How Adam Would Book... Raw Underground

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How Adam Would Book... Raw Underground  Check out one of our other series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB-QMQUMgeo  Help us pick the next booking video over at https://www.patreon.com/partsFUNknown  SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/  The first rule of Raw Underground is no one should ever talk about Raw Underground... like ever. But Adam Blampied lives outside the law and has tasked himself with fantasy booking a better future for the heavily-vested third hour of Raw. Can Adam be the one to make Shane McMahon's sweat-soaked fever dream come true? Time to find out...  #wwe #rawunderground #wrestling #adamblampied #partsfunknown #wrestletalk

Transcript

00:00Oh beans.

00:01Hello, I'm Adam, hailing from partsFUNknown, I'm wearing a vest so you know I'm serious,

00:07and welcome to How Adam Would Book, where this time we'll be breaking the first rule

00:11of Raw Underground by talking about Raw Underground, a fight club by dads for dads, where WWE essentially

00:17ripped off GCW Bloodsport, a format of taking pro wrestling and combining it with UFC, focused

00:22on strikes, ground and pound, and submissions.

00:25They added the crowd from Def Jam, and also bleak faux Lucha Underground cinematic vibes

00:30with camera grain and hazy lighting so it looked like it was shot inside a strip club

00:33but like at half ten in the morning with very sad dancing girls on a half picked out buffet.

00:37It was a wrestling format equivalent of a tribal tattoo on a white guy, and I'm certainly

00:42not the creator of this joke but it's too funny not to share, Shane didn't get to

00:45run Raw, so he built his own Raw with Blackjack and hookers, except forget the Raw, and then

00:5049 days later WWE said, ah, forget the whole thing.

00:55So just for anyone who might not know what Raw Underground was, first of all, well done.

00:59Secondly, on August 3rd in the year of our lord 2020, Shane McMahon unveiled a new format

01:05that was going to supercharge Raw every week for seven weeks.

01:09Shane hosted fights from an undisclosed location in a ring with no ropes where everything was

01:13edgy and people wore vests so you knew they were serious, which is a weird game for WWE

01:18to play, like is this fighting more real than your other Raw fighting?

01:23Sod it.

01:24Thirdly, it was hilarious.

01:25You know how some kids build a treehouse?

01:27Well Shane had kitted out the basement of the performance center, I want to say.

01:31Is that where Shane lives?

01:32Have times been hard?

01:33Then he invited over all of his squad to hang with a strict vest and jeans dress code, and

01:38his boys were like, Shane, I thought we were going to watch the game, be some Bud Lights,

01:42have some wings, and definitely not kiss.

01:44And Shane was, no, I've built a fight club, going to get my dad's independent contractors

01:49to batter the pig ass off each other in their best Streets of Rage cosplay, and his boys

01:54were like, I dunno, that sounds like it fundamentally misunderstands the fact that fake pro wrestling

01:59strikes and offense knowingly look fake and controlled, but when presented in a pro wrestling

02:03visual framework, is an accepted part of the medium's language that if you try and present

02:07this kind of punching as real combat, it'll create some uncanny valley nonsense, to which

02:13Shane said, yeah, but there'll be some sad looking dancing girls there for like the first

02:17week, and his boys said, you son of a bitch, I'm in.

02:20Now we all made fun of Raw Underground, and to be fair, did you see it, there was a lot

02:25to make fun of, from the fact that WWE knew the combat looked terrible, so tried to spice

02:29up with the same one million camera cut style of editing, to the fact that Shane was on

02:33a live mic throughout the entire thing, going, ah, hey, here we go, who's got next?

02:40That's what I'm talking about, things are heating up now, boom, and other phrases from

02:46the rich kid enjoying something his parents wouldn't approve of, bingo card.

02:49However, I kind of respect the fact that WWE at least tried something so monumentally dumb,

02:53like yeah, pandemic wrestling's the worst, give it a go, why not, it could have been

02:58something interesting, I mean, f*** Raw is three hours long, a bit of variation goes

03:02a long way, but ultimately Raw Underground didn't work for a few main reasons, one,

03:07the fact that the WWE style of combat does not hold up to the scrutiny of being presented

03:10as brutal, two, WWE added commentary and camera cuts, The Iconics showed up in their

03:15ring gear, stuff like that, which made it all not so much an episode of Underground

03:19but just Raw, but in a storage closet, three, Raw Underground was just randomly dotted around

03:24the show, which made it seem like a weird form of sketch comedy, a random cutaway, like

03:28Raw Underground segments were never really hyped up or structured, which made them feel

03:32like weightless distractions, four, they weren't really fighting for anything, like, not more

03:37funny, like, I guess everyone was there to let off steam, like the best Raw Underground

03:41segment was when the Hurt Business got pissed off with how things were on the main roster

03:44so they took over Raw Underground, that's what a fight club is, I guess, but it felt

03:48more like they were just fighting to please Shane McMahon like they were the world's

03:51sweatiest toy set and he was just banging action men together and definitely not making

03:55them kiss.

03:56And I also think that WWE should feel a bit bad about themselves, they didn't even salvage

03:59anything from the record, Raw Underground could have actually built up people like Jessamyn

04:03Duke and Marina Shafir and they didn't feature them regularly enough, hell, the one

04:07superstar that the entire project seemed to exist to get over, Dabba Kato, this huge street

04:12fighter character, except he lost to the commando edition of Braun Strowman on the last segment

04:17of Raw Underground and was never seen again so in the end you couldn't even get one

04:20thing from it.

04:21And trust me, I don't want this, I don't want this, but I have to, so let me have a

04:30go.

04:38Where do you, where do you, how do you, where do you start, like do you start with the how,

04:43do you start with the why, I guess let's start with why, there are actually some good reasons

04:49for Raw Underground, reasons that WWE actually played with, like making new stars, taking

04:54time away from main Raw because three hours is too f***ing long, you got to see a different

04:58side of some performers like Shayna Baszler, but so here's my general pitch for my version

05:04of Raw Underground, I think you should still have Shane run it because his whole shtick

05:08has really evolved into Vince but like the start-up version of Vince, all wacky schemes,

05:13incredibly boring wardrobe that looks like it costs way more than it looks, the cross

05:17between ruthless boss and fun dad, someone you could actually believe both has the power

05:21to order employees to take part in a Raw Underground belco experiment but also be like, hey, I've

05:26got chill vibes, I'm just chillin' and illin', I don't wear a tie, have you heard the new

05:30Stormzy album, so keep Shane, he's a big, silly, cruel thumb and I think he's a good

05:34fit.

05:35Next, make Raw Underground the last hour of Raw, now I know, I keep talking about how

05:41I don't want there to be a third hour of Raw because it's terrible, weekly wrestling should

05:45not be three hours long and I'm still worked up about it, overexposure of talent, the same

05:50matches over and over again, promo segments that drag on because of the lack of time restraints,

05:56it makes Raw a meandering mess.

05:58Take this Raw Underground concept and bolt it onto the end of a tighter, leaner, main

06:04show two-hour Raw.

06:06This has got a few extra benefits, it means the three-hour Raw program gets, yes, more

06:09variety without also having the multiple cutaways and jarring shifts in tone and style, being

06:14less mixed in together actually allows both shows to feel more unique, you can also, you

06:18know, promote Raw Underground over the two hours and also, it being last helps to give

06:23it a feel of this Raw after dark, this more adult feel, it's the bit of Raw that you shouldn't

06:28stay up for but then you should, yeah, f**k you mum and dad, I'm sneaking downstairs to

06:32watch weird Shane and his pet boys.

06:35So what exactly is my version of Raw Underground?

06:37Elevator pitch and no rules, all hardcore match hour of wrestling where wrestlers compete

06:42in a league to prevent themselves from being fired with Shane basically being the Dario

06:46Cueto whose two main passions are business and extreme violence.

06:50So unpacking that, the first episode of Raw Underground sees Shane McMahon in a suit please,

06:56I don't care how much you like your sneaky shoes, talking to a bunch of guys from Raw

07:00and Smackdown, he's standing in a wrestling ring in a concrete walled room, around the

07:04room it's a chain link fence with fans standing behind it, around the room also are littered

07:09piles of chairs, ladders, kendo sticks, tools, chains, pipes, everything.

07:13He says we are here to find the spark, we are here to find the passion, we are here

07:20to light a fire and watch it burn.

07:23WWE has the greatest wrestlers in the world, but you know what I've seen during my time

07:27away from WWE programming, during my time under lockdown, I've seen some people's

07:32passion for this business wither and die and then at this point he just has a three minute

07:37dance break just doing the Shane McMahon moves, you know the ones, they're really cool.

07:43So I spoke to my father and told him give me an hour every week and 12 guys and I will

07:49show you something insane, I will take these guys and I will make them or I will break

07:53them.

07:54He points to a giant screen above him, on the screen is a list of the guys' names,

07:57the guys are Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Chad Gable, Ricochet, I'm sure this will give him extreme

08:02flashbacks to his Prince Puma days, Eric from the Viking Raiders, Humberto Carrillo, Drew

08:07Gulak, Riddick Moss, Bo Dallas and all three members of Lucha House Party.

08:12Twelve guys, the Rough and Tumble Squad, the Rumpus Dozen, the Backstreet Fight Boys, don't

08:17call them any of these.

08:19Over the next few months these twelve will all wrestle each other in a round robin league

08:24of doom, don't call it that either, 66 matches, ooh spooky number, with three to four matches

08:29per show, about five months basically worth of matches.

08:33Everyone will face each other once, you win a match you get a point, you lose a match

08:37you lose a point.

08:38And at the end of the experiment the two wrestlers with the most points, who've shown the most

08:41fire, who have proven that they thrive under pressure, will fight with the winner receiving

08:46a world title shot.

08:47The two wrestlers with the fewest points will also fight, and the loser will be fired.

08:52Oh and one more thing, in Raw Underground the matches end by pinfall or submission,

08:56other than that there are no rules.

08:59Because that is the careful line you need to thread with this concept, it's not that

09:03the fighting is more real on Raw Underground than on the main roster because that just

09:08exposes the concept for being immediately fake and ungrounded, it's that every single

09:12contest is fought under death match conditions.

09:15That is what gives Raw Underground its rough edge, it's after dark tone, it's grittier

09:20content that the TV networks apparently really want to see from WWE, but which WWE interpreted

09:25as burn a clown alive.

09:27All the matches matter more because everyone is fighting for their job all the time.

09:33Or a world title shot, it's a bit distasteful to fight for your job considering what happened

09:37earlier in the year, yes, but careers being on the line is a classic wrestling staple,

09:42and the stakes being ever present turns face against face, heel against heel and teammates

09:46against each other, or maybe the other way, maybe factions form up because if there's

09:50no rules what's to stop a group of heels banding together to watch each other's backs.

09:55It's essentially a season of a TV show, about 22 episodes with 12 main characters plus Shane

10:00as the overlord antagonist, and watching these characters develop and change in this crucible,

10:05this high pressure environment, who emerges as a hero, who lets their villainous qualities

10:10overcome them under this intense pressure, along with the matches, like the Cruiserweight

10:14Classic have different stars be the focus of each episode, unscripted talking heads,

10:21shots of them training, montages of their career up to this point, something to give

10:24the show a real emotional weight.

10:28Wrestling characters aren't always interesting because there are only so many wrestling characters,

10:33but people are always interesting, no one's the same, finding out about these guys as

10:37people makes their struggles, especially with this high stakes you might go concept,

10:43more meaningful.

10:44I don't know, I just think that's interesting.

10:46And also the fact that any match can turn hardcore at any time, it just gives more intrigue,

10:50impact, long term structure and another weekly reason to tune in to Raw because of this thing

10:56at the end that you never know what you're going to get.

10:58You can also use it as a way of introducing new characters to the WWE Universe, say on

11:02the first episode you've got two members of Lucha House Party booked to fight, they

11:06enter but refuse to fight each other, not for this weird abuse of power.

11:10Shane then appears on the giant screen saying that's not an option on Raw Underground

11:15and exactly the kind of weakness I'm trying to burn out of the roster.

11:19So not only do both wrestlers in the ring lose a point, but to make an example of them,

11:24Shane sends his muscle down to the ring who turns out to be Dabba Kato, and he smashes

11:29these guys, throws them through tables, turns them inside out, anytime justice needs dispensing

11:34down comes the heavy Dabba Kato to dispense, a cool henchman doing increasingly cool henchman

11:39things which is one of WWE's most tried and true ways of debuting new characters,

11:43Amos and Raquel Gonzalez say hi.

11:45At this point we don't really need to see Shane McMahon appear in the ring again, he

11:49can appear on the screen from his control room, I'm getting a lot of anime vibes from

11:54this but with slightly fewer close ups of people's eyes while they go.

11:57It also gives us the added benefit of not having Shane on a live mic, giving him a teleprompter,

12:02battle help, and then letting him finally evolve into his true McMahon final form, one

12:07that finally gets to preside over a micro-promotion of dudes fighting which is literally something

12:12Shane has wanted ever since the early 2000s when he tried to get his dad to buy UFC.

12:16So I won't book the whole of Raw Underground Season 1, but here are a few things to run

12:21throughout the show, something basically for each of the characters to do along this season.

12:271.

12:28Cesaro wins, please.

12:29If his push right now and appearances on Talking Smack have taught us nothing else, it's

12:32that Cesaro, without a script in his hand and being asked to talk about why he f***ing

12:37loves professional wrestling, creates a super compelling babyface character.

12:41Have him go on an invincible undefeated streak out of the gate simply because he's the

12:45best wrestler which puts a huge target on his back.

12:47People offer to help him or hinder him but initially go full lone wolf with Cesaro.

12:52He's a tweener, not attacking faces but not coming out to protect them either, eventually

12:57worn down by Chad Gable who has the added benefit of being on a shallow surface level

13:02smaller than everyone else, but also he's a f***ing Olympian who'll tie your ass in

13:08a pretzel.

13:09I really like the idea of him eventually wearing down Cesaro's mistrust and reclusiveness

13:13to start watching each other's backs like a pro wrestling Jack and Daxter.

13:17God it would be nice to give Bo Dallas a character again, maybe he brings back his Bo Leeve inspirational

13:23gimmick while clinging to Eric from Viking Raiders.

13:26Ivar's out injured so he's been directionless for ages and Bo tries to counsel him through

13:31this whilst also manipulating him to help him in matches whilst not returning the favour

13:36when it counts.

13:37Eventually Eric turns on him, leading to Bo desperately trying to form an alliance with

13:41everyone but no one trusts him.

13:43Kalisto pitches that Lucha House Party team up in all their matches but Gran Metalik is

13:48too noble for that, go proper full superhero noble technico with him while Kalisto slowly

13:53turns to the Rudo side and we have a blood feud between the two men with poor Lince Dorado

13:58caught in the middle like the world's cutest little cat.

14:01He's a little cat, look at him.

14:04Dolph Ziggler, Drew Gulak and Riddick Moss form one big stable of heels with Ziggler

14:08as the veteran leader, Gulak as the technical guy and Moss as the Batista like muscle.

14:13They make an example out of Humberto Carrillo by injuring him, they figure if they can just

14:17injure people they'll have to forfeit their matches and they'll be automatically done.

14:22So then we can spend the season following Humberto's desperate attempts to work through

14:25his injury, trying and failing, going into matches when he shouldn't, losing the matches

14:29because of it, needing to rehab the injury eventually and so he works his way back to

14:33the ring but only after losing a bunch of matches, some via forfeit, so now he's in

14:37a really bad place.

14:38Ricochet is the guy that goes up against Shane, who constantly tries to break out of this

14:42dystopian YA novel that they're all trapped in so we see a lot of Ricochet vs Dabikato,

14:47Ricochet trying to tear down the monitors, putting on amazing matches but still having

14:51points deducted from him for bulls**t reasons.

14:54Which brings us to the final show, the season finale of Raw Underground after 22 weeks and

14:59that ends with a supercard of matches that have been built up for the entire season.

15:04Basically the match to win the league ends up being between Cesaro and Chad Gable, with

15:08Cesaro winning.

15:09The match to decide who will be fired is the still injured Humberto Carrillo vs Bo Dallas.

15:15Carrillo guts through it and wins and Bo is let go, either to a producer role or apparently

15:21he's currently planning his life after wrestling anyway.

15:23Ziggler wrestles and puts over Drew Gulak who breaks free from his stable after one

15:27too many IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME'S from Dolph.

15:31Triple threat match between all members of Lucha House Party won by Gran Metalik who

15:35really should be more of a big deal huh?

15:38And as a special exhibition match Ricochet takes on Dabikato for the right to fight Shane

15:44straight after if he wins but if he loses he'll be fired as well as Bo.

15:49Ricochet eventually wins after all the babyfaces come out to help him and then he beats the

15:53hell out of Shane McMahon for putting everyone through this after Dabikato refuses to help

15:57the boss who'd never help him.

15:59And that, basically, is my pitch.

16:02A sort of stylized G1 Climax mixed with the Battle Royale manga mixed with the intense

16:08match stylings of Lucha Underground, a full season of telly replacing Raw's third hour

16:13giving a big spotlight to a bunch of guys who really deserve it with every match mattering

16:17and hopefully creating a new monster in the form of Dabikato.

16:21Like yeah it's silly this but it's Raw f***ing Underground.

16:27What do you want from me?

16:29I feel like WWE if they vary up their programming like after this season is done you could maybe

16:36do another one in a few months time or you could replace the third hour of Raw with something

16:40else.

16:41Keep mixing up the programming.

16:43You don't have to just have three hours of people being… like if you're worried

16:50about the same 12 guys fighting each other for 22 weeks, the way it's a round robin

16:56no one fights each other twice in my booking which is more than can be said for f***ing

17:01Monday Night Raw.

17:02It's something different, it's basically a long form drama bolted onto the end of Monday

17:07Night Raw where you know exactly where you're going, it's super cheap to film, it will

17:12do wonders for a lot of guys who WWE are not doing a lot of wonders for.

17:17And you know I actually think Shane does have the sort of creepy anime boss charisma to

17:22pull it off.

17:23So that is how I would book Raw Underground.

17:26I'm in a vest so you know I'm serious.

17:31What else would you like me to book?

17:33Head on over to Patreon.com forward slash parts of unknown where people can suggest

17:37bookings for me and also then vote on which booking I had to do.

17:41I didn't choose Raw Underground, they held a gun to my head.

17:44And also make sure you subscribe to Parts of Unknown for more great lists, explained

17:48videos, actually good, CBW, QuizzleMania, all that stuff.

17:53We'll see you next time for another How Adam Would Book and never forget to Jam That Jam.

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