RAW In A Nutshell: Will Randy Orton Rage On?

We kick off a fresh week with a fresh RAW In A Nutshell. This week’s RAW In A Nutshell asks a very important question. In light of recent events, will Randy Orton rage on? Who might The Viper target this week, assuming Matt Hardy doesn’t keep him content? Outside of the violence being inflicted by The Viper, there’s much more to concern ourselves with this week. Super ShowDown is less than two weeks away, so expect some final hype. Beyond that, Elimination Chamber  is not too far off either. WrestleMania is looming as well. Will we hear from Charlotte Flair, just a day after she showed up at TakeOver? Will we get any follow-up on Shayna Baszler’s vampiric attack on the RAW Women’s Champion last week? There is a lot to unpack, so let’s crack open this week’s RAW In A Nutshell!

Best Match of the night:

Some good effort in a few matches.

I’d give a nod to the opening segment. Not a match, I grant you that…but Orton and Hardy did what was needed.

Aleister Black and Erick Rowan finally got some upgraded competition-each other.

The main event was at times chaotic, but eventful. This one gets my nod here. I have to think that, with the babyfaces now having a theoretical numbers advantage, that Rollins and crew should get some help next week.

Worst match of the night:

I wasn’t overly thrilled with Natalya and Kairi Sane. However, I’d say MVP and Drew McIntyre was less interesting. I mean, even the 24/7 Championship match was better than that one!

Star of the Night

In spite of this one dragging out several minutes longer than it should have, I go with Randy Orton and Matt Hardy. It was an effective, if drawn out, segment. After that wrapped, we can say that Randy Orton rages on.

Spot of the Night:

Check out the height that Ford gets. Crazy.

Jobber of the Night:

That would be MVP.

Botch of the Night:

A lot of times, I don’t even bother…but as a fan posted this to social media, it was just too good to ignore. Question is, will WWE do anything to avoid fan sentiment like that.

Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:

Have to give this one to the Orton-Hardy angle. Opened the show, but just a powerful segment. Some might say it ran too long-I’d say it could have been done with a bit less time. But it worked. Orton is a master of the slow and methodical, and that entire segment called for slow and methodical.

If Hardy really is just days or weeks from his company exit, he’s going along with this in a way you wouldn’t probably expect from someone who may not be here in a month. Of course, after a story line beating like that? It’s a great way to write someone off television for a long time, isn’t it?

Though, there is this nice summary of that segment too..

LOL Moment of the night:

Hard not to laugh at Montez Ford’s doings, as the show was going off air. Dude is just standing there, shaking the ropes a la the Ultimate Warrior. Had a grin ear to ear, you could tell he was enjoying the moment. Not LOL bad. Like, LOL just made me chuckle in a great way.

Noteworthy Moment:

AJ Styles was back on RAW. Given the recent rumors and rumblings about who Styles will face at WrestleMania, the promo laid the ground. Calling himself the new Mr. WrestleMania? Talking about how phenomenal he is? Saying he’s better than some legends, and explicitly naming The Undertaker among them?

Consider that the foundation of how we ultimately arrive at Styles-Undertaker.

Overall lowlights:

I am on the fence about this myself…maybe because in my head, Seth is more of a mockery of a televangelist. That said, I know folks out there aren’t happy with the Monday Night Messiah gimmick. I get it, and I don’t blame them for that. Perhaps this week with the “sermon” is starting to take things a bit too far.

Overall highlights:

STREET PROFITS TO THE RESCUE!#Raw @AngeloDawkins @MontezFordWWE pic.twitter.com/5UhJMsx6R1

— WWE (@WWE) February 18, 2020

After the final bell:

Not the worst RAW. Not the best either. I think if anything, the struggle here is, this show is trying to promote too much. It is hyping for Super ShowDown a week from Thursday. We’ve obviously got the WrestleMania hype train to watch too. Add to that, we now have some news pertaining to Elimination Chamber, and it makes things feel almost a bit bloated. In another couple shows, that will all be sorted out.

All in all, a good show, but that’s about it.