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

[Mr_Danger]

After death comes the desecration.

[JNLister]

7 hours ago, air_raid said:

I did wince watching this morning that "Undisputed" has crept into the graphic for the Cody vs Cena title match. Are they still banging that drum? There are two world titles, yet the one Cody has is "Undisputed"? I dispute that, actually.

That's what it's officially called. Cody is the Undisputed WWE champion, a title that covers the separate-but-active-and-jointly-defended WWE Championship (which was unified with/incorporates the former World Heavyweight Championship) and the WWE Universal Championship. Meanwhile Gunther is the World Heavyweight Champion, a separate title to the former World Heavyweight Championship. It's all very simple and not a mess at all.

[Version1.0]

Wouldn't be suprised if they throw Gunther vs Jey on first at Mania Saturday. 

[FUM]

53 minutes ago, Version1.0 said:

Wouldn't be suprised if they throw Gunther vs Jey on first at Mania Saturday. 

I’d have said after the Rumble that this would probably happen but the triple threat is so cold now that I wouldn’t be surprised if they fancied finishing Night 1 with the Jey celebration and crowd yeeting. Especially if the plan for Night 2 is potentially the heel leaving with the strap.

[air_raid]

7 hours ago, JNLister said:

It's all very simple and not a mess at all.

All that matters is John Cena going for number 17, which would break Ric Flairs record. Flair having been the NWA World Heavyweight Champion 10 times, the WCW World Heavyweight Champion 7 times, and the WWF Champion 2 times. Simple.

[Devon Malcolm]

Nah.

Edited March 26, 2025 by Devon Malcolm

[Vamp]

Personally I think Jey and Gunther might be better off as the opener. Jey's strength is getting the crowd going. Asking him to maintain the crowds intererest at the end of the first night of WrestleMania might be setting him up for failure. It's setting almost anyone up for failure.

Plus you could do that, add to the triple threat by saying that the winner gets a World Heavyweight title shot the next month, run a storyline when whoever wins that points out that they closed Mania Night 1 and if Jey wants to prove he's a main eventer he has to beat them. Also adds intrigue to his first title defence which is always a tough sell for a babyface champion. 

 

 

[DavidB6937]

13 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Nah.

Was that the most succinct review of Raw you've ever done?

[Supremo]

On both a meta level, and within the fiction, I really don’t want the Triple Threat Compromise to main event. They’ve built up Punk’s desire to main event Mania to such a degree that it’ll be a huge let down if he gets it borderline by default.

But given where things currently stand, what else could possibly main event Night One? Almost every potential candidate for a Main Event has turned to shit. Charlotte and Tiffy are having the worst feud of the year, with Charlotte being so aloof and counterproductive that I think she’s being shit on purpose to spite everyone booing her when she came back. Jey Uso has become such a loser that I think he’s going to lose to Gunther via submission, after he gets a stitch and taps out. And fuck knows what’s happening with Iyo, Bianca and Rhea. Genuinely don’t think they even know what the plan is next week, it’s such a mess.

I was too busy making a dumb GIF of Triple H crashing a bus whilst watching Raw that I missed them announcing that Bianca is the guest referee for this Monday’s rematch between Iyo and Rhea! Genuinely laugh-out-loud bad. Proper E-Fed booking. What on Earth happened to this company? It was a creative powerhouse literally months ago!

Obviously, I’d prefer it if was still good, but it is funny that Hunter’s pants have fallen down during Mania Season, precisely when he switched into high gear with the self-congratulatory on-screen wanking. It’s like he reached peak smug mode and took his eye off the ball. Maybe he spent too much time researching and building a hype video about how boss the Summerslam 1998 ladder match was, when he should have been plotting and considering character motivations of his own on-screen product. Has he outsourced creative to Stephanie? It’d make sense as to why I’m suddenly seeing her face all the time. The way everything fell off a cliff after the Netflix debut does remind me of when Steph took over in late 2000 and the once awesome product instantly went south.

Oh well. Smackdown tonight. The Road to Wrestlemania rolls on!

 

Edited March 27, 2025 by Supremo

[DavidB6937]

@Supremo Smackdown tomorrow, although might enjoy it more if you try and watch it tonight. I now want Bob Mortimer to turn up on a train. I think that'd save everything.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I saw someone suggest that neither the Triple Threat nor the Jey Uso match headline, but rather they both take place earlier in the show with the winners of each facing in the main event.

It's awful, but I think I'd take it.

Punk winning means he's gets his Mania main event match in a singles title match... let Gunther retain over Jey... send the fans home happy.

Fully aware it's terrible, but the Mania season is so bad I think you could make an argument that it's an upgrade.

Edited March 27, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz

[Snitsky's back acne]

6 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

@Supremo Smackdown tomorrow, although might enjoy it more if you try and watch it tonight. 

Qué? 

[DavidB6937]

23 minutes ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

Qué? 

Because a blank screen could be considered better than some of the stuff they've been putting out on Smackdown lately.

[Supremo]

I was so excited imagining the delights Road Dogg had planned for us, I got my days mixed up. I wonder if we’ll get an impromptu match and a DQ finish.

It came up on my Timeline that exactly a year so we got that generational Raw where The Rock appeared unannounced, with that incredible new entrance, Punk and Drew had that fantastic promo, then they ended the night with the heat angle in the rain, where The Rock left Cody bloodied up. Now we’ve got Iyo vs Rhea, with Bianca as ref, in a battle of who’s the bigger loser. Leave the memories alone.

 

[DavidB6937]

Iyo's a strange one. I can't imagine the decision making process behind thinking she should be champ going into Mania beyond some stupid "well that'd surprise people!" angle. 

I like her, and I do enjoy her to a point, but she's not exactly known for giving strong storylines that people are invested in. Unless her relationship with a trash can and War Games counts.

Punk/Rollins/Reigns? Okay, I know most will disagree, but I can almost get the logic of three popular guys working together at Mania with slightly tangled history. But Iyo/Rhea/Belair? 

I'm sure I saw some story or headline about Rhea being injured or having some issue. Maybe I completely made that up. But if that was the case, perhaps that would explain some of the decision making along the way. I still think they should shove her with Dom and just let her destroy him like Bret and Vince McMahon. Only less long please.