5 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (2 Jan - Review)
The Bloodline dominates, impromptu matches abound, title matches bookend show.
Happy New Year to everyone. This is the time of year many make resolutions and try not to break them in record time.
For WWE, their resolution has to be to have a less chaotic, more cohesive 2023 than 2022 was for the company. It would be hard to top last year for wild stories and outright craziness, but if any company can do it, it’s this one.
The first Raw of the year was certainly a show. If WWE had made a resolution to avoid falling back on their most tired tropes, they broke that in record time. Probably the most abused trope is the impromptu match, where they go into the show with only a couple matches announced, and then some conflict arises that leads to contests being made as the show unfolds.
Monday night’s program saw the Bloodline invade Raw, be repelled by red brand superstars, and then stuck in two matches for later in the night. It also saw a Damage CTRL promo give way to another impromptu match, meaning that half the matches were made during the show. That of course raises the age-old question: What else was going to occupy three hours of Raw?
Overall, Raw was okay. Good, not great. Some good action (as usual) and cute moments, but other points where you just shook your head. There aren’t the same colossal missteps of a year ago, but it’s still a slog to get through three hours of this at times.
Let’s get to it…