Wrestling

[Atomic]

I think it's pretty clear that Roman is the guy and it's not changing.  It's all about Roman and will continue to be into the foreseeable future.  This whole Brock/Goldberg angle is all about Brock regaining his unbeatable aura so Roman can beat him, likely at next year's Wrestlemania.

[The Unknown Poster]

1 minute ago, Atomic said:

I think it's pretty clear that Roman is the guy and it's not changing.  It's all about Roman and will continue to be into the foreseeable future.  This whole Brock/Goldberg angle is all about Brock regaining his unbeatable aura so Roman can beat him, likely at next year's Wrestlemania.

Yes. Exactly. 100%. 

Its been botched terribly but he's their guy. And their business isn't reliant on someone like Hogan, Austin, Rock, Cena anymore. So they keep pushing the wrong guy in the wrong way.  

He desperately needs a heel turn. But he's needed that for at least two years. 

[The Unknown Poster]

5 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

I also liked the way Taker went out. Trying to get up and not being able to was great imo.

It elicited laughter where I was. It would have been more dramatic had the match been better. 

 

4 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

One thing I think they should do is cut down on re-telling the storyline before every match. They can give a little background for people that don't know, but it was way too much imo.

This is a huge issue. I don't mind as much at WM because their packages are so good. But really they spend too much time accounting for the fans that don't follow them regularly. It makes it too easy to not follow them. 

[Taynted_Fayth]

since the weak build up in the few shows following WM had constant lights flickering then sudden appearance, my way to finish the match would be light goes out and the urn is all that remains in the ring as the lights went back on

Edited April 3, 2017 by Taynted_Fayth

[Atomic]

8 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Yes. Exactly. 100%. 

Its been botched terribly but he's their guy. And their business isn't reliant on someone like Hogan, Austin, Rock, Cena anymore. So they keep pushing the wrong guy in the wrong way.  

He desperately needs a heel turn. But he's needed that for at least two years. 

It's kind of an interesting situation.  I don't think the fans will ever accept a favourite like a Hogan or Cena anymore.  It's gotta be an underdog, a guy from the indies, a guy that fans feel like is being "held back", or they will never cheer.  In that respect I don't think the Reigns push is necessarily botched.... it's just that while they need a "top guy", the hardcore fans will never accept one.

[The Unknown Poster]

1 minute ago, Taynted_Fayth said:

since the weak build up in the few shows following WM had constant lights flickering then sudden appearance, my way to finish the match would be light goes out and the urn is all that remains in the ring as the lights went back on

I think anything they did to write off the Undertaker was probably best done on raw. More viewers. And a better crowd. 

I liked the symbolism of the gear in the ring. But can't sacrifice an entire show for that one shot. 

[The Unknown Poster]

Just now, Atomic said:

It's kind of an interesting situation.  I don't think the fans will ever accept a favourite like a Hogan or Cena anymore.  It's gotta be an underdog, a guy from the indies, a guy that fans feel like is being "held back", or they will never cheer.  In that respect I don't think the Reigns push is necessarily botched.... it's just that while they need a "top guy", the hardcore fans will never accept one.

The fans are smarter now than in the past for many reasons. Internet. Age of average viewer is higher etc. WWE exposes their own business in a way that feeds the smarter fan.

vince is just stubborn. This would be akin to keeping Austin as "The Ringmaster" or Rocky as smiling good guy "Rocky Maivia". Both of those Mega Stars began as really crappy Vince ideas. But he changed when he saw it wasn't working. And there was far more input from the talent and a willingness to try. WWE has no competition so they aren't compelled to try new things not. 

Daniel Bryan is prime example. He got over organically. Fans liked him because he was talented and came across as a nkce guy. They wanted him to succeed. WWE didn't see it. When they jobbed him to Sheamus at WM in seconds it began the fan backlash. And they did everything they could do cut Bryan off but couldn't. 

Bryan's wm was supposed to be Randy vs Batista if you can believe it. Vince thought it would be the biggest of all time. But Vince finally relented when he realized the show would be completely hijacked by the fans. 

Its really not that hard. But WWE is a weird culture. The writers exist to please Vince. And Vince is very insulated from the real world.  Roman would be a huge baby face right now if they had turned him heel two years ago. 

They always screw with people that are over. They did it to Bayley too. 

Hunter screwed roman too actually. 

[Brandon]

2 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Youve improved a lot. We all have moments when we focus on winning the argument over sharing the discussion. 

Goalies cheap attack was not only unfair but since he was completely wrong it was also laughable. I'll assume there was some make imbibing occurring and hopefully he'll apologize and we can move on. 

What did you think of the show Brandon? Did you watch?

My cheap shots are more so poking fun then actually trying to win an argument or to upset anyone else,  I'm not sure about Goalie on his intents or not.

I missed the show  as per life with a new born and a toddler...   I'm disappointed about missing out on the Hardy Boys since I was a huge fan of them back in the day. 

Based on what I read... I'm disappointed on how they ended things with the Taker...  They could of done a whole lot more with him and his gimmick and maybe passing the gimmick along to someone else.  A big missed opportunity.  

I missed out on the HOF,  did Jim Cornette cause any trouble since he seems to be such a big mouth based on his youtube videos/podcasts?  He seems to talk a big game but I can't imagine him having the guts to say anything to anyone's face?

[Taynted_Fayth]

2 hours ago, Atomic said:

It's kind of an interesting situation.  I don't think the fans will ever accept a favourite like a Hogan or Cena anymore.  It's gotta be an underdog, a guy from the indies, a guy that fans feel like is being "held back", or they will never cheer.  In that respect I don't think the Reigns push is necessarily botched.... it's just that while they need a "top guy", the hardcore fans will never accept one.

a guy who I think is being grossly overlooked right now but could eventually be so much bigger than he is is Fandango.  in a way but not directly,  he reminds me of a young Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who should be getting a push with the US belt (Raw equivalent to the IC belt). despite the "dancing" gimmick getting a bit of reaction from the crowd, like the early HHH snob,  they need to repackage him a bit and he could move up the ranks imo

But until they start taking him seriously (meaning ditch tyler breeze and stop the goofy ****) he'll forever be a jobber 

Edited April 3, 2017 by Taynted_Fayth

[The Unknown Poster]

26 minutes ago, Brandon said:

My cheap shots are more so poking fun then actually trying to win an argument or to upset anyone else,  I'm not sure about Goalie on his intents or not.

I missed the show  as per life with a new born and a toddler...   I'm disappointed about missing out on the Hardy Boys since I was a huge fan of them back in the day. 

Based on what I read... I'm disappointed on how they ended things with the Taker...  They could of done a whole lot more with him and his gimmick and maybe passing the gimmick along to someone else.  A big missed opportunity.  

I missed out on the HOF,  did Jim Cornette cause any trouble since he seems to be such a big mouth based on his youtube videos/podcasts?  He seems to talk a big game but I can't imagine him having the guts to say anything to anyone's face?

All reports are that he was great.  His schtick is mostly a gimmick.  He buried the Bucks and then when they were both booked for the same indie show, he messaged them and pitched an angle and they said no.  They didn't want to help make money for someone who made money burying them.  

He has been blunt in person.  He slapped Santino (which led to him getting fired).  And I think he spit in the face of the writer who went to WCW with Russo, because he portrayed a version of Jim Ross complete with making fun of his Bells Palsy.

[Atomic]

9 minutes ago, Taynted_Fayth said:

a guy who I think is being grossly overlooked right now but could eventually be so much bigger than he is is Fandango.  in a way but not directly,  he reminds me of a young Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who should be getting a push with the US belt (Raw equivalent to the IC belt). despite the "dancing" gimmick getting a bit of reaction from the crowd, like the early HHH snob,  they need to repackage him a bit and he could move up the ranks imo

But until they start taking him seriously (meaning ditch tyler breeze and stop the goofy ****) he'll forever be a jobber 

Gonna have to lose the name "Fandango" as well.  But I agree, he's a good wrestler with a good look and great physique.  I'm just not sure what can be done with his character at this point.  And is he good enough to join the ranks of the top guys?  On RAW you've got Roman Reigns, KO, Y2J, Braun Strowman, Rusev, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe....... is there room for a guy like Fandango in the title pictures?  And that's not to mention some of the top guys like Cesaro and Sheamus who are out of the singles picture for now but may not be forever....

If I had to pick some underdogs I want to see pushed it would be the Ascension.  Let's get the Smackdown tag belts on those guys!

[The Unknown Poster]

Lots of chatter that WWE were turning down the audio at various points when they were getting poor reactions (Roman being boo'ed out of the building).  So they are aware enough to be ready to do those things but not to come up with a better creative plan to stop it from happening.  This is the biggest wrestling company in the world with an army of writers and they just shrug and blame the fans for not reacting the right way.

[The Unknown Poster]

1 minute ago, Atomic said:

Gonna have to lose the name "Fandango" as well.  But I agree, he's a good wrestler with a good look and great physique.  I'm just not sure what can be done with his character at this point.  And is he good enough to join the ranks of the top guys?  On RAW you've got Roman Reigns, KO, Y2J, Braun Strowman, Rusev, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe....... is there room for a guy like Fandango in the title pictures?  And that's not to mention some of the top guys like Cesaro and Sheamus who are out of the singles picture for now but may not be forever....

If I had to pick some underdogs I want to see pushed it would be the Ascension.  Let's get the Smackdown tag belts on those guys!

I like Fandango and he could be more, but I think more in the vein of Honky Tonk Man with the fun gimmick.  WWE now has the most talented assembly of guys, possibly in history.  So guys like Ascension, its hard to push.

Although I really believe WWE needs to pull back on the wrestling on TV significantly and book more angles.  And then guys who aren't the very best workers would be used more.  The 5-star matches should be reserved for PPV and 1-2 per RAW.  Shorter segments, more angles.

[Atomic]

1 minute ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Lots of chatter that WWE were turning down the audio at various points when they were getting poor reactions (Roman being boo'ed out of the building).  So they are aware enough to be ready to do those things but not to come up with a better creative plan to stop it from happening.  This is the biggest wrestling company in the world with an army of writers and they just shrug and blame the fans for not reacting the right way.

My favourite IWC myth..... the turned-down crowd audio.  Any time the crowd isn't reacting the way the IWC expects them to, they start to claim that the WWE must be muting the crowd.

IWC:  "Roman always gets booed!"

Rational individual:  "Didn't seem so bad last night."

IWC:  "Well they must have doctored the audio!  I'm right dammit!"

[The Unknown Poster]

Just now, Atomic said:

My favourite IWC myth..... the turned-down crowd audio.  Any time the crowd isn't reacting the way the IWC expects them to, they start to claim that the WWE must be muting the crowd.

IWC:  "Roman always gets booed!"

Rational individual:  "Didn't seem so bad last night."

IWC:  "Well they must have doctored the audio!  I'm right dammit!"

By chatter, i wasn't referring to "Internet Wrestling Community".  I mean, when the crowd noise drops at certain times and you get reports from people there that don't match...well, I guess its a myth.

Wrestling doesn't always have to be a battle between the "real fans" and the "smart marks".  geez

[Goalie]

They definitely turn down audio at times.  They also edit the reruns so Roman gets more cheers. Watch it on the network again. It's pretty obvious they mess with the audio and add canned cheers 

[The Unknown Poster]

4 minutes ago, Goalie said:

They definitely turn down audio at times.  They also edit the reruns so Roman gets more cheers. Watch it on the network again. It's pretty obvious they mess with the audio and add canned cheers 

Yup.  To think they don't is naive.  In fact it was sort of a running joke when they taped Smackdown.  And there is examples of where they create those recap videos and they actually switch the audience reaction shots to ones they *want* rather then ones they actually got.

They've been doing it for years.  Its television after all.  Go back and watch RR 92.  When Hogan is eliminated the fans pop big.  When Hogan pulls Sid out, they boo like mad.  Flair gets a pop for winning.  And fans are solidly behind Sid and against Hogan.  When they did the recap videos leading to Wrestlemania, they not only changed all the audio to Sid being boo'ed and Hogan being cheered, they had Gorilla and Heenan re-do their commentary to bury Sid and put over Hogan.  Hilarious.

[Atomic]

It's still real to me dammit

[Goalie]

I actually thought reigns got very little reaction as the match went on. Crowd seemed dead 

[Taynted_Fayth]

2 minutes ago, Atomic said:

Gonna have to lose the name "Fandango" as well.  But I agree, he's a good wrestler with a good look and great physique.  I'm just not sure what can be done with his character at this point.  And is he good enough to join the ranks of the top guys?  On RAW you've got Roman Reigns, KO, Y2J, Braun Strowman, Rusev, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe....... is there room for a guy like Fandango in the title pictures?  And that's not to mention some of the top guys like Cesaro and Sheamus who are out of the singles picture for now but may not be forever....

If I had to pick some underdogs I want to see pushed it would be the Ascension.  Let's get the Smackdown tag belts on those guys!

there should definitely be 2 tiers of wrestlers on each program,  the top half fighting for the Universal (or world heavyweight) and the bottom half fighting for the US (IC) championship.  Guys like Sami Zayn, Y2J, Finn Balor (when healthy)..etc should be in the US picture,  and I think at this stage, Fandango, if repackaged could be in the mix with those guys as long as his character is being taken seriously, as in not just jobbing.   

I think they used to view the IC as the stepping stone for wrestlers to vault themselves from mid carders to main eventers,  but recently when you have guys like Cena winning the US belt, and now Kevin Owens holding it, guys who have been the world champ, it just screws with the whole system.  

speaking of Which,  why didn't KO get his rematch clause with Goldberg after losing the belt?  I realize Goldberg and Lesnar kind of booked each other in a WM match by agreeing on a raw a few weeks ago, but you would think KO would be adamant to get it back asap after being distracted at fastlane

[The Unknown Poster]

26 minutes ago, Goalie said:

I actually thought reigns got very little reaction as the match went on. Crowd seemed dead 

I was pretty dead watching it in a comfy living room.  7+ hours in that heat?  ugh

[The Unknown Poster]

Some good WWE network numbers released today:

Concentrating on actual paid subscriptions, the network has 1,661,000 subscribers as of today, broken down as 1,237,000 in the United States and 424,000 over the rest of the world.

And Jim Ross signed a two year deal with WWE. 

[Atomic]

11 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Some good WWE network numbers released today:

Concentrating on actual paid subscriptions, the network has 1,661,000 subscribers as of today, broken down as 1,237,000 in the United States and 424,000 over the rest of the world.

And Jim Ross signed a two year deal with WWE. 

The JR bit is the real news!  Can we get him on commentary regularly?  God he's so much better than anyone else they've got.  Having him at the table for Roman/Taker was just great.

[Taynted_Fayth]

20 minutes ago, Atomic said:

The JR bit is the real news!  Can we get him on commentary regularly?  God he's so much better than anyone else they've got.  Having him at the table for Roman/Taker was just great.

are you not a fan of Corey Graves?

 

how was this guy as a wrestler in NXT?

[Jpan85]

I like Corey Graves