RAW Continues to Attempt to Earn Its Keep...

 A Good Monday to You, Enthusiasts!

 

How is it treating you? Well, I hope. So, there’s not that much circulating around the wrestling world but there’s enough for a brief chat. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

First order of business is Olympic Gold Medalist, Gable Stevenson has been signed to WWE. Already there are comparisons to Kurt Angle but he is making it very clear that he will be “Gable Stevenson”. I don’t know much about the guy so we’ll see what he’s got firsthand. Word is that he may skip NXT but we’ll see if that happens. We all know that real, Greco-Roman wrestling is nothing like the professional kind but he should be able to really lock someone up so, that is exciting. We’ll see if he’ll blend reality with show-wrestling.

 

Then we have word of Samoa Joe vacating the NXT Title due to injury. They haven’t been too forthcoming with what the injury is but it’s significant enough to need to put the title on someone who’s clear to play. Maybe this is cover for something. Maybe Samoa Joe needs some time off or is having some sort of elective surgery. Whenever things are hush-hush in the WWE Universe, I tend not to trust it yet, not everything is “need to know”. The man is allowed some privacy.

  

That’s all I’ve got but before we go into RAW let’s just take a moment to talk about last Friday’s SmackDown at Madison Square Garden. I have not seen a WWE crowd that lit in some time. I mean, it’s been like since I was in high school. It’s been years and years. The display made something very, very clear. WWE is not AEW and it never will be. What WWE provides is the evolution of the gladiator spectacle. Generally, so is all pro-wrestling and to a lesser extent, Professional Sports but I think WWE is the direct descendent. I feel they should lean into that distinction more. If I were them, I would enlist drama scholars and historians to better align this connection. It could give them true social standing maybe even government support. Only this time, it would for legitimate historical value and societal purpose. It’s a place to safely release pent up energies. Rather than go out and cause trouble, you can let it all hang out when the WWE comes to town. That could keep people quiet if we ever have to lockdown again. They would actually be “essential”.

  

But before I fully move on, this is what I mean about WWE being distinctly different from AEW. With Friday’s display, AEW now could become the Hipster alternative for pro-wrestling. It will never match WWE because it’s not trying to attract regular people. They’re after pro-wrestling fans. They’d welcome Joe and Jill Schmoe but they’re not really angling for them. WWE just wants fans. All Joe and Jill Schmoes welcome! That’s why they present it the way they do. They don’t necessarily expect the audience to pay that much attention or care that much but those who come back, need to be catered to as well. That’s why they’re having this restructuring. They can’t expect a fresh clueless crowd every night but they were acting like that’s who was watching. Continuity is important if you want fans to invest. Look to any longstanding TV Show. It’s either setup so that episodes are stand-alones or there’s a compelling story to follow and even in the stand-alone format, the episode is a tight story in of itself. WWE has been forced to think about this because of AEW and I am forever grateful. You’d think they’d aim for stand-alones but that’s actually harder to do than it looks. That works for shows like CSI and NCIS. It’s just another day on the job and you come to know the characters. Since there isn’t a crime scene to canvas, the continuing tale format works better in WWE.

  

And that brings us to tonight’s RAW. There’s no way I’m expecting RAW to compete with a MSG SmackDown. That shit was absolutely bonkers. Had the censors working overtime. But it does appear that RAW is finally taking a look at the suggestion box. Big E has brand hopping clearance with the Money in the Bank contract and is on hand tonight, reuniting The New Day. With Big E on the sidelines probably, they’re going to face AJ Styles and Omos and T-Bar and Mace alongside Mansoor and Ali in an 8-Man-Tag. Charlotte and Shayna Baszler will box for shits and giggles and to close, Randy Orton will have at Bobby Lashley for the title. Word is in Orton’s favor. I’m not sure the match happens but stranger things have transpired. We’ll have to wait and see. Funny tweets and Likes get retweeted. Let’s see what RAW manages to put together. Remember, restructuring…

 

 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)