PWTorch.com - TUCKER'S RAW INSTANT REACTION: An episode that calls for a big-picture review - Raw is burning through main events like no tomorrow, more concerns heading into 2015

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TUCKER'S RAW INSTANT REACTION: An episode that calls for a big-picture review - Raw is burning through main events like no tomorrow, more concerns heading into 2015

Dec 23, 2014 - 12:56:13 AM

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Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 12/22
By Ben Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 5.0

Three re-matches from TLC with the same result, seven sub-five minute matches, and legends used for no beneficial reason. Monday Night Raw is not an engaging broadcast despite WWE insisting on burning through every single potential match worth spending money on the WWE Network for on free TV. Almost sounds like another giant wrestling promotion that crumbled under the weight of having to create three hours of live content every single Monday.

Dark characters are randomly thrown into goofy holiday matches with endings that use repeat spots from past performances and the broadcast featured no sense of a story arc to keep viewers engaged and tuning in. To boil everything wrong with Raw into one word would result in the term "stale."

It's ironic, isn't it? 20 years ago, the then-WWF was struggling to maintain ratings and create a new mega-star not seen since the Hulkamania Era. WWF was firmly entrenched in a cartoony, family-friendly product, but fans were growing tired of seeing goofy gimmicks and large, immobile wrestlers doing the same things their peers had been doing for over a decade. Instead of reinventing their shows, the company instead tried to continue jamming the old, crusted square peg into a resistant round hole by "passing the torch" onto Diesel, later known as Kevin Nash, and continuing to deliver a product that had been left generally untouched (and therefore stale) since before 1990. Diesel is known as one of the lowest-drawing WWF/E champions of all-time, with his character's lack of personality at the time hindering the ability for the limited big-man to connect with fans. American wrestling's ultimate savior was WCW, who in mid-1995 initiated the Monday Night War by debuting Monday Nitro directly against Raw.

Let's fast-forward twenty years to 2014. WWE is struggling to maintain ratings and create a new mega-star not seen since the Attitude Era. WWE is firmly entrenched in a stale product that once helped lead to the annihilation of WCW in 2001, but has since lost its luster as fans have been driven away by stale, repetitive booking practices and a ludicrous amount of programming to watch every week. Instead of reinventing their shows, the company insists on trying to continue jamming the old, crusted square peg into a resistant round hole by "passing the torch" from "Face of the WWE" John Cena to "Future Face of the WWE" Roman Reigns, pushing him just as hard (if not harder) than Cena was in 2005. In the meantime, WWE continues to deliver a product that has been left generally untouched (and is therefore stale) since before 2000. Try as they might, WWE has their work cut out for them in Reigns, who currently has no character to his name and is therefore more of a punching robot than a character to connect with fans. American wrestling's ultimate savior may have to be...

Oh, right. There isn't anyone else left.

This is why modern wrestling scares me. The American wrestling industry has been transformed into a monopoly. Vince McMahon is Vince McMahon's only competition (that he will recognize, at least). Therefore, as long as Vince is in charge, middling episodes of Raw such as this will continue to be produced. 2014 was a disappointment in terms of producing an engaging television product, and as much as I hate to admit it, 2015 does not bode well.

PPV-quality matches are being burned through every week on Raw and treated as if they mean nothing. If history repeats itself (as has happened in 2005 and 1995) we will be faced with the prospect of a new "Face of the Company" who is not ready to accept that position. And despite hopes being raised by other organizations, some who have yet to run a show yet, such as Global Force Wrestling, in reality WWE can only be stopped by WWE. Considering the near-billions held by Vince McMahon in the bank, I doubt we'll see that any time soon. Until then, let's continue to wade through the mediocrity together.

Any questions or comments? Message me on Twitter @BTuckertorch!