The Disturbing Truth Behind Paul Heyman’s WWE RAW
CuckTales.
“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
—The Who, ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’
WWE fooled us once again this week by bait-and-switching the promised Seth Rollins Vs. Rey Mysterio dream match, hoping that the awe-inspiring sight of Brock Lesnar suplexing Rey Mysterio into another dimension would compensate for it, and it did, to an extent: Brock Lesnar looked genuinely awesome here, engineering an atmosphere of unhinged danger. The angle, performed brilliantly by all involved—Dominick’s inexperience revealed itself at one point, but no matter, Lesnar is a genuine freak of nature—was another strong deviation from the dire opening segment Paul Heyman is intent on ripping to shreds.
But the fact remains that the #1 Contender’s Fatal 5-Way match on RAW the previous week was a waste of time. A waste, to be precise, of 20 minutes and 21 seconds. It was also a waste of talent; under the elimination format, Ricochet, a performer promoted as special, was presented as something rather ordinary for literally no reason other than to build the Beast up. This sort of pointless, unflattering booking chips away at the aura of a performer though basic conditioning.
False advertising, and systemic normalisation, are far from the only rotten WWE practises Paul Heyman has maintained in his role as Executive Director.
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