3 Ups & 10 Downs From WWE Raw (Aug 3)

2. RAW Underground: The Idea

RAW Underground Dabba-Kato
WWE.com

And so we arrive at this: the motherload of bad ideas.

Let's focus on RAW Underground's conception before diving into the execution. Here are the key problems:-

1. Having a billionaire trust fund kid who can't even throw a worked punch host an "underground fight club" doesn't work. Shane McMahon was the absolute worst choice for this role because absolutely nothing about him fits the grimy aesthetic WWE were trying to put over here.

2. WWE can't do "gritty." It's impossible. Nothing about this product is in the least bit dangerous or edgy, so it's akin to Disney trying to produce a slasher film.

3. WWE's style is too safe, sanitised, and watered down to pull off convincing shoot-style wrestling. The UWFi this was not.

4. The whole thing was a gigantic ripoff of several old concepts. Nevermind the Brawl For All: this was Matt Riddle/Josh Barnett's Bloodsport, EC3's recent Impact Wrestling vignettes, and Chikara's old Crucible idea (featured on footage sent to WWE for possible Network inclusion not too long ago) rolled into one. Blatant idea theft is bad, is what we're saying.

How could anybody within the promotion have possibly through this was a good idea? Again, new doesn't automatically equal good. The WWE product succeeds when it remembers what it is - flashy, big-theatre Sports Entertainment - and RAW Underground was the antithesis of that.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.