Loss

They booed the mention of the show toward the end, so they seemed aware. But for whatever reason, they have divorced all of this in their minds from Vince McMahon. That is the part I find fascinating.

The whole thing is funny to me mainly because "they saw me as a future star right away and eventually I got there" is admittedly kinda dry. But the line about having to overcome management perceptions leans into the idea that WWE sees everyone as having no potential before they are proven wrong. (You have to wonder why they hire anyone.) Surely, at least one person in WWE history has had a run where the company sees big potential right away, then they're proven right and all is well.

They are counting on short memories. In the times we live, it's probably a safe bet. No one has bothered to follow up to ask WWE the status of their Randy Orton "investigation" from just a month or so ago either.

Um ... Edge was handpicked to be a star from the beginning of his time in WWE. I guess the story now is that everyone who had success had to do it by defying management.

The answer is no. The difference is that Vince's involvement in those things isn't a current story that people are talking about where they are sharing opinions. So I wouldn't expect Vince to get that reaction for those things. I would for this. So I guess in addition to crowd reactions and business metrics not matching up, crowd reactions and social media reactions don't match up either. Just more confusion in the WWE puzzle.

That wasn't my point. My point was that if people are criticizing WWE, you'd think the live reactions to Vince would reflect that. I wasn't commenting either way on my viewpoint on the decision to do the show or not -- I was commenting on how the reactions don't sync up.

It's amazing how "WWE" is discussed in a way that somehow completely separates from "Vince McMahon". A subtle thing, but a form of language we use that absolves him personally of a lot while blaming this faceless entity for bad things.

Whether he gets it or not, I don't understand the mentality of being all over WWE for this and then cheering him like mad when he comes out. It doesn't surprise me, but it makes absolutely no sense.

Trying to understand WWE fans is a waste of time. Vince shows up tonight in light of all of this and gets a massive pop?

Why is that odd?

Is there something I'm missing? Why is no one taking this story at face value as a genuine feeling?

Shawn doesn't look good of course, but I'm really big on keeping blame for this stuff at the very top. Vince McMahon has this entirely in his hands. Any praise or criticism for what happens next should 100% go on him.

They thought he could be a big star if he'd take off the mask.

I could have sworn that one of his campaign promises was that he would stop wrestling completely if he won.

Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but I'm rooting for it to blow up in their faces. WWE never suffers meaningful consequences for anything and has a habit of falling up. For once, it would be nice for them to get what they deserve for doing the wrong thing.

World Wrestling Entertainment Monday Night RAW #1040 on USA April 29, 2013 Columbus, OH No review yet. Big E. Langston vs Ricardo Rodriguez vs Zeb Coulter Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes Nikki Bella vs Naomi Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston Jack Swagger vs Zack Ryder Alberto Del Rio vs Antonio Cesaro The Shield vs Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) & John Cena Bold matches are PWO recommended.

World Wrestling Entertainment Friday Night SmackDown #714 on USA Aired April 26, 2013 (Taped April 23, 2013) London, England No review yet. No DQ: Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger Layla vs Aksana Fandango vs Justin Gabriel Big Show vs Sheamus William Regal vs Wade Barrett Mark Henry vs Randy Orton Undertaker vs Dean Ambrose Bold matches are PWO recommended.

World Wrestling Entertainment Monday Night RAW #1039 on USA April 22, 2013 London, England No review yet. Antonio Cesaro vs R-Truth Damien Sandow vs Brodus Clay Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler Cody Rhodes vs Tensai Big E. Langston vs Zack Ryder The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins) vs Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) & Undertaker William Regal vs Fandango WWE Divas Title #1 Contenders Battle Royal Bold matches are PWO recommended.

World Wrestling Entertainment Friday Night SmackDown #713 on USA Aired April 19, 2013 (Taped April 16, 2013) Knoxville, TN No review yet. Fandango vs Santino Marella Kofi Kingston vs Wade Barrett Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger Great Khali, Hornswaggle & Natalya vs Epico, Primo & Rosa Mendes Randy Orton & Sheamus vs Mark Henry & Big Show Bold matches are PWO recommended.

World Wrestling Entertainment Monday Night RAW #1038 on USA April 15, 2013 Greenville, SC No review yet. WWE US Title: Antonio Cesaro (c) vs Kofi Kingston Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) vs Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) R-Truth vs Wade Barrett Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow) vs Great Khali & Santino Marella Dolph Ziggler vs Jack Swagger Nikki Bella vs Kaitlyn Bold matches are PWO recommended.

World Wrestling Entertainment Friday Night SmackDown #712 on USA Aired April 12, 2013 (Taped April 9, 2013) Boston, MA No review yet. Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) vs Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) Wade Barrett vs Santino Marella Bella Twins (Brie Bella & Nikki Bella) & Tamina Snuka vs Funkadactyls (Naomi & Cameron) & Kaitlyn Handicap Match: Big Show vs Randy Orton & Sheamus Antonio Cesaro vs Kofi Kingston Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler Bold matches are PWO recommended.

World Wrestling Entertainment Main Event #28 on ion Aired April 10, 2013 (Taped April 9, 2013) Boston, MA No review yet. The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins) vs Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay & Tensai) & Kofi Kingston Big E. Langston vs Zack Ryder Jack Swagger vs Yoshi Tatsu Bold matches are PWO recommended.

World Wrestling Entertainment Monday Night RAW #1037 on USA April 8, 2013 East Rutherford, NJ No review yet. Daniel Bryan vs Big E. Langston WWE Intercontinental Title: The Miz (c) vs Wade Barrett Handicap Match: Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter World Title: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs Dolph Ziggler 3MB (Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal) vs R-Truth, Santino Marella & Zack Ryder Randy Orton vs Sheamus Kofi Kingston vs Fandango Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay & Tensai) & Funkadactyls (Cameron & Naomi) vs Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow) & Bella Twins (Brie Bella & Nikki Bella) John Cena vs Mark Henry Bold matches are PWO recommended.

Talk about it here.