Fantastic Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 If you want a communist heel in 2015, you need a Korean pretending he's from North Korea. Certainly not a fake Russian. Now, now, don't start giving them any ideas for Hideo Itami. I have a bad feeling based on history on what they'll do with Itami when he reaches the main roster. I really hope WWE doesn't squander his talent on some ass backwards, pseudo-racist/stereotypical gimmick. Speaking of weird stereotypical gimmicks, weren't they planning to give Kenzo Suzuki a gimmick where he claimed to be the reincarnation of Emperor Hirohito? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sporadic Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Some notes from Austin's Tuesday Podcast with Keller: Austin believes no matter where they held the show they were going to tank with the Rumble ending. Keller thinks WWE has conditioned the fans to believe they control the show based on their campaigns to use social media as feedback Not pushing guys organically given the social media feedback WWE wants has highlighted the disconnect between the fans and Vince Keller thinks if they had booked Reigns as a workhorse in the match they may have blunted the blowback Both thought Rock's reaction was a shoot and he was legit hot over the reaction as it could affect his film career WWE has conditioned the fans to hate the part-timers - even a guy like The Rock - so the rub he was trying to give would've backfired anyways Austin thinks neither Lesnar nor Reigns can lead a match so they're in a bind Keller thinks it's possible anywhere upwards to 80k could've canceled Network subs after the #CancelWWENetwork campaign Both loved the Triple Threat with the only complaint being the overuse of finisher near falls. Both are high on Rollins Austin is highly critical on Reigns's work rate and move set. Reigns resting over in the corner got Austin steaming. Both believe Bryan grabbed the brass ring last year. Both think the booking was completely unfair to Reigns and have tainted him for a long time. Both think Bryan should have won. Keller believes Bryan going over would've been the best profitable option at this time. Keller thinks Vince is so stubborn to change his formula of success - maybe due to his inner circle - that it's going to hurt him over the long term with revenue and profits. Keller says he has heard next to nothing with regards to Undertaker returning With Cena turning 38, both Austin and Keller think Cena needs to be protected because of wear and tear. Austin thinks WWE would be in big trouble without Cena until WWE builds the talent rosters up/force feeding storylines - hence the reason the need to protect him is paramount. Keller thinks Vince needs to apologize to Reigns for putting him on in a no-win situation Keller thinks - based on the experience from last year's events - that Vince should've known better to put Reigns out there to dry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 With Bryan taking those subtle jabs at Reigns last night; "WWE didn't feed my family" and "I didn't have The Rock's help" I'm worried that they might try to turn him into a whiny heel to shut up his fans once and for all. I think it's obvious to anyone who has been watching for the past couple years that the fans won't buy it, but this time instead of openly rebelling against the product I'm concerned that fans will just get tired of the constant teases and just become apathetic to everything and tune out. Just like WCW. I got the same vibe from that promo. I think they are dumb enough to think they can turn Daniel Bryan heel. The mind boggles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 With Bryan taking those subtle jabs at Reigns last night; "WWE didn't feed my family" and "I didn't have The Rock's help" I'm worried that they might try to turn him into a whiny heel to shut up his fans once and for all. I think it's obvious to anyone who has been watching for the past couple years that the fans won't buy it, but this time instead of openly rebelling against the product I'm concerned that fans will just get tired of the constant teases and just become apathetic to everything and tune out. Just like WCW. oh man I hope they try and turn him heel so bad. Fans will only cheer him more since I imagine most people can sympathize with those comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Variety reports that WWE today announced the Network had passed the 1 million subscriber mark.This seems very dubious to me. They have to mean that there's been 1 million people that have subscribed including people that have since cancelled, right? edit: Apparently not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 With Bryan taking those subtle jabs at Reigns last night; "WWE didn't feed my family" and "I didn't have The Rock's help" I'm worried that they might try to turn him into a whiny heel to shut up his fans once and for all. I think it's obvious to anyone who has been watching for the past couple years that the fans won't buy it, but this time instead of openly rebelling against the product I'm concerned that fans will just get tired of the constant teases and just become apathetic to everything and tune out. Just like WCW. oh man I hope they try and turn him heel so bad. Fans will only cheer him more since I imagine most people can sympathize with those comments. The last time he was a heel, they had no choice but to turn him babyface again. He got over huge following the 18 second loss to Sheamus and that stint tagging with Kane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 With Bryan taking those subtle jabs at Reigns last night; "WWE didn't feed my family" and "I didn't have The Rock's help" I'm worried that they might try to turn him into a whiny heel to shut up his fans once and for all. I think it's obvious to anyone who has been watching for the past couple years that the fans won't buy it, but this time instead of openly rebelling against the product I'm concerned that fans will just get tired of the constant teases and just become apathetic to everything and tune out. Just like WCW. oh man I hope they try and turn him heel so bad. Fans will only cheer him more since I imagine most people can sympathize with those comments. The last time he was a heel, they had no choice but to turn him babyface again. He got over huge following the 18 second loss to Sheamus and that stint tagging with Kane. exactly. And for them to turn him heel with the turn predicated on the exact reasons the fans are pissed in the first place will only fuel the fire. And it will also seem incredibly transparent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 What a mess WWE has made... I called the overwhelming irresistible urge to force Roman Reigns into the top spot, even when people were hailing Ambrose as the star of The Shield and that he would be the inevitable new top guy following their split. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Keller on the Austin podcast today floated an interesting idea. It was kind if done in passing and they didn't talk about it that much, but I liked it. The point made was that if this were UFC, then Brock would be the interim champ and Bryan would be getting a title shot automatically since he never lost the title. If they were so inclined they could easily run Bryan/Brock at Fast Lane and go with Bryan vs. a heel Reigns at WM for the title. That would free up Brock for something else and probably make the fans happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Keller on the Austin podcast today floated an interesting idea. It was kind if done in passing and they didn't talk about it that much, but I liked it. The point made was that if this were UFC, then Brock would be the interim champ and Bryan would be getting a title shot automatically since he never lost the title. If they were so inclined they could easily run Bryan/Brock at Fast Lane and go with Bryan vs. a heel Reigns at WM for the title. That would free up Brock for something else and probably make the fans happier. I like aspects of that idea but I've got a feeling that we're getting Brock vs. Reigns forced into a box and gift wrapped as our WrestleMania main event no matter what. If we boo Reigns, so be it. They're not changing direction again. Roman will just cut promos about how as paying customers it's our right to boo and cheer whoever we want and he respects that. We're going to get a poor man's Cena in much the same way that Diesel was a poor man's Hogan. The fact that they changed plans last year is the kind of thing that I can imagine eats Vince alive inside every day. I don't think there's any way in hell he deviates from the gameplan two years in a row. He can crow about how he always listens to the audience but at the end of the day, it's his toybox and he can do what he wants with it. In his mind, he's gonna prove to all of us that he's always right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 If WWE hitting 1 million subscribers means they can keep Brock, no way should he lose at Wrestlemania. He should have a total dynasty run until they find their next super duper megastar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Am I being to cynical doubting this claim of 1 million right after #CancelWWEnetwork being the top trend? It doesn't seem like the sort of thing you would announce during Super Bowl week, especially when you have an investor conference coming up in a couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 I think the timing is suspect too, even though I doubt the cancellations were a major issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 If WWE hitting 1 million subscribers means they can keep Brock, no way should he lose at Wrestlemania. He should have a total dynasty run until they find their next super duper megastar. IF they keep him then they better finally wise up and start using him to elevate guys. I've been saying all along that he should be defending against more than just Cena because even guys losing to Brock will look strong if it's a competitive match. Rollins at the Rumble is proof positive. He looks like a million bucks after that match. Hopefully that's the start of a trend. If WM is indeed Brock's last match then his whole run will feel like a huge wasted opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 I think the timing is suspect too, even though I doubt the cancellations were a major issue. I doubt they were an issue either, but a million subscribers is something they should be announcing from the rooftops and it's such a kneejerk thing to do announcing it the one week guaranteed no one will be paying attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Apparently the plan is to have Rusev vs. Cena at both Fast Lane and Wrestlemania. That is worrying, it seems like they might have Cena win the Mania match. I don't see the point in John Cena being the one to break Rusev's undefeated streak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sporadic Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Apparently the plan is to have Rusev vs. Cena at both Fast Lane and Wrestlemania. That is worrying, it seems like they might have Cena win the Mania match. I don't see the point in John Cena being the one to break Rusev's undefeated streak. What a horrible idea if that's the case. I don't see why it would be hard to have both the Fast Lane and WM match end with Rusev victories. You could have the Fast Lane match end in some sort of shenanigan way that sets up the WM rematch only to have Cena put Rusev over cleanly via submission passing out ala Austin/Hart from WM13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Apparently the plan is to have Rusev vs. Cena at both Fast Lane and Wrestlemania. That is worrying, it seems like they might have Cena win the Mania match. I don't see the point in John Cena being the one to break Rusev's undefeated streak. What a horrible idea if that's the case. I don't see why it would be hard to have both the Fast Lane and WM match end with Rusev victories. You could have the Fast Lane match end in some sort of shenanigan way that sets up the WM rematch only to have Cena put Rusev over cleanly via submission passing out ala Austin/Hart from WM13. Is it such a stretch at this point in his career for John Cena to actually tap out? It would be monumental in getting Rusev over and adding a new dimension of unpredictablity to John Cena's character which is very much missing. Suppose he actually gives up? If that happens, in future big time matches, it may not seem so predictable that he'll escape a big submission attempt. Yes, we know he's all about the "never give up" attitude, but what about "live to fight another day"? Specifically, if Rusev badly beats Cena to the point where he begins to sell the neck and then gets clamped in the Accolade for what seems like an eternity, with the announcers putting over the fact that Cena has something of a history of neck troubles, surely it wouldn't be a career killer for him to submit? After all, the story being told would be that he knows he can't escape, and rather than be a fool and risk a career ending neck injury, he pulls the proverbial "live to fight another day" and taps. Then in the rematch (which Rusev will still win, only by pinfall this time), Cena goes in with a methodology of avoiding any wear down attempts and figures out a way to escape the Accolade. This will also serve to advance Rusev, now that he knows he can't rely on his Accolade with certainty to win the big matches, so he has to look elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 the notion that a guy like Cena absolutely, positively cannot ever tap is one of the worst things about pro wrestling. Some of the most badass people on the planet tap out in MMA all the time. It shouldn't be seen as a sign of weakness or disgrace, but wrestling is funny that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Is the Thursday show from Hartford going to be branded as a RAW or Smackdown? I need to know for DVR purposes as I want to watch this event for sure. Actually, Hartford is only 90 minutes away...hmmmmmmmmmm...are they sticking to the 8pm-10pm schedule? I may just go now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 I think at the very least it'll be interesting to see what they do with only two hours and a couple of extra days to plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 One of the really interesting things about this podcast era we're in is getting to hear thoughts from guys like Austin... and finding out that they happen to agree with the "internet nerds" quite frequently. Makes it feel less like we're a vocal minority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamthedoctor Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 If WWE hitting 1 million subscribers means they can keep Brock, no way should he lose at Wrestlemania. He should have a total dynasty run until they find their next super duper megastar. IF they keep him then they better finally wise up and start using him to elevate guys. I've been saying all along that he should be defending against more than just Cena because even guys losing to Brock will look strong if it's a competitive match. Rollins at the Rumble is proof positive. He looks like a million bucks after that match. Hopefully that's the start of a trend. If WM is indeed Brock's last match then his whole run will feel like a huge wasted opportunity. The problem with Brock is he never defended the Title. Wins at Summerslam defends at NOC and then you dont see another title defense till January. Surely they could have come up with a better option than this. Is he going to be booked for the Feb PPV? Cena has lost quite a bit recently so im expecting Cena to go over at Mania as he cant beat Takers streak now so Rusev will have to do. Its still odd why they dont just save the match for Mania to make it feel something special ie matches that havent happened before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheapshot Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 If WWE hitting 1 million subscribers means they can keep Brock, no way should he lose at Wrestlemania. He should have a total dynasty run until they find their next super duper megastar. IF they keep him then they better finally wise up and start using him to elevate guys. I've been saying all along that he should be defending against more than just Cena because even guys losing to Brock will look strong if it's a competitive match. Rollins at the Rumble is proof positive. He looks like a million bucks after that match. Hopefully that's the start of a trend. If WM is indeed Brock's last match then his whole run will feel like a huge wasted opportunity. The problem with Brock is he never defended the Title. Wins at Summerslam defends at NOC and then you dont see another title defense till January. Surely they could have come up with a better option than this. Is he going to be booked for the Feb PPV? Cena has lost quite a bit recently so im expecting Cena to go over at Mania as he cant beat Takers streak now so Rusev will have to do. Its still odd why they dont just save the match for Mania to make it feel something special ie matches that havent happened before. The thing is when Cena loses he doesn't seem to care about it and moves on, teaching the fan's that wins and losses don't matter that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMick Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 If WWE hitting 1 million subscribers means they can keep Brock, no way should he lose at Wrestlemania. He should have a total dynasty run until they find their next super duper megastar. IF they keep him then they better finally wise up and start using him to elevate guys. I've been saying all along that he should be defending against more than just Cena because even guys losing to Brock will look strong if it's a competitive match. Rollins at the Rumble is proof positive. He looks like a million bucks after that match. Hopefully that's the start of a trend. If WM is indeed Brock's last match then his whole run will feel like a huge wasted opportunity. The problem with Brock is he never defended the Title. Wins at Summerslam defends at NOC and then you dont see another title defense till January. Surely they could have come up with a better option than this. Is he going to be booked for the Feb PPV? Cena has lost quite a bit recently so im expecting Cena to go over at Mania as he cant beat Takers streak now so Rusev will have to do. Its still odd why they dont just save the match for Mania to make it feel something special ie matches that havent happened before. The thing is when Cena looses he doesn't seem to care about it and moves on, teaching the fan's that wins and losses don't matter that much. Funny, Meltzer made the point recently that part of that is Vince's idea that people shouldn't whine and complain. Of course, completely devaluing wins and losses is a direct result. Which Vince seems to regard as a necessary evil or something..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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