7 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (20 Nov - Results & Review)

1. More Imperium Melodrama

Just because the hyper-drama of the Bloodline has worked as a TV ratings hit for the past year, that doesn’t mean that any stable that exhibits tension will captivate viewers.

In fact, the wash, rinse and repeat nature of things leads to diminishing returns, especially when it involves groups where fans aren’t as heavily invested in the individual characters.

Imperium is a fantastic example of this. The trio should be the picture of precision and cohesion, but instead its two underlings are constantly squabbling while Gunther seemingly plays them against each other, putting one in charge of the other.

Monday, Giovanni Vinci didn’t list to Ludwig Kaiser about staying in the back and came out during his match against Johnny Gargano, distracting Kaiser and costing him the match. Backstage, Gunther praised Vinci and belittled Ludwig, a reversal from a couple of months ago.

But here’s the bigger point: No one cares. Are there any fans out there clamoring for the next chapter of the Imperium saga? Highly doubtful. It’s just drama and tension for the sake of it, because that worked with the Bloodline, so all stables must have some degree of instability.