Slasher

"lol" because he stayed in the WWE in 2004, right? He ain't playing out the whole contract, bet on that.

It actually seems to me that they are beginning the phase of getting Brock out of the WWE. They can't possibly want to keep getting Brock signed to contracts that are so one-sided in favor of the talent instead of the promotion. I am only surprised that he'd last this long anyways. I wouldn't be surprised if Brock only made like three more special event appearances (Summerslam,:a fall event or Royal Rumble and then finishing up at Wrestlemania). Last night was not a burial of Brock but it was definitely the start of the deconstruction of his push.

This isn't really true. I mean for you, I am sure it is, but she didn't prove "everyone" wrong. A lot of people were just waiting for her to break out. I think in terms of the "IWC" (Bear with me here on that term for a second), the WWE's signing of Rebecca Knox was met with more excitement and anticipation than I've ever seen for a female since Kong a few years ago. Ashley Flair was another anticipated signing but for different reasons (curiosity over a Flair daughter and bemusement that it could be a daughter and not any of his sons that successfully follows the footsteps of Ric). Anyways back to the point, Becky Lynch was one of those people that the fans gave the benefit of doubt when she got off to a slow start in her WWE career because they knew how good she was on the independent scene. That said, Sasha Banks is one of the better workers in the WWE, so let's see if Becky really have finally gotten it in terms of working WWE style well with lesser workers.

Now you've got me imagining a scenario where Regal, tired of Owens's antics/bullying, announces that he has searched the globe and has found the new "The Real Man's Man", trotting out Gulak in the same construction worker garb.

My favorite part of the match was Cena's entrance where he marched down to the ring in total defiance with the belt held up high, as if to say "I am the champ whether you like it or not." It seemed like a very subtle but firm statement that worked so well in context.

As much as I am a fan of NXT bringing in underutilized performers of the main roster for short runs, putting the healthy Uso brother in a title program seems like a bad idea. He is too ingrained in his tag team identity. I don't know if the audience would be able to suspend their disbelief for a guy they know will return to the main roster as soon as his brother is cleared to return...well unless the brother is slated to be out for months in which case nevermind.

With how the WWE values him to this extent, I also have to question the idea that Cena should be wrestling longer (than average) matches weekly against midcarders. I am not talking about in terms of damaging his star value, and I am not complaining considering the output of matches that has resulted, but the guy is 36 or 37 or 38 or whatever it is. Does he really NEED to be wrestling weekly on that level? Even in the TV ace era, this is definitely a good time to start thinking about featuring Cena as a special attraction (at least as a wrestler). Save some of his mileage so he can forevermore be that precious top merch seller the WWE so craves to preserve.

Oh well I think people didn't see the possibility of Cena making the US title this great TV match belt with the open challenges. It is relatively absurd without hindsight to picture John Cena the franchise player...John Cena the undisputed company ace...as a secondary title holder. The last time he held that thing was like 2003. But I wasn't a guy who thought Rusev was going over Cena at Wrestlemania, but yes Cena absolutely could have afforded that loss in the big picture, few angry parents be damned.

At this point it isn't about whether Cena could or should suffer "willy nilly" losses (and I don't think he has ever had any of those). It is about having the long term vision to build the future on different possibilities. Cena isn't going to be around in this capacity forever. They have had the good fortune of having this kind of cash cow for over a decade now. Are they really this content to just stay pat for another 5 or 10 years? The reason why Cena is by the far biggest merch seller is decisions like this where he can't lose more than one match at a time. But the positive I guess is that Vince does listen to the fans after all.

Bret Hart was marketed as the Excellence of Execution and among one of the best technicians in WWF history in canon. Although the Sharpshooter is a move he could use on anyone, it makes sense that he would have ways to beat you in different situations when called for it. It isn't that Bret is actively seeking to kick off the ropes into a pinfall while in a choke but it is that people are stupid enough to put themselves in a situation where he gets to do that move. In American football terms he is just taking what the defense gives him, he doesn't have to kill you with a 60 yard pass. He could dink and dunk you to death just as well. All these little moves and counters are stuff that makes Bret just as dangerous as the dominant submission finisher does.

It just boggles my mind the concept that Cena sells merchandise by the boatload or whatever it takes to move the needle one way or another by the week or however long it takes to measure the period between one special event to the next that such a slow down would be that damaging enough they had to reverse the trend. Like are they constantly coming out with new Cena themed merchandise daily or something where people just absolutely have to buy something of his weekly? Surely new Cena fans aren't born by the day?

I don't understand that mentality. Even if they see Cena's merch dipping, they are also likely going to see Owens's merch rising. They also have other people with decent sales numbers. No, no one is selling like Cena does, and I get that, but on a whole it is not like they are 100% dependent on Cena to sell shit. So why does it matter if in the long run you are going to get a few guys' numbers up as a result of a sustained strong push? The only way it matters really is if Cena is freaking out over it himself and being the company ace, they have to placate him. But he isn't that kind of guy like Austin was when he demanded to be turned back babyface because his sales was down. So I just don't get it.

Playing a specific sport requires specific skillsets that is enabled by specific muscle groups or movements. If you suffer a career ending injury then you no longer possess the skill set to succeed. In pro wrestling it is more fluid and there are multiple ways to succeed. If you can't be a speedy athlete then no worries you can just become a brawler or a mat worker. If you can't lift guys above your head then no worries you can just fly around or keep guys grounded. And so on. Not to mention if you can't do anything physical you can be a character oriented worker.

Well at this point wouldn't that be awesome?

If Hulk Hogan did a Burning Hammer, that would be worth at least a star. That's funny to picture. And Man in Blak, I know Cena has suffered the disadvantage of being the most readily exposed tv ace in WWE history up to now, so yeah I guess his evolution is a necessity. Ironic though considering how his character on the face of it has undergone essentially zero change. So maybe I just have to concede that his story being told in the ring has to serve as the substitution for that.

Corbin seems like the Vince infused Triple H chosen experiment in NXT. Especially with the Ascension having moved on. I guess you can't have all indy stars and workrate lady wrestlers filling up the show. Seems like he is the one guy that acquiesces Vince's demand to back off the booking. I know that isn't the reality but thats how he and the whole way he is being used comes across to me.

I get that but to me Cena is supposed to be like Hulk Hogan of our time. I don't recall Hogan needing to evolve much in-ring. But I suppose his deal was turning heel and surrounding himself with guys that would run in and help him keep his belt so I guess everyone deals with that mortality differently. I guess this is preferrable.

Well Jimmy Redman, you're right. I am completely overreacting here. Obviously Cena is in fact the guy that is going to try out new moves (and waste them in the process but I digress) in big matches. That is very evident from way back in 2011 as you point out. It is nothing new and so I shouldn't be surprised or offended. I guess as good a wrestler Cena is, I don't like the direction he is going in with his evolution as the new Indy Superman. Cena that I am used to is Cena that has conviction over who he is as a wrestler and knows what works for him. He is supposed to be eternally supremely confident in himself. Hell that was the basis of his promos he was cutting after his loss to Owens the first time: Owens got him once but Cena is the man. It will be very difficult to beat him twice. He is the LeBron James of the WWE. You can't stop him when he decides to want to win. This evolution to me is unnecessary. It kind of reeks like he is submitting to the criticisms of him but packaged in storyline of him keeping up with the indy superstars of recent years. Cena in 2006 and 2007 when he was the world's best wrestler or near it, didn't need to do that. But again, yes I admit I am overreacting and I am just gonna shut up about it now.

People lost their shit because it was move spamming. When it involves a main event star like Cena who has long been derided as having a limited moveset do you seriously not see why this get pops? Kurt Angle doing a 450 splash knee drop got a pop too but it doesn't make it a good idea. As for losing his shit because of a nearfall, I don't recall Taker losing his shit when the chokeslam gets kicked out of. I don't recall Edge losing his shit when the Edgeomatic gets kicked out of. I don't recall CM Punk losing his shit when the elbow drop gets kicked out of. I don't recall Daniel Bryan losing his shit when the headbutt gets kicked out. And all those moves have been presented as devastating transitional moves and occasional finishes (that they have busted out many times through their careers with as much effectiveness as anything else besides their finishers). Cena losing his shit over a move he has never once established as a move to be feared is just idiocy. But then again if I want to make up a narrative that could make sense, I suppose Cena is just the clueless putz who doesn't understand pro wrestling and coasts on his supreme strength and never die attitude to win. Because he is not clearly getting what makes a move effective.

Personally the WWE can feed the storyline all they want but it doesn't necessarily mean it is logical. Cena lost to Owens in a match where they were doing their finishers a million times. Someone was going to win. To sell the story as if Cena has to bust out a Code Red to beat Owens then sell a look of aghast on his face when it fails makes zero sense when 1. People here are telling us about how the move was a throwaway transitional move in previous matches involving Goldust and Zayn (so my previous argument about it being finisher caliber was off the mark admittedly) and 2. Cena hits the FU to win after all. Again Austin ripped Cena a new one for doing the same thing with the springboard stunner earlier this year. If Cena had beat some jobbers in the open challenge with the Code Red or springboard stunner and then he busts it out against Rusev or Owens for a nearfall and he sells the frustration, that is a whole different thing and would have made a lot of sense. But spamming moves expecting some great outcome only to win by his usual finisher renders the story moot. Even if Michael Cole and JBL (because they are great bastions of storytelling logic after all) try to sell it on us, it doesn't mean it was effective and it comes across differently to some people. It is like if Denver Broncos called a read option keeper for Peyton Manning that gets him pasted 1 yard behind scrimmage, do you honestly pop and go "Damn Peyton is so smart for trying that out?" Or do you go "What the hell was he thinking? Emmanuel Sanders was open for that 10 yard slant!" Cena doing this stuff to no great effect just makes the story stupid and devoid of real smart psychology.

Matt has the right idea. If Cena is busting out new moves to show that he still has aces up his sleeves it would be nice to see him bust out strong transitional moves or moves that would get people to go "Whoa that we haven't seen John do that before" without needing to go overboard with it. It reminds me of Austin's complaint of the springboard stunner. Cena is busting out those moves to convince people he has moveZ but they are going to end up meaning nothing in the short term AND long term. I think Cena is a great worker and I think he is better than this shit. edit: As a point of comparison, this is like when Kurt Angle did that 450 splash with knees in that TNA match and it popped the crowd but it was ultimately treated like a nothing move and he got killed for it online. But hey it is John Cena so let's all run up and pat him on the back for this psychological masterpiece!

I agree with El-P. It is definitely hypocritical to praise Cena for doing something that would get anyone else killed if they did the same thing. Having it explained in the context of "But see...Cena had to bust out new moves to beat Owens and Owens wrestled the same match lol~!" doesn't really justify anything in my eyes. It was a good match in a standalone context but if you add in everything about the two characters and where they stand it was not as good. I get that Cena is trying new stuff to keep up with the new blood and he is probably overcompensating for losing a little zip off his typical formula but Code Red? Seriously? It is the same thing as the springboard stunner. He is burning through moves that are finisher caliber as transitional moves to prove that point? Fuck him.

I don't think you have to have a hulking physique or be a giant to contribute to wrestling but you should at the very least have an athletic bone in your body. A lot of the schools nowadays are just taking anyone and everyone and take money off them while forcing them to do stuff that is honestly beyond their athletic capacity. A good trainer should be exploring their limits and then working around it filling in the gaps any way they can credibly do so. The RoH way isn't that good either because they are being taught to wrestle this overwrought epic style without understanding what they are not physically capable of being. I don't know what the answer is but I don't think what they have in place is it. The WWE Performance Center is probably the best of a poor lot.

At this point they only have themselves to blame for the shrinking bodies that comes through training camps. They are so preoccupied with the idea they have to teach respect that they have long ago scared off legitimate prospects who approached it the same way they would approach football camps or basketball camps-a job with the prospect of making a lot of money by being good at it. Now they lament at how the dedicated wrestlers are the scrawny life long fans/marks and they cry about real athletes deciding to do MMA or other things. A lot good their principles and philosophy as trainers have done for them, eh?

I think you are forgetting about a certain former WWE champion who would have a legitimate gripe against Rollins and is the prototypical A-list act who is absolutely pencilled in for Summerslam- Brock Lesnar. There will definitely be a triple threat but it won't be Ambrose in there. Honestly with that in mind, I hope Reigns doesn't win the MITB and instead he finds his way in the match from the get go anyways. I keep seeing stuff on the internet about Reigns cashing in a surprise as payback and I am at a loss thinking it is such a bad idea. Rollins pulled it off because that is his character. Reigns though? He is supremely gifted athletically and he knows it. He's a guy who is going to stand in your face and punch you in the mouth like a real man. If he wins MITB he absolutely has to go the RVD route and announce that he fully intends to cash in advance for a shot at Summerslam. Having him cash on Rollins after a match is a punk move and something that should be beneath him. Even if you want to turn him heel, he can do that while challenging the champion in advance. Just have him turn heel in the MITB match with brutal actions that goes beyond the normal level of competition.