Math Lesson: When it comes to RAW, it's all about Time. . .

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

Photo from wwe.com

That famous literary phrase does a good job of describing the last two weeks of RAW, doesn’t it? While the October 6th edition of the longest running episodic . . . whatever Michael Cole keeps calling it. . . will likely be remembered for the time Kathie Lee and Hoda made a mockery of our beloved sport, last night’s RAW seemed to make up for it in spades.

In fact, it was easily one of the most popular RAW’s in recent memory . . . If not THE best. . .

So why is that?  What made last night’s show so good?  What, besides the obvious, made the week before’s so bad?  Well, I think I know the answer, and its as simple as 1, 2. . . a 1, 2, 3 ,4!

Last night’s RAW was special for 4 basic and mathematically driven reasons.

I did a little research thanks to the good folks at profightdb.com. I looked at the match times for RAWs for the past 3 months. (before that, some match times are missing. . . Plus, I got tired.)  Here’s what I found...

Time for a Lesson: Why Whining is No Good.

As a teacher of youngsters (yes, friends, I am trusted with the future leaders of the world - be very, very afraid), I have to deal with a lot of childish behavior.  An inability to share, peeking at neighbor’s papers, trying to fool me with seven-year-old stealth, all of it.

Yet there is no single behavior that boils my (and honestly, most people’s) blood than whining.

Every year, right around mid-September, I spend part of each and every work day discussing whining behaviors, and how people hardly ever get what they want from it.  “You need to express your opinions like grown-ups do,” I say, “because when you whine, people immediately stop listening to you.”

And they get it. . . Well, most of them do.  Over the school year, most of my students (who, I remind you, are 6 and 7 years old) will slowly begin expressing themselves in a more adult manner.  The tone of their voice changes, they use better descriptions to express their current emotional state, and best of all, they come up with (in some cases) compelling pieces of evidence to argue their case.

“I don’t want to do this” becomes “Can I please have a bit of a break before I finish my work?”  “This is sooo harddd” becomes “I’m not sure what to do here.  Can you help me?”

I mention this simply because these students of mine. . . Once more, 6 and 7 year old children. . . Seem to have a better grip on this fairly simple life lesson than the vast majority of wrestling fans I’ve seen on Twitter these last few weeks.

Class is in Session: RAW's Love Letter to the WWE Twitter-verse

Triple H was in rare form last night.

The COO of WWE and leader of The Authority reminded us all why, when he wants to be, he can be one of the more entertaining promo-men in the business.  Last night’s RAW opened with a heavily sarcastic shot at the WWE’s Internet community, specifically the multitude of fans on Twitter.

Now, as someone who has spent far more time than is healthy on Twitter in the last week (the benefits of an actual teacher’s schedule), I can say he was right on the money.  While there are some absolutely stellar wrestling fans out there dedicated to intelligent conversation and articulate, respectful debate (Head over to @The2Contenders and you’ll easily find who I’m talking about), the vast majority of Internet wrestling fans do nothing but whine, complain, and threaten to take their friend Mark and stop watching if WWE doesn’t listen to their demands.

So Triple H started out the show by giving us “smart” fans a verbal shellacking, condemning us for our constant complaining.

The next 3 hours showed that they were listening, however, as last night’s RAW could have been subtitled “A Love Letter to our Twitter fans”.

The Teacher's Lounge: 'Stable'-izing the WWE

For my money, there’s nothing like a good wrestling stable.  If you were a wrestling fan in the 1980’s, it was the Four Horsemen or the Heenan Family.  During the Monday Night Wars, it was the nWo or the Corporate Ministry.  Raven’s Flock, Los Boricuas, Right to Censor, the Filthy Animals. . . The list goes on and on.

A well-put together stable allows you to showcase multiple talents in a single segment.  Most importantly, it allows young talents to have a chance to grow and shine (Randy Orton in the early days of Evolution) while veteran talent who are getting on in years but can still bring it on the mic get to continue being a relevant force (Arn Anderson during the final days of the WCW Horsemen).  In addition, a stable can help elevate a single superstar by having him be the focus of the group.  (Straight Edge Society is one example, another one that failed dramatically was The Brood.)  Also, stables can sometimes serve as a metaphor for broader issues, be it inside or outside of the wrestling world.

Here are 6 stables (4 re-iterations of a group from the past as well as 2 brand new ones) that I believe could exist in the WWE.  Many of these also provide opportunities for many of the next wave of NXT stars to make their way onto the main roster, while also giving a current Superstar a leadership role.