Baron Corbin speaks out.
Last Monday's episode of Raw was widely panned by the viewing audience. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp and Alex Pawlowski called it "the fifth night wrestling has died." The ratings reflected the poor show as SmackDown topped Raw in the 18 to 49 demographic last week and the third hour of the show dropped to 2.11 million viewers, the second lowest third hour viewership in company history.
One man taking a lot of blame for the show quality is on-screen Acting General Manager Baron Corbin. While he has nothing to do with the writing or production of the show, he is a featured player on the brand and participates in multiple segments throughout the three hours.
Appearing on Booker T's Heated Conversations podcast, Corbin addressed the criticism of last week's Raw.
"Just because they are the loudest, does not mean they are the majority. It's good that people speak their minds. But it's my show. If you want to change it, come and try. Tonight, we're going to step it up and put something fresh out there."
Corbin continued, this time taking aim at those on social media.
"You can't (look at your Twitter account). It gives a bunch of idiots an opinion and reality that they think is valid. They don't know how to express it appropriately. It just makes the world seem so unhappy. If you read the Twitter feed, it just seems like everybody in the entire world is beyond miserable," he stated. "It's crazy how negative it is to everything. I could have 20 people go, 'Baron Corbin should wear a red shirt on Raw.' If I wear a red shirt, those same 20 people are like, 'He looks terrible. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BLUE!' There is no pleasing it. It gives people a place to say whatever they want with no repercussions. If you took all these people and put them in front of me, their attitude changes."
Finally, Corbin discussed his role as the Acting General Manager and how Vince McMahon loves his work on the mic.
"They're letting me have fun with it and doing it my way and as me. And Vince (McMahon) loves it," he said. "For the last four weeks, I've been the first 15-minutes of Raw. That's crazy. That's the John Cena spot and Roman Reigns spot. And I'm doing it. It's a great opportunity and I love the challenge. Right now, people hate me for it and I love it. They despise that I'm on their TV six or seven times a night. If they hate me that much, they're following everything I do."
We'll see if Corbin and company putting something "fresh" out there tonight on Raw beginning at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network. As a reminder, Fightful will provide live coverage of the show and post-show podcast reviewing all the action.
