It’s a great RAW In A Nutshell this week, as we get to say welcome home, Paul Heyman!
OK, maybe it’s an odd theme for you? But, to be fair, I am a Philly kid through and through, and I spent my high school years going to see ECW shows.
Including at that famous arena at the corner of Swanson and Ritner.
Which is not too far from where RAW is coming at us from tonight…which is why I am saying welcome home, Paul Heyman!
OK, in fairness, Heyman is a New Yorker (which I am now too). None of this really matters, but I love reminiscing, so I did.
With that said, we are another RAW closer to the Royal Rumble, and there’s been a lot happening recently.
On SmackDown last week, the women’s Rumble got quite interesting. Could the same happen for the men, and could we even see something as soon as tonight?
What we know we will see tonight, is the determination of the RAW Women’s Championship #1 contender.
On top of that, RK-Bro defends their RAW Tag Team Championships against Alpha Academy.
So, aside from Paul Heyman (and Brock Lesnar) back in Philly….this RAW in a Nutshell is fixing to be quite busy.
Don’t believe me? Let’s get into it and see for yourself!
It’s time for…
Let’s go get us a Wiz wit and find out!
The men’s tag title match was good.
Austin Theory and AJ Styles was better…up until Grayson Waller got involved.
Then we have that women’s triple threat, which was the main event and deservedly so.
It was bad, but at least Omos didn’t have to do much and thus didn’t look super green?
I mean, a squash match for him is what he should be doing…but I am just not seeing his long term viability yet.
Outside of size…we shall see.
Brock did well, as did Lashley.
Rollins did too, even if he’s setting up a match for the other brand. But…no love for Gritty?!
And then there is Doudrop.
Figured Liv would get another shot, but I am certainly intrigued by this move.
Wonder if it’s a way to get Becky back to face…because otherwise it’s heel versus heel…which isn’t too much fun.
Nothing jumped out at me.
We’ve got a few options.
The Hurt Business…they expected they were back together. Lashley said no, so Cedric and Shelton attacked him after his encounter with Lesnar.
They earned jobber status because they took Bobby’s anger, not Brock.
I get the feeling WWE will make us wait until the Rumble for these two to get physical again. Makes sense…wait as long as possible.
Also, Nick Sanders, the poor chump who was fed to Omos.
Or, even Reggie, who ran into an angry Omos backstage.
Now, I figured Alpha Academy was destined for a title win.
I figured it would be at the Rumble. That was incorrect, as we saw a title change tonight.
Now, I think we all knew that Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H had a shelf life.
And tonight, in the ring, we basically saw their break up.
Honestly, I think most of us expected it to be Ripley doing the beat-down. It would make sense.
However, after Nikki came off being very co-dependent…she slugged Ripley.
Now, as much as I am enjoying face Brock Lesnar…there is a reason Heyman was his mouthpiece for so long.
Well, many.
One of them? Even now, after decades in and out of WWE and UFC…sometimes he flounders on the mic.
Was he terrible tonight? No…it worked.
But there were some stumbles during his interaction with Bobby Lashley.
Doesn’t make me want to see it any less…just is what it is.
Brock Lesnar told a knock knock joke.
On top of Lashley calling him a comedian. And, he was pretty funny.
Honestly…I am enjoying babyface Brock.
Alexa Bliss is back, and once again WWE is going with a therapist angle.
Not sure how I feel about that, but it could be interesting.
If it gets us back to the old Alexa, I am all for it…
Reggie and Dana Brooke used their cheese steaks as weapons.
You do not waste a cheese steak!
Saying it once again…really enjoying babyface Brock.
Yes, I know he can turn on a dime, and probably will…but I am enjoying it for now.
It was an interesting RAW…which felt heavier on segments than it did on the wrestling. Or was that just me?
Like, sure we had matches…but I feel like this week was a lot more on talking and building things up, and those segments overshadowed the matches we did have.
On the upside, the focus was on getting things set up, for the Rumble and beyond.
So, in that sense…I am OK with that.
Food for thought: NXT got blown up because it was doing well, better than the main roster at times (in theory).
So, in doing the 2.0 reboot, you’d think they’d want to keep it more developmental right? Like, keep it away from the main roster.
And yet, we have a then-tag champ Riddle going down to help out…and we’ve got Styles and Waller running a show and brand spanning feud.
Just feels like mixed signals or something…but it is at least entertaining.
But, not a terrible RAW in a Nutshell, especially a nutshell saying welcome home, Paul Heyman.
I will say though, outside of that opening segment, it would have been nice to see more of that group…but it leaves us wanting.
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