The state of RAW: One fan's opinion

**dablackguy** · 07-19-2009, 10:51 PM

So I got done doing the 35 questions thread and question 1 got me to thinking a little bit. (RAW or Smackdown for those that haven't seen it)

For some odd reason, RAW now and days remind of of the last days of Nitro.

This isn't to say that I think the E is going out of business nor is it to say I think RAW is going to be cancelled or anything like that. But some of the things I look at:

1. Like the last days of Nitro, everything seems so fly by the seat of your pants. This is not a good thing. I remember reading (I think it was in Bischoff's book) about how towards the end Nitro was basically booked on the fly. A couple of matches were put on and then the show would start to take on a little more shape as it progressed. RAW seems to follow the same bland format every week: 20 minute interview segment, match, throwaway women's match, 1st main event, interview/talk segment, match, throwaway match, mainevent, end. Its the same running through the motions because we don't know what else to do/don't give a shit idea. Its bad enough the product is garbage, but to give up the same (more or less) format every week makes an already dull and predictable product moreso. Hell, I can schedule my Wendy's/Baskin Robbins/piss runs in advance every Monday night.

2. Like the last days of Nitro, the booking week to week makes little sense.

I don't get it. One week Big Show is a monster. Then we went without seeing him for a couple of weeks. Ted Jr has a great match with Orton but nothing beyond that (How about some significant heat between the 2?) We see the MIz talk a big game for weeks and week and with a couple of losses to Cena gets pushed to the back burner. Don't even get me started on how MVP has been booked... Its like creative can only handle 2 or 3 angles at once. Don't get me wrong, its not like any of us watch wrestling for its compelling storyline, but giving us a reason to care would make sense.

3. Like the last days of Nitro, any ratings grabbing gimmick will do.

Let's call this weekly GM thing for what it is, a ploy. A pretty crappy one at that. The idea of having a GM should be to establish a face/heel role for that person and subsequently develop feuds/alliances to that person. with a revolving door GM, you can't have that. Further, it shits no the product continuity wise. What difference does it make if one GM could override another next week - granted it hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure its not far off.

4. Like the last days of Nitro, the main event is monopolized by 3 or 4 players and the mid card is an afterthought.

This one isn't so much a new issue, but really, its Cena/HHH/Bats before he got hurt vs Orton. I'm enjoying H right now but just feel like instead of shitting on guys like MVP and Kofi and Show, they should also be used as main event (lite) players. This ties a bit into number 2, so I'll refer to that in hopes of not being redundant.

I'd pretty much rather spend my Monday nights watching shitty reruns of something else or even Operation Repo (if anyone here has seen that) than watch RAW. Its gotten to the point where I watch may 20 minutes of RAW in its 2 hour block.

Your thoughts on the state of RAW?

07-19-2009, 10:51 PM	#1
dablackguy Tacos! Posts: 795	The state of RAW: One fan's opinion So I got done doing the 35 questions thread and question 1 got me to thinking a little bit. (RAW or Smackdown for those that haven't seen it) For some odd reason, RAW now and days remind of of the last days of Nitro. This isn't to say that I think the E is going out of business nor is it to say I think RAW is going to be cancelled or anything like that. But some of the things I look at: 1. Like the last days of Nitro, everything seems so fly by the seat of your pants. This is not a good thing. I remember reading (I think it was in Bischoff's book) about how towards the end Nitro was basically booked on the fly. A couple of matches were put on and then the show would start to take on a little more shape as it progressed. RAW seems to follow the same bland format every week: 20 minute interview segment, match, throwaway women's match, 1st main event, interview/talk segment, match, throwaway match, mainevent, end. Its the same running through the motions because we don't know what else to do/don't give a shit idea. Its bad enough the product is garbage, but to give up the same (more or less) format every week makes an already dull and predictable product moreso. Hell, I can schedule my Wendy's/Baskin Robbins/piss runs in advance every Monday night. 2. Like the last days of Nitro, the booking week to week makes little sense. I don't get it. One week Big Show is a monster. Then we went without seeing him for a couple of weeks. Ted Jr has a great match with Orton but nothing beyond that (How about some significant heat between the 2?) We see the MIz talk a big game for weeks and week and with a couple of losses to Cena gets pushed to the back burner. Don't even get me started on how MVP has been booked... Its like creative can only handle 2 or 3 angles at once. Don't get me wrong, its not like any of us watch wrestling for its compelling storyline, but giving us a reason to care would make sense. 3. Like the last days of Nitro, any ratings grabbing gimmick will do. Let's call this weekly GM thing for what it is, a ploy. A pretty crappy one at that. The idea of having a GM should be to establish a face/heel role for that person and subsequently develop feuds/alliances to that person. with a revolving door GM, you can't have that. Further, it shits no the product continuity wise. What difference does it make if one GM could override another next week - granted it hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure its not far off. 4. Like the last days of Nitro, the main event is monopolized by 3 or 4 players and the mid card is an afterthought. This one isn't so much a new issue, but really, its Cena/HHH/Bats before he got hurt vs Orton. I'm enjoying H right now but just feel like instead of shitting on guys like MVP and Kofi and Show, they should also be used as main event (lite) players. This ties a bit into number 2, so I'll refer to that in hopes of not being redundant. I'd pretty much rather spend my Monday nights watching shitty reruns of something else or even Operation Repo (if anyone here has seen that) than watch RAW. Its gotten to the point where I watch may 20 minutes of RAW in its 2 hour block. Your thoughts on the state of RAW?