The Official UKFF RAW thread (part 2)...

[gmoney]

14 minutes ago, mim731 said:

Either this is a very odd joke I've missed the punchline on, or you're one Toblerone away from driving to Dundee without any shoes. 

More a comment on people saying they know exactly how WWE book, from some people here who have been completely on the hook loving it for about a year now. 

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

52 minutes ago, gmoney said:

Ted Dibiase Jr

He's only there for the money, he's just disappointed there are no poor people to steal it off. 

[TheScarlettChad]

2 hours ago, gmoney said:

I could see a situation where Cody is accidentally left off of the draft he does a promo in the middle of the ring crying at the disrespect and says he will retire. Two masked wrestlers in black body suits show up on Raw and Smackdown separately and begin destroying the rosters week by week. In the meantime Randy Orton returns and wins the new title in Saudi Arabia. At the Rumble everyone expects just one masked man to enter, as its assumed it is the same person, and he enters at 29, destroying everyone in 1.30 minutes. He unmasks, bah gawd  it's.... Ted Dibiase Jr! He stands alone in the ring, but the countdown starts up and it's the other masked man! He unmasks as Cody! They fight but eliminate each other! A 3 way is declared for Mania, Cody v Ted v Roman. During the match, a third masked man enters and they triple pin Roman. He unmasks as... Randy Orton! They laugh in the rind together and declare themselves co-champions, to rule as Legacy Gold. 

That seems very much like typical WWE booking, and unfortunately I can't see it going any other way. Thanks Vince. 

Whatever you've been smoking, I want some. That's some bonkers fan booking. 

[gmoney]

Slightly concerned that some people have taken it as a genuine booking idea. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

Have they directly addressed where this title fits yet?

They’ve been pretty aggressive on social today pushing the ‘WWE Championship‘ as a distinct thing that Roman holds, so this feels like a THIRD world title that (in reality) sits below the belts Roman holds.

Either Roman wins it and it’s a big wheeze, or it’s a title for everyone bar Roman to compete over. Which feels a bit mad.

I wonder if this is a sign that Roman is keeping hold of his big belts for a long time yet.

Even if they’re going to enforce a strict brand split, it still feels weird for Raw to have a WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION and for Smackdown to have an UNDISPUTED UNIVERSAL HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.

If there’s a World Heavyweight Champion, it’s pretty disputed.

Edited April 25, 2023 by d-d-d-dAz

[mim731]

5 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

Have they directly addressed where this title fits yet?

They’ve been pretty aggressive on social today pushing the ‘WWE Championship‘ as a distinct thing that Roman holds, so this feels like a THIRD world title that (in reality) sits below the belts Roman holds.

Either Roman wins it and it’s a big wheeze, or it’s a title for everyone bar Roman to compete over. Which feels a bit mad.

Presumably they quietly drop Reigns down to one belt (or when someone dethrones him, they go back to one belt like they did in the past when Lesnar won the two belts in 2014) and one title is on Raw and the other on SD?  

[Supremo]

Seth Rollins’ promo was everything I hate about modern pro-wrestling. You can create any reality you want and tell whatever story you could possibly dream of. And yet he’s out there complaining about, “politics and part timers”. Between the Four Pillars stuff on Wednesday and this on Monday? Fuck me. Bore off. Remember when, “Hollywood Writers,” was considered a bad thing? These days, I’d give anything for a company written by people outside of the bubble. Bring back shampoo adverts.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Supremo

[Fatty Facesitter]

10 hours ago, Fatty Facesitter said:

(Part one of ramblings of what I thought was a great show and still hardly anyone is talking about Bad Bunny!)

As I said previously, I thought this was an excellent Raw. Again, bear in mind I watched it without knowing who was running creative, what the big announcement was going to be, Phillip Brooks and Michael Mizanin renewing acquaintances, etc. But I neglected to talk about the World Championship reveal. Alas, here we go - 

I'm seemingly in the minority - I thought the whole treatment in terms of the announcement, the introduction of the title, the design and the possibilities that can come from it are akin to the reaction in the arena - overwhelmingly positive! 

First, the segment itself. I genuinely wasn't expecting the announcement, partly through not getting wind of it in the build up. I just assumed HHH was going to talk about the draft, a new acquisition, announcing another show, etc etc. When he started talking about Reigns, I was expecting him to then vacate possibly the WWE title. But the title reveal really surprised me, and the crowd reaction very much reflected my own. I thought it was a great idea, I thought it looked the bollocks and I had no issue with the reasoning behind it in terms of what HHH conveyed. 

I took HHH's words on Roman Reigns being nothing more than kayfabe - there was nothing in there that felt 'on the nose' for me. It came across as an attack on Roman Reigns the character and the position that he and the likes of Paul Heyman have negotiated themselves into as opposed to what Joe Anoa'i has negotiated with WWE higher-ups behind the scenes. I'll come back to this shortly but in terms of HHH's comments, nothing more than character-driven for me. 

Next, the design. It looks like the classic outline, but on steroids. The overt logo will divide opinion, but to me it absolutely looks  the part and you totally, completely buy it as something that will very quickly become a coveted piece of hardware. Designs will always divide opinion and be subjective, but I think when pitted against other recent WWE efforts it's a massive improvement. 

This I think is the most subjective point - the first title holder. This is what's stirring the most debate and people are already trying to label it as a consolation prize for Cody, or a consolation prize full stop. I get the sentiment - but I think it makes perfect sense to bring in the title for several reasons.  It's a title that will be used as another device to headline more shows, both TV and PLE. It's another title for more workers to aspire to to eventually attain. It also clears a path for Roman to continue his current reign and continue his more relaxed schedule. In terms of the first holder, should it be Cody? Should it be someone else?

Personally, I think it's tailor-made for Seth Rollins. His impassioned promo about it (which was much more on the nose than HHH's comments) was well delivered and instantly made it an even bigger deal. As the inaugural champion, he can take on babyfaces, heels, celebrities like Logan Paul and Pat McAfee, the lot. He can have bangers on TV, house shows, PLEs, the lot. He oozes star quality and he absolutely deserves it for the quality of his output ever since transitioning into this 'drip god' style character. The whole narrative about him wanting to push the industry forward means he'll want to relentlessly prove that this is the strap people should care about. He made another good popint about Roman not technically beating him, so that further adds weight to his claim for the gold. It also totally clears the way for Cody to continue to challenge for Roman's title/titles, eventually win them, and perhaps the Universal title can be retired after that. Then we go back to two champions defending regularly, everyone's happy. 

...But what if Cody DOES win this one? I honestly don't think it would be as shit as people make out. After all, who better to spearhead the new title than the industry's serial disrupter? What better way to disrupt the status quo than to lead the way with a new title and to bust a gut to make it even more prestigious than Roman's run? They're already having Cody headline house show tours - why not give him the belt to add further gravitas to that? What better way to kick off this particular title's legacy than to put it around the waist of someone who's family's legacy has left a massive footprint over the industry? 

I am really, really surprised by the overwhelmingly negative reaction at this stage. There's every chance they'll fuck it up, but the announcement itself, the way it was treated in terms of a backdrop for the rest of the show and the possibilities that could come from it are all very interesting to comprehend at the moment. 

 

 

 

 

[SuperBacon]

1 hour ago, gmoney said:

Slightly concerned that some people have taken it as a genuine booking idea. 

I thought it was slightly less ludicrous than the "CM Punk to return and face Jericho" suggestion. Only slightly less though.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

The gist of it to me from HHH seemed to be "Roman doesn't defend his titles on TV as often as we would like" 

They've called it a world title, and it is. It's the World Television Title. 

HHH has raided WCW for ideas over the years, this is just another dip into the vaults. Nothing in wrestling is new, just the same stuff recycled over and over. 

[Factotum]

13 hours ago, Supremo said:

Seth Rollins’ promo was everything I hate about modern pro-wrestling.

You can just constantly repeat this line for the rest of his career

[Supremo]

It’s crazy how quickly this company shifted back to being a Vince McMahon product that actively discourages you from investing or paying attention. From being meticulously plotted, where things happening in August and September had a clear destination and a consistent through line all the way to the following April, and now here we are where large portions of the TV are dedicated to teasing teams and factions being split up in the draft, only for that entire concept to be abandoned the following week, with everyone being traded as a unit.

It’s also extremely disheartening that one of the best things they’ve ever done - the Bloodline saga - is now in the hands of a man who can only ever do the same tired, boring storylines. Mob boss Roman, with all these intricate relationships and motivations, and now we’re back doing the BOO THE PART-TIMER stuff. It’s like Vince’s broken brain can’t comprehend anything other than the same three storylines he’s rinsed and repeated for the past few decades. Has this shit ever worked? Doing this with Brock in the hope it would get Roman cheered bombed massively. I’d argue Brock never truly recovered, even with the cowboy hats and cardigans. Cody should be absolutely shitting himself right now. Vince back? Doing the same old shit? He’s got a full year of being SULKY SAD JOHN CENA on the horizon. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if Brock kills him clean on Saturday. Maybe even gets blood hard way. Leading to an AUTHORITY storyline later in the year, where Vince returns as a character to put him through challenges and difficulties, Kofi-mania style. Finish the story. That being the same story we always tell.

On a more positive note, the heat Dom Mysterio gets on this show needs to be seen to be believed. He’s the heel of the year. It’s not even debatable anymore.

Edited May 2, 2023 by Supremo

[d-d-d-dAz]

I’m not even sure it’s as easy as saying ‘doesn’t matter what they say, Vince is in charge’; I just think they’re finding out what happens when the show doesn’t have a purpose.

The last 12 months have been defined by purpose. Whether it was Drew challenging, or Sami, or eventually Cody. Or whether it was the various elements of the Bloodline story that was the backbone of most shows. There was just this juggernaut of forward momentum.

But that had to be paid off.

By not pulling the trigger and allowing us to pivot towards ‘the Bloodline have imploded, what happens now?’ and ‘holy shit, Cody did it, what happens now?’, we’re now in this awful no man’s land where there is nothing planned and nothing of note is happening.

The Bloodline are sort of past their sell by date as a top of the card concern and they’re feuding with Riddle. Roman’s not there. The biggest feud in the company hasn’t even been explained as there’s no reason and no stakes. It should have been for the titles, whilst Roman had a break.

Love Cody or not, it’s so clear to me that they’ve sabotaged their own show by trying to have too many bites of the cherry. And now we’re in this awful position where nothing matters until Roman turns up every now and again.

I’m fairly certain the Cody-solation prize came about because they’ve, in part, realised what they’ve done to their shows.

The below is pretty right. You never know when somethings going to deflate, and you only get so many chances to pop a balloon at its biggest. In many ways, they’re lucky Cody has kept himself hot as everything else is a shower at the minute.

Edited May 2, 2023 by d-d-d-dAz

[Fatty Facesitter]

👍 Heyman/Seth banter promo - I enjoyed everything about this. I like how Heyman didn’t immediately scoff and laugh off the idea about the creation of the World Heavyweight title when it would have been so easy to do so. Seth is over like rover and there was some great chemistry with Paul E here. Loved Seth getting the crowd to sing along while Heyman tried to call Roman (“I CAN’T HEAR MY TRIBAL CHIEF!”). Seth is giving me 1999/2000 Rock vibes - an example of quite an arrogant character with bags of self belief who the crowd are completely won over by. He’ll never be as charismatic as Rocky but he’s in great form at the moment, both in the ring and on the mic. Get that World strap on him pronto. Good shit to start us off. 

👍 Main event - And to pay off the opening funsies, an enjoyable tussle between Rollins and Solo to close. A common theme from tonight is that none of the matches ran particularly long - a consequence of the Draft segments taking up time - but on this occasion it didn’t actually affect the match quality in the majority of cases. Solo continues to impress in TV main events and Seth’s insertion back into the Raw main event picture is most welcome. Enjoyable build towards the big six-man at Backlash too.

👍 Lesnar/Cody business - Simple but effective. I like how Cody got to get the shiner on Lesnar. I liked Cody's promo on his way out too. 

👍 Morgan/Rodriguez vs Damage CTRL - Nothing wrong with the execution here, perfectly acceptable wrestling indeed. 

👍 Strowman/Ricochet vs Alpha Academy - Short and sweet but a very fun sprint. Would love them to run this back and go longer!

👍 Riddle/Jimmy - Again, short but sweet. After everything the babyfaces have gone through at the hands of the Bloodline, I had no issue with them shithousing it up here with some clever tactics and fighting fire with fire, so to speak. It also makes sense within the context of the build to the six-man tag at Backlash. To use appalling chav speak - “I’ll allow it fam.”

👍 Judgement Day/LWO - Highly energetic and another good watch here between the respective parties involved. Again, it’s a loss for the LWO but I still think they’ll get their moment in the sun at Backlash, so a few heroic losses along the way shouldn’t do too much harm in the long term.

👍 Molly Holly ❤️

👎 Miz TV with Nakamura - Nothing we haven’t seen from Miz TV for over a decade. Miz argues with a guest, gets beaten up. Nice one crack on cheers

👎 Omos squash - Again, nothing we haven’t seen several times already even with the addition of the Undertaker-esque snake eyes/big boot combo. Smells like a late Vince re-write addition to the running order.

👎 Draft - Same complaints as Smackdown - done with concept personally and it ate up a lot of time on the show again. The brand ambassadors switching brands from Friday to Monday shouldn’t irk me because there are more important things in life…but it does! Would it be terribly difficult to maintain some continuity there? Incredulous heretics. Also Eric Bischoff‘s flub on the Rousey/Baszler pick, deary me.

Draft pick thoughts -

• Free agent - Brock Lesnar - So Brock is positioned as better than everyone else, when even the undisputed champion has been drafted. Cop out.
• Raw - Rhea Ripley - Same thoughts as Bianca, I fear a smelly belt swap incoming.
• SD - Austin Theory - A suitable move.
• Raw - Seth Rollins - Surely the first World Champion.
• SD - Charlotte - Charlotte vs Bianca could be fun to revisit.
• Raw - KO/Sami - Happy they stay on the longer show, that will make the running time more bearable.
• SD - Usos - Wondered if they might split the Bloodline, alas the story continues.
• Raw - Judgement Day - Good to see all of them sticking together including Rhea.
• SD - LWO - Think it makes sense to keep Rey and Dom separate for a bit.
• Raw - Morgan/Rodriguez - Please don’t create new SD women’s tag titles!
• SD - Asuka - Good options to run back vs Bianca and Charlotte
• Raw - New Day - Ambivalent about this one.
• SD - Brawling Brutes - Shame to see Sheamus and Gunther separated.
• Raw - Trish - Makes sense to continue the Becky conflict.
• SD - Karrion Kross - So they’re splitting him from Shinsuke, interesting.
• Raw - Shana ‘Blazer’ and Rhonda Rousey - Huge rebuilding job to do with both.
• SD - LA Knight - Was hoping he might wind up on Raw with potential for more TV time.
• Raw - Brawn/Ricochet - Keeping them in the immediate tag title hunt.
• SD - Shotzi - Ambivalent.
• Raw - Bronson Reed - Ambivalent.
• SD - PRETTY DEADLY - Excellent call up. Yes boy!
• Raw - Alpha Academy - Good, means they can run the match back with Ricochet and Brawn, plus the rivalry with MMM.
• SD - Boogs - Ambivalent
• Raw - Chance/Carter - Interesting call up.
• SD - Cameron Grimes - Excellent call up.
• Post-show Grayson Waller was drafted to Smackers - another great call up.

[Fatty Facesitter]

@Supremo @d-d-d-dAz I respect both points you've made. Truthfully though I wasn't expecting much in the way of conflict resolution in either case here - the Backlash build to me has been pretty good over the last couple of shows. I thought the Cody/Brock business and Cody's promo were more than enough to keep the juices flowing for the time being. With regards to the Bloodline, I think there's still mileage in it - it's a tricky one to book with Roman not being present every week, but I'm still quite up for it continuing. 

I don't agree that we're in 'nothing else matters' territory - again, the Backlash build to me has the air of a big show about it, there's been sensible continuation of post-Wrestlemania angles and there are some new possibilities that intrigue me. 

When it comes to Raw/Smackdown at the moment - each show after the post-Wrestlemania Raw has been more good than bad. I'm trying to look at them objectively in spite of my hate for Vince's creative outlay - before I do my sad little reviews I couldn't tell you who's booked what. But in general, I've found WWE to still make for an enjoyable escapade. I don't often say that post-Mania season where traditionally everything does feel a bit flat.