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

[Supremo]

Cody Rhodes after Smackdown’s promo, admitting to himself that he just delivered a dud, realising he’s floundering, recognising that he needs to get this shit back on track.

”Get me…A RAZOR BLADE!”

[Froggie Splash]

That was a great raw from start to finish, so much so that I decided to post my first comment on a site I have lurked on and off on for about 10 years.

With the way they will only refer to The Rock as the Final Boss now, surely they are setting up Rhodes vs Rock next and not a Rock turn on Reigns. I hope so. WWE has been at it's most interesting more recently when Cody & Rock have been on screen rather than Roman being involved. I think this is most likely because there's not much more there is to say between Cody and Roman and they just need to have the match now. Get that belt on him at Mania. I guess it all depends on how long Rock is sticking around before he needs to go and film Fast and Furious 58.

That ending segment was an all timer for me, easily some of the best work they've done in a decade. Had expected a blade job to make an appearance soon with they way they have been actively acknowledging anyone bleeding in ring, but I wasn't expecting it tonight. Added something just hope they don't go all Jo Moxley with it. 

Drew is the best heel they have outside of the bloodline stuff and needs to be the face of whatever brand doesn't end up with the WWE title post mania. The fact they're already setting up him vs Punk surely means he's winning at Mania. Punk isn't going to come back and feud for anything less than a world title (even if it is the shit one.)

Aside from a Candace vs the woman that hangs around with the Creed brothers match, every match and segment had me interested. Even Becky Lynch managed to pull it back somewhat after the initial crickets she was getting. The problem with Rhea is that there is clearly nobody near her level that I can't see where she goes after this. Move who you want from Smackdown at the next draft, Bianca maybe? But there just isn't anyone that can be a credible challenger to get me engaged. 

There are still loads of relatively big names not on the Wrestlemania card - Andrade, Chad Gable, Dom Mysterio, Ricochet, Shinsuke, Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Liv Morgan & Tiff Stratton come to mind. Yet we have DIY and most likely Butch and his weird mate in his yellow boots and shit team name. Leaving it late to set up some matches that mean anything for these lot. Imagine we'll get Escobar vs Rey or some tag match involving the two but the rest don't really have anything going on. Gable especially deserves something surely. 
 

 

[Mr.Showtime]

I only watched the CM Punk segment and the final segment and they were both really entertaining, worth catching. The Punk segment in particular had me laughing quite a few times, I'm sure you can guess who made it that way ?

[DavidB6937]

Well, when they want to switch it on they really switch it on, and couldn't have come at a better time.

I know there will be the inevitable "but what about Roman!" posts. I could almost hear the typing as I was watching it. But if you're not inclined to think too deeply or over-analyse it all (which obviously we are. It's a wrestling forum.) then the Cody/Rock stuff was just really fucking good. And yeah, either they've gone to the extremes with the swerve or we're potentially keeping heel Rock. I think I'd be happier with the latter. All credit to the guy. He's putting the work in. I hope they book a smart match at Mania so he doesn't break and tear everything as I just want a satisfying conclusion. 

Tough one though as everyone's loving The Rock when he's turning up. Hopefully this week will shift the balance a bit and get the crowd behind Cody more. I think it was needed.

Rhea/Becky is a challenging one as everyone loves Rhea despite her being a heel. She's just a cool one. So there's not quite enough of the face/heel dynamic to make it a strong feud as such, but it still has that big time feel just because of who they are. And Becky bringing the emotion is a good move. I think that'll get more people behind her, although the crowd at Mania will definitely be split.

Punk/Drew was as fun as you'd expect. Whatever the real feelings are there, they're definitely both making the most of the opportunity. Drew especially. I'd be absolutely gutted if he left at this point. They need to give him what he's worth, but it depends if he thinks there's enough left for him in WWE or if it's time to spread his wings again a bit. Either way, the guy deserves success.

There was some other stuff. The Ricochet match was good. I do wish he had a bit of a personality so they could push him properly but hey. Definitely worth checking out the Rock/Cody and Punk/Drew stuff if you're Youtubing anyway.

Not sure how they'll keep the momentum going after this as it's a tough one. Peaked a week too early? We'll see, but for now they're cooking. Yeah COOKING.

Edited March 26, 2024 by DavidB6937
COOKING

[d-d-d-dAz]

I enjoyed it.

It's still chaotic and messy, and they have completely devalued their Night 2 main event, but it was a very fun show.

I hope they do Cody/Rock at some point.

[Doog]

At this point they may as well sack off Roman and do Cody/Rock night 2 - Cody can win the belt at Backlash or something. 

Phenomenal angle, Cody/Rock is the match.

[Supremo]

If we take as a given that the three hours will always be a killer, leaving Raw with a fixed ceiling of about 8.5 out of 10, I think that may have been an 8.5. The best episode of Raw in recent memory. Everything's a mess and the two biggest matches coming out of this show (Cody vs. Rock, Punk vs. Drew) aren't even on the Wrestlemania card, but fuck it. I simply cannot complain when we're suddenly thrown through a time portal and we get to see a chaotic, hot as fuck, 1997 version of current WWE. Most Raws ever since they went to three hours come and go and you remember none of it as soon as the credits come up. There's things on this episode I'll remember forever.

Quick thoughts;

They somehow managed to make The Rock's entrance even better! The way he walked out of the darkness in that opening segment as the lightning went off behind him is one of the coolest entrances they've ever done. Up there with Hangman and the Dark Order. Spectacular cinematography.

The Punk/Drew/Seth segment was absolutely wild. I've no idea how much was agreed beforehand, how much needed to be smoothed over afterwards, or if people ended up throwing chairs and biting each other once they got behind the curtain, but that was the best thing CM Punk has done since coming back by miles and miles. Absolutely bonkers. Felt completely off the rails, wild and chaotic. Like a completely different universe to most WWE promos. Making a joke out of not being able to say Vince's name? Punk seemingly exposing himself as an even bigger hypocrite than ever thought possible by revealing he listens to Jim Cornette (gross)? Punk becoming my spirit animal by falling to his knees at the sound of  Seth's music? Seth asking, "do you wanna know what I think?" only for Punk to deadpan respond, "no,"? This was off the chain. Through the looking glass. Look how good this company can be when everyone is allowed to tee off naturally! Good lord. Get that belt on Drew. Him vs. Punk at Summerslam is going to be the biggest thing in the world provided everyone keeps their heads on straight. Hopefully everyone had a lovely bit of muffin and hugged afterwards. There is so, so much money here.

Sami losing, not believing in himself, and them tying the Gable thing up by having him play the Mickey to Sami's Rocky? Inspired. You can do it Sami! If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!

Becky Lynch knocking Dirty Dom's chin into the third row was unbelievable.

Best Ricochet has ever looked in this company.

Incredible heat angle at the end. Again, similar to the Punk promo, something completely beyond anything you'd normally expect from this company in 2024. The rain, the blood, the massive trucks with Cena and Stone Cold's faces on, seemingly teasing their involvement at Mania. This was fantastic. People calling Roman's stuff cinema for the last few years and then Uncle Rock turns up and shows what cinema actually is. Levels. Ball's in Roman's court now. He needs a home run between now and Mania.

But yeah. Look at this fucking superstar. Fucking hell, Rock. You've made your point! Give everyone else a chance!

Edited March 26, 2024 by Supremo

[air_raid]

I’ll give them a boatload of credit for production here. Possibly the best I’ve seen in WWE. Because they’re using “final boss” and THIS :

13 minutes ago, Supremo said:

 

… is the most “video game” combination of effects, human beings in motion and camera angles you could ever dream of. Amazing.

[RedRooster]

That was fantastic, and it surely kills any suggestions that Rock is secretly on Cody’s side. That said, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s with Roman either. I’m pretty convinced at this point that he’s staying heel, while Roman is going face - giving us a Rock/Cody match in the near future, and maybe even a Rock World title run. 

The closing angle was just fantastic, and even though Reigns/Cody on night two has taken a backseat, I’ve enjoyed the build-up to the point I don’t really care. Cody winning the belt will still be special, and the lack of focus on the likely end of his title reign won’t take away from how Roman’s run with the belt is viewed.

Punk essentially daring McIntyre to say ‘Vince McMahon’ was one of those times where, in the moment, I wondered if he was actually supposed to say that - but that whole segment had a brilliant sense of danger to it. It’s such a shame that Punk is injured, because McIntyre/Punk is a match I really want to see. I hope they can continue the momentum when the match actually is feasible, and I also hope it gets to close the show on a PPV, not play second fiddle to whatever is happening with the other World title.

The Rhea/Becky/Dom stuff was great too. Rhea/Becky is the biggest women’s match they can do right now, and I can’t wait to see it - this is my favourite Wrestlemania card in years on paper, and the fact there’s so little reliance on names from the past is a huge compliment to the job Triple H has done in rebuilding the roster. Yes, Rock is on there - but we have Rhea/Becky, Sami/Gunther, Seth/McIntyre and Reigns/Rollins - I honestly can’t wait. 

Oh, and @Supremo is totally right about Rock’s entrance, that was cool as fuck.

[Supremo]

The exact same energy.

Rock’s got a bigger, weirder looking head though.

[air_raid]

2 minutes ago, Supremo said:

The exact same energy.

Rock’s got a bigger, weirder looking head though.

However Cody’s big hand > Infinity Gauntlet.

[Supremo]

Imagine that entrance at Mania, with the stadium, the big stage, the pyro, tens of thousands of fans, Rock in trunks, as big as humanly possible, just before all his muscles fall off. We’re talking the greatest Wrestlemania entrance of all time. Is it scientifically possible to create actual lightning from the sky? It was that night.

[d-d-d-dAz]

21 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Imagine that entrance at Mania, with the stadium, the big stage, the pyro, tens of thousands of fans, Rock in trunks, as big as humanly possible, just before all his muscles fall off. We’re talking the greatest Wrestlemania entrance of all time. Is it scientifically possible to create actual lightning from the sky? It was that night.

Think of the pyro package Cody is currently lobbying for to compete with The Rock's entrance.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

I seem to have gone to sleep last night and woke up this morning some time in the late 90s. Swearing✅️ blood✅️ wild brawls✅️ a full head of hair ❌️ well I guess you can't have everything.

Becky's punch was a beauty. Fair play to Dom, there is no amount of arse he isn't willing to show. Whatever they ask him to do he does it 100% There are plenty of other guys whose ego would get in the way but Dom knows his role perfectly. 

They really turned it up to 11 this week. Keeping that going to Mania will be a challenge, but let's try and enjoy the ride. 

[y2j chris jones]

I’ve been a bit ‘take it or leave it’ with this years Mania but after that Raw I’m sold. Cannot wait now. 
 

The Rock’s entrance has to be massive, please don’t blow it.