It’s an interesting RAW in a Nutshell, with Cody Rhodes versus the National Championship game tonight.
Because, if you happen to not be a fan of major sports, the college football national title game is on up against RAW.
No big deal, just a minor game. Not at all the biggest game of the college football season…
ESPN Announces 2023 Pro Wrestling Awards
And because our expect main event for the evening is Cody Rhodes against Shinsuke Nakamura.
If that was not big enough, CM Punk is back on the show. Any time he’s got a live mic is a good time, right?
I am sure that this week’s effort won’t quite stack up against the Day 1 special…because...no Rock.
But I’d bet it isn’t a bad show, given how things have gone. So rather than waste more typing, it’s time to dive into…
RAW In A Nutshell: Cody Rhodes Versus National Championship
Let’s crack this one open and find out!
Best Match of the night:
Tonight was almost more about the promos, wasn’t it? CM Punk and Drew kicked things off, but Rollins and even Nia Jax and Rhea Ripley got into it and delivered.
Match-wise, they were all effective, but I will say Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura.
I still say this one felt odd-almost as odd as say, Seth Rollins and Jinder Mahal. But, it’s the byproduct of a big gap between premium live events, I suppose.
But it was a satisfying win for Rhodes, and presumably this closes the Nakamura chapter.
Worst match of the night:
Not tonight, but…booked tonight for next week.
I have a hard time getting excited for Jinder versus Seth, especially since having it be a title match just makes no sense.
Except, maybe…do we see Indus Sher get involved, level Rollins and somehow we get a cash-in?
After all, while this week was up against the National Championship game…next week is up against an NFL playoff game.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
CM Punk
Star of the Night
I have to say, Drew and Punk were good on their mics. Nia and Rhea too.
But I will give this one to Cody Rhodes getting the main event win.
Spot of the Night:
Kaiser…to Kofi Kingston…have a seat.
Or, Ludwig delivering a heck of a variation of a drive by.
And there is this…
Jobber of the Night:
I will go with…Kofi Kingston, taking a ton of apparent punishment and putting Ludwig Kaiser over.
Upset of the Night:
Nothing comes to mind.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
I don’t expect it from the mid card, but Ludwig Kaiser laid out Kofi Kingston in a crazy post-match assault.
With Vinci out due to the head bump, and GUNTHER still out because he’s a new dad, this is a good way to develop Kaiser more, for sure.
Botch of the night:
I know some say Gargano was a touch late on his grab of Balor’s foot. Maybe he was, but I didn’t pick up on it.
Commentary of the night:
Wade on R-Truth…
“I don’t think he knows what he’s doing”
“You can’t just add yourself to a group. If you could, I’d add myself to the Bloodline
Cole’s response was good too, alluding to how Wade came to the main roster.
LOL Moment of the night:
I mean…how can anything get funnier than R-Truth here? Where Dominik becomes Tom and Nick…
Noteworthy Moment:
In all the spiciness that transpired, somehow I missed this…
Overall lowlights:
Not much to complain about.
I don’t love Mahal versus Rollins, but I get it…I think.
Relative to the shots Punk is taking…so far he’s a good sport about it, but a couple thoughts here for me to have it as a lowlight…
One, eventually the joke wears thin…and then what? Will Punk snap?
Two…I know some stuff is still recent news, but I feel like a lot of it is already beating a dead horse.
Maybe that is just me, though.
Overall highlights:
Did I mention that we got a slew of good promos? Because…we did.
Drew McIntyre and CM Punk sizzled. And just like that, we were off.
Mixed in, we had some good wrestling too. Otis and Ivar were insane, two bigs should not be able to have an in-ring ballet.
Main event street fight…need I say more?
After the final bell:
With the Royal Rumble getting closer, things are starting to come into focus. Kind of.
Lots of story lines being worked on, so I expect the January PLE to be as good as ever.
In the battle of Cody Rhodes versus the National Championship…Rhodes wins, because once RAW was on, I had not changed the channel.
