Strummer Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 Vince did an interview with Forbes and referred to the WWE audience as a "growing monster that can eat you alive". I didnt read the whole write up so maybe it was taken out of context but he had to be referring to the Bryan backlash there, right? Interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 The wording in the article is far more innocent. In his black-and-red office at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Conn. McMahon stares at a stark reminder of what motivates him. To the left of his desk, mounted on square panels of what looks like scarlet fur, is an enormous dinosaur skull. The fearsome open jaw was a gift from his son-in-law, Paul Levesque, better known to wrestling fans by his nom de guerre, Triple H. And the metaphor isn’t lost on McMahon. “I look at it like it’s a really nice monster,” he says in a low, gravelly voice familiar to millions of wrestling viewers who know him as “Mr. McMahon,” the megalomaniacal lord of the ring. “When you feed the monster, the monster is happy. The problem with that is, the monster grows. And as the monster grows, then the monster wants more to eat. And as long as you do that, everything’s great. And if you don’t provide the food, then bad things start to happen.” Is the monster the audience? “You can look at it that way, absolutely,” McMahon says with a smile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 The more amusing thing about the article is that they are doing nothing to downplay the rumors that they have no succession plan for WWE after Vince steps down, simply because the rumors are benefitting their stock at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 How's this for a Wrestlemania scenario with HHH vs Bryan? The Shield not only beat Kane and the NAO in their match, but completely destroy them. Backstage, Stephanie sees this and gets worried about how their "plan" is ruined. HHH tells her he has another idea and points off camera. Stephanie gets an evil smile. "I can't believe I forgot you were all here!" The camera doesn't show us who she's talking to, though. HHH does a pre-match promo and says tonight, Bryan is facing "The Game", not the COO. And to further prove his point, he will have the man in his corner who mentored him and helped guide him to his greatest success ... Ric Flair. After entrances, before the lockup can even happen, host Hulk Hogan comes out and says Ric Flair cannot be at ringside for this and walks him to the back. During the match, there's a ref bump at which time Shawn Michaels makes a cameo and superkicks Bryan to do the heart attack nearfall to take the air out of the Superdome. HHH motions for Hall, Nash and Waltman to also come to the ring, but they don't quite make it. The Shield holds them off and after a dramatic staredown, they retreat. (This avoids the need to risk any of those guys getting physical -- there would just be a staredown but no physical contact.) I feel like this match needs something extra angle-wise, so that's what got me thinking about everything. It's not like all the players won't be at the show anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 Sounds good on paper, but might be too much of a clusterfuck for a show like Wrestlemania which has usually been about clean, decisive finishes. How often do you see a big WM match with loads of run ins and intertwined storylines? They are usually worked fairly straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 I feel like this match needs something extra angle-wise, so that's what got me thinking about everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exposer Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 I've mentioned before that Taker-Brock should be worked as a Hell's Gate vs. Kimura Lock match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 I feel like this match needs something extra angle-wise, so that's what got me thinking about everything. I'm not sure it does, really. They've been running the feud for months, there is lots of hatred there and a lot at stake in the actual match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 I think it's going to be a faux-MMA heavy match, actually. Not a ton of bumps, but a lot of strikes and maneuvering. Tonally, it'll be different than the last 5 or 6 years of Taker matches. I would love them to work a different match to everything since 09 but I think they're going to have Lesnar reverse the Hell's Gate, Taker is gonna kick out of a couple of F5s and it's all going to be very similar to the other Taker Mania matches. I'm more interested in how they're going to work the triple threat since the crowd is going to be ripe for working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 It hasn't been reported but I can see HHH announcing HBK as guest ref on Monday as the final wrench in his evil plan. It may be too late to lay that on the crowd but it would work easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 It hasn't been reported but I can see HHH announcing HBK as guest ref on Monday as the final wrench in his evil plan. It may be too late to lay that on the crowd but it would work easily. I think Raw ends with Bryan looking strong to make people think he's gonna lose. Guy standing tall at Raw before PPV loses at the event and all that. They're doing everything possible to make people think they're not going to give him the belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I feel like this match needs something extra angle-wise, so that's what got me thinking about everything. I'm not sure it does, really. They've been running the feud for months, there is lots of hatred there and a lot at stake in the actual match. This is the most heated feud WWE has had in at least 10 years. I really think they need to go over the top with the match to make it as memorable as possible, to really create a classic MOMENT, not just a good match. The interest in Bryan's chase really demands something out of the ordinary, since this is not just another feud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 Speaking of Taker-Brock, with Taker's love of MMA is this his chance to have a very MMA like match. He has showed signs before with the Ken Shamrock and Kurt Angle matches. Him facing a former UFC Champion at WrestleMania is his best chance. We know his body is broken and him doing crazy dives and a big impact match may be difficult. Could he do a MMA looking contest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I feel like this match needs something extra angle-wise, so that's what got me thinking about everything. I'm not sure it does, really. They've been running the feud for months, there is lots of hatred there and a lot at stake in the actual match. This is the most heated feud WWE has had in at least 10 years. I really think they need to go over the top with the match to make it as memorable as possible, to really create a classic MOMENT, not just a good match. The interest in Bryan's chase really demands something out of the ordinary, since this is not just another feud. In fact I can't think of a feud since Austin McMahon that has brought such anger and passion from the viewing audience. Of course in Austin McMahon you never got the feeling Austin was legitimately being held down like with Bryan. As we've said there is a sub feud with the fans v the company going on here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexstar Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I am with the big moment crowd on this - especially in the HHH match. It'll just add to the company vs. fans idea - if you have Bryan stand tall at the end of Raw, then have a big moment in the HHH match, people will be absolutely convinced Bryan is losing. For the moment aspect, I've been hoping against hope for Kane to snap out of his corporate mentality and return in the mask to help his former partner. Maybe have HHH/Steph berate him for losing to the Shield before the match? My brother and I also kicked around a very Russo-iffic idea of having HHH win both matches clean, then do a Bryan-HHH match at Extreme Rules where they do some screwy "shoot" finish so it seems like Bryan legit went off-script. Which, like most Russo-iffic ideas, would sound intriguing on paper and be absolutely ridiculous in practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KanadianKrusty Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I wish the concerns Undertaker had that were reported months ago would have been followed up on. I'd like to know how they were addressed. I guess about his health? I don't remember what they were specifically. I do however remember a blurb saying he's wasn't nearly as banged up as commonly thought. It may or may not have involved a comparison to Kurt Angle's health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bierschwale Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I feel like this match needs something extra angle-wise, so that's what got me thinking about everything. I'm not sure it does, really. They've been running the feud for months, there is lots of hatred there and a lot at stake in the actual match. This is the most heated feud WWE has had in at least 10 years. I really think they need to go over the top with the match to make it as memorable as possible, to really create a classic MOMENT, not just a good match. Seriously. Everything in their bag of tricks. If Brie can pull off a tope, then I better see Stephanie and Kane eat a tope from Brie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I feel like they usually go underwhelming in Manias these days, as if what they promoted is "enough." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 They should save something silly like that for the following Monday, since the (likely inebriated) crowd will eat it up and make for great television. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I wish the concerns Undertaker had that were reported months ago would have been followed up on. I'd like to know how they were addressed. I guess about his health? I don't remember what they were specifically. I do however remember a blurb saying he's wasn't nearly as banged up as commonly thought. It may or may not have involved a comparison to Kurt Angle's health. It was reported in January that Undertaker didn't want to do a match with Brock because he was worried about how physical the match would be, and also that Brock wouldn't take the time to practice the match with him in advance. He wanted to work with Daniel Bryan instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 Latest WON says Daniel Bryan has been "the biggest ratings mover the past several weeks". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 They should save something silly like that for the following Monday, since the (likely inebriated) crowd will eat it up and make for great television. Isn't more likely that the Monday crowd would be hungover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexstar Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 They should save something silly like that for the following Monday, since the (likely inebriated) crowd will eat it up and make for great television. Isn't more likely that the Monday crowd would be hungover? From my experience as a heavy drinker and 'Mania attendee, the party Sunday doesn't last much longer after the show because most of the boozer types head out for tailgating in the morning like a football game. So they've got all night and til Monday night to kick that hangover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 Latest WON says Daniel Bryan has been "the biggest ratings mover the past several weeks". It's funny because right when the company supposedly said they couldn't push him because he didn't move numbers he started to move numbers. Now second in merch sold and he's moving the tv needle. It probably was a matter of time after the reactions he was getting but the company seemingly no longer has patience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 One thing that hadn't really struck me until today is that regardless of how things played out with Bryan, Punk, Orton, and Batista this year, the plan to put Cena with Wyatt was always in place. It's weird that they have their ace possibly putting over a relatively brand new act at Wrestlemania. I'm sure Cena's still the focal point, but I think it's an indication that things are moving in a new direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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