Current WWE

[El-P]

I watched the Dusty segment last week because it was so much talked about. I thought Dusty was excellent. I thought Stephy was still pretty damn bad. Is "I am sorry" a new WWE dramatic meme since the Flair retirement match or was I just unlucky to stumble onto this ?

[stomperspc]

i have NO idea what the point of that shield vs. 11 faces match was but it totally fucking ruled

I thought it was really well booked. I am not sure if anyone came out of the match looking weak. The setup with RVD (and to a lesser extent, Kofi and PTP) being injured in other matches prior to the main event played out well in the 11 on 3 match. Reigns, Ambrose & Rollins all looked good facing insurmountable odds. They continued building Usos vs. Rollins/Reigns and Ziggler vs. Ambrose with the Reigns and Ambrose eliminations. Prime Time Players had a little segment with the Shield that can be built off of. Even Ryder got in some offense before being pinned. It would have been easy to layout the match so that it came down to Bryan vs. the Shield but I thought the way it actually unfolded was a lot better.

 

Not to discredit the wrestling in the match which was very good, but I thought the overall booking of the match was really the strong point. It was really well done and not necessarily in a way that WWE usually does things.

[Matt D]

It was confusingly effective.

[pantherwagner]

I hope that during this week somebody realises that the Los Matadores gimmick is a total jobber gimmick and that it ends up being Cody and Dustin under the masks.

[cm funk]

That RAW main event was great. So well booked and worked. 11 on 3 is such a ridiculous match concept, where the heels are outnumbered, but this totally worked. The Shield came out of it looking amazing, they made Reigns look insanely good and there was nothing wrong with him getting beat the way he did, a great job of putting the Usos over, all the faces looked good really.....very well done match that shined and protected where needed. I feel like Pat Patterson had to be involved here, in spirit at least.

 

As far as "why" the match happened......HHH is a dick and he was pissed at The Shield/testing them but also giving them a way to win. He was stacking the deck in both ways. "Cerebral Assassin". It's not that complicated

[MikeCampbell]

As much as I'm pissed about the way Reigns first loss was handled, the match was insanely fun. The Shield gets a comeuppance, but still get put over huge by whittling things down from 11 on 3 to an almost level playing field. I'm hoping for a Bryan/Ziggler/Usos vs. Orton/Shield 8 man match next week.

[goodhelmet]

Maybe it was just me but it sounded like the crowd was really into the Titus-Roman matchup.

[Matt D]

That wasn't a typical crowd but both they and the announcers were into it. That said, Titus got a pretty big bark chant last week when people thought he'd be the one to hit his finisher at the end of Raw.

[goodhelmet]

Too bad they aren't serious about the brand split anymore. A guy like Titus could probably end up in a better spot over there.

[Smack2k]

A Brand Split would be really good right now as they could put MORE attention of some of the smaller feuds, have two meaningful BIG title feuds and keep the feuds fresh and not overkilling the story twice a week....

[Mini Bennett]

I'm going to lose it if the Internet starts pining for a return to the brand split after a decade of whining about it.

[Matt D]

I'm going to lose it if the Internet starts pining for a return to the brand split after a decade of whining about it.

I was thinking the same thing.

[goc]

I always liked the brand split. It kept the crap on Raw and usually Smackdown was allowed to be a good show.

[goodhelmet]

5564855[/url]']

5564854[/url]' date='Sep 26 2013, 03:36 PM']I'm going to lose it if the Internet starts pining for a return to the brand split after a decade of whining about it.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

I hated the brand split in theory but loved it in practice. I thought it was stupid to have two world champions. However, it has made me love many of the moments exclusive to SD!... Rey-Eddie, Punk and the SES, Henry's title run.

[Exposer]

Agree with Will. In theory, the brand split was ridiculous but man did I love me some Smackdown. I'll throw in Punk-Hardy, Jericho-Rey, Eddie-JBL, and even the King Booker stuff which I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Matt D]

All of that would be a much bigger issue if we weren't getting really good matches every week on TV right now and didn't have so many B-C shows where they can dump good stuff like Main Event right now.

[Johnny Sorrow]

So, I'm watching RAW tonight with my three year old nephew. It's the Kofi/ ADR match and at one point he points at the TV and says "That's the bad guy." I'm like "Who?" and I point at Kofi and say "That's the good guy" and then point at ADR and say "That's the bad guy." He says, "No." and gets up and goes to the TV, says "That's the bad guy." and points at the ref.

[DocSarpolis]

i have NO idea what the point of that shield vs. 11 faces match was but it totally fucking ruled

I thought it was really well booked. I am not sure if anyone came out of the match looking weak. The setup with RVD (and to a lesser extent, Kofi and PTP) being injured in other matches prior to the main event played out well in the 11 on 3 match. Reigns, Ambrose & Rollins all looked good facing insurmountable odds. They continued building Usos vs. Rollins/Reigns and Ziggler vs. Ambrose with the Reigns and Ambrose eliminations. Prime Time Players had a little segment with the Shield that can be built off of. Even Ryder got in some offense before being pinned. It would have been easy to layout the match so that it came down to Bryan vs. the Shield but I thought the way it actually unfolded was a lot better.

 

Not to discredit the wrestling in the match which was very good, but I thought the overall booking of the match was really the strong point. It was really well done and not necessarily in a way that WWE usually does things.

 

Seriously. I understand some of the complaints that some are having about various aspects of the match, but this was one of the most entertaining matches of the year. So much fun. Red hot crowd, everybody working their ass off, great individual segments, great apron work. This was outstanding fun.

[goodhelmet]

Oh fuck

[NintendoLogic]

OLE~!

 

I predict that El Torito will be more over than 90% of the roster in a month's time.

[hammerva]

I know that the person with the most toys can tell the history but the bashing of the Crocketts and the NWA territory is a bit stupid. Especially given how much of a mark Triple H is for Ric Flair. Does he really think that 1992-1993 run and Evolution was what made his career.

[Guest Nell Santucci]

PWTorch reader and VIP MEMBER Dawson asks: Will Hunter, Stephanie, and Vince McMahon use dipping Raw ratings as an indictment on Daniel Bryan's ability to be a main event draw?

 

PWTorch audio host Travis Bryant asks: Yup, even if they were the ones that manufactured it that way.

 

PWTorch columnist Greg Parks answers: That's the ultimate question, isn't it? I don't think the numbers have fallen to the point where it should affect Bryan's standing one way or another. I think the buyrates for the shows he headlines would be just as telling. Let's face it: Bryan will not be the #1 star when John Cena returns even if he were to hold the ratings steady or increase them. Cena is The Man, and that's that. I don't think Bryan is going to drop too far when Cena returns.

 

PWTorch editor Wade Keller answers: We are all prone as human beings to interpreting results of something in a way that fits our preconceived notions, so there's absolutely no reason to believe any drop in buyrates or ratings will be blamed on bad booking or an over saturation of Triple H and Stephanie on TV or even the absence of John Cena, but rather than Bryan didn't hold up his end of the bargain because, well, he's a small troll who eats weird (nevermind that nobody was thinking those things except the said promoters with size-fetishes and "corporate types" to impress with their moviestar-action-hero-like lead babyfaces such as John Cena and The Rock first and foremost ahead of what pro wrestling fans actually want).

I'm always impressed with smarts like Torch editors let themselves get worked. The idea that WWE feel Bryan is too small to headline is preposterous because if it felt that way, he would not have headlined SummerSlam. Bryan wouldn't be the first guy to get over with the audience and then buried. It's an obvious storyline meant to get Daniel over as a sympathetic character who by merit beat the best cleanly and yet is getting sabotaged by an upper brass who feel he isn't in their image.

 

Concerning Cena headlining upon his return, who knows. I suspect there will be a rematch. It'd be wise to turn Cena heel, but that's unlikely to happen for merchandising reasons. Still, he is 36 and there is only Bryan who can replace him when I'm not sure he's viable past the short-term. Regardless, it'd be a strategic mistake to assume Cena can headline up until 45. Hopefully Developmental pays off by then.

 

I'll add too that the casuals I've spoken with don't see Bryan as a superstar. That's in contrast to the buzz surrounding Austin in 1996 and the Rock in late 1998 when neither were booked as credible headliners by that point - certainly with the Rock, I didn't see him as more than an upper midcarder by that point after Shamrock, HHH, and Austin had all beaten him decisively.

[sek69]

OLE~!

 

I predict that El Torito will be more over than 90% of the roster in a month's time.

 

If they let him do what he's capable of, that's not even a matter of debate.

 

I was surprised the crowd seemed into the Matadores, I thought they would instantly shit on the gimmick. I don't know if Epico and Primo have the chops to pull it off or not, but seeing it in action makes me think it has Dusty-in-polka-dots potential in terms of a lame gimmick getting over.

[Guest Nell Santucci]

WINNERS: Los Matadores at 4:01. Could you imagine if TNA got their act together and put together a competent show? There is a huge opening for an alternative to WWE after the first hour of this show.

Caldwell wrote this tonight. This is yet another misplaced talking point. For starters, the reasons for why this could never happen in any parallel universe is obvious. For starters, there aren't enough superstars for this to happen. People pay to see stars, not washed up midcard acts. The only stars who could make this happen are MMA throwbacks, and even that couldn't happen due to limited funding and that the logistics necessary to mold them in such a way is far beyond anyone's capacity not employed by WWE. As such, there isn't the necessary demand for TNA to cut into WWE's audience in a significant way. Industrial demand is down, and without developmental, I felt for a long time that the industry would eventually die out as a major revenue stream as evidenced by the demographic age of their audience.

 

Caldwell's mistake is a misunderstanding of economics. The Monday Night Wars didn't come out of a vacuum. Given the necessary funding, it was the inevitable culmination of an industry that created so many stars a decade earlier that a significant number of those stars couldn't exist in one promotion without their talent being used up to equilibrium due to TV time constraints, eg Luger being in a unimaginative, hastily fired midcard tag act in 1995. That led to industry demand, and both promotions implicitly played off the imagination of their audiences with dream matches. No such condition could every exist today and likely never will due to the necessary funding and build required to make a viable but distinct number two.

 

Edit: Honestly, the only viable alternative would be a funded talent sweep of Japanese talent such that the second promotion could give them enough incentives to not defect to WWE via a union perhaps. The disparity of the two promotions over a few years could replicate that fan fantasy of dream matches. But the question would be whether there is a mind who could book a hodgepodge of foreigners who ideally could promo in limited English as stars. Within the industry, the wisdom is they couldn't. Maybe, but with the right imagination, it's possible that it could work. But having Sting, a competent star 15 years past his prime, WWE throwbacks, and Kurt Angle who has already wrestled much of the talent isn't going to cut it. The lack of imagination on TNA's part is stunning, frankly.

[Stiva]

If TNA gave us something as entertaining as El Torito, they wouldn't be such a gigantic sack of shit on a consistent basis.