Viewing WWE’s flagship show live begins to show exactly what’s wrong with the current product. The May 12 edition of RAW was a mess, especially to the eager live audience in Detroit. It’s understood this is entertainment, but it seems as if the sports portion of the show has disappeared completely.

Six matches lined the actual RAW card, which took place after the taping of Heat. During the latter Ron Killings produced a decent outing, Hacksaw Jim Duggan took down his foe, while Kendrick and London announced their bid for the Tag Team titles in their win over the oddball combination of Charlie Haas and one half of the Highlanders, Robby.

That would prove to the best the show could produce for much of the night. The opening tag match ended on a flash finish before it could even get started, and the tag team champions Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes walked away with the victory.

Mr. Kennedy and Snitsky wrestled a throw-away match with little purpose, and again, barely made it past a few minutes before Kennedy took the win. Another rapid finish came from the women’s tag match in which Beth Phoenix ditched partner Melina allowing Mickie James and Maria to comes away with a win.

Jeff Hardy made a comeback following a suspension, apologizing to the crowd for his substance abuse before taking down Umaga in a brief, uneventful encounter. Chryme Tyme were soundly beaten by Cade and Murdoch. What followed was one of the few memorable moments of the night, as Cade suddenly turned on his tag partner after the match.

For the main event, John Cena took on Randy Orton in the night's longest encounter, finally breaking the 10 minute mark until General Manager William Regal sent JBL in to be the special referee, sparking the expected pre-PPV melee in which all competitors in the main events start a brawl.

The audience who stuck around were the recipients of a decent six-man steel cage match between Cena, HHH, and Shawn Michaels versus Orton, Umaga, and JBL. While mostly consisting of rest holds, the fun finish in which Cena’s squad completed three pins at once was a small mark on a dull night.

In total, the fans who paid money were treated to, at the most, a half-hour of actual wrestling. The constant stream of promos were endless and tiring. Shawn Michaels' reveal that his supposed knee injury was an act during Chris Jericho’s apology might have meant something if anything leading up to it was special.

The company is slowly but surely eliminating any actual wrestling from their product, and the ones who suffer are the fans. They’re also overusing certain superstars such as John Cena, who made three full entrances for the live audience (two for those at home). This eats even more valuable ring time for a repetitive light show, which admittedly, is an incredibly impressive sight in person. Non-fans of Cena have nothing to interest them during these periods.

The number of wrestlers on the roster deserving of a push increases, but the company continues to shove a few stale acts at its fans in the hopes of gaining extra t-shirt sales. This was more evident tonight than it has been in recent months. Something fresh needs to happen and soon.