It’s only been two weeks since NXT Take Over: Rival, but Sami Zayn’s absence is starting to take on tangible significance - the episodes feel less important, less emotionally driven without him.
This wouldn’t be anything approaching a problem if the in-ring action was consistent, the theatrics populated with interesting characters. But the past few weeks have felt almost experimental - trying out new stars and featuring untested talents in prominent places on the card at a time when the brand was eliciting consistent praise for the proven roster that got it so much attention in the first place.
Read MoreRAW existed in that bland middle-ground of inoffensive but forgettable this week.
It wasn’t especially bad, but it wasn’t especially good.
Three hours chugged along, and only about thirty minutes of it seemed to matter while the rest of the show was…fine.
It was mostly Randy Orton’s show, and your investment in the episode hinged largely upon your willingness to get invested in Randy Orton’s psychology.
Read MoreLike some classic songs, fine foods, or abstract art many pro-wrestlers are acquired tastes. It’s rare that I’ll ever instantly like a pro-wrestler. It’s especially rare that I’ll ever instantly feel like the talent I’m seeing could easily become a favorite of mine the first time I see them perform.
Read MoreThe February 16th, 2015 episode of Monday Night Raw is the best episode of the WWE’s flagship show that I’ve seen since The Attitude Era.
Now I haven’t seen every episode in the past fourteen years and nothing overtly historic or game-changing appeared to happen last night (depending on how you viewed the show). But I cannot remember the last time in over a decade I haven't, at some point, mentally tuned out of RAW or rolled my eyes or groaned or sighed or been eternally frustrated with the direction of the company by the end of the night. There have been great episodes, to be sure, but few and far between have emanated from a sincere, professional wrestling perspective in quite some time (a perspective that has existed exclusively on NXT).
Read MoreNXT is loosely defined as the WWE’s farm-league, a home-grown developmental territory of sorts broadcasting out of Full Sail University in Florida. Every Wednesday at 8pm, pre-taped, one-hour episodes play on the WWE Network, and every two months the promotion has a live, two-hour special.
Read MoreFirstly, I apologize to my regular readers for being a couple days late with The NXT Report. I’ve started work at a new 9-5 job in the real-world, and have yet to figure out the best schedule for writing an adequate review of the WWE’s best show.
The Raw Review will arrive as usual on Tuesday, but I'm still deciding exactly when The NXT Report will be written and posted.
For now, I’m happy I had a few days to process what took place at NXT Take Over: Rival.
Read MoreTwo weeks in a row I’ve been somewhat stumped as to what to write about in The Raw Review. Last week, after several false starts and actual drafts, I created what was, for me, a less than satisfactory nitpick of the WWE’s ongoing booking woes.
I very much want to write about the symbolism and themes of various WWE scenes and matches, but when the performances are subpar, when the booking and the creative and the script looms like a dark, inescapable cloud over the proceedings, it’s hard to get to the goods and even harder to write about the goods.
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