7 Ups And 10 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Dec 7)
1. Rushing A Massive Match
WWE did something completely different from the norm Monday night, opening with a segment that built quickly to a boiling point, with 16 wrestlers in the ring/at ringside when Raw cut to commercial. Instead of a standoff or an impasse, we returned to a massive, 16-man Fatal Four-way elimination match in progress. No explanations, no match-making, just a quick comment from the announcers. If ever there was a time that was perfectly appropriate for the Authority to come out and make a match, this was it. Stephanie McMahon should have come out and announced the match, thus providing a logical reason for it and briefly explain the rules. It made perfect sense. And she could have made it the main event or even to top the 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. hours rather than putting it on right away, giving fans something to look forward to later in the program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjjl0B2hemY Yes, WWE is trying to hook viewers right away with a strong effort, and thats commendable, but how do you follow that match, especially when nothing else was announced for Raw beyond that bout?
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.
