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Your site has been reporting off the air (dark) matches for Raw and Smackdown after the brand split. Both shows have had dark matches involving wrestlers from the other brand. Isn't this going against what the brand split was supposed to be? Or is the thinking as long as the televised product sticks to the draft decisions then that's good enough? I'm sure it's a treat for the live audience but it erodes the credibility of having the draft in the first place IMO.
Thus far, it is the latter. For as long as they continue doing it, I don’t see it as hurting the brand split at all. I see it as added value for the ticket buying customer. Special treats are a nice thank you to the paying fans, except for the case of those that pay for Monday night house shows and don’t get one of the Smackdown talents.
Let's suppose there's a kid who's just started watching WWE in 2016. He's watched for a few months and he's familiar with names like Reigns, Rollins, and Ambrose. The only wrestling he's watched is what he sees on Raw or Smackdown on TV, never seen any videos online or done any internet searches. One day, he sees the arena lights go out, dark blue/purple lights come on, a creepy funeral style entrance music plays, and a very tall man wearing a leather coat and hat walks out slowly. It's the slowest entrance he's ever seen, the spookiest, yet easily the most captivating. It's the first time he's ever seen this man, and understandably, he thinks it's a new wrestler making his debut. Yet, he hears the commentators say that he's the greatest superstar in WWE history, that his entrance is the most bone chilling one ever, that he is a sure fire hall of famer. At this point, the kid curiously asks you who that man in the hat is. Where and how would you begin explaining this man and his legacy?
I give him a basic explanation of the character and then would boot up the WWE Network, do a search for Taker and let the the pictures tell the story.
So, Heath Slater. I know he's portraying the role he's been cast.......but he's done a fine job of remaining on the roster, even despite that dust up he had in the hotel WM weekend. I think he deserves better........obviously Vince doesn't. Did I just answer my own question??
As I type this on Sunday, I don’t know if he appeared on Raw but frankly, I like what they did on Smackdown last week. They got the fans behind him, which was cool. I think they will follow up on that. Smackdown’s credo is second chances so he fits right in. Would you rather be where he is or playing Mr. Irrelevant. I would rather be where Slater is.
If and when Triple H gets reintroduced to WWE programming, how does/should he get introduced and in what kind of role?
It can go a lot of ways, and that is cool. More and more, given his role in NXT, H has become a babyface in the eyes of the fans. Sure, he plays the Authority character, but he also got pops when he wrestled. If it’s me, I use him on Smackdown, for the surprise and storyline fun that will happen when he “goes against his wife”. With that said, I don’t overexpose him. Use him judiciously. He is 47 years old now and has a pretty full plate outside of the ring. It is far more important to the company and the future of the business that he keep doing the amazing job he has done running NXT than actually wrestle matches.
I totally agree with Mike Johnson saying that RAW was fun to watch and it was the thing that was missing for a long time. I'm totally not a fan of Michael Cole but I was surprised to hear how good he was on Raw, maybe the best Cole we had in years. Is it just me or working with young and passionate guys like Saxton and Graves gave him a new boost ?
Not at all. What people forget is that when he is allowed to call wrestling like it’s wrestling, Michael Cole is very, very good. In fact, he’s outstanding. The guy can call matches with the best of them when he is allowed to do so. Last Monday, he was allowed to do so. It’s that simple.
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