Why AEW And NXT Will BEAT WWE RAW In 2020
The Wednesday Night War may not, as it turns out, be one waged between NXT and AEW, but between wrestling fans and WWE's historic flagship.
Monday Night Raw's recent upturn in quality has been partially reflected in the fact that ratings haven't entirely fallen through the floor. That appears to be the expectation for the flagship now. Year-on-year declines have been attributed as much to changing viewing habits more than the quality of the product itself, but only arresting that slide (regardless of the reason) will stop it falling below 2,000,000 on a consistent basis in 2020.
In defense of the show, that appears to have been high on the agenda for Paul Heyman since he took up an authoritative position over the creative direction last year. There have been hurdles, and stumbles over those hurdles, and a three hour show being entirely perfect feels like an impossibility, but Raw has - whisper it - been quite good.
Drew McIntyre, Buddy Murphy and Aleister Black feel like pushed prospects being carefully protected. Kevin Owens hasn't been abused for a change. Asuka has been completely reinvigorated as a Kabuki Warrior alongside Kairi Sane. The Viking Raiders are dominant tag champions until a team get over enough to challenge them. Seth Rollins has found his voice again, and AOP (and now Murphy) are along for the rub. This is good sh*t, pal, and not just the kind Vince McMahon can't help himself booking on SmackDown (and the less said about that billion dollar dumpster fire, the better).
Raw, either through network or fanbase pressure, has consciously attempted to better itself in spite of the challenges it faces. It has to - a two pronged revolution is knocking at its door.
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