WELCOME BACK RANDY ORTON
Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

We kick off another week with a fine RAW In A Nutshell, and now it’s time to welcome back Randy Orton!

Yes, after a nearly two month absence, it’s time to welcome back Randy Orton.

Will we find out where the Viper was? Or, will it even matter?

Ahead of RAW, it was noted that Randy Orton would open the show. Always surprised they don’t save some surprises, but it will be nice to welcome him back, regardless.

Along with time to welcome back Randy Orton, what else is there on this RAW In A Nutshell?

Well, we’ve got less than two weeks to go until SummerSlam…so it’s a safe bet we’ve got plenty of hype to go.

Lashley and Goldberg? Most likely.

Nikki A.S.H and her two challengers? Of course!

Another round of NXT cuts mid-main roster show? Too soon?

It’s fixing to be a busy RAW, considering we’ve got less than six hours of red brand programming left until Vegas.

That is, provided the show still happens live in Sin City. But that is WWE’s future issue.

For now, it’s time for…

RAW In A Nutshell: It’s Time To Welcome Back Randy Orton

Let’s crack open this Nutshell and get into it!

Best Match of the night:

One of those nights that, basically by default, the main event gets it.

raw in a nutshell

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

Was nice to see Orton back, and AJ is generally reliably good.

raw

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

Now, it didn’t exactly set up a SummerSlam match…yet.

I mean, Randy and Riddle hugged it out. And then Orton dropped Riddle with an RKO.

However, I can see this playing out like Riddle was happy to take it, just to be back in RK-Bro.

Worst match of the night:

T-Bar versus Mustafa Ali.

WWE would do both T-Bar and Mace a favor if they got them off television, removed the crappy gimmick and rebooted them.

And, Ali has not been the same hot Superstar since he got injured and opened the door for Kofi-Mania.

Though…I could possibly truly get into a pushed team of Mansoor and Ali…

wwe raw

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

Crowd Chants of the Night:

Randy

RKO

Star of the Night

Orton. Sort of playing both sides of the spectrum.

raw in a nutshell

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

Part of me wants him all in one side or the other. However, ‘tweener isn’t bad.

Spot of the Night:

RKO on Styles?

Or the RKO on Riddle?

randy orton

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

Jobber of the Night:

Not the usual jobber…but Riddle did take quite the abuse, from Omos twice and then from Orton.

Upset of the Night:

None.

Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:

I guess half to the brief hugging-it-out RK-Bro reunion, and then to the RKO on Riddle?

randy orton

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

Botch of the night:

Mace and Mansoor had an awkward exchange.

During a move, Mace was either supposed to go clean over the top rope, or go more cleanly over the rope and land on the apron.

Neither happened. Unclear if it’s on Mace or Mansoor or perhaps both…

LOL Moment of the night:

R-Truth and Tozawa, costing each other the 24/7 belt.

Hear me out though…would an actual serious tag team of Truth and Tozawa be interesting?

nutshell

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

Just me?

I mean. Truth has skills…and Tozawa does too…

But…WWE treats most tag teams, and by extension, tag team wrestling…badly.

Noteworthy Moment:

Hey, guess what…the NXT Champ gets his revenge!

Well, after Elias got taken out by Jaxson Ryker…we got a vignette of Elias tossing his guitar into a campfire.

He left us with this message: “WWE stood for Walks With Elias. Elias is dead”.

wwe raw

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

Will be curious to see if they are truly repackaging Elias. Or if he’s just getting a farewell vignette before he gets future endeavored.

Food for thought…with stuff like this:

How long before they bring back Heath Slater? Seems like there’s some commonality there…

Overall lowlights:

I was into Nikki Cross from her NXT run. The superhero thing has me like, luke warm.

Giving her the MITB win and subsequent title run was a nice touch…but nothing about Cross, Flair or Ripley is all that exciting.

wwe raw nutshell

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

Like…the RAW Women’s Title match at SummerSlam might be the one title match I am not interested in. Unless it is how we get Becky back…but I am not optimistic.

Also…was not loving MVP and Lashley on the mic. Yes, a heel needs to be hated.

wwe raw summerslam

Source: custom, WWE Twitter Screenshot

This wasn’t that. It was more disinterest.

Part of that is on the lack of interest in Goldberg-Lashley. This would be perhaps my 2nd title match of little interest.

My one hope? Whoever wins, Big E cashes in on them and we get a new champ.

Overall highlights:

Orton is back, and it’s going to be interesting to see where this goes.

Logic says we see RK-Bro still together and functioning, while getting a title shot at SummerSlam.

I’d be up for that, even if I think WWE should let true tag teams hold the belts more often (like the Viking Raiders or Street Profits, as a general idea)

After the final bell:

Not the best RAW, so the accompanying RAW In A Nutshell suffers for it.

Not the worst either…but as far as things go…I’d dare say this was mostly a forgettable show?

Orton being back is cool.

Omos continues to be built up like a monster, so I feel like that is something to watch long term.

Otherwise, the go-home show is next week. SummerSlam is less than two weeks away, and next week’s RAW In A Nutshell should be loaded.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: