How Would You Improve Raw?
The ratings are down again this week and so I’ll throw the title question out to you: how would you make Raw more exciting/better?
My theory:Make the show more cliffhanger based. There’s almost no reason to watch from one week to another unless you already watch the show. When you think about it, when is the last time you saw a Raw end where you had to tune in the next week to see the next part of a story? Everything is self-contained anymore and it’s like they’re starting from scratch every week. I’m not saying have it turn into Nitro with everything being a cliffhanger where you have to TUNE INTO NEXT WEEK’S NITRO TO FIND OUT, but make it more than so and so stands tall to end the show. That gets really boring really fast.
Oh and stop talking about Twitter and promote your shows.
Your thoughts?
I think RAW has been fine overall since Survivor Series and even the Week before when The Rock came back. That being said one thing I would do is have John “Funkman” Laurnatis create some kind of Tag Team Social Experiment and whoever impresses the most can challenge Air Boom for the Tag Titles.
Also I would make the Diva Matches last a little longer than they do. Sometimes they are barely on and its hard to really get into their Matches.
So other than those two things the last couple of RAWs have been really good.
Do more with more people. I saw Zack Ryder three times this week on Raw. That’s complete over exposure for someone who, despite being over the majority of the crowd, is a mid-carder.
Better yet – establish a mid-card! All Raw has been recently is the WWE forcing the same few guys down our throats. They actually have a more expansive roster than they’re willing to let us know about which is why Smackdown is better than Raw. They try to use everybody. They know not everyone can get over to main event or upper card but still they put them out there anyway see DiBiase and Mahal.
The writers of Raw are so ‘main event’ focused that they have to bring the Smackdown main event stars over every week like Orton, Sheamus and Mark Henry, when they could have Kofi vs Epico/Hunico/Primo to setup Evan Bourne’s eventual return and the feud there or have a tournament running to try and find someone to challenge for Ziggler’s US Title so he can finally lose it and then get lost in the main event shuffle.
Also, lose the obsession with monster heels and the squash matches. They’ve downgraded everyone so much that a former World Champion is considered a jobber, as are two former Intercontinental Champions although only one of them ever gets used! Can Ryder not have a 8-10 minute match with Drew McIntyre just so we can at least see more of him?
It’s no wonder that most of the ‘mid-card’ are having to go out and use social media in order to win over the fans because the writers, more so on Raw, aren’t giving them the chances to get over on TV anymore which in turn is causing almost a ‘reality era’ where the WWE will soon be awash with faces because it’s seemingly difficult to get over. I mean the only guy I see who get a solid, main-event worthy negative reaction is The Miz. I don’t remember seeing people give enough hate towards Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett or Cody Rhodes. John Cena gets more hate than they do! Ziggler is on the rise but he seems to be the only they have on Raw that looks like it could work atm.
I’m a big Cena fan, but they should add some seriousness into his character.. that’s all..
More storylines and characters for one. We’ve got Ryder/Ziggler, Punk is awesome! and Cena being the good guy. Ryder’s storyline was done well, but it’s nearly coming to an end. And considering they have very few characters and a lot of their wrestlers just seem like warm-bodies that could be traded for another in the ring, they need to make them stand out.
I’d have Ziggler move to feud with Cena after losing a rematch for the US title, blaming him, Swagger and Guerrero for his disastrous end as US champion. At the same time, have Miz and Punk feud for the WWE Championship and have Alberto Del Rio work a feud with Ryder where he disrespects the US Championship and decides that it’s beneath him. There you have the three top faces and heels working programs with each other.
Have the Divas of Doom begin a slow-burn split while continuing their reign of dominance over the division, as Natalya starts thinking she should challenge Phoenix make the title that represents the division more than simply an unattainable trophy. Perhaps have her interact with the fans a little bit, and have her see just beating on the other girls doesn’t really help the division as a whole.
As for the tag-team titles, I’d work a feud between Air Boom that 3-man Latino stable that was set up for Sin Cara. Maybe throw in the Usos as well. I’d have the interim GM announce a Tag Team Initiative offering various wrestlers chances to team up and receive Raw title-shots, which would keep more than a few wrestlers busy and more active on Raw.
I’d also turn Drew McIntyre face and give him his ICW gimmick back through a slow-burn. Maybe have him interact with Sheamus who tells him just channeling anger isn’t going to get him anywhere after a particularly bad loss and that he needs to learn to appreciate life a little more.
I’d probably transition Otunga into a managerial role for the Hawkins/Reks tag-team. I figure his smarminess with their cockiness could fit well. Same for Cole, though I can’t figure out which wrestler to give him… Maybe Mark Henry? That could be interesting…
Not sure what to do with Riley and all the monster heels like Clay, Sheffield, etc…