It’s a festive RAW In A Nutshell, and we enter the show wondering who’s been naughty and nice…
Simple and obvious theme for this holiday time of year.
We can rationalize that the newly returned CM Punk might land on WWE’s nice list. Maybe not AEW’s, however.
Seth Rollins is probably on the nice list, but Drew McIntyre is doing everything he can to be firmly on the naughty list.
The Judgement Day…I think that one explains itself.
Jey Uso had been 100 percent naughty, but had a bit of an Ebenezer Scrooge redemption arc, with his angels being played by Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes, apparently.
With the Rumble just about five weeks away, there’s plenty of work left to be done, and we may not get to it tonight.
What we should see? How about R-Truth and JD McDonagh battling…and then, a women’s tag title defense to boot.
Then, we have the Creed Brothers against Judgement Day for the undisputed tag titles.
Or, Miz getting one last shot at GUNTHER. If he doesn’t win, he cannot challenge the long-reigning Intercontinental Champion again.
Seems like a good lineup, so let’s dive into…
RAW In A Nutshell: Who’s Been Naughty And Nice…
It’s time to get into this Nutshell and check that list twice!
Best Match of the night:
GUNTHER and The Miz has to be in the conversation.
Ditto the women’s tag title match. Might not get the love, but it is worthy.
And then we have the Creeds and Judgement Day. Big vote of confidence putting Julius and Brutus in such a big spot there.
They didn’t disappoint. Didn’t win gold yet, but the potential is undeniable.
Worst match of the night:
I mean, in past years, a match of Ivar and Akira Tozawa would be the pick, right?
And, I guess it could be…but…I don’t even think this was that bad.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
Fun crowd, but nothing I feel like calling out.
Star of the Night
GUNTHER and The Miz deserve nods. Miz may not get the title, but he showed out.
Kayden and Katana? Congrats, long overdue title win for these two.
Spot of the Night:
This works…
Jobber of the Night:
It wasn’t a bad match, but Tozawa kind of did the job.
Upset of the Night:
I have to go with R-Truth over JD McDonagh. Loser leaves Judgement Day, and I am sure some of the group figured it would be how they convince Truth he isn’t a member.
Didn’t quite work out that way.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
Did not know quite what to expect from the Nakamura story time…American Nightmare Before Christmas.
Interesting. I wonder if somehow Cody can elevate Shinsuke, though if that was a goal, he could have also pinned Rollins for title gold.
Then we have Rollins working the promo with Drew, helping to further his heel turn. Drew’s moves here tonight I think go a long way.
Botch of the night:
I mean, I semi-wondered if Drew was supposed to go over the top rope following the kick from Seth…but probably not?
Commentary of the night:
Nothing too crazy here.
LOL Moment of the night:
Truth, asking for the street fight.
JD, telling him that he’s the last one in the arena to figure out that the match had been booked and announced.
Noteworthy Moment:
Kayden and Katana finally climbed the mountain and claimed women’s tag gold.
Jey saves Kofi Claus from Kaiser and Vinci. Kaiser then loses to Jey.
Could it be that WWE wouldn’t have Jey stop Roman…but might have Jey get made by beating GUNTHER and claiming the Intercontinental Championship?
Overall lowlights:
I mean, it’s the season and it’s Santa, but that skin tight suit was just bad on Kofi.
Yep, that is about all I have to complain about. I mean, I could put who’s been naughty here, but that would just be too easy.
Overall highlights:
Who’s been nice? The new faces making big impacts.
There’s like a sneaky youth movement here. As much as we have veterans like Seth, Cody, Drew, Becky et al doing their stuff…
We also have Kayden, Katana, Ivy Nile, the Creeds and more, quietly doing theirs as well.
It’s a good balance, and it made for a nice show tonight.
After the final bell:
Lots to enjoy from this show. Even the holiday street fight was fun, not too gimmick-y.
And, if you weren’t noticing, the January 1st RAW, titled Day 1, is looking like a pretty loaded show for a non-PLE.
