Rate RAW November 23rd, 2015
- Thread starter Rogue
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So, it's been fun watching Raw these last four weeks. Really, it has. Hell, it's been fun being the self-proclaimed official Smackdown reviewer for WWEF for months now. But... A wise man once said that to fix WWE's ratings problem, it's going to take a long time. Month, after month, after month, after month of 7/10 or 8/10 Raws full of things that will inspire the audience to not dread tuning into the USA Network again. Signs that things are changing, and not just lip service.
Because really, things have changed. Gone... mostly... are stupid "PG segments" and things that make you simply embarassed to be a wrestling fan. Gone are meatheaded bodybuilders getting pushed above actual talent. Gone... with some exceptions... are the days of "stupid" over the top feuds, and now it's a time for a more realistic, relatable product headlined by arguably the best wrestler on the roster - Seth Rollins - holding the title for 6 months straight.
But nonetheless, fan confidence has never been lower. Despite 4 good Raws in a row, they followed up all the "momentum" of the World TItle tournament with a very depressing Survivor Series that... I can't remember a time when people were looking forward to Raw less. Ever. And this place has hardly been a bastion of positivity, but... It's like whenever WWE finds a way to get some positive momentum going as we all enjoy the product, they can't help but sabotage themselves. It's really sad.
The biggest issue I see with this Raw is that not only are we back to matches and characters not mattering and no attention to detail whatsoever - if you think I'm nitpicking then ask the LUG writers what they think about Owens and Breeze teaming up - but... Man, do I feel like the wrestlers themselves don't even matter. "Lose Seth Rollins? No biggie, we'll put Sheamus in his spot and continue the storyline!" "Oh, Daniel Bryan's out? Well we need to make Roman Reigns somehow, guess we should book him the same way!" "So Team Bella isn't there to look dumb in 4 minute matches that end in distraction rollups? Lets let Sasha Banks do that!" "Shit, Cesaro isn't here to carry our lousy show anymore? Guess Titus O'Neil is just as good, right?"
It's just... the same. Nothing ever changes. GMs change or the Authority gets fired for a month and the only thing that changes is Cena's talking for 20 minutes instead of Triple H while we get teased yet again with another Ziggler push, and they tease and tease and tease and eventually we give up on the guy... just like we're teased with Raw getting better before we give up on it. 2.21
Hell, look at the most recent stars they've created. The Pipebomb was a revolutionary moment that made CM Punk, but before that the Straight Edge Savior was definitely unique. Nobody fought against a legitimate system in the non-kayfabe world like Daniel Bryan did, there's never been another underdog in the way Sami Zayn was, and there's damn sure never been another Bayley. They weren't "in Edge's old spot", they were the first of themselves. The only people doing that right now are the three people on this show anything resembling over right now... the three guys who have been written by escaped NXT writers, who went from "the new Men on a Mission" to getting cheered for running out on stick horses pretending to be fake unicorns... the New Day, who's certainly one of a kind.
It's just so bland. Nothing ever changes, and it's to the point where the talent doesn't matter. Why pretend to have a Divas' Revolution if you give the girls the same match scripts the Bellas got when facing Kelly Kelly? Why are we over here expecting doom and gloom for a beast of a workhorse like Tyler Breeze before he's even called up? Why am I watching Neville kick ass on NXT as Alberto El Patron is destroying in the Temple before they put me to sleep on Smackdown together? Why?
Read a former NXT writer put it perfectly. They need to examine every single aspect of the product. Not just the talent because they're all interchangable parts, that's the problem. That's why Prince Balor has no idea who my favorite main roster talent is (it's not Rollins or Cesaro), because there's no point to even talking about who the wrestlers are or what they're doing anymore. Match scripts, show formatting, creative writing attention to detail, fun, excitement, so many things desperately need to change or else this TNA vs WWE war they wanted to start in 2010 will wind up happening in 2015 for all the wrong reasons.
(also fuck 3 hours)
Because really, things have changed. Gone... mostly... are stupid "PG segments" and things that make you simply embarassed to be a wrestling fan. Gone are meatheaded bodybuilders getting pushed above actual talent. Gone... with some exceptions... are the days of "stupid" over the top feuds, and now it's a time for a more realistic, relatable product headlined by arguably the best wrestler on the roster - Seth Rollins - holding the title for 6 months straight.
But nonetheless, fan confidence has never been lower. Despite 4 good Raws in a row, they followed up all the "momentum" of the World TItle tournament with a very depressing Survivor Series that... I can't remember a time when people were looking forward to Raw less. Ever. And this place has hardly been a bastion of positivity, but... It's like whenever WWE finds a way to get some positive momentum going as we all enjoy the product, they can't help but sabotage themselves. It's really sad.
The biggest issue I see with this Raw is that not only are we back to matches and characters not mattering and no attention to detail whatsoever - if you think I'm nitpicking then ask the LUG writers what they think about Owens and Breeze teaming up - but... Man, do I feel like the wrestlers themselves don't even matter. "Lose Seth Rollins? No biggie, we'll put Sheamus in his spot and continue the storyline!" "Oh, Daniel Bryan's out? Well we need to make Roman Reigns somehow, guess we should book him the same way!" "So Team Bella isn't there to look dumb in 4 minute matches that end in distraction rollups? Lets let Sasha Banks do that!" "Shit, Cesaro isn't here to carry our lousy show anymore? Guess Titus O'Neil is just as good, right?"
It's just... the same. Nothing ever changes. GMs change or the Authority gets fired for a month and the only thing that changes is Cena's talking for 20 minutes instead of Triple H while we get teased yet again with another Ziggler push, and they tease and tease and tease and eventually we give up on the guy... just like we're teased with Raw getting better before we give up on it. 2.21
Hell, look at the most recent stars they've created. The Pipebomb was a revolutionary moment that made CM Punk, but before that the Straight Edge Savior was definitely unique. Nobody fought against a legitimate system in the non-kayfabe world like Daniel Bryan did, there's never been another underdog in the way Sami Zayn was, and there's damn sure never been another Bayley. They weren't "in Edge's old spot", they were the first of themselves. The only people doing that right now are the three people on this show anything resembling over right now... the three guys who have been written by escaped NXT writers, who went from "the new Men on a Mission" to getting cheered for running out on stick horses pretending to be fake unicorns... the New Day, who's certainly one of a kind.
It's just so bland. Nothing ever changes, and it's to the point where the talent doesn't matter. Why pretend to have a Divas' Revolution if you give the girls the same match scripts the Bellas got when facing Kelly Kelly? Why are we over here expecting doom and gloom for a beast of a workhorse like Tyler Breeze before he's even called up? Why am I watching Neville kick ass on NXT as Alberto El Patron is destroying in the Temple before they put me to sleep on Smackdown together? Why?
Read a former NXT writer put it perfectly. They need to examine every single aspect of the product. Not just the talent because they're all interchangable parts, that's the problem. That's why Prince Balor has no idea who my favorite main roster talent is (it's not Rollins or Cesaro), because there's no point to even talking about who the wrestlers are or what they're doing anymore. Match scripts, show formatting, creative writing attention to detail, fun, excitement, so many things desperately need to change or else this TNA vs WWE war they wanted to start in 2010 will wind up happening in 2015 for all the wrong reasons.
(also fuck 3 hours)
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