WWE Draft 2016: 5 Things That Will Happen (And 5 That Won't)
2. Raw WON'T Improve
As romantic as it is to assume that all WWE programming will see a dramatic increase in quality post-Draft, there’s little evidence to suggest that Raw in-particular will improve.
Firstly, the show will still be 3 hours long. WWE already have enough trouble filling a 3-hour broadcast as it is, so consider how thin they’re going to have to spread themselves to keep us entertained with half the available talent.
Secondly, Raw is still going to be written by the same creative team producing the same repetitive stories on a weekly basis. Yes, there’ll be a significant shake-up in the talent pool, but the novelty’s going to wear off after a couple of weeks, and Raw’s writers will revert to type. Without a significant shake-up in creative, it’s hard to imagine anything other than a minor improvement for WWE’s flagship show.
Raw has been struggling for a while. Things aren’t quite as bad as they were at the beginning of the year, but the post-WrestleMania improvements have long since fizzed out, and the show has returned to mediocrity. WWE’s already-talented roster is only going to improve with the Brand Split, but the performers can only do so much without direction. The real issues come from Vince McMahon’s creative team, and without a change at that level, we shouldn’t expect Raw to transform into must-watch television overnight.