8 Things WWE Want You To Forget About The Raw After WrestleMania
1. Top Heels
Dateline: 8 April 2013.
- "Randy Savage" drew allusions to a far superior performer than his namesake stinking up the joint with another chinlock on Sheamus.
- "Michael Cole" was a remarkably humorous payoff and commitment to comedy's rule of three after fellow broadcasters Jerry Lawler and JBL had experienced their own adulation.
- "We are awesome" was the sound of a boundary being bulldozed before beachballs bounced into view.
The 'Celtic Warrior's clash with 'The Apex Predator' marked the line in the sand for the party crowds being part of the show and simply trying to be the show, and there was really no way back.
Cesaro's emphatic destruction of the controversial inflatable toy at 2017's SummerSlam was symbolic of WWE's attitude towards them in general. A knowing and willing distraction piece pre-planned by whomever brought it to the show, the implement represented a disinterest in certain elements of the show but quickly polluted the entire product. The coarse language became offensive rather than irreverent, whilst the self-aggrandising actively turned off the television audience trying to engage in the scripted entertainment.
WWE's inadvertent strangling of the situation has actually managed to dilute what was becoming a rather toxic mix, but the attitude has since migrated to WrestleMania itself. One only need to listen to the vuvuzela-like hum rather than watch Roman Reigns' bludgeoning to see and hear it back in action.