dexstar

Ryback really capitalized on his chance to talk on TV

I thought it started good and then dragged, and kinda ate (really smally) away at their aura of badness. But you are right, they do need the practice, and they'll learn how to hold attention better after that. It felt off for the characters at this point too, to me. I don't picture them as the guys that talk for that long instead of fighting someone right now. I don't think it was the death of the Shield or anything like that, at all, more a learning experience for everyone. Any "damage" done will be so small it won't matter at all.

I am glad The Shield is going to get to destroy Evolution and I think it's going to work fine over the whole angle, but man, we don't love The Shield because of their 10 minute promo work, ya know.

So, stepladder match at Extreme Rules? Please? Please?

Interesting. I knew Meltzer wasn't a fan but didn't realize the extent. I was hoping that with the "Disgusting" name and subsequent winners that there was some obscure sleaze story about Bob selling dope outside the arenas or beating up homeless people for amusement.

Not sure if this is the right thread for this question, so please delete or move if necessary .. "Bob Backlund as WWF Champion" won "Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic" in the early Observer year-end awards. Now, I get that Bob wasn't super popular with that crowd at that time, but that seems really harsh. Was there a more sinister reason that Backlund as champ was "disgusting", or is it just because the readers thought he wasn't that good? The other award winners are stuff like exploiting Von Erich deaths, fake heart attacks, sleazy 900 line stuff - things I easily recognize as disgusting. Can anyone shed some more light on this, or is it just simply people in the newsletter crowd didn't think Bob was a good champion?

Considering the boss is the one who organized the beatdown and the Shield has spent over a year beating everyone in the locker room up, I didn't have a problem with the faces not running out. The Shield are also playing characters that obviously keep to themselves and want to handle their business, so you can toss in that they probably would be the type to tell people to let them handle their own shit in the ring instead of coming out to play superhero.

Big E is fairly amusing in the short videos he puts up on Instagram - doing versions of those while the matches play in the background would be an interesting way to try and give him some spark, I think. Better than 10 seconds of staring at a TV.

I was only 9, but Owen over Bret shocked the heck outta me. I assume that was somewhat more expected among the older/smarter crowd, though.

The 6 years seems impossible, but the general concept doable I guess? Though I don't think Raw has had six world title matches on it in the past six months, let alone once a week.

If it's a hack, they really got a lot

Uh, HHH just tweeted the Ultimate Warrior is dead. Hacked?

Summer Rae desperately tweeting at Fandango after their "break up" is some next level internet character work https://twitter.com/RealSummerWWE

Whenever I have tried to watch TNA, I have felt like I'm watching one of those "this is what they SHOULD have done" fantasy booker posters/columnists come to life.

If Roman Reigns is basically pushed as a badass who only speaks in Arnold/Sly style action movie cliches, he will be the most over man in history.

Am I insane or is this brilliant

I was hoping that the Original Warrior was going to do a run in, concluding an epic two decade work.

If we get Shield vs Evolution, they better remember both groups have a history with helicopter transport. I want a Halloween Havoc 95 style helicopter battle on top of an arena, ending with Batista being tossed into the blades but returning for the match with no explanation.

Isn't more likely that the Monday crowd would be hungover? From my experience as a heavy drinker and 'Mania attendee, the party Sunday doesn't last much longer after the show because most of the boozer types head out for tailgating in the morning like a football game. So they've got all night and til Monday night to kick that hangover.

I am with the big moment crowd on this - especially in the HHH match. It'll just add to the company vs. fans idea - if you have Bryan stand tall at the end of Raw, then have a big moment in the HHH match, people will be absolutely convinced Bryan is losing. For the moment aspect, I've been hoping against hope for Kane to snap out of his corporate mentality and return in the mask to help his former partner. Maybe have HHH/Steph berate him for losing to the Shield before the match? My brother and I also kicked around a very Russo-iffic idea of having HHH win both matches clean, then do a Bryan-HHH match at Extreme Rules where they do some screwy "shoot" finish so it seems like Bryan legit went off-script. Which, like most Russo-iffic ideas, would sound intriguing on paper and be absolutely ridiculous in practice.

Punk at his most surly and sarcastic, being interviewed by the usual morons on the shoot interview circuit, would be pretty damn entertaining at least once.

I agree with anyone saying The Shield shouldn't break up right now. I hope they at least stretch that out to SummerSlam. Those three as ass kicking babyfaces is just too hot to end in a week or two. It'll provide a nice bookend to their career as a unit too, as they'd end up being on "right" side of Justice before they break up. I mean - can you imagine the pop and the "moment" if Daniel Bryan is staring down HHH and his Corporate Outlaws at Raw next week and he gets backup from The Shield?

That's because the crowd was in awe of the spectacle SummerSlam '94 Undertaker vs Underfaker style Seriously though, this stuck out to me too. I thought the physical contact was a bit of a misfire for that build. Seems kinda unnecessary - I'd prefer if they'd kept them apart physically right up until Brock charges through the druids to start the match at 'Mania or something. I wonder if part of the lackluster live reaction has to do with many in the crowd just kinda intrinsically knowing that it wasn't going to be any type of wild pull apart brawl. I know watching it I just assumed it would be a couple punches and then stare down, exactly like it was, which is hard to get fired up for.

If Brock Lesnar hits an F5 on an empty casket, I will mark out harder than I have in years.

I can't be the only one somewhat curious about what the crowd would be like if HHH won both matches clean at 'Mania.