Carnival Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 But I also don't believe HHH doing a parody of his mythological Internet persona is something deliberate. Why? Because the people who would get it aren't a large enough part of the fanbase. I don't know. HHH, Nash, Michaels, and Hall all developed a certain "it's better when we drop insider references into the show" mindset in their primes. Even back during a time when the number of fans who would have gotten it would be much smaller than today. I wouldn't be surprised if he's getting some of his cues from the smarks, or if you prefer, using the same issues that internet fans talk about but doing so independently of actually reading the internet. Of all the people in and out of the business that bash Russo, I don't really recall the Kliq doing it. I think they have a lot of the same mindset, actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.L.L. Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Are people really doubting Hunters track record to that degree? History shows that when the chips are down and him losing is a necessity, Hunter does the job (Cena, Rock, Batista etc). I'm guessing people are going to bring up Booker T, RVD and others, but I think it's crystal clear Bryan is above those guys. As others have pointed out in this thread - and many others in the past - if Cena, Rock, and Batista are the guys you're going to point to as the best examples of people meaningfully put over by HHH, it just demonstrates how bad his track record really is. That, and that 15 years of this nonsense has worked out for WWE in at least one way - they have successfully trained a portion of their fans to settle for less. Hell, by this point, "less" is probably all that a lot of their fans have ever known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Bennett Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Why did Hunter have any obligation to put over the RVDs of the world? He was the top heel in the company. His track record is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Apparently Extreme Rules is not taking place in Seattle after all. The Key Arena has released a statement saying that they have no WWE events scheduled in May. I hope they aren't stupid enough to have this alter any potential plans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted February 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 According to Dave, right now, even the HHH vs Bryan plan isn't etched in stone. Everything that was planned is now up in the air. Cena's eye injury also might end up an issue, depending on how bad it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Apparently Extreme Rules is not taking place in Seattle after all. The Key Arena has released a statement saying that they have no WWE events scheduled in May. I hope they aren't stupid enough to have this alter any potential plans Wouldn't it be more the case that the plans weren't there to alter in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Well I was going by Dave theorizing that they were going to "build the show around Bryan" if it was held in Seattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Well I was going by Dave theorizing that they were going to "build the show around Bryan" if it was held in Seattle I thought Dave's indication was that they actively moved the venue to Seattle from wherever it initially was, or at the least that they planned for it to be there long term. So the push came first and Seattle was the means, after the reaction he got there last time. It wasn't just that they happened to be in Seattle for the PPV already? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 So I finally read all the way through all the arguments for and against in this thread and there was a connection I Thought got missed. Vince McMahon was a great heel versus Steve Austin. He knew how to put Austin over really well while still threatening him in his promos. So I ask you this. Does Vince not watch his own product? Does he just sit back in his office collecting the money and not notice Triple H burying Bryan week after week? Seems to me Vince is way more hands on than that. Also, lets look at that whole issue of upper midcard or lower level main event guys having their pushes ruined by a program with Triple H. Again, does Vince not pay attention to these things and just continue to throw up-and-coming stars Triple H's way unsuspecting that they will get buried and come out confused as to why said up-and-comer is all of a sudden relegated back to midcard duty? I tend to doubt that. So at the very least, Vince is complicit in all of this happening by his apparent silence and lack of action. And depending on your willingness to throw crazy conspiracy theories out there, you could go a lot further in describing Vince's involvement in it. So as much as I'd like to just throw up my hands and say, "Damn that Triple H for being such a bastard and holding down all the young talent!" I can't. Vince is obviously at least okay with it, and it may be that idea that no one wrestler can be more important than "the brand." And maybe Triple H (this is stretching it right here, I'll admit that, but I have to considered the possibility) married into the role of push-killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrainfollower Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 My wacky theory - Vince subconsciously wants WWE to die with him and that's why he let's HHH do this. He knew Shane never would. Because as bad as things got when Hogan left, what is going to happen when Cena retires, takes the kids with him and diehards are gone, having given up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 But I also don't believe HHH doing a parody of his mythological Internet persona is something deliberate. Why? Because the people who would get it aren't a large enough part of the fanbase. Then you're wrong. Â Have you watched his web interviews with Cole? Â He's been playing off the perception of him/trolling the smarks since the summer. It's amazing that some people still don't think he's consciously doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 What percentage of the fanbase do you honestly think knows about HHH's reputation for holding people down? Serious question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross Face Chicken Wing Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 What percentage of the fanbase do you honestly think knows about HHH's reputation for holding people down? Serious question. No more than 5 percent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 At least 27.3%. Â It's 2014. Teenagers/college kids who follow wrestling do so on the internet/twitter too. That's one side effect of all the social media stuff. I refuse to believe that all those people who are tweeting enough to make WWE trend or whatever else don't know about the reputation. Â This isn't 1999 with just a bunch of nerds like us using the internet and reading scoops and 1wrestling or whatever. Enough people were talking about Matt Hardy on facebook a few days ago that it was trending. Matt Hardy, not The Rock or someone. This is a totally different world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Lots of former WWE guys would be "trending" if it came out they got arrested for beating their wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 What percentage of the fanbase do you honestly think knows about HHH's reputation for holding people down? Serious question. Of the overall fan base, I'd guess its incredibly low, as in the low single digits at best. But its probably dramatically higher among those that attend TV shows which is contributing to some of the out of control reactions these days. Not just on the HHH front obviously, but in general. I'd be shocked if more than 5-10% of those watching had any idea about Punk other than maybe noticing that he hasn't been on TV since the Rumble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I think it's much higher than people are saying for the reasons Matt D outlines. Â The world is online now. And "everyone" is a "smart" fan. Â Where are all these totally clueless marks people are talking about? I thought they died in the 90s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I think it's much higher than people are saying for the reasons Matt D outlines. Â The world is online now. And "everyone" is a "smart" fan. Â Where are all these totally clueless marks people are talking about? I thought they died in the 90s. They sat behind me at the Rumble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Plenty of people watch the NFL every Sunday, or their local NBA/MLB team and maybe a national game every now and then. But they're not checking espn.com, rotoworld or any other sites that otherwise track micro happenings in those sports. They take their cues from what they watch. Can't imagine wrestling fans skew all that differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Yea the sports talk radio audience as compared to the live sports audience is not even comparable. Kind of like comparing how many people know that the Seahawks won the Superbowl to the number of people who know about all the drama between Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin and ESPN analyst Cris Carter after the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I think WWE is a little more niche than that. I also think that the younger fans are more tuned in by nature. Almost every person I know under the age of 35 that's into sports connect to it differently than the people I know over 50 who are into sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I don't think the majority of fans think wrestling is real or anything like that, but if HHH's rep was this known thing among WWE fans, he would have been dealing with hi-jacked crowds during his babyface run. And he wasn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I don't think the majority of fans think wrestling is real or anything like that, but if HHH's rep was this known thing among WWE fans, he would have been dealing with hi-jacked crowds during his babyface run. And he wasn't. His most recent babyface run? The fans sure as hell didn't want to give him the standing ovation after the Brock match that it was obvious he was supposed to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I'm talking the entire period from 2006-2012. How many times was he booed out of buildings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 There are a lot of factors there (including being on smackdown with the taped nature of the show and certain things inherent with DX and nostalgia). Frankly, though. I don't know. I missed a lot of the first half of that and frankly don't remember a ton of the back half. Â That such things are happening now make me think that we have a demographic change in general, maybe even one that WWE has created with their push for social media? If they want to create a more active, tuned in audience base, then they might end up with a more informed and harder to control one as well? Â All these are just thoughts. I'd love if someone like Chris was able to find more demographic data somehow and map some of this stuff out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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