3 Ups & 7 Downs For WWE Raw (18 Aug - Results & Review)
Raw offered up one true bright spot from Naomi, and a host of mild disappointments.
It honestly might be time to have an intervention with the higher-ups in WWE.
If not for the women (Iyo Sky, Raquel Rodriguez, Rhea Ripley, Asuka, and Naomi), Raw on Monday night would have been a giant stink bomb going off. Iyo and Raquel’s match was the best of the night, while the ongoing strife with Asuka continues to create intrigue. Then there was Naomi, who provided the highlight of the night on her way out of the company for the next nine months-plus.
But Raw was dominated by wrestling that trended from average to poor, questionable booking decisions, lengthy talking segments, and a crowd that might as well have been on mute for much of the evening.
WWE is blessed with an abundance of talent: in the ring, behind the scenes, and behind the cameras. There really is little excuse for producing an episode that, once you strip away the pyro, glitz, and shortcuts, is as basic as it gets. Why are the matches so mundane? Where are the passionate, organic-feeling promo exchanges? Where are the clever booking cues and hints that encourage fans to pay attention and invest in even random segments?
To be fair, WWE is not so far in a rut that we should be calling this a funk. But there is no denying that the magic of 2023-24 is long gone, and “average” is the new normal. There still is the potential for Raw to break out with a great episode on any given Monday night, but gone are the days of giving WWE the benefit of the doubt or assuming they will land the plane on their major storylines.
We’ve entered a new phase with WWE, and it should give no one any joy in recognizing that.
Let’s get to it…