Another attempt by the WWE to boost its ratings by having legends appear on the show is in the books. While these attempts to boost viewership have worked quite well in the past it is safe to say, for anyone who watched the show, that this was not one of those shows.
Most of the legends who appeared did so in incredibly short segments that felt thrown together and really did nothing to help the current superstars get over. It makes one wonder if the WWE had a plan when they invited all these legends to Raw or if, like usual, they are making things up as they go.
There is also a bit of an issue that I have with the WWE calling this Raw Legends night. While some of the past performers can absolutely be classified as legends I have a hard time looking at performers such as Torrie Wilson and Alicia Fox as legends. I understand that they are there to beef up the numbers but calling them legends is taking it a step too far.
Let’s take a look at the Raw Legends segments from last night just to see how badly things went for the WWE.
Segment #1
Hogan opened up the show with a quick promo hyping the night. Honestly, it was quick and to the point and its sad to say that this was one of the better legend segments of the night.
Segment #2
After a pretty good Miz TV segment with the New Day Teddy Long came out to do his Teddy Long thing and set up a tag match between the New Day and Miz & Morrison.
It was another mildly entertaining segment that was highlighted by Teddy Long accidentally making a match involving the Undertaker. It got a good pop from the t.v audience but Teddy Long is a one-trick pony that is getting close to running his course.
Segment #3
Angel Garza is flirting with Alicia Fox backstage and she turns him down. He moves on to Mickie James who is hanging with Tatanka and Sgt. Slaughter, because it makes sense for them to be together. Slaughter takes Garza’s rose and calls him a maggot as Garza backs away.
Again, we had a quickly thrown together backstage segment with as many people as possible. For Garza to be the ladies’ man he claims to be he sure has a heck of a time picking any of them up.
Segment #4
Ric Flair is at ringside for Charlotte Flairs tag team match. During the match, Lacey Evans flirts with Ric causing Charlotte to get all pissy and send her father to the back.
How many times will this happen between father and daughter? This is not the first time this exact angle has happened and it just shows the lazy writing on the part of the WWE.
Segment #5
Riddle and the Big Show are backstage talking about Riddle’s upcoming match against Lashley when Orton makes an appearance taking credit for ending Show’s career. Show claims that his career is not over and that he is happy to be considered a legend. Orton mocks the Big Show some more before walking off.
I liked this segment more than most but I have always been a mark for the Big Show. What I find interesting with this is with Orton mocking the Big Show one would have expected some comeuppance but it never came. Maybe come Royal Rumble time Show could be a surprise entrant when Orton is in the ring to even the score?
Segment #6
McIntyre and Sheamus are backstage talking about Drew’s upcoming title defence when Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart approach the two. They have come back and forth which finishes with Drew and Hogan reciting the saying your prayers and eating your vitamins line.
It wasn’t a terrible segment but with a man the celebrity of Hulk Hogan on your show you would think that they would have a more meaningful segment set up for the show. Alas.
Segment #7
Mark Henry is backstage talking with Ricochet when Randy Orton approaches them and does the same trash-talking he did to Big Show earlier. Henry has a medical scooter with him so Orton mocks that a bit and then Henry pushes his way past Orton and scoots away.
The segment was ok but with it mirroring the Big Show segment from earlier in the night it was rather repetitive and they could have tried to do something different.
Segment #8
Once again we have Orton approaching a legend backstage. Flair, IRS and Molly Holly, again a weird trio to have together, are talking about something when Orton walks up and lays into Flair. Flair admonished Orton for his behaviour over the past year while Orton responds with, “well you taught me everything, you are the dirtiest player in the game.” He finished by calling Flair a pathetic old man and then walking away.
Personally, this was the best segment of the night involving the legends. Orton and Flair have a ton of history together and they used this history to have some meaningful trash talk.
Segment #9
Melina makes an appearance backstage with the Lucha House Party. They chant together and then the segment ends.
Melina makes her return after being away for many years and this is how they bring her back? By far the shortest segment of the night and it was the weakest one of the bunch.
Segment #10
Garza approaches Torrie Wilson and Nikki Cross backstage to give Wilson a rose. Wilson directs Garza to a private party with Cardi B that is taking place just down the hall. Garza goes down the hall and enters into a dark room where, surprise surprise, the Boogeyman appears from out of nowhere and scares Garza out of the room. Garza backs himself right into R-Truth who rolls the man up for the 1-2-3 to win the 24/7 championship. The camera then pans over to Ron Simmons who yells,” Damn!”
The Boogeyman making an appearance was a cool moment but using the “legends” in the 24/7 title angle is a bit overdone and it screams of lazy writing. The only great moment of this part was Ron Simmons who frankly can yell damn anytime he pleases and it will get a pop from me.
Segment #11
We reach the final and probably the worst segment of the entirety of Legends Raw. After Drew McIntyre had successfully defended the WWE championship and was receiving an ovation from the legends on stage, Goldberg’s music hit and out came the man. He proceeded to go into the ring and rip into Drew about him not respecting the legends. Goldberg then said that that’s why he is here, to teach Drew some respect and then he challenges him to a WWE title match at the Royal Rumble.
Where do we begin with this? Goldberg must have a short memory because when Drew was in an angle with Orton just last year he had enlisted help from legends to assist him against Orton in their ambulance match. So why does Goldberg all of a sudden think that Drew shows no respect to the legends that he was allied with not more than 6 months ago?
Goldberg also coming out and demanding a world title match makes no sense. Part-timers coming back to put themselves into world title programs during Wrestlemania season has been an issue in the WWE for years and this is not starting things off on the right foot.
Well there we have it, Raw Legends night is in the books and it was a very underwhelming night, to say the least. Most of the legend segments, and for some, I used the term legends loosely, were poorly written and were there to shoehorn names into the show.
Here is hoping that the next time the WWE has a legends night idea they put some more thought into how they are going to present the legends.