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Don't forget about Bryan


I know most people have Brock vs Reigns penciled in as the WM 31 main event. To me it would make more sense to have Bryan make his return by winning the Royal Rumble and facing Brock at WMania. Your thoughts?

​I wouldn't hold your breath on that one there, kemosabe.  ​

Comments

  1. I much prefer Daniel over Reigns at this point. I just don't see Roman being ready for the spot by then.

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  2. Reigns hasn't had a single Big Show feud. He's not ready for the Main Event.

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  3. I definitely would rather say that happen but of course that means nothing.

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  4. Question for the people who listen to Meltzer...


    Do they still see Bryan as "not a real main eventer" or any of that nonesense? One would think they see him as valuable to the company what with WM30 and all, but I don't understand how they think

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  5. Also, Bryan returning at Rumble to challenge Brock for the title is more likely

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  6. I'd like to see the Dust Bros vs The Uso's vs Rowan and Harper vs 93 Steiner Brothers in a TLC match.

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  7. If Bryan really can come back around Survivor Series, then I'm afraid they'll get the match out of the way early to get Bryan out of the picture. Although it is possible that we could see a repeat of last year with the fans forcing Bryan into the main event, I think it is far less likely.

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  8. I would rather Justin Bieber put out an album of Talking Heads covers and it was the only music I was able to listen to for an entire decade than see the Roman Reigns push progress beyond the Royal Rumble.

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  9. I like Reigns but, man, will it ever be funny if Bryan returns at/near the Rumble and it's an exact repeat of this year's situation with Dave. If Bryan has been gone for nearly a year and returns near 'Mania, there's no way the fans buy into Reigns ahead of him. Of course, this is Vince's "Universe" and we all just get to live in it so, "No, Seymour, it's the children who are wrong," will be the mantra of the day and the Reigns Train will go full steam ahead. Then he'll be punished when he isn't as over as they'd like him to be.

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  10. He hasn't gone through the 'cooling off' period either, where they punish you just to test your drive. I look forward to his push de-escalating and him forming a tag team with Sheamus called 'Sheigns'. Or 'Reamus'. "It's pronounced RAYMUS!" will be their catch-phrase.

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  11. If Bryan is healthy, I absolutely believe the crowd will turn on Reigns in his favor. I think Reigns is likely to get turned on anyway. Fans can tell when they're being force-fed something. WWE isn't riding the crest of the Reigns' wave, they're trying to create it our of nothing more than a good look and raw potential. They're not just giving him a push - they're trying to create a phenomenon. If things progress the way they're going the backlash is gonna be strong - Luger 93, Diesel 95, Rocky 97

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  12. FELLAS with Attitudes. They can carry skateboards to the ring.

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  13. I still think Bryan taking down Rusev could be a great Mania moment for him, assuming he's not in the main event. But I could also see them wanting a newer guy to do that.

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  14. I'd absolutely prefer that scenario, but I highly doubt they'd ever go for it with these lost months acting as a huge demerit on his ledger.

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  15. I can already see Michael Cole dancing to their "funky skate-rap" theme music while saying "C'mon JBL - dance! These kids are down and happening!"

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  16. Stranger in the AlpsSeptember 9, 2014 at 7:28 PM

    Right after Bieber uses Wikipedia to find who Talking Heads were.

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  17. Stranger in the AlpsSeptember 9, 2014 at 7:30 PM

    Anything more than Bryan coming back to round out the upper midcard would be surprising. I don't think it's a lock for regaining his push.

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  18. Bryan will be in the main event scene, but he won't be main-eventing WM31.

    I do think it's funny, though, that people still complain that Bryan's being buried or pushed aside or forgotten or punished or demoted or whatever. The man beat all 3 members of Evolution in two matches in one night and ended Wrestlemania as the undisputed champion with no controversy or question surrounding his win. The Brie/Steph thing was completely and totally a placeholder to keep Bryan in the fans' minds and was done as a substitute for the Bryan/HHH feud.

    Does Bryan have to piss in Vince McMahon's mouth on live TV before people accept that the thing they want, Bryan being accepted and established as a legit WWE main eventer, has already happened?

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  19. Tweens bopping along to Psycho Killer would be great

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  20. Stranger in the AlpsSeptember 9, 2014 at 7:34 PM

    Speaking of Lutte Internationale, when Vince bought out that territory in '85 he made Dino Bravo the "Canadian Heavyweight Champion". I watched and recapped an Old School episode in Toronto where Bravo "defended" the "title" against Nikolai Volkoff. Vince wanted Bravo to face Hogan in Montreal in early '86, but Bravo would have been the face in that city, and Vince wanted Bravo to play the heel. Bravo disagreed and then abruptly left the WWF.


    It's just wrestling science.

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  21. I think it's more that people saw that it took so many things going wrong for WWE before they finally cowtowed and gave Bryan his moment. If Punk hadn't left, I highly doubt WM30 plays out that way. It took Punk leaving, the crowd turning completely on Batista and the fact that the audience simply weren't going to accept anything less that saw Bryan get pushed into that Main Event slot finally. I think most of us are just finding it funny that it seems like the same scenario is going to take place with Reigns/Bryan. We shall see.

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  22. Right after Bieber has a croney use Wikipedia to find out who Talking Heads were.

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  23. Bravo dropped the belt to Samu before heading to the WWF.

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  24. Stranger in the AlpsSeptember 9, 2014 at 7:41 PM

    What the--- how did you----I mean, who----


    I hate Wikipedia.

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  25. WWE sees Bryan as a one-time fan obsession, like Benoit. They don't see him as an icon or legend. And to be honest, they might be right. We have to see how the crowd responds once he returns.

    I wouldn't bet against him personally, but I can see where they're coming from.

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  26. I'm puzzled by the smarks' paranoia concerning Bryan, too. And I tend to be just as if not more negative on these things. WM30 was Bryan's show. It was levels ahead of what Benoit received. Like you say, current plans clearly suggest they would have kept using Bryan at the top of the card.



    The only thing to really bitch about is that Bryan was and will always be behind Cena as #1 face until Cena decides to hang it up.

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  27. I think Bryan, if he returns in time will end up with a match against Brock but not at Wrestlemania and he won't win either.

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  28. Vince: the kids just LOVE that Roman Reigns! Listen to the crowd!

    HHH: we have to stop letting him watch Smackdown

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  29. If Bray continues to be so over, they really should turn him and use him against Brock at WM.

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  30. I was in Baltimore last night. Dunno how it was translated over TV, but Reigns got a bigger pop than Cena.


    I personally prefer small wrestlers like Bryan versus bigger dudes. And I have a love jones for seeing Bryan making a post-injury comeback and facing Brock at Mania (even if he loses). But when I heard Roman's pop crescendo with the shrieks of every woman within 20 feet of me, I accepted the fact that the Mania event is fated to be Roman vs. Brock.

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  31. Aren't you standup?

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  32. The issue with Reigns, is that while they're having him win a lot and giving him a bunch of segments, we're not really learning much about him. At least they're not going jokey face, but I'd like to get a bit more than him calling people "boy".


    Though I'd really argue that he's never really turned face, he just realized that he didn't need to do evil heel stuff or rely on the boss for help, he's just as much of an arrogant punk as he was in the Shield.

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  33. Was the crowd reaction for Neville's finisher/win as good as it seemed on tv? Or did tv just find the right people to focus on.

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  34. And so was Punk and so would Hogan, Austin and Rock be if they showed up in their prime tomorrow. Not saying it's right, but it's definitely not a Bryan thing.

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  35. Was the Luger backlash that strong? I know the fans liked Bret better, but if he goes over at SS, I would think he would have been "passable" as champ. Better than Nash anyway; then again who wouldn't have been. . .

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  36. So awesome they HAVE to do it.

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  37. I was in the front row, so my scope is a bit limited. But people went apeshit around me.

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  38. I'd be okay with Bryan coming back and retiring Kane at WrestleMania.

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  39. I (and, seemingly, many others) felt that Bryan would likely only be at the top of the card until "Summerslam". That was Brock's night, he was going to win come hell or high water, in order to set-up Brock/Reigns at "WM31".

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  40. Bryan is done. Upper midcarder for life from now.

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  41. Sgt Slaughter's real surname is Remus yeah? He should manage them and argue on the team name's spelling in vignettes.

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  42. Bryan comes in at 30. The crowd goes crazy. He does his YES! All the way to the ring. Into the ring. He's then eliminated by Heath Slater (who has been making an improbably long rumble run.) IMMEDIETLY. That then starts a feud between Bryan and Slater as Bruan attempts to rest abolish himself while finding ways to lose to Slater each week. Eventually he turns heel and at Mania he has a good not great opening match with Sheamus. FELLA!

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  43. I loved the Hillbilly Jim skit.

    For some reason in early 1987, they started running old videos on Prime Time Wrestling and treating them as brand new. Fuji General and Fuji Vice were 1985 products and right after mania or right before - they pushed Murraco and Fuji again.

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  44. Wake me up when you procure your time machine.

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  45. In 1988 - they also did a best of year and claimed Bret Hart and Bad News were both undefeated in December 1988 -- in spite of Hart jobbing to Allen Brown in June at Wrestlefest 88

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  46. I think the problem with Luger was the All American bullshit they presented him with. He wasn't that guy. At his best, he was a cocky dude and you wanted to see the smirk wiped off his face, only he was too strong and athletic for it to happen.



    And, like you said, the fans wanted Bret. It's not rocket science. Put the dude the fans want in the top spot.

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  47. Not to mention in 1996 Vince and Jerry redubbed the Blow Away angle from 1990.

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  48. I'm afraid that if I say I am you're going to advocate I refrain from self-terminating my current station of 9-5 employment.

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  49. Adonis was suspended? Kayfabe or legit?

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  50. Like I've said before, they're pushing Reigns the same way they pushed Orton, with the Wrestlemania main event in mind down the road. The only problem is, he fizzles out and Batista was there to become more over.


    Bryan is Batista in this situation.

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  51. At the very least, they need to do HHH/Bryan with Bryan FINALLY slaying the Authority and sending HHH off-camera for another couple of years before shoving Bryan back to the midcard. They owe us that at the least.....

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  52. I don't know. If he comes back healthy and Cena is hurting as bad as they think he is. Who else is there? I think all three shield guys are going to be WWE champs at some point...at least they could be, but time is going to catch up to Show, Orton, and Cena pretty soon.


    Who's in the top card then? Why not Bryan, Bray, Shield?

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  53. Bray's character doesn't need to be "turned" to fight Brock.


    Both are the definition of Tweeners. Brock does heelish/selfish things and gets big pops. Bray has the fireflies and got half the crowd while fighting Jericho.

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  54. The rumor was that he was fired or suspended at this time. It was not kayfabe

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  55. And that's fine. From a story perspective, Bryan needed to lose at Summer Slam. That's the whole point of having monster heels. Vader killed Sting in the ring, cemented his bad assness, and Sting came back stronger. Bryan could have come back as well. Which makes for good storytelling.


    Ultimately I think that's what the Smarks want. Logic. a legitmate story arc. Bryan was played out perfectly to win at Mania. The next logical step would absolutely have been him losing his title in a dominant fashion. Because then you can actually add drama and storytelling.

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  56. I don't see how there could be any other option. Unless of course the WWE hates making money.

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  57. I was going to ask if you save your good material for your gigs, because you're clearly not using it here.

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  58. The plan is for Roman Reigns to defeat Lesnar at 'Mania, further setting him up as the new "face of WWE" after Cena cuts back on his schedule.

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  59. God I hope not. Daniel deserves better than to be forced into working with the shitty, old, stale, broken down Kane ever again.

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  60. I do different material on stage. It's very likely that I will never do a bit about the degree to which I do not want a Roman Reigns push. Sometimes I just write stuff here without workshopping it at open mics for weeks beforehand.

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  61. I'm conflicted because I like Kane retiring but I don't like DB anywhere near his dusty boring butt

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  62. I would have preferred to see Reigns spend another year or two working his way through IC/US title feuds (I would also prefer those titles mean something) the way Stone Cold, Rock, and HHH did so that he can really make sure that he's ready to carry the company when he gets the chance.

    Not that every wrestler needs to be able to do a one-hour technical masterpiece, but you should be able to do 30 minutes with anyone and have it be entertaining. Do you guys think Reigns will be able to do 30 without being carried by WM?

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  63. Albano seemingly retired too -- which actually had footage shown and for some reason Johnny V even got the last laugh of hitting Albano with a cake. Not sure if the retirement was just a kayfaybe way of covering up him quitting or getting fired - although normally they don't show footage of a guy retiring -- if they were ones to fire the guy. Also Albano was trying to get into acting at this point too -- which was weird because Albano.

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  64. Although Murraco's work rate wasn't good here, I always liked the guys promo work. I even condoned his face turn. Apparently he got fired in 1988 for mocking a road agent according to Tom Billington -- so who knows about that one.

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  65. "which was weird because Albano."

    Super Mario Brothers Super Show says otherwise.

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  66. "DOPE, FRESH, AND WHERE ITS AT MAGGLE! GIT DOOOOWN!"

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  67. He really wanted to tell you that it is time to sit down.

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  68. "They basically sound like a JET ENGINE when he shows up!! ROMAN REIGNS STRAIGHT TO THE MAIN EVENT, WHATAMANEUVER!!!!!"

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  69. He'll have a Backlund reign if he learns the back body drop.

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  70. "If he comes back healthy..." That's a MASSIVE if. But, I agree with you otherwise.

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  71. Yeah, I get that, but it's stupid. Bryan won the right to be face of the WWE at Wrestlemania. If anything, it should be Bryan vs Reigns when he gets back, with Bryan as the heel saying you took my spot. See who the crowd picks.

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  72. Snuka is brought up even when he was long gone (and in the AWA at this point, I believe?) Weird...

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  73. Yeah. Seems like at an attempt to bury the opposition

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  74. Of course. But when someone was gone from the WWF, they were GONE. As in never mentioned again, etc. etc.

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