What/How do you feel about RAW next week?

[AegonTargaryen]

It's a weird title for a thread, I get it, but I couldn't come up with anything better.

With the RAW episodes in recent memory being such debacles and so much negativity and criticism flowing about, what seems to torment me more is NEXT MONDAY.

Now before people like d_henderson go on and ask me to "Simply quit watching WWE if you don't like it/move on/don't post here/etc." I'd like to simply forewarn you that I understand I'm not enjoying the current product. But does that mean I should just at once relinquish a habit(that of thinking of Monday night RAW every single week, whether in anticipation or as an aftermath) that I, as a well-respected and well-endowed IWC member and WWE fan have had?

By that logic, there should be no AA because every alcoholic should one day just decide that "alcohol sucks, move on". What I'm saying is that, I know things are terrible, yet I can't get myself to not think of Raw.

That being said, as much of a non-mystery it may be to the IWC that I must come across as apathetic/unfeeling/bored/critical/negative about the WWE most of the time, I still want to know what you guys feel about RAW- AT THIS SPECIFIC STAGE, with all the injuries, the LON, Roman Reigns as the challenger, basically the current state of affairs.

Apathy/sadness/disappointment/despair/excitement/anticipation?

I basically feel sadness/despair because even though I'm going to switch the TV on at 6 am tuesday morning for RAW live..I know that nothing will be exciting/interesting, since logic would dictate that if 1)Roman Reigns and Sheamus sucked as characters/speakers at any point in time(A), they would continue to do so at point(B), unless of course they really shook things up in their characters or the entire program.

Also, I like Kewin Owens and Dolph Ziggler, but that's about it. Is there anything else in the WWE that could constitute "anticipation/excitement" for any of you? Also, for people like d_henderson(and others) who might accuse me of trolling/being a hopeless moron trapped on WZ...I actually used to be excited about Raw. Remember John Cena/Randy Orton stuff from 2007/2009? And I'm sure most of us have already agreed that Reigns/Sheamus is simply not working and perhaps the future Raw ratings might show just that.

Mark Madden's newest editorial on how the RAW sucked was entertaining to read, wasn't it? More entertaining than RAW anyway.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I'm not excited for much but I've learned to maintain my expectations in November and December. The Charlotte Flair story is probably the one that interests me the most but that's not saying much. New Day is pretty consistently entertaining outside of the ring. In-ringwise no one is doing stellar work but most matches are far from terrible.

But yes, WWE Raw is in a bad place lately. I've never found Raw to be consistently entertaining, even in the AA there were some duds. But again, poor quality is to be expected in November and December. Throw in the injuries and time off and they are missing a ton of pieces to the puzzle.

I think what people are forgetting and is WWE's saving grace this year is the praise that their PPVs have received. Survivor Series was pretty universally panned but throughout the year PPV feedback has been about as positive as I ever remember. So while I'm not excited for Raw next week, TLC could be interesting and could start a positive build going in to Raw.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Agreed. But I don't think it has to always do with November/December. Sure, The WWE isn't exactly the most exciting post-survivor series every year, and things do begin to turn around ONLY with the build towards Royal Rumble and/or WM.

I think this year, as others have pointed out, a lot of factors have come about against the WWE, a few of them being four major stars being out, and the audiences simply not liking Reigns/Sheamus for whatsoever reasons.

In hindsight, as to the quality of PPVs this year and Nov/Dec, and so many of us blaming "The Creative" failing to do their jobs, I think we here in the IWC are dead-on right when we blame them this time around. Simply put, Bad Booking/Writing= Bad TV= Negative response. The hindsight here refers back to Survivor Series 2013. Despite so much starpower and novelty in The Shield/Wyatts back then, the show still sucked.

"The pay-per-view was the worst-selling edition of Survivor Series since the event's inception in 1987; this has been attributed to a weak buildup.[4][5] The show has been cited as the worst Survivor Series in its history. It received 179,000 buys, down from 212,000 for the previous year's event; and attracted more than 100,000 fewer orders than the 2011 event, which generated 281,000 buys.[6]". Courtesy- Wikipedia.

 

[TootsieBear]

This weeks episode of RAW was really dull. I tried to enjoyed it but just couldn't like anything until New Day came on. New Day is like a breath of fresh air. In my opinion they enjoy being out there performing for the fans, and I really like the fans reaction to them. It just feels natural; not artificial like a lot of WWE's current product.

Hopefully the RAW after TLC does well. I just want to watch some good matches, with good promos to keep my attention.

 

[MERPER]

I don't like New Day in the ring. They're boring and the matches are often a snooze-fest.

However, they're good on the mic and with promos because I am fairly confident WWE is just letting them run with it. They might feed them some ideas to touch on but I think they are being given the freedom to make the most out of it and carry the promos in different directions.

That's why it works. JR talks about it all the time, let personalities show and shine through.

They are a stark contrast to the overly-scripted stuff everywhere else like the Sheamus/Reigns back-and-forth we had at the end of RAW. That was so overly scripted it as mind-numbing and beyond boring.

 

[thebigbadfox]

Funny raw is in philly. And the Philly crowd won't take shit. But with the way it's been it will just be the same.
I actually live in philly and Monday is my bday. My wife offered to get me great seats and I said save the money. I've always spent good money on tickets... floor for the rumble included. Me not buying won't change things but I won't waste my money until the shows improve.

 

[Azane]

It's a post-ppv RAW, so it should be ok, TLC isn't anywhere near as predictable as SS was, so we might see some curveballs that make it interesting, if WWE is smart, they'll keep Reigns off the show for Philly, the mans going to get X-pac heated to death in front of them.

but it's still a 3 hour RAW, Ugh.

 

[dkorolenchuk]

I would like for a non post PPV Raw to kick off with a guy standing in the ring that beat the champion at a house show in London Ontario Canada.

He is your "NEW" WWE Champion.

They should treat PPV's like they do the RR,I mean that the winner of the RR faces whoever the champ is at Mania ,the headline match is the #1 contender vs the champ regardless if the belt changed hands the Smackdown before the PPV.

 

[rmp0012002]

The same creative people are there so I expect a good amount of their usual garbage since I feel they don't believe they have an issue with the product they have been putting out. But being Philly I would think they would try to have a better show since that crowd will let them know if their not putting on a good show. I'm expecting a lot of lowering the crowd volume Monday night.

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

I don't get excited about RAW anymore. Not like I used to. It's just another TV show now. It's Monday, oh RAW is on tonight. Walking Dead and Empire feel like more of a weekly event than RAW. I'll give NXT it's props, I always get excited when I realize/remember NXT is on. I just read the Frank "The Clown" letter to WWE, and it he hit the nail on the head. Watching RAW is an absolute CHORE. You just sit there waiting for whatever's on to be over so we can start the next think and hopefully finish it in a decent amount of time.

I love Roman. I know I'm in the minority, but I do. He's over with me. I don't hold the promo's against him cuz I know it's not his fault. But him and Sheamus are a terrible pairing. If they just HAD to put the belt on Sheamus, then they should have found another path for Roman. Something to keep him distracted. I wish they were building Roman vs Triple H. Much better. I knew this week's "main event" would be a stinker. WWE depends WAAAAAY too much on these "final confrontation/face to face" scenario's before PPV's. Sometimes, they're a home run (Cena and Bryan before SummerSlam '13 comes to mind) but more often than not its just pointless back and forth jabbering to try and fill the last 20 minutes of the show (which ironically is usually how they start the show). I love wrestling and WWE so much. But at a certain point I stopped watching TNA because it wasn't important anymore. Then the same thing happened with SmackDown. I can't tell you the last time I watched that show. RAW has dropped to that level. There honestly isn't an important thing at all happening on that show. We'd all be better off catching RAW results and comments on Twitter, then just watch the PPV's. I might do that, sounds a lot less... mind numbingly soul crushing.

 

[Burritocover]

I'm still waiting for it to get better. I didn't think it got bad until maybe the last 4-6 weeks or so and I know it'll get better especially when some guys get healthy. Overall I'm still entertained by it just not as much as usual. What I hope for Monday is that Roman will have turned heel Sunday because I just can not imagine a scenario in which he stops getting booed as a face. I am actually a fan of his and think he gets way more shit than he deserves. But I think they need to use him better. Long scripted promos are not for him. There was a time a few months back where it seemed that he was just talking on his own instead of memorizing a script and I thought it was way better. The closing segment this Monday was absolutely dreadful. I've never turned raw off before but if I didn't know someone was going through one of those tables I might have Monday. It was so fucking unnecessarily long and slow. I can't imagine a single person was entertained by it. I used to think sheamus was pretty good on the mic but this kind of condescending tone he's had lately is just annoying. I just don't want him on my tv when he's talking like that. If there's one person in creative that thought that segment went well they need to have their head examined.

 

[Just Zay'n]

To be honest, pretty much nothing at this point. And that's the problem really. They used to hype up next week's RAW a lot, by announcing matches for next week, etc.

 

[Navi]

I'm working till 8 so will miss the first half hour. Now if they do the same thing they did last week and put the best match on first, then I'll be miffed. If they stay true to form though I'll only miss a 20 minute promo.

It's getting to the point where I go into RAW with the lowest expectations possible, so everything is sort of a bonus. Problem is they sometimes fail to even meet that. Last week's ending between Sheamus and Reigns was just short of terrible. Went on too long, and I never want to here the expression "tator tots" again. First time was funny, second time made me smile, after that it became boring.

Since we're coming off a PPV, it should be better than last weeks. Hopefully it's better than the go home show before the PPV.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I'd like to simply forewarn you that I understand I'm not enjoying the current product. But does that mean I should just at once relinquish a habit(that of thinking of Monday night RAW every single week, whether in anticipation or as an aftermath) that I, as a well-respected and well-endowed IWC member and WWE fan have had?

I understand what you're saying. You've not been enjoying what they've been putting on the air, yet you stick with it because you're a wrestling fan and hope the product will improve.

In essence there are two types of WWE-negative forum members; ones that like certain segments and not others (like you) and ones who simply rant that every-damn-thing about WWE is bad, terrible, awful, stinks, sucks, & shits......and I can certainly understand others telling them to give it up if they hate it so much. If someone is hitting a WWE fan in the head with a hammer and he/she doesn't like it......move out from under the hammer!

Do both sorts of folks have the right to post on the forum about it? .....Sure they do, but remember; if a person is one of the totally negative ones and posts nothing but derogatory messages, other posters are likely to turn on them......and then we've got another one of those WZ wars that goes back and forth in print until the mods are forced to shut it down.

For myself, it's only a TV show and a form of entertainment I enjoy watching for fun & relaxation. I enjoy most of what WWE does.....and the stuff I don't enjoy I attribute to the monumental task that faces them, with a minimum of 5 hours of original programming a week, 52 weeks a year, plus all the PPVs and new Network stuff. Instead of damning them for what they don't do, I'd rather praise them for what they do.

I sit and watch without having to judge and criticize everything that appears on the screen......then, I'll talk about it with you folks the next day on WZ. If there's something I didn't care for, I'll discuss it in posts.

Yet, while many of the complainers seem to indicate they could handle the booking of the current product better than WWE, I would submit........they can't.

Nor could I. Nor would I want to try.

I just want to watch and enjoy.....as I've been doing for past 30 years.

If I hated it.....I wouldn't.

 

[BuriedByCena]

Definition of Insanity is watching RAW every week expecting it to change and get good....yet it never does.

I give up. I quit. The past 2-3 months have been brutal. I keep on falling asleep because it is so boring. Same thing every week. "Oh RAW is on at 8PM, time to watch....Zzzzzz". Sometimes I wake up.

This past week I woke up for the last ten minutes and I witnessed two toddlers calling each other Tater Tots among other juvenile insults. I just rolled my eyes. This company is done.

 

[d_henderson1810]

It's a weird title for a thread, I get it, but I couldn't come up with anything better.

With the RAW episodes in recent memory being such debacles and so much negativity and criticism flowing about, what seems to torment me more is NEXT MONDAY.

Now before people like d_henderson go on and ask me to "Simply quit watching WWE if you don't like it/move on/don't post here/etc." I'd like to simply forewarn you that I understand I'm not enjoying the current product. But does that mean I should just at once relinquish a habit(that of thinking of Monday night RAW every single week, whether in anticipation or as an aftermath) that I, as a well-respected and well-endowed IWC member and WWE fan have had?

By that logic, there should be no AA because every alcoholic should one day just decide that "alcohol sucks, move on". What I'm saying is that, I know things are terrible, yet I can't get myself to not think of Raw.

That being said, as much of a non-mystery it may be to the IWC that I must come across as apathetic/unfeeling/bored/critical/negative about the WWE most of the time, I still want to know what you guys feel about RAW- AT THIS SPECIFIC STAGE, with all the injuries, the LON, Roman Reigns as the challenger, basically the current state of affairs.

Apathy/sadness/disappointment/despair/excitement/anticipation?

I basically feel sadness/despair because even though I'm going to switch the TV on at 6 am tuesday morning for RAW live..I know that nothing will be exciting/interesting, since logic would dictate that if 1)Roman Reigns and Sheamus sucked as characters/speakers at any point in time(A), they would continue to do so at point(B), unless of course they really shook things up in their characters or the entire program.

Also, I like Kewin Owens and Dolph Ziggler, but that's about it. Is there anything else in the WWE that could constitute "anticipation/excitement" for any of you? Also, for people like d_henderson(and others) who might accuse me of trolling/being a hopeless moron trapped on WZ...I actually used to be excited about Raw. Remember John Cena/Randy Orton stuff from 2007/2009? And I'm sure most of us have already agreed that Reigns/Sheamus is simply not working and perhaps the future Raw ratings might show just that.

Mark Madden's newest editorial on how the RAW sucked was entertaining to read, wasn't it? More entertaining than RAW anyway.

You mentioned me, so I will speak.

You have just proven my point all along, why WWE WON'T go under, why it WON'T die.

Because it is a "habit". It is like that girl you dumped, but even though there were lots of things you don't like about her, you can't stop thinking about her.

This is why WWE will stay alive. Because WWE is a "drug" and Vince is the "dealer". He deals out shows each week, and you HAVE to watch, you HAVE to comment on it.

Vince gets his money. He doesn't care if or why you like or don't like WWE, he gets your money. He will continue to get your money until kingdom come, because you NEED WWE, you crave WWE. You are like an alcoholic, a smoker, a drug user, looking for your next fix. You're like Charlie Sheen with a prostitute.

None of you will actually walk away. If you could, you would have by now. No, you are here for the long haul. You hate it, but you love it too. You swear never to watch WWE again, or spend money on it, yet you will hand over your money, again, and again, until you are strong enough to say "No".

The fact is, you can't win. You walk away, you are a drop in the ocean, and shows will still sell out, RAW and Smackdown will still get made. If you don't, you show that Vince has you over a barrel. You can't stop, and that is why Vince McMahon is laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Definition of Insanity is watching RAW every week expecting it to change and get good....yet it never does.

I give up. I quit. The past 2-3 months have been brutal. I keep on falling asleep because it is so boring. Same thing every week. "Oh RAW is on at 8PM, time to watch....Zzzzzz". Sometimes I wake up.

This past week I woke up for the last ten minutes and I witnessed two toddlers calling each other Tater Tots among other juvenile insults. I just rolled my eyes. This company is done.

See you next week, for your thoughts on RAW.

 

[MERPER]

I feel the same way I've thought about every RAW for the last few months... zero excitement and prepared to fast forward through a majority of it.

Unless there's some huge shake up at TLC with an unexpected face or heel turn or some major return of a superstar, there's nothing to make anyone look forward to it.

I'll have to read about that face/heel turn or other shocking element though because I'm not giving them $9.99 for this craptastic PPV.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

You mentioned me, so I will speak.

You have just proven my point all along, why WWE WON'T go under, why it WON'T die.

Because it is a "habit". It is like that girl you dumped, but even though there were lots of things you don't like about her, you can't stop thinking about her.

This is why WWE will stay alive. Because WWE is a "drug" and Vince is the "dealer". He deals out shows each week, and you HAVE to watch, you HAVE to comment on it.

Vince gets his money. He doesn't care if or why you like or don't like WWE, he gets your money. He will continue to get your money until kingdom come, because you NEED WWE, you crave WWE. You are like an alcoholic, a smoker, a drug user, looking for your next fix. You're like Charlie Sheen with a prostitute.

None of you will actually walk away. If you could, you would have by now. No, you are here for the long haul. You hate it, but you love it too. You swear never to watch WWE again, or spend money on it, yet you will hand over your money, again, and again, until you are strong enough to say "No".

The fact is, you can't win. You walk away, you are a drop in the ocean, and shows will still sell out, RAW and Smackdown will still get made. If you don't, you show that Vince has you over a barrel. You can't stop, and that is why Vince McMahon is laughing all the way to the bank.

You're missing my point. You always miss THE point(I know this because you'd typed that exact same thing numerous times before, at least thrice).

Even though you're right in a way, as to how Vince Mcmahon doesn't give a shit so long as we keep tuning in, the money keeps coming in, in the long run, which should be apparent by now, as reflected by ratings, Vince IS the loser. But I'm certain you'll never understand that and understand where guys like myself and so many others come from. You're just stubborn and singular in your stubbornness- VINCE this VINCE that, YOU DON'T MATTER- and so on.

Anyhow, the WWE doesn't get a penny from me since I don't use the Network, I get all the TV shows and PPVs here for free and it's up to me whether or not to watch them. I do feel bad for the unwashed masses in the US who aren't rebelling or choosing to NOT spend money on Live Shows/PPVs(not free TV), including those who were at Survivor Series and recent Raws and didn't throw garbage in the ring.

And yes, when the time comes that there's no Seth Rollins/Cesaro/Bryan/Punk/Orton to watch the WWE for, and only cookie-cutter, heinous, atrocious, downright uninteresting characters like Sheamus, Roman Reigns and Alberto Del Rio, and basically BAD wrestlers like The Miz and Dean Ambrose(yes I said it, he's not even a mediocre wrestler), I WILL STOP WATCHING, ENTIRELY.

 

[BuriedByCena]

See you next week, for your thoughts on RAW.

I will save you time. Here is what I will say this monday for RAW:

"Tried watching it, but I fell asleep again because it was so boring".

Is that TLC PPV this sunday?

"Tried watching it, but I fell asleep again because it was so boring".

 

[laodaron]

I just don't get it. I watched the WWE from the late 80s, I watched the first Raws, I watched the AE, I stopped watching during the RA era because it was just SO bad, and I started watching again at some point around 2010/2011. I've literally never loved the product more than I do now.

I also don't watch all 52 Raws 52 Smackdowns, 12 PPVs, and whatever else. That's just too much content. I DVR Raw, sometimes I just delete it, bu I'll usually I skim through it. I skip over people like Wyatt, Ziggler, and Charlotte, Paige, and the other bad ones. I watch the NXT Takeover specials, and I watch many of the specials like Breaking Ground, Swerved, etc. I also watch most of the PPVs, but I usually wait until the next morning, or I'll stay up late, like if it's a WM, and I'll start it about an hour late, so I can skip the boring matches.

That's what I don't get. There's so much on WWE television right now, that there's literally something to appeal to EVERYONE. Do you like rambling nearly incoherent promos? Bray Wyatt's got 15 minutes on the mic. Do you like big muscle-y heavyweights? Sheamus is the champ, and Reigns is the N1C. Do you like spots and other ring psychology-void matches? Neville's on the card. Do you like jokes, and corny shit? There's usually one or two backstage bits. Do you like Divas? Charlotte and Paige and Becky and some other Divas usually get 25-30 minutes of the three hours. I mean, the list goes on and on.

No one is expected to LOVE all 9360 minutes of Raw every year. Or the 9360 minutes of Smackdown. Or the 2256 minutes of PPV. But out of that, there's plenty of content to make you happy for the week, if you just try and make the attitude more of "Hey, I like these segments" instead of "This is all shit."

BTW, the AE and RAE were both loaded with bullshit. Rose colored glasses are a bitch.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I will save you time. Here is what I will say this monday for RAW:

"Tried watching it, but I fell asleep again because it was so boring".

Is that TLC PPV this sunday?

"Tried watching it, but I fell asleep again because it was so boring".

But you at least tried to watch it. You can't have given up if you still give it a chance.

 

[d_henderson1810]

You're missing my point. You always miss THE point(I know this because you'd typed that exact same thing numerous times before, at least thrice).

Even though you're right in a way, as to how Vince Mcmahon doesn't give a shit so long as we keep tuning in, the money keeps coming in, in the long run, which should be apparent by now, as reflected by ratings, Vince IS the loser. But I'm certain you'll never understand that and understand where guys like myself and so many others come from. You're just stubborn and singular in your stubbornness- VINCE this VINCE that, YOU DON'T MATTER- and so on.

Anyhow, the WWE doesn't get a penny from me since I don't use the Network, I get all the TV shows and PPVs here for free and it's up to me whether or not to watch them. I do feel bad for the unwashed masses in the US who aren't rebelling or choosing to NOT spend money on Live Shows/PPVs(not free TV), including those who were at Survivor Series and recent Raws and didn't throw garbage in the ring.

And yes, when the time comes that there's no Seth Rollins/Cesaro/Bryan/Punk/Orton to watch the WWE for, and only cookie-cutter, heinous, atrocious, downright uninteresting characters like Sheamus, Roman Reigns and Alberto Del Rio, and basically BAD wrestlers like The Miz and Dean Ambrose(yes I said it, he's not even a mediocre wrestler), I WILL STOP WATCHING, ENTIRELY.

Firstly, you mentioned my name in a post, and yet didn't want me to respond (bad idea).

No, I don't know where you and others here come from. Los Angeles? Detroit? Pittsburgh?

Vince isn't losing anything. He is still making money, hand over fist, and he is getting money out of the saps you feel sorry for (and people like me, who don't quit wrestling just because it has become "cool" to do so). As long as Vince rakes in the bucks, he doesn't need you. WWE will go on without you, and probably be better for it.

Well Seth is injured, Cesaro is an irrelevance, Punk has quit, Bryan has broken down physically and Orton is out injured. So why are you still here, when all your favourites won't be on air until after WM32 at earliest? Put up or shut up.

Like I said to another guy before, see you next week, when you vow never to watch RAW again, while watching it anyway.

 

[GeneralKarim]

Not really excited for it really. Raws have been awful for quite a while now. 2 years ago I watched everything WWE put out, but now I've cut it all back to NXT and RAW. And the only way I watch RAW, is a 720p pirated version of it and I just skip though most of it since, at least in the last few months, it's been complete and utter shite.

RAWs after PPVs, tend to be a bit better usually, so we will see, but my expectation are very low. I can watch irrelevant 5 star matches for so long before getting bored the of asinine storytelling that is going on.

My interest in UFC has definitely been increasing over the past few years and definitely declining for WWE. Atm I think I prolly watch 30 min of footage of RAW since most stuff can be skipped.

For all the love I have for wrestling, you just can't overlook the glaring issues that the product has. I can't believe they thought Sheamus vs Roman as the focal point of the show would be a good thing. Would it be a good thing for something like a Smackdown main event or smth ? Yeah w/e.

I'm almost in the "Watch New Day fuck around. Leave." kinda state. I never expect to be entertained by all the segments, but nobody can deny that most segments nowadays are complete shit. I do hope things pick up in January.