Raw Underground debuted a couple of weeks back and it still is leaving fans confused
Shane McMahon returning to Raw and introducing Raw Underground was one of the major talking points from last week’s show.
Raw Underground is a dimly lit area, almost like a basement, where ‘fights’ take place. The word fights is used very lightly as most of these events are scripted, though they have an edgy feel when compared to in-ring action.
In fact, there is no ring, no real referee and random fights seem to take place. While some stars from NXT have already proved their mettle on Raw Underground, the segment still isn’t cutting it.
Any new segment needs time to iron out the issues but WWE didn’t learn anything from the first week.
WWE should be given credit for Raw Underground but here are some ways to fix it up.
Give it an end goal
What is the point of having this segment? Is it to showcase the toughest brawlers in WWE or to show that there are some unruly stars who want to just beat up people?
Raw Underground needs to have an end goal. Be it a title, a shot at a title or some other incentive. It makes little to no sense for wrestlers to come on and randomly attack and defend.
Shayna Baszler came on this week and even though she destroyed her rivals, it still didn’t make much sense of what was going on.
WWE might have too many belts at the moment but Raw Underground needs some prize to provide it with some meaning.
It needs structure
While the unruly background and behaviour makes it look like a WWE version of Fight Club, there still has to be some structure around it.
WWE can at least share who will fight on Underground every week or hold some sort of competition too.
Fans would tune in if they knew that Brock Lesnar would appear or even Bobby Lashley would face off against one of the heavyweights from NXT (even the unknown ones).
WWE doesn’t even have to share all the segments per week on Underground, even if they share one preview from the show that would be enough.
The first rule of WWE Underground?
Speaking of structure, McMahon also has to ensure that there are some actual rules in all this. Random fights aren’t all that great and fans need to know how a fight is won.
They could make it different from the ring and not have pinfalls. Just knockouts or submissions. They could also have a submission only contest and find the submission champion on Underground.
WWE has a ton of wrestlers on their roster and this is one segment where some of the lesser-known stars can get the experience of being on screen.
The jury is still out on Underground but WWE can get it right if they fix a few issues. It will be interesting to see what is next for Raw Underground as we await another show next Monday.
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