6 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw (Jan 17)
GRIT couple is gullible, Lashley/Lesnar hype video rules, Ripley laid out,
Another week, another uneven but watchable episode of Monday Night Raw.
WWE is blessed with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talent. They have inexplicably released dozens of gifted performers and have plenty of other quality stars sitting on the sideline doing nothing, and yet they still have enough superstars to adequately fill out a three-hour show.
Sure, Raw would be a lot better if WWE could book, write, script and execute competently and utilize the full complement of its roster, but grading on the usual curve, Raw wasn’t bad Monday night. The show was buoyed by some good focus on a couple of decent programs, as well as a couple of hope spots for the future. And of course, the main program of Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley has managed to escape the clutches of WWE’s typical bad booking.
But Raw still gave in to its usual trappings of promo trains, questionable booking, making faces look stupid and continuing groan-inducing angles. It should say something that the worst part of Raw was making a Hall-of-Fame couple look gullible and stupid, while the best part was a produced hype video.
If you shut off the critical part of your brain and squint, Raw is fine as a diversion. But if you’re looking for smart, entertaining and clever programming, you’re better off skimming. At least the Royal Rumble is coming to save everything!
Let’s get to it…