It is our go home RAW In A Nutshell, and this week the Bloodline takes over Brooklyn ahead of WrestleMania 40.
Read more: Talk about the Bloodline taking over RAW from Brooklyn in our new Fightline forums!
Indeed, it is our final RAW before WrestleMania 40. Once this one wraps up, the majority of the roster will head down 95 and take over the City of Brotherly Love. Friday’s SmackDown and Hall of Fame happen from the Wells Fargo Center. NXT gives us Stand and Deliver in the same building on Saturday, prior to WrestleMania’s opening bell that evening. After the big event closes out the Linc on Sunday, we wrap up with what should hopefully be a big RAW next week.
See? Lots going on, and tonight cannot get much bigger. We have Roman Reigns and The Rock on RAW together, so you know that is must-see. Of course, we have not see Rock on WWE programming since his brutal beating of Cody Rhodes. I’d bet Adam Pearce will have his hands full keeping all parties separated this evening.
Outside of that, it’s all about the final hype. Any last minute adjustments…now is the time to make them. If any matches need a stipulation added…speak now or forever hold your peace. The Road to WrestleMania has finally reached the home stretch…there’s less than 100 miles to go. WWE’s biggest show of the year is just about here, so let’s get to our final RAW before the big one! Buckle up, the Bloodline are about to take over Brooklyn.
Best Match of the night:
Before it ended, I was a big fan of Sami and Bronson Reed. Ricochet and Ivar was well presented too.
But the honor here has to be the main event. Solo, Seth and all of the extracurricular activities. The Bloodline did their take over of Brooklyn and closed the show standing tall.
Worst match of the night:
I don’t know if I have any to put here. Brooklyn got a great show.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
The Brooklyn fans, as we expect, were on point.
Rocky
Cody
What
Yeet
Rocky sucks
Star of the Night
Less than a week away, this one goes to the Bloodline. Big open, bigger close. Of course, I feel like usually, those going over at the PLE have to take their lumps in the shows leading up. Meaning, you can’t let Seth and Cody get over too much on TV before ‘Mania. It makes the ‘Mania pay-off that much sweeter. Though I suspect Seth is losing on Sunday.
Spot of the Night:
I could have put this anywhere…but that suicide dive from Gargano was scary. Maybe it belonged in holy sh@3 or botch, because something definitely did not go as it should have. Looked like he landed more on his head, and more at the base of the announce table than he should have. The good news seemed to be he got back up and continued the match.
Jobber of the Night:
Those security guards that got thumped by Becky and Rhea.
Upset of the Night:
None?
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
Zayn was training…Zayn was hanging with Bronson Reed…Zayn got destroyed by Gunther. But Sami Zayn would not stay down.
I am telling you right now folks…if WWE does not have Sami run the Art Museum steps or pose with the Rocky statue….or hang with Rocky himself…it’s an opportunity missed. Because right now, he is being built up like Rocky, the ultimate underdog. Perhaps WWE sees Gunther as his Ivan Drago? Everything feels like this is pointing to a huge Zayn win…but will they do it?
And yea…that closing beating. Not as bad as the last one…but…the payoff Sunday is going to be epic.
Botch of the night:
Roman Reigns sometimes slips on the mic. He had a double tonight, as he couldn’t say crystal clear, and he also knew he was expecting to be interrupted. But…he stopped short, or someone hit the music too late for it. Either way…oops.
That was not a clean table spot in the main event either, when Sikoa drove Rollins. Couldn’t tell if the table wasn’t close enough, or if Solo just didn’t push off strong enough.
It also looked as though one of Seth or Roman tripped over the announce table cover that was on the ground during the closing brawl.
Commentary of the night:
“Speaking of testing the limits…spandex…on this man”. Pat McAfee, talking about Big Bronson Reed’s tights. It wasn’t the only good line by Pat, as he worked in Prince Puma during Ricochet’s match. Sure, he said something about “that puma is a prince”, but it was enough.
LOL Moment of the night:
OK, the WWE-Paris Olympics ad got me. I was like what the heck happened to my television (iPad with YouTubeTV, but whatever). I was scrambling looking for some language setting when the text hit. Duh.
Noteworthy Moment:
We learned on RAW that Roman Reigns will induct Heyman. Very interesting call, but not really a bad one. However, I do hope that Friday doesn’t give us more story line work versus a trip down memory lane. Last year’s induction was overshadowed by the Rey/Dom program. I reserve final judgement until after Friday, but right now I would have preferred someone slightly more disconnected. That said, we won’t get Lesnar, Triple H is too close, and some of the ECW guys don’t wow many mainstream fans (as much as Joey Styles could be an amazing choice to put Paul in).
Are we going to see Andrade join the Judgement Day? Or will Andrade side with Ricochet? Perhaps trying to have Andrade do his bidding will cause issues for Dom in the Judgement Day? The whole thing is…a bit forced at times, but I am going to see how it goes.
I think Michael Cole may have done a slip, or they wanted us to know…but Cole confirmed during the show that, for the 6 pack tag match, both sets of titles are going to be hanging. And the match will continue until both sets are down. If that doesn’t scream “tag titles are FINALLY being split” I don’t know what will.
Small point, but Seth was not going to the ring with anything overly effeminate. Not that I minded, whatever, to each their own…but…maybe he’s getting ready for a serious turn? The Bloodline can do that to someone…
Overall lowlights:
It was weird to have Seth challenge Rock and Roman only to have Solo step up. I say weird because we knew on Friday that Solo was coming to RAW to take care of Seth. Like…it was kind of an empty challenge, but the segment worked.
That segment with Legado coming into the Judgement Day “club house” was just…awkward. Curious where this goes, but it was definitely odd then and there.
Overall highlights:
Pretty much what you’d want from a go-home show. And as I’ve said before, both in the prior Nutshell and in the last few years…this show feels like the final push. With the HOF ceremony kind of rushing the show off on Friday, in a lot of ways RAW feels like the final push. This year felt no different.
Lots of Bloodline action, leaving the group standing dominant over all. But…will this weekend mark the true beginning of the end of the Bloodline?
Can Sami get it done? Will Rhea and Becky wait until Saturday (answer: nope)? We have another celebrity confirmed, with Lil’ Wayne saying as much backstage.
I am not going to say it was the best RAW ever…but it was a very satisfying go-home show. When I said the Bloodline take over Brookyln…well…I had no idea just how true that would be.
After the final bell:
I have to admit…I dubbed this one “The Bloodline take over Brooklyn” about an hour before the show hit the air. I knew we’d get all the key players…but beyond that…did not expect that.
The Saturday card has been announced. Which, for those paying attention, pretty much locks in Sunday’s too. There is little left to do but drive to Philadelphia and enjoy the WrestleMania festivities. Oh, and get ready for the biggest WrestleMania of all time.
