8 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE Raw (Aug 10)

3. Officially Sanctioned Chaos

WWE RETRIBUTION
WWE

Nothing says “group of rebels” like WWE.com articles, video packages and the announcers proclaiming that the group is here to create chaos.

Seriously, could WWE be any more uncool?

Early on Raw Monday, we were treated to a package talking up the new shadow group Retribution, as they showed an article written about them and a video package of the “havoc” they wreaked on Raw and SmackDown last week. (For what it’s worth, their SmackDown assault wasn’t bad, taking over the show and tearing up the ringside area.)

But for WWE to then show videos of them and chat them up? Imagine WCW putting together video packages of the nWo in the early days talking up Scott Hall’s first appearance. Hell, compare this first appearance to Nexus a decade ago.

It’s a fine line here: WWE obviously wants to make a big deal about this group and get people talking, but it just doesn’t work when you hop up and down and yell, “Hey! Look at this group of troublemakers! They’re messing stuff up! Check out this official article and video summary of their chaos!”

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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.