6 Ups And 8 Downs From WWE Raw 25
Downs...
8. A Good Idea… In Theory
It’s tough to count this as a “down” because WWE deserves credit for doing something different with a direct callback to its past.
But it’s also safe to call the dual location Raw with the Manhattan Center as the second location a failure. The crowd was small, and thus a lot quieter, and the atmosphere didn’t quite click. Flipping back and forth between the two locations probably didn’t help crowd enthusiasm, as the Manhattan Center was used for maybe one-quarter of the program, leading to long periods of downtime.
Maybe if the entire episode was at the smaller venue and more fans could be packed in, it could have worked. Or they could have broadcast a special edition of Raw from the center for the WWE Network. But watching it unfold on TV, it just didn’t quite click.
Still, kudos for trying.