Season Analysis

Raw

Season 20 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

Chaos ensues all over Raw as WWE's flagship surpasses 1000 episodes in 2012. Plus, don't miss the years best rivalries, including John Cena vs. The Rock, Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk vs. Kane, and more.

Season Review

Season 20 of Raw, set in 2012, remains largely centered on traditional sports-entertainment tropes, focusing on athletic competition, personal rivalries, and internal corporate power struggles. The narrative is driven by classic good versus evil archetypes (faces and heels) and the pursuit of championships, treating the company's titles and legacy as a valuable institution. The show's drama focuses on the ambition, ego, and loyalty of its top performers. While a prominent female character (AJ Lee) achieved an authority position as General Manager, her story was predominantly framed by emotional volatility and personal relationships with male stars, rather than a narrative of female perfection or corporate prowess. The core conflicts—such as CM Punk's anti-establishment champion run and the major John Cena vs. The Rock feud—are universally understandable conflicts of ego and merit, not vehicles for political or social ideology.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The narrative universally focuses on character merit, skill, and the ability to win matches. Storylines are not based on an intersectional hierarchy or lectures on systemic oppression. Characters are not defined by immutable characteristics, and the few non-white champions and main event performers succeed based on their in-ring performance.

Oikophobia2/10

The main storylines revolve around defending the honor and prestige of the company's championships and the institution itself. Heels (villains) like CM Punk may rail against the corporate authority and its preferred heroes, but this is a classic wrestling trope of anti-establishment sentiment, not a demonization of Western civilization or a deconstruction of heritage.

Feminism3/10

Female characters are still referred to as 'Divas' and the division has limited time. The most prominent female character of the season, AJ Lee, is given a 'Girl Boss' role as General Manager but is mainly characterized by being 'mentally unstable' and manipulative, central to melodramatic love triangle storylines with male leads. There is no explicit anti-natal or anti-motherhood messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The product maintains the traditional male-female pairing as the normative structure for its romance and relationship angles. Sexuality is treated as private or as fodder for traditional relationship drama/scandals. There are no storylines centering on alternative sexualities, gender ideology, or deconstructing the nuclear family structure.

Anti-Theism1/10

The core of the storytelling is a clear, objective conflict of good versus evil. Organized religion is absent from the narrative, and the morality of the product is transcendent, acknowledging a higher moral law (the rules of competition, fighting fairly, etc.). There is no hostility toward or vilification of Christian characters.