WWE TV Megathread

[strobogo]

I legit hope the angle ends up being Pat has been trying to convince Orton to bring back the punt. Because Pat was a kicker. And then everyone groans.

[sek69]

So I thought Raw was pretty good in-ring wise, but lol at CM Punk having to do another Pipe Bomb calling out Ari Emmanuel to lower the Mania ticket prices due to the absolute clusterfuck they created. On top of *gestures at everything*, TKO thinking they can treat WWE like UFC because they both (sorta) are combat sports is one of the greatest audience misreads I've ever seen. WWE has long strives to be a family friendly enterprise (again, sorta), so their big brain idea was to make tickets unaffordable to families just because it works for the chuds who go to UFC shows. 

Also I thought Gunther was moved to a program with Seth because Rey was hurt when they were building a feud when he was murdering Dragon Lee. Now Rey just comes out and adds himself to the IC title ladder match because reasons? I mean it's probably going to be awesome in the ring on both counts but it had me "wtf?"-ing at the TV. 

[El-P]

Wow. When you think CM Punk can't sink any lower. The most embarrassing part of it, if you put aside the level of Russo-ism of the booking, is that the audience is still buying this shit. Of the entire brain-dead crowd, the CM Punk fans must be the most cultish of all to still support that clown.

Also, this : 

 

So, this is where WWE is ? Actually *putting over* the old rapist and TV ? Wow. This is insane. 

And really now, even if you put aside WWE being tied at the hip with American fascism, the MAGA pseudo celebrity galore (Logan Paul, McAfee, JerryRoll, not to mention IshowSpeed which at one time had been banned from Twitch for sexual intimidation), this Mania season absolutely comes off like absolute dogshit from the looks of it on the pure pro-wrestling only (see what I did here ?) standpoint. I mean, people still paying (a fuck lot) for this shit deserves all they get, really...

[sek69]

So Liv showed off the egg she's sporting from her and Roxanne clonking heads on Raw.

 

[The Thread Killer]

Apparently the reason they haven’t announced Asuka vs Iyo for Wrestlemania yet is because they are waiting to see if Nikki Bella’s sprained ankle will heal in time for the show.

If Bella can’t go by Wrestlemania, they will substitute Asuka & Kairi for the Bellas in the Fatal 4 Way for the Women’s Tag Titles. Not sure what that would mean for Iyo. I can’t imagine Iyo being left off the show, there is a legit argument to be made that she is the best Women’s Wrestler active in the business today.

After that atrocity of a match Stratton and Giulia put on a couple of weeks ago, I can definitely see why they didn’t make the cut. Which is weird, because I think both of them are great, but that match was…yeesh. Giulia looked terrible.

[DMJ]

I don't watch the week-to-week so I could be totally off-base here, but aside from Rhea/Jade, which does feel like a Mania match, the rest of the women's division stuff seems really weak and thrown together. (I also have less than zero interest in AJ vs. Becky despite loving the Becky-as-Trump tweets.)

I wouldn't consider myself a Liv stan, but the decision to bring her back and re-align her with Dominik Mysterio when you could've had her comeback as a babyface (when she left, she was already halfway there with the audience), feuding with her former stablemates, Raquel and Roxanne, in February/March after winning the Rumble and then going on to challenge a strong Women's World Champion like IYO...I just don't get it. I know Liv isn't a world-beater in the ring, but give her and IYO a few weeks to plan and rehearse a 15-minute match and I think you've got a show-stealer on your hands.

Hammy as it sounds, a "boyhood dream" story with Liv in the role of Shawn Michaels is really easy to sell. Sure, she's been champion before, but never "on her own" or in non-fluke fashion. Meanwhile, she's also suffered some serious injuries that make her sympathetic and the story was RIGHT THERE for Dom, Raquel, and Roxanne to betray her when she was out. 

Again, I don't watch anymore and haven't for about 9 months or so and I could be wrong on all this, but if casual fans is what the WWE is catering to and I now count as a casual fan - someone who barely watches but checks in for the Rumble and Mania - I'm definitely puzzled as to why Liv Morgan has been put back on a character hamster wheel with a stable that I didn't even know were still a thing when it seemed like, before she got injured, the trajectory was a big babyface run. And, also, no casual fan has any idea who Stephanie Vaquer is (while IYO at least had a relatively high profile run in 2025-26).