Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Formulaic Opening Promos Hurting WWE Raw, SmackDown

1. Routine Rules on Raw and SmackDown

If you miss the first 15 to 20 minutes of any given WWE Raw, you can basically guess what happened.

A wrestler walked into the ring and talked trash about his or her rival. Another wrestler interrupted. They bickered, which led to an authority figure making a match between them for later in the night.  

Sometimes it's three wrestlers involved. Sometimes it's an authority figure and a wrestler. There are tweaks in the formula, but it is a tired formula nonetheless. 

Even when Raw didn't have its general manager or commissioner in the building on Monday and Dean Ambrose and The Miz took over, Raw's opening moments reverted to the same pattern. Only this time, the matchmaking orders were transmitted over the phone.

It sometimes feels as if the WWE writing team has a template it pulls out each week and just inserts new names into it.

There's no reason Raw can't kick off with a Cruiserweight Championship match. SmackDown could open with Kevin Owens issuing an open challenge. Perhaps one of the brand's GMs begins the show by announcing a tournament will begin that very night or that they're considering trimming the roster down so they will be watching the result of each bout closely.

Why not veer off the script once in a while?

Why not give the audience something unexpected? Why go the lazy route and trot out the same cookie-cutter opening each week?

Brandon Howard of Fightful tried to put a positive spin on the predictable nature of the introductory promo: 

It remains a trope, though, that often diminishes the show's energy right away. On a regular basis, Raw finds itself having to play catch up in terms of momentum after the first 15 minutes.

The normally raucous London crowd began Monday night subdued as it watched Ambrose, The Miz and later Kalisto and Braun Strowman interact. You can't blame them. They had seen a version of this scene several times over.

Going this route so often is a mistake. 

Raw and SmackDown are at their best when it feels as if anything may happen, that when one tunes in, all manner of chaos and creativity will unfold. That's not the case right now, at least in the beginning of the show.

Both the red and blue brands are guilty of breeding monotony in its opening moments.

2. Being a Zayn Fan Requires Patience 

Sami Zayn may eventually be a contender and a champion, a headliner and a warrior who experiences winning streaks, but not now.

The move to SmackDown during the Superstar Shake-up hasn't changed his fortunes thus far. Per CageMatch.net, Zayn has lost all four of his matches on the blue brand.

Credit: WWE.com

He's 7-13 in 2017 and has gone 1-9 at pay-per-views.

WWE certainly hasn't gone with the Goldberg approach with The Underdog from the Underground. He has, however, been in a number of title matches and often faces big names, from AJ Styles to Chris Jericho. His time in the sun may come, but he will clearly have to do some major waiting before that.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Kevin Owens

The United States champion recently reached quite the milestone. Owens tweeted that it's been 17 years since his wrestling debut.

While this clip of him (then as Kevin Steen) battling Pierre Carl Ouellet and El Generico (now Sami Zayn) at International Wrestling Syndicate's Blood, Sweat & Beers in 2003 doesn't go that far back, it's still crazy to see how much he's changed:

Owens looked like a kid in that bout. He's filled out a lot more, honed his craft a ton and gone from young gun with potential to one of WWE's top talents.

One thing that remains the same, though, is that even back then, he was fighting Zayn. Their career paths have overlapped a thousand times over it seems.

4. A Blue-Chipper on the Way

Kairi Hojo said her goodbyes at the Stardom promotion. The hard-hitting, howling warrior is now reportedly bound for WWE.

PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson noted: "Hojo is expected to report to Orlando, Florida, for the WWE Performance Center and NXT shortly."

The Yamaguchi, Japan, native is a striker extraordinaire. She's intense, athletic and compelling. And her elbow drop is a work of art.

She's going to be a major boost for the NXT brand and eventually a major player in either Raw or SmackDown's women's division. Wrestling Observer Newsletter founder Dave Meltzer called her "one of [the] best wrestlers in [the] world, male or female."

WWE fans will soon find that out for themselves.

5. Wrong Alexa

Raw women's champion Alexa Bliss is causing technological havoc for fans.

The mention of her name on WWE TV apparently triggers Amazon Echo's voice-activated features. Announcer Cathy Kelly shared stories from fans about how their device reacts to their viewing of Raw:

Amazon should consider renaming the Echo's A.I.; Bliss is not going to move from the spotlight anytime soon and her name is going to be uttered on Monday nights for a long time. Perhaps going with Bo Dallas is the better option.

6. The Brahma Bull in the White House?

Could The Rock go from WWE champion to Hollywood leading man to president of the United States?

in a 2016 interview with Alyssa Rosenberg of the Washington Post, The Rock said: "I can't deny that the thought of being governor, the thought of being president, is alluring. And beyond that, it would be an opportunity to make a real impact on people's lives on a global scale."

The topic came up again in a recent feature in GQ by Caity Weaver. In the story, The Great One said of potentially running for office, "I think that it's a real possibility."

Don't laugh off the idea just yet. The 2016 election proved that nothing is impossible in politics. 

If The Rock were to become the Officer in Chief, he would be the second person to take a Stone Cold Stunner from Steve Austin to do so.

7. The King of the Cruiserweights' Reign

Since January, Neville has sat atop the cruiserweight division.

Per WWE.com, Neville is the longest reigning titleholder in the belt's short history. His run as cruiserweight champion is at the 100-day mark and counting. That's a longer stretch with the gold than Rich Swann and Brian Kendrick had combined. In about a month, you'll be able to add TJ Perkins (now TJP) to that sentence, too.

He has a long way to go to catch Gregory Helms' 385-day record reign with the defunct version of the title, but it's not hard to imagine The King of the Cruiserweights continuing to keep tight to his prize well into 2018. 

8. London's Finest

Neither Monday's Raw nor Tuesday's SmackDown offered a great set of matches, but London has seen some thrillers from up close in the past.

To relive or discover some of the best WWE action the city has ever hosted, start with these clips and highlights, then go seek out the full versions:

• Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog: SummerSlam 1992
• John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels: Raw, April 23, 2007
• John Cena vs. Chris Jericho: Raw, April 20, 2009
• The Shield vs. Undertaker, Team Hell No: Raw, April 22, 2013
• Asuka vs. Emma: NXT TakeOver: London

That clash with Asuka is a reminder that WWE should be using Emma a lot more. Wherever Raw travels from this point on, the Australian heel needs to be given high-profile opportunities like she had against Asuka.

9. A Touch of Direction Goes a Long Way

The Golden Truth had been a non-factor for months. 

It took only two short backstage segment and a few minutes in the ring to give them some much-needed spark. R-Truth and Goldust asked Raw GM Kurt Angle for a title shot but were told their win-loss record wasn't good enough.

Angle offered them a spot in a Tag Team Turmoil match, which would decide the No. 1 contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championship.

The Golden Truth failed to win, but the pair of midcarders was suddenly more interesting thanks to this development. Before the bout, Goldust tried to motivate his tag partner. He talked of feeling left behind, of failure, of a desire to win gold.

And with that, the audience has reason to invest in them. When they scored near-falls in the Tag Team Turmoil match, it was easy to get hooked.

This all turned out to be a lesson in the power from a bit of character development and motivation. WWE needs to walk a similar path with the likes of Curtis Axel and Sin Cara.

10. Woods Chimes In

Jared Followill of the band Kings of Leon found out quickly how vocal and passionate wrestling fans can be after he insulted them in a cavalier tweet.

Followill questioned why anyone would watch what goes down in the squared circle after childhood. A flood of angry GIFs, memes and responses followed. 

The New Day's Xavier Woods had one of the best responses:

Woods came at the bassist with tact, class and a touch of humor. He wins that day as a result. Although, WWE Creative member Dewey Foley's wordless comeback is a close second.