It’s Monday, so it’s time for this week’s RAW In A Nutshell. Are you ready, because it’s two weeks to Rumble time!
Yes, the Royal Rumble is two weeks away.
Time flies when we are having fun, right?
We’ve got a lot to do between now and then…so are you ready?
With just two weeks to go before the Rumble, it’s time for the fine tuning and final hype to kick in.
Sure, we already know the major matches. Heck, we’ve even learned of a good chunk of the Rumble entrants.
We only hope WWE is saving some good surprises for the actual event. They have to be, right?
Perhaps even some nightmarish ones? Maybe…but I am not holding my breath.
So, are you ready?
It’s two weeks to Rumble, so let’s dive in to this week’s….
RAW In A Nutshell: Are You Ready, It’s Two Weeks To Rumble!
Let’s crack open this Nutshell and see who is really ready!
Best Match of the night:
Tonight we had book ends.
Early out of the gates, we got Austin Theory versus Finn Balor, which was strong.
And then there was our main event, Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins.
Nice way to show off parts of the top two men’s singles matches for the Royal Rumble in two weeks.
Worst match of the night:
Omos and Reggie.
Might be one of the easier ones I’ve had to choose.
Omos just looks so forced. Like…someone who probably should be in NXT 2.0, on his own, getting experience.
Instead…he was thrust onto the main roster and we suffer.
Yes, he is big, and yes, he was a college basketball player…but let’s be blunt: if he was that exceptional an athlete, given his freak size…don’t you think a professional basketball team somewhere would have signed him?
Or even a football team, considering the number of hoops talent that transitioned to the gridiron?
He’s green, and he can’t even deliver a believable and intimidating finisher (he struggled to keep Reggie up, it just didn’t look great).
And, here’s the worst bit of all: with the Rumble in two weeks, does anyone reading this think Omos won’t be in the Rumble?
Or, that he won’t get to take out a bunch of Superstars, just because he’s big?
Star of the Night
I’ll take Lashley or Rollins here, I think.
Spot of the Night:
Rey tossing Dom over the top rope. Hey, every Mysterio for themselves in the Royal Rumble, right?
Or, Maryse clobbering Beth with the loaded pocket book maybe? Interesting response to Maryse being chicken the last couple weeks.
Jobber of the Night:
Reggie. Has to be Reggie, right?
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
OK, so it wasn’t that father against son turn we all figured will happen eventually.
But…
In hyping the Rumble, we got an 8 man tag. After the Street Profits and Mysterios won, things got predictable.
The Profits were heaved over the top rope by Dom and Rey, with both men telling Ford and Dawkins…”hey, no hard feelings”.
And then, just like that…Rey tossed Dom out.
Speechless.@reymysterio is #RoyalRumble READY and just gave @DomMysterio35 some tough love!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/pnDjRbQHDZ
— WWE (@WWE) January 18, 2022
Botch of the night:
Maybe not a botch, but there was a sloppy (I think) exchange between Robert Roode and Rey Mysterio during the 8 man match.
LOL Moment of the night:
A week after winning RAW tag team gold…Alpha Academy held a graduation ceremony.
Let’s just say…it did not go quite as planned.
But…it went well…if you wanted some RK-Bro revenge.
Noteworthy Moment:
Honestly it was predictably paint by numbers. Almost…too paint by numbers.
Random tag matches used as vehicles to set up Rumble conflict? Check.
Matches ending with people throwing opponents-or partners-over the top rope, reminding fans of the Rumble premise? Another check.
Nothing that I am complaining about…just formulaic.
Heck, even having Jimmy and Jey attack Seth wasn’t too shocking…even if the brand crossover feels more like something for Survivor Series.
Not sure exactly what the end game is relative to Lashley and his former Hurt Business buddies. Wonder if WWE is keeping that option open to spoil the ending of Lesnar-Lashley I?
Overall lowlights:
Omos. It needs to be said, but size is not everything.
Size in a pro wrestler can be a big deal, no pun intended…but that talent needs more than size.
Vince sees Omos as his next Andre the Giant…but the way things look now, Omos could be his next Giant Gonzalez.
Also, the 24/7 scene now…that belt has gone down, and that’s saying a lot.
Overall highlights:
Austin Theory continues to impress.
I enjoyed the RK-Bro/Alpha Academy segment. Pure Genius!
Really enjoyed Rollins and Lashley. Even with the added fun at the end.
After the final bell:
Well, are you ready? With two weeks to go before the Rumble…let’s hope so.
Next week means it’s go-time. Or rather, go-home time.
If it hasn’t been done by now, you’ve got one week left. And knowing WWE…I somehow think next week won’t do much more than this week did.