fakeplastictrees

They traded wins during a series of 7 matches with Ambrose winning the last in the series (I believe). It was an UN-announced best of seven series or perhaps I am giving WWE too much credit for its even-steven booking.

so Bryan Danielson wins the whc title at wm30 and closes the show and the next year Tyler Black wins the whc and closes the show. pretty cool.

WWE just made a 'What if Michael Bay direct WrestleMania?' video. It got me thinking, WWE wants to be entertainment so bad- why not get someone like Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, etc. to direct a PPV. Sit Kevin Dunn's ass out for one night and have someone else call the shots from the truck, etc. I would even want WWE to go as far as letting the director choose the set props, PPV colors, graphics, etc. Thoughts?

Yeah these guys are always a good listen. I wish Justin and Joe both did their shows a bit more regularly. Whenever the shows pop up I pretty much stop whatever I am doing and queue it up or if I can't (because I am at work or something), it definitely goes on the 'to listen' list as soon as I get home.

Completely unreal. Fuck. It's easy to say, sitting on my couch, that I hope the guys 'don't take it too hard', but fuck. I know everyone involved feels bad in some way even though they didn't do anything 'wrong'.

I think the biggest thing (aside from everything else mentioned in this thread) is that Cena isn't a mark for himself. Cena understands that this is a business and he has positioned himself to be in a good spot. Losing the title, losing matches, being in the mid-card, jobbing to K-Fed, non of that means as much to Cena as it did to Hogan, Warrior, etc. as Cena realizes the check is still the same at the end of the night and that he is going to be over-like-rover so being in the mid-card will not hurt his 'brand'. Hogan had to 'worry' about people inside and outside of WWE with a possible stronger brand than his. Others had to worry about shady promoters. Cena doesn't have to worry about anything as there is no company with a stronger brand than WWE and no wrestler inside or outside that can take his spot.

This is all too meta. I know what's going on here (or at least I think I know). WWE is trying its best to control 'The Reality Era' (as the company has dubbed it). Its like an old man trying to show that he is hip and with the times by buying any iPad but having absolutely no idea how to use it outside of sending/receiving email. WWE is trying to have its cake and eat it to by admitting its in the 'Reality Era', but still trying to control the narrative. We are at a point where fans are 'hijacking' shows and all that stuff that started in Canada (Bizarro Land) and the North East of the U.S. has spread and WWE is trying its best to curb it and keep the marks marks with a little spontaneous and true fan interaction as possible. WWE has NO PROBLEM with people wearing Warrior masks (once WWE staff passed it out) on the following Monday Night Raw after Warrior's death, but Joe Blow sitting front row dressed as Warrior is a problem? The show is in the ring and WWE realizes that all the talking and lip service delivered over the year about the fans being apart of the show is more true than anyone in WWE actually wants. WWE received mainstream media coverage after RR 2015 and it was mainly about how everyone in the audience took a huge dump on the show. WWE booked WM30 the way they did to avoid a HUGE fucking bullet of people taking a huge dump on Batista/Orton. Its all just too meta for me. Its The ''Reality Era" with a group of people struggling ever so desperately to control the narrative at all costs. The fans want one thing and Vince is telling us what we really want. This story is familiar. Rim (now known as BlackBerry) in 2002 has stock selling at 200 plus dollar a share. Now you can get BlackBerry stock for less than 20 dollars. What do I think fans should do? Realize that WWE is a corporation and its not about TRUE FUN, but rather corporate fun. That means cop orate flare and whatever the company will approve. Its the worse.

IF NXT does better house numbers than expected does NXT then become the 'second' WWE touring brand while the official second touring group is kept overseas more than usual? There are TONS of guys who are not doing jack. Would an 'international' touring brand consisting of 25 acts or so (I am talking about the Ryder's, Axel's, Truth's, Rose's, Tamina Snuka's etc.) be enough to satisfy the international markets (include Cena, Orton, Sheamus in select international cities)?

I think Dallas could have worked if they had him do his spiel and actually inspire someone on a losing streak to picking up victories. I'm not a fan of the losing streak gimmick but it could have worked as a midcard act, especially in the tag division, which needed teams around that time with Real Americans and Prime Time Players breaking up. Instead, I can't remember a single angle they ran with him. I agree on Rose though. That gimmick is an entrance, a dive spot with the Rosebuds and not a lot else. With better booking in the midcard and more care taken with them, they could have got some use out of both men though, even if it was throwing Rose with another guy who was hovering around doing nothing and making them a team. That is what is so frustrating about the mid-card on the main WWE roster. Nothing of note is really happening and there are TONS of people trading wins and just existing. WWE has mid-card characters that stand out and that interesting biographers and stories can be crafted out of. Adam Rose and Bo Dallas are prime examples of both points just made. However, WWE has decided to stop at certain parts of each's gimmick and I am unsure why the development ceased as both were getting over.

I would have to put Becky Lynch in the 'not ready' category. She is there in the ring, but her character and promo work are cringeworthy. Good wrestlers can take bad gimmicks and make them work. Becky's gimmick isn't as extreme as say a Goldust or even Rikishi in a thong, so her finding her way should be 'easier'. Hopefully she can figure it out and tone down some aspects of her gimmick that just come off as hammy and counterproductive as it doesn't produce 'boo' heat but rather 'this is lame' heat.

I never understood the call behind that one. The Wyatts were RED HOT and were having legit MOTYC with The Usos. WWE could have done much worse than putting the straps on The Wyatts for 6 months.

Very entertaining show. I think the Hart/Hogan/Yoko stuff from WM9 gets too much hate. When watching outside of the known politics, meglomania, dislike for Hogan, etc. It worked that night and the crowd ate it up. WMIX wasn't a good mania at all, but I feel that particular incident is best explained in full context in order to get a raise out of people.

I think this is interesting. Perhaps I am over thinking all of this, but if one of the set objectives for NXT is to drive out the indies? Yes, Joe Blow can break open his penny bank and start an indy promotion tomorrow. I am not talking about that. I am talking about the promotions that have actual relevancy. ROH, CZW, PWG, SHIMMER, Chikara, Evolve, etc. WWE could take the top 5 acts from each of the companies and come away with 20 or so (as the companies use a lot of the same talent in some cases) big name stars. I wonder how aggressive WWE will be in the future? Perhaps WWE will treat NXT as Zuffa has done in 2015 with the UFC brand in signing ANYONE who is a free-agent and a name just to prevent those people from going to Bellator.

Signed. This is downright embarrassing at this point. I have no idea what they're doing. The 1-year anniversary announcement of the WWE Network was how RAW went off the air...hyping shit that you can watch at any time, whenever you want, at your leisure, on the Network... Do they even know how their own Network works? They also, on their App that they push the shit out of, confirmed Brock Lesnar to be on the show. Only for him to not be on the show. WWE are making dying days of WCW level mistakes at this point, in my mind. Better reform D-X again! The Lesnar thing was puzzling as I received that on my phone as well. What interests me about your post is the WCW mistakes thing. WWE is the only game in town, but I am sure if "Insert Name of Other Promotion" was kicking ass left-and-right, some of the bigger mistakes would have been more glaring. What are the top 10 WCW 2000 moves current WWE is doing? Taker losing at Mania doesn't count in my book and little shit like Paige not being able to wrestle for 30 minutes doesn't count either. I am talking about 10 things that would make WCW 2000 look like early 90's AJPW. Post 2010. Off-the-top-of-my-head...I cannot think of anything. I can think of a ton of stupid things and things that I didn't/don't agree with, but nothing that immediately smacks me in the face as making WCW 2000 look like The Second Coming.

Pro wrestling has always had white guys who can pass as a different race. Pro wrestling has also always had guys who are of a different race that can pass off as white. Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and Damien Sandow are three guys that people would consider 'white' if you asked them. WWE has a quota AND a representation issue. Why isn't WWE hot? There are a million reasons, but the main one is that the company is not with the times. There is a black president and has been for 8 years, Kim Kardashian and Beyonce are the most searched women on the internet, One of the hottest white artists out right now is riding high on the Michael Jackson Off-The-Wall sound, and the biggest PPV draws OF ALL TIME are held by a black man and two Mexicans. Interracial couples are increasing, atheism is on the raise, and Ronda Rousey is outdrawing Evans, Shogun, Henderson, Nogueria, etc. on PPV/TV. I believe WWE really needs to tape into the millennial zeitgeist.

I have to be honest. I didn't bat an eye after Katie Vick or the Benoit situation. I honestly don't know what will make me say 'Alright! That's it!'. Why? Because I know WWE is cheap and is about obtaining the cheapest heat ever to remain relevant. No one is talking about wrestling around the watercooler at work and because of that I expect WWE/Vince/Stephanie/HHH/etc. to do/say ANYTHING to get ratings, buys, tickets sold, and people talking. This is the company that has run many racist angles (and employees openly racist people), necrophilia angles, terrible/outdated xenophobic and homophobic angles, etc. Nothing surprises me.

Pretty much any licensed music is going to get dubbed over since they'd need to pay out a new round of royalties for it. Did WWE even use Licensed songs apart from PPV themes? WWE's Victoria was a licensed song,Taker's biker stuff was already mentioned, and Cody Rhodes was at one time using TV/TV. Boy Hits Car's "Love Fury Passion Energy" and Waterproof Blonde's 'Come On' and 'Close Your Eyes' round up the list. Our Lady Peace also recorded 'Whatever' for the band's Gravity session and it was unreleased. WWE later used the song for Beniot.

I feel the RR JTS a long time ago. The back-to-back wins, the double eliminations, Vince winning the whole damn thing, number 1 having as many wins as number 30, etc. RR is fun- but every year I grow less excited as I can pretty much predict the final 4 and winner. I want the RR to be completely random and have someone like Xavier Woods or Kofi or Fandango win. The RR needs a reset.

What did you think of that HBK KOTR match? The 1000 headlocks killed me.

People talk about Taker at Mania and the stakes being too high, but WWE needing to justify Taker's contract- simple solution: book him on a B level PPV. WWE has so many hours of TV an Undertaker squash match, surprise appearance, multi-man tag match is what is needed in the 'colder' WWE months.

I hope you are not talking about their WM12 match? My top 100 WWE matches of all time DO NOT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: HBK/Taker WM25 HBK/Hart WM12 Razor/HBK WM10 I just see too many faults with all those matches that don't make them enjoyable outside of the first watch (and even then I didn't enjoy the WM25 match). HBK and Taker cosplaying an ROH Edwards/Richards match did nothing for me. The forced epic? No thank you!

People talk about Angle/Beniot from RR, but I think their WM17 match was better and I believe they had a match at No Mercy (?) that was built around who was the better submission expert which of course lead to the match ending in a roll-up. I was reading through this thread and was disappointed this match wasn't mentioned as it would definitely be in my top 20 easy. Some really good choices in here. A top 100 WWE matches of all time list would be extremely interesting. Question: How many 'comedy' matches would make the list? WeeLC for example and the blindfold match Santino did on Raw some years ago- seriously the best blindfold match EVER.

WWE doing a podcast and broadcasting on The Network would be great, but it would have to be done by someone like Jericho, Christian, etc. You know? Someone with a personality. Michael Cole interviewing someone in WWE's pocket who is too worried about towing the company line just will not do. I still don't understand how WWE wants to be seen as entertainment and aside from the movie venture (which is failing hard) why they won't venture into music (and I don't mean Stephanie Music or whatever the WWE label is called), artist/athlete management, etc. This isn't the thread for this rant...so i will end it.

The same way I watch porn. By myself, blinds closed, lights off, leaning close into my laptop... The majority of the time I watch it on my laptop. If one of my buddies is in town, I will hook it up to my tv. I think I watched The Network on my phone once only to see if it really works.

Does anyone have any details on the WWE/TAPOUT deal? I am not exactly sure how WWE benefits from partnering with TAPOUT as I feel TAPOUT will receive all the benefits in that relationship. Also, surely the INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS won't be forced to wear TAPOUT stuff or else face some type of penalty.