The words entertaining and WWE RAW rarely go together but the June 15 edition of the WWE’s flagship show was fantastic with an unsanctioned match between Christian and Randy Orton not even getting started as Ric Flair low-blowed Christian before the match, giving Orton an easy win with a punt kick. Christian did the ‘ol stretcher job as Orton apologized to Christian, but reminded him he brought it upon himself. Incredibly, this was just the proverbial tip of the iceberg to a show that has been lackluster at best and interminable at worst.
That wasn’t so last night with the WWE furthering a number of storylines, creating new ones, and featuring some good wrestling matches. Everyone seemed to get a moment in the spotlight and their segments actually meant something rather than seeming like a hastily thrown together spot.
The WWE has reorganized its creative structure with Bruce Prichard now handling RAW and SmackDown. Although the final say goes through Vince McMahon, the June 15 RAW showed promise and more shows like this could help grow the promotion’s ever-declining viewership numbers.
As for Ric Flair, “The Dirtiest Player in the Game” has made infrequent appearances on WWE TV, but him turning on Christian and basically serving him up to Randy Orton should leave fans guessing whether Flair will be playing a larger role on RAW, perhaps as a manager or just someone who is still looking to keep his name alive.
