I'm gonna go ahead and assume that the reason why I can't get this WWE Network to work is that there are a crapload of people trying to watch at the same time, and not that this shit is an abject failure. Signed up on WWE.com, and get "Media Error: Video Not Available" on EVERY video I click to watch. Tried to log into it on the PS3, and get "Account Not Recognized" when I put in my login info. I'll give this a couple of weeks to work out the kinks, but if this is how this is gonna always be, looks like we might not get to see Wrestlemania this year if the only place to watch it is on the Network.....




You gon' live forever
Whether you want to or not
Some of us gon' end up holy
Some of us gon' end up hot.....

http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2014/2/24/5443116/wwe-network-review-its-early-but-its-glorious

You go away for 4 years and come back and get put right back on top. You're not the Rock, you don't get to do that and the crowd is letting him know.

That promo was garbage and he is garbage

Turn into a heel, embrace it and be a monster heel

Your storyline and mic skills and ring work still suck but at least make yourself a great heel out of it. Every wrestler on the roster would kill for your spot and for your heat.

just cussing out fans at ringside during his entrance.

was pretty entertaining, actually.

i'm sure they QA'd the app to death, but like any (first gen) release, there are gonna be bugs.

edit: my guess is their servers can't handle this many users trying to hit 'em at once.

The dude looks ridiculous.

and has a personality that they really need to dig into. His IG is comedy and actually kinda kills the gimmick.

Earlier this morning I tried to access it via my PS4 but kept being told that my email and password were "not recognized"

I have yet to try again

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

did you ever put in your credit card info? I was on the phone with their tech support but got disconnected, but it looked like that was my issue.....




You gon' live forever
Whether you want to or not
Some of us gon' end up holy
Some of us gon' end up hot.....

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

once I put in my credit card info for the free trial, it created a WWE Network account and I was able to see video. Other than the freezing that's too be expected with a new launch, everything's working great now.....



You gon' live forever
Whether you want to or not
Some of us gon' end up holy
Some of us gon' end up hot.....

The 'video error' message I was getting magically disappeared at around 8:04 PST (11:04 EST)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

That Neutralizer looked botched as hell.

I'd guess a pulled muscle or something like that, but nothing serious.

http://i.imgur.com/o81aUdq.gif

MARK IT DOWN.

Or the next PPV, but there's no way he holds it longer than a month.

I have zero faith on him getting an actual run with the title. If anything, they'll give us our moment and then tell us to fuck off the next night.


I am highly pessimistic on this matter.

>Or the next PPV, but there's no way he holds it longer than a
>month.
>
>I have zero faith on him getting an actual run with the title.
>If anything, they'll give us our moment and then tell us to
>fuck off the next night.
>
>
>I am highly pessimistic on this matter.

And rightfully so. They are overdoing fucking him over so much that it makes me feel like they get it and are trying like hell to have 'the moment' be something surprising, rewarding, and powerful. I'm currently terrified that they arent gonna do it at mania...especially with the network being the 6-month 'our bad' for a Mania with no Bryan holding the title with everyone going batshit and screaming yes.

But fuck that...Hogan is the damn host. The fans have to go home happy. And without Phil coming back and kicking the shit outta HHH, there's no other situation on the card where the crowd could get a wm-worthy payoff to any active angles. The shield can't main event. No one GAF about Cena conquering hillbilly Jesus even if the match is gonna be physical as hell. Taker beating Brock before going back to hotness at home and chilling? Zero fucks given still. So...Bryan with the belt after all of the bullshit is all they have. That is unless Hunter thinks that getting kneed in the face by somebody at the end of mania is the $ payoff...

get by HHH and get a title shot, then win it.

So no Punk, I guess.

Batista will beat Orton, Bryan will come in somehow perhaps with Hogan's permission and beat him for the belt.

>Batista will beat Orton, Bryan will come in somehow perhaps
>with Hogan's permission and beat him for the belt.

Damn...that's probably the finish to wm 30. Or it basically has to be something like that or Orton/Bootista can't be the main event unless wwe wants to risk big shit getting dropped on their wm fucking 30 main event! I could see HHH somehow agreeing to take on Bryan before mania for a shot to get added to the Mania Main Event too. But then Boo and Randy have to put Bryan over on some HHH/HBK to Benoit shit except Bryan is way more over than Randy...and we all know wassup with Boo. It's possible that he couldn't have picked a worse time to show up as an old, stiff and brittle musclebound hoss who doesn't show ass/sell. He needs to heel it up quick to give wwe the option to add Bryan.

At least now, I think we are all giving up on Phil popping up in the next month. If he did though... The promo of him verbally murdering HHH to set up the match would be great tv.

Oh but it's not Summerslam, it's Wrestlemania. Hm.

Unless he is gonna interfere here and set up a match with Reigns

I'm guessing he'll get the final segment.

This 3 Raws and 1 PPV a year bit is dumb, just to come beat someone each year.

i love it.

>This 3 Raws and 1 PPV a year bit is dumb, just to come beat
>someone each year.

They have to keep it going just incase someone gets to a point where they could get an awesome match out of the gimmick again. HBK did his best 2 wm jobs back to back for it, HHH has done his typical piggieback, CM Punk used it as something to do, and now losing to The Streak is Brock's wm consolation prize since Dwayne tore up his shit last year.

I just wish Taker would at least show up for a lil fall run during Survivor Series or something and get taken out or something...then he could have a reason to show up around valentine's day.

I do wish he'd appear more but he does kinda steal the show - his WM matches definitely have over the last 5 years.

his Four-Mania series with DX is a classic in it's own right....to say nothing of his matches with Edge and Punk during that span.

If I get one breathtaking Mania match a year out of The Undertaker, I'm happy.

That said, even if he's not wrestling, they need a better way to setup his Mania matches. The shit with Shawn was sheer perfection, but that can't be the benchmark. They had far too much history and they epitomized the previous two decades of the company in a way nobody else did. Hate Hunter all you want, but his two matches were hardly the piggyback jobs his detractors made them out to be. His two matches weren't handled nearly as well as Shawn's, but again... there was a history and legacy to the two characters that allowed rushed stories to work well.

If anything, I'd like to see Taker maintain some sort of presence on screen, even if he's not wrestling, and find unexpected and organic ways to build to his Mania matches. This year's match should have been Reigns, since The Shield were the ones that put his ass out of commission. I love the way he came out and punked Brock, but I'd rather see a slow burner storyline to reach Mania instead of a Raw confrontation with three weeks to go.

other part-timers returns have been pretty lackluster, but Undertaker comes back for one match a year, kicks ass, and keeps the mythology of the streak going. I'm all for that.

edit: I've completely shit canned my hope for that happening. This is partially a bad plan, followed up by an inside joke among upper management. They didn't realize the Batista/Orton situation would blow up in their face, but once it did they started getting a kick out of the reaction. In essence, they're trolling the trolls.

There was way too much emphasis on the crowd reaction to him losing on Sunday, combined with Michael Cole's epic rant about how Daniel Bryan keeps getting screwed over, not to mention how they're now making everything Yes!-related corny as fuck and watered down for mass consumption (although, if we're being honest, it really was never as subversive as some of us thought it was)

This feels like a long-term build to him either being thrown in the title match to make it a 3-way, or some other goofy stip where he can get into the match if he beats HHH

You know, the whole "twists and turns on the road to Mania"-type deal

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

without needing to issue the title payoff. I hope you're right but I don't see it happening. He'll have the match with HHH at Mania and that'll be it. (Hope I'm wrong though.)

but the run isn't starting at Wrestlemania. He might earn a shot by beating Triple H. But the idea he'll shoehorn his way into the title match AFTER beating Triple is nonsensical.

To cover their ass, the WWE will probably just put Taker/Lesnar on last so as to avoid a riot from ending with Batista/Orton. And just to further strengthen the case for that match going on last instead of the title bout, maybe they make it known this is Taker's last go.

a lot of people suspect this is the angle so clearly it makes 'sense.'

Shane McMahon gets involved.

That's it.

and "Daniel Bryan" chants, regardless of whatever bone they throw him earlier in the night.

Two things:

-I don't think they are getting a kick out of it, even as they turn Batista heel. They haven't given him much TV time, and the more they give him the more disappointing he is. He gave an awful, out-of-breath promo last night. I just can't buy him as champ for any amount of time.

-I don't think they let WM 30 end with boos, especially the bad kind, and especially after Royal Rumble and other recent PPVs have been ruined by boos. They just can't.



But then again, this is the WWE.

they want 30 to end with a moment.

they will put DB through the grinder for another month.

put all odds against him at wm30 and then have him pull it out when all hope is lost.

it writes itself.

batista/orton will be a shitshow otherwise.

and management KNOWS the crowd response will be dreadful...

then WHY, do tell, WOULD THEY HAVE THE MATCH IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Just so they can be like "ha, gotcha!" ???

No. The reason this match is happening is because they in earnest thought it was the best main event they could produce for Wrestlemania 30. There was no scheme to get us to Daniel Bryan winning the title at Wrestlemania by way of a maguffin. In fact, if CM Punk hadn't left Daniel Bryan wouldn't even be THIS high on the card! So these ideas that "well he has to go through Triple H to get the title shot first" are silly.

he doesn't 'have' to go through HHH. The speculation is that it will be the STIPULATION. And that might not be the only one they give him.

DB was getting a huge pop before punk left and he wasn't getting the title at WM anyway.

If they run with Batista/Orton as the headline event for WM30 and there's no swerve - it'll be a disaster.

it's just being set-up awkwardly. they want some surprise-factor.

And it's pretty great. Like a 20 minute doc setting up the main event to WrestleMania 1, and now the match itself.


The streaming channel seems to be working fine for me. Had some buffering and lag issues with the on-demand stuff though. Hopefully they'll get it worked out soon.

Not the best product rollout I've ever seen.

my PS3 stream freezes like every 20 seconds for close to a minute. if it freezes long enough, it just closes and goes back to the ppv cover pic.

checked twitter and it looks like a lot of other folks are having the same issue.

wwe needs to fix this pretty soon if they want folks to convert dat free trial to $9.99.

I mean I think it would've been a little naive on anyone's part to think this would open up seamlessly right away.

Such as pretty much all Xbox (including mine) and a bunch of Roku and Android devices. This isn't just latency and lag from a flood of users, this is something technically wrong with the service.

And then they're tweeting:

WWE Network ‏@WWENetwork 23h
Working with MLBAM, we expect to have this issue fully resolved by 6 p.m. tonight. (2/2)

6 PM came and went. Then today:

WWE Network ‏@WWENetwork 3h
We are working to fix log-in issues on the @WWENetwork application that are effecting viewers with accounts created in the last 24 hours.

WWE Network ‏@WWENetwork 3h
We will provide an update shortly for those experiencing @WWENetwork log-in problems.

And Xbox support posted this sometime yesterday:

WWE Limited
Are you having trouble using your WWE app on your Xbox 360 console? We've got you covered, Xbox members! Thanks for being patient while we work toward a fix. We'll provide an update for you as soon as possible.

This isn't high demand, this is something's fucked.

I'm not planning to pay for it until after WM anyway since I'm going and want to get my 6 ppvs for my 6 month subscription.

I've enjoyed what I can watch, especially the old Raws they have been showing during the day on the live stream, hopefully it's all fixed up post WM.

>I'm not planning to pay for it until after WM anyway since
>I'm going and want to get my 6 ppvs for my 6 month
>subscription.
>
>I've enjoyed what I can watch, especially the old Raws they
>have been showing during the day on the live stream, hopefully
>it's all fixed up post WM.

EXACTLY. I'm in and on WWE Network, but if its not in the morning, I can't even get WCW PPVs to START playing. WCW! And if I do, any attempt to fast forward is automatic Price Is Rights Horns.

The live stuff appears to be pretty steady as long as you just watch it.

Jimaveli

So many classic events in the chamber at our finger tips, we spend a lot of time trashing the new product together, we may as well go back to when we loved it and have some discussion.

I was able to fast forward on a PPV from the 90s...

from reddit

"The only thing that can save RAW in Chicago"

The show should open with Triple H refusing to wrestle Bryan at mania. The rest of the night Bryan needs to be in the back trying to get Triple H to make the match. Complaining to Step, Complaint to Maddox, bitching in interviews. Finally at the end RAW, Bryan comes out to the ring and calls Triple H out. HHH stays on the stage and says, "I can't wrestle at WrestleMania. I am the COO of a multimillion dollar, publicly traded company. It is not appropriate for me to put myself and this company at risk. But I have found someone to represent me and the interests of this company at WrestleMania. This is a man who loves this industry, a man who respects authority, and a man who knows what is best for business..." Then out comes (in a suit and tie, hair parted, clean shaven) CM Punk. He and Triple H shake hands as the crowd sits in silence and Bryan can't believe what he is seeing. We get Punk V Bryan at Mania, maybe for a title shot at the end of Mania. This being how Triple H talked Punk into turning, because he has always wanted his Mania main event.



(ignore the "crowd sits in silence" part because the CHI crowd would go bonkers, but the rest is fantastic)

So long as Dave exits first and early, that shit would rival HBK/HHH/Benoit

*clap clap clapclapclap Jes-se Pink-man!*

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

What do you think, set it at 3 1/2 or 4 1/2?

Gotta say, I'm as excited for this as I am for Mania. Zayn-Cesaro going on first.

But it isn't new entrance music.

rather than just first names. I mean, it's hard for me to give less of a fuck about the divas division, but at least try to make them a little less generic.

The NXT crowd is so great sometimes

I get maybe ten seconds of the live feed, then it cuts to Tyler Breeze's face. After that, the thing dies.

Thing ran perfectly for the first 90 minutes. Doesn't bode well for Mania.

Apparently people were able to get back in

Not me

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

I have a huge gap in my wrestling watching history, like from 2000 to 2011, so I'll be spending a lot of time catching up, especially with the ECW and WCW eras.....



You gon' live forever
Whether you want to or not
Some of us gon' end up holy
Some of us gon' end up hot.....

Now that the On Demand elements appear to be working properly I was able to peep WM 17 again

And now I can't get that damn Limp Bizkit "My Way" song out of my head

Aside from a couple of edits (they straight up cut all audio for Undertaker's entrance and exit - at the time he was coming to the ring to Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'", and it also appears the cut the backstage interview with Vince in which he pretty much gave away Austin's heel turn later in the show), the show air pretty much uncensored and as it originally aired...

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

- watched the 1990 royal rumble. saw it a bunch of times on vhs back then, but they've done a really great job capturing/re-mastering the sound. the pops all the faces were getting was pretty audible. hell even the red rooster was over.

- watched the SS montreal screwjob match. you could just hear the tension once bret comes out of his dressing room with the bulldog and neidhart. again, the sound.

- watched the RAW where mike tyson first showed up and austin shoved him. since it was pre-smackdown, i'd forgotten how loaded they were and what they could pack into two hours -- DX, new blackjacks, jeff jarrett, NOD, DOA, new age outlaws, shamrock, rock, ahmed johnson. i'm surprised they didn't bleep out tyson looking at the camera and calling stone cold a "faggot" to end the show. lol

>- watched the 1990 royal rumble. saw it a bunch of times on
>vhs back then, but they've done a really great job
>capturing/re-mastering the sound. the pops all the faces were
>getting was pretty audible. hell even the red rooster was
>over.
>
>- watched the SS montreal screwjob match. you could just hear
>the tension once bret comes out of his dressing room with the
>bulldog and neidhart. again, the sound.
>
>- watched the RAW where mike tyson first showed up and austin
>shoved him. since it was pre-smackdown, i'd forgotten how
>loaded they were and what they could pack into two hours --
>DX, new blackjacks, jeff jarrett, NOD, DOA, new age outlaws,
>shamrock, rock, ahmed johnson. i'm surprised they didn't bleep
>out tyson looking at the camera and calling stone cold a
>"faggot" to end the show. lol
>

I can't get it to open on my xbox. It gives me 'unrecognized password or username'. But it works on my computer and iphone pretty solid. This Legends of Wrestling shit is tight. Foley, Gene, PS Hayes, Pat Patterson, Dusty, etc...loving it. Live feed is pretty much money. Old shows are still a little tender but clearly better.

This shit is somehow more awesome than I expected. And I expected to love it.

Jimaveli

I've gone ahead and rolled with the PS3 version of the app. Shit is working great with streaming shows as well as the old stuff. And this is in a room where I know I have wifi connection limitations at times. Straight up time of my life status over here...

Holy shit was that the worst promo I've seen in ages. The whole thing was just painful. He tried to channel is final heel run before he left, but it was the golf hat? Seriously?

Then the match with Dolph...yikes... that was the first match in years where Dolph couldn't make his opponent look like a million bucks.

Dave is awful, just awful.

I can't wait for a match with Brock.

I got a lot of laughs out of that tank top/golf hat combo though.

They were chanting We Want Ziggler during that but it was edited out, Dolph sent a tweet today thanking the fans despite it being edited.

Not that bullshit about the radio interview where he kind-of-but-not-really shot on Orton. There's got to be some other layer to this.

I doubt there is 1 individual story as much as the people who have all the weight have decided that they don't want Ziggler pushed.

Same powers that decided as uninteresting as Sheamus is that he will always be involved and get to win a RR and beat Daniel Bryan in 9 seconds at WM.

Ziggler probably doesn't kiss the right ass and that's all it takes.

For real, I can't call it. Maybe it's as simple as someone else said, he doesn't kiss the right asses.


"I halfway hope people put "btw, rappers lie and shit" on CD covers, like a parental advisory sticker." - OKP Villain

www.twitter.com/lexlamont

Just reflecting on this.

If I give Creative a lot of credit, then this is the start of a drawn-out storyline mixing legit and kayfabe about Punk's contract status and an ugly feud with Vince/Authority, possibly involving a new Punk-led stable.

If I don't give Creative a lot of credit...

That shit went hard and was my favorite theme.

Y'all's favorite David "Masked Man" Shoemaker will claim it was a work all along, though, because "the WWE knows that you know what they're doing and are playing off of your knowledge and turning you into marks for the product without you even knowing it"

Or whatever other claptrap bullshit he'll cook up to cop pleas for HHH and Kreative™

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

Shoemaker is full of shit on occasion, though, especially when he tries to give HHH credit for "being ahead of the audience" in terms of Kreative™

Never mind that it's Vince who is still in charge there

If anyone wants to see what HHH's version of what WWE would actually look like, then go watch that NXT ArRival show, which was damn good

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

"I'm sorry, Chicago, but I have some bad news for you..."

Vince/Trips & them should do their best to tell them to fuck off.

They're going to be so smugly and obnoxiously proud of themselves to the point I expect it to be an unfunny distraction.

Until they started doing this shit just to do it. If they wanted to do it right they should have reserved their chanting to when the product was actually shitty and what nobody wanted, but they ended up doing it just to be dicks.

>Until they started doing this shit just to do it. If they
>wanted to do it right they should have reserved their chanting
>to when the product was actually shitty and what nobody
>wanted, but they ended up doing it just to be dicks.

It ruins the efforts of those who chant to blow up shit at the 'right' times.

Going counter-culture just to be countering is lame shit.

Having written that, these muthas better get this shit right soon with Mania approaching or they're gonna get THAT show hijacked. And that is something they can't gloss over or say 'screw y'all and what you want..we're right about this thing of ours'.

I'm watching early 2000s WCW/WCW --> WWF shit. I'm still wondering how 2 companies are going to ruin Goldbert multiple times in a 5 year span.

Jimaveli

Okay, maybe not, but it would be a nice way to *try* to get some serious heat on Barrett

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

Since about Thursday, things appear to be running pretty solid. And I've watched about 10 hours of the Network on my PS3...nerdout time of my life shit forreal...

I'm keyed in on the early 2000s...end of WCW specifically. I'm after Benoit and them left so it is wild how obvious it is that shit is over with even a year before it was actually over. And yeah...I know...blown spots all over the place, terrible finishes, small ass ring for even kinda big dudes, dudes from ECW stuck and fucked over, old legends ruining their legacies with every appearance, dumpster fire material all the way, etc. But there was pockets of intentional comedy as well as solid wrestling. DDP comes to mind. The shit with him and Kanyon? Hell yeah...it is still insane how fucked up the heel/face alignments were. The old crusty dudes who half-assed matches and openly won/kept/manipulated their spots backstage were the faces and the young cats who busted tail were the heels? In the main program!? WTF!? And I still don't know what was up with Scott Steiner..I'm guessing he was legit insane...like Savage during the 80s but worse with less management in place.

I'm even more terrified of seeing the stuff right after WCW died and got absorbed. I'm assuming greatness is hiding in there even if the gist is that WWE fucked off major chunks of that transition dramatically.

Yes...I've seen the Sid injury. Yes...it still looks as terrible as anything ever not involving necks in wrestling.

That 2000 Bash at the Beach shoot with Russo on Hogan...oh shit yo. I could imagine there was some workiness to it, but good lord was that crazy. Funny how Booker T/Jeff Jarrett were at least 15 years into their careers and were being treated like 'up and comers'...the more things change...yes, I'm thinking about our guy American Dragon here...

Side note/perv tawk...WCW had the best collection of chicks looks-wise like ever. Pamela Paulshock, Torrey Wilson, Stacey, DAFFNEY, the chicks with Steiner, the sister with The Cat, Kimberly...gees! Don't make me argue with folks about Daffney..she had excellent cakes and she was holding up top too..and it was obvious then and now watching her that she's bangin..goth, squirrelly, or whatever. I've been loving on her...

Jimaveli

>I'm gonna go ahead and assume that the reason why I can't get
>this WWE Network to work is that there are a crapload of
>people trying to watch at the same time, and not that this
>shit is an abject failure. Signed up on WWE.com, and get
>"Media Error: Video Not Available" on EVERY video I click to
>watch. Tried to log into it on the PS3, and get "Account Not
>Recognized" when I put in my login info. I'll give this a
>couple of weeks to work out the kinks, but if this is how this
>is gonna always be, looks like we might not get to see
>Wrestlemania this year if the only place to watch it is on the
>Network.....
>
>
>
>
>You gon' live forever
>Whether you want to or not
>Some of us gon' end up holy
>Some of us gon' end up hot.....

You gon' live forever
Whether you want to or not
Some of us gon' end up holy
Some of us gon' end up hot.....

HULK HOGAN YOU SELFISH PIECE OF SHIT YOU'RE ONLY GOING INTO BUSINESS FOR YOURSELF YOU PIECE OF SHIT YOU USED YOUR CREATIVE CONTROL YOU PIECE OF SHIT AND I'M SICK OF THE POLITICS AND THE BULLSHIT YOU PIECE OF SHIT SO I'M GOING TO GIVE THE SPOTLIGHT TO JEFF JARRETT AND BOOKER T YOU PIECE OF SHIT BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN BUSTING THEIR ASS IN THIS GODDAMN RING EVERY GODDAMN NIGHT YOU PIECE OF SHIT AND THEY GET THE OPPORTUNITY UNLIKE YOU HOGAN YOU PIECE OF SHIT


*repeat for, like, 5 minutes*

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

I mean you really can't overstate how talent-rich this period was. The marquee matches of the show:

The Rock v Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship
The Dudley Boys v Edge and Christian v Kane and Undertaker
Stone Cold v Triple H 2 of 3 falls grudge match (1st fall match, 2nd fall street fight, 3rd fall cage)

I mean...what? This was all ON THE SAME SHOW. And Benoit was still on the roster, and Eddie Guerrero, and Chris Jericho!!! Talent for days.

The show is fantastic. EVERYBODY IS ROAD WARRIORS OVER.

Some notes:

- The Austin/Hunter 2 of 3 falls match is as brutal and "old school" as anything I can remember from that era. Slow, mechanical, physical, beautiful. Austin comes out hot for the first 10 minutes but Hunter eventually takes control for most of the rest of the match- a full 30 more minutes. This is FORESHADOWING; Austin's been gone for a year and both Rock and Hunter are white-hot here. The look on his face as he exits the ring is telling, and it's a welcome addition to the context that leads to Austin making a deal with Vince headed into WM 17.

- Kurt Angle...guys Kurt Angle was a MASTER worker with the ability and timing of a 12 year veteran. Except at about this time he'd wrestled for like 3 years! My goodness. That cornball red white and blue shit was so so so over. He'd later evolve into a more bloodthirsty MMA-inspired tactician, and that was fine too. But white bread American value-touting Kurt Angle was a BOSS.

Nobody they have compares on an Ausitn/Rock level because having 2 of the best ever peaking at the same time is pretty great.

And WM X7 is the best WM ever not only because of the talent but because of great booking and writing which is lacking today. They could have a card almost as entertaining as X7 (Minus the great Rock vs Austin feud) this year but are just making so many wrong decisions.

With those caveats though, I was trying to explain this era to someone who doesn't watch recently, and while the main event picture is pretty fucked (although a potential for a returning Punk vs Bryan feud at some point is always exciting), there are more ready to burst into superstar young guys on the roster now than ever, probably including that era.

This era was also hurt by the fact that guys like Edge who were supposed to be on Cena's level today had his career cut short.

So many upper midcarders, midcarders and NXT guys who you can see future superstar in, hopefully in a few years we are looking at another boom of wrestling.

It was really dark there for a minute when it was essentially the John Cena and friends show. And the "talent" they were pushing was just so uninspiring - Swagger, Miz, Kennedy, Del Rio, Khali...

they really got behind some guys that just flat out SUCKED.

But you look at what's on the horizon and it's hard to not think we're on the brink of something really special; Reigns, Ambrose, Rollins, Cody Rhodes, Wyatt, Big E, Sheamus, Cesaro, and Bryan of course. That's GREAT talent right there that's on the cusp of taking over for good.

On the brilliance of Austin's turn and the way he handled it IN-RING...especially at WM17. It was excellent...it was like Hogan's turn but far more nuanced than just a 'holy crap' shock moment. It is a shame that the crowd didn't really roll with it even after months of set-up and selling to allow WWE to wallow in Austin's in-ring psychological greatness for a while...he was back as regular SCSA a year later going against the nWo at WM x8. At least they went back to it with the 2-man power trip after a while (I can't wait for that). Folks need to remember what a hand Austin played in helping Benoit and Jericho after the initial Invasion stuff was over (and WCW/ECW had been squashed thorougly). Hunter too, but more for Benoit than Y2J.

I've watched chunks of WMs 17, 18, and 19. Good lord were those mofos (Austin and Rock) over. And Hogan showed a slew of ass for Rocky at x8 even with the crowd in his hands after he had basically tried to kill Rock in the lead-up to the match...hell...even Jim Rawse was copping pleas and glossing over it...and it was great even with no flips, tables, planchas, etc. It was a big difference between that and what he did vs Kidman during the 'New Blood' era in WCW. Anyway, I think that had to play a hand in helping get things back to sanity in the ring. I'm noticing far too much crowd fighting, table spots, weapons, etc..in big matches.

I'll certainly continue my research, but I'm gonna go ahead and assume Mania 17 (2001...right before WCW infiltration, ECW was already pretty much there) is the best one ever overall (Angle/Benoit, Hardys/Dudleys/E&C TLC, Austin/Rock 2, Taker/HHH 1, etc). That Mania 15-20 run was pretty silly in terms of crazy good matches and an absurd cluster of talent all in the same place at the same time near and around their primes. Imagine if Bret didn't get screwed...or maybe if he didn't get kicked in the head by Goldy. Having him and/or Sting in the Invasion angle? Curtains!

Jimaveli: haha @ Road Warriors over...that's OVER!

>I mean you really can't overstate how talent-rich this period
>was. The marquee matches of the show:
>
>The Rock v Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship
>The Dudley Boys v Edge and Christian v Kane and Undertaker
>Stone Cold v Triple H 2 of 3 falls grudge match (1st fall
>match, 2nd fall street fight, 3rd fall cage)
>
>I mean...what? This was all ON THE SAME SHOW. And Benoit was
>still on the roster, and Eddie Guerrero, and Chris Jericho!!!
>Talent for days.
>
>The show is fantastic. EVERYBODY IS ROAD WARRIORS OVER.
>
>Some notes:
>
>- The Austin/Hunter 2 of 3 falls match is as brutal and "old
>school" as anything I can remember from that era. Slow,
>mechanical, physical, beautiful. Austin comes out hot for the
>first 10 minutes but Hunter eventually takes control for most
>of the rest of the match- a full 30 more minutes. This is
>FORESHADOWING; Austin's been gone for a year and both Rock and
>Hunter are white-hot here. The look on his face as he exits
>the ring is telling, and it's a welcome addition to the
>context that leads to Austin making a deal with Vince headed
>into WM 17.
>
>- Kurt Angle...guys Kurt Angle was a MASTER worker with the
>ability and timing of a 12 year veteran. Except at about this
>time he'd wrestled for like 3 years! My goodness. That
>cornball red white and blue shit was so so so over. He'd later
>evolve into a more bloodthirsty MMA-inspired tactician, and
>that was fine too. But white bread American value-touting Kurt
>Angle was a BOSS.

>PS3...nerdout time of my life shit forreal...

^^^^^

Free trial runs out tonight, and still no 360.

Pitiful.

Even after I pointed out that the shit DOES NOT WORK. So I canceled. If I want to watch on my desktop, I'll just torrent. Their loss.

i haven't tried on Xbox One or 360...works great on PS4, Apple TV, and my PS3...

"We are working aggressively to address the login issue for Xbox users and expect to have it resolved by this Monday, March 3, if not sooner."

Today is Monday, March 3. No fix in sight.

Having no issues with the streaming channel at all, but constant stops and starts with the on-demand stuff.

Everyone else I know running it on PS3 seems to be having no problems. Maybe it's just my old ass machine. Netflix runs fine on it, no problems playing games online, but try to load up some old WCW PPV and it'll freeze ten times before the first match is over.

(man all the rain this past weekend provided the perfect opp. to grab a beer and pless *play*)

mine...

1990 great american bash. i was always a bigger wwf fan growing up than i was DUBYA-CEE-DUBYA, but...

- brian pillman's dropkick. wow...just wow. RIP
- lol @ hairy ass dutch mantel no-selling throughout his entire match to a much stronger powerhouse face in doug furnas.
- vader's debut. never realized how much japanese influence he brought with him back to the states. the samurai headdress, the salute ritual before entering the ring.
- steiner bros vs. the freebirds. lol
- paul e. dangerously managing mean mark callous. MARK OUT CITY
- the heel, BLACK tag team champs managed by a do-ragged teddy long getting a pop after the W. man i used to love when doom when punish the jobber team even after the pinfall.
- jim ross was so f'in sharp back then. word to gordon solie too.
- sting vs flair. i rewound the finish about 5 times. holy shit @ the crowd.

it was a trip watching all them dudes cut their teeth working for turner, and then move on to the big leagues to work for vince.

I'm not sure I'm ready for the comedy of the late-80s and early-90s WCW stuff...especially after wallowing in the early 2000s..aka the festival of chairshots, brawling everywhere all the time, video game suplexes, chokeslams, powerbombs, piledrivers, table spots, the Hardys and E&C being in-shape Foleys, lucha/cruiser magic, etc. I'm assuming I'm gonna see a lot of 'really!?' offense, an outlandish amounts of stalling/resting, bad dropkicks, etc. Of course, this'll be mixed in with some excellent power guys, a few stiff/awesome Japan dudes (Vader/Muta) and Flair killing it with the storytelling no matter who he was in there with. I haven't seen some of that stuff in about 10 years.

I remember Muta as basically god in NWA...spitting on folks and having it be sold like pepper spray to the face, killer elbows, and that moonsault.

I AM ready for Paul E and 'Mean Mark' Taker..I need that in my life.

I also can't wait to roll up on Royal Rumble 1992 so I can enjoy Heenan and Gorilla going at it over Flair going full Flair in a WWF environment to pull that rumble out of his ass.

I grew up with both WWF and NWA but Midsouth Wrestling used to BE being in Houston, and I basically lived for wrestling on TBS Saturday evenings, so I had a lot of 'the heels are crazy, awesome, and dirty...they are gonna cheat before, during, and after every match and win at least enough to keep you guessing' to wrap my mind around as a kid in the 80s. WWF was almost a joke to me back then cuz Hulk would stay winning in situations where the heel would've easily won in NWA. Sting and Luger would 'hulk up', throw some clotheslines/back body drops/press slames, then get hit with brass knuckles or eat a shady rollup of some kind a few minutes later. And it was great.

Jimaveli: Fair to Flair

>(man all the rain this past weekend provided the perfect opp.
>to grab a beer and pless *play*)
>
>mine...
>
>1990 great american bash. i was always a bigger wwf fan
>growing up than i was DUBYA-CEE-DUBYA, but...
>
>- brian pillman's dropkick. wow...just wow. RIP
>- lol @ hairy ass dutch mantel no-selling throughout his
>entire match to a much stronger powerhouse face in doug
>furnas.
>- vader's debut. never realized how much japanese influence he
>brought with him back to the states. the samurai headdress,
>the salute ritual before entering the ring.
>- steiner bros vs. the freebirds. lol
>- paul e. dangerously managing mean mark callous. MARK OUT
>CITY
>- the heel, BLACK tag team champs managed by a do-ragged teddy
>long getting a pop after the W. man i used to love when doom
>when punish the jobber team even after the pinfall.
>- jim ross was so f'in sharp back then. word to gordon solie
>too.
>- sting vs flair. i rewound the finish about 5 times. holy
>shit @ the crowd.
>
>it was a trip watching all them dudes cut their teeth working
>for turner, and then move on to the big leagues to work for
>vince.
>
>
>

i'd always heard that wwe tweaked the audio when sid dumped hogan over the top rope, so it sounded like more people were booing instead of cheering... but it sounded like plenty of cheers to me.

edit: people had clearly started to tire of hogan (see: undertaker's pop when he pinned him at survivor series a couple months earlier).

>edit: people had clearly started to tire of hogan (see:
>undertaker's pop when he pinned him at survivor series a
>couple months earlier).

Backlash 2003: Heel Hollywood Rock vs (finally showing up after WCW died) Goldberg

Rock was bringing the selling and the 'not wanting to admit he's scared but he's totally scared' heel style. Goldberg...well...he was stopping by for a year to make some $. But he's big enough that he still looked big, the spears were excellent and the jackhammer as a finisher isn't exactly a burning hammer, but I still totally buy it. Rock was doing a freebird amount of hotdogging and stalling...it was great.

Also...HEEL RAPPING AND CUSSING JOHN CENA vs Full-time wrestling Brock Lesnar: they got stupid crossed up/lost in the middle of this match on a few irish whips and reversals, but still...it was great. Brock was throwing Cena around and Cena was cheating, cussing, using weapons, clowning the crowd, etc, etc. Good lord, heel Cena this summer vs Yes Man (champ) would be excellent Summerfest 2014 material.

Backlash 2004:

Well...there's some crazy heel/face and people alignments on this card. The main event...HBK vs HHH vs *guy who doesn't exist* (yes, Benoit). They ran back the WM20 main event and it was still on. It WAS jarring seeing Woman and the kids in the crowd. Both matches were awesome...and physical. CHOPS! GERMANS! This was in Canada so when HBK slapped a sharpshooter on Benoit WITH HEBNER AS REF, the crowd lost it...totally lost it. It is kinda lame that the underlying tone of the match from Lawler (he was still basically a heel perv announcer at this time) was that HHH and HBK were trying to have a match and Benoit (the champ) was kinda just there on the scene/in the way of their match. And it IS kinda crazy how short/small he looked vs HHH. But HHH and HBK showed a gang of ass for him...totally sweet.

Jimaveli

>(man all the rain this past weekend provided the perfect opp.
>to grab a beer and pless *play*)
>
>mine...
>
>1990 great american bash. i was always a bigger wwf fan
>growing up than i was DUBYA-CEE-DUBYA, but...
>
>- brian pillman's dropkick. wow...just wow. RIP
>- lol @ hairy ass dutch mantel no-selling throughout his
>entire match to a much stronger powerhouse face in doug
>furnas.
>- vader's debut. never realized how much japanese influence he
>brought with him back to the states. the samurai headdress,
>the salute ritual before entering the ring.
>- steiner bros vs. the freebirds. lol
>- paul e. dangerously managing mean mark callous. MARK OUT
>CITY
>- the heel, BLACK tag team champs managed by a do-ragged teddy
>long getting a pop after the W. man i used to love when doom
>when punish the jobber team even after the pinfall.
>- jim ross was so f'in sharp back then. word to gordon solie
>too.
>- sting vs flair. i rewound the finish about 5 times. holy
>shit @ the crowd.
>
>it was a trip watching all them dudes cut their teeth working
>for turner, and then move on to the big leagues to work for
>vince.
>
>
>

they didn't waste any time at all lmao.

The batista vs Bryan match is perfect

Crowd wanted to turn their back to Batista when he was on, but now they can't with him fighting Bryan.

Surprised it happened on Raw, but I'll take it. They've been killing it for months.

Guess they don't want to take up any of the WM card with a tag match

like he's a cruiserweight

the cesaro turn is coming.

Bodies flying everywhere. All kinds of energy in the ring and in the crowd.

Gonna really miss those boys. It did EXACTLY what it was supposed to do, and it did it without a proven commodity in the unit at the beginning. This was the Nexus done right with guys who were believable and up for the job. Godspeed boys, thanks for the ride.

"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

daddy's greatest matches, and why he is one of the greatest superstars in WWE history"

*PUKING*

Stephanie's good at that mockingly pretend to be sincere, but really being as condescending and arrogant as hell thing. I thought that's where that was headed. Would've been much better.

Why do they put this match on every week?

I'd rather watch Orton vs Batista I think

But I'd watch Sheamus wrestle a coat rack. As long as he's not joking around on the mic, I'm down.

To me, at least. I dunno how you feel about Christian and Sheamus. I love both of them. I think they're excellent performers and think they've shown excellent chemistry thus far.

The problems?

First, there's no reason whatsoever to care about this match. I can't speak for why you don't care, but I know I'm not invested because there's simply no good reason it should exist. What's the story? A missed Brogue kick? That's a nice way to build to extreme rules. For Mania though? For two top shelf performers? Nah. I like the pairing though and expect a pretty good match out of them.

The second problem is that the Elimination Chamber showed us what a scene stealing, show stopping match we should be getting instead with Cesaro and Sheamus. They could have run a recruitment angle. Say Zeb's got an Irish ancestor who came here and worked his ass off and see's a lot of Great Uncle Hoolihan in Sheamus, or whatever. They have a match at Mania, and Sheamus becomes a Real American if he loses. Sheamus goes over, Swagger and Zeb jump him, Sheamus makes the save, and a small Mania moment is had when Cesaro officially turns face to rousing applause and We The People chants.

Whatever the story is, Cesaro/Sheamus is money. Add that to the inevitable Shield three way and Bray/Cena and that's a hell of an undercard brimming with an explosive youth movement.

Still, Sheamus/Christian should make for a good match, just not the money match the obvious pairing is.

in today's landscape with basically NO push. He goes out of his way to have awesome little reversal sequences and twists on obvious spots (eating the Sheamus chest clobber from the inside). The problem is...his finisher takes entirely too much cooperation and set-up time compared to damn near anything else finisher-wise on the show. And since his finisher has basically never won an important match, folks don't buy it or him...at all. 'Never' = in the last couple years. He basically wrestles a nerdy main event wrestler style without main event push, placement, or attention. And again...folks don't sweat that finisher.

Besides that..YES! Sheamus/Cesaro needs to happen. Hossathon 2014 fo sho. Those dudes would beat the hell out of each other and it would run/murder the rest of the undercard if not the whole thing.

It really is excellent how much Zeb and them are over. And it is almost all an in-ring accomplishment. Giant Swing = cheers anywhere on anybody (because it is awesome and even the most idiotic crowd members respect legit strength on display).

Jimaveli

>To me, at least. I dunno how you feel about Christian and
>Sheamus. I love both of them. I think they're excellent
>performers and think they've shown excellent chemistry thus
>far.
>
>The problems?
>
>First, there's no reason whatsoever to care about this match.
>I can't speak for why you don't care, but I know I'm not
>invested because there's simply no good reason it should
>exist. What's the story? A missed Brogue kick? That's a nice
>way to build to extreme rules. For Mania though? For two top
>shelf performers? Nah. I like the pairing though and expect a
>pretty good match out of them.
>
>The second problem is that the Elimination Chamber showed us
>what a scene stealing, show stopping match we should be
>getting instead with Cesaro and Sheamus. They could have run a
>recruitment angle. Say Zeb's got an Irish ancestor who came
>here and worked his ass off and see's a lot of Great Uncle
>Hoolihan in Sheamus, or whatever. They have a match at Mania,
>and Sheamus becomes a Real American if he loses. Sheamus goes
>over, Swagger and Zeb jump him, Sheamus makes the save, and a
>small Mania moment is had when Cesaro officially turns face to
>rousing applause and We The People chants.
>
>Whatever the story is, Cesaro/Sheamus is money. Add that to
>the inevitable Shield three way and Bray/Cena and that's a
>hell of an undercard brimming with an explosive youth
>movement.
>
>Still, Sheamus/Christian should make for a good match, just
>not the money match the obvious pairing is.

my lil cousin would love that shit

Tripping over his words and everything.

"Now help your brother up."

goddamn she's fine.

Someone screwed up the timing somewhere

that last quarter will probably score big

Part of me figures, that's the whole point. They put Paul out there to fuck with the Chicago crowd and hopefully take the wind out of their sails and save the show from potential disaster.

I also figure it served as a great way to add some substance to Brock's match with Taker.

It did both of those things perfectly well. Brilliantly, even.

Here's where I start to wonder:

I have a hard time seeing the WWE utilizing Punk so strongly, right down to the music, Paul sitting cross legged, and reference to Punk's Pipe Bomb, if there wasn't a plan in place for his return.

To that end, I give them credit for making me wonder, if only just a little.

In a perfect world, Punk would be a modern day Bryan Pillman, working everyone to an incredible degree nobody thought possible in the modern era. This gives way to the second thing that lends me one sliver of hope that he's planning on coming back:

Punks complete silence up to now. Not a single word has been spoken by him publicly on the matter up to this point. The previous worked shoot was obvious, since he had the title and we all know Vince wasn't about to allow that shit to go down after what the stunt he pulled with Flair.

In the end, he knows he's built some equity with Vince. He knows he can walk right back into his spot. Part of me wonders if Punk doesn't realize how poetic that would be. Brock, Rock, Batista, Jericho, hell, even Taker- These guys take off for long periods and then walk right in for top billing and a big pay day at the expense of young wrestlers that could use the seasoning, screen time, and pay check. After all, if those guys can do it, why can't the single longest WWE World title holder in two and a half decades do it as well? If Dwayne, Brock, Chris, Dave, and even Mark can pull that shit year after year while guys like Punk continually works hurt and can't get a good Mania spot that doesn't involve Vince's Doofus Son In Law inserting himself into hot wrestlers stories like clockwork...... this is a good way to throw it in Vince's face.

I know, I know, it's a pipe dream, pun intended. A fan can wonder though, can't he?

This shit ain't Evolution, with two raw ass youngsters getting the rub from established legends.

This shit feels like The Dudleys, Edge & Christian, and The Hardies, except each member of The Shield embodies all six guys. I know, I know, pump the brakes, right? Not so fast.

Rollins pretty much ate everyone's soul tonight. Remember last week, when he came from out of fucking NOWHERE to pull a suicide dive that would make Taker shit himself. I haven't seen Bryan yet, but that opening segment tonight was fucking ridiculous.

Every time I watch The Shield I'm in awe of something and it feels like "HOLY SHIT, THAT WAS THE GREATEST THING EVER!!!!!" and it NEVER feels like hyperbole. It always feels like a legit claim that will hold up to scrutiny. I seriously can't recall the last time I saw a group that was ALWAYS money ALL the damn time, and this shit isn't even being done with tired ass spots. The Superman Punch, Reigns entire demeanor, his drop kick outside the ring, Rollins doing shit that would make Jeff Hardy and Edge jealous, and Ambrose bringing the most batshit character and ring presence we've seen since Cactus Jack...

That's all in one group.

And you know what's crazy? I haven't even touched on The Wyatt Family yet. They're not as individually brilliant as The Shield, but they're a remarkable unit in their own right. It's crystal clear who the breakout star is there, but the collective energy of these two units together+the crumbling shield story is making for some of the most compelling moments since the attitude era.

Between these two groups and Bryan... it's clear why fucking EVERY arena hate's Dave's guts. It's not just Bryan. WWE has a special mix right now if they wanted to pull the trigger. Remember when Cody and Goldust were the most exciting thing to see every night? Shit, the Usos are coming into their own. Cesaro is on beast mode.

Fuck Dave. Let Orton and Cena stick around the top awhile longer while these young studs continue to simmer so they can help with the transition by passing that torch..... but this needs to be the last Mania where Vince relies on post-Attitude era stars to sell the show. This year is clearly the time to end that practice, and hopefully they realize it.

I dunno why the fuck these dickheads don't grasp that.

Bryan is the PG equivalent to Austin.

How fucking lucky are they that he's fallen into their lap like this?
Dude could easily be sitting in TNA wrestling Kazarian or some shit.
How do they not pull the trigger on this? It's a fucking gift from heaven to have a guy like this in the PG era.

What's funny is how tired everyone is of Cena's golly-shucks boy scout impersonation. Meanwhile, Bryan looks like he could build a campfire, suck the venom out of a snake bite, and forage for the nights supper, acts like it, AND PEOPLE FUCKING LOVE HIM.

SMH

A guy who everyone buys as a good-good, but instead of him being packaged as a heel, he's a face...a holy shit over and beloved face. Oh...and he wrestles like a mofo and makes the top of the card better automatically.

I guess they are deadset on believing that beating HHH is an awesome gift when...get this...THE TITLE ACTUALLY MATTERS TO FOLKS RIGHT NOW! Aka we want the guys we like the most in title picture. Mission accomplished, idiots! Now put him in the title picture and let him win it.

The Shield...man...even the Wyatts...this IS some old Hardys/E&C/Dudleys shit where damn near everyone involved deserves cracks at higher spots on the card ASAP after the breakups or even without it. I'd love it if The Shield stayed together AS they moved up the card, started damn near winning titles, etc. And have one of them beating Bryan for the title and loving themselves a little 'too much' be the final straw for the breakup/no turning back betrayal/whatever.

If the WWE ignores everyone and rolls with Orton/Batista at Mania AND BATISTA WINS, they could stick the title on damn anyone we like after that and gain good will. Roman Reigns superman punching and spearing Dave on the Raw after Mania would rule my world..I say it'd rule my world.

Jimaveli

>I dunno why the fuck these dickheads don't grasp that.
>
>Bryan is the PG equivalent to Austin.
>
>How fucking lucky are they that he's fallen into their lap
>like this?
>Dude could easily be sitting in TNA wrestling Kazarian or some
>shit.
>How do they not pull the trigger on this? It's a fucking gift
>from heaven to have a guy like this in the PG era.
>
>What's funny is how tired everyone is of Cena's golly-shucks
>boy scout impersonation. Meanwhile, Bryan looks like he could
>build a campfire, suck the venom out of a snake bite, and
>forage for the nights supper, acts like it, AND PEOPLE FUCKING
>LOVE HIM.
>
>SMH

it seems like they've never been hotter and that the whole of the crowd really appreciates what the Shield has become. Why not take advantage of this popularity a little longer?

Reigns could feud with Ambrose to take the US Title. The cool thing to come out of that is once Reigns is US champ you're looking at a beautiful Summer program between he and Big E to unify the 2nd tier titles. Rollins bides his time by Reigns' side until Reigns is the unified US/IC champ and then Rollins turns heel on Reigns. Rollins beats Reigns for the IC title sometime around Survivor Series, Reigns charges off full steam towards the Royal Rumble,Wrestlemania 31, and the WWE title.

OR Rollins goes after Big E, Reigns goes after Ambrose, the Shield evolves into a pair with each member holding a 2nd tier singles strap. One Raw when they refuse to take Hunter's orders he pits them in a unification match against each other. From that Rollins and Reigns could still go through the process I laid out above.

Just remember this... There is no way in hell we get a RAW that good if CM Punk doesn't walk away... We don't get Shield vs Wyatts (I called that last week btw, not on here)... We don't get all of the other quality matches (outside of like 2)... We don't get Cena's promo at the end instead of opening the show... This RAW was one of the best RAW's in a very long time and it's all because CM Punk left...

*SMH*

It can't be Batista vs Orton in singles as they're both heels now so something has to change(?)

Personally, before they fully turned Batista heel, I would've replicated the WM X coin toss scenario. Have DB face HHH in the opening match on the premise that if he wins, he faces the winner of Batista/Orton in the closing match.

Batista takes the title from Orton mid-way into the event and drops it to Bryan in the finale. They could've had a big hug-off etc, and I think that would have endeared Batista to fans again, seeing that he was willing to put DB over would give him a good place to rebuild that fan base for a few months.

This doesn't really work now with Batista heel, but neither does Batista & Orton in singles so interested to know if it'll morph into a triple threat, but who's the third man??

but it seems even more far fetched that they'd randomly add Daniel Bryan to it.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

dude would be gassed walking to the ring for the 2nd match.

Is the 6 month commitment due upfront or is it $9.99 a month but cant cancel for 6 months?

"Great," Creative responded. "Then we don't have to do shit with him ever."

Great read on why we don't matter:

http://www.sbnation.com/2014/3/4/5468468/wwe-pro-wrestling-stories-creative

The cruelest thing I can tell a passionate, dedicated smark is that the more he knows the less he matters to WWE. The smark is the one person the company knows will be watching the show every week, no matter what. They're buying the licensed merchandise to complain about it on podcasts and paying the extra $20 at TV tapings to stand in an autograph line and tell their favorite disrespected mid-carder just how he should be used in the main event. Even at the emptiest of house shows (non-televised events usually packaged as tours) we could spot the dedicated IWC member on hand to record completely meaningless* match results for one of the "insider" news sites.

http://www.uproxx.com/sports/2014/03/best-worst-wwe-raw-3314-hijackbestandworst

Worst: #hijackRaw

The first thing you need to know about me is that I love pro wrestling. I love it as a thing more than I love any individual wrestler, promotion, moment or memory.

A lot of modern fandom for thing is based around who you like and why … you aren’t a Doctor Who fan, you’re a ‘Whovian,’ and on top of that it’s segmented. You’re a fan of the Tenth Doctor. You probably have a fun name for yourself and people like you. It’s less about watching and enjoying the show and about how good of a FAN you can be, and how much better of a fan you can be than the other fans, and how people who like the Eleventh Doctor are stupid and aren’t doing it right.

I run into that a lot writing this column. People show up who are Rock Fans, or CM Punk fans, and they like, support and enjoy every single thing that person does, whether it’s good or bad having no relevance to the conversation, and they’re so mad and don’t understand why you’re being so stupid and thinking too much and over-analyzing. You’re on a high horse with your PC White Knights and you’re caping up to something something and on and on. They’re in a “fandom.” Because of this, they assume that I’m in a fandom as well. I hear a lot of things like, “if Daniel Bryan did the same thing you’d think it was great,” or, “why are you still watching? All you do is bitch and complain! Do you even LIKE wrestling?”

The answer is that yes, I do like wrestling. I like it more than anything. The hook of a “Best and Worst” column is that there are Bests and Worsts. I like some stuff and I don’t like stuff, and then I write a couple of paragraphs to explain it. I rarely like or dislike something arbitrarily, and when I do, I freely admit to it. I am not the Wrestling Master or the Opinion Police and everything you’re reading here is a desperate expression of my powerful, never-ending love for the stupidest, most regressive thing in the world. If Daniel Bryan does something shitty and I think it’s such, I mention it. Remember when he started getting all sarcastic about everything? I went from “you think Daniel Bryan is infallible and make excuses for him” to “all you do is complain!” in a heartbeat. Sometimes people aren’t reading a wrestling column to find out what a random, unimportant dude thinks about the wrestling. Sometimes they’re scanning it to see if its compatible with their fandom. If it is, they pass it by. If it isn’t, they violently bump up against it to “change” it without any real will or effort, just a vague I’M TIRED OF THE WAY YOU THINK.

The second thing you need to know about me is that I use a lot of hyperbole. I use hyperbole in every thing I have ever said or done. Get it? I call things the “best match of the year” or “my favorite thing in wrestling” because in that moment, that’s how it feels. It’s fury. Bubbling, molten blood firing through my body and making my brain fire off in these weird, emotional directions.

Knowing that, my favorite thing about wrestling — sorry — is the feeling I get from a live crowd. To be more specific, I love that moment when a crowd full of weird, obsessive guys like me gets so locked into and lost in a live wrestling show that we stop being “guys on the internet” or “smart marks” or any other stupid, condescending term to describe some off-brand sect of fandom and become emotion. That’s what happens. We stop being individual people and start being a big, circular mass of emotional response.

Two examples: At Chikara’s King of Trios 2012, the trios tournament was built around two teams … the Spectral Envoy, a team of Chikara stalwarts, and Team ROH, a squad of arrogant “invading foreigners.” The Young Bucks and Mike Bennett. The easiest people in the world to boo. By the end of the third night of the best wrestling weekend I’ve ever had, the tourney came down to those two teams. We’d already been broken to the point of tears a couple of times already, so when our UL-TRA MAN-TIS chant got turned into a “dueling” chant by one lone Ring Of Honor fan (chanting “R-O-H!”) the response was quick, decisive, and organic: we chanted UL-TRA MAN-TIS over it. It was a dueling chant for Ultramantis Black and Ultramantis Black. It just happened. It was a building full of Chikara fans united in support of a wrestling story, happening in front of us in the ring.

The other example is from an ACW show in Austin last Spring. Kyle Hawk, a guy who’d been a regular but hadn’t really had the opportunity to break through, had a killer match with Davey Vega. On top of that, Hawk announced that this was going to be his last match for a while because he was leaving to fight for us in Afghanistan. He talked about his new wife and their children, and how he had a son who loved wrestling … and if the worst was to happen and he never came back, and if the BEST was to happen and that kid would grow up to be a wrestler, he asked us to give that boy the same love we’ve given him. A guy facing an uncertain future speaking all the way from the bottom of his heart. We clapped and we cried, and as he was leaving someone started singing the Star-Spangled Banner. It sounds like a cheesy moment from a shitty movie, right? But he kept singing, and someone else joined in, and soon we were all standing there with our hands over our hearts, singing the national anthem at the top of our lungs with tears in our eyes. When it was done, the place exploded with cheers. It just happened. The crowd had turned into a weird, stinking mass of love.

If you’ve gotten this far, here’s the part where I tell you how much I hated #hijackRaw.

Screen Shot 2014-03-04 at 10.54.53 AM

I was part of the crowd that YES chanted Daniel Bryan, watched him lose in 18 seconds and YESSED all the way through Randy Orton vs. Kane. That bled into the next night, which created a “movement” that eventually became a corporately-owned marketing strategy. Regardless, it just happened. We loved the guy, and we wanted to show him how much. I wasn’t a part of the Money in the Bank crowd that transformed CM Punk from a popular mid-carder into a folk hero, but it was the same idea. Their hometown guy was coming home with furious indignation, ready to take the WWE title from the walking, talking Dynasty and do whatever the hell he wanted with it. They lost their minds all night long and helped fully form one of the most unforgettable moments in WWE history. It just happened.

See what all these moments have in common?

#hijackRaw didn’t just happen. It wasn’t a Chicago crowd coming together to organically share their frustrations with Punk’s situation and what’s been happening in the WWE main-event scene … it was a guy with a Twitter account who got 10,000 followers, then got as many of them as he could to print out a sheet explaining “how” to cheer. It says to chant “this is awesome” for the Shield vs. the Wyatts, to chant “yes yes yes” for Daniel Bryan and to turn your back on The Authority. It says to chant CM PUNK over everything, but to give The Undertaker the respect he deserved. A step-by-step, numbered guide on how you should feel, what you should do and what you want to change.

It’s a purposeful corruption of the thing I love most about wrestling. It’s saying that THIS IS THE WAY YOU CHEER CORRECTLY, and frankly it didn’t even make a hell of a lot of sense. You’re going to a wrestling show featuring 10 guys you’re excited to see and want to cheer for, but the absence of one disqualifies that to the point that you want to organize a grassroots campaign to “take over” the show? As far as I can tell, you only dislike three people, and they happen to be the show’s bad guys. The show’s bad guys who are the evil bosses who run the show in a way fans don’t want to see. What are you hijacking? You’re saying to boo the heels and cheer the faces. Oh, except for one or two matches, because we hate those.

As Aaron Diaz described it, it’s “crystalized petulance.” Outrage over something they aren’t even sure exists. Outrage that comes with an easily co-opted hashtag and instruction sheets. Do I seriously need to point out how phony and soulless that is? It’s not an organic movement, it’s a crowd saying “look at us, this is what WE did.” The worst part is that that kind of attitude can excuse any positive thing on the show … I had lengthy discussions with heaps of polite strangers on Twitter who, an hour into the show, bragged about how WWE had booked a show to keep them from hijacking it. These are the same people who got routinely worked and redirected by wrestlers all night. People who chanted BORING and THIS IS AWFUL chants during Sheamus/Christian, a good f*cking wrestling match, and then counted along with the Sheamus chest forearms and the pinfalls. BUT! That was added in in post! BUT! What do you mean there isn’t “post” on a live show? That audio was probably piped in over the speakers at the arena! We HEARD it! Guess what, guys? There have been good hours of Raw before. Especially on shows in major cities a month before WrestleMania. You know what your hijack movement did? It made Paul Heyman mention CM Punk in a promo at the top of the show. That’s it. And guess what else? He was probably going to do that anyway, because they’re in Chicago.

By addressing Hijack Raw and pointing it out, WWE was able to take it from the group of sad guys attempting to perform it and made it their own. They stole your movement TO YOUR FACE. Why wouldn’t they? You paid $60 bucks or whatever to show up and boo the heels as a statement. As a POLITICAL STATEMENT AGAINST WRESTLING YOU BOOED THE HEELS. You ruined a couple of mid-card matches, and Punk’s still not here. Feeling good about yourself yet?

I like CM Punk a lot. I want him on the shows, but you have to think about it.

In real life, assuming it is not a work, your favorite wrestler and hometown guy quit the company. He wasn’t fired. He “didn’t like what they were doing with him” or “didn’t like the stories they wrote for him” and got miserable and quit. Remember back when Punk was a Ziggler-esque under-card guy who once lost the World Heavyweight Championship because he got beaten up backstage by Legacy? That guy was dropping pipe bombs about how guys like HIM needed to be in the spots occupied by guys like Cena, and how WWE needed to start focusing on wrestling instead of all this ridiculous sports entertainment. He deserved to be champion, and on all the videos and souvenir cups and on the covers of the video games. Fast forward a few years. What happened? CM Punk became John Cena. WWE started focusing on signing and spotlighting guys like Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Antonio Cesaro, Sami Zayn. Daniel Bryan is the most popular guy on the show. CM Punk was WWE Champion — WWE Champion, the real one — for over 400 days straight. He recently stopped dating a WWE Hall of Famer so he could date the Divas Champion. He’s been on the cover of the video game and has been in every video and souvenir cup for years. But hey, he’s not happy that he’s supposed to be wrestling in one of the WrestleMania XXX main-events instead of one of the other ones so he quits?

In real life, assuming again that it’s not a work, that guy quitting is not WWE’s fault. They want him on the shows. He’s one of their most popular characters. They just launched a Network and have a Wrestling Mania coming up, they could use him. They have done EVERYTHING for Punk. They made it Punk’s show. The guy’s wrestling Brock Lesnar and victoriously caning his blood rival on top of a Hell in a Cell. POOR BABY. CM Punk is aware that Raw was in Chicago. He knows how much you want him on the show. In real life, this guy CHOSE not to be there for you. He chose to sit at home instead of “going out there and entertaining each and every one of you,” or whatever Cena would say.

In kayfabe, he’s a character who took his ball and went home. They’ve been gentle with his reasons for vanishing. They haven’t really said anything about it other than Heyman pointing the finger at “each and every one of you,” but he’s an unreliable narrator. Regardless, he’s not there, and as convinced as I’ve been since day one that Punk’s hiatus is part of the story, him not showing up in Chicago was an eyebrow-raiser. He’s CHOOSING not to do this.

The Fandom will come up with a bunch of reasons they’ve almost entirely made up about why Punk isn’t here, and why it’s still cool for him not to be. He’s tired. He got burned out. He’s injured and they just aren’t telling you. If that is the case, and Punk’s just a good dude taking a break, why are you hijacking the show to chant his name and demand his presence? Either he’s a piece of shit who doesn’t care about you, or he’s a guy dealing with some stuff who’ll be back when he’s ready. From either direction, what f*cking reason do you have to chant CM PUNK during an Usos match?

You only have one reason. It’s, “look at me, look at what I’m doing.”

CM Punk Chicago Paul Heyman

We’re all going to feel up-our-own-ass entitled from time to time, whether it’s demanding a guy who wasn’t announced for the Royal Rumble get inserted into it anyway and win or demanding the appearance of a guy who left the company for reasons you totally understand by chanting his name at the expense of others who ARE there and hurting themselves for your enjoyment. Again, I’m not telling you how to cheer for wrestling. If you’re there at all and making noise, you’re doing it right.

That said, let me tell you how you get WWE to notice you: dead silence. “Noise” and “reactions” at wrestling shows are seen as positives, whether they are in your brain when you’re delivering them or not. Do you think Stephanie McMahon went backstage last night shaking her head in disgust, wondering what she did wrong, because people chanted CM PUNK over her dialogue? Or do you think she went, “wow, I’m getting Vickie heat out there now!” Triple H has probably been smiling his ass off since last night. You are doing what they want you to do, and you’ve either gotta be fine with that (because you should be, because “being worked” is the entire point) or change your perspective. You’ve got to consider WHY you’re doing something, HOW you should be doing it and what it all actually means.

When you think about things, it’s easy to love them. If you’re in love with the process of pro wrestling, last night was a miracle. A giant “greater than” symbol on the side of the establishment. All #hijackRaw accomplished was making Raw stressful for people who didn’t deserve it.

If you skimmed to the bottom, here’s a summarization in boldface: Congratulations on being worse than Green Bay, Chicago.

His description was so accurate I'll look past the irony of this guy calling people out for circle jerking when he's quite guilty of soap-boxing himself.

And he's spot on here.

It's all the other shit I got tired of.

Now that would be an incredible protest.

Chase casual viewers and kids, ignore the diehards. They'll come no matter what. That's one thing, but having what seems like open contempt for the diehards is another thing.

As Punk said "Vince McMahon is a multi millionaire who should be a billionaire."

of billionaires:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexmorrell/2014/03/03/billionaires-2014-record-number-of-newcomers-includes-sheryl-sandberg-jan-koum-michael-kors/

"From the entertainment industry comes Vince McMahon ($1.2 billion), the third-generation wrestling promoter. McMahon was briefly a billionaire over a decade ago but this is the first time he officially joins the Forbes Billionaires ranks, thanks to his exceedingly popular World Wrestling Entertainment, which is broadcast in 150 countries."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxtCTaCxDUc

that's the thing. Shit is really great right now outside of that awful Batista/Orton main event. Everything else is actually really entertaining and there's more interesting characters on the roster than there's been in about 10 years.

Don't listen to me tho.

Only problem with this is, WWE doesn't truly understand a groundswell. With guys like Bryan, you gotta strike while the iron is hot and keep the momentum going; that can possibly allow them to draw new fans.

Then again, they probably look at guys like Punk (and to a smaller extent, The Miz about three years ago), who does has a fanbase but has a clear ceiling on his head as far as who he can attract, and looking at who Bryan can actually draw figure he wouldn't do much better.
_________________________
http://expertise.blogdrive.com
http://twitter.com/KMBReferee
http://www.ask.fm/KMBReferee

It's been said time and time again here and on other forums. You're not special in that regard.

What is different is that the writer actually worked with Creative, and gave the insider perspective of something we already knew.

even though a number of people on this board were vehemently against this when I said it, and it actually made business sense, then what purpose did him even saying it do?
_________________________
http://expertise.blogdrive.com
http://twitter.com/KMBReferee
http://www.ask.fm/KMBReferee

>and looking at who Bryan can actually draw figure
>he wouldn't do much better.

based on their look, character, etc.

Austin could bring in the rowdy hardcore crowd; a lot of them lower income white people. It definitely filled up the arenas and saved WWE but the resulting Attitude Era limited WWE's (and pro wrestling's) mainstream popularity more than it's ever did before.

Cena can attract women and kids, something that WWE really couldn't do in a major way since Hulkamania. He's got the PC look, he's willing to do any and every event WWE wants him to, and he's really smooth in interviews with the press and at charity events. Other than possibly Hulk, Cena's the best brand ambassador WWE has ever had.

Even though he was never pushed that way, Rey Mysterio was the #2 guy in WWE at one time. Those masks sell like hotcakes to kids. He's able to draw a Latino audience for the ratings and in the WWE Shop (so did Eddie Guerrero before him). And that's why he was able to become World Champion and WWE Champion even though he's only 5'3 (if that).

When you look at who can draw, and what kinds of people they can draw, you got to look at their advantages and limitations. Sure; Bryan has a strong fanbase and has been one of the best workers in the world since he was in ROH. But if all of that can't result into new money coming in for WWE, then putting him as a top guy or THE top guy won't mean any more than if he was in the mid card. Add to that he's not a big guy (I still get nightmares of how out of place and dwarfish he looked beside Rock at Raw's 1000th episode) and he doesn't have the look that WWE wants out of their guys.

The top stars WWE had proved they could bring in a new audience that was different and more lucrative than WWE had at the time. Bryan has to do the same thing. He should get that chance just like Punk and others did, but if he can't make a difference in ratings or merch, WWE will do the same thing to Bryan that they did to all the others.
_________________________
http://expertise.blogdrive.com
http://twitter.com/KMBReferee
http://www.ask.fm/KMBReferee

>based on their look, character, etc.
>
>Austin could bring in the rowdy hardcore crowd; a lot of them
>lower income white people. It definitely filled up the arenas
>and saved WWE but the resulting Attitude Era limited WWE's
>(and pro wrestling's) mainstream popularity more than it's
>ever did before.

Limited? WWE had more mainstream popularity then than it had since the '80s.

>Cena can attract women and kids, something that WWE really
>couldn't do in a major way since Hulkamania. He's got the PC
>look, he's willing to do any and every event WWE wants him to,
>and he's really smooth in interviews with the press and at
>charity events. Other than possibly Hulk, Cena's the best
>brand ambassador WWE has ever had.

But Cena only got a push because there was nobody else to push at the time. He was never Vince's first choice.

>When you look at who can draw, and what kinds of people they
>can draw, you got to look at their advantages and limitations.
>Sure; Bryan has a strong fanbase and has been one of the best
>workers in the world since he was in ROH. But if all of that
>can't result into new money coming in for WWE, then putting
>him as a top guy or THE top guy won't mean any more than if he
>was in the mid card.

They don't know if he can draw as champion or not. They didn't know if Cena would draw. They didn't know if HBK would draw. Or Bret. They didn't know until they put the strap on them.

>Add to that he's not a big guy

You're assuming that's still relevant. Era of giants is long gone. Era of giants was gone when they put the strap on Bret and Shawn. You don't if his size is a limiting factor or not. I mean, right now they're quickly figuring out that Batista ain't gonna draw...

>get nightmares of how out of place and dwarfish he looked
>beside Rock at Raw's 1000th episode) and he doesn't have the
>look that WWE wants out of their guys.

He has the EXACTLY the look if he draws. Money wins, period. And you don't know whether he draws money or not.

>The top stars WWE had proved they could bring in a new
>audience that was different and more lucrative than WWE had at
>the time. Bryan has to do the same thing. He should get that
>chance just like Punk and others did, but if he can't make a
>difference in ratings or merch, WWE will do the same thing to
>Bryan that they did to all the others.

It MIGHT be that Bryan becomes the most over champ since Hogan. Right?

What next, a bold prediction that The Shield is going to break up eventually?

There's a stark difference between people *wanting* them to do it one way, and *knowing* they'll do it another.

A few of us expressed what we *wanted* and you thought you were Bad News Barrett trying to rain on imaginary parades.

Nobody here has ever disputed what dude wrote in that article, and you never said anything that wasn't obvious as hell to begin with.

Stop it.

into this contrived storyline? everything is contrived...but this is OVERLY done.

"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

>into this contrived storyline? everything is contrived...but
>this is OVERLY done.
>

the t-shirts, the hashtags, etc. if HHH and Stephanie's characters were actually running the company that shit wouldn't fly.

Still waiting on Lawler to get in the ring at WM and explain what the Yes Chant is and ask everyone to do it at once to set a world record.

Technically speaking, the second they began to market him and Yes! assertively, they "ruined" his "organic" following.

The notion that they are ruining the "organic" following is in my view the age old knee jerk reaction people have when something becomes popular, as it's no longer "underground"and they're no longer insiders of that particular phenomenon.

Everyone loves MC Get Busy until he gets played on thousands of "HOTTEST HIP HOP AND R&B!!" stations.

This particular story actually makes perfect sense and while Bryan vs HHH at Mania isn't exactly the best way to go given the fucking OBVIOUS Mania moment they can have with him winning the title, it's actually a perfectly reasonable story that's played out on a slow burn in a very organic way.

I do not understand how this is contrived in the least.
I also think it's absurd that people are in here complaining about WWE acknowledging the Yes movement.

Should they have ignored Austin 3:16 too?

It's bizarre thinking imo and reeks of simply wanting to be the cool underground kid.

ehhhhh


"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

It might be annoying, but their finally pushing it isn't hurting him a bit. The only weird thing is that they're finally acknowledging openly after, what, 18 months?

it.

Like... that's how shit works.

Yeah, let's pretend this thing doesn't exist.

Let's not mention it, at all, ever.

Let's not, you know, market the hell out of it. Let's STOP doing exactly what the stars in this business have done since the beginning in using them to draw money.

I mean.. that's the whole point. This is wierd.

They may as well have ignored Hulkamania, the NWO, DX, Austin 3:16, and the smell of The Rock's cooking.

I don't think it's odd that they haven't acknowledged it until now though. It seems they had real doubts about whether this whole thing had legs, and since he didn't fit their usual mold they didn't pull the trigger the way they would have with a guy who was jacked or fit their usual prototype. Now that they realize it's not just a fad, they're capitalizing at the best possible time. That's if they don't screw the pooch at Mania, obviously.

first thing I read for Daniel Bryan at Mania said Taker. I was like "WOA! Well I'd prefer the title but Taker would be a blast."

then that came and went and the rumor mill was churning with him facing Sheamus. I wanted no parts of that.

>first thing I read for Daniel Bryan at Mania said Taker. I
>was like "WOA! Well I'd prefer the title but Taker would be a
>blast."
>
>then that came and went and the rumor mill was churning with
>him facing Sheamus. I wanted no parts of that.
>
>


can't believe they even considered it. they can't be that out of touch, right?

But the story and result would be anti climactic as fuck. Save that shit for a fued when they're both top guys so we can have a reason to care about the story.

"You're not what's best for business, Bryan... but any Daniel bryan fans who want to show their support, make sure to tweet about it with the hashtag we're promoting and buy the official yes movement t-shirt."

attempting to suppress daniel bryan and the yes chants is a huge part of what's made the whole thing explode, so while they're certainly happy about it backstage, they shouldn't really acknowledge that on camera. it makes no sense. it's not that they can't mention it or sell bryan products (they have products for everyone, after all), but to stamp things with the official yes movement seal of approval is lame, breaks the 4th wall, and threatens to kill the whole thing.

I think your position makes sense if the "best for business" angle wasn't about being *thee* face of WWE. If the stance of HHH and Stef was that Bryan sucks and had no business in a WwE ring, I&d be on board with you.

As it standa, the angle is hey, you&re good, even pretty good... just not good enough to be *the face* of WWE. IMO that nuance is key to how I view them pushing Yes the way they are.

their stance is he's a B+ guy, they like having him on the roster, but they don't want him competing for the title. that's fine, but they should be doing everything they can to calm down the crowd's reaction because their characters should want the crowd to see him as B+ guy too (which would just push him further). but instead they have the official yes shirts, tell his fans to voice their support on twitter, and then come out a few weeks ago and say "maybe this guy should be the face of the company if he beats you, orton." it's inconsistent, but the authority hasn't been that consistent on anything.

>their stance is he's a B+ guy, they like having him on the
>roster, but they don't want him competing for the title.
>that's fine, but they should be doing everything they can to
>calm down the crowd's reaction because their characters should
>want the crowd to see him as B+ guy too (which would just push
>him further). but instead they have the official yes shirts,
>tell his fans to voice their support on twitter

I can't clap to this. They've done all they can to keep him down since Summerslam. They've fucked him over time and time again to keep him from the brass ring.

Pro wrestling demands a certain measure of "just go with it" in many regards. We could poke holes in pretty much every story line we've ever seen.

You make a good point when you mention the whole "maybe Bryan CAN be the face of the company over you, Randy!" bit a few weeks back. It was such a strange point in this story and makes no sense whatsoever. That, to me, is fair discourse. The notion that they're pushing his merch while simultaneously pushing his character down is somehow inconsistent, however, is not. Pushing his character down and treating him as second class is more than enough to endear him to the audience.

If they're Kayfabe treating him as B+ material, that's a pretty thin line between A+. Even tonight, they said he's valuable. Just not *as* valuable as a couple of other guys. B+ is close to an A...... so even by that measure, it makes sense that Yes! would get a push. After all.... that's what's best for business.

Could it maybe be finessed a little more, a little better? Of course. Naturally. I just don't see it as an inconsistency of any note.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

I know what we all HOPE it is, but I think we all know that's not what is happening.

a Seether concert or an hour long pre-show on WWE Network

I'm betting it will be gimmicky, anticlimactic bullshit like inducting that first WM main event into the HOF.

Frankly, I'd rather see HBK’s Five Most Hilarious Bumps In That Summerslam Match Vs Hulk Hogan. That would at least be entertaining. Personally I’ve always felt like that first Mania main event was a bore.
If an early wrestler makes the hall for his pioneer status, I’m good with that. If we’re inducting matches, however…. I think it’s corny anyways, but if they’re going that route, the match needs to be fire on its own accord and establishes significant precedence and influence based on the merits of the match, not some arbitrary induction merely because it’s the first. So a clinic like Savage/Steamboat, for example, would be good. Austin/Hart at Mania 13. TLC at Mania 17. Hulk/Rock at Mania 18, even, despite not exactly being a technical clinic.

But I love any excuse to squeeze more guys onto the card at Mania.

30 man Battle Royale for a trophy of Andre The Giant? eh...

I think it'll be a fun addition to the card.

I hope Batista wins

you basically win the royal rumble and get a statue.

guys coming and getting paid, plus the network, the lockerroom was probably like wtf yo. Taker, Tista, trips, Brock, possibly Christian and Sheamus and not to mention the perpetual PPV pony Cena, not many slots left for folks to slide in after a full year of work.

HOLY SHIT THEY'LL BE MEGA FACES JUST GO WITH IT

she sold the shit outta that finisher!

"Undertaker dropping thunder on fakers!"

What % of the audience do you think got that? LOL.

They had a hashtag haha. So the authority's crew put that on the screen. Haha. Stephanie is saving it a bit. Haha. People want db to go for the belt...not hhh haha

Yay?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

Bryan forces himself into the main event

with the biggest yes chant ever. #history

The segment outside of her was whatever, but I can't be too upset over it if it means two Daniel Bryan matches at 'Mania and him walking away with the belt.

Perhaps more on fire than the lukewarm crowd needed?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

Yeah, should've mentioned him too. The two of them can deliver such a great heel promo.

>The segment outside of her was whatever, but I can't be too
>upset over it if it means two Daniel Bryan matches at 'Mania
>and him walking away with the belt.

Main event saved. Now it is on...predictable or not, he's gonna beat Hhh, get somehow injured and barely make it to the match at the end. Then, it is fucking on. One of the oldest tricks in the book but awesome nonetheless.

When all seems lost for Bryan...MY GOD THATS STONE COLD'S MUSIC.


What better way to screw the Authority?
____________________

Behold my works,ye mighty

____________________

Behold my works,ye mighty

HHH vs Bryan will be good despite knowing the outcome

A battle royal is always fun even if its for nothing

Taker Lesnar will be good

Cena and Wyatt will put on a good match

Cesaro will do something great, likely against Swagger

Whatever the Shield does will be good

And then Bryan winning the title at the end.

This is shaping up to be a great WM.

Was it by design? Shit, we're the marks. It probably was.

Look, it's possible this was all Hunter's plan. I'm CERTAIN it wasn't Vince's because the last 10 years, most of which were under his watch, were just awfully uninspired. But this is real. They've got their first post-Cena megastar. Maybe we were the foolish ones, maybe we were that dumb to really think they didn't know what they had.

They just turned the volume up on Mania buzz tenfold. And the weird thing is with the Network they can't hold this butyrate over his head. (Mania does 'bers anyway, likely wouldn't have mattered.)

The real loser in al of this? CM Punk. Good riddance dogg. Talk about turning chicken shit into chicken salad.

Let's say it was by design. If that's the case, this is as clever and inspired as Austin chasing Vince and Rock. To my memory, that's the most inventive stuff I can recall in my 20+ years watching wrestling, and Summerslam-tonight comes damn close.
Bryan not being in the Rumble is today's equivalent of Big Show debuting and throwing Austin against the cage..."are you shitting me? STILL???"

But tonight, Daniel Bryan's cage gave way.

Before one of you comes in to SHIT on them again and tell me I'm wrong, consider that maybe, just maybe, Triple H really does understand pro wrestling as much as every peer he's ever had says he does. And if you still don't buy the notion that this was all done on purpose, then just shut up and enjoy the fantastic show we're in for.

There have been points where I was certain they were building this to an inevitable moment of triumph, and moments where I felt like they really saw him as a B player and had no interest in pulling the trigger on making him a legit champion.

IMO anyone who says they know whether this was or wasn't the plan all along is lying to themselves.

Further, the plan doesn't matter in the slightest if you ask me. What they've done to this point has been a masterful job of building anticipation. Even if it wasn't the plan, they've responded and reacted in potent ways.

I'd say bringing in Batista and CM Punk leaving suggest that this was never the plan, but an obvious audible that didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out.

That said... who knows if they'll actually pull the trigger. They'll pretty much ruin the entire event if Bryan loses to Hunter and never makes the main event, but the jury is out on whether they'll allow him to win it all. There's also the possibility of them throwing out a massive fuck you to all of us and having him drop the belt on Raw the next night.

There's no way they could have predicted Batista's return bombing the way it did - it seemed clear that he was supposed to win the Rumble and take the crown at Mania.

Plus HHH was clearly being scheduled to face Punk at Mania but his departing blew that out of the water too. I actually don't think they had any concrete plans for DB at all which is shocking.

The card they're left with clearly isn't what they were working towards which is the funniest thing of all. In truth, the card they're left with is pretty much what they've been running from for nearly a year.

I think the night after the Rumble when Punk quit they knew they were putting Bryan in the title match...we all kinda knew, at least hoped.

From there they just toyed with us as they figured out how to do it in an exciting and building way

Not sure that the in-ring sit in is the way I would have liked for it to come together but I'm happy with the results nonetheless.

I don't know that the segment went great other than Steph and HHH's reactions and yelling, but the idea of it goes with what they really wanted in the end which was the people to feel like they got to determine the main event.

This was all about the authority (and company in real life) refusing to fold to what the fans wanted, so what better way to finally give in than a full on fan revolt until they get it?

In both story and not story now the WWE universe demanded and refused to quit until they got their guy in the title match.

when he started ramping up to accept the challenge and he's like "you want me at Wrestlemania? You want me to destroy you? bla bla bla"

He had it on a silver platter..."my answer, is YES!!!"

like aww dude how moving would that have been? Hunter folding by saying YES

Just that uncontrollable spitting mad, don't even know the words you are saying anger.

but I'm having difficulty in placing my finger on exactly what I didn't like about it. Kinda thinking the idea of Hogan being involved in making the decision may have been more exciting though(?)

Even by wacky pro wrestling standards.

The only way for that to work is to kayfabe him into a position of sufficient power to pull off such a play.

IMO if that's the route they took, Vince would have been the better man to do it.

"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

Initially, I was mad at the ideas they were presenting, but the fact that they seemed lost and the dirt sheets were lost was all very, WCW to me. It's been chaos for a bit more than a month. So seeing them actually take the crowd energy and use it to get what they really wanted, awesome.

Someone posted this here a little while ago but a small part of me was hoping they would stubbornly stick with the Orton/Batista main event just for the crazy fan reaction it would've given.

You mention they were "lost" even though people have been screaming what they wanted for nearly a year.

and i stand corrected on the DB thing...it started off wacky and corny...then shot to awesome in 3.5 seconds.

"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

every time i see some throwback rock stuff i always ask how that ever happened.

i mean, its mr ass ffs.

rock ethered him though w/ that prayer shit.

and let's face it, he was physically on par.

It was just a few months after they'd broken up the Outlaws for the first time too, if I recall.

I was worried that they were going to sacrifice the Rock to him too. Rock had gone from losing to Austin to losing to HHH. I figured they were going to job him to Mr. Ass too to try and create and second big heel.

"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

..."IT DOESN'T MATTER!"

That alone made it all worth it.

They didn't pull the trigger on it but he showed out during that period and that fued was definitely deserved.

....downhill from the there. he said they changed it to "the one" billy gunn because they couldn't see his toy as "mr. ass"

but to be honest, dude has had the best transition from gimmick to gimmick. smoking gunns to rockabilly, and they got him out of that gimmick so smooth..and billy gunn was still just a cool name that didn't even need a cowboy gimmick.

yeah dude has had a good run, and still having a good one.

on ANOTHER note. anybody ever hear the phone call with him (married) talking to his mistress? wow she was an airhead. and evil too.



"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

I remember reading ages ago when he was IC champ during that push - he had a "terrible" match with Chris Benoit (Gunn's fault apparently) that resulted in them halting the push. I'll try and look that up but I remember reading WWF were invested in him until he under-performed.

Watching it now (gawd bless the WWE Network)... Billy's IC Champ going in, and there's def a lot of sloppiness.

They didn't pull the trigger on it but he showed out during that period and that fued was definitely deserved.

in a shoot interview they were talking how they disliked him
"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

Put it this way, they wouldn't be in that company - either as road agents or on the active roster - if HHH weren't cool with them

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

Road Dogg wasn't as scathing in it, but Gunn -word for word- called Hunter a "No good motherfucker"

they did go into a fair amount of detail about how conniving he was from 99-01

And talked about threatening to break his nose. And cut 20 minute promos. And kept clowning his mustache.

He didn't quite go all the way in like Billy Gunn (called him a "Fucking cocksucking piece of shit" and a bad person), but he went in.

I've never seen this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keoxMb7F02w

The whole thing used to be on youtube. Looks like it's been taken down.

shit was hilarious.

"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

and i'm not mistken, both guys were pretty hammered.

was pretty funny how they were talking about just standing around in the ring like props while HHH rambled/growled for 10 mins.

Blamed it on the drugs and all of that.

And they are at least partially right. How both Billy and Road Dogg talked about their pill and drug habit was sickening. It's amazing they're still alive, if true. It seems like they have addressed their habits and are trying to live clean (although you can never tell with pro wrestlers).

But whether they had legitimate beef with HHH at the time or they were jealous at how he worked (or, as some would say, slept) his way to the top of WWE? Only they truly know. All I know is that they have jobs now, so they're probably happy with him.

I should say that they did that apology one a couple of years ago, before they got back full-time with WWE, so it wasn't like they were on the roster at the time.
_________________________
http://expertise.blogdrive.com
http://twitter.com/KMBReferee
http://www.ask.fm/KMBReferee

"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

http://i.imgur.com/RetFJ.jpg

Crazy

>http://i.imgur.com/RetFJ.jpg
>
>Crazy

Hella crazy. I'm all up in the 2000-2005 era watching random PPVs and getting a feel for all of the pushes, how they went about trying to push *guy who doesn't exist anymore*, how much jobbing The Rock really did, etc. It is also kinda crazy how often it seems like Austin is just gone during an era considered 'his run'.

_________________________
http://expertise.blogdrive.com
http://twitter.com/KMBReferee
http://www.ask.fm/KMBReferee

i mean we know how WM is gonna end, or at least how it should end...

but damnit if HHH wins it all at WM i'd fall out laughing.

Of course Bryan is going to win, but this at least makes it a little less guaranteed. A small seed of doubt is planted at this point that maybe HHH will still win and make it the most booed title match ever

>Of course Bryan is going to win, but this at least makes it a
>little less guaranteed. A small seed of doubt is planted at
>this point that maybe HHH will still win and make it the most
>booed title match ever

The ultimate would be HHH cheating like hell to win. Then he can somehow injure Bryan (sledgehammer to the shoulder). Of course, then Hogan would use his magical host/match-making powers at the last minute to put them both into the title match and make it an elimination 4-man match on some Fire Pro Wrestling shit. And then Bryan would defy the odds outrageously and win THAT match. Hogan gets to look like a great guy in his quest to right his catalog of Mania wrongs. Win-win (c) Sarah Shahi's character on Fairly Legal (which should still be on the air just because she's a mighty visual blessing who wasn't above letting cats see her)

And we get yet another huge WM put-over job. And really...hate aside, HHH has a nice catalog of these over the last decade not counting the upcoming one. It looks like a lotta guys wanna go to wrestling heaven.

Jimaveli

Guy couldn't even pronounce "WWE" without leaving out a letter

Alongside a handful of wooden ones, but Dave isn't really indicative of the rest of the roster. Even guys like Ryback cut a better promo. Dave's just trash now. I remember when he could cut a cold ass heel promo. He can't even do that now.

And actually Orton kinda sucks too.

>And actually Orton kinda sucks too.

Nah. That's just you and a few other internet smarks.

This has been a very natural, organic turn really fueled by fan appreciation in addition to more sinister heels on the card that warrant an anti-hero presence to deal with.

Plus, the rumor is that Kane will employ The Ascension for a 6 man tag at Mania, so this will likely serve the added purpose of helping launch another up and coming team.

I get the natural transition due to crowd appreciation, and it's better than breaking them up, but they are just have a very heelish gimmick that I worry will get too cheesy if it starts being done to fight against the injustice of bad guys.

>I get the natural transition due to crowd appreciation, and
>it's better than breaking them up, but they are just have a
>very heelish gimmick that I worry will get too cheesy if it
>starts being done to fight against the injustice of bad guys.

I doubt it comes down to that. Orton’s run during the Nexus angle is a good template and it will probably look similar. His face run certainly got stale by the time it was over, but they had him coming out bullying the hell out of Nexus and was pretty much the one guy doing it every time out. He didn’t really yuck it up at that time and was a “face” in a very loose sense of the word.

I think The Shield will likely have a similar run, but it’s definitely a valid concern that they might get turned into some cheesy incarnation of their former selves. For the time being, it’s been handled pretty well and if the Ascension rumors are true the next few months will probably stay interesting.

I had it on, but was doing other stuff and missed most of it.

He just effortlessly shut them down for the second time tonight.

i'd love to see a count of how many times since SS that Raw has ended w/ Bryan getting his ass kicked.

edit: steph is so aroused by this lmao

edit 2: if there was ever a moment that needed JR to elevate it. thanks a lot commentary team for going totally silent. smh.

>edit: steph is so aroused by this lmao
>

I didn't watch the post-show, but if those two didn't fuck in the ring while it was going in, I'd be shocked.

>I didn't watch the post-show, but if those two didn't fuck in
>the ring while it was going in, I'd be shocked.
>

Nah, but Taker apparently wrestled a dark match.

Might have gone on a little too long, but it served its purpose, which was to get mega-heat on Trips and Steffy and "plant seeds of doubt" about the inevitable outcome of Mania

And of course it helped if you watched the Raw after-show on the network, where we saw Daniel being loaded into the ambulance while Josh Matthews, The Miz, and Alex Riley talked up how "chilling" and "disturbing" the attack was, while Jason Albert sold that Trips did what he had to do to reestablish his authority

This was an old-school baby face beatdown to set up the big match, and it was fine.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

Just every time the authority or their representatives beat up Bryan, it's pretty amusing.

This is the first one that made sense in a while though as there is a clear end to the story approaching, not just being drug out.

>edit 2: if there was ever a moment that needed JR to elevate
>it. thanks a lot commentary team for going totally silent.

I agree with this part, but the segment itself was classic.

Not a fan of the non-title match loss though.

and the divas too.

Delay the Cesaro vs Swagger match since it wasn't built fast enough to do it at WM. Maybe break them up at Mania instead after a tag title loss.

with two dudes who are essentially part-timers. Like, neither of them were there tonight, and it was still one of my favorite segments of the night.

At this point, most people are gonna be excited for any Undertaker 'Mania match and any Brock match, so it's not like combing those things is a hard sell. But still, he just fucking kills it every single week.

If one of the biggest and baddest guys on the roster says to me "the monster is yours to unleash" I'd give him a list of peoples' asses to kick, I wouldn't give him a suit, tie and desk job. He's only wrestled a couple of times over the last few months so I wasn't sure if he's injured or not?

http://youtu.be/hGO8CWDOV0w

http://angrymarks.com/?ArticleID=29828

"Kane (Glenn Jacobs) is actively preparing for life after WWE, and has opened an insurance company with his wife in Knoxville, Tennessee that offers automotive, home, motorcycle, RV, boat, life and commercial insurance along with retirement planning. He's staying in WWE for now because he's still making good money but the writing is on the wall. (WO)"

He's been in the business for such a long time, I figured he would've stayed in it in retirement too. Imagine having Kane as your insurance broker; woah, imagine having Kane as your congressman?

...I wouldn't want Glenn Jacobs in Congress at all.

If Brie smacks Steph the roof will blow off

It's telling as fuck when the production value, announce team, ring work, promos, story lines, and characters on the WWE's D show shit all over TNA.

Such an enjoyable wrestling show.

They offered another free trial. Gotta watch some Generico now.

I'll start paying for it after WM, but will take another free week for now no problem

i like it
https://soundcloud.com/cons192/follow-the-buzzards-by

"If you wanna help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night...otherwise, shoot THIS mothaf*cka!" (c) Morgan Freeman,

http://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/20x7dc/im_wwe_hall_of_famer_million_dollar_man_ted/

This is definitely a memorable moment along those lines.

That was Mountie cuffing Bret to the ropes, pouring water on him, and hitting him with the cattle prod type shit.

That was Jake tying up Savage and letting a Cobra bite him type shit.

Remember how Nitro used to go off the air, damn near every week? This was that.

Yeah, it's Bryan getting his ass beat to end yet another show, but this one went harder than all of them combined. Stef looking like she wanted to finger herself while Bryan got his ass beat and clawing him up added so much to the segment.

It wasn't the plan, but if Mania ends the way we all know it should, the way this has played out since Summer Slam will go down as one of the greatest story arcs in WWE history and has put Bryan square into some truly iconic moments.

The problem is that so many Raws ended with Bryan getting beat so people are sick of it now.

This one was more intense and it really had to be, but it's one of those things like even a good Orton vs Cena match will still have the crowd chanting same old shit because we've seen the general idea of this so many times already. That is why it got the negative reaction despite being a good segment individually.

As for the story arc, I think you're right that in history it will be looked at favorably, it was after all what we assumed the plan was on the day after Summerslam, just took a lot of weird turns. Missing the Rumble win as part of it sucks for the legacy of it (think HBK chasing the boyhood dream story)but overall it was what we thought it was the day HHH pedigreed Bryan and Orton cashed in the MITB.

>The problem is that so many Raws ended with Bryan getting
>beat so people are sick of it now.
>
>This one was more intense and it really had to be, but it's
>one of those things like even a good Orton vs Cena match will
>still have the crowd chanting same old shit because we've seen
>the general idea of this so many times already. That is why it
>got the negative reaction despite being a good segment
>individually.
>
>As for the story arc, I think you're right that in history it
>will be looked at favorably, it was after all what we assumed
>the plan was on the day after Summerslam, just took a lot of
>weird turns. Missing the Rumble win as part of it sucks for
>the legacy of it (think HBK chasing the boyhood dream
>story)but overall it was what we thought it was the day HHH
>pedigreed Bryan and Orton cashed in the MITB.

With the internet, WWE Network, Netflix, message boards, etc, giving people 'what they want' in the same way as 20 or 30 years ago just isn't viable. To wrestling minds, the mid-90s lull in wrestling's popularity kinda proved that folks were already too cynical to roll with 'good guy gets beat up twice before winning when it matters'. AKA a guy can't chase a title for 9 months and win in all of the spots he's 'supposed to' leading up to it and still carry any legit anticipation for the day of reconciliation, triumph, getback, whaever. This is especially the case considering it took Hogan turning heel on-screen to bring wrestling another boom period. Add in that Bret did the same thing as a geography-based tweener (loved in Canada, hated everywhere else) and shit was crazy.

Thanks to the nWo, Austin vs Vince, and even the backlash to SuperCena, there has to be a dark period during these face triumph stories...and it has to be dark enough that folks start to wonder if the 'obvious' thing of the face going over huge is actually going to happen. And as soon as THAT happens, wrestling has us right where it wants us.

That's why I'm calling HHH cheating his ass off (see pre-Raw guess from me...sledgehammer to the shoulder) to win the match before Host Hogan makes the save and puts Bryan in the title match anyway. Because that time between the loss and Host Hogan announcing Bryan's involvement would be batshit crazy at home, in the crowd, online, etc. AKA folks would lose their shit. And it would be awesome.

And sure...it is damn possible that Bryan was slated for something far more lame for Mania and beyond before Punk rolling out inspired/forced WWE to look at their last several month for another direction to go in with one of their faces.

And yes...the nWo has made people skeptical that the face is ever going to 'get his win the right way' in these situations. However, I think HHH has shown enough ass over the years (ie: putting folks over with limited bullshit in the finish). And he probably gets it. So...if you ask me, I'll say HHH is going to give it the fuck up for Bryan in a few weeks...whether it is in the first match or the title match. And it is gonna be awesome.

>The problem is that so many Raws ended with Bryan getting
>beat so people are sick of it now.
>
>This one was more intense and it really had to be, but it's
>one of those things like even a good Orton vs Cena match will
>still have the crowd chanting same old shit because we've seen
>the general idea of this so many times already. That is why it
>got the negative reaction despite being a good segment
>individually.
>
>As for the story arc, I think you're right that in history it
>will be looked at favorably, it was after all what we assumed
>the plan was on the day after Summerslam, just took a lot of
>weird turns. Missing the Rumble win as part of it sucks for
>the legacy of it (think HBK chasing the boyhood dream
>story)but overall it was what we thought it was the day HHH
>pedigreed Bryan and Orton cashed in the MITB.


the payoff will make the writing look better in retrospect than it probably deserves because they messed up so many individual parts of it in the middle may ultimately be forgotten.

he went from two great matches against cena to getting squashed to getting squashed in 2 minutes to promote the scooby doo movie.

I can get with that.

Not saying HHH is ripping from him directly, but he is probably familiar with one of the more successful wrestling writers and podcasters out there.

Or his comments to Orton and Batista last week

HHH is ready to just talk to wrestling fans like adults who know what the deal is.

>Not saying HHH is ripping from him directly, but he is
>probably familiar with one of the more successful wrestling
>writers and podcasters out there.

http://grantland.com/features/an-interview-wwe-superstar-corporate-officer-triple-h/

hour and a half

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

Turning into some kind of cranky baby boomer is pretty outstanding. He and Stephanie should have a show on the network where they yell at wrestling crowds for like 2 hours.

>Turning into some kind of cranky baby boomer is pretty
>outstanding. He and Stephanie should have a show on the
>network where they yell at wrestling crowds for like 2 hours.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

Yet they're going to induct Scott Hall as "Razor Ramon" into the Hall of Fame.

And show no NWO Scott Hall clips.

Yeah.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why niggas be trying to prove Internet hypotheses?

The Razor Ramon gimmick was good enough to get in the HOF on its own. Plus it works out that he's featured on all the early RAWs that are now on the network. I doubt the WWE is trying to get over on anyone.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*bypasses the "debate bait"*

over/under on him crying on the podium?

his recovery's been pretty remarkable.

over 20 years later, and i still don't think there have been any better vignettes than "razor is coming"..

i wouldn't.

and then get prepared for the consequences.

http://youtu.be/nB_xOLcYTlw

Ambrose's fire-up. The kick to the VICIOUS rebound clothesline. Rollins going coast to coast taking folks out. holy shit was that incredible.

That's how fucking good. All of them are great on their own. They're great together. They just continually have fantastic matches.

I'd rather them fight actual current roster members. Like, just toss some random dude in with the Real Americans and run that shit back as a six-man tag. Big E. Fandango. Sheamus. Pretty much anyone. But whatever, they're gonna kill it at 'Mania regardless.

Gotta be able to do better for one of your biggest groups all year than Kane and NAO as the WM opponents. That is like a Bad Blood or TLC level PPV match

>Gotta be able to do better for one of your biggest groups all
>year than Kane and NAO as the WM opponents. That is like a Bad
>Blood or TLC level PPV match

Yeah, agreed. And, really, they've arguably been the best part of WWE since debuting, which is a bit more than a year ago. They really deserve to have a great spot at Mania. The match that would've made the most sense was the Wyatts, but I guess they wanted to get that one out of the way so Bray could fight Cena instead. Shield-Wyatts at Mania would've been nuts, but at the same time, it was so great at Elimination Chamber I'm not gonna complain about it.

He's got all of the Jeff Hardy high spot/rock star presence with a significantly better technical and psychological foundation. I just hope he never does a Swanton into a flatbed from 40 feet up or whatever the fuck.

Also, I hope Vince, Paul and co heard how fucking hot the crowd was for Ziggler. A Christian/Ziggler feud for the IC strap after Mania would be a nice treat.

And Vince is too set on appealing to Middle America/Late Night TV viewers than he is New York/Philly/Chicago crowds, which are viewed alongside "The Internet" in WWE estimations.

like the Occupy Raw segment was falling so flat in Memphis and I have no idea why. Memphis is a historically significant wrestling town, and I thought the segment was great. But that audience couldn't have given less of a shit.

which is usually the point when the audiences for Raw go dead

And yeah, I know, "but but Brooklyn," but Brooklyn is the exception in this case

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*bypasses the "debate bait"*

http://butimchrisjericho.com/

Really actually not too bad at all.

Bray and Hunter delivered with their promos, not much else has been memorable.

I mean take away the heat of Daniel Bryan which they kind of backed into regardless.

Cena vs Wyatt is the only other match built at all for this PPV.

Taker vs Brock has been pretty shitty with Brock looking awful until tonight. Was a good moment but too little too late in a feud we all know he is losing.

The Shield being used vs Kane and NAO is such a waste of them, happy to see them at Mania, but a pretty weak feud and build to it.

The tag title have really no build whatsover in this 4 way

The battle royal is a cool idea, but they barely are even developing any storylines to see in it...at least interesting ones.

IC and US titles not being defended at biggest show of the year.

This mania will have a bunch of good matches but the build up to most of it is worthy of a throwaway PPV level of hype.

2 if you count the divas

Wonderful

...


It's the most genuinely interested I've been in a Wrestlemania in some time. I'm not tuning in assuming that the top-billed matches will just be good because of who's involved, I'm tuning in because I really want to see how these stories play out.

Will the Shield break up?
Who gets the rub In this battle royal?
Where does Cesaro fit into all of this?
Bray is gonna steal the show against Cena, right?
Sure Taker wins, but how physical does it get?
I expect DB to beat Hunter, but do they F around and have him lose in the the triple threat match?
Brie Bella? Kane? SHANE MCMAHON? CM PUNK?

There's a lot here, but even still it feels like the least congested Wrestlemania in some time. They've made no mentioned of a Hinder performance or a Honey Boo Boo appearance. Instead, they're selling us a slate of matches that should all be at worst entertaining and at best breathtaking.

They arrived at this show clumsily, and we'll see if their haphazard preparation strategy doesn't come back to bite them. But for now, I'm more earnestly optimistic for a Wrestlemania than I've been in at least four years.

there's been 1 world title for a few months now, so why aren't the secondary titles worth shit still?

There is just so little put into almost all of these feuds save for the main event and Bray vs Cena.

Shield has been feuding with Kane for what 2 weeks?
Nobody in the tag match is even feuding with each other

With the exception of the top 3 matches they all just feel so random. WM used to be where year or at least several month long feuds were settled on the biggest stage of them all.

Shields vs Wyatts at EC was a mistake I think, that is a mania level match.

which in retrospect was a mistake. That Shield/Wyatts match would've been a welcome showcase of future top stars at Wrestlemania, a truly significant match on a card that's lacking in that department.

I guess Cena/Wyatts could have happened after Mania but the Shield/Wyatts could have stole the show - it's an unresolved feud as well and I agree better placed for Mania.

>Bray and Hunter delivered with their promos, not much else
>has been memorable.

kinda saw it coming, but it was still good. bryan needed to get in some offense to end a show finally. still have a sneaking suspicion he'll be screwed out of it in the end, but we'll see.

that battle royal segment was awful. all the worst talkers in the company talked. i care about like 3 guys in this match.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*bypasses the "debate bait"*

I don't know enough about wrestling history to place in an all-time context, but they're some of the best heel characters I've certainly seen. They kill it every single week. That video was perfect.

Instead of The Authority being a tight-knight heel faction run by Hunter and Stef with a ruthless, venomous hand-picked heel champ in Orton and the most cold-blooded enforcer you could ever get in Kane, they’ve turned it into a fractured mess.The Corporate Outlaws could have been a great thing if done right, given Road Dogg STILL being an absolute beast on the mic. He’s fucking corny, but that dude knows how to work a crowd like few others.

So what happened?

Kane’s done a great job screwing Bryan and The Shield. The Shield beating was fucking epic, but it’s a shame it happened in front of such a cold crowd on the B show. They also screwed the pooch by adding the NAO to the mix in a very forced way.

Orton has a done a phenomenal job in turning the tables on a crowd that is easily the hottest pro-face (i.e, Bryan) crowd we’ve seen since Austin at pretty much every turn. On one hand, it’s not rocket science, but he’s done an excellent job of turning largely uncalled for and inaccurate “boring!” chants into a torrent of grade-A heat. The problem is they’ve also turned him into a whiner, and his promos go from the fire of his fantastic initial run as their top heel to that of a spineless, crying pussy. Some guys make for great heels in that mold, but Orton’s not the guy to do that with.

During all this, The Authority is basically just Hunter and Stef with Kane as a sort-of connected enforcer, while they’ve taken to trying to screw Orton as much as possible. Hunter and Stef have done a great job with this gimmick, but extremely shaky storylines and idiotic decisions have robbed this entire Mania build of something that could have been truly special. There’s a metric ton of bright spots here, mostly Bryan related, with Orton proving to be a true pro in making the best of a bad situation for him and HHH/Stef killing with promos that remind you of the guy who basically made Mick Foley into a true-blue main event performer by being the best heel of his generation.

***Sorry Dewey, but Hunter’s sadistic streak made your dad just as much as your dad’s ability to take insane bumps and sell like crazy made Hunter during their time together.

All in all it’s been a mixed bag but Hunter and Stef have shined very bright in many regards, but the disjointed nature of this buildup has robbed everyone, including Bryan, of the true greatness this could have easily been.

Yeah, if anything Orton's been the face through it all and has topped every obstacle they've thrown at him - they should've protected him but they challenged him and he passed basically.

Just a thought that has been in my head for about a week...

I've been operating under the assumption that this was a work since the jump. It might've not have most fun decision from a creative standpoint, but WWE doesn't need Punk to sell this WrestleMania card and I can see how they would allow him to take time off.

I'm thinking the Network numbers are good enough to get them past Mania and a "something big" happening at Mania would drive that number further toward their 1M subscriber goal by the end of the year. Plus, for someone whose gimmick is "regular guy that's a nerd for the business", I can't see him missing out on WrestleMania 30.

but the only thing that might make me think it's a work is his silence through the whole thing - I'm not aware that he's made any comment at all which is strange?

This is not a work

Although it would be an amazing ending to see him return and cost HHH the match or something.

>Although it would be an amazing ending to see him return and
>cost HHH the match or something.

Could set up Punk and HHH feud and then an eventual feud with Bryan...

let me know what y'all think:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BkQBuMtIYAAnW52.jpg

We're just gonna watch at home and have a Wrestlemania party at the crib. Prolly grill some burgers or ribs, unless Wifey goes into labor, lol.

That's even better that you made shirts for the living room jumpoff

... needless to say they were all happy. My oldest (14) wanted the hashtag since he's all into instagram and internets talk, etc. We're prolly gonna have a few people over, treat it like the super bowl.

Which is actually sort of embarrassing!

I went to Raw last Monday here in DC and kids explode for 2 people, Cena and Daniel Bryan. What's amazing though is that every other segment of the audience pops for Daniel Bryan too; smarks and women go nuts for him in a way that truly rivals Steve Austin.

With that in mind, if I think I'd be blown if he doesn't leave Mania with a title I can't IMAGINE how hard kids would take it if he loses hahaha

I don't care who knows, I'll talk about wrassling at work with whoever wants to listen (which isn't many, admittedly)

When wrassling is good, it's damn fucking good haha

You know how many of the last few PPVs I've had my kids going to bed mad and waking up not wanting to talk about it when they wake up since they're still mad, lol.

My oldest wants to wear the shirt if he wins the next day at school, it he gets screwed again he wants me to send the shirts to where they send the superbowl loser shirts to, lol.

>You know how many of the last few PPVs I've had my kids going
>to bed mad and waking up not wanting to talk about it when
>they wake up since they're still mad, lol.
>
>My oldest wants to wear the shirt if he wins the next day at
>school, it he gets screwed again he wants me to send the
>shirts to where they send the superbowl loser shirts to, lol.

I'm so excited!

This is my 2nd mania (went to 18 in toronto) but I'm so pumped for this one. New Orleans, 15 dudes also on a bachelor party!

Some guy started a WM bar crawl and got over 250 RSVPs and got a bunch of specials set up, that is going to be crazy on Sunday. Just 200+ wrestling fans in outfits crawling their way from bar to bar all the way to the superdome.

Enjoy and be safe!

I'm going too, was thinking about joining that bar crawl at some point, dude has 275 RSVP'd as of today.

>I'm so excited!
>
>This is my 2nd mania (went to 18 in toronto) but I'm so pumped
>for this one. New Orleans, 15 dudes also on a bachelor party!
>
>Some guy started a WM bar crawl and got over 250 RSVPs and got
>a bunch of specials set up, that is going to be crazy on
>Sunday. Just 200+ wrestling fans in outfits crawling their way
>from bar to bar all the way to the superdome.

That's awesome dude fun right there. Enjoy the hell out of that, act a fool, and make it back in one piece!

I expect that WM will end in a chorus of YESes, so the show should end well. And...build-up issues be damned, I think this show will have some solid wrestling because the card is filled with solid workers. Now it just a matter of what surprises we get.

I'm trying really hard not to be a mark for this show...aka I don't want to build all of the finishes in my mind and then be pissed because the folks at WWE booked it another way. I want to:

- Enjoy the wrestling
- Continue to love that wrestling has a netflix-style app with friggin PPVs (WWE Network)
- Appreciate old ass Hogan showing up and doing whatever he's gonna do (as long as it doesn't take too long)
- Witness the payoff to HHH/Steph vs DB with guest stars Bootista and 'I forget that he's the champ all the time' Randy Orton

I'm 36 and I've been watching wrestling since I was around 5. 30 years is a long ass time to be a wrestling fan. And considering midsouth wrestling, Paul Bosch/Houston wrestling, NWA Saturday on TBS, WWE, WCW, a little Japan (90s All Japan stuff mostly), a little less Mexico, a slew of video games (Virtual Pro Wrestling TWO aka the best of all the N64 AKI wrestling games), etc., I've enjoyed the hell out of my time spent on wrestling. Mania 30 is a big deal to me and even though the show feels kinda slow-played outside of the 2-match main event angle with HHH/DB, I'm amped for it.

I'm not sure if Phil vs HHH would've been as good or any better. I do know I'm losing my shit if Phil shows up and does anything (but I don't think he will..yet). Corporate Sellout Punk for Summerslam would be excellent and better than whatever Orton is up to right now..we'll see.

Jimaveli: Oh...and Steph's still got it

>Corporate Sellout
>Punk for Summerslam

Edit: THIS IS STILL IN PLAY

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2302037&mode=full#2302834

Just switch 'mania' with 'summer slam'

...the fact that so little attention has been given to Batista since Royal Rumble really concerns me...

>...the fact that so little attention has been given to
>Batista since Royal Rumble really concerns me...

Still think Batista could win, but I think the lack of emphasis on Batista is just because he's so boring on the mic and in the ring that he can't even carry a segment. Orton being de-emphasized while still being champ could create for a sneaky win. Especially one where some combo of Hunter/Dave/Bryan should have won. Orton has basically had the belt since Summerslam though, so I kinda doubt it... but you never know. And while I'd like to think they had Bryan standing tall at the send-home just because he's been beat up so much already, it's usually not a good sign for his chances. I'm interested to see how it plays out, and (given certain circumstances) I'm SORTA fine with anyone winning but Batista. He just looks awful out there. He's winded after 2 minutes. he would be the least believable heavyweight champ in a company with only one of those.

as tourists get off the plane for WM XXX. I can't wait to see how crazy it is on Sunday.

*flicks toothpick*

Lita has been talking almost 45 minutes now...



We the children of the Light, you know what I mean?
That's why I'm hating on the darkness like Paula Deen
Cause in my hood they masked up like it's Halloween
We going hard for the Rock, but we not some fiends
- Andy Mineo

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Subliminals only work for rap guys, bro

Is Flair always that much of a dick?
He was letting Mick have it for no apparent reason

>Is Flair always that much of a dick?
>He was letting Mick have it for no apparent reason

that was a while ago of course, but maybe they're still harboring bad feelings. flair had two stints as a WCW booker and mick said he was awful at it.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Subliminals only work for rap guys, bro

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Subliminals only work for rap guys, bro

bad enough that my feed's randomly repeating and getting blurry.

jake's speech tho.

time.

I mean, I get that there's another show scheduled at 11:30, but ESPN doesn't cut their live events for time; let that shit go as long as it goes, then resume regularly-scheduled programming already in progress

I also don't like that they're muting cuss words

T's speech may or may not have been a work, who knows?

Also, the network is working fine on my end; I've got the feed up on my laptop and my iPad, and have only had minor problems with the iPad

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Subliminals only work for rap guys, bro

>bad enough that my feed's randomly repeating and getting
>blurry.
>
>jake's speech tho.

Jake is like super duper Mick Foley on the mic. Loved it.

And Scott Ha...my bad...RAZOR didn't look so bad. Kevin set him up pretty solid and he kept it simple.

Warrior ain't as crazy as I thought. Most of that shit he said made a gang of sense. And yeah...he took for fucking ever, but it is clear now that most of them do.

Side note: I hate to agree, but Flair appears to be a bigger asshole just about every time I see him on roundtable things. Folks go out of their way to kiss his ass and he kinda doesn't show that he appreciates it. It's like he's done being humble about things now. Maybe it has to do with his opinions on Foley, Taz, etc.

Jimaveli

Even this hall of fame shit barely works

>Even this hall of fame shit barely works

The thing I don't like is if your shit skips on a live wwe network situation, it seems like you just can't get it back no matter what. And I lost 5-10 second chunks on 360 a few times during jake and warrior. I tried to rewind it back and hope for it to work...naw.

All that aside, I'm gonna believe in the network to be functional until I don't. I'm gonna start with a 360, have a ps3 that I usually use for wwe network on deck, and have both a mac and a windows laptop on deck. I'm gonna Ethernet cable each of those as needed. If I find myself 0 fo fo at any time, I'll go ahead and order the ppv on cable like I probably should've beforehand.

But certainly they've thought about this, done worse case scenario volume-related projections, had meetings with IT folks, cussed about how they can't have performance issues with this network on its first big ppv, etc. Right!? Right!?

At worst, I think this event will be best to watch on a 10 or so minute delay, but I can't tell you whyyyy...

>But certainly they've thought about this, done worse case
>scenario volume-related projections, had meetings with IT
>folks, cussed about how they can't have performance issues
>with this network on its first big ppv, etc. Right!? Right!?

when i had the problems.

i guess plan b for WM is the laptop/monitor, then the ipad as a last resort.

let's hope wwe tech beefed up the backend hardware for their biggest show of the year.

that said, with the countless PPV's i've already watched, at the end of the day it's still the best $9.99 i've spent in a long long time.

just in case latecomers get fucked. after their first week debacle i don't trust them.

Shoot I feel like a kid again, with my kids!!! First 'Mania I'll get to watch live.

they've been off-the-charts OVER as babyfaces the last two weeks.

at least after seeing jake's speech they should have cancelled it. that was awful. glad the crowd let them have it.