6 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (Jan 26)
5. RAW Is WOE
RAW25 was absolutely brutal viewing. It did not attempt to meet the Royal Rumble go-home remit, rendering those criticisms void - but it failed to even raise much of a nostalgia-driven smile.
The sight of Ted DiBiase cackling like a madman in a poker game cameo was ostensibly meant to raise a smile - but there was no joke building to it. The laugh was the sizzle to the steak. People loved to hate DiBiase because he laughed maniacally after removing working class kids from a swimming pool, after destroying the dreams of a child one basketball bounce away from multiplying his pocket money. Now, in the cameo role, DiBiase is reduced to a "bizarre" legend on equal footing with the Boogeyman.
The Undertaker had no clue what he was on about out there. Why, in the Manhattan Center, ahead of a prospective WrestleMania return, did 'Taker focus not on the future but the least suitable aspect of his past in the Attitude Era? He dug the graves of Steve Austin, Kane and Mick Foley years after the WWF outgrew the Manhattan Center. It was just bizarre. Trying to make sense of that promo is more of a fool's errand than 'Taker entertaining a return to the ring.
The Dudley Boyz were depicted as returning heroes. Their 2016 run ended on a flat note. Chris Jericho added pointlessness to The List. MVP must have been laughing - inwardly, he hardly cracked a smile in a "comedy" skit - knowing he was getting paid for that. Unless, of course, he has aspirations of returning full-time. The Manhattan Center crowd, the biggest Stans around, were antagonised into cries of "Bullsh*t!" because the entire thing was a glorified viewing party of an underwhelming RAW. That is mightily impressive, even by WWE's trolling standards.
And, incredibly, Steve Austin did not a promo - until he arrived backstage more p*ssed off than Frank The Clown.