The once proud and exciting flagship of WWE’s television lineup has been diminishing in quality, excitement, energy, innovation and fun for a while now, and things keep going from bad to worse. What’s happening on the mega-promotion’s Monday night show?
TODAY’S ISSUE: What’s going on with RAW lately?
Does anyone remember the Monday Night War? Damn, RAW was one hell of a show. Michaels, Austin, Rock, HHH, Cactus Jack/Mankind, Undertaker, Jericho, the Radicalz, even Mike Tyson and many other true superstars made Monday nights with the then-WWF so much. Big angles, some good wrestling, loads of intensity, and strong storytelling were the order of the day, as WCW and their masterful nWo angle pushed McMahon and company to outdo themselves week after week. And that’s exactly what McMahon did.
Today, WWE’s Monday night offering bears no resemblance to it’s former greatness. What a difference a decade makes. Lately RAW has become almost a chore to watch, and some weeks the two hours seem to take forever. Excitement was replaced by tedium, intensity was supplanted by obvious boredom, and innovation has given way to predictability.
Cryme Tyme recently squashed a couple of jobbers and then took about 20 minutes to auction off their opponent’s boots, which was far longer than their damn match to begin with. I couldn’t wait for this waste of television time to come crawling to its merciful end. What exactly was the point of their impromptu sale?
Before suffering a shoulder injury, Bobby Lashley’s Goldberg-like push was being systematically ruined, ironically, the same way WWE did to Goldberg himself. Taking the ECW strap off Lashley and drafting him to RAW wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but having him tap to SuperCena was the worst possible direction for him at this time. Cena’s over, and will be over for a long time to come. So why does he need to maintain a strangle hold on the damn belt? It might actually freshen up his character to force him back into the role of hungry challenger for once. After being touted as the next big thing for so long, what does Lashley’s loss to Cena make the former Army sergeant now? As Taz might say, “just another victimâ€Â. What a waste.
Model employee and third-generation grappler Randy Orton has been attacking old men with the worst looking boot in the history of wrestling, and said kick is apparently nearly killing them. Sure, his “legend killer†gimmick works on some levels when he beats up older wrestlers, but dragging out dinosaurs like Sgt. Slaughter and Dusty Rhodes for actual matches is simply a bad idea.
Speaking of which, I’m a Jerry Lawler fan, and there is no doubt he’s one of the best there’s ever been. However, the novelty of bringing him up to the ring from the announce position is only worthwhile when it’s done on special occasions, and two weeks in a row is too much for a performer who’s well past his prime, even though he still has the ability to stir emotions from the crowd.
And while the King might be impressed by her “puppiesâ€Â, Candice Michelle is NOT convincing as a world champion, especially while women like Mickie James, Victoria, Beth Phoenix, Melina, and Jillian Hall are on the active roster. Eye candy like Maria has no business competing in televised matches at this stage of her development. Trish Stratus must love tuning in on Monday nights
Maria’s boy-toy Santino Marella has seen his moment pass – get him off the show ASAP. Maria’s not going to get him over, so just give up on him. Write him off as a failed experiment. Umaga is going to be turned face organically by the crowds if he keeps shutting Marella up the way he did last week. It’s one thing for the audience to chose who they like because they like the performer. But when a monster booked clearly as a heel for months and months starts to earn babyface reactions simply because the crowd hates his victim, it’s time to get rid of that victim, or at least repackage him before it’s too late to do anything of value with the wrestler in question.
I appreciate the fact that WWE is trying to bring along a new face in the person of Cody Rhodes, but they’d better find something interesting in his personality and in-ring repertoire quick, or the only thing noteworthy about the kid will be his parental lineage, and we all know how far that (and that alone) can take a young performer. That’s right: right into a barrel of scorn from the crowd, followed by obscurity.
If I had the opportunity to ask Vince McMahon one question about RAW it would be, “does EVERY show have to open with the redundant 20-minute squawk-fest?†I’d love to see Regal deny all wrestlers access to hot microphones. How many mics are lying around backstage anyway? Six people come out before the first match and start yapping about what they want or deserve. Just shut up and wrestle, already! If you have a legitimate claim to something, it will be apparent in your actions and win-loss record, not your oration skills.
And we’re not even subject to only one long and boring talk segment. There’s always Carlito’s Cabana to fill another quarter-hour, along with enough backstage hi-jinks to keep us as far from the actual wrestling action as possible.
How many of you are thrilled to see Mr. McMahon back as the focal point of the show? I know I look forward to more emphasis on the Clan McMahon and less on the in-ring product! A paternity suit? That’s brilliant! That’s the type of thing that keeps me tuning into professional wrestling shows. When I watch wrestling, it’s all about the bad soap opera drama and certainly not the wrestling. Why would I want to see wrestling on a World WRESTLING Entertainment program?
It’s sad to take a look back to a time not that long ago and realize the thrill is gone. It’s clear that McMahon performs best when he’s under pressure to do so, and plods along aimlessly when he feels routine coasting is all that’s required. So unless TNA makes some major strides in a short time (which doesn’t seem likely, especially after the Hard Justice ppv) or some new challenger presents itself on the national stage, RAW might well remain the bloated, uninspired, lackluster snooze-fest it’s become, with no hope of improvement. And that’s a loss for all Monday night fans.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled reality.
p.s. – “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.†– Oscar Wilde
Before you go, check out our Rasslin’ Roundtable for TNA’s Hard Justice, compare our picks to PK’s live coverage, and look below to see how we fared.
IP Staff Roundtable Results for Hard Justice
Mark Allen
