Offical Raw Thread

Just because i had absolutely nothing to watch last night and was up at almost 11pm I decided to just tune in and see what was going on. First time tuning in for a long time. What do I see during the main event timeslot of RAW? TV's lining up the ring, with people glitching around seemingly due to poor internet connection, piped in fan noise to fit the reaction WWE is wanting, and the women's division headlining RAW, with one of the participants being Natayla, who I last remember being basically the veteran jobber to newcomers.

I switched the channel after 20 seconds.
 
I think I will tune into Raw tomorrow due to fans being back. My concern is WWE is bringing back fans, but they almost make it sound like a temporary thing. As they are promoting it as WWE returns to the road for a 25 episode run from like July-August. Why is that? It makes it sound like they are only returning for a bit.

My guess is, WWE may have seen this no fans stuff and creating the Thunderdome as an opportunity to change up their scheduling, and i bet the roster loved it too as it reduced the hellish travel wear and tear that breaks down so many wrestlers and makes the career an absolute grind.

But I could see the WWE going on the road for a few months, then staying in the Thunderdome for a few months, sort of doing a "season" and "off season" type of schedule. Their "season" would be on the road in front of crowds and their "off season" would be in the Thundedome. As a fan who watches on TV this would be awful, the Thunderdome and virtual fans absolutely sucks and makes the product unwatchable, but if WWE see's their viewership stay relatively normal as they do when they're traveling around, they may see it worth it, especially if it makes the lifestyle easier on it's employees.
 
Nah. Fans are back full time (well, unless shit gets real bad again)
 
Nah. Fans are back full time (well, unless shit gets real bad again)
I hope you are right, but the way WWE presented this 25 city tour makes it feel odd that this is temporary.

Also, watched parts of MiTB last night. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what was off, but something seemed off. Maybe it was the stage and that they didnt have a ramp to walk down and it was like the old days where you just come out from the back on floor level? But i hope that isnt the new set for RAW.

Cena's pop was huge, but other than that, i was disappointed in the crowd. I'd expect a RAW after WM type crowd given that it was the first show with fans since WM. I thought they'd be a bit more into each spot, but they weren't.
 
First RAW with fans in over a year and I'd say they were disappointing.
 
Glad that Big E is finally going to get to wear the heavyweight strap. Dude has earned it.

Great pop for Cena at MITB.
 
Ummm it’s 9:48 pacific time on Monday and I turned to USA channel and it’s the Olympics. Where can I watch raw tonight???
 
Looks like it aired at same time as east coast time so 5pm…awesome to get the word out.
 
What’s up with no stage for entrances? Being at crowd level makes the production value seem cheap.

seriously this is a terrible new look for RAW and Smackdown with fans returning. Production looks cheap. Entrances need an elevated stage.
 
What’s up with no stage for entrances? Being at crowd level makes the production value seem cheap.

seriously this is a terrible new look for RAW and Smackdown with fans returning. Production looks cheap. Entrances need an elevated stage.

I think they do the no stage thing because it works better for the 3D graphics and effects they've started using for various entrances
 
I think they do the no stage thing because it works better for the 3D graphics and effects they've started using for various entrances
Those 3-D TV graphics are dumb and the no stage makes the production level look subpar. I don't think it's worth having no stage just to have 3-D television graphics.
 
Top