RAW In A Nutshell: Red Brand Knows The Way To San Jose

It’s another RAW In A Nutshell, and now we know that the red brand knows the way to San Jose.

I mean, it wasn’t really in doubt, not in 2022, but it’s true.

Of course, if somehow you missed the joke, the red brand is in San Jose this week for RAW.

Yes, Bayley’s home town. And, interestingly enough, Damage Control has a celebration booked for this week.

Could we finally see some old friends return?

Let’s be honest…that question is going to be asked…that thought will be thought…until they do return.

That same thought holds for The Fiend, and anyone else fans hope to see again.

But, enough on that. With the red brand in San Jose, we have a few items front and center.

First, continuing to hype and build toward Extreme Rules.

Second, we are also now seeing the hype start for…Crown Jewel. Love it or hate it, that deal continues.

But, San Jose should give us a good show from the red brand, so let’s get into it.

It’s time for…

RAW In A Nutshell: Red Brand Knows The Way To San Jose

Let’s crack open this Nutshell and find out!

Best Match of the night:

I have to say, without ranking it…opening the show with Rollins and Bobby Lashley was bold and strong.

Really good match, and having Riddle pop up at the end to taint the finish was both predictable and smart booking.

Protects Rollins and sets up the re-match, when we get it (more on that later).

Bayley and Alexa was pretty good too, but also another not so clean ending (as expected).

It led to Bayley officially challenging Bianca Belair for the RAW Women’s Championship at Extreme Rules.

Worst match of the night:

I have no complaints.

Star of the Night

Tonight, I feel like this was a tough call. I’d consider this a very balanced show.

That said, I really am enjoying the work Kevin Owens has been doing.

Spot of the Night:

Not a wrestling move, but I did love seeing Dexter cut the hole in the mat.

Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:

I think we all expected Dexter Lumis to cut through the ring. Except, we probably all expected it a couple weeks back, when Miz was in the cage match.

Better late than never.

Botch of the night:

Was this a botch…or a tease…

LOL Moment of the night:

The reactions by both Miz and Ciampa were solid.

That Lumis can keep a straight face is just impressive.

Noteworthy Moment:

Now that the main roster is getting War Games…Riddle me this…tell me Judgement Day and some combo of Rey, Edge, Matt and perhaps AJ Styles…couldn’t be an interesting option?

Or would Styles join the group instead?

I am sure we will hear more wanting something involving the Bloodline…and it would work too, surely.

Will be fun to see how that turns out, either way.

We see the beauty of long term storytelling, as Riddle and Rollins unfolded over most of the show.

The payoff? Riddle finally got his rematch.

At Extreme Rules, with Riddle bringing back the NXT Fight Pit.

Overall lowlights:

Mine here is a cheap one, because I was pretty happy with the show.

No Fiend, no Sasha, no Naomi.

See…told you it was cheap.

OK, and another? As an Eagle fan, I had to work two screens tonight…rough life.

Overall highlights:

If we can’t have a DIY reunion…I think Gargano and Owens is a very good option B.

Really solid show. I know why Bayley was in the main event (home town, sets up a big title match at Extreme Rules), but from a match perspective, it could have been the United States title bout too.

But, it all worked. We had stories woven into the whole show, things connected, it worked.

After the final bell:

I know we were told the RAW numbers took a hit last week, with the return of football.

It was back again this week (that’s sort of how it works), and in my opinion, some better games.

So, it will be interesting to see how things go, but we did get a strong RAW and that is all we can ask for.