WWE TV 09/03 - 09/09 RIP Brazil's National Museum

[SomethingSavage]

I shit on modern WWE a lot, because what they do mostly sucks. And they seem incapable of rewarding their viewers with any sort of proper payoff or satisfying moment anymore. But they *did* produce two separate segments of TV worth checking out this past week.

The Shawn/Taker confrontation was great. Basic, simple, straightforward, and leagues above anything else outside of NXT. *This* was a main event angle. Nothing cute. Nothing winking at you or nudging you. Nothing screaming, "We're here to PERFORM and ENTERTAIN you!" No talk about great matches, dream matches, or any of that horse shit.

And what do you know?! They actually acknowledged their own history! They adhered to one of the few stories they've actually committed to canon. How about that?!

And so Taker talked about putting Shawn down, about hurting his ego, and about kicking Hunter's ass again. It was treated like an impending FIGHT. They weren't setting up to sell it as a dream match, which is everything I despise about current WWE booking in a nutshell.

Every month, they're so caught up in selling dream matches and great matches that they never bother to treat it like a fight or a struggle. Nobody is threatening to knock somebody's lights out or beat them from one end of the arena to the other, because hey. An ass-whooping is what happens in real life situations, but it doesn't make for a "great" match. Everybody's got to get their shit in & do your-turn-my-turn tricks. They've become so lazy & uninspired in their approach to selling matches that they don't even bother to treat it like a struggle. Instead, it's just two guys talking back & forth about what a great match they're going to have together. It's phony as hell, and it feels like such a slap in the face to anyone who WANTS to invest in these characters and their conflicts.

So yeah. Taker and Shawn did well here.

And then there was the Becky/Charlotte deal. Becky has been a blast as a heel already, even if the crowd ain't having it. You can tell she's revitalized & fully energized as a personality. She's embracing the change, regardless. And, to be fair, she's spoken in interviews about wanting to be a heel going allll the way back to her SD Women's Title reign in 2016.

She's still doing that weird Heath Ledger Joker thing with her tongue way too fucking much, but that's a minor issue I guess.

Anyway, she's running laps around Charlotte at the moment. Charlotte is mixing up phrases, tripping over buzzwords, and just struggling to find a sliver of her own voice in these interviews - while Becky is talking trash and firing back like an actual living, breathing human being. It's so refreshing. Lynch has swag for days. And I hope they have the good common sense to let that carry over into her matches.

Becky *has* to come out with that BMF walk. She *has* to be allowed to compete like a meaner, nastier version of herself. She can't just come out and do the same lifeless video game entrance. She can't just wrestle a match like it's a bunch of strung together spots that they're trying to recall.

I realize that seems like nitpicking at first glance to some, but it isn't at all. On the surface, it may not seem like a big deal. But it certainly is. Having Becky just come out with her usual entrance and go into a collar & elbow tie-up like it's no big deal would just be the dirt worst. And I half-expect that to be exactly what they do with her. But i sure hope not.

 

[Johnny Sorrow]

Becky needs new music, or at least an altered version of her current music.

[Strummer]

WWE just announced Renee Young is now full time as Raw commentator.  Coach is gone I guess.

 

wait Coach now hosts the PPV pre shows

[rovert]

18 hours ago, Johnny Sorrow said:

Becky needs new music, or at least an altered version of her current music.

Slowed down with rapping over it.

She needs new offence too largely. Most of it is white meat babyface fire up spots. She definitely needs to work on her strikes.

[SomethingSavage]

Renee on commentary is definitely an upgrade. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and her chemistry with Regal in NXT was a lot of fun back in the day. Ideally, they'd try recreate something like that.