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

[SwayWays]

Whenever someone fires back that fandom is getting lost and submerging yourself in the storyline "all for the ride" doesn't get how fandom works. 

 

If someone's watching football, they're screaming at the TV, criticising everything they've seen, the outcome, managers players a like. 

Even in the ilk of pure entertainment, I don't think anyone who watched GoT last season said "I appreciated the journey, it is what it is and I will follow blindly the final season out come". 

The same passion they want for people to dig deep for a $30 Tshirt, or $500+ championship belt, is going to also have their theories and interest in the rumours of what happend next. 

[LaGoosh]

7 minutes ago, SwayWays said:

Even in the ilk of pure entertainment, I don't think anyone who watched GoT last season said "I appreciated the journey, it is what it is and I will follow blindly the final season out come". 

Yeah but wrestling promoters don't get that. They just want everyone to blindly consume everything they do. They also want everyone to think that they are brilliant TV writers/creative geniuses because it hides the reality that they are only writing wrestling shows which let's be honest isn't really real writing.

[NeverYield]

Yeah, I have enjoyed wrestling very much lately but that's bang on about the creative geniuses bit, they over estimate their abilities drastically.

[Supremo]

He’s the world’s biggest loser. Insufferable knobhead when things go well. Crybaby at the first hint of criticism.

Puts out constant videos of himself choreographing entrances down to the finest detail. Opened the first Netflix show with this grand montage about how clever and intricate their product is. Spends endless time and money encouraging people to spot QR codes in the background of shots and theorise the symbolism they link to.

But mention that everything is a bit shit recently? It’s not that deep, bro. Don’t engage like that.

[BomberPat]

2 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Triple H is the most online person imaginable. When things are going well he can't stop banging on about all the social media impressions, "internet fans" or whatever so it's hilarious seeing him having a paddy and that the internet isn't real when people aren't falling at his feet telling him how great he is. The most delicate, thin skinned man alive.

Did your friend Mark tell you that? *pause for laughter*

 

[Snitsky's back acne]

I have a conspiracy theory with myself that the reason the booking up to Mania has been a bit dodge is due to all these video packages HHH is doing on himself for the Hall of Fame and the big montage you know he is planning for the big day itself.

If the booking picks up after Mania then my theory will be proven right. ?

[Kamran]

6 hours ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

I have a conspiracy theory with myself that the reason the booking up to Mania has been a bit dodge is due to all these video packages HHH is doing on himself for the Hall of Fame and the big montage you know he is planning for the big day itself.

Not just that, we now have various Triple H commemorative belts too, he's been busy!

 

[SwayWays]

I've seen this elsewhere, but for every great character custom title like million dollar championship, spinner Cena belt and the smoking skull on TV... WWE makes a horrific customised one on shopzone that's so off the mark. 

 

The king one is kinda cool, the cerebral assassin one is one of the worst things I have ever seen. Denim trim, wow. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DIj0QnSocQf/?igsh=Z2l3YTVucHJyMnkx

I could watch this all day. Yes, because it's funny how much he clearly wants this week to be a celebration of Triple H but also because you know the thin skinned fuck is going to hate how much he looks horrendous.

[NeverYield]

Good grief, who made that, those eyes, hahaha 

[TheScarlettChad]

What a shot. Good Raw honestly. 

[Merzbow]

Bron's getting the twat siren?

[d-d-d-dAz]

Yeah, I enjoyed the bits I watched.

The Bron thing in particular could be great as you can see the next 12 or 18 months rolling out in front of him, where him and Heyman ultimately ditch Seth and he becomes the new, less problematic, Lesnar.

Nice to see Sami back, though I thought he was going to be very Un-Ucey at one point.

My main gripe is that they didn't have Cody show up despite it being advertised that the man who took everything from him was going to be there.

What a dork.

Nothing revolutionary, but a good stabiliser Raw that suggests the next few months will at least be better. 

If The Rock swoops in at any point though I'm all the way out. Tosser.

[FLips]

It's a low low bar they've set but this was the best Raw after Mania in recent memory.
Some of it showed how uneasy they are to course correct, like having Chad Gable come out when he was clearly meant to lose his mask to Rey at Mania, and Lyra and Becky dropping the titles straight back because like my boy Killer Kross said, all they want is viral moments. The rest of it was fairly decent though.

Speaking of Kross, great to see him on the show after he cut that brutal shoot promo, I was really worried they'd sack him but thankfully it's gotten him noticed and onto the show to feud with AJ Styles. It's like Superstar Steve Austin in ECW, shooting his way to stardom.

Cena's promo and countdown of his "dates, not matches, appearances" is brilliant and I said it back in I think this thread when he turned heel but Randy was up there with opponents I'd like to see. Call me a glutton for punishment because I have no good memories of their matches over the years, but maybe this time will be the one? Maybe.
I forgot to mention it in the Mania thread but I loved Randy's Smackdown Here Comes The Pain rookie throwback trunks.

Stephanie Vaquer is class, and I really dig Giulia's look so it was good to not only see them called up but also be against each other rather than thrown together in a tag. Roxanne Perez is there too but she's been lurking about since the Rumble. Rhea thankfully has enough good merit that her showing at Mania and a big face move tonight has washed away the stink she was getting covered in. The women's division after that peformance at NXT and Mania is strong.

Heel Becky Lynch though is a rough choice. She's been gone for a long time, so maybe they shat the bed after Charlotte and got worried the crowd would turn on her anyway. If she can get Lyra Valkyria over though then fair play because I know she has fans on here but I don't get the bird girl quite yet.

Gunther choking out Pat was exciting but I'm not sure where it goes. It got Michael Cole over more than Gunther or Pat. Maybe he shows up on Smackdown and powerbombs Alicia Taylor or something and this is Gunther's thing now?

Nice little celebration for Sami, Jimmy and Jey. If it wasn't bad enough having celebrity cretins in the crowd all weekend and an awful amount of MAGA, Trump and Vince love-a-thon promos and appearances all through the build, we had to have some idiot with an Isreal flag jumping about on the hard cam for Sami's entrance. I'd like to think security went and dumped them out the building but Nick Khan probably brought him backstage to meet the crew. They were certainly in no rush to cut away from the shot.

Edit: Sami is the best.

Rusev is rubbish, has always been rubbish, and now he has rubbish music so he's a total package of shit now. Give it a month before his wife shows up and cucks him, then they both disappear off TV for the rest of their contracts and we don't have to worry about him. Again though with this booking, who did this benefit? We know Rusev can beat up a comedy tag team so that isn't impressive, and it's not going to turn into a Rusev vs Tozawa feud is it so who cares about this.

Good for Dirty Dom getting a big win over Penta. We could moan all day about how the IC should be booked better but even outside of that point it's nice to see Dom booked legit as the champ.

Say what you want about Rollins and Heyman but Bron being with them is the best thing for him right now. It's instantly legitimised him, thrown him into the mix with Punk and Reigns, and gave him the Paul Heyman Guy rub. Well deserved and he looked brilliant here.

So yeah, not a bad show at all. Some stinkers in there but a good night for the Women's division, Breakker, Dom and Kross had good showings, and they seem to be building up some big matches like Cena vs Randy, Lynch vs Valkyria and Breakker/Rollins vs Roman/Punk which more than could be said for the build to Mania.

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2025 by FLips

[air_raid]

It’s a bit telling that they opened with one of the biggest stories to come out of Mania and closed with the other, with the shows new “World Champion” squeezed in just after half time. Would be nice if they’d set up the first defence for Raw’s new top dog on Raw rather than SmackDowns, but hey ho.

Sure hope this is a real call up for Vaquer. Admittedly with three expecting rematches and Jade winning big at Mania the absolute top end of the women’s divisions would seem to be getting crowded, even if Big Time Bex is going to slum it with the Losers Division Champ for a while. Not to go all SHUCKY DUCKY QUACK QUACK but I rate Vaquer very highly.

Edited April 22, 2025 by air_raid
LET THE PIGEONS LOOSE