Slasher

Pretty much. Does anyone think Vince when he hears about it, he'd be happy with Braun? He was rude to a mother and child asking for an autograph AND then grovelled to a GFW employer? No chance Braun gets booked over Reigns now, if there ever was a chance to begin with.

I think Bray being the new Kane is exactly the point. The WWE treats him the same way they do Kane (and Big Show) where he is presented very strongly as a mythological level person yet he is never going to be a guy who is carrying the world title belt for more than 1 or 2 months...much like Kane and Show. I don't think his position will improve if he stays in that gimmick. The WWE just doesn't really like obvious characters being ace level main eventers. Taker was probably the only exception and in his case it was really because he was so established in the WWE when they turned to a reality tv based approach that him coming out of nowhere dressed like Mark Calloway would have killed him dead. And even then in the mid 2000s to now Taker was rarely ever champion. He had title matches sure but that isn't the same thing. Too bad for Bray because I don't see him ever looking as big a "star" without the gimmick. The one silver lining is that if WWE ever changed their attitude about what they like to do with "sideshow attraction" type characters, his character is one of the easiest ones in the WWE to rebuild if necessary. Obviously all you need to do is make his opponents sell for his mere presence like when Mankind revealed that Triple H would have to deal with Cactus Jack and Triple H shat his trunks or like all those times where a guy like Taker sends everyone in the ring running by appearing. Do that for Bray and I think it would help a lot. They also shouldn't let the aces like Cena and Orton treat him like a gum on the bottom of their shoes. I know Cena the character is part never die type super babyface who doesn't back down from people but they did not need to book that segment where Cena dressed up in the family jumpsuit and the goat mask. You can clown on normal heels like that but not a stable that is supposed to be creepy and scary. You'd never see someone do that to the Shield.

See this is the problem with what they are doing with Braun within the Reigns/Taker storyline. People said Braun exited the ring last week out of respect for Taker and nodding his head in acknowledgement. Someone said that Braun is all cool with Taker destroying their shared enemy. So if that's the case, why have Braun try to attack Taker? When the lights turned on it was obvious he was focused on Reigns by standing in his way and facing him directly. Why the change of heart for Braun in just one week? No I think it proves that Braun slinked out of the ring out of fear last week and tried to take advantage of the inattention to attack him like a coward. You're right Braun is ruined forever. Should probably ask for his release before he's forced to dress up like Nikki Bella. Not at all what I said or implied but sure, go for it. Luckily for him, monster heels are the easiest thing to restore...well unless you're the Big Show.

See this is the problem with what they are doing with Braun within the Reigns/Taker storyline. People said Braun exited the ring last week out of respect for Taker and nodding his head in acknowledgement. Someone said that Braun is all cool with Taker destroying their shared enemy. So if that's the case, why have Braun try to attack Taker? When the lights turned on it was obvious he was focused on Reigns by standing in his way and facing him directly. Why the change of heart for Braun in just one week? No I think it proves that Braun slinked out of the ring out of fear last week and tried to take advantage of the inattention to attack him like a coward.

Booker was clumsy in making his point but I understood it to mean that regardless of what happened in that hotel room, Tyson brought the trouble onto himself by not protecting himself. The analogy was bad but his point remains generally correct. Celebrities cannot conduct themselves with the assumption of the same anonymity that we all enjoy in our lives as nonfamous people.

I hope you're right. I don't see it but anything's possible. To me I think of Brock as something similar to Wrestlemania form Undertaker. All of his high profile matches since coming back were against guys he worked extensively in his original run (like the Big Show or Goldberg or Taker), the top level main eventers and legends (Cena, Orton and Triple H) or guys the WWE has hopes for (Each member of the Shield or CM Punk). I'm not counting the house show squashes against low level names, just the guys he has a major match with on the main roster PPVs. AJ Styles probably could fit in the third category but I am not interested in seeing Styles bust his ass to get a good match only to have Brock repeatedly toss him around in suplexes. That said, if Brock is in fact going to be the champion and AJ Styles is going to switch brands then yes I acknowledge the inevitability of a Styles/Lesnar title match along the way somewhere and will just have to see what they do.

I kind of want to keep AJ Styles as far away from Brock as possible. Same thing with Daniel Bryan in 2014 before he went on the shelf. I don't want to see great wrestlers get gobbled up by Brock because no other result seems realistic. I didn't think Punk looked good against Brock even if other people did. It'd probably be worse with Styles (and in fact I am positive what happened to Cena at Summerslam is exactly what they wanted from Daniel Bryan had he held on to the title).

With the brand split and having alternating brand exclusive events they can easily keep the belt on Brock Lesnar for 12 months. Lesnar wrestles like 2 or 3 times a year at this point...it wouldn't be too difficult to add two or three more matches to his workload. Lesnar is way too expensive to be as stale as he is as a special attraction. The fans just don't care that much anymore about him so why continue going down that road with him? Give Lesnar a major push for a year as his last stand, have Reigns beat him at Mania and then probably let him go.

Obviously they should have come up with better ideas in the first place so we get a better card, and I have to hope that their original plans were going to have led to better ideas (I mean, surely Cena was never going to have to fight the Miz in their original plans right?) but along the way something got messed up. Maybe Balor's injury? Triple H's refusal to show up during football season? Other reasons? Ultimately it all falls on Vince and the power brokers. We get reports that Vince works on the show plans in like June and yet this year it all felt scattershot and things only started to fall in place in late January and we're like "Huh?" at things like Orton winning the Rumble to signal that the obvious Orton/Wyatt was the match for the title (and signalling that Styles would be nowhere close to it) or that it'd be Reigns getting the Taker match. Just weird.

It's interesting that the last time Triple H was actually game to playing a full on heel by showing ass for the fiery babyface was the guy that the WWE apparently never intended to push that hard was Daniel Bryan. But with Triple H's own guys he just refuses to do the same for with Reigns and Rollins. But it was pretty cool Triple H actually used his status as the beloved NXT visionary as a heel heat tactic on the main show in suggesting the people would be on his side of things. I didn't expect him to resort to that because he is obviously very protective of his legacy and the NXT thing was the thing that is getting him praise from the people who had always been on his case for the stuff he was doing in his career as a fully active wrestler. But here we are being told that he worked everyone into turning his reputation around and being respected instead of vilified. The reason I agree that Wyatt/Orton's storyline sucks isn't that its hokey, but that it insults everyone's intelligence. Orton joined the Wyatts in the early fall. Like mentioned, Orton was always the bigger star in the WWE hierarchy so I always saw it as a slower paced version of the storyline they did in WWECW with the lower profile stable New Breed trying to recruit the ascending star who was always seen as a guy thousands of leagues above in CM Punk and an amused Punk getting a kick out of screwing with them as a result of it. But you are telling me that Orton had anticipated Wyatt winning the title months later and that he would win the Royal Rumble and that his mission was to take his title to embarrass him? Come on now. At least he should explain that he quickened the endgame of his master plan because the title happened to fall in their laps and what better time to turn than when the would be victim would win the belt along the way. It would help make sense of the timing of it all. Then he'd be more realistic as an opportunist rather than as a psychic. Still though I think this was ultimately the right Mania match to attach the title to out of all the planned Mania matches on Smackdown. What other feud should have had that? Cena vs Miz? Been there and done that. AJ vs Shane? Shane should be nowhere near a title match. Ambrose vs Corbin? Corbin isn't ready for it and Ambrose is obviously running out of steam as a top level main eventer at the time when they have to think of maximizing the prestige value of the show they want as many eyeballs to watch or attend in person as they could have. So again, who else should have been to tap for the spot featured as the title program?

Ok that's cool. I'll do the research myself. I just thought someone here knew what's up and would help out a dude here by sharing. My bad, guys.

Not at all. I want the answer to be the truth, whatever it is, but I am asking why is this doctor the only guy to do that particular test that no one else in top neurological facilities have done? What makes him special? Is he the #1 guy in the world in his field possessing a prototype machine to run this test? If that is what it is, ok, but someone confirm this for me.

Or Jimmy Fallon wanted Cena there instead? The host does decide who appears on the show too so the WWE can't force someone like Rusev to do it even if Fallon agreed to the time for promotion of the show. I say this because they have had Reigns do stuff for ESPN so I don't think the WWE lacks faith in him.

Why is this one doctor the only one doing that test or possessing the ability to do so? He's the only one who went "Say, let's try this new magic device I got that no one else in highly regarded neurological facilities has"? I don't get it. I ask that sincerely having not watched any of the news about him.

Not to disagree but I have to point out that the way Lesnar is booked doesn't help him as a draw really. He is like so far away from the normal WWE landscape that adding him to a few house shows would in theory boost their sales but the reality is that the fans don't trust them to do anything meaningful with Lesnar. They see the network specials of house shows where he's tossing New Day or Bo Dallas around. The Big Show match was a tired pairing that everyone knew meant nothing. People go to house shows to enjoy characters and matches but also to catch glimpses of future development. Lesnar is a special attraction who ascends once in a while from Hell to grace WWE with his presence and is so far away different from everyone else that you end up feeling disappointed when you see him dick around with jobbers in not so good matches that reveals nothing about their plans with Lesnar. How is that helpful? Also at this point, he can't even really be accurately measured as a TV draw or a monthly special draw anymore either with how they have constructed his place in the company.

Huh? Is the WWE not the only game in town that means jackshit nowadays? There is no more real competition. I understand that it leads to complacence but there is literally zero reason to be terrified of change at this point. The real issue is they just don't want it. I am not talking about a political hit as much as I am talking about they are happy with what they have. Reigns to them is a viable main eventer they can fill out the top of the cards with but he isn't a threat to become The Rock, Hollywood actor (unless things change). They are obviously happy enough with the money they do make off the whole operation. They sell on the name "WWE" and the family who will never leave are the only stars they really need. In fact, it is becoming apparent to me Cena taught them a lesson. That being even if the crowds reject your guy, you will still make money and succeed. Cena was special in that he was a guy who still made the most money regardless what we hear on TV. And the only potential threats to that mindset or philosophy retired in Februarys-2014 and 2016.

Man then theres quite a few incompetent doctors out there in very prestigious spots if they didn't find this lesion before or at least explain what it meant in terms he would understand he had to retire. I didn't watch the special, but fuck yeah the timing of the retirement was weird as hell and if you don't think so, well that's you. As for the seizures, he's had them since what...2011? If it scared him so much, why didn't he quit then? Edit: I am not suggesting he shouldn't retire or anything but the circumstances and timing of it all is all I question however I am glad he finally came to that point he did walk away.

In JerryWorld? He'll be General Custer chasing after the redskin Roman Reigns.

I am not playing anymore with speculation but it did seem odd after fighting nearly a full year with doctors apparently clearing him left and right, one result and he was quickly ready to call it a day. Could buy it having been asked of him.

Because the public reaction doesn't line up with the sold out crowds at those RAW's and PPV's. If Roman was truly hated, people wouldn't come to the show anymore. The RAW and PPV shows will always be more hardcore, especially now wrestling has become a 'nerd' thing. I think the WWE has largely accepted that. As long as people keep on buying overpriced tickets and experiences to those events, they can boo Roman all they want because the money still goes into Vince's pocket. They were still making money in the Triple H Raw franchise ace era and no one would say that was a good time to be a WWE fan, period. But see, the WWE won. It is the brand itself now. People go because it is the WWE. In that respect yeah they don't have to give a fuck who they put on top because people are gonna come. But don't try to sell the idea that Reigns is popular and at all a draw even just on the house show level. The fans show up to have a good time. If its Reigns they push out the curtains he will get cheers but I suspect the same would be true of just about anyone who is a babyface and meant to be taken seriously as a player. Reigns has value for sure but citing house show reports means exactly diddly squat.

No one cares about Hogan's racism or sex tape. (By "no one," I mean the general audience at large.) He'll get a huge pop if he returns, gives all the "evil foreigners" the big boot, and poses with New Day. Kind of an odd spot for him though - and for Rock, to be honest - so I don't see either happening. I think they'll both be there, but maybe in other roles... Could still see Rock getting involved in the Roman match. Even though that pairing backfired on them both before, family is family and blood is blood. Hogan entering and winning the Andre the Giant Battle Royal would be an amazing surprise and pop IMO - especially if it ends with him eliminating Braun Strowman, brother! "I picked up that 900-pound hillbilly, JACK, and broke every bone in my back, but with the power of the Hulkamaniacs and Hulkamania, I launched him right into the WWE Universe at Shea Stadium...I mean the AT&T Stadium, BROTHER!" Don't rule out Hogan trying to claim he threw him out of Texas into New York.

I don't know why they thought Batista was the best and only choice to be the ref and scrapped the idea after he turned them down. But as unenthused as the fans might be for the match the focus needs to be on just the two and not a guy they would just wait to see play into the finish. As much as I would dig the Shield vs Balor Club from a inring standpoint I would actually hate the reunion if they did it anytime soon. Rollins went out feuding with Reigns and his biggest archrival is Dean Ambrose. Rollins has not redeemed himself enough for the Shield to make sense even if Rollins helped Reigns win. Why wouldn't the guy want that belt back instead? He didn't even lose it fairly. They need to explain that first before dealing with even teasing a reunion.

I don't think so. Brock would definitely be surly and shit but I don't think he would want to play that up for a tv show he wouldn't even have wanted to do in the first place. I imagine Brock's personality would be short or abrupt and just accomplishing the episode goal in as quick a manner as possible so he can get out of there. He probably couldn't really get into bantering with people even if he was playing up an intimidating surly s.o.b. aspect of himself.

Well are you saying they desired for her to be cheered by booking her that way? Or that they tried to provoke the crowd in turning on her? Because if they are confused why she didn't get great reactions it can't have been the latter since that goal would have been accomplished. You have to realize it probably comes down to Vince insisting she be part of the segment with grandiose ideas of her getting mega over by her looks and the people below him understood exactly how she was perceived in general and kept that going with the booking so not to totally sink a divas's angle doing the wrong things and getting even worse reactions. Maybe there is a political hit on Eva as well by people not named Vince. The guy isn't going to be sitting there painstakingly putting finishing touches on the #2 divas angle when he had his own with Shane and Taker and his attempt to get Roman Reigns and Triple H going here to worry about.

I wouldn't underestimate Vince's descent into stupidity and being totally out of touch. It is possible HE thought she would get good reactions because she is hot but not necessarily realizing the guys below him booked the segment with different intentions.