RAW In A Nutshell: Get Ready For A Hollywood Hangover

It’s a big RAW In A Nutshell, and I can’t help but say…get ready for a Hollywood hangover.

As in…WrestleMania kicked our butts and gave us a long and crazy weekend…so a Hollywood hangover just seems inevitable.

Yes, WrestleMania was this past weekend. There were some great moments, and some less than great ones.

On top of that, as if WrestleMania wasn’t wow enough? WWE has been sold, so we get to see what that means to how things happen.

Beyond that? I can get ready for a Hollywood hangover, but I am craving the usual RAW after ‘Mania fun.

So often on these shows, we get surprises. Debuts, returns and more…what is in store for us now?

There’s been plenty of chatter, about the former Long Island Iced Z to Switchblade Jay White. Or, perhaps we see The Viper?

Or, will we see no one at all?

Lots of questions awaiting answers, so it is time to get into it.

Lets get into…

RAW In A Nutshell: Get Ready For A Hollywood Hangover

It’s time to crack open this Nutshell!

Best Match of the night:

Well…I just don’t know.

I went through the whole show figuring it would be the main event…and then this is what happened…

Can @CodyRhodes trust ANYBODY?!?!?#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/0lHIcSrAmJ

— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2023

So…nothing? Maybe?

I figured if Lesnar turned on Cody, maybe we’d get someone running in to prevent the assault…but what an assault.

And no one saves him.

Worst match of the night:

I mean, it wasn’t really a match…but on a night where WWE cut matches (mostly women’s), why did we need Rollins coming out, having a sing-along, and leaving?

Yes, he’s over and fans love that…but there was no speaking, no setting up a Backlash match…just…singing.

Wasted time.

Omos versus Elias counts too.

Star of the Night

I mean, I just have to mention Stu…

STU APPRECIATION TWEET#RawAfterMania pic.twitter.com/zQYwzPQsX5

— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2023

Spot of the Night:

WHAT DID WE JUST WITNESS?!@sanbenito just got chokeslammed through the #WWERaw announce table on #RawAfterMania! ??? pic.twitter.com/ala7TYu36c

— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2023

Jobber of the Night:

Elias. Poor, poor Elias…

Or Miz. Miz works too.

Then again…can’t forget Ali. I mean, Bobby was angry, and I don’t blame him one bit.

Upset of the Night:

Fans…plenty of fans…for what should have been the biggest RAW of the year, felt like it was a plain RAW weeks away from any significant show.

The WWE Universe watching Brock Lesnar take Cody Rhodes out #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/QnrNHdRXlp

— Spartaprime (@Spartaprime) April 4, 2023

Rhodes, perhaps, for having a worse night tonight than the night before.

Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:

When I saw news ahead of RAW that Cody was getting a mystery partner, I figured maybe Cardona, maybe Jay White.

Then, when Heyman dropped that stipulation, I figured…I can’t think that fast.

Who is @CodyRhodes‘ tag team partner TONIGHT on #RawAfterMania?!

It’s @BrockLesnar!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/3GsTMeKday

— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2023

Just when you figured Brock worked first on Sunday to get home to the ranch before the main event, he shows up.

And just when you thought he’d have some fun beating on Roman…he takes out his partner before the match even starts.

Botch of the night:

Having Omos squash Elias during the commercial free hour was questionable.

Or, using the first quarter hour to have Hunter thank everyone and explain that WWE was going nowhere (his words, not mine).

Not to mention all of the highlight packages. Just seems like a questionable use of time.

LOL Moment of the night:

Hunter reassuring us before getting a largely…milquetoast…RAW.

I am old enough to remember when the post-‘Mania RAWs were the best RAWs of the year.

We couldn’t dare step away from the show, out of fear we’d miss some surprise or another.

Silly me hoping we’d see a few tonight, like, one or two an hour, in each hour.

Noteworthy Moment:

Since he was announced as hosting Backlash, you knew Bad Bunny was going to be a fixture.

Then he intervened in Rey’s match against Dom on Saturday, and the path was clear.

Now, it looks like Bad Bunny and Rey against Dom and Damien Priest happens at Backlash.

It took 2 and a half hours, but we got a surprise. Matt Riddle is back, with trunks smaller than ever.

Poor Miz is jobbing all over. No offense to Riddle though…but he wasn’t a surprise most of us were hoping for.

Overall lowlights:

Two hours into the show, this was me:

Waiting for surprises on #RawAfterMania

??#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/ey8wwSIT8f

— Ango (@AngoPW) April 4, 2023

And, talking of those first two hours, especially amid rumors of last minute re-writes and such? Hard to feel like Vince wasn’t overly involved in this show.

Overall highlights:

It took way too long, but we got a return-Matt Riddle.

Cody, Roman, Solo and…Brock!? Yes, I am sure WWE pivoted considering we were hearing “mystery partner”, thinking bigger than Brock.

But that one worked out OK. Well, not OK for Cody…

This makes me wonder…as much as I despised this RAW, by and large…I am willing to see where this goes.

My best guess? Either Cody versus Brock for Backlash, or at KOTR over in the Middle East.

I suppose it’s a way to tear down Rhodes and build him back up even better…but the jury remains out.

My hope? Cody realizes he’s got a deficit of friends, and decides he needs a Club to back him up.

After the final bell:

I was not ready for that Hollywood hangover…

Hunter spent too much time talking to open the show, convincing people WWE was fine after the sale.

He’s going to have to do a lot more heavy lifting after this show to convince us that Vince hasn’t hijacked the creative process.

Not all of Hunter’s shows have been superb, but they’ve generally all been good and cohesive…and so much of this show was neither.

Unless we are going to unify the RAW and SmackDown women’s titles (please don’t), then having the two champions face to face is odd. Survivor Series isn’t until November…

Overall, a lot depends on where things go from here…but for a post-Mania RAW, this one was largely a major disappointment.

No Orton, no Jay White, not a single NXT graduate. While it’s possible some of the call-ups still happen or are saved for Friday…it seems unlikely.

Or at least, I won’t get my hopes up.