goc Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 They should have also had Sting on that show. I think when he does show up on Raw now the reaction isn't going to be nearly as hot as it could have been had they done it after Survivor Series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 They could have even done something, as hokey as it would have been, where every time a heel does something bad, they find a Sting symbol that says "I'm watching you" or something like that. Lights go out and when they come back on, the heel is laid out. That keeps people thinking about Sting and builds to HHH wanting him to show his face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Honestly, after thinking about it some more, I am kind of glad the Authority is back. I mean, even when they were gone, they were pretty much running that angle anyway. We knew Cena would bring 'em back. Seth was still running around with J&J Security. Kane is still "corporate Kane" even after they were out of power. The Big Show is involved. So nothing really changed anyway. And as Loss has pointed out, it gets Stephanie McMahon with a microphone & her antics back on television. Honestly, I have a soft spot for Triple H too. No matter what he says, good or bad, or if he buries someone verbally or whatever, it always makes for good discussion post-show! So he has that going for him. I think he's a good wrestler too, despite that not being a big opinion around here these days. I'll say it: he'll definitely be on my Top 100 & I liked his Wrestlemania matches with The Undertaker. I've also come around on Daniel Bryan Vs. Brock Lesnar if they build to that at Wrestlemania. I'm actually pretty optimistic all around as we're heading toward the Royal Rumble. Even The Miz was busting his ass & got a "this is awesome" chant before his second match with The Ascension. Things aren't perfect but they never will be. There's always something that I can nitpick & complain about. At this point, I just have to accept WWE for what it is: there's always going to be an opening 20 minute promo that sets the pace for the show. There's always going to be a top babyface that's booked like a superhero to overcome all odds. I'm OK with that as I can just watch WWE for what they present & what other shows as well for what they give me. I'm really excited for Wrestle Kingdom 9, for example. Happy New Year, everybody. I look forward to chatting with y'all in 2015 & continuing to work on my BWE list. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Oh man, in recapping the return of Bryan in the latest WON it's mentioned that the plan is still for Reigns to win the Rumble and "according to one person close to the situation, the obvious question this brings up has not been considered". This is going to blow up in their faces again, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 The only actual scenario I can see a Reigns backlash is having him and Bryan both in the Rumble, which I would have thought they would have been smart enough to avoid if they really wanted Roman be the "the guy." Batista was just a dude to come back for a little while so fucking him up didn't really have long term consequences. I would hope they would put more thought into how they are going to book their 29 year old "future ace." I think they are going to be stuck on the idea that Bryan "can't" beat Lesnar. Originally the plan was for Bryan to be the guy to get destroyed by Lesnar at SummerSlam and I'm not sure if he would have even gotten the rematches that Cena got. I'm thinking that Vince doesn't see him as big enough to be credible against Lesnar. Otherwise I'd say the best scenario is Bryan/Lesnar and Reigns/Rusev on the undercard to still give Reigns a big moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 What's to be done with Bryan? I sort of liked the broad story they were presenting here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb51LfCR-2k I'd love to see a match where Bryan targets a body part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 I think Bryan vs Rusev would probably be one of the best matches WWE can do, but it would be seen as big step down for Bryan to be U.S. champion and I think would hurt him unless they had a really good idea for how to get the belt off him in a quick fashion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeplastictrees Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Its said reading this thread and seeing so many good ideas that weren't thought about for more then a few seconds. Things little things combine what WWE wants to do, but makes them so much more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 There's a lot that could be improved in WWE, some requiring more effort than others, but the fact that they apparently still don't see Bryan as a top level guy after everything that happened in the last year is just depressingly frustrating. The fans couldn't have possibly made it clearer that they didn't want was was being pushed down their throats but the company is still going to be all "nah, we think this big guy with pretty hair who can't cut our style of promo or work long matches is a much better option". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 They're going to end up changing plans if they haven't already. We've seen this movie before. If they don't see it coming, I will laugh at how pathetic that is, but I have to remind everyone that Dave reported that the WM main event wasn't changing all the way to the Occupy RAW segment last time, when it was clear they made the decision earlier than that. I'm not saying his sources are wrong, but they were wrong last time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Enthusiast Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Yeah, if there's one time where his WWE sources go out of their way to work the sheets, it's Mania season. It also seems pretty obvious that they love trolling the biggest Daniel Bryan fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Just seen that they tossed off Bray Wyatt vs Erick Rowan on a short, eventless midcard match on Smackdown with a clean finish. With no build, no storyline, no nothing. They really are fucking clueless. And then they go and run the same matches on PPV for three or four months straight. Edit: They ran Rusev vs Roman Reigns as well. Jesus christ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 They're going to end up changing plans if they haven't already. We've seen this movie before. If they don't see it coming, I will laugh at how pathetic that is, but I have to remind everyone that Dave reported that the WM main event wasn't changing all the way to the Occupy RAW segment last time, when it was clear they made the decision earlier than that. I'm not saying his sources are wrong, but they were wrong last time. Yeah, there's no way people won't reject Reigns if they don't re-write plans. Yeah, Reigns could very well be the huge star they are grooming him to be in time, but it's going to go to hell if they book him over Bryan. Why? Beccause we all know that the simple fact of the matter is that Daniel Bryan is who the audience have chosen. Although it's highly unlikely they would do this, the smartest course of action may be to have both Bryan and Reigns go over the top at the same time and be declared co-winners (a'la Hart and Luger). One of them would get the title shot in the opening match against Lesnar, and the other would meet the winner of that in the main event. Reigns would meet Lesnar in the opening match, which would detirorate because the Authority would get involved when Lesnar is in trouble, and wind up taking out Reigns. Meanwhile, Bryan has a preliminary match against somebody - perhaps Seth Rollins? In the main event, Bryan meets Lesnar, the Authority tries to do the same thing to Bryan, but Reigns would storm out and clean house (winning the crowd over to him perhaps, as he is the enabler for Daniel Bryan to defeat Lesnar) on the Authority. With the Authority no longer a factor, the match between Lesnar and Bryan continues. Bryan then overcomes the odds and defeats Lesnar for the WWE Championship. But that probably won't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Also, just realised they are in Philly for the Rumble. That crowd will shit all over Roman Reigns winning the Rumble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 They should probably make Lesnar vs DB the title match and Reigns vs Cena as the regular match, rather than the other way round. You still get the huge Reigns vs Cena match to pop the buyrate while not pissing off all the fans who want to see Daniel Bryan with the strap. Booking wise you have a simple story of John Cena winning, and then Roman Reigns coming back older and wiser a year later to take the title off him at Wrestlemania 32. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeplastictrees Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 If WWE doesn't want Bryan to win the RR, then its time to pass the heat to someone who needs it. Who is WWE trying to get over a top heel that perhaps isn't connecting the way they should be? Cesaro? Harper (maybe)? Whomever eliminates Bryan will be the biggest heel in the company plain and simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Maybe, just maybe, WWE should be spending more time on capitalizing on someone who strikes a chord with a large portion of the audience and use that to make money rather than coming up with ways to troll his fanbase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 If WWE doesn't want Bryan to win the RR, then its time to pass the heat to someone who needs it. Who is WWE trying to get over a top heel that perhaps isn't connecting the way they should be? Cesaro? Harper (maybe)? Whomever eliminates Bryan will be the biggest heel in the company plain and simple. I don't think so. The company is the heel. If they eliminate Bryan, the crowd turns at that moment. It may be 10 minutes, 5 minutes, or 2 minutes before they go off the air, but the minute they toss Bryan then the crowd is going to shit on the match. They aren't going to boo the heel, they are going to boo the company's decision making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I know Cena/Lesnar from Summerslam is getting all the MOTYC love. I understand why because it was so unique and a great heel performance from Brock. At the end of the day, it is a glorified squash and Cena basically no sold the match on the following RAW where he demolished the Wyatts. Now I know people are not enamored with the finish of the Night of the Champions rematch, but I am really alone in thinking that was the better overall match? I loved how Cena's unbreakable will finally penetrated the seemingly invincible Beast with a nasty back elbow. From there, Brock just reeks of desperation playing catch up ball with a Cena that just will not be denied. Cena gives a great heroic babyface performance. I do not think the finish is awful in fact I think it is pretty sound from logic standpoint if you think about it from Rollins' perspective he just did not execute properly because he should have really made sure he knocked Cena out. I currently have this as my WWE match of the year. I am more curious if I am the only one who thinks it is a better than the Summerslam match, even though I think the Summerslam match is the better spectacle/angle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMick Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I agree, Sleeze. The SummerSlam match reminds me of Mankind-Taker at KotR 98. Using the same feud, Night of Champions is their KotR 96 or Buried Alive equivalent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Now I know people are not enamored with the finish of the Night of the Champions rematch, but I am really alone in thinking that was the better overall match? I loved how Cena's unbreakable will finally penetrated the seemingly invincible Beast with a nasty back elbow. From there, Brock just reeks of desperation playing catch up ball with a Cena that just will not be denied. Cena gives a great heroic babyface performance. Yeah, Lesnar seems to be the one who really brings out the best in John Cena as where Cena's in-ring character is intended. Never has Cena been more of an effective seller than in his matches with Lesnar. Both the matches were good, the NOC match was the better overall, I agree with that, but the Summerslam match was the better Cena performance. Cena made it look like Brock was killing him with each additional German. The selling of the suplexes wasn't overboard or pinball, it was quite AJPW if I'm being honest. Cena reminded me a lot of the way the likes of Misawa and Kawada would sell such moves, eg, completely losing their expression, struggling to even rise from the ground, and continuing to sell fogginess on comebacks. Cena's handful of little comebacks in the match weren't OTT either, he was playing a guy waiting for small opportunities of overconfidence in his opponent to take advantage of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I agree that the Night of Champions match was better, although Summerslam was a bigger assault on our wrestling fan sensibilities (in a good way). I suspect ten years from now, newer fans who are like us will wonder why people loved the Summerslam match as much as they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 If WWE doesn't want Bryan to win the RR, then its time to pass the heat to someone who needs it. Who is WWE trying to get over a top heel that perhaps isn't connecting the way they should be? Cesaro? Harper (maybe)? Whomever eliminates Bryan will be the biggest heel in the company plain and simple. I don't think so. The company is the heel. If they eliminate Bryan, the crowd turns at that moment. It may be 10 minutes, 5 minutes, or 2 minutes before they go off the air, but the minute they toss Bryan then the crowd is going to shit on the match. They aren't going to boo the heel, they are going to boo the company's decision making. I agree with this. I do think there are still ways a heel can be genuinely hated, but heat over costing someone a match almost always goes to the company instead of the wrestler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I agree that the Night of Champions match was better, although Summerslam was a bigger assault on our wrestling fan sensibilities (in a good way). I suspect ten years from now, newer fans who are like us will wonder why people loved the Summerslam match as much as they did. I'm wondering that right now. It was one of the worst matches of the year IMO. Yes, I get that people are going gaga because it was so unique, but so were the Cena/Wyatt matches and everyone shit all over those (I defended them at the time because of their uniqueness, but I wouldn't call them great from an athletic or artistic standpoint). Cena/Brock at SummerSlam was just plain boring (IMO, of course). A thousand German suplexes - or so it seemed - isn't my idea of a compelling match. At least the Cena/Wyatt series had a fun WTF trainwreck appeal about them - not that those were MOTY candidates (or anywhere near) either, of course. Then again, I may be biased - I consider Brock one of the most overrated and overpushed guys ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 The biggest negative about those two Cena/Lesnar matches was that they completely negated each other. The first established Brock as this monster, unbeatable freak, cementing the Undertaker victory and making it mean something. The Night of Champions match reaffirmed Brock as just another guy who Cena can hang with, and even have beat until he is saved by interference. It isn't even as if they tried to emphasize that Cena had a new strategy that enabled him to go toe to toe. They just worked it like a regular match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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