WWE Raw Discussion Thread

[Christian Slater]

 

[T.A]

Surprised they did this just before Xmas.

Was it a fluke?

 

[Baz]

Opening segment was fine. Would have probably liked it more to see Reigns at least grab Steph if nothing else, would have added to the tension with Vince showing up.

Ambrose/Ziggler was ok I suppose, did it's job with Owens attacking Ambrose heading towards their rematch.

Vince interrupting Truth/Bo was no loss. Roman's action causing him to get a rematch was expected but as soon as the lose and fired stipulation was added you just know he was going to win.

Tag match was yeah.

Breeze/Neville was fun mainly down to Miz's behaviour haha.

Extreme Tag match was decent. I love the fact at the end the lights just went out and that was that, some good booking there. Wyatt now needs a decent singles feud.

New Day brilliant as per usual, but did we just witness a double heel turn with Usos/Luchas.

Divas match meh, Charlotte continues to morph into Daddy Flair.

Main Event did what they expected to happen earlier this year. Two nights worth of actions from Reigns against Trips and Vince gave them the payoff they wanted and the payoff Reigns thoroughly deserved for his hard work since the turn of the year.

 

[Stevencc]

Vince McMahon = guaranteed entertainment.

I really enjoyed the opening and closing segments.

Oh, and BLOOD.

 

[Who Needs Mourinho]

Without their 3 biggest stars they produce something like that, just shows what they can do if they put in the effort.

A lot more edge and aggression in the show last night, I just wish they would get rid of the PG rating, the likes of Ambrose, Owens and Ziggler would prosper so much.

 

[Baz]

RE Ziggler. Give the Stone Cold podcast with HBK a listen. HBK said Ziggler needs to stop being HBK-lite he needs to find his own thing now he's gone this far and I have to agree with that. Ziggler will get nowhere the way he is at the moment as he just doesn't have that something different.

 

[Libertine]

RE Ziggler. Give the Stone Cold podcast with HBK a listen. HBK said Ziggler needs to stop being HBK-lite he needs to find his own thing now he's gone this far and I have to agree with that. Ziggler will get nowhere the way he is at the moment as he just doesn't have that something different.

Dam right. He just so desperately wants to be HBK. Down to the superkick + pin combo.

Great episode of Raw. Kept up the interest throughout the whole 3 hours to be fair which is a rarity. Tough task to do it every week though. Actually delighted for Reigns, got great reactions and in Philly ffs! Over the past two nights he's been more badass like he could and should be and it totally paid off.

 

[Luke]

How things can change in a week.

I was done with it last week totally fed up and planning a break till at least Rumble. TLC had its good moments then they go and have a decent Raw at long last where I'm not bored senseless after an hour.

As recent as a week or two ago if you had said to me Reigns will be champion I would have been like for god sake but I was actually glad he won and he got a superb reaction which shows it's worked his after match beat down at TLC and how he was on Raw.

I just hope they don't strip him of the title or some bollocks and have a Reigns versus authority yet again (ala Bryan), hoping triple H challenges him at rumble for something fresh or maybe the authority get Brock on side and get him to take Reigns down. Either way it's opened a few ways to go which is exciting.

Sheamus title reign lasted long lolz. Also has Barrett been kicked out LON already?!

Edit: just read Barrett has some form of nerve neck injury but shouldn't be out to long

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

looks like that was a very positive week for WWE, a show which for first time in months gets good reviews, a strong viewership, strong rating and some positive feedback.

can WWE turn this momentum into something more solid

 

[Who Needs Mourinho]

looks like that was a very positive week for WWE, a show which for first time in months gets good reviews, a strong viewership, strong rating and some positive feedback.

can WWE turn this momentum into something more solid

I very much doubt it.

 

[Eamonn]

Fantastic Raw, felt like an old school AE Raw, electric crowd, Vince being a massive heel, title change, blood, brawls, strong booking, entertaining promos, it was great. Happy Reigns won the title, finally being booked as he should be, the TLC match was surprisingly very good, both really took some nasty bumps and Reigns delivered again tonight, right time to make the change. Looks like Reigns/Lesnar or Reigns/Cena one would imagine at WM, could be a great opportunity for Cena to finally turn heel if Reigns can capitalise on this momentum and get more over, have Cena turn as he is no longer the top dog and face of the company, would be fantastic.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Might be a work, but it seems that HHH may have taken a bad bump from Reigns during the beat down at TLC.

Stayed in hospital overnight afterwards apparently.

I see Raw was up 800,000 viewers on average this week and did an hour with over 4.0m viewers. That's a big rise. Goes to show what happens if you bother with the product. The fans are still out there.

 

[mase]

Might be a work, but it seems that HHH may have taken a bad bump from Reigns during the beat down at TLC.

Stayed in hospital overnight afterwards apparently.

I see Raw was up 800,000 viewers on average this week and did an hour with over 4.0m viewers. That's a big rise. Goes to show what happens if you bother with the product. The fans are still out there.

I'm sure it hurt, but he was fine in the ring in London on Wednesday night and his workout video on Instagram this afternoon shows no sign of injury

 

[TheMinsterman]

Might be a work, but it seems that HHH may have taken a bad bump from Reigns during the beat down at TLC.

Stayed in hospital overnight afterwards apparently.

I see Raw was up 800,000 viewers on average this week and did an hour with over 4.0m viewers. That's a big rise. Goes to show what happens if you bother with the product. The fans are still out there.

#ReignsIsADraw

#BelieveThat

 

[Christian Slater]

Vince McMahon is a draw.

The biggest success they had on Monday wasn't the spike in viewers, it was sustaining and even increasing on those numbers by each hour. That happened because the show's focus was building on a story, leaving the fans wanting to know what's going to happen next. It has also ended with the intrigue of where things will go from here. It's pretty shit that getting this right is a point of praise, but it's hope. Now they need to do the same throughout the card, you can't rely on the main story to keep people interested and it leads to resentment of the guy constantly in the top spot.

 

[TheMinsterman]

Vince McMahon wasn't an advertised part of the show, everyone who tuned in at the start did so due to the ending of TLC

 

[Christian Slater]

The ratings are derived from measuring every quarter of an hour for each hour and then finding an average.

 

[Baz]

Plus people are well aware the build for the Royal Rumble & the road to WM so ratings are naturally going to rise.

 

[TheMinsterman]

My tongue is firmly imbedded in my cheek .

It's just proof that if they try they can put on a good show, they don't need endless swerves but ever step of Reigns paths to that belt over two days FELT like it mattered, they made it seem important, same with a few other things. If they sell things as actually mattering, lo and behold people are more include to tune in. Not rocket science.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Whilst Raw ratings may have been up - the company need to decide what they are doing with Smackdown.

5,000 attendance in a 18,000 arena - in Newark, literally 10 minutes from NYC.

They either need to get rid all together, revamp, brand split or make it worthwhile to tune in - live perhaps.

That looks more like some TNA tapings in the last year or so.

 

[Christian Slater]

They're moving Smackdown to the same network Raw is on, so it'll get a few bones thrown its way for about a month before it reverts to type. It's fucking done and it's their own fault.

 

[Libertine]

They had poor sales for a house show in LA this Saturday too so they threw Lesnar in there, by the sounds of it it didn't help much but not sure on the final total.

That pic is shocking.

 

[Baz]

SD got killed as soon as the brand split ended. They need to do something little like giving SD a title exclusive for that brand again, or bring the brand split back but that won't be happening.

 

[Christian Slater]

It's a show that came about because wrestling had hit such a peak the demand was there for a double dose every week. Not enough people care anymore and they struggle to write for one show as it is. It's just a glorified Superstars/Main Event at this point. Let the old girl die with a bit of dignity.

 

[Who Needs Mourinho]

It's a show that came about because wrestling had hit such a peak the demand was there for a double dose every week. Not enough people care anymore and they struggle to write for one show as it is. It's just a glorified Superstars/Main Event at this point. Let the old girl die with a bit of dignity.

It's definitely gone downhill since Raw added the extra hour as has Raw of course.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Why didn't they just make Smackdown....NXT??

surely that would make some common sense.

the big problem is I believe that in 2001 they wanted to make Smackdown WCW Nitro and then have WWE Raw and WCW Nitro from then on......I am guessing originally maybe WCW was to win the war at first.

The negative reaction from TV companies meant that it was not at all allowed to happen, the solution was the Brand Split but its never fully worked because they always (as you'd expect) gave full focus on Raw, even them years when smackdown put on a better show within afew months WWE decided rather than stick with it to try and move the best bits onto Raw (where it them seemed to fail miserably)

I don't think overall it was ever WWE's fault, I think their original idea of 2 separate companies (even if under a WWE main brand) wasn't a bad idea, I think the bigger problem since the brand split is they never made Smackdown its own actual brand.....just made it a secondary thing to Raw.

while I may not like the concept of NXt, maybe if they made Smackdown NXt it would at least give that show some separation from the main Brand.

 

[Baz]

Started to watch raw and gave up how shit were that crowd? Just read the results instead and sounds like they didn't get any better either.

 

[Christian Slater]

Why didn't they just make Smackdown....NXT??

surely that would make some common sense.

the big problem is I believe that in 2001 they wanted to make Smackdown WCW Nitro and then have WWE Raw and WCW Nitro from then on......I am guessing originally maybe WCW was to win the war at first.

The negative reaction from TV companies meant that it was not at all allowed to happen, the solution was the Brand Split but its never fully worked because they always (as you'd expect) gave full focus on Raw, even them years when smackdown put on a better show within afew months WWE decided rather than stick with it to try and move the best bits onto Raw (where it them seemed to fail miserably)

I don't think overall it was ever WWE's fault, I think their original idea of 2 separate companies (even if under a WWE main brand) wasn't a bad idea, I think the bigger problem since the brand split is they never made Smackdown its own actual brand.....just made it a secondary thing to Raw.

while I may not like the concept of NXt, maybe if they made Smackdown NXt it would at least give that show some separation from the main Brand.

The biggest thing going for NXT is Vince McMahon he no involvement in it, if it was to become a prominent brand under his control it'd be destroyed. As Austin and Shawn said on the podcast, NXT is the way it is because it's run by someone that has the perspective of the business from a wrestling point of view, with great respect for its history. Vince doesn't view it that way, which has its benefits to be fair. But the reason us hardcore wrestling fans love NXT is because it's catered to us. Also, they want NXT as a selling point for the Network.

I think a three hour Raw every week is more than enough for them to handle at the moment. If they want a second show they still have to drop Smackdown and introduce something else, the Smackdown brand has been irreversibly damaged.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Raw did a 3.37m average this week - down on last week, but not a massive loss and kept itself sustained throughout the 3 hour show in the mid 3 millions.

Not great, but it's much better than most of this year AND it was the Slammy's this week, which are always filler shows mixed with the awards.

Wonder if they can carry it on and start pushing back towards 4 and 4.5 for the RTWM.

 

[Luke]

Average show at best but expected with the Slammy's.

Good to see Seth and agreed with him winning, hopefully he will return as a face and be able to put on great matches which he is capable off instead of the chicken shit heel he was booked as. I'm not a huge cena fan (character more than anything) but he must have been a close second as some of his matches this year have been superb espesh the US challenges.

Would have had Lesnar/Rollins/Cena as match of year.

How the fuck did Usos win tag team when they've been injured half of it. Should have been New Day.

Smackdown live tonight should be okay, the triple threat IC title match could be a belter.