Welcome to another episode of Like a House Afire, a weekly-ish video-cast that runs down some hot topics in the world of pro wrestling with opinion and analysis from yours truly.
Last week's Raw, and the build to WrestleMania 31 in general, has a lot of fans down on WWE's product - and a lot of other fans down on those fans. I spout off about why I think the divides between us are fairly arbitrary at this point, and why attempts by WWE to chase one group of fans or another is self-defeating. Different people like different things, there's nothing wrong with that. And any script from Vince McMahon and team that tries to please or ignore any of one those groups is bound to disappoint someone...so whatever will they do with all their television time (not to mention a 24/7 on-demand Network?
Here's some background on the buzz that drove this episode:
Geno hated Raw. Lots of folks in the comments disliked that. Brigade17 feel the same way about the Mania build. Rinse & repeat.
Dave Walsh's piece on narrative dissonance. Read it, it's good.
John Cena's offensively inoffensive approach to his character.
Lance Storm has a theory on the fan backlash. Roman Reigns is worried about smarks upsetting kids.
Hope you enjoy the show, and please hit us up in the comments with your thoughts, feedback, questions or suggestions.
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