WWE Raw Discussion Thread

[Captain Scumbag]

I don’t mind Bayley. My inner soft git actually enjoyed seeing her so happy in her moment of triumph. I really don’t understand the timing, though. You don’t have to like Bayley to realise that her character is tailor made for a long title chase (with multiple setbacks) culminating with her winning on the big stage. I assumed they were building to her winning at WM. Charlotte’s unbeaten streak on PPV made her the perfect heel opponent. Why pay it off now? It seems premature in the way that Sasha winning the title on Raw did.

The Jericho and Owens segment was excellent. I thought Joe and Michael Cole both did a great job in that interview segment. Not sure what the hell the Emmalina thing was!

Good episode overall.

 

[Leewilson]

It's set up for Charlotte to continue her undefeated PPV streak I imagine.

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

So is Seth really injured or is it a story line? I originally thought story but would lean towards legit injury now.

If it is a legit injury then jesus talk about bad luck.



I thought the opening and main event/ending on Smackdown were both good this week. SD to me just feels a lot fresh and less painful, Raw seems a chore at times and boring to me, I haven't been watching it as often lately I must admit as I just can't keep intrested.

Seth is injured for real, really bad luck but it's not as bad as before and he SHOULD be back for Mania.
Raw has been a chore for years, which is why their viewership is just on a rapid decline.

The Festival of Friendship was fantastic!

Shame about the result in the main event, though.

I love Bayley!

 

[Oaf]

I don’t mind Bayley. My inner soft git actually enjoyed seeing her so happy in her moment of triumph. I really don’t understand the timing, though. You don’t have to like Bayley to realise that her character is tailor made for a long title chase (with multiple setbacks) culminating with her winning on the big stage. I assumed they were building to her winning at WM. Charlotte’s unbeaten streak on PPV made her the perfect heel opponent. Why pay it off now? It seems premature in the way that Sasha winning the title on Raw did.

Came on here to basically say this but you got there first. I'm a big fan of Bayley and all, but I thought the timing was bad here... Bayley beating Charlotte at WM for her first title would have been great. But I guess they have their heart set on this Bayley/Charlotte/Sasha/Jax fatal four way...

Bayleys run must be all but guaranteed to end at Fastlane.

THIS BEING SAID.

I know we all like to moan about WWE, and that Bayley win was poor timing, but that aside... can we actually just take a moment to appreciate where WWE is right now at this current moment? Because, actually, I think WWE is looking fantastic right now as it leads into WM... probably the best it's looked overall in a long, long time. Check it, we've got:

The Bray/Orton angle, which is interesting as fuck. I actually love it. Not just because Bray finally has the gold, but it's an interesting as hell angle to take it from. Granted, Orton could just "RKO out of nowhere" next week and say "lol, jokes", but if they stick with it it's unique as fuck. Really interested to see where it's going.

The Owens/Jericho part was one of the best performed segments in a long time, and even though I think we all saw it coming it's set up Jericho and Owens brilliantly. Hopefully it'll be for the title, but probably not. Still, I love this angle too.

Triple H vs Rollins is also really fucking good watching now that it's actually, you know, progressing. Or at least it was for that one week. But that one week made it look great. I don't think anybody in WWE past or present can carry a storyline like Triple H and make it sound as important, and he fucking killed it on his Raw promo again. And throwing Joe into the mix? Wow. Even with limited airtime, this feud is great.

Goldberg vs Lesnar... I never thought I'd say it, but to hell with it, I want to see it. The angle has been unique as hell... a beast who can do anything, but this one man doesn't just have his number, he dominates him. Another interesting scenario and another feud I'm enjoying.

And those are just the main ones. What do the likes of Styles or Cena do for WM now? Plus the Strowman/Reigns thing is better than it'll probably ever really get credit for. There are a lot of little interesting scenarios lining up right now and as it stands, I'm really happy with WWE.

Granted, by the end of Raw and Smackdown next week WWE could cock it up and it would surprise nobody... but let's just enjoy it while it lasts, yeah?

 

[Stevencc]

Are we expecting Taker to show at Wrestlemania this year or not?

I had the idea of Taker winning the battle royal to go against the guy they like to push as the "new face of fear" but I'm not sure they'd want to put Taker in a title match at this stage of his career and I'm sure the Orton thing will either be a work or will end up as a triple threat with Orton, Harper and Wyatt.

 

[Captain Scumbag]

They have a plan for Taker. I have used the spoiler function to avoid any possible annoyance for others. I don’t like the (proposed) match too much, but it might lead to a much-needed change of direction for his (proposed) opponent.

Spoiler

Taker vs. Reigns

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

They have a plan for Taker. I have used the spoiler function to avoid any possible annoyance for others. I don’t like the (proposed) match too much, but it might lead to a much-needed change of direction for his (proposed) opponent.

Spoiler

Taker vs. Reigns

Spoiler

This has been banded about for a while now and I was a little bit dubious. However, in the Rumble, Reigns was booked as the Heel when he went up against Taker. If they do that, i'm all in.

 

[TheMinsterman]

Spoiler

I like Reigns and I would personally LOVE if he just absolutely squashed Taker at Mania and retired him, turning heel in the process. It'd do far more with Taker's legacy than Lesnar ending the streak pointlessly, with somebody with years left in him working full time.

 

[Captain Scumbag]

^ Yep, that's how to make it work. Any major deviation from that would be breathtakingly stupid. Even for them.

 

[Stevencc]

Imagine the fallout from that, it'd be fantastic.

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

Imagine the fallout from that, it'd be fantastic.

Would he even make it out alive?

 

[Oaf]

As somebody who was at WM 31 and 32 and is going to Wrestlemania 33 (FAO Stevencc ), I honestly couldn't see the levels of hatred for him topping what he had at those events. Or the Raw after WM32, when he gave his "I'm not a bad guy..." speech... my god they hated him that night

This being said... that would actually be amazing. They used the hatred of Reigns brilliantly at the rumble... so they've at least shown previous experience of using it well.

 

[GodsGift]

 

[Leewilson]

Strowmann's class isn't he. Don't normally like the big guys. They're cumbersome and slow. Strowmann is the real deal though. Losing all that weight has helped him a ton. I kind of hope he faces Taker at WM as he's the right person to retire him. I think they'll go with the Reigns heal angle though.

 

[T.A]

Did you mean to post this?
https://mobile.twitter.com/josy0710/status/833895283306098689/video/1

Very strange

 

[Oaf]

Strowmann's class isn't he. Don't normally like the big guys. They're cumbersome and slow. Strowmann is the real deal though. Losing all that weight has helped him a ton. I kind of hope he faces Taker at WM as he's the right person to retire him. I think they'll go with the Reigns heal angle though.

You know what, I am actually a genuine fan of Strowman now.

I think we all kind of wrote him off. He's big, so at first we assume he's slow and shit in the ring, yet will still get pushed like hell. We assumed that he won't have much going for him beyond destroying people in short matches, and in our defence, WWE didn't really do anything but that with him for his first year or so. But now that he's off of his leech a bit and he's getting a shot at being more than just another big beast, he's actually killing it right now.

But since his feud with Zayn and right up to his fantastic (yes, fantastic!) match with Big Show (yes, Big Show!) on Raw on Monday, he's been one of the best things going. I'd still rather not see him face Taker if I'm honest, though... in fact, I thought Strowman vs Reigns was a fantastic idea for Wrestlemania but WWE seem keen on pissing it away at Fast Lane.

 

[Libertine]

One of the worst crowds I've ever heard (or not heard) this week.

 

[Stevencc]

One of the worst crowds I've ever heard (or not heard) this week.

Agreed, the crowd was abysmal.

 

[Captain Scumbag]

I don’t mind crowds being quiet, but the CM Punk chants during the Seth Rollins promo were the height of douchiness.

On a vaguely related note, the "you deserve it" chant needs to go.

 

[Bluebird_Dai]

Raw is a bit shit nowadays isn't it.

 

[T.A]

Kurt!!

 

[hodge]

Tuned in being the raw after mania, great seeing Kurt back and was great fun. Damn what a reaction for Reigns and haven't seen Finn Balor before given not watching much over the last couple of years, really impressive.

 

[Renegade]

Looks like Jinder Mahal has been horsing steroids into himself since I stopped watching. Looks like a completely different human being to a few years ago.

 

[Libertine]

Looks like Jinder Mahal has been horsing steroids into himself since I stopped watching. Looks like a completely different human being to a few years ago.

It's bloody freaky.

 

[Pilgrim Meister]

I would say Reigns is a monster heel now even if Vince doesn't want him to be. If he still gets scripted as a face it won't work

 

[RavenBish]

the self-aware post-kayfabe era of wrestling (only way I can think to describe it) kind of negates the need for someone to be heel or face or risk 'exposing the business'. I don't want him to start going full heel just because people won't cheer him - his current role is far more interesting (plus, knowing the insufferable section of WWE fans, he'd just eventually end up being a heel that gets cheered). No-one really minded when Punk was a snarky arrogant face against Cena nor did that feud suffer because there wasn't a clear good vs evil slant.

 

[Libertine]

I did like Roman after he won the title last year in that sort of tweener role, during his feud with AJ etc. I'm pretty bored with the booing him for the sake of it being the cool or 'rebellious' thing to do, but it'd be nice to see him have an opportunity to show a bit more personality - I think that's why there's such clamour for a heel turn. And sure they'd likely eventually cheer him, but then he can go back face with a more rounded character.

He really needs to fuck that superman punch off though. Horrible move. And he uses it at least 3 times a match.

 

[Bluebird_Dai]

That opening segment is exactly how Reigns should be booked. Come out, get heat, say very few words, get more heat, leave. Have him kick the head off a vanilla midget every now and then to piss the smarks off even more and it'll be gold.

 

[Oaf]

Every year I do a Raw after Wrestlemania and every year I think I couldn't possibly see any more hatred directed at Reigns... then get proved utterly wrong next year. It was bad after 31 when he'd been in the main event and people held that against him, then a heck of a lot worse the next year after winning the main event against Triple H... but wow, after committing the ultimate crime in pro wrestling of beating Taker at Wrestlemania... so much hatred This being said, that was absolutely one of the most fun segments I've ever been involved in at a live event! And overall, I thought it was a brilliant way to open Raw.

I just watched the show back (and Wrestlemania last night, which no doubt means I'll do a monster post on that at some point later) though and I was actually a bit gutted, because a lot of the noise didn't come across as being anywhere near as loud on TV as it actually was. The main thing being the "do do do! Sheamus and Cesaro!" song... wow. After leaving that show, I felt as if Sheamus and Cesaro had just absolutely fucking MADE it. It felt like that song was to this Raw what Daniel Bryans "YES!" was a couple years ago, or Fandangos music the year after. It fucking lit up the arena and was absolutely as loud as anything else that night, barring the reaction to Reigns. And after the show, fans were singing it on the way out, around the arena and in the bars around Orlando all night. And then I saw it on TV just now and it was... underwhelming. Yeah, you could hear it a bit... but it just felt underplayed. Almost as if WWE had edited it down, which would just be fucking strange.

Anyway, that aside, I thought it was another great Raw. The Revival were a well overdue call up, as they've been the best thing in NXT's tag division for a heck of a long time. Glad to see Finn back too... if only so he can finally show my why people love him so much, because I still don't get him.

 

[Oaf]

Decent raw with some interesting additions, but oh my god, that Strowman stuff was horrendously fake. Blatant switch to previously filmed footage for the obvious dummy/stretcher off the stage before a blatant switch back, and then an ambulance lift with the camera conveniently blocking off the left hand side/the hydraulics helping him lift

Ok, yeah, it's wrestling, and anybody who doesn't know shit about it will tell you that it's "supposed" to be fake, but shit, we're even faking stunts now?!

Anyway, Ambrose, Bray, Alexa and Miz onto Raw. Damn, that's a lot of big names... Miz has been the second best thing on Smackdown since the split (after Styles, of course) so that's a huge blow, and Alexa has basically established herself as being head and shoulders (ha, because she's short) above the other women there for me. Yeah, even Becky in my view.

I fully expect Smackdown to open with Charlotte coming out. I always did before Alexa moved, my gut has always told me that it's the most likely move to happen in the entire draft, if only because she's already beaten/feuded with everyone on Raw who she can... but now that's been even more reinforced, because I'm left wondering which heel women are left on SD now, with even Mickie James gone as well. I can only think of Carmella and Natalya. With somebody the calibre of Charlotte there, who is frankly too good to not be constantly involved in a title picture, she could basically survive as the only top heel woman and go up against the entire womens division one by one.

Owens has to be nailed on as well, with the IC title going to Raw. Unless it's set up for Corbin to beat Ambrose at Payback and take the title back to Smackdown.

Which reminds me, we've now got a buillshit scenario of Orton vs Bray at Payback, which can surely have only one winner as both major titles can't end up on the same show.