Current WWE

[Sean Liska]

I'm going to take a break from modern WWE until Royal Rumble. NFL is getting ready to start & I can't even think of a football game between two bad teams on Monday that I would rather watch RAW over. Plus, after SummerSlam, this is the big "lull" during the WWE Calendar year. I still have so much other wrestling to watch, like old stuff (Nitros coming to WWE Network next week) in addition to NXT & NJPW, there's no reason I should keep sitting through shows that I'm completely apathetic toward.

 

Everything feels too samey for me right now.

If you're not big on modern WWE, this is a very good time to take a break. I would recommend DVRing the show and checking in to see if Ambrose did anything, if Heyman cut a promo, anything good out of Goldust or Henry, etc. The first RAW in January is where they always kick off Mania season and have momentum through either Mania or Extreme Rules, depending on the year.

[Russellmania]

Mike Johnson:

 

There are several people within WWE who feel that as Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy sees more success, it becomes more likely that we won't see Batista return to WWE as a full-time performer ever again.

 

When Batista left a few months ago, there was a belief that he would be back to continue his storyline once the media and appearances for Guardians was over but some are under the impression that it may not happen. Batista's future with the company was a hot topic backstage at this weekend's WWE live events.

 

There's also the risk of Batista getting injured now that his film career will be taking off. It's almost guaranteed that Batista will receive a lot more offers for movies because of his role in a blockbuster hit like Guardians. Batista is no longer seen as a guy who acts in indie movies and studios will be hesitant to cast him in movies if he's performing in a wrestling ring.

 

It's not like he really made any ounce of difference in his latest stint with the company. WWE already has Jericho and RVD doing the "drop in and out" thing.

 

I'm still bewildered at WWE's decision to give him the Rumble and the main event of Wrestlemania XXX. Even though they eventually succumbed and capitalised on the huge demand for Daniel Bryan, it's still mind boggling to consider that WWE really thought Orton vs. Batista would draw big for a milestone Mania. Evidently, Taker always wanted Lesnar this year, that ruled out Taker vs. Cena. Punk vs. Triple H may have worked as the main event with some long term booking, but not with the two months of rushed booking that they had at their disposal - not to mention people had to have had a feeling that Punk was going to leave around RR.

 

Wasn't the initial plan for a Sheamus heel turn and a match between him and Bryan? That definitely wasn't going to be anywhere except in the first three matches of the card. In the absence of the turn-around on Bryan, the only logical decision would have been to put on Lesnar vs. Taker last.

Whatever lack of impact Batista had during his last run was squarely on the shoulders of the creative team. Once they started using him as a heel I thought he had legitimate value to them. Meanwhile, now that they have Brock as champ I have to think Batista would have a ton of value to them now as another guy who could headline a PPV against Brock. Right now the only healthy guy who can fill that spot is Cena and after the rematch they won't be able to go to that well for a while. Brock defending against Batista at some point could have bought them some time until Mania so if he's really not coming back that hurts them IMO.

[Loss]

Undertaker actually wanted to work with Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania because he wasn't sure his body could handle a Lesnar match. There were also concerns that Brock wouldn't take the time to practice the match in advance.

[cm funk]

The reality is that Batista is a much bigger star right now than he was 6-8 months ago. Guardians of the Galaxy has already grossed more than $250 million in less than a month and will be the highest grossing film of the year soon. To think that a guy who has just become a legitimate crossover movie star wouldn't have any value to the WWE is crazy. They are desperate for star power right now.

 

Batista and Brock haven't crossed paths since their OVW days. To me that's as close to a "dream match" as they can book right now and would get them a lot of mainstream attention

[Matt D]

This is weird, but, and I get that there's probably not a TON of overlap between the new Total Divas fans and Guardians of the Galaxy but if Batista starts to feel like a STAR, I'd probably try to use him to appeal to them somehow.

[(BP)]

Guardians performed very well with women, so that's certainly possible. Batista and Brock shared the ring once during Batista's comeback for a staredown. I don't think anybody cared at the time because it was at the height of Bootista backlash, but that would be a huge match for say Survivor Series or the Rumble.

[Matt D]

... and by appeal to them, I kind of mean "toss a lot of money at Stacey Kiebler for an angle with Batista."

[Jimmy Redman]

Yeah I like bringing Stacy Kiebler in to appeal to the TD demographic. People talked about her potential name value to WWE ever since she hooked up with Clooney, but I think now with a specific female/reality show watching fanbase that would know her name, that potential is far more striking.

[Blehschmidt]

Isn't Stacy pregnant?

[shoe]

Isn't Stacy pregnant?

Just had the baby the other day.

[Johnny Sorrow]

 

Isn't Stacy pregnant?

Just had the baby the other day.

Looks just like Stasiak

[Lee]

I'm going to take a break from modern WWE until Royal Rumble. NFL is getting ready to start & I can't even think of a football game between two bad teams on Monday that I would rather watch RAW over. Plus, after SummerSlam, this is the big "lull" during the WWE Calendar year. I still have so much other wrestling to watch, like old stuff (Nitros coming to WWE Network next week) in addition to NXT & NJPW, there's no reason I should keep sitting through shows that I'm completely apathetic toward.

 

Everything feels too samey for me right now.

 

This is exactly where I've been since whatever the post-WrestleMania PPV was. Raw after Mania and that Shield-Evolution six-man kept me going for an extra month but otherwise I've just stopped watching current stuff aside from PPVs (thanks, Network!) I dip in here and there but don't pay too much attention. On the downside, it's caused me to miss the Rollins heel turn and the Ambrose-Rollins match from Raw, but whenever I HAVE caught the show it's either been completely tedious, or has made me want to cancel my Network subscription out spite (that fucking Raw where they ran "$9.99!" into the ground and turned the entire Network into the world's biggest heel.)

[KrisZ]

From Meltz in the WON

 

 

 

Regarding the portrayal of Cena on Raw this week, that was all written and put together by Vince McMahon. My feeling on the final segment, where Cena laid out all three members of the Wyatts with Attitude Adjustments is that it was the right idea for a great segment, but it should have aired on either 9/8, or preferably 9/15. Cena should have at least sold the beating from SummerSlam on this week’s show, and started a build for a comeback story instead of him being back with no repercussions from the first match. You’ve got Swagger with taped ribs for week from less of a beating while you are trying to have Michaels tell people Cena should retire due to this horrific beating, and he’s fine, not a scratch, and not selling a thing. It would have been better to save Lesnar vs. Cena for perhaps Survivor Series, but they had no other face ready to headline and it’s the renewal month, so the September show is more important than the November show. Given that, he still could have sold the beating, vowed he was training harder than ever and would be at his best ever, while Heyman and Lesnar laughed off the idea of him being competition based on the first match. Then, in his first match back, either 9/8 or 9/15, they could have had Heyman at ringside (or Lesnar if it’s a show he’s booked on), shocked while Cena runs wild with the idea Cena really has recovered and is throwing around top heels. McMahon felt that after the one-sided match (which they never should have done in hindsight, since the follow-up was so lame and it was rendered as if it might as well have never happened), that the Cena fans would lose faith in him unless he made an immediate statement.

[sek69]

Why would Cena fans ever lose faith in their hero considering he (sometimes literally) laughs off any defeat or tough times that comes his way in any storyline? Between that and the one comment in the "Mike Sempervive talks to WWE people" thread where it's stated Vince doesn't understand real people don't talk in WWE Speak, I'm concerned he may be beyond being in the bubble and now in a complete reality vortex.

[Superstar Sleeze]

 

From Meltz in the WON

 

 

 

Regarding the portrayal of Cena on Raw this week, that was all written and put together by Vince McMahon. My feeling on the final segment, where Cena laid out all three members of the Wyatts with Attitude Adjustments is that it was the right idea for a great segment, but it should have aired on either 9/8, or preferably 9/15. Cena should have at least sold the beating from SummerSlam on this week’s show, and started a build for a comeback story instead of him being back with no repercussions from the first match. You’ve got Swagger with taped ribs for week from less of a beating while you are trying to have Michaels tell people Cena should retire due to this horrific beating, and he’s fine, not a scratch, and not selling a thing. It would have been better to save Lesnar vs. Cena for perhaps Survivor Series, but they had no other face ready to headline and it’s the renewal month, so the September show is more important than the November show. Given that, he still could have sold the beating, vowed he was training harder than ever and would be at his best ever, while Heyman and Lesnar laughed off the idea of him being competition based on the first match. Then, in his first match back, either 9/8 or 9/15, they could have had Heyman at ringside (or Lesnar if it’s a show he’s booked on), shocked while Cena runs wild with the idea Cena really has recovered and is throwing around top heels. McMahon felt that after the one-sided match (which they never should have done in hindsight, since the follow-up was so lame and it was rendered as if it might as well have never happened), that the Cena fans would lose faith in him unless he made an immediate statement.

 

 

I have said it before and I will say it again. Cena is a great wrestler in the ring. The way they book him is so incredibly counterproductive and about 75% of his promos are absolute garbage. In some ways, Cena should take some personal responsibility and say "Hey this is fuckin stupid", but that being said WWE still has to take a lot of the blame.

 

Kris, I think it was you, who actually said it on the Summerslam recap show is their a top star that has been such a Yes Man. He does not help out his buddies. He does not really seem to balk at anything. I guess he may have gotten a couple guys fired (Kennedy comes to mind, but wasnt that mostly Orton). You listen to his interview with Austin and he can sound like a WWE programmed robot. It is scary. I can't tell if this is his personal reaction to Hogan, Austin and the Kliq and consciously not trying to emulate them or if that is really who he is. I think it is the latter. It is just so infuriating because I think a lot of Cena's qualities are admirable both on and off camera and I hate seeing him get booed, but God is his character just so fucking annoying sometimes that I really can't blame anyone booing the John Cena who is portrayed on TV for the most part.

[Jmare007]

 

Now that's one hell of a farewell promo. "The mothers love the Big Guy, what can I say?"

[Superstar Sleeze]

I was reading about a mark (I mean shareholder) lawsuit about how WWE worked (I mean made claims) him into investing in their company. Anyways, apparently one of the claims was that their programming "DVR-Proof" BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHA!!!! Thats the biggest joke ever! Their programming is perfect for DVR. Who the hell can actually sit through 3 hours straight of that! With all the commericals and video packages, you can get it done in a tidy 1-1.5 hours with the magic of fast forward. RAW is unwatchable in its current state. You NEED the DVR. That may be the funniest claim I think a wrestling company has ever made.

[The Man in Blak]

I have said it before and I will say it again. Cena is a great wrestler in the ring. The way they book him is so incredibly counterproductive and about 75% of his promos are absolute garbage. In some ways, Cena should take some personal responsibility and say "Hey this is fuckin stupid", but that being said WWE still has to take a lot of the blame.

 

I've still got to catch up with a lot of Cena's run but, from what I've seen of him this year, I actually have the exact opposite impression of him. I feel like he adds very little to his matches, primarily because he's so loose and downright awkward with a lot of his moves, but his promo work is what sets him apart.

 

Now, to be fair, I don't dispute that the content in a lot of his promos is lousy Rock-lite stuff, but I attribute that more to the creative team than Cena. If Cena has more sway over what he's saying, then I agree that he deserves some criticism.

 

But, in terms of sheer delivery, the only other in-ring performer right now that comes across better on the stick than Cena for me would be Bray Wyatt.

[Dwide Schrude]

I was reading about a mark (I mean shareholder) lawsuit about how WWE worked (I mean made claims) him into investing in their company. Anyways, apparently one of the claims was that their programming "DVR-Proof" BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHA!!!! Thats the biggest joke ever! Their programming is perfect for DVR. Who the hell can actually sit through 3 hours straight of that! With all the commericals and video packages, you can get it done in a tidy 1-1.5 hours with the magic of fast forward. RAW is unwatchable in its current state. You NEED the DVR. That may be the funniest claim I think a wrestling company has ever made.

I don't know the context of what you're talking about, but I find WWE hard to dvr because they always run over and I miss the last five minutes of the show. And on the WWE app they do a lot of "two screen experience" stuff where you didn't get to see the ending of a match unless you were using the app (implying you had to watch the app live, the tv show live, and not dvring it). So I'm just speaking to WWE's claim of being dvr proof, they do at least try to make it so the viewer gets more out of it if they watch the show live. I dvr it myself and couldn't sit through a 3 hour Raw live.

[Superstar Sleeze]

 

I was reading about a mark (I mean shareholder) lawsuit about how WWE worked (I mean made claims) him into investing in their company. Anyways, apparently one of the claims was that their programming "DVR-Proof" BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHA!!!! Thats the biggest joke ever! Their programming is perfect for DVR. Who the hell can actually sit through 3 hours straight of that! With all the commericals and video packages, you can get it done in a tidy 1-1.5 hours with the magic of fast forward. RAW is unwatchable in its current state. You NEED the DVR. That may be the funniest claim I think a wrestling company has ever made.

I don't know the context of what you're talking about, but I find WWE hard to dvr because they always run over and I miss the last five minutes of the show. And on the WWE app they do a lot of "two screen experience" stuff where you didn't get to see the ending of a match unless you were using the app (implying you had to watch the app live, the tv show live, and not dvring it). So I'm just speaking to WWE's claim of being dvr proof, they do at least try to make it so the viewer gets more out of it if they watch the show live. I dvr it myself and couldn't sit through a 3 hour Raw live.

 

I have just set my DVR to run 20 minutes over. I agree it is an extra step in the advanced settings. It is hardly insurmountable hurdle, but Lord knows there are people who won't do it. I have never ever seen them miss the finish of a match and just play it on the app and I have missed one RAW in like the last 2-3 years.

 

I can see your point about how the App "enhances" the live experience. To take it further, if you want to be apart of the Twitter conversation or vote for whether you see a "No Holds Barred, No Dq or Falls Count Anywhere" stip then yes you have to watch it live. These are all things they can point to. They don't hold water with me as a fan, but with others maybe they do.

[KrisZ]

They should use Ryback's time off to bring him back as a megaface again

[Dwide Schrude]

 

 

I was reading about a mark (I mean shareholder) lawsuit about how WWE worked (I mean made claims) him into investing in their company. Anyways, apparently one of the claims was that their programming "DVR-Proof" BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHA!!!! Thats the biggest joke ever! Their programming is perfect for DVR. Who the hell can actually sit through 3 hours straight of that! With all the commericals and video packages, you can get it done in a tidy 1-1.5 hours with the magic of fast forward. RAW is unwatchable in its current state. You NEED the DVR. That may be the funniest claim I think a wrestling company has ever made.

I don't know the context of what you're talking about, but I find WWE hard to dvr because they always run over and I miss the last five minutes of the show. And on the WWE app they do a lot of "two screen experience" stuff where you didn't get to see the ending of a match unless you were using the app (implying you had to watch the app live, the tv show live, and not dvring it). So I'm just speaking to WWE's claim of being dvr proof, they do at least try to make it so the viewer gets more out of it if they watch the show live. I dvr it myself and couldn't sit through a 3 hour Raw live.

 

I have never ever seen them miss the finish of a match and just play it on the app and I have missed one RAW in like the last 2-3 years.

 

 

Cesaro/Kingston the night after MITB. Ironically, I was at Raw live that night where I wouldn't have needed the app to see the ending but I was at the refreshment stand anyway lol. I thought they did it one other time, too.

[Matt D]

The DVR-less nature is this:

 

Raw, like sports, is live. If you miss it, then you're immediately behind in what's going on and the story doesn't seem as fresh. When you're watching it in that moment, you're part of something that's happening right then and there. I'm not explaining it well, but being live matters and it matters to this DVR issue.

[Loss]

Yet WWE is evergreen! They really do want everything both ways.

[Sidebottom]

They should use Ryback's time off to bring him back as a megaface again

 

I'm absolutely down with this. The rise and fall of Ryback is still something which makes me shake my head; they should have rolled the dice with him whilst he was hot. The numbers the HITC PPV with Punk got in contrast to the other PPV's around it clearly show people were behind Ryback and were tuning in to see whether he was to be the next big thing.