6 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (May 9)
DQs are the order of the night, Deville deposed, Bliss is back, RK-Bro triumph.
Why is it that WWE can never seem to get out of its own way?
The company has one of the most talented rosters in professional wrestling history, a litany of writers, and more money than ever before to throw at any challenges that arise.
And yet, we have to endure insanely stupid booking decisions, from the mundane (renaming “Judgement Day” to “THE Judgement Day”) to the mind-numbing (booking Cody Rhodes’ first title match to end in a DQ to deflate the audience, then have a first time ever match end in another DQ).
Raw saw the return of former women’s champion Alexa Bliss after rushing her previous return in February and then not having anything for her through WrestleMania. Even then, her arrival was simply as an unexpected opponent with no rhyme or reason, just a pleasant surprise.
In addition to Cody Rhodes’ frustrating booking, we got the first-ever meeting between Asuka and Bianca Belair in a rushed championship contender’s match that also ended in a DQ, and a very predictable one at that with Becky Lynch ringside.
It’s not like the pieces aren’t there to produce a successful show, and that’s what makes this so frustrating. Some of the feuds and angles aren’t bad at all, but the execution and writing for them are so bad, and you tire of grading WWE on a curve of doing things barely competent as a positive.
Let’s get to it…