Jmare007

It's funny because right when the company supposedly said they couldn't push him because he didn't move numbers he started to move numbers. Now second in merch sold and he's moving the tv needle. It probably was a matter of time after the reactions he was getting but the company seemingly no longer has patience They did start pushing his merch heavy since February though. I don't know if it was a late reaction to the Michigan State stuff or Punk leaving, but it has been very noticeable how they've done a 180° on Bryan when it comes to promoting him. The ratings thing was never a real issue imo. That was just Dave or one of his sources panicking or finding lame reasons to explain why the company booked him so weirdly from November to January. He may not have been a big ratings mover in that period, but he wasn't a bust by any means either.

The Taker/Brock build reminds me of Taker/Michaels WM 26 build. Were Taker kept mocking/owning HBK and then retired him at Mania If they are scared of Taker taking a big bump before the PPV, then don't make him do faceoffs because they are forced to make him look dominant when he doesn't need it.

The fear from 70,000 fans at NOLA (and millions watching at home) when HHH hits that pedigree will be even bigger than when he hit the Tombstone on Taker. Can't wait. Specially for the pop they'll get when Bryan kicks out.

EC also was the last high priced PPV before the Network. I'm sure a some people didn't want to spend that kinda money with the Network debuting 1 day later.

I still wouldn't rule out Ambrose turning at Mania and joining the Authority. I mean, I don't want it to happen and as weeks pass it seems more unlikely, but it's still a direction I can see them going with.

The whole Punk/Cena MITB-Summerslam run had great video packages. I also really liked one of the first HHH/Taker videos they did for Mania 28, the week after Hunter said he wanted a HIAC match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgWClPwrgrY That's a WWE level video package. Makes this whole 8 month journey of Daniel Bryan look epic as fuck.

So on SD! The Shield "turned" on Kane and laid him out to end the show. I can see Ambrose selling out to the Authority and setting up a tag team match with Kane against Rollins/Reigns but that would be lackluster as fuck. Maybe they actually go with Ambrose defending the US Title and Harper/Rowan vs Reigns/Rollins?

Carlos Colon is the next inductee according to the SD! spoilers.

Orton probably gets his rematch the next night on RAW.

huh? Him demanding to be added to the title match was what got the biggest reaction from the crowd in that segment. Even bigger than HHH accepting their match at Mania. There was also a weird moment when the fans started a big "Daniel Bryan" chant but the audio was weird. The highjack stuff started lame and corny but ended up being great. Thing is, that should stop now that Bryan got what he wanted. If they keep pushing this "leader of a movement" thing, I think there's gonna be some backlash after Wrestlemania weekend.

That's a good question, when was the last time HHH showed ass like that? It was great seeing him fully commited to being a good ol' heel again.

I don't think they know how to book a face champion without an authority figure trying to screw him over, so I doubt HHH/Steph take a little time off TV after Wrestemania if Bryan wins the title. I'm very curious how D-Bry's character will develop in the next 1-2 months though. I really wanna see if people start turning on him after he gets the inevitable annoying/corny babyface treatment that every single big star they've had in the last decade has gotten. Hell, you can make a case he's already there so it'll be interesting to see if the crowds is still with him after they see him get his big moment.

I keep waiting for Rowan or Harper to scream YOU IN CARCOSA NOW! every time I see then in a promo.

I agree. It's a shame really.

This was a great listen. Probably the most down to earth and realistic "smark" podcast I've listened to in a long ass time regarding the current product.

I honestly believe this would feel like a bigger Wrestlemania if instead of Cena vs Bray Wyatt they would've given us Shield vs Wyatts in a big gimmick match. That leaves Cena as the odd man out which is impossible considering his status, but fuck it, they could've worked the "change has to go through me first" story in a real feud against Cesaro. Anyways, I don't see how Triple H wins against D-Bry. I get people being afraid of his ego and the dreaded "I win at Mania, you win the feud at the next PPV" HHH strategy. But considering what happened with Punk, I'm pretty sure Hunter wants to put over Bryan is a big way to prove Punk wrong or whatever.

You don't lose anything by turning it off really. And even though I don't think this board would lend itself to annoying trolling and people posting just to get a "like", I think it's better to not risk anything and leave it the way it is.

Source: Bloomberg WWE Chief Financial Officer George Barrios revealed to Bloomberg in a telephone interview that WWE will announce their new television deal at the end of April or the beginning of May. While Barrios would only state that the company was in talks with "with multiple parties," Bloomberg reveals that WWE has held talks with AMC, Viacom, Time Warner and FOX. The story noted that a renewal with NBCUniversal is also a possibility. Of course, Viacom is the parent company of Spike TV, which airs TNA programming. While Viacom does own many channels, if Viacom were to strike a deal with WWE, they would almost certainly be on Spike TV leaving TNA without a home.

I didn't think Bryan was bad on SD!. I've seen and heard far worse from his character and WWE faces in general. After reading the spoilers I was expecting far worse to be honest.

Monday: 12am EST - WrestleMania 25 4am EST - WCCW - 11/1/1982 5am EST - Legends of Wrestling - Worst Characters 6am EST - WrestleMania Rewind - WrestleMania I 7am EST - Legends of Wrestling - Renegades 8:30am EST - RAW Flashback - 3/7/1993 9:20am EST - RAW Flashback - 3/14/1993 10:10am EST - RAW Flashback - 3/21/1993 11am EST - Royal Rumble 2013 2pm EST - Best of SmackDown - 8/25/1999 3:30pm EST - WrestleMania 25 7:30pm EST - RAW Pre-show 8pm EST - Beyond The Ring - Steve Austin 10:30pm EST - ECW Hardcore TV - 3/7/1994 11:06pm EST - RAW Backstage Pass 11:30pm EST - Beyond The Ring - Steve Austin Tuesday: 2:06am EST - RAW Backstage Pass 2:30am EST - Legends of Wrestling - Renegades 4am EST - ECW Hardcore TV - 6/6/1994 5am EST - Old School - 4/5/1981 MSG event 6am EST - ECW Hardcore TV - 4/25/1994 7am EST - Old School - 4/5/1981 MSG event 8am EST - WWE Superstars replay 9am EST - RAW Flashback - 3/21/1993 10am EST - RAW Flashback - 4/4/1993 11am EST - Legends of Wrestling - Worst Characters 12pm EST - NXT Arrival 2pm EST - WWE Main Event replay 3pm EST - WrestleMania I 5:30pm EST - Best of SmackDown - 8/25/1999 7pm EST - Live WWE Main Event 8pm EST - NXT Arrival special 9pm EST - WrestleMania Rewind - WrestleMania 3 10pm EST - WWE Countdown - Most Awesome Entrances 11pm EST - WWE Superstars replay Wednesday: 12am EST - WrestleMania Rewind - WrestleMania 3 1am EST - WWE Main Event replay 2am EST - WrestleMania 25 6am EST - WCCW - 10/14/1982 7am EST - WCCW - 11/1/1982 8am EST - WCCW - 11/10/1982 9am EST - RAW Flashback - 4/4/1993 10am EST - RAW Flashback - 4/11/1993 11am EST - Royal Rumble 2012 2pm EST - WrestleMania Rewind - WrestleMania 3 3pm EST - WWE Countdown - Most Awesome Entrances 4pm EST - Legends of Wrestling - Worst Characters 5pm EST - Royal Rumble 2012 8pm EST - Old School - 10/20/1984 Maple Leaf Gardens event 9pm EST - Best of RAW - 3/25/2001 11pm EST - Old School - 10/20/1984 Maple Leaf Gardens event Thursday: 12am EST - Best of RAW - 3/25/2001 2am EST - WrestleMania Rewind - WrestleMania 3 3am EST - WWE Countdown - Catchphrases 4am EST - WWE Countdown - Entrances 5am EST - WCCW - 10/14/1982 6am EST - Legends of Wrestling - Worst Characters 7am EST - Old School - 10/27/1991 MSG event 9am EST - RAW Flashback - 4/11/1993 10am EST - RAW Flashback - 4/18/1993 11am EST - WrestleMania 25 3pm EST - WWE Superstars replay 4pm EST - WrestleMania I 6:30pm EST - Best of RAW - 3/25/2001 8pm EST - WWE Main Event replay 9pm EST - WWE NXT new episode 10pm EST - WWE Superstars new episode 11pm EST - WWE Main Event replay Friday: 12am EST - WWE NXT replay 1am EST - WWE Superstars replay 2am EST - Beyond The Ring - Steve Austin 4:30am EST - ECW Hardcore TV - 1/24/1994 5:30am EST - ECW Hardcore TV - 11/1/1993 6am EST - Legends of Wrestling - Renegades 7:30am EST - WWE Main Event replay 8:30am EST - RAW Backstage Pass replay 9am EST - RAW Flashback - 4/18/1993 10am EST - RAW Flashback - 4/25/1993 11am EST - Best of RAW - 3/25/2001 1pm EST - WWE NXT replay 2pm EST - WrestleMania 25 6pm EST - Best of SmackDown - 8/25/1999 7:30pm EST - SmackDown Pre-show 8pm EST - Legends of Wrestling - Factions 9pm EST - Old School - 4/20/1985 Maple Leaf Gardens event 10pm EST - SmackDown Backstage Pass 10:30pm EST - ECW Hardcore TV - 3/7/1994 11pm EST - Legends of Wrestling - Factions

He also said on today's podcast that Bryan will be the most pushed guy (along with Cena, obviously) after Wrestlemania. Apparently have been sending stuff with business partners and those 2 guys are gonna be the main focus for a while. I really don't see D-Bry going past Extreme Rules without the title.

Awesome! thanks man. I guess the gap with Cesaro would get bigger if you factor in the fact the Bryan probably had more longer matches. Didn't cross my mind Sandow worked so much on 2013. And my god at Jericho...

Oh, cool. It's gonna be weird when they do a WM Rewind from X-7 to the present. I mean, I guess they can always change the format but it would be funny if the rewind from WM 18 is about Triple vs Jericho and not Hogan vs Rock thanks man.

Is Wrestlemania Rewind only about the main event of the show or do they also talk about the rest of the card? Also, seeing some of the schedules it seems most old school show are only 1 hour long. Do they even show 1 full match or is everything edited?