The Raw is Worth the Reward - 5/4/2020

[LoneWolf&Subs]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Vince had a one on one with him, and vaguely pleaded with him to stay, and take a risk(because it’s worth the reward). 

[Lawful Metal]

Oh man I feel like it's a missed opportunity for someone not to have "resurrected" AJ.  Could've been Bray, could've been Aleister (does he have supernatural powers yet?  I feel like that's coming.  Remember when he'd like disappear around corners in NXT to avoid interviews?  That was fun.  Also, Aleister not talking, that's a good thing.)  Could've been Zelina doing some Santeria.  Where Catrina?  Where's Mil Muertes?  I miss Lucha Underground.  I can't watch these empty arena shows.  It's depressing.  Is there no one to do Nia's hair and makeup?  Asuka doing her own make up makes sense.  God I hate Seth. 

[Casey]

The following tweet is relevant for people that talk about "not the time for ratings talk", but it's also not exclusive to WWE's ratings. The same thing can be said about AEW.

 

[LoneWolf&Subs]

Dude, it’s not the time to talk about ratings. 

[Casey]

nah bruh i heard the corona was over with in america so it's the perfect time to talk about it

[LoneWolf&Subs]

I said it from the start, and i’ll keep saying it. Empty arena wrestling is no fun to watch. I had the feeling in the pit of my stomach while watching it for the first time with Dynamite, and I continue feeling it. Wrestling just does not work without a crowd. And you can try to do the cinematic stuff, because even I suggested it to see if it worked, but at the end of the day I knew it wouldn’t be appealing enough just from the failures of past promotions like LU, and WSX. Stuff like that has a very short shelflife. Same with this crowd less wrestling. Whatever keeps the lights on I guess for these companies, but to be honest it’s only hurting their product further. Like a wrestler coming back from injury, TV wrestling returning to the airwaves after being absent for so long would’ve given it a boost. But now you’ve put your product through this compromising position and you’ve exposed it in ways you shouldn’t have. But maybe this is their only choice to stay alive.

Edited May 6, 2020 by LoneWolf&Subs

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

11 hours ago, hammerva said:

And yet they are doing to Roman Reigns special on FOX tonight.  You would think that if Reigns was in some doghouse he wouldn't be shown in Primetime on Fox

He is in The Big Dog-house

[Tarheel Moneghetti]

3 hours ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

I said it from the start, and i’ll keep saying it. Empty arena wrestling is no fun to watch. I had the feeling in the pit of my stomach while watching it for the first time with Dynamite, and I continue feeling it. Wrestling just does not work without a crowd. And you can try to do the cinematic stuff, because even I suggested it to see if it worked, but at the end of the day I knew it wouldn’t be appealing enough just from the failures of past promotions like LU, and WSX. Stuff like that has a very short shelflife. Same with this crowd less wrestling. Whatever keeps the lights on I guess for these companies, but to be honest it’s only hurting their product further. Like a wrestler coming back from injury, TV wrestling returning to the airwaves after being absent for so long would’ve given it a boost. But now you’ve put your product through this compromising position and you’ve exposed it in ways you shouldn’t have. But maybe this is their only choice to stay alive.

I can't imagine casual fans watching empty arena shows and staying interested enough to check out the product when shows with fans return.  

RAW did it's lowest rating ever and the WWE programming FS1 is running on Tuesday nights struggles to make the top 150 shows for the evening (I had no idea that was a thing).  Lol, maybe the networks should pay Vince not to run.

[LoneWolf&Subs]

7 hours ago, Tarheel Moneghetti said:

RAW did it's lowest rating ever and the WWE programming FS1 is running on Tuesday nights struggles to make the top 150 shows for the evening (I had no idea that was a thing).  Lol, maybe the networks should pay Vince not to run.

You have to give FOX a hand. They’ve been a committed parter for the WWE, even when it’s obvious this was a poor investment by them. Which makes me think the rumors are somewhat true that Vince is trying to lure Fox, or Disney to purchase the WWE, and Fox is looking like the ones that want to take up that burden in the future. Maybe they see this all turning around, and their wisdom as a TV network will guide it to success. But one serious bidder right now on a very cold product won’t create a sale. 

Edit: Also anybody who says this Roman stuff is to get him over, you are lying to yourselves. Roman is done as a top guy. I knew it as soon as they put the belt on Braun. I now know with seeing that video of Vink in the general thread. Vince has a new project now. He’s finally given up on the one he’s repeatedly failed at putting over, and Vince is definitely shitting on Roman in his own mentally abusive way of doing it.

Edited May 6, 2020 by LoneWolf&Subs

[Eivion]

The gauntlet match was background noise and FF material for me. Way too much Lahsley and Carrillo. 

Street Prophets vs. Viking Raiders was good, better than their last match by a decent margin.

Charlotte/Liv was fairly good and easily the best match Liv has had on tv/ppv be it the main roster or NXT.

 

[The Natural]

On 5/5/2020 at 7:13 PM, Craig H said:

On a related note, when Roman does return, it would be a good time for him to finally change up his attire a little bit and have some new or modified music.

That needed to happen when the Shield split up. Ambrose and Rollins changed their ring attire qwith new entrance music. Reigns kept the Shield theme though it was tweaked slightly. I do remember Reigns getting colour trimming and it didn't look good:

This was soon ditched for the black pants and the Roman Reigns logo on his vest, looked better.

Edited May 7, 2020 by The Natural

[JonnyLaw]

On 5/5/2020 at 7:13 PM, L_W_P said:

As an Aussie I am loving them. Ricochet deserves more than to be stuck in a tag team but I'll follow The Mighty all the way.

Counting down the days before Murphy turns on Rollins, hits him with that knee in the face, brings in these guys as his own backup and tells the whole world that "The Mighty Don't Kneel".

I doubt they’ll use that name since it’s only half The Mighty after Nick Miller left.

[NikoBaltimore]

I know it wasn't much of a show yet I'm still surprised nobody brought up Asuka during the VIP Lounge.  Her dancing and singing along to not only her entrance but also Nia's was a joy and is example 14930 of why she is a goddamn treasure.

Oh, and Liv very much deserves a title shot considering how much she's improved.  Really glad to see her step it up and with some more high-profile matches I can see her as champ in due time.

[Curt McGirt]

1 hour ago, NikoBaltimore said:

I know it wasn't much of a show yet I'm still surprised nobody brought up Asuka during the VIP Lounge.  Her dancing and singing along to not only her entrance but also Nia's was a joy and is example 14930 of why she is a goddamn treasure.

That's the only part of the show I caught and was totally gif worthy. As soon as Asuka picked up the mic I turned off the mute. Nia getting kicked over and them tangling was perfect.

[Dolfan in NYC]