WWE Raw Superthread

CastorTroy

It's like Vince sees NXT as a rival. Why do that to Kross? Strip everything away from him and then have him lose to Jeff Hardy.

Happy for Nikki. Hope she gets a decent reign.

Seeing Keith Lee makes me think they're not as keen to keep real life couples on the same brand anymore. Mia is supposedly a SD talent. Then have Corey and Carmella. I know Naomi is supposed to be moving but likely to keep Jimmy under control.

Headshot

Losing to Jeff makes it even worse, from what I've read he's barely been on TV and been constantly losing...

HHH must be absolutely livid by this and who would blame him.

ThePott

Thought it was a strong Raw actually, something they could honestly do most of the time if they really wanted.

I think people using the term buried for Keith Lee is ridiculous. He got more offense in than Kofi, a former champ and got out of the Hurt Lock which few did. That was far from a burial, not to mention this is his first appearance in front of a crowd on the main roster, give it a chance. He shouldn't be just thrust into the title picture after so long away.

As for Kross, I'm no fan of the guy and he's nothing special. I do agree with what was said though, why throw away that dominant streak straight away. Again, I'm trying to not let my disinterest in him cloud my judgement, if it was a better talent we'd all be pissed.

Can't stand the Goldberg stuff obviously, he's lost his last two matches but gets a title shot no problem. I do think WWE played it well though not having him answer the challenge like the crowd expected. I think the crowd also expected Becky at the end (at least I did) so having Cross do a cash-in was a good twist. Delighted for her, do they just not know how to book the Women's MITB though? Everyone uses it almost immediately. I do wonder what the match for Summerslam is now though, a multi-woman's match for the title I guess. Don't know how or why you'd squeeze Becky in there though tbh.

Other random notes; The Bliss/Eva Marie stuff is such an odd pairing, I'm interested but not expecting much. Wish Nia and Shayna had split and let Shayna be a proper competitor. They're really high on Riddle. Called Mansoor and Ali being a team ages ago. Jesus, Drew murdered that lad with a chair, at a certain point it was kinda heelish haha. Not a feud I care about but glad he's not in the title picture.

Overall, I really liked Raw, best one in a long time. Something they should really have no problem doing going forward honestly if they were smart.

JP Liz V1

Why call up the NXT champ now?

I thought Keith Lee was on SmackDown, him even joining Lashley and MVP might work

How can Goldberg and Cena just return and demand title matches

Go Nikki!

ThePott

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117636389#Comment_117636389

You're misremembering this unless I'm mistaken. They went to main roster as a team February of 2019. By 2019, they were on the same page. Their feud had ended and at NXT Takeover: Phoenix in January 2019 Gargano came out and actually stood by Ciampa's side whlie they both held a title (NA and Championship respectively). They teamed after that, teamed on Raw and Smackdown and were teaming in the Dusty Rhodes Classic at the same time.

There's definitely a disconnect between NXT and Main but that's not one of them. Most of the time it feels like the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

Itssoeasy

Great that Nikki cross cashed in and won the title. Hopefully she gets a decent run with it because from everything I’ve heard of her, she seems like the nicest person in wrestling. I’ve not heard one person ever say anything even remotely negative about her.

so nearly seven months away and several daft and cryptic and vague tweets later Keith lee is back and he loses.

I agree that vince see NXT as a rival but instead of making superstars they bring up look like jobbers, he should use it as an incentive to improve smackdown and raw like happened during the original brand split.

CastorTroy

Kross now has to go back to NXT and be expected to be a dominant force again after that? Compare it to when Owens appeared as NXT champ on the main roster. How does it look that Hardy was able to do what none of the main eventers on NXT could do?

They seem to have taken a step back. NXT was seen as a third brand for a short while, winning Survivor Series, then it started becoming a separate thing again like with last year's Survivor Series and things like saying how the Rumble winner being able to challenge either the raw or Smackdown champion.

Cotts72

its wwe theyll make out something stupid like he needs scarlett by his side to remain an unstoppable force

The Ayatolla

The loss to Kross was the best moment of the night. What an absolutely dull and shocking character. Great to see Jeff get the win. A proper star.

beakerjoe

I gave Raw a try (as well as MITB and the previous Smackdown) and while their are good things to enjoy about WWE, I feel its a house built on shallow foundations. Maybe I am wrong and maybe I'm biased as a result of being burnt too many times by WWE, but its hard to enjoy even the best things as I expect things to fall apart or go to **** because they have typically no real direction.

Fans being back is great and its been missed and I feel they are still the same company with the same issues.

Goldberg being hotshotted to a main event match is the worst. In a perfect world the roles of Keith Lee and Goldberg are reversed and Goldberg gets squashed. Goldberg is not fit to hang with WWE top talent at his age. He should have been squashed by The Fiend, by Braun, by Drew in record time. He shouldnt be a challenger in 2018 let alone 2021. I was far more interested in Lee than Big Bill. I dont care about Goldberg in 2021.

Lee has it. I dont know the issues surrounding his absence, but if anyone needs to be hotshotted, its this guy. Id have loved Lee v Lashley at Summerslam. Build Lee up each week and have MVP court New Day and have Lashley go over thanks to Kofi and Woods, forming a new stable. It would keep Lee strong and be a fresh direction for New Day, as well as give Big E a nice target for a cash in months ahead. But no, we get Bill Oldberg.

Im happy for Nikki Cross and I like her , but it all feels rushed. It feels like WWE giving fans a moment just to generate excitement. I hope Im wrong. I fear the wont follow up the win with an adequate story or worse, make her out to me an absolute goof as they've done with some others. Im not a fan of the gimmick myself, but if done better it could be a great way to connect with the younger audience and sell merch.

Less said about the Alexa Bliss tripe the better. I hate the angle. Hate the Fiend and hate the persistence with it.

Kross and his debut is just mind boggling.

Jaxson Ryker is pushed when no one cares.

Tamina and Natty continue to stink up both shows.

My god the camera cuts on those chairshots by Drew.

It was a better than average Raw but IMO, its still not worth watching for 3 hours or staying up late for. Same problems persist and the shock wins, debuts etc will continue to mask the problems poorly. When the dust settles in the coming weeks, WWEs issues will remain, Im sure of it.

beakerjoe

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117636675#Comment_117636675

I think you are correct, my bad. My point is still valid despite my inaccurate example.

TimesArrow

Just read that Charlotte has had 6 title reigns last under 30 days and one of those was under 5 minutes.. when they make a huge deal over when she eventually over takes Rics record, it’ll be meaningless and as hollow as everything else in wwe..

imo, Charlotte is unbelievably over rated.. she can be great in ring however the character is so stale and painfully dull

PTH2009

They have really fucked up Kross but could be one of those 'you saw nothing' type things and he will redebut down the line. Jeff cheating to win was very odd

Great to see Keith Lee back, Goldberg vs Lashley meh i would of preferred Brock vs Lashley instead. Seems to be a bang of 1990s from this

Womens MITB always seems to be cashed in early

CastorTroy

https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/1417350682009645056

Glad she got to close out the show and enjoy her victory. Just reading through her twitter and the whole feed is just so positive.

She has the potential to be what Bayley could've been if they'd handled her right. Look at the wee girl in the last photo here

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1417544886727938056

J. Marston

They cut out the moment where some guy tried to hug her and she just palmed him off. It was painful viewing.

CastorTroy

Is it wrong that I found this comment I saw on twitter funny.

“Jeff Hardy just made the biggest mistake of his life”

Idk man we all seen victory road 2011

JP Liz V1

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117639147#Comment_117639147

Cashed in on Charlotte nearly always 😉

JP Liz V1

Is Nikki now a full superhero champion

The White Wolf

These claims of piped in audience reactions has ruined my ability to tell what's a real audience reaction. :O They seemed mad for Drew.

Loughc

I'm glad Lee is back... he can get over all the other stars now.

CastorTroy

Wasn't sure who would win the Lee/Kross match. Not because of talent but because both seem to be treated badly in the main roster, like Dijakovic.

What was with the Truth mic? And why do people coming for the 24/7 title always signal for everyone to follow? Shouldn't they want to be on their own?

Dunno who would win between Lilly and Eva Marie.

2 matches I thought were for the title turned out not to be when the challenger won.

Wonder if Natalya is injured or just twisted ankle somehow.

Was the Lashley match a triple threat or handicap?

ThePott

Well Raw is back to the usual tripe.

Sick of Charlotte, seems like no other champion or challenger can look better than her. Nikki seriously said, I nearly almost beat you. That's horrendous. I want this gimmick to work but they're already making her look a dork compared to Charlotte.

Lily vs Eva Marie is going to happen then I guess. I actually liked the Eva/Doudrop schtick and now it's been sidelined for the voodoo crap. Karrion Kross/Keith Lee, was dead. Keith Lee lost too. Makes it hard to care for either of these guys, they have no idea what to do with either of them. Embarassed for the likes of Mace and T-Bar. What even is their deal? That promo was awful too.

Sheamus match was alright as was the AJ/Omos match (no idea why they have them as heels) and Riddle JoMo was decent too. Got mild enjoyment out of the Miz's antics and Reginald, even if R-Truth being mic'd was odd. Also Reginald spent about 5 minutes getting a jacket off his face despite all his athleticism. Aside from that Raw is back to the usual dumpster fire.

I gave Raw 2 weeks with fans back to see what it would be like, thinking they might up their game with crowds in attendance again.

Just awful. The actual wrestling isn't bad but the show is just nonsensical and drags. I'll go back to not watching it like I have been doing the last few years.

TimesArrow

i don’t understand the “best the champion to get a shot at the champion” thing they persist in doing

drew and jinder have legitimate history together and they’re building the feud around a prop sword and motor bike

everything with Charlotte is woeful and has been for years

JP Liz V1

Keith Lee loses again

The new champ Nikki loses also

PTH2009

Yeah Keith Lee must of pissed someone off backstage, feels odd having Kross appearing on Raw while still been NXT champ. I knw they done it briedly a couple of years ago having DIY and others appear on the main roster but just feels odd

Sheamus vs Damien Priest was a good match and so was Riddle vs Morrison

Suppose its nice having Drew out of the world title picture but its hard to care much about his feud with Jinder. The lawyer guy getting killed was great entertainment

Im hoping Bobby will not be fed to Goldberg at summerslam

JP Liz V1

Randy Orton is scheduled for next Monday’s RAW from the Allstate Arena near Chicago. Local advertising has Orton teaming with Riddle and Drew McIntyre against WWE Champion Bobby Lashley and RAW Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos, which is likely the dark main event.

ThePott

Reckon those were placeholders from months ago if McIntyre is facing Lashley.

JP Liz V1

On Friday, WWE announced a new match for the next episode of Monday Night Raw via its website.

Matt Riddle will have a monster clash on the show as he will share the ring with Omos.

I'd say they'll have to have their magic cheer/boo/mute button ready tonight. It's in Chicago so I could see some Punk chants or even chants for Wyatt.