Current WWE

[Marty]

It would be funny if suit-and-tie corporate Kane backfires on HHH and Steph, as due to having his head caved in by the Wyatts at SummerSlam, Kane seeing himself in a suit and tie automatically makes him think he's off to a libertarian convention and walks away reciting what he's going to talk to Ron Paul about, leaving HHH and Steph flabbergasted.

 

Speaking of HHH and Steph having moods where they're not in control of things, I only caught the main event angle (will have to track down the six-man later, heard rave reviews for it here and elsewhere), and I gotta say, at least Big Show has some sort of chemistry with HHH and Steph that he came off looking real good. Of course, as insinuated, HHH and Steph at least showed some ass in the angle (with the lawsuit and all), which was likely something needed in the Daniel Bryan storyline, but Show has the charisma to make people care.

[goc]

Maybe it was just me but Tyson Kidd certainly looked to have "enhanced" his look since he's been gone. And not just the hair.

[Sidebottom]

Maybe it was just me but Tyson Kidd certainly looked to have "enhanced" his look since he's been gone. And not just the hair.

No need for the inverted commas, he looks bigger for sure, but he looks healthy. A good diet and strong gym regimine would see to that, plus he was tanned as fuck. He's had plenty of time to workout this past year.

[MikeCampbell]

I had to double take when I saw him. With the tights and a full head of dark hair, he looks like an AJ Styles clone.

[Mando]

I was glad to see Tyson back in the ring. He had one of my favorite WWE Superstars matches vs. Rey Mysterio a couple years back. Although I wouldn't put it past them to run a match with him and the "Jared" guy that trained Nattie and almost broke up their wedding over on the Totally Divas show.

[KrisZ]

From WON

 

As of this week, the Reigns turn is scheduled to be fast-tracked and they are looking at him as being the new young golden boy of the promotion. Although on Raw this week they did nothing past put him in a position where his spear on Show was designed to pop people.

[Timbo Slice]

That's interesting considering Rollins is the guy best suited to be a face with his offense. Plus, as far as young golden boys go, Big E is right there.

[Jimmy Redman]

On the other hand Rollins has a pretty whiny voice and is the biggest shithead in the Shield. He has the pretty boy look and bumping style, but I think as of this moment, Reigns has more potential as a face with his cool vibe and badass look. People will want to get behind him, the same way they did Batista. Rollins is female bait, but I don't see the wider appeal yet.

[anarchistxx]

Roman Reigns could really get over in a Batista/Goldberg type of way. Still far too early to turn any of The Shield in my opinion though. Rollins could eventually work his way up into the CM Punk position, if his mic work improves, but he is best suited to staying a heel at the moment. Ambrose could go in any direction - he would probably have done better a few years back when he could have tons of garbage matches with loads of blood and high spots. Not saying he can't work regular matches, far from it, but his psychotic, out of control character would really be aided by some nasty, bloody brawls.

[Mini Bennett]

Seth Rollins is essentially Jeff Hardy's replacement.

[cheapshot]

Roman Reigns could really get over in a Batista/Goldberg type of way. Still far too early to turn any of The Shield in my opinion though. Rollins could eventually work his way up into the CM Punk position, if his mic work improves, but he is best suited to staying a heel at the moment. Ambrose could go in any direction - he would probably have done better a few years back when he could have tons of garbage matches with loads of blood and high spots. Not saying he can't work regular matches, far from it, but his psychotic, out of control character would really be aided by some nasty, bloody brawls.

I think more Batista than Goldberg in the way he has been brought in. Goldberg just was booked to be invincible from the start as a single, where as Reigns and Batista were positioned with others as heels.

I do agree though, that it's a tad too early to turn any of the shield. I am worried for Seth Rollins if that happens.

[Matt D]

Everyone (see: Will) should check out Harper vs Ohno from NXT this week: http://www.hulu.com/watch/555326#i0,p177,d0.

 

It's easily Harper's best showcase with some great punches (One fun thing about NXT is that the camera guys/editors don't QUITE have the "oh god we have to cut away from the punch" timing down yet, so you usually see the punch and they cut the next second), these awesome dickish instep kicks, a surprisingly great cravat, and tons of little things (ring positioning into the corner to cut off a hope spot, moving Ohno around the ring with his head, just lingering with his foot on the top rope after a big boot to the outside transition). I don't love Ohno's late match selling but that might be because I've been watching too much Sangre Chicana lately. To me, it's much more of a Harper showcase but it's really well worth watching.

 

He had the Punk match on Monday and I think a Bryan match for tomorrow too so it's sort of his week.

[Timbo Slice]

Daniel Bryan's WWE future might not be what many fans were hoping for, if PWInsider's latest reports are true. Mike Johnson of PWInsider is reporting that Daniel Bryan's run as a top star and main eventer might be coming to an end as he's taking some of the blame for the low buyrates during his short run in that position.

 

The feeling in WWE is that Daniel Bryan simply isn't a "larger than life" character fans are ultimately looking for, and that his best position is in the mid-card having great matches.

 

To the contrary, however, The Big Show's recent push is reportedly a result of WWE wanting bigger guys back in the spotlight. It's the reason he has moved into the main event program with Randy Orton and the McMahons and why guys like Luke Harper and Great Khali have been given more TV time as of late.

Well, there's your answer.

[Matt D]

This would have bothered me immensely in 2001.

[cheapshot]

To me, If your talented enough, then you're big enough.

[Matt D]

How about Luke Harper in that Ohno match though? Huh? Huh?

 

 

No one?

[tim]

If all this D Bry news is to be believed it's one of the more outrageous examples of WWE rationale catch 22 I can think of.

[Timbo Slice]

Harper's great. I really like Harper. But I just like the fact that even after all this time, they put the majority of the blame on Bryan and use the ol' "Larger than life" excuse they roll out.

 

Maybe WWE is best viewed in a vacuum.

[Tim Evans]

How about Luke Harper in that Ohno match though? Huh? Huh?

 

 

No one?

Has the second match aired yet? That was pretty great. First one wasn't much as it was too short.

[Matt D]

This week had the 20 minute one.

[Slasher]

Not to sound like a WWE apologist because god knows I wanted Daniel Bryan to succeed so badly on top, but the ratings did in fact decline from Summerslam onward, so really, what is the better explanation? You know the WWE would never blame their own booking for this one.

[Steven]

Aside from Big Show, are any big guys getting big pushes? Khali, Brodus Clay and Tensai only exist to job, Rowan and Harper are clearly viewed as being beneath Bray, Ryback just got out of a feud with Punk that had Punk beat him three times in a row and almost squashing him in the last one. I guess Roman Reigns, but he's getting pushed alongside two "smaller" guys in a faction. Big E. is getting one too, but it seems height always played more of a factor than weight when it came to Vince.

[Slasher]

Aside from Big Show, are any big guys getting big pushes? Khali, Brodus Clay and Tensai only exist to job, Rowan and Harper are clearly viewed as being beneath Bray, Ryback just got out of a feud with Punk that had Punk beat him three times in a row and almost squashing him in the last one. I guess Roman Reigns, but he's getting pushed alongside two "smaller" guys in a faction. Big E. is getting one too, but it seems height always played more of a factor than weight when it came to Vince.

 

Khali has been positioned lately to serve as the babyface side's punishment for heels. Look at tonight, with Vickie charging Del Rio with a night's match against Khali. Maybe Bray Wyatt is the leader but Harper and Rowan aren't booked as some bumbling henchmen or anything. If anything, Bray is the wild card here, because these two guys do the bulk of the work and booked as credibly against the top names as possible. Ryback is still a major force. Just because he lost to the top two names in the WWE (Cena and Punk) doesn't make him any more a joke than anybody else. It's all in context, dude.

[NintendoLogic]

Not to sound like a WWE apologist because god knows I wanted Daniel Bryan to succeed so badly on top, but the ratings did in fact decline from Summerslam onward, so really, what is the better explanation? You know the WWE would never blame their own booking for this one.

Monday Night Football.

[Steven]

Aside from Big Show, are any big guys getting big pushes? Khali, Brodus Clay and Tensai only exist to job, Rowan and Harper are clearly viewed as being beneath Bray, Ryback just got out of a feud with Punk that had Punk beat him three times in a row and almost squashing him in the last one. I guess Roman Reigns, but he's getting pushed alongside two "smaller" guys in a faction. Big E. is getting one too, but it seems height always played more of a factor than weight when it came to Vince.

 

Khali has been positioned lately to serve as the babyface side's punishment for heels. Look at tonight, with Vickie charging Del Rio with a night's match against Khali. Maybe Bray Wyatt is the leader but Harper and Rowan aren't booked as some bumbling henchmen or anything. If anything, Bray is the wild card here, because these two guys do the bulk of the work and booked as credibly against the top names as possible. Ryback is still a major force. Just because he lost to the top two names in the WWE (Cena and Punk) doesn't make him any more a joke than anybody else. It's all in context, dude.

 

So, no then? Khali hasn't won a non-comedy match in ages. I never said Rowan and Harper were bumbling henchmen, but they're still Wyatt's cronies. Bray hasn't lost yet while those two have some losses to their name (Harper specifically). As for Ryback, you can't say the guy hasn't been damaged. Sure, he beats mid-card guys like Miz and Kofi, but he hasn't won a big match in a long time. Maybe the match against Jericho in July, but if Chris wasn't leaving, he probably would have lost that too.