Themed WWE Raws

[tiger_rick]

Lot of posts about all WWE shows looking the same recently. Struck me during the last Raw that WWE have had themed Raws down the years that break the monotony but they're irregular. We've had Raw Roulette, Old School Raw, Slammys and King of the Ring.

 

What other themes would you like to see? I'd like to see one themed show a month to add something different.

 

Battle bowl - I like the concept of having the odd couple tag teams for one night only. Provided you don't do something ridiculous like genuinely draw random teams!

 

King of Raw - I'd make this an annual one night tournament on a fixed month. Be good near Xmas when fuck all usually happens.

 

I'm surprised WWE never nicked the concept of the Spring Break Nitro. Well, I'm not actually surprised because it was a WCW idea but it would have been right up their street a few years ago.

 

Pimp my Raw - everyone has to wear face paint and OTT gear.

 

Bring your Mam to work day - An annual tribute to Buff Bagwell.

[Briefcase]

I loved the Raw Roulette wheel Bischoff had going. Always was good fun.

 

I know there isn't a brand split anymore but I loved the draft shows too, maybe they could have an NXT draft night where every year they draft in a few NXT stars to freshen things up, whether thats randomly chosen (in the sense of storylines) or they are drafted onto Raw/Smackdown for the first year before interchanging could be good fun.

[Arch Stanton]

The monotony of watching Raw week in, week out with everything looking exactly the same means that I even get a kick out of them doing the Susan G Komen cancer campaign for a whole month every year, for no other reason than the t-shirts change and the show looks a tiny bit different for a few weeks.

[King Pitcos]

I was thinking about this the other day, and agree they should have far more special editions of Raw. The obvious ones are Raw Roulette, Old School Raw and King of the Ring. You could possibly separate Old School Raw and Attitude Raw, so the Old School one is generic old-timers and Attitude just uses the 98-2000 bunch. No women getting their tits out, but lots of clips of Austin and DX doing stuff with vehicles.

 

Beyond that, I wonder how much mileage there is in using a big name (Rock, Austin, Hogan, Flair, Michaels, Foley) as a GM for a night and naming/theming the show after them that week. That'd be five or six monthly specials.

 

I reckon Night of Champions would work better as a Raw than it does as a PPV.

 

I'd like to see them try an Iron Man Raw, where the main event is, oddly enough, a sixty-minute Iron Man match. It's been a decade now since there's been one on TV, I think? And over five years since there's been one at all.

[Ars]

They still do Raw roulette dont they? They spin the wheel for stipulation matches etc. 

[Carbomb]

I'd like the Old School Raw to be a regular thing once a year, to be honest. Something to look forward to if you know it's guaranteed.

 

As to other themes, perhaps an Attitude-themed one? Not the wrestling style, just the presentation - would be the wrestling equivalent of "Geocities-izing" a modern website. And they've got some of the faces - they've already got 90% of DX hanging around, they've got The Rock, Stone Cold if they need him, Goldust, Kane can always stick the mask back on for the evening. Could even bring back the Brood for an appearance, theoretically.

 

Other possible themes - Night At The Movies: wrestlers geared up as famous movie characters, maybe even have themed matches.

 

Shotgun Raw - for one night only, do what they did for Shotgun Saturday Night, or maybe, as they would lose out on too many numbers if they did the whole show like that, broadcast part of Raw from a Shotgun location.

 

Do they still have that submissions-only PPV? If not, they could do that for a theme.

[Doctor Whos Next]

Raw is Nitro

To promote the next WCW special or DVD or whatever, the Raw set is replaced with a version of the classic Nitro set.

 

In the run up to the event, JBL refuses to be associated with the show, and Triple H is furious with Vince for planning this, and swears he will regret it.

 

The show itself is hosted by Dusty Rhodes, Tony Schiavane and Larry Zybsko up in a version of the Nitro announce booth. As well as running down the current storylines, they refer back to classic WCW moments on the WWE Network. Cole and Booker remain as the announce team for the actual matches.

 

Half way through the show, JBL cuts a promo to bury WCW. But wait, its Goldberg! Spear Da Man etc.

 

To close out the show, it’s the parade of WCW champions. DDP, Booker T, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan.

 

Before Hogan arrives, the arena turns neon green, and DX – Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X Pac and Road Dogg enter the arena on a pick up truck with a rocket launcher attatched to it.

 

Green DX Slime trounces the WCW Logos. DX disembark from the truck and threaten to mix it up with the WCW champs. But wait… everything goes black and white.

 

Its hall and Nash. The two guys walk down the ramp, spraypaint nWo on the DX truck, walk to the bottom of the aisle, do the pointy thing and look! Its Hollywood Hogan in a monster truck! It crushes the DX truck and Trips goes mental.

[WWFChilli]

Sound idea but WCW appears to win there.

[Merzbow]

 

It crushes the DX truck and Trips goes mental..

 

..Pedigreeing everyone even slightly related to WCW in sight.

[PowerButchi]

I prefer the idea of Raw is WCW Prime. Hosted by Dusty Rhodes and Chris Cruise, and our main event, The Moo Match of the Week, can be Heath Slater vs Darren Young or something.

 

Or Raw Idol, where instead of wrestling they replicate the finals night of X-Factor/Pop Stars. The Judges are Steph (Simon Cowell), Trips (Gary Barlow), Cena (Louis Walsh), and Michael PS Hayes (Tulisa Blowjob). Four sing, have sob stories, do a duet with another 4 wrestlers, and in the end Michael Hayes' dodgy indiscretions and fucking awful musical ability over-shadows them all as he storms the stage to sing with the winner Darren Young (both Gay and Black, he can blatantly sing) bringing repressed memories back to Steph and Trip of their wedding do.

[Fanny Pack]

Im all over that Raw is Nitro idea!

[garynysmon]

I've been saying for a long time that the shows and TV production is nowhere near gritty enough these days. Everything is super glossy and well-produced (overly-produced)  but because of that its all too samey. Its a live show but doesn't feel like a live show really as nothing out of the ordinary ever happens.  

[waylonmercy]

How about they just use some different talent on the show, instead if bringing out Seth Rollins or whoever the top guy is 3 times in a show?

 

Think how many wrestlers they have under contract...why don't they use them instead of repetitive story lines going nowhere or replays of things that've happened minutes ago?

[Doctor Whos Next]

Sound idea but WCW appears to win there.

 

Good point.  When I was writing it in my head, I was going to put the WWE over, which is why I put the bit with JBL getting speared by Goldberg in.   Its just I guess I kind of slipped into the kind of booking I'd like to see instead of what would happen if WWE did that premise. 

 

Thinking on, if Hogan's body had been able to take it, you could have Nash and Hall twot him in the aisle, while Road Dog and Billy point and laugh, Trips and HBK chuck them out of the ring, and then Kliq re creates the curtain call, because its all about the Kliq.   The show cuts to a black and white scene of Shane Douglas in some bedsit somewhere watching Dean Douglas vignettes on VHS while weeping sadly.