WWE 24/7 July-September 2007 Thread

[sek69]

Speaking of things that sound like bullshit:

 

--Regarding the WWE 24/7 History of the Monday Night Wars feature that didn't air the June 9, 1997, edition of Nitro, it was not because Chris Benoit was prominently featured in a way that couldn't be edited off the show, but that the tape WCW gave WWE when the library was purchased had major audio issues in the second hour. They actually looked at trying to get a DVD of the show from someone on the Internet, but found the audio quality wouldn't be of broadcast standard so the decision was made to skip airing that week's episode of Nitro.

 

So many things seem unlikely with that explanation:

 

1. All the tapes that were kept by Turner were in immaculate condition, so this would probably be the first NWA/WCW show that has problems. Not that it couldn't happen, but it's not like we're talking about ancient footage that wasn't well cared for here.

 

2. The thought of WWE scouring the net for a DVD of Nitro on like Crazymax or some other trading site is hilarious. Were they offering copies of Coliseum videos in return? Did someone have it but ask that they send first?

 

3. They've aired a lot of stuff that wasn't "broadcast quality" on 24/7. If it was RAW, I'd say this would be a valid reason but there hasn't been any reluctance to show non WWE programming that was not perfect quality.

[Bix]

They've shown Nitros with minor breakups before, and shit happens, so I'm sure it's possible that the audio track could've gotten messed up.

[Loss]

From Dave:

 

--Regarding the WWE 24/7 History of the Monday Night Wars feature that didn't air the June 9, 1997, edition of Nitro, it was not because Chris Benoit was prominently featured in a way that couldn't be edited off the show, but that the tape WCW gave WWE when the library was purchased had major audio issues in the second hour. They actually looked at trying to get a DVD of the show from someone on the Internet, but found the audio quality wouldn't be of broadcast standard so the decision was made to skip airing that week's episode of Nitro.

[Al]

The problem with the Benoit conspiracy issue here is that the problem of him showing up on Nitro is going to get worse, not better. If they want to avoid showing him they are going to need a better solution than that.

[sek69]

I don't understand why you think it's a conspiracy issue. They have been editing him off the shows since it happened and the reason they put forward for skipping a whole episode are suspect at best. I'm willing to accept there were sound issues with their copy, but to be bad to the point of being unrepairable is suspect since we've seen how WWE can do wonders with footage that isn't in the best of shape.

 

 

Just to make sure I'm clear and not belaboring a misunderstood point, are you making the argument that there is no conscious effort to edit Benoit off of the shows being run? Because based off of what you've been saying in this and other threads, that's what it seems like.

[Al]

I don't understand why you think it's a conspiracy issue. They have been editing him off the shows since it happened and the reason they put forward for skipping a whole episode are suspect at best. I'm willing to accept there were sound issues with their copy, but to be bad to the point of being unrepairable is suspect since we've seen how WWE can do wonders with footage that isn't in the best of shape.

 

 

Just to make sure I'm clear and not belaboring a misunderstood point, are you making the argument that there is no conscious effort to edit Benoit off of the shows being run? Because based off of what you've been saying in this and other threads, that's what it seems like.

No, there is a conscious effort, and I don't think it's a conspiracy issue. Now if they continue to have "recording issues" on future episodes, yeah.

[sek69]

Bret Hart is the HOF selection for March, and the first round of stuff appeared today. They have Bret/Owen, Bret/Dynamite, and Bret winning the title from Flair as the bonus matches so far.

[sek69]

Also, the MSG 3/16/86 card currently up has all sorts of "stuff I never thought I'd see in the WWF" moments:

 

Dump Matsumoto & Bull Nakano defeated Linda Gonzalez & Velvet McIntyre when Matsumoto pinned Gonzalez at 10:02 with a diving headbutt

 

Lioness Asuka & Chigusa Nagoya defeated Leilani Kai & Penny Mitchell at 7:05 when Nagoya pinned Mitchell with a flying bodypress off the top

[Al]

Bulldogs/Dream Team is well covered with matches on the MSG show, Wrestlemania 2 and Saturday Night's Main Event. I dare say it was one of the best tag feuds WWF ever produced. No true classic match but lots of very good ones, and some unique finishes and matches particularly by WWF standards.

[Guest *FH*]

Quick note: for last year's Survivor Series in the Big Ones section, they actually broke it down BY MATCH. Which is awesome.

[Bix]

It appears that they're doing this for every recent PPV going forward, as the schedule says Armageddon is getting the same treatment.

[tigerpride]

It is awesome, very happy about that.

 

Right now they have the RAW from 3/11/02 on, which features Lucy the dog and the blurring out of Stephanie's ass crack.

[Loss]

I think watching that show is a sign that WWE booking has improved dramatically in the past six years. WWE still isn't perfect, but they would never book HHH or the world title in such ridiculous fashion now. Unfortunately, that isn't noticed as much as it should be, since there are less people paying close attention to the booking than there were then.

[tigerpride]

It's also weird that they put Hogan's first match back on free TV with virtually no buildup, built up Flair v. Taker by having Flair in a Board of Directors meeting all night with no Taker, and added 4 matches a week before the show.

 

For a guy who had all this pull, why did Triple H agree to do Lucy the dog and Katie Vick? Did he just not think they were stupid?

[tomk]

I think watching that show is a sign that WWE booking has improved dramatically in the past six years. WWE still isn't perfect, but they would never book HHH or the world title in such ridiculous fashion now.

I'm not sure what the evidence of this is.

[Loss]

The evidence is that John Cena and Randy Orton are not booked like the non-HHH world champions they've had over the past few years. There were a lot of people at the time who were pushed as fluke main eventers. That doesn't really seem to happen anymore, as HHH, Cena, Orton, Batista and Undertaker are all pretty protected. All of them are kept much stronger than Angle, Lesnar, Jericho, Benoit or Rey ever were when holding the belt.

[Strummer]

I think watching that show is a sign that WWE booking has improved dramatically in the past six years. WWE still isn't perfect, but they would never book HHH or the world title in such ridiculous fashion now.

I'm not sure what the evidence of this is.

 

WWE booking has steadily improved over the last 5 or 6 years but no one is really talking about it because, as Loss mentioned, less people are paying attention to the company.

 

I hate to use him as an example, but with a net "celebrity" like Scott Keith not watching wrestling anymore or doing any current reviews less and less people are being influenced.

 

There are really no net wrestling "personalities" left. They've all given up on the product or have ceased being relevant.

 

It's hard to believe but when I first got online in 1997, there would be like a million different sites that would have RAW and Nitro reviews up on Tuesday morning and people *really* paid attention to them. That continued until the early years of this decade. It's just not like that anymore. In fact wrestling discussion on the net right now might be at it's lowest since the mid 90s (quantity wise, not quality wise)

 

The company has booked their top guys really strong over the last few years (except Rey) and have cut out a lot of the over the top angles.

 

In fact I was just going to post that Smackdown now reminds me of 80s WWF booking (and overall 80s wrestling booking in general). A midcard with very few angles and mostly clean finishes with a tight focus on the World Title and top programs. It's really not a suprise since Michael Hayes is booking the show (and don't forget Dusty)

 

People who don't watch anymore still think WWE has all sorts of crazy angles with no wrestling when it hasn't really been like that in years

[tomk]

The evidence is that John Cena and Randy Orton are not booked like the non-HHH world champions they've had over the past few years. There were a lot of people at the time who were pushed as fluke main eventers. That doesn't really seem to happen anymore, as HHH, Cena, Orton, Batista and Undertaker are all pretty protected. All of them are kept much stronger than Angle, Lesnar, Jericho, Benoit or Rey ever were when holding the belt.

Cena with the title positioned in the midcard of RAW was 2005.

The Rey title was 2006.

Edge was 2007.

 

HHH and Undertaker have been pretty protected for the entire decade.

 

So your point is that from late 2007 to begining of 2008 Cena and Orton have been protected thus the booking has improved dramatically from what it was six years ago?

[Guest onlxn]

The evidence is that John Cena and Randy Orton are not booked like the non-HHH world champions they've had over the past few years. There were a lot of people at the time who were pushed as fluke main eventers. That doesn't really seem to happen anymore, as HHH, Cena, Orton, Batista and Undertaker are all pretty protected. All of them are kept much stronger than Angle, Lesnar, Jericho, Benoit or Rey ever were when holding the belt.

Cena with the title positioned in the midcard of RAW was 2005.

The Rey title was 2006.

Edge was 2007.

 

HHH and Undertaker have been pretty protected for the entire decade.

 

So your point is that from late 2007 to begining of 2008 Cena and Orton have been protected thus the booking has improved dramatically from what it was six years ago?

 

Batista has been hugely protected since 2005.

Cena has been hugely protected since 2006.

Orton has been hugely protected since early last year.

Edge is pushed as the focus of Smackdown, in a way that the real "fluke" champs never were.

Contenders like Umaga, Khali, Lashley, Hardy and (of course) Michaels have been booked more strongly than anyone in '02-'03.

 

The two counterexamples are Rey's championship reign and Michaels beating champ Edge in Edge's farewell RAW match last spring. Both those things were shitty and counterproductive. But the main-event booking is dramatically better than it used to be. And in my opinion, the fact that they've developed seven permanently credible main eventers (Edge, Cena, Batista, UT, HHH, HBK, Orton) is the main reason that business is better than it was. The #10 guy in the company gets booked stronger than the #3 guy in the company did in 2002.

[tomk]

I don't buy it.

 

Batista yes.

 

Cena has been booked better than Goldberg, World title holder Jericho or Benoit...but all you need to do is go to Online World Of wrestling to see how he's been actually booked. He has a movie coming up after Mania which will prevent him from getting sidedrained into an endless back and forth feud with whoever is the current functional equivalent of Christian or Kane (Jericho or Ken Kennedy maybe) on Raw. But low expectations is the only way to explain people claiming that Cena has been booked/protected well.

 

Orton has been protected ever since HBK beat Orton and Edge two on one. Orton protected for about a year with the idea being since begining that he was being protected for either HHH or HBK comeback.

 

Edge has been protected better than former Smackdown anchors Angle, Eddie, JBL, or Lesnar?

 

The #10 guy in the company gets booked stronger than the #3 guy in the company did in 2002.

Given the way they are currently being booked who on your list of guys (Orton, Edge, Batista, Cena) do you see as being on a tier above the level where they get booked into working a series where they trade wins with Kane? Who isn't?Why?

 

What number is Kane (above below #10)?

What number is HBK?

 

 

Also the question of how much focus did promotion of Cena's PPV mains get on Raw vis a vis promotion of the Hornswaggle storyline.

 

What number is he?

 

One of the things that I do think the WWF has done better than they would have done 6 years ago is Santino Marrella. On segunda Caida I wrote:

 

One of the things that people who write about wrestling don’t write about enough is the “party” atmosphere of the live shows during WWFs peak period. Fun over midcard acts like the New Age Outlaws or Too Cool/Rikishi were an important part of WWF’s successful formula. For the live audience singing along with Roaddog or clapping for Rikishi and Too Cool as they put on their sunglasses and danced was fun. And you go to the WWF wrestling event to have fun

There was a point in first half of this decade that I think the WWE really forgot this. And you would get hot fun comedy midcard act Eugene being thrust into the main event. "Hey this act is over...lets see if the main can get some rub from that"...result was killing the overness of the midcard act. Orton isn't retaining at Mania. But if he was it sure as hell wouldn't be because of Marrella.

 

There might be a situation where they will panic and say "Hey that Marrella guy gets a hot response". and I could see making the argument that the reunited DX should have been kept as a Too Cool/Sheepherders type act..but for now they aren't screwing that up.

[Guest onlxn]

Cena has been booked better than Goldberg, World title holder Jericho or Benoit...but all you need to do is go to Online World Of wrestling to see how he's been actually booked.

Okay. First, let's look at centrality -- how much do the shows focus on Cena.

 

http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/2006.html

 

Of 45 listed show captions, Cena appears in 20 of them... the most of anyone. OWOW has these show captions for four years, and I'm not contending that they're scientific, but they accord pretty well with what I remember. In those four years, no single worker has a year of being mentioned as consistently in the main program as Cena in '06.

 

They don't have show captions for '07, but that year was certainly *more* Cena-centric than '06, at least until he got hurt.

 

Let's look at booking. Has Cena been booked to look strong?

 

Pre-injury, he was world champion for 13 months out of 17. His only two title losses came to Edge, post-Elimination Chamber, in a match designed to put over Edge's cowardice and cleverness, not superiority to Cena; and to RVD, in a nostalgia spot in ONS, again due to Edge's trickery.

 

He tapped out HHH and HBK at consecutive Wrestlemanias. HHH has never beaten him one-on-one. HBK beat him weeks later in a non-title match, that was very explicitly presented as Chapter Two of a three-match series. The third match never came, partly due to HBK's injuries, partly due to the rise of Orton. If you want to be paranoid, you can say that HBK engineered things so that Cena would never get his win back. I think that'd be stretching it, but either way, that loss certainly didn't hurt Cena... he got the more convincing win at the biggest money-drawing event of all time.

 

Cena got the first main-event wins over Lashley, Umaga and Khali, three guys with monster pushes behind them. He beat Orton at Summerslam, in a match that should've arguably gone the other way. The only top guys he *hasn't* beaten convincingly are UT and Batista, the anchors on the other show. Cena was the guy who got put in the ring with K-Fed... that was a goofy segment, but a big one.

 

Let's look at booking. Who gets mentioned the most in segments they don't appear in? Who gets the strongest "talk NWO during the cruisers" push?

 

Cena does. It's not close.

 

Tom, I'm pretty sure that you rarely watch RAW. If you actually watch the shows, Cena is booked INCREDIBLY strongly. HHH and HBK get lame little booking protections here and there, and I don't like that anymore than you do... but neither is booked as the star of RAW. Cena has undisputably been the star of RAW for well over two years.

 

He has a movie coming up after Mania which will prevent him from getting sidedrained into an endless back and forth feud with whoever is the current functional equivalent of Christian or Kane (Jericho or Ken Kennedy maybe) on Raw.

So you're criticizing the booking of Cena by theorizing how he might be booked in the future? And you're theorizing that he'd be booked more weakly than he has in 2-3 years?

 

I don't know what they'd do if Cena was available for the summer... I suspect, as you seem to, that HHH would still get the belt at Wrestlemania. But

 

A) Cena will never go that far down the card again

there's a very good business argument for trying HHH as face champ, rather than going immediately back to Cena

 

Low expectations is the only way to explain people claiming that Cena has been booked/proteceteed well.

I don't have low expectations... I watch RAW. Cena is put over the strongest, the best and most often.

 

Orton has been protected ever since HBK beat Orton and Edge two on one. Orton protected for about a year with the idea being since begining that he was being protected for either HHH or HBK comeback.

HBK never beat Orton and Edge two on one.

 

HANDICAP MATCH: Shawn Michaels defeated Rated RKO (Edge & Randy Orton) by Disqualification..

Rated RKO ordered security guards to confiscate all DX signs by order of Vince McMahon and brought to the ring..

Randy Orton and Edge ripped up all of the DX signs during the commercial break and then waited for Shawn Michaels..

Shawn Michaels came out with an intense look on his face and hit the ring and took the fight to Edge & Randy Orton..

Shawn Michaels fought valiantly for a while but Rated RKO eventually got the advantage and bloodied Shawn Michaels!

Shawn Michaels actually fought back briefly and almost miraculously won the match before getting speared by Edge..

Edge set up Shawn Michaels for a conchairto but Michaels kicked the chair into Edge's face and dropped Randy Orton!

Shawn Michaels found a sledgehammer (tribute to HHH) under the ring and smashed both Edge and Randy Orton with it..

Shawn Michaels set up Randy Orton for the conchainto and Edge bailed out of the ring leaving his partner to take it..

Even that recap overstates the degree to which he got the better of them. He got one lucky moment, cheated, and then beat down Orton, kicking off dissension between Edge and Orton that continued through Wrestlemania. This segment was no kind of burial.

 

Edge has been protected better than former Smackdown anchors Angle, Eddie, JBL, or Lesnar?

Edge is a cowardly heel champion. Of those four, the only one that was remotely booked like a cowardly heel was JBL... Edge has been put over as strongly as JBL.

 

Protecting a cowardly heel champion is an oxymoron. The question with a cowardly heel champ is, are they presented as the center of the show? Jericho most certainly wasn't... Edge is.

 

Given the way they are currently being booked who on your list of guys (Orton, Edge, Batista, Cena) do you see as being on a tier above the level where they get booked into working a series where they trade wins with Kane? Who isn't?Why?

Edge might possibly trade wins with Kane in a weak month on top, considering that he's a cowardly heel. The other three are all well above the level where they'd trade wins with Kane. You're looking at 2008 with 2003-tinted glasses.

 

What number is Kane (above below #10)?

I'd say Kane is somewhere in the 12-14 range. The seven guys mentioned above (Edge, Cena, HHH, HBK, Orton, UT, Batista) are all above him... Umaga, Rey and Jeff Hardy are above him. Kane fits into a field with Khali, Kennedy, MVP, Jericho, JBL and Finlay.

 

The larger point with Kane, though, is that it doesn't make sense to book him against top guys anymore. He's big and over, but shouldn't be on top... as such, he should be mowing through random midcarders... that's what they have him doing, if you watch the shows.

 

What number is HBK?

HBK is probably #6 or #7. As such, he's jobbed to Cena, Orton, Kennedy and Jeff Hardy in the last 12 months... jobbed clean to each of their finishers. He may be booked slightly stronger than is necessary, but it's not a huge problem. You're looking at 2008 with 2003-tinted glasses.

 

Also the question of how much focus did promotion of Cena's PPV mains get on Raw vis a vis promotion of the Hornswaggle storyline.

Cena got, and gets, substantially more focus, if you watch the shows. I wouldn't disagree that the Hornswoggle stuff hasn't been worth the time they've put into it, but it hasn't hurt Cena more than it's hurt anyone else... in fact, he, Orton and HHH are the only three who've consistently been pushed over that stuff.

 

What number is he?

Cena is #1. Watch the shows.

 

One of the things that I do think the WWF has done better than they would have done 6 years ago is Santino Marrella.

This, I agree with.

[Bix]

http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/5058/

 

Mike Joy writes: I was watching the 6/16/97 episode of Raw that's currently available on WWE 24/7. During the show, there's a match between Brian Christpher and Chris Candido that ends with a run-in by RVD, among others. RVD was wearing a Sabu T-shirt, and when the back of it was seen on-camera, it said "Homocidal" instead of "Homicidal". Wonder how much that hurt sales.

[tomk]

Okay. First, let's look at centrality -- how much do the shows focus on Cena.

 

http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/2006.html

 

Of 45 listed show captions, Cena appears in 20 of them... the most of anyone. OWOW has these show captions for four years, and I'm not contending that they're scientific, but they accord pretty well with what I remember. In those four years, no single worker has a year of being mentioned as consistently in the main program as Cena in '06....

 

Cena is put over the strongest, the best and most often.

Read the actual links not just the titles to give you a sense of how central he was.

 

Yes he was booked in 2006 better than Benoit was when Benoit had the title.

 

But better than Benoit seems like really low standard.

 

Let's look at booking. Has Cena been booked to look strong?

In 2006 and 2007 was he booked to ever look stronger than Michaels or HHH.

 

October 6 2006-DX defeated Trevor Murdoch & Lance Cade & Charlie Haas & Viscera & The Highlanders in a Handicap match

 

Two months later

 

January 1, 2007-Umaga & Armando Alejandro Estrada & Johnny Nitro & The Coach defeated John Cena by DQ in a 4-on-1 Handicap match..

July 7,2007-Carlito Cool defeated WWE Champion John Cena with help from Randy Orton

 

two months later

 

Triple H defeated Carlito Cool & Umaga by Disqualificiation in a Handicap match (carlito and Umaga are DQed at the start then HHH beats single handedly beats them off and lays them out with sledgehammer and chairs).

Was he booked to look tough?

How many times did he fight back from blood loss?

 

Let's look at booking. Who gets mentioned the most in segments they don't appear in? Who gets the strongest "talk NWO during the cruisers" push?

 

Cena does. It's not close.

 

Tom, I'm pretty sure that you rarely watch RAW. If you actually watch the shows, Cena is booked INCREDIBLY strongly. HHH and HBK get lame little booking protections here and there, and I don't like that anymore than you do... but neither is booked as the star of RAW. Cena has undisputably been the star of RAW for well over two years.

I watched RAW with judicious use of tivo during the Cena run.

 

During large sections of that run he may have been featured more than Eddie was when he was feuding with Big Show over US title and laxative in burritos (which also got a fair amount of time). His booking may not have been as bad and undermining as that either.

 

Again I have higher expectations than that.

 

You're looking at 2008 with 2003-tinted glasses.

I've been watching wrestling since the 80s. And expect more than somewhat "better than 2003".

[Guest onlxn]

Read the actual links not just the titles to give you a sense of how central he was.

I don't have to read the links... I watched the shows. Those titles certainly don't overstate his centrality... they understate it, if anything.

 

In 2006 and 2007 was he booked to ever look stronger than Michaels or HHH.

Yes, the vast majority he was booked to look stronger than both of them. He beat both of them by submission at Wrestlemania, for one thing.

 

October 6 2006-DX defeated Trevor Murdoch & Lance Cade & Charlie Haas & Viscera & The Highlanders in a Handicap match

 

Two months later

 

January 1, 2007-Umaga & Armando Alejandro Estrada & Johnny Nitro & The Coach defeated John Cena by DQ in a 4-on-1 Handicap match..

The former match involved DX against midcarders. The latter match was a heat-up for a title between Cena and the undefeated Umaga. There is absolutely no parallel there.

 

You seem to be pointing to HHH and HBK mowing through the tag ranks as proof that they're presented as tougher than Cena. The truth is, in fact, the opposite... that was a (remarkably inefficient) way to keep them busy while they weren't in the main events.

 

Which means more in the WWE, beating Edge or beating Cade & Murdoch one-on-two? The answer's clear: beating Edge does. A guy winning a handicap match is never put over as a monumental achievement in the WWE... it *should* be, probably, but it's not. When HHH beat Cade & Murdoch one-on-two, you think casual fans were thinking, "that pussy Cena couldn't do that"! They weren't. Because not only was Cena in the main event at the time, facing pushed, over guys... HE'D ALREADY BEATEN TRIPLE H AT WRESTLEMANIA. Beating Cade and Murdoch means nothing, in light of that.

 

July 7,2007-Carlito Cool defeated WWE Champion John Cena with help from Randy Orton

 

two months later

 

Triple H defeated Carlito Cool & Umaga by Disqualificiation in a Handicap match (carlito and Umaga are DQed at the start then HHH beats single handedly beats them off and lays them out with sledgehammer and chairs).

Again, the former match was to heat up a title program. The latter match was part of a midcard program. Further, the latter match was *not* presented as "HHH > Umaga + Carlito". It was presented as "HHH is willing to use a sledgehammer". Carlito fucked up, chickened out, and HHH hit Umaga with the sledgehammer.

 

Look, Umaga and Carlito should've gotten more heat on HHH in that segment. I'm not disagreeing that HHH is booked unnecessarily strongly in certain segments. I *am* disagreeing that the sum effect of that is to make him look stronger than Cena. Cena is the star of RAW in every way, and he's undefeated against HHH. He beat him at Wrestlemania '06, and he just topped him at the Royal Rumble, in an obvious "clash of the titans" spot. In the heat-up for WM, Cena is the fearless babyface, HHH is the tweener strategist... that's a push, if not a slight edge for Cena.

 

Was he booked to look tough?

Constantly. He beat HBK, HHH, Khali, Lashley, Edge, Umaga, Orton... the list goes on. Further, Cena is the babyface who always gets the "willing to face overwhelming odds" spot, which is a classic toughness trope -- one they use far more often the blood loss spot.

 

How many times did he fight back from blood loss?

In the Umaga match, but not often overall. However, they've really cut down on blading overall. HHH and HBK might get blood loss spots more often than Cena, but if they do, it's three times a year as opposed to once a year. And that doesn't begin to counteract the fact that Cena gets the biggest wins (including over those two guys at the biggest money shows in wrestling history), the most central storylines, and the most airtime of any wrestler on the roster.

 

I watched RAW with judicious use of tivo during the Cena run.

 

During large sections of that run he may have been featured more than Eddie was when he was feuding with Big Show over US title and laxative in burritos (which also got a fair amount of time). His booking may not have been as bad and undermining as that either.

 

Again I have higher expectations than that.

Cute, but nonsensical. Cena has been getting the strongest main-event push of any babyface since Austin. Grasping at these feeble DX-conspiratorial straws doesn't change that.

 

I've been watching wrestling since the 80s. And expect more than somewhat "better than 2003".

You're a smart guy and I love your reviews, but you're talking out of your ass here, and pushing the amount of time you've been watching wrestling only underscores that. John Cena has gotten an incredibly strong push and incredibly strong protection for the last two years. He has been pushed harder than HHH and HBK -- only the Undertaker's push compares with his -- and he is an exceedingly well-pushed champion.

[Loss]

I understand expecting better, but the argument wasn't so much that the booking now is great, as much as it was that the main event wrestlers are far more protected now than they were in 2003.