Slasher

It was a flash pin from behind after a major distraction. Then he proceeded to destroy said manager. Calm down.

Cena worked for about a month with that bump in his elbow including a great match at Summerslam, plus it is the secondary title match against a guy seen as below his stature, which means he could either work a shorter match or coast a bit. Del Rio will be able to work around whatever limitations Cena might have. Again, this won't be the main event, so he won't be depended on to put on a great show like DB/Orton and maybe HHH/Show would. Helps pop the buyrates a little at little to no cost. The question is: is it a cameo appearance or is Cena back for good?

I guess the WWE had to do something positive for the fans after delivering a nonfinish at the PPV, and what better than having the evil boss get knocked out?

I am surprised Triple H allowed himself to get knocked out and shown up by Bryan this early in the storyline.

Well ok then. That is a better use of the Shield anyways. Not too keen on Dusty in there though. He should have a proxy... like Elijah Burke

I don't get it. How does facing the Rhodes eliminate two titles???

Or if he successfully eliminates someone, but starts celebrating or taunting excessively, he usually gets sent over by another guy in the ring.

My thinking is that this may accelerate the WWE's desire to get its own service off the ground ASAP. Having your money taken away because a cable company is weak enough to cave in to what is obviously a frivolous issue would only sour them on continuing the relationship with said company. On the other hand, they must be loving the emotional effect the angle has on fans.

Someone has a cake delivered to the ring.

I guess I used the wrong word/concept, but that is what I meant. When I said pacing, I meant the action was fast enough you weren't going to see people miss by an inch, or that they pulled their punches. Everything done in real time made things look more real without actually being real. Slowing down, yes, you pretty much have to potato your shots just to look good in slo-mo.

The future of porn at the very least. Yeah this shit isn't going to work for a regular wrestling TV broadcast. Part of the beauty in wrestling is in the pacing. Slowing that stuff down only makes things look worse. This would be a good tool for video packages though, if it was on-point, at least, anyways.

As for the Lesnar/Ryback thing, there will come a time that Triple H won't want to keep re-upping Lesnar's massive part time deal. They need to transition Heyman to a visible role if he desires to stick around post-Lesnar. Therefore I could see them booking it as a Clash of Titans, tweener heel Lesnar vs heel Ryback.

That's funny because my wife, who is a stage actress, couldn't bear to watch Stephanie act. She actively looked away during her segment and didn't return her attention until it was over. Of course she doesn't know how much worse it could have been. Point is, she is still long ways from being considered "good", but then she is a businesswoman who has heavier responsibilities in her life than worry about acting.

I withdraw my complaint about the not saving Miz thing. I just assumed DB would get his ass kicked again to end the show and thought he needed a small win to bring it on but that ending more than was good enough.

Not saving Miz IS the right thing to do. The point is it is an opportunity to further solidify DB's status as the new ace if you have him taking down this maniac. It also further their own personal feud. Why they passed it up just to run a vanity angle is beyond me. Beating Miz down in his hometown savagely and in front of his parents was good enough to establish Orton submitting to Stephanie and Hunter's request to bring back the insane heel viper. Just at least have DB run him off after the damage is done.

When Heyman mentioned other Heyman guys sitting, I got this hope there will be a Ryback vs Lesnar match.

This is the kinda angle you see a guy like Hogan, Cena or any other tippy top babyface intervene in... so where's DB? Is he banging Brie somewhere in the back or something?

How so? It was strongly implied Armstrong was in on that fast count with Triple H. His firing was for show. The line, "I am going to take care of you" says it all.

I am already tired of the Big Show part of the corporation angle.

The more I think about it, the more I hope they don't actually do the dusty finish. I like the picture in my head of a cocksure boss HHH who thinks he is right, and therefore DB can't possibly stay champion too long. So he books challengers with increasing difficulty, only for DB to plow through them all. THEN HHH can step in the ring in the end, only for DB to beat him too. Imagine if DB as champion is the guy who ends the streak of Undertaker at Wrestlemania, employed as HHH's trump card. Wouldn't that establish DB in the biggest way? Hell HHH could even book a 1992 Rumble scenario by forcing DB to defend it as the #1 entrant.

I have to ask since I didn't see the match but in terms of distribution, how much of the match was Orton in control vs DB being in control? If DB played the underdog, they shouldn't have Orton making the claim he wouldn't have lost if not for the ref, because it would be too true.

Dave Meltzer a month ago: That is a cynical view. The WWE had to get rid of Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle when they had to and they were more popular than Orton is. Granted I don't think Orton is into the same kind of stuff they were, so this is certainly possible.

You are right that Orton wasn't the handpicked champion in the sense that they conspired to do the angle at Summerslam beforehand. But Orton was clearly preferred to Cena or DB. If DB had the belt and that established him, they would have let him close Summerslam with that elaborate celebration. Loss already presented examples of champions who did not become the face of the company. It takes more than holding the belt.

I agree he needs to win the title in a meaningful way. I just think the way some video games do it, with the second to last boss being this impossible foe you take days to beat, followed by the weakling final boss where you just slash a few times with your weapon to win, is the way togo. So HHH has to be that impossible foe.

By the way, I think you are missing the point on Orton being the face of the company "because" he had the belt. He was never presented that way. The company made it clear they didn't like Cena as their champion but they begrudgingly accepted it. Vince made it clear he can't have a midget be the champion and face of the company. So when Orton came out to tease the cash in, Triple H saw the opportunity to solve their problems. So he pedigreed DB and invited Orton in. Orton is the good looking guy who is presented as a guy who would go along with the wishes of the corporation. He is a guy who was manufactured completely by the WWE into some kind of popular babyface. He was the PERFECT choice. It isn't like Triple H looked at Orton with different eyes because he gained the title at Summerslam.