THE RAW REVIEW

Last week, I thought it was too big a logical leap when, after screaming at Roman Reigns to leave the ring, Stephanie McMahon suddenly wanted Roman Reigns to get back into the ring simply because he’d turned his back on her (despite the fact that he was actually doing what she’d initially wanted). Roman’s “Act of Defiance” was so milquetoast and childish (made all the more ineffective by how amused & pleased with himself he was) that the scene quickly sapped him of the gravitas and the momentum he’d established the previous week.

THE RISE OF ROMAN REIGNS

Roman Reigns has won the 2015 Royal Rumble. As a result, the relationship between the WWE and the WWE's fans is as strained and contentious as ever.

I'm a fan of Roman's. I've always liked him and always thought he could be exactly what the WWE wanted him to be so long as they booked him properly and emphasized his strengths. This is a common perspective among many long-time pro-wrestling fans. It's truly a shame to watch his career, and the future of the company, be negatively affected as a result of bad booking and not consistently creating a character that could convincingly face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.

JOHN CENA:BENEATH THE WRIST BANDS

If you are reading these words, you most likely have a strong opinion about John Cena.

Whatever that opinion may be, I encourage you to read this from the perspective of what makes good character work, not from the perspective of a passionate "lover" or "hater". Love Cena, hate Cena, or ignore Cena, this article is about one thing and one thing only: how small, seemingly insignificant creative choices can have powerful thematic implications.

THE RAW REVIEW

“I feel like I’m watching something that hates me, and hates itself.”

This is what I texted to a friend in the middle of Monday Night Raw. This is what watching Raw’s laborious three hours can feel like for a fan, and especially for someone who’s been writing about the show for three years.

THE RAW REVIEW (12/29/14)

The last RAW of 2014 was a good representation of the entire year.

Some good performances, some progressive booking, some stilted performances, and some incredibly regressive booking.

2014 has been a good year for the WWE, despite the flaws, with several younger performers slowly rising to a place of prominence and, in so doing, reinvigorating some of the veteran talents. While fans have had to endure a truly disheartening stream of advertisements on an overlong flagship show and angles that seem booked and built by a blatantly out-of-touch board of directors, they’ve also been treated to an overall sense of increased hope and positivity and signs of legitimate change in the wake of significant events in the WWE fiction and in the actual WWE company.

The Writings