How the 6 Hours of TLC and Raw Saved WWE
By Carl Gac
Is this finally the start of an upturn in fortunes for WWE?
The last few months have been hard to watch for the fans of WWE. We’ve seen men who nobody cared about pushed as the top guy. We’ve seen champions who seemingly only got the belt due to the company wanting to get the Money in the Bank case off them. We’ve seen men and women who deserved to be pushed to the moon be pushed down the card instead. It’s been a shocking time creatively with so few highlights it’s turned away viewers in their millions. Finally, that seems to have all disappeared and it’s like none of that ever happened.
In the space of a few hours, WWE made fans around the world forget all the problems the company has had and finally believe in Roman Reigns as the top guy in the company. It was like Vince McMahon had finally come to realise the problems behind the ratings slump and did everything he could to begin to rectify them. The fact it happened in only six hours of WWE programming is as startling as the amount of time they let things slip before making a change.
ALSO ON DAILY DDT: WrestleMania 32 Card Projections 6.0
More from WWE
- Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
- Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline
- WWE and AEW will put on a full court press for Kazuchika Okada in 2024
- The Judgment Day is the top faction story in WWE
- Liv Morgan vs Rhea Ripley is perfect for WWE Royal Rumble 2024
After seeing Roman Reigns destroy Triple H at the end of TLC you knew there would be big consequences, nobody could have imagined what actually happened. When Stephanie McMahon slapped Reigns across the face several times to open up Raw, then announce that her father Vince McMahon was on his way to deal with him, you knew something big was going to happen.
Vince strutted out during a match between Bo Dallas and R-Truth and threw them out of the ring. He then sat at ringside and made Reigns wait to hear his fate, which was perfect. Vince asserted his authority, tore a strip off Reigns and then set up the match between Reigns and WWE Champion Sheamus.
Vince then told Reigns that if he didn’t win he was gone from the company, before uttering those infamous words “YOU’RE FIRED” that we all know and love. When he then went to shake Reigns’ hand only to kick him in the grapefruits this was classic Vince McMahon. It may not have been the Mr. McMahon that went toe to toe with Steve Austin all those years back, but this was an outstanding way to make a shift in the company.
WWE has forced Reigns on the fans for the best part of the last year, that has only made the fans rebel against the man the company wanted us to believe was the next big thing. In the course of TLC and last nights Raw they have managed to achieve what they couldn’t for at least the last 12 months. Fans now buy Reigns as a badass. Fans wanted to see him win that belt so bad on Raw. Fans have cried out for this version of Roman Reigns and finally he’s been delivered to us.
Live Feed
Bam Smack Pow
Reigns has become the ass kicker who takes no prisoners to get what he wants. Reigns has become the surge of the authority in WWE. In much the same way that Stone Cold was during the Attitude Era, Reigns has become the cocky baby face who the fans can actually get behind. He’s had so much put in his path at every turn but now he’s turned the corner and is finally in the place that Vince has tried to get him to for so long. Long gone is the “Suffering Succotash” and “Tater Tots” references and here we have the snarling, ass-kicking, title-winning, take no prisoners champion we’ve been waiting for.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Vince McMahon on WWE TV. His return here was played to perfection. He sat at ringside during the main event between Sheamus and Reigns ready to fire Reigns when he lost the match. The boss was here to get his own way, we all know that didn’t quite happen. I can’t remember the last time a meaningful WWE World Heavyweight Championship match happened on Raw. Matches have occurred for the belt, but never has it felt like the belt may change hands. When it actually did you could almost feel the shock in the air around the arena.
McMahon lived every moment of the match. The fans bought into the career ending stipulation and willed Reigns on to win the match. Sheamus did his bit as well, playing the hated heel champion for the time he held the belt. Just when it looked like Sheamus was beaten, Vince dragged the referee out of the ring. McMahon couldn’t have done any better than he did, as this was vintage Vince.
Next: 5 Reasons Putting the WWE Title on Reigns Now was Good Idea
As he kept the referee busy Rusev and Del Rio attacked the challenger. Vince finally ate a Superman Punch from Reigns and the roof was about to blow off the building. As Reigns kicked out of Sheamus’ finisher the crowd were on their feet. One Spear later and we had a brand new World Heavyweight Champion.
The sight of Vince McMahon and Sheamus laid out in the ring said everything it needed to. Reigns had finally reached the top of the mountain. The only thing he needs to worry about is a certain Vince McMahon and the spectre of Triple H wanting his revenge. If only we’d known the year could end this way it may have made all the months of awful tv worthwhile. Changes have begun to happen. A lot more need to follow but maybe, just maybe, this could become the first days of another great period in wrestling history.