The Official UKFF RAW Thread...

[theringmaster]

I like the idea of the Womens belt changing on RAW, it really felt like it added to the 'new era' feel of the show.

[AshC]

Yep, which is exactly what they were going for. And it adds an element of unpredictability for when they do the SummerSlam match. I'm game. 

[PunkStep]

They were planning on having a Reigns/Jericho feud after Mania before they opted with Styles, or was that just dirtsheet talk? Reigns is in limbo right now. He needs to be kept a million miles away from Rollins for a long time for a start, which probably means away from the title scene. Brock will be busy (whenever he shows up) with Orton. I suppose Jericho is the next logical feud.

[AshC]

Jericho will know exactly what notes to play on the promos as well, he's the man for that kind of thing.

[Guest]

Agree with Rick about the women's title match being free of the telly. Like I posted in the Battleground thread, having Sasha get the tap out on the champion gives her a legit claim to having a title match, basic booking though it may be. To them do it the very next night, and have the title change hands, has taken away that big moment that you should be building towards happening on the big show that people are paying money to watch, whether it's buying it on PPV or subscribing to the network.

 

With only 4 RAWs between Battleground and Summerslam, they could have easily got to Summerslam without doing the match.

Last night you could have had Sasha issue the challenge which Charlotte accepts...if she beats Dana next week. One week later Sasha beats Dana and the match is on. Roll on to the following week and Dana jumps Sasha prior to the match and you have Charlotte and Dana doing the 2on1 beat down and have Bayley run in for the save, setting up a tag rematch from Battleground for the go home RAW were if Sasha and Bayley win, Sasha gets the shot at Summerslam. Have that tag match finish with Sasha tapping out Charlotte for a second time and then have Foley make the match for Summerslam official

 

Agree with Rick about the women's title match being free of the telly. Like I posted in the Battleground thread, having Sasha get the tap out on the champion gives her a legit claim to having a title match, basic booking though it may be. To them do it the very next night, and have the title change hands, has taken away that big moment that you should be building towards happening on the big show that people are paying money to watch, whether it's buying it on PPV or subscribing to the network.

 

With only 4 RAWs between Battleground and Summerslam, they could have easily got to Summerslam without doing the match.

Last night you could have had Sasha issue the challenge which Charlotte accepts...if she beats Dana next week. One week later Sasha beats Dana and the match is on. Roll on to the following week and Dana jumps Sasha prior to the match and you have Charlotte and Dana doing the 2on1 beat down and have Bayley run in for the save, setting up a tag rematch from Battleground for the go home RAW were if Sasha and Bayley win, Sasha gets the shot at Summerslam. Have that tag match finish with Sasha tapping out Charlotte for a second time and then have Foley make the match for Summerslam official

As Butch said, maybe they have a gimmick match planned for Summerslam? If they chucked this on any old Raw I would be a bit miffed but this important shiny 'new era' one?  Good for the division I think. For all the women's revolution, they still haven't really been able to have a classic/cracker on TV

[Daaaaaad!]

I really, really enjoyed that. First time in ages that three hours for RAW hasn't felt waaaay too long, and even with every decision I don't necessarily like as much (weird logo, Universal Championship, Sasha vs. Charlotte on free TV) I can at least see the upsides to it and fully support their reasons for implementing these changes. Also I know it's proper 2002-esque NuMetalRawk but I quite like the new theme, if only because it's not bloody TONIGHTS THE NIGHT BIG STARS GET LOUD EVERYBODY GET DOWN repeating every ad break.

 

So far we're only one show in, but at least it FEELS like a new era, even if the changes are cosmetic for now. Hopefully they carry this on.

[Love-Wilcox]

Well that was the best RAW in forever. The two four-ways, women match and main event were all PPV quality stuff and everything else had a purpose to it, I especially enjoyed seeing the jobbers getting destroyed and Braun looks like a monster!

 

I see where people are coming from by saying they'd rather Sasha/Charlotte happened at Summerslam but unless you work for WWE or you have a stake in the company does it really matter that much ? As a fan I'm over the moon that I got to see a quality womens match with an unpredictable title change all on FREE tv. I couldn't care less whats good for business if it means I get to see RAWs like this every week (though I'm sure it won't be this good every week).

Seeing the emotion on both Sasha and Charlottes faces post match really made the title change important as you could see what it meant to the both of them. I imagine they'll do the rematch at Summerslam with a possible gimmick attached, a submission match maybe ?

 

It's a tough show to follow but now I'm looking forward to seeing what Smackdown can pull out of the bag tonight.

[JLM]

Very strong show last night I thought. First time I've sat through a three hour Raw live in months and I was into almost everything. The Universal title is a rubbish name for a new title and The New Day segment was death until Gallows and Anderson endedit. Other than that I liked it all. Cole and Saxton are still horrendous but Corey Graves was as excellent as ever and did everything he could to cancel them out.

Loved that they just went with Finn. From picking him up nice and early in the draft to how he was booked tonight I think they've handled him fantastically well and I am honestly completely shocked by it. That first four way match was outstanding, though it was always going to be with the four involved. Absolutely loved all of the Rusev/Owens stuff. Those two are absolute gold. Owens I'm just waiting for them to pull the trigger on like everyone else, but I'm hoping the split also gives Rusev more time to shine as he has been hugely under-utilised for a lot of his run.  

Thought the second one was thoroughly entertaining as well, with Sami Zayn putting in a typically stellar performance. I don't think anyone conveys how badly they want to win a match better than him at the moment.

Sasha/Charlotte was great. I still think it might have been better saved for Summerslam given the length of Charlotte's reign and how hungry people have been for Sasha to win it, but I can see why they did it on the kick off show for the ''new'' Monday Night Raw. Match was great, the pop was huge, Charlotte's run and her steady improvement during it has done wonders for the division and I'm glad they didn't kill themselves as some of the spots looked incredibly dangerous. I liked Sasha's post match interview and generally enjoyed them doing in-ring pre/post-match interviews throughout the show as well. Once we fall back into the inevitable routine of mid-carders trading wins and losses, I think giving guys in-ring promo time before/after the matches can at least provide a bit of extra opportunity for story/character development to stop me completely zoning out. It won't fix the problem but it can't hurt.

I was also hype for jobber matches. I love jobber matches. The dude who got killed by Strowman was a fucking first class jobber. What a thoroughly chin-less man he was. Amazing. In a three hour show I am all for at least one jobber murder per week. I also quite like the idea of this same jobber rematching Strowman each week under a pseudonym and a subtle disguise. Probably not getting that though.

Nia flattening a jobber was fine as well. I'm sad she wasn't given a bit more time to improve in NXT as I think she was steadily getting better and has been called up too early, but I think if she's protected like this she can still do work. She has a unique look and style and also adds another heel threat so Sasha doesn't just have to rematch Charlotte indefinitely and Bayley will actually have some opponents when she is called up. Her promos are horrendous though. I'd have quite liked them to have a manager speak for her or something as she has the same issue as Chyna where her voice completely detracts from any physically imposing aura she creates. In the interests of gender equality I would like future women's division jobbers to be chin-less with horrible Offspring tattoos as well in future. Please sort this WWE.

As mentioned earlier, I thought The New Day segment was garbage and went too long before Gallows and Anderson thankfully ended it.

I was actually a bit disappointed when the commentators explained the reference behind the ''Mr. Irrelevant'' nickname for Curtis Axel. I liked it better for the first couple of minutes where I thought they'd given him that name for their own amusement. Neville did some fancy stuff as usual but I still don't think he clicks with the audience at all.

The Shining Stars are baffling to me but I guess were a couple of bodies for Enzo and Cass to beat so they could be on TV this week.

So yeah, good show. Two good four ways, strong women's match and a really positive and encouraging outcome for Finn Ballor. Obviously the real test will be next week when they don't have a high stakes one night mini-tournament and a PPV worthy women's match and title change to propel things along, but for a first episode of the new Raw I thought they did a fine job.

Edited July 26, 2016 by JLM

[TildeGuy~!]

I still don't know if Cesaro is fucking about or this is his new story line.

[PowerButchi]

To echo what JLM says about Rusev, for me he's the wrestler not called Rohit of 2016 so far. He's the best thing they have. Hopefully he soon finds his rightful place atop the card.

[rockbus]

The lay of the land has changed. Raw and Smackdown aren't 'free' TV in the current era. To watch all WWE programming you would need a basic Sky subscription plus a Sports package plus purchasing the monthly PPV. Now to watch a PPV you just need the network. Tenner a month. To watch Raw and Smackdown actually costs more than to watch the PPV if you have no other reason to subscribe to Sky, which I currently don't. So the sales pitch works both ways. Even though I don't have Sky I will search out the women's match from Raw based on the quality of what I have seen from Charlotte and Sasha on the network.

[PowerButchi]

Raw and Smackdown were never "free" TV by that definition. When people say free TV, they mean that you aren't exclusively paying for that show as a stand alone product rather than part of an overall TV package.

[The Gaffer]

I love how they had that jobber actually do a little bit expaining why he was getting in the ring with Braun. Hopefully it's the return of jobber matches, long term. What a kick ass Raw. I loved the interview segments, the new camera shots, all these little touches. And yeah it's bloody bonkers how much of a difference not having JBL made!

 

My only nitpick is Smackdown being on a Tuesday. They've got me back for the first time in ages for 5 hours of wrestling on a regular week and it's just so toploaded. And I'm a nerd so of course I'm going to watch it the next day. But Tuesday Raw after work and Smackdown on a Friday night to start the weekend is the tits .

[ColinBollocks]

I often think the crowd boos Lana when she shows her engagement ring, because she's selfishly ensnared Raw's top stud for 5 or less years. I know I do.

[rockbus]

Raw and Smackdown were never "free" TV by that definition. When people say free TV, they mean that you aren't exclusively paying for that show as a stand alone product rather than part of an overall TV package.

By that reckoning the PPV themselves are now free TV too as part of the network as you get a larger programming schedule and archive so the point remains that the dynamic between the two types of show has changed.