dexstar

I know wrestling is a weird business, and your standard rules of conduct don't always apply, but even if Sheamus could destroy Tatsu or Hunico, what's his motivation? Compared to those two he's at a much higher place in the company. It would seem like if someone got a burr under the saddle and decided the participants would be punished for the fight, he's the one with everything to lose and literally nothing to gain.

I like this comment a lot. I prefer the idea of wrestlers essentially playing to their "home team" rather than mystic face/heel divide. Barrett's super over with the smarks, let him keep playing on that. In the crowd live, that kind of friction between the fans helps up the heat in a match too. You've got the drunk 20somethings who love Barrett battling with the more traditional fans, and that creates atmosphere. I think it's a necessary shift because there's like 5 people in the audience who think wrestling is real. Instead of focusing on making everyone boo one guy, focus on building a fanbase that matches that character and then matching up the opposites. Guys like Bryan that end up appealing to everyone end up on top, guys like Cena that are either loved or hated end up there, etc. That's not to say it's the end of being a face or a heel, it's just with such a wide audience of fans from very small children and up, I feel like it's going to be virtually impossible to create many characters that elicit the same reaction from everyone at a WWE show. Might as well figure out how to embrace, and monetize, that dynamic.

The one show I'd love to see from that list of knock-offs-of-popular-current-cable-series that they sent out as a survey would be the stage/ring crew one. Following those guys as they deal with the logistics and long hours of creating the WWE experience feels like a good "Dirty Jobs" or "Deadliest Catch" type series.

Even if it's out there for PR, which in a sense it is, it was still a good deed by all involved. There's always ulterior reasons for big companies like WWE to do nice things, but the sheer volume of Make-a-Wish stuff they do is pretty cool, no matter what the underlying reasoning is for them. I can't imagine how simultaneously inspiring and heartbreaking that work has to be at times.

Good/fair response. Not sure if there is much mileage to be had in arguing the issue any longer, as the major difference is that you are fundamentally engaged by the character whereas I'm not - a matter of taste as much as a matter of argument. I do think Wyatt has potential though, and will be towards the top of the card for a few years at least, barring some truly terrible booking. Agreed. Hopefully they can iron out the issues a bit and make it work because I do agree it's a little off right now and I can see Loss's point that the heat is Cena-dependent.

Laughing pretty hard at this. And also now picturing Bray typing his promos into /r/atheism or /r/conspiracy and laughing some more.

I don't know that he does, really. Since when do 'computer nerds' wear hawaii shirts and straw hats? In my experience they usually stay at home in plain, ill fitting clothes and do code and programming or play video games. Wyatt has nothing in common with shy, bullied kids except for his rants about how society has rejected him. Why doesn't he say so, then? He claims wants to bring out the 'monster' in Cena, not the jock bully you talk about. You are reading between the lines too much and putting your own slant on it - none of this has been made explicit or even implicit, except in the last couple of weeks when there is the occasional reference to Wyatt representing those who have been rejected by society. Not sure how using a nondescript, past his prime commercial rapper really enhances this. Eminem is pretty clean cut and establishment - this isn't 1999, he isn't the voice of white trash kids any longer. Why not use an alternative artist? My biggest gripe is that the promos are boring. You can't have a supposedly magnetic, charismatic character and then have him cut boring, repetitive promos. Forgive the jacked up formatting here as I try to figure out how best to respond point by point, if I screw something up 1. I don't know that he does, really. Since when do 'computer nerds' wear hawaii shirts and straw hats? In my experience they usually stay at home in plain, ill fitting clothes and do code and programming or play video games. Wyatt has nothing in common with shy, bullied kids except for his rants about how society has rejected him. He's a composite. Fedoras are a pretty common internet meme for neckbeards, a general form of geek. It's not super specific but this is big tent wrestling and I wouldn't expect it to be hammered down onto one specific outcast. The beard, odd fashion choices, and hat give me that impression. 2. Why doesn't he say so, then? He claims wants to bring out the 'monster' in Cena, not the jock bully you talk about. You are reading between the lines too much and putting your own slant on it - none of this has been made explicit or even implicit, except in the last couple of weeks when there is the occasional reference to Wyatt representing those who have been rejected by society. You have a good point about my own slant. That's just what I've been getting from his promos. I can't go back and grab specifics right now so I won't say it's been super clear but I feel like it's been mentioned as motivation more than we've given it credit for. It could definitely be a bit more clear but how clear is allowed before complain about the Sledgehammer of Plot? 3. Not sure how using a nondescript, past his prime commercial rapper really enhances this. Eminem is pretty clean cut and establishment - this isn't 1999, he isn't the voice of white trash kids any longer. Why not use an alternative artist? I didn't mean that using Eminem was anything special, more including his name for reference if someone didn't know the song I'm talking about. The song itself has lyrics all about the experiences of an outcast child who is beat up at school and comes from a broken home and his battle with society. I don't disagree that Eminem is pretty damn establishment at this point, but I can see why WWE is going to use artists like Imagine Dragons and Eminem for their big video promos over something way more obscure. To be clear, I'm not a fan of the new Eminem or anything, I just see the lyrical content of that particular song advancing that particular interpretation of the Wyatt character. I think the "boring" criticism is valid but hard to argue. I don't find myself bored. That gets more into a matter of taste and I can't sit here and say "hey, you're an idiot for being bored" because that's silly. I'm defending Wyatt a bit here and I realize my avatar is me in a Wyatt mask so I want to point out I don't think has been a perfectly executed push or angle by any stretch. The singing has been beaten into the ground really badly. The commentary hasn't been very helpful (which seems to run across every program in the company). The lack of any meaningful backstory or reason for the very existence of Harper/Rowan takes away from it all for me. The lantern entrance is a minor detail but infuriates me every week with the whole "lighting it just to blow it out" thing. I think that some of the issues with the feud and the character are growing pains though and I don't like calling it a failure or hating on them too much because it's nice to see a serious, legitimate attempt at something new on top. To go back to your point about me reading too much into things, I think that's a valid criticism of WWE booking (they leave quite a bit either to imagination and some of the littler details are shunted off to the real low audience Network pre-post show type features) but that's how I watch and I think it's a key reason why I don't often come away from Raw thinking "worst show ever". I'll certainly concede that leaving that much responsibility up to the viewer is probably not the best business strategy.

I haven't really seen the problem with his motivation. He represents nerdy outcasts who wear fedoras and shit. He looks like the kid who plays Magic or whatever the "jocks" are making fun of these days, except he's got a more threatening physical presence. He's constantly referencing representing people who have been bullied, teased, whatever. Cena is like the stereotypical ultimate HS quarterback. Bray wants to expose him as a coward and as a hypocrite to show that these people don't have the power they think they do. And, at Bray's core, we're left to wonder if he's really all that different from the Cena's he purports to hate. I feel like the commentary has done an ok job of explaining this, and the promos (including choice of song for the WM video - Eminem, Legacy) have also advanced this point. By focusing on the kid aspect, it's them trying to show Bray is turning Cena's most loyal advocates against him, which rattles Cena more than the people who have always been against him (us, basically) still being against him. There's some room for improvement, certainly, but I'm not really feeling the backlash either. We spend years clamoring for new main eventers and then they make an honest push to get Bray over as a top of the card guy with all the promo time and hype that entails, and people start shitting on it.

I was pretty down on the show last night but not gonna freak out for a couple reasons - 1. Personally, I haven't missed a Raw since ... August? So that's a lot of Raw. And I've attended a PPV and ordered the rest in that timeframe. Combine with the Network and the other wrestling I watch on YouTube and such, I'm probably getting a bit jaded. 2. With all the talk about Batista being unhappy and not wanting to do the Bryan match at Payback for whatever reason, how much of the cluster last night was from trying to come up with ways to extend Kane-Bryan and adjust plans on the fly? If that's the case, there's certainly a case to be made for being better prepared, but that's a slightly different discussion. I'm holding on to the belief that last night, while rough, was a product of circumstance and things will get stronger.

Some people like listening to the commentary to be fair. Yeah, I should have thought of that. But man, I can't imagine going to a WWE show and being upset I couldn't listen to those three stumble over each all night. To each their own I suppose.

My biggest hope right now is that Rose can stick around in a solid spot until 'Mania and we get an entrance with like 200 Rosebuds dancing to fill the entire ramp/stage.

I feel bad for Adam Rose debuting during this show and in the pre-main event death slot.

Brie Bella's screaming is my least favorite thing in WWE

In that update, he includes this tidbit regarding network technical performance: "One person who streamed it through their phone at the building said it was running about one minute behind real time and thus was annoying to watch." Who in the hell does that?!?

Sheamus vs. Barrett title unification feud please

Just got an email blast from WWE pushing that for every friend you refer to the Network, you get a $25 WWE Shop gift card (up to $250/10 referrals).

Lawler is even more useless than Heenan was in WCW. Lecherous old man Lawler was annoying as hell during the Attitude Era, but Corporate HoF Lawler is just not even there anymore. I found Lawler to be ok during the Attitude Era. I was a 16ish year old white male though, so pretty much squarely what they were aiming for. Sometimes he got annoying but at least he was engaged. As El-P points out, he's just not even pretending to care anymore. Usually on PPVs (errr special events...) it seems like the three would focus a bit more on the matches and that makes sense to me, but last night was as bad as a normal Raw, where it's just joke after joke after joke then awkward dead air. There seems to me to be very little chemistry in the current setup. And it just feels old - Lawler has been the voice of Raw for what seems like a billion years, Cole has been around forever, JBL and Cole have been working together for a long time, etc. I'd love to just hear a month or two of Cole/Regal/Renee or something different.

Some thoughts... Overall: I thought it was entertaining enough for my $10/mo network subscription. Not a particularly "newsworthy" show but everything can't be WrestleMania. Specific Good Stuff - WeeLC: I can see a lot of people hating this because the comedy was "cringeworthy" to them or something similar, but I thought it had some awesome spots and was quite fun. Not a match of the year or anything but I got a kick out of it. I also really like Torito and the fact that within the WWE Universe it's up for debate whether he's a small man or an actual small bull. That's the absurd part of wrestling I love. Drew McIntyre's table bump was pretty nuts considering what I expected out of the match and the placement. I would have preferred more Hornswoggle v. Torito and less hijinx with the 3MB/Matadores but not a killer criticism. - Bryan/Kane: Definitely gonna be a minority opinion here but I liked that match and don't have any problem with the feud continuing a bit longer. Technically these two have a tremendously long history and Bryan's justification for continuing in the post-match press conference (he put his hands on MY WIFE, I'm not sure I'm done with him, etc) was ok with me. The TV into the water was .. weird... but memorable. The forklift was a pretty clever way to get them back in the ring. Up for debate whether they needed to be that far in the back to begin with, of course. The flying headbutt off the forklift was a nice moment and will look good in video retrospectives. The fire spot caught me off guard because it didn't seem very PG but was one of the few times in the recent history of this PPV it actually felt somewhat "extreme". - RVD/Cesaro/Swagger: This might be more of a "meh" than good, but I'm feeling a good mood today. Mostly I call this good because Cesaro got the win and hopefully that means he's done with RVD. I can't stand RVD. - Barrett/Big E: Hopefully the IC title isn't the death sentence for Wade like it has been for others. He's so into this run and I am really enjoying watching him. Maybe he will be the first of the past 30 champions to actually succeed in making the IC title a big deal again. I feel bad for Big E. I like watching him and he's pretty funny on his social media accounts, so there is a personality there, it's just not being used. Maybe now they can explore that side of him a bit more and try to retool him into a better part of the show instead of Generic Strong Babyface. My out-there idea would be smart ass Big E teaming with The Big Guy Ryback. Perhaps they could bond via their mutual love of powerlifting and singlets. - Evolution/Shield: I thought, as it appears most everyone does, that this was great. Don't have much to add other than I hope The Shield never ever break up and stay together for ten years. Specific Not-So-Good -Paige/Tamina: I didn't think was bad but it wasn't that great either. I really like Paige and this felt like the first match where it wasn't really working since she won the title a month ago. Small bump in the road but nothing that's gonna kill her long term. She needs some more mic time on a visible show for people to figure out what her character is supposed to be. - Bray/Cena: I don't think was as bad as the rap it's quickly developing, but it had some severe problems. WWE Cage matches, as usual, don't make much sense. Too many ways to win makes it silly that it takes so long for someone to get the W. That's not a new criticism. Also, Cena looks like a total wuss when he won't go down the cage to fight Harper/Rowan - I mean, ten minutes before that, Seth Rollins launched himself off a balcony to get HHH/Orton, and Cena won't risk fighting Harper/Rowan on the floor? The kid though .... that's a classic wrestling WTF moment. - Rusev: I'm on record as enjoying this and the questionable taste aspect aside, the Putin thing was funny. I can see how this performance didn't really win anyone new over though. I still think he's going to be a fine addition as a mid-level heel for a while before getting a quick title contender push and then doing the traditional WWE big man transition into comedy figure. Basically I don't ever think Rusev is going to be such a highly prominent figure that it's worth hating him too much. I also like the thousand yard stare camel clutch. Specific Really Really Really Horrible - JBL and Lawler. My god. I actually think Cole does a good job on his own and can nicely complement the matches, but these two dudes are just killing me on a weekly basis now. It's like all three are watching a different thing. There's no coherence in their jabber. Lawler especially rarely seems to grasp what's happening or what is important to the story. JBL's yelling and one-liners just ruin things for me. Does he need to do that phony sounding "I LOVE THIS GUY" soundbite every single time Barrett is on screen? They had no idea on the RVD/Swagger elimination. They were laughing during the Bryan match. It's just so distracting that I think it's actively hurting the in-ring action. Again, this isn't a new criticism, but they seemed especially awful last night.

Well ... you certainly can't accuse Damien Sandow of not giving his all for this segment.

You know, if they insist on using Sting on the show at some point, you could have him give John Cena tips on handling an identity crisis.

Was that 5 times in terms of revenue or 5 times in terms of number of items? Just out of curiosity, how many Cena items are available for sale compared to other wrestlers? In the web store, Cena has 65 items on his superstar page, Daniel Bryan has 52. CM Punk has 72.

I'm not sure that Daniel Bryan is an underdog in near the same way as Rey Mysterio or other "small guys". I also don't think people will reject him because of his size, I think he connects with people way better than that. Not an Underdog If we start at the first Raw after Wrestlemania 29, let's look at his year: - He came out with Kane to save the Undertaker from the Shield in the prime of their undefeated, vicious group heel push. He was playing the role of the Undertaker in "badass deux ex machina" team, saving of all people, the Undertaker. And his size wasn't mentioned. It was presented as completely normal. - He went on a psychotic run to prove he isn't the weak link, and was portrayed as a straight equal to Randy Orton. And he beat the Shield up - on his own. - When John Cena, the moral arbiter of WWE, was given the chance to pick his own opponent, he picked the most deserving, and the crowd completely bought it. - He pinned John Cena clean. Not a fluke. - NOW he's an underdog - but he's an underdog because the boss is against him and his former monster partner is against him and anyone who wants to keep their job is against him. He's a Stone Cold underdog, not Rey. - He beats Orton and gets screwed. Then it takes HHH and HBK (in WWE storyline canon, basically two of the best wrestlers ever) to put him down at Hell in the Cell. - He is the first guy to outsmart and kick the hell out of the Wyatts - He gets screwed out of the Elimination Chamber win by evil Kane, but is clearly presented as the guy who "should" have won - HHH can only beat him down by getting a bunch of fake cops to handcuff him - He comes back from that and beats HHH down with no real comeback - He beats HHH clean - He gets off a stretcher, after taking a RKO and Batista Bomb, comes back, knocks Orton out with the knee, and makes Batista tap clean. Maybe I'm misreading it. But from his actual performances on TV, I don't think they push him as an underdog because of size or in the same way as Mysterio. They push him as a complete badass who would practically never lose if he wasn't double teamed by main eventers or completely screwed by the boss. It's way more Austin than Mysterio to me. Which leads me to ... The Size I don't think this is a negative. I think he connects with people. - He loses in 18 seconds at Mania, and comes out more over - He gets put in a tag team with Kane, and gets more over - He gets screwed repeatedly with fuck finishes, and gets more over - He completely leaves the title scene, loses to Bray, and gets more over People like this guy. It's more than "YES!", because that's been around since Mania 28. It's because his in-ring style isn't lame, he looks credible at his size because he's throwing himself around like a cannonball, kicking people in the head, and completely out-hustling them at every turn. He's almost always portrayed as a wrecking ball, and people like it. The "yes!" chant isn't turning up in MLB and at MSU basketball games and other places just because it's fun to chant. It's because the people who watch a lot of sports and some wrestling like Daniel Bryan. He's like the Wes Welker of the WWE, and that's a very deliberate choice of comparison. He's a kinda short, kinda normal looking white guy who happens to be a badass. I think his lack of steroided out physique is definitely, as mentioned earlier, a huge plus simply because it IS different from people have been seeing. He doesn't yell and scream like a neanderthal, he doesn't have elaborate cringey catchphrases, he's a bit of a throwback, and he's over with the people who kinda watch Raw but not all the time. That's crossover potential (potential, not guaranteed) and his track record leads me to believe that no matter what crazy booking they throw at him, if they keep the general character the same and let him do his thing, he's gonna stay over. And him-Lesnar will be a huge SummerSlam draw for them.

I guess I might be the only one but the Rusev/Lana act is so throwback and random (a fake Russian managing a Bulgarian with vague Islamic connection?) and his 1000 yard stare so bizarre that I am really looking forward to their appearances .

Am I the only one who, for a quarter second, thought The Undertaker was making a weird return?

Ryback is the most underrated talker in wrestling. I guess so, that was a hellaciously good job. I had heard he was much improved but hadn't seen it in action yet.