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

[Devon Malcolm]

6 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Is The Miz still a thing or has everyone sensibly moved on from that?

He's currently aligned with Karrion Kross. Presented without comment.

[LaGoosh]

Good lord. 

I'll give Raw a go but I anticipate I'm going to be skipping a good chunk of stuff.

[Supremo]

Smackdown is the better show. It’s easily the show of the year. But it’s still WWE. Even in its improved state, it still has a lot of their weird presentation quirks. Would be interesting to read thoughts from someone who doesn’t watch regularly though!

[The Gaffer]

[Guest]

Not for nothing, but I've not watched much either and have only recently started dipping my toe back in, and I don't think the Bloodline is actually the best storyline in WWE right now. It's reaching a climax point, so people that have been along for the ride are loving it, but to me it's just a rushed series of moments and a cascade of rushed returns. It's decent, but I actually think the best story is what's going on with Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes. Deep, long term, character driven stuff. There's still a lot of tell, don't show, "I don't think yuo hate me, I think you hate yourself" will never be good writing, but it's closer to some of the best AEW stuff, from what I've seen. Owens in particular has such a good sense of his character that I think he's worth following.

[RedTwoster]

1 minute ago, Duke said:

Not for nothing, but I've not watched much either and have only recently started dipping my toe back in, and I don't think the Bloodline is actually the best storyline in WWE right now. It's reaching a climax point, so people that have been along for the ride are loving it, but to me it's just a rushed series of moments and a cascade of rushed returns. It's decent, but I actually think the best story is what's going on with Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes. Deep, long term, character driven stuff. There's still a lot of tell, don't show, "I don't think yuo hate me, I think you hate yourself" will never be good writing, but it's closer to some of the best AEW stuff, from what I've seen. Owens in particular has such a good sense of his character that I think he's worth following.

I can kind of see why you might consider the reunion of the OG Bloodline a little rushed, but on the whole, the storyline has been slow-moving, though not in a bad way. Personally - and I should frame this by saying I’ve only been a fan since late 2002; meaning I missed the Attitude Era and what came before it - I think you could make a case for it being the best storyline they’ve ever done. The foundations of this storyline began back in 2020, which is insane to consider. I’m not saying they had a plan in mind back then (Vince McMahon was in charge, of course they didn’t) - but the fact they’ve managed to keep it alive for so long while keeping it interesting is nothing short of remarkable. 

[LaGoosh]

Just now, RedTwoster said:

I think you could make a case for it being the best storyline they’ve ever done.

That would be a good discussion on its own. Outside the odd clips (I've probably seen all the biggest segments on YouTube) I haven't been paying too much attention to The Bloodline saga. 

For me the best stories they've ever done would be: Austin/McMahon, everything Bret Hart in 1996/97 and Batista/Triple H.

I do find it interesting when people talk about modern day WWE and a) how little they talk about the quality of the actual matches and b) how far ahead people think. I see people on here regularly saying "this match will be perfect for Summerslam" or "next years Mania" or whatever which is wild to me. Everyone watching thinks so long term. When I used to watch I used to get most excited for the Backlash's, Fully Loaded's etc. Does no one care about the B shows anymore? And I don't think I ever hear any praise or buzz about the matches themselves (outside of Punk/Drew HIAC). What are the top 10 WWE matches this year for example? It's very weird from the outside in seeing everyone buzzing about the Survivor Series main event and then seeing the competitors and thinking "damn, that looks like it's going to be the shits". It's cool that people are so into the characters and stories for sure but yeah...very odd looking in from the outside for sure.

I'll watch one of the shows on the train home tonight though. Who knows - I might be converted!

[Devon Malcolm]

I think in terms of match quality, from what I've seen, WWE generally does consistently above average-to-good matches while AEW wildly varies between completely awful to absolutely superb.

[RedTwoster]

1 minute ago, LaGoosh said:

I do find it interesting when people talk about modern day WWE and a) how little they talk about the quality of the actual matches and b) how far ahead people think. I see people on here regularly saying "this match will be perfect for Summerslam" or "next years Mania" or whatever which is wild to me. Everyone watching thinks so long term. When I used to watch I used to get most excited for the Backlash's, Fully Loaded's etc. Does no one care about the B shows anymore? And I don't think I ever hear any praise or buzz about the matches themselves (outside of Punk/Drew HIAC). What are the top 10 WWE matches this year for example? It's very weird from the outside in seeing everyone buzzing about the Survivor Series main event and then seeing the competitors and thinking "damn, that looks like it's going to be the shits". It's cool that people are so into the characters and stories for sure but yeah...very odd looking in from the outside for sure.

This is why I genuinely look forward to reading your thoughts - I honestly don’t think, removed from the storylines, I’d recommend a lot of the matches to a non-fan. You can usually watch an AEW PPV with no knowledge of what’s going on, and find several matches that blow you away. I actually don’t think that’s true of most WWE shows. I’m not saying that the wrestling is bad (it’s not) or that those jaw-dropping matches don’t exist (they absolutely do) - but you generally do need investment in the storylines and the characters to get the most from a WWE PPV. 

Now, for me, I have no problem with that; but I struggle to think of many matches from this era of WWE that I would rewatch.  And even with that in mind, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed WWE more than I do right now. 

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I can kind of see why you might consider the reunion of the OG Bloodline a little rushed, but on the whole, the storyline has been slow-moving, though not in a bad way. Personally - and I should frame this by saying I’ve only been a fan since late 2002; meaning I missed the Attitude Era and what came before it - I think you could make a case for it being the best storyline they’ve ever done. The foundations of this storyline began back in 2020, which is insane to consider. I’m not saying they had a plan in mind back then (Vince McMahon was in charge, of course they didn’t) - but the fact they’ve managed to keep it alive for so long while keeping it interesting is nothing short of remarkable. 

I mean, your mileage may vary on that one, but Roman's reign and the bloodline genuinely were a big part of turning me off the show. It was only when Sami got involved that it got interesting, but then it was pretty much on the downturn until  January 2024. Since then, they've kept it going strong, and Vince moving on definitely helped it turn a corner.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Things have been so positive about WWE on here this year, I'm definitely going to try and get back into it when they start on Netflix (especially if you can download the shows to watch offline). Like @Lorne Malvo it hasn't gelled with me the last few times I've tried it, but maybe next time's the one.

[Onyx2]

1 hour ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

Things have been so positive about WWE on here this year, I'm definitely going to try and get back into it when they start on Netflix (especially if you can download the shows to watch offline). Like @Lorne Malvo it hasn't gelled with me the last few times I've tried it, but maybe next time's the one.

You would think - hope - that the first few weeks on Netflix are going to be amazing, because it's their biggest opportunity to grab new fans or convert lapsed fans. Under Vince I wouldn't put money on it but with a new leadership feels right.

[Mr Butternut Squash]

2 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

That would be a good discussion on its own. Outside the odd clips (I've probably seen all the biggest segments on YouTube) I haven't been paying too much attention to The Bloodline saga. 

For me the best stories they've ever done would be: Austin/McMahon, everything Bret Hart in 1996/97 and Batista/Triple H.

I do find it interesting when people talk about modern day WWE and a) how little they talk about the quality of the actual matches and b) how far ahead people think. I see people on here regularly saying "this match will be perfect for Summerslam" or "next years Mania" or whatever which is wild to me. Everyone watching thinks so long term. When I used to watch I used to get most excited for the Backlash's, Fully Loaded's etc. Does no one care about the B shows anymore? And I don't think I ever hear any praise or buzz about the matches themselves (outside of Punk/Drew HIAC). What are the top 10 WWE matches this year for example? It's very weird from the outside in seeing everyone buzzing about the Survivor Series main event and then seeing the competitors and thinking "damn, that looks like it's going to be the shits". It's cool that people are so into the characters and stories for sure but yeah...very odd looking in from the outside for sure.

I'll watch one of the shows on the train home tonight though. Who knows - I might be converted!

Personally I'm at a point where I struggle to watch the matches if I'm not into the characters and storylines, as I don't enjoy the modern in-ring style enough on its own. It doesn't help that I've been watching a lot of 80's wrestling lately which has further exposed how homogenised ring work is nowadays.

As an old fuck that's watched obsessive amounts of wrestling, "good matches" are usually disposable to me and forgotten a day later. That's why the Punk/Drew HITC and Sting retirement matches stood out and are my matches of the year. They felt unique to their setting and I was invested in who won or lost.

[RedTwoster]

49 minutes ago, Mr Butternut Squash said:

As an old fuck that's watched obsessive amounts of wrestling, "good matches" are usually disposable to me and forgotten a day later. That's why the Punk/Drew HITC and Sting retirement matches stood out and are my matches of the year. They felt unique to their setting and I was invested in who won or lost.

God, I thought Roman/Cody was a shoe-in for match of the year, but I completely forgot that Sting’s retirement match took place in 2024, and then you have Drew/Punk which was sensational. The UKFF Awards are going to be interesting this year with that in mind, there’s no wrong answer.

[TheScarlettChad]

Having two wwe matches that could be considered moty is still mental. It's a great time to be a fan.