WWE: Monday Night Raw 145 - Oh, Shane is so gonna pay for this...

[Virtanen18]

Ugh brand split ughhhhh

 

[Emperoreddy]

It's shows like that that should serve notice to everyone in and out of the WWE that you can put on a damn good three hour show if you just put in the appropriate effort. That was a hell of a show.

Best change tonight was giving good matches with good talent a TON of time.

 

[Belieber]

I don't usually watch, did a few years ago. Can these new guys even talk? Balor and zayn seem like the exact same guy and incredibly bland. The women's match was great, did not expect a women's match to be that good!

I keep thinking what is the character? Cesaro takes a suit off then wrestles, zayn walks weird to the ring then Wrestles, Baylor does some lights stuff then wrestles, reigns walks to the ring and wrestles, why should I care who wins? Where are the characters? Also the crowd was very quiet during really good matches and it's because these guys don't actually have characters to attach to.

 

[Acallabeth]

I don't usually watch, did a few years ago. Can these new guys even talk? Balor and zayn seem like the exact same guy and incredibly bland. The women's match was great, did not expect a women's match to be that good!

I keep thinking what is the character? Cesaro takes a suit off then wrestles, zayn walks weird to the ring then Wrestles, Baylor does some lights stuff then wrestles, reigns walks to the ring and wrestles, why should I care who wins? Where are the characters? Also the crowd was very quiet during really good matches and it's because these guys don't actually have characters to attach to.

You're absolutely right, most of the new guys have the promo ability of a chair and almost no character. Kevin Owens is a notable exception in both regards, Rusev too and The Man Seth Rollins is bester than all of them.

 

[The Lunatic Fridge]

You're absolutely right, most of the new guys have the promo ability of a chair and almost no character. Kevin Owens is a notable exception in both regards, Rusev too and The Man Seth Rollins is bester than all of them.

I don't know if this is sarcasm or you have some ridiculous standards.

just from NXT you have

KO, Rusev, Rollins, Ambrose, Sasha, Paige, Enzo and Cass, Big E and woods just to name a few who can talk just fine.

Zayn and cesaro aren't bad at all, they're way better than the average shmuck for certain.

 

[Shoalzie]

Glad the internet talk of a Jericho feud for Balor was false...I think this is just a little bit better. A month of build should be fun.

Thought they'd actually have cross show matches on Summerslam but it doesn't appear that way...Raw with such a strong relaunch.

To have this good of a show and have basically no Rollins and we've not seen Brock...major tip of the cap.

 

[MAHJ71]

Awesome show.. loved the Reigns roast, loved Balor winning the #1 contender matches, loved Sasha Banks finally claiming the title.

Newb question: does Balor not do the demon face paint look anymore? Or is that only for special matches, etc?

 

[Shoalzie]

Newb question: does Balor not do the demon face paint look anymore? Or is that only for special matches, etc?

I'm sure we'll see the paint at Summerslam.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Yeah that raw was so good and they pretty much gave Rollins the night off....shows they can put out quality if they want to.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

I don't usually watch, did a few years ago. Can these new guys even talk? Balor and zayn seem like the exact same guy and incredibly bland. The women's match was great, did not expect a women's match to be that good!

I keep thinking what is the character? Cesaro takes a suit off then wrestles, zayn walks weird to the ring then Wrestles, Baylor does some lights stuff then wrestles, reigns walks to the ring and wrestles, why should I care who wins? Where are the characters? Also the crowd was very quiet during really good matches and it's because these guys don't actually have characters to attach to.

Baby-face Finn is bland, I agree. But Zayn? Lol. He isn't the best talker, sure, but he is the most spectacular top-ish guy they have and a top wrestler. He is also VERY likable, have great theme music that gets fans going and is one of the few people able to get over as a true babyface. Zayn will never be the top guy (Owens could and should become the top heel), but he will always be the guy that will give you multiple MOTYC every year. Very reliable and very relatable. He has gotten/will get over with his top-notch in-ring work.

 

[littleD]

Can someone give me a non-smakrWhat answer... What is the in-ring appeal of Finn Balor?

 

[Brunomics]

Can someone give me a non-smakrWhat answer... What is the in-ring appeal of Finn Balor?

I don't get it either. He's not exciting in the ring at all to me.

 

[GKJ]

What the hell is that Penguins jersey behind Sasha? It looks like a mix of their early 70's jersey and the RBK Edge ones.

That was in a tight hallway so it's likely part of a mural of the history of the Penguins

 

[Imagining Defeat]

Going to Smackdown tonight...really interested in how they can top Raw...

 

[Acallabeth]

I don't know if this is sarcasm or you have some ridiculous standards.

just from NXT you have KO, Rusev, Rollins, Ambrose, Sasha, Paige, Enzo and Cass, Big E and woods just to name a few who can talk just fine.

Zayn and cesaro aren't bad at all, they're way better than the average shmuck for certain.

I guess my standards are pretty high, but no reason to call them ridiculous.
Ambrose is a good talker, but his character is underworked through. He's called a lunatic, but doesn't do anything crazy, he's now just the only man from The Shield who accepts his perception as the lesser man of the trio.
Sasha is an okayish talker, but, again, aside from "The boss", what is she? How does her character affect her storylines, her wrestling?
Paige is garbage on the mic and very overrated in ring.
Enzo is good, Cass? Nah. And their character, aside from being a couple of freaks, is what again?
The New Day grew old for me so long ago I can't appreciate them now.

Cesaro and Zayn are both bad on the mic, have bland generic characters, but they are both so awesome in ring they are fun to watch any way. Same for Neville. Zayn is naturally charismatic and likeable as well.

Owens, Rollins and Rusev* beat those guys by being great at both wrestling and talking, and also having clear characters that are used in their promos, stories and wrestling. Bray Wyatt and AJ Styles are the only other 2 guys from the "new era" who have it covered as well. Maybe Balor will get their too when he turns heel.

Can someone give me a non-smakrWhat answer... What is the in-ring appeal of Finn Balor?

I'm with you guys. Finn has it all: he's charismatic, he has a great theme and entrance, he's smooth and technical, has a good moveset, he's just not interesting. Maybe he just had wrong opponents? It takes a special kind of talent to have a better match with Reigns than with Nakamura.

 

[ColePens]

Can someone give me a non-smakrWhat answer... What is the in-ring appeal of Finn Balor?

I don't get it either. He's not exciting in the ring at all to me.

That's wretling. What is entertaining to some might not be entertaining to others. His in-ring moveset isn't anything that will blow you away, but I dig how he moves and his kicks.

I think the real appeal to the guy is that:
- He's got a fantastic look.
- He's mega creative with his entrances.
- He's got an awesome theme song.
- He can tell a good story in the ring.
- He's wrestled around the world and mechanically is sound in the ring.


Not every wrestler who comes up is going to flip around and do crazy things. To me, that's not what makes a wrestler good. He uses his moveset well to fit his persona. That's why everyone falls in love.

 

[GKJ]

Entrance is a huge thing. William Regal says that by the time you're a third of the way down the ramp, the crowd has already decided if they're going to care about you. Who are the faces who are most over right now and how do they enter the arena? Seth and KO of course, didn't need it they're already over but they're heels.

 

[These Are The Days]

What a night last night. At long last my interest in wrestling has been truly renewed. The last several years of WWE (minus the Punk shenanigans where he was so over that he could eclipse the sun with the palm of his hand) has been some of the laziest and most uninspired product I have ever watched. Right down to the fact they turned the ropes white for both shows. I always kept an eye on what was happening with the WWE but never watched it as paper champions like the Rock and Lesnar dominated the product because WWE thought it could get away with it. It was truly laughable that we had to get Rock vs. Cena twice.

And I'm in the minority but I never could get high on the Shield. It was just 3 guys beating the hell out of everyone for weeks at a time and it got old fast. To continue on my point about the laziness of the product, Rollins defected 2 damn years ago and we're STILL hearing about how, "He broke the Shield". I never thought anything could top NWO absurdness until these guys came along.

I was initially opposed to the WWE brand split because I thought they would screw Smackdown much harder than they did but luckily for them splitting the brands and allowing new talent to shine through has provided a much needed renaissance over the last couple of weeks.

It seems like WWE has given us everything but a Cena heel turn. Given the fact that Roman lost clean last night it feels like anything is possible.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Entrance is a huge thing. William Regal says that by the time you're a third of the way down the ramp, the crowd has already decided if they're going to care about you. Who are the faces who are most over right now and how do they enter the arena? Seth and KO of course, didn't need it they're already over but they're heels.

The Undertaker is the best example of that. 50% of the schtick is the mystical entrance.

 

[GKJ]

The Undertaker is the best example of that. 50% of the schtick is the mystical entrance.

That was the start. Think about the folks who are popular at least on this message board:


Wyatts
New Day
Nakamura
Sasha
Bayley
Becky
Balor (and he has two different entrances)
Zayn
Cesaro
Enzo and Cass
AJ Styles
Danielson
I'll extend this to Cena and Lesnar

They all have awesome entrances, Rollins and KO are kind of the exception, but at least they have awesome music. Ambrose imo is the exception to both.

Now think of people everyone gets tired of and how they enter the arena. Reigns, Ziggler, Nattie, Sheamus, Del Rio, etc.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Del Rio and Sheamus have awesome music though.

 

[SeidoN]

asked my friend who never watches NXT what they thought of Raw

they thought Balor was okay but found Nia Jax to be the most impressive

needless to say we are no longer friends

 

[DenisSamson3]

Happy with those red ropes. Great entertaining show.

 

[Engebretson]

I guess I just don't see how Balor is bland or boring. He's very technically sound in the ring and has put on some great matches in NXT and a pretty good match with Reigns last night. The Coup de Grace is cool to see with the elevation he gets with it and the Sling Blade is a cool signature move for him, especially when he can pretty much pull it out of nowhere when an opponent is running toward him (like last night).

I will agree that they definitely need to give him a deeper personality to let us know why the audience should care about him on the main roster and not just try leeching off of his Indy/NXT reputation. Maybe he needs to be a heel first to develop that personality, but he's got the technical skills to help make him a very exciting player in WWE once he gets established.

SummerSlam should be awesome, though, and I'm excited to see the build with Balor/Rollins.

 

[GKJ]

asked my friend who never watches NXT what they thought of Raw

they thought Balor was okay but found Nia Jax to be the most impressive

needless to say we are no longer friends

It was the same way Nia Jax debuted on NXT, and as a result nobody got over.

It can work if they're good, but she really isn't.