After watching the first week of WWE programming post-brand split, I was very optimistic. To me, those were the best episode of both Raw and Smackdown in a long time. The two brands were made to be very different from one another, and that was a great thing from my perspective.
Following the second week, I was still optimistic about the overall WWE product. Sure, there were some obvious faults showing at this point, but there were undeniable improvements when comparing such to the majority of episodes of Raw or Smackdown from 2013 forward.
This week, I am even less enthusiastic than last week because some of WWE’s bad habits have reemerged. Some examples of that:
– Length Of The Show – Practically everyone would agree that three hours is too long for Raw. So in the presumed last segment when they announced a match for the always-entertaining Cesaro, I was floored. The show had that much filler and still couldn’t be capped at three hours. To top it all off, if you were in attendance, there was also a dark match to watch, bring the overall show near four hours. I can’t think of anything I like doing for more than three hours.
– Roman Reigns’ Push – Reigns is a talented performer, but constant tests over the past two years and change show that he is not “the guy.” If he still gets a mixed reaction when going against Rusev, following Rusev yelling anti-‘Murica things, it’s clear that this isn’t working. Character reinvention is needed.
– Wedding Segments – Speaking of Rusev, when there were cakes seen in the ring, who didn’t know that Rusev or Lana were going into the cake? Wedding segments in WWE for the past few years have been especially lousy. Taking it a step further, what is the logic in a wedding segment if the two characters are already married and such has been acknowledged? To save time and expense, they simply could have shown the photo or video montage of the wedding, then had Roman Reigns interrupt it.
– Celebrity Tie-Ins – Diddy is in rare company when in comes to record sales and entrepreneurship. He also has some great acting accomplishments to his credit. However, he has not been a popular artist in well over a decade. What did his appearance on Raw do to help the show? Did anyone tune in specifically because he would be on? I get that WWE wants to be on great terms with celebrities, but this could be done in better ways.
– Recaps – Understandably there is a major PPV to sell this month with Summerslam. But if Raw and Smackdown are different brands, the shows shouldn’t be recapping one another so much. Especially if that content can also be watched or streamed in various forms.
The sudden improvements and then the sudden changes back to prior habits makes me wonder if there are disagreements backstage. Could a certain person have relinquished control for a week or two, and then taken back lead creative direction? Or could the point have been to get higher ratings for a few weeks to woo new advertisers? Right now, the “new era” tag is questionable.
On the upside, Smackdown last might did finally give more time to the women’s and tag team divisions, placing more emphasis on the new NXT call-ups. Eva Marie was also used very well, showing potential for her to be a top character in the near-future. Heath Slater is also being used in an entertaining way. Also, the heel GM storyline is nowhere in sight at the moment.
In turn, I remain a loyal WWE fan, but I am 1 or 2 more episodes from just DVR-ing through both shows each week.
