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

[TAFKA Jonny Vegas]

1 hour ago, RedTwoster said:

I actually really enjoyed Raw; maybe, being a Scot, I was blinded by the fact it was in Glasgow. But I liked it. 

That said, the crowd died a bit part-way through the show.

I think there were a few factors which contributed to this massively.

Firstly, as with most events at The Hydro it took forever for them to get people in. There will have been people who were queuing outside for close to 2 hours before they got in meaning mid way there were visibly lots of kids sleeping.

Secondly it was an oddly paced show. Cena/Rhodes straight into Jey Uso were 3 of the 4 biggest reactions of the night (Jey is insanely over). This all meant that other than CM Punk coming out the natural flow of the show gave it a feeling that everything was winding down from the start not gearing up for the end.

Thirdly the cost may have played a part. I was "lucky" to pick up late tickets at £110 each but most of the people in there paid £230ish to £430ish per ticket.

At £110 a ticket it gave my son the novelty of being at a live Raw in our home city and he had a blast seeing so many of his favourites in person but big prices cause big expectations. He's young enough to have little to no comprehension of the cost but adult fans would be rightly aggrieved at the show they received for the money they spent.

I'm glad my son had the experience but next time we will watch it live on Netflix. Seeing the big stars and production values is really all you're paying for.

A few weeks ago I took him to a  CPW live show where for £20 we can both get tickets and he was beyond buzzing to get a high five, fist bump, photo and autograph from pretty much every wrestler there with a show that was probably more entertaining.

Edited March 25, 2025 by TAFKA Jonny Vegas

[Supremo]

Shockingly bad show. Genuinely impressive how quickly the wheels have completely fallen off. What was the cheapest ticket for this? Something mad like two hundred quid? Daylight robbery.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. This show reeked of the Vince McMahon Era, where things are being chopped and changed, completely re-written week-to-week. The only difference appears to be the root cause. With Vince, he was just a senile maniac, who'd forget what he booked from one day to the next. With Hunter, who's reported to be constantly online, refreshing Twitter in the Gorilla Position, I think he's reading all the criticism and negativity, and this was his reaction to it. I think we've all broke his little heart and he's trying to right the ship in real time. It hasn't worked. He's put a bad hat on a bad hat. Tried to clean up a convoluted mess by making even more mess. Trying to turn the Titanic around when it's already seconds from hitting the ice berg.

Jey Uso, the once red hot Royal Rumble winner, has been booked and botched so poorly the last month or so that they've had to write it into canon that he's a clumsy loser, pretending the whole thing has been a redemption arc from the start. The fucking Number One Contender to the World Heavyweight Title! A sad state of affairs. Frankly, my main takeaway from this show was that the sooner Jey and Jimmy reunite and go on a Tag run the better.

The dumb angle last week, where Rhea signed the contract, gets such a panning online that they essentially have Adam Pearce climb out of a shower and announce none of that matters and they're just going to do a Rhea vs. Iyo rematch next week. Would be a funny, panicked pivot at the best of times, but when it inevitably still results in a Triple Threat? Genuinely embarrassing. A complete mess of a storyline that is actively harming every single participant on a weekly basis. They all look like knobheads. Bianca and Rhea feel like dickhead heels and Iyo feels like a third wheel loser, despite being the World Champion.

Worse of all, the best thing they have - Cody vs. Cena - the novelty is already wearing off. There's an incredible idea in there - doing the Summer of Punk thing with Cena winning the belt, switching it back to the Spinner, and fucking off forever is an excellent premise. Cody did a great job selling it too, because Cody is always fucking great. The problem is Cena's performance. The heel act isn't working. It's too hammy. It's too corny. It's too 2013. It's like he's had this act and these promos in his back pocket for so long that he hasn't read the room or tried to modernise it. All the, "YOU PEOPLE," stuff is so cartoony. Half the stuff he's crying about and using as his motivation hasn't been the case in six to seven years. Didn't he reveal recently that they had planned to turn him heel after the Mania matches with The Rock? Genuinely feels like he's using the same scripts they sent him back then. Speaking of The Rock, it's still weird and annoying that Rocky has seemingly Quantum Leaped out of the angle, too. I wonder if that's also some mad pivot, after Hunter read us taking the piss out of The Rock rubbing ket all over his own face.

Bad, lifeless promo from Punk. "I work with children," getting the Zelina Vega pop it deserved. Let it go, Punker! They need something pretty spectacular to explain why this Triple Threat main events Nights One, as expected. Punk teased as much, saying the past three months had cost him the Mania Main Event...or had it. I'd like to say I trust they've got a big, clever idea of how to tie it all together and satisfyingly make it work. But given their recent form? Not a fucking chance.

The El Grande Americano thing should be right up my street. My soul completely fell out of my arse watching the vignette though. A.I. slop. And Gulf of America? Fuck off. It was only a few weeks ago that Sami Zayn was praising WWE for not using politics on their shows anymore. Oh well, Sami. At least they under-appreciate you and are willing to make you look stupid. Leaves no doubts about your standing.

Shitty DQ finish in the Main Event. Road Dogg in Glasgow?

When the boom struck, it would always be interesting to see how long they could sustain it and how Triple H would deal with criticism once it inevitably came.

Turns out, when it's not all sunshine and fruit baskets, this is what his Road to Wrestlemania looks like.

Edited March 25, 2025 by Supremo
Just remember some day, Hunter. What comes around goes around.

[simonworden]

I don't really understand what's gone on behind the scenes to create such a botch of a build this year. 

I know they put the show back a bit but it's only a week later than they've done in the past. It does seem to be that massive curse of having too much time to fill though so rather than let things simmer in the background they've created a massive of twists and turns..The two previous years relied on logical, linear storylines that while could be stated to be predictable at times were satisfying to watch develop. Surely if you've seen two years of that doing extremely well, you wouldn't try something new in the approach until after the basic one gets shat on. 

What they've tried to give us is New Coke using a load of ingredients (booking style/tropes) that haven't gone down well in the past. 

As for those ticket prices, they just seem insane. How does your average family afford it even a parent/child to go at £400. I know I'm not the best judge on UK prices but I can take my family to the beach for a week here and stay in a nice hotel for less than that. It's like a 350% increase in prices from the fairly decent £45 tickets I would pick up in 2012 for Raw in London. 

[LaGoosh]

Nevermind.

Edited March 25, 2025 by LaGoosh
Oh I know you hate x factor but you ain't gotta look at me like that

[air_raid]

Looking forward to the Io/Ripley non finish next week. Ripleys been avoiding taking her title rematch at the earliest opportunity? Some “eradicator.” And Io got piefaced yet again. They’ve made the champion look a weakling, Ripley a crybaby and Bianca a cheap shot artist. For building a title match where all three are supposed to be babyfaces, they’ve hit the head right on the nail.

[RedTwoster]

6 hours ago, TAFKA Jonny Vegas said:

Secondly it was an oddly paced show. Cena/Rhodes straight into Jey Uso were 3 of the 4 biggest reactions of the night (Jey is insanely over). This all meant that other than CM Punk coming out the natural flow of the show gave it a feeling that everything was winding down from the start not gearing up for the end.

I think I’m in an extreme minority in enjoying the show - I’ve not seen another positive response anywhere, and I’ve actually looked. I’ve found the build to Wrestlemania to be dire, and nothing about this show made me want to see it more, so I’ll maybe put it down to a mix of being in the mood for wrestling, and enjoying seeing Glasgow landmarks on WWE television. 

While I’ve enjoyed what Cena has done so far, I don’t think they’ve gone far enough with it. Where are the wrestlers confronting him backstage? Having a dejected R-Truth turn up and get the absolute shit beaten into him seems like such an easy win. Maybe they’ll do that, but I think they’ve gone far should have done more sooner.

7 hours ago, Supremo said:

The El Grande Americano thing should be right up my street. My soul completely fell out of my arse watching the vignette though. A.I. slop. And Gulf of America? Fuck off. It was only a few weeks ago that Sami Zayn was praising WWE for not using politics on their shows anymore.

I mean, I suppose it is using politics, but I took it as a ridiculous use of a ridiculous concept for a character that is supposed to be ridiculous. If it was a babyface using it as part of a USA-is-great speech to talk down a Hispanic heel I’d agree with you, but this was deliberately dumb. The main complaint I’d have for now, I suppose, is that it has the potential to fix Chad Gable at a certain level. I do wonder if he’d have been better off making the jump to AEW when he had the chance.

[air_raid]

Cena beating up ANYONE would be a start.

[Hannibal Scorch]

10 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

 

I mean, I suppose it is using politics, but I took it as a ridiculous use of a ridiculous concept for a character that is supposed to be ridiculous. If it was a babyface using it as part of a USA-is-great speech to talk down a Hispanic heel I’d agree with you, but this was deliberately dumb. The main complaint I’d have for now, I suppose, is that it has the potential to fix Chad Gable at a certain level. I do wonder if he’d have been better off making the jump to AEW when he had the chance.

I think that’s what HHH will be telling the locker room. But with the trade tariffs being increased, mass deportations occurring and threats of the wall being brought back on top of the fact they renamed a body of water for shits and giggles, it’s political.

[The King of Old School]

On 3/23/2025 at 4:56 PM, The King of Old School said:

Breaker vs Penta IC title match announced for tomorrow night.

Gaurenteed Balor/Dom interference to set up yet another multi man match for Wrestlemania ?

So predictable and boring.

[DavidB6937]

28 minutes ago, The King of Old School said:

So predictable and boring.

Thing is predictable doesn't have to be boring. Quite a lot of the stuff going into Mania most years is predictable. 

[Supremo]

I think it’s a vibes thing. On a better show, or from a company whose politics aren’t so obvious, I might have received that, “Gulf of America,” ironically. But on this show, in the foul mood it put me in, and coming from the man who sat front and center with Linda in the Senate? Get in the bin, ya daft racist.

Supposedly Cena’s schedule means he’s only got one more Raw appearance, next Monday. Going to be interesting to see what they do for the rest of the Mania build. Maybe fly Rock in? Pre-tapes? Or is Cody going to feud with a man who we literally can’t see, like when Brock was feuding with Goldberg leading into Mania 20, despite Goldberg having no dates left.

[I Bent My Wookie]

Can I just check as well, after the rose tinted glasses wore off of being able to watch RAW before a sensible bedtime rather than after,

Did John Cena claim he was going to leave WrestleMania as the last true/real World Champion for them to follow it up with the next segment being the number 1 contender for the World Championship on the actual brand the show was on?

Uso and Gunther are going to be great having the second match of the Sunday show.

[The King of Old School]

8 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

Thing is predictable doesn't have to be boring. Quite a lot of the stuff going into Mania most years is predictable. 

Correct it doesn't have to be, but this definitely is.

Breaker/Penta is a perfect 15/20 minute opener for either night, Balor and Dom have absolutely no need to be in this match apart from the obvious "shove as many people onto the card as possible" that they just can't help themselves in doing.

Same with the Bianca/Rhea/Sky triple threat. You have a huge match right there, it didn't need the Sky title switch or involvement.

[SaitoRyo]

Not much more to add, other than I thought it was a mostly dull, oddly-paced show that must have felt like a massive letdown to those who paid so much to see it in person. 

I decided to check out this week's Raw after being entertained enough by last week's effort. This week did nothing to make me want to tune in again next Monday and I don't think I'll bother. 

[The King of Old School]

11 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Supposedly Cena’s schedule means he’s only got one more Raw appearance, next Monday. Going to be interesting to see what they do for the rest of the Mania build. Maybe fly Rock in? Pre-tapes? Or is Cody going to feud with a man who we literally can’t see, like when Brock was feuding with Goldberg leading into Mania 20, despite Goldberg having no dates left.

Theory and Waller are probably done with Jay now so maybe Cody can feud with them for a couple of weeks to tide him over.

Edited March 25, 2025 by The King of Old School