RAW Sets the New Tone...

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

 

Welcome to a new week. So, for the most part the IWC is still reeling from last week’s WWE releases. It’ll get over it but it’s a disconcerting time for the fans. There’s a lot of talk of all the ads filling up WWE airspace and then there’s the news that SmackDown is returning to a 2-hour format. So, what are we going to be watching exactly? Room was made on the roster so we can barely get exposed to new talent and get inundated with consumerism?

 

Should we switch to AEW and/or TNA? Personally, I prefer MLW if I had to chose an alternative but they’re not on TV consistently enough. As for the named options, I’m not sure that’s realistic at this point but if these moves don’t improve the product, it may be an unexpected consequence. Both are still lacking in production values to be considered threats at present but both promotions do have decent talent, especially when it comes to those WWE didn’t value, and ads aren’t taking up half of the show. Given the state of affairs in the United States, getting value for our money is a huge discussion point of late and I don’t blame people seeking maximum return on their dollar. We’ll see if these truths ever resonate with WWE Brass. In the meantime, let’s chat about some lighter fare.

  

First, let’s stop by the Realm of AEW. On last week’s Collision we found out what happened to Will Ospreay after his “kidnapping” by the Riders of Death. They honored not having the medical training to get the IV and heart monitor but they did have water to splash him with and Marina Shafir on hand to do some quick chiropractic work on Ospreay’s neck. Moxley had a question for Ospreay. Do you want to reach your full potential? Does he want to become an “assassin” or simply call himself one? Before they proceeded, Mox prostrated himself before Ospreay and the Riders provided a chair to even the proverbial score. Did Ospreay take the offer?

 

Mox played coy while he sat in on commentary for the 10-Man Tag to follow. I suppose we shall see. I appreciate the drama yet sometimes I fear that it may be a little too much. There was nothing wrong with the vignette. It was well produced and delivered. However, for the passing by-stander or would be fan, I could see it coming off a little serious for wrestling.

 

I understand that Mox takes the job seriously but do the fans? AEW is a kinder crowd and they’ll appreciate good work so I’m not that worried but in the name of gaining new fans, I would suggest toning it down a bit. I recognize applying some gravitas to these stories but that’s just it, they’re “stories” and wrestling is supposed to be a fun pastime, not an alternative to The Sopranos. Like with Jey Uso, I advise against going for the Emmy in these arenas. The only way that would happen is without trying. Yet, I respect the weight of the content so, try meeting it in the middle.

 

Guy Ritchie is great at marking a point yet keeping the story fun and engaging. I would lean this more into Snatch-like territory. Mox can be like Brick Top and Ospreay can play it like Mickey. Now, Mox doesn’t have to be that mean and I don’t want people to think I view Ospreay like Brad Pitt but the example has the heft and the levity. It’s one of my faves still. That way, you get less passersby rolling their eyes and both can get the credit they’re due for putting on a good performance. Just a suggestion.

 

In the Land of Free Agency, I just wanted to touch a bit on Aleister Black. My feed is full of posts from people chiding with the sentiment, “the grass isn’t always greener on the other side” and to that I just want to say that’s not exactly the case here.

 

In my opinion, we have the results from the experiment. WWE Brass would say that Black just didn’t move the needle with a second chance but he never would in the way say an Oba Femi would. And this second chance was a bit half-assed in my opinion. Though I liked subbing Black for Karrion Kross’ old gimmick, Black simply has more charisma, the fact that was done is more or less my point.

 

When he was cut the first time, he was landing at least for me and those with gothic tastes which there are many. We aren’t mainstream by default but we like being represented. It’s a niche market that can be tapped but for whatever reason, they scrapped him. In that instance, it was arbitrary.

 

Then he tried his hand at AEW and I have to say they just didn’t have the production values to make the House of Black work. It made him look ridiculous if you ask me and he’s got a lot more mystique than that.

 

So, he comes back and they give it a lazy shot and then cut him again but this time for a flimsy reason. This is the type of shit that pisses people off. If you’re not going to bother to do it right, why bother in the first place? Stop wasting time and focus on the Femis and Blake Monroes. Only thing about that is that gets boring and predictable. Hence the wide array of personas. If it works, it works.

 

This is why I got so agitated with Finn Bálor’s Dæmon presentation. WWE has all sorts of resources and they Party City it?! This last time was much better but they’re still selling themselves short just ‘cause someone “doesn’t get it”. Then get more creatives who do. Keep in mind, a lot of the fans are fanboys/fangirls and if you nail this stuff, you get their dedication and hard-earned dollars. That’s the point, right? Comic Cons and Anime Expos are HUGE. There’s a market. The mainstream appeal is fleeting and since this genre is in of itself niche, WWE Brass should have a better appreciation for these markets.

 

But I digress. What I’m getting at is that Black works and so does Zelina Vega much better than Kross and Scarlett ever did ‘cause the best thing was the entrance. Black already had a cool entrance and they just made it cooler by infusing Kross’ old one. Though they didn’t give him too many wins, you could see the potential when he faced Shinsuke Nakamura. Black plus someone on his level equaled a solid match. That’s why I was anticipating showdowns with Rey Fenix, Penta (Lucha-Mitsu) and Finn Bálor but nope. Tabled for…forgettable matches to be named later.

 

So, I will close this matter with this. I hope that WWE tries to think more objectively in the future. They may say they did because the numbers showed that it was a line item they could cut but are they going to replace it with anything better? Debatable at best. I don’t doubt there’s good talent coming up the ranks but A LOT of callups don’t work out and for all intents and purposes we know that Black, Vega and Kairi Sane for that matter work. They may not be in the top Championship races but they’re choice mid-card no doubt. They could have Intercontinental, US and Tag Team Championships for the rest of their days and no one would be pissed about it. Well…someone would always be pissed about it but they’d get a lot of flak for it. Some people just like to bitch.

 

It’s because of this, I feel that we’ll see these players again. I don’t know about this year but probably the next. Sane could probably do some stints in Japan and Black & Vega can see what the indies have to offer but in their cases, I would experiment with a mild revamp. The only real thing I could critique about Black is him being in okay shape just to look at him. He doesn’t need to bulk up but lean out and get some definition that at least gives Brass less to complain about. Vega could stand to gain 10lbs, personally speaking, as well. She’s 30lbs as is so 40lbs shouldn’t hurt. The petite ladies should take advantage and try on a little meat. Skinny leaves nothing to look at.

  

All right, that’s enough of that. I think I’ve made my point 😉 Over in the WWE Universe, we settle in for tonight’s RAW. BackLash is the name of the game and to start it off we can expect, Joe Hendry to make his main roster debut. He’ll regale us with a “concert”. The Ladies should get into some Tag Team action as Bayley and Lyra Valkyria take on Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez. Lucha-Mitsu looks to even the score against a slightly unhinged Rusev. Lady Becky Lynch will take a victory lap as she speaks on her Intercontinental Championship whilst Lord Seth Rollins starts the evening’s festivities. And at some point, Roman Reigns will make his decision regarding Jacob Fatu’s bid for the Undisputed Championship.

  

We’ll get started around 6:30pm PDT. It looks like we get a slight extension on the early shows but that’s it after this next couple. I mean it. Got other stuff to do.

  

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)