Extreme Rules 2015 As It Happens...

[El-P]

Because it's a stupid spot that goes pretty much against everything about Lana's character.

 

Oh, I forgot : Naomi's changing color neon shoes = greatest piece of wrestling outfit ever. So obnoxious.

[goc]

I want a new gimmick with someone in an entire costume made out of that color changing junk Naomi had on her shoes. Make it happen WWE. I didn't even watch the match because that's all I was thinking about.

[BillThompson]

I'd be interested to hear some of the people who said that Cena winning at Mania was the way to go justify that now? I mean I'm usually not someone who gets too heavy on the booking side, but based on everything that has come after, as well as what is to come, Cena winning at Mania seems very, very stupid, and ultimately the wrong choice.

[benjaminkicks]

I (perhaps foolishly) hoped that when Rusev lost at Mania it was to get the U.S. title off him so as to set him up for a run in the main event. After last night that seems very unlikely, and that makes me sad.

[Matt D]

I do sort of want to make a thread about the purpose of heels in WWE, historically and today. I think there may be something to what Parv says about heating a heal up solely to feed him to Cena, and then cycling him down, to build him up to be fed to another babyface the next year, etc.

 

To be the exceptions to that rule are few and far between, the main one being Hunter.

 

I just don't have time right now to really play with it.

[goc]

I don't even think the Mania win was so bad, but they shouldn't have followed it up with Rusev losing AGAIN. Even if they had done a draw and not Rusev winning the chain match it would have been ok.

[Coffey]

Because it's a stupid spot that goes pretty much against everything about Lana's character.

 

This doesn't really explain anything.

 

I don't think it goes against everything that her character is. Does she pander to the crowd usually? No. She did this time & was scolded & sent to the back over it. It's better than just ignoring the live crowd, in my opinion. Plus Lana has been off of TV a lot lately & this plays into Rusev getting mad at her before at Wrestlemania. I thought it was natural progression.

 

With her recent tweets about equality, her being in movies in addition to being a great character & a beautiful woman, a babyface turn was inevitable.

[goc]

There have been chants for Lana pretty much since day 1. She has never really played into them so her suddenly doing it last night WAS stupid. The thing they were going for pre-Mania was a much better story with "Lana shows compassion and loses Rusev's trust." It's a downgrade when you go from that to "Lana is suddenly an attention whore for the people she usually berates and tells to shut up"

[cm funk]

I (perhaps foolishly) hoped that when Rusev lost at Mania it was to get the U.S. title off him so as to set him up for a run in the main event. After last night that seems very unlikely, and that makes me sad.

 

I was thinking the same thing

 

Cena winning at Mania was the right call. Cena as US Champ elevating it and elevating mid-card guys with competitive matches (which they've been doing with the open challenge) was the right call

 

But the right call with Rusev was to end the program with Cena there at 1-1.....he proclaims he no longer cares about the US title, point him in a direction towards the world title.....and a rubber match with Cena miles down the line

 

what they're doing now is awful and killing Rusev. Same thing they did with Cena and Wyatt last year. And Lana......it's so dumb to break her and Rusev up because the act is great and what shelf life does Lana have after the split? Lana and Rusev were starting to get cheered because the act is great and they're both great. That overpowered the jingoism of the act. Also, Lana is hot and sexy, so of course she's going to get "face pops". If anything, keep them together but tone down the "RUSSIA #1 PTWEEY USA BOO" aspect of it, and just let the reactions happen organically. The evil Russian heel act only has so much shelf life to it.

 

They're dropping the ball hard with Rusev & Lana right now, just like they did with Bray and the Wyatt Family, just like they're doing now with Seth Rollins where they built up the Curb Stomp as the finisher of death for a year and then all of a sudden we're supposed to forget about it, forget about him curb stomping Brock and Roman, erase it from history, and some shitty ddt variation is his finisher now. The Curb Stomp as the out of nowhere killer finish is a huge part of Seth Rollins' act. It was specifically highlighted twice at WM with Orton reversing it into an RKO and Seth cashing in using it to steal the title. Now he just stops doing the move? It's absurd

 

I enjoy watching WWE, but sometimes this stuff can be maddening

[Russellmania]

 

I (perhaps foolishly) hoped that when Rusev lost at Mania it was to get the U.S. title off him so as to set him up for a run in the main event. After last night that seems very unlikely, and that makes me sad.

 

I was thinking the same thing

 

Cena winning at Mania was the right call. Cena as US Champ elevating it and elevating mid-card guys with competitive matches (which they've been doing with the open challenge) was the right call

 

But the right call with Rusev was to end the program with Cena there at 1-1.....he proclaims he no longer cares about the US title, point him in a direction towards the world title.....and a rubber match with Cena miles down the line

 

what they're doing now is awful and killing Rusev. Same thing they did with Cena and Wyatt last year. And Lana......it's so dumb to break her and Rusev up because the act is great and what shelf life does Lana have after the split? Lana and Rusev were starting to get cheered because the act is great and they're both great. That overpowered the jingoism of the act. Also, Lana is hot and sexy, so of course she's going to get "face pops". If anything, keep them together but tone down the "RUSSIA #1 PTWEEY USA BOO" aspect of it, and just let the reactions happen organically. The evil Russian heel act only has so much shelf life to it.

 

They're dropping the ball hard with Rusev & Lana right now, just like they did with Bray and the Wyatt Family, just like they're doing now with Seth Rollins where they built up the Curb Stomp as the finisher of death for a year and then all of a sudden we're supposed to forget about it, forget about him curb stomping Brock and Roman, erase it from history, and some shitty ddt variation is his finisher now. The Curb Stomp as the out of nowhere killer finish is a huge part of Seth Rollins' act. It was specifically highlighted twice at WM with Orton reversing it into an RKO and Seth cashing in using it to steal the title. Now he just stops doing the move? It's absurd

 

I enjoy watching WWE, but sometimes this stuff can be maddening

 

In total agreement with this. THey should have turned Rusev face after ending the Cena program after WM. They easily could have spun it that Cena taught him respect (for Cena and America). His official face turn could have even been to have him make a save during a Cena beatdown or something and then have them tag on a PPV before Rusev moves on to challenge for the world title.

[Steenalized]

Rusev has been their best heel by far for the last year and this is a company that is chronically short on heels. Turning their one great heel act fact for no real reason is a terrible idea and makes it that much harder to set up effective feuds.

[Bierschwale]

I kind of think they need to start working towards getting the title onto Reigns at SummerSlam. I don't know if that means a triple threat Brock/Reigns/Rollins match though.

 

I think that that would be a hell of a waste of Lesnar, though, and kill the Lesnar-Rollins singles match that logically needs to happen. I advocate using MITB to set up the entire summer; Lesnar-Rollins for the title, Cena-Reigns & Orton-Sheamus as the semis for a #1 contendership match at Battleground to sweeten our medicine of an inevitable Kane-Rollins title match, and an Ambrose win of the briefcase. I don't like including Reigns in a title match at Payback, even if you're obviously low on other options.

 

SummerSlam seems like the time to run the Shield triple threat for the title and either Lesnar-Orton or Lesnar-Sheamus. I don't know who I'd have win the main, though. I feel like that the fall cycle-off is a perfect time for an Ambrose title reign because it keeps the hardcores invested, and a Reigns title win at WM is one of those "written in the stars" type of things. But you would NEED an Ambrose-Reigns match, and I don't really know where to place it. Ambrose-Rollins runs through HIAC, and a face-face title match at Survivor Series would be weird, though TLC is an even worse option. Four corners ladder match of the Shield and Sheamus, and then Ambrose-Reigns at the Rumble? I just don't know.

[Russellmania]

Rusev has been their best heel by far for the last year and this is a company that is chronically short on heels. Turning their one great heel act fact for no real reason is a terrible idea and makes it that much harder to set up effective feuds.

but realistically how long can Rusev's heel act go on? The anti-American thing only has so much mileage especially when it has already reached its logical conclusion by having him go up against the ultimate American hero in Cena. He doesn't really cheat or do anything all that heelish aside from the anti-American rhetoric. Once that gimmick runs out of steam he'll have nothing left to do so turning him face might be the only option. People see him as a legit badass and would easily get behind him in the same way American MMA fans got behind guys like Cro Cop and Fedor.

[cm funk]

 

Rusev has been their best heel by far for the last year and this is a company that is chronically short on heels. Turning their one great heel act fact for no real reason is a terrible idea and makes it that much harder to set up effective feuds.

but realistically how long can Rusev's heel act go on? The anti-American thing only has so much mileage especially when it has already reached its logical conclusion by having him go up against the ultimate American hero in Cena. He doesn't really cheat or do anything all that heelish aside from the anti-American rhetoric. Once that gimmick runs out of steam he'll have nothing left to do so turning him face might be the only option. People see him as a legit badass and would easily get behind him in the same way American MMA fans got behind guys like Cro Cop and Fedor.

 

 

Also, he and Lana have been getting cheered for a while now anyway. The fans Pavlovian boo the anti-American/pro-Russia bs, but they get pops for their entrance, and pops during the matches.

 

This is just a symptom of current wrestling and the audience. If you are awesome as performers the crowd will turn you face. It's almost impossible to stay heel in the current environment. Especially not when the heel character is a dominant badass who kicks everyone's ass and impresses with feats of strength and athleticism. His heel character was based on cheap heat and being a monster asskicker. Without the cheap heat resonating he's just a monster asskicker, and monster asskickers eventually get cheered. This is not a new development, but it happens much faster these days. Brock the monster heel with Heyman the slimy jew lawyer became faces just by being them and being great.

 

So yes, while Rusev was the best and strongest heel they had going, it was a Pyrrhic house of cards kind of heel heat that wasn't going to be sustainable over the long haul. They've surely botched things badly with this Cena program, and splitting him and Lana is a terrible idea, and I wouldn't have advocated an immediate face turn or anything like that. But I think stopping the Cena program at a temporary draw, getting away from the Russia v. USA stuff and evolving the Rusev character, building to Rusev v. Roman or Rusev v. Brock or Rusev v. The Authority would have been the smart play

 

All is not lost, Rusev has been built up strong enough that he can be rehabilitated from the Cena program of death and the Lana turn tease......and I hold out hope that this is all just leading to Rusev & Lana coming out on top and stronger than ever.......even them turning their aggression towards The Authority post-Cena feud leading to Rusev tossing around Show/Kane and building something with Lana & Steph and Rusev v. HHH eventually.......but now I'm fantasy booking.....

[The Thread Killer]

It's a little bit more than three hours. Just contain yourself. It's like those people in trains and airplanes who just have to go to the bathroom and bother you every hour or so. Fuck those people.

 

A lot of people can't do that, for medical reasons. As we age, the bladder loses it's elasticity, as well. Besides, didn't you watch Seinfeld? If there is one thing George Costanza taught us, it's that it is bad to hold it in. He read that in medical journals.

[sek69]

What was the deal with the ref checking the guys' hands during the last man standing match. At one point, I thought that he passed a long a blood pellet to Reigns like at Mania.

 

That's how the refs make sure everyone's OK after a big spot, by having them grab his hand if they're not dead.

[goc]

 

It's a little bit more than three hours. Just contain yourself. It's like those people in trains and airplanes who just have to go to the bathroom and bother you every hour or so. Fuck those people.

 

A lot of people can't do that, for medical reasons. As we age, the bladder loses it's elasticity, as well. Besides, didn't you watch Seinfeld? If there is one thing George Costanza taught us, it's that it is bad to hold it in. He read that in medical journals.

 

Too many people around and too close together in a 3 man booth to pull off a "pee in a cup scenario"