Dylan Waco Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I think Loss' theory is scarily plausible, and very likely true at least in part. The portrayal of HHH as the "defender of the faith" against the WCW heretics and invading UFC mongols is an odd heel role, but the key is not that HHH is a heel so much as it is that he is the sun god, and all others revolve around him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 "those are my oranges......pass me the spoon" "I'M VINCE MCMAHON DAMMIT" they could also re-create Verne Gagne legit choking another old dude to death over a food fight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I think that Loss' theory gives WWE way too much credit. They just can't consistently make anyone look good with the amount of TV they have and the general TV crafting philosophy they have and the only ones with veto power are Triple H and Stephanie. So they get buried less, not built up more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I think the belief that they are just accidentally screwing up with Roman because they are clueless requires someone to be hopelessly naive. His situation has no historic parallel I can think of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Yeah, Trips truly booked the show to make a lot of "his guys" look great. Lucha Dragons, Neville, Rollins. Then bury guys like Reigns, Saxton, Sting on the post-show, etc. It's definitely within the realm of possibility. EDIT: That almost reads sarcastic, but it's not. This was almost a throwaway show from a booking perspective outside of catering to the "Smart" fans wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Also, that crowd was terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Let's see what they do next week first. I think a lot of us thought that putting him over in the Main Event of Mania without a turn was a bad move. I think he came out of that match with Lesnar looking way stronger than he came in. I can't speak on last night since I didn't see the end of Raw but I could see them thinking that it would be a wash because of the Bizarro Crowd and that the fan base would see that crowd as goofballs and ignore them. I don't think they'll keep him away from Rollins for a few months but it'll be telling if they do. Bryan has said that the point of him wrestling those matches with Orton was to get Orton over so they could do the unification match. So if they have a few with Rollins vs Reigns now, then maybe it's to get Rollins over for the rematch vs babyface Brock. If not, and they're building to him legitimately challenging and winning it later in the year by putting him over Show and Kane or whatever, then that's probably their way of really building him (misguided or not). I think he came out of Mania stronger than he came in, though. I also think he should have never been in that spot in the first place. If they were going to have Rollins cash in anyway, then he could have done that in a Brock vs Cena match at Mania, they could have had the same sort of match they had with Reigns vs Brock at the Rumble with Reigns losing but looking strong, and Reigns could have beaten Rusev at Mania for the US title or something. Let's see what happens when we get away from the Raw after Mania though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 If HHH and Steph are going to be pushed as the top stars for the next year I think I'll have to tune out for at least large chunks of programming. If you watch wwe programming every week you can't help but think loss's theory is true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 It was easier to be hopeful about things getting better when it seemed like they were just too incompetent to do anything right, especially since there are always little flashes to tell you SOMEONE there at least knows what they are doing. Loss' theory seems disappointingly plausible even if it is a mind numbingly stupid way to keep your company from making more money. Now someone just needs to explain The Producers aspect of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Already moved on. Bigger issue is what the fuck is the WWE thinking having Saxton out there solo calling the matches standing up behind a still tipped over table? They couldn't give him Renee to work with? Lawler coming out later and them both STILL standing behind the tipped over table for the rest of the show was beyond stupid. Are we to believe that only Brock Lesnar would have the strength to turn it back over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 To be fair, I bet Ronda Rousey would too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I'm getting the feeling they are putting Roman in these no-win positions on purpose to set up a heel turn. He comes off as a guy who would fare MUCH better as a heel so perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 My thought is that they purposefully tanked hour 3 of this show, not necessarily to hurt Reigns in particular, but just to get through it. Let's be honest, we all love wrestling, but if you weren't at least a little sick of pro-wrestling by 11:15 PM on Monday Night, your appetite has no end. After a well-received WrestleMania and a great first half of RAW, the writers/bookers knew that the crowd (who "behaved" well during the 4-hour Hall of Fame ceremony and Mania and the first half of RAW) was getting restless. This resulted in a 2-segment divas match and a 6-man main event that was eerily reminiscent of the same 6-man tag matches we've seen countless times over the past few months. The last hour of RAW was the pedestrian, store-bought vanilla ice cream (no sprinkles, no fudge) you serve as a dessert after serving several much better, much tastier appetizers and entrees. It was the WWE, having given all it could, asking, "You're still hungry?" and realizing that the punch drunk crowd just needed to be put to sleep. WrestleMania weekend was over and the last hour was just a formality. Cue Big Show and Kane. It was also telling that they stuck Orton and Reigns in that dead spot too. We know they were protecting Reigns from getting booed even more than he did (imagine how much more heat he might've got in a different position), but I also think there was some hesitance with putting Orton in front of that crowd. Was it last year or the year before when he and Sheamus got massively booed in the first match of the show and Orton looked legit pissed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted March 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Bryan Alvarez said they muted the crowd big time for the Divas match and the main event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I got back into watching more WWE TV than I ever did in 15 years since last year's Mania. I've done the one year round trip. I'm tuning out. I can get back whenever Brock shows up, because he's the only reason to watch this poor excuse of a promotion. The mere fact Stephy will be all over the TV is enough for me to tune out. She's awful. She's a poor performer most of the time (the contrast between her and Paul during the opening segment was amazing) and her character is the worst of the worst at this point. Yeah, don't show ANY fear for either Sting, Ronda or Brock, why the hell not ? (am I the only one who thinks she looks more and more like Chyna too ?) I did enjoy Cena vs Ambrose, and still think Cena would be an awesome heel. But we know this won't happen. Despite the fact he's being phased down. Rusev is already "just another guy" without Lana. That's sad. Neville. Because first name are evil. I have no idea what he can do in that main roster setting. That main event. Big Show, Kane… And Randy Orton of course. Same old shit. Poor Roman Reigns. No one looks like a star at this point, no one. Except Brock. Who's gone, thanks to his sweet-ass contract (and good for him). This was easily the flattest, most unremarkable post-Mania RAW in years, and that despite a big time angle with Brock which ended up being kinda ruined by Stephy's shreeking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parties Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Regarding Reigns: it seems more likely that it's a combo of Authority wanting to be the aces and incompetent booking. Tandem horrors rather than one or the other. Loss' theory makes a lot of sense, regardless of whether the truly galling stuff is intentional or only semi-intentional. While narcissism plays into it, I also think that the level of paranoia with regard to stars leaving the company is at an all-time high after Del Rio, Punk, and Brock's negotiations. McMahons are so fearful/resentful of anyone challenging them that they feel the only performers they can depend on are the lifers. Which is to say, themselves. They run the company, they'll be there forever, and they can say that about no one else - making it easy to justify pushing themselves above everyone else. True to a lesser extent of Kane, Show, and Cena: company men who have jobs for life. While conflating scripted promos with real life is often smark overthinking, there is a line from one of HHH's tirades against Sting that keeps coming back to me. It was the one where he said, and I'm paraphrasing, that "When everyone else left, I stayed here, at the top of this company." It seemed like such a butthurt, passive-aggressive statement, as a not-so-subtle dig against Rock, Batista, Brock, and everyone else who comes and goes. But it also speaks to the insulated Titan Towers idea that the McMahons trust no one but la familia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Good Lord. WWE's Monday Night Raw numbers were the highest they've had since RAW 1000 (2012) benefiting from the positive buzz from a great WrestleMania show Sunday as well as no competition from the NCAA men's basketball tournament. TV By The Numbers had times listed all wrong so these hours could be incorrect, but the show did an average of 5.35 million viewers. The three hours were 5.60 million viewers, 5.23 million viewers and 5.27 million viewers, but it's not clear which hour each is. The big number was either in the first or second hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Faulconer Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Every WWE announcer sounds almost identical to the others. Excluding Renee - Every male WWE commentator speaks with the Vince McMahon-bass sound in their voice. I had to check to see that Vince wasn't commentating some nights with Cole/JBL/Saxton/Sanford/whoever speaking in the exact same way that Vince always has. They use exactly the same cadence while calling a match. The only difference are audible when the catchphrases or current buzz words are deployed in the action. It is so difficult hold any suspension of disbelief when certain camera moves always lead to commercial breaks. That breaks kayfabe more than wrestlers not keeping in character or engaging storylines. I don't get the network here so going commercial free isn't an option whenever I do decide to get into an episode of RAW/Smackdown/NXT. WWE has a terrible make up stylist. From Stephanie to Lana and Renee Young are looking more like someone in drag lately. The divas have a similar problem. None of it would be a problem if there was some sort of variety to the style. They either look like plastic Barbies or frightening Divines. They are raising their own clone army. Whether it is in the match layout or commentating or makeup/costume design everything is such a formula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 Goldust on jobber duty on Raw seems to confirm that his feud with Stardust is already over. I was hoping maybe they were going to go back to it after WrestleMania. What a huge waste. They could have done a lot of fun psychological stuff with Cody going down the same road Dustin went down in the late 90s and Dustin failing to save him from a descent to madness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 WWE has a terrible make up stylist. From Stephanie to Lana and Renee Young are looking more like someone in drag lately. The divas have a similar problem. None of it would be a problem if there was some sort of variety to the style. They either look like plastic Barbies or frightening Divines. They are raising their own clone army. Whether it is in the match layout or commentating or makeup/costume design everything is such a formula. Alexa Bliss in NXT is a great example, she's naturally fair skinned and has bleach blonde hair with light blue streaks. Yet somehow they felt the need to douse her in spray tanner until she looked more orange than Taz and Hogan combined. With her complexion, it makes her look about 30 years older when seen in HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 Bryan Alvarez said they muted the crowd big time for the Divas match and the main event. Given what was being chanted during the Divas match, good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 Unless I just didn't hear it, the crowd pretty much gave Ryback the right reaction. They definitely knocked their snark bullshit off when he lifted Show. I think he's finally past the Goldberg chants for the most part. It's a shame he's probably trapped in a late-career Kane/Show role of turning a dozen times and straddling the upper midcard, but he'll probably have a decent run as a gatekeeper for up and comers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steenalized Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 What rating do those Raw numbers come out to? Dave was saying on the Raw recap episode from yesterday/Monday night that he didn't think they were going to hit a 4.0 unless something big changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steenalized Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 And as for Ryback, I still think he has the skills, the look, and the crowd is getting behind him again. He could get a title run some day, a good one at that, though I don't see it being particularly soon either. With Rollins holding the title, he has Reigns, Lesnar, and Orton to come after him immediately. If Ryback gets a title shot, it'd just be to save time until one of those other three gets a shot. Still, I'm high on Ryback and given his look, Vince can get behind him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 Think Raw was a 3.68 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.