Raw Live Raw thread, August 22nd 2022: Edge to battle Damian Priest in Edge’s first match in his hometown of Toronto in over a decade

[Chris]

 

[Dale]

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[John McHenry]

Time for John watches Hulu Raw

Did the theme song change or have I just always ignored it.

Shaky cam. That rough took a legit Elbow. Hope this feud ends with a lights out match. [i kid] These refs and producers need fired can't maintain order. Guess we'll be getting a no DQ. So many producers are bald I can't tell which one is Adam Pierce.

Oh opening the show is unexpected. Home? Someone watch some Rock Cena promos? Well damn would have liked to get a little bit more of a promo before the interuption. Torontonian? Eeck I mean yeah it's right but it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. DMG Control promo is kinda bad so far. Ugh this is just the opposite of what I wanted. Like Trish in this angle is not necessary. Damn that return tease.

Must be a lot of people watching this stream right now quality is terrible.

Suprised by how good that Double DDT looked. Just noticed how this is like a mirror universe match. Really hope the rollups stop. Suprised Alexa and Asuka weren't thrown in the second chance just cause.

I have to say it I like Alpha Academy, well gable. Was really hoping we were getting another member. But I assume is a squash or return squash. LMAO I'm okay with KO squashing them. Waiting for the Wrestle Owens Wrestle shirts. Well damn it's not a squash at all. They're both looking good. Owens is going to win but they're letting Gable look good too. Thought it was over with that Frog Splash.

Why is Alliyah crying? Did they not expect anyone to notice this? Did I miss something cause Hulu? Now Bayley looking odd?

This tag is a bit odd. Didn't AJ just face Lashley? I guess relying on the enemy of my enemy scenario? Odd he took the Miz. Crowd really behind Lashley.

Well Gargano is back so who's next, HHH have anyone else left to return? LMAO Bluey on WWE, time for a crossover.

Face to Face the new it phrase.

The way they built this up with Beth it's edge's last match or something. Beth with a chair we gonna get Rey out too? Guess not.

Highlight of the night for me was KO Match

 

[Jimmy King]

I had the biggest smile on my face when I heard Rebel Heart hit, I was so happy. That segment was so perfectly done too.

 

[Dale]

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[Y2Jayne]

Damien Priest ain’t young lmao. Man is a month away from 40.

And Edge is a 48 year old part-time Hall of Famer, you know what I meant.

 

[Chris]

Once again Raw avoided the big third-hour drop with the Edge vs. Priest main event. Women 18-49 from hour one to three were down eight percent, but men were up seven percent which is rare, women 12-34 were up five percent and men 12-34 were up 19 percent which is very unusual. People over 50 were down 10 percent. Among younger male demos the third hour was a big success.

Always intrigued when things actually keep the audience better since the drops hour to hour have been so crazy

 

[Deezy]

 

[Y2Jayne]

That's why the refs stay outside for so long

 

[Dale]

Always intrigued when things actually keep the audience better since the drops hour to hour have been so crazy

Not sure how they usually do ratings wise but I also saw they were up against pre-season football which you thought you would have bitten into the viewership at least a little bit

 

[Rosie]

Going to say this here... FIRST TIME I AM IN A WWE CHAT ROOM SINCE JOINING WS! But I rewatched Gargano's return and it was great. Glad to see him and Theory in a storyline right away and actually ACKNOWLEDGING NXT. Only two main gripes, but first: TOO MANY FREAKING LED LIGHTS! Around the barricade, the giant screen, the canvas, posts, it is just a bit too hard on the eyes. Second: Please add the Austin back to Theory's name. It is just strange. Especially since his theme is like "A-TOWN DOWN!" Like, just CHANGE HIS NAME BACK! A FOR AUSTIN! But honestly Gargano makes me think back of his run on NXT where I was probably the most interested in his NXT run. Yeah, he isn't with an OTT gimmick per-say, but he talks like a human and he is a character (based on himself) with actual wants and desires and I like that.

 

[Rosie]

And of course the promos felt a touch looser than the Vince-era. Like Gargano could actually play off the fans a touch and same with Austin. "BABY WRESTLING" "He'll appreciate that when he gets older" And AT shutting down the "What" chants.

 

[Rosie]

Honestly, while I say MITB 2019 was one of my last WWE PPVs I watched, I actually watched Takeover 25 and I think those two shows were a one two punch which made me not want to watch anymore.

 

[Rosie]

Because Takeover 25 was good to great like most NXT stuff at that time... I couldn't invest in it anymore because each match I was starting to dread the outcomes. Because I had in the back of my mind that a call-up could always happen and with so many NXT call-ups having mixed success I felt scared. I felt scared for the characters I was investing in.

 

[Rosie]

The main event I couldn't even enjoy because (while neither happened because NXT was moving to USA and they wanted to bolster it to face AEW) I was like "What of Johnny wins, then Adam Cole goes to the main roster" or vice-versa. Then I thought back to MITB. Brock winning MITB. Brock is good. He has proved it. But I was tired of the same thing over again. Brock wins the title "Oh no, part time champion, you don't show up" etc. Then also investing in someone else, but then they get pushed aside for the same people over and over. Then I thought of the MITB match. It had the following names announced for it: Sami Zayn, Mustafa Ali, Andrade, Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Corbin. Aside from Randy and Ali who was more 205 Live, all appeared in NXT, though Drew's stay was short.