fakeplastictrees

Bad hips and knees is Mexico no doubt. I don't agree with the 'its a dangerous sport, so fuck it!' mentality. I think that's a cop-out. Of course its dangerous, but that doesn't mean measures shouldn't be taken. WWE officially having a season, I think will help alot and banning back bumps off punches and other basic offense. If someone is going to get slammed in some fashion and land on his/her back it should be for an impacful move. This would also mean that the majority of the roster would need to update his/her moveset. Seth Rollins had a gravy finisher where the crowd brought it, it looked like death, and Seth took zero damage doing it. Kofi has the Trouble In Paradise, Big Show has the KO punch, Reigns has the Superman Punch, etc. I would like to see more of wrestler's finishers and signature moves going more to awesome looking punches/kicks/elbows, etc. and less of the Salina Del Sol's. Every wrestler I can think of at this moment has some type of move that would allow him/her to maintain credibility without turning any eyes in the audience. Harper has the big boot, Rowan has the little girl ballerina kick he loves, Dean should honestly go full Roddy Piper and just have The Sleeper as his finisher. Seriously, within the last 15 years WWE got over guys using a full nelson, sleeper, and Fireman's carry as finishing moves. I don't think this is much of a jump.

Why didn't they just give Batista the Lesnar treatment? Batista could have worked with Sheamus, Barrett, Rusev, Big Show and ADR and would have received no backlash and essentially would have been a face if WWE REALLY wanted to go that route. Toss in some televised Network Specials against The Miz and Kofi Kingston and Batista would have been A-Okay! Undefeated, kicking ass, getting the babyface reaction the company wanted and it wouldn't have pissed Batista off as much.

To go back at bit on what was touched on earlier by Parties, have we gotten to the point in pro wrestling where the only real heat are for the people who don't want to be there and don't like pro wrestling? If that the case that is so weird as Vince, despite what he does on TV, gets cheered despite him hating pro wrestling and all of its associated stigma. All real heat now is meta-heat? So there is no more kayfabe heat from people under the age of 15 I assume? How longstanding is the 1 year angle with Daniel Bryan? I'd dare say that year long 'chase' is easily one of the top ten angles that shaped/will shape WWE future.

Hassan was the last real heel in WWE. There were no dueling chants, no 50/50 crowd split, no Hassan t-shirts in the crowd. The dude was hated by EVERYONE. WWE needs stuff like that again, but the company is too corporate and scared to take that type of risk. I am not sure what makes WWE afraid to do that CBS, USA, ABC, etc. have been doing for years. More on this later...

This would be an entirely different thread all together, but what could WWE have done to salvage Batista's last run? Bring him in as a heel and then what? Eventually his paths would have to cross with guys like The Shield, Bryan, etc. as he was being paid too much money to be fucking around with guys like R-Truth on a consistent basis. Re: Race, Gender, Class I see this being more of a class issue then anything else as I am sure Vince got to the back and cut a 'spilt liquor' promo on Titus. If Rock, Cena, or Batista did the same thing it wouldn't have received the same response. Titus doesn't have 'fuck you' money yet, because the only people Vince respects are those who don't need WWE at all. Vince apologized to CM Punk very quickly and said he would like to do business again only days after Cabana's podcast. Titus grabs a wrist and its a 60 day suspension with Vince and company ready to fire him. This was a political move, not about horseplay and getting serious, but adding to the overall narrative of YOU need WWE, WWE doesn't need you. Vince continues to work to keep that prophecy alive and well in 2016 with little bullshit stunts like this. The Bellas saw how hard it was without WWE the first go around, they thought they would leave and Hollywood would call-- that of course did not happen and they returned and now they have everything they wanted but couldn't get outside of wrestling. I am sure in some halls of WWE that is shown as a 'See! This is what WWE can do for you!' type of moment.

My favorite part of Ride Along episode 2 is Summer saying "Yeah I love Colonel Saunders (sic)!" in the most unconvincing voice ever.

It's true. I know some of these guys are not people's cup(s) of tea, but there could be worse things then building a Mania around: Styles, Owens, Ambrose, Reigns, Lesnar, Taker, HHH, Jericho, Wyatt, Dudleys, and Sasha Banks. Its all about whether or not the company wants to make it interesting with the people they have left.

That's completely insane. No matter how wrong you feel Titus was here, it barely warrants a suspension let alone a firing. Also I'd be extremely curious to find out who the people were who wanted him gone over such trivial bullshit. I have to assume that Michael Hayes was one of those voices.

I'm trying to figure out how the 'stay on script' and 'grab the brass ring' stuff works-hand-in-hand. If one is to stay on script then what they can do is limited even thought it may be great. All of the great actors of our time from time-to-time add/remove things from the script they have been provided. Sometimes a limp is added to a character even though the character's description within the script doesn't call for one. Sometimes a Southern accent is added. Sometimes things are removed because the character/actor deems it unfit for whatever reason. I've always felt the Brass Ring stuff is just carny bullshit because there are just too many holes in it and if WWE really gets pissed off from people going off script. Zack Ryder went, in a way, off script and grabbed the Brass Ring and WWE jobbed him out as soon as they could. Serious question, aside from each other- does WWE have any team building exercises or happy hours for the wrestlers on the road? How does WWE Corp help foster a family environment for the workers while on the road? Telling everyone to wear Save The Boobies t-shirts and stage on the ring to applaud certain people (Bryan, Survivors, whomever), surely can't be it?

I am not sure why people brought race to this. I know this is WWE and WWE isn't exactly a progressive company, but with that said a broken clock is right twice a day and this is one of those times the WWE may appear to be racist, but actually isn't. People should tone down the race stuff as WWE gives us more than enough ammunition and actual fuck ups that we can point to that we don't have to make stuff up. I am not accusing anyone of this board for taking that stance, but the first time I saw it elsewhere it gave me pause. When Titus actually gets back, I wonder if the fan swell will be there for him or if its going to be business as usual with WWE having Titus return all those wins to Stardust, Social Outcasts, The Ascension, etc.

https://twitter.com/DaveBautista/status/697585006563217408 What galls me is the hypocrisy of the situation. Vince and Kurt Angle can fight on a plane like two immature college kids, but Titus gets 90 60 days for far less. Shit like this makes it hard to enjoy this company. I concur. We should split this up as this situation isn't cut and dry and more is coming out by the day. Now its claimed that Titus was 'just being a gentlemen'? This is all so weird. We have gone from playfulness, to allegations of racism, to conspiracies of covering a failed drug test, to chivalry gone wrong, and all stuff in-between. Only in the world of pro wrestling! With that said, if WWE was serious about a Titus push, now is the time to do it. Titus is obviously over enough for the internet and media to reduce Titus sentence from 90 days to 60. People care and the majority of the opinions I read are either "Remove the punishment and free Titus!" or " give the guy a talk backstage, fine him 1K, and move the fuck on to more important things!". I'll say it. Its time to turn this into an angle and push the man. Bryan got over when people felt WWE was holding him back, I think Titus will get over pretty big under the same and more ridiculous

Bayley is so good. She has actually had good matches with Eva Marie, Carmella, and a green as grass Nia Jax and made them all look somewhat credible and had everyone believing that those three could actually win the title from her. Is Bayley the mechanic of the NXT women's division? Once she is gone who takes that spot? Emma? I know Emma is good, but is she that good?

That's good, I guess. Vince is a crazy, crazy, crazy man.

The best worked moments are the ones that turn the most jaded fan into an 8 year old mark again. Mark Henry's retirement speech is near the top of the list. Austin/Tyson was mentioned earlier in the thread and I totally agree. Those are the two moments I can think about off the top of my head that really pulled me into the program and made me think it was real and not in a 'Vince Russo Shoot Names' type of way.

WWE drug tests don't really mean anything as it all comes down to political clout. If you are Evan Bourne you are going to get hit with something random and the policy will be in full play. However, if your name is Dave Batista, then you are going to get a 1-2 month notice prior to your testing. Some will say Orton, Mysterio, and Hardy tested positive so that is 'proof' the WWE is testing everyone, but let's be serious. Does anyone really think WWE is going to fairly test Taker, Lesnar, Cena, or HHH? Even if this is covering up a drug violation, WWE could have done much better. Its not like WWE hasn't covered up more serious crimes in the past. Post a fake injury story on WWE.com and then allow Titus to serve his 30 day suspension without causing unneeded waves with one of only a handful of guys that brings WWE positive PR outside of wrestling.

So let me get this straight: Smiling at Vince puts one in the dog house. Wrestling with Vince on a plane gets no punishment and continued employment. Failing a drug test gets one a 30 day suspension. Trying to give Vince a hug gets one a 90 day suspension. Yep, nothing crazy there.

If this 90 day suspension is real then I do hope there is more to this situation as this just makes WWE look bad. Perhaps Titus did something in the back? Maybe this isn't the first time Vince has told Titus to ease back with the touching as again Vince is no spring chicken and Titus is a fucking giant guy.

That's why I believe there has to be more to the story. This isn't on WWE website. Neither on the corporate side or the fan side. This is being reported from everyone and from everywhere except from WWE/Titus. Titus hasn't even posted anything cryptic like an R-Truth 'My Bad!'. But yes, as far as legit role models go in WWE there is Cena and then it appears Titus and even if Titus isn't second, he is in the top five. Surely you don't send your top five charity worker and PR ambassador on a 90 day suspension for a playful (harmful ?) interaction? A 3 minute talk in the back and possibly a small fine, if Vince really wanted to be a dick, would have been enough. But a suspension? No WM appearances?

Does Dave have any news on the above gif? I know Titus has been suspended for 90 days, but that's extreme. Unless there is more to the story.

I saw it on The Network and thought it was two guys just playing around. McMahon and Titus being cool would explain the 3 month strong Titus push. I really don't see the point of a 90 day suspension for awkward contact when you can fail a drug test and only get a 30 day suspension. There's also a PR issue with this as well. WWE is celebrating black history month at every show but they're suspending one of the handful of black wrestlers on the roster? Titus does more charity work than most of the roster and has won several awards for being a good role model. Maybe you give the guy the benefit of the doubt and talk to him about it instead of handing him a suspension notice when he shows up for a taping. This next comment is as far from a race thing as possible and more 'status' thing, but imagine if Cena did that? What the reaction be the same? Has there always been a no touching Vince rule or is this something new? I know Rusev gave him a hug at Royal Rumble, but it was mostly planned and if not then Vince went along with it because it was part of the story. Another thing to consider is that Vince is in shape, but he is still 70 years old and Titus is a really really big dude. Perhaps Titus unintentionally popped Vince's arm out of socket or some weird shit like that?

The 2/8/16 episode of Raw saw the retirement of DB and the end of Titus O'Neil's 3 month singles winning streak.

The worse gimmick matches to me are the ones that do not deliver what is advertised. The matches that are gimmicks within gimmicks and those make the entire match laughable and pointless. A good example of this is the electrified cage match that happened at one of TNA's Slammiversary events. It was Team 3D vs. LAX and at one point in the match Homicide is thrown into the cage and the arena lights begin to flicker, a buzzing sound is heard over the arena's PA system, and Homicide does a weird gyrating on the cage. This of course lead to the crowd booing very loudly and an entire arena chanting 'Fire Russo'. The worse part of this is that a 'special' cage was built for this gimmick match and this gimmick cage was used throughout the entire show. So TNA, a company that was barely turning a profit at the time, spent money on a new cage- only to piss off the fans, not deliver on the gimmick, and embarrass the company yet again. I am sure there are others, but yes- the worse are the ones that do not deliver on the gimmick promised.

An entertaining and fun Raw from start to finish. For the most part, the Danielson overrun was great. Its good that WWE closed the loop on that as hopefully that curbs the 'Daniel Bryan' chants going forward.

Reigns is at such a weird point because even if he were to win matches clean as a sheet against some of the top talent and WWE fully committed to him, it would do more harm then good. Can you imagine the reaction at SummerSlam if going into that event Reigns had clean wins against Owens, Styles, Taker, Lesnar, HHH, and Wyatt? It doesn't matter who he faces, he will still be boo'd because the crowd organically choose the other players to be their favorites and there has been nothing organic about Reigns post-Shield. So the question that WWE has to answer is how can the company turn something inorganic to organic. Essentially using reverse psychology in a way to use the same elements (aside from the odd booking) to turn boos into cheers. A top player can't avoid all the top guys forever. At some point Cena had to face Michaels, Lesnar, Punk, Rock, and other more over acts. Would Roman Reigns work better as the anti-hero?

LOL@ THAT WM card. WM for the longest time has just been Raw held in a bigger venue and this year it looks like its going to be the icing on the cake. Rollins, Cena, and Sting are hurt. I understand that, but that doesn't mean you book Taker/Strowman and Wyatt/Lesnar with HHH maineventing the whole thing. Fucking Christ. Is it REALLY that hard to toss together a card with some type of intrigue? The rumored Jericho/Ambrose match just makes this all the more frustrating. Hopefully none of this comes to pass.