RAW Knows It's Getting Close...

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

 

A Merry Monday to you. I hope you had nice Easter weekends, regardless of whether you celebrate. The Wrestling World seems to have taken a little break to honor the religious holiday so, there’s not much for me to chat about but there’s a few things we can discuss. Ready to knock this out? Let’s get to it.

 

In the Realm of AEW, we just have a little more information on Chris Jericho’s return. Long story short, word going around is WWE was only interested in a retirement run and clearly Jericho feels there’s still life in him so, AEW it is. We’ll see what happens when he’s ready to hang it up but for now, expect him to pop up on AEW and its affiliates as he and their Powers that Be see fit.

 

In the WWE Universe, the talk concerns the return of Pat McAfee. It’s supposed to explain at least one of the voices in Randy Orton’s head. What’s winding down the grapevine is this is at TKO’s request. Given the partnership with ESPN and perhaps an attempt at showing some good will, they inserted McAfee into the WrestleMania story.

 

What I find interesting is that many are considering whether this affects Cody Rhodes’ storyline as well. The word is that Rhodes ad-libbed his “freak out” on last week’s SmackDown and commenters are suggesting that this is all more indication of poor creative.

 

Well, it all depends. I will say that the products have been more palatable of late. Yet, the nature of the beast is what it is. Scripted television is generally written out at least a season or 2 in advance so, where it’s going usually has already been decided. However, when it comes to live entertainment, one is more at the mercy of whatever is going on and in a world where a storyline can get upended by likely injuries, you can’t get too far ahead.

 

I respect this. Yet, in this day and age, the audience is comprised more of fanboys/fangirls than blue collar fare looking for a distraction. That said, fan-children are used to well-structured story arcs and I’m not sure WWE ever had them. You can debate about past eras but those eras were direct results of the point of time they were in. You see the time we’re living in. It’s nebulous by nature. Don’t be surprised the WWE content is a direct reflection. To a certain extent, it should be.

 

So, what do they do? Well, if I were them, I’d push for evolving the product and structuring it more like serialized television in general. Think, soap operas. It’s been likened to those throughout its history and that’s fine. However, there should be more method to the madness yet, not at the expense of the “madness”. Let’s be honest, that’s a big reason why we’re here.

 

And so, my suggestions will always generally be the same. Have fun with it. Start with the characters and go from there. What’s fun about watching is seeing how these crazy cats interact given whatever stipulations or terms in play. The Heels attempt to rig the game in their favor while the Faces try to “do the right thing”. The drama will always come in that clash. Keep it simple and let the players, play. When in doubt, insert solid action. That way, those who are more technical can shine by just putting on a good show while Creative figures out what to do with people. That’s the philosophy I’d stick to. If it’s not fun, why watch? I embrace the concept of Sports Entertainment.

 

As for the fan-children, take care out there. You may ask for too much when it comes to this stuff. Enjoy it for what it is. Could it be more, sure but…we’re kinda a ways a way for that. Stay vocal, though. Give them something to think about but don’t expect the MCU…not yet anyway. Maybe one day 😉

 

That brings us to tonight’s RAW. We can expect Jade Cargill and her new crew to jump brands so B-Fab and Mia Yim can box Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky. Finn Bálor will proceed with his personal Revenge Tour as he takes on JD McDonagh. LA Knight will prove he’s ready for action in a do-si-do with Austin Theory. Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar are on hand but will they collide? The ousted Lord Seth Rollins will have words for GUNTHER. And CM Punk will be on hand to tell us how Roman Reigns had all that coming last week.

 

The fun should get started around 6:30pm PDT tonight. We’ll see how much of that we have left soon so, get while the getting is good. It’ll be later soon. In the meantime, you know where to find me.

 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)