The Monday Night RAW 4/20 episode was not easy to watch.
Did it have anything to do about what happened in the ring?
Not at all. Rey Mysterio and Murphy had an absolute banger of a match that would’ve fit perfectly in the halcyon days of the WCW Monday Nitro cruiserweight division. We had fun matches with Ricochet & Cedric Alexander beating Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne, and Nia Jax batting Kairi Sane about, and Drew McIntyre establishing himself as one hell of a babyface champion by beating Angel Garza. The other Money in the Bank qualifiers which pitted MVP against Apollo Crews, and Aleister Black and Austin Theory more than exceeded their hype. We also had Liv Morgan really prove herself against Ruby Riott, and hot damn that Andrade/Akira Tozawa match.
In a vacuum, the Monday Night RAW 4/20 episode was a hell of a good show. Maybe one of their better RAWs in the quarantine era.
However, I’m not going to be nice or sugarcoat things — there was a black cloud hanging over the entire proceeding.
The real world events, surrounding WWE over the past few weeks have left a terribly bad taste in my mouth about this company.
First, them not pulling Roman Reigns from Wrestlemania despite multiple bouts with leukemia and his wife is expecting twins until the last minute was reprehensible. Then the bankruptcy filings of the XFL revealing WWE owned over 20% of the league (despite previous statement WWE would have no involvement) and that cause dmany to wonder how this would impact WWE.. Then WWE personnel were deemed “essential” by the state of Florida — a ridiculous notion if I’ve ever heard one (and check the imbedded tweet from Jon Alba on that whole mess). Then the theories about the Linda McMahon headed-PAC spending in Florida and the timing WWE’s talent being deemed “essential workers” came cascading forth. Not a good look at all, coincidence or not.
Then just mere days after being deemed essentially and a number of talent being flowing into television on Monday (risking their health) and some of those performers were let go amongst a sea of wrestlers and office workers last week in a move some say was completely unnecessary to WWE’s bottom line.
Look, we’re in dire need of escape from the harsh realities this pandemic has unleashed upon the world from a personal level to a global level. We need entertainment, but we also need to realize the entertainment world is not bulletproof to the current situation. I would like to believe most fans realize that we’re not going to see “complete” shows like we did pre-pandemic. There will be empty, scaled down “arenas” for the foreseeable future. We won’t see companies working with their full complement of talent due to travel restrictions and personal reasons. We all, for the most part I hope, understand and accept this. Hell, if wrestling had to cease like other major sports, I’d like to think most of us would understand (but given the recent protests against quarantine, probably not).
However, the actions of WWE over the past few weeks just don’t sit right with me, and cast a dark pall over their shows. I actually skipped NXT and Smackdown last week because I couldn’t bring myself to watch the product due to these circumstances. Last night, I sat in front of RAW for three hours. And while I did enjoy some of it, and I commend the wrestlers for going out there and giving it their all in front of literally no one — I just couldn’t fully engage with the product.
Maybe it’s a personal thing because I grew up in a home where unemployment lurked at every turn, or because I too have found myself on the UE line because of natural disaster, and poor management. Or maybe it’s the perception of a huge company, who not even a month ago touted a half billion in cash reserves, and two separate U.S. television deals they signed for a couple billion each on top of revenue from the WWE Network, and international television deals — went about firing people to improve “cash flow.”
At Tuesday's Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting, a #WWE employee named "John" submitted public comment they're being "forced to work" TV tapings despite stay at home orders. Says he's unable to speak out and feels he will be fired if he approaches his higher-ups. pic.twitter.com/UJTvX1RGc7
— Jon Alba (@JonAlba) April 21, 2020
Like I said, that’s the perception. I’m sure there’s facts and figures as to why they did what they did. I get no live attendance gates, especially from Wrestlemania in 2020, and the potential of the same in 2021 will definitely impact their business. Do I also understand companies like AEW, New Japan, Ring of Honor, Impact, NWA, MLW, etc. may have to do the same thing as WWE? Yes, I do.
But … do I have to like what WWE did last week? No, I do not. Whether it’s perception or circumstance, or coincidence, what WWE did last week just took the fun out of wrestling for me, especially WWE wrestling. It will take time before the bad taste has left my mouth, and I hope beyond hope when all this clears up, WWE does the right thing and rehires the talent and personnel they let go, and those who they don’t come back will find happiness and lucrative jobs elsewhere in the world.
This site is based on recommendations. If none of what WWE did last week bothers you, then please go and enjoy what was a good in-ring wrestling show. If it does, DVR it, and come back in a few weeks.
Monday Night RAW 4/20 is now streaming on Hulu.
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