Perhaps one of the only reasons I still watch RAW every Monday is because it’s become a habit. I’m one of those viewers who have been around for a while and haven’t missed a RAW on a Monday in years because they’ve made it a part of their schedule. It’s convenient to do so. It’s on Monday night at 9 PM — a day and time during which most people are at home anyway. Usually when RAW is good, I am quite excited to update TBLWrestling.com with a RAW-related top story, check around the Internet to see what other think of the show, and the likes. I might even write about the show if I have the proper time, or reflect on it, or think about future storylines, etc. Then there are the days when the show is not so great, or even bad. I usually just update TBLWrestling.com in this case, look around the ‘net to see if I’m the only person who thought the show was horrible, and go to bed.
This past Monday night was very different. For the first time in years, I was actually angry after the show went off the air. Yes. Angry. How does someone get angry from a television show? How silly is that?
I’ve seen plenty of bad RAW shows in the decade and a half I’ve spent watching this show. I have never seen a show so horribly booked and so pointlessly stupid as the one this past Monday night. Nothing about this show made sense. Nothing about this show was right. It was so bad, that by the end of it, you felt betrayed. Like when your favorite sports team trades their best player because the owner wants to cash-in while the player is in his prime.
There really isn’t a whole lot going on these days with WWE. There’s nothing new, or exciting. We are seeing recycled programs over and over again, and the people on top have been the same names that were there years ago. There are no new stars, no new stories, and no new characters to get excited about or even care about. The ONLY thing WWE had going for them in the past couple of months was Randy Orton. Since his return last year from injury, it was obvious that he was coming into his own when it comes to the character he portrays. A cocky, brash individual who over the course of a few months because a legitimate bad-ass to the point a few people were actually cheering him. And that was the red button. How dare we disrespect the McMahons’ booking?!
The writers simply forgot what’s important in pro wrestling. It’s to get a response. To get people talking. To get people going so that they tune in and watch the show and buy the PPV. Randy Orton was developing a character, that I assure you plenty of people would have loved to watch and buy PPVs for. Not anymore. After this past Monday night, Randy Orton is a joke. A borderline bad-ass, who needed lawyers, a therapist, and Legacy to hide behind when the all-mighty McMahons confronted him. If that’s not enough, this cocky heel who was destroying everything in his way, got beat up on national television by a 39-year-old man with gray hair, who was so out of shape that 30 seconds into his “attack” on Legacy and Orton, he couldn’t even lift up his arms for the horrible punches he was throwing. So we once again found out who the true bad-ass was in this company. It’s every person whose last name is McMahon. Because you know, the previous night The Legacy composed three of the final four wrestlers left in the Rumble. We knew Triple H (the fourth one) was going to throw Cody and Ted around, and a lot of people have a problem with him doing that. It’s still not that bad. Triple H is a wrestler. He’s a former multi-time champion, and whether you like him or hate him, he’s a pivotal part of the shows, and has been for years. Shane McMahon isn’t. He’s a joke! How can we possibly believe that Shane can do the same things Triple H couldn’t do? Triple H couldn’t eliminate all three guys at the Rumble, but Shane could just beat the crap out of them? Are you kidding me?! Oh and by the way, also punch out Kofi Kingston and make the entire locker room back up like a bunch of gutless bastards because he’s Shane all mighty.
Not to mention that we saw this feud years ago. Only it was Linda McMahon playing Vince back then, and it was Kane playing Randy Orton. So there you go. Instead of having Randy Orton become the new megastar of pro wrestling by the end of 2009, we probably have to sit through him getting pushed in fire dumpsters, electrocuting Shane’s testicles, and God knows what else.
This feud needs to end at No Way Out. I’m not joking. They’ve already done major damage to Orton, and they’ve pissed far too many people off.
I don’t have the patience to write my thoughts on the rest of the show, but the booking there was just as bad. See “booking three-minute matches as Elimination Chamber qualifiers, tag team championships matches, and the like.”
Eddie T. has been a columnist for TBLWrestling.com since 2002. You may read his personal blog — filled with more content — by clicking here!
