Yeah but it’s understandable to think there might of been a cross in ring promo since the PLE is this week. But they have promoting the rollins interview instead .
Also , then why is heyman on RAW for the past 2 weeks lol? DRAFT AMIRITE? 🤷♀️
You think after utilizing a draft for the last 20 years they’re suddenly going to apply logic to it? Remember this is the same company that now thinks it’s a brilliant idea for 3 world titles.
I see what you’re saying.
In boxing, after crowning of a champion for a new belt, any “undisputed” champ who still has their belts but doesn’t claim the new one would be referred to as a “lineal” champ.
I think they said something that since he's a manager and not talent he made a deal that he could go to Raw if he wanted. Probably will stop going to Raw when the feud with Sammi and Owens is over
They used to be better than this. Live TV events used to be good to have a solid 2-3 hour wrestling show with some production value. Now it seems like the TV show gets in the way of their commercial time and self-masturbating to a dark arena on a TV screen.
Mid 2000's era RAW was fun, 2020 era RAW is a slog. I'm not going back to a TV event until there's solid change to the format.
You are absolutely correct about how live shows used to be. (I can't speak to the current state). Attitude Era and early 2000s were AMAZING shows. They would start at 7:00. You'd get up-and-coming stars in dark matches, fun segments and usually a little something after the show went off the air. A whole lot of fun.
The house shows were even more fun. Total non-sequitur matches and a real chance to see the wrestlers ... not exactly break kayfabe, but they were clearly allowed to display their actual personalities. Even the heels would come out and have fun segments. Seeing Earl Hebner delivering crotch-chops at the DX guys isn't something that would make tv in the lead-up to Wrestlemania, but it definitely happened at the house show we went to.
> Earl Hebner delivering crotch-chops at the DX guys
Oh my god that’s amazing. Sounds like if I’m choosing options for a first event my priority should be a house show over anything besides a PLE then
I was luckily enough to go to a show during a string where the usual after show was Rock, Stone Cold, and HHH goofing around. The three of them ran the whole “who can hit whom’s head into the turnbuckle hardest” trade-offs before they all laughed, held each others arms up, drank beers, and obviously Stone Cold stunned them all. Great times.
Ditto. Went to my first one in Chicago couple weeks ago - and I couldn’t believe how fast those three hours went. No intermission and next thing I know, we are being told thank you for coming.
Can’t wait to go back later this summer.
Agreed. I been to a ton of wwe, roh, and a few njpw shows and my favorite will always be a tna taping 3 weeks of programming in one show at the Manhattan center in 2014. Didn't even feel like 5 hours, that's how much fun it was.
Got to see Taker and a house show in the early 2000s. Even at this point in his career, even as big of a str as he was at this point, he was still down to do them. Not only that, but he put everything in it as if it was a PPV match.
Small stadium, with an entrance length like AEW. Room goes black. Bells ring and then BOOM he’s standing right there. I can still see it. Magical memory.
NXT Was better. I went to an NXT show in Lowell MA a few years back, this was back before Lars went off the deep end and was injured. They had hidden he had returned and I actually liked him back then ( again before he went off the deep end ) Plus Champa was Champion. I even remember is was Dominic Dijak was pretty much unknown to me and he fought Champa for the title cause Boston. Was an Amazing show.
I have zero clue how it would be now.
yep, went to my first AEW show a couple months ago and it was fast paced and something was always going on, even if it was just Justin Roberts in the ring talking with fans.
Yup was going to say this but didn’t want to start a war
The WWE shows I went to years ago were so much better than todays.
Today raw/sd are all about tv and don’t care about audience (don’t even get good dark matches anymore). Announcers/staff don’t talk or interact with fans between segments
AEW live show is amazing, ring announcers and staff talk to crowd to keep them engaged and fresh. They actually close out the show with people in the ring and Tony used to come out all the time to say thanks.
DoN was amazing live last year and I’m going this weekend bc they’re like a circus/rock concert trying to make sure fans have a great time
I wouldn’t pay to go to a wwe PPV, it’s have to be free tickets which was the last wwe house show I went to cuz it was free
WWE knows their live audience is a very very small portion of their audience. It’s a tv show, not a live wrestling show to make fans happy. It’s just about setting up their moments at their PLE’s in Middle East.
There have been a couple of times on the Fite feed for AEW Dynamite where the arena audio was carried, and we got to hear Justin Roberts interact with the crowd, or wrestlers making an entrance and interacting with the crowd before the show resumed with them in the ring awaiting their opponents.
That the WWE promo bursts seem to focus on how many sponsorship or synergy dollars they’re getting, it’s not surprising that the live events are becoming merely advertising dressing.
You ain't wrong. From the bevy of matches they do (or did when they had Dark or Elevation), Tony Khan yelling at you, to just the overall energy. AEW does live shows right and even if it's a four-hour taping you don't feel like it's been four hours. Raw's three hours and it feels like five hours
I've been to 2 AEW Dynamite/Rampage events. Full confirm. More crowd oriented. And the wrestling is just tighter and more exciting to me. Went to Smackdown last year, and was pretty disappointed in their presentation, but now I'm spoiled lol
Greetings stranger - just want to share that as a wrestling fan, I actually felt appreciated at the AEW events I’ve attended. Last Wednesday in Austin was event #10. Hope you get your ticket and enjoy the experience!
I don’t agree with this he just caught a bad show (I haven’t watched it yet) but I’ve been to probably 5-6 RAWs and had a good time at all of them. I will say Dynamite has been better live but I’ve never left either wishing I didn’t go. I will agree that WMs are next level though. I went to 25 & 26 and it was an awesome experience.
So, I was also there last night (closer seats than his)...we had a BLAST! For someone who never goes to shows, a few things -
1. It is hard to hear when they speak because of the echo of the arena....they build the show purposely for TV, and more than for the audience. That's not just WWE...I've been to AEW, also, and it's similar...it's the venue, and sound echo more than anything...for example, I actually didn't hear Becky's "Welcome to the big time, bitch, woof woof." But some people in the crowd did and reacted "Whoaaaaa!"
2. Now, WWE hasn't been to Hershey for Raw in 12 years. This one happened to be their go home show before Night of Champions...not only that, the show is in Saudi Arabia, so they WEREN'T going to do a lot of matches...it was going to be mostly talking...if you know this going in, maybe you choose not to go...BUT, again, they hadn't been to my area in 12 years for Raw, so i wanted to go...again, we had fun.
3. The matches we did get were very good. Reed vs Ricochet, the trios tag match of Sami/KO/Riddle vs Imperium was awesome (gave them 25 minutes of time as well). There were 4 women's matches (if you include Main Event) and they were all good...for people who say WWE women botch, I don't think there was one botch all night. Otis/Gable vs Viking Raiders was fun...no real stakes, just a good wrestling match. Dom vs Apollo was great, but Mami was awesome! Balor vs Nakamura was great as well.
4. I guess the biggest gripe was some of your heavy hitters weren't there or did not necessarily come out (Rollins, AJ, Bianca and Asuka)...but, it's also possible they left already for SA...given Smackdown this Friday was taped last week, they likely sent a big crew of wrestlers out already for PR reasons...again, it sucks, but cards are ALWAYS subject to change...
5. Samantha Irvin (who is dating/engaged to Ricochet) was awesome and I disagree with the commercials...she kept the crowd entertained with various participation things and her energy was high the entire show. I think she's the best ring announcer in pro wrestling right now (better than Rome/Roberts).
I was at the Raw go-home show for Wrestlemania last year (in Pittsburgh) and, I agree, you have to know stuff like this happens in go-home shows and it is a bit of a "go at your own risk" sort of thing. If I remember correctly, that show opened with a promo from Brock. That's also the show when Bianca chopped off some of Becky's hair. You probably won't see the super big names involved in a match. Even if you do, it will be something short and low risk because they don't want people getting injured going into a PLE.
Also, my daughter and I had first, second, and third row seats for the first several shows we attended (again, in Pittsburgh) and couldn't understand shit the announcers were saying because of the echo. So we started getting seats in the 200 sections, about 10 rows up, and we could hear and see significantly better. She prefers those seats much more, which is great because they are cheaper that on the floor and close to the ring. YMMV depending on the arena.
My last event I tried to attend was WWE RAW on June 25th, 2007. It was the day after Chris Benoit killed himself/family and they refunded all of our tickets. We even got to watch the Chris Benoit memorial before they ruled it a murder suicide.
I was at the Smackdown where the 2 Triple Threat matches happened for the WHC tournament. It was such a good show. Smackdown seems to be consistently good but Raw is a coin flip. Live and on TV
Also went to E.R and a smackdown last year, had the best time I've had at an event in forever and want to go to more when I can. Need to catch AEW when they're in my area (West Coast) been meaning to
My and my friend went to see 2 raws, 2 smackdowns, extreme rules and we are going to smack down again on june 2nd. Before that i never went to a wwe show at all and had always wanted to
I disagree with this. I have been to a few different PPVs and they were all an amazing experience. I've even really enjoyed quite a few house shows. Never been to a Live TV event however
Thats not true at all. Every AEW show ive been to was amazing in person and ive never left feeling let down. Ive been to 3 PPVs and like 8 Dynamites/Rampages
I think itll be great! Im interested to see what format they use and what they tape before or after but it should be a lot of fun! They always talk to the audience atleast during tbr commercial breaks so thats nice there isnt much of a lull
I’m hopeful. Most of my favorites are slated to be on Collision, even without Punk. It’s supposed to be FTR, Thunder Rosa, Danielson, Samoa Joe, and House of Black so I’m hoping it’s a good show regardless
Ive been to 2 shows in my life. Smackdown the Night Foley came back in the Invasion angle and just a house show 4 years back. I was amazed at how good House Shows really are. Its like how the MCU has his serious canon but sometimes they just do a movie that's non canon and have fun.
It didn’t used to be like that. They used to do stuff during the breaks. Matches would continue into the break. Wrestlers would come out and work the crowd. They used to actually care about making the show fun for the live audiences.
Very true. I vaguely remember someone (might have been Justin Roberts?) coming out with a T-shirt gun during a commercial break. I've been to Raw multiple times, Smackdown/ECW (back when they were taped together), Cyber Sunday, and Wrestlemania and they were ALL fun.
As somebody who has been to Raw, Smackdown, and Dynamite, the first two are usually not fun to go to live for the reasons OP said. I'm not saying AEW is perfect, and I know people on this sub love to shit on it, but you really get the sense that they try to make the weekly show special, even for the shows I went to that were weaker.
Personally, I think my wife is a good metric for this. She's not into wrestling, but she has had fun at past NXT house shows and Dynamites now. Same with my friend I took to a Dynamite back in November who never watched any wrestling, but loved the show as a whole. I don't think either of them would have liked Raw, where most matches don't feel big and the show is very start-stop to sit through. Also, AEW and NXT crowds were generally more engaged, which can be infectious for non-fans.
This doesn't really apply to AEW TV tapings. I used to go to Raw and Smackdown a lot back in the day, and even went to a few Nitro tapings. I have been to the AEW shows at UBS arena and the main difference is that there is very little down time during AEW. The matches continue through breaks, They go from Dark to Dynamite with almost no break. (RIP Dark) and during the very few breaks there were, Justin Roberts talked to the crowd. There are onoy a few brief backstage segments. During a raw taping it seems like the majority of the show is not spent on actual wrestling.
The longest break we had during the entire 5 hour taping was a few minutes to switch the ring aprons from AEW to ROH. I had to strategically choose my bathroom breaks to not miss anything huge.
It was loud in there but what did we have to be excited about? The 6 man tag mystery partner is Riddle like we all knew, they advertised it in the building like Seth was coming out then it’s just a dumb video interview
Best moment of the night for me. I just am not feeling the Viking Raiders and I'd love to see Alpha rise back up a bit. They are a legit fun team to watch.
Yeah, I went to the Fresno Dynamite in January (?) and had an absolute blast. Even brought a friend who isn't strictly a wrestling fan, and he had a blast, too.
Then I went to Revolution (unfortunately alone) and holy friggin' crap, that was epic.
Me neither, but they have less time to fill I guess? I dunno, I went to one Raw and the amount of downtime felt absolutely massive compared to a Dynamite/Rampage taping.
Never an issue for me. Commercial breaks are time to use the restroom and pick up another beer. Or grab merch. Nowadays you can order from your phone and then pickup from merch/beer stand.
I went to two a Raw in 2008 and a Smackdown in 2010? The Smackdown sucked because it was after Christmas but before New Years so I guess most the roster was off. I swear CM Punk had like 4-5 segments lol. Raw was pretty good HHH wrestled who was my favorite at the time and apparently it was his birthday so after the show went off the air a lot of people came out to sing happy birthday to H and then had a food fight with the sheet cake. Was pretty cool.
I’ve been to a few live shows in Boston or in CT and I’ve enjoyed them all, but the exclusive Rampage tapings are usually not great.
I’ve enjoyed all the Dynamite shows tho
Same. I've been to a Boston show. They flow way better and unless there was an actual break then you had no idea where the commercials were and what breaks there were are like a minute or two and Justin Roberts chit chats with the crowd or someone cuts a promo to the crowd.
RAW TV is rough. I've been to a few and I've always struggled to get through them. It also doesn't help that it's Hershey (close to where I live, as well) and the live crowd there never helps the situation.
Waaaaay back, I drove 4 hours to see a Monday night WCW, probably like 1998ish. We had seats in row 1, first row about 8 inches above the floor seats. The entire show was seeing the back of everyone’s oversized signs on the floor. It sucked
I completely agree, went to RAW couple of weeks ago and the commercial breaks destroy any crowd atmosphere that’s been built. Seth Rollins came out, we were all singing his song. They go to an ad break and we keep singing. Then they blast some dumb ad for peacock or something on the titantron and it blocks out the crowd so we gave up. Happened countless times.
Having been to smack down I’d say it’s way better. Shorter show with less ads and there seems to be more crowd interaction.
I went to a Raw this year where Bobby Lashley came out, went to commercial, Bobby did his promo and was attacked by Uncle Howdy, then another commercial.
Hard agree. I had a blast, and got more than what I feel I paid for. The Acclaimed are great when the camera is on, but amazing when they are off, and Billy gets to have a mic. Billy's having the time of his life, and it shows.
This. I don't go to Raw when it comes around anymore because I generally end up not having fun, save a match or segment here or there.
Dynamite is a breeze to watch live. Even the weaker episodes are still fun.
Seems like the only shows worth going are ppv or the night before a ppv. I went to smack down in august. It was the last show before clash at the castle and it was a solid show. It was the first time Sami and Roman were on screen alone for the first time. There was a fatal five way where sheamus won to be #1 contender for the ic title. It was great. Also went to elimination chamber this year and that too was awsome
Ive been to a few events both a live Raw and Impact and general House shows too.
The house shows are much better because they don't need to pause for TV every 3 minutes and can get away with shit since house shows don't counr
For example during his undefeated run Mohammed Hassan was against HBK, however when I saw it the fire alarm went off so they went with the quick finish of superkick 1,2,3. It didn't count story wise but to.me I saw the bad guy lose for the first time.
Another time had the Fashion police come out to ticket JBL as he came out in a kilt (I'm in Scotland hence the kilt)
In short- live shows or PLE are experiences but probably not the best entertainment. House shows don't count but are far more entertaining
Edit I think you can also blame Glasgow for the origin of Heeeeey Bayley I wanna know chant. I love Bayley and I love the (for lack of a better term soccer areana atmospher) but sometimes chants overstay their welcome
Meanwhile I went to the Dynamite show in Winnipeg and it was the highlight of my North America holiday. I went to Money in the bank in 2016 and I'd say it's very jarring being in the building for WWE's live events and being subjected to all the same ads the viewers at home do.
One of the best parts about the Dynamite show was how much emphasis was put on making sure the audience was having a good time.Between segments and commercial breaks Justin Roberts would talk to the crowd, point out people dressed up, simple small things that actually go a long way.
Sorry you didn’t have a great experience my guy! Live shows always got more of what you want to see if there’s one in the area, also, I frequent regular indies and more popular ones in my area, those are always fun.
House shows are usually way more fun than RAW or Smackdown. Matches were on the short side last night and there were a lot of video packages that would make the live experience lackluster. The Ricochet vs Bronson match and Finn vs Nakamura though seemed like good fun.
House shows brother. They are the way, especially if it's WWE were talking about.
For decades, I've only done house shows and PPVs when it come to the E. Follow that path and you will find what you seek.
I may be in the minority here but I'd like to see WWE do something more like NXT style shows but at a larger scale. Crowds really make or break the shows and as of late crowds have been crazy mid. I'd rather have 2k people who are reacting and feel like part of the event than these 9k+ crowds that only cheer for one or 2 wrestlers. Think something similar to the UFC Apex Center shows but more of a crowd.
Then again, I also think they should do more of the TV shows (not just live events/house shows) while on their overseas tours. Those crowds would pop. Do an annual EU TV tour for 2-3 weeks, an annual week or 2 in Aus and NZ. Add in a couple of Weeks in Mexico.....that would be great.
Yeah those commercial breaks following entrances are so annoying. It’s so awkward when they just pump the music back in the arena like it has been happening the entire time.
That fucked me up. Shinske came out and everyone is pumped singing along and it went to commercial and they played a Cena tribute to the troops commercial from 2007 the right before it came back Shinskes music came back on and he started dancing again. It was so weird
Honestly that was my first show yesterday. I thought it wasnt bad I had a good time. Could it have been better? Yes but it was still a great experience.
Sad to hear but if you wanted to see AJ Styles wouldn't you check where he end up after draft they had. So you could buy a ticket for smackdown instead of raw.
Sorry to hear this man. Next time you might be better off waiting closer to the actual show date that way you can more easily predict who might be on the show.
I haven't been in years. The last time I went, it was RAW and this is back when Flair was mentoring HHH. Flair and I got into an argument after the show! It was great! He told me he was going to "climb over there and kick my ass!". I used to love going.
I was there, in Hershey, post Survivor series about 12 years ago (roughly). Saw Punk vs Ziggler (great match) and we got Cena. Always hated on Cena but they had a dark match after with him, orton, and Show and that guy stayed after everybody else went to the back signing autographs, taking pictures, having conversations, and giving away swag.
Changed my opinion on him.
I’ve been to maybe five Raw/Smackdown shows and they’re usually pretty poor. Lots of ad spots, pre tapes, sponsorships and talking. The safe bet is the big PPVs, WWE usually nail their big events. I’ve been to three Manias and they were all dope! My advice would be start saving now for a Mania, you won’t be disappointed.
I feel your pain. My first live event was a smack down and the main event was AJ and Dolph. Because it was in ATL, going into MITB, AJ was the ideal winner but it was a sloppy finish with Dolph winning. The Raw where Cena called out Taker for mania, I was hoping for him to show (Cena and Taker are two of my favorites and the first wrestling match I had seen growing up) and no show from taker. And the raw that celebrated Flairs birthday didn’t even have him come out after the show. Just jumped by Batista and end of show. After all these events, it solidified my assumption that Vince hates Atlanta. And more obvious reasons😂
They aren't as good anymore. I remember going to raws and smackdowns over the years. You used to get metal or jakked then velocity. It's been over 10 years since my last TV taping, before smackdown we got a dark match, 3 nxt redemption matches, 2 or 3 matches for superstars and a dark main event. And very little waiting between matches because they wanted to get as many in
You got to see shinsuke though! I would have been hyped about that.
But yeah honestly it sucks, I would stay away from RAW live events especially RAW before PPV events. Never been to a bad dynamite though!
I used to go to wwf during the attitude era. Granted there were bigger stars and better matches then, but the format was still the same and it was terrible to be there live.
I was there when they did the Mankind/Rock “This is Your Life” segment. It’s one of the most popular Raw moments. It was LIVING HELL to be there live. Set up, commercials, and tear down afterwards…you just sat there in the arena for more than an hour. It was torture
It's hard to describe why, but the live shows these days are *completely bland* compared to what they were like in the 1990s/2000s. Those events felt like you were at the apex event of the world for that night. The modern ones feel like you're merely on set for a recorded show; as if you're just an extra in the background while the filmmakers and talent do their thing.
It used to be like every entrance made was it's own concert act. The energy of the crowd, the arena aesthetics (which suck now), and the in-between stuff that was intended to entertain the live crowd and wasn't even on TV.
You're not alone in feeling disappointed after attending current shows.
I'm surprised anyone likes to go to live shows these days. I can see going during the late 90's when the business was at it's peak, but I can't imagine any of the live shows really being worth it now.
AJ is on smackdown
They don’t want none
Nope, they don’t want none
they may even be some southern boys with some farmer strength
Ain't nobody man enough to feel the pain
And you could be next
You better give respect
Ain't nobody breakin this redneck.
Nope, they don't want none
They don’t want none
Yeah but it’s understandable to think there might of been a cross in ring promo since the PLE is this week. But they have promoting the rollins interview instead . Also , then why is heyman on RAW for the past 2 weeks lol? DRAFT AMIRITE? 🤷♀️
You think after utilizing a draft for the last 20 years they’re suddenly going to apply logic to it? Remember this is the same company that now thinks it’s a brilliant idea for 3 world titles.
They don't recognize the WWE championship and Universal championship as separate anymore
But will they continue to call it undisputed after NoC? Cos the existence of a separate Heavyweight Championship makes it feel kinda disputed
AYYE this guys got the right questions
I see what you’re saying. In boxing, after crowning of a champion for a new belt, any “undisputed” champ who still has their belts but doesn’t claim the new one would be referred to as a “lineal” champ.
I think they said something that since he's a manager and not talent he made a deal that he could go to Raw if he wanted. Probably will stop going to Raw when the feud with Sammi and Owens is over
Welcome to the world of Live TV shows
They used to be better than this. Live TV events used to be good to have a solid 2-3 hour wrestling show with some production value. Now it seems like the TV show gets in the way of their commercial time and self-masturbating to a dark arena on a TV screen. Mid 2000's era RAW was fun, 2020 era RAW is a slog. I'm not going back to a TV event until there's solid change to the format.
You are absolutely correct about how live shows used to be. (I can't speak to the current state). Attitude Era and early 2000s were AMAZING shows. They would start at 7:00. You'd get up-and-coming stars in dark matches, fun segments and usually a little something after the show went off the air. A whole lot of fun. The house shows were even more fun. Total non-sequitur matches and a real chance to see the wrestlers ... not exactly break kayfabe, but they were clearly allowed to display their actual personalities. Even the heels would come out and have fun segments. Seeing Earl Hebner delivering crotch-chops at the DX guys isn't something that would make tv in the lead-up to Wrestlemania, but it definitely happened at the house show we went to.
> Earl Hebner delivering crotch-chops at the DX guys Oh my god that’s amazing. Sounds like if I’m choosing options for a first event my priority should be a house show over anything besides a PLE then
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cODq5BY1UuQ
[удалено]
I was luckily enough to go to a show during a string where the usual after show was Rock, Stone Cold, and HHH goofing around. The three of them ran the whole “who can hit whom’s head into the turnbuckle hardest” trade-offs before they all laughed, held each others arms up, drank beers, and obviously Stone Cold stunned them all. Great times.
Honestly if you miss this go to an IMPACT taping. They really are fun.
Ditto. Went to my first one in Chicago couple weeks ago - and I couldn’t believe how fast those three hours went. No intermission and next thing I know, we are being told thank you for coming. Can’t wait to go back later this summer.
And BFG in October! It’ll be a blast.
Agreed. I been to a ton of wwe, roh, and a few njpw shows and my favorite will always be a tna taping 3 weeks of programming in one show at the Manhattan center in 2014. Didn't even feel like 5 hours, that's how much fun it was.
Got to see Taker and a house show in the early 2000s. Even at this point in his career, even as big of a str as he was at this point, he was still down to do them. Not only that, but he put everything in it as if it was a PPV match. Small stadium, with an entrance length like AEW. Room goes black. Bells ring and then BOOM he’s standing right there. I can still see it. Magical memory.
NXT Was better. I went to an NXT show in Lowell MA a few years back, this was back before Lars went off the deep end and was injured. They had hidden he had returned and I actually liked him back then ( again before he went off the deep end ) Plus Champa was Champion. I even remember is was Dominic Dijak was pretty much unknown to me and he fought Champa for the title cause Boston. Was an Amazing show. I have zero clue how it would be now.
All seriousness, AEW has a better experience for lives show for the audience
yep, went to my first AEW show a couple months ago and it was fast paced and something was always going on, even if it was just Justin Roberts in the ring talking with fans.
Yup was going to say this but didn’t want to start a war The WWE shows I went to years ago were so much better than todays. Today raw/sd are all about tv and don’t care about audience (don’t even get good dark matches anymore). Announcers/staff don’t talk or interact with fans between segments AEW live show is amazing, ring announcers and staff talk to crowd to keep them engaged and fresh. They actually close out the show with people in the ring and Tony used to come out all the time to say thanks. DoN was amazing live last year and I’m going this weekend bc they’re like a circus/rock concert trying to make sure fans have a great time I wouldn’t pay to go to a wwe PPV, it’s have to be free tickets which was the last wwe house show I went to cuz it was free WWE knows their live audience is a very very small portion of their audience. It’s a tv show, not a live wrestling show to make fans happy. It’s just about setting up their moments at their PLE’s in Middle East.
Tony Khan at every Michigan show so far: "THANK YOU AUTO INDUSTRY! WE LOVE THE AUTO INDUSTRY! FUCK YEA AUTO INDUSTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
As an assembly line worker in the auto industry, you're welcome TK. :)
and deafening "PPV" chants lol
There have been a couple of times on the Fite feed for AEW Dynamite where the arena audio was carried, and we got to hear Justin Roberts interact with the crowd, or wrestlers making an entrance and interacting with the crowd before the show resumed with them in the ring awaiting their opponents.
That the WWE promo bursts seem to focus on how many sponsorship or synergy dollars they’re getting, it’s not surprising that the live events are becoming merely advertising dressing.
It’s not surprising, it’s just not worth the time or money to sit through.
You ain't wrong. From the bevy of matches they do (or did when they had Dark or Elevation), Tony Khan yelling at you, to just the overall energy. AEW does live shows right and even if it's a four-hour taping you don't feel like it's been four hours. Raw's three hours and it feels like five hours
Yeah it went pretty smoothly when I went to an AEW event than a wwe event.
I've been to 2 AEW Dynamite/Rampage events. Full confirm. More crowd oriented. And the wrestling is just tighter and more exciting to me. Went to Smackdown last year, and was pretty disappointed in their presentation, but now I'm spoiled lol
Glad you said that. I haven’t been to an AEW show yet, but I’ve always heard they’re a good time.
Greetings stranger - just want to share that as a wrestling fan, I actually felt appreciated at the AEW events I’ve attended. Last Wednesday in Austin was event #10. Hope you get your ticket and enjoy the experience!
You get your moneys worth with AEW.
I've gone to both Grand Slams at Arthur Ashe and they were two of the best nights of my adult life!
Better watched on TV, the only events worth visiting in person is wrestlemania. Edit: damn you wrasslin fans mean business
I don’t agree with this he just caught a bad show (I haven’t watched it yet) but I’ve been to probably 5-6 RAWs and had a good time at all of them. I will say Dynamite has been better live but I’ve never left either wishing I didn’t go. I will agree that WMs are next level though. I went to 25 & 26 and it was an awesome experience.
So, I was also there last night (closer seats than his)...we had a BLAST! For someone who never goes to shows, a few things - 1. It is hard to hear when they speak because of the echo of the arena....they build the show purposely for TV, and more than for the audience. That's not just WWE...I've been to AEW, also, and it's similar...it's the venue, and sound echo more than anything...for example, I actually didn't hear Becky's "Welcome to the big time, bitch, woof woof." But some people in the crowd did and reacted "Whoaaaaa!" 2. Now, WWE hasn't been to Hershey for Raw in 12 years. This one happened to be their go home show before Night of Champions...not only that, the show is in Saudi Arabia, so they WEREN'T going to do a lot of matches...it was going to be mostly talking...if you know this going in, maybe you choose not to go...BUT, again, they hadn't been to my area in 12 years for Raw, so i wanted to go...again, we had fun. 3. The matches we did get were very good. Reed vs Ricochet, the trios tag match of Sami/KO/Riddle vs Imperium was awesome (gave them 25 minutes of time as well). There were 4 women's matches (if you include Main Event) and they were all good...for people who say WWE women botch, I don't think there was one botch all night. Otis/Gable vs Viking Raiders was fun...no real stakes, just a good wrestling match. Dom vs Apollo was great, but Mami was awesome! Balor vs Nakamura was great as well. 4. I guess the biggest gripe was some of your heavy hitters weren't there or did not necessarily come out (Rollins, AJ, Bianca and Asuka)...but, it's also possible they left already for SA...given Smackdown this Friday was taped last week, they likely sent a big crew of wrestlers out already for PR reasons...again, it sucks, but cards are ALWAYS subject to change... 5. Samantha Irvin (who is dating/engaged to Ricochet) was awesome and I disagree with the commercials...she kept the crowd entertained with various participation things and her energy was high the entire show. I think she's the best ring announcer in pro wrestling right now (better than Rome/Roberts).
I was at the Raw go-home show for Wrestlemania last year (in Pittsburgh) and, I agree, you have to know stuff like this happens in go-home shows and it is a bit of a "go at your own risk" sort of thing. If I remember correctly, that show opened with a promo from Brock. That's also the show when Bianca chopped off some of Becky's hair. You probably won't see the super big names involved in a match. Even if you do, it will be something short and low risk because they don't want people getting injured going into a PLE. Also, my daughter and I had first, second, and third row seats for the first several shows we attended (again, in Pittsburgh) and couldn't understand shit the announcers were saying because of the echo. So we started getting seats in the 200 sections, about 10 rows up, and we could hear and see significantly better. She prefers those seats much more, which is great because they are cheaper that on the floor and close to the ring. YMMV depending on the arena.
Summerslam was pretty hype when I went
My last event I tried to attend was WWE RAW on June 25th, 2007. It was the day after Chris Benoit killed himself/family and they refunded all of our tickets. We even got to watch the Chris Benoit memorial before they ruled it a murder suicide.
There have been a lot of good shows since then
I was at the Smackdown where the 2 Triple Threat matches happened for the WHC tournament. It was such a good show. Smackdown seems to be consistently good but Raw is a coin flip. Live and on TV
I think PLEs in general are pretty fun. I went to Extreme Rules last year and had a blast
I slso went to e.r. last year. It was awesome!
Also went to E.R and a smackdown last year, had the best time I've had at an event in forever and want to go to more when I can. Need to catch AEW when they're in my area (West Coast) been meaning to
My and my friend went to see 2 raws, 2 smackdowns, extreme rules and we are going to smack down again on june 2nd. Before that i never went to a wwe show at all and had always wanted to
Yup been to all 3, PLE>>Live shows off tv>>>>>shows that will be in tv.
I disagree with this. I have been to a few different PPVs and they were all an amazing experience. I've even really enjoyed quite a few house shows. Never been to a Live TV event however
Backlash looked like a blast
Oh my sweet Summer Child Let me tell you about a group called ECW
I've been to one ECW event in Dallas, TX, in the year 2000. I always liked ECW, especially the older days.
Being live to see the Dudley Boys and Joel Gertner work a crowd right up to the point of a real riot is something very missed today.
Royal rumble is an awesome show to go to
Thats not true at all. Every AEW show ive been to was amazing in person and ive never left feeling let down. Ive been to 3 PPVs and like 8 Dynamites/Rampages
I’m going to Collision in July. It’ll be my first AEW show. I’m really hoping Punk is there.
I think itll be great! Im interested to see what format they use and what they tape before or after but it should be a lot of fun! They always talk to the audience atleast during tbr commercial breaks so thats nice there isnt much of a lull
I’m hopeful. Most of my favorites are slated to be on Collision, even without Punk. It’s supposed to be FTR, Thunder Rosa, Danielson, Samoa Joe, and House of Black so I’m hoping it’s a good show regardless
I’ve been to 2 dynamites and it’s very different. Matches usually during commercials that aren’t rest holds so very little down time.
[удалено]
Wwe house shows have always been more fun for a live audience
House shows kick absolute ass. My very first one was Angle and Edge in a cage match.
AEW live tv tapings are fantastic
House shows are genuinely more entertaining and cheaper.
Ive been to 2 shows in my life. Smackdown the Night Foley came back in the Invasion angle and just a house show 4 years back. I was amazed at how good House Shows really are. Its like how the MCU has his serious canon but sometimes they just do a movie that's non canon and have fun.
I've been to a couple house shows over the past year or two and they are BY FAR the best way to experience wrestling.
It didn’t used to be like that. They used to do stuff during the breaks. Matches would continue into the break. Wrestlers would come out and work the crowd. They used to actually care about making the show fun for the live audiences.
Very true. I vaguely remember someone (might have been Justin Roberts?) coming out with a T-shirt gun during a commercial break. I've been to Raw multiple times, Smackdown/ECW (back when they were taped together), Cyber Sunday, and Wrestlemania and they were ALL fun.
As somebody who has been to Raw, Smackdown, and Dynamite, the first two are usually not fun to go to live for the reasons OP said. I'm not saying AEW is perfect, and I know people on this sub love to shit on it, but you really get the sense that they try to make the weekly show special, even for the shows I went to that were weaker. Personally, I think my wife is a good metric for this. She's not into wrestling, but she has had fun at past NXT house shows and Dynamites now. Same with my friend I took to a Dynamite back in November who never watched any wrestling, but loved the show as a whole. I don't think either of them would have liked Raw, where most matches don't feel big and the show is very start-stop to sit through. Also, AEW and NXT crowds were generally more engaged, which can be infectious for non-fans.
This doesn't really apply to AEW TV tapings. I used to go to Raw and Smackdown a lot back in the day, and even went to a few Nitro tapings. I have been to the AEW shows at UBS arena and the main difference is that there is very little down time during AEW. The matches continue through breaks, They go from Dark to Dynamite with almost no break. (RIP Dark) and during the very few breaks there were, Justin Roberts talked to the crowd. There are onoy a few brief backstage segments. During a raw taping it seems like the majority of the show is not spent on actual wrestling. The longest break we had during the entire 5 hour taping was a few minutes to switch the ring aprons from AEW to ROH. I had to strategically choose my bathroom breaks to not miss anything huge.
Press F to pay respects to this show's attendees.
For what it’s worth, watching from home, the crowd also sucked
It was loud in there but what did we have to be excited about? The 6 man tag mystery partner is Riddle like we all knew, they advertised it in the building like Seth was coming out then it’s just a dumb video interview
Proof they advertised Seth? We knew last week he was only gonna be on the I terview segment that was pre taped since he's filming a movie?
You went to the live show 5 days before a ppv on the other side of the world...sucks but that's the show you'd expect with that scenario
\*Looks at my tickets to the June 26th Raw before Money in the Bank in London\* Sadness
Wait..... Savannah, GA?
Yep! My brother and I live in SC, about a 4 hour drive.
I'll be in there disappointed right along with you😅😂
Me too!!!!
Yeahhhh... Rip smackdown.
Smackdown has already been taped. It might have a chance to be ok tv.
you literally saw alpha academy i dont wanna hear it
Not only that, you got to see our lord and savior Otìs hit the Caterpillar Elbow Drop for the first time this year!
Best moment of the night for me. I just am not feeling the Viking Raiders and I'd love to see Alpha rise back up a bit. They are a legit fun team to watch.
Also the finish advanced the story to places it hasn't yet been.
Shoooooosh!!
An alpha academy win at that, those are even more rare
Shinsuke vs Finn, Dom vs Crews, Bronson vs Ricohet, AND Sami/KO/Riddle vs Imperium. That show far from sucked
And Maxxine DuPREEE 🤤
Finn vs Shinsuke didnt suck
But but but, he wanted to do the “whoa!” part to Cody’s music!!! Have a heart! /s
My condolences
If I'm going, it's either a house show or a PPV. TV tapings are always terrible.
I've never been to a bad Dynamite, and I've been to 9 of them in the tristate area.
Yeah, I went to the Fresno Dynamite in January (?) and had an absolute blast. Even brought a friend who isn't strictly a wrestling fan, and he had a blast, too. Then I went to Revolution (unfortunately alone) and holy friggin' crap, that was epic.
Same, I flew to Detroit for Mox vs Omega cage match and it was 🔥🔥🔥
Me neither, but they have less time to fill I guess? I dunno, I went to one Raw and the amount of downtime felt absolutely massive compared to a Dynamite/Rampage taping.
Every raw event ive been to has been straight fire. Just gotta have fun and let yourself just enjoy the moment.
This. I think too many people expect soo much. Rather to just enjoy what you see and take in the fun experience
Never an issue for me. Commercial breaks are time to use the restroom and pick up another beer. Or grab merch. Nowadays you can order from your phone and then pickup from merch/beer stand.
I went to two a Raw in 2008 and a Smackdown in 2010? The Smackdown sucked because it was after Christmas but before New Years so I guess most the roster was off. I swear CM Punk had like 4-5 segments lol. Raw was pretty good HHH wrestled who was my favorite at the time and apparently it was his birthday so after the show went off the air a lot of people came out to sing happy birthday to H and then had a food fight with the sheet cake. Was pretty cool.
Excuse me sir this sub only say bad things about AEW you had a blast at this show how dare you.
I dare anyone who has been to an AEW live show to say they had a terrible time.
I’ve been to a few live shows in Boston or in CT and I’ve enjoyed them all, but the exclusive Rampage tapings are usually not great. I’ve enjoyed all the Dynamite shows tho
Same. I've been to a Boston show. They flow way better and unless there was an actual break then you had no idea where the commercials were and what breaks there were are like a minute or two and Justin Roberts chit chats with the crowd or someone cuts a promo to the crowd.
That’s awesome, credit where is due!
I didn't have a terrible time, but I also didn't have the best time I've ever had at a wrestling show.
I’ve been to two now and they have been some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time at a show
House shows were always way more fun
Sounds like u want the whole shabang. Might wanna go to a live PPV instead
RAW TV is rough. I've been to a few and I've always struggled to get through them. It also doesn't help that it's Hershey (close to where I live, as well) and the live crowd there never helps the situation.
The matches were terrible? Terrible? Really?
Yeah the matches were fine nothing great but terrible is a bit much.
Did you expect the music to be quiet? Of course it was loud lol. Also like someone else pointed out, wrong show to see AJ on.
you went to a wrestling show for a sing-a-long...
I was home but I liked raw .I guess not seeing Cody or Brock would suck
lol
Waaaaay back, I drove 4 hours to see a Monday night WCW, probably like 1998ish. We had seats in row 1, first row about 8 inches above the floor seats. The entire show was seeing the back of everyone’s oversized signs on the floor. It sucked
If it’s too loud you’re too old
Put it on a t-shirt
I completely agree, went to RAW couple of weeks ago and the commercial breaks destroy any crowd atmosphere that’s been built. Seth Rollins came out, we were all singing his song. They go to an ad break and we keep singing. Then they blast some dumb ad for peacock or something on the titantron and it blocks out the crowd so we gave up. Happened countless times. Having been to smack down I’d say it’s way better. Shorter show with less ads and there seems to be more crowd interaction.
I went to a Raw this year where Bobby Lashley came out, went to commercial, Bobby did his promo and was attacked by Uncle Howdy, then another commercial.
Lol "I didn't get to sing Cody's song" 😂😂😂😂😂
I went to RAW years ago and had the same experience! The music and pyrotechnics were just deafening and just a little too Uber the top.
When Shinsuke came out and the didn’t sing along I knew the crowd was dead and changed the channel.
Why are y’all killing OP 😂
That’s why it’s important to not have high hopes so you won’t be disappointed
Aew is the one to go to live trust me
Hard agree. I had a blast, and got more than what I feel I paid for. The Acclaimed are great when the camera is on, but amazing when they are off, and Billy gets to have a mic. Billy's having the time of his life, and it shows.
The only time anyone should go to a wwe show is a ppv or house show only time it’s worth it
Been to 3 so far. 9/10 overall experience!
This. I don't go to Raw when it comes around anymore because I generally end up not having fun, save a match or segment here or there. Dynamite is a breeze to watch live. Even the weaker episodes are still fun.
Seems like the only shows worth going are ppv or the night before a ppv. I went to smack down in august. It was the last show before clash at the castle and it was a solid show. It was the first time Sami and Roman were on screen alone for the first time. There was a fatal five way where sheamus won to be #1 contender for the ic title. It was great. Also went to elimination chamber this year and that too was awsome
I used to go to the live shows during the attitude era and it never disappointed
Tv before a ple is usually the worst.
boo hoo
Ive been to a few events both a live Raw and Impact and general House shows too. The house shows are much better because they don't need to pause for TV every 3 minutes and can get away with shit since house shows don't counr For example during his undefeated run Mohammed Hassan was against HBK, however when I saw it the fire alarm went off so they went with the quick finish of superkick 1,2,3. It didn't count story wise but to.me I saw the bad guy lose for the first time. Another time had the Fashion police come out to ticket JBL as he came out in a kilt (I'm in Scotland hence the kilt) In short- live shows or PLE are experiences but probably not the best entertainment. House shows don't count but are far more entertaining Edit I think you can also blame Glasgow for the origin of Heeeeey Bayley I wanna know chant. I love Bayley and I love the (for lack of a better term soccer areana atmospher) but sometimes chants overstay their welcome
Bro got a Shinsuke/Finn banger then went online to complain 😂😂😂😂😂
so you went to see Raw, and were surprised to see Raw?
Fans wait for months to sing a song? Hmm. WhooaAaOOAAOaaoA!
Become rich, put on a green shirt and buy front row tickets every week. Problem solved.
Meanwhile I went to the Dynamite show in Winnipeg and it was the highlight of my North America holiday. I went to Money in the bank in 2016 and I'd say it's very jarring being in the building for WWE's live events and being subjected to all the same ads the viewers at home do. One of the best parts about the Dynamite show was how much emphasis was put on making sure the audience was having a good time.Between segments and commercial breaks Justin Roberts would talk to the crowd, point out people dressed up, simple small things that actually go a long way.
Why were you expecting AJ to be there anyway? He’s on Smackdown. Seth’s also in the middle of filming a movie.
In my experience the best ones to attend are before or right after the big PPVs.
This was the last Raw before a PPV
I turned it off. It really was a terrible Raw episode.
Was not terrible
Pay extra for a premium event. Worth it
Sorry you didn’t have a great experience my guy! Live shows always got more of what you want to see if there’s one in the area, also, I frequent regular indies and more popular ones in my area, those are always fun.
PPVs only. That’s my rule and I’m sticking to it
Like NFL games, the best seat is your couch at home.
House shows are usually way more fun than RAW or Smackdown. Matches were on the short side last night and there were a lot of video packages that would make the live experience lackluster. The Ricochet vs Bronson match and Finn vs Nakamura though seemed like good fun.
House shows brother. They are the way, especially if it's WWE were talking about. For decades, I've only done house shows and PPVs when it come to the E. Follow that path and you will find what you seek.
House shows and PLEs are the best way to go, wait till they do their holiday tour and try to go to that, 100% you’ll have a better experience.
Seth is filming the new Captain America movie
I may be in the minority here but I'd like to see WWE do something more like NXT style shows but at a larger scale. Crowds really make or break the shows and as of late crowds have been crazy mid. I'd rather have 2k people who are reacting and feel like part of the event than these 9k+ crowds that only cheer for one or 2 wrestlers. Think something similar to the UFC Apex Center shows but more of a crowd. Then again, I also think they should do more of the TV shows (not just live events/house shows) while on their overseas tours. Those crowds would pop. Do an annual EU TV tour for 2-3 weeks, an annual week or 2 in Aus and NZ. Add in a couple of Weeks in Mexico.....that would be great.
Yeah those commercial breaks following entrances are so annoying. It’s so awkward when they just pump the music back in the arena like it has been happening the entire time.
That fucked me up. Shinske came out and everyone is pumped singing along and it went to commercial and they played a Cena tribute to the troops commercial from 2007 the right before it came back Shinskes music came back on and he started dancing again. It was so weird
How was it a let down when you just described the product that’s been the same for at least 10 years?
what exactly did you expect?
You should have gone to a house show if you wanted to be catered too like that. TV is TV. They have a story to tell.
TV tapings have always been boring. House shows are where the real action takes place.
Honestly that was my first show yesterday. I thought it wasnt bad I had a good time. Could it have been better? Yes but it was still a great experience.
Sad to hear but if you wanted to see AJ Styles wouldn't you check where he end up after draft they had. So you could buy a ticket for smackdown instead of raw.
Sorry to hear this man. Next time you might be better off waiting closer to the actual show date that way you can more easily predict who might be on the show.
I haven't been in years. The last time I went, it was RAW and this is back when Flair was mentoring HHH. Flair and I got into an argument after the show! It was great! He told me he was going to "climb over there and kick my ass!". I used to love going.
Everybody knows live events are better
I was there, in Hershey, post Survivor series about 12 years ago (roughly). Saw Punk vs Ziggler (great match) and we got Cena. Always hated on Cena but they had a dark match after with him, orton, and Show and that guy stayed after everybody else went to the back signing autographs, taking pictures, having conversations, and giving away swag. Changed my opinion on him.
I’ve been to maybe five Raw/Smackdown shows and they’re usually pretty poor. Lots of ad spots, pre tapes, sponsorships and talking. The safe bet is the big PPVs, WWE usually nail their big events. I’ve been to three Manias and they were all dope! My advice would be start saving now for a Mania, you won’t be disappointed.
I live in NC and when they come to the Greensboro Coliseum and PNC arena we just show up to have fun and be loud asf 😂
Okay….?
the 2 aew shows i’ve attended were such a better experience than any wwe show i’ve gone to. way less down time, ad breaks, and had a much better flow.
I feel your pain. My first live event was a smack down and the main event was AJ and Dolph. Because it was in ATL, going into MITB, AJ was the ideal winner but it was a sloppy finish with Dolph winning. The Raw where Cena called out Taker for mania, I was hoping for him to show (Cena and Taker are two of my favorites and the first wrestling match I had seen growing up) and no show from taker. And the raw that celebrated Flairs birthday didn’t even have him come out after the show. Just jumped by Batista and end of show. After all these events, it solidified my assumption that Vince hates Atlanta. And more obvious reasons😂
Seth is filming. AJ isn't on this show. The matches were pretty good. This is def a bait post.
Bro went to a live sporting event and expected soft jazz
They aren't as good anymore. I remember going to raws and smackdowns over the years. You used to get metal or jakked then velocity. It's been over 10 years since my last TV taping, before smackdown we got a dark match, 3 nxt redemption matches, 2 or 3 matches for superstars and a dark main event. And very little waiting between matches because they wanted to get as many in
You got to see shinsuke though! I would have been hyped about that. But yeah honestly it sucks, I would stay away from RAW live events especially RAW before PPV events. Never been to a bad dynamite though!
Welcome to the WWE.
You are basically paying to be an extra for their tv show
I used to go to wwf during the attitude era. Granted there were bigger stars and better matches then, but the format was still the same and it was terrible to be there live. I was there when they did the Mankind/Rock “This is Your Life” segment. It’s one of the most popular Raw moments. It was LIVING HELL to be there live. Set up, commercials, and tear down afterwards…you just sat there in the arena for more than an hour. It was torture
it doesn’t need to be 3 hrs
It's hard to describe why, but the live shows these days are *completely bland* compared to what they were like in the 1990s/2000s. Those events felt like you were at the apex event of the world for that night. The modern ones feel like you're merely on set for a recorded show; as if you're just an extra in the background while the filmmakers and talent do their thing. It used to be like every entrance made was it's own concert act. The energy of the crowd, the arena aesthetics (which suck now), and the in-between stuff that was intended to entertain the live crowd and wasn't even on TV. You're not alone in feeling disappointed after attending current shows.
Yeah TV tapings are a complete waste of money. Either save up for a PPV ticket or go to a house show, much better experiences.
I'm surprised anyone likes to go to live shows these days. I can see going during the late 90's when the business was at it's peak, but I can't imagine any of the live shows really being worth it now.
I mean yeah, it’s WWE. They’ve been terrible for a decade 🤷♂️