Payback.. Live As it Happens

[Matt D]

That was a shitty pedigree too. I don't know if that was a tease of a Rollins-HHH feud down the line or not. Maybe that will happen post-Summerslam. Maybe not.

Don't you listen to your brother's conspiracy theories?

[goc]

Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

- Really fun but predictable to start with guys pairing off and the extended selling on the outside. Kane helping Rollins was predictable.

- The 30 second Shield reunion was super fun and the 2 power bombs on the table put the cherry on top.

- The crowd was amped for the Ambrose - Reigns showdown. They should have called an audible right then and there and had one of those 2 win the belt with a Shield 3 way planned for Summerslam.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. So predictable.

I don't think it's really practical to call an audible and change your World Title like that. Especially when the title picture is clearly heading towards Lesnar coming back and being involved in the SummerSlam title match, most likely a Reigns/Lesnar/Rollins triple threat.

[Exposer]

 

That was a shitty pedigree too. I don't know if that was a tease of a Rollins-HHH feud down the line or not. Maybe that will happen post-Summerslam. Maybe not.

Don't you listen to your brother's conspiracy theories?

 

Sometimes. I did think "Of course the Game's finisher is the greatest of all-time and the only one that can put people away." I just didn't linger on it.

[Bierschwale]

 

Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

- Really fun but predictable to start with guys pairing off and the extended selling on the outside. Kane helping Rollins was predictable.

- The 30 second Shield reunion was super fun and the 2 power bombs on the table put the cherry on top.

- The crowd was amped for the Ambrose - Reigns showdown. They should have called an audible right then and there and had one of those 2 win the belt with a Shield 3 way planned for Summerslam.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. So predictable.

I don't think it's really practical to call an audible and change your World Title like that. Especially when the title picture is clearly heading towards Lesnar coming back and being involved in the SummerSlam title match, most likely a Reigns/Lesnar/Rollins triple threat.

 

After whatever they do at EC, it's insane if they don't run Lesnar-Rollins at MITB. They need a quick refresh (and to maximize Lesnar's value at SummerSlam, which is away from the belt).

[goc]

I do not want Lesnar-Rollins in a singles match. I mean if people are complaining about the interference in tonight's match there would need to be ALL KINDS of bullshit in a match that has Rollins not losing the title to Lesnar. Like, Taker vs. Yoko 93 Rumble kind of interference.

[Bierschwale]

Well, I'd want the same thing for that match, and you can play off of WM if it's no DQ.

[El-P]

Okay, so I watched the two matches I wanted to watch.

Loved the tag team title match. Really good stuff. Much better than the NJ clusterfucks. I really didn't mind the finish, it was all about the oldest heel trick ever, so why not. Terrific chemistry. Funny how the New Day went from being one of the worst act in the company to actual very good heels.

 

Cena vs Rusev was garbage. First off, the "Do you wanna quit ?" question after every fucking spot makes it annoying as hell and kills the pace of the match. Second, I stupidly assumed it would be about trying to make your opponent submit and not have a mic stuck in the face of your opponent every thirty seconds (I guess I'm at fault for not being up to date with he way gimmick matches are worked in modern WWE). So yeah, garbage over-gimmicky and choregraphed Attitude era match with a ridiculous explosion spot and an awful finish reminiscent of that godawful Mankind vs Rock match in 99. Rusev loses again, and Lana is turning into "Baywatch Babe" soon enough. Ugh.

[stomperspc]

I went to the show. A couple of thoughts:

 

Tag title match was really fun and easily my favorite of the show. Cesaro's power stuff looked good. Kidd/Cesaro are getting down that cohesive team deal down. New Day act has his its stride and I'd say they were getting 50/50 responses for their entrance until the Orioles/Adam Jones stuff that turned the tide a bit more.

 

The "I Quit" match (while still not great) seemed to work better live which isn't surprising. Things like the stunt bump with the sparks shooting off looks/sounds cool in person but is tired and cliched otherwise. Not surprised at all that a lot of people hated the match but it really wasn't that boring in the arena. The finish also got a good reaction. It didn't appear like people felt it was a rip off and almost reacted with a "that's exactly what we wanted" type response. Lana was getting a lot of cheers so that's probably why the finish was well received since it signified the next step in her turn.

 

Neville didn't get much of a reaction for his big moves. I don't go to enough WWE shows to know if that is usual for high flying to be received that way (unless done by someone who is already over) but it was noticeable. Crowd just didn't really react to most his flying even relative to how they reacted to other stuff in that match.

 

Don't know how it came across, but Orton was the most over of the four guys in the main event, Ambrose a close second, Reigns got a mixed reaction, and Rollins was largely booed (though not completely). Shield reunion teases got a huge reaction. People were really behind Orton's stuff at the end of the match.

[goc]

The New Day act is great and it's going to suck when the crowd ruins it by starting to cheer them for being awesome and takes away the greatness of Xavier Woods interacting with haters.

[goc]

At this point I am bitter about the near certainty that they are breaking up Lana & Rusev so they can push Lana. I hope she can be the mainstream star they think so that she can Stacy Keibler the shit out of them and never mention them again once she leaves for Hollywood.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Ziggler's stitches. We were talking on the reaction show about if he bladed or not, this looks hardway to me.

 

[goc]

Yea guys don't blade themselves on their eye brow but that is the classic hardway spot. I wonder if he cuts out the headbutts now.

[WingedEagle]

Those are some hideous highlights.

[goodhelmet]

Lana was getting a lot of cheers so that's probably why the finish was well received since it signified the next step in her turn.

 

 

On the reaction show, Kris Z claims that the Lana chants are now being piped in. Did you see any signs that indicate the Lana chants are being piped in?

[goc]

I hope we eventually get a good Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus match on PPV. That might be the match I would most like to see out of anyone in WWE. I think those two would just beat the living hell out of each other for our enjoyment.

[Parties]

Dylan’s prediction of several good matches with no direction was accurate. I actually think it’s pretty important for them to get a hot summer program going, as the last several years of WWE have been judged in large part by whether or not they put together a game-changer (Summer of Punk, Nexus, rise of Bryan) to bridge the gap between WM and SS. If booking, I’d think of each year as roughly three “seasons”:

• TLC to Mania (Dec to end of March) in which you’re getting Rumble contenders hot and setting the stage for WM.
• Mania to Summerslam (April to mid-August), in which you’re getting a little wild post-Mania, trying guys out, seeing what sticks unexpectedly, but anchoring it around one or two clear-cut pushes or surprising angles.
• Night of Champions to Survivor Series (Sept-end of Nov). Should feel like a culmination in which you’re blowing off the year’s feuds. TLC is such a bad concept for a show that SS has become the default year-end climax, which sort of happened last year, as you had a main event that seemed like the end of the Authority, the start of Cena as “old dog losing his touch”, and the rise of Ziggler as replacement Bryan. Most importantly: the babyfaces won, albeit too briefly.

Four months apiece is a solid length of time to begin and end feuds in the Network era. Mania-to-Summerslam being the largest span, and the one where you’re fitting in a MITB winner (that would ideally be paid off in the fall/winter shows before Rumble), it seems worthwhile to get something cooking now. And aside from a major heel turn (Reigns, Ambrose), I’m not sure what it would be, which the whole point of doing something unpredictable. I’d love to see the Authority go away for real until Mania, so maybe it’s as simple as Rollins biting the hand that feeds him, injuring Hunter, and becoming a marked man running from death until he’s forced to fight Lesnar and/or Reigns at SS.