7 Ups & 10 Downs From WWE Raw (Sep 27)

5. Getting Right To The Action

Big E
WWE.com

We’ve already called out the decision to run with WWE Championship match as an opening bout that ended in a DQ, only to run it again as the main event (albeit in a steel cage).

But we also need to give a degree of credit to the company for opening right away with action rather than 15-20 minutes of talking. Far too often – nearly every week – we start Raw with an in-ring promo that just sucks the life out of the building. It’s meant to set the table for the show, but it typically takes the are out of the arena.

Opening with a match, particularly the Big E/Bobby Lashley match, ramped and amped fans up even more. Now, if it had had a real finish, that might have been something. Or, as suggested earlier, open with a promo that very quickly degrades into action – a Hurt Business reunion, New Day saves, and making the main event a cage match.

The point is, credit to WWE for opening Raw with action rather than talking. More of that, please.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.