MICK FOLEY AND DANIEL BRYAN: THE GENERAL MANAGERS WE NEED & DESERVE

This past Monday on RAW it was officially announced that Daniel Bryan will take over as the General Manager of SmackDown Live and Mick Foley will take over as the General Manager of RAW.

In terms of capitalizing on fan-enthusiasm for the creative direction of the upcoming "brand split" (or "brand extension"), these are great choices for the GM roles. Two beloved fan-favorites in positions of fictional power will be a nice shift away from the domineering "evil boss" gimmicks that have defined the WWE's primary narratives in recent years.

Is WWE Too Smart For Its Own Good? What The Women's Money in the Bank Controversy Reveals

"Too smart for their own good" is a criticism that doesn't just apply to pro-wrestling fans, though.

It's a criticism that also applies to the WWE.

How exactly?

We needn't look further than the way the WWE booked the first ever women's Money in the Bank ladder match to see "too smart for their own good" on unapologetic display.

You Will Keep Booing Roman Reigns And It Will Change Nothing

If you still boo Roman Reigns, nothing will convince you to stop booing Roman Reigns.

It doesn't matter if the WWE books Roman Reigns in a manner that "emphasizes his strengths and hides his weaknesses", it doesn't matter if Roman Reigns adds fifty death-defying moves to his repertoire, it doesn't matter if Roman Reigns journeys back in time and works the indies for fifteen years before coming to the WWE, and it doesn't matter if Roman Reigns starts cutting promos with the eloquence and depth of a classically trained Shakespearean actor.

No matter the objective improvements in Roman Reigns' performance or the improvements in the way WWE books him, and no matter how well-reasoned an argument in Roman's favor may be, you will go on booing.

And that's fine. I've accepted this. Keep booing.

No energy should be expended by anyone (least of all Roman Reigns fans) in an effort to convince you to change your mind. You are entrenched in your perspective and you're just going to keep digging in.

THE RAW REVIEW

I was twenty-five when I first started writing THE RAW REVIEW in 2012. I was a typical angsty young writer - single, pissed off at the world, envious of “better” generations, and certain that my work was the best in the world. I would tap away furiously at the keyboard, churning out long, irony-laced, condescending, thoughtful critiques of RAW. These early write-ups reflected my state of mind and my state of life.

THE RAW REVIEW

RAW REVIEWSTim KailMarch 3, 2015monday night raw, wrestlemania, roman reigns, vince mcmahon, promo, professional wrestling, sports entertainment, triple h, sting, the undertaker, brock lesnar, seth rollins, jon stewart, wwe, wwe network, daniel bryan

THE RAW REVIEW

The February 16th, 2015 episode of Monday Night Raw is the best episode of the WWE’s flagship show that I’ve seen since The Attitude Era.

Now I haven’t seen every episode in the past fourteen years and nothing overtly historic or game-changing appeared to happen last night (depending on how you viewed the show). But I cannot remember the last time in over a decade I haven't, at some point, mentally tuned out of RAW or rolled my eyes or groaned or sighed or been eternally frustrated with the direction of the company by the end of the night. There have been great episodes, to be sure, but few and far between have emanated from a sincere, professional wrestling perspective in quite some time (a perspective that has existed exclusively on NXT).

THE RAW REVIEW

Two weeks in a row I’ve been somewhat stumped as to what to write about in The Raw Review. Last week, after several false starts and actual drafts, I created what was, for me, a less than satisfactory nitpick of the WWE’s ongoing booking woes.

I very much want to write about the symbolism and themes of various WWE scenes and matches, but when the performances are subpar, when the booking and the creative and the script looms like a dark, inescapable cloud over the proceedings, it’s hard to get to the goods and even harder to write about the goods.

MICK FOLEY: A WRESTLER FOR ALL MANKIND

EDITORIALSTim KailOctober 16, 2014cactus jack, chris jericho, cm punk, daniel bryan, dude love, dwayne johnson, ecw, i am santa claus movie, mankind, mick foley, professional wrestling, the rock, triple h, wcw, wwe

The Writings