It’s time for a whole new Red Brand day 1 edition, and thus, our weekly RAW In A Nutshell.
The draft has concluded. Backlash has too, and with the fun in Puerto Rico just a sweet memory, the draft-determined rosters kick in beginning tonight.
Which gives us the framing of tonight : New Red Brand day 1.
After all, it is a new day, the first day, of a revamped roster for RAW.
How will day 1 go? That remains to be seen, but there is a lot happening.
For starters, if you missed it, there’s a little world heavyweight title tournament beginning tonight.
That tournament culminates at Night of Champions. Which, oh by the way…is just a few weeks out.
It’s a rapid turnaround between premium live events, and that Saudi Arabia show needs a whole lot of matches.
So, for the all new Red Brand on day 1, there is a lot to be done, so let’s dive into…
New Red Brand Day 1 : RAW In A Nutshell
Let’s crack open this Nutshell and see how things go!
Best Match of the night:
Can I pick all three of the WHC tournament matches?
Being fair, the Rollins-Nakamura-Priest match was the better of the two 1st round bouts.
Rollins and Balor in the main event was top notch, especially considering that they teased back to the bout for the 1st Universal Championship.
Worst match of the night:
I think I am going Otis and Mustafa Ali here.
Star of the Night
He won two matches to get this one, which of course means…Seth Rollins.
Heading to Jeddah to claim the World Heavyweight Championship.
Spot of the Night:
The F-5s on Cody would be one way to go.
Becky decking Trish would be another.
This has to be the ultimate though. I mean…talk about long-term storytelling…
Jobber of the Night:
Otis losing to Mustafa Ali feels like Otis did a wee bit of a job.
Imperium being used to get Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn back to winning does too.
Personal opinion, but I’d love to see Imperium take the belts off of the current champions.
Also might as well add Nikki Cross here. No way Zoey Stark was losing her debut.
Upset of the Night:
Also kind of Ali over Otis.
But…Lesnar is upset. More on that in a minute.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
Sort of obvious, and it was spoiled moments before the opening bell….but…
Brock Lesnar was on RAW.
Lesnar made sure that Cody Rhodes had no shot at the new title, taking him out of his first round match.
Backlash Expected Big Squash?
The Beast, after destroying Rhodes once again, challenged the American Nightmare to a match in Jeddah.
This one is both frustrating and logical. Lesnar-Rhodes 2 will be strong and high profile.
It means Rhodes continues to chase Reigns, albeit from a different brand for now, while Rollins (probably) gets a shot to be the 1st new World Heavyweight Champion.
And, Becky Lynch is back after some time off. We had a fake entrance, then the real one, and I presume this sets Trish up for that sweet Saudi payday.
Botch of the night:
Miz is usually pretty good on his lines, but backstage before his match, he wasn’t.
This isn’t a botched spot, but more a botched opportunity.
Why did WWE only use the Becky “Missing” posters tonight? Should have had them for the last couple shows, with or without Trish.
LOL Moment of the night:
Xavier Woods and Tozawa talking smack on Dom and Rhea…and then Tozawa bailed.
Noteworthy Moment:
During the family reunion of The Way (minus Austin Theory), Johnny said “he’s coming back soon.
There wasn’t really any context, but I can’t help but wonder if he’s referring to this man…who wasn’t in The Way…but was a big part of Gargano’s NXT world.
Overall lowlights:
The one knock I’d have on tonight’s show is…well…not a ton of time for most of the truly new-to-the-main-roster folks.
I mean, they got some time, sure, but at the same time, it was a tough spot. Lots of new faces, coming in on a new red brand night 1.
That WHC tournament dominated, and for good reason.
Overall highlights:
Lots of hits for “new red brand night 1”.
The WHC tournament’s first three matches were excellent. Even if Seth Rollins getting into the finals was somewhat predictable, the matches were great.
Fans might gripe with how Cody missed this one, but if he has to bide his time for another shot at Roman, working a big program against Brock Lesnar isn’t a bad thing.
After the final bell:
Plenty happened on Monday, with a lot more happening on SmackDown this Friday.
The title tournament is in full swing, and it’s off to a good start.
We got a glimpse of the newest members of the RAW roster, some of whom were just teasers still.
If tonight is any indication, I think this current iteration of the red brand is going to be a good one.
