5 Points to Note from Raw's Interview Edition

Raw emanated from Stamford, Connecticut where the WWE Headquarters’ established. What did they do when the blizzard made it impossible for a live show to be put up inside an arena? They had a series of interviews happen at the headquarters. Five superstars were seen in this episode excluding one legendary manager.It still ended up to be a decent Raw. Storylines were developed and that was the biggest victory.Here the five important points to note from this episode of Raw.

#5 Idiosyncrasies of different superstars

What this controlled setup of the WWE Headquarters did was provide the viewer with the idiosyncrasies related to each of the superstars featured. Ambrose had a segment which is more or less like a backstage segment. He was seen walking towards the headquarters in the blizzard and then interviewed by Saxton where he described his journey from Philadelphia till here. It was entertaining and it brought out the fun part of his character.

Reigns’ individual interview was good but felt scripted at times but the major turning point came when he went face to face with Lesnar. There were no smirks and grins from the 29 year old. He actually looked pretty great being face to face with the man he’s set to face and probably beat at Mania. He looked tough, he looked unhampered by the crafty verbal attack by Heyman.

Bryan was obviously humble, Lesnar was acted like a beast who’s just relaxedand relishing in his triumphs. The beast rests tonight-was his motto it seemed.

And Rollins looked every bit the brat that makes him a great heel and he was equally redoubtable when he spoke about his plans to take the Championship.

#4 Drama played out well

The controlled set up without the audience’s reaction in the background doing various chants worked in many ways.

Firstly, it gave room for silence to play a role. It made room for the necessary pauses, the slow delivery of lines and highlighted the intensity of a particular situation.

The final segment which featured the face off between lesnar and Reigns was very well done, it may just redeem WWE’s reputation with some people who went on to cancel the network. The interaction was intense and it paved the way for a story to play out well. Heyman laid out the foundation of the story. How disappointing will it be for the illustrious Anoi Family to see Reigns not succeed like they did. To see him fail.

Reigns has a chip on his shoulder because of his lineage and the animosity he faced from a certain demographic of fans.

Reigns did not flinch. Lesnar had no regard for Reigns. The 29 year old has everything to lose. That was enough to make this encounter epic and feel special unlike anything Reigns has done so far.

That’s a job well done.

#3 Who all matter

Okay, so WWE featured five supertstars in total in that edition of Raw. Who were this five superstars?

Ambrose, Reigns, Rollins, Lesnar and Daniel Bryan. That means that the WWE trusts them to deliver and make a point. They are on the show because there are people who want to see them. Cena and Rusev were featured as well when their altercation was shown on Raw as a recap of the backstage pass from the Royal Rumble. Bray Wyatt was absent and that is understandable. Such a set up of interviews won’t suit his persona.

The show more or less showed that these five superstars are the ones to look out for.

#2 The fans matter

Here’s the thing, the live show couldn’t happen because people couldn’t travel anywhere outside because of the blizzard. In short, there couldn’t be an audience for Raw. The controlled set up showed that how much difference the presence or absence of an audience makes and how much challenging it is for wrestlers to control a crowd, to get the desired reactions from them.

That is what wrestling is. That is the beauty of this spectacle. You’re not just catering to the audience at home, you’re also performing in front of an audience in the arena. It’s a theatre and it’s a TV Show as well. It’s an art to work with a crowd. And that’s the challenge Reigns has to face when facing the audience now that the spotlight is ever so much on him.

#1 When the going gets tough, the tough get going

So many WWE fans have given the company a piece of their mind with #CancelWWENetwork trending No.1 worldwide for a while. WWE, despite the blizzard and the backlash, came up with a decent Raw which did a better job than most Live Raws.

And as Vince McMahon once said- Any publicity is good.

Even because of this bad coverage, there are more eyes on the product, it got mentioned in mainstream media and social presence. It’ll be something to see how they bounce back and the fans expect them to do so, while also enjoying the fact that they made this change happen by making their social media presence felt.