RAW Plays with Pacing Ahead of Elimination Chamber...

Happy  Monday, Enthusiasts.

How’s it going for you? I’ve definitely had worse ones so you’ll hear no complaints from me. As for this Monday, there is talk going around but not much of it grabs me. Doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to talk about. Let’s have a little chat, shall we?

So, SmackDown ended in a most dramatic fashion that I can’t imagine how RAW would match it but it doesn’t really have to. Tonight, we should get the Steel Cage Match that wasn’t between Bayley and Becky Lynch. These two have been conjuring up their past on social media which has been fun to watch and reminisce about. How far both these ladies have come. How will tonight’s match showcase their evolutions? 🤷

We also get some Elimination Chamber lead up as we welcome back Carmella and Piper Niven reclaims her old name. They’ll be involved in a Fatal-4-Way with Mia Yim and Candace LaRae. We’ll see how that goes.

If you’ve been paying attention on Twitter, you’ve noticed I’ve had a minor grievance with Yim because having been dubbed “Crazy” we have yet to see her go nuts. However, she’s been getting steadily beatdown in segments so if this is a slow burn to the “explosion” I’m all for it. As long as she  has fun with it and just loses her goddamn mind on these Bs. They gotta ask for it, you know. We’ll be watching for whenever they pull the trigger on that.

Not much is advertised outside some of our lesser known players getting some screen time. Not sure if we should expect Sami Zayn or The Usos but you never know. Next week is the Elimination Chamber Go-Home Week so they could very well make appearances to keep stoking the fires for the Undisputed Championship Match. Isn't there going to be Tag Team action too?

I was really impressed with how last week played out but I hope that WWE doesn’t try to match that level of excellence. The attempt could come off as forced, slowing the momentum, in general, down. As I keep stressing, authenticity is essential in this business. People want to believe it. They want to forget it’s not real. So, when we can see the words on the page as our players speak, we lose our interest. Where’s the authenticity? It should all seem like an extended “shoot”, at least in an ideal wrestling world.

Tonight, does not have to try to meet or best last Friday at all. If anything, they should just have fun out there. Wrestlers having a great time always equals we onlookers enjoying ourselves and that’s an attainable baseline to maintain. From there, the standout moments get highlighted even more. 

So, that’s all I’m asking for tonight. That people relax and do what they know how to do out there. I don’t need an epic finale every episode or every PPV/PLE. Let them occur organically and then this product can be all that it can be. Never force this stuff. Let it all come. 

With that all said, let us see what this evening holds. RAW tends to be a looser show generally due to all the time to fill. This should give our players time to breathe in theory. Let’s see if they let themselves be the best they can be. Find me on Twitter if you want to play along. I do my thing on the West Coast so do whatever suits you. You can always check in later.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)