RAW Brings the WWE Draft to a Close...

 A Good Monday to You, Enthusiasts.

 

How is it going? This has been one of the smoother Mondays I’ve had in some time. I pray it remains uneventful. As for the We, we have the last half of the WWE Draft to witness. There are some other rumblings but with us being in No Man’s Land for the WWE Universe, not much caught my interest. This should be another short post.

 

What did catch my eye were the ratings for AEW’s Rampage. They made it to about 622,000 viewers. It’s the lowest tally so far but still leading for their target audience so, not all bad. I think it’s too early to gauge whether this actually means anything yet. Since I’m a WWE Fan, I don’t really see the need to watch AEW but I have been circling back to matches that get a lot of good press on Twitter. That’s the sort of thing that interests me. How many people are just catching the highlights or just watch specific matches. I find my interest isn’t held when I watch Dynamite but I do appreciate a good match and don’t mind watching those as stand-alones. I don’t know if that will change but I am trying to be fair. You don’t have to tell me WWE has plenty to be desired but I appreciate the lack of pretention.

 

That’s the one thing about this sea change. So many WWE detractors detail flaws that most WWE fans don’t recognize, like booking. Booking is a contentious issue and I don’t think I know what good booking looks like. Detractors would say that I wouldn’t, given what I’m watching. But I don’t exactly see the difference when I watch other promotions. I check in on ROH and Impact too just for reference. I’ve watched an AEW show from start to finish and I would presume they’re better “booked” but it does not affect my enjoyment of the product. For me, it’s either a good match or it isn’t. I honestly don’t care where they take it. As long as the action is good, I’ll watch it. So, for fans like me the concept of booking is lost on us. A wrestler either can put on a good match or they’re boring. I don’t see the point in gaining more clarity than that.

 

So, when WWE detractors go on their diatribes in that sort of vein right there, they lost me. That’s why I view AEW fans like hipster wrestling fans. They only want the most “indy” of fare. The bloated, flashy hollow offerings of the WWE are a vapid waste of time and talent in their minds. I know why I like WWE. I need the release. It’s not about the wrestling as much as it’s about not smacking someone with a chair. In the WWE Universe these less than savory inclinations can be properly channeled. It keeps me sane in ways that I feel keep me out of jail. If I have to contemplate the strength of booking or the properly plotted route to a title I’m going to end up punching someone in the face. Just give me good wrestling action. I don’t care if everyone wears the title at least once. If they’ve been working for years they probably deserve it. Fuck if I care. Fight! What most true blue wrestling fans look for, I could care less about. To me it’s simple. A wrestler can either perform or needs to learn how to. It’s as simple as that.

 

Anyway, in other news, there are still rumors of Bray Wyatt and/or Braun Strowman going to Impact. What’s going around now is that Impact is making strong plays for them. I don’t blame ‘em. We all know they want more street-cred and they actually aren’t that bad of a promotion it’s just, it’s like going to Grocery Outlet or some other “discount” grocery store as opposed to going to the Ralphs/Kroger or Hannaford for the East Coasters. I don’t need my wrasslin’ fix so bad that I’ll settle for it.

 

This is an aspect of the Wrestling Industry that many have to accept. It’s cult no matter how you slice it. So, that means you have to have a particular interest to get more involved. I admit I scratch the surface but my motivations are different. They’re more a matter of mental health than it is for the purity of professional wrestling. So, I don’t see the need to get more involved. If it’s your thing, by all means partake. Get as far into it as you can but I will not be following you. I’ll take WWE’s version of a Venti Carmel Mocha Frappuccino.

 

My viewpoint tends to be a common one in the Wrestling Industry so, if I’m Wyatt or Strowman I’m wondering if I really need the gig. Impact probably has more traditional wrestling fans, long since fed up with WWE. And on top of that, Wyatt and Strowman weren’t the best wrestlers. Wyatt can put on a good show and Strowman is a spectacle but if a viewer is looking for wrestling prowess, they may be disappointed. I don’t know what’s next for them, but I’m not sure Impact makes the best use of them.

 

All right, that’s all I got for now. I’m getting some spoilers from RAW and so far nothing too surprising. We’ll be seeing that they actually make good use of the changes. There’s been a lot of talk of both FOX and NBC not being the most thrilled with WWE right now. Many of us would say what took them so long. It’s not like they had great stuff 5 years ago. But they were the only wrestling show in town worth having. Now, that’s changing and the crap that passed 5 years ago is finally getting called out for being crap. Let’s just be glad that the time has finally come. If it hadn’t, we’d still be asking ourselves why we torture ourselves twice a week. Funny tweets and Likes get retweeted. It’s No Man’s Land so, we’ll see how they make it interesting. Keep your expectations nice and low.

 

 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)