WWE RAW REVIEW

JUNE 3, 2019

Another Monday night, another Raw. If I'm being honest; for as long as I can remember, the shows have been as boring as my opening line to this article.

Will tonight be different?
Has the lightbulb turned on?
Do they finally feel the pressure?

LET'S FIND OUT!

Well, I didn't expect to have my answer so soon.

Nothing screams "business as usual" quite like featuring Roman Reigns in the first 3 segments.

Now, to be fair, I thought Roman did well. He seemed really comfortable in his face off with Shane, and we're starting to see shades of his naturally cool demeanor.

Also, I still want Roman and The Usos to be a faction called The Bloodline. It's a perfect reason for Shane McMahon to be mad at Roman, since Shane would insist that THE Bloodline of professional wrestling is the McMahons, not the Anoa'is.

By the way, Shane McMahon was rocking the cocaine sweats like an 80's rockstar. Am I the only one seeing this?

I do like the idea of Shane using guys like Drew McIntyre and The Revival as his muscle. I would prefer he personally spent less time in the ring.

Brock Lesnar still has the Money In The Bank contract, and he's still playing mind games.

This works really well, because in an on screen level, it makes the viewer sympathize with the champions. Also, from a behind, the-scenes level, it makes us long term fans also get tired of Brock repeating the same schtick each week, that we will also want him to lose as quickly as possible, and go away again.

The Lars character is a prime example of my frustration with the product.
What is the point of this guy, exactly?

What stories are we going to tell wth this character? Because the only one that I've ever seen WWE do, with these types of characters, is what they're doing now.

Someone will finally stand up to the monster, they will do a three month feud; then what?

I give it a year before Lars is a dancing babyface that wears silly hats.

So I guess we're turning Nikki Cross into a mentally-stable shy girl?

I liked the nutso Nicki Cross. There was so much to do with that character, and it was unlike anything any other woman in the roster is doing.

Are we turning Alexa Bliss babyface, or is she scheming? I'm assuming we'll find out later. Alexa is so good at being bad, but they do seem to be lacking in babyface women that people are actually caring about, so maybe this works.

Yeah, let's keep this Becky Lynch / Lacey Evans / Charlotte Flair rivalry going. After all, everyone keeps talking about how much they like this.

I mean, honestly I don't know what they're doing this for. No one wants Becky to be involved with Charlotte again. We want a break from that. Why is she there?

This is all a set up to get Dominic in the ring, right? Joe will continue to screw with an injured Rey, at which point his son will come to the rescue, setting up a match in the future.

That's my guess, anyway. I do like the heat that comes with relinquishing the title back to its previous holder, instead of some tournament or match to determine a new champ.

If it's not about Dominic, then I'm not really sure where this storyline can even go.

I didn't hate this as much as I thought I would. The set up for these Super Showdown storylines feels old-school. Which, may still work overseas since they weren't as over-saturated as we were with those kinds of stories.

It makes sense. Bad guy throws something in the good guy's eyes, both guys look like action figures, it's classic WWE presentation. It fits both of these guys enough, so I guess I'm good with it.

Five Feet of Fury! I loved when Alexa flipped the switch here. I would really like if Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss would be a team that they don't even realize how dangerous they get when they snap.

Imagine, they are the only ones looking out for each other and keeping each other from going completely off the deep end. Almost like a "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" set of characters.

I think Baron Corbin is money. There is so much to not like about this guy, that it makes him an easy sell as a top heel.

Just keep giving him wins and title shots, and have him be the biggest, smug bastard about it. WWE clearly has already figured this out, and its working well.

Also, we got more Brock, delaying a cash-in. I wish, now that we have the wildcard rule, that Kofi and Seth would work together. Everytime Brock goes to cash-in on one of them, the other makes the save, if only for one more week!

This could lead to a Triple Threat cash-in. If Brock pubs either champion, he wins their title. If a champ pins Brock, both champs retain. If a champ pounds the other champ; unified title! I think that would be a intriguing match.

I can't really explain why these Firefly Funhouse segments are still so fun to me, but that doesn't matter.

Having an evil, devil Vince puppet is a nice touch, given how much he's made out to be a devil by some people.

I also, want Bray to use that song for his entrance music!

Sometimes, the unintended moments are the best moments. The few seconds of shared giggling from Triple H and Randy Orton after Orton made the comment about Triple H's balls in Stephanie's purse, made me smile more than it should have, probably.

I'm not sure that helps sell tickets, but hey, I enjoyed it, nonetheless.

This is a prime example of how WWE has some of the best, most athletic professional wrestlers in the history of the business, but they have nothing to wrestle for. No real storyline, outside of Cesaro insisting that he's stronger and better than Ricochet.

This kind of storyline works okay for a single match, but to continue a program on on this premise alone, leaves things a little boring.

So boring, they needed to have an R-Truth 24/7 spot in the middle of the match. Them, they just go to commercial as NEVER finish or mention this unfinished match again.

And then there's this guy. WWE iterates globally, but seemingly doesn't change up the product for its various regions. If Saudi Arabia is still excited for The Undertaker and Goldberg, then why are we also subjected to it here in the United States.

I'm sure many of our citizens still LIKE The Undertaker, but I'm sure most of them still don't really want to see him wrestle anymore. Now do they want to hear him say his monotone, slow lines. Nor do they want those monotone, slow lines to CLOSE THE SHOW!

That's why WWE won't change, because it is no longer about the fans watching the television product. The television product is now merit a three hour commercial for their live events and merchandise.

Well, that's all I have the time for, I have nothing else to say, except that the show was slightly less boring than previous weeks, but that may just be because I've finally lowered my expectations enough.

Either way, if you want to hear more of my thoughts, and the thoughts of Tom, check out the next episode of The Spanish Announce Table podcast, where we will talk about this show, and so much more!