Well, let’s kick off another week as we always do…with RAW In A Nutshell! This week, are we back to essential business?
That’s more a rhetorical question. WWE resumed live matches with RAW this week, and it was allowed to after Orange County, somehow or other, determined that WWE was an essential business.
We can dive into that one a bit later on…but it’s otherwise going to be interesting getting back to live wrestling. We’ve had recorded matches and replays of other bouts for the last month or so.
We’ve been promised appearances by both of RAW’s top champions. That would be Drew McIntyre and Becky Lynch, for those keeping score at home.
On top of that, there is still the impending Money In The Bank PPV. We can expect some build to start for that, too.
So without any further idle chit chat, lets crack open this RAW In A Nutshell, and get back to essential business!
Best Match of the night:
I can’t decide between Asuka versus Ruby Riott, or Drew McIntyre versus Andrade. I am inclined to give this to the women, if only because they got more run time.
Worst match of the night:
Wasn’t a fan of Lashley and No Way Jose…though I get this is all building toward a Lashley and Lana split.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
LOL no crowd.
Star of the Night
I have to give a nod to Drew and Becky here. Not for ring work, mind you. They did great with promos to no one. For that matter, Charlotte was very good too.
Spot of the Night:
That stomp by Shayna on Sarah Logan sure looked gruesome enough. Yikes.
Jobber of the Night:
We have a few choices here.
I could go Oney Lorcan…but I like Oney.
How about No Way Jose? Or Tehuti Miles? Or even Kairi Sane?
Any of those three are likely applicable.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
MVP gets himself in a MITB qualifying match? Why?
Baszler sure made it look like she snapped Logan’s arm…
Seth Rollins has Drew McIntyre in his sites. Interesting to note that Angel Garza attacked Drew before Seth did…are we seeing a merger coming, or was that just a one-off?
Botch of the night:
The Viking Raiders had some sloppy spots. Sure looked like ring rust.
I’d also go so far as to say WWE is botching things if they flip that pair to the heel side of things. But, they botched things with their name change too, and we’ve seen them try the team as heels at least once already…
Commentary of the night:
I am just going to leave this right here…
So last week Jerry Lawler says the Street Profits (who are black) have Kool-Aid in their red Solo cups.
This week he calls a Japanese wrestlers move the “Ramen noodle Moonsault.”
We’re not okay with this right, @WWE?
Dude has got to go. #WWERAW
— Branden Hamilton (@HEELBuddy) April 14, 2020
But…chasing it with this…
Today’s sensative climate couldn’t have survived 1995 Jerry Lawler on commentary pic.twitter.com/MVXlQPhyox
— Kyle Davis (@KyIeDavis) April 14, 2020
Noteworthy Moment:
Well, somehow or other, WWE was deemed essential business, so going back to live shows was allowed.
My thoughts on this:
1-I know people will say there were bribes, kickbacks etc to influence Florida’s decision. The optics don’t look great, but I hope that isn’t how and why this was allowed to happen.
2-I think, especially since the move happened so close to at least one WWE employee/contractor having a confirmed positive test, that WWE should have waited a week (at least, if at all). If the contractual issues and concerns are true, I’d have to hope that the broadcast partners would have had the decency to relax the terms for a very unique 2020.
3-I can actually understand, in an odd way, how you could consider something like WWE pseudo-essential. No, it is not life-saving…but it is entertainment.
In the Spring of 2020, we have basically no live sports. WrestleMania was recorded, but most all fans were happy and grateful…because it provided entertainment and a distraction we needed.
RAW, SmackDown and NXT are similar distractions, in a time when we could use something else other than more Joe Exotic, or the latest virus briefings.
Mind you, it isn’t a hill I would die on, but I think those who enjoy wrestling may welcome the distractions. I just hope WWE does not jeopardize anyone’s health to run live shows.
Overall lowlights:
Lack of crowd still sucks.
I get why people and even possibly some Superstars aren’t happy about working live shows. I think if the talent does not want to work because of concerns, they should have that ability to do so, without fear of repurcussions.
I mean, we all know Vince can hold grudges…so I don’t blame Superstars for being concerned.
Overall highlights:
Having no more replays, just a night of live matches, was a thing of beauty. And, we actually got some strong matches too.
After the final bell:
If WWE can continue to put out good content, minus the crowds, then things could be trending up.
No matter what though, I hope they are being extremely safe, rather than extremely stupid.
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