Loss Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 On paper, both seemed like good ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 I tend to agree. Though it makes them look stupid that they hired Mistico and he fails a drug test 4 months later. Maybe they should test before the contract gets signed. On that note, there's a rumor that Kharma was pregnant when she got hired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dooley Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 WWE told Jim Ross to stop calling him that. What did it even mean? Almost 10 years later and I'm still stumped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Didn't JR throw out a lot of stupid nicknames around that time. Wasn't he trying to get the Bionic Redneck nickname to stick to Austin at the same time? And Booger Red for Undertaker. Â Then there's the WWE's penchant for scripting Cena to give his opponents awful nicknames like Y2Cheap and CM Sucks. Â Â God, this. I keep wishing for Cena to use some of his capital to change the verbiage of his promos. Nothing makes him look lamer than the awful attempts his character makes to insult the heel, especially when there's usually a million more obvious (and better) jokes to make. It makes an odd sight, as they seem to be continually be trying to bury the guy who's the cornerstone of the entire company by making him look like a bigger and bigger goof in his promos. It makes it even more infuriating when he does a serious promo and is awesome doing it, then within seconds they have him do some painful comedy that just flushes it away again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 That's what annoyed me about the Rock stuff earlier this year. Rock was allowed to do whatever the fuck he wanted out there and they were still hamstringing Cena every chance they got. Cena doesn't need scripted promos. Let him fight Rock on even terms so your full time guy doesn't look like an asshole out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 I agree that Cena just left to come up with his own material would probably be much better. It's kind of amazing that he has had the run he has had, because I can't think of a single program he's had during his entire time on top except maybe the Umaga feud that I'd call "hot". Dude has overcome some horrendous booking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 I think Edge was probably his biggest and best opponent during his big run on top but I don't feel like they ever went full tilt with that program. They seemed more content to force him to work with Randy Orton constantly and Orton really wasn't that over during the bulk of his stuff with Cena. It really amazes me sometimes that Orton is where he's at today. He's really a mini-HHH in the way that they had to go to extreme lengths to finally get him over enough to justify his push. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Other than the first Randy Orton feud with Orton punting his dad, I would agree that most of his feuds really never feel "hot." There are some hot moments every now and again but he has had a lot of programs that just felt like "the next guy for Cena to be matched up with." Sheamus feud immediately comes to mind. Bobby Lashley program is another. Â EDIT: Oh yea the Edge feud worked really well too. That was probably his second best opponent. I feel like Orton is his best although they really ran that match into the ground. And Orton was never as over as they wanted him to be. I still they think they would have probably had a MOTC at No Mercy in 2007 if Cena hadn't got injured. And Orton wouldn't have been made to look like shit by HHH that night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 On paper, both seemed like good ideas. Did they, though? Sin Cara isn't all that useful if no one else on the roster can work lucha style. And Kharma's a division killer when 90% of her opponents are barely trained swimsuit models. You can only run Kharma/Beth and Kharma/Nattie so many times. Â WWE told Jim Ross to stop calling him that. What did it even mean? Almost 10 years later and I'm still stumped. Â I did some Googling, and and it means pretty much what you'd expect it to mean. It refers to someone who has red hair and is ugly as a booger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 It doesn't help that they rushed Sin Cara to the main roster. They should've known that lucha doesn't translate well to American style because the logic and pacing are completely different. What good is having a developmental system if you're too impatient to make sure a big time investment like Sin Cara can actually work with your roster. He was really set up for failure from day 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Cent writes a lot of his own material. He's just devolved that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 I think the real problem for Cena is the incompetence of the booking of their mid-card. Umaga is his biggest feud because Umaga is the longest the WWE got behind an act that wasn't a main eventer and really made sure they got over correctly. They didn't do anything to bury him before that feud. But look at some of the things they've done. They teased Cena vs. Christian, the fans responded really well and it never happened. MVP started making some progress as a heel, he got moved to Raw and buried. They botched Swagger. They don't get behind Kane. They had Edge job at several points that hurt him in the long run. Â There's just a huge list of challengers and potential challengers for Cena where you can point to specific moments and say "this is why their feud wasn't as big as it could be." Cena is really a miracle product when you look at all the things they've done to screw him since he debuted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 They ran Cena/Jericho a gazillion times after Jericho's return, and I always thought it was bizarre that they never pushed the "You cost me my livelihood for 2 1/2 years, you bastard" aspect all that hard, if they even pushed it at all. Those two had good chemistry in and out of the ring after Jericho returned, but their on-and-off feuds were always so poorly booked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Tonight, they had Cena largely stay away from the comedy and I thought he more than held up his end of the promo exchange with Punk. In fact, I think everyone was awesome in that final segment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Mentioning workrate and heel persona came very close to crossing the line into Russo 2000 booking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Mentioning workrate and heel persona came very close to crossing the line into Russo 2000 booking. It fit in the context of the whole Punk deal being all shooty and inside referential. Nothing at all odd about mentioning workrate and heel persona when you have Punk call out Johnny Ace for firing people over the phone and mentioning SHOOTNAMES~!. If he would have just mentioned it out of the blue then it would have been Russoific. Â Also it helped that Cena is 100% right when he said he will never win that crowd over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollinger. Posted August 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Cena did his job perfectly tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Mentioning workrate and heel persona came very close to crossing the line into Russo 2000 booking. It fit in the context of the whole Punk deal being all shooty and inside referential. Nothing at all odd about mentioning workrate and heel persona when you have Punk call out Johnny Ace for firing people over the phone and mentioning SHOOTNAMES~!. If he would have just mentioned it out of the blue then it would have been Russoific. Â Also it helped that Cena is 100% right when he said he will never win that crowd over. Â No I mean it veered too closely to "This is not real". I can explain it in a kayfabe context but any more and it will be too far. Â If this goes past Summerslam I guarantee they mention TNA by name. That is one of the last safe shoots they can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjh Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Is Triple H trying to stop The Rock vs. John Cena at WWE WrestleMania? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cox Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Gotta say, I marked out for Punk calling Johnny Ace "Funkman" tonight. I think only a very teeny tiny amount of people on the planet Earth will understand that Punk comparing Ace to Marty Funkhouser from Curb Your Enthusiasm, but I guarantee that teeny tiny amount of people loved him for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Probably shoulda went with Super Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Bret Hart even chimes in with a great response on Twitter: Â Who says jean shorts are 20 years out of style? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Mentioning workrate and heel persona came very close to crossing the line into Russo 2000 booking. It fit in the context of the whole Punk deal being all shooty and inside referential. Nothing at all odd about mentioning workrate and heel persona when you have Punk call out Johnny Ace for firing people over the phone and mentioning SHOOTNAMES~!. If he would have just mentioned it out of the blue then it would have been Russoific. Â Also it helped that Cena is 100% right when he said he will never win that crowd over. Â No I mean it veered too closely to "This is not real". I can explain it in a kayfabe context but any more and it will be too far. Â If this goes past Summerslam I guarantee they mention TNA by name. That is one of the last safe shoots they can do. Â Yeah, the difference is that Punk's "shoot" promos didn't intimate that wrestling was fake. Calling people by their real names isn't appreciably different from Floyd Patterson or Ernie Terrell referring to Muhammad Ali as Cassius Clay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Well, "heel" has been a non wrestling term for villain forever and "workrate" is in fact a real sports term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 REAL SPORTS BUILD makes a comeback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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