Badlittlekitten

Tremendous sprint. Could have done with a bit of slow down perhaps but that's minor. It's great seeing this kind of work (British style limb work and MMA type holds) on my WWE tv. I've seen literally zero of Kyle o Reilly pre NXT, how is he usually as a singles worker? I enjoy his act, air guitar and all. Dunne is something special. I don't think I've seen him speak yet. I wonder how thick his brummie accent is. Talking of special, Bianca Belair looks like a hell of a prospect don't she? I really can't get into Aleister Black. Aside from the terrible name he's whole deal feels forced and cliched. A major bore.

You're a good poster Savage but you gotta get past this Seth hate. Smackdown was almost a very good show this week but it didn't quite deliver. Joe/Rusev is good on paper but it was a mess. Who's face and who's the heel? Are they both inbetweeners? The crowd had nothing to go on. And the finish was awful. Joe being pinned by a Rusev super kick is like Becky tapping out Charlotte last week. An upset victory that means nothing, for no reason other than to remind us " hey, anybody can win at mitb when the briefcase is up for grabs!" And why the hell didn't Miz do a fast count for the pinfall? Joe tried to snap his finger off after all. I never thought I'd say this but I'm digging Paige as the slightly off kilter babyface GM. I don't recall her being anything other than atrocious on the mic during her short career but she fills this role rather well. Nak is funny and entertaining in certain moments but boy, does his suck the life out of everything in the ring. Outside of all the pilled up dancing and twitching he's really quite boring. Were the Iconics promos this god awful in NXT? I've already seen enough Billie Kay to know she stinks in the ring but it'd be nice to see if Royce can deliver anything. Half the women in the main event tag match are really not up to level. It was a stark contrast to the fun four way that opened Raw. I hate sounding this negative. It was an enjoyable enough show.

It got over though didn't it? Zaynes dedication to this is admirable.

Had no idea the Bludgeon Brothers were the tag team champs. In fact I didn't know the belts existed on the blue brand before this week. I like how they used Asuka in the handicap stipulation. The loss of the undefeated streak never bothered me, it's made her more interesting if anything. I certainly don't recall the crowds being as into her as they were here. Carmellas theme music is a BANGER. If Lana could put it together as a worker you get the sense that she could be something special. How great are the New Day by the way? When we were all cringing at those early vignettes who'd have thought they'd be going strong four years later? Big E is the obvious pick for mitb and an eventual break out push but I think Woods has a bright future as a reliable upper-mid tv worker. The contract signing was a breath of fresh air. Nak is gold at the moment and I think he should take the belt. With a loss I fear he'd get lost as mid card comedy fodder. Smackdown is definitely the better show again.

Bunch of internet hard men up in here.

I like Drew and hope he gets a good run but crowds love him? I remember being stunned by how silent the crowd were for the Drew/Gable match.

Real poor show this week, the first Raw I haven't enjoyed for a while. Of all the dodgy alignments in the company baby face Roode is the most baffling. I actually think he has a decent upper-mid card run in him as a heel. The glorious stuff is just terrible right now though. I can dig constable Corbin.

This is a fantastic post.

I agree with a lot of points brought up by you and other posters about some aspects of the modern scene but I also think there is a sense of "it's not like it was when I grew up therefore it's wrong" in some cases. And that happens with all art/entertainment, especially music. Bear in mind this is through the eyes of a 'casual' fan, which is seemingly what I've become the last few years (I've zero interest in Indies and puro wrestling these days or anything outside WWE.) I dip into the archives of the Network occasionally and still enjoy the likes of Flair, Arn/Tully, Midnights etc. But the average match from the good old days I find kinda slow and loose. The work in the 80s was a lot less homogenized which is obviously a huge advantage, but I get a lot less satisfaction from your standard mid card match of the day. I must say I've never understood the 'it's business exposing' criticism of anything in wrestling. Pro Wrestling is inherently ridiculous. I dunno, I'm just rambling. Pro wrestling is also inherently awesome.

Ricochet will be a big star if all goes well. I just don't see him being the next Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin. Not actually very cynical is it.

He's only young and it feels unfair speaking about him with this kind of gravitas. But he's nowhere near charismatic enough to make wrestling 'mainstream again'. I don't see it anyway.

It may or may not be true but I've never understood that talking point. Don't heels come out every week and attempt to piss off crowds with their promos? Do modern fans even get pissed off at heels? It seems its the booking that gets heat. Would acting more heelish in ring really make a difference to potential merch sales? Also WWE heels rake eyes, low blow, use distraction etc every week.

You can like both. There are elements of old wrestling that I miss for sure. The crowds, heat, character work, commentary. Just as when I watch some old mid south on the network I miss some elements of today's product, like the athleticism, energy and faster pace, better production sheen etc. They're just different. No I don't think the elements you listed make for a quality match on their own. But if I was to be honest I'd rather watch a random mid card match from today pulled from the hat than one from the 80s. (That's Yumi Ikeshita in my avatar.)

It's been like this for a while now surely? Wrestlers want to pop the crowd with quality matches. And modern crowds want exciting quality matches. That doesn't have to exclude character work, you still see it. It's just not prioritized like it once was. Things change.

As someone with no experience or interest in Ronda pre-Wwe, I think her look is great. The leather jacket look works and she totally carries it with her smile. Not a bland Appollo Crews type smile but a smile that you can read a hundred different ways. Her promos are bad, you'd expect her to be more hidden/protected in that regard. Hopefully she'll improve.

I enjoyed Raw. It's not as good as it was before the shake up and Smackdown may be the slightly better show but Raw hasn't really been a bad show. There's an awfully put together program (Zayne/Lashly) but they've generally got things ticking along nice. Babyface Bray is already a 100X improvement and him and Hardy are a perfectly likeable team. Bo and Axel are getting over for the first time in their careers, the BBQ started horribly but turned into a fun segment. And holy shit Nia Jax was hilarious this week. From 'Be a star' to monster bully in the space of weeks. Nia did such a great job of punking her out there it felt like Ronda shoulda got some heat back by the end. Drew, Dolph and Jinder have gone through the mill over the years but they feel relatively fresh. Rollins is obviously on a tear right now and in that sweet spot where he's getting pushed strong, delivering quality matches while all the crowd are with him. Feuding with an up an coming heel like Elias is a perfect way to go with him. They should have struck earlier with Braun but I don't think the crowd are ready to leave him yet. I really hope he gets the suitcase. The absence of Roman this week helped the immensely. It's got to the point where him and any interaction he has brings down everything around him. You can only react to his stuff with bafflement. The gauntlet was a nice way to top off the show. Ruby is a good prospect although her partners don't appear to be particularly interesting yet. Mickie James is one of the best promos in the company. hope she keeps in a prominent role. I may be being helplessly optimistic, but the commentary, while not being all that great - at least sounds like they're relaxed and having fun out there. It helps you to overlook the assault of buzzwords.

I love what they did with Bo and Axel this week. Go B team! Are the 'smark' types getting bored of Owens now? It's nice the Int Championship opener had good old bad guy good guy heat though. Booker T is. . . unconventional, but he at least has personality, something the majority of booth guys are missing.

It might actually be good timing for Nia if there's a turn. The boos have started coming in for her I think.

According to who? Very odd if true.

What do you make of Nia Jax? (Who is stunningly beautiful in her best modeling photos, by the way ...) Yes Nia has a more natural look. Charlotte is stunning in her way. Not just the height and the blonde hair but she carrys herself like a star. One of the most most charismatic workers on the roster. (Just a real bad face).

If looks matter slightly less for men nowadays then the women still have a long way to go. The buckets of make up, fake, bleached hair . . . In certain lighting they look ridiculous frankly. Rousy is probably the only exception.

I never enjoyed a three man booth. Coach is useless but I remember him introducing some workers for a promo segment earlier in the the year(cant remember who they were) and him being a suprisingly ok hype man in the segment. Let him do something like that. Or better still, get rid. I dont mind Cory but I wish hed stop the constant heel/face switching.

My expectations were low but I was quite impressed by Mojo Rowlys promo on Raw. He was genuinely intense and actually come across as dangerous. Its my first time seeing him as a heel so the element of surprise helped. Hes certainly nothing much in the ring but I do see a little something there.

Is Sara Del Rey still in the company? Whats her role, trainer? Is she too old for tv? With Riot, Rousy, Becky, Asuka, Moon, Bliss, (heel) Charlotte and a couple of the Nxt girls theyve got a pretty great womens division.

What do people think of Elizabeth? I mean she's fairly attractive but I never get the way that she's (still) presented as some impossible beauty.