Loss

My prediction is that Brock wins the Rumble (which should be amazing to watch) and Reigns beats Sheamus for the title on same show. Of course, there's also that HHH no longer has a match at Wrestlemania and they did set up HHH-Reigns to happen at some point too.

Looked like Harper didn't go up properly for the tombstone. Undertaker was yelling at him about something at the finish.

Jingus, the difference between Cena doing the Code Red and something like Bret always doing the second rope elbow drop and backbreaker and never getting a pin off of those is that they were always entrenched in his offense. Cena added a new move as the elder statesman of the company and kept doing it even though it didn't work. Compare it to Undertaker, who has gotten far more mileage out of the gogoplata at far less risk to his body.

The higher the wrestler taking the submission on the card, the longer a submission should take. That's where the drama comes in -- the lower rung guys tap out instantly and the upper card guys are able to hang on a little longer and at least tease the idea that they may be able to do what no man has done before.

The benefit of the matches featuring a little more heel offense wouldn't have been that Internet geeks would have enjoyed it more in hindsight, but rather that maybe they would have had more heels strong and able to convincingly work with the Von Erichs when the Freebirds and Dynamic Duo feuds ran their course. Setting aside the deaths, the WCCW downfall was in part because of a failure to build up a rivalry for the Von Erichs that clicked the same way those two did. The other problem of course was that the Von Erichs weren't as relevant in the local culture in their late 20s as they were in their early 20s, but that part was probably an unavoidable end in some ways. The whole story of World Class really is stranger than fiction. A sober telling of the history even feels too over the top.

Lest we forget Renegade.

Maybe heels shouldn't do the same patterned promos and they shouldn't have catchphrases? I don't know - it seems tough. Jericho showed how a heel who is regarded as a great worker can get heat in modern times, but they had everyone copying him for a while and really ran that whole idea into the ground. Still, I'd like to think there is more than one way to do it.

WWE is not set up to incentivize heels, nor has it ever really been. You need someone so dedicated to their craft that they are willing to make less money to be hated. That's a tough sell. I always thought an easy compromise would be for the heel to get the lion's share of the PPV/gate payoff for the match itself, with the understanding that the babyface is better positioned to make money off of merchandise and the heel is making those sacrifices to sell the match.

This goes beyond Charlotte, but I think where they often go wrong on things like this is trying to find a way to create mass appeal when they haven't even created local appeal. In theory, they should get wrestlers over with their core audience and create an excitement that grows and expands from that instead of worrying about how to get wrestlers over with masses when they can't even get them over with the audience that is already there. Running before walking and such.

Reality has a place, but they seem more interested in using it to hurl insults at their talent in places where there are legitimate vulnerabilities than in sharing stuff like Cesaro's interesting life story, Titus O'Neill getting a Father of the Year award or Daniel Bryan holding off evil burglars. Even Adam Rose, who is not a particularly good worker, had a compelling story on ESPN that could have fueled at least a short-term strong midcard run. Tyson Kidd knocked on death's door and I would be shocked if he gets much fanfare at all around his return when/if it happens. Those are the types of real things they should be leveraging, not smarky perceptions of guys' weaknesses that are used to run them down in promos. It reveals a lot about WWE's aggressive and cynical view of both their fanbase and their talent.

I like a lot of Hogan's work, but can I say Hulk Hogan? It's more of a credit to his action figure/marketing prowess than an indictment of his lack of wrestling skills.

We Are The Quebecers Jacques And Pierre And I Am Johnny Diana Hart Smith always looking befuddled

Even in the Scott Hall feature, they talked about how wrestlers don't really party anymore and just play video games in their hotel rooms after shows.

I think sadly that the ship has sailed. Wrestlers get one chance to be new and she has had hers. They've missed the window to make her a real-life Wonder Woman who gets by on an amazing look and physique and a few "wow" athletic maneuvers. Had her matches been structured the right way and had she been filmed in a way that they've typically filmed wrestlers when they want to show off their height and physique, I think that could have been more than enough to get her over. On a side note about how much their booking has regressed over the years, look at how amazing of a job they did getting Joanie Lauer over, who was more limited as a performer than just about anyone currently in the division. Lita got over as a star with a few decent-looking highspots and the right look. This makes the booking of Charlotte more confusing to me. Look at how many times they have done more with less to get someone over.

Yeah, that's another level of bad. Assuming that isn't a complete lie, Vince has also been doing this for almost a half-century.

Charlotte is so tall and physically imposing that I don't think working from underneath would have done her any good. She's not a good enough worker to work like a female version of Goldberg or the Road Warriors, although I do think that's the kind of work that would best match her look. When she's a foot taller than just about every other woman in the division, it's hard to book her as an underdog.

I think they got caught up in Charlotte's look and thought she could be the star, even if she wasn't the workhorse. In theory, that could work, but she'd have to be programmed with the type of workers who could put her over in a way that makes her look invincible, and that hasn't happened.

So Slasher, you're saying that Vince sees the top heel spot as just as important as the top babyface spot? Because that doesn't really hold up to scrutiny at all. I mentioned Jericho, Punk and Austin, and Benoit's run as the top heel is longer than you're acknowledging, as he was the sole heel in the four-way title match at Unforgiven before being programmed with HHH, whose programs always took precedent over the world title feud at the time. The point is, even if you do think Angle was the top heel during that window of summer-fall 2000 before HHH was revealed as behind the Austin attack, there were no babyfaces that didn't fit the mold pushed at the level of Benoit on the other side. Jericho was his most frequent opponent, but Benoit almost always beat him, and Jericho didn't get nearly as many main event opportunities in 2000 (although he did get some).

She would be a great fit for the division now, but I think there were legitimate mental health concerns.

Oh man, if the Charlotte heel turn is based on her one day being revealed as a proponent of eugenics, it's going to be awesome.

I could have handled the Code Red if it was him busting out a brand new move that got a win. Same for the springboard stunner. If you can only get two counts doing them, what's the point of keeping them in your repertoire? Remember the standing "wow" reaction Bret got for his pin reversal to Piper's sleeper at WM8? Bret doing that would have been the finish and it would have gotten that same reaction. There are also times I've seen Cena win over a tough crowd, but he always loses them again with the Five Knuckle Shuffle leading to them getting up and walking into the FU. That sequence never looks good. I'd probably still have Cena in my top 50, but add to that his inability to hide (or just not caring about) the visible/audible calling of spots and he ends up closer to 50 than 30 where he might have been before. I like the guy and think he takes a lot of shit he doesn't deserve. He works far harder than he has to for a guy with his tenure in his position, and he has adapted to the indy crew when by all rights, they should be the ones adapting to him. That right there is one of many reasons he gets the reactions he does -- most great workers in WWE these days only know how to make themselves look great, so he is always put in the Ric Flair position of getting over his opponent as at his level instead of the Hulk Hogan position of having the guy built up through good booking only to be fed. Anyone who thinks Cena hasn't proven himself as a worker isn't paying attention, but I also think it's easy to overrate him when his flaws are pretty big and are often detrimental to the company's ability to get things over in the desired way.

They saw Jericho and Punk as stars, but more as second-tier stars. They both had decent runs as the top heel. When HHH was teasing a babyface turn in the fall of 2000, Benoit was also pushed as their top heel in the interim. Christian is another. Mr. Perfect has been their top heel. Big Boss Man has been their top heel. Steve Austin was their top heel in late 1996/early 1997 long before Vince accepted his potential as a star.

The good news there is that he will never be pushed as the top babyface, but the #1 heel spot is wide open right now, and they have typically been a little bit more willing to make someone their top heel even if they don't see them at that level.

Dave said they felt at one time like they wanted to hold off the Bray Wyatt turn for the right time, because they feel like it can have a Dusty Rhodes impact.

I realize it could be explained that way, but I've never heard it actually explained that way by the announcers.