Thankfully, they didn't disappoint and really opened up the business once again. The most controversial moment was Graves saying he is not interested in the Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles match at WrestleMania, which I thought was great. Normally, WWE talent won't talk badly of any booking decisions, but this allowed Graves to get his real opinions out.
JBL was actually great in this too. I know he gets a lot of slack for his commentary, but he really suits this role as co-panelist. He often goes off track on rants about his fellow commentators such as Mauro Ranallo. It's very entertaining to watch!
They also fully addressed the Roman Reigns situation and JBL comes out with a great conclusion. He says even though you boo him, most fans would still pay to see him lose and get beaten up! He is totally right; whatever you say about Reigns, he makes people talk, boo, cheer, and he makes us somewhat care about his booking! This is unlike an Apollo Crews, who we neither boo nor cheer, but simply let out a small "meh".
They even go as far as to address the new pornographic film in production about the Montreal Screwjob, which Graves hilariously states he will be watching for "research purposes" only. JBL just sits there speechless—we are in the PG Era right?
The excerpt from the Kurt Angle interview was excellent. It came across as a shoot, with him essentially saying how he wanted to show WWE the man he really was (after the criticism he laid into the company in previous interviews). He also hopes to be working within WWE for the next few years. I think we can all get behind an Angle backstage role, eventually leading to a few in-ring returns in the near future if possible. They also address Charlotte Flair's streak ending—something a lot of smark fans were angry about, and quite rightly so. They blur the line between shoot and kayfabe here as well, expressing their disappointment of the ending of the streak.Another topic they touched on was the negative reactions Goldberg has been getting recently. Arguing although fans don't like it, WWE now needs to rely on part-timers. They don't have the drawing power of The Rock and Steve Austin type people of the Attitude Era. Goldberg is a selling power—something casual fans can get behind. Rosenberg did ask Graves if the fans will reject the match like at WrestleMania 20, with him stating its different this time. Both men at that time were leaving the company straight after, although you may argue Brock Lesnar having time off and Goldberg leaving is kind of the same thing?
JBL and Graves then went on to address the 205 Live situation and how it had become more Raw-esque with its focus on promos than wrestling—something 205 Live was meant to be the opposite off. Here, both men agreed they should cut down on the talking and concentrate only on the wrestling, with the two of them openly criticizing 205 Live about this. This is something I feel a Vince McMahon of a few years ago would never allow on TV, yet alone his own network.Overall, its a great show and opens up WWE to more of the smark fans out there. Rosenberg and JBL have a great chemistry together, with JBL almost playing a heel panelist and Rosenberg the face presenter. He is also the perfect person to do this as he runs a podcast called Cheap Heat. It's great, so give it a listen when you get chance. I was very impressed with Graves. I don't know if he got approval to state he wasn't looking forward to the McMahon vs. Styles match, but fair play to him for having the honesty to show how he really feels. His comedic timing is excellent as well. Graves needs to be on everything! He needs to be your number 1 color commentator on pay-per-views and Raw. There has not been a color commentator this good since Jerry "The King" Lawler.
I feel all fans should tune into this and WWE should make it a weekly thing. For a short while, we can rejoice that WWE is listening to the whispers of the Internet fans, just not the cries!
What did you think of this episode of Bring it to the Table? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
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