It’s no ordinary RAW In A Nutshell, and the elephant in the room tonight is…what will CM Punk say?
Spoilers ahead, if you somehow missed every single bit of wrestling news since Saturday…
CM Punk, the subject of rumors since his AEW termination, arrived at the close of Survivor Series on Saturday.
Shortly after, he was confirmed to be in attendance for this week’s RAW.
And with Saturday giving fans a go-home-happy moment (because Orton leading his team to victory wasn’t enough?), we’ve yet to hear the man speak.
Now, whether he will even be able to discuss what he did for the past couple of years remains to be seen.
But, perhaps all you need to know is the following:
Seth Rollins played the part of an upset Superstar on Saturday. Like, played it to a “t”.
Rollins and Punk have a bit of history, and my money is on that feud being gifted to fans quite soon.
And, between stuff like that, and the years absent from WWE where AEW wasn’t even a thing…someone like Punk should have no shortage of topics.
Does WWE Have A CM Punk Problem?
Plus, as confirmed by several sites in the late afternoon timeframe…the first hour of RAW is commercial free.
Which, if you didn’t know…should mean that hour is loaded, and we might see RAW hit some impressive ratings marks…which will be important for those TV negotiations.
For now though, its time to find out…
What Will CM Punk Say : RAW In A Nutshell
It’s clobbering time for this Nutshell!
Best Match of the night:
I have to go with Orton and Dom.
Strong match back. Maybe better for a lesser name, because you knew Orton was not losing, but it worked.
Honorable mention I would give to the tag turmoil match, and I am intrigued by the Creed win.
Worst match of the night:
I guess maybe the women’s tag title match?
Crowd Chants of the Night:
No shock, tons of CM Punk love.
Star of the Night
First hour? Easily Orton.
You could sense it, from his walk to the ring, to how he soaked it in from each corner, he missed doing this on a regular basis and was truly thankful and grateful to be back.
Heck, check the next section for more on that.
Also, a hat tip to the Creed Brothers. Honestly would not be mad, early as it may be, if they knock off the tag champs.
Spot of the Night:
Forget wrestling or sports entertainment…this was phenomenally awesome.
Jobber of the Night:
I think this should just be JD McDonagh’s for the time being.
Love the neck brace, by the way, still selling that huge RKO from WarGames.
Upset of the Night:
As Punk said…some in the back won’t be happy he’s back.
That’s it.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
Hunter said it during the post-Survivor Series press conference…and now CM Punk said it too, and to what a pop.
“I’m home”.
He grew up, he changed, certain issues and people with issues left, the company changed and evolved. It took ten years, but CM Punk is home.
Also…an AJ reference…love to hear it.
His closing line to the camera was perfect. “I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to make money”.
If the social hits are any indication…WWE could make major bank.
And speaking of those numbers…Punk has the most liked tweet in WWE and AEW history…but the WWE one dwarfs the other.
Tells you there are a lot of fans loyal to one brand, as opposed to just wrestling fans. In case there was any question.
Botch of the night:
Nothing I want to complain about.
Commentary of the night:
Where else can you see two beef planets collide.
At least, I think that is what Wade said?
LOL Moment of the night:
This was good too…
Noteworthy Moment:
RAW opened with a commercial free hour…and it wasn’t used for CM Punk.
Now, I get it. Give a good one early, hold the biggest draw till the end.
Instead, we got Orton, which was deserved. Daddy’s home!
Cody Rhodes is officially the first man entered into the 2024 Rumble, and then we find out that apparently, Nakamura had been eyeing him all along.
Also, from Orton’s opening salvo, he noted he owes the Bloodline and he has receipts for every member…and you could tell he was including Jey.
But…wouldn’t that also carry over to Sami?
Either way, Jey was sweating it, found Randy in the back and discussed things. For now, it seems, Randy is willing to forgive…but he does not forget.
Somewhere down the line, we are going to see Orton and Jey Uso battle.
Overall lowlights:
While I think Cody versus Shinsuke could be good…I think the reveal was a tad underwhelming?
Like, for weeks we were convinced this could be someone new, some even suspected he was calling out Punk.
Speaking of Punk…I get it, Living Colour released a remastered Cult of Personality for it’s anniversary…but I am so far partial to the original.
Overall highlights:
Loved Orton’s whole segment. Very real and emotional at times from someone we don’t always see emotion from.
Drew has wrinkles…like, almost seemed like Sami was talking him out of a full heel turn…but let’s see what next week brings.
I have this feeling that, at least for a minute, Rollins and Punk won’t be given a hot shot. Rollins flat out called him a hypocrite, where Punk merely said that not everyone was happy to see him.
But there’s a report we may see those two at the Rumble, so stay tuned. Honestly, I feel like setting those two up for WrestleMania would be more ideal, but what do I know.
The Punk promo was strong. Nothing specific, really, a lot of good stuff without shade, which makes me think he is under the same legal restraints as Tony Khan.
Or, he’s finally decided to take the high road and just be happy to be in WWE…and right now, just a few days in, he does seem happy.
After the final bell:
Kind of shocking in a way to see that, with the 2023 PLE slate complete, we already have some slight hype beginning for the 2024 Royal Rumble, which is nearly two months out.
Mind you, just a Rhodes entrant into the match itself…but it counts.
Nice strong RAW from start to finish, with next week looking top notch again.
I think my last shot here? This show tonight felt more like how the RAW after WrestleMania should have been.
OK, fine, no graduations or returns, but had a lot of buzz and energy that normally got linked to the biggest RAW of the year.
