A nice RAW In A Nutshell for you tonight, as we are shifting gears to Crown Jewel.
Because, in case you didn’t know…following Saturday night’s Fastlane from Indy…WWE sees the next premium live event head back to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel.
And, with just three weeks to go until that big event happens, it stands to reason that we might just start seeing matches for that one set up, if not booked, this week.
Of course, following Saturday’s PLE, we do have some changes to cover.
Like, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso now hold the tag titles, which I bet most of us never expected six months ago.
And, Judgement Day minus some of that gold? That probably won’t have them in a great mood.
Plus, will we finally get the delayed NXT Women’s Championship match? That was supposed to be last week, but Becky Lynch was banged up following her defense against Tiffany Stratton.
So…let’s get into it…
Shifting Gears To Crown Jewel : RAW In A Nutshell
Let’s crack open this Nutshell and see how things go!
Best Match of the night:
At a minimum, honorable mention to Tegan Nox and Becky Lynch.
I love Nox, loved the effort and the show, and giving the NXT Women’s title a big spot.
Plus, Lynch saying as she left “I’ve got to get better hair”, because Nox’s hair was on point.
Or…I could go with the main event because…yes it was that good.
Four of the best Superstars in WWE over the last…what, 18 or 24 months-or more?
They all brought it.
Worst match of the night:
This will confuse, perhaps…but the initial Raquel Rodriguez/Nia Jax fun was sort of…meh.
But what transpired after, with Rhea Ripley and Shayna Baszler both getting involved?
That was pretty good. Clearly setting up something, perhaps a four way match at Crown Jewel for Ripley’s gold.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
I mean, they cheered. Just no memorable chants for me.
Star of the Night
Tegan…Becky…Bronson…the four men in the main event…I am probably overlooking a few, too.
Spot of the Night:
I do enjoy the Cody Cutter variant of the 1D.
But…I am now wondering…is that the second time in as many matches where Cody had a bad bump?
Or are they doing that on purpose. Because tonight and Saturday, Rhodes looked like he was just as bad off following the cutter.
The best of the night was the closing shot, with KO finally shaking Jey’s hand and giving him a hug.
Jobber of the Night:
This one is tough.
Could I go Ricochet, for taking so much from Nakamura? Perhaps.
Or, do I go with Gargano and Ciampa for taking the taped beat down from Imperium.
Flip a coin…
Upset of the Night:
Tegan was upset she lost, but I think it’s a step in the right direction…and I think she is as good a choice as any to win the gold off of Lynch.
Not an upset, but a bit surprising to see Bronson Reed get the next shot at GUNTHER. The former NXT North American Champion will give the Austrian a run for his money.
Also…I doubt Rhodes loved Michael Cole’s line of questions tonight…
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
Well, before DIY could confirm they’d be reuniting (seems like they obviously would, of course), Imperium interrupted their taped session to give them more of a reason to do so.
Botch of the night:
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens came to the ring to get a title match…and WWE played the old Zayn entrance.
Something he even acknowledged before cutting his promo.
Commentary of the night:
Chelsea Green could start an argument in an empty room.
LOL Moment of the night:
Sami actually noting the botched entrance, and how he did it, made me laugh.
I mean, that’s the key, right? Someone screws up, just roll with it.
Noteworthy Moment:
I mean, it could mean NOTHING…but after Graves drops the “devil” promo line…Nakamura hits GTS?
Granted, GTS was not Punk’s move first…but…many more casual fans don’t realize that Punk stole the move from KENTA).
But…I refuse to believe that these aren’t intentional breadcrumbs. Just seems too coincidental to not be hits or purposeful trolling.
Overall lowlights:
Man, this is tough to pick.
I mean…lots of good things here, so perhaps that there just is never enough time?
But on the day where we heard that Endeavor may have effectively put Triple H in charge of creative (not that that happened today, but recently and we just learned of it)…we had a lot going right.
Show had a good vibe, in my opinion…and this wasn’t even the season premiere. That’s next week!
Overall highlights:
That was a pretty good teased/attempted cash-in. It’s one thing I feel like we’ve yet to see much out of Damian Priest.
Interesting too to have Drew prevent Dom from getting the briefcase in play.
Lots of matches set up for next week, with quite a few having a path to Saudi Arabia.
We have a loaded NXT tomorrow, big shows on Friday and Monday…it’s a great time to be fans.
After the final bell:
Pretty loaded RAW next week.
Tag titles defended. GUNTHER and Bronson Reed for the Intercontinental Championship.
Ripley versus Baszler. Ricochet and Nakamura, falls count anywhere.
Natalya and Piper, and I have to think somehow all of that gets us to a triple threat for the tag titles.
And, while it isn’t next week…Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins, Crown Jewel, for the title.
