What is going on over at RAW?

[Navi]

If you watched RAW tonight I feel sorry for you. It went almost 3:15 minutes and it seems that nothing got accomplished, which was quite unlike SD's No Mercy last night. That show came in at 2 hours and 30 minutes and story lines were moved along.

RAW has a bigger roster, the cruiserweight division and three hours to put on a great show. The problem is they can't seem to do it. I'm seriously confused right now as too what the main storyline is. You think it would be Owens, him being the champ and all, but you also have Reigns/Rusev and Sasha/Charlotte. Oh and not to forget New Day and their tag titles.

To tell you the truth it just seems like everyone is spinning their wheels just trying to get to the next PPV. We are seeing basically the same matches each week. and I'm not sure the story gets advanced at all. You would think with the brand split and that freeing up some space others might get a shot at moving up. But they aren't.

Sheamus and Cesaro the most unlikely duo ever will probably find their feet and might even win the titles at some point. They have to get by the Club first though, who still can't win a match against New Day.

Sami Zayn and Neville, both good wrestlers got stuck in a tag team tonight, I think just to get them on the show. Neither one has any sort of a feud happening. We were told they volunteered because Foley was scrambling around backstage to find a team. Are you kidding me?

All the WWE has done is to create more room for the ones at the top of the ladder and everyone else is an afterthought. Shit even Braun Strowman gets matches every week, he has a story line, Zayn can't buy one.

And then there is this imaginary battle with SD. Well there is no battle at all. SD is the clear winner with a fast paced exciting to watch show that leaves you wanting more. So they can stop that shit right now. When I can watch a RAW and come away thinking they did just a good a job as SD does then they've won. Until then they might be the flagship show, but they are heading into troubled waters. All the starpower is on SD now, and they are making it work. RAW is stumbling around in the dark and not one of them can find the light switch.

 

[therockiswwf]

The answer is really simple. 3 hours. It is too long. Stories have to spread. Other stories have to be elevated and elongated. Hard to continuously focus on one main storyline for 3 hours. It would drag and they would run out of ideas. Ambrose said feuds kept running out of steam on Raw because of the amount of time they need to fill. HHH has said it is taxing on them. They need to go back to 2 hours. I have no idea why NBC/USA wanted them to do this.

Who do you put Zayn in a feud with? Looking at the roster, here who is free (excluding cruiserweights, tag teams, etc.):
Big Show
Bo Dallas
Curtis Axel
Mark Henry
Jericho (sort of)
Darren Young
Jinder Mahal
Neville
Titus O'Neil
That is who is available for a feud. He already fought Jericho so cross him out. Show and Henry are on a limited schedule (presumably). That leaves a bunch of no ones for Sami to feud with. They don't have midcard.

 

[Rayne]

I have no idea why NBC/USA wanted them to do this.

Because they get more money from people watching three hours of television than they do from slightly slightly more people watching two hours of television.

 

[jpickens]

Apparently the three hours is so USA can fill up a time slot that would've went to either a Law and Order repeat or some of their other hoaky programing that no one watches.

 

[therockiswwf]

Because they get more money from people watching three hours of television than they do from slightly slightly more people watching two hours of television.

No shit. This may have been true when they first went to 3 hours. I can't imagine it will continue to do so. Though it will probably take a bit for the advertisers to drop-off due to inertia (they have been going to WWE for so long and the ratings have been so good, they will be less likely to have a knee-jerk reaction). This is a lose-lose for both WWE and NBC. Diminishing returns. Attracting advertisers to wrestling is hard enough (image and fanbase lack of money concern). Add rating concerns to that and it is not a recipe for profit.

Going from a 3.4 average to the past few weeks being under a 2 is not slightly less viewers.

My point was they had to see this as a potential future problem. The best plan is not always the one that makes more money in the short term.

Apparently the three hours is so USA can fill up a time slot that would've went to either a Law and Order repeat or some of their other hoaky programing that no one watches.

That show has been on for a hundred years or so, someone is watching them. It is easier to make money off a rerun.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Not really sure what the point of this is other than it ultimately becoming another bitch fest about Raw being 3 hours. As for what they accomplished last night:

Moving forward with Sheamus & Cesaro as ultimately the next Team Hell No type of combination by jacking up tension between them as part of the initial, official, build towards their tag title match against New Day.

Announcing the first ever and ultimately continuing the build for the first ever female Hell in a Cell match between Sasha Banks and Charlotte.

Highlighting both the Raw Women's and United States Championships by pairing the champs and opponents up as part of the continued build towards their respective matches.

Pretty much confirming that Goldberg has signed his deal with WWE and initiating the first steps, or possibly the second steps if you take into account Goldberg's appearance on SportsCenter, for Lesnar vs. Goldberg for Survivor Series. Simultaneously, they also announced Goldberg's return to WWE television after being gone for some 12.5 years.

Finally putting more attention and focus on the Rollins vs. Owens aspects of their current feud rather than Rollins' energy being more focused on the conspiracy regarding Stephanie & Triple H with Mick Foley ultimately acting as the unwitting dupe. Simultaneously, continuing to hint at the beginnings of tensions between Owens & Jericho.

Starting to flesh out the characters & personas of TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick for their Cruiserweight Championship match at Hell in a Cell.

Continuing to reestablish heat on Anderson & Gallows by having them beat up another very popular babyface tag team.

Continuing Bayley's slow build back towards the Raw Women's Championship picture and progressing Braun Strowman along towards his eventual "competition", which I'm probably thinking will eventually be Big Show.

So...yeah, generally speaking, I thought they accomplished quite a bit last night. One of the only things I saw on the show last night that was a total waste of time was the stuff with R-Truth and Titus O'Neil. I also can't say that I'm overly excited for Lesnar vs. Goldberg, I just don't have any real interest in it. Regardless of that, however, it's still a highly newsworthy feud.

 

[Bischoff's Knob Slobberer]

The best part of RAW was when Rusev stated to Charolette and Tiny Dwarf "No one cares about your stupid women's revolution, or that you main evented on RAW last week."

Rusev nailed it! My thoughts exactly!

Enuff said/End thread.

 

[NotoriousWWE]

Couldn't agree more with this. I'm from the UK so staying up until 4am to sit through what have been some poorly booked RAW's as of late has been annoying. Last night was the first time I decided not to watch it. I think i'm gonna simply become a SmackDown only viewer until RAW can re-gain my interest. I don't even think its the 3 hours issue, the show as a whole is booked so differently to SD. SD makes you care about even the significant superstars such as Swagger, Corbin and Crews. Guys like that on RAW are nowhere to be seen despite having THREE HOURS to showcase them. Cruiserweight division is interesting and I think its a real shame that while one of my favs in Owens is World Champion, I wont be watching anymore.

 

[Rayne]

Going from a 3.4 average to the past few weeks being under a 2 is not slightly less viewers.

And what else has been going on for the past few weeks now?

I don't pay much attention to the football myself, but I know when the season starts every year- you can count on the yearly "OMG the ratings!" thread. People aren't tuning out because the idea of a 3rd hour of professional wrestling is just too much to bear, they're watching other shit like Monday Night Football and the Presidential Arguments.

Fall has always been a dead time for the WWE. RAW could stage a public execution- a 2 hour or 3 hour one- and people are still going to see if anything's going on in the Bengals vs. Browns game.

 

[Navi]

Not really sure what the point of this is other than it ultimately becoming another bitch fest about Raw being 3 hours. As for what they accomplished last night:

Actually no it isn't a bitchfest about RAW being 3 hours. I think we are all used to the fact that it is that long now. The point I'm trying to make is that even though SD got the top of the card, name wise, RAW got the meat of the roster with the midcard, and they are wasting it.

Moving forward with Sheamus & Cesaro as ultimately the next Team Hell No type of combination by jacking up tension between them as part of the initial, official, build towards their tag title match against New Day.

While I love Sheamus and Cesaro as a team, someone said it better in another post, RAW has no midcard. Sheamus and Cesaro should be singles wrestler's with feuds of their own. Same with Zayn and Neville. Turn Neville heel or Zayn, there you have 4 excellent wrestlers who can put on good matches. Not use them in tag team matches just to get them some air time.

Announcing the first ever and ultimately continuing the build for the first ever female Hell in a Cell match between Sasha Banks and Charlotte.

Highlighting both the Raw Women's and United States Championships by pairing the champs and opponents up as part of the continued build towards their respective matches.

The build to the match between Banks and Charlotte had to continue. Also the announcement was like any other announcement. Yes it's the first time in history that women will compete in the cell, and depending on how it goes, might be the last. I hope for their sake they don't get hurt and it turns out good for everyone.

The tag match between the men and women last night just showed how much the crowd didn't care for Reigns and Rusev, they wanted to see the women. I think it was a huge mistake.

Pretty much confirming that Goldberg has signed his deal with WWE and initiating the first steps, or possibly the second steps if you take into account Goldberg's appearance on SportsCenter, for Lesnar vs. Goldberg for Survivor Series. Simultaneously, they also announced Goldberg's return to WWE television after being gone for some 12.5 years.

I think it would have been better if he had actually been there to counter Heyman, but it stretches the story out for another segment next week.

Finally putting more attention and focus on the Rollins vs. Owens aspects of their current feud rather than Rollins' energy being more focused on the conspiracy regarding Stephanie & Triple H with Mick Foley ultimately acting as the unwitting dupe. Simultaneously, continuing to hint at the beginnings of tensions between Owens & Jericho.

Pretty sure we can all see the "best friends" thing come to an end at some point. I hope it doesn't happen right away because they are the best part of the show right now. But who are they elevating to feud with Owens after he is done with Rollins, I can't see them doing anything. They are focused on those three and that's it.

Starting to flesh out the characters & personas of TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick for their Cruiserweight Championship match at Hell in a Cell.

Kendrick has a personality, I'm not sure about the others though. It's come out do the match and leave. They might be good in the ring, but nothing has happened in 3 weeks to get fans invested in them.

Continuing to reestablish heat on Anderson & Gallows by having them beat up another very popular babyface tag team.

Continuing Bayley's slow build back towards the Raw Women's Championship picture and progressing Braun Strowman along towards his eventual "competition", which I'm probably thinking will eventually be Big Show.

Gallows and Anderson have always had heat since the beginning. The issue with them is the booking, which I might add is atrocious. It pretty obvious that once New Day breaks the record they will drop the titles, so we are in a holding pattern, but the Club hasn't been used properly since they arrived, and have become kind of boring.

So...yeah, generally speaking, I thought they accomplished quite a bit last night. One of the only things I saw on the show last night that was a total waste of time was the stuff with R-Truth and Titus O'Neil. I also can't say that I'm overly excited for Lesnar vs. Goldberg, I just don't have any real interest in it. Regardless of that, however, it's still a highly newsworthy feud.

I kind of thought last nights show was boring, they lost me halfway through as I was looking for things to do. There is just no excitement generated for some reason, nothing to get you going and keep you on the edge of your seat. It's same ****e, different housecoat. Like I've said before with the roster they have, they should be doing a much better job than what they are, and it's not the show's length.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I think fans don't like Sasha Banks, Cruiserweight wrestling, Kevin Owens, and Seth Rollins as much as they think they like Sasha Banks, Cruiserweight wrestling, Kevin Owens, and Seth Rollins. Like Jack Hammer pointed out there is a ton going on and moving toward forward.

This just seems like a whole lot of complaining about everything when really the only issue is the lack of Sami Zayn in a regular spot. Kind of like old threads where the main complaint was the undervaluing of Kevin Owens. A man who is now champ and heavily featured yet no one seems to appreciate. Or maybe he is not as good as people think he is.

It's hard to say but Raw has a lot going on. Not much seems thrown together like it was pre-brand split. Not every show is the zenith of entertainment but the last two weeks have been decent to good with storyline advancement, humor, character development, and some really solid wrestling.

Raw is the wrestling show. I repeat Raw is the wrestling show. As many hijinks Raw has on it, Raw is the wrestling show in comparison to SD. They have most of the IWC wrestling favorites with th exception of AJ. Raw is the wrestling show. Maybe wrestling fans don't like wrestling as much as they pretend to like wrestling.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

I think the OP is saying nothing stands out on last night's Raw, and they're kinda right.

We have a Cruiserweight Division that could disappear next week and nobody would mind, since we're getting the same stunts from larger athletes like Neville, Zayn, Rollins, Kofi, etc. A super unpopular face champion in Roman Reigns. The Goldberg vs. Lesnar sequel that nobody asked for. Something about Pay Day. Evil brooding monster Braun giving Foley a second chance at finding him competition, stretching whatever generic storyline that is. Bo losing his smile another week.

A majority of last night was filler. The New Day/Cesaro & Sheamus match was fun. Jericho is still a hoot, and the possibility of him facing Owens is a good story. The humor is pretty spot on, which is fantastic writing. Banks and Charlotte getting a Hell In A Cell Match is fucking sweet. But in the three or so hours of wrestling, that was all that seemed interesting. I get that Goldberg is going to bring a lot of hype next week, but I really am not excited about him facing Lesnar knowing how well their last bout went. And now we have an even more "once in a while" Lesnar facing off against Goldberg's ring rust. Austin will probably not be around to save this.

There are several reasons to stay tuned in, but last night's show was not a Raw to "fight" Smackdown with, especially coming off of a decent pay per view.

 

[Goldberg's Lawyer]

I don't understand much of this. The ONLY two things on Smackdown worth watching are The Miz and AJ Styles. Everything else is boring as hell. No Mercy was a joke - all but the "main event" and Miz v Ziggler were utterly pointless. Orton v Bray was just weird and the rest were a drab undercard of nobodies feuding over nothing.

Raw isn't perfect, but Jericho right now by himself in a one man show > Smackdown. Owens only adds to this entertainment, and the developing tension between JeriKO is going to culminate in something great.

Rusev and Reigns is a decent feud over a mid-card title in my eyes, I'm invested in the women's title which is never the case. Cesaro and Sheamus is also interesting. The non-story TV matches have the likes of Neville and Sami Zayn in them. On Smackdown, they literally had a PPV match for Jack Swagger and Corbin. The gulf is huge.

And as for Goldberg, I guess my username gives me away. I've been waiting to mark out for his return since he first left when I was 13...

 

[rmp0012002]

I think now with two actual live TV brands that some fans will only watch one show or the other. If the wrestlers I like are on SD I'm probably not going to watch three hours of Raw knowing my favorites aren't there and vice versa.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I didn't watch Raw last night because the show has been awful here lately. Needless to say, there are a bunch of problems. I'll look at each division.

Main Event

Rollins vs Owens is fine but seems... I don't know. I'm just not interested in it. Maybe it's because of Rollins injury or him working face. Honestly he was a lot better as a heel. Or maybe it's because Triple H turned on Rollins and is nowhere to be found. I mean you have an incredible swerve and then that character doesn't even show up the next 2 months. Rollins vs Owens feels like filler to get us to Rollins vs HHH.

Cruiserweight

This division has bombed tremendously. I would have slowly introduced each of these guys. Maybe debut one of them each week until you have a division going. Give them characters. Make us want to care about them. You can't just introduce 10 guys at once, especially since none of them have a character or much personality. And the matches have been sub-par and nothing close to the Cruiserweight Classic. I would drop this entire thing.

Tag Teams

New Day are fine, but they need to eventually drop the titles. Gallows and Anderson were doing really good until those horrible 'comedy' segments. Enzo and Cass aren't doing much. The Shining Stars really need to just go away. Cesaro and Sheamus isn't working because both of these guys are fairly boring character wise. Team Hell No worked because Kane and Bryan had highly interesting different characters. The Rock 'n Sock Connection worked because Rock and Foley had highly interesting different characters. Cesaro and Sheamus have basically the same boring characters, so obviously it's not working.

Mid-Card

Why not split up Cesaro and Sheamus? Then have Cesaro and Zayn feud and Sheamus and Neville feud. You instantly have a very good mid-card. Instead Zayn and Neville are nowhere to be found while Cesaro and Sheamus are in an annoying and uninteresting tag team.

There are other problems. Too many appearances from Stephanie and Foley. Way too short matches. 3 hours. Too many commercials. Michael Cole. In conclusion, Raw is terrible. I'm probably ranting and complaining a little too much, but most people seem to agree. A lot needs to change.

 

[rbv13]

The three hour format isn't going anywhere. Financials trump over all else. The simplest fix is to revamp the format. Run a traditional style Raw for roughly two hours and fifteen minutes. Then implement a Talking Smack style program to run for forty-five minutes with comercial breaks. I know they love the allowed fifteen minute run over but that has to go. This set up allows them to retain the three hour format but gives the feel of separate programs. The Raw talk version would be much like Talking Smack where it is nice to watch but not a deal breaker if it is missed.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

WWE is in a can't win spot... SD has been the "poor relation" so long that the only way to change the perception is to have it better than RAW for a period of time. Shane has the "cool" perception with the fans while Bryan is still their hero... Steph is always gonna be hated and Mick frankly doesn't work well with her in the role...

The split in itself is working, you're seeing Miz, Jericho, Wyatt and Ziggler all rebound into major players again while RAW's biggest issue has been losing Balor... so much was based around his idea that they've done pretty well to adapt.

There is some talent who seem "lost" on RAW, guys like The Club.... but that's cos Balor isn't there right now... pull the trigger on them when he is back and leading them... The cruisers are dipping cos there's no BIG name in there... Sin Cara alone won't cut it and Brian Kendrick wasn't big enough... it needs a Rey Mysterio or similar to come back, even for a short time.

Ultimately we're barely 3 months into the split... it will take time for both shows to find their levels... but Smackdown is deliberately being given some more focus to make it a level playing field in the perception of fans... They'll go over at Survivor Series too...

 

[RAWisWAR]

I watch RAW on Hulu every week and it is the perfect length. The three hour show is compressed into an hour and a half with all the BS Bo Dallas and jobber matches cut. I think RAW kicked ass this past week.