The best part of RAW now

[S.J. Maximus]

I'm proud to say that there was a point in my life where I made sure I never missed RAW. I didn't let anything whatsoever interfere with me and WWE's flagship show, but with no CM Punk after WrestleMania 29 (which I attended live) and the focus shifted back to Cena I did the unthinkable and actually stopped watching RAW. I would watch on YouTube to see Curtis Axel and looked up every Bray Wyatt vignette that has aired but I just didn't care for the whole Ryback heel turn and anything Cena related.

Well let me say, these last two RAWs have been VERY good and I'm actually very excited to tune in next week to see what happens! For the first time in a long time, it isn't WrestleMania season and there are multiple compelling storylines occurring at once! Usually they like to tie everything all into one storyline (i.e. the summer of NEXUS) but with Mark Henry's fake retirement, Brock's brief return, the McMahon struggle, and even AJ's feud with Kaitlyn we see a bunch of un-related stories coming together to give us a complete product.

My question to you is, which storyline right now is your favorite! Feel free to answer the poll but I'd really love to see some comments explaining why which storyline is your favorite. Here is my top 3:

3. McMahon Power Struggle - I rarely see the McMahon get too much love on the internet but I must say I really appreciate each time any of them grace us with some TV time. Vince, Hunter, and Stephanie are all so over and talented both on and off screen so to see them reach out and entertain us is both fun and historic, because after this storyline who knows how many more times we'll see them? Seeing Steph onscreen has been a rarity since 2009 and she's done excellent to put over the battle between her husband and father, which I couldn't be more excited to see culminate in blockbuster fashion.

2. The Rise of Daniel Bryan - Everyone was afraid that once the excitement for Team Hell No fizzled that both Daniel Bryan and Kane would just be floating around in the midcard aimlessly much like Miz or Kofi Kingston have been doing for years. It's so refreshing to see them invest a lot of time in someone who truly is one of the best (if not the best) in-ring performers in the world today. He's great in the ring, has played his part VERY WELL, his weak link storyline has been very compelling and believable, and was important enough to both start and end RAW last night. The sky is the limit for this innovative performer and I have absolutely no complaints with where they have taken his character since losing the tag team titles.

1. Battle of the Heyman Guys - IMO, there is no man in wrestling more captivating than CM Punk. He is near flawless on the mic and in the ring and is quite obviously a (arguably the) top guy in the business today. The very first thing I thought when he told Heyman to stop accompanying him to the ring was I hope Brock destroys him for that and they wasted NO TIME making that happen. Now with the apology and the forgiveness, and the insertion of Curtis Axel in this ever-developing storyline the possibilities are endless! Punk and Paul are the two best in the WWE at acting and working the mic so they have me hooked. Will RVD come in and join this storyline? What does Curtis Axel have to say about the Brock/Punk rivalry? Who is the best Heyman guy of them all? What exactly will Heyman do when Punk and Brock finally square off? So many questions, and so many talented people slowly revealing answers, this is easily my choice for the best part of RAW now.

 

[Master JM]

The quality of programming has definitely risen since around Payback. The only thing we can hope for is that WWE continues delivering the goods going forward. Since you went ahead and described your top 3 things on Raw right now, I might as well do the same, if only to make this post look longer.

3. Henry's ''retirement'', as already mentioned about 3844 times already, was something to behold. I got suckered in right from the start and didn't actually ever doubt that the announcement was fake, for some reason. Maybe I'm quite gullible, I don't know. This was as good a way as any to begin a feud, and while Henry is only a monster for Cena to slay this month, he'll make for good TV.

2. Bryan. Delivering good to great matches weekly, handing The Shield their first defeat, getting Randy Orton to tap out in a fantastic match just yesterday...he's been giving us PPV-quality performances on free TV lately. The storyline he's running with right now is solid stuff, and it seems that all signs point to a main event ascension. Bryan is in a perfect spot right now, and it is well deserved.

1. The Wyatt family. To be honest, the best thing PERFORMING on TV right now is Daniel Bryan, but these guys have me intrigued. I hear that their reaction at house shows was silence; not the ''these guys are shit'' kind, but the ''think I just shat my pants'' kind. Their vignettes are rather eerie and cryptic, which is just what these monsters need. The fact that they can go in the ring just puts the cherry on top of the hype cake. I await these fellows with bated breath.

 

[saxile]

I'm looking forward to the Wyatt family angle but the only problem with that is, is who are they going to feud with? Another Shield angle where they feed them anyone and everyone or are they going to turn the Shield to feud with them? There's no face stable around for them to feud with, just a bunch of heel stables and they're adding more all the time, after a while it's going to get boring I fear.

On to DB, I'm happy to see them pushing someone of his caliber, he's nothing of the cookie cutter build that Vince normally looks for, it's refreshing to see some change but I fear he too is going to be fed to Super Cena.

Mark Henry's retirement speech was something to behold, had me hook with the crying and working the entire universe like he did, better than some Hollywood actors, he deserves an award for that performance.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

I love how they have moved from a great PPV to a couple of solid Raws. Before Payback for several months the Shield were major factors, featured in several segments a show. These past 2 Raws they have done what they have needed to do without being overexposed. Good job by creative by not beating the Shield to death. Ok, well that has been my favourite part of Raw right now, not overexposing the future.

To humour you though I will post my 3 fave storylines/feuds

3.) AJ Lee/Kaitlyn... bringing new life to the Divas division... great match at Payback followed by 2 stellar AJ promos plus a Steph cameo in this feud makes this a much watch story

2.) CM Punk/Paul Heyman - This could lead to many many pipebombs, plus their inring segment on Monday was pure gold. Add Brock and elevate Axel, this storyline could bring pushes to many

1.) Cena/Henry - I can't remember the last time I have been excited for a Cena match. Yes I know it won't be a technical masterpiece, but Henry has sold it for me. The World's Strongest Man has now became the World's greatest actor and I'm loving every minte of it.

Add in the Bryan/Orton matches, the evolution of Bryan in particular, the McMahon power struggles, Ziggler/Del Rio, MITB buildup, finally giving the Usos a push, Christians return, Wyatt family promos and Vickie/Maddox backstage segments and we have had some memorable Raws lately

 

[HiddenInPlainView]

Usually while I am watching Raw I am also working on the computer. The Wyatt Family promos are the only thing that actually make me stop whatever I am doing and pay full attention. I also enjoy all the Daniel Bryan stuff and of course anything with Dolph and Jericho. But I absolutely cannot wait to see what the Wyatt's can do

 

[Ellye]

The Wyatt Family promo videos.
Which is weird, because RAW is actually pretty good right now. But those promos are just that good. WWE's video producing crew is fantastic.
I'm really anticipating their debut.

AJ Lee would actually perhaps my second options, weirdly as this might be.

 

[rerun406]

First of all: Great thread TS .. too often I'm used to the whining going on about how boring RAW has gotten and what not, but this thread really brings to light the interesting angles

and frankly a weekly 3 hour show needs compelling storylines that you can get emotionally invested in and care about.

as for my favorites, tie between the Heyman guys & Daniel Bryan.

Bryan - as others have said, no idea where he was going post Team Hell No, and the fact that he's not only still relevant, but putting on PPV quality matches speaks volumes. Bryan is easily one of the best things going in the WWE right now, and hopefully they keep riding that hot streak.

Heyman Guys- Bringing in Curtis Axel brought the spotlight back on Heyman, and now with Brock-Punk on the brink of a feud, things are about to get a whole lot more interesting. **And how do Axel/RVD play a factor if at all? So far love the promos and energy have been great, hopefully that can carry over into awesome matche(s)

as for the other angles: they're pretty interesting too, (Ziggler, Henry fake retirement) but the McMahon's IMO hog too much of the spotlight as is, so for me at least less is better of them.

**the real icing on the cake will be when The Wyatt family finally debuts. There's been a lot of hype and anticipation regarding them already, and if they can come in and make a big splash it could take the show to another level

but who do The Wyatt family feud with?

 

[JustAnotherJames]

I have to admit that I missed CM Punk when he took a well deserved break and in my opinion I thought that the quality of Raw just went to crap. I too was not bothered about the whole Ryback heel turn, he's one who I just can't get into, and I'd go as far to say that I dislike him everything about his character which I'm supposed to dislike I suppose, but I even disliked the character when he was a face.

I thought Extreme Rules was good, and thats where I began to have a little more faith. Payback came around and so far its been the best PPV of the year and couldn't have kicked off the Summer Slam season any better than it did.

1. The battle of the Heyman guys. There are so many twists and turns, and we've seen Heyman turn on his clients before. I'm glad that they never dived into it straight away and instead perhaps luring CM Punk into something sinister.

2. After Henry's performance, he deserves to be champion. Like he said, I think he's still got plenty in the tank and can be a great champion even if it is for just a couple of months.

3. If anyone deserves a massive push right now it's Daniel Bryan and this is just the beginning of it. He ain't going anywhere, he's a wrestling guy.

I'm quite looking forward to the next PPV's and am pleased at how everything has panned out so far.

 

[TJ Matics]

3. AJ v. Kaitlyn & the Divas Division

I've been waiting for this for a long time: just give the divas time. Maybe AJ v. Kaitlyn took a little longer than necessary, but the potential pay off is worth it. It seems the suits are going to give the divas division an actual weekly time slot to develop feuds and character. Aj's on top, rightfully so, and Kaitlyn went from a crying mess to attacking Aksana backstage. There's no where to go but up from here, unless the WWE decides to drop the ball again, which could easily happen. But I'll foolishly let myself get excited for the divas anyway.

Quick critiques/note:
*AJ shouldn't of went over Natalya on SD!, I think Natalya should ultimately be the diva to take the belt from AJ after a nice long run. I like A.Fox as a jobber, she's pretty good in the ring when not rushed and a good seller.
*Turn Layla heel and work her into the picture somehow
*I know I'm pushing it, but I can definitely see a feud breaking out between Naomi and Cameron as well ! It can start off as a friendly rivalry and turn into a full blown feud with one of them, hopefully Cameron, turning heel. Maybe Tons of Funk splits up after their loss last week and the girls choose sides.

2. The Wyatt family/ Video Packages

There's something very old school about them and their packages that I like, I love the speeches and I'm just ready for them to debut !

1. Mark Henry's “Retirement" Angle & The WWE Championship

I'm still tickled by just the thought of that angle ! My jaw hasn't dropped in quite a while. I found myself cheering for Henry and lmao at him calling the universe puppets. Henry's just down right entertaining as a monster heel. I haven't been this excited about the WWE title picture since Punk v. John when Punk was hunting !

 

[bioshock]

It does seem like a good time to be watching Raw, for about the first 5-6 months of the year it was honestly one bad show after another. Summer time isn't always the best for WWE, but the things they go for some times are far better then what we have to deal with during the WM build up.

3 things I'm liking about Raw now.

1- Solid PPV matches on free tv. Not only are these solid ppv worthy matches, but Bryan vs Orton Street Fight was match of the year worthy.

2- Henry gets mic time and a big push, enough said.

3- Mcmahon power struggle, so long as Vince and Stephanie doesn't do anything too crazy like a "Mcmahon in each corner" kinda crap; this could really work out well. When Triple H had his match with Axle and Vince kept coming out to stop the match, that was pure gold.

On the flip side, not a big fan of Punk being all goody goody, hes better as a tweener or a heel. Him giving full support for another face or talking down a heel for cheating is just lame fodder. Punk was at his best as a face/tweener calling out Cena.

 

[rerun406]

^ my only fear with the McMahon angle is Shane-O-Mac coming back into the fold. And with him, IMO that'd be to much McMahon's

and with Shane in addition to Steph, Vince and Triple H well you do the math, on the flip side at least Triple H is done feuding with Lesnar for the time being.

agree on Punk as IMO he works best in the anti-hero role, he can be a face but let him maintain an attitude/mean streak. I feel as a babyface his character comes across as too watered down with all the butt kissing and etc

 

[CyberPunk]

This is an excellent thread. Rep to the OP. Raw has become interesting following Payback. My favorite part is

1. Daniel Bryan. He has been on a roll for sometime. He is putting up PPV worthy matches every night. His push into ME scene was long overdue and seeing him make Orton tap to close the show only proves the faith E has put in him. Hoping this continues.

2. Wyatt family. Their promos are eerie and very well done. They look scary and the only question remains: against whom are they going? But looking forward to their debut.

3. Heyman guys. Punk vs Brock, Curtis Axel IC champ and RVD to come. We are in for a hell of a Summerslam.

Honourable mentions: Mark Henry and AJ. For once Mark should win WWE championship. He's earned it. And AJ? Need I say anything about what she has and can do?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Easily the tension between Heyman and Punk. Things should heat up more during the build to Summerslam, as WWE prepares for the inevitable match between Punk and Lesnar. Punk will get more frustrated with Heyman's attempts to help him as the weeks pass by, ultimately reaching a boiling point, where he'll be fed up with Heyman altogether. Heyman will eventually side with Lesnar 100% soon enough, and I'm really looking forward to the promo duels between Heyman and Punk, because their in-ring segment this past Monday was fantastic, and you could really feel the tension between both of them.

I'm slowly warming up to the McMahons VS Triple h VS each other storyline. As long as Stephanie doesn't feel the need to overact and get all hysterical again, I have no major problems with the power struggle storyline, because it's still in the early stages.

AJ VS Kaitlyn? Meh. It doesn't really do anything for me. I think we're all forgetting how LayCool played the "mean girls" role MUCH better than AJ. I can still remember the uproar on here after LayCool's "Piggy James" segment mocking Mickie James.

 

[wrestlingfan]

Alot of the storylines listed aren't that intriguing. They're just better than the standard quality, WWE is putting out. I'm excited for MITB but could care less about RVD returning other than to see him feud, the McMahon Power Struggle has no payoff, & Sheamus/Sandow, & the tag feuds along with AJ-Kaitlyn, are lackluster except for the matches themselves.

 

[Dum Dum Dudley]

I voted for 'The battle of the Heyman guys' and it was a little tough, but eventually the cynic in me made the right choice.

As much as I enjoy D-Bry's work, there's always the possibility it will go nowhere for a while. Cena/Henry is doing well for the time being, and rumours are the feud may extend to Summerslam. I enjoy the character development in Bryan and the dynamic between him, Kane and Orton but at Summerslam, we (probably) get a payoff to the Heyman guys situation in Punk V Brock; a huge match on one of the biggest PPV's of the year.

This doesn't mean I rank Bryan>Punk or think Bryan doesn't deserve a shot at the title; I just think Punk looks to be going somewhere for definite (albeit slowly) whilst we sit and wait for the trigger to be pulled on Bryan (if it even gets pulled)