WWE TV from November 8th to 14th of 2015

[Loss]

WWE was planning to do Cena-Reigns at WM, which shows how little they care about crowd reaction.

[sek69]

Cena might be the only guy they could put against Reigns at WM that would ensure he'd get cheered though.

[Slasher]

WWE was planning to do Cena-Reigns at WM, which shows how little they care about crowd reaction.

Or they are counting on something similar to the Twilight stuff with team Edward vs team Jacob.

[Loss]

Cena-Reigns feels to me like Orton-Batista where the fans would reject the match outright.

[goc]

I think the "everyone wants to boo Reigns" thing really isn't true. He gets good reactions on house show fan cams and in certain cities on Raw. Yea some of the smarkier cities in the Northeast or in England hate on him but we're pretty much past the point of babyfaces getting a solidified reaction, at least ones who WWE fully gets behind. Now the cool thing is to hate on anyone that's "WWE approved" and I'm positive if they went all in on a Dean Ambrose or Dolph Ziggler push then a backlash against them would not be far behind.

 

Let's not forget there was a sizeable portion of the internet crowd hating on Rusev's push and it wasn't until after he lost to Cena that everyone suddenly decided he was awesome and WWE fucked him up. Guys who get strong pushes now get backlash because the new way of "rooting for the underdog" is to root for the guy the WWE is misusing.

[Loss]

The big issue is that fans want to feel like they are choosing who the top guys are instead of the company choosing for them. There's a way for the company to choose their own guys while fans think it was all their idea, but it requires careful booking. I'll also note that Batista was cheered heavily on house shows.

[DMJ]

I was firmly behind the "Give Reigns the title, keep him face" idea, but I may be jumping ship to the "Give the title to a non-ex-Shield guy" now.

 

Have Romans get screwed out of the tourney by Triple H sooner than later. He turned down the offer, he gets screwed.

 

Then, use the tournament to build a new babyface champ to drop the belt to Lesnar at the Rumble. Ziggler works. Cesaro works. I'd rather not Ambrose get it, but that's just a personal choice. I don't think winning the tournament is going to make a full-time, legitimate main eventer in one night - but I don't think it would do that for Reigns either. To me, you should use the tournament to create as many intriguing feuds and characters as possible to get us through January.

 

If Reigns wins, what happens to the rest of the roster? Where does anyone go? I think everyone and there mother knows Reigns is the guy the company is looking to push hard in 2016...but for the last two months of 2015, I don't see why they can't pull a bit of a swerve and have an unexpected, plucky underdog take home the victory.

 

If Ziggler wins, you can have Ziggler feud with whoever he beats in the finals (Owens? ADR?) and then *also* have Reigns in a high profile feud with an Authority-hired bruiser like Sheamus. (I also love the idea of Ziggler bringing up the fact that he survived last year's Survivor Series main event and that he defied the odds again this year)

[Slasher]

Problem with that scenario is that Lesnar shouldn't get the belt again. Not at this point at least anyway. Let's ignore that for a second, the only matchup that Lesnar could have at Wrestlemania is Reigns. If they run this match again, I assume this means Reigns wins the Royal Rumble again. The WWE can't possibly be this stupid to throw their future ace under the bus for another year in a row after seeing him get rejected by the fans immediately the first time. Reigns has gotten a little better crowd support now but it's still not where it needs to be to feel safe putting Reigns over at the Rumble and then presumably defeating Lesnar at Wrestlemania. I think it is best to give the belt to Reigns at Survivor Series and seeing how his road to Wrestlemania is shaping up. If he is able to look good as a babyface and getting the crowd, then put a heel over at the Rumble and have Reigns steamroll the guy at Wrestlemania. If he fails to get over, either turn him heel and have a babyface win the Rumble and have Reigns solidify his status as the top dog or have him lose the belt at the Rumble and run a different title program for Mania and have Reigns vs Triple H or something like that.

[sek69]

I hate the pro wrestling/MMA comparisons as much as the next guy, but it's amazing UFC can hype up the next tomato can Ronda's going to smash as her toughest opponent ever and all their casual fans seem to buy in, and WWE can't create enough credible stars to fill out a title tournament.

[The Chief]

I just hope that whoever wins this thing doesn't win by joining the Authority because then we're just going back to the same old. If a crowd favorite does take it leading to an immediate Sheamus cash-in, that's also same old. They honestly have NOTHING to lose by trying something different.

 

This just makes me bummed that Rusev is hurt. This tournament was made for him. This would have cemented him as a star and we would also have a monster heel champion who is just a heel's heel without Authority ties. Like Brock's run without the four month long breaks for deer season.

[Slasher]

I just hope that whoever wins this thing doesn't win by joining the Authority because then we're just going back to the same old. If a crowd favorite does take it leading to an immediate Sheamus cash-in, that's also same old. They honestly have NOTHING to lose by trying something different.

 

This just makes me bummed that Rusev is hurt. This tournament was made for him. This would have cemented him as a star and we would also have a monster heel champion who is just a heel's heel without Authority ties. Like Brock's run without the four month long breaks for deer season.

Rusev is a better worker but I think Bray Wyatt would be the better choice as the champion this winter. He is a guy that won't probably be hurt too much when he eventually drops ths title, he has no ties to Authority and his stable is a natural way to put the babyface challenger in a grind leading up to their match. But I also think if they put it on Bray, he needs a decently sized run yet he's not really suited to be the heel champion going into Wrestlemania. So I know that is why he's not a serious candidate.

[Loss]

The thought of those promos ...

[Coffey]

I kind of wish the Wyatt Family would attack The Authority. Make it seem like the show is in chaos & no one, even the Powers That Be, are safe. Anything to get us away from the authority figures.

[Slasher]

I kind of wish the Wyatt Family would attack The Authority. Make it seem like the show is in chaos & no one, even the Powers That Be, are safe. Anything to get us away from the authority figures.

Hindsight and all but I think the entity that would have been the perfect thing to put an end to the Authority would have been The Shield. Especially if they kept to their "hounds of justice" mantra as babyfaces. I think the Wyatts ending the Authority would only get them cheered and that seems to be the last thing the WWE wants for them at this point right now. In fact, Bray Wyatt shouldn't even think about turning babyface until he has gotten a run with the championship as the evil cult leader with more power gained by being the appointed leader of the WWE. Just think of all the feuds and angles they could run with people trying to put an end to the ever growing influence of Bray Wyatt and falling to him until that right babyface comes along (Probably Reigns or even a redeemed babyface Rollins).

[Mr. Lacelle]

I hate the pro wrestling/MMA comparisons as much as the next guy, but it's amazing UFC can hype up the next tomato can Ronda's going to smash as her toughest opponent ever and all their casual fans seem to buy in, and WWE can't create enough credible stars to fill out a title tournament.

About that

[TravJ1979]

 

I hate the pro wrestling/MMA comparisons as much as the next guy, but it's amazing UFC can hype up the next tomato can Ronda's going to smash as her toughest opponent ever and all their casual fans seem to buy in, and WWE can't create enough credible stars to fill out a title tournament.

About that

 

I blame Travis Browne.

 

No, really. This does kill any interest in Ronda at Mania, against Cyborg, etc. for me. "and 1" doesn't have the same punch as undefeated.

[Matt D]

 

 

I hate the pro wrestling/MMA comparisons as much as the next guy, but it's amazing UFC can hype up the next tomato can Ronda's going to smash as her toughest opponent ever and all their casual fans seem to buy in, and WWE can't create enough credible stars to fill out a title tournament.

About that

 

I blame Travis Browne.

 

No, really. This does kill any interest in Ronda at Mania, against Cyborg, etc. for me. "and 1" doesn't have the same punch as undefeated.

 

 

I get why it might kill interest in a fight against Cyborg, but would it make you less interested to see her on Saturday Night Live, hosting? Because that's the sports equivalent of being at Wrestlemania.

[The Man in Blak]

It's not just that she lost; what's really damaging is the way that she lost. Rousey refused the glove pound, like she was above the fight, and then Holm ended up popping her in the face a half-dozen times before taking her head off of her shoulders with that final kick. Brutal. Almost Tyson/Douglas-esque.

[Coffey]

The big issue is that fans want to feel like they are choosing who the top guys are instead of the company choosing for them.

 

So true. So simple. So completely lost on WWE.

[Matt D]

It's not just that she lost; what's really damaging is the way that she lost. Rousey refused the glove pound, like she was above the fight, and then Holm ended up popping her in the face a half-dozen times before taking her head off of her shoulders with that final kick. Brutal. Almost Tyson/Douglas-esque.

 

They could pair her with Bo Dallas, then?

[The Man in Blak]

 

It's not just that she lost; what's really damaging is the way that she lost. Rousey refused the glove pound, like she was above the fight, and then Holm ended up popping her in the face a half-dozen times before taking her head off of her shoulders with that final kick. Brutal. Almost Tyson/Douglas-esque.

 

They could pair her with Bo Dallas, then?

 

 

From your lips to Vince McMahon's ears.

 

EDIT: Maybe I should concede, if it's not already apparent, that I was happy to see Rousey lose, for reasons that are fairly safely outside of being Pro Wrestling Only and leave it at that.

[TravJ1979]

RE: Rousey

 

You are correct. The loss was so one sided it was embarrassing. In her last fight it was thought that she should take it to the ground so she was determined to end it with her hands. I think she went for the same here, Holm is supposed to be a great boxer so she wanted to beat her at her own game. Even worse, when that didn't work, and she went for her take downs, she got stuffed on those too. A very bad loss indeed.

[Slasher]

Honestly, who cares about any of that? I mean, when it comes to Wrestlemania anyways. Rousey is still more recognizable a mainstream name than just about anyone else that'd be on the card. I don't think this loss kills her appeal for Wrestlemania dead. The part about the "dream" fight against Cyborg though, I can understand, but then again, doesn't Justino have a loss or two to her name also? I think a good promoter can get that fight over still especially if they get Rousey back on a roll leading up to it.

[goc]

The idea that Rousey's career is over and she's going to now fade into irrelevancy is so silly. I've seen it pretty much everywhere there has been discussion about her. It really doesn't matter that she got dominated at least in the sense that her rematch with Holm is now going to be a HUGE fight and the hype for that will be even bigger than the original. I would be shocked if the UCF doesn't do everything they can to make that fight happen at UFC 200. People like to see a fall from grace and a comeback story and no doubt that UFC and Rousey's people are going to be selling the rematch as just that. Her next fight will almost assuredly be a rematch with Holm, Dana White has already pretty much said so.

[The Man in Blak]

The idea that Rousey's career is over and she's going to now fade into irrelevancy is so silly. I've seen it pretty much everywhere there has been discussion about her. It really doesn't matter that she got dominated at least in the sense that her rematch with Holm is now going to be a HUGE fight and the hype for that will be even bigger than the original. I would be shocked if the UCF doesn't do everything they can to make that fight happen at UFC 200. People like to see a fall from grace and a comeback story and no doubt that UFC and Rousey's people are going to be selling the rematch as just that. Her next fight will almost assuredly be a rematch with Holm, Dana White has already pretty much said so.

 

Which is great for Rousey and her potential shot at redemption, but not so great for WWE's ability to leverage her as an untouchable bad-ass megastar at Wrestlemania, since UFC 200 is in July.

 

The point here isn't so much that her career is over -- and I don't recall that ever being said here in the first place -- as much as it's a significant blow to whatever plans WWE had for her at their biggest event of the year.