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Sunday, November 27, 2016

The current state of WWE Monday night Raw

I've been a fan of professional wrestling all of my life.  I started watching around the 2000's since I'm not that old, I wasn't old enough to remember when the likes of stone cold and the rock were in their prime.  It's no surprise that over the years the WWE has changed drastically, to much criticism I might add.  It all started with the transition from the attitude era to the ruthless aggression era, to the PG13era.  In my personal opinion the current WWE product does do some things better than previous era's did, but not everything.  Lets get into the current state of Monday night Raw.
          Monday night raw, easily in my opinion, the weaker of the Two main shows.  I say this because:  it's a three hour show and that is a lot of time to spend watching one show.  They have so much more talent than smackdown, yet they constantly push the same established stars instead of building new talent (excluding Braun strowman), and the amount of times they try to repeat the same matches over and over is almost offensive.  I'm so tired of seeing Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens fight, that I would rather watch a match between Rosa Mendes and Summer Rae.  I want to discuss each division so lets start with the tag team division.
          First you have the champions the new day.  A lot of people are starting to diss them because of their somewhat childish antics mixed in with some adult humor.  The reason I think they are starting to get some hate is because everybody knows they are probably going to break demolitions record, and to us as fans, we don't like that.  We don't like knowing what is going to happen, we want to be kept guessing and not knowing if they are going to break it or not, but at this rate, it's almost a guarantee they will.  Another issue is that they lose almost every non title match they have, but somehow pull out a win for the title matches, even though its usually by DQ or cheating of some way.  That's another issue, their are supposed to be faces, but then cheat to win.  How does that really make sense?  The new day is definitely the more charismatic team on the roster, but they need a character change soon.
          Can we just admit that the club is almost dead in the water at this point?  I can't honestly say I have seen them as a major threat to the tag titles at all, even when they are destroying people.  I just feel like too much damage has been done to them and they really need to change something if they are going to rise from the dead and actually dethrone the new day once they break the record.
          So, easily in my eyes the worst tag team on the roster, actually it's a tie between two teams.  The shining stars, and the golden truth.  Honestly why is the Golden truth still here?  They are in almost no way entertaining, except to the younger crowd maybe.  But if I never see the golden truth and the shining stars wrestle another match together, I would be okay.  Once again it is simply WWE trying to put over a gimmick that is so childish and silly, that it was dead in the water before it left creative.  Same goes for the Shining stars.  Instead of building credible teams to challenge for the titles, they give the teams stupid gimmicks like selling real estate.  Really?  Come on, who honestly thought that that was going to be a winning gimmick?  No one.  In a way you have to wonder why primo and epico keep getting treated so badly with all their gimmick changes over the past few years.  Lately they have been getting a crowd reaction in the form of boos, but I can't honestly say I see them as champions during this run.
          Cesaro and Sheamus are a very interesting duo.  They are very entertaining in the ring and their promos are great as well.  The whole rivals in a tag team thing has always been something I enjoyed and it's refreshing to see a face and a heel having to work together.  Not to mention that that facebook live thing a couple of weeks ago was gold in my eyes.  If the club doesn't dethrone the new day as tag champs, I certainly see cesaro and sheamus doing so once the new day breaks the record.  As long as they keep this team fresh and they don't turn make them start doing stupid promos and things of that nature, they could be long term tag champs.  Another point I would like to make, is that it's kind of sad that two people who were forced in a tag team, are more over than established tag teams that were made for tag team wrestling. 
          Finally you have the most over tag team in recent memory, Enzo and Cass.  Why hasn't the WWE given these guys a tag team title run yet?  Has Vince heard the crowd reaction for these guys every single time they come out?  The rumor is that they are saving their title victory for wrestlemania (can you imagine the pop), but these guys are well deserving of a tag team title run.  The only problem though with this tag team that I see is that once they inevitably break up, what are they going to do?  I can't see Enzo becoming a serious singles competitor.  Big Cass has the potential to be a singles competitor, but lacks some skill on the mic in my opinion.  Hopefully they don't break this duo up because I feel like that would be a nail in the coffin of their careers.
          Now let's move on to the woman's division.  I will not be talking about Alicia fox, or Summer Rae because their careers are basically dead in the water, though Alicia fox could be something interesting with crazy woman gimmick. 
          First let's talk about, probably the best heel on the Raw roster, Charlotte Flair.  She has been the best female heel in the past decade easily.  She looks like a heel, she acts like one, she talks like one, and she has the in ring talent to back up everything she says.  I would like to see her do a few more underhand tactics every now and then to kind of pay tribute to the fact that she is a Flair, but it is good to distinguish her from her father.  The PPV winning streak is also a good thing, though I feel like it kind of puts a blemish on her matches since you can almost guarantee she will win unless it's against someone like Bayley or Sasha.
          Speaking of Bayley.  I honestly can't see her doing extremely well on the roster, I know she is over as hell with the crowd, but her gimmick Is aimed straight at children, and children aren't the ones buying the tickets and merch.  I have never been a fan of the whole baby face thing were their main monucure is:  oh I'm so happy to be here, and i'm going to do my best to win and make everyone happy.  Can we just picture a Bayley heel turn?  Things like that are what WWE is missing these days.  Suprising turns.  If bayley would turn heel, think about the hate she would get by making all the kids cry in the crowd instead of making them happy.
          Moving on to Sasha.  I do like Sasha just because her Boss gimmick is quite interesting.  Her promos sound scripted as hell but she does try.  That's something else WWE needs to get rid of, scripted promos.  She is a very good athlete but I can go another year without seeing her and Charlotte go at it again.  She bumps like Dolph Ziggler, which makes her more believable.  Her song is amazing as well.  I just hope that her feud with Nia Jax goes well, either way, whoever loses this feud is going to take a hit in credibility. 
          Nia Jax.  She looks like a threat.  She had countless squash matches to build her as a monster.  Could possibly be a contender for the title later.  Could do with some promos every now and then.  Tapped out at survivor series.  TAPPED OUT.  Yea, that's a good way to build a monster.  Horrible decision WWE.
          Dana Brooke= Botch Queen
          WWE are in desperate need for some more female talent.
          Now lets move on to the mid carders of Raw.  First off is Sami Zayn.  Once again like bayley, i'm not a big fan of him.  I didn't really watch much of his indy stuff so I just have his WWE career to go off of.  He was a big draw in NXT, but now he's kind of fallen from grace.  Once again it's the same thing as Bayley.  typical Baby face, though I do like him stepping up to Braun, I feel like that gave Sami more character.  But as for now, Sami is just not clicking for me.
          Speaking of the mountain of a man.  I honestly think Braun can be serious player in the future.  As of now I can see him going after the US title, but once Roman drops it because they WILL NOT let Braun go over Roman.  He is a good monster heel and he's starting to get a little better on his promos.  WWE showed they still know how to build a monster.  Once he starts racking up some wins against established names, I think he really will start becoming a serious talent on the roster.
          What happened to Rusev?  The man was on a killing streak and was the best US champ in a long time.  He has such potentinal and the WWE are slowly killing his popularity each day.  They could have easily made him a babyface during his feud with Roman, since he basically was the babyface of that feud.  They could've made him a face, drop the belt to Roman, and push him into the main event picture.  Rusev as a baby face, or at least a tweener, going against Kevin owens for the title, I could see serious potential there.  But no, instead they stick him dumb backstage segments with naked Enzo and absolutely kill all the momentum he had.
          Next up are the main eventers.  First off is Chris Jericho, the most over guy in the company.  The man got a list over the Universal title... That title is absolutely worthless at this point by the way.  I know everyone is waiting for the KO vs Jericho feud, can you imagine the pop Jericho would get once he turns on KO.  The man has been in the business for so many years now and he's still putting on great matches with anyone who steps in the ring with him.  He's easily one of the best Wrestlers alive, and is definetly going into the hall of fame once he retires.  But I think putting the Universal title on Jericho would be a smart move.  Having the title on such a big name would make it feel much more special.  I know this universal title is supposed to be giving the news guy opportunity, but they just don't have the star power to get a belt over.  Giving the title to someone like Jericho, and then having him drop it to a newer talent, would not only raise the belt's prestige, but make a new star in the process.
          Kevin Owens' run as champion, was not what most people expected it to be.  While yes he is a very good heel, I just feel like he's missing something.  I like the best friends thing with Jericho, but I feel like Jericho is out shining him, and kind of taking away his credibility.  If were all being honest, KO is playing side kick to Jericho at the moment, when it should be the other way around.  Don't get me wrong, the man puts on great matches and tells amazing stories every time he's in the ring.  I just think that even though I love the current angle he's in, he would probably benefit a lot if him and Jericho were to split up.
          Seth Rollins is easily, one of the most talented athletes in all of the WWE.  The man is a spectacle to watch and is always putting on great matches.  His promos are great, he's one of the only people on the roster that can say something and make me think it was him saying that and not the script.  Right now he's kind of floating around, not doing much, but with WWE teasing a shield reunion, at least part of it, I think that could be something worth going for.  Having seth and roman in the shield once again could really give more storyline opportunities and help Roman start getting cheered instead of booed.  As of now though, he is easily the top guy on the Raw roster in my opinion.
          Finally, lets talk about Roman reigns.  If they do go through with the Roman vs KO match at roadblock, Kevin better win because if he doesn't, their will be riots.  Roman is still feeling the hate as made clear by the crowd reaction to him, so putting the title on him now would be a HUGE mistake.  It would just be a repeat of wrestlemania 32 and what followed.  He is, okay in the ring but by no means the best.  His promos are garbage honestly.  I hate the tough guy thing, it just makes me laugh in a way because its so cheesy.  Roman needs to take a play from the Uso's book.  They were boring faces, now their pretty interesting heels.  And if he would hold the belt right instead of over his shoulder like he's lugging around a bag of shit, maybe he would get more respect.
          So that's all for the state of Monday Night Raw.  There were a few people I didn't mention just because I didn't think they were that important.  The cruiserweights included because Brian is the only one with an actual character at this point.  The whole division should've been moved to Smack down honestly. 
          Overall,  the woman's division could use some more talent,  the tag teams as well.  I would like to see some more match variety amongst the single male wrestlers as well.  Raw really needs to push more superstars and get some more talent over, because eventually, people are going to start getting really bored of the same matches every Raw and PPV.
          That's it for the first real blog, I hope you all enjoyed it.  Feel free to leave a comment and your opinion as well.  If you liked this blog please share it and add me on google plus.  Thank you all, and have a nice day.

Saturday, November 26, 2016

An Introduction

Hey everybody, My name is Adam.  This is the first time I ever attempt the whole blogging thing so, I hope that you are all patient with me while I learn how this works; all suggestions and feedback is appreciated as well.  Basically to give you guys a quick run down of myself:  I'm a college student at the moment, majoring in criminal justice.  Some of my hobbies include exercising, writing (hence the reason for the blog), playing video game (not obsessively), and listening to music.  Now the reason I wanted to start a blog was because I wanted to share my opinions on certain things with the world.  I love doing certain activities and getting to talk about it and have people listen and care about what you say is something I feel a lot of people enjoy.  So basically with this blog I plan on reviewing certain things and discussing them with you, the readers, as well as telling some stories that I think people would find interesting.  The reviews I plan on doing are of new music albums that come out, video game reviews etc.  I'm also a big fan of wrestling (yes the modern product).  I mostly watch WWE and that's all.  I used to be into impact wrestling but then all that legal stuff happened and I haven't watched since.  I plan on reviewing raw, smackdown, nxt and the PPV's, and giving my thoughts on what happens.  As far as music goes I enjoy rock, metal, rap, hip hop, and acoustic music so I will be reviewing new albums in those genres.  For gaming reviews I plan on reviewing new games that were recently released, as well some older games that may not have gotten the attention they deserved.  And finally for the story blogs, they'll mostly consist of personal life stories that I feel affected me in some way, some probably having an overall lesson in them.  So that's it for the intro, I hope you will all give me a chance with this new journey I'm starting. I wanted to cover a lot of topics in order to reach more people, that way if you don't like wrestling, you can read the album reviews and so forth.  Like I said any and all feedback is appreciated and I hope to get some tips from you guys along the way.  Thank you all and have a nice day!