WWE TLC 2016

[stro]

 

I'm so confused at why people think a heel being happy and emotional over winning the title in front of her parents is this huge kayfabe breaking thing. It's great when Bryan actually breaks kayfabe and bitches about his position and how he hates doing it, but when Alexa is happy she won the title, it's not good? It's the reality era, not the golden era. Cheating in the ring doesn't mean you're a piece of shit 100% of the time in your life. The fucking Undertaker had parents that he loved, after all.

The show is meant to exist in kayfabe. Hence what Bliss did was considered briefly breaking character from her self centered, all about me heel character.

 

Also The Undertaker's parents weren't fictionalized versions of Mark Callaway's parents, so that was still completely in character, at the time anyway.

 

If we're going to get that level of pedantic, Alexa Bliss' parents aren't Alexis Kaufman's parents, so who is to say they aren't fictionalized?

 

 

Also, where do you get Bryan's "I hate what I'm doing" comments as kayfabe breaking?

 

The character is thrusted into a leadership role he was never suited for, and is struggling to ignore an itch to get back in the ring. Getting shat on by Corbin and Miz (especially) on a weekly basis clearly doesn't help, and I wouldn't be surprised if they went the Bret Hart vs Miz route where Bryan is in a low impact Non DQ match (massive run-ins and interference and doesn't take the SCF) with Miz as a blow off.

 

I'm sure IRL Danielson probably came to grips with it before Character Bryan did, which is probably why Character Bryan is still around with the company.

 

Bryan has stated multiple times on and off screen that he doesn't want to be GM, didn't ask to be one, doesn't like being one, and is planning on wrestling again once his WWE contract is up, which would otherwise be frozen if he stayed off TV.

[SteveJRogers]

 

 

I'm so confused at why people think a heel being happy and emotional over winning the title in front of her parents is this huge kayfabe breaking thing. It's great when Bryan actually breaks kayfabe and bitches about his position and how he hates doing it, but when Alexa is happy she won the title, it's not good? It's the reality era, not the golden era. Cheating in the ring doesn't mean you're a piece of shit 100% of the time in your life. The fucking Undertaker had parents that he loved, after all.

The show is meant to exist in kayfabe. Hence what Bliss did was considered briefly breaking character from her self centered, all about me heel character.

 

Also The Undertaker's parents weren't fictionalized versions of Mark Callaway's parents, so that was still completely in character, at the time anyway.

 

If we're going to get that level of pedantic, Alexa Bliss' parents aren't Alexis Kaufman's parents, so who is to say they aren't fictionalized?

 

 

Also, where do you get Bryan's "I hate what I'm doing" comments as kayfabe breaking?

 

The character is thrusted into a leadership role he was never suited for, and is struggling to ignore an itch to get back in the ring. Getting shat on by Corbin and Miz (especially) on a weekly basis clearly doesn't help, and I wouldn't be surprised if they went the Bret Hart vs Miz route where Bryan is in a low impact Non DQ match (massive run-ins and interference and doesn't take the SCF) with Miz as a blow off.

 

I'm sure IRL Danielson probably came to grips with it before Character Bryan did, which is probably why Character Bryan is still around with the company.

 

Bryan has stated multiple times on and off screen that he doesn't want to be GM, didn't ask to be one, doesn't like being one, and is planning on wrestling again once his WWE contract is up, which would otherwise be frozen if he stayed off TV.

 

 

You'd think if he really felt that way, then the WWE would pull a Lanny Poffo WCW situation to save him from himself.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

I'd say:

 

AJ Styles Vs. Dean Ambrose - Springboard 450 was nuts. Match itself was good, not great. Hated the finish. ***3/4

Becky Lynch Vs. Alexa Bliss - Too sloppy. Disappointed. **

The Miz Vs. Dolph Ziggler - Felt like they were told to hold back to not upstage the main event. Especially in the beginning. Disliked the finish. ***1/2

Heath Slater & Rhyno Vs. Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton - Nothing match. Forgettable. *1/2

Nikki Bella Vs. Carmella - Sloppy. Picked up with some weapon stuff. Carmella is REAL bad. *1/2

Kalisto Vs. Baron Corbin - Exceeded expectations & I was high on this match going in. MOTN for me. ****

This is pretty close to where I was at. Probably liked the main less than you did.

[Jimmy Redman]

Corbin/Kalisto is probably the best ever Chairs match, but Show/Sheamus is another example of a good one. And don't shoot but I did really like the Cena/Barrett one, as a goofy gimmicked romp.

 

What I liked most of all about Miz vs Dolph was their use of the ladder. Both the plethora of cool, inventive, nasty looking spots they did with the ladder as a weapon, AND the staggeringly logical use of climbing.

 

The first half they basically eschewed climbing or wacky bumps from upon high and went for "I'm going to use this ladder to beat the shit out of you and end you", which I appreciated and kind of figured a lot more people here would have appreciated as a way to structure a ladder match in 2016. It was all worked on the ground, on the floor, and they just used the ladder as a giant lethal weapon.

 

In my old age I am losing patience for silly climbing spots that kill suspension of disbelief, which are mainly guys having to climb ridiculously slowly to allow their opponent to catch up, without earning that level of OTT selling. There was none of that here. They just cut that climbing shit out early on, Then when they began climbing, it was sensible because they were climbing quite quickly, to reflect the fact that this guy has just beaten down the other guy enough to go for it. He has no reason to sell death and slow climb, he's on top, he's dominating. I loved that. It was only after they both started selling the leg that the climbing became slow and laboured, and obviously, because they're trying to climb on one leg. I just thought they really earned the drama at the end with how they built up to it so logically.

 

Also, that leg work was fucking sick.

 

On the show as a whole, I really liked the production decision to do all those pre and post-match interviews. The show kind of felt less like a "PPV" and more like a "Network Special", if that makes sense, and I mean that in a good way. It was kind of like an extended Smackdown episode, and Smackdown is great. Between the booking and the interviews there was intrigue and storyline development coming out of every single match. Even ones you didn't expect to. Like, Baron Corbin beating Kalisto isn't that interesting going forward. But Baron Corbin beating Kalisto, then going straight to the announcers and yelling in their faces, and then going on Talking Smack and telling Bryan to put him in the main event...that creates intrigue as to what Corbin will do next. And I'm someone who ordinarily couldn't give a fuck about what Baron Corbin is doing.

 

I loved Becky's promo too. The poor girl just lost, she went through a table, Alexa is staring her down brandishing HER title, and you stick a mic in her face? I was thinking "What the fuck could you possibly want her to say right now," and apparently she was thinking the same thing because that's what we got. I liked it.

 

On the other hand, a terrible production decision was showing slow mo replays of the fucking CROWD after every single fucking spot. Who's idea was that? Fucking ghastly.

[TonyPulis'Cap]

"On the other hand, a terrible production decision was showing slow mo replays of the fucking CROWD after every single fucking spot. Who's idea was that? Fucking ghastly."

 

Just got around to watching the show over the weekend and outside of generally enjoying it, this was one of my big takeaways. Couldn't agree more Jimmy, the cut aways were awful. First off so many were mistimed, so quite often they ended up spoiling what was going on in the match and second they often looked completely disconnected from what was happening, almost as if they were stock footage they were inserting in. It reminded me of back around 2000 when they showed WWF Classics here in the UK on Sky Sports which were generally from the late 80s. Not many had controversial moments, hence why they used them as they were on during the day, but if you did have a moment where a manager interfered or someone hit someone with an outside object they would do a cut away, but it was of a modern crowd - that's what it reminded me of.

 

In a way, I appreciate what they are trying to do - it's a dramatic moment, we want that human reaction, but as is the modern way, you'll get a moment where something bad/sad has happened - like say Becky losing the title - want to find a kid in the crowd distraught, but in the background you have a load of gurning idiots selling the emotion by waving their camera phones around and mugging for the big screen.

 

I will say though at least its cut aways to find fans - the increasing trend in sports coverage is to find a minor celebrity in the crowd and then focus on them constantly. If you watch Wimbledon on the BBC, between every point it's a cut away to the Royal Box to find what a random Olympian or Jimmy Carr thinks of a particular shot. In wrestling it would be nice if they just dimmed the lights like in the old days!