The Easiest Way To Fix Raw and SmackDown Immediately

There are a lot of things you can point out about today’s WWE under Triple H and TKO that aren’t working. The entrance themes are awful. The ads are non-stop. There are way too many celebrity appearances. Matches all seem to end in run-ins and DQs. The Bloodine is a lazy grab at nostalgia. You get the idea. It’s going to take a lot of work to fix all of these issues, which are driving fans away. A half-empty stadium for SummerSlam showed just how bad things have gotten. One of the easiest ways to grab the attention of fans on Raw and SmackDown, however, is to focus on how the shows begin. There is no spark from the very first minute. The solution is simple.

Raw and SmackDown Almost Always Begin With Backstage Walks

• Triple H chose to have WWE shows open with a sports-centric feel.
• Wrestlers are often shown walking backstage at the arena with their luggage.
• WWE’s reality era presentation is boring and lifeless.

When Vince McMahon was forced out of WWE and Triple H took over creative control, there were immediate changes to the on-screen appearance of the show. One was how it began. Raw and SmackDown started with backstage videos of the superstars arriving at the arena, the crowd cheering or booing for whoever appeared, while the commentator gave a preview for the show. It was an interesting choice, one which made WWE feel more sports-centric, as if this was ESPN showing an NBA player arriving for a game.

The issue is now that this is usually how Raw and SmackDown begin for every single show. There is no hype at all over seeing a wrestler in street clothes wheeling around their luggage. Instead of being larger-than-life superstars, the audience is seeing people simply going about their normal day. Rather than being on a mission, it’s just them going to work. WWE wants to be the reality era. Getting rid of all of their supernatural characters, such as the Wyatt Sicks, proved that. So does seeing a wrestler with a suitcase. These dull, predictable, and lifeless show beginnings need to go.

The Lack of a Big Stage and Titantron Makes WWE Feel Small

• Raw and SmackDown’s opening used to be filled with intense energy.
• Superstars would feel larger-than-life as they walked down the ramp.
• Today’s WWE wrestlers walk on a flat surface in front of an LED board.

WWE was at its peak of cool during the Attitude Era. This wasn’t only because of perfectly crafted superstars like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock. It was the presentation that got fans hyped. The mammoth Titantron screen was part of that. This made the audience feel like they were in a movie, which only added to the feel that this was a show, something special, something beyond reality.

The huge screens still exist on Raw and SmackDown today, but they’re simple and uninspired LED boards. Those screens feel lifeless. Worse is the placement. Gone are the ramps. Superstars used to truly be larger-than-life because they hovered over us on the stage. Their walk down the ramp was grand and energetic. Now, the ramp is long gone, and it’s just a superstar walking on a flat surface next to the crowd. Instead of being bigger than reality, the wrestlers are one of us. The illusion of something bigger than us and our daily lives is broken.

The lack of effort in the stage setup is a microcosm of the lack of effort by WWE in so much. Simply by making the tron less generic and bringing back the elevated stage and ramp, it would say that the company wants to at least look exciting. Oba Femi has “it” now. Imagine, however, if he came out on a stage every week. That’s chilling in the best way possible.

• Show themes by the Union Underground, Papa Roach, and Marilyn Manson got fans pumped.
• There is no passion behind the presentation of Eminem’s “Godzilla” Raw theme song.
• Changing how Raw and SmackDown begin can help WWE regain its aura.

With the backstage suitcase pulling and bland ring entrances, Raw and SmackDown start off flat. The excitement is not there. Change that and you have a start. But there is a third ingredient to bring it all together: the show opening music theme. In the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Era, the red and blue brands used to start with intense energy before we even saw a single soul. If you’re of a certain age, you remember the goosebumps you’d get when Raw’s heavy metal theme began with a video image of Stone Cold walking through fire. How about the jolt behind Union Underground or even Papa Roach? SmackDown had it too, especially when Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People” welcomed us.

Now, it’s nothing. Gone are the opening montages to build the hype. Can you even name the opening song for Raw? It’s Eminem’s “Godzilla,” yet somehow WWE has made Eminem boring by having the song turned down in the background as a commentator speaks over it. And don’t even get us started on the loss of pyro. Raw and SmackDown were once an explosion of the senses, like a drug being injected into our veins. Right away, fans were invested, ready for something that felt out of this world. In TKO’s WWE, none of this matters. WWE has lost its aura. Changing how the shows start is the easiest way to help get it back.