7 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (Dec 6)
Empty calories Raw sees Liv shine, Theory seek Vince's approval, cage match for no reason.
Don’t let the number of ups and downs fool you. Raw once again was watchable, but it wasn’t a must-see program that shows a ship righting itself.
Still, Raw has managed in recent weeks to tamp down some of its worst inclinations. However, even some of the worst episodes this year featured really good wrestling, and that seems to have declined a bit into more of a “safe” zone. So WWE has smoothed out both the peaks and valleys, resulting in a more even show that isn’t as bad, but also isn’t exactly memorable.
Sure, we got a good enough main event and a rival who can make Bianca Belair fight from underneath, but even some of the ups in this column are mild at best. Meanwhile, the negatives were somewhat aggravating and eyeroll-worthy, but nothing approached the enraging stuff that makes you want to turn the TV off.
All of this makes Raw tough to evaluate. Is it a better show because they’ve curbed some of the worst elements? The problem is, at three hours, without any truly memorable moments, Raw is something that fills a block of time. It’s empty calories in your TV diet that occasionally tastes good, but a lot of times is kinda bland.
You keep waiting for things to improve, but then you see Von Wagner cut a taped promo in NXT and you realize that help is not coming. Uggh.
Let’s get to it…