Dale Wolfe Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 We can talk about Rousey as a massive PPV star but her last fight was what, 2016 now. Really her biggest shows were driven by the story anyway- Holly Holm was by far the biggest/stockiest she'd fought & the Nunes "comeback" card was really based on seeing if she still had it. Up against Charlotte Flair is dull and neither of them can talk really, at least v eachother. If she was heel against Becky I think it would been a much better direction. I know Sasha is viewed as a liability but isn't she in that massive Star Wars show? Mainstream appeal x2, however Ronda has waned. They just can't book for shit. I do wonder what would have happened with Ronda if she'd have managed to have the rematch with Holm early 2016. Nunes of course far better than both but she could have retained a bit of mystique if she'd got her win back from holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 Speaking of Ronda - As someone who doesn't watch WWE TV, is this some kind of elaborate work/angle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 4 minutes ago, Dale Wolfe said: We can talk about Rousey as a massive PPV star but her last fight was what, 2016 now. Really her biggest shows were driven by the story anyway- Holly Holm was by far the biggest/stockiest she'd fought & the Nunes "comeback" card was really based on seeing if she still had it. I will defend Ronda here, she drew well against Sara McMann, Alexis Davis and Bethe Correia despite headlining absolutely terrible cards (seriously, look at some the fights they booked on those cards) with no appeal other than "Watch this Amazon Goddess-Queen beat her opponent in seconds!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 14 minutes ago, Dale Wolfe said: I know Sasha is viewed as a liability but isn't she in that massive Star Wars show? Wait, what ? Did I miss an episode ? I kinda heard about some stupid anti-vax shit in the past, but is it to the point of being seen as a "liability" ? How so if she's still doing the Star Wars stuff (so she did not Gina Caranoed herself at least) ? And so she's doing some tag-team match at Mania ? Not exactly the biggest profile, indeed, compared to main-eventing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 IIRC Sasha liked a couple of anti-vaxx Insta posts but it seemed pretty mild compared to a LOT of her peers across promotions including AEW, Impact, etc. Not sure if she is vaccinated or not but there was never any news or whispers of her being difficult backstage - apart from years ago when Ryan Satin acted like a bitch and gossiped about Sasha and Bayley throwing a "backstage tantrum" over losing their tag titles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Wolfe Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 Maybe liability is the wrong word, it could just be typical WWE spite, but they have quite obviously pushed Sasha down the card compared to her previous status, and considering she has the biggest profile outside of the fed. It's obvious what they're doing there, usual shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 I think its less the vax thing and more that Sasha walked out in 2019? I don't remember all the details of that story, but getting "burned out" might have something to do with where she is on the pecking order. Though, to be fair, its not like she's been buried. She's still up there in the Top 5-6 and her and Bayley were very prominently featured during the Thunderdome year. Its just that everyone took a step back down the ladder when Ronda returned, Charlotte is at the top, Bianca and Becky are the top heel and face on RAW, and Sasha is then right below those 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo's Roomie Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 It's not like Sasha has ever been treated as the star of the division, or on the level of Charlotte or Ronda or, latterly, Becky. I've always got the impression they see her more as a good hand, someone they can plug in to the 'main event' slot, and someone they can rely on to get good reactions and get other people over. Which, as a big Sasha fan, annoys me a lot. It's like they want the benefits of her stardom without actually treating her like a star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Wolfe Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 1 hour ago, MoS said: I will defend Ronda here, she drew well against Sara McMann, Alexis Davis and Bethe Correia despite headlining absolutely terrible cards (seriously, look at some the fights they booked on those cards) with no appeal other than "Watch this Amazon Goddess-Queen beat her opponent in seconds!" Looked them up and they're not all terrible but 184 is horrific, I'll give you that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted March 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 Sasha not being included in this whole Ronda Rousey fiasco is good for her, actually. Has this respectful team with Naomi, gonna win them titles at WM, and she doesn't have the stench of fucked up booking on her this time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 4 minutes ago, KawadaSmile said: Sasha not being included in this whole Ronda Rousey fiasco is good for her, actually. Has this respectful team with Naomi, gonna win them titles at WM, and she doesn't have the stench of fucked up booking on her this time! "Being in the midcard is great cuz main event booking is shit" is a pretty weak defence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted March 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 1 minute ago, MoS said: "Being in the midcard is great cuz main event booking is shit" is a pretty weak defence Never said it's great, but I really don't wanna see her get saddled with Charlotte or Ronda ever again. I very much rather see her do something different, get a title celebration than deal with two absolutely pieces of work like them. Rousey, specially, has given ZERO fucks on this second run, and Charlotte is... Charlotte. Not a situation I wanna see Banks in, really. It's absolutely not ideal - to say the least - for someone of her caliber, you are right on that. I want her to deliver bangers like her match against Bianca at last year's Mania every single time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Ewiak Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 For all the talk of Ronda/Charlotte "not working," we just saw the Smackdown ratings go up, I think, 300k-ish for the final quarter hour with a Charlotte/Ronda confrontation two or three weeks back. At the end of the day, hardcore fans may care, but Ronda vs. Ric Flair's daughter appeals to causal fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 Whenever I've rewatched WM 32, Sasha came off like such a massive star then from her entrance on. It's sadly been mostly downhill booking/positioning ever since, with the exception of last year's main event but as soon as that was over, she was gone for months again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted March 29, 2022 Report Share Posted March 29, 2022 12 hours ago, Jesse Ewiak said: For all the talk of Ronda/Charlotte "not working," we just saw the Smackdown ratings go up, I think, 300k-ish for the final quarter hour with a Charlotte/Ronda confrontation two or three weeks back. At the end of the day, hardcore fans may care, but Ronda vs. Ric Flair's daughter appeals to causal fans. If we are quoting one quarter number to prove our point, this week saw mediocre growth for their angle - compared to usual growth in the last quarter - and an actual decline in 18-49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted March 29, 2022 Report Share Posted March 29, 2022 Incidentally, you know who has a pattern of consistently showing significant growth in quarters? Sasha Banks. Every time almost, no matter what angle she is doing, what quarter she is in. She might honestly be the Smackdown ratings MVP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted March 29, 2022 Report Share Posted March 29, 2022 Speaking on Sasha: She's vaxxed. She, and everyone on the Crown Jewel show last November, had to be per KSA rules. She may not have been keen on the idea, going back to some of the IG posts she's liked. But she did it, if for no reason but to get a nice payday. As for her wrestling career arc, I think it's a multitude of things. Charlotte was always going to be the one they mega pushed. And they did Sasha no favors with the hot potato game with the women's title between her and Charlotte in 2016. I think they saw Sasha as the woman next to the woman. Not a bad role, but when considering her popularity compared to Charlotte? It feels like a consolation prize. But again, Charlotte was going to get the plum spot for a number of reasons. She seemed to get dinged up regularly for a while. I imagine that lost her some ground with Vince. And then there's the Ryan Satin locker room fiasco, which anyone with an ounce of sense knew was a lie but the naysayers bought into because they didn't like Sasha in the first place. That the lie followed her around while Bayley eventually got to move on tells us this. Couple that with her needing to get her mental health back on track along with her getting attached to The Mandalorian around that same time--it's the makings of her not being a primary focus for the women's division, at least not at the tippy top. And there are other factors going into that--Ronda's arrival, Becky's transition into a top star, Bianca's fast rise. I think Sasha will be out of WWE on her own accord when she can secure consistent acting roles. The Mandalorian is a nice get, but her role is pretty small, and I doubt it pays like WWE. She sticks around, works with her friend Naomi and likely wins the women's tag championship. She splits the workload and doesn't have to navigate anything with Ronda and Charlotte. She'll get regular TV time and can still work on non-WWE projects. At this point, it may be what she wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badlittlekitten Posted March 29, 2022 Report Share Posted March 29, 2022 The only thing that had any buzz was the Cody situation and that's cooled off with each passing week. It's just a boring product with no concept of 'momentum' or booking stars. People had already soured on Ronda towards the end of her last run and now the world has moved on. I think Becky vs Sasha and Charlotte vs Bianca would be much more compelling feuds at this point. Becky being forced into this ridiculous heel role has really had a negative effect on the the division and her vs Ronda has no juice where they currently stand. Sasha is likely seen as a liability as she always seems to get injured/disappear at the worst times. Austin making his long awaited comeback to this tired shell of a promotion is just sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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