RAW Superthread

CastorTroy

Brock was clearly the face in that opening. Roman was attacking the US Marshalls and Brock came down to help them.
I remember when guys like Austin got arrested, he went quietly showing he respects the job the police do.

Apparently the live crowd didn't get to see the Ultimate Deletion and got entertained by Elias.

Oh and Mickie looks great.

Edit: Can we start conspiracy theories about how the person we see Ronda suplex is named Dana?

J. Marston

Anytime I see an Alexa match now, I keep thinking of the OSW Kane line about taking a bump.

"Take a bump, Alexa."

"Ohoh, I fúcking will not!"

2ndcoming

CastorTroy wrote: »

Brock was clearly the face in that opening. Roman was attacking the US Marshalls and Brock came down to help them.
I remember when guys like Austin got arrested, he went quietly showing he respects the job the police do.

Apparently the live crowd didn't get to see the Ultimate Deletion and got entertained by Elias.

Oh and Mickie looks great.

Edit: Can we start conspiracy theories about how the person we see Ronda suplex is named Dana?

Totally disagree, you need to understand the Texan mentality - US Marshals are federal agents, ie agents of Washington / big government / oppression of the Freedom every Texan darn tootin believes is their God given right.

He is then beaten while handcuffed by the cowardly heel.

He couldn't possibly have been booked more as the face.

Also Austin used to hose cops with beer on a weekly basis, and the Big Bossman was a top heel solely for being a cop, the very thing that had made him a face 10 years earlier. It was a very different show back then.

This is oldskool booking 101 tbh. 'Bigshot champ thinks he's too good to show up for the fans vs working class hero who lives to please the fans' is the angle they are going for.

Jfhackett

Agent Coulson wrote: »

No interest in RAW at the moment I'll watch it on fast forward tomorrow.

wasnt the worst I've seen

PTH2009

http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2018-03-26

Cena vs Kane

J. Marston

A supposedly vicious blood-feud where Roman is looking to take revenge for a brutal beat-down last week but he still takes the time to do his "**** my wrist" taunt in the middle of it.

Everything he does annoys me.

ricero

Great opening.

More sympathy for the big dog !

PTH2009

ricero wrote: »

Great opening.

More sympathy for the big dog !

but the big dog is going to overcome all the odds and beat Lesner is record time at mania

sky88

Seriously brock never looks healty his face is so red

Deeper Blue

How can the big dawg possibly overcome these odds???

Not a hope Reigns is losing at Mania. Surely a match with as predictable an outcome as this shouldn't main event?

ricero

That belly to belly onto the floor looked fantastic

PTH2009

NDWC wrote: »

How can the big dawg possibly overcome these odds???

Not a hope Reigns is losing at Mania. Surely a match with as predictable an outcome as this shouldn't main event?

and it's going to be a squash match with Reigns winning in about 1 min I feel

Deeper Blue

Ronda is actually terrible.

She can't talk and, judging by the offence she displayed tonight, isn't great at the wrestling either.

The commentators fawning over her is cringeworthy also.

I wouldn't be surprised if she's booed at Mania.

Rock Lesnar

NDWC wrote: »

How can the big dawg possibly overcome these odds???

Not a hope Reigns is losing at Mania. Surely a match with as predictable an outcome as this shouldn't main event?

Everybody knew this was the main event and what the outcome would be since last wrestlemania, not a hope either outcome is changing now

Pentecost

NDWC wrote: »

Ronda is actually terrible.

She can't talk and, judging by the offence she displayed tonight, isn't great at the wrestling either.

The commentators fawning over her is cringeworthy also.

I wouldn't be surprised if she's booed at Mania.

That would be harsh as by all accounts she has settled in well at the Performance Centre and intends sticking around and trying to make a go of it, as opposed to just being a one and done celebrity guest. Give her time to get more experience before writing her off. WWE is clearly desperate to use her name for publicity at the moment but that doesn’t mean she can’t add something as she develops her skills.

PTH2009

I like this sort of heel Cena but he's not really a heel he's just been a dickhead to taker, taunting him, calling him out etc

Expect taker to appear next week as it's obv the last raw before mania and would love if he turned up and beat the hell out of Cena

The Nal

NDWC wrote: »

Ronda is actually terrible.

Ah give her a break shes only in the door. I like the judo throw and armbar threat.

PTH2009 wrote: »

I like this sort of heel Cena but he's not really a heel he's just been a dickhead to taker, taunting him, calling him out etc

Expect taker to appear next week as it's obv the last raw before mania and would love if he turned up and beat the hell out of Cena

And what a waste of time that is. One week lead in to a WM match. I couldn't care less about the match. Whats at stake? Wheres the beef?

sky88

listening to the coach just makes me miss booker, JBL hell even otunga

hes painfull

SlickRic

you're still not getting the Wrestlemania crowd to cheer Roman.

you can book the thing perfectly, as Vince pretty much has done for the last few weeks. but it doesn't undo what's gone on before. it just doesn't. that might be unfair on Roman. that might be unfair on Vince even. but it's reality.

Reigns is not an underdog in anyone's eyes. It doesn't matter how many times you have Brock pummel him. It doesn't matter how many times he bullies him, takes the odd cheap shot, and cackles while he does it. Roman is Vince's boy. you can't fight it. it's the payoff to killing kayfabe. you can't ask fans to suspend their disbelief, when they know the truth. And not only that - he's been pounded into the main event spot for 4 years now. Underdog my hole.

just align him with Vince and/or The Authority, thus playing to the perception that's already there, let the cards fall as they may, create some new main event babyfaces, then if Roman becomes all they think he could be, they can turn him back.

not difficult.

Wrestlemania will not be the coronation of the new beloved top guy. it's just not going to happen. it won't even be 50/50 if that's what they're going for (a la Cena).

in fact, I heard Jim Cornette (who says he doesn't watch the WWE product regularly - I don't know if I truly believe him) come up with an easy, perfect story to tell for the next year:

Have Roman win the title at Mania.
Soon after, have him destroy Daniel Bryan.
Have Roman angrily take the line with Bryan that it's his fault that the fans never took to him, and build him up as the badass wánker out to destroy this guy who he doesn't believe is on his level.
Build it up to a main event match at Wrestlemania 35 between the 2, where Bryan beats Roman.
Print money.

So fúcking simple.

Rock Lesnar

So the reason Undertaker will return is because Cena couldnt beat anybody else to get a match at Wrestlemania, Rubbish, he should stay retired.

Rock Lesnar

If Cena copying Takers mannerisms done anything at all, it should have made Taker fall off his couch laughing, that was just ridiculous

SlickRic

i don't understand why Undertaker is selfish in this scenario. he's retired. it's not selfish to retire, and still be retired a year later.

The Nal

SlickRic wrote: »

i don't understand why Undertaker is selfish in this scenario. he's retired. it's not selfish to retire, and still be retired a year later.

None of it makes sense. Cena calling Taker a "battered veteran at the end of his career with a bad hip" a few months ago, to having (maybe) a single week lead in, to Taker being retired and having clearly handed down multiple torches on his way out.

Better late than never I suppose but who really gives sh1t who wins?

jaykhunter

SlickRic wrote: »

i don't understand why Undertaker is selfish in this scenario. he's retired. it's not selfish to retire, and still be retired a year later.

Yep! It's very odd, Cena is being a bully here, and it's quite heelish to manipulate the crowd to get what you want "oh you're turning your backs on THEM! appear on the show and address me FOR THEM"

sky88

weather it makes sense or not im really enjoying dickish cena

The Nal

The crowd were so flat. They don't really care either. They only chanted a bit when prompted by Cena. There would've been more of a reaction if he was calling out The Gobbledy Gooker.

CastorTroy

Good to see the young up and comers main eventing. I would see through it if there was going to be a Taker appearance.

Lights going out during the Good Brothers match made me think something was happening.
Speaking of Good Brothers and Finn, "OG BC"? Guessing the B doesn't stand for Balor.

Honestly, I forgot Axel was Perfect's son.

Who was the woman helping break up the Sasha/Bayley fight?

Remember how they were about to put Slater and Rhyno in a new storyline about them taking things more seriously?

SureYWouldntYa

All I know is there's no way Roman can overcome these odds, the odds are literally stacked against him

Why do WWE's main guys always have to be an underdog? Reigns could convincingly be built up as a killer, he could be someone like Batista was from 05-09 in his face run, after he beats Lesnar his first feud will have the odds stacked against him in other ways like multi man beatdowns, they won't even let him be an actual big dog

J. Marston

I'd like Taker to actually address Cena's ego. Why call out a retired Taker or say you'll go as a fan when you can enter the Andre battle royal or put himself forward as Braun's partner? Does he think he's better than that? Would be interesting.

Mr.Nice Guy

SlickRic wrote: »

you're still not getting the Wrestlemania crowd to cheer Roman.

you can book the thing perfectly, as Vince pretty much has done for the last few weeks. but it doesn't undo what's gone on before. it just doesn't. that might be unfair on Roman. that might be unfair on Vince even. but it's reality.

Reigns is not an underdog in anyone's eyes. It doesn't matter how many times you have Brock pummel him. It doesn't matter how many times he bullies him, takes the odd cheap shot, and cackles while he does it. Roman is Vince's boy. you can't fight it. it's the payoff to killing kayfabe. you can't ask fans to suspend their disbelief, when they know the truth. And not only that - he's been pounded into the main event spot for 4 years now. Underdog my hole.

just align him with Vince and/or The Authority, thus playing to the perception that's already there, let the cards fall as they may, create some new main event babyfaces, then if Roman becomes all they think he could be, they can turn him back.

not difficult.

Wrestlemania will not be the coronation of the new beloved top guy. it's just not going to happen. it won't even be 50/50 if that's what they're going for (a la Cena).

in fact, I heard Jim Cornette (who says he doesn't watch the WWE product regularly - I don't know if I truly believe him) come up with an easy, perfect story to tell for the next year:



So fúcking simple.

They don't care about getting that bunch of obnoxious, beach-ball bouncing smarks to cheer him. They know full well it won't happen. They are gearing the story to those fans that aren't entitled brats trying to make everything about themselves. In the same way a decade ago they weren't gearing storylines towards the ones rooting for Triple H and Michaels over Cena in the main events - and history shows they were right.

It's a simple and straightforward concept: Reigns makes them money. They like money. And there is no slam dunk alternative to him.

They don't care about impressing smarks. These people despite their moaning will continue to pay considerable money. Let them boo. What would impress these smarks on the Raw after Mania is if Reigns turned heel. Then they would be cheering and going crazy if he just snapped and beat the hell out of someone. If he cut a promo like Cornette suggested where he laid into the fans, then the ones bitching about him every week would be saying it's the best he's ever been and how they were so right to have him turn. Same Reigns critics on here would be saying the same thing. Cornette's co-host Last was spot on with his assessment of the situation.

End of the day if you're going to kill off one of your most marketable babyfaces then you better have a good alternative at hand to fill the void and I'm not aware of anyone doing comparable numbers to Reigns. So he stays put until a better golden goose comes along. Seems reasonable enough to me.

I thought it was a decent Raw. The opener was the highlight for me. Really liked the Brock/Reigns interaction. You can tell how electrifying the audience finds this feud. It reminds me of what Edge and Christian were saying to Bret and Stone Cold on their podcast. That match felt like a fight and so does this.