Current WWE

[El-P]

Yeah, paying tribute to Warrior was nice. But when you think that Savage got zilch… Anyway...

 

Enjoyed Mark Henry vs Cesaro. Enjoys Rusev because he's a bulgarian Taz, he's got a great theme and Lana is hot as all hell. Enjoyed… well, ok, I didn't enjoy much of anything else, really. Cena's stuff was embarrasingly awful. Just eye gouging bad. Kane vs Bryan is like the worst feud for a red hot Bryan coming off Mania. I can get behind Shield vs Evolution, if booked right. But really, not having Daniel Bryan on the show reminds me why WM was all about him. Well, the honeymoon didn't last long.

 

Can RVD go away already ? Yeah, he's about as annoying as Sid was in 1999 at this point.

[Badlittlekitten]

The people following the product again expecting every show to be near post-Mania show quality are going to end up disappointed. It's never consistent, this is par of the course. With the exception of that terrible Cena promo it wasn't that bad a show. Was disappointed there was no follow up with AJ Lee. Is she gone?

[DMJ]

I don't see the issue with a Kane/Bryan program.

 

Is it red hot? No...but I don't think anyone, WWE included, are expecting it to be and Bryan won't "take the hit" if the PPV numbers aren't great. The next "PPV" (and remember, those don't really exist anymore in the Network age) is being sold with Evolution vs. Shield from what I can tell. It reminds me of Bret Hart's feud with the Patriot in the fall of 97'. Nobody ordered Ground Zero or Badd Blood for their matches - those shows were sold pretty much entirely on the HBK/Taker feud (*especially* Badd Blood 97').

 

If you ask me, the right gimmick would add something to the match and I like the idea of Brie getting involved. Plus, at least with Bryan/Kane there is a real deep back story, which other feuds that've been put in this "second fiddle" position rarely have. Plus, a dominant win over Kane is still a dominant win over a monster, even if he's done it 5 times before on TV...kinda like how Cena hitting the AA on Mark Henry and Big Show is never going to *not* help him look strong, even if fans should no longer be shocked by it whatsoever.

[Loss]

 

 

His intellectual stuff sucked though, it was so out of date and not done with any kind of subtelty, not believable in the slightest. The problem with Sandow is that a lot of far more over and talented guys have emerged since he first got his push, and he has been left behind. He just doesn't have the look, charisma or x-factor to be a top guy in my opinion. Enhancement talent at best, or a generic tag wrestler.

 

 

The ilk of Sandow, Miz and Kingston should be phased out now they have a roster filled with superb talent. WWE has done a good job of answering the charge of too many homogenous wrestlers who were indistinguishable from each other. Now they have a good amunt of people with unique looks and gimmicks, so your cookie cutter types just aren't relevant or needed.

 

I don't think Sandow was cookie cutter at all. I think coming out in a t-shirt and cutting promos complaining about his spot like he's The Miz makes him cookie cutter, but he had a workable persona and the Cena match from last fall shows that he could work at the top level. When he first showed up, he was working a lot of holds and playing the elitist thing more. It's really a gimmick that needs lots of mic time to make it work, which he hasn't gotten. I suppose a direction is better than no direction, but I still think Sandow has potential. Maybe there's a more contemporary way to play that angle, but I feel like they could work that type of intellectual superiority gimmick into a populist show fueled by Daniel Bryan pretty easily.

 

It still remains to be seen whether this or last week was the aberration. I'll give them a pass tonight because Bryan was gone and they had Warrior to pay tribute to so they might not have thought of this RAW as a huge priority. But I'm not at all convinced yet that going forward the booking will be as good as last week made it look like it might be.

 

 

Last week was exceptional, but Raw has been really hot for months now. I agree that I'm not sold on the long-term direction, but I don't expect them to sustain the level they did last week. I do expect them to sustain the momentum they had going into Wrestlemania. What concerns me is that the hot feuds like HHH vs Daniel Bryan seem to be ending while cold feuds like John Cena vs The Wyatt Family are the ones still going. But they've done so much right since the Royal Rumble that one show that was missing their top star isn't enough for me to give up or anything like that. I don't want to overreact about what last night's show meant in the big picture, but I don't want to pretend that it was a better show than it was either.

 

I have to laugh at Bryan's first opponent as champion being Kane of all people, and an HHH-led Evolution returning to feud with The Shield it what will almost assuredly have to be the marquee match on that show.

 

This. Bryan vs Batista was the best option for Extreme Rules, which makes Bryan not tapping Orton at Mania a little puzzling. I don't really get protecting either guy at this point on top as a singles heel.

 

Bryan and Kane are great together, have a history, and it's a fine little series to start as it shows that this isn't gonna be some short run for Bryan as in no way is he losing the belt to Kane.

 

Cena's promo was fine and was consistent with his character. He's always been a guy to try and deflect things with jokes, going all the way back to his rapper days. In this instance, he was feeling comfortable after defeating Wyatt at Mania and fell back on his ways. Wyatt called him out on always hiding behind jokes, Cena got serious and made the challenge for Extreme Rules, Wyatt is gleeful to accept and it ends with Cena looking uncomfortable as Wyatt sings and sections of fans behind him are waving along to their leader.

Just because the jokes stink, doesn't mean the Wyatt's got "ruined".

"Grim again" after ONE RAW, sheesh.

 

It's true to Cena's character, yes. But people hate Cena's character for the most part -- even people like me who like him otherwise. The Wyatts aren't "ruined", but a segment like that doesn't help them at all.

 

 

I'm stunned Johnny Sorrow is defending WWE booking

I'm not stunned that people are acting like a bunch of hand wringing washer women who seem to can't wait to be disappointed, while all signs are pointing to a continuation of old vs new where the new are going to win.

 

 

I'm hoping in a few months we're at a point where the direction is new vs new where the new are going to win.

 

I don't think there is any question that the payoff is going to be the young beating the old, but that's no reason to pretend Bryan v. Kane is a good first program for Bryan. I realize it would require you saying something critical of modern WWE to acknowledge this point and that's not going to happen, but I can't imagine anyone is really hyped for a Bryan v. Kane ppv match at this stage. Hopefully Meltzer is right and they are going to do that on Raw, but I doubt it.

 

I doubt it also. If they do it on RAW, the only other option would be an 8-man tag at Extreme Rules, with HHH dropping the fall to Bryan again. I don't expect that to happen, but I think it would be a better direction than Bryan vs Kane.

 

The people following the product again expecting every show to be near post-Mania show quality are going to end up disappointed. It's never consistent, this is par of the course.

 

First, WM30 signaled a new era, so I think a lot of us were hopeful that a lot of that crap was in the past now. Second, I don't expect a show at the level of last week's every single week. I just don't want them to squander the momentum they had going into and coming out of Wrestlemania. This was a placeholder show for the most part, so we'll see.

[Loss]

Also, I know it's nitpicking, but I like nitpicking wrestling. The perception is sometimes that it's me being overly critical or negative, but I just believe even the best stuff can always be better and it's not coming from a bad place. I nitpick wrestling I love to death anyway. It's the fun of posting on a message board -- getting into the minutiae.

 

So that said ... being so honest about why Daniel Bryan wasn't on the show was a little odd. I realize there's a reality show devoted to his relationship with Brie Bella, but I think they made too big of a deal of him not being on the show last night. I'd almost rather that they didn't explain at all. That shouldn't be taken as me saying they are undercutting him or anything like that. I am just saying that personally, I would have just not acknowledged that he wasn't there. The relationship is a storyline thing on Total Divas, but it hasn't been played up on regular TV.

[cm funk]

And why would The good guys come out to save Shield? Just cause Cena teams with them at house shows doesn't mean he's their pal on the TV shows. And all the other faces have no interest in saving the guys who spent a year beating them up. And more importantly that's just how wrestling works.

 

This. Why the fuck would John Cena want to help The Shield?!!? He doesn't even have any real beef with Evolution. Plus is was at the tail end of match where half the roster, heels and faces, teamed up against The Shield. There's no love lost between The Shield and anyone. The ONLY guy who it would have made sense to have run in was Bryan, to return the favor from last week, but Bryan wasn't there.

 

Now, when Bryan is being viciously beat down and Cena doesn't try to make the save, that doesn't make "logical" sense.....but it makes perfect sense in that they don't want Cena overshadowing Bryan or Bryan being looked at like "Cena's lil buddy" so I get why they don't do it

[Loss]

Well, let's talk about that. How do you answer the question to people who were at those house shows? Factor in the universe on Total Divas which is one thing, the universe on Raw and Smackdown which is one thing, the universe on house shows which is one thing, the universe in NXT which is one thing and the universe in special things like the Daniel Bryan documentary, and you have a lot of the same people showing themselves in different ways in different universes. Hell, add in WWE.com and WWE Magazine, which I'm sure has some differences as well. If it's confusing for us, I'm sure it's confusing for casual viewers. I think it's asking too much of fans to understand that each "universe" exists separately. They should be consistent across all of those platforms, and if that's not the WWE way, then it probably should be the WWE way.

 

I realize WWE produces a ton of first run content and that keeping it all consistent has to be a major undertaking, but maybe it's time to consider it. If I catch Miz on the RAW pre-show, the Daniel Bryan documentary, RAW and a house show, I might see four personalities.

[cm funk]

Also, I know it's nitpicking, but I like nitpicking wrestling. The perception is sometimes that it's me being overly critical or negative, but I just believe even the best stuff can always be better and it's not coming from a bad place. I nitpick wrestling I love to death anyway. It's the fun of posting on a message board -- getting into the minutiae.

 

So that said ... being so honest about why Daniel Bryan wasn't on the show was a little odd. I realize there's a reality show devoted to his relationship with Brie Bella, but I think they made too big of a deal of him not being on the show last night. I'd almost rather that they didn't explain at all. That shouldn't be taken as me saying they are undercutting him or anything like that. I am just saying that personally, I would have just not acknowledged that he wasn't there. The relationship is a storyline thing on Total Divas, but it hasn't been played up on regular TV.

 

It's been played up quite a bit. She's not his valet or anything, but it's been acknowledged on tv quite a bit and Brie has been in angles related to their real life relationship. I for one am glad they keep them separate for the most part....we don't need every Bryan angle involving Brie Bella or backstage segments of Bryan and Brie in their private lockerroom

[Loss]

When has it been played up? I have watched every piece of WWE TV this year and I've never seen them on camera on Raw or Smackdown at the same time.

[cm funk]

Every time Bryan is sent to the hospital (happened a few times) Brie is there shown helping load him into the ambulance and getting in it to ride with him. The announcers have mentioned their relationship too many times to count. It's been used in promos. There was one RAW where Bryan got beat down bad and Kane intimidated Brie and sent her out for a match immediately afterward, with Brie crying and distracted and she gets easily beat, and then she goes straight to back to check on Bryan. There's been other backstage stuff where their relationship comes up, I'll struggle to come up with specific examples because it's been rather inconsequential stuff, but it's definitely acknowledged.

[Loss]

Were those in late 2013? I don't recall any of that.

[cm funk]

The Kane intimidating Brie thing was late 2013, I think early in Bryan's feud with the Wyatts

[Eduardo]

They also did some Orton stuff with Brie Bella in the Fall of 2013, that played up the relationship with Bryan big.

 

[Loss]

I stand corrected, and I suppose it's not so farfetched to mention it. I guess they just stopped showing them on camera together for whatever reason.

[KrisZ]

They did at least hint at Bryan vs. Kane next week not Extreme Rules.

 

Regarding the Wyatts.....Bryan already won that feud so Bray as a contender wasn't really plausible.

 

Bryan has already run through Kane as well but not masked Kane so there is a difference there I guess.

 

Regarding Orton.....Bryan has beaten him so many times on TV that I kinda don't want to see that one anymore.

 

Batista shouldn't have tapped at Mania I agree, it should've been Orton.

[S.L.L.]

I agree that Bryan has no good opponent, which is why it was so stupid for Wyatt to lose to Cena at Mania

Maybe their failure to set up credible heel challengers for the hot new champion is part of how they're paying tribute to the Warrior.

[Loss]

Bray beat Bryan at the Rumble, so I'd say Bray won that feud, unless you mean that Bryan became champion and conquered the odds, so in the end, he won in the big picture.

[KrisZ]

Yeah I was going in the big picture sense but yeah there is a receipt that Bryan can get for the Rumble if needed but that may come after Bray gets done with Cena.

[NintendoLogic]

Regardless of how good WWE has been lately from an in-ring and booking standpoint, it's rather unfortunate that they're continuing the asinine tradition of feuds that start with the babyface winning clean and going from there.

[Jmare007]

I just hope it's a placeholder feud but with all these PPVs(special event!) coming up I could see them stretching this out

 

I really don't think the company sees it as a demotion for Bryan though. If Stephanie is involved like they teased tonight it will get plenty of attention. Probably won't get the ME slot but I guess they think they already made Bryan and are looking to make the Shield

 

This. I don't really have a problem with Bryan having a program with Kane if it leads to The Shield getting a big rub from Evolution. I mean, I'd like to see D-Bry work with other people and have great title defenses right off the bat, but it is what it is. The matches with Kane will be fun at least so it's not that big of a deal.

[Bierschwale]

 

And why would The good guys come out to save Shield? Just cause Cena teams with them at house shows doesn't mean he's their pal on the TV shows. And all the other faces have no interest in saving the guys who spent a year beating them up. And more importantly that's just how wrestling works.

 

This. Why the fuck would John Cena want to help The Shield?!!? He doesn't even have any real beef with Evolution. Plus is was at the tail end of match where half the roster, heels and faces, teamed up against The Shield.

 

It was eleven (plus three) on three. Roster solidarity against the Authority was one of the things that people most liked about the beginning of that storyline, and something people hated when they dropped it. This was a direct mirror of the 11-on-3 elimination match from September. The only person on both of the bigger sides was Titus because of his heel turn.

 

This isn't about protecting The Shield because they've suddenly become your new BFFs; it's about showing how the faces will CONTINUE to stand up to the Authority, and it's not just that. The Usos have a feud with Batista/Orton, and they had just announced Batista-Sheamus as the SD main event. Ziggler had just lost to Barrett; the Rhodes Bros. had just lost to Rybaxel; R-Truth and Xavier had just been laid out by Rusev. Obviously we are supposed to have forgotten about the PTP split, but Darren has beef with Titus. Santino had just lost to Fandango. There are a lot of people backstage with something against those 14 guys. but nobody cares about getting their own revenge? That's what I specifically disliked about last night. The faces should never just let people get the life beaten out of them if they have even odds, especially when they have their own reasons to go out there and beat those guys down.

[Loss]

That is spot on.

 

The Usos attempting a save, even if they went down in flames, would have been good for them. So far, we keep seeing them get attacked, only to not cut any promos vowing revenge, and they come out the next week doing their typical happy-go-lucky entrance and same high flying spots. At what point do they get to react?

 

I realize it's been all of two RAWs since their problems started with Orton and Batista, so that could still happen. So if it does, great.

[dexstar]

Considering the boss is the one who organized the beatdown and the Shield has spent over a year beating everyone in the locker room up, I didn't have a problem with the faces not running out. The Shield are also playing characters that obviously keep to themselves and want to handle their business, so you can toss in that they probably would be the type to tell people to let them handle their own shit in the ring instead of coming out to play superhero.

[(BP)]

It's weird seeing Batista work random matches on Smackdown. When he first came back it looked like he'd be a special attraction and get a title run. Now they're just keeping him busy with Orton where no one can complain. Maybe the Evolution reunion will revitalize him for a face turn later. This run has definitely resembled Jericho's comebacks more than a Rock/Brock scenario.

[Loss]

I will say that Dave seems to think Bryan being pushed in a semi-main spot at Extreme Rules is an indicator that WWE sees him as a Chris Benoit-like champ. I don't agree with that takeaway at all. Bryan is more over than Benoit was at any point in his career, to a point where I feel like his match will usually be perceived as the main event by most fans, even if it's not in that spot. I wish they had something better for him than another Kane match, but I also don't think it's the end of the world.

 

Bryan is also the centerpiece of Extreme Rules promotion and the "There's no WWE without you" campaign, and they did too much to put him over to just say he's getting his moment but they aren't going to build around him.

 

He's also sort of proven at this point that whether WWE wants to or not, they pretty much have to push him strong because if they don't, fans will wreck whatever other plans they have.