slackermillionaire Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 Cesaro deserves better but a Tyson Kidd/Cesaro team is C show wet dream material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 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. That's a great way to put it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 From WWE: WWE Announces Record-Setting Thanksgiving Weekend Sales on WWEShop.com On Black Friday, WWE recorded its single biggest online sales day ever, drawing a 44% increase in sales on WWEShop.com compared to last year's record-setting day. WWE also broke records on Cyber Monday, with sales +32% year-over-year, making it the No 2. best-selling day on WWEShop.com ever. WWEShop.com’s five-day holiday weekend saw sales +39% year-over-year. WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose "Unstable" Hoodie Sweatshirt was the hottest seller, and the WWE Monopoly Board Game came in at No. 2. Mobile traffic was +80% year-over-year and accounted for 61% of overall traffic to WWEShop.com. Ambrose is about to get that rocket strapped to his back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillThompson Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 A WWE Monopoly game? Is WCW in the Old Kent Road spot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Lacelle Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 I have that Monopoly game, the cheapest properties are AJ Lee & Dolph Ziggler. Cena is the boardwalk and The Rock is the Park Place. PPV's represent the railroads and it's all kinds of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 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. He's a cult leader who never added anybody do his cult. What's the point of a cult leader character who doesn't convert people? Raven's nest/flock worked because he had his followers. the Straight Edge society showed Punk gathering followers (including that great debut segment with Serena where he shaved her head). There is so much directionless talent on the main roster and in developmental that is just treading water. Easy way to use some people, it writes itself. Raven's Flock was full of crappy talent, but the gimmick worked and it got more value out of guys like Van Hammer, Riggs and Sick Boy than you would think was remotely possible. They've never explored his backstory or given him any sort of explicit motivation. I find it very hard to place the blame on him for these things. As far as his work goes, I like him. He's got some pretty good hard hitting offense and works at a good pace for a "husky" guy. He's big enough where he can be a convincing ass kicker, but against bigger guys can bump and sell for them and it doesn't hurt him. I thought the Rumble match with Bryan was one of the best of the year. He was good in the matches with The Shield. The Last Man Standing with Cena was good. I thought the Jericho matches were good (despite it being a nothing feud) and the cage match on RAW excellent. The match at Survivor Series with Ambrose was good until the finish. A problem with a lot of these matches though is bad finishes. Other than beating Bryan, and beating Jericho (who's there to put young guys over) they've been afraid to really let him go over on people, and that's another thing that has really hurt the character. How seriously can you take this guy if he's not running through people? The booking of the Cena program was terrible in that regard. If you're not going to let him go over Cena in a convincing manner then don't do it at all. Same with the Ambrose program. Neither guy can really afford a big loss at this point (other than the BS contract on a pole match with Cena Ambrose hasn't won a meaningful match since he heated up as a babyface, and never really got his revenge on Seth). It was just bad booking to pair these two up right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofu_chipmunk Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Neither guy can really afford a big loss at this point (other than the BS contract on a pole match with Cena Ambrose hasn't won a meaningful match since he heated up as a babyface, and never really got his revenge on Seth). It was just bad booking to pair these two up right now. Now, Ambrose's hoodie went over on the WWE Monopoly game at WWEshop.com. That's a pretty big win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Neither guy can really afford a big loss at this point (other than the BS contract on a pole match with Cena Ambrose hasn't won a meaningful match since he heated up as a babyface, and never really got his revenge on Seth). It was just bad booking to pair these two up right now. Now, Ambrose's hoodie went over on the WWE Monopoly game at WWEshop.com. That's a pretty big win. Well, compared to most of the WWE merch it's pretty cool looking, relatively. The A in the D/A logo is the anarchy symbol. The "Dean UNSTABLE Ambrose" is patterned after the parental advisory warning (do they even put these on CDs anymore or is it "retro" now?). And most importantly it doesn't have that WWE tag or logo on it anywhere. The best merch is the stuff that doesn't scream WRESTLING. I don't like that it has his name on it on the back (the D/A logo is enough), and I don't own/buy/wear any WWE merch, but as far as things go it's probably the best merch since some of the Punk stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efrim Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 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. "what he wants to accomplish" is not a matter for the wrestler to figure out, its a matter for booking. I believe Bray is capable of far more than gibberish, but when the booking leaves you aimless, you have no recourse but gibberish. I can understand not liking the character and seeing limited potential in it. But the booking undermines him more so than any character limitations. For example, right now he's in a feud that began with him trying to recruit Dean Ambrose, seeing him as a kindred spirit. This IMMEDIATELY followed him breaking up his cult for reasons that were never even established. By default, a wrestler is assumed to care about wins and the title and such. You can have characters that have an alternate agenda, but that has to be established. Bray just does contradictory things for no particular reason. Of course there's a fair argument that "wrestler doing things for no particular reason" is the only sustainable character model possible in WWE <_> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 Well, Bray did try and recruit Bryan but it backfired. So he recruited the crowd, all the people waving their phones, are his followers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 Um no. He recruited nobody. Nobody was sporting Bray merch. People don't shout for Bray Wyatt during other segments the way they did for Punk and Bryan. They sit there is silence during most of his segments. The shine is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 They clearly say on commentary that the people in the crowd who shine the lights are his believers. And he did try and recruit Bryan because I saw that story on TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 I want him to convert and de-glam Cameron, and I want there to be a Total Divas storyline about her not taking pride in her appearance anymore at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 That was the lost arc of the Bray storyline.....him converting a diva to his way of life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bierschwale Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 Bray definitely needed a Susan Atkins or two (so a Patty Krenwinkel, I guess). Either that or a Swamp Bride who could have been his relative equal. Paige's heel turn culminating in her joining up with the Wyatts would have been a much better way to do "LOOK, MAGGLE, SHE'S NUTS!" than the "frenemy" search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 There was a Wyatt Family Daisy Mae hillbilly chick for a minute in Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 I have to say I'm digging the Miz/Naomi/Uso storyline going on right now. I know it's just SD but I can't remember the last time WWE gave that much time to a midcard storyline. It got two recap segments! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 They clearly say on commentary that the people in the crowd who shine the lights are his believers. And he did try and recruit Bryan because I saw that story on TV. I should have been more clear... post Bryan, he recruited nobody and the fans are his followers stuff clearly didn't have legs. Whoever said it earlier that the character has no direction is on point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 I have to say I'm digging the Miz/Naomi/Uso storyline going on right now. I know it's just SD but I can't remember the last time WWE gave that much time to a midcard storyline. It got two recap segments! Everyone's doing their parts well but I can't help but thinking why would Miz (in storyline) want to suddenly start stealing someone's girl when everyone knows he has a hot wife at home. You can't even say it's not part of WWE canon since he mentioned her by name at least twice when he started doing his current gimmick (the one where he thanked his wife and dogs). I don't mind them doing shows like Total Divas, but it gets annoying when they established it exists in a different reality than WWE storylines and still try to mix them. Let's have a storyline based on the Naomi/Uso marriage but then have Nikki Bella cut a promo on AJ about how hard she worked to get to the top never mentioning who her boyfriend is. I mean, I know why they don't do it, but either stuff like Total Divas is part of the kayfabe "WWE Universe" or it isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 I should have been more clear... post Bryan, he recruited nobody and the fans are his followers stuff clearly didn't have legs. Whoever said it earlier that the character has no direction is on point. He recruited "Little Johnny" who's singing disturbed Cena enough to let Bray win that cage match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Bray fucking rules and all he has to be is "crazy" as a character. It's so weird that so many online fans are all "he's ruined!" but the crowds still respond to him , Vince is apparently behind him, and he's one of the handful of names being advertised for the upcoming house show run. Same with Ambrose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 I should have been more clear... post Bryan, he recruited nobody and the fans are his followers stuff clearly didn't have legs. Whoever said it earlier that the character has no direction is on point. He recruited "Little Johnny" who's singing disturbed Cena enough to let Bray win that cage match. haha. Forgot about Little Johnny. Well played. Also, Johnny must have some awesome surround sound super speakers that allows guys to get pops that can only be heard in his living room. The most jarring thing I notice about 90% of WWE programming is how quiet and disinterested the live crowd is. Must be my TV set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Why did Little Johnny disappear? Where did he go? For that matter, where did he come from in the first place? And why did announcers not ask these questions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Why did Little Johnny disappear? Where did he go? For that matter, where did he come from in the first place? And why did announcers not ask these questions? He's busy training to be Cam Newton's Mom's favorite player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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