"Political Hit"

[conker8]

To get back on the topic, Roman Reigns is out for 3 weeks and set to be back in ... Philly.

[Jingus]

The "skinny fat" line was great, as of course that would be the sickest burn HHH could throw at someone not as obsessed with physique as he is.

That "burn" was so bad, so much more insulting to the guy who said it as revealing of his ridiculous standards of physical perfection, that it felt like one of Andy Samberg's backfiring jabs at a comedy roast. "You haven't spent the last fifteen years injecting yourself with a dangerous level of hormonal supplements like I have, OOOOOH BURN~!"

 

The cut off was when he starts to bring up Be A Star is ridiculous because Vince does and then it cuts out implying he was going to talk about Vince bullying people

Oh yeah, that's right. I thought that sent a hilarious message. "You can "shoot" all you want about the company and the people who run it, but don't you DARE cast any light on the hypocrisy and uselessness of our bullshit PR campaign which is disguised as a charity service!"

[Johnny Sorrow]

On Maron's show Punk said that after the "pipe bomb " promo, backstage HHH looked at Laurinitus and said "Hey, I'm just a doofus, you're a douchebag ."

[Alucard]

In regards to limited HHH/Rock interaction, they also did that face to face backstage segment on Smackdown in October 2014 which seemed to initially start up the rumors of a possible HHH/Rock Mania match this year.

[kjh]

 

 

No one denies Hunter's smart business wise, are we really supposed to believe he doesn't know what he's doing here?

 

Wait... what?

 

What has Hunter done for business that is so smart for the good of business?

 

Putting over Daniel Bryan and Batista.

 

 

Neither of those moves really helped business much. Whatever momentum Bryan got by beating Hunter was derailed by being immediately side-drained into a secondary program with Kane, whilst he took top billing by feuding with The Shield. Similarly, whatever momentum Batista got was derailed by being demoted to Smackdown, a political hornets nest for him, as he had slagged the brand off in the media a few months prior. This wasn't quite as egregious as Hulk Hogan putting over Goldberg and still hogging the top spot for himself, but similar in spirit.

 

Regarding WWE stockholders seeing Shane McMahon as someone they would be comfortable with running the business end of the company, I just don't see it. Although he has experience running a business now (You On Demand), his company never got off the ground, has bled money for years and actually revenue significantly declined under his watch. I do think it will be Triple H/Stephanie in charge with them delegating most of the financial responsibilities to Barrios/Wilson or their own outside hires. Shane I think will be a silent partner like his mother has been since moving into politics.

[Loss]

Batista had huge value to Smackdown. When Eddy-Rey ran its course, he was the guy keeping the ratings afloat, to a point that part of the famous Booker T-Batista fight stemmed from Batista pointing out (correctly) that the ratings were down when he was out injured. Batista was a strong draw for a few years.

[Slasher]

No that isn't going to happen. If Shane wants to be part of the company (not totally a given), he'll be more than just a silent partner. That's absurd to think otherwise. Shane had been groomed just as long if not longer than Stephanie in the family business. The only thing I see being likely from that post is him essentially being the Linda McMahon of the next generation. That one will be true, yes. Except it'd be the Linda from 1980s to 2000s before she "quit". You forget that Vince has huge respect for people who provea capable of living without him lining their pockets with cash. Vince will make sure Shane is a big part of it if only because he would have thought he deserves it. Again, this is assuming Shane wants this, which I am not totally convinced of. It would likely be Stephanie as the Vince, Triple H as the Dunn/Patterson with some extra responsibilities and Shane as the Linda. The three will also delegate responsibilities to specialists like Barrios and Wilson below them. If the investors are spooked by Shane's history with the service company, they are not going to feel better about Triple H/Stephanie and the fact WWE has declined in many aspects of revenue streams and indicators since 2001 when they both rose in power.

[kjh]

Batista was a big star on Smackdown, but he never drew as well as he did in the program with Triple H and I think part of that was being moved brands. I don't think they maximised his potential, although you're right that he still had tremendous value to the company in the right programs.

 

The manner in which Shane left WWE wasn't amicable. Shane wanted to be the next Vince, not the next Linda, and grew increasingly frustrated when he realised that he was being passed over for that position. Even today, Shane's return just looks to be a short-term favour for his father who had ran out of options for The Undertaker's opponent at WrestleMania, rather than any indication that he's being brought back into the corporate fold. Of course, that might eventually change. But clearly he wasn't written into any secession plans while he was persona non grata. You have to really question whether Triple H & Stephanie want that at all changed.

[Death From Above]

To get back on the topic, Roman Reigns is out for 3 weeks and set to be back in ... Philly.

 

Hahahaha oh boy.

[Slasher]

I will admit that Stephanie will be the one that has the ultimate final control over the company, no doubt, but it is very difficult for me to believe that Shane would be a powerless entity for the WWE. It doesn't contradict your point either way but I thought Shane left because his ideas were rejected or altered by Stephanie and he was frustrated about that? I didn't know he saw himself as Vince's successor. His actions would not have supported that belief. Stephanie ingrained herself into the company through the creative department where she became the head writer as early as around 2000. Shane, to my knowledge, didn't really get involved on that side of things. He was more of a guy who worked in the office than the road with the talents. So I mean, how did he not understand the circumstances that would produce the situation he finds himself in, being usurped? Startling lack of awareness if you ask me.

[Bix]

Whatever momentum Bryan got by beating Hunter was derailed by being immediately side-drained into a secondary program with Kane, whilst he took top billing by feuding with The Shield.

Were there really any better options for Bryan's first title defense? Evolution needed to be moved away from him immediately because no good could come from a rematch with any of the three. Wyatt was in the middle of the Cena feud, even if he would have otherwise made the most sense. Cesaro should have been a babyface and the non turn killed him as a heel. The problem with Kane was more that Bryan had just beaten him like a drum as Corporate Kane than that he was Kane, but at least he had the alter ego thing going and Bryan was made to look incredibly strong in the title match. Doing Shield vs. Evolution to fill time as the "real" main event program until someone else made sense for Bryan was really the best idea.

[Slasher]

Evolution really was the best idea for Daniel Bryan. Supposing he didn't have to leave due to injury, it was natural progression to run Bryan vs Orton, Bryan vs Batista and Bryan vs Triple H in any order for his spring tour as champion. Obviously the plan was always gonna be Brock winning the belt at Summerslam so I mean, you had 4 Network events to fill before then, so use that time to solidify the idea that Bryan deserved that belt after he successfully defended it against Evolution. Money in the Bank probably could be Wyatt or Kane or Big Show. That brings Bryan to Summerslam against Brock having beaten the former champion, the former A-level star main eventer and the legend turned executive and leader of his biggest opposing force in the Authority. That probably would have made the Brock squash more palatable. If he only feuded with Kane then lose the belt to Brock he looks almost as chump-y as Rey did in his run.

[Johnny Sorrow]

 

Whatever momentum Bryan got by beating Hunter was derailed by being immediately side-drained into a secondary program with Kane, whilst he took top billing by feuding with The Shield.

Were there really any better options for Bryan's first title defense? Evolution needed to be moved away from him immediately because no good could come from a rematch with any of the three. Wyatt was in the middle of the Cena feud, even if he would have otherwise made the most sense. Cesaro should have been a babyface and the non turn killed him as a heel. The problem with Kane was more that Bryan had just beaten him like a drum as Corporate Kane than that he was Kane, but at least he had the alter ego thing going and Bryan was made to look incredibly strong in the title match. Doing Shield vs. Evolution to fill time as the "real" main event program until someone else made sense for Bryan was really the best idea.

 

And Kane made sense given their history.

[Matt D]

The problem is that he was booked as a coward out of the gate. Fans were turning on him for the first time. I think a Kane feud made a lot of sense on paper.

 

This didn't:

 

I think it's extremely obvious in retrospect and it's been written in the Observer and elsewhere that Bryan was only getting the reluctant nod so that Lesnar could destroy him at Mania on the path to the eventual Reigns win. He was going to be a transitional champion.

[Loss]

Bray Wyatt beat Bryan at the Rumble. He should have beaten Cena at Wrestlemania, then lost to Bryan at Extreme Rules.

[Strummer]

if you'll recall the company's excuse at the time was that they were left scrambling because all their mania plans had to change. So they had no plans for Bryan post mania and basically said "yeah let's just go to Kane". They wanted to do Bryan v Batista at the May PPV but Batista was having serious problems with the company. WWE would later leak that he wouldn't job to Bryan which Batista later refuted.

 

Meltz said on the Lapsed Fan that the plan was for Kane at the Spring PPVs (May-Kane, June-Kane, July-most likely a 4 way with Kane and 2 others, probably Orton and Reigns) and then getting squashed by Brock at Summerslam. With of course no rematch like Cena would get. Vince had to be "proven right" that Bryan shouldn't have won the belt just like he was "proven right" when he didn't want Rey to get the title

[The Chief]

Bray Wyatt beat Bryan at the Rumble. He should have beaten Cena at Wrestlemania, then lost to Bryan at Extreme Rules.

 

Spoken for truth. Cena and Kane don't get hurt by this and you would have given two guys in Bray and Bryan instant credibility. It's a net positive.

[Strummer]

Btw, I don't think it has ever been outright reported but I'm positive that Reigns would have been in Dolph's spot at Survivor Series 2014 to get the rub from Sting. They clearly didn't want Dolph in that spot but I guess they thought they had no other choice with those conditions

[goodhelmet]

 

 

 

No one denies Hunter's smart business wise, are we really supposed to believe he doesn't know what he's doing here?

 

Wait... what?

 

What has Hunter done for business that is so smart for the good of business?

 

Putting over Daniel Bryan and Batista.

 

uhhhh NXT and the performance center?

 

 

I meant from an in ring perspective. Even then, is Hunter acting like a babyface on NXT and heel/ anti-Roman on the main roster good for business?

[Slasher]

To be fair, nothing Triple H does is "good for business", so what does it matter what he does? Another thing is that he is recognized as the father and creator of NXT but he doesn't really take part in their storylines. It's not like who the champion of NXT really impacts the bottom line for the whole WWE. He is less inclined to care who represents NXT and furthermore, he's the one who hired each and every one of them so he must see something in them. On the main roster, it's akin to coaching a pro team compared to a collegiate team. More egos are involved with professional adults who only care about their personal achievements over whatever he might think is actually best for the company. Like Triple H never had any problems with Daniel Bryan until Bryan made it clear he wanted the belt, and after winning the title, he refused to accept their philosophy on who really should be the champion and keeps causing them problems and turning shows into some kind of protest against them. That is when Triple H slowly lost his professional attitude and started taking it personally with the handcuffed attack and everything. So I mean, it's not necessarily totally contradictory to have him portrayed both ways.

[Cox]

This may well be one of the worst booked main event feuds in the history of the WWE. I can't really think of a worse one.

Triple H vs Booker T at Wrestlemania XIX will always be the gold standard for worst booked main events in company history. Triple H getting super racist for no real reason against a super hot Booker T, then beating him clean in the middle, killing Booker's chances of ever being a real main eventer wasn't just bad booking, it was an extremely shitty thing to do. Triple H would have to start using every bad stereotypical Samoan trope in the book, like right out of Roddy Piper circa 1985, for this to come close.

[Cox]

 

 

BRYAN: "Yeah, here's the problem with that theory. Why would HHH want to sabotage Roman Reigns and ensure that when he goes out there in the main event of Wrestlemania, no one cares?"

DAVE: "Exactly."

 

Wait, so is this Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez, noted long-time wrestling insiders, or just two guys who happened to be named Dave and Bryan, genuinely baffled at the possibility that someone in the wrestling business might have questionable motives for making shitty booking decisions?

Seriously. See Wrestlemania 18, where HHH was happy to sabotage himself as long as he sabotaged Jericho more.

Sabotaging his own babyface run just made it that much easier for him to turn back heel quickly, which is clearly what he prefers.

[goc]

I would buy that he tried to sabotage his own babyface run around that time period. He didn't even attempt to have a good match with Hogan the next month at Backlash which was probably part him being mad that he had to job to Hogan and part sabotage because then HHH could explain that the match sucked because he wasn't a heel and he needed to be turned.

[Jimmy Redman]

It's funny that he wants so bad to be a heel, and then spends his time as a heel doing crotch chops, making jokes, burying people on the mic, never showing ass, and doing all of those things that make him look like a badass and get him cheered.

[Slasher]

 

This may well be one of the worst booked main event feuds in the history of the WWE. I can't really think of a worse one.

Triple H vs Booker T at Wrestlemania XIX will always be the gold standard for worst booked main events in company history. Triple H getting super racist for no real reason against a super hot Booker T, then beating him clean in the middle, killing Booker's chances of ever being a real main eventer wasn't just bad booking, it was an extremely shitty thing to do. Triple H would have to start using every bad stereotypical Samoan trope in the book, like right out of Roddy Piper circa 1985, for this to come close.

It's worse than just beating Booker T cleanly after building the match with the race issue, which practically required him to lose just to pay off the storyline correctly. He beat Booker T cleanly after laying around for like 15 minutes before covering Booker T and not even allowing him to kick out when pretty much every match ever booked in history has the guy kick out a delayed pin...especially such a long delayed one. So essentially Booker T is portrayed as such an overmatched midcarder who the pedigree absolutely killed.

 

As for Triple H wanting to be a heel but doing crowd pleasing stuff, the sense I get is that Triple H understands that the babyface has a certain way of being booked in the WWE. He likes being able to do whatever the hell he wants and being positioned strongly (because "the money is in the chase!!!") and he doesn't have to worry so much about pleasing fans like a babyface is required to. If he gets cheers, cool. If he gets booed, he did his job correctly. He wins either way.