ThinkSoJoE’s Thoughts – just stop already.
By thinksojoe · · 2 CommentsI’m almost at a complete loss of words over last night’s WWE RAW. The beginning was great. WWE proved that they could do a show with just four guys, and it would be a great show. Then Vince McMahon came out, and from that point forward, WWE proved that they could do a terrible show with 60 guys.
I don’t know why, but I absolutely loathe John Laurinaitis. I feel that it’s more than just the character, I think I actually despise John Laurinaitis the person. Over the past couple of months I didn’t mind him so much, but as soon as he was appointed “Interim RAW GM,” I started to hate his very being. And the strange thing is, I don’t think it’s his fault that I hate him at all. What I really hate, is heel authority figures in wrestling.
The first couple of times, ok cool. Now, it’s just stale. It’s old. I can’t stand it. This is wrestling. I’m supposed to be rooting for the good guy and booing the bad guy, not rooting for the good guy and booing the good guy’s boss. If I wanted to boo a good guy’s boss, I’d march into my boss’s office with my thumb down.
Look, I get the idea that we’re all supposed to hate our boss, and that when the good guy’s boss finally gets his comeuppance, we’re all supposed to cheer because we’re living vicariously through our favorite Superstar. I actually like my boss. Sure, sometimes I think I’d like to hit him with a Stone Cold Stunner, but most of the time I think I’d rather share a couple of Steveweisers with him (WHAT?).
The fact is, we’ve been doing this same angle for 15 years now. For everything the WWE is doing right – pushing the tag team division, bringing back managers and stables – this is one of the wrongs. There was a time when I’d tune in to WWE programming because I liked the wrestling. A promo here or there and a very rare post-match beatdown went a long way back in those days. Now, we have an hour of promos on a two hour program and a beatdown after every match – almost literally in the case of last night’s RAW – and they’ve lost their effectiveness.
I think what we need in mainstream wrestling – WWE, specifically – is a face authority figure (Teddy Long doesn’t count) who will restore order. Post-match beatdown? $250,000 fine. The effectiveness will eventually be rebuilt because the only time we’d see a post-match beatdown is when somebody dislikes a guy so much that they’ll gladly pay a quarter of a million bucks to get in a few extra shots at them. Is it a perfect suggestion? Maybe not, but at least I’m trying to come up with something different.
For now, I think I’ll vote with my remote control – I’m considering not watching wrestling until they replace Laurinaitis as RAW GM. That’s how strongly I feel about this crap.
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2 Comments
Nicole Kellum
I so agree it's gotten so bad I watched the one match with Orton and Henry then shut it off, it's gotten to the point of stupidity I am just sticking with Smackdown at least that is somewhat entertaining.
_G_
There's a number of articles about this current story arch on the BWF currently, which is actually a good thing… but commenting on all of them would involve copy/paste redundancy… so I'll just do it here.
I do agree, the opening was entertaining. Why? Because I've never seen that before. Even amid the many plot issues that got us to this point, the impromptu approach to make a show happen was enjoyable. I also thought that Cena, Sheamus, and Punk all gave reasonable and fairly logical explanations as to why they would side with HHH. Not perfect, but still true to their history and characters. Punk is, and will continue to be, a face to the WWE universe for some time to come whether we like it or not. The guy is leading sales at the WWE shopzone, and we all know that the WWE doesn't shy away from dollar signs. Sheamus is an enigma to me, I don't understand how his turn happened. Whatever, I can deal with it. And all negativity aside, he's been very good at it. And John Cena is… well…
There was a way they could have done this rushed, haphazard storyline better last night. In a perfect world, ROH would have invaded and volunteered to perform for the crowd. But we all know that would never happen. The next best alternative? Or should I say, the NXT best alternative would have been to use the rookies in that role. It would need a very simple explanation. These guys are fighting just to get the opportunity to be on the show, and if the hippies in the parking lot can't handle the job, they are more than willing to work.
I realize that it would be a huge gamble for the WWE to have an entire episode featuring the few NXT guys, and wouldn't expect them to go for the entire 2 hours. But why not take the opportunity to put some new guys over? God forbid… I could fantasy book the show for the next year, but I think that would be pushing it. Let Sheamus and Cena finish their match. 20 minutes filled. NXT guys come out (there's only two really left) and Titus and Bateman (face versus heel) cut their offer to join, then have a match. 20 more minutes covered. Punk could be joined on commentary by Sheamus, Cena, or HHH. Doesn't matter, just let them do colour and Punk could easily carry the load on play by play.
For the final quarter of the first hour, you could easily have some cuts to the rally in the parking lot and interview the guys about their grievances. Then… ugghh… have McMahon come out to start the second hour (they were going to do this regardless).
Instead we get McMahon cutting the Sheamus/Cena match off almost immediately and the rest is a crappy show. Seriously…. they could have salvaged a little bit, given some new guys time, and maybe even taken something positive out of this rushed angle…
Long live ROH!