Let's Review the Fallout with RAW...

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts!

 

So, Extreme Rules came and went and though there were some misses I would say it was mostly a hit. We just tend to focus on the flaws. The flaws arrived in the areas I thought they would for the most part which could be viewed as both a good and bad thing. Good because it forces WWE back to the drawing board to think about it. Bad because WWE has to take a hit before it course corrects itself. I know we’d all would rather them just get it right the first time but these hits and misses prove they don’t really know how to do that.

 

I know a bit disconcerting when it comes to a billion dollar company but it would seem their strengths lie in business not entertainment per se. The same things not working points to WWE having to rethink their Creative Department no matter what. Their content is not landing and where it is landing, they don’t really need Creative so…I’ll just leave that there.

 

Anyway, what I’m getting at is Alexa Bliss and The Demon. I knew these would be questionable spots and they were. In both cases, the match was fine, well executed and competitive. Yet, once they went into the gimmick aspect, that’s when they started to lose us. Thankfully, they didn’t go hocus pocus with Bliss but she did have a minor breakdown when Charlotte tore Lilly apart. We now are getting word that Bliss is taking some time off so, we’ll see if we continue to see this gimmick or if she just reverts back to being Alexa Bliss.

 

What’s also interesting here is that apparently Bray Wyatt dropped a cryptic tweet during Extreme Rules from his WWE account that had a scene from Extreme Rules that had the Wyatt Family facing off against The Usos & Daniel Bryan. Naturally, this has everyone speculating. Is he due to surprise Bryan Danielson at AEW? Will he return to WWE reborn and with a new faction to face & challenge The Bloodline? We won’t know but word is that Wyatt’s non-compete clause is up soon. We’ll see if it matters.

  

The other half-fail was with The Demon as was anticipated but 75% of the match was great. There really wasn’t anything wrong with the match. Roman Reigns and Finn Bálor didn’t disappoint. The match was spirited and competitive so we don’t have to worry about that. What we have to worry about is how to present The Demon. They just don’t want to do it the old-fashioned way. Well, the lukewarm response should change their mind.

 

What WWE doesn’t appear to get is how much the audience wants to believe in and get behind the gimmicks. The Fiend is a good example. People were salivating for it but due to the holes in the concept they only got like the horror flick crowd. The rest of us general citizens didn’t get the point. Nevertheless, Wyatt had the Fun House that seemed to even out the disparity. He broke even essentially.

 

I would say Finn Bálor is accepted but The Demon, not yet. Now, my problem last night is that the presentation was a little hokey. Bálor being “revived” by the “heartbeat” and red lighting is ridiculous. He’s not a cartoon. I would have preferred something like the heartbeat starts slowly, then speeds up until it works up to a sort of crescendo and then a flash of light to darkness and then gone. He “disappears” and we don’t see him for a while and then one day when everyone has found a nice sense of false security, he takes out The Usos backstage, as just Bálor and it’s on. Done fucked up. Bálor goes on a tear through the roster and attempts to pick up allies or “believers” along the way. We don’t see The Demon again for a while like until next year some time or early 2023 but when we do, it’s straight up next level shit. He can play out Lesnar’s last contracted appearance or something. I would have taken a half-assed version of that idea over what they presented. Not that it was awful but they can do so much better. For wanting to get the big payout I don’t know why WWE sells itself short. It needs to start matching up to its own hype. They have the resources. At this point, they’re just being lazy.

 

When I say that, I don’t mean everyone. Last night showed that the roster is putting their back into it and I commend them but they need to start respectfully pushing back as well on the content as well. They shouldn’t have to perform crap and shouldn’t want to. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that some of the WWE Higher Ups can’t tell the difference. It works for them to some degree. Well, these mediocre responses should say a lot about their judgment. They must be easier to please. As I usually say, if it was working, it would be working.

 

In any case, Bálor is not ruined as some would suggest. The strange finish allows for them to double back and head off in another direction. If I were Bálor, I’d push for a rebellion. Seeing how he followed WWE’s lead again and ended up somewhere questionable, that’s grounds for going rogue. I think that would be welcomed by the audience and show that WWE is willing to a tell story and build a character. This is something they need to demonstrate because just to look at the social media responses, they’re losing people’s general interest. My way or the highway only works when the “my way” is actually effective. Once it proves to be just that, someone’s way, people will choose the highway, especially if that person’s way doesn’t go anywhere. WWE doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. That’s how they “lose” to AEW.

 

Nevertheless, I’m not fed up with them yet. I was a few years ago but they’ve been better than that for a while. They have been working on it for the recent years, as much as it may not seem like it but you all forget some of the truly shit shows we sat through about 6-7 years ago. They should be ashamed of a lot of stuff they put on TV. I know they don’t want the bad press. What’s coming out is that they may not know how to turn the tide. That’s why these next couple of years will be very interesting. Though WWE may not know what to do, they have the resources to find people who do and what we’ll be looking for is if they get the help they need to succeed.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if pride and a healthy dose of arrogance may be behind a lot of what we get from the WWE. This is why I stick to the proof in the pudding. No one is singing Extreme Rules’ praises, though there wasn’t really a bad match. I will say that I thought Becky Lynch and Bianca Bel Air would be a meatier one and Sasha Banks seemed to take away from rather than add, especially with Banks no selling the fallout showdown on SmackDown. A lot of it was contrived though well executed. AEW appears to aiming for good, honest wrestling fun. These differences are becoming the determining factors. This is what’s going to force WWE to get back to basics whether they like it or not. What’s more important is that it works, not because they said so.

 

And so, we’ll watch the RAW Fallout to see if WWE is learning any of the lessons. We should be prepared for them to go about it the hard way. Let them, if that’s what gets the message through. In the meantime, we should see Bobby Lashley face Big E for some PPV replay that is customary on the fallout show. Not much else is advertised but expect some rematches. ‘Tis the WWE way. Funny tweets and Likes get retweeted. It’s back to No Man’s Land so I don’t blame you if you find other things to entertain yourself with. I’ll be here just as regularly as they are.

 

 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)