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On WWE Raw this week, a handful of superstars had a rough night. Who needs to find a way to bounce back?
As much as we’d all like to think everything is sunshine, roses, and kittens, sometimes people hit a rough patch. It’s no different for WWE superstars. Sometimes, they’re just in a funk. After WWE Raw this week, there’s a few superstars who fall into this category.
This isn’t to say there’s no hope for these particular superstars to come back to the promised land. It’s WWE – things can change in a heartbeat. But at the present, here are three superstars who are in need of a big boost in the coming weeks.
Kurt Angle
When he was first named Raw General Manager back in April, Kurt Angle was one of the best on-screen authority figures in a long time. He initially bucked the trend of doing the expected – if four guys were in the ring, he did’t make a tag team match, for example. Angle made decisions with logic, reasoning, and an eye on what would come down the road. In short, Angle was looking out for the good of his brand.
Fast forward to this week on Raw, and Angle has lost control of his ship. I mean that literally – he made a personnel decision to fire Braun Strowman, and was immediately overturned by Stephanie McMahon. Like, an hour later. So Kurt clearly has no power here anymore.
Beyond that, though, did Angle ever give the impression that he was in charge this week? Even coming down to the ring to fire Strowman for his grappling hook adventure, Angle seemed like a shell of his former self.
When you factor in Jason Jordan having Angle wrapped around his little finger, it’s not too much of a stretch to say that Kurt needs to turn things around if he’s going to be an effective GM much longer. It’s time to get back to basics and forget all the nepotism, and stand up for himself to Stephanie McMahon.
So I guess we’ll be getting a new Raw GM soon.
Booker T
I don’t want to seem like I’m piling on Booker T here. While Raw was still on the air I lost it because of his ineffective commentary on more than one occasion. I even sat down yesterday to expand on that rant, because it’s getting to be ridiculous. And I’m not the only one here at Daily DDT who’s had issue with Booker’s performance in the last few weeks.
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But let’s throw one more log on the dumpster fire that is Booker T’s performance of late, shall we? While Braun Strowman was creating his path of destruction during the night, eventually he made it out to the stage area. He turned to head towards the announce desk, and that’s when Booker did the honorable thing as a Hall of Fame wrestler, multi-time world champ, and stand-up guy he is and protected his colleagues – a man with a history of concussions, and a journalist with little to no athletic ability.
Haha, nope. Booker shoved Michael Cole into the line of fire as he ran away. Of course, Braun didn’t really cause any harm to Cole – he threw him off the stage onto the amassed security force. But the image of Booker T – again, the biggest guy at the desk – running away and throwing his partner into the lion’s den is one I can’t shake.
Booker at this point is a broadcaster who doesn’t know the names of his holds. He can’t call a match and actually maintain the same viewpoint from one move to the next. He’s also a big scaredy cat who throws his helpless colleagues into the path of a deranged psychopath. How do you look like a winner after all that?
Bray Wyatt
Excellent, we’re back to guys looking like losers because they’re not even on the show!
Since a defeat at the hands of Wyatt in late November, Matt Hardy has become “Woken.” As thanks for allowing his true self to break free, Hardy has been locked in a war of words with Wyatt. The two have gone back and forth since December via promo.
Two weeks ago, Hardy made his re-debut as Woken Matt, defeating Curt Hawkins. Following the match, Wyatt popped up in the ring, and the two had a hilarious stare down. Well, they were both laughing like lunatics, so I’m guessing something had to be really funny.
This week, Hardy had another match, this time against Heath Slater. Again, Hardy earned the victory. And again, Bray Wyatt confronted his rival, since both men have declared entry in the Royal Rumble, and they’re scheduled for a pair of matches on the 205 Live tour this weekend.
Oh, wait – Wyatt didn’t show up this week at all. No video, no promo, no match – it’s like Bray Wyatt ceased to exist. And this is the most frustrating part of watching a three hour Raw every week. In all of that airtime, there wasn’t twelve seconds to put Bray up on the screen to further this feud? He couldn’t get a match instead of Hardy this week?
The real loser here is the writing team and producers for uneven storytelling, and leaving characters out with the regularity they do. But to the average fan, this makes Wyatt look like a chump. It’s hard to make a feud progress if one of the participants is absent from television. And as compelling as Matt Hardy is in his new persona, it’s not enough – he needs an opponent.
Next: The Mount Rushmore of Wrestling
Who do you think needs some character rehab after this week’s episode of WWE Raw?