I don't see how it was poor writing. The finish set up a new heel champion with multiple quality challengers.
Del Rio is not over enough to be the champion. That's my point. And I have always hated the idea of putting a title on someone to get them over because it never works the way they think it will, yet they never learn.
Not sure how they really set him up for success any more than they did Miz either, and Dave going on for months about Miz being someone who can't draw TV ratings ... it just looks like they're setting Del Rio to go down the same path.
It didn't have to be exactly how I wanted, but this mindset of blaming fans for not enjoying bad TV instead of blaming the people who produce it for its flaws has to stop.
I know people here like Punk, but liking Punk is preventing people from being objective.
I've REALLY been trying to avoid getting to deep into this thread because I think the real issue here is a divide between guys who still regularly watch the current product and have been accustomed to putting up with a certain level of WWE bullshit v. guys who gave up years ago and are going to immediately hone in on obvious deficiencies as a sign of total failure of an angle. Having said that I think this post really deserves a response from someone who clearly falls into category A.
For starters Del Rio is over. Period. Is he Austin or The Rock when they won their first title? No. Is he JBL or Jack Swagger when they won their first title? No. He's probably closer to the Miz, accept for the fact that he's better in the ring and his mannerisms seem to generate more heat than any body language tricks Miz tosses around. If you are a hardcore WWE fan - and I fit the definition better than anyone on this forum I would guess - it is pretty much indisputable that Del Rio is over as a heel and has been since the moment he debuted. It is absolutely arguable that Del Rio was more over in the past, that the Big Show feud/move to Raw hurt his momentum, that he stood out more on SD, et. But saying that the goal of putting the title on him in the first place is to get him over is something that strikes me as a gross exaggeration given the reactions and responses the guy has gotten for the vast majority of the time he's been with the company (incidentally he is VERY over with the casual set that I watch ppv's with also for whatever that is worth).
Secondly I don't believe that fans should be blamed for being critical either and think there are many ways the WWE could do a better job responding to their fan base. Having said that the push of Punk and his status in the company strikes me of something that is almost assuredly linked to the reactions of the WWE fanbase. He was not a pet project or a favored son or a Vince fetish based on anything that we know. The fact that he is main eventing and the focus of shows now is because of the fact that the WWE decided to listen to the fanbase at least to some degree. One can point to the involvement of Trip or Del Rio's win as proof to the contrary if you like but their are two problems with that thinking. The first of which is that Del Rio's win did nothing to diminish Punk's star and in a bizarre way may have enhanced it given the circumstances. The second point is that - at least up until this point - the HHH stuff has not felt overwhelming to me (much to my surprise) and if anything it has ENHANCED Punk as he is shit talking the king of the castle right to his face, in his company, which fits his image perfectly.
A third sub point related to that comment is one that I want to preface by stating that I don't mean it to be dismissive or trollish. You have long been one of my favorite posters on these forums and I respect your opinion on virtually everything even when I disagree. Having said that, I can't think of a single good reason why the WWE would want to listen to the criticisms you make. Based on what I know of your viewing habits from reading this board you are at best a casual viewer of the modern product. You seem indifferent to the WWE at best and generally seem averse to the people who have leadership roles/ownership stakes in the company. I am not arguing that you are unfairly biased against the company - just that you aren't their target audience and while the counter argument that they need to do things to win back fans that left them years ago is a valid one I am very skeptical about it being a sound business strategy. There are a ton of reasons for this that I will expand upon if asked to do so, but basically I think it is more logical for the WWE to try and build a new fanbase/expand the current one they have and hold on to the committed hardcores than it is to try and pander to older fans who abandoned them a decade ago.
Finally it may be true that some of us can not be objective when talking about an angle involving Punk. Having said that, that is a two way street. It may in fact be that you can not be objective when talking about an angle that involves HHH. I will grant that there are ample reasons to be skeptical about any storyline involving Trip that doesn't end with him looking like a God and his foe looking like shit. Having said that three of the best angles of the last ten years in wrestling were the Summer of Punk I, the Punk heel turn v. Hardy and the rise of the SES and the Rey feud so there is ample reason to be a "mark" for Punk as well.
One can argue that this isn't a "special" angle in the sense that it isn't super shooty, they didn't let Punk roam around the indies/take time off before returning, et. But does it feel like business as usual WWE to me? As a guy who watches as much or more WWE than anyone here I would say absolutely not.
I echo everything Dylan said here. WWE business as usual would've had Cena pin Punk clean last night and then Trips screw Cena so ADR could cash it in and what we got was a complete 180. I was hoping for another Punk win but doubted it seriously and last night we got that with some intrique on whether Trips screwed Cena or not, then we got Nash doing his spot and the speculation of his motives, and then we got ADR picking the bones in Los Angeles with a lot of Mexicans at the show to see it. They can still fuck it up but what they have done so far has kept me guessing in a time when I can usually pick what's going to happen and when.
