5 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (July 13)
2. Poetic Justice
This week saw a "first-time ever!" that, for once, WWE won't screech into our ears until they bleed: Monday Night RAW garnered its worst-ever viewership. What's particularly strange is that RAW ran unopposed to major sporting events, and was the go-home show to a pay-per-view.
Was the record-low rating warranted?
Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley's pull-apart brawl felt more like a stock WWE trope than simmering tension authentically boiling over. It also featured Roman Reigns, about whom nobody cares. Then, WWE presented women's tag team wrestling, featuring Nia Jax, who possesses no redeeming features as a performer whatsoever. Several expository recap videos followed, likely for Vince McMahon's benefit more than anybody else's. A match between No Way Jose and Mojo Rawley followed - two men who won't even get booked on Sundays in 2019, when pay-per-views become eight hours long. The counselling sessions between Sasha Banks and Bayley followed that, but unlike last week, WWE didn't even play the segments for laughs. And, of course, WWE didn't even book a match between them at the upcoming pay-per-view. A supposed combat athlete, Jinder Mahal, found inner peace once more backstage.
WWE Copy & Paste Filler Segment K materialised, as two members of feuding tag teams fought a (not particularly good) singles match. WWE Copy & Paste Filler Segment L materialised, as Ember Moon defeated Liv Morgan for the second consecutive week. WWE Copy & Paste Filler Segment M materialised, as two feuding singles act fought in a tag team match ahead of their PPV encounter.
And, in the main event, just as fans were too bored, too stripped of enthusiasm to truly care, WWE delivered a worthwhile main event between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre...which ended with a screwy finish.
In the meantime, as RAW hit its lowest ebb, the great symbol of its wrestling hegemony was subsumed by Ring Of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling as they announced a WrestleMania Weekend show at WWE's spiritual home of Madison Square Garden. This was the moneyed site of WWE's stranglehold, and now, more monied than ever, the sports entertainment company is still unable to stem the phoenix-like rise of professional wrestling. The irony, the balls, the timing, the prospect of the event itself, the insanity - everything about this announcement was delicious.
RAW and WWE deserve this dubious honour because it is dreck, and much of that has to do with "Creative" as well as...