How WWE Are Intentionally Killing Raw To Save SmackDown

Blue Equals Green.

by Michael Hamflett
Kofi Kingston Seth Rollins
WWE

Is hashtagRawAfterWrestleMania not "a thing" anymore?

There was much to unpack from Monday's edition of the flagship show - the episode that has been promoted as the best of the entire year via WWE Network documentaries and the like - but the overwhelming air of disappointment wasn't isolated to a main event butchered by a transparent bait-and-switch.

Some balance, first, just so this article doesn't go the same way as Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston's "Winner-Take-All" encounter. Your writer was in the cheap seats at the Barclays Center just days removed from a plum spot in the 100s for arguably the greatest NXT TakeOver of all time, so comparisons between the two were already coloured by unfair biases before Monday Night's show nosedived into 2015 Royal Rumble territory in the final third.

This piece isn't designed to go to bat for bored beach ball enthusiasts, though. The "AEW" and "CM Punk" chants were cheesier than any platitute 'The Beast Slayer' could have spouted before his battle with Brock Lesnar. However, this as much reflected how in sync the Brooklyn crowd were with WWE yet again - like the company's creative team, they simply couldn't be a*sed to offer anything better than the norm.

CONT'D...

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett