If you tuned into Monday Night Raw looking to be entertained, you came to the wrong place.
Once again, WWE delivered another 3 hours of drivel that will continue to drive what little of the audience they have left, away in their droves. WWE needs to pull their finger out soon and fix things because they are no longer the only game in town. AEW isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but at least they aren’t insulting the fans’ intelligence and they actually have a vision.
With the debacle that is Crown Jewel just days away, all eyes were on building to that super show. Not for the women, of course, as they are still banned from performing there due to “cultural differences”.
If Paul Heyman is running things creatively then he deserves the same treatment as Eric Bischoff because what he is offering is some of the worst television in WWE history. We got the debacle that was the Divorce Court that outed Rusev as a sex addict. Erick Rowan’s latest push being stomped into the ground by Seth Rollins. Plus more rematches and 50/50 booking. Why do we bother watching this?
Becky Lynch Def. Kairi Sane Via Submission
Whatever happened to kicking off Raw strong with a gripping follow up to last week’s proceedings? Now, all we get is random pairings wrestling for 30 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, this is very good and easily the best match of the night. However, what’s the reason for it? Why should I be invested? WWE have to stop booking TV like a house show.
Having The Kabuki Warriors turn on the returning Paige was the wrong way to go, in my opinion. The Tag Team Champions have chosen to speak in Japanese, so having Paige be their mouthpiece and embrace the dark side would’ve worked a treat, especially as Paige can’t wrestle anymore. She’s not exactly going to be able to get revenge on them. Poor booking all around.
Buddy Murphy Def. R Truth
This is something that should be on Main Event, not Monday Night Raw. Buddy Murphy has a big upside and I can see him being a future big time player, but can anyone tell me what the purpose of this bout was? It didn’t make Murphy look dominant as Truth got in too much offense, it made him look lucky if anything.
They need to strap a rocket to Murphy, and see how he handles the pressure. As for Truth, they should keep him doing the comic stuff as opposed to serious wrestling as he’s not very good at the latter.
The Street Profits Promo
I really don’t get this gimmick. I find them annoying instead of entertaining. I’m sure some people love them, though. Although, not judging by the ratings. This promo basically achieved nothing and seemed just a big waste of time. They could’ve done this in half the time backstage. Why does everything need to happen in the ring these days? It makes things seem more rehearsed and less off the cuff.
Ricochet Def. Drew McIntyre Via Disqualification
This was okay for what it was, but did we need a rematch after McIntyre won in clean fashion last week? Probably not. It’s also not as good as their previous effort. I’d have rather seen Ricochet take on Randy Orton, at least that would’ve been something different. The RKO spot to finish the bout was a thing of beauty, though.
The sooner McIntyre gets promoted to the main event scene and captures the Universal Championship, the better. It amazes me how they’ve waited so long to pull the trigger. He’s a Vince McMahon wet dream. We just have to get through that Team Hogan vs. Team Flair farce first.
The Viking Raiders Def. Rizzo & Bryant
So, even though they are the Raw Tag Team Champions, The Viking Raiders are still being fed squash matches. It just doesn’t make sense. I know the current tag division isn’t exactly the deepest, but surely they can do better than this.
The whole gimmick is a joke, anyway. They don’t look intimidating, they look like they’re dressing up for Halloween. I may sound harsh but I’m just fed up of watching such awful wrestling on TV when I know how good it can be.
Andrade Def. Sin Cara
Oh, what a surprise. Another rematch on Raw. Where is the creativity? Where is the drive? Where is the ambition to show the world you’re the number one in sports entertainment? It’s all so lazy and dull.
Sin Cara has been an afterthought for so long that it’s hard to take him seriously as a threat. I also don’t see the big deal over Andrade. Yes, he can wrestle. But he hasn’t got much else going for him. He needs more character, because can anyone tell me what his ambitions or motivations are? Anyone? Sticking a random luchadora with him to battle Zelina was fine, but without any story, what’s the point?
Natayla & Charlotte Flair Def. The Iiconics
Match after match after match. I like wrestling as much as the next guy, but this is bordering on overkill. I want character development, storylines we can invest in, must see TV. I don’t want hours of meaningless wrestling.
Speaking of characters, I do like The IICONICS. They know how to get over. They may not be ring generals, but they have personality and bring it everywhere with them. They deserve better than what is currently being written for them.
Falls Count Anywhere Match: Seth Rollins Def. Erick Rowan
This was okay for what it was, which was essentially a warm-up for Rollins’ bigger test in the form of Bray Wyatt at Crown Jewel. With the crushing defeat came the end of Rowan’s latest push, which involved defeating Roman Reigns, let’s not forget. No consistency, no drive to commit to characters. It’s as if they write the shows on a week to week basis.
As for what will happen at Crown Jewel, I expect some ridiculous finish again that will attempt to protect The Fiend and allow Rollins to keep the Universal Championship. On a side note, Raw vs. Smackdown already just two weeks after the latest draft. WWE doesn’t care about continuity at all.
AJ Styles Def. Humberto Carrillo Via SubmissionÂ
Carrillo is very capable in the ring, but who the hell is he? I know he’s from 205 Live, but WWE haven’t explained much about him. Where’s the vignettes dissecting his character and motivations? All he has done so far is impress in losing efforts against Rollins and AJ Styles. We need more.
Also, where was Kevin Owens? Did Paul Heyman forget about last week’s show closing angle? I’m guessing so as there was no mention of it at all. Just poor writing which keeps letting down the world class talent they have at their disposal.
Rusev humiliated On Divorce Court
The worst storyline in WWE and worst segment of the evening sadly got the main event treatment on Raw. The only person getting any satisfaction out of this is Paul Heyman, who has always been weirdly fixated on this kind of stuff. Just look at some old episodes of ECW on the WWE Network for proof of that.
The crowd were dead throughout, which wasn’t a surprise. This angle needs to be scrapped as soon as possible as it’s killing everyone involved. If that was the first episode of Raw I’d ever seen, I’d never watch again.
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