LIVE Raw thoughts - October 26, 2015

11:06 - That ending was such typical WWE.  Instead of ending the show with the crowd cheering loudly and Reigns celebrating with his music playing and Rollins ranting, they have the two of them stand there, awkwardly staring at each other with no music playing.  Way to take the the wind out of the sails.

11:02 - I obviously wish this Reigns push was going to Ambrose, but I did like that closing sequence with Reigns turning the Pop Up Powerbomb into the Superman Punch.  Well done.

11:01 - Seth Rollins right now is showing us how wildly entertaining a legitimate heel commentator can be.

10:56 - Loved Kevin Owens telling Alberto Del Rio to "breathe."

10:39 - Having said that, it does make me sad seeing Dean Ambrose out there with the rest of the midcarders who have no direction.

10:36 - Pretty cool that Titus O'Neil gets this moment.  Nice to give him a little exposure -- something that's usually saved for the heavy hitters.

10:24 - I want more than anything for Ziggler to succeed, but he's one guy who's in desperate need of a good story and some character development.  He's currently pulling a Zack Ryder right now, where a change is needed to get his career back on track.  And instead of tweaking the character or his style, he just sorta starts dressing differently.  Sometimes a more significant, Chris Jericho-esque character shift is what's really needed.

10:17 - Kofi's exaggerated and high pitched "Whoa, Dolph!" when he was clearly about to do something devious was pure comedy.  Loved it.

10:05 - I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I found that entire segment dull until Kane arrived.

9:48 - I think Ryback is ARGUABLY the only person in this match that I'm even moderately entertained by.

9:25 - I can't imagine Del Rio not winning here.  I'm guessing Ziggler tops Big E to keep the two heels/two faces dynamic, which is curious booking.  Ziggler is probably the most over of the three babyfaces, and that's the one who's going to compete against obvious chosen one Roman Reigns.

9:18 - Only in WWE is becoming tolerant considered a heel turn.

9:07 - Again, I don't get it.  Haven't we seen Paige turn on these two, like, three times already?

9:04 - Isn't it odd how Sasha seems to be seen the least in this Divas Revolution, and is one of the few Divas not currently involved in any segments with Charlotte, the champion?

8:55 - I don't get it.  Are we supposed to, like, get MORE upset each time Paige turns on Charlotte and Becky?  Why not have them just, ya' know, feud?

8:53 - Why does the Divas dressing room have an antique lamp in it?

8:50 - It's almost frustrating watching Cesaro.  Seeing all of the amazing things he can do and seeing the fans legitimately react to it.....and then them just not doing more with him.

8:46 - I'm hoping for Cesaro here, mostly because I'd love for him to get a high profile singles win.

8:36 - That WWE 2K16 commercial was pretty damn awesome.

8:32 - Are they even going to explain Lesnar's absence tonight?  Who else is there?  I assume Big E gets a shot too.  Then there's Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio.  I guess Cesaro, Ziggler, and Neville do, too?  I assume Rollins doesn't fight.

8:28 - I don't know why, but it's a pet peeve of mine when the announcers refer to the Superstars by their first name.

8:18 - Now I definitely want to see Reigns lose.

8:11 - Roman Reigns sounding as natural as ever.

8:03 - Not off to a great start.  I detest when WWE has their characters come out and narrate what's happening or what's happened.

7:57 - Okay, I'm going to give Raw another chance tonight.  Basically, the show has been ATROCIOUS for months now.  To the point that I not only don't make sure I'm home to see the show, but that I might actually watch something else instead.  I've been watching Raw each and every week (mostly out of habit) for as long as I can remember.  That's a big deal.  However, I figured that WWE had painted themselves in a corner with their Hell in a Cell booking, so no matter how much panicking we saw, nothing significant would happen.  Well, with Hell in a Cell behind them now, they can hit "reset" and start putting together a, ya' know, good show.

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LIVE WWE in MSG thoughts - October 3, 2015

10:24 - Overall a fine enough show but, again, they made it seem too much like an every day episode of Raw.  It's been years since I've gone to a house show, but they seem to have stripped the show of all of the charm that typically goes with these untelevised shows.  And when people haven't really been too enamored with the current product, being like "every other show" is most certainly not a good thing.

10:21 - Definitely the match of the night but I have grown to detest the logic of cage matches.  Like, when your opponent is climbing up the cage, wouldn't it make more sense to run to the easily escapable door instead of leaping up the cage to stop them?  And why should your babyface EVER try to escape the cage when an "honorable" and "manly" pinfall is an option?

I didn't really mind Rollins losing since he had an implied victory and was screwed out of it.  Having said that, having your champion pinned so often is never a good idea.

9:57 - Wondering if we'll see more Stewart hijinx -- this time in favor of Cena -- to turn him face again.

9:50 - Did I just see Dave Lagana quoted on a WWE Network promo?

9:41 - I do like how, in Lesnar's matches, he doesn't outright no-sell people's finishers.  Instead, he just groggily gets up, as if to say, "you didn't put me out" but it still did damage.

9:31 - Thank God they didn't do a title change there.  And aren't Edge and Christian, like, 15 time champions or something?  Would the Dudleys winning it 10 times even be a record?

9:16 - Are they really going to do two matches in a row where the story is "will these legends become a 10-time champion"?

9:03 - The announcer's unprompted and completely random reference to how titles can only change hands on pinfall and submission makes me think we're looking at a count out loss for Owens.

8:59 - Pretty cool that this is Jericho's anniversary and that Lance Storm is in attendance.  It would be great to see if Storm got involved in the match somehow (I could see him hitting Owens after Owens gets in his face).

8:58 - I always preferred Jericho with a beard.  Glad he's growing it back (for this show, anyway).

8:51 - Oye, Nikki playing to the hard camera for that pin REALLY took away the credibility of this live event.

8:41 - It doesn't help that the recap showed that these two teams JUST fought on Monday.  I know that house shows typically ARE the same matches over and over again, but we seem to be getting the worst of both worlds right now:  The same matches we always see, but without the unique aspects of untelevised events.  Matches don't seem any longer and the increased crowd interactions don't seem apparent.  Plus, we're seeing those damn backstage segments and recap videos.

8:35 - Again, too many backstage segments.

8:25 - I literally cannot recall the last WWE show I've watched where Neville and Stardust haven't wrestled.

8:22 - The frequency of these recaps and backstage interviews has made this feel like your typical Raw, which is NOT a good thing.  Having said that, Kane continues to nail his character.

8:18 - God, I hope that wasn't a face turn.

8:11 - Not sure how I feel about the fact that they picked likely their three weakest announcers for this special.

8:03 - I'm glad Sheamus went shirtless for his entrance (there's an odd comment!).  The way the line shines on him, the guy literally GLOWS due to his pale skin.  It's a really cool visual that loses its impact when he wears a black t-shirt.  Drives me crazy when he does that.

I'm also not stating anything new here, but the understated entrance set up immediately makes this show seem fresh and different.

8:01 - Hey, it's been a while since I've done one of these, so why not a LIVE thoughts post?  Besides which, these Network specials tend to be better than Raw anyway.

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