WWE Has Brought Something Great Back To RAW.

[Y-2-Jay]

I don't know if the reports of a change of booking style is the cause of this but at the end of each RAW now for 4 weeks there has been a ending where you have to see next weeks show to find out.

Raw November 15th: "Will Cena Be Free Or Fired"
Raw November 22nd: "Miz Is The WWE Champion"
Raw November 29th: "Cole Betrays The King"
Raw December 6th: "If Cena doesn't Get Rehired We Leave"

Which makes me think, Raw December 13th: ???

For these past 4 weeks the boring, lazy and uncreative endings have gone (And for me will never be missed) The ending where the heel wins and celebrates then... Show ends wow i really want to find out next week if he had a good celebration.

Or them endings where the face wrestler stands tall while the commentator shouts "WILL HE WIN THIS SUNDAY!!!!!" although you would most likey want to know if this person does win it just doesn't have the same effect as these endings that make you think "FUCK YEAH I AM WATCH RAW NEXT WEEK!!!!" which you will see if you have a pop in the RAW LD. This new way of booking endings to RAW has been great TV and has made me want to watch next week. If WWE continues this way they will start seeing spikes in the ratings which i belive has already started with RAW getting its best overall viewership in weeks.

Keep up the good work WWE and please try not go back to boring generic endings that made us think "Oh yeah RAW is on tonight" and make more endings that make us say "RAW IS ON TONIGHT FUCK YEAHHHH BITCHES"

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

"RAW IS ON TONIGHT FUCK YEAHHHH BITCHES"

Used have that feeling as 12 year old waiting for Raw. It's come back to a certain extent because Raw has been telling a good story with a LOT of twists recently. Not to mention the undercard has guys like Daniel Bryan, JoMo, Sheamus, Tyson Kidd puttin' on great matches. Commentary revitalisation in Punk's addition.

WWE has actually upped its game ever since Nexus arrived.

 

[Brahma Bull]

i think it is one of 2 things. one, as we near wrestlemania, the storylines always get better. last year, raw got better around the royal rumble, this year it started a bit sooner.

the second thing i can think of is with the lose of so many maineventers recently, they really need to come up with great storylines to keep people interested. just this past year we have lost hbk and hhh is out of action for awile. batista is also gone, and taker is injured as well. not to mention jericho is out for a few months. they need to make great storylines to establish new guys to take over while other main eventers heel and come back. not counting hbk and batista who are gone for good. lol

 

[PositiveBlack]

Yes! Give credit were credit is due.With more attitude era and NWA guys taking over production and the recent writers shake-up. It seems WWE is trying to rekindle the flames it had during that period. No it will never be on the level of Who Called The Cops on HHH (If you think it was Kurt Angle and don't remember who actually did that proves how good writing was during that period) but good story writing and good wrestling will always draw viewers in. Good Job WWE... For now

 

[realdealasshole]

Around 2005, I became completely discontent with WWE. TNA came on Spike TV so I began watching that weekly and over time, phased out WWE because it just wasn't compelling (TNA didn't have good storylines then either, but the wrestling was too incredible not to watch). It remained that way up until this summer when TNA began feeling the full effects of Hogan and Bischoff, that I turned on Raw just to see what was going on. It was still pretty bad, but certainly better than TNA's product, so I kept watching. The past couple months, WWE is my favorite wrestling promotion again. Why? Just what you mentioned. They give me a reason to tune in every week. I'm left with questions. Not mindless questions, but questions that actually are compelling.

 

[The Crock]

I've definitely noticed, and I think it's great. I used to love watching wrestling just because of this, it kept me entertained, it kept me wondering. (Now, obviously it wasn't the only reason I watched, but you get the point.) I used to be disappointed when Raw WOULDN'T end with a cliffhanger. Then after a while, they phased it out... I forgot about it until, as of late, it has made its resurgence. I'm very happy about this, and satisfied with the booking as of late. I hope they keep it up.

 

[nikvoodoo]

It's not exactly what we're talking about in this thread, but it's in the same vein.

I know this probably isn't something that will continue, but did anyone else notice for the first time in a very very long time, they took a commercial break while there was action physically taking place in the ring. Not the usual toss a guy to the outside, or hit some spot on the outside that lays a guy out and we have to hear "Can so and so recover? Find out as Raw continues live"

The commercial break came right after Kozlov eliminated the Uso's in the Fatal Four Way and he was then being kicked in the corner by Nexus. It went back to the old days of J.R. screaming "What, now? NO! WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO BREAK NOW DAMNIT!" I always felt that holds attention through the breaks better. I know it actually made me sit up and go "Hmm. That's different. And I felt myself actually sitting there anxiously waiting for the damn commercial to finish. It felt like I was missing something, and these damn commercials needed to end so I could see it.

It probably was just due to the nature of the match, but that's another tool at Creative's disposal I think they should utilize more of.

 

[fredstephenson]

i read that vince apparantly said a while back to his creative team that he wants the fans to expect the unexpected again or somthing along those lines maybe thats the reason its getting good again either way im glad wwe is trying to entertain us again because for a while raw was a chore to watch but im actually looking forward to raw again each week for the first time i absolute ages i hope they keep it up

 

[RkoMachine]

yeah i totally agree! Raw has been nothing short of amazing lately and they have done a great job of making sure you tune in every week. I honestly hope this is how its gonna be from now on and its not just because wrestlemania is just around the corner...... i supposed only time will tell but ATM wwe is putting out the best product IMO that they have in years and the ratings are gonna keep going up as long as it stays this way

 

[J-Dogg]

I've been impressed by RAW's booking recently and lately, its really made me love wrestling even more, and i become excited when everything on the show is solid or even excellent, RAW continues to keep this up, and if they continue with this trend then we will be seeing alot more great things on RAW.

 

[KaosTheori]

Yeah. I'm watching Raw right now and I'm only up to Sheamus and his first appearance as King of the Ring and I'm thoroughly impressed. Everything is smooth. Even the mistakes were easy to overlook. Ive seen the Bellas do that damn switch dozens of times... I think... (4:20am)... and even that felt right in the match. And this is with only 2 "money" main-eventers. And Punk on commentary is icing on the cake. snoogens

 

[ABMorales787]

Booking change? I haven't seen it. If anything, I've seen a decline in quality. Yes, I have noticed the more suspenseful endings, but sometimes, the stories are so straight forward, you can see all across the horizon.

Raw November 15th: "Will Cena Be Free Or Fired"

This was Survivor Series' selling point. And whatever goof actually bought into seeing Cena stay away from WWE, he was sadly mistaken.

Raw November 22nd: "Miz Is The WWE Champion"

After Miz won, the most obvious thing to go with next was Randy eventually getting a rematch. And with only 3 weeks of build, that just made it more obvious.

Raw November 29th: "Cole Betrays The King"

When were they even on the same page? And why are commentators a part of the main event storyline?

Raw December 6th: "If Cena doesn't Get Rehired We Leave"

When did Cena even leave in the first place? After seeing how pathetic Nexus has become with their inability to control Cena and inability to secure the WWE Championship, I couldn't care less about them.

Which makes me think, Raw December 13th: ???

Considering I can't see to the future, is always the question for me whenever I watch Raw, Smackdown, Impact, or any other TV show I haven't seen yet. I don't care about a suspenseful ending. I want a satisfying one. One that delivers a story that regardless of suspenseful, a total cliffhanger or being pretty damn obvious. It's sports entertainment. Not sports thriller.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Booking change? I haven't seen it. If anything, I've seen a decline in quality.

It could be that you're just tired of pro wrestling and would benefit from a break. No problem with that, of course.

For myself, I think the whole Nexus storyline has provided a breath of fresh air to the production and the timing makes me think it coincides with the TNA initiative in January. Since then, the writing in WWE has been superb and the "cliffhanger" endings we've seen each week actually make me think about WWE during the week, wondering what's coming next.

I've found the Nexus program to be as unpredictable as any situational TV series ever. It keeps you guessing, which is exactly what fans should want. It's also invigorated the character of John Cena, giving him a new direction than simply playing super-hero.

This new creative surge has encompassed other areas too, such as Edge's mind games with Kane, a push for Santino, and "meatier" roles for some of the women.

On the other hand, this new direction hasn't seemed to help TV ratings at all. In other words, these new programs haven't gotten new viewers to watch. To do that, I think they have to go back to the edgier ways of the Attitude Era (ex.. Bret Hart saying "bullshit" on live TV) to get the non-wrestling fans to tune back in, as they did in the late '90's.

But for those of us who've been with WWE all along, I think they're doing it better than they ever have. For those of you asking if "pro wrestling is on the verge of extinction," I point to the new direction of Creative to show that Vince McMahon & friends will always find a way to get it done.

 

[AndyUK]

I agree. Personally though, I think that on the whole, RAW has been very good all year and the most interesting it has been in at least five years. The Wrestlemania buildup was great and since then, there's been a number of other things to keep people interested.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

I agree,I am glad Vince is starting to go back to the "Anything Can Happen in WWE". Thats one thing that got me hooked right away when I first started watching way back when. I always like cliffhanger endings and can't wait to see what happens the following week.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I agree. I don't know what the writers have been drinking lately, but I will gladly chip in and buy them cases of it if it keeps up this great roll they are on. Granted, I'm not a fan of the Miz or anything like that, but now I'm sad that I work nights. When I am in the LD's I'm miz-erable that I have to wait until I get home to watch my tape of it. With the Nexus and everything that is going on now, and Punk on announce table, and Cena showing up at all the matches...this is the crappiest time to be a night shift person. Hehe. But I will give them that better late than never to be on this kind of roll. I give you my thumbs up WWE

 

[Jacob]

I must agree with you.

The past while WWE has definatly gone in a new direction with the matches storyline just about everything. For once in a few years, I can't wait to see what happens next. The booking sure as changed for the good, maybe because of near 'Mania or just because they needed a change of bookers. I just don't know. But I am positive I will tune in next week to watch the Nexus storyline go down but thats for another story.

 

[Kayoh]

What is keeping things so interesting is that everybody has a storyline now. Everybody from Cena and Orton down to Santino Marella and Ted DiBiase. It's starting to feel more and more like attitude style booking because even the mid card titles are gaining more credibility. The current U.S. Champ won the title from the current WWE champ; that's instant credibility in and of itself. Plus, said U.S. Champ never loses matches, even if his title isn't on the line. DBD and Dolph Ziggler have both been booked VERY well as champions, and it makes the mid card look a lot stronger. The WWE is just doing everything right. And people don't want to admit it, but dammit, Santino is a great worker, and is a top babyface in the entire company right now.