WWE on Netflix debut, AEW’s Main Event scene, and more musings
So now that the WWE on Netflix debut is on the books and over with, there are a lot of things to unpack. Whether you like the WWE or not, you have to give them credit for presentation and promotion. This RAW felt like a huge coronation that you had to be a part just because it was big and shiny.
But instead of waxing poetic and giving up everything, I am going to dive into thoughts on RAW on Netflix and some other big news from the weekend.
WWE RAW ON NETFLIX WAS NOT FOR THE DIEHARDS OR SICKOS
For anyone who thought that this was going to be a wrestling heavy show or business as usual or even full of angles… you were not the audience. No this was like opening of a grand hotel where you want to show off how nice everything is and how flashy. They already have all the “degenerate wrestling nuts” and the “Hardcore fans” who watch religiously.
This was for growing the brand and showcasing what WWE Raw on Netflix was all about and it went swimmingly.
Come watch The Rock and John Cena talk and play to the crowd while celebrities waived to the crowd and interacted with wrestlers. Don’t worry if you don’t watch the show regularly because this is about showing why you need to watch RAW on Netflix.
And if you look this, stay around next week and you will love the future shows!
Anyone who expected a regular wrestling show or a show that was going to kick off the new year with change was on drugs. WWE wanted to give a nice flashy presentation and then show how cool the product was, how families can watch the product without worrying about sex, violence or foul language and why its fun.
Don’t worry your panties off as next week we will get Pentagon Dark making his debut, Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor and more wrestling than before.
But for this week, having just a fun and light episode filled with “Good Vibes” for the crowd was on the menu.
So just quit whining and enjoy the show.
THE ROCK’S DEMEANOR AND RUMORS OF NOT WRESTLING AT WRESTLEMANIA
I can safely say that right now WWE probably has two plans going forward for WrestleMania; one where The Rock takes on Roman Reigns and another where its an appearance only.
At this point if you get The Rock at WrestleMania its a bonus as the man hasn’t viewed wrestling as his priority for a long time. Despite what Mr. Tito will tell you, The Rock’s main focus is his brand and movie career with everything else coming second.
Last year everything made sense for him as he didn’t have any movie projects, he was fresh off getting fired from WB/DC Studios and his TV show was cancelled. He got a huge gift from TKO, jumped at it, and the rest is as they say history.
But right now, things are much different and the landscape has changed for him regarding his career and life. Between Fast X Part 2, Jumanji 3 and a few other movies that he is working on, wrestling isn’t as important.
Hell, reports are that Fast X Part 2 shoots this month and it took a lot of talks, cajoling and begging by studio executives to finally get the Vin Deisel feud over. If they say no to wrestling, who thinks he is going to turn his back on them after all of that.
Plus, there is always WrestleMania London which you know Saddiq Khan will throw a yacht filled with money at WWE to get that.
The good part in all of this is that WWE does not NEED him for this WrestleMania season. You already have John Cena in his farewell tour, possible Punk-Rollins or Roman vs Punk, Gunther vs. Goldberg and embarrassing riches of big wrestling stars. If anything, this is the year you can easily have The Rock not wrestle a match as Cena’s final WrestleMania match will be worth it alone.
He could still wrestle this year and if he does, we will find out around Royal Rumble as what better way to turn Rock heel then by costing Roman. It would be delicious, set up the Final Boss and who really rules the family overall.
But for now, we can all just let it play out and treat it like a Happy Meal Toy.
AEW MAIN EVENT SCENE HAS JUMPED THE SHARK AND NOT FOR THE BETTER
Right now the savior of AEW against the Neo-Nazi Combat Club, err, Death Riders are FTR and Adam Cope. Not Adam Copeland but Adam Cope because, well who the hell knows why they changed his name. Either way this is a huge let down and shows that AEW has lost the vision again after saying they were going to “Reboot”.
The company that has said they are the alternative to WWE is now having 50-year-old AFTA Edge vs. AFTA Dean Ambrose for the world title. By the way we also have Christian Cage waiting in the wings to cash in his title shot while Jeff Jarrett has announced his last contract as he tries to win one more world title.
Add in the Hurt Syndicate, Ricochet, Chris Jericho and Mercedes Mone and it might as well be EX-WWE meets GCW and XPW. The roster has gotten older and the product is still not watchable as evident by their sagging ratings and dwindling attendance.
Even having the Pointer Sisters song “I’m So Excited” as their intro for Dynamite makes the product look less cool if that was possible. It continues to promote the image that AEW is uncool, out of touch and not a professional company.
This past weekend’s Wrestle Dynasty was just more proof of poor AEW booking as Kenny Omega made his ring return over there. Not in AEW where he is actually an Executive Vice President of the company but over in Japan where the match wasn’t even promoted here in the United States.
Its more proof that until wholesale changes are made up top, this company will never grow.
THE REAL REASON TRUMP WON THE PRESIDENCY AND MR TITO IS WRONG ABOUT IT ALL
I am not going to bore everyone to death about politics because this is a wrestling website but after reading Mr. Tito’s columns and the election and Trump, I had to jump in. And while I enjoy Mr. Tito’s snark, he really missed the mark on this and here is how.
Donald Trump is WWE while Kamala Harris is AEW; Trump is a guy who focused on everyday things that everyone can relate to while Kamala focused on the liberals. Most people in their day to day lives worry about will they be able to pay their bills, will their kids be safe, can they eventually buy a house or keep up their house and will inflation go down.
Trump focused on issues that you, me, your parents, your friends and your neighbors all think about 24/7. He catered himself to those families and young people by going on Joe Rogan, doing X Spaces, his huge rallies, and interacting at these events with his fans.
Kamala’s message was focused on Abortion, Transgender Rights and “Protecting Democracy” which most people had no idea what that meant. For the average American, those three topics are very low on the daily totem pole and don’t impact their lives.
Meanwhile like AEW, Kamala Harris had the majority of the media in her corner giving her over the table favorable coverage while Trump got negative coverage. Its like the pro wrestling media continuing to pump up AEW while WWE seems to always get negative things brought up.
And in both scenarios, the vast majority of people no longer trust the media because of the bias.
This isn’t about Beta Male energy, Alpha Male Energy but just one candidate has common sense while the other like AEW focused on the niche crowd.
And that is they say is that.
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