It’s 2 weeks until Jeddah, which means this week’s RAW In A Nutshell has some work to do.
In fairness, it’s not quite 2 weeks until Jeddah. Rather, it’s 2 RAWs until Jeddah, counting this one.
Perhaps the biggest action on this week’s show? I have to think it would be the Intercontinental title #1 contender battle royal.
Yes, it is a mouthful, but GUNTHER needs a new challenger, doesn’t he.
Speaking of…he makes his post-draft RAW debut this week.
So, it’s 2 weeks until Jeddah, and the card needs a bit of work to make Night of Champions all set.
Cody Rhodes probably has something to say, given how last week went for him.
Ditto Becky Lynch, who has a bone to pick with Trish Stratus.
Seth Rollins? We know what his plans will be, as he’s set to battle for the newest World Heavyweight Championship.
Speaking of title clashes, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have a defense against none other than Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa.
So…let’s just get into it.
Big 2 Weeks Until Jeddah : RAW In A Nutshell
Let’s crack open this Nutshell and see how things go.
Best Match of the night:
Not matches, but I have to mention these two segments first.
Sami was on fire on the opening promo.
But…Cody Rhodes might have been even better. From mentioning Starrcade, to telling Brock to get out of his way…it was powerful.
Match-wise? The battle royal was good…Xavier Woods and Dom was better.
But, as expected, KO and Sami versus Judgement Day was the main event for a reason.
I honestly expected that, even though we “saw him leave”, with Dom and Rhea ejected, we’d see JD join JD.
We didn’t. Also didn’t get Ali trying to even the odds and lay claim to the 3rd for next week’s 6-man tag.
Worst match of the night:
I could complain about the Indus Sher squash, because it was a nothingburger.
However, it was exactly the way to introduce the main roster audience to the former NXT tag team.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
No chants, but they were hot.
Loved Sami and KO. Similarly loved Cody.
Absolutely HATED Dom. Kid has an immense amount of easy heat at this point.
Star of the Night
Mustafa Ali for winning the #1 contender. How about that pyro!
Spot of the Night:
Too many just in the battle royal to single one out. I will try to mention a few.
Ali’s elimination of Reed and Ricochet, while you could tell it was coming, was slick.
I really liked Bronson Reed manhandling quite a few talents, not all of whom were small.
Jobber of the Night:
The newest RAW members from NXT kind of felt jobbed out in the battle royal, just my opinion.
But, one such man-JD McDonagh-made Dolph Ziggler his jobber tonight.
Dolph did the job by taking the nasty post-elimination beating. Good way to put over JD.
And fine, to make sure I don’t offend them now that they are back on RAW…
Upset of the Night:
I have to say that Mustafa Ali winning the #1 shot at GUNTHER is a bit of an upset.
That said, I love the call. Not sure he’s going to derail the champ, but Ali, getting the shot, in Jeddah?
GUNTHER and Imperium did their part too…
I mean…we all remember when he was an injury away from preventing Kofimania, right?
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
I expect big things from the Irish Ace, based on this and this alone.
OK, not just this…but this is one way to debut.
Took longer than expected, but here we go…
Botch of the night:
If there was one…I missed it.
Commentary of the night:
Graves is good. Patrick not so much.
Couldn’t we bring back someone like Mauro? Someone else?
LOL Moment of the night:
Just going to leave this here…
Noteworthy Moment:
They barely showed it, but it was there.
McDonagh was interviewed by Kathy Kelly, and behind/above them as JD walked out was Finn Balor (who has legit ties to JD).
I cannot take credit for this, nor can I provide attribution since it’s been all over social media, but with WWE planning to add a member to Judgement Day, plenty of fans suspect it will be JD.
Having Finn observe that interaction? Certainly lays that groundwork.
Overall lowlights:
Honestly, not much bugging me.
The downside of a massive battle royal is that you’ve got a lot of Superstars but not a lot of time, so things will be crazy and quick.
As such, some talent whom you might want to have some time to get seen? Like, Von Wagner or Xyon Quin, for example?
Not much time. But it’s a minor nitpick.
Overall highlights:
Ali was a cool win, and the after-match interaction with GUNTHER makes me wish I didn’t have to wait 2 weeks until they clash.
Sami, Kevin and the Judgement Day are really good together.
Heyman, even while not being on RAW anymore, is on RAW doing Heyman things. Talking to the Judgement Day and Imperium.
My guess, trying to soften up a certain tag team prior to Jeddah. (Answer: yes. Also, yes I write this during the show…so…yep)
After the final bell:
Well, with 2 weeks until Jeddah, this RAW was cooking, wasn’t it?
Cody and Sami had hot in-ring promos. And what about GUNTHER and Ali backstage?
Long term story-telling too, with lots of other bits like Rhea eyeing Becky, for one.
And, Heyman doing what Heyman does, using not one but two factions on RAW to help weaken the tag champs.
With 2 weeks until Jeddah, I have to admit I am getting quite pumped for Night of Champions.
