WrestleTalk Roundtable – WWE Raw – October 15, 2018

Published: Oct 16, 2018 by Nicholas Holicki | Last Updated: Oct 16, 2018 by Nicholas Holicki

WrestleTalk Roundtable – WWE Raw – October 15, 2018

So, New Japan‘s had its fair share of controversy this week, huh?

First there were murmurs of certain high profile members of the locker room being so disgruntled by the backstage dynamic that they were considering a move away from the promotion. Then the president of the company issued a statement on New Japan‘s website, pushing back against the reports and possibly quelling any internal revolts which may have been bubbling up.

And, just when it seemed that the worst was over, the Young Bucks, Cody, Hangman Page and Marty Scurll each took to Twitter to post images of their latest (and final) Bullet Club merchandise, suggesting that they may be leaving the stable in short order.

Whew.

Anyway, that’s the biggest drama in wrestling at the moment. Yep, not a lot else to report really. Nothing but smooth sailing for every other promotion.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7KpvDALUB/?hl=en&taken-by=wwe

Oh, except for WWE scheduling a show in a country suspected of carrying out the politically-motivated killing of an outspoken anti-regime journalist!

As the controversy surrounding Saudi Arabia intensifies, so too does the criticism about WWE‘s decision to hold its Crown Jewel event in the middle-eastern country. In fact, such is the public scrutiny that several major companies and media sponsors have already withdrawn from the high-profile Saudi investment conference, dubbed ‘Davos in the desert.’

As is usually the case in the world of WWE however, there are complicating factors at play for the McMahon family. Not only has the promotion reportedly negotiated a ten-year deal with the Saudi government (which will be difficult to simply walk away from six months later) but Linda McMahon is currently filling a prominent position in President Trump’s cabinet. This alone could leave WWE and the McMahon family in the unenviable position of having its business decisions in direct conflict with official American policy.

Remember the less contentious days when Crown Jewel was just a glorified house-show, which dug up relics from the Attitude Era and prevented women from competing? I bet Vince misses them…

It’s an immensely complex geo-political dilemma, best left to those with far more policy and diplomatic nous than me. One thing does appear certain at this point though, namely that WWE – at least for now – seems intent on pressing ahead with the pay-per-view as scheduled.

So, given the prevailing circumstances, would the pay-per-view feature heavily in last night’s episode of Raw? With a World Cup tournament and a Universal Title match to build, could WWE even afford to have the event take a back seat to Evolution? Read on to find out what we at WrestleTalk thought of Raw this week, the moments that we considered great as well as those which were largely forgettable.

Again, whew.