WWE's hitting real good right now

[The Heartbreak TWERK]

I remember the days, probably 2017-2020, where there was almost nothing to get excited about. Now I find myself after a four year hiatus loving every wrestling show that I get to see (I missed Collision this weekend because I'm stupid).

So, I just wanted to throw a little celebration thread, because, we should celebrate when shit's good.

[Jonathan Michaels]

Jun 4, 2024 0:10:32 GMT -5 The Heartbreak TWERK said:

I remember the days, probably 2017-2020, where there was almost nothing to get excited about. Now I find myself after a four year hiatus loving every wrestling show that I get to see (I missed Collision this weekend because I'm stupid).

So, I just wanted to throw a little celebration thread, because, we should celebrate when shit's good.

And part of it is reasons we could never predict.

Imagine telling people a couple years ago that Miz, Orton, and Corbin would be faces, that Chad Gable would be the most despised heel on the roster, and that two guys would be out with injury but still having an epic feud with each other and that one of them would be CM PUNK

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

I'm not even watching WWE and I'm delighted that people seem really excited about the show and are expressing enjoyment of it. I'm literally noticing people around me get more into wrestling and I can't love that enough.

[ayumidah]

Yeah, I'm glad that WWE's pretty hot. A lot of my favorites in and out of WWE are injured and it helps that there are other things to focus on.

[UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm]

Vince is probably going away forever and we have a industry that doesn't seem to want to go out of their way to hate us anymore. From the smallest of indies to WWE/AEW/TNA, these companies have entered an era where it is very profitable for them to not antagonize us. Can't ask for much more than that and really, I didn't think we would ever get it. I thought we'd have Vince until he was 100 and then by that time we'd be too busy focusing on the alien invasions to give a shit about wrestling.

Imagine that, an industry that is picking up on not being an asshole to people who spend time on it. novel idea

[Moppy]

Raw in particular (moreso than Smackdown I think) is this fascinating phenomenon where basically everyone in the main event/midcard scene is getting more over at the same rate, in unison, everyone’s more over than they were two years ago, nobody’s damagingly outshining everyone else and it’s not at anyone’s expense.

Like when has that ever happened so purely throughout history? 1998 maybe?

[john84]

It's a lot better right now, IMO, absolutely.

[theironyuppie]

Jun 4, 2024 2:22:40 GMT -5 Moppy said:

Raw in particular (moreso than Smackdown I think) is this fascinating phenomenon where basically everyone in the main event/midcard scene is getting more over at the same rate, in unison, everyone’s more over than they were two years ago, nobody’s damagingly outshining everyone else and it’s not an anyone’s expense.

Like when has that ever happened so purely throughout history? 1998 maybe?

Raw on the whole has had quite a good balance (aided by its strong roster) since last year's draft. The lesser episodes are usually still decent and the good ones are great. What you're pointing out is also a product of Vince being truly gone from Creative since late last year. Too often he booked midcard feuds (or anyone outside his top stars) as interchangeable filler, often in go-nowhere feuds where wrestlers would just trade wins in 50/50 fashion in repeated matches on weekly TV. Now however, even a lot of the midcard is getting put into interwoven feuds, there's confidence now that they can stick to planning ahead, and thus their moments and matches actually matter.

[polarbearpete]

Raw is really where things are really seeming to click, story wise, character progression wise and just talent getting more over by the week. And that’s with losing Rollins, Cody and Punk in the last few months.

The roster on Raw is incredibly deep on the men’s side, and it’s exciting and fresh to see new talent like Ilja and Bron get serious pushes, plus others getting time to show what they can do after years of being around like Gable, Kaiser, and Ricochet. Braun is back and always over. A fun storyline with Liv, Dom, Rhea. Just really fun to see it all clicking at once.

I’ve always said Raw is the hardest to digest weekly because 3 hours is just too much but they’ve seemingly found a formula to keep it from dragging.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

Wrestling is, by and large, at its highest quality in maybe decades. It really is something to celebrate!

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

It's doing really well, but there's still work to be done. Especially as it relates to people that are still falling through the cracks somewhat and finding something worthwhile for them that isn't just slapping a belt on them.

[Jindrak Mark]

I started watching weekly again with MITB 2021 when crowds returned so at 3 years this is easily my longest stretch of watching wrestling since I was a kid. Even during shitty years I could still muster enthusiasm for a Rumble or Mania but then I'd usually dip out for months at a time. The biggest difference lately is that I'm interested in enough stuff that I don't want to take those regular breaks anymore. I didn't want to miss Backlash. I don't want to miss CATC. Then it'll be Summerslam time and Roman might be returning as a huge babyface. Then they'll be building towards war games. Then it'll be Rumble/Mania season again. There hasn't been an opening for me to check out because there's always something on the horizon I'm looking forward which used to not be the case.

Raw definitely has the most interesting stuff right now with the Gable stuff, the Liv/Dom stuff, the Punk/Drew stuff, the Bron stuff and it's looking like this new Wyatt group will end up there too if the June 17 hints are true. It's all the more impressive considering how many big names who were appearing on Raw in the build to Mania aren't here now. There's no Cody, no Rock, no Roman, no Seth, no Rhea, Becky is gone now too and even Punk and Drew haven't appeared as much due to injury.

I won't even be mad if/when I eventually lose interest again. I kinda like the pattern I've had for the past 10-15 years now with regular breaks to avoid getting burnt out on wrestling. I'll watch WWE until I lose interest then stop until the next Rumble etc. I'll watch AEW for 6-12 months until it stops hitting for me. I mostly stick to only big shows with NJPW like WK/G1. If TNA is getting some buzz I'll check it out a bit more again. I'll randomly either watch/not watch NXT for months straight. If I'm enjoying stuff great I'll watch but if I'm not I try to see the positives too of having more time for other stuff and hopefully the break makes me more excited when I start watching again next time.

[ruthlessko04]

2024 has been a great year for WWE so far with epic bangers and great storylines. Raw is definitely doing great with the likes of Gable, Liv, Kaiser and Ricochet has getting more chance to shine while new talents in Ilja, Bron and Lyra are making a name for themselves, the storyline between Liv and Dom is fun to watch and the Punk vs McIntyre has been very exciting to watch. Even without Cody, Rock, Roman, Seth, Becky, Rhea, Punk and Drew, Raw is still killing it. Smackdown is doing great as well with the Cody vs AJ rivalry heating up, Owens's rivalry with Bloodline is getting more intense, Nia is the top heel of the SD's women division, Theory and Waller are a good heel team and the new talents in Jade, Tiffany and Carmelo has been shining.

Cody finished the story and became the Face of the Company
Vince is completely gone for good
Rock returned as heel and became The Final Boss
Top rising stars in Jade, Tiffany, Bron, Lyra, Theory, Carmelo and Ilja
Drew's incredible heel work
Nia Jax has been improving since her return
Gunther has been having banger matches as usual
Liv's Revenge Tour has good as she became Raw's women champ and her storyline with Dom has been heating up
Great rivalries such as Cody vs Bloodline, Punk vs Drew, Sami vs Gable, Orton and Owens vs Bloodline
Jey is still completely over with the fans
Orton vs Gunther at KOTR was a banger
Both shows has been doing great.
Gable has became one of the most hated heels in WWE due to his great heel work

[The Gallus Mark]

It’s been fantastic and has made up for a lot of bad years (17-20 is a good example)

I didn’t have DVR for the last few years and would really only get to watch YouTube highlights of Raw and Smackdown and sometimes skipped that.

Now, I go out of my way to record the shows and watch them back, which is way different than I was a couple of years ago.

-The women are outstanding and while the tag division still isn’t great, at least some effort seems to be in it for CatC.

-I saw a comment from Kenny Omega about how Triple H is showcasing different wrestling styles across the shows, even if he doesn’t love it and I think that shows with the different wrestlers being highlighted each week, which gives a nice balance to the shows.

-The production is so much better, from the entrances, the backstage segments, just putting the damn names of wrestlers who are being interviewed is a nice touch too.

I just really like how the shit is going and I think having some real competition has helped elevate the show as well.

[Woo]

It's absolutely fantastic right now. Just not creatively but production wise too. That part from King and Queen of the Ring with Logan Paul on the turnbuckles with the camera spinning around him was breathtaking.

Also the segments outside the arena like the one with New Day and Karion Kross feel so different in a great way

This is the most I've enjoyed the WWE since 2001.