know about.

RAW In A Nutshell: Let’s See How Big E’s Called Shot Goes

Let’s crack open this Nutshell and see what goes down!

Best Match of the night:

I don’t even want to give it to a match, but the collective story line we got.

From Twitter this afternoon, through the end of RAW.

Honestly, the way Big E had even been taunting Reigns and Paul Heyman of late, it was an entertaining way to handle the briefcase.

The bummer, of course, is that there is no more briefcase until 2022.

However, between Big E, Lashley, Orton and even Riddle…that gets my nod here.

Worst match of the night:

If there is a match with Eva Marie in it, then it has to land here by default, no?

She is absolutely terrible. I don’t know how WWE brought her back and kept her around, considering the talent they’ve released.

Eva Marie has no redeeming wrestling qualities nor capabilities.

Star of the Night

Big E. It was his night from the moment he sent that tweet.

Somewhat surprised it happened before the draft. But…we shall see how it goes.

Spot of the Night:

Orton’s first RKO, on an unsuspecting Bobby Lashley, was fun.

Alexa Bliss delivering what I surmise was her rendition of a Panama Sunrise? Also fun.

Jobber of the Night:

Eva Marie. Beginning to wonder if she’s related to some executive, because I just can’t get why she has come back and survived.

I could-and am-also going to say Riddle and Orton. Because they did the job working with Lashley at the end of the show…which set the stage for the cash in.

Upset of the Night:

I suppose you could almost call Nikki over Tamina one. So much so, they didn’t even announce Nikki as the winner.

But then, she was recently the women’s champion…so probably not an upset.

Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:

The first choice of the night happened hours before the show even started.

For much of the afternoon, the called shot bothered me, if I am being honest.

Like, when Mr. Kennedy won his briefcase, he announced he was going to use it to main event WrestleMania. He gave months of advance notice.

Of course, it was early in the history of Money In The Bank.

Since then, only one other far-ahead cash in comes to mind-I believe (could be wrong) that John Cena cashed in, but gave a week’s notice (and lost).

So, rather than hold onto it for a while more, Big E decided he’d jump over to RAW and cash in.

It worked out, of course. And even the official WWE Twitter account loved it, changing their name to honor the moment.

Botch of the night:

Sonya Deville, after breaking up Nikki A.S.H and Tamina (and their partners), declared there would be a match coming.

She botched the name of Nikki…calling her A.H.S.

But then, the RAW ring announcer said…hold my beer.

Nikki A.S.H won…and he announced the winner as…Tamina?

LOL Moment of the night:

Big E was great in the opening segment.

Riddle was great during that too, and in the locker room, even as Orton donned his headphones.

Noteworthy Moment:

WWE Draft is officially back, October 1 and October 4.

Overall lowlights:

Eva Marie.

Also…who on Earth sends the show to commercial with just a few minutes to go…immediately after we get the cash in announcement?

I mean, I get it, you have to pay the bills…but seriously?!

It is a scripted show. Segments are planned, as are commercial breaks.

You do not cut to commercial then.

Overall highlights:

I will say this…the show wasn’t terrible.

In a nutshell, the show was actually entertaining.

While I was going to poke and prod and be critical…it did what you’d want.

From the opening to the close, I was pretty focused on RAW. OK, fine, I watch via YouTube TV so I may have had to pause a time or two, and maybe I skipped some fluff.

But, mostly, I skipped the commercials.

The overall highlight of the Nutshell was the story, from this afternoon through the end of the show.

Big E, Orton, Lashley…all were very strong. Curious to see where we go from here, but hoping Big E gets a decent run with the belt.

After the final bell:

As much as I wasn’t fond of announcing the cash in so far in advance…it worked out.

We all knew it was going to happen at the end of the show, and it did.

I hated the commercial break-that was just odd.

WWE let Lashley go out strong, when many champs who are cashed in on, go down quickly.

So yes, Big E called his shot, and we know how it went.

RAW In A Nutshell? We’ve got a new WWE Champion.