Season Analysis

Raw

Season 22 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

As the Yes! Movement builds momentum and occupies Raw, the Beast sets his eyes on a legendary streak. Plus, The Rock and NWO both return, the Shield and the Bellas each breakup, and more action on Raw in 2014.

Season Review

Season 22 of Raw is defined by classic, non-ideological professional wrestling tropes, primarily centered on meritocracy, power struggle, and personal betrayal. The key story, the 'Yes! Movement,' pits the underdog, Daniel Bryan, against The Authority, a corrupt corporate establishment. This narrative is a clean battle between hard work and institutional nepotism, not race or identity. The majority of the conflict involves white males fighting over professional merit and control. The female characters in positions of power, such as Stephanie McMahon, operate as corporate villains whose authority is depicted as abusive and wicked, framing the 'Girl Boss' figure as the obstacle rather than the heroic ideal. There is an absolute absence of contemporary sexual or gender ideology being centered in the main storylines. Spiritual or quasi-religious themes, like those used by Bray Wyatt and the demonic nature of Kane, are strictly elements of a fantasy-horror heel persona used for heat, not an intellectual attack on objective morality or traditional religion. Overall, the season operates on a traditional ethical framework where justice and personal fortitude are celebrated, placing it firmly outside of the modern ideological critique.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The primary storyline, the 'Yes! Movement,' centers on the underdog's merit and persistence against a corporate hierarchy, with no reliance on intersectional characteristics or race-based analysis. The villains are vilified for corporate power and corruption, not 'whiteness' or privilege outside of an economic/dynastic context.

Oikophobia2/10

The conflict is entirely focused on an internal power struggle within a North American sports-entertainment institution, The Authority, which is presented as corrupt but not a reflection of a fundamentally corrupt Western civilization. The use of the foreign heel trope (Alexander Rusev) operates to celebrate and affirm national identity, which is the antithesis of civilizational self-hatred.

Feminism3/10

The most powerful female character, Stephanie McMahon, is the main corporate villain, and her domineering 'Girl Boss' behavior is portrayed as toxic and tyrannical, which is not a celebration of the trope. The Divas division maintains traditional presentation without centering anti-natalist or 'perfect female' themes.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative contains no storylines or characters centering alternative sexualities, deconstructing the nuclear family, or engaging with gender ideology. The presentation is entirely based on a traditional, normative male-female structure, with sexuality being a private or non-story focus.

Anti-Theism2/10

Spiritual themes are present only in the heel characters of Bray Wyatt and Kane ('Devil's Favorite Demon'). This serves as an evil or occult fantasy element to make the villains menacing, but the narrative does not lecture on moral relativism; the heroes consistently fight for objective moral goods like justice and fairness.