Credit: WWE.com
Marks were saying Double or Nothing was the best wrestling ppv they'd ever seen. Those marks either were lying or hadn't seen many wrestling ppvs. The point is, this was the first official show under the AEW banner. When Raw aired, marks just KNEW there would be a response to the launch of a new promotion. We got... the Brock Party gimmick.
After we got the great match between the Rhodes brothers, we were treated to a Raw that had NO wrestling for the first hour. I think the biggest problem I have with WWE right now is that wrestling is not a priority for them. They load their shows with long promos and backstage segments. It's like they don't get that people tune in to a wrestling show........ to see wrestling.
The week before they told us that Brock would announce who he would cash in his MITB contract on. That Raw would go off the air with no such announcement is par for the course. I will now share something with you that I told my mother recently. My mother used to watch wrestling, like millions of others.
20+ years ago, WWE would start every Raw with a heel getting heat, or a babyface fired up seeking redemption. Let's say HHH had a war at the last ppv against The Rock where he won with shenanigans. HHH talks trash about winning. Rock comes out to interrupt. Rock says if HHH has balls he'll put the belt on the line TONIGHT. The fans pop. What invariably NEVER happened? The championship match the fans just popped for because they wanted to see it. Somehow they would book a tag team main event where it would pit say... Mankind and The Rock vs HHH and The Undertaker. That is NOT a bad deal.
20+ years later, WWE is using the EXACT. SAME. format. Brock Lesnar comes out dancing to the Universal champion and the WWE champion's themes. Both champions suggest that there be a championship match TONIGHT. The marks pop, even though they KNOW the routine. We are not getting a championship match. There will be a tag team main event. Kofi Kingston and Seth Rollins vs..... Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin. They are doing the same things they did with MUCH better talent over 20 years ago.
So. Now let's talk about the most serious, legitimate, badass, killer on the WWE payroll out there dancing. I laughed out loud when I saw it. Brock has largely done the same thing with no variation since his return seven years ago. So I am torn on the face of it. The sheer ridiculousness of Brock Lesnar dancing with a boom box amuses me. Some people question the legitimacy of Kofi Kingston as a main eventer while affiliated with the silliness of the New Day. All that gyrating and throwing pancakes in the crowd. An argument can be made that you want to distance your top stars from comedy and goofiness, so people take them seriously. I do not think Brock flashing a scoche of personality will make people forget what he does to people in EVERY match.
I also thought Brock not knowing he had a year to cash in was the most on brand Brock things ever. This guy does not watch wrestling. He does not care about what is going on around him. Of course he doesn't know the rules. When he slapped Paul with the contract that was the second time Brock made me laugh out loud in a segment. Brock has only made me laugh ironically prior to this new gimmick. The time he said he would leave Cena in a PILE of blood, piss and vomit. The time he told Heath Slater he didn't give a shit about his kids. The time he threw a car door in the crowd and hit a fan. Brock Lesnar is a terrible person.
I saw a YouTube video where Stephanie McMahon said there would be consequences for Brock turning his briefcase into a boom box and promising to cash in and reneging. This is a logic black hole because for one, MOST previous MITB holders customized the case. I'd say Damien Sandow had the best. Then, if Brock has a year to cash in WHENEVER HE WANTS... HOW is him changing his mind about deciding when problematic? There is literally nowhere good this can go.
I was recently thinking about how WWE has neutered big men with the previous two MITB holders. Braun Strowman is supposed to be a monster and he failed to call his shot. Baron Corbin couldn't beat Jinder Mahal. OF COURSE Brock Lesnar doesn't NEEEEEEEEED a briefcase to win a championship. If Brock fails at cashing in (which I am predicting here he will not) it will complete a three year streak of cutting the nuts off big men.
MITB as a gimmick launched the main event careers of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. You can argue that maybe if Edge never won MITB he wouldn't have ever really been seen as a main event player. RVD got a win over PRIME Super Cena. And now we have big men who shouldn't need such help failing to utilize said help.
The one thing I will say here about my early AEW thoughts is "I think they need giants." I'm not saying they need a big man to be the guy. I'm not saying they need a big man to be the face of the company. I'm saying any respectable wrestling promotion needs variety. Big men matches invariably SUCK. Styles make fights. It's fun to see little men slay giants and giants sit on Lilliputians. It's more visually interesting when you have fat men, tall men and tall fat men to go with your heavyweights and lightweights.
To bring Brock Lesnar back up, his best matches have been against CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Finn Balor and AJ Styles. WWE has forced mad Undertaker, HHH, Cena, Strowman and Reigns v Lesnar matches upon us. I'd say the size discrepancy lends itself to better in ring storytelling.
Storytelling. Imagine that.