sek69

How bad with the crowd reject it if after all is said and done the plan ends up turning the guy everyone wants to cheer (Ambrose) against the one everyone wants to boo (Reigns). They way WWE heavy-hands everything they do, it's hard to see how it won't come off as pushing the guy they want down the fans' throats yet again.

Perfect example is Dragon Gate claiming more people at their Osaka show then New Japan Power Struggle even though New Japan looked like it had more people there. WWE does it too. Just look how they were claiming 13,500 for NXT Brooklyn and they bumped it up to over 15k on the night of. I don't know how it works in Japan, but WWE at least keeps accurate attendance records for the official books and a bullshit number for kayfabe purposes. WM this year should be real interesting, since it was noted in the WON that the capacity at AT&T Stadium with the usual stage setup would be around 75,000 and they maybe could get to 90,000 legit without the elaborate staging (although Dave doubts they'd do that) but they still will claim 100,000. It's one thing to bump up a show that size 5k or so, but a 25k kayfabe bump seems too exaggerated for them to seriously try to push.

So the latest WON has Dave mentioning Vince might actually be willing to consider bringing Bryan back since he was cleared by the Arizona Cardinals team doctor and is waiting on the results from Dr. Maroon. Someone on the board (I know,I know) made a good point that being cleared by a doctor that flat out told one player to retire and yanked another from a Super Bowl, and not getting clearance from the same WWE doctors who apparently clear guys like Ryback on wellness tests sure makes it seem more political than just being afraid of concussion lawsuits. My personal theory is that they are keeping Bryan on ice since this year was supposed to be the Reigns Anointing Version 2.0 and they still seem stuck on thinking the first attempt to strap the rocket failed because of whiny Bryan fans. Now that the roster blew up and ratings are in the shitter perhaps it's not a bad idea to bring back a guy who actually got himself over.

I actually thought Jimmy Hart was good as Hogan's WCW hype man, it was just so weird seeing him as a babyface after decades of being the pipsqueak heel everyone wanted to punch.

If Baron Corbin's aloofness is legit and not something played up for the cameras (and everything seems to indicate it's for real), I see him getting eaten alive by the crazy WWE Locker Room Respect Protocol. I can't imagine him fitting well in an environment where newbies are expected to genuflect every time a veteran walks by.

My bad, I'm so used to not giving a shit about SD results I forgot there might be folks who still do.

So, on the SD tapings today. Maybe WWE isn't being as predictable as we thought, since that result seems to go against everything Vince stands for.

I figure it comes down to one of three things: 1. The Brody situation, Not only the murder but how Invader was turned babyface after, left a bad taste in pretty much everyone's mouth of that era. I think time and worse situations like Benoit have tempered things. 2. Carlos kept wrestling way long after his prime, and younger voters may not have any other frame of reference for him other than washed up old guy trying to turn back the clock. 3. A lot of voters seemed really dead set on the "he didn't draw outside of PR" argument, which seems odd since you could say that about a lot of stars in the territory era.

Not only that, it was done better 18 years ago since the evil authority figures were constantly being one upped by the babyfaces which helped usher in the best period in company history,

Between the Hunter promo and the layout of the brackets, it seems pretty clear they're just going to end up making "new Seth" and have a new Authority puppet and not changing a goddamn thing.

Breaking Ground was really good and if they keep up by the end it may be the best series WWE has ever produced. Being a modern WWE fan (not something I'd call myself) must be really frustrating because you see them doing high quality narrative like this and then you tune in on Raw and see another MONSTER KANE reboot and Lana in denim skirts. The problem with Breaking Ground is that odds are the fan who's hardcore enough to watch it knows when the narratives they try to push are bullshit.

The weird thing about Sheamus is that on paper there's nothing bad about him. His matches are usually pretty good, they revamped his look (even though I'm not a fan of the Jack Sparrow beard beads), but there's something about the MITB gimmick that is just the kiss of death for the guy.

When you're talking about debacles, how about WWE constantly aligning themselves with domestic abusers? First Hunter is still proud of his best pal Floyd Maywether, and the guy who owns the site of the next Wrestlemania just responded to the release of photos showing the beating his player laid on his girlfriend by doubling down and promising to extend his contract. Now that's not to say WWE had anything to do with the issues themselves, but it's a bit troubling when they continue to back the abusers/enablers. It's like the message being sent is they support women's issues for PR purposes but you bitches better keep in line.

when have they teased an Ambrose turn? I actually think turning Reigns would be smarter than turning Ambrose. Ambrose has been established as valuing loyalty and brotherhood above all else so it would really make no sense for him to turn on Reigns. I also think Ambrose going back into vengeful asskicker mode is more likely to generate hot crowds than Reigns in that position. Plus I still think Reigns needs a heel run to really explore his character a bit. If they keep him face he'll just be stuck in that inescapable Cena babyface groove where he ends up doing the same schtick 10 years from now. but Reigns as face is the safe move so they'll stick with that as they are all about making safe choices these days. In the old days, hammering home how good friends Ambrose and Reigns are like they do was a signal a turn was coming. Also, they aren't turning Reigns heel right after making him the face of their breast cancer awareness campaign last month with Cena.

Yeah, it's amazing that WWE is apparently throwing all plans out the window and rewrite everything yet still probably come up with the most boring/safe idea possible (that surely will still focus on the Authority).

Vince doing his best impression of Lumberg from Office Space on the phone with Cena and Brock right now, "yeaaaah, I'm gonna need you to come in this weekend". Seth should be commended for finishing the match after his knee basically exploded. I'm amazed he was even able to move after that.

I hope that was sarcasm because I think the last thing they need is to break the "John Cena next world champion" glass that always happens for an emergency. Not sure what you do with Reigns. The better idea would have been winning title at WM but not getting the title at Survivor Series is going to be awful Coach put a picture of the injury on his twitter. Just gruesome. No way he is making it for WM. They shouldn't put it back on Cena, but that's exactly the kind of thing WWE does in panic mode, go back to their security blanket. I for one can't wait for the Authority cutting promos on Seth being too fragile to be champ like they did to Bryan when he got hurt.

So is the argument against Nak that he was too young? Or is it a case of people being mad Bryan didn't get in? I'm a casual NJPW fan but it seems like he was the guy on top during their peak times and of course brings it in the ring, Seemingly he has all the usual HOF bases covered.

Seth just had a knee injury on the Ireland tour, it looked like something you see in (American) football where the knee bends a way it's not supposed to. Hopefully all that crossfit makes him extra flexible and it's not as bad as it looked.

I love how people were pointing at ZZ getting a developmental deal as proof Dave was wrong about WWE not liking him, but they are clearly setting him up as the lazy fat kid who doesn't take THA BUSINESS seriously enough. Also the repeated "It's not a job, it's a lifestyle" comments are coming off as really creepy and almost cult-like. Can you imagine what people who know nothing about wrestling must think when they hear everyone in power at the PC saying it?

Watched episode two of Breaking Ground, and overall it wasn't bad but it's going to be hard to buy this storyline they are starting that Dana Brooke is plateauing in the ring when she's been improving leaps and bounds on NXT TV. Considering the show started with Devin's shoot firing it's not like we're supposed to believe this is stuff taped a long time ago. Also the tryouts promo class with William Regal of all people supposedly impressed by the fat guy doing the Worm must have lost some context in editing. It looked like the guy just froze and decided to bust out a dance move. Points for thinking on his feet I guess, but they just showed Regal losing his shit because people weren't doing roll drills to his liking and we're supposed to believe this impressed him?

First he manages to cheat death with the heart attack, then over the weekend he comes out unscathed from a head on car crash. Either he really is Superman or he's a real life Final Destination scenario and death is trying to catch up with him,

Honestly I'd settle for no more distraction finishes and dumb babyfaces. Those are by far the two things that are the cause of the most "oh fuck this company" reactions from me.

How did he get worked on the contract? Explain. Reported his downside as 1.4 million when it was really around 500k, Dave posted on the board he triple sourced his story but found out all three sources were being worked by Alberto.

I think it's pretty clear based on how he still has to be always booked as the smartest/strongest guy in the room even in his current role that he's extremely insecure. Guy's the #2 in power of the largest wrestling company in the world and the heir apparent, runs a developmental territory that's beloved by smart fans that used to hate his guts, and he's still seemingly under the impression it can all go away if he ever shows a bit of weakness.