RAW: The 5 Biggest Flaws with the McMahons' “Shake-Up”

Pretty much as soon as the December 10th edition of Monday Night Raw had finished, it was announced that Vince McMahon would be appearing on the following episode to address fans’ recent concerns with the WWE product.

And so, fast forward to the December 17th episode, and not only were we given Vinny Mac; we were also “gifted” with the presence of Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and Shane McMahon. Oh, joy…

This comes off the heels of Raw having outdone itself in achieving record low ratings over the past three weeks, and they’ve even had one of their top babyfaces, Seth Rollins, publicly make mention of these ratings on their flagship TV show. Publicising how trash your own product has been? Brilliant logic, eh? Maybe not.

For the week leading up to the Dec 17th Raw, fans were teased with the notion that Vince McMahon was going to make a huge announcement, the change was a-coming, and the WWE was going to receive an almighty shake-up.

After a segment that clocked it at the half-hour mark, fans were promised that they would be listened to going forward, that the McMahons have done a poor job lately, and that wrongs were going to be written.

So let’s take a look at this lengthy segment and dissect five of the biggest flaws with what we heard from the McMahons.

5) Fresh Match-Ups

Six NXT call-ups are on their way to the WWE main roster

One of the big things to come out of the McMahons’ Monday Night Raw diatribe was the promise of fresh matches. Great! Fantastic! Wonderful!

Oh, and there will be six talents called up from NXT? Brilliant! Amazing! Splendid!

But wait, what happens when you have these fresh match-ups, when you explore new rivalries, and when you bring in new faces while having to work with a 3-hour Monday night show and a 2-hour Tuesday night show?

To be fair to SmackDown, the blue brand has been consistently impressive over the last year or so. For Raw, however, the three hours is an absolute killer when it comes to keeping things fresh. Having to fill three hours weekly means that match-ups are soon stale, rivalries and feuds become played out well before they should, PPV-level bouts end up on regular TV, and everything soon starts to feel repetitive.

As long as Monday Night Raw is kept as a three-hour show, there is always the problem that anything fresh won’t be fresh for long. And given how there are no signs of Raw losing an hour any time soon, that poses a major stumbling block for keeping Raw feeling new and innovative. It’s certainly not impossible, but it’s clearly an uphill battle.

4) The Fans Cheered Them

Vince McMahon made a rare appearance on Raw

If you search any sort of wrestling forum, read any social media thoughts on wrestling, listening to any wrestling podcasts, or simply have, y’know, an in-person chat with a wrestling fan, a huge portion of them will have some negative thoughts on the McMahons and the WWE product that’s been dished out for the past several years. Hell, the record-low ratings alone should give you a sense of just how unhappy wrestling fans have been.

With that in mind, then, you’d imagine that those in attendance for Raw would be chomping at the bit to give Vince, Stephanie, Shane, and Triple H a piece of their mind, right? Err, seemingly not.

Instead of booing the McMahons, instead of sitting on their hands, instead of simply even not reacting at all, the Sacramento crowd gave all four McMahons (yes, Hunter is essentially a McMahon now for all intents and purposes) a rousing response when they came out.

If you were looking to gauge fans’ thoughts towards the McMahons based on the Sacramento crowd, it was basically, “Yay, how great to see you. Good job, guys!”

The reason for the poor Raw product is largely down to Vince McMahon. Yet how can he feel truly to blame if fans are cheering him wildly every time he makes an appearance?

3) Baron Corbin, Fall Guy

Baron Corbin address the McMahons

On the December 10th episode of Raw, the on-screen Seth Rollins character lambasted Baron Corbin as the major reason for Raw hitting record lows in the ratings. That in itself felt a tad off, but that was fine, for Vinny Mac was turning up to really address Raw’s issues, right? Well, kind of.

The McMahons all started this most recent Raw off by apologising for failing fans, for giving a substandard product, and for simply not listening to what their audience wants. Those are all completely valid, real-life points, and it was initially refreshing to hear.

What’s that, though? Oh, right, yeah, they immediately followed that up by pinning the blame on poor ol’ Baron Corbin.

So let’s get this straight. The real minds behind WWE are on TV, admitting their product is bad and that they haven’t listened to audiences, yet they then go on to blame the fictional TV character of Baron Corbin for the product’s problems?

In terms of taking the very real responsibility for what’s gone wrong with Raw, it was as if the McMahons took one step forward then two steps back. First they take the blame on their own shoulders, promise to do better, promise to listen to fans… and then they lose a whole load of credibility by switching gears and blaming Corbin’s acting-GM character.

2) More McMahons on TV

Get ready to feel the McMahons' presence on WWE programming

Back during the Attitude Era, Vince McMahon become a pivotal part of the on-screen WWE product; going from on-screen commentator to becoming the most hated villain during the hottest time the wrestling business has ever seen.

That was two decades ago, though.

By the time the Attitude Era had come to a close in 2001, the Vince McMahon character had peaked. Anything more from “Mr. McMahon” was overkill in the years that followed. The same thing can be said for Shane, and then there’s a very good argument to be made that Stephanie McMahon became an instant channel-changer by the time the McMahon-Helmsley Era was dominating WWE programming in 2000.

The point being, to tweak a famous phrase, too many McMahons spoil the broth.

McMahons as an authority figure? That was so 1997. That was so 2002. That was so 2016. And now, we’ve got Vince, Stephanie, Shane, and Triple H all promising that they will be taking on-screen control of Raw and SmackDown? Quick, pass me that TV remote!

Wrestling authority figures, to be blunt, have long been out of fashion and long been a turn-off for fans. And now, we have the prospect of a huge on-screen McMahon presence going forward? Urgh.

1) Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same

Lashley and Elias? Riveting...

Here comes Vince McMahon. Here comes Stephanie McMahon. Here comes Triple H. And here comes Shane McMahon. All four walking with purpose, there to give their sincere apologies to WWE fans and to promise change, change, and more change.

New match-ups have been promised, NXT call-ups are on the way, and the fans are going to be listened to. But is that… is that hyperbole, you hear? Why, yes it is. And while we’re at it, let’s add in a sprinkling of propaganda, too.

The WWE would follow this statement of intent by then serving up an episode of Raw that felt like every single episode of Raw for the past several months.

Sure, certain changes aren’t going to happen overnight, but this Raw felt as paint-by-numbers as the show ever has. Like, really, what was different? Ooh, Tyler Breeze got a shot at the Intercontinental Championship? I’m a big Breeze fan, but if that’s the best you’ve got for your fresh new start, you’re in trouble before you’ve even got started.

Throughout Raw, the announce team kept telling us about this was a hot new era, how Raw is all of a sudden brilliant, it’s great, it’s different. But the reality is, things don’t change or become must-watch TV simply because you tell your audience it's changed and is now must-see TV.

True change is something that happens, not just something that you tell people about time and time again in the hope that they believe what you’re telling them.