Monday night was a big night for RAW, or at least that’s what we were being promised. For RAW, we were getting a special appearance from none other than Vince McMahon. The Boss was no doubt showing up to address the plummeting ratings and how we might see things change on the red brand (and presumably the blue brand too, but that’s tomorrow evening). In addition to the rare TV appearance, we are set to get all the fall out from Sunday’s TLC PPV. RAW no longer has an acting GM, with Baron Corbin losing his post. There’s a new Intercontinental Champion in Dean Ambrose. And of course, the RAW Women’s Champion had an eventful evening too. But it’s all about the McMahon family shakeup, really, so let’s crack open this Nutshell and find out!
Best Match of the night:
Well, they said they’d shake things up, and I dare say they delivered. We got a main event that consumed basically the entire final hour. An eight woman gauntlet match to determine the new number one contender to Ronda Rousey’s title. The winner gets a shot at Ronda on next week’s (taped) show. And our winner was Natalya.
Worst match of the night:
I could complain about the opening bout since it was basically a clone of the TLC match, minus two men…but even then, it was enjoyable. I’d say none deserved this spot.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
Shane O Mac
No
Yes
You suck
Star of the Night
Lots to choose from tonight-Natalya for earning a shot at Rousey. Revival for earning a title shot. Tyler Breeze getting a shot to have a nice match on the show. Flip a coin, any are worthy.
Spot of the Night:
I could go with Elias tuning up Bobby Lashley here. I think I will.
Jobber of the Night:
Dean Ambrose’s three security guys have to get a nod.
However, I think for the second night in a row, Baron Corbin did win something-this spot, not an actual match.
Upset of the Night:
From a match perspective, none. But Baron Corbin sure was upset tonight!
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
OK, honest question: how many readers expected one of Ambrose’s goons to eventually become Seth Rollins in disguise? Or, if not Seth, someone else? I expected it would eventually happen. I thought tonight when the four lingered around the ring, something might come of it. But I was definitely surprised they did it so soon, having Rollins attack Ambrose after Dean’s open challenge victory over Tyler Breeze.
Botch of the night:
I didn’t spot anything of note.
Commentary of the night:
Not going to list lines…but for an entirely different reason than usual. Tonight we actually had good zingers, so someone was doing a better job somewhere. Corey had a bunch of good one liners, and both Cole and Renee had good lines too. Was pleasing to hear.
Noteworthy Moment:
So, the big thing everyone came into RAW looking forward to was Vince McMahon being on TV. We wanted to see what he would say. And, while Vince had stuff to say, he did not come alone when delivering the message. It was the whole family, basically-Stephanie, Shane and Vince, along with son-in-law Triple H.
The announcement was, honestly, sort of anti-climactic. The family said they’d be running things together, for both shows. Which, in a sense, they really already had been doing, with someone behind the scenes basically all the time. The attitude was different, however. Actually felt as though they were removing themselves from programs and being characters, and instead would be focusing on running things and getting a great product out to the fans. The Hunter we got tonight was much more in line with the Hunter that NXT fans know and love-in other words, not a heel.
One thing they promised was new faces and new Superstars. Now, while some of us will clamor for The Elite or a similar big move, there are of course talents working in NXT who can help the main roster too-and some will be coming up soon. In addition to Lars Sullivan, it appears as though Heavy Machinery, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans and EC3 will be joining the main roster soon. Surprised to not see Aleister Black or Velveteen Dream on the list, but it’s plausible those names are being saved for a Rumble spot or the post-‘Mania debut.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens both got promos run, hyping that they are both due back soon.
The Revival are finally getting a shot at the tag belts. That duo facing Roode and Gable should be fun to watch.
Overall lowlights:
Not so sure I should call it a lowlight, but more of a bummer. That being said, it was a bummer we didn’t see anyone new on RAW tonight as part of the shakeup. It was a bummer there was not any bigger announcement, such as a draft or Superstar shakeup or trades or anything. It was more talk than substance for now, but fans in attendance liked what they heard.
Overall highlights:
It definitely felt like a better RAW than the last several weeks. I think the best thing was that, while the McMahon family had an opening segment presence, they weren’t really on camera beyond that. If they are aiming to run things, but not be characters on the show otherwise, then they were off to a good start.
Congrats to The Revival and to Natalya for earning title shots.
After the final bell:
Hard to really evaluate things off of one 3 hour show, but it was a better show so that’s a plus. If this is a sign of what we can expect heading into 2019, then maybe the ship can be righted. They promised new names and Superstars, which is good-but I hope they have other names beyond the latest NXT graduates.
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