Current WWE

[goodhelmet]

Perfect!!!

[PhilTLL]

Why are Paige and Emma paying tribute to the troops?

Due to the Commonwealth and the Special Relationship.

[Bierschwale]

 

 

Man how much of a mark does Cody look like there

This is the kind of living the gimmick I approve of. The Hulkster is slacking.

 

 

I especially love it if Dustin did Cody's paint for him (stab in the dark, Cody probably has it down by now) but didn't bother to do his own, because the Stardust character is insistent that he's not Cody Rhodes.

[Coffey]

Curious if there is going to be a live thread for NXT Takeover: R Evolution tonight?

[Timbo Slice]

There normally is.

 

I'll tell you this: I can't even fathom how NXT exists considering the gap there is between how its produced compared to RAW and SmackDown! It boggles my mind.

[Coffey]

I'm certainly more excited for the NXT show than I am for TLC on Sunday, that's for sure.

[sek69]

There normally is.

 

I'll tell you this: I can't even fathom how NXT exists considering the gap there is between how its produced compared to RAW and SmackDown! It boggles my mind.

 

 

NXT is all Hunter and Raw/Smackdown is all Vince and KD. Between the booking and the near constant barf-inducing mega zooming camera, the top shows are nearly unwatchable.

[BillThompson]

I said it on Twitter, and it sucks to be the downer, but NXT can continue to be great and pout out shows and matches that scream, "Awesome," "Money," and what have you, and it won't matter a lick. I don't believe for a second that Vince watched a second of tonight's show, or has any idea about any of the talent in NXT. One day Owens will get called up and Dunn will say, "He's a fat guy, let's put him in a purple suit and have him be an Oomple Loompa." Vince will laugh, and that will be that. Don't get me wrong, I love that NXT is great, that I really enjoy their shows, the wrestlers, and the work they do. But, it's depressing to know that as far as the future of the WWE goes none of it means a gosh darn thing.

[Coffey]

Vince McMahon won't live forever on top of WWE. He'll retire eventually, or if not, he will die. Morbid & I don't wish ill-will on him but he's no spring chicken. From all I've read, as soon as Vince is gone, Dunn will be gone too.

[Log]

This makes me picture a whole scenario where Vince dies, but Dunn is the only one who knows, and he has to pull a "Weekend at Bernie's" to keep his job.

[Dwide Schrude]

I already subscribed to the WWE Network, so even if it weren't a free month, I would be able to watch Survivior Series.

 

That being said, as part of having the WWE Network, even if the build-up is bad or I don't care about any of the matches, I always watch the live PPVs. It's just a lot of value & a big perk of being a subscriber.

 

I wonder if this free month was more a test to see how many people actually ARE cheap & don't get the network so they can find out if the $9.99 is the problem or not. I don't think it is, personally. I think it's more the technological barrier & people not wanting to watch wrestling on something other than their television. I mean, you can get a Roku device & all that stuff, or stream to your TV or whatever but not a lot of people older than me are familiar with that sort of thing. I read recently that WWE's biggest demographic is people 40+ years of age.

I feel like if this is really the barrier, then it's something that can be overcome in time. Up until about a year ago, I had no idea how to watch tv on my computer, but when I finally sat down to do it it was really easy. So I think instead of this ongoing joke about them shoving $9.99 down our throats constantly, they should instead be constantly giving instructions on how to watch the WWE network on your television. Shoving the instructions down our throats. Three commercials an hour on it. Forget the price point, we get it is a good deal . Now be annoying about how easy it is to watch the network on your tv.

[cm funk]

I said it on Twitter, and it sucks to be the downer, but NXT can continue to be great and pout out shows and matches that scream, "Awesome," "Money," and what have you, and it won't matter a lick. I don't believe for a second that Vince watched a second of tonight's show, or has any idea about any of the talent in NXT. One day Owens will get called up and Dunn will say, "He's a fat guy, let's put him in a purple suit and have him be an Oomple Loompa." Vince will laugh, and that will be that. Don't get me wrong, I love that NXT is great, that I really enjoy their shows, the wrestlers, and the work they do. But, it's depressing to know that as far as the future of the WWE goes none of it means a gosh darn thing.

 

That is definitely a downer of a post. The guys (and gals) with talent have mostly done well when moved to the main roster. Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns are top guys. Wyatt is a top guy, and while the writing/booking has been lacking, they're committed to him. Paige won the Diva title on her first night and along with AJ and the Bellas has been pushed as someone special and above the rest of the girls. There's really no basis in fact to what you're saying.

 

Also, if you think Vince McMahon didn't watch the show I don't even know what to say. Of course he did. He might be old and out of touch, but c'mon....you're being ridiculous

 

I thought it was a tremendous show. Zayn-Neville kicked ass. Everyone knew going in that it was going to be a "passing the torch" to Zayn after all the buildup he's had, and a way for Neville to exit and be called up to the main roster. Even knowing the outcome, they did a great job making it dramatic, totally sucked me into the match. And honestly, I did not see the Steen turn coming. Maybe should have, but it legit surprised me.

 

Also, the NXT crowds are so awesome, they really add to the show. They don't try to hijack the show and be smarky, it's just a smart crowd who seems genuinely engaged and entertained by the characters, stories and matches. A random guy tried to start a 'WE WANT KENTA' chant during his FIP segment and the rest of the crowd shut it down immediately. We all know it's KENTA, he's a different character now. It was awesome.

[fakeplastictrees]

I laugh whenever someone mentions Kevin Dunn being 86'd. That will NOT be the last time you will see his work. TNA, if they are still around, will make a hardcore offer to Dunn and will finally accomplish its dream if Dunn signs. TNA will finally LOOK like WWE and have the stale visual style of Dunn's current WWE tenure while HHH finds someone else to make the product look and feel direct and continue moving forward in the 21st century. It will be amazing and sad at the same time.

[sek69]

When Zayn won and the crowd was all on their feet it really reminded me of old school ECW crowds* where they would be really invested in seeing an angle pay off and showed respect to the guys involved. NXT crowds sometimes get shit for being to smart for their own good (not always undeserved), but last night was a real refreshing scene.

 

 

 

 

 

*In which I mean "applaud for Eddie vs Malenko" and not the "vampires cheering for MOAR VIOLENCE* crowds.

[cm funk]

I laugh whenever someone mentions Kevin Dunn being 86'd. That will NOT be the last time you will see his work. TNA, if they are still around, will make a hardcore offer to Dunn and will finally accomplish its dream if Dunn signs. TNA will finally LOOK like WWE and have the stale visual style of Dunn's current WWE tenure while HHH finds someone else to make the product look and feel direct and continue moving forward in the 21st century. It will be amazing and sad at the same time.

 

As long as Vince is around KD isn't going anywhere, and Vince might outlive TNA. Then again, that promotion is like a cockroach.....

 

The product clearly needs some new eyes and new ideas, but unless business falls of a cliff overnight I don't see a major shift happening. Vince is in Dunn's corner, he's been a loyal employee to him, and whether or not Steph or HHH want him out is kind of irrelevant at the moment. And to be fair, he's made a lot of money for the company while being the 'executive producer' or whatever his title is. They need a different formula because the product is getting beyond stale and predictable at this point, but I understand why Vince thinks Dunn isn't the problem. Vince is part of the problem too, but I don't expect him to be self-aware of that either

[fakeplastictrees]

Steve Jobs had an email that people would send him messages to directly. It was forward facing. He would respond when he could. Dana White is known to show up on forums and post here-and-there and is also very fan-friendly. Vince McMahon smiles and mugs for the camera but at the end of the day he doesn't want any direct feedback regarding his product. Dixie Carter has tried to be forward facing as many times as she could, but she was being a carny all-the-while doing it and no changes came about because of her Q&As, etc. Its like pro wrestling refuses to take one-on-one with fans. Sure you are going to get the guy with a gimmick name dressed as Hulk Hogan sitting on a toliet asking some stupid question- but you are also going to get the guy asking a REAL QUESTION. The good and the bad. Vince believes its all bad and relies on crowd noise, which we all know is not reliable and WWE sweetens the noise anyway.

[BillThompson]

 

I said it on Twitter, and it sucks to be the downer, but NXT can continue to be great and pout out shows and matches that scream, "Awesome," "Money," and what have you, and it won't matter a lick. I don't believe for a second that Vince watched a second of tonight's show, or has any idea about any of the talent in NXT. One day Owens will get called up and Dunn will say, "He's a fat guy, let's put him in a purple suit and have him be an Oomple Loompa." Vince will laugh, and that will be that. Don't get me wrong, I love that NXT is great, that I really enjoy their shows, the wrestlers, and the work they do. But, it's depressing to know that as far as the future of the WWE goes none of it means a gosh darn thing.

 

That is definitely a downer of a post. The guys (and gals) with talent have mostly done well when moved to the main roster. Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns are top guys. Wyatt is a top guy, and while the writing/booking has been lacking, they're committed to him. Paige won the Diva title on her first night and along with AJ and the Bellas has been pushed as someone special and above the rest of the girls. There's really no basis in fact to what you're saying.

 

Also, if you think Vince McMahon didn't watch the show I don't even know what to say. Of course he did. He might be old and out of touch, but c'mon....you're being ridiculous

 

 

There is nothing but basis in fact for what I'm saying. Rollins, Ambrose, and Wyatt have been kept as mid-carders and I don't see that changing. In fact, Wyatt has been depushed almost as much as Cesaro. Ambrose has been turned into more of a comedy character than anything else, while Rollins has been booked to be one of the most idiotic heels on TV in quite some time. Paige was booked horrendously, and continues to be booked horrendously. The Bella's were given a main event level program, but neither of them were ready for such a program and it showed. Besides, Nikki has worked hard to be decent in the ring, but I wouldn't call her one of the talented ones.

 

What reason does Vince have to watch? When has he ever given any inkling that he cares about anything but the main event? Him watching NXT would be the same as him knowing what is happening week in and out on Main Event and Superstars; he has no freaking clue because he never watches.

[cm funk]

 

 

I said it on Twitter, and it sucks to be the downer, but NXT can continue to be great and pout out shows and matches that scream, "Awesome," "Money," and what have you, and it won't matter a lick. I don't believe for a second that Vince watched a second of tonight's show, or has any idea about any of the talent in NXT. One day Owens will get called up and Dunn will say, "He's a fat guy, let's put him in a purple suit and have him be an Oomple Loompa." Vince will laugh, and that will be that. Don't get me wrong, I love that NXT is great, that I really enjoy their shows, the wrestlers, and the work they do. But, it's depressing to know that as far as the future of the WWE goes none of it means a gosh darn thing.

 

That is definitely a downer of a post. The guys (and gals) with talent have mostly done well when moved to the main roster. Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns are top guys. Wyatt is a top guy, and while the writing/booking has been lacking, they're committed to him. Paige won the Diva title on her first night and along with AJ and the Bellas has been pushed as someone special and above the rest of the girls. There's really no basis in fact to what you're saying.

 

Also, if you think Vince McMahon didn't watch the show I don't even know what to say. Of course he did. He might be old and out of touch, but c'mon....you're being ridiculous

 

 

There is nothing but basis in fact for what I'm saying. Rollins, Ambrose, and Wyatt have been kept as mid-carders and I don't see that changing. In fact, Wyatt has been depushed almost as much as Cesaro. Ambrose has been turned into more of a comedy character than anything else, while Rollins has been booked to be one of the most idiotic heels on TV in quite some time. Paige was booked horrendously, and continues to be booked horrendously. The Bella's were given a main event level program, but neither of them were ready for such a program and it showed. Besides, Nikki has worked hard to be decent in the ring, but I wouldn't call her one of the talented ones.

 

What reason does Vince have to watch? When has he ever given any inkling that he cares about anything but the main event? Him watching NXT would be the same as him knowing what is happening week in and out on Main Event and Superstars; he has no freaking clue because he never watches.

 

 

Yeah, you're wrong. Rollins, Ambrose and Wyatt are mid-carders? They're top guys in the company. Wyatt has been de-pushed? seriously? The booking has sucked, but he hasn't been de-pushed at all. Rollins has been as hard pushed this year as anyone, so whether or not you think he's an "idiotic heel", and you're entitled to your opinion, you can't say they haven't pushed the shit out of him. Also Paige is one of the few divas they've shown a commitment to pushing. Why do you think they have her sit in on commentary a bunch of times? Why is she booked strong? I mean c'mon. Her, AJ, the Bellas and Natalya are the only divas who've had any sort of consistent tv time

 

Also, again, if you honestly think Vince didn't watch the NXT show you're beyond clueless

 

Not trying to be a dick about it, sorry if it came off that way, but you are way off base here

[BillThompson]

If anything you're the one coming off base. Vince McMahon, a guy who we know from reports knows nothing about developmental talent until they make the main roster is all of a sudden watching NXT? If it's not the main event Vince doesn't care and hardly watches, and that's just on the main roster. Every writer and talent who has come out of the WWE has said this is the case. He didn't watch OVW, HWA, PPW, and FCW, and he sure as heck isn't paying attention to the NXT product. He has no reason to because until those guys are on the main roster and near the main event he has no reason to.

 

And I'm sorry, but if you don't see that Wyatt has been depushed or that Paige has been booked as weak as could be (which is pretty much the way every woman is booked) since pretty much the month after her debut then there's really no point in this conversation proceeding.

[cm funk]

Again, if you think Vince didn't have a live satellite feed of the NXT on you're on another planet. You really think he isn't watching his favorite son's pet project, which by the way happens on the network he owns and at the end of the day cuts the paychecks for? REALLY?

 

Also, again, how in the hell has Wyatt been de-pushed? If anything he's been overpushed because I'm sick of the character and the booking at this point. Be that as it may, they've pushed the hell out of him. He was in the semi-main at the last PPV. He's in the semi-main at TLC. He's been near the top of the card every big show this year. Hating the way he's booked/his character/typical WWE crap /= "de-pushed"

 

As for Paige, you made the point that WWE sucks at booking the women. They totally do. But again, Paige gets as much face time as any Diva and has been treated as a strong character. If you can read WWE logic it's clear they are high on her, and think they might have the next AJ or Lita who appeals to everybody. She's never been jobbed out for no reason or put in embarrassing situations for no reason. The shitty writing and lack of direction is another issue, but that's a problem for everyone. How in the hell has she been "de-pushed?"

[Johnny Sorrow]

Hey Bill, if all that awesome NXT show can produce in you is negative feelings....it might be time for a new hobby, man.

 

 

"Well, Pooh. You getting stuck in Rabbit's hole was just a message that you're too fat. And everyone knows that Roo will never get a push cause Kanga's still around. And as great as Tigger is, he'll never get the top spot...."

[Strummer]

Rollins is an interesting case right now. Creative is a mess but they have booked him pretty strong these last six months. Very few jobs and he's constantly outsmarting the babyfaces. But I'd imagine he's doing the job to Cena on Sunday. Not a big deal as he's not going to get pinned. Then it looks like he'll be paired with Orton and you'd imagine Orton is going over because he's just turned and needs momentum. Then as Dave has said they didn't have Ambrose going over at HITC because they wanted Reigns to be the one to go over Rollins. Right now I say Reigns goes over Rollins at the February PPV to build him up for Mania even stronger. Then factor in he has the case and if they want to put the title on him it usually means a bunch of jobs before that happens. So yeah I say he's in for a rough stretch booking wise here.

[tigerpride]

 

 

Rollins, Ambrose, and Wyatt have been kept as mid-carders

 

Rollins has main evented the last three PPVs and was involved in the main event in September's PPV. He's not a midcarder.

[Sean Liska]

 

Rollins, Ambrose, and Wyatt have been kept as mid-carders

 

Rollins has main evented the last three PPVs and was involved in the main event in September's PPV. He's not a midcarder.

 

And the Ambrose-Wyatt TLC match was something they announced on the Survivor Series PPV because they wanted a strong hook for all of the people watching SS for free. They clearly put a lot of stock into those guys. Shoot, Meltzer says Wyatt is the plan to work Taker at Mania if Taker can go. They love the guy.

 

I know RAW is boring but people go over the top with the evils of WWE. Wyatt, Rollins, and Ambrose are in the top two matches at the next PPV. Daniel Bryan would be right there if he wasn't injured. CM Punk would be there if he didn't quit. Luke Harper is awesome and getting a push. Brock Lesnar is awesome. WWE booking has flaws but they're generally good about pushing talented guys nowadays.

[Johnny Sorrow]

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