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WrestleMania 31...


goodhelmet

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I'm so torn on that finish.

 

On the one hand Reigns was not going to be a great champ at this point. He wasn't over enough.

 

On the other, he had just gone to WAR with Brock and it was just left hanging. Fuck you for not giving me either Reigns getting his win before the cash in or Lesnar finally putting reigns away. That match demands a real finish.

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Awesome match, but I hated the finish. I am not usually ultra-critical of logic gaps in the booking but that one really took me out of it. I don't see how Rollins cashing in his MITB contract turns the match into a 3-way where he can pin Reigns to win the title. Shouldn't it basically turn the match into a 2 on 1 title match where Rollins and Reigns can't pin each other? Totally took me out of it. I think it Rollins pinned Brock, it would have worked for me more. Brock would have the same "out" that Reigns does now only everything else would have tied together better. I still would have ideally liked to have seen a finish to what Reigns/Lesnar had built to that point, but Rollins pinning Brock would have been slightly better than what they did.

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That's two PPV main events in a row where Reigns has looked great too. Awesome bumping and selling, the strikes looked great, his facials were awesome. I mean, he's been in there with Bryan and Lesnar but he's been right there with them, working hard to turn the crowd around and I'm pretty sure he'll get there, sooner rather than later if they handle the next few months right.

 

I'm also looking forward to Heyman's promo where he politely tells Rollins that, not only has he pissed off Roman Reigns, he's pissed off Brock Lesnar and now they're both looking to kick his head in.

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I think its pretty smart. Rollins has come in a stole the belt and he's like a Tully or HTM champ. He's got three automatic contenders in Brock and Reigns who he screwed and in Orton who beat him clean earlier.

 

That's three shows to headline right there.

 

Plus after that match, Reigns should have established himself and be way more over with the boo boys now.

 

You know what else? Not a single person talking about Daniel Bryan. I think it's very clever.

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I don't want the Wrestlemania main event to be an example of smart booking. I want it to give me a visceral sense of culmination.

 

You wouldn't have got that from Roman Reigns capitalizing on his lucky break with the ring post dazing and bloodying Lesnar, throwing every finisher he has at him and finally slaying the beast against all odds? That is about as definitive a culmination as you will get.

 

 

 

Yes, I would have. That was my point. I would've been perfectly happy with that. We're arguing on the same side.

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You also have to blame the fan revolt against Reigns too some because I don't know if this was the plan all along. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. It'll be interesting to find out if the fan backlash had anything to do with the ending. I agree with Childs that the culmination of a story is what Mania should be most of the time, but there were so many other factors in this that it was going to be really hard for that to work. Ultimately, this match was set up to fail. Rollins cashing in was the best possible scenario when you include crowd response and company skepticism. It was sort of a lose-lose situation for those who don't like smart booking to end the show.

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So going forward is Brock now a face trying to kill Rollins? Is Reigns actually over now? That's the only interesting story to come out of WM 31 for me. Show, Trips, Taker and Cena are moves backwards. I guess I should be happy that the main title is at least an interesting picture. Unless they blow it within two weeks. Parv's Bryan point is something I hadn't thought of.

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Reminds me of Daniel Bryan vs John Cena at Summerslam. A near enough perfect title match that had gravitas and intensity and made the belt seem incredibly important, with the payoff of crowning a new champion and creating a new star. Then the entire match and struggle is devalued by the pathetic Money In The Bank gimmickry, 'Authority' approved heel walks out with the title that means nothing because he too could be cashed in on at any time, and cue two months of gloating, heel beatdowns and monotonous promos.

 

 

 

I loved the main event and I loved the finish. It's the closest thing WWE is going to have to a Red Wedding moment.

 

It really isn't. Everyone saw this coming. For the last few months on this board alone dozens of people have commented on the likelihood of a Wrestlemania cash in. It was depressingly predictable if anything, more like Theon getting his dick chopped off than Robb Strak getting his throat slit.

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As much as the main deserves the attention, with Cena and Bryan working longer midcard matches, who the hell are the heels that they're going to face for their belts? I'd put Bryan with Harper, for definite. Make that a Best of Seven. Where does Rusev go from here? Does Lana bring someone in to face him? As much as the top of the show has a nice direction, everything else is up in the air, I think.

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Didn't watch any of the pregame crap.

 

IC ladder match: I'd be perfectly happy if I never saw another multi-man ladder match for the rest of my life. It's just completely played out.

 

Orton/Rollins: There was nothing wrong with this match from a technical standpoint. I just didn't care about it at all. The ending sequence was pretty good, though.

 

HHH/Sting: I had a bad feeling about this match when the babyfaces won first two matches. And sure enough, HHH got the pin. At least it was overbooked six ways from Sunday, which is the only way the match would have been watchable.

 

Divas tag: Ummm...the Bellas repeatedly knocking AJ off the apron was pretty cool.

 

Cena/Rusev: I remember people scoffing when I suggested that they were building Rusev up to feed to Cena at Mania. Well, who's laughing now? As for the match itself, it was OK, but the Fast Lane match was much better. Rusev's Rocky IV entrance was off the charts, though.

 

Oh boy, Rock/HHH at WM32! I'm slightly more excited for that than I am for a 2 Girls 1 Cup sequel.

 

Taker/Wyatt: Jesus, this was sad. It was like they were wrestling in a tar pit, they were moving so slow. Taker should never wrestle again. Neither should Bray.

 

Lesnar/Reigns: So they spend all that time building up Lesnar to have it culminate in a chickenshit MITB cash-in? Fucking bullshit. On the plus side, I loved the "this is awesome" chant when Lesnar was beating the hell out of Reigns. It's the only this is awesome chant I've ever liked.

 

I said a while back that Reigns chasing the Authority was my vision of wrestling hell. Adding Lesnar to the equation makes it somewhat more tolerable, but not much. I'm seriously on the verge of canceling my WWE Network subscription. Fuck this company.

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I'd put Bryan with Harper, for definite. Make that a Best of Seven.

 

Not believable in the least. In kayfabe and the eyes of the fans DB should win that series 7-0. It wasn't long ago that he was beating HHH, Batista and Orton back to back, and to most people Harper is just a characterless midcard nothing.

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Authority wasn't out to celebrate with Rollins. If anything, him doing it on his own means he's out on his own. Let's not assume Authority involvement here.

 

And I'm curious as to what everyone thinks was the better alternative. Brock winning outright would have been fine, sure, but then you've definitely wasted Reigns and now the backlash is on wasting a guy who could definitely still be a top guy. With the way this was booked, because they were booked into a corner, it's the best possible scenario.

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My friend and I talked about this being the likely finish for WM. It's gotten too predictable.

 

Thought the show was thoroughly forgettable, but no real surprise since Vince has been lazy for years now.

 

Really? I thought it was a masterclass. Maybe Pat Patterson was in town for more than just a shout out.

 

Think about it.

 

1. Outcome 1, Reigns wins. Fans say: the company are pushing their man, Bryan, Bryan, wah, wah.

 

2. Outcome 2, Lesnar wins. Fans say: the title is on a guy who only works three dates a year, wah, wah.

 

3. Outcome 3, Rollins wins after Lesnar and Reigns have a great match, sense of injustice for Reigns who is now a "great worker" in the fans eyes, sense of injustice for Brock (now a face too) after he lost the title without getting pinned.

 

Plus Orton is another challenger.

 

"Lazy"?

 

I don't think so. The lazy thing to do would have been to give the strap back to Bryan.

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