Wrestling

[The Unknown Poster]

34 minutes ago, iso_55 said:

Coming off a PPV it would only make sense that Lesnar squashes Orton but that won't happen.

As silly as it sounds it might depend what happens at UFC. If Brock loses then he's almost surely losing to Orton 

but Brock made the remark that Vince knows a happy Brock is easier to deal with. So it also wouldn't surprise me that they asked him to lose clean to Randy in return for cooperation on UFC. 

But Vince sees Brock differently than Hunter and Steph. He knows Brock is the only special attraction he has. Hence why he squashed Cena and beat Taker. So you just never know. Which is part of the appeal. Randy is a good worker. Should be a good match. 

Then again they could offer Jones a ton to come in and "fight" Brock lol 

[Atomic]

Hardy video was absolutely ridiculous nonsense.  I loved it.  WWE has to get those guys back in the ring.

I'm not a big fan of Randy Orton.  He is a good wrestler but there's just something about him, I don't buy into his personality.  I wish they would put Lesnar back in the WWE title picture.

[iso_55]

Orton is not the Apex Predator anymore.

[iso_55]

Stephanie running Raw? LOL! Won't be watching anymore. She just sucks the life out of the show.

[Atomic]

Make Darren Young Great Again!!!

[The Unknown Poster]

8 hours ago, iso_55 said:

Stephanie running Raw? LOL! Won't be watching anymore. She just sucks the life out of the show.

I guess the idea is Shane is more of a draw as a face to make SD seem cool. 

The GM idea is interesting and hopefully designed to keep Steph & Shane from appearing too often. 

[Root]

Unless Brock can make a commitment to VInce to do at least 3/4 of the PPVs and occasional visits to regular TV I suspect that's why they'll put Randy over the big man.

If Randy is right physically (won't comment on his mental state) he'll work as much as required by his owners.  That's a ton of PPVs (at top or 2nd from top) plus most regular TV - and tons of house shows.

Brock, like his buddy The Undertaker is just a spot performer who is used sparingly. (by his own choice, not the owners)

[The Unknown Poster]

Normally I'd say Randy wins for sure.  But Vince "gets" Brock in a way Hunter & Steph never will.  He understand protecting a commodity, hence why he put him over Undertaker and had his squash Ambrose and Cena.  So if I had to bet, I'd bet on Brock.  Its just weird because you don't usually beat a returning face in his first match back.  Could be a set up to a bigger angle.

WWE.com might have spoiled the SD GM with a pretty specific heading that would make you think it will be 

Spoiler

Daniel Bryan

And they changed it, which adds further credence.

[iso_55]

The Authority angle with Stephanie has just gone on too long. I'm tired of it & after 20 years of watching Raw I am done. I'll just have to watch regular programming on tv. Tuesdays will be questionable for Smackdown as I usually watch NCIS as well as Chicago Med. So if it's on during that time I won't tune in. They may have lost me as a fan.

[Root]

I simply stopped watching Raw & SD when I signed up with a different cable provider's promotional package which included all 5 TSN channels but none of the Sportsnet.

So the major stuff missed is Blue Jays and pro wrestling - not much more unless you like to watch Bob McCown go on and on or Caroline Cameron doing her sing-song on the evening sports. I get enough of that with Jenn Hedger!

[Atomic]

Ain't no way Randy beats Lesnar.  Nooo way.

[Root]

27 minutes ago, Atomic said:

Ain't no way Randy beats Lesnar.  Nooo way.

At the very worst they "smoke" the finish - ie. double DQ, run-in of a talent requiring a rub, etc.

[Atomic]

3 hours ago, Root said:

At the very worst they "smoke" the finish - ie. double DQ, run-in of a talent requiring a rub, etc.

I'm telling you, Lesnar wins, clean finish.

[Root]

1 hour ago, Atomic said:

I'm telling you, Lesnar wins, clean finish.

Agreed to about 95%. Randy is one of those eternal performers where losing doesn't really effect his standing. Kinda same as The Rock - who always jokes he's lost most of his big matches (to put lesser guys over)

Brock lays down for Orton and it does effect him somewhat - largely in the WWE (where he's a temporary worker) and very lightly in MMA (where he may have 1 or 2 more shots left)

[Goalie]

Brock should destroy Orton.  He actually has 2 cuz Orton beating Brock isn't believable at all.  

Also sounds like steph and shane "own" raw and Smackdown.  They won't appear on TV very often hence why gms will be named. 

Hhh but vince vetos it. Bischoff for Raw. Bryan for Smackdown 

Why?  Cuz hhh is way to obvious 

Edited July 13, 2016 by Goalie

[The Unknown Poster]

Would love Bisch back but doubt they'd do that. 

One Rumor is Steph and Shane announce their GM's and Vince flips them making Shane's pick work for Steph and vice versa 

[Root]

21 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Would love Bisch back but doubt they'd do that. 

One Rumor is Steph and Shane announce their GM's and Vince flips them making Shane's pick work for Steph and vice versa 

love to see that - ie. someone like Bryan Daniels working for Steph.

Steph & HHH tend to show up a lot when the product is in turmoil and thru sheer force of personality they try to upgrade the product. Sometimes by trying too hard they turn off the regular smart marks.

Steph has come a long way in terms of acting and personality, inflections and facial expressions (not quite in Vince country but who is?) - her main problem with the women's division is she dwarfs almost all the performers (I think Steph is about 5'10" and she's not thin) so only girls like Flair's daughter can stand up to her - and Flair's daughter isn't over and putting her with Steph shrinks her down even more.

Hunter - this guy's always got something up his sleeve and fans are frustrated cuz they figure a guy with that kind of look and in very good condition should be getting his comeuppance in the ring vs. whatever faces are being pushed hard.

[The Unknown Poster]

Steph is a good performer in the sense she is good at saying words.  Problem is, she always buries everyone and never gets her comeuppance.  And Hunter especially is very smart about appearances.  Its an old trick that dates back years...you know when the ratings trend down and when they trend up, so you make sure to be out for the regular down trends and return for the up trends so that you can always say ratings went up and down depending on when you appeared.

The problem with reverse GM's is that then it becomes about the GM vs the Commissioner.  The feud that makes the most sense if we have to have an authority-based feud is Shane vs Hunter.

[Root]

Shane vs. Hunter is the natural rivalry in terms of running shows - especially because the shows tend to cross over more than ever.

I'm sure that's been on their story-board but the big question is whether it leaves a space for Stephanie.

As you stated Steph is tremendous at burying 75% of her roster (the low and middle guys tend to escape her wrath cuz they're not worth her TV promos) so they need to find her a TV role - if Shane & HHH go to war.

Even though Vince is now 75 or so, he's still the best guy they've got but you can't run a company featuring a 75 yr old icon. Or can you?

I think VInce is happy doing 2 or 3 drop-ins a year until he just can't go anymore!

[The Unknown Poster]

26 minutes ago, Root said:

Shane vs. Hunter is the natural rivalry in terms of running shows - especially because the shows tend to cross over more than ever.

I'm sure that's been on their story-board but the big question is whether it leaves a space for Stephanie.

As you stated Steph is tremendous at burying 75% of her roster (the low and middle guys tend to escape her wrath cuz they're not worth her TV promos) so they need to find her a TV role - if Shane & HHH go to war.

Even though Vince is now 75 or so, he's still the best guy they've got but you can't run a company featuring a 75 yr old icon. Or can you?

I think VInce is happy doing 2 or 3 drop-ins a year until he just can't go anymore!

They had an angle planned a couple of years ago which was for Vince to feud with Hunter/Steph in a "take over" type scenario.  They had set it up and Vince was scheduled to appear to start it and abruptly changed his mind feeling he was too old to be on TV. 

That changed when Roman failed to get over and Vince basically decided he'd get him over himself, leading to his return to TV (where he took a bump for Roman).  Helped short term.

I wouldnt be surprised if they circle back around to the take over angle.  It would make sense to do when Vince is close to stepping back a bit.  Its probably the final bit of realism they can do.

Steph has a DVD and auto-biography out this year, plus her continued push as the face of the company.  Makes me wonder if Vince has finally decided on a succession plan.  Its a very interesting topic because he was asked about it a few years ago and the company basically brushed it off.  But a valuable publicly-traded company needs succession planning and when you're family owned/operated its even more important. 

Vince has been working with Hunter for a few years now to get him ready but the concern was always, if Vince died tomorrow, would the shareholders/board accept Hunter?  On paper, it doesnt really matter since the family controls the board and controlling interest in shares.  But share holder war could torpedo the share price.  Hunter has no formal education, never worked a real job or worked in business.

There has been speculation Shane's return is specific timing on his part.  He's got formal education, worked his way up in the company and was CEO of another company not controlled by his father.  His department in WWE when he was there was considered a big success.  He's very likeable and someone that is great in the business world as far as relationships etc.  Steph is sort of an idiot, having failed in most ways in WWE as far as departments she ran and doesnt seem to have natural business savvy.  No surprise she was moved to a position created for her which essentially was designed for a "McMahon" to be the face of the company.  She's good at smoozing and as a young woman in business, comes across well.

Shane and Hunter legitimately dont love each other though.  And it would be odd for Vince to suddenly change direction.  But Shane might be someone that stabilizes the shareholders if he was involved.  So far, he hasnt been (and there has been some talk he has to be careful due to non-competes with his other company and WWE's involvement in China) but it wouldnt surprise me if Shane gets elected to the WWE BOD in the next year or so.  It also wouldnt surprise me if he gets bored and leaves again.  But I think he's being sincere when he says he wants WWE to exist for his sons too and he needs his foot back in the door before Vince is gone.

[Taynted_Fayth]

in the "real" world brock would destroy Orton, and likely in the wrestling world too, I'd like to see Orton get the W over Lesnar with the help of The Club. IMO ortons best days (even on the win side) have come when he's part of a faction.  some AJ n Orton vs Lesnar (and cena?) matches could spike some interest on how any of those guys would work together

[The Unknown Poster]

30 minutes ago, Taynted_Fayth said:

in the "real" world brock would destroy Orton, and likely in the wrestling world too, I'd like to see Orton get the W over Lesnar with the help of The Club. IMO ortons best days (even on the win side) have come when he's part of a faction.  some AJ n Orton vs Lesnar (and cena?) matches could spike some interest on how any of those guys would work together

I dont know man...Orton is pretty played out.  He was their first big push when it occurred to them that pushing a 22 year old guy would mean they'd have a guy on top for 20 years.  Unfortunately, most guys dont really "get it" completely til into their 30's.  Orton has been really played out and has had injury issues.  He's a good worker though.  Needs to be a heel but I think they will try and make him a face as he'll get that initial pop upon his return.

Wonder if they will mention that both were the "youngest world champions" (Brock first and then Orton beat his record).

[iso_55]

So, Vince would prefer a broken down Orton to UFC winner Lesnar who the crowd (in Vegas) now loves? I think they may have to make him world champion because of his heat from UFC fighting Rollins.

[The Unknown Poster]

Some interesting notes:

The company sent out a survey to some of its mailing list fans asking about interest level in potential WWE Network programs. So these must be shows under consideration. “Ask Me Anything Live?” would be a live Q&A show with talent. “Everyone Has Price” would be a reality show finding people around the country who have old WWE merchandise and memorabilia and determining the price value of things in their collection. “Extreme Eats” would have Tommy Dreamer and Bubba Ray Dudley go around the country and eat at their favorite restaurants. I guess that tells you that they’re looking to bring Dreamer back. “50 States, 50 Dates” would follow a WWE wrestler on 50 states with different women around the country with the idea of showing how difficult it is to maintain a romance on a WWE traveling schedule. “Goldberg’s Garage,” which would be a show about Bill Goldberg’s muscle car collection. This is clearly a sign that they’re on much better terms with Goldberg after okaying him for the 2K role. “History of WWE” would be a ten week series. Those type of shows always have problems because WWE is very creative about its history. “Legends House: Attitude.” This would be a remake of the “Legends House” show, but using talent from the 1998-2001 era. “Miz & Mrs,” which would be reality show with Miz and Maryse. “Tapout Fitness” would have WWE talent take fans through their personal workouts and give them training and nutrition tips and ideas. “The Third Wheel” is an idea of following WWE fans on blind dates without them knowing a WWE star is going to show up. “Totally NXT,” would be a weekly reality show following six women beginning in NXT and trying to make it from scratch. “The Wives of Flair,” would be a reality show on the lives of Ric Flair’s four ex-wives. I don’t know about that one. “WWE All Access” would be a reality show which follows main eventers as they prepare for the biggest shows of the year. That’s the old UFC All Access idea. “WWE Game Night,” would be performers facing celebrities in various competitions, with things listed like pictionary, dodgeball and obstacle courses. “WWE Investigates” which would be WWE going deep into real subjects in the history of pro wrestling. “WWE Goes Viral” which will be a collection of WWE videos, both produced by the promotion and those put together by fans. “WWE Kids,” which would be an offshoot of the original WWE Kids concept. This would have young kids doing interviews with WWE stars, compete with them in games and also have them announce WWE matches. “WWE Promo Battle” would have talent battle in improv promos wars in a tournament where fans on social media and a panel of judges will vote on who cuts the best promo. This is scary because a show like this may produce better promos than Raw or Smackdown and that would expose the overscripting aspect of those shows. “WWE Roast,” which would be to tape roasts of legends. “WWE Superstars Search” would be a new wording of the old Diva Search, a reality show where ten women compete for a WWE contract.

[iso_55]

Are you serious about those lists? They're absolutely awful... Just awful.