Going Forward: What Does Raw Need To Do?

[Jack-Hammer]

This past Monday's Raw popped a huge rating and drew the most viewers Raw has had in roughly a decade. There were some legends on the show that were great to see, the WWE spent two months heavily hyping the show and the announced segments of the DX reunion, Lesnar answering Triple H's challenge, the Daniel Bryan & AJ wedding segment, The Rock's return and the Punk vs. Cena situation drew tons of interest.

Over the next several weeks, there'll almost certainly be a drop off from the more than 6 million that this past Monday's show averaged. But the permanent, at least for now, three hour format has a ton of momentum going forward and a solid foundation to build on. Next week, there won't be the feelings of nostalgia going around. It's doubtful that Lesnar or Rock will be there as well. So, what do you think WWE needs to do going forward now that Raw 1,000 is in the books?

One of the problems that's plagued most of the three hour Raws in the past is that the show has dragged at times. A big reason for that, in my view, is that they've used up much more air time than was necessary with mostly irrelevant filler rather than content that hads ome real purpose. I understand that fans might need some chances to catch their breath at times throughout the show, but there's no need to go overboard with it. Three hours can be a long time and Raw isn't going to keep viewers entertained if they fill the time with stuff like dance contests, lame match concepts like body slam & over the top rope challenges & 60 second Diva matches, extending certain segments to include 10 minutes of Brodus Clay dancing, Hornswoggle running around the ring, Santino clowing around dressed as Sherlock Holmes, or any similar happenings.

I think Raw's three hour concept has the potential to work if they use the time wisely and, personally, I don't believe it'll be all that difficult at all to do that. For instance, use that time for wrestlers that might not often appear on Raw or SmackDown! as a means of introducing them to the regular television audience and to debut new talents to the roster in meaningful ways. They probably won't generate much of a response at first, but Rome wasn't built in a day either. The WWE has a healthier tag team scene right now than it's had in years, the roster is packed talented wrestlers in the mid-card scene that have tons of potential, there are several young wrestlers on NXT that show tremendous promise, etc. Putting on matches that have a purpose and longer matches on a regular basis can also be a very useful means of. Like I said, there are a lot of talented wrestlers on the roster that can be put to good use each and every week on Raw to help fill up this valuable time in entertaining ways.

I'm not saying that Raw has to try and go for this epic feel each and every week because it just can't happen. Every night can't feel like a huge deal, after all. In my eyes, Raw has been a consistently good show for the past couple of years. Some weeks are better than others, there's a lull in the excitement factor at various times and there are always going to be things shown that don't resonate with everyone. That's the nature of pro wrestling in and of itself since before Vince was able to crawl.

Note: This is not a spam thread nor is it a license to hate on Raw. If you don't like Raw, great, but actually provide reasons why and what you think they should do to fix it. Just don't rag for the sheer sake of it. There's already a WWE complaints thread that let's you do that to your heart's content.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I think Raw's three hour concept has the potential to work if they use the time wisely and, personally, I don't believe it'll be all that difficult at all to do that.

Great minds think alike.

Raw isn't going to change all that much in-terms of content. I feel for now they'll start hyping things up, pulling aces out of their sleeves heading into SummerSlam and the busy period thereafter much like they did last year. All they have is an extra sixty minutes, with the social media emphasis they're putting on the show with Tout and the likes they've eaten at least ten minutes or so away from that. Take into consideration things such as commercials, and the fact they may be able to waste time each week with three competitive bouts as opposed to the typical two.

Going to three hours hasn't evoked any true reaction from me, I don't think it's bad, I don't think it's good, I'm indifferent. They'd not even started the new weekly three hour period and already you'd people complaining and mocking the decision, comparing it to when WCW Monday Nitro went to three hours - no matter what, Raw will never be like Nitro, that is a guarantee.

They wouldn't have gone to three hours if they hadn't some idea of how they wanted the show to go. It's a good business decision, they've more time to further emphasize more angles and storylines so it's a good creative decision, and despite the fact Tout sucks a whole lot of hell, they've already gained success from it so therefore it's theoretically working.

It'll be the same show as always stretched over an extra sixty minutes with interactive featuring being highlighted. What does it need to do? Nobody on this forum has a clue what they "need" to do, what do I personally think they should do? Use that time and allocate it to building characters and putting on better matches. What will they do? Nobody knows until this coming Monday and even then, one week is a sample of the direction going forward.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm worried about Raw at the moment due to it going three hours every week. Next week they aren't going to have Rock and Lesnar and DX to eat up a third of their show. I really don't want to sit through three hours of hearing fans telling us their politically correct answers in badly made videos or watch WWE tell us not to be a bully or Santino and Hornswoggle running around doing whatever they may be doing followed by a five minute main event.

As was said, there's no way Raw can pull off a huge show like they did two days ago and it would be ridiculous to expect them to. All I ask for from them is a show that doesn't make me roll my eyes too often. There are always going to be segments for kids that I'm not going to be too interested in nor do I find funny. That's reality and to expect them to not exist is unfair. It's also ridiculous to expect something like the Attitude Era as far as adult themes. That's not going to happen for a long time and constantly asking about it is a waste of time.

What it is fair to expect is a show that makes sense with stories that are thoughts out with the occasional good match with some time behind it. A thirty minute match on Raw is a bad idea and impractical, but a match running 13-15 minutes every few weeks isn't too much to ask for. On top of that, having stories that don't have major plot holes in it would help a lot. Look at last year with HHH vs. Nash. That story might make sense if you either think about it way too much or not enough at all. Stories like that get on my nerves because there are too many holes in it to keep track of what's going on and have it make sense. Simple stories are fine and above all else: being predictable does not mean a story is bad. More people need to learn that.

Overall Raw needs to just be a logical and good wrestling show. The pieces are there but a lot of the time the effort isn't. That's probably my biggest issue with WWE: they have the tools and we know they're capable of putting on a great show, but they rarely put in the effort. Do more of that and the show would go way up in quality.

 

[KNPKH2ster]

All I can say for Raw is to stay consistent. Raw has a history of being inconsistent, and the last time Raw had a 3 hour show prior to 1000th episode was when Lesnar and Cena had a contract signing. In my opinion, that was the worst 3 hour episode. The 1000th episode was not since it felt like a fresh start for the WWE, where they said "we made it this far". Now, it's time to stay consistent and put on a good show, because as usual, Monday Night Football is around the corner. What that means is that Raw needs to keep a good show during football season. You may say that MNF gets higher ratings, but MNF always gets higher ratings. It's the NFL.

This time, Raw starts at 8 and the Monday night game usually starts at 8:30 so WWE has a chance to hook the viewers in. If they don't, they will lose them to the NFL. I also say keep a good show throughout because sometimes MNF can have a really bad game (Jets/Pats game in 2010 for example) and viewers may want to switch to Raw.

These are my thoughts. Feel free to share your input.

 

[TJ Matics]

More Wrestling.
Smackdown is known as being more of a "wrestling show" while Raw's #1 priority, imo, is entertainment. For me this used to provide a nice balance, it's just the way it was. But now that Raw (SuperShow) has a whole extra hour, there's no good reason why it should still be getting out wrestled by Smackdown each week.

Now of course you're going to have your stupid plugs and pointless skits, that comes with the territory, but by the end of a 3 hour show I shouldn't be able to remember what new flavors Sonic has available.

There also needs to be more time given to divisions. Like Geez I don't know.... The Divas Division ? There doesn't need be some massive overhaul and they don't need a whole hour to themselves. Start small, give them an extra 5 minutes in their matches, granted that may mean only a 5 minute match, it's a start. With the current talent and the other women being looked at for contracts, there will again be no good reason why the WWE can't have a more than credible divas division.

I'm not really sure how to word this, but, there doesn't just need to be 1 star per show. Creative loves to take an idea and run with it (AJ), but they seem to focuss all of their attention on that 1 idea. Don't get me wrong AJ has excelled in her role and deserves the time she's received, but she's not the only one. Creative and the WWE itself has got to stop with this elementary, one at a time, way of thinking.

 

[rokuma]

I think Raw's three hour concept has the potential to work if they use the time wisely and, personally, I don't believe it'll be all that difficult at all to do that.

I can't help but imagine that somebody said the same thing about WCW when they decided to move to 3 hours at their peak. Notice I said at THEIR PEAK. Wrestling is nowhere near it's peak. The product is hardly better than it was in 1995 (one of the worst wrestling years of all-time) and with WWE having no direct competition, there isn't much incentive to get better. I have watched Raw twice since Backlash. The first time? I openly Facebooked, browsed the web, and ignored the show due to lack of interest until DDP came out and gave Slater the Diamond Cutter...then I turned it off. Had no desire to see what else would happen. The second time was Raw 1000 and I'm in the minority I know, but I thought the show was lackluster at best.

Were there great segments? Yes...the DX Reunion, the Daniel Bryan/AJ wedding/Rock/Punk showdown was fantastic, Brock/HHH probably stole the show. I'm also in the minority that I think Punk/Cena was not a good match - it was a sloppy, disjointed affair in which the crowd seemed disinterested (which they seemed all night) or that they didn't care. These are the two biggest stars in WWE right now squaring off for the title in a 10 minute match or so. 10 MINUTE MATCH for the WWE TITLE! Are you kidding me?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: TNA is by far the better in-ring product of the two promotions. They focus on wrestling while WWE focuses on "entertainment." What WWE needs to grasp is that fans were drawn to the WWE for wrestling and not just "entertainment," which is in quotes because most of their segments on a normal week are downright stupid. IMO the reason the segments suck is because that's all there is...wrestling is secondary to the show. TNA puts emphasis on the competitiveness of matches (I.E. Austin Aries wanting the TNA World Title, the Bound for Glory Series, etc.) and the commentary from Tazz and Tenay reflects that. During typical Raw matches, Cole and King are talking about something unrelated. If they obviously don't care, why do I? If wrestling isn't primary, why should I care when there's a match?

Oh, and then there's the fact that the same matches happen literally week after week after week. I've made the comment from the house show results this past weekend, "How many times has Dibiase faced Jinder Mahal?" It has to be in the dozens right? 2 dozen? 3? Ridiculous. What about Punk/Ziggler leading up to the Royal Rumble? They wrestled like 5-6 times leading up to it. If I've seen them wrestle on free TV, why would I buy a PPV to see these guys wrestle again? It doesn't make sense. Your TV should encourage viewers to buy the PPV.

If the WWE put the emphasis back on wrestling, used skits/segments to build toward PPV matches or big Raw main events, then maybe this would work out. I can't help, but think the WWE product (already diluted from the weak midcard and the refusal to officially recombine the brands and unify title) will be exposed and the product, as well as the fans, are going to suffer.

 

[Radical]

First, I applaud all above posters as you all have made very, very good points. I agree with the majority of what you have said about what Raw needs to do and where they have gone wrong.

One thing I agree with tremendously is the above poster who said TNA clearly is a better show for in-ring wrestling than WWE. That is a damn fact. I don't care if WWE Superstars can sometimes put on a better show when they finally DO wrestle a match but the fact is TNA emphasizes wrestling and they very rarely have completely stupid segments. The only one I can think of is the AJ/baby/other woman storyline but other than that every other storyline or segment is leading towards something to do with a wrestling feud or PPV.

WWE is like 85% fluff, stupid segements, promoting stupid stuff, commercials and the rest is wrestling but 5% more of that wrestling is pointless wrestling because it's a 3 minute Diva match or a 2 minute Brodus Clay match.

So... what does WWE need to do?

This is going to make people's brain explode (and Vince's if he ever read this): Be more like TNA Wrestling in the ways I've decribed above.

They also need to unify the World Heavyweight Title and the WWE Title. The concept practical writes itself too. It creates a clear and HUGE feud between the two title holders and then once they are unified maybe the WWE will realize it is important to promote Tag Teams more, IC title contenders or related matches more, heck, even make the US title something ANYONE cares about by having a handful of Superstars say they want the title and have multi-person matches for it.

However, instead of all this WWE is probably going to use a 3 hour Raw to shove a butt load of advertising crap down our throats, show us a dozen reviews of what happened on SmackDown or last weeks Raw that relates to CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Big Show or Sheamus and basically let the other 30 or so Superstars get ignored.

Why do they have so many Superstars on contract when they only give meaningful matches to about 6 of them?

 

[Kelso1ftw]

Moving forward i want Raw to start actually building up lower card feuds such as the Ziggler and Jericho feud that is starting to build up... as well as focusing a lot more on the tag team division and continue what they have been doing over the past year and focus on the young talents that will be huge in the future. The fact is that all of the previous 3 hour raws are usually just for nostalgia nights such as how they always put the draft night as 3 hours, or for the slammy awards or raw roulette and they focused more on the 1 night show that they are throwing than actually using that extra time to help build storylines and build towards the next PPV. All they have to do is give more talent more TV time, add a few more matches.. and maybe extend promos to give them more time to build but do so without over exposing certain storylines like they have done many times in the past with only having one storyline per show which hasn't even always been that good. Right now WWE is in a great spot for Raw with 3 storylines that have the potential to have a good feud going into SummerSlam with Ziggler vs Jericho, Daniel Bryan and AJ as the GM, and Punk vs Cena with most likely Big Show being thrown in there. They also have Miz just winning the IC title and I'm guessing will battle someone at SummerSlam. Hopefully they keep this trend going with having multiple good feuds going at a time instead of just random matches thrown together and actually investing that extra hour they are bringing in to make more compelling TV and interesting matches instead of just throwing it together for a PPV

 

[HamSwissman]

I agree with the posters that say WWE needs to take some cues from Impact (it certainly feels strange typing that). When I watch TNA, I feel like I am watching a wrestling program. There are rankings, there aren't an over-abundance of championships (but emphasis is put on the ones that are there), legit tag-teams, etc. Not only that, but the backstage segments feel so much better and more organic on Impact. Most would argue or disagree with this, but I also feel that the shorter matches on Impact are a good thing as well. I think when a match goes past twenty minutes, it should be a big deal.

Aside from comparing Raw to TNA, I must say how much I cannot and will not EVER care about a random tag match for a main event consisting of wrestlers that aren't tag-teams. Why would I care who wins this type of match? WWE needs to make me (us) care who wins and loses. Simple as that.

I could go on all day about what I believe they need to do, but I believe these are a few things they MUST do to keep a three-hour show interesting. It basically boils down to structure and presentation. The pieces are there. We'll see how well they get organized.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

What they need to focus on is building the tag division, I think on the first hour. Maybe giving some of the younger guys a much needed boost. You have more time to build and develop feuds for the Pay-Per-Views.

 

[Chatterboxjhall]

Three hours-smartest thing they could have done.

Currently there is an abundance of talent on the roster and more than half never see the light of TV, unless you count youtube shows and the occasional superstars appearance.

Even more interesting, is everyone is griping about it. 2 hours never had enough time to advance storylines, unless everyone got a 4 minute segment. What boredom that would be. Not to mention advertisers don't get their spots, plugs and vignettes have to be fit in, and a main event...again not enough time.

3 hours is going to give exposure for a lot of people who need to maximize on their TV time, as there will be more to share. As well, this is going to give time to longer more quality matches when necessary. (Lets not use the title match on monday as an example...but I digress)

I would also venture to guess the writers are actually relieved to have more time to fit segments and scenes in as compared to the 2 crammed hours they had before.

The only downside I can see is the marathon of watching each week. I will admit the 3 hours was an adjustment for my brain, but overtime, I can hope that it won't feel like a PPV every week as far as a commitment is concerned. And to that point, what does this do for a sunday PPV? Does it feel less special or does it get a whole new light and attention of specialness and the "best of the best" feel. One can hope...

 

[DirtyD79]

They should use the three hours they have. And by use them I mean show more actual wrestling not stupid crap like shilling for Sonic, hawking merch, telling us not be bullies (unless you're the CEO of a major company), or some stupid hicks with webcams posting their pointless opinions on Tout. Sure do an interview or a promo here and there but not when it's the whole damn show.

 

[GameOver]

What they need to focus on is building the tag division, I think on the first hour. Maybe giving some of the younger guys a much needed boost. You have more time to build and develop feuds for the Pay-Per-Views.

This would be in a perfect world, 1000th episode was focused on the past and remembering great moments and performers that were intrical parts of RAW's sucess (well except for Austin and they only had a 1minute recap of Austin vs McMahon which was really what saved WWF from drowning early in the peace)

Going forward they now have 3 hours to focus on building fueds across the board not just the world title, there's no reason they can't revitalise there Tag Division and the IC division, and have more star promo's, backstage interviews or even in arena interviews.

Problem i see it is that extra hour could just end up being more time for ads which = $$$. They also are intergrating social media (so they say) so that would waste alot of time telling people to vote on this or that, showing tout/youtube video's. and ofcourse promoting the weeks Smackdown aswell.

Raw 1000th could've turned out to be a WrestleMania 1 all over again and Kevin Nash tweeting a possible return of the nWo could mean they are gonna raise the stakes again (fingers crossed) not for nWo but for them pulling there heads out of there asses and produce a great entertainment show like they use to

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

One thing I would like them to do is to build up lower-level feuds. They can barely build up feuds between upper midcarders as it is. Wrestlers like Rhodes are in a stagnant position and can't move up the card. I've been saying recently that the upper midcarders need to stop losing all the time, especially those who hold titles. If the champion loses all the time, it won't be meaningful to the person that eventually beats them. Show some character development and construct angles. I don't want to hear excuses about not having the time since we got three hours now. Imagine what 6-7 minute matches could do for some of the lower level guys. Get some exposure out there. Don't tell us that they are nothing. Put them out there and let us see for ourselves.

 

[GameOver]

Three hours-smartest thing they could have done.

Currently there is an abundance of talent on the roster and more than half never see the light of TV, unless you count youtube shows and the occasional superstars appearance.

Even more interesting, is everyone is griping about it. 2 hours never had enough time to advance storylines, unless everyone got a 4 minute segment. What boredom that would be. Not to mention advertisers don't get their spots, plugs and vignettes have to be fit in, and a main event...again not enough time.

I would also venture to guess the writers are actually relieved to have more time to fit segments and scenes in as compared to the 2 crammed hours they had before.
.

Yes and no, also means they have to work longer hours to come up with that and being able to intergrate Smackdowns storylines in aswell so they mesh up when need be.

as for 2hours is not enough that's total crap, RAW was 2 hours during the attitude era and they had fueds running from openers to main eventers, titles got defended each week and they all had legitimacy, the difference was everyone worked together as a team for the benefit of the WWE and the TV shows and it was more streamlined, and none of the Social Media or mentioning of stuff that happens outside of the show getting in the way. migh also add the writers and management were "wrestling" writers not TV soapy writers and people who have no experiencing running a "wrestling" based entertainment show

 

[CanYouDigIt98]

For me a three hour Raw each week is going to have its ups and downs. Will the matches be stale? I know it has both rosters on but if we see the same matches and type of matches week in and week out. the product could lose out on money and get a lot of greif of the keyboard warriors of the IWC.

Use it wisely. Use it as a Leapfrog for younger stars to fill time, not constan adverts. I live in the UK And i felt that The 1000th Episode was Let down by the amount of ad's. After each segment an AD.

Start the show off with something excting. Then put the jobbers in the picture for a 2 matches. the likes of Jinder, JTG(is he still with WWE) and More. An put a title in there to make it excting and give them there chance. Then build up with the "superstars" like Punk,Cena,Bryan (etc). And then end with A big main event that will make everyones night. it wouldn't matter if the whole show was basic sometimes aslong as the main event was Fantastic.

But, VKM And Co need to be careful that the show dosen't Ruin PPV's. Nothing to Massive just Big and excting then Build it all up for the next PPV.

And This whole soical media lark, is getting over used to much on Raw. Why not fill the space with the "Backstage Fall Out" instead of having Touts, Tweets and that. Am not saying forget Soical Media altogether but Cut down on it.

 

[scomvp316]

I am not a WWE Fan but a Wrestling Fan regardless of what company I am watching. The ideaology of WWE I think is at its all-time worst even worst than most of the New Generation era. I do believe WWE is more concerned with the casual viewer than their actual fan base that truly cares if this product is "entertaining" or not. Apparently VKM learned nothing from Bischoff and Nitro's collapse based off of a barely two hour program that looked weak going into three hours. If they can build characters and not have a dominant heel go to a weak heel and then a strong face like Sheamus's push. For whatever reason if a heel gains popularity VKM makes that heel a weak jobber and thinks turning him face will generate revenue off of that character. Raw needs emotion from its character. The Attitude era worked for two reason: the promos and character situations resonated with everyday situations accustomed from the fans and you had great balance of stars. This notion of Cena getting almost everything and everyone else gets the scraps for the long run will lose fans. You must have some sort of balance for characters to be invested by the fans to have a legitimate chance of fans believing in that character. Stop with the scripted promos and find storylines each talent can beleive in and that will make the talent much better coming off of the camera into people's living rooms. With the way WWE Creative thinks these days SCSA would never of ever happened and if WCW went up against this version of WWE all WWE Personnel ould be working for EB!

 

[Airehk]

I'd like to begin by saying: How can anybody like the wedding segments they have every 4 years? Every time they are announced, I'm in grief because I know it will be the same stage set up leading to some sort of twist before they say "I do". It happened to Test and Stephanie, it happened to Triple H and Stephanie, it happened to Billy and Chuck, Kane and Lita, and it will be like that in the next one. It's filler for 10 minutes, then a story is born.

Anyways..

To actually utilize the extra hour they have effectively, they need to put focus on lower card guys. They need the extra hour based on expansion of their product. They need room for social media these days, so the extra hour gives back to the other guys who get no TV time. I'm with everyone when I say I feel insulted as a viewer with stupid segments like Diva's farting or aimless comedy that goes nowhere. Sometimes I get a bit of faith in WWE when they do something new, but they always revert back to their old ways. I was actually excited when Brodus Clay put is BS aside and face the Big Show in a real match. Not that I expected him to win, but I was excited to see a dominant force face the big bad guy. Next week however, better call my momma and a squash.. Why? This could have been a hell of a push where Brodus could have still danced and be silly, but also be serious after his "fun time".

I wish that they would make people in the IC and US title scene be as intense in their own rights as opposed as making us think "They're not Heavyweights, so they cant be legit and serious". They shouldn't have to look cute and harmless, they should just be portrayed as men in their own league. Remember when Shelton Benjamin was first drafted to Raw and schooled Triple H? Even though he lost, as he should have, it at least didn't make him look like crap just because of his belt division. Cody Rhodes is a good wrestler, therefor just because if he was to face Cena doesn't mean he needs to roll out of the ring like a coward and be squashed.

On to the Diva's division (aka Piss break). It can be good, really good. Not to smooch the attitude era's behind, but Lita, Molly and Trish were actually good wrestlers. There were the other Divas who were only eye candy like Kiebler, but she was the manager type. WWE lost their way here as they focus on the sex appeal before the talent. Beth Pheonix isn't the sexiest Diva, nor is Kharma. But because of their skills, we actually liked to watch them. Instead we have girls in pseudo sex positions pulling hair and delivering weak clotheslines. If they can put on a match that doesn't result in a watered down lesbian porn scene, it may very well be worth watching. Porn is easy to access these days, we don't need a tease of it on TV anymore. Sorry if that comes off bitter, I'm just passionate about it.

Anyway, this extra hour — which is really 40 minutes of air time — can be utilized very effectively, they just need to not act like clowns and deliver legitimacy and make the other divisions a force to be reckoned with. An example is don't make Ryback jump into the title scene as someone scary like Kane and really go nowhere with it, drop him in the mid card and dominate there, build personality on him so we know where he is coming from and where he's going then when the time is right and it seems like someone in the main title scene is pushing the right buttons, we can believe it.

 

[GrandSword]

Could moving to three hours possibly jeopardise their ppv revenue? In any case, I hope creative have factored in that AJ is now the GM and they need to take that into account if she is running the show. Logically she would put more emphasis on the Diva division or put Daniel Bryan in some "crazy" situations/matches. If the show flows exactly as it did with People Power, than it may frustrate viewers.

How long will AJ stay in power maybe more of the question, but I guess that is for another thread. The fact is that these shows will now be 3 hours in length and we will no doubt see some longer in ring promo segments for the main event guys. Which means we will get more character development for some but also more possible cringeworthy stuff from Cena.

The matches themselves may get a bit longer but with the bit of extra time, tag team title matches for example will be a main stay on the show. Before with only a limited amount of segments, only the top 12 guys would get prominence on the show. Now the tag division and the newer guys will get some time to grow on the audience in the big time atmosphere of a Raw.

I do like AJ, and she is doing very well. But to have her (let's face it, a very young girl) as the figurehead of the biggest sports entertainment brand in the world might not go down well with the audience. Let's hope creative have something good for her. Obviously Vince is very impressed with her abilities to do this role as the show may very well circle around her as she is to book matches and on screen be in segments with strong presences such as Rock, Cena, HHH, Miz, Heyman, Lesnar, Punk etc.

 

[jscotta1989]

I wouldn't say the 3 hour raw will make or break anything, but it certainly gives more opportunity for guys to get over at the very least. Guys like brodus clay and ryback have chnaces to do more (or less) with the time they are given to see what they have. And guys like dolph, rhodes, and hell, anybody else in the midcard that they even care care about, a chance to make a halfway decent promo or something as such.

 

[Fansince1992]

It seems a lot more is going on now than there has been. This is ideal to fill the time up for the new 3 hours. Looks like there are more main Fueds and Angles surfacing.

--WWE Title angle with CM Punk, John Cena, Big Show and The Rock.

--WHC fued with Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio.

--Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho fued has surfaced

--Triple H and Brock Lesnar Fued

--New GM , can see Daniel Bryan involved a lot here as he isnt in any title fueds at the moment. Charlie Sheen could also be involved with this.

--New IC Champion The Miz. Not sure who he could fued with, possibly Cody Rhodes or Christian.

--Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton and Wade Barrett returns.

--Comedy including Santino, Hornswoggle, Brodus Clay.

--Tag Team division seems to be building

--Newcomers to build up - Damien Sandow, Ryback , Dean Ambrose.


Plenty to go at here to fill up that extra hour. I think it will be pretty much the same as before with the Matches and Promos lasting a bit longer.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Raw has gone into a 3 hour format and I think that can benefit them greatly in the long run. It has the potential to work out very well if they go about it properly and I look forward to seeing what happens. They already did the new logo, so here are some of the other changes I would like to see:


1. NEW THEME MUSIC
Apparently the one from this week was only for Raw 1000. This is a new time in WWE and with the landmark 1000th episode reached they debuted a new logo for Raw, it's time for a new song too. The last one overstayed its welcome and I would even take the Smackdown theme over it at this point. It should be something fun and exciting that gets you ready for an action filled 3 hours of wrestling. Heck, bring back Thorn In Your Eye if that's what it takes.

2. PROMOTE MORE PPV MATCHES
This is a big one for me. I'm not likely to order a PPV event that has 4 announced matches. I want to know them all and don't care about what might be added as a last minute "surprise". They don't have to promote a Ryback match but if there's a midcard, tag team, or even a divas title match then by all means PROMOTE IT!!!! There's a reason these belts don't seem important anymore, the WWE need to use the new hour to help bring importance back to their secondary divisions.

3. MORE WRESTLING
This is obvious. Smackdown is more in-ring oriented than Raw, but with an extra hour added you'd think they would let the matches on Raw go on longer or try to throw in more. I hope it isn't all just for more backstage stuff or video packages. Things like that are great but take away from the show when overdone. This is a wrestling show when it all comes down to it, so let the guys show off what they can do in the ring a little more, PPV buy's will increase, I'm sure of it.

4. MORE NON-VETERAN PROMOS
This goes hand in hand with bullets 2 and 3. Far less people care about a match without promos to hype it up. They need more promos from guys who are not main eventers or veterans. If someone isn't as skilled at something as others, how do they improve? Practice. Let the midcarders and tag teams do more promos. The more exposure they get, the more over they might become. The faces get more support if the fans care about them, and likewise the heels get more fans to hate them if they have a reason to. The best cure to either problem (fans not supporting faces or heels hearing crickets when they do heelish acts) is more promos. If they are that concerned with someone making mistakes on a live promo then start with backstage interviews until the wrestler involved gets more confident.

5. NEW WWE CHAMPIONSHIP DESIGN
We have heard the rumors, it's time. I for one have defended the current design constantly at this forum but even I can tell it's time to move on. We are in a different time in WWE now and that design is 7 years old. Some wrestlers would look silly holding it, which remains an issue. I think WWE is terrified that the new belt design will not sell merchandise, which has to be the only reason the current design has stuck around for so long. It has to happen at some point and unless it's as ugly as the Tag Team Championship or as weird as the Divas Championship, they should be fine. They could always go the vintage route and bring back the Eagle design, similar to how they brought back the classic look for the Intercontinental Championship.

 

[shanman63]

To answer your question about weddings, they are one of those things that you know someone's gonna gonna break it up, but it is still interest to see how it happens and what comes of it. I dont think anyone could have imagined we would find out the new Raw GM right there. I love what a lot of people had to say about the tag team divison and the mid-card wrestlers having relevance again. I've been saying that about the tag team division for a long time. The Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins and Zach ryders of the roster should be paired up with someone they have good chemistry with and make it a competitive division. Plus, I'm getting tired of seeing people like Christian, Miz, big show and others winning the World or WWE Title, only to be dropped down and win the IC or US Title. Decide who is mid-card and who are main eventers and run with that. Plus, Vince should trust writers enough to assigned them a division to create storylines for, that way its not too much for one group of writers to handle. I think this will easy fill in another hour of raw.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

For one, less nonsense. I understand that it's TV PG and they're trying to cater to kids but do kids really find Hornswoggle funny? Some of the backstage nonsense is useless and just wastes time that could be used to promote the roster.

Longer feuds - Lets see feuds on RAW that last more than one PPV and that aren't just involving the WWE title and whoever Cena is feuding with.

Let's see the IC champ in a 2 month long feud, let's see some relevant feuds in the tag team division. Too often RAW feels like they're catering to the main event storylines and then the rest of the matches are filler.

New WWE title: This is the perfect opportunity to debut the new championship belt.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I would do one of two things if I could only pick one.

1) Nearly every week I would make the opening match a quick paced match with cruiserweight. Even if they don't add the cruiserweight division back its still a nice little way to get guys TV time and usually a quick pace match to start is a solid way to warm the fans up and get them going.

2) I would focus on the tag team division. I love tag team wrestling. I still get into it when a member of the face team comes in off the hot tag. You don't need to defend the tag titles every week but give the champs TV time, let them face some semi regular teams, just give them some momentum and credibility. Plus you never know, they could put two guys together and they could just click.

If Vince and Trips are absolutely against those ideas you could always put matches between those mid level up and comers like Ryback and Brodus in the first hour and give them more than 2 or 3 minutes.