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

[theringmaster]

I thought it was a good raw, it delivered where it needed to. We always do the debate of Casual v hardcore fan and this show was clearly aimed at casual fans, the takeaways were meant to be 'The Rock appeared', 'Rhea won the belt', 'Punk was in the Main event'. it was a show about headlines not content.

[FUM]

I hope the LED lights on seats isn’t a permanent feature of shows. I felt on the crowd shots it made it look like empty seats.

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I did enjoy Hogan getting booed though, in the current climate it certainly wasn’t a given, so it was nice to see him get the reception he deserved.

Here's the thing, I think the Hogan reaction was absolutely a given. The show was in Inglewood. LA is the most liberal place in the entire country (except possibly for San Francisco?), and Kamala Harris was a senator in California for 4 years, so to wheel out a man who was racially abusing her less than 6 months ago is one of the most tone deaf, arrogant things they could do. But HHH hasn't seen that clip, hasn't heard about it, didn't know Hogan had ever said anything, he just wants to talk about what a good show it was.

I watched it as someone who's been watching a bit more after being off WWE for a few years, and the show did not make me want to tune in next week.

Between Triple H and The Rock wanking themselves Raw whilst saying absolutely nothing, video packages and entrances, it was over half an hour before a match started, and starting with a boring, overlong plodfest like Roman v Solo, again, reeked of arrogance. I don't actually think people wanted to watch this match, I think they wanted to see how it ended and how it advanced the story. So everything before the interference felt like just waiting for that to happen.

"Paul Heyman said there should be no reason why Roman Reigns shouldn’t get an Emmy this coming year, saying Roman Reigns didn’t miss a single week during COVID while production shut down everywhere. He also said WWE, himself, and Paul Levesque deserve Emmys."

Course you do Paul. 

John Cena appearance was fine, and a good promo, but it annoyed me in the context of the rest of the show. Get on with it.

Glad to see Rhea Liv finally end, and it was a decent match to cap it all off. One of the themes of this show was how much they were clearing the decks before Wrestlemania.

I couldn't care less about what celebrities you've got in the building, but I get why they do it. Upped the specialness of the show, just like they do at Mania. I think it felt more jarring because of the level of expectation compared to, for e.g, Mania.

Jey and Drew was rubbish. I love Drew, and he deserves better. Jey Uso does not. 

Some really good video packages tonight, helpful for a guy like me who's not watched everything over the years. On that note, you really felt the TKO influence tonight. The sponsors on the ring and the video packages to build each match made it feel like a big UFC show. I don't think this was the card to pull that off properly.

Really enjoyed Punk V Rollins though. Really fun match, crowd was split, and even though it felt clear Punk would win, it kept me really entertained throughout. Definitely the right main event. 

 

[TheScarlettChad]

This definitely won't help anti WWE sentiment. 

[RedTwoster]

8 minutes ago, Duke said:

Here's the thing, I think the Hogan reaction was absolutely a given. The show was in Inglewood. LA is the most liberal place in the entire country (except possibly for San Francisco?), and Kamala Harris was a senator in California for 4 years, so to wheel out a man who was racially abusing her less than 6 months ago is one of the most tone deaf, arrogant things they could do. But HHH hasn't seen that clip, hasn't heard about it, didn't know Hogan had ever said anything, he just wants to talk about what a good show it was.

Honestly, my faith in that kind of thing was utterly shattered when Trump win the election. Between people being unaware of what Hogan has said, and some actively welcoming it, I thought he’d get a smattering of boos as with previous appearances, but little more. I’m glad I was wrong.

[The King of Old School]

Punk calling out Cody after his match walking back up the isle is interesting, hadn't really thought of that as an option at Mania before.

 

Edited January 7, 2025 by The King of Old School

[digforvictory]

Less than a year ago The Rock beat the shit out of Cody Rhodes in a car park in the rain, he mocked his Mother, he pinned him at Mania, he tried to cost him the world title the next night, told him on the Raw after Mania their story had just begun and even just a few weeks ago at the end of a PPV he interrupted Cody at the end of the show and made a slit throat gesture.

And now they're just  great buddies, they're pals joking around and having fun and hugging.

What the fuck was that?  I get that Rock probably can't do Mania this year but do they really need to just shit all over the storyline? I thought all this was fucking terrible.

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Honestly, my faith in that kind of thing was utterly shattered when Trump win the election. Between people being unaware of what Hogan has said, and some actively welcoming it, I thought he’d get a smattering of boos as with previous appearances, but little more. I’m glad I was wrong.

Anywhere but California (maybe New York?), and anywhere but LA, you're probably right. In that city, in that state, a mental decision.

 

Quote

Less than a year ago The Rock beat the shit out of Cody Rhodes in a car park in the rain, he mocked his Mother, he pinned him at Mania, he tried to cost him the world title the next night, told him on the Raw after Mania their story had just begun and even just a few weeks ago at the end of a PPV he interrupted Cody at the end of the show and made a slit throat gesture.

And now they're just  great buddies, they're pals joking around and having fun and hugging.

What the fuck was that?  I get that Rock probably can't do Mania this year but do they really need to just shit all over the storyline? I thought all this was fucking terrible

Yes I felt that. It'sl ike the Rock's interview wasn't "part of the entertainment portion of the show". Talk about telling your audience nothing matters. They've built some good will on that score, and this obviously isn't enough to squander it, but yikes.

[TheScarlettChad]

Just now, Duke said:

Anywhere but California (maybe New York?), and anywhere but LA, you're probably right. In that city, in that state, a mental decision.

 

Yes I felt that. It'sl ike the Rock's interview wasn't "part of the entertainment portion of the show". Talk about telling your audience nothing matters. They've built some good will on that score, and this obviously isn't enough to squander it, but yikes.

Felt like Dwayne went into business for himself, and he wanted to be a face again. 

[FUM]

19 minutes ago, Duke said:

Roman Reigns didn’t miss a single week during COVID while production shut down everywhere

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it as he had good reason but Roman Reigns went home during the initial COVID lockdowns while the show went on. Classic Heyman.

[RedTwoster]

20 minutes ago, digforvictory said:

Less than a year ago The Rock beat the shit out of Cody Rhodes in a car park in the rain, he mocked his Mother, he pinned him at Mania, he tried to cost him the world title the next night, told him on the Raw after Mania their story had just begun and even just a few weeks ago at the end of a PPV he interrupted Cody at the end of the show and made a slit throat gesture.

And now they're just  great buddies, they're pals joking around and having fun and hugging.

What the fuck was that?  I get that Rock probably can't do Mania this year but do they really need to just shit all over the storyline? I thought all this was fucking terrible.

No mention of The Final Boss either, even in his intro video. What a shame if they’ve dropped that, it was a fantastic character. 

The biggest mistake they made for me was not taking the opportunity to do something big, and set up their next year of storytelling in a way that was more gripping than Cena’s World title ambitions. I think that will end up making brilliant television, but they needed something more than they gave.

I fully expect them to go back to their usual format next week, but this was a missed opportunity.

[air_raid]

6 hours ago, JLM said:

'Taker stepping on a woman's moment like a true fat conservative dad there.

"Current star standing there mawkishly and/or marking out like a dork when legend emerges for otherwise unconnected appearance" is one of my most hated WWE tropes.

25 minutes ago, digforvictory said:

Less than a year ago The Rock beat the shit out of Cody Rhodes in a car park in the rain, he mocked his Mother, he pinned him at Mania, he tried to cost him the world title the next night, told him on the Raw after Mania their story had just begun and even just a few weeks ago at the end of a PPV he interrupted Cody at the end of the show and made a slit throat gesture.

And now they're just  great buddies, they're pals joking around and having fun and hugging.

If I'm CM Punk, I'm wondering how I can use this to my advantage right now. He used a 2008 reason to go after Orton in 2011, I bet he's currently falling asleep muttering a promo about how weak Cody is for apparently forgiving and forgetting so quickly.

[digforvictory]

Kevin Owens should definitely be using it against Cody in the next few weeks. It completely plays into his current gimmick.

This guy put your Mums name on a weight belt then smeared it with your blood after he battered you backstage and now a few months later you're giggling when he mentions "Mama Rhodes" , hugging him and drinking his shitty tequila??? 

 

[Mr.Showtime]

In the weeks leading up to this show I was telling non-fan friends about it landing on Netflix, maybe they'd want to give it a go. But now I wouldn't push them to do so at all. Whenever I talk to non-fans who have dabbled or used to like it when they were young, they would not want to watch a show that starts with the Rock walking around slowly then yapping about nothing. They'd want to see him take the piss out of someone and give them a People's Elbow. They'd not want to watch a plodding Solo/Roman to open; they'd want to see Ospreay-like impossible flips, Hardyz-like table carnage, or an old man like Sting dropping onto fools from the balcony. Something, anything to make you go "Whoa! That was mad!" That's what people remember, in my experience.

There were some decent parts to the show for sure, as mentioned previously here. I liked some of the video packages and the main event was alright. But there was so much weird dead space! Random looooong shots of the crowd with not much being said by the commentators, and the worst bit by far being Seth Rollins' entrance, which I believe is still in progress. I'm sure it'll take a while for them to get into a groove, but for the meantime I think I'll just tune in for the PPVs.

[TheScarlettChad]

If SmackDown is bad, WWE have fucked it. They had a good shot of turning the ship around but if last night is any indication, they're going back to their old habits.