NBC strikes new deal with WWE.

[Wacokid27]

You do have a point on that they CAN use the 3 hours effectively, I won't argue that.

Don't like discussing history but there's a reason many fans reminisce about the year Austin was hurt. Austin went down, and not only could he just hand the baton to the Rock, but then up came Triple H and Kurt Angle as new stars for the company. And even with Bryan healthy, there was still a lot of debate about "why can't they find anybody for him to feud with, with all the great talent on this roster?" It just doesn't make sense.

Think both WWE and the fans should stop picking guys apart. "Damien Sandow doesn't have a main-event gimmick" Yeah, why not? That ship has probably sailed at this point, but it's worth giving him a shot up there. Same with so many other guys, but so many of them are probably too damaged at this point.

I think it's as much that the modern IWC fan often simply gets into a guy too quickly, then it becomes hip to hate that guy after every flaw he has is pointed out and heavily pushed (witness: Sandow, Damien; Punk, CM; Bryan, Daniel......I've already started hearing rumblings about Roman Reigns' shortcomings and I'm just waiting for people to start hating Bray Wyatt.....you know it's coming). By the time most guys have broken through to the main event scene, the IWC already hates him because it's "edgy" or "hip" to do so.

As for me, I would love to see Sandow, Ziggler, etc., pushed to the ME scene. In fact, I'm willing to make a bold prediction that the MITB briefcase will be won by one of those guys and not Cesaro.

wk

 

[Prince Bálor]

:troll:

 

[The GOAT]

:troll:

Well, we HAVE gotten more wrestling out of the extra hour... and ironically, it's usually the most skipable thing about the show when I run through it on my DVR. I'm actually in favor of there being more non-wrestling segments on Raw.

 

[Snowman1]

To go on my typical rant I can just copy and paste everywhere...

We really are living in the golden age of actual wrestling on Raw. We're getting consistent good wrestling on a weekly, and virtually nightly, basis, as most of the roster either merely athletic enough to be entertaining or a flat-out good worker, while Triple H keeps the cupboard stocked with guys like Prince Devitt and Samuray Del Sol. They really deserve a lot more credit for the roster they have, there's just so many other issues to bitch about. Like Lockard said. Usually I prefer the "talk on Raw to get excited to see good wrestling on PPV" format, and judge the Raw show on it's build and overlook all the quality wrestling. Like we got a killer 6 man tag between the Wyatt Family and Cena vs the Usos, but what did it mean? Maybe it could set up a Harper and Rowan vs the Usos match down the line, I guess. But maybe it's just me (and BLFFL) but the most buzzworthy non-injury-related thing on Raw was the Paige promo and Alicia Fox going kinda-psycho. I'll happily take more stuff like that, even if it means taking away time from stuff like that great six-man.

Really, that's what's hurt the PPV quality. While we all agree Extreme Rules was a good to great show, some people called it an extended Raw. Why? Because we had a great Bryan match, a great Shield match, some quality wrestling in the undercard with guys like Big E and Cesaro... We get that virtually every week for free.

 

[Prince Bálor]

Well, we HAVE gotten more wrestling out of the extra hour... and ironically, it's usually the most skipable thing about the show when I run through it on my DVR. I'm actually in favor of there being more non-wrestling segments on Raw.

Well, of course you're in favor of there being more non-wrestling segments, 'cause there are guys like Bootista and Cena who can't wrestle. Don't get me wrong, but I don't wanna watch RAW that is 100% a soap opera. Yes, there should be talks/promos as much as wrestling.

I can agree with what Snowman said, though - "talk on Raw to get excited to see good wrestling on PPV"

 

[The GOAT]

Well, of course you're in favor of there being more non-wrestling segments, 'cause there are guys like Bootista and Cena who can't wrestle. Don't get me wrong, but I don't wanna watch RAW that is 100% a soap opera. Yes, there should be talks/promos as much as wrestling.
I can agree with what Snowman said, though - "talk on Raw to get excited to see good wrestling on PPV"

Um, Cena can wrestle just fine. Not even gonna get into that argument for the millionth time with someone. Batista sucks, yes, but guys like Bryan, Cesaro, The Shield, Ziggler, The Usos and others don't, and those first few mentioned get as much time on TV these days as Batista and Cena do. Just speaking for myself here, but the promos, characters, storylines and non-wrestling segments have always been my favorite parts of the show. Even if you're a workrate mark, the matches are always much better when there's more of a purpose and meaning behind them.

I wish there was some magical way to revert back to the jobber format from the 80's and early 90's, where you'd have the superstars cut a promo to get themselves over and then go out and destroy some jobber. It got them and their move set over, and the star vs star matches were always saved for the big shows, like SNME (which only happened a handful of times a year), PPV (which from 1988-1993 only happened four times a year) or at house shows/live events (which aren't televised, of course.) It would make even matches like Sheamus/Ambrose and RVD/Cesaro more must-see since you'd know you'd only be getting those kind of bouts every once and awhile, whereas nowadays you know there's always just the chance of seeing it again the very next week.

Unfortunately, those days are long past and we're stuck in a position (and have been since the Monday Night Wars of the late 90's) where nearly all PPVs will usually end up feeling like extended episodes of Raw, only with more hype, since there's no way around exhausting your options of fresh match-ups when you have to fill so many hours of wrestling a week 52 weeks out of the year.

 

[RoyalRaven]

I wish they'd do more backstage segments, honestly love that shit off, wrestlers getting in each others grill and giving them a chance to show off their personality outside the ring.