Brian Damage
It’s Saturday and today we have ’This Week in Wrestling’, the 21st of 2020. Today Brian discusses Monday Night Raw and what is actually working nowadays and shares all the best wrestling content from this week.
Remembering Shad Gaspard
The year 2020 has certainly been a rough one all around for various reasons. Of course, this past week wasn’t any better as former WWE wrestler Shad ‘The Beast’ Gaspard was found dead off a beach in Southern California. The story is both heartbreaking and amazing at the same time. Gaspard saved his son by insisting that the Coast Guard take him first. By the time they got to Shad…he was gone sadly.
Everything I’ve heard or read about Shad was very positive and his final act on this earth definitely confirms that. Shad Gaspard never had the big wrestling career projected for him by the WWE. He had a nice run with JTG as Cryme Tyme….but his singles career faltered a bit for various reasons and soon he disappeared from the squared circle. Regardless of how his wrestling career ended up, Shad seemed to be happy and made a success of himself with various projects. Our deepest condolences go out to the Gaspard family during this horrible time.
Monday Night Raw – A Much Better Show You’re Probably No Longer Watching
Let’s face it, pro wrestling has been struggling to find an audience for a while now. Ever since the Covid-19 virus hit, television ratings for shows like Raw, Smackdown, NXT and AEW’s Dynamite have suffered. Granted, NXT and Dynamite have been really good shows the past few months. Raw and Smackdown…not so much.
The thing is, lately, Monday Night Raw has been quietly getting much better. I don’t know if Vince McMahon let go of the reigns a little bit and allowed Paul Heyman to do more booking with less restrictions or maybe Vince just said screw it and is throwing things against a wall to see what sticks. Either way, Raw has been pretty good the last few weeks since Wrestlemania 36. They’ve introduced a few new faces and have finally pushed some underutilized talent.
First off, I am really enjoying the whole ‘Monday Night Messiah’ gimmick from Seth Rollins. He has become like some sort of David Koresh cult leader. He speaks softly and seems to be at peace, but then shows a vicious side that turns things way up. Now, Rollins has a faction of the AOP (currently sidelined with injuries) Murphy and his newest “disciple” in Austin Theory. This gimmick opens up a whole world of possibilities and where they can take it.
Another good thing I have been seeing on Raw is the reemergence of Bobby Lashley. They are finally starting to book Lashley as a monster heel, which is something they should have done from the very beginning. Using MVP as his mouthpiece can only help and enhance Lashley’s character. It worked well during their TNA days together and will no doubt help now. It was very smart to transition MVP to a manager of sorts. He is extremely charismatic and a very good talker.
The other positive that I have seen from Raw in recent weeks is the company’s re commitment to pushing talent that was lost in the shuffle in years prior. Apollo Crews immediately comes to mind. Granted, Apollo isn’t the greatest on the mic, but is a tremendous in ring talent that deserves a solid and consistent push. Hopefully, we will see more of Apollo and others that have been misused or not used at all for a while.
All in all, Monday Night Raw has been a quietly solid program. Sure, there are still issues like the fact it is still an hour too long, lack of fans in attendance and some questionable bookings like what they are doing with the Viking Raiders. Despite their misfires, Raw has vastly improved and I hope to see more of that on all of WWE’s programming.
Picture Gallery
Brian
The current roster of top champions for the major promotions worldwide.
I love this drawing of Bob from Bob’s Burgers as Jake ‘The Snake’
Lucha Lunch Boxes
Classic painting with a wrestling twist!
An awesome drawing of two of WWE’s biggest stars.
The NWO today
The future Junkyard Dog during his football days…
Adult star Farrah Dahl ready to challenge Bayley for the Smackdown Women’s title?
Kayla Braxton
Maria Bennett
Dasha from AEW
Charly Caruso
MLW’s Salina De La Renta
Sabu’s valet Melissa Coates
Zelina Vega
A classic photo of the Missing Link and Dark Journey
Video Gallery
Here’s a blast from the past…The AWA’s Wrestle Rock Rumble Rap
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Ring the Damn Bell 
I still don’t want to waste 3 hours of my time watching RAW. I listen to Solomonster and look at his Twitter poll as it’s often a negative reaction from his followers.
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Swollowmonster is a pussyboy snowflake just like you.
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^Someone sure didn’t get enough hugs and kisses from their parents as a kid
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Also STARDOM wrestler Hana Kimura was found dead in her apartment today. Another victim of cyberbullying.
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