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Is the empire crumbling before our eyes?


flyonthewall2983

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Awesome write up, too, @DMJ. You always cover a lot of bases, I really liked your point about Ronda/Alexa.

Dungeon of Doom has been cited a couple times, but I also get vibes of Sting vs. Cactus and Jake in WCW. Makes sense to book the match around Halloween. I think it could be a good feud, hopefully Bray comes out of a box. :D 

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On 7/24/2023 at 4:17 PM, Zoo Enthusiast said:

Sudden urge to sell my Summerslam tix.

You may want to hold onto those, I have a feeling the Rock is going to show up. The SAG-AFTRA strike is likely to drag out until at least October. Waller hinted at this and they'll likely do a segment together. 

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Roman Reigns' decision to not work with SPOOKYYYYYY characters like Bray and Karrion Kross really worked out for the best. That fucking Uncle Howdy shit was the pits. Like, bottom of the bin stuff. Truly rancid.

He will try to get some of the Terrifier hype going with his impending new character, but a) it's a PG environment what the fuck does he expect to do? he can't kill people like that, b) he just cannot be a fucking unstoppable monster who doesn't sell a single damn thing. It worked with Kane because that man was HUGE, and c) people are already tired, man. 

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I am kinda hoping if Bray comes back it is with no supernatural stuff. When he first showed up this most recent time and did the first promo in the ring I was enjoying it until I realized it wasn't going anywhere. Also, he is better as a manager who sometimes wrestles rather than a serious wrestler on his own.

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Easy to forget that Bo Dallas's return was lost in the Uncle Howdy debacle. At least WWE recognized there was a problem. New writers ought to help, I've heard fans complain about Bray's promos for years. If Brock and Roman weren't willing to work with Bray there had to be major changes made to the character. LA Knight seemed out of left field as his opponent (was Bray supposed to be heel in that?) but everybody else was tied up and Bray didn't have a lot of options (Rey was feuding with Dom, Edge also tied up with Judgment Day, KO and Sami with the Bloodline, AJ was injured, McIntyre was working on a new contact, and Rollins would've been weird).

Knight got over so it wasn't a total loss, I guess.

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The empire is strong, yet how much credit can we give Hunter's creative? Trips is a logical booker. They say it is Business 101 when you are in WWE's position: Better to remain conservative and purchase innovation from outside (that is, raid risk taking indies). Like Bret's famous burial, the Hitman did not view HHH as an innovator in the ring at all. But very, very smart politically. Terrific working with the talent. Reads modern trends better than Vince.

But what has he come up with? Nothing. HHH doesn't have a style. His only booking philosophy is "flavors of ice cream" and "harnessing talent". You want to give him the Judgment Day, that feels like a HHH project (Edge felt like he had a big hand in it as well). Sure, Dom has surprised a lot of us, but I think Rhea should be more over and I'm blaming Trips for that. The Bloodline and Cody is clearly VKM/Heyman as executive producers. I think Tony Khan is more creative than Hunter. 

A lot of Hunter's projects have yielded dismal returns: Dexter Lumis, Karrion Kross, Bronson Reed, No Way Jose, Johnny Gargano to name a few. A reminder that Triple H lost around $80 million in two years on NXT.

 

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Triple H throws all the "flavors of ice cream" into a blender until you can't taste any flavor at all.

There is no danger, no shock, no surprises.

NXT, bottom line, was a *MASSIVE* failure and Hunter almost got fired over it. 

I'm sick of him, honestly. I bring it up because it is exactly as Bret described Triple H's in ring career, only in terms of creative. "What has he ever really done?" 

Hunter always makes the same corny joke about getting into pro wrestling because he didn't want to wear a suit (how ironic!), yet Bret told it like it was that Hunter was a Shawn asskisser and never one of the boys, an office stooge.

Watching the Cody doc and Hunter was so boring as usual. I understand he is the corporate "face" of the company due to circumstances. To that extent, he has performed well. But standing around like he's Dana White doesn't add much value in my eyes. No one has gotten a rub off Triple H pointing at them in a photo while holding a belt. Again, he's good as Vince's press agent. 

"Jolly Old Saint" Nick Khan deserves more of the credit getting Knoxville, Bad Bunny, and Logan Paul into the mix.

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The thing that I will give Triple H credit for - and it wasn't all just him mind you - but due to (at least in part) Evolution & feuding with HHH, WWE got both Orton & Batista as main eventers. Orton has been around for like twenty years now too. World Champions that feuded with The Undertaker & wrestled at Wrestlemania without anyone batting an eye at their believability or position, really. Hell, I would argue that they were both better main eventers than even Triple H himself was. Randy Orton winning the title (I believe from Benoit?) and then HHH & Evolution turning on him & then Batista turning babyface on HHH/Flair & putting him through a table were both big, stand out moments in post-2000 WWE. 

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Sheamus not having at least an one-off with Roman (and those two always had amazing chemistry) feels like a missed opportunity. He was white-hot, pun intended, after LOSING to Gunther. He still is over as hell.

 

As for Triple H, he managed to book the women's division worse than whoever was planning the shows before him. Summerslam not having a match for Rhea AND no Trish vs Becky is so damn wack. Iyo has been treated like a chump after looking good during the build to MitB, Charlotte, Asuka and Bianca are running in circles.

His most over NXT guy, Adam Cole, ran to the opposition and after a brief meh period and injuries, he's part of the hottest angle there. The top story in WWE right now, which is the Bloodline arc, is nearing its end, and started way before Trips took over.

Where does WWE go after Summerslam, in terms of storylines, is the real question. Many stories are finishing. Brock vs Cody, Jey vs Roman, Shayna vs Ronda, Seth vs Finn hopefully. 

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I don't love Finn, but the smart play is to give him the title. With Priest having the briefcase, it's the better story. Plus, Seth has nagging injuries. He has established this title - well, as much as such a random and unnecessary piece of tin can be established anyway - so let him take time off to heal up. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
6 hours ago, Timbo Slice said:

The merger on Tuesday makes people think a lot of on-screen talent will get let go, but the reporting makes it seem it’s going to be more office/clerical types that go since they won’t need separate departments anymore in a lot of areas. Can’t imagine it’ll affect talent that much. 

I think it will be hard to cut as much office people as you'd think. It's not like UFC and WWE are merging employees, talents, or logistics. They're two gigantic touring companies that have completely separate schedules and travel concerns. Cutting office people is going to fuck both companies in that regard. 

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