Looking Ahead To Clash

It’s the RAW after Payback, and like any good RAW, it gets it’s RAW In A Nutshell. This time around, we are looking ahead to Clash of Champions.

Yes, another PPV already.

Don’t worry folks, as August is now behind us, we get at least a little time to breathe before Clash of Champions.

Now, you could say that Payback was a bit quiet on the RAW side of the house. We do have a new United States Champion, however.

Also, there are new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, so expect Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax to show off their new hardware.

We can, of course, expect some follow up to the debut of Keith Lee. Also perhaps an update to Drew McIntyre, and how his “health” will impact his Clash status.

And, as has become a running question…what about Retribution? The mystery group has been conspicuously low key in the most recent couple events.

Will that change on RAW? Will things finally escalate to a point where we know some actual names?

Either way, we are looking forward to Clash of Champions!

Looking Ahead To Clash

Let’s crack open this Nutshell and see what unfolds!

Best Match of the night:

The main event was good, so it does deserve a nod.

Still, for me the best match goes to Dominik and Seth Rollins. Far better than you’d think it would be, so Seth Rollins gets a ton of credit here.

Worst match of the night:

Owens versus Orton.

This match could have been interesting, but instead it gave Orton an easy win and furthered the Owens-Black story line.

No issues with the furthering of the program…just would have rather something different. Perhaps a pre-match attack by Black on Owens, and then WWE inserts someone different in to give a new face some opportunity.

Star of the Night

The big nod goes to Randy Orton, who punched his ticket to Clash of Champions. He gets another shot at McIntyre’s title.

Spot of the Night:

Simple enough, but check out the spirit bomb Keith Lee hit on Seth Rollins, and then the selling of that bump that Rollins did. Impressive.

Jobber of the Night:

Another non-traditional one…but the jobs tonight were done by Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins.

Owens because he got attacked by Aleister Black, then quickly lost to Randy Orton.

Rollins for selling the crap out of the spirit bomb, then taking the decisive pin.

Upset of the Night:

Nothing of note…but I am sure some were really rooting for Dominik.

Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:

If you needed any proof that WWE (read: Vince) was high on Dominik Mysterio…this week should leave no doubts.

Granted, he did not win…but he was in a great match (again) with Seth Rollins, and it was with getting him in the World Championship conversation…if only briefly.

Botch of the night:

OK, not a botch like you’d expect…but WWE expects us to suspend our logic with Retribution too much.

One week, they have the equivalent of a baseball team in terms of numbers. Then they don’t, and then they do again.

One week, we’ve got the locker room coming out and at least working to keep the numbers even. Then we go weeks without a measured response.

And no one EVER seems to go for the masks. Even though as they attack, every member is constantly fidgeting with their masks.

This week, Adam Pearce directed the rent-a-cops to keep Retribution out, or they would be fired. Predictably, they failed.

Things have gone on long enough to where the locker room should be able to rise and respond…or someone from Retribution would unmask and speak.

We are approaching a point where the reveal has to be exceedingly shocking, otherwise this is just going to flop. Like, Hogan-in-the-nWo shocking.

LOL Moment of the night:

R-Truth, taking the 24/7 Title off Tozawa in the parking garage. Just like that, Truth is the champ for like the 157th time.

Noteworthy Moment:

Well, the IIconics are no more. There was a match pitting them against the newly re-formed Riott Squad, with the losing team breaking up.

Kaye and Royce lost, and now are no longer a tag team. The split had been teased, but at the same time, WWE does lack depth in the women’s tag division so the breakup is curious.

Overall lowlights:

The “camera work” with Retribution (and now, to a lesser extent, RAW Underground) sucks. There is no point to it.

First time? Sure.

Every time? No. It’s bad, its annoying, and it’s just one more thing to dislike about the segments.

Overall highlights:

Having Orton face McIntyre again at Clash of Champions makes sense and was kind of predictable, but how we got there was not terrible.

Does it make you look forward to the Clash? Not that alone, but it’s at least a solid start.

My one knock on things would be that both Keith Lee and Dominik found themselves in choice opportunities, while neither has been on RAW all that long.

That isn’t to say they didn’t deserve chances…more that there are other Superstars on the roster who probably should have gotten some consideration.

After the final bell:

The biggest story was the setting of the #1 contender for Clash of Champions. That honor was claimed by Randy Orton, even though WWE is still selling that McIntyre might not make it.

Beyond that, we had a bit more from Retribution. The one woman at the end really made it obvious to see it was Mia Yim (at least, the look, attire and mannerisms all match).

That said, the angle is dragging (at least in my own opinion). I hope we see things escalate and provide some clarity soon.

Still, this show was all about looking forward to the Clash, so it was mission accomplished.

Or was it?

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