Let RAW Quench Your Thirst, Like a Cold Beer...

Greetings Enthusiasts!

Well, there certainly has been some big news recently, hasn’t there.   Leading it all off is the news that Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff have been given the reins to RAW and SmackDown respectively.  Now, most lament that as along as Mr. Chairman, Vince McMahon is still running things, they’ll always be subject to his last minute revisions but that’s where I tend to go on a limb of faith.  Did you ever think that those rumors are just those, rumors?  Not to defend the WWE or anything my point is that we don’t know what exactly goes on.  After watching that limited series, Dark Side of the Ring, I got some insight into the Wrestling Business I never had before and from the sound of it, Vince McMahon created the heel version of himself off the aftermath of the Montreal Screwjob.  And who knows, that whole thing could have been straight Kayfabe to do so.  Who definitively knows?  So, can we really take sentiments like that seriously?  Could it possibly be that the rumor of Vince McMahon having the final say, and revising everything last minute is more Kayfabe?  I’m just conjecturing here but having listened to those in the business, I feel we have to take a lot of the “news” we get about how the WWE is run with a small mound of salt.  I still stand by that all we can say for sure is that we have no idea how these shows, this company are run.  If I’m chairman of a company, I’m going to have final say too but my point overall is that I feel Vince McMahon is a businessman above all else.  To be so narcissistic to the point of losing money and fans would be ridiculous.  I’m sure they see the numbers and changes like this are in honest response.  But if the content doesn’t improve, well then maybe everyone is speaking truth.  I’ll eat my words then.

The other bit of news is the free show AEW offered this past Saturday, Fyter Fest.  It wasn’t bad but it’s clear that AEW and the WWE don’t really have to worry about each other at present.  AEW’s fare is quite different from WWE’s and caters more to the Indie fan in general.  The WWE is its own mainstream interpretation of a cult form of entertainment.  If you don’t care for the blue collar, Indie style, you’ll prefer the WWE and if you think the WWE doesn’t “keep it real enough”, then AEW is probably for you.  I’ll check AEW out from time to time, like I do with New Japan and Ring of Honor just to see how other companies do it but for the most part, I feel more comfortable with the WWE.  AEW is definitely gritty and is PG-13 at best. I don’t mind if the WWE gets a little more adult but the real difference I saw may make it hard for AEW to get a real footing in the long run.  As I’ve said, the key to pro-wrestling is to admit its Cult status.   That being said, AEW keeps more to the indie side of things by doing Hardcore matches and going for the blood.  As our society progresses, this may run in direct opposition to the general push for civility.  The WWE has to watch it themselves with kids watching.  People in general have to be more mindful of their fellow man.  So, AEW will probably find themselves having to validate the gore.  Cody Rhodes, for instance, took a gnarly chair-shot that cut the back of his head open and though I saw this get praise on social media, it won’t be long before someone questions why someone is so directly risking their health for our amusement.  I know people love this aspect of the genre but it does prompt questions of civility.  Jon Moxley seems to have left the WWE so that he can return to these Hardcore roots (use of barbed wire, tacks and the like) but if social sensibility advances as it has been, don’t be surprised if Mr. Moxley has to reconsider resurrecting Dean Ambrose.  I’d welcome it happily if done right.

In any case, tonight we’ll see how the changes will start to take shape for RAW.  It looks like they’re trying to do something with Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman to give them a chance.  Tonight’s attempt, a Falls Count Anywhere match.  Maybe they can Hoss it out.  The New Day are also going to jump the brand fence and face off against the Viking Raiders.  And it looks like Nikki Cross will be offered a Moment of Bliss.  Now, I know everyone’s keeping eyes on how they develop Cross and all I ask is that she be kept “crazy”.  I see that they’re trying to show that she can speak in full sentences but that’s not what I’m worried about.  If you’ve ever seen the cartoon version of The Tick, there’s a character called the Midnight Bomber.  He’s great!  He speaks to himself as if someone's there listening to him but makes attempts to interact normally...which usually deteriorates to him yelling "I'm the Midnight Bomber, what bombs at midnight!..."   The character is out of his mind and this is more or less how I see Nikki Cross developing.  She can be trying to keep it together in real world but come ring time, all bets are off and the Crazy spills out.  It may even happen in the promos too depending on what's going on.  As long as some semblance of that is kept, I won’t get too upset with what they do with her.  I suppose the key will be if she’s happy or not.   So there it is, Enthusiasts.  Funny tweets get retweeted and as for Likes/Favorites, well, let us continue to prompt them to strive for excellence.  If AEW is really the Dallas then by all means, the WWE should be trying to develop as Dynasty would.  Let’s see what they consider “class”.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)