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

[RedTwoster]

I was a huge fan of Triple H’s booking up until the turn of the year. But since moving to Netflix, WWE’s storytelling has plummeted. It probably ties into the Bloodline storyline coming to a close, and a lack of big ideas to follow that are actually working well (eg. The Cena heel turn, which should have been huge) but my goodness, Raw was a tough watch.

Dominik Mysterio continues to be fun. Seth Rollins, on the other hand, continues to be an absolute disaster of a character. Raw’s top heel, yet he’s still behaving like a babyface (not that he was any better in that role). They’d have been better off giving Dominik the MITB briefcase - heck, why not give him Heyman too and see how he fares as the top heel on the brand? He’s more than earned it at this point. 

I’m not sure that it’s even possible to make Rollins interesting again. I can only hope that he has his eye on a Reigns-type schedule in the near future.

[WyattSheepMask]

2 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

 

I’m not sure that it’s even possible to make Rollins interesting again. I can only hope that he has his eye on a Reigns-type schedule in the near future.

If he wants to negotiate even less dates than that I’d be totally fine with it

[Supremo]

Seth floated the idea recently of winding down and working backstage. Talk about a double edged sword. Less Seth on TV, brilliant, but Seth’s fingerprints all over the product as a producer? Hell.

[The King of Old School]

Summerslam could look good on paper though if they go with Rollins/Reigns and Gunther/Punk.

[DavidB6937]

One of those easy watch shows where you could've easily skipped it and not missed anything whatsoever. 

All I really remember was how weird they say Kairi. Have they always emphasised it like Kai Ree? Maybe I just tune out during her matches a lot but it just really annoyed me.

Errr other stuff happened. Crowd were good.

Couldn't believe the El Grande Americano match got that much time.

Enjoying more videos and vignettes. Always liked them.

Kross was insanely over. Having the time of his life especially in the interview. Good for him. Getting cheered all over the place and getting to kiss Scarlett. Best night's work ever.

But yeah not a show to be watching if you're anti Seth.

[mim731]

I had completely forgotten that Ozzy Osbourne was a Hall of Famer in WWE. That's it, literally the only take home from an utterly forgettable episode of RAW. 

[Dr. Alan Grant]

Jelly Roll Vs Travis Scott for the Slim Jim championship. This was a rough watch. And I can’t even watch older better Raws since the Netflix takeover. It’s this slop or nothing.

[Callum1993]

My main thought on Raw:

 

 

[Snitsky's back acne]

4 hours ago, Callum1993 said:

My main thought on Raw:

 

 

 

Is he? They never mentioned it.

[Mr_Danger]

I thought they said the “Orca Whale”

[OzExile]

I hate to say it but I couldn't be less enthused about Sami Zayn's character any more. His booking is woeful.  Hoping they can turn it around before Rumble season... 

[DavidB6937]

36 minutes ago, OzExile said:

I hate to say it but I couldn't be less enthused about Sami Zayn's character any more. His booking is woeful.  Hoping they can turn it around before Rumble season... 

It's more confusing than anything. I think his character booking itself is decent and pretty consistent. The problem is whatever is going on around him. Putting him against Bron constantly who shouldn't really be booked as a heel at this point. And obviously the Kross thing is weird because now he's getting over positively too.

Depends what their end goal is with all of it. Probably being too kind thinking they actually have one.

[Snitsky's back acne]

6 hours ago, OzExile said:

I hate to say it but I couldn't be less enthused about Sami Zayn's character any more. His booking is woeful.  Hoping they can turn it around before Rumble season... 

I was thinking about this kind of thing the other day and realised that Sami, Seth and a few others have been with WWE for well over a decade now. Apart from a handful of very notable exceptions, almost nobody used to have unbroken decades plus long runs in WWF/WWE. Seth has been around 15 years now. That's longer than Bret ever was, or Hogan, or Austin. Rock was broken in, wrestled and retired in less than 15 years.

They are REALLY long tenures and perhaps that's why it feels like Sami and others are so stale. Everything, and then some, has been done with them. Heel turn? Done. Face turn? Done. Are they demonstrably different from when they first came in all that time ago? Not particularly.

I'm not saying they should be released or leave just that they have been around so damn long, doing the same basic thing, thar it's no wonder people are like 'M'eh". 

[DavidB6937]

1 hour ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

They are REALLY long tenures and perhaps that's why it feels like Sami and others are so stale. Everything, and then some, has been done with them. Heel turn? Done. Face turn? Done. Are they demonstrably different from when they first came in all that time ago? Not particularly.

I'm not saying they should be released or leave just that they have been around so damn long, doing the same basic thing, thar it's no wonder people are like 'M'eh". 

I don't think that's an issue though if the booking is decent.

[tiger_rick]

3 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

I don't think that's an issue though if the booking is decent.

I'd think it's swings and roundabouts. Trying to book people who have been around for so long, done everything and faced everyone must be a bit of a nightmare. Every idea you have for someone, they'll almost always have done.

It really is remarkable how willing their audience is to get excited about characters who are so old, and often stale. Perhaps it's a sign that the audience has changed somewhat over the last 10 years but I do see people claiming to be long-term fans commenting on stuff and being interested in stuff that's so old and samey.

You're right in some ways that it doesn't matter. Like when they had a main event angle that was over like rover and was killing a big chunk of every show. In those situations, everything underneath can be pretty naff because you just tolerate it waiting for the good stuff. And some things just shine in that environment when the crowd is there for a good time. Like how fondly everyone remembers Chris Jericho's 1998 under-card stuff. Imagine that in 2000 playing to a 3/4 empty arena and following another shit Jeff Jarrett & Sid segment and it's a different ball game.

Not to pick on anyone particularly, even a flat-earther, but I heard recently that AJ Styles has re-signed for another year. His debut was nine and a half years ago. And by 2019, he already felt like he'd had his run at the top and was nothing more than a real good hand in the middle. I can't imagine how anyone, including their booking team, is excited by another year of AJ Styles.