So I guess Vince finally lost it this week, eh? I can just imagine his breakdown backstage over the past week, “Don’t they know they can watch Summerslam for $9.99 dammit?!” The product of this rage was what you saw on Monday Night Raw. You can’t really blame WWE for panicking just a little bit. The WWE Network hasn’t paid off quite as well as the company had hoped for, considering the amount of money they’re pouring into it. Which is also why we’re seeing the sudden launch of the WWE Network worldwide next week. The problem with the WWE Network is that most hardcore wrestling fans (like myself) will eat up everything the network puts out. Having every past PPV at the palm of my hands is almost like a lifelong dream come to life. The WWE is marketing to people like me, but I’ve heard about it for six months now. There’s no marketing or advertising outside of WWE. There are so many former fans out there that would have no problems paying $9.99 a month to relive Hulkamania or the Attitude Era.
There’s not a lot to say about Raw…except Slater’s gonna Slate baybayyyy!! Can anyone remember the last time Slater won a match, much less on Raw? It’s almost like WWE has made a homegrown version of Zack Ryder. He’s the underdog everyone can get behind. Other than that Raw was business as usual. It’s nice to see that feuds are lasting a bit longer than they used to, but there’s only so many times I can watch Goldust and Stardust vs Rybaxel or Kane vs the babyface of the week in some type of stipulation match.
I’ve heard a lot of grumbling online about how Cena and Lesnar both missed Raw on Monday, yet these are the two guys main eventing Summerslam for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The thing is, this main event sells itself. It oozes with mainstream appeal, and you’re going to get a lot of buys just because their names are at the top of the card. WWE needs to focus on selling the rest of the card to fans that are on the fence. It was great that we continued to see buildup to the big confrontation between Ambrose and Rollins, and the intensity of the Orton/Reigns feud. Surprisingly, Stephanie McMahon’s feud with Brie Bella has been the subject of the main event of Raw for two weeks in a row. This is the best way to keep Bryan’s feud with the Authority (who actually came out together as a legitimate stable this week) relevant. It’s also nice seeing Steph dish out some pedigrees.
In the category of “Terrible Marketing that Will Surely Backfire” TNA has essentially spoiled the payoff of the long feud between Bully Ray and Dixie Carter. At the end of last week’s Impact Wrestling, TNA showed footage implying that Dixie will get powerbombed through a table on this week’s Impact. They went as far as to promise that Dixie will be powerbombed through a table, and they asked fans to tweet about it with #ItHappens. I understand that wrestling as scripted as most fans do. What makes it good is that we are all in on it together, but we can suspend our disbelief while we’re watching. What makes wrestling exciting is the aspect that anything can happen at any given moment, and the surprise is what keeps us watching. When you spoil it for me, you have given me no reason to care. It’s such a shame that TNA is making such a dumb decision when their shows have been so good over the past month.
That’s all for this week. Check back for more wrestling talk each week on WTN!
You must be logged in to post a comment.