WWE RAW: Welcome to the off-season

Monday Night RAW was back on television last night (May 5, 2014), the day after Extreme Rules, featuring the fallout from Sunday's big pay-per-view (PPV) event inside the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

And it was universally panned.

Here are a few excerpts from Groucho Mrosko's RAW recap and reactions for THE DEMON:

--Good lord it was awful.
--It's like WWE doesn't want you to care about whether wrestlers win or lose matches where someone has to win or lose.
--A five count disqualification finish is the WORST.
--Could Ryback vs. Cody Rhodes have been any more of a waste of time?
--This was a bad show.

Grade: D-

Now let's flash back to exactly one year ago (May 6, 2013) for LAST MAN WATCHING:

--This was a piece of shit for a show.
--John Cena vs. Ryback is an awful main event feud for too many reasons to count.
--I don't even want to talk about Fandango at this point.
--Fuck you, creative.
--Please come back, Punk. Please.

Grade: F

Annnnd exactly one year before that (May 7, 2012) for RAW IS BORED:

--I found myself shaking my head at the Punk character.
--Words cannot adequately describe how terribly stupid and silly this angle is but it's certainly par for the course when dealing with Cena.
--HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY?!?
--They just seem to be killing time. And that sucks.
--Raw was boring and uneventful.

Grade: D+

A sample of the comments from each recap thread featured readers who "fell asleep" because of the "awful writing," while others saved themselves "three hours of crap" thanks to the "stupid" booking, which desperately needed a "heel turn" from John Cena and Kofi Kingston.

Welcome to the off-season.

Since WWE ignored my call for extended breaks, we are subjected to all the talent, all the time. That's a lot to ask from the performers and it's probably just as taxing on Creative. Especially in the weeks that follow WrestleMania, an event that puts everyone through the meat grinder.

Which was undoubtedly amplified while WWE was launching its new network.

But as you can see from the samples above, this is generally a tough time to be a wrestling fan. It's like Sunday night at your favorite restaurant, when all the fresh ingredients have already been used up on the big money days, and all that's left is the crap.

We're eating the crap.

I don't think it's any secret that pro wrestling is cyclical by nature. Not that it makes crappy television any more bearable, mind you, but just as history teaches us that this time of year is generally pretty awful, we're also likely to be rewarded with something better down the road.

Much better.

In 2012, it was the formation of Team Hell No (anger management!), followed by the debut of The Shield. In 2013, fans were introduced to the game-changing faction known as The Wyatt Family, as well as the birth of the anti-authority YES! Movement.

What does 2014 have in store for us?

That's hard to say, but it certainly looks promising. Not that I expect Bo Dallas or Adam Rose to be the next big thing, but Antonio Cesaro is on his way to main event status, Lana could wear even smaller shorts, and Brock Lesnar might be coming back to challenge Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship.

I'm willing to eat a little crap for that.