RAW has not been great of late. You normally get one or two lackluster episodes a year when they are stalling for time or trying to set up a storyline but as of late, these episodes have become more and more frequent. The roles have kind of reversed. A great episode of RAW is now rarer than a mediocre one.
Fans have begun to voice their outrage after last week's catastrophe of a show. Many are putting it down to a lack of creativity and others are calling it sheer laziness. I want to touch on one point that I believe could improve the show, the opening segment.
For the last few years RAW, most of the time has opened with long (twenty-minute plus) promo segment. I think that is way too long! They don't need to spend twenty minutes to open the show.
When you watch RAW tonight, time the opening segment and you will see what I mean. For example, if Baron Corbin opens the show tonight he will have a full entrance and walk to the ring. That will take up two to three minutes. He climbs into the ring, picks up a mic and then proceeds to remind people what happened on the previous show. This is done by showing a video package of last weeks events. This takes up another two or three minutes, depending on the length of the package. Corbin then begins his long-winded heel promo, reminding the crowd he is General Manager and insulting the fans. This could take up three or four minutes. At this stage a face comes out to confront him, last week it was Elias. The face talks for a few minutes and trades insults with the heel. At this stage, the segment is nearly twenty minutes long. A match may be announced and then they go to a 5-minute ad break.
Fans are almost half an hour into the show before they see a match. I know they have to feel three hours but I think this is ridiculous. People are tuning in to watch a wrestling show, not a talk show. RAW's rating always declines hour by hour. They should be trying their hardest to draw people in straight away! They should really open with a match. Start the show with some action.
There are still many problems with the show, but I believe this simple change would at least improve it. Do you find the opening segments too long? Comment with your thoughts below.