Seth Rollins announced on tonight’s WWE RAW that he and Dean Ambrose are invoking their rematch clause for a title shot from RAW Tag Team Champions The Bar. Rollins & Ambrose vs. Cesaro & Sheamus will take place on next week’s RAW from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Tonight’s RAW saw Rollins defeat Cesaro in singles action. Ambrose was absent as he’s on his honeymoon in Hawaii with Renee Young, who will likely be missing this week’s SmackDown as well. Sheamus was also absent tonight as he’s on his “annual sabbatical” back in Ireland. Both will be back next week.
– New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) has launched a new English YouTube channel, and their first video featured IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega. You can check it out here:
– In the latest video of WWE Superstar Sheamus’ official YouTube channel, the Irishman takes fans behind-the-scenes of the process of styling his signature mohawk:
– Below is the latest episode of “Celtic Warrior Workouts” from RAW Tag Team Champion Sheamus’ YouTube channel, featuring a boxing & MMA session with Sheamus’ combat coach Josh Rafferty at Optimum Gym South Tampa.
– RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss is set to go one-on-one with SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Natalya at Survivor Series later this month. WWE recently uploaded a video of “Little Miss Bliss” discussing the match-up, and she vowed to run circles around “The Queen Of Harts”:
– As we’ve previously noted, The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) defeated The Shield (Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins) to reclaim the RAW Tag Team Titles on RAW last night. They will now be taking on SmackDown Live Tag Team Champs The Usos at Survivor Series for the pay-per-view’s (PPV’s) SmackDown vs. RAW angle. In the following video you can see The Bar celebrating after their big win:
– The Superstars from WWE’s United Kingdom division will be appearing on this week’s 205 Live episode from Manchester, England. Stars advertised to appear are WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne, Mark Andrews, Jordan Devlin, Tucker, Tyler Bate, Joseph Conners and James Drake. As noted, this week’s RAW in Manchester saw Dunne make his RAW debut with a non-title win over WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore.
– Sin Cara took to Twitter and confirmed that he suffered a knee injury at Sunday’s WWE live event in Spain. He was pulled from Monday’s live event in Portugal due to the injury. WWE has not commented on the injury but they did re-tweet his comments. Sin Cara tweeted (translated),
“Due to an knee injury I could not participate today in #WWELisbon. Apologies to those who attended. I hope to see you again soon.”
“For those who say it’s only entertainment.We love this sport and we put ourselves at risk for it every day.”
Stay tuned for updates on Cara’s condition going into this week’s SmackDown.
Para todos los que dicen que es solo entretenimiento! ?? Amamos este deporte y por el ponemos cada dia nuestro bienestar en riesgo. ?????? pic.twitter.com/cITIjqlJom
– This week’s WWE RAW in Manchester, England saw Sheamus and Cesaro defeat Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to become three-time RAW Tag Team Champions. Below is video of The Bar talking to Mike Rome after the big win, which came after The New Day appeared in the crowd to distract everyone.
The Bar brags on beating The Hardys, The New Day and now The Shield. They now look ahead to their match against SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos. Cesaro says The Uso Penitentiary can’t hold them because they just don’t break bars, they are The Bar.
Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in the main event of tonight’s WWE RAW in Manchester, England to become the new RAW Tag Team Champions.
WWE actually sent out a ‘spoiler’ push notification to WWE app users prior to RAW, which upset some fans on social media.
This is the third RAW Tag Team Title reign for The Bar. Ambrose and Rollins won the titles back on August 20th at WWE SummerSlam, defeating Cesaro and Sheamus.
The Bar will now face SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos at the November 19th WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Posted November 6th, 2017 in WWE, News. Tagged: Sheamus.
– WWE posted the following video of Cathy Kelly discussing former WWE Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz’s (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) reaction to Sheamus and Cesaro hitting their 3-D finishing maneuver on Jeff Hardy. You can check it out here below:
– WWE posted the following video on Instagram, showing a new backstage angle of Dolph Ziggler’s impression of the DX entrance on last night’s (Tues. September 19, 2017) episode of SmackDown Live. Check it out:
– It was reported earlier last week by Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer that the advance tickets for last night’s (Mon. September 18, 2017) Monday Night RAW from the SAP Center in San Jose, California were not doing well. The show did not sell out and photos taken by fans during the pre-RAW WWE Main Event tapings showed a ton of empty seats:
– During last night’s Monday Night RAW, the team of Sheamus and Cesaro defeated WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match. Sheamus and Cesaro will challenge Ambrose and Rollins for the RAW Tag Team Titles at No Mercy, and Cesaro took to Twitter to comment on the upcoming match-up:
Ambrose and Cesaro started off the match. Sheamus quickly tagged in and locked up with Ambrose. Sheamus wrestled Ambrose to the mat and then applied a Chin Lock. Ambrose fought out of the hold and the two Superstars locked up again. Rollins tagged himself in and Ambrose Suplexed Sheamus to the mat.
Sheamus got back to his feet and brought Rollins to the corner. Cesaro was tagged in and connected with an uppercut. Ambrose was tagged in and he leveled Cesaro with a Clothesline for a one count. Ambrose kneed Cesaro in the chest and then knocked Sheamus out of the ring. Sheamus and Cesaro regrouped outside the ring as Rollins and Ambrose waited for them inside the ring.
The action returned to the ring and Cesaro knocked Ambrose off the ring apron. Sheamus then Brogue Kicked Ambrose outside the ring. Rollins went for a Suicide Dive onto Sheamus and Cesaro outside the ring but they caught him and slammed him to the floor outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Cesaro planted Rollins with a Suplex and tagged in Sheamus. Cesaro held Rollins down as Sheamus connected with a knee. Cesaro was tagged in and he continued the beatdown of Rollins. Seth hit a Blockbuster on Cesaro and looked for a tag but Ambrose was still knocked out on the floor outside the ring.
Sheamus was tagged in and he kneed Rollins in the back and then slammed him to the mat for a two count. Cesaro sprinted into the crowd and destroyed a beach ball that being knocked around the arena. The crowd chanted “yes!” as Cesaro ripped up the beach ball. Back in the ring, Cesaro connected with a Suplex and then tagged Sheamus back in.
Rollins hit Sheamus with a kick to the side of his head as Ambrose finally made his way to the ring apron. Seth tried to make his way to the corner but Cesaro entered the match and prevented him from doing so. Cesaro charged at Rollins but Seth got out of the way and Cesaro tumbled out of the ring. Cesaro clutched his knee when he hit the floor.
Cesaro tagged Sheamus in the match and Ambrose lost it. Ambrose climbed up to the top turnbuckle and leaped onto Sheamus, Cesaro and Rollins outside the ring. Ambrose brought Rollins into the ring but Sheamus prevented the tag yet again. Cesaro was tagged in and Rollins was able to avoid him and finally tag in Ambrose.
Dean planted Cesaro with a Neckbreaker and then climbed up to the top rope. Rollins and Ambrose Clotheslined both Cesaro and Sheamus out of the ring. Rollins and Ambrose then connected with dueling Suicide Dives onto Sheamus and Cesaro. Back in the ring, Rollins was tagged in and he it a Slingblade on Cesaro for a two count.
Ambrose was tagged in and he leaped off the turnbuckle but was greeted with an uppercut from Cesaro. Ambrose responded with the Lunatic Lariat and both Superstars fell to the mat. Sheamus was tagged in and climbed to the top rope but Dean met him up there. Rollins got onto the ring apron and booted Sheamus in the head and Ambrose hit a Superplex. Rollins then hit a Frog Splash and went for the cover but Cesaro leaped into the ring and broke up the pinfall.
Ambrose tagged himself in and beatdown Sheamus in the corner. Rollins and Ambrose then lifted up Sheamus onto the turnbuckle and were about to Powerbomb him but Cesaro got into the ring and distracted them. Cesaro launched Rollins out of the ring and Sheamus connected with a Backbreaker to Ambrose for a two count.
Cesaro was tagged in and went for a Crossbody but Ambrose rolled through for a roll up but Cesaro kicked out at two. Cesaro hit the Cesaro Swing and then locked in the Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring. Rollins tried to get in the ring but Sheamus planted him with a rolling Senton. Ambrose tried to get out of the Sharpshooter but Cesaro transitioned into a Crossface in the middle of the ring.
Ambrose reversed it into a roll up but Cesaro kicked out at two. Sheamus was tagged in and leveled Ambrose with a Clothesline off the top rope as Cesaro held Dean up on his shoulders. Cesaro was tagged back in and Ambrose was planted with a double Razer’s Edge. Cesaro went for the pinfall but Rollins leaped into the ring at the last second and broke up the pinfall.
Rollins was once again knocked out of the ring and Sheamus was tagged in. Sheamus and Cesaro were going to team up for a move but Rollins hit a Hurricanrana and Cesaro launched into Sheamus. Rollins then hit a Superkick onto Cesaro and Sheamus and then Ambrose planted Sheamus with the Dirty Deeds for the victory.
Matt Hardy was cut open pretty badly during the 30-minute Iron Man tag match at Great Balls of Fire between The Hardy Boyz and Tag Champs Sheamus & Cesaro. It was the most blood shown on a WWE event in recent history.
It took 9 stitches to close the wound above Hardy’s eye, which is believed to have been caused by an elbow from Cesaro. WWE uploaded the above video of Hardy getting stitched up after Great Balls of Fire went off the air Sunday night. Matt also uploaded the below photos of the cut.
Sheamus also received medical care backstage after the match. WWE uploaded a video of an exhausted-looking Sheamus with a welt on the side of his head being checked out by a trainer. In the video, Cesaro watches on as his partner complains of pain in his trapezius area.
RAW Tag Team Champion Sheamus took to Twitter earlier today to reflect on making his WWE debut 8 years ago today. Sheamus stated that he broke the glass ceiling for pale gingers.
WWE Superstars Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E appeared on episode 1,157 of Good Mythical Morning today. The trio had to create random commercials on the spot as part of the third “Random Commercial Challenge” on the show. You can check out the full episode and behind the scenes footage in the videos below.
Curt Hawkins posts throwback photo of meeting Triple H in 2002
RAW Superstar Curt Hawkins posted a throwback photo of meeting his future boss, Triple H at Madison Square Garden in 2002.
RAW tag team champion Sheamus will be taking a hiatus from WWE television soon to work on a new WWE Studios project, Buddy Games.
As seen last night on RAW, actor Josh Duhamel did guest commentary to promote the new Transformers movie as well as Buddy Games. Sheamus and comedian Nick Swardson will co-star, with production starting in August in Vancouver.
According to Deadline.com, Buddy Games is about a group of thirtysomething friends reunite to play the Buddy Game — a wild assortment of absurd physical and mental challenges. “In the process, they heal old wounds, right past wrongs and figure out the true meaning of friendship — or die trying.”
The Celtic Warrior is expected to miss approximately 6 weeks of television during production (Source: Wrestling Observer Radio).
It remains to be seen what this means for Sheamus & Cesaro’s tag title reign. The champions do not yet have a match confirmed for Great Balls of Fire, but their ongoing feud with Matt and Jeff Hardy probably means we’ll see these two teams square off once again at the pay-per-view.
The Rock posted the following video of a fan stopping in traffic to get a selfie with him. The video has since gone viral and was featured on SportsCenter today.
WWE SuperCard was updated today and 2K issued the following:
2K today announced availability of Update 4 to WWE SuperCard – Season 3, the latest iteration of 2K’s popular WWE collectible card-battling game. Today’s free update, released today for iOS and Android devices, features dozens of new cards – including a Hall of Fame pack – that enable players to kick their nostalgia into high gear.
Today’s update includes:
New Cards:
A brand new Hall of Fame pack featuring over 20 cards, including Ultimate Warrior, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Ric Flair, and spanning the Hardened, Elite, Ultimate and WrestleMania 33 tiers;
Seven new Throwback cards in the WrestleMania 33 tier, added as part of the existing Throwback+ pack;
Seven new Fusion cards for WrestleMania 33;
New Achievements and Rewards: Achievements are now tied in with the Ladder system and reward players for completing specific objectives;
New Attitudes and Credits Pack: New Attitudes and a new Credits Pack are available via the in-game store, as well as the BP Store.
Additional improvements include new deck types and enhancements to Team Battleground (TBG) mode, as well as several gameplay optimizations.
2K also posted a couple of promos on the WWE2K YouTube channel for the game featuring “anonymous” SuperCard players.
Sheamus & Cesaro to defend the RAW Tag Team Championships against The Hardy Boyz on RAW
WWE has posted their preview for tomorrow night’s episode of RAW. Sheamus and Cesaro will defend their RAW Tag Team Championships against The Hardy Boyz. Matt and Jeff lost their titles last week at Extreme Rules in a Steel Cage Match. Matt Hardy took to Twitter and said that The Hardys will recapture their titles tomorrow night.
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal was live earlier today on Facebook from a gym in San Jose, Costa Rica. Mahal went through his warmup and a bunch of exercises during the livestream. If you are using the app or the video is not appearing, click here.
WWE has released a video in which WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Matt and Jeff Hardy announce that they will be defending their titles against No. 1-contenders Sheamus and Cesaro at the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) next month.
A stipulation for the match was not mentioned directly, however, Jeff mentioned that he’d like to take on Sheamus and Cesaro in a No DQ Match. As of this writing, no other matches have been announced for the PPV. Extreme Rules goes down from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on June 4, 2017.
Sheamus & Cesaro Claim They Are The Future On RAW Talk
Sheamus and Cesaro attacked The Hardy Boyz last night after the RAW Tag Team Championship match at Payback. The Hardys won the match and Sheamus and Cesaro had finally had enough. After WWE Payback went off the air, Sheamus and Cesaro joined Renee Young and Jerry Lawler on RAW Talk. Sheamus claimed that the honeymoon is now over for The Hardys and claimed that they were a part of the past.
Seth Rollins was interviewed after his victory over Samoa Joe at WWE Payback. Rollins stated that his banged up knee will not hold him back going forward. Samoa Joe targeted Rollins’ injured knee the entire match but Rollins was still able to get the victory.
– It was announced that July’s Battleground PPV will take place on Sunday, July 23rd from Philadelphia, PA. Battleground will be a SmackDown-exlusive event.
be a Smackdown-exclusive PPV event. It will take place on July 23rd in Philadelphia, PA.
WWE Battleground will be at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly July 23.
The 2 hour WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff Pre-show on Sunday will see RAW Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus defend against Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.
Below is the updated card for Sunday’s PPV from The Alamodome:
– 30 Man Royal Rumble Match with Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Big E, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, Sheamus, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, Luke Harper
– AJ Styles defends the WWE Championship against John Cena
– Kevin Owens defends the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns while Chris Jericho hangs above in a shark cage
– Charlotte defends the RAW Women’s Championship against Bayley
– Rich Swann defends the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Neville
– Cesaro and Sheamus defend the RAW Tag Team Championships against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on the pre-show
– WWE taped Curtis Axel vs. Goldust and Lince Dorado vs. Tony Nese last night in Columbus for this week’s Main Event episode.
– The main event of tonight’s 205 Live episode will see Brian Kendrick team with Neville to take on Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann and TJ Perkins. The match was made after Kendrick and Neville beat down the two babyfaces on RAW last night.
– As reported earlier, WWE revealed new RAW Tag Team Championships with a red background last night. Below is video of Cesaro and Sheamus being photographed with the new-look titles backstage:
Breakdown: The build to this match has mainly focused on Enzo Amore and Rusev. Enzo got suckered into meeting Lana at a hotel and Rusev beat the hell out of him. Big Cass now has his chance avenge his friend Enzo in a match against Rusev.
Prediction: This is a tough match to predict. Enzo and Cass haven’t really been in the Tag Team Championship seen at all recently. I wouldn’t be surprised if the WWE wants to start a singles push for Big Cass. I think Enzo and Cass are a solid tag team but once you get past the entrance, they have the same match every time. Enzo gets destroyed and then Big Cass gets tagged in and takes care of business. In a perfect world, Rusev wins this match but Big Cass has a good showing.
Winner: Rusev
Sami Zayn vs Braun Strowman (10 Minute Time Limit)
Breakdown: Sami Zayn has been obsessed with Strowman the past few weeks and Braun simply couldn’t care less. The two Superstars had a match a couple of weeks ago and Raw GM Mick Foley put a stop to it because Zayn couldn’t defend himself. Zayn demanded a rematch and finally Foley caved in and gave it to him this Sunday at Roadblock. Foley also put a 10 minute time limit on the match.
Prediction: I cannot come up with a scenario in which it would make sense for Sami Zayn to win this match. Obviously, Sami Zayn has been underutilized on Raw since the brand split. However, Raw has spent far too much time building up Braun Strowman for him to lose a relatively meaningless match against Sami Zayn. I think Sami Zayn will last the 10 minutes and that will piss Strowman off. The match will conclude with Strowman beating down Zayn after the 10 minute mark was reached. Foley may come out to try to put a stop to it and maybe Strowman will attack him as well. I think this would be a good way to show that Sami Zayn never quits and that Braun Strowman is an uncontrollable monster that the Raw locker room should fear.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match: New Day (c) vs Sheamus & Cesaro
Breakdown: This match was announced at Tribute to the Troops on Wednesday. Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Golden Truth, Gallows & Anderson and The Shining Stars in a Fatal 4-Way match to become the #1 contenders. The New Day are now the longest reigning Tag Team Champions in WWE history.
Prediction: A lot of people seem to believe that the New Day’s title reign is coming to an end. Sheamus and Cesaro got off to a rocky start when it came to crowd reactions but they have overcome that. They now work well as a tag team and are pretty much the only team on Raw that is ready to take the titles from the New Day. I think that will happen in due time. However, I do not think that will happen at Roadblock.
Winners & Still Tag Team Champions: New Day
Cruiserweight Championship Match: Rich Swann (c) vs The Brian Kendrick vs TJ Perkins
Breakdown: TJ Perkins lost the Cruiserweight title to Kendrick and then Kendrick lost it to Swann. On 205 Live, TJ Perkins submitted Rich Swann in the middle of the ring. On Monday Night Raw, Kendrick defeated Perkins easily. Perkins and Swann are friends but they seem ready to turn on each other. Kendrick’s strategy has been to play mind games with both Swann and Perkins.
Prediction: This is one of those matches that could go a million different ways. I don’t like the idea of Kendrick getting the title back so quickly. He really doesn’t need it. I think that the WWE has been dropping some subtle hints that Perkins is gearing up for a heel turn. His interactions with Swann backstage have been bizarre. I think Rich Swann is going to retain his title but Perkins is going to attack him after the match. Brian Kendrick may even join in on the attack or simply smile and cheer Perkins on.
Winner & Still Cruiserweight Champion: Rich Swann
Seth Rollins vs Chris Jericho
Breakdown: Rollins and Jericho have been battling for awhile now. Rollins was mainly focused on Kevin Owens but Jericho kept getting involved in their matches. Rollins hit a Pedigree on Jericho on top of a car a couple of weeks ago on Raw. Seth wants to defeat Jericho, take the Universal Championship from Kevin Owens and then fight Triple H. Jericho has a lot on his mind but mainly his beloved list and his broken friendship with Kevin Owens.
Prediction: The only way Jericho can win this match is by some sort of outside interference. I do not believe that Triple H will be showing up at WWE Roadblock but you never know. I think it is more likely that this match is earlier in the show and Kevin Owens tries to help Jericho out. Owens is desperate to fix his friendship with Jericho. If he can accomplish that, maybe Jericho will show up later in the night in Owens’ title defense against Roman Reigns. Even if Owens interferes, I think Rollins overcomes it and still wins the match.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Iron Man Match For The Raw Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs Charlotte
Breakdown: Sasha Banks and Charlotte have essentially been trading the Raw Women’s Championship back and forth since the brand split. Sasha Bansk won the title back on Raw recently and celebrated with Ric Flair in the ring. The following week, Charlotte pretended to apologize to her father for embarrassing him back in May on Raw. Charlotte once again talked down to Ric Flair and then beat up Sasha Banks in front of him. Ric Flair stood there helplessly as his daughter beatdown Banks.
Prediction: Charlotte is undefeated at PPVs and I wouldn’t be surprised if that continues. I think this match will be excellent and will showcase how talented both Sasha Banks and Charlotte are. However, I think the ending will involve Ric Flair helping out his daughter Charlotte. I don’t think the WWE is bringing back Ric Flair as an on-screen character for him to be in the corner of Sasha Banks. Thus, the Raw Women’s Championship will once again change hands and Charlotte will leave Pittsburgh with the title.
Winner & New Raw Women’s Champion: Charlotte
Universal Championship Match: Kevin Owens (c) vs Roman Reigns
Breakdown: Roman Reigns has gotten the upper hand on Owens recently. Roman Reigns both want the Universal Championship. Reigns gets his shot on Sunday and Rollins battles Owens’ former best friend Chris Jericho. Reigns has already defeated Kevin Owens clean recently and that victory gave him the oppurtunity at the Universal Championship.
Prediction: Much like the Jericho and Rollins match, the only way Owens can win this match is by someone interfering. Owens has been booked as a paper champion his whole title reign. He has relied on Chris Jericho to help him retain his Universal Championship. If Jericho or Triple H does not interfere, there is no way Kevin Owens is going to defeat Roman Reigns at Roadblock. Roman Reigns is currently the United States Champion and that is the only thing preventing me from picking him this Sunday. I think the person that is going to take the Universal Championship from Owens will be Seth Rollins. I think Owens retains by getting himself disqualified, running out of the arena or outside interference.
Winner & Still Universal Champion: Kevin Owens
What do you think will happen this Sunday at WWE Roadblock: End of the Line? Let us know in the comments below.
Cesaro and Sheamus are the new #1 contenders to RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day after winning a Fatal 4 Way over Gallows & Anderson, The Shining Stars and Golden Truth at tonight’s WWE Tribute to the Troops tapings. They will get their shot at Sunday’s Roadblock: End of the Line PPV in Pittsburgh.
Below is the updated Roadblock card:
– WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens defends against WWE US Champion Roman Reigns
– RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defends against Charlotte in an Iron Man Match
– RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day defend against Sheamus and Cesaro
– Rich Swann defends the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Brian Kendrick and TJ Perkins
– Seth Rollins takes on Chris Jericho
– Sami Zayn goes up against Braun Strowman with a 10-minute time limit
– Big Cass battles Rusev on the pre-show
Posted December 13th, 2016 in News, WWE. Tagged: Sheamus.
– After last night’s WWE RAW went off the air, United States Champion Roman Reigns picked up another win over Universal Champion Kevin Owens. The two will square off in the main event of next month’s Roadblock pay-per-view. Update: We’ve received word from Twitter user @TherealWP that no such mach took place, so there’s conflicting information here. We apologize for the confusion.
– Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Tully Blanchard, appeared with several North Carolina indy wrestlers on last night’s RAW in the bar segment with Sheamus and Cesaro. Below is video from that segment:
Monday Night Raw took place last night in Glasgow, Scotland. Raw is advertised as a wrestling show. My apologies, a “sports entertainment” show. The only problem with that is last night’s Raw contained less than 40 minutes of actual wrestling. One of the matches in the less than 40 minutes of in-ring action was between the Shining Stars and Golden Truth. Now, you can consider that a wrestling match. I’d like to call it a train wreck and a waste of everyone’s time. The crowd was silent for most of the match but mustered the energy to chant “boring!” in the middle of it.
Raw is supposed to be a three hour show but it typically goes about 15 minutes long. Lets just say that a typical episode of Monday Night Raw is between 180-190 minutes. It is completely ridiculous for a wrestling program of that length to have less than an hour of in-ring action. It could be excusable if the promos were actually entertaining. The issue is that they usually are mind-numbingly stupid and bore everyone to tears.
Last night, there was a 15 minute promo featuring the New Day dressed in kilts and bringing bagpipes down to the ring. I guess because the show was taped in Scotland that was supposed to be hilarious. Big E then recited a speech from the film Braveheart to pump up the Raw team for Survivor Series. The rest of the promo was everyone cracking jokes at the expense of Sheamus. The promo wound up leading to a quick match between the New Day and Gallows & Anderson. Amazingly, Gallows and Anderson picked up a clean victory over New Day. The WWE has conditioned their audience to view Gallows & Anderson as a joke for the past few months. All of the sudden, they are mowing through the Tag Team Champions. I don’t understand it but that is a whole other discussion.
The main point is that the match was short and hardly competitive. Big E was dominated throughout and the match. The only momentum the New Day had was when Kofi was tagged in and he got in some offense. Gallows & Anderson picked up a quick victory via the Magic Killer. There was no drama and nobody really had any reaction to Gallows & Anderson winning. It just seems like week after week, people are randomly winning matches and it is building towards absolutely nothing. The painfully unfunny promo that proceeded this match was four times as long as the match itself.
Every single promo feels like the Superstars are reading from a teleprompter. There is no life in anything they are saying. It is like the creative writing process in the WWE is to google corny jokes and assign a few of them to every Superstar to regurgitate during the show. R-Truth mistook Jimmy Buffett’s name to mean an actual buffet last night. Braun Strowman had to say the line “I’m on Team Braun!” and try to sound like a monster while doing so. It sounded ridiculous. Wouldn’t it have just been better if Strowman got up in Kevin Owens’ face and told him to get the hell out of his locker room?
Every single segment is overwritten. The idea may be humorous at first but it goes through a bunch of people with their own thoughts and what comes out is a watered down version of the original idea. There are no intense feuds anymore. The entire build to the Hell in a Cell PPV was based around jokes and lists. How was Seth Rollins going to defeat the chubby champion? Was sparkle crotch going to interfere? Rusev and Reigns had several lame promos in which people were getting tossed into a wedding cake or Rusev was showing a slideshow of his family. Meanwhile, the WWE was billing the Hell in a Cell as this demonic structure with a life of it’s own. How were people going to convince themselves they were going to see this brutal battles when the build to the show was the equivalent to a bunch of fart jokes?
I do not understand who the target audience is for Monday Night Raw. It can’t be wrestling fans because there is not enough wrestling. If it is children, why is the show three hours and what child is cracking up at a Jimmy Buffett joke? For that matter, what adult is cracking up at a Jimmy Buffett joke in 2016? It appears that the WWE is trying to cater their product to everyone. They are trying to produce a show that appeals to every gender and every age. I just picture a gigantic chart and empty suits placing segments on the chart. They put the Golden Truth in the kids section of the chart and then the main event in the adult section. They probably figure that by the time the main event airs most of the children will be asleep and the adults will be wide awake to see the match. The problem with that logic is that the ratings go down every hour because adults are changing the channel due to how awful the show is. In their quest to create a show that caters to everyone, what the WWE is left with is a show that very few people enjoy.