WWE and the Supposed Ball Dropping : Was Monday Night Really That Bad?

Ladies and gentlemen we have hit critical mass! The WWE has once again dropped, demolished and ruined everything it spent months building. We, as a fan base, deserve to let our rage, scorn and disgust be known!

We need to align ourselves and prove to not only the WWE brass, but the world, that we will not stand for such intolerance, lack of patience and story arcs that belittle our intelligence. We need to rise as one and....

...Wait, what are we rebelling against again? I forgot.

Raise your hand if you absolutely hated Raw last Monday night...

Better yet, I'll just add a poll. I'll set the over/under at 66 percent, and happily place good money that well over that amount hated Raw.

But why?

Sure we saw the "walk-out" angle end in the blink of an eye, the uneventful return of WWE owner Vince McMahon, the return of the Awesome Truth, who ruined all their built up badassness (not sure if that's a word or not, but we'll roll with it) by singing and dancing upon their return, and once again the spotlight shines heaviest on Triple-H like it's 2001 all over again.

That actually sounds pretty terrible when laid out like that, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed Raw and the evolving angle that is taking shape. So much so that I was shocked to see the backlash that followed.

I thought I might as well throw my two cents in, because I can't possibly be the only one who didn't hate Raw on Monday....right?

Hello? Bueller?

The Demise of the "Walk-Out"

Listen, I know how excited everyone was for a "Civil War" angle between team WWE (the loyalist good guys) and those who voted "no confidence". A world where scabs would cross sides escalating feuds and the story further, younger stars could shine in the absence of "hold outs", and where Triple- H would hold his ground as COO as he tried to uncover the conspiracy hovering around him.

However, The WWE is playing this just like a real company would handle a situation like this. Every company, when faced with a scandal, lawsuits against CEO's, and strikes due to problems with management, needs a fall guy. A scapegoat if you will. Someone to take the burden of blame. This was the fate of Triple-H.  

If The board of directors let Vince go because he lost control of the Punk situation, then it only makes more sense for the board of directors to let Triple-H go when he loses control of almost everything. 

Is the WWE really suppose to let 90 percent of their talent waste away all for the sake of keeping a COO that only 10 percent want to work for? He had to go. It's how business in the real world works. He'll get to keep a lower job with the company, but the change had to be made for the "company" to run to its fullest capacity.

In my time working in corporate America, I've seen this happen a lot... Can't manage the day to day operations effectively? Don't have the respect of your employees? Have pending legal troubles brought against the company? See ya!

Isn't this what we all pined for? Realism? This is about as real as it gets...

Not that a "Civil War" angle wouldn't have been good for business in the form of fan interest and TV ratings, but the angle itself would have been unrealistic.

This new fold in the "Conspiracy" raises important questions that no one seems to be asking... Who exactly makes up this supposed "Board of Directors"? What is their agenda? Are they part of the Conspiracy?

The Return of Vince McMahon 

How great was the first half hour of Raw! Triple-H cutting a killer promo, the all-good guy team aligning, a shoot-like atmosphere and CM Punk doing commentary while Cena wrestled Sheamus. It was highly entertaining and inventive, but couldn't possibly go on for the whole show. A company can't function like this in reality...It was only a matter of time before the plug got pulled on this charade.

The moment he walked out, it signified the end of Triple-H. We all knew he was coming back eventually, but when we all know he's coming back, anything less then him ascending from the sky in a spaceship harboring newly signed ROH guys that would help team WWE win the "war" would have been unacceptable to us.

Was it uneventful? Well yea, he just kinda popped up and then disappeared, but it showed how much turmoil the WWE establishment was in at the time. It had five workers, no announce team, no stage hands, and couldn't possibly run with Triple-H in control.

Vince coming back to relieve Triple-H of his duties is both ironic and poetic. They're telling a story of the company's power struggle, hidden agendas, conspiracy and betrayals. We should let them tell it.

The walk-out angle was only suppose to signify the "straw that broke the camel's back" for Triple-H and his run as COO.

Johnny Ace As Raw GM 

This is perfect for two reasons:

1. He's the perfect counter point to the Triple-H character. One is beloved and embraced fully by the WWE universe. The other doesn't even have to say a word to draw the biggest heat I've seen anyone get. People hate this man...It's insanely perfect. I know the WWE wants me to despise the underhanded character of John Laurinatis and his power play against Triple-H, but they don't even have to sell me on this. I naturally hate the guy...which is great!

2. We now can dive head first into the conspiracy. With Triple-H no longer limited by his high ranking power, he now has free reign to team with CM Punk and uncover the truth...by any means necessary. This should be fun.

Side Note: Johnny firing Jim Ross was hilarious...I'm sorry, but it was. He had it coming. If you get hired back by a friend, and said friend gets fired after you and others walk out on him, then you deserve to be let go along with him. Loyalty goes along way. Hopefully Jim Ross learned a life lesson in all this. If he really had no idea he was being let go, then that is unfortunate, but it's pro wrestling and it's all fake anyway...So everyone will live.

The Return of The Awesome Truth

This was probably the only thing that I found a little cheap. Not the fact that they returned, but the way they danced around rapping instead of running directly into the ring and getting themselves disqualified. They're still hot property, and will likely headline the main event at Vengeance. However, instead of searching for "The conspiracy" they're probably apart of it...Good plot twist in my opinion.

Would it have been better to hold them out until Vengeance? Yea, I would agree with that, but now we get a Raw episode with Triple-H (a.k.a. the loose cannon) seeking revenge on the returning anarchists.

We have yet to even scratch the surface on the conspiracy angle. The conspiracy is still the main focal point of the company, and will likely run up through Wrestlemania 28. If you don't like where we're going now, then be prepared to hate the ride for at least another six months.

So if the WWE universe wants to revolt, I'm all for a little anarchy, but someone needs to tell me what exactly we're revolting against. I thought Raw was a tremendous step forward.  We saw the end of the Triple-H reign, a turnover of power to the evil Johnny Ace, a growing sense of conspiracy, and return of major characters that should propel the story to new heights.

Perhaps they need to slow down to a "Sopranos-like story telling" instead of the rapid twists and turns of a "24-like" script. I still love it though, and feel we've taken far to many positive steps since May to unload the way the fan base did, but to each his own.

I could be dead wrong on all this positivity though...forget about anarchy within the context of the conspiracy plot. The WWE is about to see anarchy amongst its fan base.