{"id":103148,"date":"2021-10-26T19:12:38","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T23:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=103148"},"modified":"2021-10-26T19:12:38","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T23:12:38","slug":"raw-season-premiere-a-new-direction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/10\/26\/raw-season-premiere-a-new-direction\/","title":{"rendered":"Raw Season Premiere: A New Direction for the Red Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Monday Night Raw<\/strong> season premiere on October 25 heralded the debut of its new roster, post-draft, and also what the broadcast\u2019s announce team repeatedly referred to as the beginning of a new era for Raw. If that is the case, World Wrestling Entertainment<\/strong> is closing the book on its recent troubled history, a low ebb of declining ratings, critical jeers, and stiffening competition from TNT\u2019s All Elite Wrestling<\/strong>.<\/em> The younger promotion has seen steady gains in ratings and critical acclaim since the signings of former WWE stars CM Punk <\/strong>and Bryan Danielson.<\/strong> To combat AEW\u2019s ascent, WWE is attempting to turn Raw around by going back to basics and anchoring the show around the WWE Championship and the man who currently holds it, fan-favorite Big E<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

A Look Into the Raw Season Premiere<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Big<\/p>\n

The Powerhouse Champion of Positivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Big E\u2019s championship reign has been met with near-universal approval from WWE fans, who\u2019ve long seen him as more than the mouthpiece and strongman of The New Day<\/strong><\/a>. E\u2019s victory tour continued at the Toyota Center broadcast, where the adoring Houston, Texas crowd was as eager to acknowledge Big E as their WWE Champion as any Friday Night SmackDown<\/strong> crowd would be to pay Roman Reigns <\/strong>court as the Universal Champion. Bobby Lashley <\/strong>was an entertaining and effectively formidable heel champion; his predecessor, Drew McIntyre<\/strong>, admirably carried the “ThunderDome Era,” but never got to hold the belt in front of a live crowd. Now that WWE is firmly back on tour and crowds are once again packing arenas to see their beloved WWE superstars, a champion like E is smart money: someone that crowds know and love, and cheer for at the very sight of him.<\/p>\n

However, on the Raw season premiere, he was interrupted by a string of challengers putting themselves forward. Like the heroes of The Iliad<\/em> campaigning for Achilles\u2019s armor, each challenger rattled off his accolades and why he deserved the title shot. Kevin Owens<\/strong> and Finn B\u00e1lor<\/strong>\u00a0mentioned not only their Intercontinental and Universal Championship wins but also brought up their NXT titles. Seth Rollins, <\/strong>ever the disruptor, interjected himself into the mix, only to be interrupted by Rey Mysterio,<\/strong> who alluded to their 2020 program in which Rollins notoriously put out Mysterio\u2019s eye on the edge of the steel steps.<\/p>\n

Looking Deeper Into the Season Premiere<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The segment hearkened back to better days for Raw and sought to downplay the uneven booking of some of the performers involved, namely Owens and B\u00e1lor, by casting them all as past and future champions, each a credible threat to Big E. It was also a straightforward narrative, of champion assailed by challengers. SmackDown’s most thriving storyline, Roman Reigns\u2019s \u201cTribal Chief\u201d saga, has put one challenger after another before the Universal Champion, each pushing him to the limits of his dominant fa\u00e7ade and bringing his vulnerabilities closer to the surface, none more so than Brock Lesnar<\/strong>. WWE\u2019s competitor, AEW, also thrives in such straightforward, no-frills, but psychologically rich storytelling, such as the carefully paced program between Kenny Omega <\/strong>and Adam Page<\/strong>, wherein it is clear, loathe as they are to openly admit it, that both men dread their inevitable confrontation for the AEW championship.<\/p>\n

Big E is affable, beloved, and universally recognizable to the audience, the sort of ardor inspiring babyface hero that WWE has lacked since John Cena<\/strong> prioritized Hollywood over a full-time pro wrestling career. Big E being beset on all sides for his newly won championship is a story that fans can emotionally invest in, and the story that the WWE Championship itself needs to win back some credibility, as the Universal Championship has quite stolen the show during Reigns\u2019s run with the belt.<\/p>\n