WWE Raw was live from Milwaukee on Monday night after a sad 24 hours in the world of professional wrestling, with the deaths of longtime WWE fan Rick Achberger, better known as “Sign Guy,” and former WWE and AEW star PAC.
The show still had plenty of business to handle with Money in the Bank now just 12 days away. Some of it worked, but far too much didn’t. I give Monday night’s Raw a C-.
Here are seven reasons why.
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Big Cass Is Already Going Nowhere
I was excited to give WWE a chance with Big Cass after his surprising return, but we’re already seeing the problem.
Cass lost to Dragon Lee on Monday night, and while I’m certainly not opposed to WWE pushing Lee, what exactly is the plan for Cass? WWE brought him back and immediately made his return feel like a big deal. A few weeks later, he’s losing television matches with no obvious direction afterward.
If WWE doesn’t have something meaningful for him to do, why bring him back?
Joe Tessitore Makes Raw Feel Like WWE’s B-Show
I’ve tried, but Joe Tessitore still isn’t working for me as the voice of Monday Night Raw.
His delivery is too mundane, robotic and inauthentic for a wrestling show. Commentary matters. The announcers are responsible for making what we’re watching feel important, and too often Tessitore sounds like he’s simply narrating what is happening.
Raw is WWE’s flagship Monday night show. It shouldn’t sound like the B-show.
The 946 Storyline Is Too Over-the-Top
Professional wrestling has always been campy. The Undertaker tried to marry Stephanie McMahon. Vince McMahon once wrestled “God.” I’m not asking wrestling to suddenly become prestige television.
It still has to feel believable enough for me to suspend my disbelief.
The 946 storyline isn’t doing that. After kidnapping Solo Sikoa last week, the group brawled with The Bloodline throughout the building Monday night, only for Jacob Fatu to get hit by a car driven by Jaida Parker.
The biggest problem? I’ve forgotten what they’re even fighting about.
At this point, it just feels like senseless violence and threats.
Why Is Joe Hendry Bullying JD McDonagh?
Remember when WWE used to run campaigns against bullying?
It’s awkward watching Joe Hendry ask an arena full of kids to sing about the size of someone’s head. One week is passable. Three weeks in a row is childish, and not the good kind of childish that makes professional wrestling fun.
This is the same Joe Hendry who was a world champion in TNA and has the potential to be a money-moving babyface in WWE.
Hendry is 38 years old. WWE is wasting time.
WWE Is Wasting Ethan Page
Speaking of wasting time, Ethan Page has been involved in the Intercontinental Championship picture with Chad Gable, yet he was once again mostly an afterthought Monday night.
Instead, Page appeared backstage and was announced as Rey Fenix’s challenger for the AAA Cruiserweight Championship next week.
That will probably be a great match, but why not move more directly toward Gable vs. Page without the AAA-luchador overlap? It’s crowding the focus around one of WWE’s most storied and prestigious championships.
Page recently turned 37. He’s in his prime and has main-event heel potential, but nights like Monday waste it.
Roman Reigns Needed to Be in Milwaukee
LA Knight delivered another promo about Roman Reigns on Monday night.
Roman Reigns wasn’t there.
We’re less than two weeks away from Knight challenging Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank, and Knight continues being asked to carry the build by himself. Monday’s promo was even pre-taped.
That’s not fair to Knight, and it’s not helping Money in the Bank.
Milwaukee is a major enough market. Roman should’ve flown in. He doesn’t need to wrestle. He doesn’t even need to do much. Your world champion should be present to help sell one of the biggest matches on the next PLE.
PAC and Sign Guy Deserved More
WWE acknowledged Benjamin Satterley, better known to WWE fans as Neville and later as PAC, following his death at 40.
I still would have liked to see a video package.
WWE didn’t owe viewers an elaborate tribute to someone who was with another company when he died, but Neville spent six years in WWE, was NXT Champion and Cruiserweight Champion, and his death at 40 was one of the biggest wrestling stories of the weekend. A brief video package acknowledging that chapter of his career would have been a classy touch.
I also would have liked some acknowledgment of Rick Achberger.
“Sign Guy” wasn’t a WWE wrestler, but he was part of the viewing experience for an entire generation of fans. If you watched WWE throughout the Ruthless Aggression era, you knew him. He was in the crowd, signs in hand, so often that he became an unofficial part of the show.
After losing both PAC and Sign Guy in the same weekend, taking a few minutes to remember them would have meant something.
