Theo presents: Monday Night Raw (post WMXXVII)

[GrandSword]

GS Reviews RAW

1. Face turn for the Miz during his title reign in the works. I think this shows how much a fan of the Miz you are Theo. Basically having two reigns in one as when he goes face it's like he hasn't really had a title run at all and it all starts all over again. Which says to me he will be keeping the title for at least another three defences/months. The story potential is high when this happens with a character during a reign. The fact that you are doing this and people are responding to it, says how good your writing is.

2. Kane segment was out of this world. this sort of stuff is always a 50/50 for me because wrestling is meant to be OTT, but I always used to cringe when someone apparently gets killed or viciously maimed and there are no real repercussions. Eg. When Abyss eviscerated RVD with a rusty nail covered 2x4, shouldn't he have been sent to jail for 20 years? I know this was a little different to that so maybe more 70/30. Apart from my reservations, the promo was great and I have always been sort of bummed that Kane never has really taken the Undertaker's place in the scheme of things when his debut all the way back when was one of the best and he was this unstoppable machine.

3. Morrison promo, but where's Wade? This is my favourite feud of your Raw! I need more than this damn you MOOORRRRRRRHHH!!!!

4. I for some reason just can't get into Ted Dibiase Jr. Not really your fault. Last you'll hear from me on the matter

5. Only four matches. Expertly written and awesome detail, especially your main event, but only four. Wetting my appetite for NXT perhaps. Thereofe I think your show seemed a bit short on time. Another segment, maybe a Wade Barrett squash sending a message to Morrison perhaps?

6. The ending I liked a lot. Is Miz face? Is he heel? Is he out for himself or others? Great stuff, nice little in ring story to keep it all moving forward.

7. The show centering around the Punk/Miz feud with a dash of Kofi is working well creatively. What is letting it down slightly for me, is the star power as Punk has sort of broken out but not yet here, and his promo against the Anon GM last previously was amazing, I guess its tough to keep taking stuff to the next level, when you pull off something amazing before. In any case, I think you will continue to build on these characters and give them that star power.

All in all very solid show, a little short perhaps but is bringing us along your story very nicely.


GS Reviews NXT

1. Love your NXT. I was hoping you would move away from the mentor/rookie scenario and more into what NXT is now, but if I was crying out for more wrestling from Raw I got it here on NXT. Morrison/Storm!!! Aries!!! Tag match glory!!! Stellar stuff!

2. I'm a really big fan of the new crop coming through more so than most of the WWE current roster, so I'm excited to see you Theo putting in guys like Steamboat etc.

3. Jackson Andrews. The big leagues will always need big guys, so I'm stoked you are bringing him back.

4. I think what NXT has always lacked is a certain structure. I don't care for challenges or anything like that, just wrestling and promos, (but not make up a promo about rainbows). I think NXT should be run like the BFG series each guy gets to wrestle each other once, for points to move to the main roster. Would love to see you just bring a bit of structure to your what is an already amazing show, and I could even favour it over Raw, just due to my roster preferences!

Great show here, great matches, great roster love it! Keep it coming big guy!

 

[The Cult]

Hey Theo, first time me dropping a review on your shows. Been a long time reader but just haven't fedback as of yet. So lets get going with RAW.

Monday Night RAW

So we start off with a match between The Miz and Mason Ryan, I'm expecting a win for the champ here. Nice opening contest Theo mate, I like the fact that Kingston got himself involved here. Well a hint of a face Miz here? would never expect him to offer out help but I like the way Kingston refused the handshake. D.T.M - Don't Trust Miz.

Nice Tag match here mate and Ryder gets a US title shot, should be a great match. I'm not the biggest Ryder fan but I can tolerate him at certain times. What a promo! really showed Kane in a very good light from him wearing clothes normal people would wear. I think you did this very well mate, someone said that Stanford shouldn't have been there but I think it actually enhanced the promo with Stanford running away with fear as Kane sets the house up in flames. Not sure what will happen with Kane, I'm assumig a mask return but you could go a different way with it.

I really like Punk as a leader, you've made him as ruthless as leader and his promo was very good. WOW! Kharma vs. Beth should be awesome! could begin the real revival of the Diva's here mate. Got to say I really like the Morrison and Barrett feud, nice little promo from Morrison there. And another decent promo from Laycool. Next match is DiBiase vs. Jackson and I'm not a fan of either guy if I'm honest they're both extremely bland. Hopefully with the win for Ted you can make me see him in a different light.

And its main event time, very good TV main event here. I liked the finish with Miz smacking Kofi to get him the win, not a very good night for Punk but I'm sure he'll come back strong next week. Got to say I love the new graphics by the way.

NXT
I think you're onto a winner with this show, I like the rookies and pros so it should be a good show. Woods vs. Aries was a nice little match, like the fact Woods got the win here. Jackson Andrews definitely has the look, so I'm looking forward to him.

I don't really like Mcgillicutty as the NXT host/GM if I'm honest, I think he's a little to low key. Decent tag match here with Ziggler and Lethal getting the win, really like Lethal so looking forward to him progress on this show. Storm vs. Morrison is going to be good, and I'm right. Morrison gets the expected win but Storm still looks strong so nice work on that Theo and Barrett attacks and takes him out with a Wasteland, loving this feud.

You have just shown me with these two shows that you're my favourite booker in this section. keep up the good work mate.

 

[GCB]

RAW FEEDBACK​

Well, hello there, Theo. A long overdue feedback on RAW, buddy. The last time I fed back, it was Over the Limit, I enjoyed the PPV and am glad that the storylines are now moving away from the real life WWE. When I looked back on the feedback, more of it was aimed at Peep's SMACKDOWN than your RAW elements and that does make me wonder, in hindsight, about whether RAW has as much of my interest as SMACKDOWN. Thinking about it, it's probably true, maybe it's been the lack of CM Punk and Cena, I'm not sure, but I could name Peep's feuds easily whereas I had to recap yours more. However, that gives me something to feed back on now - I'm looking for a big impact show here to peak my interest and get me ready for the next show.

Interesting that you decided to start with a match rather than a promo. I like to see shows start with a promo but, in this case, I thought it was a clever decision. It recapped the Miz' issues with CM Punk and his followers and it proved to be the set up for the rest of the show in terms of the WWE Championship build. I do find your Miz character interesting - he's changing and developing and over time in a BT, character development is too often rushed and has a lack of thought, myself included. You've created some intrigue in Miz' actions and he's acting tweener right now between Punk and Kofi. Kofi's involvement in the outcome here was a sure sign of a Triple Threat for me, I knew there would be something else later and there was. I like it though. Miz is not a strong enough good guy (and there are questions over whether he is changing that way or not, anyway!) to face a red hot heel in Punk at a PPV.

I like the idea of Drew with Vickie, feel you may be rushing to get Ziggler away from it though. A month of Team Vickie with her two lads with things slipped in that prove key later might be needed here. Ziggler is reacting negatively already and it's a little rushed IMO. Interesting call to have Ryder vs. Sin Cara here, face vs. face. I sense Vickie may get Drew and Ziggler inserted into the match yet and that might be the catalyst for Ziggler's time with Vickie to end.

Powerful stuff with Kane and his house. A really well thought out and well written situation, you've given a plausible turn to Kane and kept it in keeping with his maniacal side. I like. The Michael Cole apology was clever too. I expect Kane to come back really strong now and be involved in the main event situation after Capitol Punishment, should be fun.

Didn't know what to make of the Divas stuff. Laycool supporting Kharma by stopping Beth from rescuing Kelly was a strange one. Brutal attack from Kharma and that is needed to really build her up. How she fits into the Divas Championship situation, I don't know. Maybe she won't even go after the gold? I don't know what to make of it, a good thing I suppose, it'll be interesting to see where this moves on to. Like the new development of Morrison but I fear more is needed. He is too bland and simply turning up the intensity may not be enough to make him plausible as a main eventer. I'd prefer Barrett went over in their feud but I fear he won't - the main event is stocked with heels as it is with Punk and his team, Kane, Miz ... I think you want Morrison involved in the face side of the main event with Kofi.

Speaking of which, glad you're not mentioning Mr. Cena right now. Exactly right. He'll be back when the time is right and then it will be shocking ... It better be!

Nice move with moving DiBiase's winning run to RAW with a major win over a big guy. Slow build rules here, don't force it. He needs a little feud to keep it going now, one where he wins regularly, has a credible opponent. I like Teddy and I want to see you move him up the card here as well. I have commented on Peep's use of Chris Masters (see yesterday's comments) where he has had a similar run of wins but then doesn't appear to be getting anywhere with it. Having Ted on a winning run is not enough - they need to be credible wins but there needs to be something to make the reader care about him too. Interesting to see if/how you do that.

Loved the main event, especially the ending. Miz truly 'had Kofi's back' there! Interesting decision, has Miz done it for Kofi or not? It fits the tweener situation perfectly - Miz would not want a third person as a heel, he'd do the right thing by Kofi as a face. So - in the end - he'd done the face thing by getting Kofi in the match but done a heel thing by slamming him with a chair shot. More questions than answers about Miz - good thing. Love this feud already.

A solid RAW but I'm still waiting for something to explode. You produce consistently good shows, Theo, they're always fun to read but something big really needs to go down. After CP, in real life, we had the breakout of Punk and I think your RAW show feels like it needs something major like that to put it on par with Peep for excitement. It's all well and good that you're pushing the younger guys but you need the star power. I sense Cena is the catalyst for it all.

GCB