WWE 2025: Welcome to the Streaming Era

[NYU]

Absolutely hated how they retconned Rock-Cody and Rock-Roman. The Final Boss character was the most interesting the Rock had been in 20 years and they absolutely buried it tonight like it never happened. Cody and Rock drinking vodka together on Instagram Live? Who came up with that shit?

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

Damn, you gonna introduce Topanga and just shun Will Friedle like that?

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Like I said to my buddy, KO and Fatu outworked everyone else involved in this match, and they weren't even in it for 5 minutes.

"Finishers don't matter in AEW"
They don't matter in WWE, either. Roman kicked out of three finishes done back to back to back, then another one when KO hit the Stunner.

There are probably more finishers in AEW that have never been kicked out of than in WWE too tbf.

Also Hogan getting booed out of the building made this worth watching but this show sucked shit.

 

[claydude14]

Yea the Hogan segment was the most tone deaf mood of the show. First RAW I’ve completed in years due to the hype and thanks to starting it late and fast forwarding. The crowd was noticeably turned down and even seemed a little piped over with cheers until it dragged and dragged and the booing drowned over that. Netflix just worked themselves into a shoot.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

I could be totally wrong but I felt like they were definitely piping in crowd sounds like during Seth's entrance.

I loathed the commentary (I know I say this every time I watch WWE but it's true) so much. The shit during Jey's entrance was the most cringe inducing stuff. How can anyone think Jey is cool after seeing the announcers do that? If I was at the show I'd have started booing Jey right away. Every time Cole started screaming "PAT PAT PAT!" I groaned.

 

[Brocklock]

It's just weird to me that Michael Cole is considered a great part of the show to the majority of the IWC. He's just as lame and insincere as before, but now he says Wrestling and references other companies than WWE, which makes him a great announcer to the majority of fans. I liked Cole from 2002-2007 and he had great chemistry with both Tazz and JBL, but he really needs to go away. He feels like a product of the Vince era, and they need to find a new lead announcer. McAfee should also be gone, but that's not gonna happen because starfucking and having that prestigious 2025 ESPN cred.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

It's just weird to me that Michael Cole is considered a great part of the show to the majority of the IWC. He's just as lame and insincere as before, but now he says Wrestling and references other companies than WWE, which makes him a great announcer to the majority of fans. I liked Cole from 2002-2007 and he had great chemistry with both Tazz and JBL, but he really needs to go away. He feels like a product of the Vince era, and they need to find a new lead announcer. McAfee should also be gone, but that's not gonna happen because starfucking and having that prestigious 2025 ESPN cred.

It's because "these damn kids today." The modern IWC is where we all were ~20 years ago. HIGHSPOTS! WORKRATE! LOL SHOOT COMMENT!

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

Last night's show solidified my belief that WWE has passed me by. We're not the target audience anymore and haven't been for quite some time. I'm gonna peace out until the Rumble which I still greatly enjoy as it's probably my favorite match format ever.

AEW has plenty of problems but feel like it suits my interests more.

 

[Tino Standard]

Last night's show solidified my belief that WWE has passed me by. We're not the target audience anymore and haven't been for quite some time. I'm gonna peace out until the Rumble which I still greatly enjoy as it's probably my favorite match format ever.

AEW has plenty of problems but feel like it suits my interests more.

This is exactly where I’m at. Even though there were parts that made me say, “that was technically impressive,” nothing really grabbed me in the way WWE TV used to when I was growing up.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

To me, it's not even about a wrestling product grabbing me like the ones I watched in middle and high school did. It's about a product that entertains me and doesn't feel insulting. None of the major televised companies do that for me.

But I have been enjoying the Prestige shows I've seen, and I still enjoy the overall presentation of MLW.

 

[Valeyard]

Prestige is great. I've gotten to know a few people who help set up their events and it's just passion all the way. They're shit at announcing cards but still.

WWE is in a weird identity crisis and none of the options are for a wrestling company. They're a multimedia company that happens to put on wrestling shows, much to their dismay.

 

[alfdogg]

Who was that one youngster they showed in the crowd? I bet he doesn't want to be Home Alone with the Nasty Boys!

 

[Dandy]

That sounds like it needs to be reported.

 

[Valeyard]

I think you better check with your oculist

 

[Dandy]

Anton LaVey?

 

[Sex Machine Gun]

I think what bothers me most is that this is the kind of presentation that's working with audiences. Ringwork delivers every now and then but I'm here for more than entrances and commercials. If WWE wasn't so character-driven and successfully built those characters I would have tuned out a while ago. I'll enjoy what they're doing a lot, seriously! Problem is it's buried in looooooong entrances and branding moments.

It's working for them though. I just wish something else was working instead. Cena might be the element interesting me most because he has no existing feud with anyone at all (especially because they decided to blow off the Cody/Rock shit) but you KNOW he's going to get a huge match at some point, maybe even for the strap. I'll be damned too, late 2000s me would have never believed it but I'm not opposed to one last Cena run. He needs to beat Cody though because Cody can eat that loss more than Gunter.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I think you better check with your oculist

There's nothing wrong with my feet!

 

[Dandy]

I just discovered how this Cena storyline shakes out. This is unreal.

• Cena gets a title shot in 2025, and in the buildup, Flair feigns happiness for him at first but is quickly shown to not want the record to fall. He admits as much and is antagonistic towards Cena.

• Even though Flair is managing Cena’s opponent and interferes in the match, Cena overcomes the odds and wins to break the record. ESPN and all major outlets have covered the build and the record getting broken.

• Cena gets in a couple of token successful defenses and goes calls back to his history by issuing an open challenge storyline to anyone. Remember, he did this as an undercard champion previously, and he was also an open challenger to Angle when he debuted.

• Flair and his previous champion come out for the challenge. Flair is running Cena down on the mic before the bell rings when the other wrestler attacks Cena. Flair joins in and they beat him down. Flair tells the ref to ring the bell, but when the bell rings Flair is revealed as the challenger. Even with the pre-match beatdown, Cena kicks out and makes a comeback. Cheating catches up in an extremely short match though, and Flair gets a knocked out (from the other wrestler) Cena in the Figure Four and the ref calls for the bell when Cena is not responsive to three arm raises.

• Flair retires as the champ with final match being a record-tying 17th world title victory in a WWE ring.

• WWE gets massive media coverage on Cena chasing and breaking the record with Flair involved. They get again when Flair breaks the record and retires. Cena gets to break the record, but Flair ends up with the record again even if it is a tie.

 

[Valeyard]

Cena wins and hands the belt to Flair, who promptly is killed both figuratively and literally by someone with a briefcase

 

[Hawk 34]

Cena wins and hands the belt to Flair, who promptly is killed both figuratively and literally by someone with a briefcase

It’s about time that IRS got his title run and it’s not the first time Flair did a job to an IRS.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

My inner scientific mark is geeking the fuck out over this Lexis King/Charlie Dempsey series.

 

[BruiserBrody]

On top of the racism and the Trump support.... Hogan hasn't done anything interesting since.... Mr America??.... He's been a parody of himself since he came back from the racism and was before that too. (And yes, Mr America was literally a play on Hogan's iconic look and sayings...)
I can't believe how long it took Corny and Last to even mention the Trump shit as the reason he was booed. Corny tried to blame the shitty beer first IIRC in his rundown of the segment as to why Hogan got booed. (The tall tales were also mentioned before Trump IIRC)
A bit surprising Hogan fell into the same trap as "DAMN" "Pay your Taxes" "Everybody has a price!" comedy legend segment stuff.

Rock looked like he fucking aged hard since Mania.

#Thursday Night RAW Hot takes.

 

[Valeyard]

He almost killed TNA and had one of the best matches of his career in the smoke and mirrors-fest with Sting in the process.