DMJ Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Agreed. From what I read (and I could be way wrong), Nikki essentially cut a spirited promo about working harder than anyone ever gave her credit for and, despite all the trolls who have said she's just a pretty face that got lucky (reading between the lines here, but this whole thing seems to also be about who she may or may not have slept with to get to the top), she is now Divas Champion and she earned it. This got cheered. As it should've. Because it does kinda ring true. As far as I know, the Bellas work a crazy schedule and do tons of media appearances and, from what I've seen, Nikki has improved in a way that typically only comes with hard work. She may not come off as the kindest person alive on Total Divas, but the show doesn't make her look evil either (and, again, really just leaves you with the impression that being a Diva is a busy life, not all glitz and glamour). But she's supposed to be a heel and, whether or not the writers/producers acted upon it, had a really clear narrative direction her promo should've went in. She should be gloating about how she outsmarted AJ and the entire WWE Universe, how nobody gives her credit but she's actually the most talented and smartest WWE Diva ever. If she wanted to get extra "insider" heat, how about a line referencing how she has everything a girl could want - a sister who supports her, a man is the envy of every woman in the arena, and the Divas Championship. (Switch the word "sister" to father and you basically have a classic Steph promo) Not to mention that if Nikki were to go in an anti-Authority direction, it'd go against everything her character has done for the past 6 months (if not longer, I don't remember). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Anybody happen to catch the New Day debut on Smackdown? No promo time, just a six man with them going over Axel, Titus and Slater. Not really sure where they're going with the gimmick, I know it's been put on hold a few times. As of now they're babyfaces with a positive message. Hope this means more Big E on my screen, I think he works well in tags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 WWE may be missing a great opportunity to run shows without the GM / Commissioner model which has been worn out. They have been running shows through that model for so long that I'm not sure they would know how to book a show without an authority figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jushin muta liger Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Anybody happen to catch the New Day debut on Smackdown? No promo time, just a six man with them going over Axel, Titus and Slater. Not really sure where they're going with the gimmick, I know it's been put on hold a few times. As of now they're babyfaces with a positive message. Hope this means more Big E on my screen, I think he works well in tags.Heard about it but didn't see it. It's weird cause from the promos on Raw, New Day looks the parody version of the reality show called Preachers of LA mixed in with Kirk Franklin. EDIT: I just watched their debut on Smackdown and it wasn't bad. They just seem like happy babyfaces. Didn't really connect to the church stuff but we'll wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 This opening segment, shoot me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Anybody happen to catch the New Day debut on Smackdown? No promo time, just a six man with them going over Axel, Titus and Slater. Not really sure where they're going with the gimmick, I know it's been put on hold a few times. As of now they're babyfaces with a positive message. Hope this means more Big E on my screen, I think he works well in tags.Heard about it but didn't see it. It's weird cause from the promos on Raw, New Day looks the parody version of the reality show called Preachers of LA mixed in with Kirk Franklin. EDIT: I just watched their debut on Smackdown and it wasn't bad. They just seem like happy babyfaces. Didn't really connect to the church stuff but we'll wait and see. Live crowd doesn't know what to make of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Enthusiast Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 This opening segment, shoot me. Haha. This must have been great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 What happened in the opening segment? Also, the last segment with the Miz and Use was great but after a sweet slap, they go back to the Mizdow comedy which is not what that segment needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Nothing too exceptional really, it was just really boring and dumb. Started off with lame Anonymous GM stuff, segued into lame John Cena stuff and then Rollins lame out for a looong and boring Rollins/Cena promo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blehschmidt Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Man, like him or hate him, Bray Wyatt has gone from one of the hottest acts in the company to being a fucking after thought due to some absolute shit booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Harper-Ziggler... Ambrose - Wyatt TLC... Rollins-Cena... TLC could be a strong PPV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Ziggler ' s hair is out of control!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Harper-Ziggler... Ambrose - Wyatt TLC... Rollins-Cena... TLC could be a strong PPV. Did they announce Harper-Ziggler as a ladder match? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 from the way they kept hammering home last night that Cena is the only one who can bring the Authority back that certainly looks to be the direction they are going. We are in for another John Cena "moral dilemma" aren't we? Like he has to bring Hunter and Steph back in order to get his title shot or save someone's job. It's probably going to be very lame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 So, Fandango's new gimmick is that he's a dancer with a dance partner who can't dance worth a damn. Cute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Man, like him or hate him, Bray Wyatt has gone from one of the hottest acts in the company to being a fucking after thought due to some absolute shit booking. He was always a novelty character with a limited shelf life. Reductionist to just blame the booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 He was always a novelty character with a limited shelf life. Agreed. At first all you see are the freaky vignettes and the awesome entrance. But then, he was quickly exposed during the Cena feud, as being a character with nothing substantial to say despite cutting long-ass promos with a bunch of gibberish and nothing in terms of what he really wants to accomplish. The crowds loved to sing-along (despite him being a heel, which is always an issue in those cases). That doesn't constitute a strong main event act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 His in ring work has been largely disappointing as well, considering he has been put in the position to have great matches. Everything he does is too long and contrived, from the repetitive, never ending promos to the entrance that quickly became tedious and elongated stare-downs and 'mind games' and boring matches. He had some cool visuals, but in the end he had no coherent motivations and his feuds just followed the trope of heels randomly attacking a face and then trading wins at PPVs for two or three months straight repeating the same segments on television every week ad infinitum. To me he has always looked like someone playing a character, no real believability there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 His in ring work has been largely disappointing as well, considering he has been put in the position to have great matches. Everything he does is too long and contrived, from the repetitive, never ending promos to the entrance that quickly became tedious and elongated stare-downs and 'mind games' and boring matches. He had some cool visuals, but in the end he had no coherent motivations and his feuds just followed the trope of heels randomly attacking a face and then trading wins at PPVs for two or three months straight repeating the same segments on television every week ad infinitum. To me he has always looked like someone playing a character, no real believability there. While I don't think he's a Top 10 in-ring guy, I do think some of his offense looks good (the crossbody, the chokeslam), so, on that point, I do think he has plenty of room to improve but isn't awful or anything. But whether you call it booking or producing, I don't think its "reductionist" to put the blame on booking. If he is going to be a special character, he shouldn't just be attacking faces and trading wins on PPV (I don't remember Taker doing that when he debuted). If he has no coherent motivations, the writers/producers need to help him develop them. For example, I'm one of those people that think he should've actually HELPED Ambrose beat Rollins - not to get a face pop, but to try to lure Ambrose into his camp. Similarly, I think the mindgames with Cena weren't actually hokey enough during the build to the match (and then got a little TOO hokey during their cage match). The feud with Jericho was completely meaningless. Bray Wyatt was exposed - on that point, I agree with you - but it was someone's decision to treat him like your average character instead of someone who could be a game-changer. That person dropped the ball in utilizing a talent and minimizing their flaws. Obviously Wyatt had at least a little "it" because he got good crowd responses (unfortunately, they were face pops). Still, it shows that the audience, initially, viewed the character as special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 Well, this isn't good... Wrestling Inc. - Arrest Warrant Issued For Heath Slater, WWE Lawyer Responds I remember hearing something about this at the time, but I thought it had long been settled. I guess not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrislatimer Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 Current WWE makes me sad. I watch it out of habit more than anything else now. they deliver occassionally at the "wwe network special events" but raw and smackdown most weeks is a legit chore to watch. (mondays being excessively awful) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man in Blak Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 To me he has always looked like someone playing a character, no real believability there. I always read that as being a critical part of his character, though. Bray Wyatt's a cult leader, a snake oil salesman whose insincerity becomes part of his charm. His shifty, nonsensical rants SHOULD leap off the page. He didn't have to be a supernatural phenom like the Undertaker to lead the family; he just had to portray himself as one, which is where I think the writing team lost their way. They overplayed their hand and went from subtle (and consistently well-produced) touches to his vignettes and his ring entrance to corny, over-the-top displays of "supernatural power," like the historically awful finishes at Extreme Rules and Hell in a Cell. They had a kernel of an idea with the Jericho feud -- playing up the whole "Save Us" element of Jericho's character as a contrast to Wyatt -- but they failed to develop or build to anything beyond that, inside the ring and out. So, yeah, when your character is primarily grounded in theatrics and your creative team continually screws that up, then sure, he's going to be "exposed." In a way, I feel like pairing him with Ambrose is sort of a concession that they have no idea what to do with either guy for the moment. Ambrose's character seems to be suffering in a similar way - like Wyatt, they've taken one element that made him distinctive (the "unhinged" mannerisms) and they've severely overplayed it. Even though both characters were two of my favorites earlier in the year, I can't muster up a lot of enthusiasm for this program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 So apparently based on the Smackdown spoilers, the PPV name has now been changed to "TLC: Table Ladders Chairs and Stairs". Even changed the logo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeplastictrees Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 I like Bray and I think he is a good worker and normally enjoy his matches. But in the last year things have happened that have made me like him a little less. Its not really anything he does in-the-ring, but everything outside. Some of this is his fault while the other half of it falls squarely at WWE's feet. I started to sour on Bray's promos as soon as he dropped 'Carcosa' in a series of promos. I've read The King In Yellow a long time ago and was well aware of it so I popped when it was mentioned in True Detective. Carcosa is an interesting word and when I hear people say it I feel as though they have this pseudo-philosphical way about them. I felt Bray was trying too hard to be 'dark' while at the same time being topical and it just came off as a Hot Topic- Scene Kid trend hopping and using all the latest buzzwords to describe the latest Anberlin album. Randy Orton gets shit (and rightfully so) for his stuff feeling forced in the ring. Randy is forcing being methodical to cartoony points and at times Bray is forcing the same thing in promos and produces the same cartoony result Orton does while in the ring. Both Randy and Bray have elements of Jake Roberts, but they turn it on (and up) at the wrong moments and in the most disingenuous way possible. This is Bray's fault. WWE fucked up with the child choir, the ending of the Cena/Wyatt cage match, the directing of Bray to REPEATEDLY sing a gospel hymn, and of course JBL saying 'he calls them his fireflies!' EVERYTIME Bray makes his entrance. Less is more and for a guy who is suppose to be creepy and yet intriguing- WWE/Bray are making sure everything he does becomes run-of-the-mill and expected. I feel as though Bray is slipping into the Diva terrority when it comes to being over. No Diva outside her entrance is really over. Sure a case can SLIGHTLY be made for someone like AJ or even Paige, but who is really moving the needle? There are crickets during Nikki's matches, but not her entrance. Bray is going in that direction based off the last couple of TV appearances- again I like the guy - so I hope it doesn't continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackermillionaire Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 I have high hopes for the Ziggler vs Harper IC Ladder match, Sheamus vs Morrison TLC 2010 is my favorite WWE ladder matches in the last 10 years and I think this one could be very similar. , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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