Raw (June 26, 2017)

Some thoughts about last night's episode of Raw.

What Worked

Samoa Joe is the perfect opponent for for Brock Lesnar, and his interactions with Paul Heyman are fantastic. This angle is really bringing out his personality, which was a bit subdued since he came to Raw wearing a suit and ready to do the bidding of the Authority.

Nia Jax did a lot of the heavy lifting in that gauntlet match. I'd even argue that she was the only one who technically ran the gauntlet. Everyone else just had a match.

I'm kind of digging Titus's role as a mentor/manager. Apollo Crews has been a blank slate for so long, it's nice to see him building some relationships. Titus also seems to be branching out into 205 Live territory.

They had me convinced that reconciliation between Enzo and Cass was actually possible, so kudos to them. I kind of want to see them try to patch things up every week, only for it to end the same way.

What Didn't Work

I have a theory that WWE, when they don't know which direction to take their superstars in, throws people together to see if anything gels. Putting Cesaro, Sheamus, the Hardies, the Drifter, and Finn Balor together in a six-man tag team felt strange and forced. It makes me suspect there's just not much of a story there.

Right now, it seems that, out of those six wrestlers I just mentioned, Cesaro and Sheamus are the ones with the most personality. We know Finn has a demon inside him, but that demon is sleeping right now, so he's just sort of a blank good guy with no direction. You might say he's "drifting."

Meanwhile, the Drifter was in danger of putting himself over with those backstage segments where he wanders into the frame playing his guitar, then wanders off. I would much rather see other wrestlers reacting to him than see him almost play a song for the audience.

The Hardy Boyz have a lot of support from the fans, but since coming to WWE, they haven't really shown me any of the stuff that apparently made them famous. Are they not allowed to do anything recognizable from the indie circuit? Copyright issues? I just haven't seen much personality from them. And then I get on Twitter, and the Hardies are nothing but personality. Why can't they bring this to Raw?

Regardless, Finn Balor should be in the spotlight, and instead he's in a strange side story. Seth Rollins too. Maybe WWE should throw the two of them together. Maybe Finn should unleash some anger or any emotion at all. Show us how dangerous he can be.

Meanwhile, WWE is pushing Roman (big surprise) and Strowman (bigger surprise?), and I don't really have any interest in that. It's just two tough guys trying to prove how tough they are. But Roman is too stoic, lacking the personality of a certain Stone Cold. He flirts with being a heel without ever crossing the line. I bet when he's done with Strowman, Roman's not going to be far off from a feud with free agent and part-timer John Cena. The audience will have no idea how to react.

On 205 Live and Cruiserweights

I don't think I like the Cruiserweight segments. They are pretty much ads for 205 Live, which has done very little to stand apart from any other wrestling show. I was there at Extreme Rules this past month, and the Cruiserweight match between Neville and Aries should have been fantastic, but the fans were not reacting at all. They have wrestlers who should be huge stars. But at the same time, Raw is not their show, and Raw already has a full rosters of superstars who need some story development. This is where the issue of "too much content" comes in. WWE already has Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and 205 Live, and now they are threatening to introduce a show for UK wrestlers (though I don't know why they shouldn't just make it a WWE International show). I'm already consuming a lot of content, and I very much wish I could be looking at more indie promotions, particularly those focusing on what we don't see very much of right now, like women's matches.

I will say that 205 Live has gotten a shot in the arm at various times, thanks to Neville, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, and Noam Dar (who got over just for his unique way of saying Alicia Fox's name). And yet, I think their most important wrestler is Mustafa Ali. It's rare for WWE to confront stereotypes rather than, say, exploit them. If the fanart is any indication, he is inspiring people and deserves a real push.

But something about the show overall still isn't working for me. I suppose it doesn't seem different enough from the other shows. If you look at something like the Marvel movies, you can tell what makes each one different, even as you recognize that they all essentially have the same story. Each individual film has its own identity, it's own corner of the Marvel Universe to play in. Maybe this is what 205 Live needs to be: a place for underdogs and misfits, where everyone is fighting for the scraps. It needs its own identity. NXT, even though its quality varies from show to show, still has a strong sense of identity. NXT is the show that is building the future. 205 Live is the show with smaller wrestlers--a mini version of Raw and Smackdown.