Dear WWE Creative, You Get A Pass For The Week After ‘Mania

Dear WWE Creative,

I wrote you last week, begging for a feel-good Wrestlemania, and to be honest, you out-did yourselves. Reeling after an incredible weekend filled with NXT TakeOver highs, WWE Hall of Fame honorings and memories, not to mention #Kofimania, Beast-Slaying, and WrestleMANia celebrations; your team, and the company as a whole, gave the WWE Universe a jam-packed weekend that had us all in the feels.

And then, the much-anticipated RAW and SmackDown after ‘Mania hit; quite frankly, it was a bust.

Debuts lacked luster, Lars Sullivan’s storylines had everyone scratching their heads, Sami Zayn’s return was weak at best (on both shows), and truly the only highlights was a strong RAW opener, which only ended up having fans chanting AEW, doing the wave, and booing when The Bar interrupted the Seth Rollins versus Kofi Kingston title-versus-title bout (so, does that count?).

Maybe the only real cool segments were The Man fighting it out with The Lady (heels and all); the surprise appearance from the Undertaker; and Matt and Jeff Hardy winning gold again.

I’m going to say one thing about it all and leave it at this: we fans are fickle. FICKLE, I tell ya!

Okay, am I disappointed a tad with the RAW and SD LIVE after ‘Mania. I mean, could you have presented Sami Zayn as a shocking return (rather that showing him backstage before his match when you cut to a commercial). A surprising return, then having him cut that heel promo, would have been fantastic. To boot, I think many are simply over Lars Sullivan and two attacks on both shows were lame and seemed to go nowhere; a solid storyline pointing in a good direction or a bit more mystery around an attack on the same superstar may have caught my attention more. In terms of the Kingston versus Rollins bout, I think the WWE Universe as a whole was expecting an interruption, much thanks to the SD LIVE ads that were running through the show promising a Kofimania celebration, so an NXT callup causing the DQ would have created a bigger impact; having The Bar interrupt was uber lame. Plus, no SD LIVE ads for Kingston in the first place would have lessened the blow and anticipation around the main event and who was going to pop out. Perhaps scratching the Bobby Lashley attack on Dean Ambrose, and giving the fans a feel-good Shield goodbye (rather than saving it for after RAW went off the air) would have been appropriate and a game changer to change the mood for the Red show that night. SD LIVE was a tad better the next night, but still did not live up to that “after ‘Mania” expectation.

Did I mention the fact that the smoking-box, creepy buzzard puppet pop-up, wearing Bray Wyatt’s shirt (promo) made me cringe (and cringe hard)?

Having said all that, phew – it was good to get off my chest, I get why the television week after ‘Mania was a bust. We’ve already been introduced to a slew of NXT callups; how many more can you jam into the main roster at this point? In terms of comebacks, Kevin Owens was called back too early, he really should have been held back for this week, and I know it’s a sore spot, but you guys mis-positioning Wyatt isn’t something new; let’s face it, his promos either hit that sweet spot or they don’t – there’s no in between. But factor everything together, and people are disappointed.

But, I guess I what I’m trying to say is, after giving the WWE Universe one of the best Wrestlemanias in recent history, literally booking almost every match to the way the majority of the fan base wanted to see it, can I truly blast you for not giving me the RAW and SD LIVE after ‘Mania that I’m used to? Sure, I get shocked, surprised, and am in awe of new storylines; however, most WMs as of late haven’t left me feeling as good as 35 did in the early morning of Monday, as I crept to bed with a huge grin on my face.

I think I’ll give you a pass this week. RAW and SD LIVE weren’t grossly horrible, just not what I was expecting, and with Superstar Shakeup on the horizon, I’m pretty sure many will be eating those “AEW” chants that echoed Barclays Center earlier this week.

Signed,

 

Me.

 

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