Coffey Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 So the top guys who are out - Cena, Bryan, Orton, Rollins, and Sting. Toss in Sin Cara, Barrett, and Nikki Bella all being out as well and things look pretty bad. And Cesaro & Tyson Kidd. They were the tag champs last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Not that it is a small detail, but I think this only affects the rumored Cena/Taker match (which I do believe/suppose was the plan). I still think Brock/Reigns II was the main and I expect it will still be that way. "Who does Taker face?" is the major question because from a marketing standpoint/drawing ability, I do think he still has an aura that makes his match the second most important of the night - but he needs an opponent worthy of that. I'm not sure there is one on the current roster because Wyatt certainly wasn't one last year and I'm not sure Sheamus or Rusev fit the bill either. I kinda like the off-the-wall thought of Ambrose being a "lunatic" who wants to challenge the established legend to make his own name. Even in a loss, Ambrose wins. (This is also why, in the summer of 2014, Ambrose/Lesnar would've been the hottest ticket the WWE could've produced) I'm crossing my fingers that HHH's match is some sort of Ownership of WWE stip and that it will be used to "end" the Authority angle (in wrestling terms that means no Authority for maybe 24 months). If that is the stip, Triple H can wrestle a box of unsold DX DVDs and I'll be happy as long as he loses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 I'm calling it now: Cena will wrestle at Wrestlemania 32. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animus Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 I'd be surprised if Cena wrestles at WM32. He may not even wrestle at SummerSlam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 If the rumors about Bryan being ready to go for WM are true that will help. Styles and Nakamura might actually help sell some tickets to wrestling fans who might not otherwise go. I ultimately think WM sells out no matter what, even if Vince's "friends" are buying up the last 6,000 tickets I can kind of see them going with Owens vs Taker as a backup. Owens could build interest in the match pretty easily (a la Punk) and would be a safe choice in terms of ensuring match quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 At what point do they address the root causes of all these injuries -- schedule and working style? It seems like they need to finally do some reckoning there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Also, I know he's fine right now, but what happens if Roman Reigns goes down with an injury between now and then? They really need to pamper the guys they have left to avoid even more injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Also, I know he's fine right now, but what happens if Roman Reigns goes down with an injury between now and then? They really need to pamper the guys they have left to avoid even more injuries. There's value to keeping opponents apart before a match anyway. Part of the problem with modern WWE is that they run the same match so many times on TV in so many different variations. It sort of makes sense to have your champion only work now and again on the road to Wrestlemania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrainfollower Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 If Roman gets hurt the main is HHH-Taker in a 4 hour Iron Man match with Vince and Stephanie as the special referees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parties Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 In fairness, Meltzer clarified that Cena is a lunatic who has a history of "healing fast" and coming back from injuries insanely early, so he did say that Cena might be crazy enough to work Mania. Even if he did, that doesn't leave much time to book a program. I think it's a great, fortuitous story for this to be "The Year Where Fate Created New Wrestlemania Stars". Zayn, Ambrose, New Day, Owens, Balor, Joe, ten others: the crowd wants them and they're all capable of the star-making performances that the company externally wants when talking about these damn millennials needing to go out and seize opportunities. As of now it looks more like a panic button clusterfuck in which Vince has Reigns work two matches on the card to prove that he's the real Daniel Bryan, HHH gets his giant Lemmy Memorial parade float, Steph slaps a bunch of people in the face without recourse, Rock does the bad Xeroxed version of his act that he's been coasting on for years, Lesnar is booked as an afterthought and becomes just another guy, Jericho jobs to give someone a meaningless "rub" third from the top, and Vince himself goes through a table at age 70 to teach the youngs how lazy they are. But I could be wrong and hope that I am, if only because being pessimistic about the biggest show of the year is no fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 What is it with the shoulder injuries this year? Orton, Cena, Cesaro, Zayn, and Itami all basically had the same injury. They need to wonder why torn rotator cuffs is becoming a trend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFoy Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 What is it with the shoulder injuries this year? Orton, Cena, Cesaro, Zayn, and Itami all basically had the same injury. They need to wonder why torn rotator cuffs is becoming a trend. Meltzee seems to think it's because of the olympic lifts they have the guys doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTNW Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 At what point do they address the root causes of all these injuries -- schedule and working style? It seems like they need to finally do some reckoning there. I don't think they will. Their mindset is probably "we have fuck money and this is a big part of what made us that money and we can just hire whomever". And a lot of the guys didn't even get hurt working and how do you control someone's training regiment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 What is it with the shoulder injuries this year? Orton, Cena, Cesaro, Zayn, and Itami all basically had the same injury. They need to wonder why torn rotator cuffs is becoming a trend. Meltzee seems to think it's because of the olympic lifts they have the guys doing. That would make sense, I was looking into cross fit, because I couldn't find a reliable exercise partner. It seemed all good, except how many people seem to get injured doing it. Cross fit is basically all Olympic lifts for a crazy number of reps with heavy weights, but they don't really seem to focus on proper form. If that is what they've been doing I can see that. Cross fit gets great results, but those injury risks are real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmmnx Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 How long would it take to recondition the fans to accept mat work in WWE? The style has basically become 4 minute AE sprints stretched out to 15/20 minutes. They have the talent to start bringing it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slasher Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 At what point do they address the root causes of all these injuries -- schedule and working style? It seems like they need to finally do some reckoning there. Even if Triple H was more "worker friendly" a boss, I am sure he would think that because he had to wrestle the insane schedule for years that today's workers just gotta suck it up and deal with it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 It's a catch-22. So many people are out that they can't afford anyone to take time now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTNW Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 How long would it take to recondition the fans to accept mat work in WWE? The style has basically become 4 minute AE sprints stretched out to 15/20 minutes. They have the talent to start bringing it back. What's really confusing is they insist on using restholds no one cares about because it's Vince's favourite transition yet refuse to use holds in any way that would carry meaning and urgency. No wonder people change the channel when someone puts on a five minute chinlock, why wouldn't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCS1988 Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 If this Mania flops, the shareholders could say, Vince, step down and retire. We'll all know what will happen once the Rumble is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 I don't know what to think about Mania this year. Not excited that Cesaro is injured. I have mixed feelings about Bryan returning. I actually dont mind Cena and Orton being injured. I am actually looking forward to the Taker match after the little Brock renaissance this past fall. If they go Roman vs HHH then that would be unbelievably sad for me and the money I spent for tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blehschmidt Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Is there a single chance in hell, they swallow their pride, pony up the cash, and give CM Punk his Wrestlemania main event? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Is there a single chance in hell, they swallow their pride, pony up the cash, and give CM Punk his Wrestlemania main event? Isn't he injured? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Is there a single chance in hell, they swallow their pride, pony up the cash, and give CM Punk his Wrestlemania main event? He would laugh in their face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 If this Mania flops, the shareholders could say, Vince, step down and retire. We'll all know what will happen once the Rumble is over. Vince would laugh in all their faces and tell them to STFU. The McMahon family holds like 95% of the stock with any actual power, and Wall Street would freak out if anyone other than Vince was in charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Man I really hope that Meltzer's idea of who is winning the Royal Rumble (and the title) isn't actually true or they are really asking for a shitty crowd reaction. I mean the only thing worse than the "in case of emergency give Cena a title" is that. I still can't believe that it looks like Brock Lesnar your most expensive talent in the company looks to be involved in at best a mid card match on the show unless they decide to go Rock vs Brock since it really looks like Triple H is going to be very busy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts