I'm Just Sayin': A Dissenting View of the June 7, 2010 Episode of RAW
The Internet wrestling community has been set on fire with rumors, speculation, adulation, and utter shock thanks to the WWE creative team that slaves tirelessly for fans on each and every Monday night!
Last night’s episode of RAW left fans breathless for two reasons: the closing segment of the show that featured an unwarranted attack on John Cena, referees, announcers, commentators, and the ringside area by the Season One NXT rookies; and the two and a half hour complete clusterfunk of a show that preceded that closing segment.
Several B/R writers have already commented at length on the magnitude of last night’s NXT impromptu raid of RAW, and much like these talented and gifted individuals, I too did not see this coming.
In the current pro wrestling climate, where a given show experiences more misses than hits, it was quite refreshing to view the final moments of last night’s product with my mouth agape.
Although caught off guard, I cannot honestly say that I’m surprised at the company’s direction with RAW and NXT. In my last piece I made the statement that things have picked up for both shows. The conclusion of RAW was simply the follow-through for the company’s re-invigoration of their overall product.
It is for that reason that I personally choose to tip my hat to the WWE and keep it moving.
However, I would like to spend a little time focused on the other reason why the Internet is on fire from last night’s show.
I want to discuss the piss-poor quality of last night’s RAW prior to the NXT angle.
Some will readily admit that the show overall was pretty below average for the company. A fan known as Al M. posted his thoughts on attending the live event in Miami, FL, last night, stating that most folks left the arena before the third hour.
Speaking for myself, I wasn’t all that invested in the show. I spent most of my time during three hour broadcast on a work-related phone call and developing characters for a story that I’m working on. I really wasn’t all that into the show because my attention was elsewhere.
Based on some of the comments I’ve read, it’s a safe assumption that despite the awesome, cliff-hanging ending to RAW , most fans really didn’t care for the show. In simple terms, it was one of those “boring and stale” PG shows that some seem to rant incessantly about.
But wasn’t last night’s episode a viewer’s choice three hour episode of RAW?
Wasn’t the focus on the show based around what the fans wanted to see happen between their favorite superstars?
Didn’t the company give WWE Universe power to book the matches they wanted to see by logging on to WWE.com and voting for match stipulations?
If all of these things are true, and we all agree to an extent that the show was horrible, who do we blame? Was it the WWE’s fault, was it ours, or are we all to blame for that epic display of mediocrity?
As much as we complain about the state of the WWE’s current creative direction, last night’s RAW proved in part why allowing fans to dictate the product is both a gift and a curse.
The WWE showed us that their product truly shines when they listen to their fans while supplying us with the unexpected. While frustrating and disappointing, the campy and dull storylines and feuds were necessary in order to make moments like last night even more poignant and refreshing.
We needed that bad show to make the main event extraordinary. It’s in this delicate balance of responding to the fans by telling them what they want that the WWE product stays on the tips of our tongues.
On one hand, the WWE has successfully taken the disgruntled ramblings of the minority of their overall fanbase and turned it into a gripping storyline that now stretches over three of the company’s four weekly television shows (CM Punk will surely have something to say about his beat down, especially seeing as he had nothing to say to the man that shaved his head last night).
We were tired of seeing John “Super” Cena dominate opponents and skip merrily along as the face of the company and the PG Era, and the NXT rookies took their frustrations out on him and everything the WWE seemingly stands for.
Daniel Bryan’s first promo after being eliminated from NXT accomplished the exact same thing, and even went as far as echoing our thoughts on Michael Cole being a “poor man’s replacement for J.R.”
On the other side of the coin, the WWE gave its fans the opportunity to book a structured show within certain parameters. We were given the chance to vote on match stipulations between a few superstars, and although weren’t given much to work with, we still had the opportunity to make the best out of a bad situation.
We botched miserably, and it didn’t help that certain parts of the show out of our control weren’t all that great to write home to mom about either.
If we really feel deep within our hearts that the show was terrible up until the WWE regained control during the final segment of the show, then a good share of the blame must rest on our heads as well as the broad shoulders of Vince McMahon.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that as fans we shouldn’t be allowed the space or time to vent our frustrations with the product or hypothesize on how a company could be “better” than what it is currently.
In a Barry Horowitz-esque congratulatory fashion, I’ve been one of the more vocal B/R contributors to go on and on about the things a particular company could do to make their product better. I just might be the Joe Montana of armchair quarterbacks.
But when given the opportunity to make a real change, to add our insight as fans and consumers of the product, we managed to fumble the ball more consistently in one night than the WWE has so far throughout the entire PG Era.
I didn’t even bother to vote on any of the matches, so I really can’t comment on how bad the show was if I didn’t do anything to change the situation.
Our inability to collectively agree and decide upon a decent wrestling show gave us all proof positive that our thoughts and opinions are too varied to provide a quality show. That’s not a bad thing entirely ; it’s just a reminder that there’s more to booking a pro wrestling show than meets the eye.
Let’s look at two of our inconsistencies as fans:
Fans Choose: Tag Team Match Challengers for The Hart Dynasty
At one point in time, we have all complained at how the WWE has effectively killed off its Tag Team Division. Fans have been very vocal with their displeasure of the random pairing of superstars to form these ad hoc teams that have no history or real chemistry with each other.
Fans even complained about this when the ad hoc teams actually worked well together (Jeri-Show, Show-Miz, Miz and Morrison, Truth and Morrison, just to name a few).
Nevertheless, fans yearned for the glory days of Tag Team wrestling, where the partners were introduced as a unit and not as two singles stars that couldn’t get a pin fall even if they worked at a bowling alley.
With that in mind, we were asked to choose between three possible tag teams for The Hart Dynasty. Two of these tag teams were The Usos and The Dudebusters, two groups that have been established as units and not ad hoc singles superstar pairings.
Who did fans choose to face the reigning Unified Tag Team Champions?
We chose The Great Khali and Hornswoggle.
To make the situation even worse, the most established tag team out of the three choices, The Dudebusters, received the least of the fans votes with 10 percent.
Apparently, we would rather see two of IWC’s least favorite WWE superstars tag together to face the Unified Tag Champions than put up with an entertaining match between two solid heel tag team units.
Fans Choose: Match Stipulation for Santino Marella versus Vladimir Kozlov
Some fans have complained at times that the WWE spends way more time on silly segments than they do actual wrestling. After all, we tune in each night to be entertained through these athletic contests and not sing-along sketches and backstage skits.
Fans were then given the opportunity to choose the stipulation for a meeting between Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov. We were given the choices of (a) an arm wrestling match, (b) an actual wrestling match, and (c) a dance-off.
The fans chose the dance-off with 84 percent of the vote.
You can’t blame anyone else but the fans on those two bombs.
I must give the benefit of doubt; the WWE didn’t give fans much to work with as far as these match stipulations were concerned, and at times they did little things to nudge fans to make a particular decision over another.
For example: Kane confronted Sheamus in the back about the whole Undertaker thing. Moments later, we’re told that Sheamus had a match where fans could choose his opponent. Our choices were: Evan Bourne, Mark Henry, and Kane.
The fans' eventual choice on that one was Kane, which was about as obvious as a wet fart in an empty room.
**Side note: While I’m on the subject of “wet farts,” was anyone else as displeased as I was with TNA for the angle they pulled a few weeks ago where Sting attacked RVD from the crowd while wearing a Sting mask? He LITERALLY pulled off his mask to reveal his painted face, and Taz and Tenay had to pretend they were surprised that it turned out to be Sting. That was terrible , even by TNA's standards.
Sorry, I just had to get that out. I digress.**
The A-Team segments failed as well. The crowd was just not into their presence, and the skits were only saved by the appearances of WWE Hall of Famers “Mean” Gene Okerlund, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and Dusty Rhodes.
Edge versus Randy Orton didn't meet expectations either, as the WWE proudly paraded two injured superstars around the ring and handicapped the match (no pun intended) by adding the one-arm-behind-the-back stipulation.
Since his return, Edge hasn't performed as well as he did before his injury. I personally wonder if he returned from his injury too soon, which would definitely have an effect on what he’s able to do in the ring.
The situation wasn’t helped with the fact that Orton is still rehabbing from his shoulder injury, and may require some sort of surgery or time off. Edge and Orton turned out to be little more than a younger version of Hulk Hogan versus Ric Flair, circa 2009.
It’s one thing to put a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest, but it’s something else very sadistic to pit two one-legged men against each other in the same contest. To quote James Coburn from the popular movie Payback , “That’s just mean, man!”
At the end of the night, show was saved by the eight NXT rookies who decimated the ringside area and introduced an InVasion -like element of chaos into RAW ’s humdrum routine. It worked because it piqued our interest in next week’s show as well as tonight’s episode NXT.
The segment worked because the WWE gave its fans exactly what we wanted: something we didn’t expect or ask for.
It’s at that point we can begin to learn how to appreciate any wrestling promotion and the work they put in for our entertainment. Our opinions on the state of the WWE’s product are vastly different, and we express those views through ticket sales, Blogs, Internet articles, and by purchasing merchandise from retailers around the world.
We can stand to learn from yesterday that a great majority of people look to the WWE to be entertained, and that the ways in which that entertainment is given to us depends on what the majority of fans say they want. If anything, I feel bad for the estimated 16,660 fans gathered last night in the American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL.
Unless all of those fans had Internet access from their phones, they were subject to the whims and moods of the four million people watching the show at home who were able to easily access the Internet to vote on the match stipulations.
And if we look at the situation from that perspective, we can grow to have a deeper appreciation for the product instead of remaining wedded to the glory days of pro wrestling we choose to remember.
If we have a deeper appreciation for the product now, it makes moments like last night seem that much better. Maybe this PG Era was necessary to make the introduction of an “edgier” product more significant, just like Daniel Bryan’s burial was necessary to make him appear more deadly once his “turn” came.
Think about it for a second; did you really believe that we would never see the booted NXT rookies ever again? They were “booted” from the competition, but not one of them received the future endeavored treatment.
But if that happened the WWE would have tacitly admitted that the rookies already had contracts, which negate the competition where the rookies were fighting to live their dreams of becoming a WWE superstar.
Theoretically, the show is a bust because they’re already WWE superstars by virtue of being on NXT , a WWE television show.
But with Wade Barrett winning the competition, fans had written off all the other competitors even though they still appeared on WWE television every week. We were all expecting Barrett to headline an upcoming pay per view, to make an impact on the main roster of superstars.
Instead, we were given the last segment of RAW last night, which elevated all eight of the men of the next generation of WWE superstars, instead of just Wade Barrett.
How significant would that segment have been if RAW was running on all cylinders last night? How significant would the segment have been if NXT was everything it pretended to be?
The horrendously numbing ebb and flow of RAW was necessary to elevate the stars of the first season of NXT , which will make way for compelling storylines and action that we’ve all been starving for since the beginning of the PG Era and the beginning (and end) of the “New Monday Night Wars.”
If you look at it like that, can you really say last night’s episode was all that bad?
Suggested Reading:
1. “The Professor’s Journal : What Happened to the Wrestling in the WWE” by Mike AKA The Professor.
2. “NXT Rookies Put the Entertainment in WWE” by John Kindelan
3. “This Here Is What We Call Domination : NXT Rookies Go Wild On WWE RAW!” by Joe Burgett
4. “Spitting in Cena's Face : Is That Supposed to Be Funny or Entertaining?” by Kingly One
