RAW -- 11.19.18 -- Official Thread

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by KIRA So raw was just a whole lot of nothing

Braun got his elbow shattered, Dean Ambrose beat up Seth Rollins and made fun of Roman's cancer and LA, Nattie got a "measure of revenge" for what The Riott Squad have put her through and Ronda Rousey showed excellent fire. Those things happened. The stories coming out are that Braun is hurt and Ambrose got something over Seth. Ronda likes to fight.

I don't know how they can do so little with so much time. Well, I do -- less is more. But so much of this is bad, boring or just a waste of time. It's fucking fluff. The whole show is fluff. Almost everything on it. Ronda being a bad-ass was still fluff.

Absolutely nothing happened with the Raw sweep. I missed the opening segment or whatever, so I'm not sure if Stephanie danced like I predicted, but it was mentioned a lot, but what it means didn't matter.

I wish I knew exactly where this company fell off a cliff, because this was really bad. Was it 2015? I remember that's when I just couldn't do it anymore. I feel like it's been awful forever though.

This company doesn't get the basic conventions of telling stories. They don't get wrestling. They don't get heat. They don't get promos or how angles are supposed to work. Nothing matters, and they've done that to themselves. The storylines are so predictable. Not that being predictable is a bad thing, but who doesn't think Braun is going to come back and kill Corbin? Who didn't know Seth would show up in the main event segment? And they act like it's cutting edge, and even the most intellectually challenged viewer would have to know they are full of shit.

They don't care. They don't try. If this is effort, none of the writers and none of the production team should ever work again. People praise their production, and it is elaborate in some ways, but it's absolutely horseshit in others. So many gaps in logic, and guys walking around with cameras in their face as they are looking for blood is one of my biggest pet peeves about modern wrestling. The acceptance that this is all scripted fucking nonsense. How are Seth and Dean supposed to have a serious feud with Seth walking around going "Where are you, Dean?" and cameras pulling back from his face as he approaches and ignores them?

Ugh, this show sucks. I guess I should re-state I enjoyed Ronda's work. Best part of the actual show by a country mile. All these people have been at it for quite a while and yet she shows up and is already the best at even the gentrified entertainment part within a few months.

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by Noid I wish I knew exactly where this company fell off a cliff, because this was really bad. Was it 2015? I remember that's when I just couldn't do it anymore. I feel like it's been awful forever though.

I can only speak to my own opinion, but I generally view Raw 1000 (July 2012) as something of a turning point for me.

By then, I had already stopped watching SmackDown. Once the initial brand split ended, the show felt entirely pointless. I remember there was a stretch where any good match on SmackDown would just get run again on Raw, so there was no need to ever tune in for it.

So I only watched Raw. There was still a whole ton of shit going on, but there were good things too (Punk, Bryan's descent into madness, Ryback looking like he could be a big deal), and the good things were enough to keep me tuning in.

Raw 1000 was pretty damn lame, even by nostalgia show standards. But the bigger thing is that's when they announced that they were moving Raw to three hours full-time and that was just so deflating for me. I still had the show on most weeks but spent 90% of it with my back turned as I was on the computer and stuff.

Various points between 2014-16 I stopped watching entirely. When the brand split came back I decided to give the company a chance. I actually watched both shows intently for several months and found myself really enjoying most of it. But by the end of the year I was right back to being indifferent about Raw.

[Cool King]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito I can only speak to my own opinion, but I generally view Raw 1000 (July 2012) as something of a turning point for me. By then, I had already stopped watching SmackDown. Once the initial brand split ended, the show felt entirely pointless. I remember there was a stretch where any good match on SmackDown would just get run again on Raw, so there was no need to ever tune in for it. So I only watched Raw. There was still a whole ton of shit going on, but there were good things too (Punk, Bryan's descent into madness, Ryback looking like he could be a big deal), and the good things were enough to keep me tuning in. Raw 1000 was pretty damn lame, even by nostalgia show standards. But the bigger thing is that's when they announced that they were moving Raw to three hours full-time and that was just so deflating for me. I still had the show on most weeks but spent 90% of it with my back turned as I was on the computer and stuff. Various points between 2014-16 I stopped watching entirely. When the brand split came back I decided to give the company a chance. I actually watched both shows intently for several months and found myself really enjoying most of it. But by the end of the year I was right back to being indifferent about Raw.

This is pretty much me.

[Loose Cannon]

Originally Posted by Noid Braun got his elbow shattered, Dean Ambrose beat up Seth Rollins and made fun of Roman's cancer and LA, Nattie got a "measure of revenge" for what The Riott Squad have put her through and Ronda Rousey showed excellent fire. Those things happened. The stories coming out are that Braun is hurt and Ambrose got something over Seth. Ronda likes to fight. I don't know how they can do so little with so much time. Well, I do -- less is more. But so much of this is bad, boring or just a waste of time. It's fucking fluff. The whole show is fluff. Almost everything on it. Ronda being a bad-ass was still fluff. Absolutely nothing happened with the Raw sweep. I missed the opening segment or whatever, so I'm not sure if Stephanie danced like I predicted, but it was mentioned a lot, but what it means didn't matter. I wish I knew exactly where this company fell off a cliff, because this was really bad. Was it 2015? I remember that's when I just couldn't do it anymore. I feel like it's been awful forever though. This company doesn't get the basic conventions of telling stories. They don't get wrestling. They don't get heat. They don't get promos or how angles are supposed to work. Nothing matters, and they've done that to themselves. The storylines are so predictable. Not that being predictable is a bad thing, but who doesn't think Braun is going to come back and kill Corbin? Who didn't know Seth would show up in the main event segment? And they act like it's cutting edge, and even the most intellectually challenged viewer would have to know they are full of shit. They don't care. They don't try. If this is effort, none of the writers and none of the production team should ever work again. People praise their production, and it is elaborate in some ways, but it's absolutely horseshit in others. So many gaps in logic, and guys walking around with cameras in their face as they are looking for blood is one of my biggest pet peeves about modern wrestling. The acceptance that this is all scripted fucking nonsense. How are Seth and Dean supposed to have a serious feud with Seth walking around going "Where are you, Dean?" and cameras pulling back from his face as he approaches and ignores them? Ugh, this show sucks. I guess I should re-state I enjoyed Ronda's work. Best part of the actual show by a country mile. All these people have been at it for quite a while and yet she shows up and is already the best at even the gentrified entertainment part within a few months.

Agreed. it's so difficult to watch these guys cut promos and i know it's the writers for the most part. they give them the corniest shit to say. I feel like Ronda goes out there and does it in her own words and surprise surprise it comes off so much better.

The wrestling is always going to be good. the workers overall are the best the company has ever had. but everything else involved in putting on a good show is really bad. Like the whole Bobby Roode and Chad Gable laughing at the AOP's manager for saying You're in (urine). Like why ????

[Cool King]

Also, who's idea was it to have a segment about the California wildfires and then cut to a man wearing a T-Shirt with "Burn It Down" on it?

[Sixx]

Originally Posted by Cool King Also, who's idea was it to have a segment about the California wildfires and then cut to a man wearing a T-Shirt with "Burn It Down" on it?

Haaaa, nice.