Despite ratings and naysayers, am I the only who's enjoying the little things on Raw?

[AegonTargaryen]

By little things, I mean, the resurgence of the Squash matches/Enhancement matches.

Let me clear up a few things first though:-

For months throughout 2014 and 2015, I had been saying Raw sucks, this sucks, that sucks, and I wasn't the only one. Before the brand split, we'd been getting every Star on Raw, week after week, we got Quality matches, 6-man tag matches, plus we got the stories. Then the injuries happened and it really got bad between November 2015-June 2016.

The announcement that they were gonna split the roster into two distinct brands/shows once again led to both positive reactions and hope and probably much more pessimism from WZ/IWC. (You can go back and check this huge thread on the Brand Split, the number of posts and the amount of cynicism and text is staggering).

Now fast forward to today, everything is in effect as of now. We got the Universal title, the roster set, the new Raw format which according to most people in the comments section and forums really makes Raw nothing short o f "unbearable" to watch, especially 3 hours including the Ads. Also, most people say SD Live is completely coherent and watchable, and I agree with them. SD Live this week was amazing, and it has been so, DESPITE very little talent to work with, which ironically enough is probably one reason why SD Live has been so good (and that its 2 hours).

Now I'm not saying Raw is PERFECT or totally entertaining. If I could complain about the wrongs, I'd say :-

The NEW DAY and their act is not just stale but horrendous. The whole thing with The Club has made it unwatchable for me, and I haven't really been following it anyway, the New Day is a channel changer, as far as I'm concerned.

I find everything involving Enzo and Cass horrendous. So much that a few weeks ago, even Jericho and KO in the same segment didn't entertain me that much, and that whole show was nothing short of a debacle.

Three hours is still too long and as a result, most people are complaining that things seem to drag, for example the unnecessary 10-min in-ring segments with Foley and the women which opened up Raw this week, where only a 2-minute announcement would've sufficed. (I'm not complaining, but they need to fill 3 hours, right?)

What I intend to do however is DECLARE, that I'm enjoying Raw like never before.

It's bewildering because I did little else other than complain, before the brand split, as did many others, and I see others still complaining (Why should they watch Jinder vs Sami, or Braun Strowman Squash matches, etc etc..its unwatchable blah blah) and they're not trolls or anything, they're all reasonable fans constituting the IWC, just like I am.

Now I didn't enjoy Raw or WWE as a whole because the WWE was doing things wrong at so many levels that it was disgraceful. EVERYTHING WAS REPTITION. MECHANICAL.

Every week ,same multi-man matches, same pointless singles matches where wrestlers A and B exchanged victories.

There was some storyling development when it came to mainevents. But that was that. Plus the Authority/Stephanie schtick was incredibly boring.

But now, I enjoy pretty much everything on Raw, excluding the Female division, for which I am not accountable. That being:-

1)Braun Strowman's squash matches, especially the one against Sin Cara.
2)Nia Jax(I am not much into Female wrestling, but I follow Nia jax's squash matches).
3)Jinder Mahal's new "Peace" schtick, and his enhancement matches such as against Sami Zayn.
4)Bo Dallas' really short squash matches.
5)Sheamus. The same Sheamus I found intolerable 6 months ago. I'm actually interested in watching him progress as a character and wrestler now.

So all that, besides enjoying the MAIN stuff on Raw- the Seth Rollins face turn, him antagonizing Steph and Mick, Kevin Owens as a heel champion, Jericho being better than ever, Jericho and KO together, Sheamus and Cearo, AND Roman Reigns.

I have given this a thought- as to why I didn't really care BEFORE the brand split (with competitive multi-man matches week after week and every major star ) and why I care NOW.

I found that one of the reasons is that this new format really is the way a wrestling show should be. You get both the MAIN stories and competitive mainevents, and a chance to let wrestlers like Bo Dallas and Braun Strowman to grow on you. What you're getting is FOCUS, on everyone and everything, even when it's filler matches. What could be more absurd than the fact that just one week of Jinder Mahal introducing his "Peace" schtick has got me invested in him, that I actually connected and that I actually look forward to seeing him in the future.

So I'll end by simply asking:- Is it me or the WWE is finally doing things right following the brand-split? We already agree SD Live, with such a minimal roster is already creating compelling, must-see TV week after week. But I want to know I'm not the only one who finds Raw enjoyable, except a segment or two a week, especially stuff like Bo Dallas, Braun Strowman, Jinder Mahal, and perhaps the tag division slightly.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

For, me, I still dread watching raw every week mostly because of the fact that it's still the same style of booking then before of the brand split. The fact that most of the wrestlers that I realy I'm tired of seeing on tv are all on the raw brand doesn't help. But the one thing I really love is the return of the squash match. If use properly it's a great wa to put a new talent over. I think the las 2 weeks, they wasted the squash matc by using it with bo dallas since I don't see what they gain by pushing dallas at this point.

using guys that nobody cares about like jinder mahal and the shining stars doen't help my interest either, instead, it makes my want to turn the channel.

In the end, I'm looking foward to watch smackdown every week because it feel fresh and new and they seem to give those guys and girls a chance to get over organicly. Raw is more the old guard of booking with the very boring booking and always pushing the same wrestlers while others are stuck doing nothing

 

[rbv13]

The squash matches have been fun. I just worry they might have missed w/the entire point of a squash match. Right out of the gate it became about the jobber and not the monster Super Star. Are fans thinking about impressive and dominating Nia or Braun are or are they waiting to laugh along with the next comedy act? The most over performer since the return of the squash is James Ellsworth. It shouldn't be that way.

Digging deeper into the issue RAW is a total train wreck. The show lacks simple programming storytelling logic. There is little flow within individual shows and continuance from week to week. The characters are confusing and the plot has been loop for twenty years.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

RAW has been bad to mediocre at best. I feel like I'm forcing my shelf trough the entire deal. Just check out the 3 RAWs after Summerslam. I know that the situation for the Universal Championship is to blame for this, plus Rusev's absence, but due to these facts, the entire RAW roster was walking around with no feud at all.

Plus Sasha was missing.

It feels like WWE hit the pause button and actually just threw together 3 random RAWs, until Rusev's return and until Owens became the champ.

Things got moving only just this week, with Sasha vs Charlotte happening, Zayn in a feud with Chris, Rollins vs Owens picked up and finally Rusev vs Reigns continues.

The problem with these week's ratings can be attributed to the fact that the 3 previous RAWs, were simply fillers to buy time until Rusev and Sasha's return and until the new champ was crowned.

PS: 3 hours is still too much. Go back to 2 hours and RAW will blow Smackdown out of the water, with all the fresh faces RAW has.

EDIT: I completely forgot about the Cruiserweight division coming to RAW. Don't go back to two hours then, but keep your main roster at 2,5 hours and give the Cruiserweights at least half an hour. That will get things moving smoother, I hope.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Raw is just filled with uninteresting characters right now. Plus, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. I am not saying Stephanie & Hunter are bad in their jobs, not by a long shot, but they've been so overexposed that every time they appear for whatever reason I just roll my eyes.

But I'll give you this, the enhancement matches are awesome. I don't feel it to be bad television at all, in fact it's the best way to protect the roster. We've been getting 50/50 booking for years now, so this just feels like a breath of fresh air. When Nia Jax, Bo Dallas and Braun Strowman actually have a decent opponent, they'll be there as unbeatable and it will have a bigger interest to at least know, if they are going to lose.

They need to better manage that three hour show. It was never a good idea to start with and the show does drag, so maybe the Cruiserweights can inject some good quality in there, given the fact that they can have at least an hour of the episode for them. That way, Raw and SmackDown's roster could shake up a little bit. Maybe trade Cesaro for Kalisto, whatever.

This Monday, lets see what they can do.

 

[Isaac Kaye]

The squash matches have been okay, but they are only effective in the embryonic stage of someone's push and already Strowman has moved onto Sin Cara. They've only been a small ray of light on RAW since the brand split. Pretty much everything else has been garbage. RAW was saved last week by the 'Kevin Owens Show' but they can't keep relying on the last half an hour - the rest of the show needs to have some booking direction and consistency and they're not close to that yet.

Ironically the main event is the only booking they've had to alter at short notice (because of Balor's injury) so you expect them to have put more thought into the rest of the programming. The women's division is actually quite hot at the moment, but they're even doing a shabby job of booking that effectively.

I expect everything to improve over the next few weeks, but at the moment my main focus is watching SD because they are getting the basics right.

 

[ISkye]

We haven't had a fair time to judge it and it's pretty obvious their plans have had to shift multiple times. I think this week going towards the Raw following the PPV will be more interesting. RAW is actually doing a lot of good things, but they aren't exactly entertaining. I watch some of the YouTube clips or I'll read up on it, but at the moment I just don't have the time to really make part of my day disappear or to want to go out of my way to watch it.

It's not that bad, but it isn't amazing either so people aren't interested in it. It's not even really that boring. It just kind of feels like another episode and I guess that's where people see the problem. I'm all for it as long as it makes material for future storytelling or sets things up which it has. I'd only be disappointed if they "drop the ball" on someone or a match is awful with high build. Even then I can always try again next week or just watch the segments or matches with people I enjoy a lot.

 

[peter_midnight]

The pacing of everything is slow and they don't have the roster depth to do this kind of storytelling on a 3 hour show. Nitro suffered from similar problems, but they had such a deep roster that you'd have guys like Jerry Flynn wrestle Van Hammer just to kill time and literally not advance anything. Yet, a 3 hour show needs this just like boxing needs prelims that will probably lead to nowhere career wise for both guys fighting.

I like the overall direction in that people are being treated seriously and that entrances don't scream sports entertainment (even though they do, it's less blatant). I see what they're trying to do, but 20 years of hotshotting has made this slow deliberate pace too hard to follow. They borrow a lot from the Nitro formula mixed in with some old school WWF & newer WWE, but it's all poorly executed. I'd like to see less non-interview promos (in-ring mic promos make no sense most of the time). We may have seen Hollywood Hulk Hogan on tv every week, but he didn't compete every week. That made Hulk's matches must see TV in the late 90s. The same can be said of Austin (I admit I didn't watch Raw much from Montreal 97 on) from what I remember.

The matches themselves have turned into a mix of old WWF and WCW Saturday Night matches, but with no other purpose than they have to fill 3 hours of tv.

These are all VERY fixable and may take up to 5 years to workout, but it's possible. I'm not a brand extension fan, but with 5 hours of TV every week and a seriously shallow roster it's probably the best way to not burn everyone out. BTW, I'm not saying the roster itself sucks, but I am saying that the roster just doesn't have enough guys to keep things fresh every week. As an example, in WCW, you could literally have a match between High Voltage vs the Faces of Fear with no angle at all other than they're in the tag division and want a shot at the tag belts, which was implied and not said in microphone or interview. I know guys like the Gambler, Roadblock, and Sickboy despite them not ever being in an angle at all or even having ring music in the case of Sickboy.

If you think the above is impossible and wouldn't work, need I remind you that La Parka who never had any real angles (until Russo I believe) and never had one interview was more over than a good majority of this roster in retrospect. Don't believe me, watch an old Nitro sign and you'll see La Parka signs everywhere.