I started ‘State of’ Pieces for RAW, Smackdown and WrestleMania back around Mania Time but never finished them. This is sort of them finished.
I won’t get very comprehensive here, but just give a general overview and thoughts on where the WWE is right now.
This is only going to cover the Main Roster, because I am way behind on 205 and NXT.
So, let’s start with the Flagship show:
RAW. RAW. RAW!! raw.
Pop Quiz! Which of the above RAW’s is correct?! And ‘all above’ the not an answer.
‘raw.’ Would be the correct answer.
Even more correct would be this: RAW = Really Average Wrestling.
It should be Awesome. It used to be Awesome. It still could be Awesome. It just isn’t. It’s just Average.
The talent is there: Sheamus and Cesaro, Kane, Fin Balor, Samoa Joe, even Braun Strowman. Then you have Sasha, Alexa, Bayley, Mickey . . . With that talent alone you could put on Epic Shows weekly. So, why isn’t that happening?
Who really knows? Creative is one issue. It seems like they often have no idea what to do. It seems that these so-called writers have no idea how to actually write. Some angles seem to get dropped as they START! Sure, a lot of people put the blame squarely on Vince, and he may have the last say, but it can’t all be his fault.
There are two big problems I can see being the issue: Three Hours, and No passion.
Three Hours of RAW is a chore to a lot of people it seems. Including people who comment on it, but never finish the show. I watch all three hours of RAW, and I see the problem. It’s not the three hours – it is not using the three hours correctly.
Which I can’t figure out – they can book out a three hour PPV, but not RAW? (This will be the subject of a longer piece coming up.)
No Passion. Yes, there is passion from many of the talent (Heath Slater for one), but not from a creative standpoint. There are often comments and leaks that creative has nothing for a certain performer (for example, Fin Balor). How the hell can that be? I can believe it, I just don’t get it.
Mostly I think it’s the fact that these writers don’t have a passion for what they are writing and don’t know wrestling. This come across very simple and plain – it’s called lazy booking (wrestling parlance). To the rest of the world it’s call poor writing.
RAW may be the Flaghip Show, but now it is time for the Real A Show:
You can almost take everything I wrote about RAW and just go in reverse.
If RAW stand for Really Average Wrestling, then SD LIVE might stand for Super Dynamic LIVE!
Which has more often than not been the case. Smackdown has put on the better shows week in and week out, showcased and used their talent better, and told better stories.
The best feud of the year came from SD Live: The New Day versus the USOs.
WWE.com Match of the year: Cena versus Styles – SD LIVE.
My Personal Match of the Year: Elimination Chamber: New Day versus The Usos – SD Live
RAW has great talent, but seemingly no idea what to do.
Smackdown Live has great talent, but seems to know what to do. They somehow even made the Jinder Mahal angle workable (to a degree).
But even Smackdown has misstepped. There have been bad shows, but odds are that there always will be. The biggest misstep to most people: the handling of Nakamura. But, the Jury is still out on that.
Think about this though: Vince has the final say on SD Live as well. So maybe RAW isn’t ALL on him.
This may sound like I am mirroring a lot of other people’s opinion: RAW BAD, SD LIVE GOOD.
I’m not, but when people are right, they are right.
Ok, now onto PAY-PER-VIEWS!
First, why are we still calling them Pay-Per-Views when they are on the Network? Can you even get then on PPV anymore? Let’s just go with BIG EVENT.
Let’s start with WrestleMania!
Great Video packages to get the crowd pumped, primed and up-to-date, followed by epic confrontations. A simple formula, underused, that led to a great WrestleMania.
Of Course there were other EVENTS.
I won’t go into each one in detail, that would be long and boring. So, I’ll go the short boring route.
Let’s be honest, many of the RAW Brand Events were as average as RAW. Which makes sense since they were built on, and continued, what was happening on RAW.
The same can be said for SD LIVE Brand Events. They were superior to RAW’s since SD LIVE is superior to RAW.
Consensus: RAW BRAND EVENTS BAD, SD LIVE BRAND EVENTS GOOD
Final Thoughts:
Overall the State of the WWE is woefully Average. Not good, not bad, just THERE.
The pieces are all there, it just seems to be a puzzle the people who run the show forget how to put together.
They need to do something fast though, before the WWE does become WALK WITH ELIAS.
It might be useless, but here are my 2017 WWE Awards.
AWARDS
Lowlight of the Year: Enzo Amore
It’s not just one moment, or one match. It’s everything he does, anywhere, anytime. Enzo is defined as Bathroom Break. I fast forward anytime he is on.
Just check out the story on his driver’s license.
Shock of the Year: The Rise of Jinder Mahal
Yep, Jinder. Read my piece from this past Tuesday:
Inspiration of the Year: Alexa Bliss versus Sasha Banks in Dubai
‘THIS IS HOPE.’ Hell Yeah.
Feud of the Year: The New Day versus The Usos
Nothing was better in the Wrestling Industry, period!
PPV Of The Year: WrestleMania
It’s about time the ‘Show of Shows’ delivered THE SHOW.
Male Wrestler of the Year: AJ Styles
Deny it. I dare you.
Tag Team of the Year: The Usos
Deny it. I double dare you.
Female Wrestler of the Year: Alexa Bliss
She may still be green in some way, and have a little developing to do in-ring, but she had the best year of any woman on the roster. She also delivered beyond what many thought her capable. Imagine if she gets better – and she can.
Match of the Year: Elimination Chamber: New Day versus The Usos
Performer (s) of the Year: The Usos
Highlight of the Year: Women’s Royal Rumble Announcement
Yep – there is ‘Hope.’
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