What RAW Has Become

Hey Scott, wanted your thoughts on this and perhaps some fodder for blog discussion:One of the reasons that RAW has become so less interesting to me is the fact that the shows have become so stale and follows the same formula every single week(not a groundbreaking statement I know).  I remember when RAW’s use to be unique and different.  Now they are basically all the same and as you put it, ‘3 hour infomercials for their upcoming PPV.’  It’s Opening Segment which usually sets up the main event(by of course the general manager), you do have your random matches thrown in just to kill time, a ton of backstage segments that lead to nothing, an angle at the end of the first hour to set up the 2nd hour main event, countless recaps and WWE app plugs and the main event usually resulting in Cena standing tall(and I’m not a Cena hater).  Even the matches follow a formula.  I DVR the show and anytime someone gets thrown outside the ring I immediately get ready to fast forward cause I know they are about to go to a commercial.  I mean RAW’s the night after PPV’s should be the most unpredictable yet they have been the most predictable over the last few years:  Winner of the PPV main event/champion opens the show, a wrestler interrupts saying he is the #1 contender, followed by another wrestler saying the same thing and so forth.  Finally the GM comes out and makes a Triple Threat/Four Corners/singles match to determine the #1 contender for that RAW’s main event and that gets us our main event for the next PPV.  I guess my question(s) is, do you think they will ever change this formula?  Are you tired of it?  Are your bloggers tired of it?  Do the writers/Vince see how stale RAW has become because of it?  Or are they just lazy and only care about getting people to buy their PPV’s?

Being a three hour infomercial for the PPVs isn’t the problem, it’s the point.  If they WERE constantly pushing towards their PPV, I’d be happier with the show because at least it would have a point.  Instead they’ve been become focused on TV revenue and monetizing the brand through apps and rights fees and burger sponsorships, so now it’s not even a show about accomplishing.  That’s why we’re getting crap like As The McMahons Turn when the ratings drop and two months of Ryback-Cena matches that no one cares about.  The problem was really shown leading up to Extreme Rules, when they had six weeks of build and two weeks’ worth of build material.  The rest is a bunch of stuff to fill three hours.  That’s why they’re killing their own PPV business and trying to launch the network.