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I usually don't use this platform to unleash a rant.... okay, maybe I did one on Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, but he deserved it. These two probably do too, or maybe not. Whatever the case is, the problem is leery on Monday Night Raw.
The two gentlemen here, John Morrison and the Miz, were at one time on WWE's list of talent to push to the moon. Morrison has the God-given ability in the ring with some charisma sprinkled in. The Miz has the mic skills that rival many performers to go along with his ring prowess. In 2010, these two could have been on top of WWE's championship picture.
Let's fast forward to 2020-2021. These two are dancing around like fools as the Miz is carrying around the Money In The Bank briefcase, a prop that was unceremoniously tarnished in 2020 by the terrible booking of giving Otis the briefcase.
Monday Night Raw, what are you doing? Not only do you have these two jokers running around like clowns, but the company mishandled Keith Lee's run on the show, giving him a singlet and changing his entrance music. Matt Riddle is backstage making Bro-jokes and Charlotte Flair is again in the title picture despite taking a break for "injuries". Goldberg is in the world title picture. He's 54. Speaking of the world champion, I was leaping out of my seat when Drew McIntyre won the Royal Rumble in last year and again when he won the WWE championship at "WrestleMania". Even though he has booked correctly and his title reign has been good, there are times were they want him to kiss babies and shake adults' hands instead of him being a badass babyface, which he was organically and the crowd, when there was a crowd, enjoyed it. Don't ruin that. USA Network has had enough of the poor ratings and pressured the company to make the product watchable. Having Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss in this angle is interesting, but other than that. Nothing has changed.
Also, RETRIBUTION is a total failure. You might as well named the group "The Five Killed Careers".
I realize that most of the Fox executives are not wrestling fans and wasn't aware that giving WWE a boat load of money and that they thought this would produce ratings for Friday nights. The product isn't what they expected. Having women compete for the #1 contender shot with a karaoke contest isn't great television for a wrestling fan. Having Bayley and Bianca Belair compete in obstacle courses isn't great television for a wrestling fan. Oh, and former Money In The Bank winner Otis was a part of the recent segment, which tells you how far he has fallen. Roman Reigns is the saving grace of this show. If this was five years ago, you probably thought I needed a drug test with that statement. But now, he's a heel and perfect in that role. Adding Paul Heyman to join forces with Reigns makes this an enjoyable duo on Smackdown. The rest of Smackdown needs something to turn themselves. Better writing would help. Please.
NXT, I loved you. You were the non-WWE brand in WWE. Watching Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa at Takeover: New Orleans made me proud to be a wrestling fan. I mean, you still are excellent, but if there was one thing that irritated me was Pat McAfee. McAfee was made to go toe-to-toe with Adam Cole and at WarGames, McAfee kicked out of Adam Cole's Panama Sunrise. That's right. The non-wrestler kicked out of the patented moves from an established wrestler. Many bad words spewed out of my mouth. I praised Pat McAfee, but c'mon! This has Vince McMahon written all over it. Go back to wrestling, NXT. Leave the entertainment to the main roster.
Speaking of Vince McMahon, I realize you are upset that the XFL went belly up for a second time, but it wasn't your fault. The pandemic ruined it. That doesn't mean that you can release your anger on your wrestling company. Many decisions seemed as you was pissed off about that. If that's the case, then give Triple H the reins to both shows, because apparently, he made NXT watchable. Why is this hard for you to understand? It's the segment in 2002, where you wanted to inject poison into your company with the NWO. YOU ARE DOING THAT NOW WITHOUT THE NWO! Several storylines need to stop and be replaced by actual promos. You want this to be entertainment, but it's not entertaining.
Why is Bruce Pritchard in charge of creative of both shows? He seems overwhelmed. It clearly shows. Bruce, if you are reading this, you don't have to do both shows. You can focus on one show if you want. Do you enjoy Vince ripping up a script that the team worked on for hours and have nothing ready 15 minutes before the show? Is this what you signed up for? Raw had Paul Heyman and they fired him due to creative differences, meaning Heyman wanted to push new talent and Vince didn't want that. He's going to do the same to you. Every idea will be shot down quickly. Time to speak up for yourself.
The award-winning ThunderDome has become an eyesore. Just bring in fans already. By the way, what (bleep) award did they win?
Triple H..........Paul, it's time to talk to your father-in-law and tell him he needs to retire and enjoy the rest of his remaining life relaxed and playing with his grandchildren. You got this. The work with NXT has received rave reviews by many wrestling critics. It needs to happen. You can save this company with your knowledge of the business. I pray for the day that happens. You care about wrestling and THIS is wrestling. As much as this company wants to call it sports entertainment, you can't fool us......also, get rid of Kevin Dunn.
Shane McMahon, you came back and I hoped for something special. Instead, we got RAW UNDERGROUND and it bombed. I realize that you wanted your father to purchase the UFC and he scoffed at the idea. If you are going through a midlife crisis, more power to you. However, you like Triple H, need to talk some sense to your old man and have him relinquish control of the company to the both of you. If not you or Triple H, then who? He's not going to take his control to his grave, right?
Michael Cole, don't think I didn't see you. You are on Smackdown, praising how this is all great. I can see it in your eyes. Go back to 2010 heel Michael Cole and say what you want. You know you want to. Be like Nike and just do it. C'mon....stop living a lie. No. Well, I tried.
Talent that has been shafted...Ricochet, Apollo Crews, Angel Garza, Chad Gable, Shinsuke Nakamura, etc. When your contracts run out, be as the contract and RUN! Get pushes elsewhere, because it's not happening here. You deserve better than this.
You know what irritates me more than anything: This company has the financial capital and the best talent in the world and they still refuse to change. As a kid, what drew me into wrestling was great matches and excellent promos. Now, they want to go over the top with everything and it's clearly not working. They brought in Cain Velasquez, Tyson Fury, Rob Gronkowski and Pat McAfee for viewers to tune in.....and it failed. Let's be honest, McAfee had promise in the ring, but he kicked out of the Panama Sunrise and that still gets me to this day.
I'm only complaining, because I want these shows to get better and apparently, everyone in the wrestling community shares the same view that I do. It's only up to you, WWE, to give us weekly shows tailored for an audience who appreciates professional wrestling. The Pay-per-view events are better than average, yet your weekly shows leading up to the pay-per-view are way under average.
Ok, I think I should watch some old content on the WWE Network since I'm only paying $9.99 for it.
Wait, what's that, the Network was sold to NBC Universal and will be exclusive to the Peacock app for a much larger price. Oh, joy.
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