cm funk

Because he's not a very good promo? No, he's actually a pretty damn good promo if you've watched his TNA stuff (which you probably haven't) I wanted him to talk. I wanted him to rip into HHH verbally. I wanted him to grab the mic out of HHH's hand. And that's obviously what WWE was going for there. Teasing the audience by not giving them what they wanted. We did get the sledgehammer and the bat. Sting will talk before the match on RAW maybe, probably on the go home show, but this is their idea of building intrigue

Bryan and Barrett makes no sense. Where is Ambrose then? Bryan and Ziggler doesn't really make any sense either, but I think I would prefer that over the other options at this point Bryan vs. Shane McMahon? I could dig that

are you talking about the Rumble? because in 2003-4 people wanted to see Benoit become a main event guy and the company went with it in 2006 people wanted to see Rey Mysterio win and they went with it

The show overall......I thought a lot of the wrestling was good.....but that Memphis crowd sucked. And the commentary sucked. And crowd heat and commentary are very important things to me. You could see a lot of the guys actively trying to pump up the crowd and it just wasn't there. I actually really liked the opener and the Usos-Kidd/Cesaro match as far as match quality goes....thought both were very good. Cena/Rusev was good. Reigns/Bryan was good but the crowd was taking me out of it a bit. There were points where the crowd was quiet and one guy was yelling "BOOOOOO". Those dudes were put in a tough spot when it came to crowd reactions, didn't help that it was a shitty crowd, but I really liked a lot of the stuff in the match and thought Roman worked his ass off and showed a lot more than he does against Big Show or Kane in singles matches. There was some really noticeable stuff from him that didn't look good, but eh, I expect that. I hated the finish to that match, and I hated Reigns being the guy who survives the flying knee for the first time. Bryan knocked Cena out with it and won the world title. He beat HHH with it. It's a death move finisher in WWE. Kind of a waste to have Bryan hit it and Reigns kick out IMO. If he goes for it and Reigns catches him in the air and throws him out of the ring......ok....cool. But that was a terrible choice by whoever booked this match. I'm very curious what the WM plan is for Bryan now. Sheamus returning to fight him would be kinda lame. Ziggler and him would feel shoehorned in. I don't know.

WWE heels cheat all the time. Excessively IMO. I liked the way that was done because Rusev doesn't need to cheat, it was an even match that he was winning on points, but he heard Lana on the apron and the ref going over, so he kicked Cena in the balls. why not? that's what heels do I'm really not sure where you're coming from with "in the context of a company where heels don't really cheat" when EVERY heel in WWE cheats. I like it better when it's like Rusev tonight, or Mr. Perfect....where these guys are really good and can beat anyone on any given night (cept for Hogan in Perfect's case).....but they are heels because they don't care about breaking the rules when the going gets tough

Also, if Ammon went and did this on his own it just proves he's a dumbass, and if WWE put him up to it.....why? why would WWE want all their dirty laundry aired in public.

Pretty much, yeah. There are so many skeletons in WWE's closet that are already out there. I cant imagine them backing Ammon on this and putting out this press release and thinking this is going to end well for them And think about all the 'boys in the back'. How do they feel about this? And yeah, there is no way AJ is going back any time soon. Nor should she.

I remember the talking point at the time being that an "entry level" WWE contract was peanuts compared to what those guys were making working all over the place at the time. I got the sense that Punk had the goal of being "THE BEST IN THE WORLD" and you have to go to WWE to be that, Bryan just loved traveling and wrestling and WWE would have signed him in a second but he was happy where he was, and Joe weighed his options, knew it would be an uphill climb in WWE for him, and he probably chose wisely tbh

I'm not a legal eagle....but doesn't "defamation of character" just equate to "a guy shit on me and it hurt my reputation" Like, I seriously don't doubt that Punk had a nasty staph infection and has the medical records to prove it. And I doubt WWE has medical records to prove or disprove his claims. And then it becomes he said he said hearsay Knowing WWE, I highly doubt Punk was getting CTE checks on their dime......I'm reminded of a recent lapsed fan podcast I listened to where Meltzer was taking about how Lashley had a bad shoulder injury during the middle of his big push and they wanted him to keep working and he was like "fuck this, I need to fix my shoulder" and went and did it without their "blessing" and the company was super pissed about it, and he left the company afterwards. I'm sure if it ever got to that point Punk would have dozens of character witnesses on his side and the "Vince talked me into working when I was really hurting" stories jive with pretty much every story from every wrestler ever. And note that Punk didn't try to sue WWE over this shit, because it's wrestling, and he knows the deal. He called Ammon an incompetent dumbshit, which he may or may not be, but this just feels like a cash grab "you hurt my feelings" frivolous law suit to me that Judge Judy would toss out of court

He lives in Orlando and has a flourishing real estate business where he gets most of his income, which means wrestling can be a passion project for him. Did not know that. Good for him. That would seem to make taking less money to go to NXT a much more palatable option

I can't see him going to NXT even if WWE had interest because it's such a drastic paycut from what he was making in TNA, and he can make more working ROH and indy shots on the weekend, at least in the short-term where he'll be in high demand. And if NJPW is interested too the money wouldn't even be close I think if there is an offer and he wants to go to NXT, he should milk 6 months of good money on the indies and take the time to get in better shape. But with HHH wanting to make NXT it's own brand basically, the money might get a little better, but Joe could look forward to being down there for at least a year before getting called up. And I believe (I could be wrong, please correct me if so) he still lives on the west coast

I think it actually makes sense kayfabe wise because Flair framed it as HHH wearing a suit and running the company, and since his character made that shift he's had 3 big matches (Bryan @ Mania, Evolution-Shield 6 mans) and lost all 3 of them. Now he's a CEO type who has others do his dirty work for him, and they're presenting Sting as a mythical supernatural legend

That was a pretty good brawl between Reigns and Bryan to close the show Pretty good RAW tonight overall, much better than it has been lately and a pretty strong go-home show I thought

You're quick to dismiss Bryan vs. Austin, but your suggestions instead are Hogan and Taker - both of whom are competing for the prize of who's more broken down at this point. On what planet are those compelling matches? They may have been 5-10 years ago, but that ship has sailed. Punk would've been ideal, like I said before - but again, sailed ship. Personally, I don't think Austin should come back, because the WWE has not created any real stars outside of Bryan that would make for a compelling "dream match" - and I don't see that changing in the next 12-13 months. But you're still framing this as "how does this build for the future" when the concern should be "how do we fill Cowboy Stadium.....how do we get Network buys....how do we make a huge WM and continue to draw money with Austin" I'm going to be a broken record and labor the point.....Austin makes them more money in retirement than most of the guys on the active roster. Why would you actively fuck that up? If Austin wrestles again people want to see a legends match or him kick wham stunnering some jabronis. Nobody is begging for Austin to "pass the torch" to anyone The poor booking and creative....the inability to create new stars.....that's on them and it has nothing to do with Austin wrestling again or not. These are two entirely different things. The fans will reject any "up and coming" guy on the roster put in that spot the same way they're rejecting Reigns right now. And Bryan and Austin just doesn't make sense on any level. There's no natural story there, Bryan doesn't need the rub at all and it would do more harm than good to him. If they wanted to do Bryan and Michaels or Bryan and Regal.....it's a natural story and it makes sense, and those are two guys that Bryan can beat, get a rub, and the fans are happy. Austin isn't jobbing to anyone in his last match, not because he'd refuse to do it, but because it's just dumb. So why would you put Daniel Bryan in that terrible spot?

How would Austin possibly be a heel at this point? When he was a heel in 96-97 the fans cheered him and turned him face. When they did the heel turn in 2001 it didn't really work. The WWE Universe doesn't want to boo Steve Austin. Who is this person on the roster that will turn Austin heel in the eyes of the fans? And where is the money in trying to make him a heel? Like I said....he makes more money for the company just selling merch and being in games and being a legend. He's still one of their top merch movers and he hasn't wrestled in over a decade

Me too Also, I might take heat for this, but I liked the Shane McMahon program..... Where else are you gonna see Linda McMahon tombstoned on the stage and Shane McMahon being tortured with a car battery on his nuts?!? It was so over the top and ridiculous.....which Kane and the McMahons are in general.....it was entertaining

I actually agree with his point, at least in regards to Austin. If Austin is coming back for one last match, it's going to be a tribute and celebration of his career. He hasn't wrestled since 2003. Nobody wants to see him come back and lose. C'mon. There isn't any money in that IMO, when you've got this legend who still makes them money just selling merch and being in video games, who's podcasts on the network pop bigger viewership #'s than anything else on it. I see someone in this thread talking about Bryan and Austin as a dream match......who is that a dream match to? What planet? Bryan and Austin makes no sense. Bryan beating Austin makes no sense. I see Bryan and HBK as a dream match and Bryan going over and getting a rub from that......Bryan and Austin has never been a match that I thought "oh I want to see that!" If Austin comes back for one more match, at Cowboy stadium for what will likely be a record breaking WM......the only match that makes sense to me is Taker as a double retirement. Hogan is the only other "dream match" but that match is never happening, and I wouldn't want to see it happen at this point. I can see Austin being in good enough shape to have one more good match......Hogan should never ever be wrestling again And Austin isn't going to be one of those guys who retires and comes back. He hasn't wrestled in over a decade. If he comes back it's just a one last time ride into the sunset

During the NXT show, which obviously they have producers in training, there were a few "crowd shots" that took me out of it because....knowing Vince and WWE....showing that there's only several hundred people, sitting on bleachers, in this little arena......that's a huge WWE/Vince no-no. With all of this smoke and mirrors and pyro and projection.....that was "exposing the biz" camera work. Is there any way to shoot Full Sail and make it look like there are more than a few hundred people there? yes, and in general they do a good job of making it look bigger than it is, but there were a few shots on this last show that really exposed it

During the NXT show, which obviously they have producers in training, there were a few "crowd shots" that took me out of it because....knowing Vince and WWE....showing that there's only several hundred people, sitting on bleachers, in this little arena......that's a huge WWE/Vince no-no. With all of this smoke and mirrors and pyro and projection.....that was "exposing the biz" camera work. I also felt like he might have gone a bit nuclear when the LED stuff on the apron got rocked by Charlotte taking a bump onto it. "GOD DAMMIT! FUCK! THE SHOW MUST GO ON! BUT WHEN THIS MATCH IS OVER SO HELP ME GOD FIX THAT DAMN THING!"

Stu Hart

who this be? I was gonna say Bruno Mars but he ain't white and he's stealing his sound from James Brown and funk music, but I can't turn around and not hear that song playing somewhere Justin Timberlake? Rock your Body was an updated Rock With You and that's what got him over, at least imo, because it was a hot track

I like the match and I like the gimmick, but I liked it better when it was a WM semi-main event match full of top or on the cusp guys. They really watered it down during the brand split era when belts stopped meaning anything. and then they made it into it's own PPV because they were desperate for a hook, sames as they did with HIAC A MITB match at Mania this year would be great because they have a bunch of guys that deserve a big showcase match but aren't slotted right. Ziggler, Ambrose, Harper.....

Do you really think Balor is anywhere near as good as Bryan? Or has ever been at any point in his career? Do you think he's ever going to sniff winning the title in the main event of a Wrestlemania? I like the guy well enough, but he's just not that outstanding of a performer to me I am interested to see once he gets called up eventually how he looks against the bigger guys on the roster and how he adapts to work against them on a regular basis. Not in Bryan's league.....so that will be interesting. Same with Pac. Zayn will be fine most likely

Crowd wasn't as hot as previous NXT specials which hurt the show for me a bit - Didn't think Neville/Balor was very good tbh. It just really didn't do anything for me. The cool thing with the paint gimmick was Devitt did different stuff every time.....if he's locked into the one look/entrance/manarisms....it's already getting old to me - best match IMO (or at least what I enjoyed the most) was probably the 4 way women's match. I thought it did a good job putting over all 4 characters and letting all of them look good, and while I was hoping Bayley or Lynch would win....in the story of the match and of the NXT booking Sasha winning made sense. Loved the finish with the cradle from the crossface submission - I liked Steen and Zayn a lot, but there was stuff about it I didn't like. I liked the finish but post-finish the docs treating him made it look like a joke (for example lifting his head at one point when he supposedly has a concussion/broken vertebra). Was one of those dudes Doc Ammon? Where's the backboard and neckbrace? As for the match itself....maybe I just had much higher expectations. It was good, but it wasn't blow away good like I expected. - The tag with the Lucha Dragons and "The Mulkeys" as one of the announcers called them was a disjointed mess. It looked like Cara was favoring his left arm for a lot of it and Del Sol wasn't looking crisp at all. I actually like "The Mulkeys" and think they do really good tag team work....but this match was all over the place - Corbin is green and boring as hell, and what is the point of a no DQ match where nothing really out of the ordinary happens? the crowd chanted for tables and Bull appeased them by looking under the apron and there weren't any. The first weapon introduced was a chair and then the match was over with a Corbin spinebuster. lame. - Otami and Breeze wasn't very good. Otami ignored selling the knee for his kicks but then sold it again after kicking....so....whatever. Match didn't do anything for me or impress me with either of them probably the worst of the NXT specials overall so far, at least IMO

Agreed. I thought he'd come back with a freshened up look. The out of control beard/hair are distracting to me at this point and don't look good. He looked better last week in the opening promo when his hair was slicked back into a ponytail, but the half pony tail/half long hair he has when he wrestles now is just weird looking I know the 'goatface' and 'fear the beard' stuff got him over, but it's ultimately not why he's over.